Thinking Inside The Box: PopOver-PopIns

Posted on October 27, 2012 by AnniesDishList

Popover-PopIns With Cheddar Cheese

For years I have been intrigued by the catch phrases and words that come in and out of vogue in business speak.

Failure to Vet

For a while, it was very important that we ‘vet’ everything. Like ‘do you think we’ve appropriately vetted that idea/brand/event?’ I blame the overuse of ‘vet’, ‘vetting’ and ‘vetted’ on John McCain’s team who apparently failed to properly ‘vet’ his running mate, Sarah Palin.

We used to ‘think’. Then we learned to ‘brainstorm’. After that we were encouraged to ‘ideate’.

We have ‘balls in the air’. We ‘dance on the head of a pin’.

We wanted to be members of functional teams. And, now we need to be members of high performing teams – this one we like to abbreviate to just HPT.

It was once considered exceptional to give the job/project 100%. Until someone asked for 110%. And now I think the going give rate is 1000% Wow! That’s a lot!

We also have been accused of not being able to ‘get out of our own way.’ At times we ‘can’t see the forest for the trees.’ We have to always be ‘innovative.’ There are all those people who are ‘penny wise and pound foolish.’ Etc.

Brilliance

But perhaps the most overused of all marketing catch phrases is ‘thinking out of the box’. It’s so very important that we think ‘out of the box.’ With its overuse, thinking out of the box has literally become inside of the box thinking.

In cooking, sometimes the best ideas are inside the box. Especially when the box is a light, eggy, airy popover and inside is a delicious secret of sharp cheddar cheese.

PopOver-PopIns (makes 12)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Mise En Place

1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter
Butter for greasing the pans
1 1/2 cups of flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups of milk at room temperature
1/4 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Mise En Place – Tres Important!

2. Mix all ingredients EXCEPT THE CHEESE in a bowl with a whisk. The mix will be thin.

Everybody in the bowl

Whisk it!

3. Butter two Williams-Sonoma non-stick Texas Tins and put into the heated oven for :02mins.

Buttered PopOver-PopIn Pans

4. Take the pans out of the oven and pour batter into each cup about 1/2 way up

Pour Into the Pans

5. Pop a pinch of the shredded cheddar cheese into the center of each cup

Place the Cheddar Cheese

6. Bake for :25-:27 mins – You’ll know they are ready when the edges are a rich golden brown. Because of the cheese well, they will pop over and pop in.

PopOver-PopIns Popped Out of the Oven

7. Pop them onto a plate….And put a perfect pat of butter into the steaming center

Pop Butter Into the PopOver-PopIns

One of the best things about the popover-popins is that they freeze beautifully. So, if you can’t eat all 12 at once, pop the leftovers into a freezer bag and into the freezer. When you’re ready to eat them, wrap them in tinfoil and pop into a 350 degree oven for :10 mins to heat through.

Thinking differently is key in many situations – creating newness and partnerships that are unexpected can catapult a brand into the forefront of the consumer’s mind. Just think about what the unexpected male spokesperson (Brad Pitt) has done for one of the world’s most iconic fragrances.

In popovers, though…with very few balls in the air and without dancing on the head of a pin – You can create a yummy goodness that’s all on the inside of the box. No need to vet that.

Hookers – Like People Who Catch Fish

Posted on October 24, 2012 by AnniesDishList

Tilapia in a Lemon, White Wine, Caper Sauce

Hook Yourself Up with A Grown Up Dinner for One

With Halloween rapidly approaching, I think back on all of the costumes I selected growing up. For the first 8 or so years, I was a witch – spare me the life-art comments. Then, when I was finally allowed to select my own costumes, I was a cat (hate cats, not sure why I did that), a hobo – cuz I was going to Halloween during the depression? A candy striper – always the do-gooder – smiley face.

Most of the time my parents were OK with whatever I chose to be. My mother even made the witch costume that I wore for the first 8 years – hold comments until the end. But in 7th grade my friends and I on the verge of becoming little women decided to go a little more risque.

Risque…hmmm. Bear in mind that in my somewhat conservative catholic home I wasn’t even allowed to wear a non-competitive swim suit in 7th or 8th or 9th grade. And, when I sported my first ‘fashion’ swimwear at 14, my father sent me home from the pool.

She’s such a pretty woman!

So, when I announced proudly that the girls and I were going to be hookers, you can imagine the reaction I received.

Yep, hookers.

I’m not even sure that I knew what hookers really did – but I did know that we would be able to look a lot cuter than we had as hobos the year prior.

