Okay, Okay, Okay!! I heard you already. I have been getting a lot of requests for the Firecracker Cole Slaw that got a fleeting mention at the end of the burger pot lucky post. I guess it’s time.
This is a recipe adapted from my very first menu at New World Grill. We served it with a delicious steak sandwich with a horseradish aioli on toasted sourdough (I know you can do that on your own). The tang of the cole slaw with the richness of the beef was a match made in heaven. But for reals…cole slaw?? What doesn’t it go with?? It’s fantastic on pulled pork. Wait, did I say fantastic? No, sir. It is mandatory! Reubens? Pa-lease. I’m a New Yawker! And required with a fish sandwich. Bien sur. And because at New World we always took the “less-traveled” route and never made anything in classic style, Firecracker Cole Slaw had Black Sesame Seeds (the cracker) and a splash of chili oil (the fire). And for added fire, this version has both chili oil AND sriracha. If you are a minimalist you can go with one or the other and double down (Sriracha gets my vote).
It’s a well-documented fact that I am a hater when it comes to mayo. I won’t go so far as to say I never use it but I won’t slather it on my turkey sandwich with white bread. I like the sass of Dijon. And speaking of sass, let me introduce you to my bestie buttermilk. Buttermilk feels rich and creamy, but it’s really low fat (1 cup has 2 grams of fat) and it adds the acid hit I am always desperately seeking. I have another favorite slaw I will bring you soon that gets its juice from white miso paste. Forever seeking rich and single…er, creamy without the fat or mayo.
You can absolutely use bell peppers of any color, but here I am using mini sweet peppers. They happen to be on hand, but I also like the contrast of the mini bell rings to the cabbage shreds. Go with your heart on this one. No wrong choices. And #nojudgement.
This is a super simple dish to whip up if you put your food processor and blender to work. And a little bit of cabbage goes oh so far. I last made a double batch of this, but had a crowd. It holds well for a couple days. If you are making it ahead, add the seeds at serving time.
Firecracker Cole Slaw
Cole Slaw Dressing:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup buttermilk
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon Sriracha
2 teaspoons chili oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until well combined.
Makes 2+ cups
Firecracker Cole Slaw
½ head red cabbage, finely shredded
½ head green cabbage, finely shredded
½ pound mini sweet peppers, cut into rings (or 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, diced or slivered)
Toss cabbages and peppers in a large mixing bowl and pour on dressing, stirring to combine. Depending on your cabbage size, you may have some dressing left over. (Refrigerate for future use in an airtight container).
It was a perfect confluence of events. I was invited to a dedication at a local yacht club, complete with naval officers and Girl Scouts, and asked to bring a side to share. I had just loaded up with fresh corn, heirloom tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos (it’s true, I have been to five farmers market in six days – it’s that time of year – and no, I don’t have a problem, but thanks for your concern)! And then a fabulous box filled with RiceSelect Texmati Rice appeared on my doorstep awaiting a review (two thumbs up), courtesy of culinary friends at Mambo Sprouts. The wheels were already turning. Rice. Grilled Veggies. Salad Bowl. Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl. Voila! A summer salad jammed packed with flavor was born.
RiceSelect Texmati, in case you don’t know, combines the best qualities of basmati and American long-grain rice and has a popcorn-y aroma and nutty taste. Because the grains cook up dry, separate and fluffy, it is the ideal choice for a rice salad. Flavor + Texture. Win. Win. I was off and running to whip up a big batch of South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Vegetable Salad. With Lime Cilantro Dressing!! Oh, yeah!
As my mind was spinning around southwestern flavors, I remembered a vinaigrette that was a fan-favorite in my earliest catering days. Lots of cumin. It was pretty basic – a bit of a one note samba by today’s palate’s cries for layers of flavor – so I dosed it with Sriracha, a serious hit of lime (juice and zest) and cilantro. Yum. I can’t be sure, though there are rumors of hoarding and hiding the leftovers, but I do believe this dish got better the next day. Even the grilled romaine held up. Especially with starch based dishes, it’s always important to re-taste for seasonings and acid both before you serve it and again the next day. To my palate, it was still well-seasoned the next day, but it’s your kitchen, you be the judge.
