vegetarian

1 April 6, 2023 Dinner

The Salad Dressing

This dressing is a vinaigrette. It is garlicky, salty, and goes amazingly well on all sorts of things. Use it on savory salads, on top of roasted potatoes, to dip carrot sticks in, on top of grilled protein, or as a marinade. Once you get the hang of making this recipe, you’ll be able to easily make it with no recipe at all. This is Silvia’s favorite salad dressing by far. Believe it or not, she will whip this up in the morning to put over a salad for her school lunch.

To make the dressing, you should ideally have a mortar and pestle. We use this set, made by Le Cruset, but anything should work.

The Salad Dressing

Ingredients

1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp capers
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method

Place the garlic clove and salt in the mortar and pestle. Mash to a paste. Add the capers and mash to a paste.
Add the dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. Mix until totally combined.
While mixing continuously, stream in the olive oil. Keep mixing vigorously until the dressing forms an emulsion and everything is well mixed.
Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Pour over your favorite salad, roasted potatoes, grilled chicken or tofu, or anything else you can think of.

Notes

This is a very simple recipe, but incredibly delicious. The capers replace anchovies in the original, and I think they do a great job of adding a nice briny saltiness to the dressing while keeping everything vegetarian. Silvia likes to keep the caper bits somewhat chunky, I like them more mashed up. There is no wrong answer. The dijon mustard serves as an emulsifier; it makes it easier for all of the ingredients to stay combined. Even with the mustard, this will separate after it sits for a while. No worried, just mix it up some more and it will come back together. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, just push the garlic through a garlic press and mince the capers as fine as possible. Just make the recipe in a small bowl and it will be great.

This dressing is adapted from David Tanis’ French Potato and Green Bean Salad.

2 June 14, 2020 Dairy-Free

Dead Simple Tomato Sauce

For me, pasta sauces fall into two categories, fast sauces, and sauces I never make. This dead simple tomato sauce is the former. You can easily throw it together in a couple of minutes, though it tastes best when it has at least 10 minutes to simmer. It is an incredibly forgiving recipe, so feel free to play around with the proportions if you want something different out of your sauce. This dead simple tomato sauce is of course great on pasta, or use it in my weeknight baked eggplant Parmesan recipe, or on a pizza.

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (I like yellow, red, or white. Not a Vidalia)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Method

Open the cans of whole tomatoes and dump them in a large bowl. Squeeze the tomatoes with your hands to break them up into small bits.
Heat the oil in a large (12” or so) pan with a lid
Sauté the onion for 5-6 minutes until translucent
Add the garlic, stir and cook for 45 seconds or so
Add the tomatoes and basil, salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes if you are using them.
Turn heat low enough that the sauce isn’t splattering everywhere, partially cover and simmer for 10 minutes to so, stirring occasionally.

5 June 14, 2020 Dinner

Weeknight Baked Eggplant Parmesan

We have all had tons of time at home over the last few months. For all of us that means more cooking, which is a great thing. For those of us with two working parents and kids in the house, it does not necessarily mean more time to cook. I came up with this dead simple version of baked eggplant parmesan because I was really craving it, but I wanted a faster way. Roasting the eggplant makes everything much easier than individually frying each piece. It also probably makes it lower in fat, but that was not my main goal in making the recipe.

I chose to throw together a quick and simple tomato sauce for this. If you are really crunched for time, feel free to use a good quality jarred sauce. I like Victoria’s and Rao’s, but use whatever you like. Throwing together a red sauce is dead simple, so give it a try.