Naively, I didn’t really anticipate any negative reaction from my parents. I mean I pretty much figured: Hookers. Hobos. Whatever.

Uhm, no.

My father instantly put the kibosh on that idea and informed me that the only hookers in the family would be people hooking fish.

OK. So candy striper repeat it was. Of course, it was an over-made up candy striper – but a do-good candy striper nonetheless.

As far as fishing and hookers…A couple of nights ago, I hooked a couple of tilapia filets at Whole Foods and made:

Tilapia in a White Wine Sauce (serves 1 – there’s no reason you can’t have a real meal when dining alone)

Have on hand

NOTE: If you’re using the Whole Foods frozen tilapia, 7 hours before you intend to cook, take one package out of the freezer, remove the packaging, place the filets in a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

1. Mise en place:

1 tsp of capers rinsed and drained
1 small shallot minced
1/4 cup white wine – I used chardonnay because that’s what I had, but you might want to use a drier one
1 tsp parsley chopped
the zest of one lemon
the juice of one lemon

Mise En Place to Make even Anne Burrell Proud

2. In a 10-inch skillet over medium, heat 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter.

3. Salt and Pepper the filets on both sides, gently coat in flour and place in the heated skillet

Browning the Fish

4. Cook on each side for +/- :04 minutes – depending upon the thickness of the fish.

Beautifully Browned

5. Once the fish is wholly cooked, remove from the skillet and keep warm

6. Add the shallot to the skillet and saute until fragrant – about 2 mins

Saute the Shallot

7. Add the white wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Allow the sauce to thicken slightly – about :03mins. If you don’t feel like it’s thickening enough…throw in a little butter (1 tsp) and stir until it melts into the sauce

Add in White Wine and Lemon Juice

8. Stir in the lemon zest, parsley and capers

Stir in Parsley and Lemon Zest

9. Stir to combine flavors – about :02 mins. Then pour over the fish and serve

Pour the Sauce over the Fish

Halloween is a time when you’re allowed and encouraged to be something you’re not. Whether it’s a witch (stop it), a hobo or even a hooker.

And, while I wasn’t ever allowed to dress like Pretty Woman, I ultimately became quite the skilled hooker…and cooker of fish.

Emergency Fish Fry

Posted on October 17, 2012 by AnniesDishList

Egg White Batter Fried Tilapia

During the days leading up to 2011’s Hurricane Irene we did what all New Yorkers did – planned a party. The news warned of apocalyptic flooding and power outtages. Told us to stock up on supplies and provisions. I raced to the grocery store to stock up on the necessities. Except that I was really puzzled by what those were. I watched other shoppers – all of whom looked equally confused as to what to buy.

No power? In New York, we just don’t lose power (save the blackout of 2003). And restaurants aren’t really ever closed. So, trying to wrap your head around no food and no power isn’t easy. I grabbed what I thought might be ok to sustain me and went home.

That night as we gathered at the apartment of a friend to hunker down for the storm, we all compared what provisions we had procured earlier that day. You have to love New Yorkers….Some of us bought canned tuna. Some bought large jugs of water. Some of us bought toilet paper and paper towels. Some of us emptied out our bank accounts – you know in case we had to use stacks of cash to buy transport off of the island.

All of us bought wine, beer or vodka. And, my favorite: All of us bought canned artichoke hearts. Because, like, if there was biblical flooding and no power, we would totally need to make an artichoke dip.

Fave Frozen Fish From Whole Foods

Even when not faced with the storm of the century, we might all want to have emergency food in the fridge. Something that can be whipped up pretty quickly and lasts a long time in the freezer.

Before I cooked so much, my freezer always held an emergency frozen pizza. Since then, I’ve evolved and now you can always find a package of frozen tilapia fillets from Whole Foods. I love these – $2.99….last a year and easy to prepare.

Plus – tilapia is a totally non-polarizing white fish.

Last night, there was no emergency, except that I didn’t want to venture out for supplies. And I hit up the Whole Foods emergency tilapia and made…

Egg Batter Fish Fry (Serves 2)

Heat about 1.5 inches of oil in a pot over medium heat. Oil needs to heat to 375 degrees

1. In a medium bowl using a hand mixer, beat two egg whites to stiff peaks

NOTE: I love my Cuisinart hand held mixer. It has this plastic case to hold all of the accessories AND the mixer itself. It’s apartment perfect!

