A Quinoa Side Dish Worth Trying

I apologize for having been absent a lot from my blog in these last few months, as it has been a particularly challenging time for my husband and me. I am hoping that life settles down a bit, so I can continue trying out recipes and posting them here.
 

Quinoa Pilaf in Acorn Squash

Quinoa Pilaf

A couple of weeks ago, I had an idea to make something with quinoa (KEEN-wah). Quinoa makes a great base to start with, because it doesn't have a whole lot of flavor on its own, so it lends itself to things like a pilaf, which, strictly speaking, is a rice dish, but this works the same way. I had bought an acorn squash with the intent of filling it with Smoky Beef & Currants mixture. However, since I had just made and served some Smoky Beef & Currant Empanadas, it seemed too much to use that same mixture again in so close proximity, despite how good it is. Which brought me back to what to do with the acorn squash. 

When I started thinking of what kind of mixture to use, I thought of quinoa, since I hadn't used it in a while. And once I started thinking of flavors and ingredients to add, I just kept going and the mixture turned out so delicious that it is perfectly acceptable as a side dish (I served it alongside small pan-fried, skinless, boneless chicken breasts) or even a main dish all on its own. It may (or not) have been overkill to fill the acorn squash with it, but it was truly delicious, either way. The quinoa mixture made just a little too much for filling the acorn squash halves, so I kept aside the remainder for a lunch snack the next day.

If making the quinoa to fill the acorn squash, the recipe would be for two people, but the quinoa pilaf on its own could easily be a sufficient side dish for 3 or 4 people.

Quinoa Pilaf in Acorn Squash

Serves 2 to 4
 

Quinoa Pilaf in Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash
½ cup quinoa (I used red quinoa)
1 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
1 onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 Fresno chili, seeded, minced

ADDITIONS:
1 teaspoon capers, drained
½ cup dried cranberries (craisins)
½ teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, minced
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 teaspoons maple syrup 

Preheat oven to 350. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment and spray the foil or parchment with cooking spray. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds and discard. Set the squash halves, cut sides down, on the foil or parchment, place in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork. 

While the squash bakes, place the quinoa, water and first half teaspoon of salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to steam for 10 minutes, then fluff. If water remains in the saucepan, drain it off.

In a skillet over medium low heat, cook the onion in the teaspoon of oil and teaspoon of butter, adding in the second half teaspoon of salt. Stir occasionally until the onions are golden. Once the onions are done, add the garlic and thyme leaves and cook for a few minutes more. Add the bell pepper and Fresno pepper and cook for about 5 minutes more, until tender.

Off the heat, add the "additions" to the skillet, along with the steamed quinoa and mix thoroughly. At this point, the Quinoa Pilaf is ready.

Once the squash is baked, carefully turn the squash cut side upwards and with a sharp knife, score the squash in 1-inch intervals in a cross hatch pattern, being careful not to cut through the skin. Sprinkle the squash lightly with salt, then mound in the Quinoa Pilaf. Return the squash to the oven for about 15 minutes more, then serve.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Supper Strudel with Kale and Feta

Hmmmm....you might say, scratching your chin. 

I had seen a recipe many long years ago for a Spinach and Feta Strudel, but never got around to it. Apparently, I'd had this idea more than once, because as I was cleaning out a cupboard to make room for some new Tupperware containers (for all my new Indian lentils!), I came across another scribbled note to myself of a concept recipe for the same kind of thing. I do this; write down the idea of what flavors I'd like to include and how to assemble. Later on, sometimes I actually get to it and make it happen. So again, this one was apparently a long while coming, as I hardly recognized my own scribbled handwriting!

Kale & Feta Strudel

Kale & Feta Strudel straight from the oven

So, okay, I found this little scrap of paper with a concept. And I thought to myself, "I have everything here already except for the spinach. But I do have kale. Hmmm." I set about assembling all the ingredients, first getting the fillo dough from the freezer so it had time to thaw. The box had been opened and one of the rolls of fillo used, but the other remained there, unopened. I had no idea how many sheets are in the little packages, nor how much the filling would make. In order to make a good recipe, experimentation is needed.

As I said, my concept was to use spinach. If I'd had spinach, I would have used a 10-ounce box of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry. After removing that much liquid, and spinach really lets out a lot of liquid, I would estimate that half the weight is gone. Which is good, because I had exactly 5 ounces of fresh kale, and kale does not let out water that way. If you should find this recipe interesting, but prefer spinach, just thaw a 10-ounce package of chopped spinach and squeeze the heck out of it. You do not want a wet, soggy strudel!