Feeds 3-4. This recipe is easily doubled
Time 45 minutes, somewhat unattended

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (1.5 – 2 lbs)
1/2 cup olive oil (for brushing)
Salt
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 recipe dead simple tomato sauce
Fresh basil for serving

Method

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Slice the eggplant crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange the slices on a large baking sheet.
Generously paint the eggplant on one side with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt. A pastry brush works well for this. Flip the eggplant slices and paint and salt the opposite side. This is a great step to let a child do. It’s very simple and not too messy.
Roast the eggplant in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip and roast for 15 minutes longer. The eggplant should be nicely browned. If it is not, leave it in a bit longer. Remove when the eggplant is browned. Leave the oven on.
While the eggplant is in the oven, make the sauce.
Now it is time to assemble the dish. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9 inch square, or oval baking dish.
Place one layer of eggplant down, trying to cover the entire surface of the dish.
Cover the eggplant with a layer of tomato sauce, then cover with slices of the mozzarella. Repeat until you run out of eggplant. In the dish I used, this worked out to be two layers of eggplant.
Bake the dish, uncovered for 15-20 minutes. The cheese should be melted, maybe slightly browned and the sauce should be bubbling.
Make a chiffonade of the basil and sprinkle it on top of the eggplant. Serve with pasta and the remaining sauce.

Eggplant before baking, brushed with oil

Roasted eggplant — Eggplant after roasting

Baked eggplant Parmesan, right out of the oven

3 January 1, 2020 Dinner

Six Minute Broccoli

It has been far too long since I have posted to this blog. I started the dinner winner when I ostensibly had some time on my hands, while on paternity leave for a few weeks. My newborn son Charlie was sleeping most of the day, and my girls were in school. It seemed like a great idea. Fast forward 20 months and Charlie is now running around like a madman, and I’m not only back at work, but decided to pursue another master’s degree, this one in strategic design from Parsons. So, needless to say, this blog has been quite neglected.

This does not mean that I have not been cooking all the time. I have found a new stable of recipes that I can whip up quickly, with children running around my legs, hanging on to my ankles, and asking for cutting board scraps while I cook. These are all recipes that my kids like, and that I like. The first is Six Minute Broccoli, adapted from Madame S.T. Ting Wong’s Long Life Chinese Cookbook, which has been out of print for some time. If you ever see one in a second hand book store, grab it. It is fantastic. You can also usually find it on Amazon. This recipe makes a fantastic simple meal when paired with the simplest grilled (or broiled) tofu, and some rice.

Six Minute Broccoli Recipe

1 1/2 lbs broccoli
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Prepare the broccoli. If the broccoli has a long stem, remove it and set it aside. Now cut the broccoli heads into bite size florets.
For the stem, if you intend to use it, (and why wouldn’t you), cut off and discard the thickest part. Next, peel the stem with a vegetable peeler. Cut the stem into bite size pieces, a bit smaller than the florets, so they cook at the same rate.
Heat the oil in a wok, or large skillet over high heat.
Dump in the broccoli and stir-fry it for 1 minute.
Add sugar, salt, and water. Cover the pan and cook for 3 minutes.
Remove the cover, stir fry the broccoli for 1-2 minutes more, until it looks done to you. Don’t over think this.
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

4 January 22, 2019 Dinner

Broccoli Soup with Lemon and Pecorino

Winter has really set in here in New Jersey. At West Point, this is called the gray season, where the sky, roads, grass, and pretty much everything is a shade of gray. It can be a depressing time. Or, you can curl up next to the fire with the kiddos and read some books, or throw some vinyl on the stereo while a pot of this brightly flavored Italian broccoli soup with lemon and pecorino bubbles away merrily on the stove.

If you take a look through the other recipes on the blog, you’ll see that I have fallen head over heels for the tried and true flavor combination of garlic, lemon, and pecorino. (Simple kale salad, spring snap peas with pecorino) It’s a really versatile holy trinity of flavors that you can apply to a lot of things. Deb over at Smitten Kitchen has done this with a bunch of recipes. I thought taking these flavors and making them into a healthy, stick to your ribs, winter soup was just the thing.

This brightly flavored Italian broccoli soup is a nice departure from the umami bombs that we tend to eat so much of in the winter. I’m all for a bowl of ramen, or a really well made French onion soup, but sometimes I need something acidic to wake yourself up. This recipe is very forgiving. You’ll save yourself a bunch of time if you have a decent immersion blender, but you can blend the soup in a regular blender too.

