gluten free — Page 2

blueberry lemon date bars

04/02/2015 By bridget

Dave and I had a Serious Discussion last year about hiking. He loves it; I’m okay with it. I like the part that involves relaxing exercise (usually an oxymoron) in a pretty place, but not the part that requires several hours of driving. Dave doesn’t love the driving either, but for him, it’s worth it for the hiking. So we’ve compromised and are making more of an effort to get miles in; Dave’s goal this year is 100 miles.

The more often we go, the more we get into a routine. Make coffee at home; stop for breakfast burritos to eat on the road; almonds, these bars, and camelbaks full of water for snacks; and a grain or pasta-based salad for lunch if it’s a long enough hike. Having a series of tasty foods lined up definitely helps get me motivated.

Breakfast burritos win as my favorite food of the day, of course, but these bars are delicious too. They’re a perfect mid-morning treat, when you’re just over halfway up the mountain, the burrito has worn off, lunch is still a ways off, and your feet could use a break. They’re easy to make and last a while tightly wrapped in the fridge. I need to keep a stock handy; the easier it is to get out the door, the more likely we are to get those miles in.

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Blueberry Lemon Date Bars (slightly adapted from Use Real Butter)

Makes 8 bars

I should probably mention that I’ve never eaten a real Larabar, blueberry or otherwise.

I’ve found that these are great for plane rides too.

2 cups unsalted cashews
1 cup dried blueberries
1 cup dates, pitted
grated zest from 1 lemon
⅛ teaspoon salt
seeds of ½ vanilla bean

Transfer the cashews to the bowl of a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground. Add the blueberries, dates, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla seeds; process until the mixture forms large sticky clumps. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with parchment or wax paper, with the paper coming up the sides by several inches. Press the mixture tightly into the lined pan. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to several days). Use the ends of the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Cut into 8 bars; wrap individually. Can be stored in the refrigerator for several months.

Filed Under: citrus, favorites, fruit, gluten free, healthy, nuts

poblanos stuffed with black beans and cheese

02/26/2015 By bridget

Sometimes I try to have quick, healthy weeknight dinners that don’t include any grains. I’ve found that melty cheese is a satisfying way to replace the simple comfort of starches – although I’m not sure that replacing brown rice with cheese is much of a nutritional improvement.

This has become a new favorite, in that it takes the main flavors of some of my fallback rice and bean dishes and stuffs them inside of a pepper. (I’m always reaching for the bag of frozen Hatch green chile we keep in the freezer so I can add it to the beans, and I have to remind myself that there’s plenty of spicy chiles in this recipe already.)

With beans, Greek yogurt, and a simple guacamole, there’s plenty to keep me full here, even with a restrained amount of cheese. Even if it isn’t, in the end, any healthier than my normal bowl of rice and beans, it’s worth it for a meal as good as this one.

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Poblanos Stuffed with Black Beans and Cheese (inspired by Sara Forte’s The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook)

2 generous main course servings or 4 side dish servings

You can, of course, add more cheese, but I was trying to keep it light, and I found this amount to be satisfying.

4 medium poblano peppers
2 teaspoons oil
1 onion, diced
salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce) can black beans (about 2 cups)
½ cup salsa
3 ounces cheddar, monterey jack, cotija, or queso fresco, shredded or crumbled
1 avocado, peeled and seeded
juice from ½ lime
¼ cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
cilantro

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut a slit in each pepper from the stem to the end. Place the peppers in a rimmed baking dish; bake for 15 minutes, until softened.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the salsa and beans. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir half of the cheese into the beans.

3. Remove the peppers from the oven. When they’re cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to remove the seeds and veins. Pour out any liquid inside the peppers. Spoon one-quarter of the bean mixture into each pepper, then stuff the remaining cheese into the peppers over the beans. Transfer to the oven and bake until the cheese is spottily browned and the peppers are soft, 15-20 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a pinch of salt and half of the lime juice. In a separate bowl, mix the Greek yogurt with the remaining lime juice. Serve the roasted peppers with the avocado, yogurt, and a sprinkling of cilantro.

