Recipes

Chicken Souvlaki and Gyros

March 14, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I made Tzatziki the other day to go with some chicken Souvlaki. Souvlaki is skewered and roasted chicken, marinated in yogurt, oregano, and lemon. The gyro is a sandwich made of onions, feta cheese, tzatziki, roasted peppers, and meat (usually chicken or lamb) all wrapped in pita bread. Since I had no skewers or rotisserie oven, I just cut the meat into strips and broiled it, turning a couple times to get everything browned. The chicken was very tender from marinating in the lemon juice, and went really well with the flavors of the roasted peppers, feta and tzatziki.

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Tzatziki (Greek Cucumber Salad)

March 13, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Tzatziki is a Greek appetizer made from strained yogurt, cucumber and garlic. It’s also used as a condiment on gyros and other Greek foods.Tzatziki has a cooling effect similar to sour cream. To give it some extra flavor, dill, mint, and lemon juice are also added. I didn’t have any mint leaves around but I did have some mint extract so I used a drop of that in the Tzatziki. I was surprised at how nicely that worked out! The mint extract gave it a subtle, minty after taste. I only put in one drop so it would be easy to over do it.

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"Philly" Cheese Steak Sandwich

March 12, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I have been looking around for more good sandwich recipes and I decided to try a Philly cheese steak. Since I never actually had a Philly cheese steak, I picked a recipe from the internet that looked good without thinking much about it. I then ran the ingredients by John who has had a real Philly from one of the cult places in Philadelphia. He was a little surprised when I told him there would be green peppers and provolone in the sandwich. He was also pretty weirded out that I was using neither rib-eye steak or “steak-ums” (whatever that is).

Basically none of the ingredients were “right,” except maybe the sourdough roll. Cheese steak challenges aside, I thought the sandwich turned out great. The peppers, onions, and steak were good together.B Next time I might try making a more traditional Philly. I just don’t think I can ever go there with that cheese-wiz stuff.

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Mango and Red Pepper Salsa

March 2, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I wanted to have something light and fresh to pair with the Jerk Chicken and Red Beans and Rice I made. Mango and red pepper salsa adds that freshness with just a little bit of heat. Peaches or papaya could be substituted in for the mangos.

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Jamaican Jerk Chicken

March 1, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I’m all for spicy/savory meat marinades and when I found recipes for Jamaican jerk chicken I knew I had to give it a try. I found a few good recipes but since I couldn’t find some of the ingredients I had to switch things around a bit. Lots of jerk recipes require scotch bonnet peppers and rum but I had neither. I substituted bonnets for serrano peppers and rum with molasses and I thought those worked out pretty well. The chicken was great; the vinegar in the marinade broke down the protein and made the meat tender. I was surprised that the sauce didn’t caramelize on the chicken since I saw plenty of pictures that showed this. I would guess there wasn’t enough brown sugar and molasses to get that glazed look. It turned out fine though and I ended up not minding that at all.

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Jamaican Red Beans and Rice

March 1, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I thought that a Jamaican rice dish cooked in coconut milk would be a great accompaniment to the spicy Jerk chicken. The coconut milk has a cooling effect to balance out the pepper’s heat. I couldn’t find scotch bonnet peppers so I used a jalapeno instead. I didn’t want the rice too spicy so I thought that worked out well. The rice was creamy and sweet with an afterthought of heat which tasted very good with the chicken and mango salsa.

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Mint Syrup

February 28, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I decided to try making mint syrup because I thought it would be nice with a Grasshopper sundae. Grasshoppers are made with vanilla ice cream, mint syrup (or creme de menthe), and hot fudge. The process is similar to making a mint syrup for cocktails except that the water and sugar is reduced longer to make it thick. I look forward to having this with some homemade hot fudge!

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Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

February 27, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Italian food is great with fine ingredients and simple flavors. Butter and sage, two simple ingredients on their own, make an excellent gnocchi sauce. Gnocchi is a type of potato dumpling pasta–it reminds me of a cross between polish Perogies and ravioli pasta. Gnocchi is usually made with white potatoes but I decided to try sweet potatoes for a more savory flavor. The sage fries in the butter as it browns which smells and tastes great.

As for the gnocchi making process it was surprisingly easy. The only thing to watch out for is overcooking the gnocchi. It really only needs 3 minutes and should be immediately scooped out when it floats to the top. I learned this the hard way by overcooking it by about 2 minutes which created a slimy bunch that was totally gross. I thought this recipe turned out really great, and I will be making this again–perhaps with pumpkin the next time to mix things up.

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Salsa Verde Carnitas

February 16, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I had a 3 lb. pork butt roast in the freezer and thought it would be put to good use as Carnitas. Carnitas, or “Little Meat,” is a kind of roasted pork used in Mexican food as a filling for burritos, tacos, and tamales. A great dish is all about the contrasting flavors and textures and I was very happy with how this recipe turned out. The pork was tender, yet crispy since it roasted in the oven. The sour salsa and the savory pork was a great contrast of flavors too. I filled the tacos with a little monterey jack cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Luckily, I have a lot of leftovers so I look forward to having this again!

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Salsa Verde

February 16, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I picked up some tomatillos for a mole sauce a few days ago and since I had a bunch left over I decided to make a salsa verde. This salsa tastes great with meat, especially pork, because of its sour and spicy flavor. It has a really bold taste so throwing it in some tacos was a great way to use this salsa. This recipe is pretty spicy so feel free to take out a few of the peppers for a milder sauce. The sauce can be easily frozen and stored too.

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