Couple of quick notes to keep in mind as you are cooking:
Once the rice sits off the heat to absorb the final liquid, remove the lid, fluff it with a fork. Since we are making a cold salad, drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil to coat and seal each grain. This will keep the rice from over-absorbing dressing later. And that friends, will let you serve it again over the next couple days.
The dressing recipe below makes a double batch and is a good one to keep on hand in the fridge. However if you want to store it for longer than a few days, add the cilantro to the salad, not the dressing. The cilantro-free dressing will keep refrigerated for a couple weeks.
When chopping the grilled tomatillos, be sure to catch and add the juices to the salad. These liquids are a great way to add depth of flavor to your salad. Single-handedly they add a rare combo – smoke AND acid
And zesting: if you aren’t fully stocked with a Microplane Zester/Grater, why are we even friends? For real. These zesters put the joy in zesting. No chance of getting too much bitter white pith in the zest. No more scraped knuckles. Perfect every time. And they are awesome for grating hard cheeses or spices like nutmeg. Run. Now.
Let’s get busy. This flavorful salad pairs perfectly with grilled meats or fish, or is a stand out as a vegetarian entrée. Add toasted pepitas for a dose of protein if serving as a main.
South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl
Cook RiceSelect Texmati rice according to package directions. After you remove the pan from the heat and let it stand 5-10 minutes, transfer the rice to a mixing bowl and drizzle with 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil, fluffing with a fork. Set aside.
Grill the vegetables over a hot grill: tomatillos, corn, poblano pepper and yellow bell pepper. Let the poblano char completely and transfer to a plastic bag to sweat. When cool enough to handle, pull off the char under running water and remove stem and seeds.
Coarsely chop the tomatillos, poblano and bell pepper and cut corn from cob. Add to the rice, along with any juices that release from the tomatillos.
Drizzle the Little Gems with olive oil and sprinkle with coriander. Grill cut side down until the lettuce just starts to wilt and gets grill marks. Chop coarsely and add to the salad.
Add tomatoes, queso fresco and avocado, and dress the salad with the Cumin Lime Cilantro Dressing.
Adjust seasonings before serving.
Makes about 3 quarts and is a fabulous leftover.
Cumin Lime Cilantro Dressing:
1/3 cup EVOO
¼ cup chopped cilantro (see note)
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sriracha
Zest and Juice of 2 limes
½ Tablespoon ground cumin
½ Tablespoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Note: This will make twice the dressing needed for this salad and it will keep for several weeks refrigerated if you add the cilantro to the salad instead of the dressing itself. Or make a double batch of the salad and use it all!
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You know a movement has had its awareness sufficiently raised when a blithe reference slips into a throw-away line on a sitcom. After two posts on food waste last week, imagine my squeals when I heard this from a waiter at a hip millennial launch party on a newish sitcom: “The bruschetta has been made with rescued tomatoes and date of expiration burrata”. I’m squealing. Really. Yipeeeeeeee!
Unfortunately summer bruschetta is the last thing on my cooking mind today. A girl can dream. But as I moped through the grocery looking for anything to lift the gloom of winter’s darkest days, I was thrilled to see fresh turmeric. I didn’t even know you could get this in a mainstream grocery – in the Midwest. It used to be relegated to special trips to Asian markets in big cities. Or more likely it could only be sourced dried and ground. Honestly, I was never a fan of turmeric when I only knew its dried self. I thought it tasted – well, yellow. It didn’t really register much on my palate. But while doing guest chef stints on culinary cruises in the Caribbean, I would gather up ever fresh market item that was a bit unique and had a story and introduce our passengers to these new world treats. I even spent one week being followed by the Food Network, and we hit the Grenada spice market hard.
