Impoverished Gourmet » Recipes

Bulgur Breakfast

Robbie — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:10:11 +0000

Inspired by the Minimalist Mark Bittman’s New York Times column a while back, I’ve been experimenting with bulgur as a hot breakfast cereal. I find it a little quicker and more painless than oatmeal, but still amazing with brown sugar, a little milk, and fruit of your choice. 1 part bulgur, 2 parts water, boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the water is gone. No stirring, no clumps, delicious breakfast. Plus, if you have leftovers, it makes a wonderful savory side for dinner.

Super Bowl Weekend

Nathan — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:15:43 +0000

Hey, you over there, put down the Lays and jar of onion dip. Yeah you. I know it’s Super Bowl weekend, and the football fan in me knows that such an event allows, nay demands, a certain type of food. We call it Football Food. But you can make your own. And it will be better — much better — and more bacony.

Simply Recipes has an authoritative round-up on Super Bowl recipes featuring everything from classics (potato skins, hot wings, various and sundry dips) to the truly frightening. Okay, so I was honestly curious about the Beer Cheese Cupcakes with Bacon Cheddar Frosting — if that’s not a manly dessert, what is? — but then I saw the “beer” in question: Budweiser Select. What’s a sell-respecting beer drinking to do? Guiness cupcakes, of course.

Penance…

Nathan — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:22:37 +0000

With all of the talk of bacon around here lately, I thought I’d throw a crumb to our vegetarian friends. 101 Cookbooks has posted a delicious-looking recipe for Carmelized Tofu. Go forth, yea veggies, and eat soy.

Balsamic Glazed Almonds

Nathan — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:31:51 +0000

Coconut and Lime has a delicious-looking recipe for Balsamic Glazed Almonds. Haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but honestly if you glazed cardboard with balsamic I’d happily eat it.

Pretzel Praline

Nathan — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:26:33 +0000

Just in time for the holidays, Ideas in Food is featuring a delicious-looking, easy to make Pretzel Praline recipe. Anything that combines sweet, salty, and yeasty cannot possibly be bad.

Balsamic Onions and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Tyler — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:26:46 +0000

I discovered Meghan’s blog, Tales of a Culinary Novice, through a comment she left here recently, and she’s got some super swanky recipes up. One in particular caught my eye while I was there: Balsamic Onions and Goat Cheese Quesadillas. Mmm. I’m going to go make a few of these right now.

Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

Nathan — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:26:41 +0000

Michelada

Robbie — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 22:54:36 +0000

Michelada

Juice from half a lime
Coarse salt
A dash Tabasco
A dash Worcestershire Sauce
Ice
Negro Modelo

Rim a highball glass or tumbler with lime and salt. Squeeze lime into the bottom of the glass, then add Tabasco and Worcestershire; mix. Fill glass with ice. Carefully pour in beer — it’ll want to foam over. Enjoy, topping off the beer as necessary.

Persimmon Jerk Chicken

Nathan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:20:58 +0000

One of the fun and challenging things about belonging to a CSA or produce delivery service is finding ways to use ingredients you might not have picked out on your own. Having received Fuyu persimmons for a fourth straight week and growing tired of eating them out of hand, I resolved to find a savory application for the persimmon’s unique taste.

Cursory research online revealed little besides persimmon pudding in terms of cooking applications. Undaunted, I pushed ahead.

I suspected the tropical flavors of persimmon would pair well with a traditional Jamaican jerk sauce, so I set out to do some testing. Halving and broiling the persimmons revealed complex flavors of mango, apple, roasted squash, and spice.

Roasted Persimmons

Unfortunately, none of the chicken survived long enough for me to get a picture of the finished product.

Persimmon Jerk Chicken

Ingredients

2 Fuyu persimmons
1/2 of a small red onion
Juice of 1 lime
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp hot sauce (adjusted to taste)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 cloves garlic
1 oz spiced rum
1” piece of ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp tamarind paste (optional)
1/2 cinnamon stick
6 allspice berries
1 tsp ground cloves
10 peppercorns
1 tsp mustard seeds
10 chicken thighs

Preparation

Halve and roast persimmons under a broiler until golden on top; scoop flesh into your food processor.
In a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle, grind cinnamon, allspice, peppercorn, cloves, and mustard seed
Blitz everything together in your food processor until smooth; check and adjust seasoning.
Marinade your chicken for at least 8 hours, 24 hours if possible
Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through; serve with basmati rice and mixed vegetables.

Finished Persimmon Jerk Marinade

Potato Bacon Soup

Nathan — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:45:30 +0000

The problem with most potato soups, really, is one of texture. Some are watery. Some are gloppy. Most are gritty or grainy. After some experimenting, I’ve developed a potato soup technique that produces a silky, sumptuous soup that’s still plenty hearty. The key is adding your potatoes in two installments. The first gets blended to form the base of the soup and give it body, while the second is added later and cooked until perfectly tender — no more overcooked potatoes. The result is a pleasant contrast in textures — the smooth soup, firm chunks of potato, crisps bacon bits.

Potato Bacon Soup

1 lb bacon, diced
2 pounds potatoes, mixed Russet and Yukon Gold, peeled and roughly chopped
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 quart Vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup cream, half-and-half, or whole milk

Heat a skillet and fry the bacon until crispy; fish out the bacon and pour the delicious, delicious bacon fat into your finest soup pot
Sweat the onion and garlic over medium heat until they just start to pick up some color. At this point your kitchen will smell like bacon and garlic and onions, and you’ll be tempted to stick your head into the pot and begin gorging; resist this temptation.
Add the peeled potatoes and veggie stock and simmer for 30 minutes
Using your favorite stick-blender (or food processor, counter-top blender, potato masher, or sharp stick), blend the soup until it’s smooth and creamy. The soup should be smooth and rich but not gloppy or pasty; adjust thickness with more vegetable stock as necessary.
Add in the unpeeled potatoes and bay leaves and simmer on low until potatoes are fork-tender, about a half hour
Fish out the bay leaves, check your seasoning (you did remember salt and pepper, didn’t you?), and add the dairy product of your choice
Serve with aforementioned bacon and chives