Recipe: Thai-Style Steak with Thai Fried Quinoa

During the pasta and grains unit in my Foods 1 class last fall, we discussed a popular alternative to rice and couscous called quinoa. Nutty, grain-like, and celebrated as a healthier alternative to other grain side dishes, quinoa has recently become pretty popular in the food world and I've been dying to try it out. I searched high and low for the perfect recipe and found this fantastic one from Iowa Girl Eats. I picked up strip steaks and created a Thai-inspired marinade, and that this unique, grain-like side dish. Eating the quinoa was a lot like eating fried rice—it's nutty, chewy-crunchy, and fluffy—and it turned out just as well as I'd hoped it would.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 15 minutes (marinate the steaks for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours)
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes for the quinoa, 5-10 minutes for the complete quinoa mixture, 5-10 minutes for the steak. Approx. 30-40 minutes total.
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
For the marinade

• 4 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2-1 tsp. chili garlic sauce (add more if you want it spicy)
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cilantro, chopped
• 4 strip steaks

For the quinoa

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained (the brand I used was pre-rinsed)
• 1 cup light/lite coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp. lime zest
• Peanut oil (enough to lightly coat the bottom of a large pan)
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced or grated/"zested"
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1, 8 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. sweetened, shredded coconut, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup peanuts, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• Juice of 1 lime (approx. 1-2 tbsp.)
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients for the steak marinade, then pour the mixture into a gallon size Ziploc bag, add the steaks, and mush the marinade around to coat the steaks. Put the steaks in the fridge to marinate. The longer you let the steaks marinate, the better the flavor (I put my steaks in the marinade at 11:00am and we grilled them up around 7:45pm). 

In a medium pot (approx. 2 quarts), add the quinoa, lime zest, coconut milk, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil (without a lid), then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender (a little crispiness is okay) and has soaked up all of the fluid. Once the quinoa is cooked, turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, while you work on everything else. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, then put the steaks on and cook until they reach your desired doneness (about 5-10 minutes for medium). In the meantime, heat the peanut oil over medium high heat in a large, deep skillet or wok. Add the green onion, ginger, and garlic and cook for about a minute, until fragrant, making sure to stir frequently to prevent the garlic from burning. Add the peas and pineapple and cook for another minute, stirring occasionally. Push the mixture out to the edges of the skillet, scramble the eggs in a small bowl, and add the eggs to the middle of the skillet. Whisk them around as they cook, and once cooked through, break up the eggs and mix them into the rest of the ingredients. Add the chopped peanuts, coconut, and cilantro and stir to combine. Pour in the cooked quinoa, soy sauce, and lime juice and stir to combine. Serve the finished quinoa alongside the steaks. Add additional cilantro and peanuts as desired.

This dish is such a flavor explosion! The marinade for the steak is meaty, savory, salty, and slightly spicy. Oyster sauce is amazing and it has this savory quality that makes it perfect for many Asian dishes, particularly when used with beef. The quinoa mixture, with its sweet pineapple and coconut, salty peanuts, fresh cilantro, and sweet-spicy ginger is delicious. It's like eating Thai fried rice, but it's fluffier, lighter, and nuttier. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary for dinner (well, it was out of the ordinary for an Italian food-loving girl like me), try this out! The unique flavor combinations and the texture and taste of the quinoa make this a winning dish.

Recipe: Italian Burgers (Sun-dried Tomato Burgers with Basil Pesto, Mozzarella, and Basil)

I've been on this sun-dried tomato kick since this weekend—I whipped up some of my sun-dried tomato pesto on Saturday night and since then, I've put it in pasta, spread it on bread, and even stolen a few spoonfuls straight from the pot. When I finished that up, I went on a search for recipes with sun-dried tomatoes and came across this gem, switched a few things up, and went for it. So, tonight's dinner: Italian-style burgers made with ground beef, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic served on ciabatta bread with freshly made basil pesto, creamy mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil leaves. This is a delicious Italian twist on a traditional burger—perfect for dinner out on the back porch on a warm summer evening. 

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Grill

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup white onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 oz. (approx. 1/3 cup) sun-dried tomatoes, drained and diced (I use Alessi brand)
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
• 1 lb. 90% or 93% lean ground beef
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 4-6 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
• 4-6 ciabatta rolls/buns (I ended up buying small ciabatta bread loaves and cutting them in half), sliced in half
• 4-6 basil leaves
• Approx 3 tbsp. basil pesto (see recipe here)

Directions

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. In a medium bowl, combine the onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Pecorino-Romano cheese, salt, and pepper (to get a finer mix, put all of these ingredients in a food processor and pulse to blend, then add to the bowl). Add the beef and gently mix everything until combined (do not overwork the meat though!). Form into 4-6 (we ended up with 5) hamburger patties and make a small indentation (use your thumb) in the center of each one (this help prevents the burger from becoming domed in the center while it cooks). Cook on the grill until cooked to desired doneness (about 3-4 minutes per side to get medium doneness). During the last minute of cooking, place the ciabatta slices, inside down, on the grill and lightly toast them (this prevents the bread from soaking up burger juices—do this, and you'll never have mushy, wet burger bottoms again!). Remove the burgers and buns from the grill. Spread a little basil pesto on the bottoms of each bun, then place the beef patties on, topped with a slice of mozzarella, a basil leave, and the top of the bun. Serve will fries, chips, a salad, or whatever floats your boat, and enjoy!

Burgers, sizzling away on the grill. Gotta love those bright red chunks of sun-dried tomatoes!