Turmeric was just one of the many spices I found bears little resemblance to its dry spice counterpart. Mace was another. It makes sense that I love turmeric because it’s related to ginger – and I’m well documented as a “fiend for ginger”. Both are rhizomes, along with galangal, lotus, bamboo, and many more. They spread laterally (called creeping rootstalk) and send shoots up. Many have culinary uses.
Like ginger, turmeric when fresh has a pungent and aromatic taste that can be quite peppery (HOT!), especially when used in excess. It is a key player in many South Asian (Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, and Cambodian) dishes – both for flavor and color; you’ll find it in American food as a colorant that can range from subtle to supreme. Vanilla products like yogurt and pudding turn creamy, not stark white, and mustard turns bright yellow.
But turmeric’s real claim to fame is its medicinal properties. Like ginger, turmeric has powerful anti-nausea (turmeric tea, just boil it up), anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal properties. If only this miracle worker could clean the bath!! (Nobody wants a yellow tub, I know, I know). It’s even being studied for treatment of IBS, Alzheimer’s, depression and cancer. Rock stah!
So I grabbed a handful and headed home, determined to make a spicy vegan curry. It doesn’t have to be vegan or even vegetarian, but that is what I had on my mind. Tucking in for the night with a Buddha Bowl of Spicy Goodness.
Start by making a Yellow Curry Paste – this will make four times what you need and freezes well. You can add a lot of different ingredients or leave out some of these, but this is what I had on hand and so what I used. Roasting the aromatics and toasting the spices, while a bit more time-consuming, will elevate the taste and develop a real depth of flavor that you simply can’t get by just pureeing all the ingredients. It’s worth the commitment.
Many curry recipes are simple purees, but this one roasts the aromatics and toasts the spices. While a bit more time-consuming, this extra step develops depth of flavor that you simply can’t get with dump and whirl. It’s worth the commitment. And bonus – it freezes well!
Ingredients
Scale
3 shallots
5 pieces of turmeric
3heads of garlic
1 Tablespoon of olive oil (plus more to drizzle on aromatics)
Spice Blend:
2 Tablespoons ground coriander
2 Tablespoons ground cumin
1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3 Tablespoons lemongrass paste (a tube usually found with herbs in produce section)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400oF.
Wrap the aromatics, each in their own foil pouch, and place on a sheet pan to roast. (20 minutes for the turmeric; 1 hour for the shallots and garlic)
Shallots – peeled, placed in a foil pouch and drizzled with olive oil
Turmeric – well scrubbed, placed in a foil pouch and drizzled with olive oil
Garlic – loose outer “paper” removed, tops of each head trimmed, placed in a foil pouch and drizzled with olive oil
In a small sauté pan, heat one Tablespoon olive oil and add all the spices. Sauté, stirring, for about two minutes until the spices start to release their aroma. Transfer to the work bowl of a food processor.
Once the aromatics are cool enough to handle, transfer the shallots and turmeric to the bowl of a food processor. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the processor, picking by hand any that linger behind. Discard the garlic “paper”.
Add the lemongrass paste and sea salt. Puree until desired consistency.
Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate or freeze.
Notes
This will last longer than if it were made with raw herbs or aromatics, and it also freezes well.
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour
Category:Sauce
Method:Blender/Processor
Cuisine:Indian
Keywords: turmeric, curry
Now that you have that tasty curry, how about whipping up a Coconut Curry Buddha Bowl, filled with hearty and soul-warming sweet potatoes and earthy greens and topped with pumpkin seeds. It’s vegan and you can feel great about that for so many reasons.
Coconut Turmeric Curry with Winter Vegetable Buddha Bowl
Serving suggestion – rice or brown rice* (See note below)
Start the rice.
In a wok or deep skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the ginger for 2-3 minutes until soft.
Add the sweet potatoes, curry paste, coconut cream and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring periodically, for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and sauce is thickened.
