Macadamia Nut and Enoki Salad with Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

While I am by no means a food expert, it is rare that I find a new ingredient that gets my juices flowing.

It has been a long time since I used a new ingredient and really fell in love with it.

I guess it’s not really that odd that I had never been exposed to enoki mushrooms. It’s not like I grew up having them in our family favorites.

But these little suckers are damn tasty. They have a great little texture, have a great natural flavor and also hold seasoning really well.

When I threw this salad together, I didn’t think it was going to be a real winner, but this little guy knocked my socks off.

You will need…

½ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

8 cups baby greens or mesclun

3-ounce package enoki mushrooms, trimmed and separated

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by toasting the nuts and seeds together over a medium high heat in a large pan. Heat them until they become fragrant and slightly browned. About 5 minutes.

Toss together the greens, mushrooms, seeds and nuts.

In a food processor, blend together the vinegars, soy sauce, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and sesame oil.  Blend until completely combined.

Drizzle over the salad, toss and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Macadamia Nut and Enoki Salad with Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

½ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

8 cups baby greens or mesclun

3-ounce package enoki mushrooms, trimmed and separated

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by toasting the nuts and seeds together over a medium high heat in a large pan. Heat them until they become fragrant and slightly browned. About 5 minutes.

Toss together the greens, mushrooms, seeds and nuts.

In a food processor, blend together the vinegars, soy sauce, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and sesame oil.  Blend until completely combined.

Drizzle over the salad, toss and serve. 

Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette

Well hello there.

It’s been awhile my friends. I apologize my lack of culinary updates, but I’ve been DEAD tired.

Even though I’ve been home from sin city since Thursday, very early in the morning, it has taken me days to recover. There might have even been some blubbering due to exhaustion. Might.

But after about twenty hours of sleep, I’m feeling a lot like my pre Vegas self.

And pre Vegas me wanted to get her booty in the kitchen. I’m back and better than ever.

In Vegas, it’s hard to get certain things that are really good for you. Like home cooked meals, smoke free air and sunlight. So I jumped at the chance to make some salad dressing from scratch.

Worth all 3 minutes it took to make it.

You will need…

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl or mason jar.

Either whisk or shake well until completely combined.

Once completely combined, serve. Save in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette 

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl or mason jar.

Either whisk or shake well until completely combined.

Once completely combined, serve. Save in the refrigerator up to 3 days. 

Chicken and Chocolate Mole

After an eventful, work and fun filled four days in Atlanta I’m back at home and back on my computer.

My brand spanking new computer. Well, not completely new. But it has a new frame and a new screen. New, clean, beautiful and not broken. All wins.

And as excited as I am to be back in action, today is a pretty sad day.

Unless you have been living under a rock today, you know about the horrifying bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

As I’m sure most of you are, I’m deeply saddened by the events today. It breaks my heart that people have enough hate and pain in them to hurt other people. You must be in a dark, black hole of a place to inflict that kind of fear in people.

I find it difficult to be faced with a problem with no obvious solution.

So I’m going to do the only thing that I think I can do to help.

Spread light.

And love, and kindness, and fun, and help, and all the other things that pull people out of the darkness and hate.

All that I can do, and probably all you can do is to spread your light.

Say please. And thank you. And open doors for one another. Offer someone else your seat. Or a snack.

It’s really difficult to be upset when everyone around you is being kind.

Part of spreading light for me is sharing. Sharing experiences and sharing food.

So here is something tasty for you to share. Share with family and friends and enjoy the good things in life.

You will need…

5 ancho chiles

3 dried New Mexico chiles

2 dried chiles negros

1/3 cup sesame seeds

5 whole star anise

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

2 cloves

12 black peppercorns

12 inch cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

3 tablespoons raisins

20 whole almonds

½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 corn tortilla, quartered

5 medium plum tomatoes

5 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 small onion, quartered

5 cups chicken stock

3 ¼ ounces Mexican chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 lbs chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by covering all the chile peppers with hot water in a medium bowl and soak them for 30 minutes.

While the pepper are soaking, combine the sesame seeds, anise, cumin, coriander, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick in a large skillet.

Toast the seeds and spices over moderate heat, stirring until fragrant. About 2 minutes.

Grind the seeds and spices until they are into a fine powder.

In the same skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the shortening.

Stir in the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds and tortilla.

Cook the mixture over moderate heat until the almonds are toasted and the raisins are plump. About 5 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside.

Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook, turning until the skins are lightly blistered on all sides. About 12 minutes.

Transfer the tomatoes to the bowl with the seeds and almonds.

Add the garlic and onion to the skillet and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. About 8 minutes.

Transfer the garlic and onions to the bowl with the tomatoes.

Empty the vegetables onto a work surface. Peel the garlic cloves and coarsely chop them along with the onions and tomatoes.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the shortening in the skillet. Stir in the chopped vegetables and the spice powder and cook over moderately high heat until warmed through. About 3 minutes.

Remove the stems and seeds from the now rehydrated chiles and add them to the skillet.

Pour in the chicken stock and stir in the peanut butter.

