Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts

The Pursuit Of Happiness: 2.103

55x100 swim with some Columbia Master's peeps. Check
Adam Sandler Turkey Song on the radio. Check
5-mile Alexandria Turkey Trot (run). Check
Adam Sandler Turkey song on the radio, again. Check
Thanksgiving feast with the family at DC Harvest. Check, check, check.
Adam Sandler exercise Food
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Date Night Dinners - Tomato Paste Is Not Tomato Sauce

Despite reading the recipe three times before making the trip to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients we need for this dish, despite checking the pantry twice to confirm we had (or didn't have) enough of all of the ingredients, and despite making a list of the ingredients we officially needed to buy, I somehow still messed up. Maybe it's because I was too preoccupied with making sure my 2x gas points coupon worked or because I was day dreaming about the jumbo left over cookies I could eat once I got home. Maybe it's just because it is summer time and I am still 16 at heart - my brain wants to shut off, because really, who does work in the summer. Not this girl, who lusts for summer with long days, getting sun-kissed at the beach, all year long...at least that's how my mind wants it to work.
crock pot Date Night Dinner Latin American
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Date Night Dinners - Stuffed What

The secret to making the perfect matzo ball is to handle it a little as possible. I learned this from my grandmother. I was probably six or seven, and I remember standing in the kitchen during Passover, watching the food prep take place. My grandmother was on matzo ball duty and my mom was asking how she always got hers to be "floaters*" and taste so fluffy. My grandmother replied simply, she said the trick is to barely touch them, handling them as little as possible.

*float•er | 'flōtər - a tasty matzo ball that is light and porous, causing it to float at the top of the soup pot, and making it easy to scoop up and serve and delicious to eat, unlike a "sinker" which drops straight to the bottom of the pot because it is too heavy and dense.
Date Night Dinner matzo ball Mediterranean
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Date Night Dinners - Choppin' and Mixin'

This week Brenden and I were looking for something light but filling and tasty but healthy. As we searched the world wide web, we stumbled upon two great sounding recipes that seemed like they would pair perfectly together. A Mexican inspired chopped salad and turkey burgers. The salad called for a combination of  delicious, ripe, and colorful veggies paired with a simple dressing and homemade tortilla strips to accent the flavors. The burgers were simple but sounded like they would be bursting with flavor from the cheese, peppers, and toppings the recipe recommended. So we set out to the store to grab the ingredients and then to the kitchen to put them to use.




Unlike our usual process where Brenden and I make separate parts of the meal simultaneously, we decided to conquer these recipes in steps. We started with the salad, as it looked fairly simple, just time consuming with all of the small dicing. You don't have to chop everything so small, it is really a personal preference, but I began with small cubes and I was trying to keep my knife cuts even...Anne Burrell would be proud.

First we cooked the corn in boiling water and as that cooked we preheated the oven and prepared our tortilla strips. We cut the tortillas and seasoned them to taste. And, since the only tortilla's we could find came in a much larger amount then the recipe called for, we decided to toast up some extra cinnamon sugar dessert chips. If you couldn't guess they are made the same ways as the tortilla strips except we cut them into trianglish shapes and seasoned them with cinnamon sugar instead of salt (thanks Kristina for the inspiration, although yours are ten times better; you will have to teach me your secrets).



Then came the chopping. We chopped jicama (for the first time ever), onion, pepper, and so much more. We added each ingredient to the bowl as it was chopped and watched them pile up, hoping we chose a big enough bowl. Then came the mixing. The colors we so vibrant; the salad looked delicious and we couldn't wait to dig in. The salad was prepped so we moved on to the burgers. Again, the recipe was pretty simple. This one had less chopping and more mixing. We mixed the turkey, cheese, peppers, and seasonings, formed patties, and set them on the skillet to cook. And, in less then 15 minutes they were perfectly done.


As the burgers cooked we took the final step of mixing up the salad dressing, burger sauce, and chopping the burger toppings. By this time our mouths were watering. The colors that were facing us from the bowls and plates and the aroma that was filling the air made it almost too hard to take the time to set the table and sit down to eat. But we did, and then we dove in and enjoyed every bite.

Mexican Salad
Recipe adapted from thecafesucrefarine.com, Mexican Chopped Salad

 Ingredients
  • Dressing:
    • 1/4 cup lime juice
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
    • 2 Tbsp canola oil
    • 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
    • ground pepper to taste
  • Chips:
    • 8 6-inch tortillas (we used 4 corn and 4 whole wheat)
    • 1.5 Tbsp oil
    • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Salad:
    • 1 cup spinach leaves, shredded
    • 1 medium bell pepper, diced small
    • 1 medium jicama, peeled and diced small
    • 1/2 medium red onion, diced small
    • 1 small zucchini, diced small
    • 4 medium tomatos, seeded and diced small
    • 4 ears corn
    • 1-15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Directions
  1. Dressing:
    1. Combine the lime juice, honey, cumin, and garlic salt.
    2. Stir to combine.
    3. Slowly add the oils, stirring continuously with a fork or small whisk.
    4. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
  2. Tortilla Chips:
    1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
    2. Stack the tortillas on a cutting board.
    3. Cut in half.
    4. Cut each stack of halves into thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.
    5. Transfer tortilla strips to a baking sheet.
    6. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.
    7. Bake for about 15 minutes, shaking every 5 minutes, or until tortillas are golden brown and crisp.
    8. When crisp, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
  3. Salad:
    1. Shuck corn and place corn in a large pot of water over medium high heat.
    2. Bring water to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
    3. When corn is cooked remove from water to cool.
    4. When corn is cooled, cut the kernels from the husks and place into a large bowl.
    5. Add all the other salad ingredients with the corn kernels in the large bowl .
    6. Stir to combine thoroughly.
    7. Serve in salad bowls and add salad dressing and tortilla strips as desired.