Also, here’s a tip for this recipe, and anything else with broccoli. While the onions are cooking, peel the long stems of your broccoli. This makes it so you can use the entire broccoli instead of throwing away the stems. After peeling, chop the stems off of the broccoli. Cut the toughest bit off of the very end and discard it. Now cut the broccoli stems into 1/3 inch pieces and add to the onions. The stems need a bit more cooking time than the florets.

As I was tinkering with this recipe, I thought I wanted something with quite a lot of garlic, so don’t shy away from the 6 cloves. It’s not too much, really. Also, as I was grating the cheese for this, I was using my new microplane box grater, which was a christmas present from my brother. I’m not usually one to get excited over a box grater, but this thing is amazingly sharp. I accidentally grated much more cheese than I intended to, but just went ahead and used it all. It’s just the thing to balance out the garlic in the soup.

grated pecorino cheese — A bit too much pecorino romano (or is it?)

Recipe

Ingredients

1 large onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice
8 cups water or broth
Salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper
2 lbs broccoli cut into florets, stems cut into 1/3 inch pieces and separated
2 cups grated pecorino romano
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
Crushed red pepper for serving

Method

Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, and sauté for 4 minutes or so until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Don’t let the garlic burn. Add the chopped broccoli stems and potatoes, and sauté for 3 – 4 minutes.

Add the broth or water and bring to a boil. While you are waiting for the liquid to boil, add salt to taste. Depending on how salty your broth is, this could be none, or up to 3 teaspoons. Go easy on the salt because you will be adding pecorino cheese at the end which also has quite a bit of salt. Add the fresh ground pepper as well. Once the soup boils, turn to a brisk simmer and let cook for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check to make sure the potatoes and broccoli stems are cooked through. If they are, add the remaining broccoli, and cook for 5 more minutes. Once the broccoli is cooked, take a large ladle, and remove two or three large scoops of chunks of broccoli and potatoes and set aside. Remove the soup from the heat and blend the remainder of it with your immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, do this in batches in a regular blender, or just forget about it and have chunky soup.

Once the soup is all blended, add the broccoli and potatoes you removed back in, along with the lemon zest, lemon juice and pecorino cheese. Give everything a stir to make sure everything is incorporated. The soup should still be hot enough to melt the cheese, but if it isn’t, turn the heat to low and bring it up to temperature. Taste the soup and adjust the salt and pepper if you need to.

Serve with crushed red pepper and enjoy!

1 November 3, 2018 Breakfast

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffles

Autumn weekend mornings are awesome. I’m not sure what makes them different than a summer weekend, but somehow, the desire to rise and spring out the door into activity isn’t nearly as strong. We tend to linger over coffee, put some Palestrina on the hi-fi, and make something good for breakfast. My girls will often settle into a marathon book reading session, or get involved in some complicated dress up game. These whole wheat pumpkin waffles are the perfect thing on a lazy Sunday morning for so many reasons.

First, they are downright delicious. They are full of fall flavors, and hints of baking spices; your whole house will smell fantastic for the rest of the day. Next, as far as waffles go, these are pretty good for you. They have quite a bit of pumpkin, aka a vegetable, in them, and are 100% whole grain. You can’t go wrong. They are not a low fat food, but you could easily trim the butter quite a bit and still have decent results.

This is an adapted recipe from Eating Well for whole wheat pumpkin waffles that I have been making for some time. It has woven its way into my weekend food repertoire and never left. If you want to make it dairy free, substitute canola oil for the butter, and your non-dairy milk of choice for the buttermilk. Be sure to follow the instructions below on turning regular milk into buttermilk.

If you’re making brunch for a crowd and want something savory to offset these waffles, why not try this fantastic tomato and feta shakshuka?

If you don’t have buttermilk…

If you don’t happen to have buttermilk around, there are a couple of ways to make a perfectly good substitute. You can either set regular milk in a measuring cup and add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice or cider vinegar. Let that stand while you get the rest of the recipe together and use it just like the buttermilk. There is enough acid in the lemon juice or vinegar to act on the baking soda and make the whole wheat pumpkin waffles fluffier. Or, put a big dollop of yogurt into a measuring cup, then fill to the two cup mark with regular milk. Mix the yogurt in, and you are all set.