Apartment Perfect

Beat Egg Whites with Cuisinart Hand Mixer

The Hand Mixer Magic

2. In a second, smaller bowl, combine 1 egg yolk with 1 1/2 tsp of flour and 1/4 tsp of salt

Mixing Flour and Egg Yolk

3. Mix about 1/2 of the egg yolk/flour mixture into the whipped egg whites

4. Carefully fold the remaining egg yolk/flour mixture into the whipped egg whites

Whipped Egg Whites

5. Gently fold in 1 tbsp of fresh lemon thyme leaves into the batter. If you can’t find lemon thyme, substitute 1/2 tsp of lemon zest and 1 tsp of thyme

Lemon Thyme Egg White Batter

6. Cut two tilapia fillets into 4-6 pieces each

Sliced Tilapia Fillets

7. Pat the fish dry on both sides and lightly coat each in a flour mixed with a little salt and pepper

8. Dip each floured fish fillet piece into the Egg Batter – You will need to use a spoon or spatula to help cover the fillets with the batter

9. Carefully place each piece into the oil and allow to brown – about :03 mins

Whole Foods Frozen Fried Tilapia Fillets

Gently Frying

10. Flip each piece to brown the other side – about another :03 mins

Flipped

11. Using a spider transfer the fish to a brown paper bag to drain

12. Make a dipping sauce: In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp of sour cream, 1 tbsp of mayonnaise, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, the juice of one lemon and 1/2 tsp of Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt

13. Serve while warm

I don’t generally like to fry in the apartment – because the apartment will now smell like fried for a couple of days. But, this was really good. The lightness of the egg white batter and flakey white fish is a nice contrast to a typical heavy fish fry.

And, I’d eat this emergency or not! Off to Whole Foods to restock the tilapia now.

Grocery Store Sins And A Frittata For Two

Posted on October 12, 2012 by AnniesDishList

Forgive me, follower(s), for I have sinned. I went to the grocery store today hungry. Very hungry. Like right out of the gym, no breakfast hungry. Always a bad idea.

What happens when I go to the store hungry, is that I get something in my head that I have to eat. Usually it’s something super fattening like a three-cheese grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato smothered in butter and fried until crisp on the outside and oozy on the inside. Yum.

Images of flavorful, fattening foods fill my head. I think of entire meals that I want to prepare and snack through while I’m cooking. My stomach screams for carbs and sauces and cheese and salt.

As I entered Food Emporium, the voices took over and I knew there was no way to escape. At first I wasn’t sure what the voices were saying…Then they got louder and louder…’Frittata…’, ‘Frittata’ they called to me.

I had to make one. Had to. And I googled hoping to find a healthy, smaller solution to the traditional dish.

But every frittata recipe I found called for like a million billion eggs and fatty meats like sausage and bacon and russet potatoes and heavy cheeses and a brunch party of 8.

There were not – as you might imagine – seven additional people coming to brunch at my apartment today. Nor did I want to max out my daily targeted caloric intake with meats and potatoes and fattiest of cheeses. Thankfully, paring down is what I do and if I wanted a frittata, damnit! I was going to find a way!

Sweet and Petite Frittata with Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli (Serves 2)

1. Peel about 1.5 inches of a medium sized sweet potato and slice in half. Then CAREFULLY slice the halves very thin on a mandolin – or with a knife.

CAUTION: the mandolin is a tool of death. I lost the top of a finger last year – shaved it right off – had to throw out those yellow squash. So, Please! Use the gripper/hand protector thing and go much slower than you think you have to…

Tool of Death

2. Slice about 4 small florets of broccoli into bite size pieces

Thinly Sliced Sweet Potatoes and Chopped Broccoli

Veggies Prepped

3. In a non-stick, oven safe 10inch fry pan (I used my All-clad one), heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium to med/high heat. Add the vegetables and saute until softened – about 6-8 minutes

Veggie Saute

4. In a bowl, whisk together three eggs and 1/4 cup of milk. I used 2% – but, really whole milk would be more delicious…just sayin’

This stuff is the bomb

Add salt and pepper to taste – I used about a tsp of Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt – because it has all the good stuff – like one stop spicing.

5. Once the vegetables are softened, pour the egg mixture over the vegetables

6. As the egg mixture starts to dry, gently push them in toward the center of the pan with a spatula and allow the wetter mixture to flow out to the edges

Pulling edges in

7. Once the mixture looks dry – add 1/4 cup of Mozzarella Cheese – sliced or shredded. I didn’t feel like getting out my shredder, so I sliced pretty thin to ensure melty-ness.

Frittata For Two with Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli and Cheese

Add the cheese

8. Pop the pan into the oven and bake for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown

Frittata Post Oven with Melty Goodness

9. Allow to cool for about :05 mins, garnish with fresh, chopped parsley and then transfer to a plate, slice and serve

Final Frittata

The frittata is a very versatile dish. Really, you can put anything you want in it – within reason. And, you can make it for a large brunch, for just you or, of course, for two.

