Bison Meatloaf

I'll have to admit, I love meatloaf. My mom made great meatloaf growing up, so I was never scarred from a dry, unflavored meat block. I have stopped buying beef for quite a while now. Occasionally I will buy Bison instead; packed with flavor, iron, and leaner than the leanest of beef. The thing I like about Bison is that no matter how much you cook it, it is still tender and juicy. Bison to me is also not gamey. Here is my meatloaf for 2 (with lunch the next day). I packed it full of crimini mushrooms, red onion, and served it with homemade mashed potatoes and garlic sauteed spinach (and pinot noir).

What you will need:

1 pound ground bison

1 1/2c crimini mushrooms, small diced

1c red onion, small diced

1T fresh sage, chopped

1T fresh thyme, chopped

1 egg

3/4c tomato sauce, divided

1/2c breadcrumbs*

1/2t salt

1/2t black pepper

1/4t dried crushed red pepper flakes

* I highly recommend panko bread crumbs. If you are like me and have to use gluten free bread crumbs, add a little extra.

Preheat the oven to 375. In a medium skillet, heat 1T of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes. This will remove the water from the mushrooms and leave the onions translucent and tender. Remove from heat, add sage and thyme, and cool slightly. While that is cooling, in a bowl, mix the bison, egg, breadcrumbs, 1/2c tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. Shape into a roughly 6x3 loaf and place it in a baking pan. Place in the oven for 30 mins. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4c tomato sauce with the red pepper. Pour over the meatloaf. Continue to cook for 20 minutes longer. Rest for 5 minutes.

Moroccan Harissa Chicken with Roasted Red Onions and Chickpeas

Ok, first off...The lighting fixture went out in my kitchen a couple of days ago, and I have been waiting on a new one that has been ordered. Cooking in the dark is a little bit of a pain, so please excuse the crappay photos.

Anywho, I bought some local whole chicken legs that were on sale. This recipe would work well with a white fish (such as tilapia), salmon, pork, or big chunks of vegetables (like eggplant, squash, potatoes). Harissa is a North African paste made from Piri Piri chili peppers, tomatoes, and paprika. It has a wonderful sweet and(very) spicy flavor. I bought a prepared bottle of Harissa from Whole Foods Market and altered it a little.

What you will need:

2 1/2 pounds chicken legs (about 4)

1/3c prepared Harissa paste
1/4c plain Greek Yogurt

1T lemon juice

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained*

1 red onion, diced very large

1t olive oil

Salt and Pepper-to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Mix Harissa, yogurt, and lemon juice together. Pour over chicken legs and marinate for 1 hour at room temperature (yes, it's ok). In a bowl, add the chickpeas and red onion. Drizzle olive oil, toss, and season with salt and pepper. In an even layer, place chickpeas and onions in a baking dish (one large enough to eventually put the chicken in). Roast for 10 mins. Remove from oven and lay chicken legs on top of the chickpeas and onions, skin side up. Put back in the oven and continue to cook for 40 mins.

My fiance and I loved this. The yogurt toned down the heat a little, the lemon brightened, and the chickpeas had a slight chew and were packed with flavor. Honestly, I will probably roast chickpeas as a snack in the future.

I served it with wild rice that I cooked according to package, then added 1t onion powder, 1t garlic powder, a pinch of ginger, and 1/2c of raisins. I also sauteed some zucchini.

Blueberry Balsamic Sauce

I recently visited a berry farm here in North Carolina. They use high tunnel technology to grow strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries under a more controlled environment. These tunnels also allow the farm to produce berries earlier then when they would normally be harvested. During the summer, blueberry is king here. They are sweet, juicy, and full of flavor unlike what cooks call "water bombs". Here are a few pictures from the farm:

These tunnels originated in Spain on raspberry farms. The raspberries were getting damaged from rainfall so farmers built these protective coverings. They also keep heat inside which is how they can produce berries earlier.

You can tell what kind of bee pollinated the flower. Regular bees will go up into the flower, whereas carpenter bees go through the side. You can see the marks on the side of the flower.

So here is my recipe for Blueberry Balsamic Sauce. Sweet enough to be heavenly on vanilla ice cream, pound cake, or crepes. Savory enough to go along with roasted chicken or pork, as well as silly easy to make:

You will need:

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2c cup sugar

1 pint blueberries

1 cinnamon stick

Bring the sugar and vinegar to a boil. Continue to boil for about 3 minutes. Add the blueberries and cinnamon stick. Return to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. The sauce will have thicken and turn a deep purple. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Braised Local Beef Short Ribs

Woah, it has been a long time since I have posted anything. Winter months are difficult to find local products. Like I said, there are only so many sweet potatoes I can eat! But now Spring is full in effect and I couldn't be more excited about local berries, tomatoes, and meats!

I wanted to make a special comfort food dinner and was able to snag some short ribs. I remember a fine dining restaurant I worked in made short ribs when they were available. They were packed with flavor and melted in your mouth. When I went to the meat case there were no short ribs to be found. However, I was always told in culinary school and from chefs to make friends with your butcher. So I asked my friendly butcher if he had any and he was able to cut me some right then and there!

Short ribs is to beef as spare ribs are to pork, but much more tender. Short ribs are also a relatively inexpensive cut of meat as well. Mine were $5.99lb, Grass-fed, and best of all LOCAL! I think back to the restaurant and say "Wow, we charged about $28 for an order that had two ribs, mashed potatoes, and vegetables" So here is an easy braised short rib recipe

Serves 2 with leftovers for lunch the next day

2 1/2lb short ribs, bone in

1T steak seasoning (I use Borsari)

2T vegetable or canola oil*

1c onion, medium diced

1/2c celery, medium diced

1c tomatoes, seeded and diced**

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2T Worcestershire sauce

2bay leaves

1/2 red wine vinegar or a medium bodied red wine***

1quart beef broth****

Salt and Pepper to taste

*Do not use olive oil, you need to get your pan smoking hot...olive oil doesn't like it

**I used local fresh tomatoes, but if you can't find good tomatoes, used a no salt added canned

***If it is a yucky wine, you will have yucky short ribs...

****Always use low sodium broths, take control of the salt level!

Season short ribs with steak seasoning. Pat into the meat with your hands. In a large pot, heat oil until very hot. Sear ribs and turn until a brown crust forms on all sides of the rib (Crust is crucial. Don't worry, you aren't trying to cook the meat, only searing it). Remove from pan. Add your celery, onion, and carrots (It's called mirepoix "Mear pwa"-use it and sound smart) and cook until slightly tender. Add garlic, tomato, vinegar (or wine), Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. Add short ribs back to the pot on top of the veggie mixture. Pour enough beef broth to slightly cover the ribs. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

New Year Collards and Black Eyed Peas

Growing up in the South, every year on New Years Day, I was subjected to eating collard greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and rice in hopes of accumulating wealth in the new year. This was the most painful meal of the year. The greens were boiled to death as well as the peas, and I was scarred for life. I grew up hating greens and basically every green vegetable besides green beans and asparagus. When I was in culinary school, I discovered how much I loved sauteed spinach. I started experimenting by sauteing other greens and grew to love them. Now, I get cravings for them...cannot eat enough. For New Years I decided to fall in with tradition and make a fresh tasting collard green dish. The collards I found are not only organic, but local and inexpensive as well. I have also made this and tossed in cooked pasta noodles for a complete dish. Hopefully it will bring me a little extra wealth this year...

You will need:

2 bunches collard greens, center ribs removed and torn into medium sized pieces*

1c black eyed peas**

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

3 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces (you can leave this out, just increase olive oil by 1T)

2-3T of red wine vinegar

olive oil

salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Parmesan cheese

* To remove ribs, fold the green in half, lengthwise, and holding the stem, pull the leaf away.

**You can used canned or fresh, I used fresh and boiled them for about 30 minutes until they were tender.

In a pan over medium heat, render bacon until almost done. Add garlic, shallot and 1T olive oil. Saute until bacon, garlic, and shallot are cooked. Add collard greens and peas. Add vinegar and turn greens so they can wilt. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the greens. Continue cooking until tender, about 5-6 mins. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Serve with Parmesan cheese on top.

Fried Rice, the Ultimate Fridge Cleaner...

Throwing away produce is a shame, not to mention expensive. Whenever I have a bunch of vegetables that I need to use up I like to make fried rice. Making your own fried rice is easy and is healthier then ordering it from your local take out. You will typically use fresher ingredients as well as less fat and salt that are in typical restaurant dishes. During culinary school, I really started to notice the taste of salt in food and how to properly season foods. When you learn this, you use much less. There is no set recipe for this, so get creative! In the fried rice I made, I used cabbage, broccoli, carrots, corn, spinach, onion, bell pepper, peas, and egg. Use whatever you have! Be adventurous and add pineapple or oranges. Add cooked meat, tofu, or tempeh for added protein. It is the ultimate way to clean out your fridge.

You will need:

1c rice

1 egg

3T vegetable oil

chopped garlic

soy sauce

1t sesame oil

sesame seeds

vegetables

meat, tofu, or tempeh (optional)

A easy way to remember to cook rice is 1 part rice to 2 parts water. Boil water and add rice. Cook covered for 1o mins and then uncovered for 10 mins. In a large pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Crack egg in the pan and as it cooks, break it up with a spatula. Add veggies and saute until tender. Add cooked rice. Cook for 2 minutes and then turn rice over with the spatula. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. Mix until the sesame oil and soy sauce coat the rice.

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I continue the baking madness with this Apple Cinnamon Coffee cake. I had some family coming over and was able to make this while they were driving over. I used some local apples that I found, and hold up well in this cake. This cake is not overly soggy like I find some coffee cakes to be. This recipe is pretty pantry friendly since it does not call for sour cream or anything out of the ordinary. Everything in this recipe is stuff I usually have on hand.

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 peeled, cored, and thinly sliced firm apples
Topping:

1/4c softened butter

1/4c brown sugar

1/4c flour

chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (350 degrees if using a Pyrex or dark-finish dish). Lightly spray or grease a 8x8 pan (If you have to use something smaller, just increase your cooking time). In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar, beating with a spoon until thick. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, and salt. Mix vigorously until the batter is fully combined about 1 minute. Fold in the apples and mix until the apples are evenly coated and the batter becomes moist and smooth. There will be lots of apples, held together by a relatively stiff batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with a metal spatula. Sprinkle the top evenly with the topping. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the center is firm when gently pressed. Remove from the oven and cool until easy to cut.