Add the greens and stir until wilted.
Divide rice among bowls and top with sweet potato curry. Garnish with scallions, pumpkin seeds, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Serves 4.
*Brown rice note: I really prefer brown rice but you’ve likely heard the bad news about arsenic. Because it is a whole grain, it has more potential for danger than white rice which has been stripped of its outer hull (and for that matter its nutritional value). Truth be told, I really don’t eat it very often – once a month or less – so I’m not that worried but I do take a couple precautions. Brown basmati from California, India and Pakistan are the best choices – about 1/3 less risk than other brown rices according to Consumer Reports. The other thing I do is rinse it several times, and then cook it like pasta in a 6:1 water ratio (instead of the normal 2:1) and drain the excess water. That will help wash away the evil-doers lurking in your lovely whole grain. My Grandmother always said “you’ve gotta eat a peck of dirt before you die”. I’m guessing she wasn’t talking about arsenic, but she did make it pass 90. Just sayin.
Okay, there is a reason search engines hate me. I just don’t play by their rules. But I am sorry – who wants to see a headline about Brussels sprouts? Bo. Ring. Although this dish is anything but. It’s actually my brother who calls them Barbie Doll heads – what would I know? My idea of repurposing Barbie is to ram a rod up her and put a shade with some nice piano fringe on top. #AmIRite? That “Solo in the Spotlight” outfit was made to be a lamp. Well that and the fact I never really forgave her for the mic drop she pulled on the way to kindergarten. That microphone was integral to the outfit.
It’s a perfect time of year to find fresh Brussels sprouts – on or off the stalk. I found these at one of our winter indoor markets, grown by Blackbird Farms. A dish like this is so simple and undemanding that it fits holiday entertaining quite well.
Brussels sprouts date back to the late 16th century – thought to be native to Belgium, hence the capital name. They are high in Vitamins C and K, high in fiber, and like other cruciferous vegetables, associated with cancer prevention. But the important part is they are tasty. I like to roast them to get a nutty slightly charred taste, but you can also steam, sauté, and even remove the leaves and blanch them. Patrick O’Connell from the legendary Inn at Little Washington has a recipe in one of his books for Brussels Sprout Petals with Coriander Vinaigrette and Pickled Cranberries. It is quite delish and lucky for you, he featured it during an NPR interview so no need to buy the book (well there are plenty of reasons to buy the book, but just not for that recipe). Patrick serves it cold, but it would be a fantastic side vegetable, served warm, on your holiday buffet.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Shallots and Prosciutto
Toss the sprouts with 1 ½ Tablespoons of EVOO, salt and pepper. Arrange on a sheet pan and roast, shaking periodically, until tender and slightly charred, about 20-30 minutes, depending on size and freshness.
Heat the remaining ½ Tablespoon of EVOO and sauté shallots until browned. Add the prosciutto and continue sautéing until it becomes a bit crispy.
Add the roasted sprouts to the pan and stir to toss well. Drizzle with fig Balsamic vinegar, to taste. Adjust seasonings, as needed.
I’m not quite sure how I ever made it through to dessert all those years that I mashed potatoes with a – uh, masher. Oh sure, there was always a brother who made a mean mash with just the right amount of chunks left it. But in my family, the men (technically, THE MAN) were supposed to do the carving. That or keep the mimosas cold. The real magic, I think, behind having a potato ricer is that kids of all ages want to get involved. It’s like a giant garlic press and the potatoes come out all wormy and stuff. What’s not to love? And kids actually volunteering for food prep is win-win. Thank you, Ali Price!