Partially cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and blend the mixture either with a hand emersion blender or in a food processor. Season the mole with salt and pepper, add in the chocolate and blend until very smooth.

Then in a second large skillet, heat the olive oil till it is very hot.

Season the chicken well with salt and pepper and brown the chicken well on both sides. About 4 minutes a side.

Don’t worry about cooking the chicken completely. Just make sure it is well browned.

Add the chicken to the pot of mole and simmer for an additional hour.

When the chicken has simmered for an hour, remove from the mole and place on a cutting board.

Depending on your textural preference either shred or chop the chicken and add it back to the mole sauce.

Serve the chicken and mole hot over rice or in a burrito.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Chicken and Chocolate Mole

5 ancho chiles

3 dried New Mexico chiles

2 dried chiles negros

1/3 cup sesame seeds

5 star anise

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

2 cloves

12 black peppercorns

12 inch cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

3 tablespoons raisins

20 whole almonds

½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 corn tortilla, quartered

5 medium plum tomatoes

5 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 small onion, quartered

5 cups chicken stock

3 ¼ ounces Mexican chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 lbs chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by covering all the chile peppers with hot water in a medium bowl and soak them for 30 minutes.

While the pepper are soaking, combine the sesame seeds, anise, cumin, coriander, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick in a large skillet.

Toast the seeds and spices over moderate heat, stirring until fragrant. About 2 minutes.

Grind the seeds and spices until they are into a fine powder.

In the same skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the shortening.

Stir in the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds and tortilla.

Cook the mixture over moderate heat until the almonds are toasted and the raisins are plump. About 5 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside.

Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook, turning until the skins are lightly blistered on all sides. About 12 minutes.

Transfer the tomatoes to the bowl with the seeds and almonds.

Add the garlic and onion to the skillet and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. About 8 minutes.

Transfer the garlic and onions to the bowl with the tomatoes.

Empty the vegetables onto a work surface. Peel the garlic cloves and coarsely chop them along with the onions and tomatoes.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the shortening in the skillet. Stir in the chopped vegetables and the spice powder and cook over moderately high heat until warmed through. About 3 minutes.

Remove the stems and seeds from the now rehydrated chiles and add them to the skillet.

Pour in the chicken stock and stir in the peanut butter.

Partially cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and blend the mixture either with a hand emersion blender or in a food processor. Season the mole with salt and pepper, add in the chocolate and blend until very smooth.

Then in a second large skillet, heat the olive oil till it is very hot.

Season the chicken well with salt and pepper and brown the chicken well on both sides. About 4 minutes a side.

Don’t worry about cooking the chicken completely. Just make sure it is well browned.

Add the chicken to the pot of mole and simmer for an additional hour.

When the chicken has simmered for an hour, remove from the mole and place on a cutting board.

Depending on your textural preference either shred or chop the chicken and add it back to the mole sauce.

Serve the chicken and mole hot over rice or in a burrito.

Sesame Roasted Chickpeas

Your really don’t know if a relationship will work out until you have your first challenging travel obstacle together.

Not a couple-hour drive.

Not a one-hour flight.

I’m talking about a flight that is cross-country or longer or a drive that covers multiple states.

Unless you live in a really tiny country or state where it takes very little time to travel that distance. In that case, think of a really big country or state and use that as your reference point.

Saturday, Wesley and I faced our first travel obstacle. A five-hour flight to Hawaii.

Obviously as far as great distance trips go, this was an easy one. We know that we are headed somewhere really great so it is easing the travel stress for both of us. But there are still issues to be ironed out.

Do you want to get there super early, or are you like me and you want to get there with little time to spare? Do you pack a week in advance as opposed to my ten hours in advance? Are you going to need food on the plane? Because I freaking will!

But despite my traveling style, Wes and I made it to Maui in one piece and actually had a great time while doing it.

We even took turns napping on each-others shoulders. Drool and all.

That must be love.

And now that we are here we are enjoying some delicious appetizers while we watch the sun go down over a neighboring island.

This being one of my current favorites.

You will need…

2 cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F.

Then, drains your beans of all their juice and rinse them well.

Dry all the beans well with a towel and spread them over a baking sheet that is lined with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat.

Roast the chickpeas for 45 to 60 minutes. Just until they are crunchy all the way through.

If the are still soft in the middle, they need to keep baking.

As soon as the chickpeas are done, remove them from the heat and toss them with the oil, sugar, soy and sesame seeds.

Toss them well and serve hot.

Aloha!

Angela 

P.S. Are you jealous yet?

Sesame Roasted Chickpeas

2 cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F.

Then, drains your beans of all their juice and rinse them well.

Dry all the beans well with a towel and spread them over a baking sheet that is lined with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat.

Roast the chickpeas for 45 to 60 minutes. Just until they are crunchy all the way through.

If the are still soft in the middle, they need to keep baking.

As soon as the chickpeas are done, remove them from the heat and toss them with the oil, sugar, soy and sesame seeds.

Toss them well and serve hot.

Pork Adobada

Well folks, I am sad to say that Josh did not win MVP. BUT, he was the only American nominated. So he is totally MVP in my eyes.

Regardless of not getting the title, the whole family had a freaking BLAST.