On waffle irons

I have this Krups Belgian waffle iron. It’s pretty good, but it’s always annoyed me that there is no temperature control. Fortunately, they corrected that with their latest version. No matter what, don’t skimp on your waffle maker. If you get a decent one, it will last forever and cook beautifully. Cheaper waffle makers cook unevenly and don’t last long.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffles

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes
My Lists
My Calendar

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 14oz can canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron (I use Pam or baker’s joy)

METHOD

Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices.
Whisk eggs in a large bowl until blended, then whisk in, buttermilk, brown sugar, pumpkin, and butter until smooth.
Mix in dry ingredients just until smooth.
Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook for about 4 minutes in a Belgian waffle maker, maybe less in a normal one.
As you make them, keep the finished waffles warm in a 200 degree oven.
Put some maple syrup on and dig in.
Also, these freeze really well. Just let them cool off and put them in ziplock bags for homemade eggos. Heat them up for a few seconds in the microwave and then bake them in the toaster for a couple of minutes.

Nutrition

Calories

2559 cal

Fat

82 g

Carbs

375 g

Protein

87 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Affiliate links help support this site. Help keep it running by using them.

4 September 8, 2018 Dinner

Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Mint

Today was one of those miserable late summer days that was so absurdly hot and humid, there was no way I could possibly turn on the stove. I spent my morning working outside, dripping sweat, contemplating what cool refreshing dinner I would make. After much deliberation, I settled on this cucumber soup with yogurt, avocado, and herbs. It required no cooking whatsoever, and I had everything I needed to make it at home.

The biggest problem was that I was totally making the recipe up as I go along. I’ve been reading Samin Nosrat’s excellent cookbook, “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” which lays out some pretty clear and rock solid principles for winging it in the kitchen. Since it was a million degrees outside, I decided to forget about the heat part, but made sure there was enough salt, fat, and acid in the cucumber soup.

I also wanted this to be a meal for my family, so a bowl of watery cucumber soup wasn’t going to fit the bill; the soup needed some body. I wanted to make this redolent of tzatziki sauce without being a dip you eat with a spoon, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I decided to throw in an avocado to make the soup a bit more rich and velvety. Add some mint, dill, and lemon to make the flavors bright, and some feta cheese and olive oil to deepen the flavor a bit. I added a shallot because I was out of garlic (shame!), but it came out great, so I’ll stick to that in the recipe.

On blenders

The best part of this whole recipe is that you all you need to make it is a decent blender. Until about a year ago, I had an old hand me down blender that I thought worked just fine. When it died, I replaced it with a Blendtec and couldn’t be happier. I regularly make huge vats of smoothie to feed an entire family and the thing has proven to be bombproof. I think the motor is 3 horsepower, which seems to be plenty for anything I’ve ever needed to blend.

Make it a meal

If you want to make another dish to make this a meal, why not try pasta with dandelion greens, or a grilled pizza?

Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Mint

Sam Kaestner

6 bowls

A cold cucumber soup that is filling enough to be a meal of its own. Redolent of the flavors of tzatziki, made silky with the addition of an avocado.

15 minPrep Time

5 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes
My Lists
My Calendar

INGREDIENTS

2 English Cucumbers
1 Avocado
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/4 cup fresh mint
1 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot
3.5 oz feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Roughly chop the cucumbers and seed and peel the avocado. Separate the mint and dill leaves from the stems.
Add all ingredients to the blender jar.
Blend until smooth. If the soup looks too thick, add a but more water 1/4 cup at a time.
Taste for salt and pepper and adjust the seasoning. Depending on how salty your feta cheese is, you may need no salt, or up to 1.5 teaspoons.
Chill for at least three hours if you are the kind of person that plans ahead. If not, just eat it right away.

https://thedinnerwinner.com/cucumber-soup-with-avocado-and-mint/

Nutrition

Calories

1119 cal

Fat

93 g

Carbs

56 g

Protein

27 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

5 August 10, 2018 Dinner

Simple Kale Salad

I have made a lot of kale salads over the years, and done quite a bit of searching around the interwebs to find new ways to make a simple kale salad. There are tons of great recipes out there, but most of them are extravagant, and not something that I’m going to throw together in 10 minutes while the pasta is boiling. So, here is a recipe for a simple kale salad that i make regularly. It is so easy, and so good, that my daughters regularly request it, and can nearly make it by themselves.