Filed Under: beans, cheese, favorites, gluten free, healthy, mexican, side dish, vegetables, vegetarian, weeknight meal

salmon tacos with tomatillo-avocado slaw

02/06/2015 By bridget

I’ve always made my fish tacos with white fish and been perfectly happy with that, but salmon actually makes a lot of sense. Just like barbacoa and chicken thighs, its richness makes a nice contrast to the crunchy slaw and tart dressing. Plus, I just really like salmon.

In this case, it’s rubbed with chili spices, a little sugar, and just a bit of finely ground coffee for an extra bite. Rather than serving slices of avocado in the tacos, it’s pureed along with tomatillos and cilantro into the dressing for the slaw. As much as a pile of different toppings on tacos is fun, on a weeknight, I appreciate the simplification of mixing them all into one bowl with the cabbage.

I don’t plan on pushing my white fish tacos aside – or my shredded beef tacos, or my Asian-inspired tacos, or even my lentil tacos – but we eat tacos often enough to enjoy plenty of variety. Combining one of my favorite types of fish with a creamy dressing made with avocados and stuffing it all into fresh corn tortillas? Plus it’s easy and healthy? Yes, this can be added to the list of tacos I make regularly.

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Dry-Rubbed Salmon Tacos with Tomatillo-Avocado Slaw (rewritten from Food and Wine via JBean Cuisine)

Serves 4

4 cups of pre-shredded coleslaw mix would work well here in place of the cabbage.

Tomatillo-avocado slaw:
2 tomatillos, husked and halved
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 small jalapeño, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled, and pitted
salt to taste
lime juice to taste
½ head cabbage, cored and finely sliced

Salmon:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon finely ground coffee
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (8-ounce) salmon fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of ½ lime

For serving:
12 small flour or corn tortillas, heated and wrapped to keep warm
hot sauce, for serving

1. For the slaw: Transfer the tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and avocado to a blender or the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth; season to taste with salt and lime juice. In a large bowl, stir the dressing into the cabbage. Set aside.

2. For the salmon: In a small bowl, combine the cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, coffee, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Dry the salmon fillets, then rub them with the spice mixture. If the salmon has skin, use all the rub on the skinless side; if the fillets are skinless, spread the spices on both sides.

3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the salmon (skin-side up if it has skin), and cook without moving until well-browned, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, flip the salmon, and cook until the salmon just flakes, another 4-6 minutes. Transfer the salmon to a plate and break into approximately 1-inch pieces. Season with lime juice.

4. To serve: Top each tortilla with a portion of the salmon and the slaw; sprinkle with hot sauce. Serve immediately.

Filed Under: citrus, gluten free, healthy, mexican, seafood, vegetables, weeknight meal, whole grains

beef satay with spicy mango dip

02/02/2015 By bridget

People keep giving me venison. I have friends who enjoy hunting but have families that don’t love the flavor of venison. I have another friend who doesn’t prefer the front shoulder, so I’ve turned several into barbacoa (and then gave him the recipe, and that was the end of my venison front shoulder donations). I don’t even know how I ended up with the prized backstrap, a cut similar to the tenderloin, but I’m not complaining.

Rather than search for venison-specific recipes, I consider venison interchangeable with beef or sometimes pork. My brother sent me this recipe, and while I didn’t have the right cut of beef, I did have venison backstrap. It’s an interesting recipe, with a marinade that includes ground cashews. It ends up as more of a paste, which sticks to the meat as it cooks.

It may be unusual, but it works. Dave and I made the full recipe, which supposedly feeds four, and we had no leftovers. Someone needs to give me more venison backstrap so I can make this again immediately – and this time I won’t share the recipe.