I got lucky today. When shopping hungry in the past, I’ve come home with bags of expensive food stuffs that were more than I could ever consume.

Today, I beat the hunger pangs and emerged from the grocery store with just two bags of pretty much essentials and a bill of only $25. I escaped a potentially disastrous and calorie hazardous situation. And, enjoyed a delightful brunch to boot.

We Embrace Change and Coconut Curry Shrimp

Posted on October 10, 2012 by AnniesDishList

Embracing Change: Coconut Curry Shrimp

More than 2 years have passed since lovely Sarah Palin asked ‘How’s that hopey, changey stuff working out?’ Don’t worry, we’re not going to talk politics here. But we are going to talk change.

Sarah Palin Asks the Question

Very early in my career during a round of pretty significant layoffs through which I survived, I learned that: ‘Change is good. We embrace change.’ That’s what one of the higher-ups told us, the lil’ people, at the time. And, I repeated it a lot in my head – like orphans who learn to soothe themselves by rocking in their cribs – I managed the shock of watching 30% of the company being marched out the door and soothed myself by repeating ‘Change is good. We embrace change’ over and over and over again. I repeated it until I actually believed it. And it’s been a mantra ever since.

Now, I do admit that not all change is easy to swallow. The mass firing wasn’t fun for anyone, but it was good in the long run for the company – and, a great learning experience for my younger self.

Personal change (as opposed to personnel change) can be tough to handle as well. Last night, for example, my 70-something-year-old father asked to borrow my readers because he forgot his.

That’s right. I now have readers. Still sort of hyperventilating from that one. I do feel the need to announce here that my ‘readers’ are only 1X AND as per my eye guy, I have better than 20/20 vision – it’s just that my eyes have changed and I can’t see menus, in small print, in dark restaurants, whatever. Let’s not discuss this again.

But, most change, is really good. As a food person, in order to keep it interesting and have content on a very regular basis, I’ve had to embrace new foods and cook things that I would have never made before. I’ve had to change the way I think about a lot of things.

Two truths I used to hold:

1. Shrimp is not a meal

2. I hate coconut

But, change is good. And recently I made:

Coconut Curry Shrimp (serves 4)

1. In a large pot on the stove top, whisk together:

13.5 oz NOT 14oz

1 14 oz can of Coconut Milk – unsweetened. For whatever reason, Whole Foods sells its 365 brand of Coconut milk in 13.5oz cans. Could be a marketing ploy and I fell for it and bought 2 – which was OK because I also made coconut rice…and, the 365 brand is very well priced.

The recipe I tweaked also called for fresh coconut…but I draw the line there as I can’t stand crunching down on flakes of real coconut. So I left it out.
The juice from one lime
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp of minced ginger – note, you can store ginger in your freezer for about one eon if you peel it first (use a spoon), wrap it in Saran and then put it in a ZipLoc freezer bag…frozen ginger is easier to grate as well – I used my Microplane grater

Fresh Ginger Peeling Process

2. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil over low heat

Curry into the Coconut Milk mixture

3. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 7 – 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken and reduce a bit.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste – just a pinch of each will probably do ya

5. Add in 1lb of large, peeled and deveined shrimp. I know… I normally use frozen, but thought ‘Embrace Change!’ and bought a beautiful looking pound of fresh shrimp at Citarella.

Citarella Shrimp into the Curry!

6. Return to a simmer, then cover and cook for 12 – 15 minutes until the shrimps are fully cooked

Oh, they’re cooked now!

7. Toss in about 1/4 cup combo of freshly chopped parsley and freshly chopped basil

8. Serve over rice…I made coconut rice with orange peppers and peas – it was very pretty – much prettier than the picture above…Again, I left the flakes of fresh coconut out.

Like it? They LOVE it!

The coconut curry shrimp was really good. I liked it…A lot. And, so did these people.

Up is down. Black is white. Day is night. I eat coconut. Shrimp is a meal.

You know what, in my kitchen at least, there is hopey changey stuff that’s working just fine.

Change is good. We embrace change.

AnniesDishList

A passion for cooking supersedes the size of the kitchen.

Category Archives: Vegetarian

Thinking Inside The Box: PopOver-PopIns

Hookers – Like People Who Catch Fish

Emergency Fish Fry

Grocery Store Sins And A Frittata For Two

We Embrace Change and Coconut Curry Shrimp

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