From Fine Cooking - Athens Fillo packets

In the scribbled not to myself, I noted all the things I thought interesting to include in the recipe, but with no amounts. I had 4 ounces of Feta leftover in the fridge. This seemed scant, so I also got out a 4-ounce log of Chevre. I'd written "sun-dried tomatoes," but instead opted to use the "Roasted Tomato Pickle" I had made some months back. Sun-dried tomatoes would work just fine. Your choice to use oil packed or just dried. I'd also written to include red bell pepper, onion, garlic and pine nuts, and as I was assembling, also added some fresh dill weed.


I got going, but when I got down to actually assembling, all my concentration went to quickly working with the Fillo, melted butter, filling and rolling. So, I have no photos of how scant the filling needs to be in this strudel. One of the few things I can recall about my Grandma making her strudels is that she scattered the fillings very scantily. I thought, "That's not enough!" even at 8 or 9 years old. But it is more than enough, because you do want all the layers of the fillo to be able to hold the fillings, and you really want those layers to be crisp when you bite into the strudel. Too much filling and you will not have the layers. 

Scatter filling sparsely

As it turned out, the amount of filling I made was the perfect amount for the one package of fillo (there are 2 sealed pouches in Athens Fillo Dough boxes, shown above from Fine Cooking website). I used 4 sheets of fillo per piece of strudel (as shown above right): I set two sheets down, in "landscape" mode (long side towards you), brushed with melted butter, set two more sheets, overlapping by about 2 to 3 inches, long sides to long sides, making one larger sheet. Brushing with more melted butter and scattering one-fourth of the filling mixture over these sheets (as shown left), gently begin to roll up from the long edge closest to you, loosely forming a very soft log. Remove this to a baking sheet and brush with more melted butter. This is repeated 3 more times, using the remaining ¾ of the filling. This used up the one entire packet of the fillo dough.

Initially, I tried to set another group of 4 sheets next to these first two sheets, but it became too unwieldy to lift and transfer to the baking sheet. It was not difficult using just the initial 4 sheets, so I continued each segment separately. When it came out of the oven, the smell was heavenly. We ate the strudel with a green salad for a meatless dinner. It was just marvelous.

Kale & Feta Strudel

Makes 4 strudels, serving size depending on how hungry you are 😉

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, chopped finely

Strudel is served

2 fresh cloves garlic, minced
½ red bell pepper, chopped
5 ounces fresh kale leaves, minced finely, OR one 10 ounce box frozen, chopped spinach
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces Feta cheese
4 ounces Chevre cheese
3 pieces sun-dried tomato, minced
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon fresh dill weed, minced
1 packet (of 2 in box) Athens Fillo Dough
½ stick unsalted butter, melted

Heat a large skillet and add in the oil. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until golden, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, then add in the red bell pepper and the kale. Cook, stirring often until the kale wilts a bit and is softened. Sprinkle the salt over and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and spray a large rimmed baking sheet with oil or cooking spray.

Shred the Feta cheese into a mixing bowl using a large-holed grater, then crumble in the Chevre cheese. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, dill weed and pine nuts. When the kale mixture cools to room temperature, mix this into the cheeses in the bowl.

Working with fillo requires you to work quickly, and to keep all the fillo not in immediate use covered with a damp towel. Open the package of fillo and unroll. Remove two sheets and set them on a large surface with their long sides towards you. Quickly cover the remaining fillo. Brush the stack of two sheets of fillo with some of the butter. Remove another two sheets from the fillo stack and set these above and slightly overlapping the first two sheets. Cover the remaining fillo, then brush this new stack of two sheets with more melted butter.

Take ¼ of the filling mixture and scatter very loosely across the fillo sheets. Begin rolling the strudel by gently lifting the edge of the fillo closest to you and gently pushing it into a roll. Once reaching the end of the dough, lift the roll to the baking sheet, then brush the outside of the roll with more melted butter.

Repeat this process three more times, making 4 strudels. They can be placed close together on the baking sheet, but not touching. Set the baking sheet in the oven on a middle rack and bake for 14 to 18 minutes. Mine baked perfectly in 16 minutes.

Remove from oven and let set for 1 to 2 minutes, then slice into pieces for serving.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Modified Chicken Bryan becomes Chicken Brianna

Chicken Brianna

A few weeks back I made a version of the (many) Chicken Bryan recipes out on the internet. I really loved how it came out, and so did my husband. I was going to make a repeat of the recipe, since we really loved it, and then got thinking of other things that would be good in it, and decided to follow the spirit of the recipe, but change it slightly. Since it is most certainly not Chicken Bryan or even my "Mock, Mock Chicken Bryan", I called it 

"Chicken Brianna."

Things I kept were: 

1. The method. Cooking the chicken and setting aside till the end, cooking the onion and garlic and adding in the other condiments, wine and butter to make the sauce. 
2. Serving the dish over fettuccine noodles.
3. The use of sun-dried tomatoes and capers.

Things I added or changed:

1. I added bacon and used fresh thyme instead of basil.
2. I added marinated artichoke hearts, and pine nuts.
3. I used no goat cheese. 
4. I cut the chicken in cubes before cooking it.

