Two more culinary successes! With promise for another!
I've been very pleased with myself the last 24 hours, kitchen-wise. Incredibly delicious (AND SUPER HOT MAGENTA PINK!) summer borscht as part of dinner last night and an inspirational open-faced sandwich for lunch today. And they're both super easy!
On top of that, I faced the ridiculous challenge of my culinary nemesis again tonight: Chicken and Mushrooms. And it was good! I'm not ready to post that recipe yet...it needs some tweaking, but getting it to edible was a feat. Isn't it dumb how the simplest, most basic parts of a cooking repetoire are almost impossible?
SUMMER BORSCHT
1 pound of red beets (not as scary as it sounds -- it's 2-4 beets, depending on size)
1 cup sour cream (lowfat or regular, doesn't matter)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (lowfat or regular)
1 cup chicken broth (veggie broth OK if vegetarian)
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar (though I think sherry vinegar would be good too...I'd probably use a bit less, though)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 cup sugar
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
Remove tops from beets if greens are still attached. Boil beets in salted water for 40 minutes. Remove beets from water and RESERVE THE COOKING WATER (important!). Let both beets and cooking water cool (only takes about 10-15 minutes).
Once cool, put 3/4 cup of the cooking water into a large bowl. Add the sour cream, yogurt, chicken broth, vinegar, lemon juice and sugar and whisk until combined.
Peel beets using the back of a paring knife (easy, but a bit messy -- I do this on top of a double layer of paper towels and newspaper so my cutting board doesn't get dyed pink). Cut beets into small dice and add to bowl. Spook your spouse by running up to him/her with bright pink hands and yelling "BOOGA BOOGA!"
Add cucumber, scallions and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then chill for at least three hours (overnight is even better).
Stir and taste for seasoning before serving cold with a dollop of sour cream and/or yogurt and garnishing with a bit of fresh dill on top. IT'S SO FREAKIN' PINK!!!
DELICIOUS OPEN-FACED SANDWICH
1 slice really good bread (I used sourdough rye)
1-2 tsp. sweet chili sauce (use as much or as little as you like)
1-2 slices good ham
An ounce of so of pungent cheese (I used Brigid's Abbey, but that will be hard to come by if you're not in the Northeast, so I think gruyere or similar might work)
A few basil leaves
Toast yer bread. Spread the chili sauce on it, then put on the ham and top with cheese. Put it back in the broiler for a minute or two to make the cheese melty. Top with basil leaves. YUMMY!!
On top of that, I faced the ridiculous challenge of my culinary nemesis again tonight: Chicken and Mushrooms. And it was good! I'm not ready to post that recipe yet...it needs some tweaking, but getting it to edible was a feat. Isn't it dumb how the simplest, most basic parts of a cooking repetoire are almost impossible?
SUMMER BORSCHT
1 pound of red beets (not as scary as it sounds -- it's 2-4 beets, depending on size)
1 cup sour cream (lowfat or regular, doesn't matter)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (lowfat or regular)
1 cup chicken broth (veggie broth OK if vegetarian)
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar (though I think sherry vinegar would be good too...I'd probably use a bit less, though)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 cup sugar
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
Remove tops from beets if greens are still attached. Boil beets in salted water for 40 minutes. Remove beets from water and RESERVE THE COOKING WATER (important!). Let both beets and cooking water cool (only takes about 10-15 minutes).
Once cool, put 3/4 cup of the cooking water into a large bowl. Add the sour cream, yogurt, chicken broth, vinegar, lemon juice and sugar and whisk until combined.
Peel beets using the back of a paring knife (easy, but a bit messy -- I do this on top of a double layer of paper towels and newspaper so my cutting board doesn't get dyed pink). Cut beets into small dice and add to bowl. Spook your spouse by running up to him/her with bright pink hands and yelling "BOOGA BOOGA!"
Add cucumber, scallions and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then chill for at least three hours (overnight is even better).
Stir and taste for seasoning before serving cold with a dollop of sour cream and/or yogurt and garnishing with a bit of fresh dill on top. IT'S SO FREAKIN' PINK!!!
DELICIOUS OPEN-FACED SANDWICH
1 slice really good bread (I used sourdough rye)
1-2 tsp. sweet chili sauce (use as much or as little as you like)
1-2 slices good ham
An ounce of so of pungent cheese (I used Brigid's Abbey, but that will be hard to come by if you're not in the Northeast, so I think gruyere or similar might work)
A few basil leaves
Toast yer bread. Spread the chili sauce on it, then put on the ham and top with cheese. Put it back in the broiler for a minute or two to make the cheese melty. Top with basil leaves. YUMMY!!