These burgers are bursting with flavor—they are definitely near the top of my list of best meals I've made and  this recipe is most certainly going in my "Keep" pile. Sun-dried tomatoes are sweet, tangy, and rich, and they add a pop of flavor to the meat. The pesto is garlicky, spicy, and fresh and, like the sun-dried tomatoes in the patty, it packs a punch that really heightens the overall flavor of the burger. Soft, creamy mozzarella and fresh basil leaves add lightness and freshness to the burger. All of that on a slightly chewy, slightly crunchy ciabatta roll and you've got yourself one hell of a burger, Italian-style.

Recipe: Basil Pesto

Basil pesto...you see it in little glass jars at the grocery store, swirled into pasta at restaurants, and spread on sandwiches at lunch joints. It's a very simple mixture that can be whipped up in minutes using a food processor. It's so easy, in fact, you really should just make it yourself! Raw garlic, which has a spicy quality, and toasted pine nuts add a punch of flavor to the mix of fresh basil and parsley, while the olive oil and cheese help pull the mixture together into a delicious sauce and spread. Perfect in pasta, blended into butter or mayonnaise as a spread, spread on bread or a sandwich, or added to grilled chicken or fish—basil pesto is something everyone should know how to make.

Yields: Approx. 1/2 cup
Prep. time: 5 minutes
Assembly time (no cooking required): 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Food processor

Ingredients

• Approx. 2-4 oz. fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (toast in oven for 2 minutes at 350*F)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and/or Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Add all of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse to thoroughly blend. Use the mixture as a sauce or spread. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

This sauce is packed with flavor: "spicy" garlic, fresh basil and parsley, nutty and salty Italian cheeses, and toasted pine nuts all create a strong flavor that works well in all sorts of dishes. 

Reading, Writing, and Ravioli, One Year Later

So, as of today, Reading, Writing, and Ravioli has been up and running for one year now, and I am so excited to see where I can take it in the future. Since starting the blog, I've uploaded 110 posts, including 89 recipes and four culinary tips/how-to's/advice posts, plus a handful of life updates. During this past year, I've taken three culinary arts classes, worked to improve my food photography, utilized new kitchen equipment, and shown my readers just how much I love pasta. When I started out, I just wanted a place to share my recipes, whether adapted from other recipes or created from scratch in my very own kitchen. I wanted to explore my budding passion for food and cooking, and consider where this passion, along with my love for reading and writing, could take me. While I wish I had put more time and effort into this project, I'm happy with where I've gotten so far and I really look forward to continuing the blog and seeing where I can go with it. I want to cook more and post more. I want to share more advice from the kitchen, work with new foods, and open up more about my life outside of the kitchen. I want to tote my camera along to the farmer's market, restaurants, and the grocery store and be that food geek who takes pictures of the food around me. I want to follow more food blogs, read more food magazines, and cook with more people. I'm not sure I'll ever become a scheduled blogger—I don't think I can commit to a specified number of posts per week or themed posts during certain days of the week (my contingent work schedule at Macy's still throws me off during the week, and I spend a lot of time now on my job search)—but I can promise to continue to post new recipes as I try them out and post more about food in general (posts about trips to the farmer's market, dinners out at great restaurants, and other food-related experiences).

For those of you following along, I really appreciate it and I really hope you keep checking back. For those of you who just happened to pop in for a visit, please stick around! I should be posting some new recipes this week—my brother just gave my dad three new grilling cookbooks and we're eager to try them out. I'm also hoping to make it out to the farmer's market soon (we checked it out on opening weekend, but haven't been back since—such a bummer!), and I'd love to share pictures from that adventure.

So, cheers to one year! I don't have any new recipes to share now, but I'll leave y'all with a photo from my recent vacation and urge you all to check back later for new posts and updates.

Steak Salad with White Cheddar-and-Jalapeno Grits from Pig + Fish in Rehoboth Beach, DE

Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Pasta with a Lemon Butter Sauce

First things first: If you don't like lemons, you will not like this dish, so turn away now. Now, for those of you still with me, I'll tell you why you will like it: it's creamy, buttery, and oh-so-lemony. Rich, roasted vegetables and pasta come together in a bright, summery sauce that's perfect for you lemon-lovers. Toss in some chicken or shrimp for protein or add a side salad with a lemony vinaigrette to add a little oomph to this dish.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 8 oz. pasta of your choice (farfalle, penne, or medium shells would be a good choice—I used farfalle)
• 2-3 cups cauliflower florets
• 2-3 cups broccoli florets
• Approx. 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the broccoli and cauliflower)
• Zest and juice from 1 lemon
• Approx. 1/2 stick butter
• 2 tbsp. chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. garlic powder, or more to taste
• 1 tsp. thyme, or more to taste
• 1 tsp. white pepper, or more to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spread the cauliflower and broccoli florets on an ungreased baking sheet, toss with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook according to package instructions (about 8-11 minutes). While the pasta is cooking and the veggies are roasting, heat the butter and garlic in a small pot over medium heat. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, chicken broth, and seasonings to the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly add the heavy cream, whisking it in. Add more heavy cream, butter, or seasonings as desired and reduce to a simmer. If you'd like to thicken the sauce, add a mixture of 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1/4 cup water to it. The sauce, as is, will taste very lemony, but once it's tossed with the pasta and veggies, it will get toned down. When the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot. Add the roasted veggies and toss with the lemon butter sauce. Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano cheese as desired.

This dish is very light, with a clean, bright flavor that's perfect combined with the rich taste of the roasted broccoli and cauliflower. This is the sort of meal that you should enjoy while sitting out on the porch on a warm summer evening.