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Beef Satay with Spicy Mango Dip (rewritten from Linda Doeser’s Chinese: The Essence of Asian Cooking)

The recipe recommends serving with salad greens, but I mostly considered those garnish, while rice was important to soak up the sauce.

I made tamarind sauce the same way I do for pad Thai, by soaking tamarind paste in hot water, then straining out the solids and using the liquid in the recipe. You might also be able to find tamarind concentrate. If not, it won’t ruin the recipe to leave it out.

For the satay:
1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced across the grain and skewered
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ cup raw cashews
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
½-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons tamarind sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salad greens, to serve

For the spicy mango dip:
1 ripe mango, peeled and seeded
1 to 2 fresh red chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon salt

1. Heat a small not-notstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coriander and cumin seeds; toast, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Let cool completely before grinding.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the ground spices, cashews, oil, shallots, ginger, garlic, tamarind sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar. Process until the cashews are finely chopped. Coat the meat with the cashew mixture; cover and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

3. For the dip: Process the mango, chiles, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, cilantro, and salt in the food processor until smooth.

4. Prepare a medium-hot grill. Cook the skewers directly over the heat until browned and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side. (Alternatively, cook for the same amount of time as close to the broiler element as possible.) Serve with the sauce and greens.

Filed Under: appetizers, asian, beef, fruit, gluten free, grilling, healthy, nuts, rice, weeknight meal

spanish chickpea and spinach stew

01/21/2015 By bridget

I wasn’t big on life-changing, be-a-better-person resolutions this year, but I did get inspired for a lot of projects. There’s the cookbook goal; a list of house projects; an effort to post on my blog’s Facebook page more often; and a desire to take more pictures. To hold myself accountable (and give myself a satisfying box to check when I complete something), I’m tracking everything.

My goal is to put effort into photography almost every day. It was easy the first few days, when we were traveling, but I was at a loss the first day back at work, when I don’t do much other than sit in my office all day, make dinner, and fold laundry. But of course I love food pictures, and dinner was right there, so I figured I might as well see if I could get a decent shot without much effort.

In this case, not only were the shots decent (maybe from all that practice I’ve been getting taking random dinner pictures!), but the meal itself was fantastic. I’m a sucker for tomato-based soups, but with all the other good stuff in there, I didn’t even feel the need to dip a grilled cheese sandwich into the bowl. It’s lucky that I’d snapped a few quick pictures before we ate, because there were no leftovers – not that making it again soon would have been a hardship.

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Spanish Chickpea and Spinach Stew (rewritten but not significantly changed from Serious Eats)

I was worried that the spinach would turn to mush after 40 minutes of simmering, but even the baby spinach I used was okay. A heartier spinach would likely be even better.

For the tomatoes, I transferred half of the tomatoes from the can to a small bowl and used scissors to chop them. I used an immersion blender to puree the remaining tomatoes and ginger in the tomato can.

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 1-inch knob ginger, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for serving)
1 medium onion, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 teaspoon sweet or hot smoked paprika
12 ounces fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), undrained
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar (optional)

1. Blend half the tomatoes, all the liquid from the can, and the ginger until smooth. Coarsely chop the remaining tomatoes.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the onion, garlic, and paprika, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato-ginger puree; stir to combine. Gradually add the spinach, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, garbanzo beans (with their liquid), bay leaves, and soy sauce, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in the sherry vinegar. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately, drizzling with extra virgin olive oil.

Filed Under: beans, gluten free, healthy, vegetables, vegetarian, weeknight meal

pan-seared shrimp with tomatoes and avocado

01/14/2015 By bridget

I hate to be a cliche, but it’s January and I’d like to eat a little healthier for a while. That is, a little healthier than normal, and a whole lot healthier than I did over the holidays. I have no regrets; it was a delicious holiday break, full of cookies, holiday meals, restaurants, and fun new beers. But I’m happy to be back to eating the occasional green thing now.