Backstory

A couple of years ago, we visited my in-laws for Christmas. They live in the mountains of northwest North Carolina, right in the corner where North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia all meet. So close in fact that you can walk to either state fairly easily. It is a beautiful, very rural place, and the mountains are surprisingly steep. These are not the rolling Catskills or the gentle Poconos. The valley where they live is dotted with small farms with a few head of cattle or some chickens, along with some vegetable gardens here and there as well. They are close to the headwaters of the New River, and the water literally flows right through their front yard. There are also Christmas tree farms everywhere. Ashe County, NC calls itself the Christmas tree capital of the world.

While in theory, it should be warmer in North Carolina than in New Jersey, this is almost never the case at their house since the elevation is about 3,000’ or so. They get significant snows just like we do in the northeast without the benefit of armies of road crews clearing the stuff around the clock. This particular Christmas was another story. It was in the mid 60s for most of the time we were there. In fact, it was so warm that my father in law rarely fired up the great wood cook-stove in the kitchen that keeps the house so warm and cozy. It was also warm enough that the kale in their magnificent garden was still growing, even at the end of December. Seemingly every day, my mother in law would take my daughter Silvia out to the garden to gather a massive bowl of Kale to turn into this or that, and maybe pull a few last carrots, or whatever else still was left in the garden.

One of the dishes my mother in law made was a simple kale salad with this beautiful, organic, just harvested, baby kale. I don’t know what it is about greens that have just been plucked from the ground, but they tase so amazing, like they are somehow quivering with life. It really was a magnificent salad. Silvia nearly polished off an entire batch of the stuff herself one night, placing the blame for nobody getting enough salad on me for supposedly eating it all, then running out for the evening to go see a movie with my father in law. Little did everyone suspect that my four year old daughter was the culprit!

The best simple kale salad

This simple kale salad has become a year round staple in our house. Both of my daughters request it, help make it, and devour it almost weekly. So much so, that you seriously have to make sure they don’t eat it all before you get to it. The dressing is simple, light, and vibrant, and you can use it on other salads too. Just maybe don’t massage your romaine lettuce. If you want to have your kids cook this with you, have them help separate the leaves from the stems, and also help massage the kale with the dressing. I love it when my girls really get their hands into the food we are making. This salad won’s make too much of a mess when they dive in with two hands.

On kale…

You can use any kind of kale you like, but I prefer it with lacinato kale. The texture fits the preparation very well. Baby kale works nicely as well, and you don’t have to massage it much. If you use curly kale, make sure you really mush it well, and it doesn’t hurt to let it stand for ten minutes before you serve it. Also, make sure you zest the lemon before you juice it, unless you enjoy being annoyed, then definitely juice it first. If you want to pair this simple kale salad with something, how about a grilled pizza? And, a pro tip for any greens, if you find your greens have a lot of grit or dirt on them, separate the leaves and fill your sink with water to wash them. Swish all the greens around with your hands and let the dirt settle to the bottom of the sink before you take the greens out.

Fill the sink with water at least 4″ deep to wash dirty greens

Simple Kale Salad

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes
My Lists
My Calendar

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch lacinato kale, (also known as dino kale)
1 small clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
zest of half a lemon
Juice of one lemon. If it’s a huge lemon, use half of it for the juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Pepper to taste

METHOD

Using your hands, separate the kale leaves from the ribs. You can usually just rip it all off in one quick motion. Roughly chop the kale into 1 inch wide strips and wash and dry the kale. Put the kale in a large serving bowl.
Finely mince the garlic, and dump on top of the kale along with the salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil.
Using your clean hands, squeeze and mix the kale for a minute or two. The leaves will become more tender, and the volume will seem to reduce. There might be some extra liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Don’t worry about it.
Add the Pecorino Romano and the pepper, usually about 1/2 tsp. Mix well again and serve.

https://thedinnerwinner.com/simple-kale-salad/

Nutrition

Calories

565 cal

Fat

54 g

Carbs

6 g

Protein

18 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

This site is supported in part by affiliate links. If you like the site, consider buying something.