Turkey Burgers
Recipe adapted from recipes.runnersworld.com, Red Pepper And Feta Turkey Burger

 Ingredients
  • Burgers:
    • 1 lb ground turkey
    • 4 oz feta cheese
    • 4 oz roasted red peppers, chopped small
    • 1 egg
    • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • Toppings:
    • 1/4 cup fat-free plain greek yogurt
    • 1 tsp lemon juice
    • 1/2 cucumber, sliced thin
Directions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine the burger ingredients.
  2. Separate mixture into quarters and shape into 4 patties.
  3. Warm a skillet over medium heat, coated in cooking spray.
  4. Place the four pat tie in the pan, cover and cook for 7 minutes.
  5. Uncover, flip and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through.
  6. While cooking, combine lemon juice with yogurt in a small bowl.
  7. When burgers are done serve with yogurt sauce, cucumbers and any other toppings you desire (suggestions: buns, spinach, barbecue sauce or ketchup).
avocado burger cheese
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The Pursuit Of Happiness - Entry #146

November 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving of course, or should I say Thanksgivikah! We cooked all day and ate all night and it was delicious, like I can't even explain. I love seeing family and getting to hang out, talk, and catch up, so that was of course the best part of the day. And, lounging around beforehand and cooking with Brenden was a fun way to pass the time before my cousins and uncle arrived for dinner.
Found on lovethispic.com
We had an amazing meal of (the traditional) turkey, which my dad made for the first time in like 10 years. My cousin is a terrific chef so he usually takes on that task. But, to my great surprise the turkey was amazing. I even at more then my typical two small pieces - yum yum. Brenden and I made spaghetti squash latkes (see recipe below) to incorporate Hanukkah, and my cousins made a swiss chard veggie dish, cranberry sauce and stuffing. My uncle was in charge of his famous mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. OMG I am reliving dinner and it is just so good, my stomach hurts (I had about five servings too many).

After dinner we lit the menorah for day 2 of Hanukkah and then dove right into dessert. We had a pumpkin pie (of course) with homemade whipped cream (which I helped to whip, thanks MasterChef Junior [and my cousin] for showing me how) and a delicious tart, again made by my cousin, and some very sweet chocolate covered peanut butter balls that Brenden and I had made together earlier. Yummm, are you full yet? I still am! Have I said yum enough?

It was a great night that went more then well. I can't wait until next year, or at least the next family gathering. I already have my desert planned for that (with tips on making it from my cousin).

Spaghetti Squash Latkes
Recipe adapted from runningtothekitchen.com, Spicy Spaghetti Squash Latkes
(sorry there is no picture, they were gone before I could get a picture, just trust me that like everything else, they are, umm, delish!)

 Ingredients

  • 3 cups spaghetti squash, baked
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 Tbsp flour
  • Parsly, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and pepper to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil (enough to fill sauté pan about a half inch deep for frying)
Directions

  1. Saute onions until tender, about five minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine spaghetti squash, eggs, flour, seasoning, and cooked onion.
  3. Heat oil in a sauté pan.
  4. Once heated, form spaghetti squash mixture into small "pancake/patty" shape (similar to a mini hamburger). Make sure to squeeze out excess liquid while forming and squeezing.
  5. Put "pancakes" into hot oil cook on each side about five minutes or until golden brown. (Make sure the heat is not too high because you want it to cook all the way through rather then browning on the outside and staying cool on the inside).
  6. Repeat steps 4 -6 until all your spaghetti squash mixture has been formed and cooked.
  7. Let the cooked latkes cool on a paper bag or paper bowl to help sock up excess oil.
  8. Once cool, plate and enjoy (Tip: like potato latkes, applesauce is a great compliment to these).
appetizing Chanukah dinner
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Staircase to Politics

A few weeks ago, a simple work of street art intended to bring color, life, and smiles to the streets of Turkey quickly became a country-wide political statement. On August 26, with the help of his son-in-law, 64-year old Huseyin Cetinel painted 145 stairs connecting the Findikli district to Cihangir the color of the rainbow. His intention: "to make people smile." But his work went way beyond a smile. He was famous for his painting - it became the backdrop of many photographs: professional, snapshots, tourist. He was also an unintentional activist and hero for the LGBT community. All of the hubbub caught government officials ears and they were fast to act, converting the rainbow stairs back to the original dreary grey color a mere four days later. But, this only spurred the fire. Activists rallied against the government effort, painting many of the other staircases throughout Turkey in bright and multicolored patterns. The government did eventually repaint the original rainbow staircase to represents Cetinel's original efforts. This indecisive back and forth really brings to question what is actually political, what are true public rights, and what is being done just as an effort to increase all around happiness?

Centinel with his master piece
A government cover-up...
activism art design
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