A book with Light and Healthy in the title was the obvious choice for choosing cookbook recipes in early January. It’s simply shrimp, cooked in just a bit of oil, then topped with barely softened vegetables. A bit of brown rice helps soak up any extra sauce.

As much as I crave healthy foods when I’m eating feasts every night, sometimes when I’m trying to get back into eating lots of vegetables, I find myself missing sugar and fried food and cheese and all those delicious treats. Light, vegetably dishes as good as this one help ease the transition – especially since each serving has plenty of fatty, buttery, creamy avocado.

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Pan-Seared Shrimp with Tomatoes and Avocado (from America’s Test Kitchen Light and Healthy 2011)

Serves 4

I used cherry tomatoes since they tend to be better in the winter than bigger varieties. I also substituted about ¼ cup minced roasted and peeled Hatch green chile for the chipotle.

1 pound tomatoes (2 to 3), cored, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
6 scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced thin
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
salt and pepper
1½ pounds extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
⅛ teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoon canola oil
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-inch pieces
lime wedges

1. Combine the tomatoes, scallion whites, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, chipotle, and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl.

2. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and season with the sugar, salt, and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of the shrimp and cook until curled and lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

3. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and shrimp; transfer to the bowl.

4. Return the skillet to high heat, add the tomato mixture, and cook until the tomatoes soften slightly, about 1 minute. Off the heat, return the shrimp to the skillet and toss to coat. Transfer the shrimp and tomatoes to a platter, season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with the scallion greens and avocado. Serve with lime wedges.

Filed Under: citrus, gluten free, healthy, mexican, seafood, summer, vegetables, weeknight meal

arugula salad with prosciutto, figs, walnuts, and parmesan

12/10/2014 By bridget

This is my salad of the season. It seems like there’s always one, something I make every time we have a big meal (i.e., every Saturday night). This one was so good we had it for Sunday lunch too.

Maybe I should start making soup as a first course instead of salad, especially this time of year, but this salad seems appropriate for winter. It has deep, rich flavors from the prosciutto, figs, and walnuts, so it doesn’t taste bright and light like a lot of summer salads do.

And yet, even piled with crisp prosciutto and slivers of parmesan, it’s still a salad, still mostly vegetables. That makes it a great accompaniment to rich winter braises and casseroles. If this is my salad of the season, I’m glad it’s still early in the season.

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Arugula Salad with Prosciutto, Figs, Walnuts, and Parmesan (from Cook’s Illustrated)

4-6 servings

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into ¼-inch-wide ribbons
1 tablespoon raspberry jam or honey
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ cup dried figs, stems removed, fruit chopped into ¼-inch pieces
1 small shallot, very finely minced (about 1 tablespoon)
Table salt and ground black pepper
5 ounces lightly packed stemmed arugula (about 8 cups)
½ cup toasted, chopped walnuts
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved into thin strips with vegetable peeler

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; add prosciutto and fry until crisp, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper-towel-lined plate and set aside to cool.

2. Whisk jam and vinegar in medium microwave-safe bowl; stir in figs. Cover with plastic wrap, cut several steam vents in plastic, and microwave on high until figs are plump, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons oil, shallot, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper; toss to combine. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Toss arugula and vinaigrette in large bowl; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Divide salad among individual plates; top each with portion of prosciutto, walnuts, and Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Filed Under: cheese, fruit, gluten free, italian, pork, salad, vegetables

cranberry grappa jelly

11/11/2014 By bridget

Perhaps the lesson learned here is that cranberry sauce is better with alcohol. These are the only cranberry sauce recipes I can say that I honestly like. The plain stuff is nothing but sweet and tart, but adding a lot of wine or a little bit of grappa mellows those flavors while adding some complexity.

Still, I have to admit, I’m not really sure what to do with cranberry sauce. I gather it’s supposed to be put on top of the turkey, but that’s where I keep my gravy. Mostly I make it because it makes an excellent sandwich when combined with leftover turkey, green chile, and mayo.

