Savory Dill Waffles with Smoked Salmon, Capers and Red Onion

The truly notable thing about breakfast, aside from its monopoly over the most important meal of the day, is the fact that it's the only meal for which it is 100% acceptable to eat dessert. Yes, we've all seen it done, donuts, chocolate croissants, chocolate chip pancakes,  the glorified, bald cupcakes we know as muffins.  The list of confectionary breakfast items is a long one, and makes me doubt how seriously breakfast is taking its role as the "most important meal of the day".

I've come to notice that there are two types of people in this world. When given a choice between savory or sweet breakfasty goodness a certain type, we'll call them Type A will select the sweet item, french toast, maybe with a side of maple sausage.  The second type, Type B, will select the savory item, eggs benedict, the fritatta, occasionally sharing an A food for dessert (silver dollar pancakes with melted butter, drizzled with warm maple syrup perhaps). I fall into the latter category. And in case you were wondering, I have been known to split a side of pancakes for breakfast-dessert.

Being the breakfast Type B, and a smoked salmon enthusiast, I was particularly intrigued when a friend ordered savory dill waffles at Morning Glory, a diner-esque breakfast joint in the Bella Vista neighborhood of Philly.  They served the standard waffles, with a not-so appetizing glob of cream cheese, smoked salmon and a few capers. While the concept was there, the execution was a bit disastrous and it all looked a bit sad on the plate. You couldn't spread the cold cream cheese on a warm waffle for one, and I find that smoked salmon could really use some red-onion. When my mom took on the challenge of recreating the dish, she, true to form, fixed both of these problems, not only by adding diced red onion in the waffle batter, but also by garnishing the waffles with some paper thin slices. Cream cheese dilemma solved by substituting creme fraise. Nothing ever got worse once creme fraise was involved.

She took a few  liberties with the original recipe, and the predecessors couldn't hold a candle to these rich, delicate, savory waffles. Substituting buttermilk and melted butter into the Trader Joe's batter, a touch of red onion, fresh dill and dijon mustard, these were decadent and packed with flavor. I should also add that she used the waffle maker my sister and I gave her for Christmas when we were in high school. Just a little guy from William Sonoma which makes three petite waffles at a time, and I've always preferred the waffles from her iron, about the size of a super fluffed up silver-dollar pancake.

Ingredients
Serves 6

3 1/2 Cups Trader Joes Waffle Mix
2 Cups buttermilk in substitute for water
1/2 Cup melted butter in substitute for oil
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 Cup fresh dill weed, finely chopped
1 Medium red onion (2 Tbs finely diced will go into the batter)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Capers to taste
Creme Fraise to dollop ontop

Preparation

Heat up the waffle iron, so it's nice and hot when the batter is ready. Combine Trader Joe's waffle mix with buttermilk and melted butter. Incorporate finely diced red onion, mustard, fresh dill and pepper into batter and pour into waffle maker.

Garnish waffles with a dollop of Creme Fraise, a sprinkle of fresh dill, smoked salmon, capers, and paper thin rings of red onion. Enjoy!

Bourbon Chicken atop Zucchini Scallion Pancakes

Reliable Mart proved not so reliable when I swung by thursday, early evening-ish to pick up the ingredients for a bourbon chicken recipe I'd been dying to make all week. To my disappointment the market was closed and I would have to wait yet another day to prepare my bourbon marinade. Reliable Mart, my local Asian grocery store,  is Korean run and features, in addition to all the usual, multi-functional Asian food staples, a huge case stocked with various varieties of Kimchi, a spicy pickled cabbage of Korean origin, and a colorful selection of pre-cut sushi grade fish, in addition to an assortment of dried seaweeds, vegetables, fruits, ornate dishes, and a variety of cooking implements.

Reliable Mart is a far cry from the Vietnamese grocers to which I had become accustomed to in Philadelphia. Though featuring many of the same core ingredients, Reliable Mart in Somerville, with its comparatively inflated prices, feels more like the kind of place from which I would buy Sushi grade fish and feel okay about eating it. This is not to disrespect the frequented Asia Supermarket on Washington Ave., but if they were to sell Sushi Grade fish, I would probably have to pass. And for those Philadelphians reading this, there are many, many more Asian grocers ranging from Korean, to Thai to Chinese, throughout the city, I just happened to frequent the Vietnamese Asia Supermarket because it was down the street from me.

The good news is that despite intricate regional differences in cuisine, many Asian supermarkets will be well stocked with overlapping essential items used across Asian cultures. If you don't have a local Asian grocery store, you may also check out the international foods isle at your local grocery store, though I'll be the first to admit this is not nearly as exciting and the selection not as broad.

If your kitchen is not already stocked with Asian staples (from soy sauce, to fish sauce to Thai chili powder, etc) it may feel like you are spending an arm and a leg to prepare one dish. However, these ingredients will go a long way and you can use them in a variety of difference dishes, even in those not of Asian origin. They are a worthwhile investment for the home cook, especially if you enjoy experimenting with ethnic cuisine and fusion creations.

Bourbon chicken is a prime example of fusion cooking. This dish is a tapestry of Southeast Asian  and Southern US flavors, woven together with a common thread: the incorporation of spicy, savory and sweet into a single bite. From spicy Southern style BBQ to a Thai chicken and chili stir-fry, the underlying flavors are very similar. If you're interested in fusion cooking, I recommend the website Linda's Yummies. It's a beautiful site, full of colorful pictures and great recipes, and it was the source of inspiration for the bourbon chicken featured here.

The recipe...

Bourbon Chicken
Yields 6 Servings

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken tenders

For Marinade
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp thai chili powder or ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup bourbon ( I used Makers Mark)


Preparation
In  a medium sized mixing bowl grate garlic and ginger, and add minced shallot. Measure soy sauce, bourbon, honey, sugar and mix well with the grated ingredients, until the honey and sugar have emulsified with the soy and bourbon. Add Thai chili powder, coriander, and lemon juice, combining thoroughly into the marinade.

Rinse the chicken tenders under cool tap water and pat dry with paper towels before placing in the marinade. Make sure all of the chicken is immersed in the marinade before covering with plastic wrap and setting inside the fridge. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 3 hours. Marinating the chicken overnight is ideal, and will allow the chicken to fully absorb the flavors in the marinade.

Cooking 
Ideally I recommend grilling this chicken on low heat. If you don't have a grill, use a non stick pan, or a pan lightly coated with a thin layer of vegetable or canola oil over medium heat. Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes on either side, place in on a dish and cover with foil or a plate to keep warm.

Pour the marinade into the pan and reduce the heat to low-medium for about ten minutes. Heating the marinade thickens it, and kills the residual germs from the raw chicken. Use marinade as a dipping sauce for chicken and zucchini scallion pancakes.

Zucchini Pancakes
Yields 12 Pancakes

Ingredients
2 cups fresh zucchini, coarsely grated
2 tsps ground coriander
1 cup finely sliced scallion (green onion)
2 shallots, minced
1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Prepare zucchini by peeling and grating flesh using a box grater. Set grated zucchini on a clean towel and squeeze out excess moisture. In  large bowl combine zucchini and other ingredients and mix by hand, with a whisk, or if you must, an electric mixer.

Coat  frying pan with vegetable oil cooking spray, or a very thin layer of vegetable oil and bring to to low-medium heat. Spoon golf ball sized dollops of zucchini mixture onto the pan, flattening to desired thickness with the spatula. Cook for 3-5 minutes on either side, until the pancakes are golden brown, and fully cooked through the center.

Serve chicken atop golden zucchini pancakes, topped of with fresh scallions, cilantro and a drizzle of bourbon sauce.

Beet and Blue Cheese Salad

So you might be thinking, oh no, another salad post, boring. But I promise you that boring this salad is not. Last night when I laid it out on the table aside pesto rubbed grilled chicken and shrimp scampi it more than held its own. In fact, one might even say it turned out to be the star of the evening. The beets are hearty and sweet, robust in color and flavor. Their sweetness is cut by the zesty vinaigrette and powerfully savory blue cheese  which when tossed with the salad melted, creating  a creamy blue cheese glaze for the toothsome beets. I added julienned red bell peppers along with thinly sliced white onion for some added depth.

Beets are wonderful, packed with nutrients they are a root you can really sink your teeth into when prepared properly. You can find them in a variety of colors and sizes, I had some rather large beets on hand so I used three to make this salad which fed four people and yielded ample leftovers. If you are using smaller beets I would suggest 5 or 6 to yield 6 servings of the salad. Enjoy this salad as a side dish, or even as a meal. It's best served chilled and perfect for the sticky summer evenings to come. 

Beet and Blue Cheese Salad

6 servings

Ingredients

3 large beets

1/2 small white onion

1/2 red bell pepper

1/4 red wine vinegar 

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

2 tsps honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

6 ounce piece of blue cheese, crumbled

Preparation

Salad

Discard the stems of your beets and rinse the beets in water, scrubbing away dirt and debris. Place in a large pot of water and set to boil for 25-30 minutes, until tender. Strain beets in a colander, and rinse under cold water and once they have cooled enough peel using your fingers (a properly cooked beets skin will easily peel back from its flesh). Cut the peeled beets into bite sized chunks, about 1 square inch or smaller if you prefer. Place beets in a salad bowl. Then julienne the red pepper, and very finely slice your onion. Toss well into the beet mixture. 

Dressing

Measure out olive oil and vinegar into a small mixing bowl. Finely grate the clove of garlic, add honey a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper and stir vigorously with a whisk until the dressing has emulsified. 

Assemblage

Pour dressing over beet mixture and combine thoroughly as to coat all of the beets. Then crumble on the blue cheese and mix gently one more time. Garnish with your favorite green, add a grind of fresh pepper, and some extra blue cheese crumbles, and serve. 

Sweet and Sour Mango Salad with Shrimp

So, this is my first food related post in a very, very long time, and I am not even sure  where I want to begin because much has changed since that sweet potato fry post in December. What has changed? You may ask. Well, in early January I embarked on a seven week journey through South America with my friend Lesley. We started in Lima, Peru and packed in everything from Machu Picchu and the Peruvian Andes, all the way down to Patagonia, the Swiss inspired town of Bariloche, and pretty much everything in between. I would love to tell you all about it, but that would take several days, many pots of coffee, and an exceptionally long post. In the coming weeks expect to find anecdotes from my trip intermingled with my recipes. I love using the recipes as a front to tell a story and I will be posting a few of my favorite South American dishes from the trip (including, but not limited to, Argentine style flan and Peruvian cebiche.

Returning from the trip has come with its share of challenges and opportunities for growth and change. When I returned I decided to relocate to my hometown of Somerville, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. I have many fond feelings for the great city of Philadelphia, but trying somewhere new is an itch I've been trying to scratch for a while and upon my return it was apparent: now is the time.

As I undergo these transformations, it only seems natural for Tutifoodie to come along for the ride. What I mean is, I have some changes planned for Tutifoodie as well. When I started this blog, I didn't really have any idea what I was doing, I just found cooking and writing fun and cathartic after a long day in the office. As this blog has developed over the past year, I have become more accustomed to the blogging world, and opened my eyes to the opportunities for growth that await your average blogger. Many of these changes, personal and blog-related are in their infancy, but I will share accounts of their progress as they unfold in the weeks and months to come.

Until that time, I'd like to leave you with this recipe for Sweet and Sour Mango Salad with Shrimp. One of the perks of being back home is spending time with old friends. I've been lucky to spend time with my friend Giuliana, with whom I've been friends since fourth grade. It just so happens that Giuliana is also an avid cook, and lover of good food. Some of our best times together as little girls were spent experimenting in the kitchen. In fact, it was Giuliana who introduced me to my first non-stick pan, at age nine. I have never seen a child so excited about a new kitchen gadget in my life.

Last night we got together in her apartment in Boston and made a Thai inspired salad. This salad is incredibly simple to prepare, and has the perfect balance of sweet, tart and salty. The green onions provide a subtle flavor boost. The recipe called for sliced Thai chiles, which I omitted (G doesn't like spicy foods, I know!). But I think a little heat would provide a welcome dimension to the overall flavor of the dish. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

Yields four servings


2 mangos (firm, remove peels and shred, or julienne)
4 tbs thinly sliced scallions
1/3 c. fresh lime juice
1 tbs fish sauce (may be found at your local Asian grocer)
1 tbs sugar
1 lb shrimp
Sprigs of Thai basil or cilantro for garnish
4 cups mixed greens

Method
Marinade
In a small bowl combine the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and scallions. Add grated mango strips to the marinade, and set aside.

Shrimp
If you have a grill handy, I would recommend grilling the shrimp for 1-2 minutes on each side over medium heat. If you don't have a grill, you may do what we did here. Lightly oil a frying pan with vegetable oil, and cook shrimp for 1-2 minutes on each side over medium heat. Be sure to remove the shrimp from the pan as soon as they appear opaque. Seafood continues to cook on its own, once removed from heat, and timely removal from the heat with insure that the shrimp do not dry out or become rubbery.

Assembly
Plate 1/4 of the greens on a dinner plate, followed by a scoop of marinated mango. Arrange grilled shrimp (about 5 medium shrimp) atop of the mango and greens. Spoon on additional marinade for dressing as desired and garnish with Thai basil or fresh cilantro.