Speedy Shrimp Fried Rice

Janet here: First things first. The Divine Miss M is arriving in a matter of hours. Yes HOURS. It's been four-plus months since I last squeezed her and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

Okay. On to a quick recipe.

I don't know about you, but I often like the fried rice that comes with Chinese takeout as much as the entrees. It's one of those dishes that I've always wanted to make at home but wasn't sure where to begin, until I ripped out this recipe from the Food Network Magazine — yup another of my ripped recipes — and did a little tinkering. You can obviously tinker too. Try it with chicken or pork, or maybe just more veggies or ... I'd offer more options but I've got some squeezing to do. :)

Shrimp Fried Rice

ingredients
2 large eggs
salt to taste
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into pieces
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 ounces snow peas
1 cup shredded carrots
1 bunch scallions, chopped
3 cups cooked rice

method

Whisk the eggs with a little salt in a small bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a wok (or large skillet) over medium heat. Add the eggs and cook, without stirring, until almost set. Then flip the eggs with a spatula and cook until just set on the other side. Remove from heat to a board and then cut into strips.

Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl and set aside. Heat the remaining tablespoon of canola oil in the same skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp and ginger and stir fry until almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the snow peas, carrots and scallions and continue to stir fry until just done, about another minute. Add the rice and soy sauce and stir fry until just warmed through. Stir in the eggs and serve.

Almond Pesto Magic

Janet here: After admitting my little magazine recipe-ripping, um, problem, I started 2012 with a new plan. I would start actually cooking some of these recipes and then, if I like them, put them in a neat little notebook. Last week I dutifully bought my notebook, complete with plastic sleeves to stick the pages in and dividers so I can organize them by categories. I was so pleased with myself.


But then it was time to attack the pile, a daunting task for sure because it is a mini-mountain by now. Happily we were having another couple for dinner so I found a new way of doing pesto, using almonds rather than pine nuts.....Result? Brilliant and a total keeper. Into its nice plastic sleeve it goes.

Enjoy!

Almond Pesto with Beans Linguine
from Food Network Magazine
serves 4

ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted roasted almonds
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups fresh basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
12 ounces linguine
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

method

Bring a pot of salted water for the linguine to a boil.

Make the pesto by pulsing the almonds and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the parsley, basil and Parmesan; pulse some more until the herbs are chopped. With the motor running drizzle in the olive oil until blended.

Transfer to a large bowl and add the ricotta and olives.

Cook the linguine, adding the beans for the last two minutes. Reserve one cup of the cooking water; then drain the pasta and beans. Add to the bowl with the pesto and toss to coat. Add the chopped tomatoes and as much of the reserved cooking water as you like to have the perfect combination. Salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Bean Quest

Janet here: My dad was famous for his baked beans. Okay, maybe famous is a touch of an exaggeration but he was famous in our family. Anyway he baked them in some kind of large brown crockpot contraption that I'm not even sure exists anymore. They took hours of slow cooking and they were to-die-for delicious. Just the right mix of brown sugary/molasses wonderfulness tinged with a little bit of mustard and with pieces of some kind of fat — pork? — floating in there for flavor. I absolutely loved them.

I also loved eating cold baked beans in a sandwich. Yup, in between two pieces of white bread no less. The first time I saw my dad make up this concoction, I blanched and said, "Yuck." But then he said, "Try it, Jake." (His nickname for me.) So I did and I was blown away. It was that good.

Sadly, my father's recipe for baked beans died with him and I have been searching out the recipe ever since. This recipe marks my latest attempt. My inspiration comes from a recipe in the current issue of the Food Network Magazine and it's tasty. But it's not my dad's, and so the quest continues.


Baked Beans

ingredients
5 slices thick-cut bacon, diced. I use turkey bacon.
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, crushed
3 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can navy beans, undrained
2 hamburger buns or 2 slices of bread, torn into pieces

method
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook about 2/3 of the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a bowl, leaving behind the drippings. Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and gold, about 8 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and chili powder and cook, stirring about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and the molasses, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard powder, some salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium high, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the pinto beans, then the navy beans and their liquid. Return to a simmer. Stir in the bacon. Transfer it all to a 2-quart baking dish.

Pulse the buns with the remaining uncooked bacon in a food processor until finely ground. Strew the crumbs over the bean mixture. Cover and bake 45 minutes. Then uncover and bake until the crumbs are golden brown, about 20 more minutes.

Potato Salad No. ??

Janet here:

While there is no real reason potato salad is a hot-weather food only, the reality in our house at least is that summer is when it's served. A lot. I have been a fan of potato salad since I first stuck a big spoon in a massive bowl in my grandmother's kitchen and ate it before dinner was even served. Not that surprising when you think about because it does start with potatoes and what's not to like about potatoes. (If you want my version of that recipe, just click here.)

So I was personally thrilled when my latest Food Network Magazine arrived and stuck right there in the middle of about hundred other fabulous recipes (no joke, this was one of the better issues for recipes) was a mini-book of 50! potato salad recipes. I decided then and there I would cook my way through them this summer. Rachel is going to join in too. We'll give you an update on Facebook on how that's going (and if you're not a fan, please consider joining the fun here.)