I already had my mind made up that I prefer my cranberries without the skins, and this recipe is designed for that. Plus, it slurps just like the stuff from the can, but you can make it any pretty shape you want (and have a pan for). Of course it tastes way more interesting than the stuff from a can, and it does make one heck of a sandwich.

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Cranberry Grappa Jelly (from Gourmet via epicurious)

8 servings

1¼ pounds fresh or frozen cranberries (4½ cups)
1¾ cups sugar
1¾ cups cold water, divided
1 cup grappa, divided
2 (¼-ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin (4½ teaspoons)

1. Bring cranberries, sugar, 1½ cups water, and ¾ cup grappa to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then briskly simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until most of berries have burst and the mixture is thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain through a large fine-mesh sieve into a 2-quart measuring cup or a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. (You will need 2½ cups liquid.)

2. Stir together the gelatin and remaining ¼ cup water and let stand 1 minute to soften. Bring 1 cup drained cranberry liquid to a simmer in a small saucepan, then add the gelatin mixture and stir until just dissolved. Add the gelatin mixture and remaining ¼ cup grappa to the remaining 1½ cups cranberry liquid and stir well. Pour the cranberry sauce into a lightly oiled mold and chill, covered with plastic wrap, until firmly set, at least 12 hours.

3. To unmold, dip the mold in a large bowl of warm water (water should reach halfway up mold) for 5 seconds, then run tip of a thin knife around edge of mold. Tilt mold sideways and tap side against a counter, turning it, to evenly break seal and loosen jelly. Keeping the mold tilted, put a plate over mold, then invert the jelly onto the plate.

Filed Under: alcohol, fruit, gluten free, side dish, thanksgiving

turkey porchetta

11/05/2014 By bridget

I have made this twice in the last year. Once, it was one of the most complicated things I’d done in the kitchen. The other, it was quite simple.

The first time was part of a big turkey dinner I cooked in January, as I’ve gotten into the tradition of hosting the last several years. Starting with this recipe, the menu had an Italian focus – mashed potatoes with fontina, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, cranberries with grappa. And porchetta, a Italian dish of spiced pork belly (which I have never actually had).

The turkey porchetta recipe uses just the breast, so Kenji also developed recipes for turkey thighs (braised in red wine, although mine mostly roasted on top of red wine and kind of dried out) and turkey sausage (which I stuffed into mezzalune – ravioli-type dumplings made from gnocchi dough; my favorite item of the meal). This meant breaking down the whole turkey into its parts, removing the legs and wings, carefully removing the skin without ripping it, then cutting off the breasts in whole pieces. One thing you should know about me is that I am terrible at breaking down chickens – and this was the same process but a lot bigger.

After breaking down the turkey, butterflying the breasts, seasoning the meat, rolling it, tying it, letting it rest overnight, then browning it and roasting it, I got distracted by stuffing my face with turkey sausage mezzalune and accidentally overcooked the turchetta. A friend who grew up eating real porchetta in northern Michigan, however, loved it and said it tasted just like what he was used to.

Still, I wanted to get it right. Months later, I tried again – this time starting with a boneless turkey breast. You can imagine that without breaking a whole turkey down into its parts, this was remarkably easier. It wrapped up into a thicker roll, plus I monitored its cooking time more carefully, and this time, it was everything I could have asked for. (You’d think I could have taken some new and improved pictures when I didn’t have guests over and ten other dishes to finish, but you’d be wrong.) The skin is browned and crisp, the meat is juicy and salty and spiced. When you don’t overcook it, turchetta deserves to be the star of a holiday meal – and if you start with a turkey breast, it’s not any harder roasting a turkey.