Closeup of my Chicken Brianna

I will say the flavors were just as stupendous as the Mock, Mock Chicken Bryan. I think the goat cheese would have been good here also, but I already had added in the bacon, artichokes and pine nuts, so I left the added calories out, though Chevre or Montrachet would taste wonderful here too. While this dish does take dedicated time to make, it is only about 50 minutes to an hour in total. Easy to whip up from scratch. Coordination is the key. Doing prep work while one thing is cooking, doing a little mixing, etc. Set a large saucepan with water over medium heat to slowly come to boil for when needed. Heat a large skillet  while cutting the chicken into cubes. Fry the chicken cubes, turning in between chopping onion and garlic. Once onion and garlic are in the pan, prep the other ingredients, thyme, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes. Measure capers and pine nuts. Having a plan makes it work easily.

Chicken Brianna

Serves 2

Chicken Brianna

2 slices thick sliced bacon, or 4 ounces bacon
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, in 1 1/2 to 2-inch cubes
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
4 - 5 sun-dried tomato halves (oil packed), in chiffonade slices
1 (6 - 7 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, halved
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons pine nuts, optional
1 teaspoon nonpareil capers
8 ounces fettuccine (or linguine) pasta
1 tablespoon salt for pasta water

Slice the bacon across into ¼-inch wide bits. Place the bacon in a large cold skillet and heat to medium, cooking the bacon to desired doneness. Remove bacon to a plate, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. If the bacon was very fatty, remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and keep aside in case needed later.

Set a large saucepan of water to boil (for the pasta).

Set the chicken pieces into the hot pan and begin cooking them, turning as needed to get all sides browned and the chicken cooked through. Once cooked, remove the chicken pieces to the plate with the bacon. If there is still sufficient fat in the skillet, add the onions and begin sauteeing, lowering the heat slightly so the onions get caramelized and golden and not burnt. Add more fat if needed so the onions do not stick. Once onions are almost done, add the garlic and thyme and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the garlic is slightly cooked and very fragrant.

If the pasta water is boiling, add the tablespoon of salt and then add the pasta, cooking according to directions on the box. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, scoop out 1 cup of the cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta in a colander and briefly rinse with water so the pasta does not clump until needed.

Once onions and garlic are golden, add wine to the skillet and raise heat to medium high. Cook quickly to evaporate the liquids just slightly. Lower heat. Add in the butter in small bits, stirring until each piece is melted before adding the next. This will make a thin sauce for the noodles. If the wine has evaporated too much, add in a little of the pasta cooking water to make enough liquid for the sauce.

Now add in the artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomato strips, pine nuts and capers and stir. Add in the chicken and bacon and mix. Add the fettuccine noodles and mix well before serving. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Making Good Wine and Food Pairings

I hope everyone is not tired of me writing about the Winefest Renaissance! It was a lively evening, the first of what will hopefully be an annual event. All the proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Aberdeen; a worthy and noble cause.

The fact is that though I am still recuperating a bit from all the cooking and inventing of recipes last week, it was really fun and rewarding. I found that making up recipes from scratch is not as hard as I once thought. I found that while I knew in past I had made some really great wine and food pairings, this is the first time they were served to the public. Serving to family members is one thing. Being family they are more forgiving. I had not dealt much with public. Last year I did appetizer foods for a retirement party, which hosted a lot of people I didn't know, but the venue was familiar, and family and friends were involved. This Winefest was really public in all senses. It was well received, for which I am grateful. Many of the foods were praised repeatedly and for that I am not only grateful, but relieved and fulfilled. I am so grateful for my talents and the ability to give people a pleasurable experience.

Andouille Coins Tasting and Pairing

Wine tasting is an interesting experience. There are so many styles of wine and so many grape varieties. One vintner's style with a grape can be so far different from another's as to be unrecognizable. Some wines go best with food. Some are terrific all by themselves. Some can go either way. The thing is to have an open mind. Don't blacklist a grape on the basis of one wine. Try others, try it with food. My goal for this Winefest Renaissance was to instruct people to taste the wine first. Take some time examining what flavors and aromas are present. What does one like or dislike about the wine. Is it enjoyable?

Once that part is done with, try the wine with food. Obviously not just any food will be a good match for any wine. That is where my talents came into play. I have tasted a lot of wines in the course of the last 25 years. I have had ample opportunity to taste wines with various foods and develop a sense of the flavors of each, and how they harmonize. The common phrase is "wine and cheese", yet not just any cheese will pair with just any wine. Knowing what works best together and presenting these flavors to the public was my part of this event. I tried to present each wine in the very best light, creating the foods that would pair best and bring out the best flavor of both the wine and the food. There were many people who commented that the wine alone was not one they would really like to sit around and sip. With the food, however, it was just wonderful. And that was the whole point.