I can’t tell you the exact date that I started my ricer love affair, but I remember the moment like it was yesterday. It was in the early years of New World Grill and I had a rare evening off and chose to dine at the James Beard house. I couldn’t tell you who was in the kitchen, but I remember clearly being seated with Nicole Routhier, author of beautiful books on Vietnamese food, and Florence Fabricant of the NY Times. There was breaking news and Florence arrived a bit late. As she settled in, Florence talked about an upcoming dinner that she and Frank Prial, NY Times’ wine writer, were hosting to benefit the NY Public Library. For a good number of years, the Times offered these magical dinners – which today would be auctioned online and raise a ton of money in minutes – for a flat ticket price, all proceeds to support NYPL. Florence and Frank always offered FOOD & WINE, Times style. There were other dinners, hosted by famous people, all over town at the exact same time. I was most intrigued by Calvin Trillin’s. He invited the guests into his home and served take-out – or to be more precise, the best Chinese take-out NY had to offer. He had stationed minions all over Chinatown, striking with military precision to bring each dish, the most iconic offering from each restaurant, one by one, on a carefully calculated timetable (“…..like the Entebbe raid”………according to the Times) to be served at the precise moment of each dish’s peak.
I asked who was cooking for Florence and Frank’s party and she said she was – of course. I offered to do the event-time cooking to finish off her prep, so she could be with the guests. To say she was skeptical would be an understatement. She did know who I was and had already written about New World Grill, but I was a newbie. Nicole insisted she take me up on the offer. I left knowing the date and time but little else. I doubt I even thought to panic until the week before. Then, total anxiety set in. Especially when I found out she was making Terence Brennan’s short ribs and mashed potatoes for the main, or more accurately she was making Terence Brennan’s short ribs and I was making mashed potatoes. Sure sure sure – it seems simple, but the simplest food is always an acid test of one’s cooking ability. Did you see The 100-Foot Journey? Helen Mirren had her acid test dish to confirm Chef’s talent – and it was seemingly simple. Same deal for Florence’s potatoes – under-season the water, turn the mash to glue, too wet, too dry, too bland – the stakes were incredibly high. To make matters worse – or as it turns out better – she had forgotten her ricer, “whatever that was”, I thought. She called her husband to bring it over and then handed it off to me. Luckily it didn’t come with –nor need – an owner’s manual. I had this. Salted water to cook, white pepper and a lot of butter to finish. Thankfully my performance was worthy of an invitation to greet the guests and a hug from Florence, neither of which were expected. Johnny Carson himself might as well have invited me to the couch. Thank you, ricer.
Incidentally, Florence also introduced me that night to Indiana’s goat cheese producer – Judy Schad of Capriole Farms. After the short rib course, there was a salad with fuyu persimmon and Wabash Cannonball cheese from Capriole Farms. Seriously – I need to get out more.
Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are an excellent blank slate for seasoning as you like. A few posts ago, I used the pistachio pesto recipe to flavor the riced potatoes. Today I am adding fresh goat cheese and thyme. But while using a ricer is simple and flawless, potatoes cooked like this are best mashed to order, so dedicating the burner and the last minute attention may be more than you can swing at a stove-intensive holiday like Thanksgiving.
4 Russet potatoes, about 3 pounds, peeled, quartered, and covered in water
½ cup milk, half and half or cream, warmed (microwave is fine)
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, cut in chunks
3 Tablespoons butter, cut in chunks
3 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Put the potatoes in a large pot, season with 2 Tablespoons salt and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes release easily when pricked with a fork, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well.
Press the potatoes through a Potato Ricer into a bowl.
Add about half the milk, as well as the goat cheese and butter. Stir until mixed, adding more milk, as needed to desired texture.
Add the fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with pats of butter and sprigs of thyme.
Serves 4-6 – depending on how serious (About Mashed Potatoes!!) you are.