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Turkey Porchetta (not significantly adapted from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Food Lab at Serious Eats)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus ½ tablespoon whole black peppercorns
¼ cup fresh sage leaves
4 medium cloves garlic
½ tablespoon whole fennel seeds
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 whole bone-in, skin-on turkey breast (about 4 to 5 pounds), patted dry
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 quart low sodium homemade or store-bought chicken or turkey stock

1. Combine 2 teaspoons kosher salt, whole black peppercorns, sage leaves, garlic, fennel seed, and red pepper flakes in the bowl of a food processor. Process until a rough paste is formed, scraping down sides as necessary, about 30 seconds.

2. Carefully remove the skin from the turkey breast and lay it flat. Using your hands and a boning knife, carefully remove the breast meat from the carcass. Set aside the tenderloins for another use.

3. Lay one breast half on top of the turkey skin and butterfly the thicker end by cutting through it horizontally, leaving the last ½-inch intact, then folding out the flap. Repeat with the other breast half.

4. Make a series of parallel slashes at 1-inch intervals in the turkey meat, cutting about ½-inch into the meat. Repeat with a second series of slashes perpendicular to the first. Rub the spice/herb mixture into the meat, making sure to get it into all of the cracks.

5. Carefully roll the turkey meat into a tight cylinder, using the skin to completely enclose it. Tie the roast tightly with butcher’s twine at 1-inch intervals, as well as once lengthwise. Transfer the roast to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.

6. When ready to cook, adjust an oven rack to center position and preheat the oven to 275°F. Season exterior of turkey lightly with salt and pepper. Heat remaining tablespoon canola oil in a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the turkey and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer the turkey to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Roast until the thickest part of the turkey registers 145 to 150°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board, and let rest for 10 minutes. Snip off the twine using poultry shears. Carve and serve.

Filed Under: gluten free, italian, thanksgiving, turkey

vietnamese shrimp quinoa salad

10/27/2014 By bridget

Does anyone else think shrimp can have an off-putting texture sometimes? It’s not just when it’s overcooked and chewy; even cooked correctly, there can be an unevenly textured graininess that I don’t like. The smaller the shrimp, the less that texture is an issue. On the other hand, the smaller the shrimp, the more shrimp you have to peel.

However, I love the flavor. Sweet and briny, it’s so good in a huge variety of dishes. This is one of my recent favorites. The vegetables are crunchy and fresh, but the shrimp and quinoa keep it satisfying.

I’ve found a trick that seems to solve my texture issues with shrimp, although it’s an extra tedious step on top of the already tedious peeling. After cooking, I cut the shrimp in half lengthwise. As an added bonus, it makes them closer to bite-sized for me, so I can get a forkful with all the goodies – shrimp and quinoa and vegetables and herbs. This one simple trick makes me love shrimp – both the flavor and the texture.

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Vietnamese Shrimp and Quinoa Salad (adapted from Serious Eats)

You can save some time by cooking the quinoa in water instead of the cooking liquid from the shrimp, starting to cook the quinoa around the same time as the shrimp.

Shrimp:
1 pound shrimp, unpeeled
2 cups water
5 cilantro sprigs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 lime

Salad:
½ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 red pepper, diced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, quartered lengthwise, and sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
2 scallions, sliced thin
¼ cup cilantro, minced

Dressing:
¼ cup lime juice from 2 limes
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. For the shrimp: In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the shrimp, water, cilantro sprigs, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Juice the lime into the saucepan, then add the lime peels to the saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until the shrimp turn pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the shrimp, reserving ¾ cup of the shrimp broth. Rinse the saucepan.

2. For the salad: Add the shrimp broth and quinoa to the rinsed saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until the broth boils. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let set, covered, for 10 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, red peppers, cucumber, carrot, scallions, and cilantro. Peel the cooled shrimp and add it to the bowl.

4. For the dressing: Mix everything. Pour over the salad and stir to combine. Serve immediately, or cover and chill for up to four hours.

Filed Under: asian, citrus, gluten free, healthy, salad, seafood, vegetables