Opening of Grilling Season

So, the weather has been warm (a little wet) but I have opened grilling season. This is a super easy flank steak that takes about 10 minutes to grill and maybe 20 minutes to marinade.

1 lb Flank Steak
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic crushed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Mix together all ingredients except steak. Score the steak and cover with marinade. Heat grill to high, cook on each side for 5 minutes. Let rest another 5 minutes off the grill. Cut diagonally serve.

Chinese Buns-Pork and Chicken

I have been traveling back to NYC to visit my new nephew. I take the bus between Boston and NYC (the cheapest way to travel). On my last trip, I had a small mix-up, so I missed my regular bus, so I went with the Chinatown-Chinatown bus, well more like the Boston Bus Station to NYC Chinatown bus. The good news, I got to go to NYC Chinatown and get one of my all time favorite foods, Chinese Pork Buns (they now have Chicken Buns as well). Cha Siu Bao was introduced to me by a college buddy from NYC, but we were in school in Cleveland and he asked if I would bring some back from a trip. I had to try one before I made my purchase and I was hooked. For some reason, I can't turn this photo, so tilt your head to the left. I grabbed a honeydew juice make with fresh fruit (and some unknown powder). This was the perfect welcome home snack. The sweet bread is covering up the spicy filling.

Afternoon Delight

So, I went to my favorite afternoon spot Sofra
Bakery. Here is liquid heaven, Salep and a pear
brioche. Salep is steamed milk with orchid, it was sweet and silky on my tongue. I read my book and it was a mini-vacation.

More Chip-o-rama--Turkey Burgers

So, the chips in my care package (after I ate them straight) made me think about what recipes I had that use chips. One of my favorite ones is Turkey Burgers. I don't have a formal recipe for this, but here is the general idea.

Ground Turkey (about 1 lb)
Fresh Cilantro (about 2 tablespoons)
Tortilla Chips crushed (about 1/4 cup)
Salt and Pepper
Mango Chutney (about 2 tablespoons)

Mix together, make into patties, grill.

I like my turkey burgers with sweet potato fries. Yum!

100th Post--Chip-o-rama

So, this is my 100th post! I'm not creating anything special for this, just a regular a post. My dad is always sending great care packages (you are never too old for one). He send these homemade tortilla chips from his local Whole Foods (I'm so sad that my Whole Foods does not carry them). So I made a few meals to use up the chips. Here is the first one: Chicken Tortilla Soup:

1 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 c. chicken broth
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp. ground red chilies
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (15 oz.) can tomato puree
Tortilla chips
2 c. shredded cooked chicken (I used some left over Peruvian Chicken)
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Avocado slices tossed with lime juice

Plain Yogurt

Cook and stir onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil in 4 quart Dutch oven until onion is tender. Stir in broth, bell pepper, ground red chilies, basil salt, pepper and tomato puree. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Divide tortilla chips, chicken, avocado slices and cheese among 6 soup bowls. Pour broth over. 6 (1 1/2 cup) servings.

Cheese

I love cheese, no seriously, I love cheese. A good cheese store is worth it weight in Gouda. A few of my favorite cheese stores are East Village Cheese Shop. This is one of the places I learned to love a good smelly cheese. But since I'm no longer in the 10003 zip code, I've had to find other resources. Here in the Boston area, I love the cheese counter at Russo's. I have found some wonderful finds at Wasik's or the Cheese Shop in Wellesley. The cheese mongers are the key to a great shop.

So after a long day at work, I went to shop at Russo's and at the cheese counter asked some thing good and creamy. I got Brescianella Stagionata, WARNING: This cheese smells like old socks left in the gym bag. It tastes nothing like that however. Here is my dinner plate, the only thing missing is the Chardonnay I had with it. The Brescianella was rich and creamy with a full flavor. Next time I would add some olives to the plate.

Holiday Breads

So, I know that this is a bit late, but on my holiday travel, I wanted to make pumpkin gingerbread, but who knew that there was a canned pumpkin shortage? So I went with my back-up bread. Cranberry-Zucchini Bread. This is from my time in Brooklyn where I fell in love with this muffin at Cousin John's (oh I remember many a coffee run there from the Food Coop).

So here is my recipe (inspiration from Rose Levy's Zucchini Muffins from The Cake Bible)

Cranberry Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup safflower
2 cups (firmly packed) grated zucchini--use largest holes on box grater
1 cup cranberries (soaked in orange juice)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices. Whisk well to blend.

3. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar and oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until very smooth. Add the zucchini and beat just until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and cranberries and beat until completely moistened.

4. Scrape the batter into greased and floured loaf pans, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Unmold onto the rack. Cool completely and wrap airtight. Makes 4 small loafs or two large loafs.