This homely little vegetable belies its knobby, unsightly exterior, showing up instead packing a flavor punch and chocked full of crunch. It became one of my favorites during my year in France. While interning in Michelin starred restaurants, I had this crazy schedule, leaving at 7am for work about an hour away, and returning home well after midnight on the last metro of the day. There were a few others in this tiny studio apartment, but I got the “walk in” (if you could call it that) closet which I used as my salon – having a glass of wine, checking my mail and unwinding from the day. I was always the last one in and first one out each day. My personal time in the apartment came on Saturday when everyone else was either at work or away for the weekend. I spent that day off each week combing the specialty food shops in my neighborhood, doing laundry and plotting for dinner. Being on a budget meant a lot of chicken, but it also meant trying new things with cheap root vegetables. Céleri Rémoulade (grated celery root with mayonnaise) and Salade de Carottes Râpées (grated carrots, lightly dressed) became two staples of my weekend dining. The French don’t favor raw vegetables, but they make exception for these two which are damn near national treasures. The Céleri Rémoulade mayonnaise dressing bore faint resemblance to its American cousin. It was rich and creamy and somewhat tangy.
I don’t think about those dinners all that often, but this time of year when I see celery root, technically celeriac, with the remaining farmers braving brisk market mornings, I am immediately back there in that tiny kitchenette. It reminds me how hard I worked to make it taste the same each time, something that a professional takes pride in. These days, I like to make it different each time. Sneak in a new ingredient, change the dressing. The recipe below masquerades grated apple and white cheddar. They both look about the same as grated celery root, but what a delight to find that the intense celery flavor is elevated with sweet/tart apple and rich cheddar lurking within.
Here in the US, celery root is not so well known. When the farm stands are gone, invariably I’m forced to buy it at the supermarket. Without fail, I get one of the befuddled cashiers giving me a “Whaaaaaat?” look. I am so smitten with the flavor – think celery and parsley – and versatility that I have been known to sneak celery root into a mystery basket for auditioning chefs. On one particular project, the first three candidates failed to use it (a strict mystery basket no-no) and when the fourth got a last minute chance to audition, he asked if he could use the abundance of celery root he had seen in the walk-in. Guess who still has the job? Unlike the others, he was well aware that celery root can not only be served grated and raw, but also steamed, boiled, and roasted to include in soups, stews, bisques, gratins and mashes, the very way he chose to serve it.
When shopping, look for small, firm celeriac that seem overly heavy for their size. Bulbs with bruises, soft spots or a lot of shoots or rootlets are past their prime. Not only will they have lost their intense flavor, they tend to be a bit pithy inside and that is no good for a raw salad. To prepare for grating, trim the ends to create a flat surface, then use a sharp knife to cut off the woody exterior. Cut in wedges that will fit into your processor, fitted with the large grating disc. The exposed flesh will start to turn brown eventually, so have your dressing ready and dress as you go.
Celery Root, Apple and Cheddar Slaw
Dressing:
¾ cup combined lemon juice and EVOO, 50-50 ratio
1 Tablespoon white miso, available at health food stores or Asian markets
1 Tablespoon Dijon or spicy/pepper mustard
Put all ingredients into a blender and combine until well blended.
Slaw:
1 pound celery root, trimmed and grated
1 pound crisp-tart apples such as Braeburn, peeled and grated
¼ pound sharp white cheddar, such as Barber
Grate each ingredient using the large grating disc on your food processor.
Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with dressing, tossing and dressing to desired coating.
Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
Serves 6-8.
This time of year just feels like spicy brats and sausages, and while I reached for a cabbage slaw variant all summer, this celery root, apple, cheddar slaw is the perfect accompaniment for fall outings.
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(the cracker) and a splash of chili oil (the fire). And for added fire, this version has both chili oil AND sriracha. If you are a minimalist you can go with one or the other and double down (Sriracha gets my vote).
, why are we even friends? For real. These zesters put the joy in zesting. No chance of getting too much bitter white pith in the zest. No more scraped knuckles. Perfect every time. And they are awesome for grating hard cheeses or spices like nutmeg. Run. Now.
(I get credit for the recipe, but truth is I stole it from my sister-in-law.) Rick’s books (including 
and 
) are right up there with ricers in the Thanksgiving must-haves.
into a bowl.