0 July 19, 2018 baking

The Dinner Winner Pizza Dough

The pizza dough before rising.

There is something about making your own bread at home that is just awesome. I’m not one of those amazing home bakers who has a sourdough starter bubbling away on my counter. I do like to make bread, and yes, I’m lumping pizza dough in there with bread. There is something about getting your hands into the pizza dough, watching it rise, and rolling it out that is incredibly satisfying. And, my daughters love helping to make pizza dough, especially since there is usually the promise of pizza at the end of it.

Which pizza dough to make?

I have tried dozens of recipes over the years, and consistently go back to a variation of Mark Bittman’s basic pizza dough. He calls for using instant yeast, which is far more convenient than the packaged kind you must hydrate before you use. With instant yeast, you just add it to the rest of the dry ingredients, and it does all the yeasty magic all on its own. Bittman also calls for making the dough in the food processor. I have made dough by hand, the hard way, with a lot of kneading, in the KitchenAid stand mixer, and in the food processor. You can get a great pizza dough with any of the methods. The food processor is the fastest, so if I stand any chance of making a pizza dough from scratch on a weeknight, it’s going to be in the food processor. If you are in the market for a good food processor, this is the updated version of what I have and it is great.

I like to vary Monsieur Bittman’s recipe a bit, and use half all purpose flour, and half white whole wheat. This means using a bit more water to get the dough to come together, but makes for a bit more nutritious dough.

You can also use this dough for making focaccia. Roll or press it out to about half an inch thick, rub olive oil on top, sprinkle a little salt on and maybe some fresh rosemary and bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes.

If you are looking for a good pizza recipe to make with this dough, why not try my Grilled Pizza with Summer Vegetables?

The pizza dough after rising.

The Dinner Winner Pizza Dough

Sam Kaestner

2 pizza dough balls

A quick and nutritious pizza dough with no kneading required.

15 minPrep Time

1 hr, 30 Total Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes
My Lists
My Calendar

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ¼ cups water
cornmeal for dusting

METHOD

Put both types of flour, yeast, 2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a food processor. If your food processor came with a plastic dough blade, use that. If not, no worries. Turn the machine on and add 1 ¼ cup water through the feed tube. Process until the mixture forms a slightly sticky ball, about 30 seconds. If the mixture is too dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time and process for 5 to 10 seconds after each addition. If the mixture refuses to come together, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time and process until it does.
Once the mixture is in a ball, take the dough out and form it into a ball by tucking it under itself several times. Here is a clip of the pro level version of what that looks like Basically, you want the top to be totally smooth, and the bottom to have all the seams tucked under. Drop the dough into a large mixing bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Set the bowl somewhere warm to rise for at least an hour and up to three. If you don’t have an hour, take this time to get all of the toppings ready, and preheat the grill, then proceed to the next step. You need at least 20 minutes for the dough to rest. If you are making the dough the night before, just pop it in the fridge and it will rise more slowly overnight. Some interesting flavors develop this way, so it’s worth a shot if you remember to do it.
If you are making this pizza the same day as you are making the dough, you might want to get all of your toppings ready while the dough is rising.

https://thedinnerwinner.com/the-dinner-winner-pizza-dough/

Nutrition

Calories

1774 cal

Fat

34 g

Carbs

303 g

Protein

61 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

6 June 25, 2018 Dinner

Grilled Bok Choy Recipe

Grilled Bok Choy

Today was the first real hot day of the summer. Sticky, sweaty, and energy sapping. It scraped the upper 90s for a while which usually saps any motivation I have for firing up the stove. The grill is another matter altogether though. Somehow, I don’t mind the searing heat of the grill as long as I can leave it outside, and maybe throw back a refreshing beverage while doing it. Enter, this simple grilled bok choy recipe.

I came across a grilled bok choy recipe by Andrea Bemis the other day that looked fantastic, so I decided to make it for dinner. This particular recipe called for leaving the bok choy whole when grilling, which sounds nice in theory. In reality, bok choy grows in very sandy soil, like leeks do, and it’s almost impossible to get all of the grit out without separating them into individual leaves and giving them a bath in the sink for a while. (If you know of a way to do it, tell me how in the comments.) Neglect to rinse the bok choy well, and you’ll be chewing on sand all meal. Also, if you’re wondering, yes, you eat the white part on bok choy. There is no need to trim that part.

I still had no desire to turn the stove on, so I decided to make use of my perforated grill pan. It’s kind of like a cookie sheet with holes in it to let the heat pass through, but it keeps stuff from falling through the grates into the grill. It’s useful for all sorts of vegetable cookery and I highly recommend picking one up. I basically just used the grill pan like a giant sauté pan, turning the bok choy every couple of minutes or so until it seemed done. Top it with a delicious sauce, and you are all set.

Simplest Grilled Tofu and Grilled Bok Choy

To round out the meal, make the simplest grilled tofu, and some rice and you are all set. Serve with a little bit of soy sauce if needed, and your favorite Asian hot sauce of the moment, sriracha, gochujang, or whatever you are into, and maybe a Kirin or Sapporo, and you’re all set.

Grilled Bok Choy

Serves 4 - 6

15 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes
My Lists
My Calendar

INGREDIENTS

6 Heads bok choy, about 2.5 lbs
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ginger
3.5 tbsp soy sauce
2.5 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
1.5 tsp toasted sesame seeds

METHOD

First, preheat the grill to medium. You’ll want to place your grill pan on the grates for preheating as well.
Fill the sink at least 4” deep with cold water. Trim the ends of the bok choy off and separate into leaves. As you separate them, toss them into the sink. Gently toss all of the bok choy around in the sink for a minute or two to rinse the sand off, then let them sit still for a minute to make sure the sand sinks to the bottom of the sink. Transfer the bok choy to a large kitchen towel and pat dry.
In a small bowl, mix ginger, soy, vinegar, honey, and sesame oil until well mixed. Taste the sauce and adjust as you see fit. If you want to make this gluten free, use tamari instead of soy sauce.
Transfer the bok choy to a rimmed baking sheet or large bowl, and toss with the olive oil. When the grill is hot, put the bok choy on the grill pan and spread evenly and close the cover. My grill pan is pretty large, about the size of a baking sheet. If yours is smaller, you might have to cook the greens in batches.
Cook for 4 minutes or so before tossing with tongs. You should be getting little charred pieces of greens here and there. If you don’t see any, either turn up the heat to medium high, if you have a gas grill, or just let them cook a little longer before turning. Cook for 4 additional minutes after turning, then remove to a serving bowl.
Toss the greens with sesame seeds. Drizzle the grilled bok choy with the sauce and enjoy!

https://thedinnerwinner.com/grilled-bok-choy-recipe/

Nutrition

Calories

506 cal

Fat

33 g

Carbs

45 g

Protein

14 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

vegetarian

The Salad Dressing

Ingredients

Method

Notes

Ingredients

Method

Ingredients

Method

Six Minute Broccoli Recipe

Recipe

Method

If you don’t have buttermilk…

On waffle irons

Tags

Nutrition

Calories

Fat

Carbs

Protein

On blenders

Make it a meal

Sam Kaestner

Nutrition

Calories

Fat

Carbs

Protein

Backstory

The best simple kale salad

On kale…

Nutrition

Calories

Fat

Carbs

Protein

Which pizza dough to make?

Sam Kaestner

Nutrition

Calories

Fat

Carbs

Protein

Nutrition

Calories

Fat

Carbs

Protein

Footer

Stay Connected

Services