I created a sheet with different wine grape varieties that cross referenced the foods and flavors that go best with each wine. It is easy, though time consuming at first, to go online and research. Look at any site that talks about a Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, and see what food pairings are recommended. Being a bold wine, Cabernet pairs well with bold flavors. I researched recommendations for about 20 kinds of wine in order to put this sheet together. When I contemplated creating recipes to go with the 6 wines I chose, I used that list. I went down the column of choices and selected items that sounded like a good combination for a recipe. In the case of the Cabernet Sauvignon, I chose beef, walnuts, rosemary and Gorgonzola cheese (see the recipe in my blog of 4-14-2013). These flavors were perfect with the wine.

For the Pinot Noir, I chose figs, mushrooms, and goat cheese from the list and created little tarts by first sauteeing the mushrooms; the figs were soaked in Sherry and drained and added to the mushrooms. With the addition of crumbled goat cheese and placed into mini pie pastries, these flavors went perfectly with the wine. 

Fig, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tarts

Fig, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Tarts 

Makes about 75

Pie pastry for three 10-inch pies
6 ounces dried figs, cut into very small bits
¼ cup dry sherry (1/3 cup if the figs are very dry)
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 pound “baby bella” mushrooms, chopped into very small bits
½ cup shallot, chopped very finely
1 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
Pepper, to taste
6 ounces chevre goat cheese

Line three large mini tart pans with pie pastry. This can be done well ahead and the pastries frozen until time to fill and bake.

Check the figs to see if they are very dry or retain some moisture. Put fig bits into a relatively flat container and pour the sherry over. If they are not too dry, use the smaller amount of dry sherry to soak them. If they are quite dry, use the larger amount. Set aside for at least an hour, to plump. When ready to proceed with the recipe, pour off any remaining sherry into a cup; reserve liquid for later.

The amounts of the mushrooms call for sauteing them in two batches. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and put in half the shallots to sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, to soften. Raise heat to high and add half the mushrooms, stirring very frequently for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have evaporated any liquids and are browned. Add half the rosemary and salt. Add in half the fig soaking liquid and cook to evaporate completely. Remove the mushrooms to a bowl. Repeat this process with remaining butter, shallots, mushrooms, rosemary, salt and reserved fig liquid. Combine the figs with the mushrooms and combine. This mixture may be made ahead and kept refrigerated for 2 – 3 days . Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crumble the goat cheese and gently combine with the mushroom and fig mixture. You want the goat cheese to retain form; not make the mixture muddy looking. Spoon mixture into the tart shells. Bake the mini tarts for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until the tart shells are browned and the filling is bubbling. Serve hot or cool.


For the Sauvignon Blanc I chose asparagus, pine nuts and goat cheese and used them to make little tats on puff Pastry. Each appetizer pairing was well planned so the flavors would bring out the best qualities in the wines. Take time to research when serving foods and wines. Obviously, one cannot always have every person tasting the exact wine to go with the exact food, although when showcasing a wine, it is worth the time and effort.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Pine Nut Tarts 

Asparagus, Pine Nut & Goat Cheese Tarts

This could as easily be made as one large tart for brunch or dinner, accompanied by a green leafy salad.

Makes 30 – 36 (2x3” or 3x3”) individual tarts from each puff pastry sheet

1 box puff pastry, thawed for at least 40 minutes on counter top
1 bunch asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Few grinds of black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup Parmesan, shredded
¼ cup mayonnaise
6 ounces Chevre or Montrachet goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup pine nuts

In a zip top bag, place the asparagus. Over top, sprinkle the garlic salt, pepper and olive oil and toss to combine well. Set aside for a few minutes. In a small bowl, combine together the Parmesan and mayonnaise and set aside.

Grill or broil the asparagus until just barely tender. Cut the asparagus into approximately ½ inch bits and set aside. Preheat oven to 375.

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry sheet and roll it to about 15 x 18 inches, or to fit a large baking sheet. Cut the large sheet into either 3 x 3-inch squares or slightly smaller 2 x 3 inch squares, using a sharp knife or a pastry wheel. Prick the centers well with a knife or fork. Bake the plain pastry for 6 minutes. Remove and quickly press down the centers of the pastry squares. Return to oven and bake another 6 minutes. Remove from oven and press down centers again.

While the first pastry is baking, roll out the second sheet, if using, and repeat the above instructions.

Using the back of a teaspoon, smear about ½ teaspoon of the mayonnaise and Parmesan mixture into the center of each partially baked square. Place about 1½ to 2 teaspoons of the asparagus pieces into the center. Sprinkle on about 4 – 6 pine nuts per square. Press about 1 teaspoon of the goat cheese crumbles onto the top. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 - 12 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the cheese has started to brown in patches.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.