It was a no-brainer to start with the bacon-ranch version. First Ranch dressing is as ubiquitous as a dinner table condiment as salt and pepper when our sons are home, and second because, well, I use any excuse I can to include bacon in a meal. While I haven't eaten red meat in over 30 years, bacon, as regular readers know, is my downfall. I often made my kids order bacon as a side for breakfast in a restaurant just so I could have a piece. I used turkey bacon here to, you know, make me feel better but you obviously can use the real thing. Either way, it's one tasty potato salad.

While Rachel and I cook our way through potato salad heaven this summer, we'd love to know your favorite variation. Are you a red potato salad purist? Mayo-free fan? Let us know.

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
serves a lot

ingredients
2 pounds red potatoes
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery (I like crunch in my salad so I added more)
1 teaspoon sugar
6 slices of bacon, diced or crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

method
Boil the potatoes until just done. Rinse under cool water and when cool enough to handle, cut into cubes. (You can peel if you want; I'm a skin fan.)

While the potatoes are boiling, cook the bacon and crumble when cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Toss with the potatoes and serve.

Oh Mr. Postman....

Since I'm a magazine editor, I subscribe to a ridiculous number of magazines. I'm not going to even tell you how many because that would mean counting them myself and openly admitting I just might have a little magazine problem. (Click here if you missed the post on my food magazines alone.) Besides it's for work; I need to see what's going on in the business. (That's my theory and I'm sticking with it.)

I fold down pages of ideas of ideas I like, rip out recipe pages (see above revealing post), and bring magazines to my office to show my designers ideas that I love. It's like Christmas every month when they begin to arrive in my mailbox in a flurry of paper wonderfulness.

A particular favorite is the Food Network Magazine, which Rachel also gets and then we talk about what we're going to make and why. So, here's the point of this post: Rachel, I'm putting you on notice. I expect to have this sandwich sometime this week after your dad and I arrive TONIGHT!!!! in California!!!! to squeeze the Divine 9-month-old Miss M, who we have not squeezed since she was 6 months old ... oh yes and hug you as well. Get the ingredients (turkey bacon of course) and get ready. We are coming.

Fried Friday

Rachel here: This past Christmas, my mom gave John a subscription to the Food Network's magazine. While I try to let John read it first when it arrives in the mail, I'd be lying if I said that I don't also read it cover to cover each month. There's always a huge mix of recipes, some of which get my mouth watering and others which don't. In the most recent issue, though, there was something that I just knew I had to make and pronto: fried pickles.

Ok, so all pregnant women like pickles, or so the folk lore seems to go. I, however, have always loved pickles. Growing up we each had a special Christmas ornament; mine was a pickle. On my birthday? Yup, more years than not I receive a card that is in the shape of a pickle. Pickles, I guess you could say, are kind of my thing. Throw pregnancy into the mix and, well, you get the picture. I had never had a fried pickle before I made these and I will definitely be having them again. In case you're not a pickle fanatic, I'll let you know that John isn't either and he devoured these.


Ingredients
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
cayenne
3/4 c. cornstarch, divided
1/2 c. corn meal
2 T. chopped fresh dill
2 tspn. paprika
salt and pepper
3 dozen pickle slices (I bought really good pickles and sliced them myself, though certainly pre-sliced would work)

Method
In a bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk and a hearty dash of cayenne. In a separate bowl, place 1/4 c. of cornstarch. In a third bowl, mix the remaining cornstarch, cornmeal, dill, paprika, salt and pepper. Dip the pickle slices in the plain cornstarch, then the egg mix, and finally into the cornmeal mixture. Fry in 2 inches of canola oil until golden brown. Drain on a towel.
*The magazine suggests serving with ranch dressing to dip in. I sliced a baguette, toasted the slices, smeared cream cheese on them and then topped with the fried pickles. It was super yummy.


Janet here: While I, too, was intrigued by the idea of fried pickles, I thought it was best to leave this for the pregnant part of this duo. Instead I decided to make my own fries, something I've thought about but never actually done. While the result was not quite as crispy as I would like, I was pretty pleased with this first attempt and think there are going to be a lot more homemade fries on our family's dinner table.

French Fries
serve 3 or 4

Ingredients
2 teaspoons canola oil
3 large potatoes, washed and sliced into 1/4 inch strips
salt to taste
Mrs. Dash's seasoning blend or whatever seasoning you want to taste. I used the Southwest Chipotle but the possibilities are endless of your own variation: garlic, red peppers, whatever.

Method
Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Wash and cut the potatoes. I did mine by slicing the potato in half lengthwise and then slicing each half into slabs that I then cut into 1/4 inch strips. Some of the longer strips I cut in half, but it all depends on how you like your fries.

Place the potato, oil, salt and seasoning in a big bowl and mix well. Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray. (I use Pam organic canola oil.) Place the mixture on the sheet in one layer. Bake for 35 minutes.