The ceremony was beautiful. There was great food and delicious wine and it was awesome to see the Josh Samuels highlight reel they put together.

And on top of everything, we were seated directly next to the wine table. SCORE.

In Josh’s honor, here is a recipe that he introduced me too. He and I went to an El Salvadorian restaurant in LA a couple of weeks ago and he introduced me to this dish. It is BOMB. And somehow, I managed to find the actual restaurants recipe online.

Here it is with some Angela improvements.

You will need…

For the Pork:

3 pounds uncut pork butt (pork shoulder)

½ cup Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons your favorite hot sauce

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce:

5 cups chicken stock

9 vine ripe tomatoes, diced

2 whole yellow onions, diced

1 head garlic, peeled

1 bell pepper, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

1 slice wheat bread, chopped (odd, I know)

¼ bunch fresh cilantro

4 dried chiles de arbol (I purchased all my dried chiles at my local Mexican market and they were VERY affordable)

1 dried ancho chile

2 dried California chiles

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

For the Dressing (I was very surprised this was part of the dish, but it totally makes sense):

2/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 small head garlic, peeled and minced

½ teaspoon fresh pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Pinch of salt

Optional Ingredients:

The pork adovada is delicious all on its own. But, it is also delicious in a taco. Here are some optional ingredients to make a seriously delicious meal.

Flour or corn tortillas

Spanish Rice

Guacamole

Grilled peppers and onions

Start by combining the ½ cup Worcestershire, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, and 2 tablespoons granulated garlic. 

Whisk the mixture together well.

Place your pork in a roasting pan and season it will with salt and pepper.

Then, massage the marinade into the pork on all sides.

Cover and let the pork marinate for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F while your pork marinates.

As your pork marinates, heat your grill to a medium heat.

When the grill is hot, roast your dried peppers for about 2 minutes. Remove them from the heat and set them aside.

After your pork has marinated for 1 hour, place it in the oven and roast it for 1 hour, covered.

While the pork is roasting, start your sauce by combining the chicken stock, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell pepper and celery in a large pot over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Cook the mixture for 15 minutes.

As your sauce mixture is cooking down, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, 1 tablespoon oregano, salt and pepper. Whisk the mixture well and set it aside.

After the veggies have cooked down for 15 minutes, add in the roasted peppers (chopped up), sesame seeds, remaining Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, oregano, granulated garlic, bread and cilantro leaves. Add the mixture to a blender, or use your hand blender (recommended) and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.

Add in the Italian dressing you have set aside and blend again until once again smooth.

Put the sauce back into the pot if you have removed it and bring it to a boil.

Lower the heat to a simmer and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

When the pork is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest slightly until it’s slightly cooled. 

Chop it into bite-sized chunks and add it to the sauce.

Let the pork simmer in the sauce for an additional hour or more.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Pork Adobada

For the Pork:

3 pounds uncut pork butt (pork shoulder)

½ cup Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons your favorite hot sauce

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce:

5 cups chicken stock

9 vine ripe tomatoes, diced

2 whole yellow onions, diced

1 head garlic, peeled

1 bell pepper, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

1 slice wheat bread, chopped (odd, I know)

¼ bunch fresh cilantro

4 dried chiles de arbol (I purchased all my dried chiles at my local Mexican market and they were VERY affordable)

1 dried ancho chile

2 dried California chiles

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

For the Dressing (I was very surprised this was part of the dish, but it totally makes sense):

2/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 small head garlic, peeled and minced

½ teaspoon fresh pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Pinch of salt

Optional Ingredients:

The pork adovada is delicious all on its own. But, it is also delicious in a taco. Here are some optional ingredients to make a seriously delicious meal.

Flour or corn tortillas

Spanish Rice

Guacamole

Grilled peppers and onions

Start by combining the ½ cup Worcestershire, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, and 2 tablespoons granulated garlic. Whisk the mixture together well.

Place your pork in a roasting pan and season it will with salt and pepper.

Then, massage the marinade into the pork on all sides.

Cover and let the pork marinate for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F while your pork marinates.

As your pork marinates, heat your grill to a medium heat.

When the grill is hot, roast your dried peppers for about 2 minutes. Remove them from the heat and set them aside.

After your pork has marinated for 1 hour, place it in the oven and roast it for 1 hour, covered.

While the pork is roasting, start your sauce by combining the chicken stock, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell pepper and celery in a large pot over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Cook the mixture for 15 minutes.

As your sauce mixture is cooking down, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, 1 tablespoon oregano, salt and pepper. Whisk the mixture well and set it aside.

After the veggies have cooked down for 15 minutes, add in the roasted peppers (chopped up), sesame seeds, remaining Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, oregano, granulated garlic, bread and cilantro leaves. Add the mixture to a blender, or use your hand blender (recommended) and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.

Add in the Italian dressing you have set aside and blend again until once again smooth.

Put the sauce back into the pot if you have removed it and bring it to a boil.

Lower the heat to a simmer and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

When the pork is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest slightly until it’s slightly cooled. Chop it into bite-sized chunks and add it to the sauce.

Let the pork simmer in the sauce for an additional hour or more.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot.