Fried Rice with Spring Veg

Tonight I really had a taste for a spring-inspired meal filled with sweet, crunchy vegetables...but I also didn't want to spend all night in the kitchen. This quick fried rice really fit the bill! The brown rice and bits of egg ensure that it is filling, and the vegetables make it tasty and interesting. Keep some cooked brown rice on hand, and you can whip this up in no time.

Fried Rice with Spring Veg
(serves 2)

1 T Olive Oil or Canola Oil
2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice
2 or 3 Eggs
1 Cup Chopped Snap Peas
5 Medium Radishes, Sliced
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. Sweet and Spicy Curry Powder
1 T Light Soy Sauce
Sesame Seeds
Sesame Oil
2 to 4 Lime Wedges

Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Quickly scramble the eggs with a fork, and add them to the pan, swirling to ensure they cover the bottom of the pan. Cook the eggs into a sort of flat omelette, lifting the edges as they cook to let the uncooked egg run underneath. Remove the egg from the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan, also over medium heat. Add the rice to the pan and allow it to warm for several minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the snap peas, curry powder, and soy sauce, then let cook for about five minutes. Meanwhile, slice the egg lengthwise and across to form small squares of whatever size you wish. Then, add the radishes to the pan and let cook for about 2 minutes before finally stirring in the egg. Warm the egg for about a minute or less.

Separate into two bowls, and garnish each with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, a generous drizzle of sesame oil, and a lime wedge or two. Remember to use the lime when you eat this dish - It makes all the difference!

Simple Lemon Vinaigrette

I first made this vinaigrette out of necessity. Faced with a beautiful, but bare, freshly prepared salad and a refrigerator conspicuously devoid of the proper dressing, what else could I do? Fortunately, I always keep a lemon or two on hand. I whipped up this quick dressing and, since then, I make my own vinaigrette just as often as I buy it. This is the perfect dressing for the fresh baby lettuces, sprouts, and micro-greens that are showing up at the spring farmers' markets right about now. Using a good, green salad-grade olive oil makes all the difference.

Simple Lemon Vinaigrette

1/2 Lemon
1 tsp Honey
2-3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium-sized bowl. Add the honey, salt, and pepper to taste. Slowly stream in the olive oil, while whisking the mixture until combined. Taste and adjust as necessary.

To serve, add fresh salad greens to the bowl and toss.

Profile: Craft Beer

I’ve written quite a bit about wine in GarlicPepperParsley, attempting to simplify it and make it more accessible, in part by identifying some good under-$20 bottles. Today I’d like to discuss another beverage that has been overshadowed by the wine discussion, but is close to my heart nonetheless. Kevin and I were introduced to craft beer several years ago by friends of ours, and have never looked back! Frankly, it would be a shame for anyone who really appreciates flavor to be drinking only mass-produced light beer (think Bud Light), something akin to drinking Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio as a sole wine choice. Yet, with craft beer sales comprising less than 5% of the U.S. market volume, it’s likely that many people are doing just that! The craft beer industry was born in the mid- to late-1970s in the U.S. as a backlash against the rapid disappearance of old-world beer traditions and styles from the country, as well as in an attempt to allow smaller brewers to differentiate themselves from the “big guys”. Craft beer is beer made in comparatively small quantities by a particular brewer, often in a microbrewery, brewpub, or even at home. The brewer uses variations of the main ingredients of grain (malt), hops, yeast, and water to create interesting beer with the particular color, flavor, and consistency that he or she desires. In this way, craft beer is a lot like wine. Though each beer starts with the same basic ingredients, the way in which they are processed and combined can make the greatest difference in the final product. Just as a winemaker chooses a particular type of grape, whether or not to include the skin, and which type of oak to use (if any), so the brewer makes decisions regarding the type or processing of the grain, the amount of hops, and the variety of yeast that goes into the beer. The results can vary as much as the difference between the lightest Sauvignon Blanc and the biggest Petite Syrah, or the sweetest Riesling and the driest Bordeaux. While a German-style Hefeweizen will generally be pale in color with a fruity and spicy flavor often characterized as banana- and clove-like, an Extra Special Bitter will be amber or copper-colored with medium to medium-high bitterness as the predominant taste. Thus, beers can range from the palest gold to the darkest chocolate in color, and can incorporate as wide a range of flavors and aromas. Flavors can include chocolate, caramel, coffee, smoke, cinnamon, clove, bubblegum, banana, apple, or even kiwi, just to name a few. Styles are just as varied and include Porter, Stout, Brown Ale, Pilsner, Blonde Ale, and the ever-popular India Pale Ale, among many, many others. Lucky for us, the craft beer industry continues to grow, meaning that every year brings even more great brews to sample. With the myriad options now available, I'd encourage you to find a beer shop or brewpub and try a few, both craft brew and imported, if you haven't. It will change the way you think of beer!

Some breweries to consider (products from these breweries are generally more widely available):
Anchor Brewing Company http://www.anchorbrewing.com/
Dogfish Head Brewery http://www.dogfish.com/
Rogue Brewery http://www.rogue.com/
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company http://www.sierranevada.com/

Excursion: Enoteca Roma

A recent trip to Chicago found us enjoying a late night snack at the comfortable and cozy Enoteca Roma, a restaurant and wine bar on W. Division Street. Apparently modeled after similar establishments in proprietor Letizia Sorano's hometown of Rome, Italy, Enoteca Roma was the perfect place to relax and recharge after a long drive to the city. We ordered a couple of flights of Italian or (Italian-like) reds, which were much appreciated, but the real star of the evening was the Bruschetta. Simple, yes, but truly fantastic. Always tantalized by variety, I loved that ordering Bruschetta at Enoteca Roma involves choosing four different varieties. Even more, I loved that, with over ten regionally inspired varieties to choose from, it was still hard to decide! We ordered Calabria (goat cheese, roasted red peppers), Vinnie (carmelized onion, Gorgonzola cheese), Piedmonte (brie, green apples, honey), and Roma (tomato, garlic, basil). The mouthwatering spread arrived on a large cutting board, looking absolutely irresistable, and the crunchy rustic italian bread was the perfect platter for four harmonious sweet and savory toppings. At this point, I have to admit that the Piedmonte's reputation preceded it, and it did not disappoint. But the big surprise was definitely the Roma, clearly the best of the bunch, in my opinion. The blend of just the three simple, fresh ingredients of sweet tomato, tangy garlic, and bright basil was just perfect! If you are in the neighborhood, Enoteca Roma is definitely worth a stop.

Sweet Potato Fries

I have to admit that at first I thought sweet potato fries might be too basic to warrant a post of their own. But, after finding out last week that several of my acquaintances had never even thought of making the simple sweet and savory fries from scratch, I quickly reconsidered. These are the perfect thing to dip in your Chipotle & Date Chutney! And, since my version is actually made in the oven, they're slightly healthier than your standard freezer section variety. One large sweet potato makes a substantial side dish for two.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 Large Sweet Potato

1 T Vegetable Oil

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, peel the sweet potato and slice off the sides and ends to form a square (you do not have to cut off these curved parts, or peel the potato for that matter, but remember that the more evenly sized your fries are, the less likely they are to burn). Cut the squared-off potato lengthwise to form sticks as long as the potato and about 1/2 inch square in thickness. Put the oil in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl and add the potato, tossing to coat each stick with the oil. By this time, the oven should be up to temperature. Place an empty baking sheet in the oven and allow it to heat for about 15 minutes, while the potatoes absorb the oil. After 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven (don't forget to use oven mitts!), and place the potatoes on the sheet in one layer. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place the baking sheet in the oven for about 20 minutes, then flip the potatoes with a spatula and bake for another 20 minutes. Make sure you watch them while they are baking because the high sugar content can make them prone to burn! The fries are done when they are crisp, separate from the pan easily, and are beginning to look like they are edged with brown sugar.