smoky bbq pulled chicken.

I've been neglecting this space which makes me sad.   This doesn't mean I haven't been cooking - I've been cooking a lot (the produce is utterly outstanding this year).   Yet most of what I've been making are those thrown together meals I'm known for.  Broccoli tacos (don't knock it till you try it),  sauteed cherries (best served over ice cream or even yogurt), kale pesto (superb with fresh mozzarella and the first heirloom tomatoes of the season) and clean out the fridge pasta dishes.  Tyler refers to these as my best meals and always encourages me to share them here, but when you're rushing to get dinner together, it's not easy to keep track of how many teaspoons of ancho powder you just added to the pot.  

Which isn't to say I don't have a small pile of recipes scattered around the apartment that are begging to be made.  I finally tackled a few earlier this week.  BBQ pulled chicken has been on my mind for a while now as I keep looking for ways to feel as if I am BBQing even if I don't have access to a grill. This recipe can be made in the comforts of your own home and tastes just as good as chicken made on the grill.  I recommend  serving it on potato rolls with homemade pickles (my favorite recipe here) and a side of corn - it's outdoor cooking for the indoors.  

Smoky Pulled Barbecue Chicken

Recipe adapted (slightly) from Serious Eats 

The chicken itself is amazing.  Tender, moist, and succulent.  The sauce while good, was a little sweet for my tastes and not quite vinegary enough (though Tyler loved it).  I suggest dialing back the sugar by starting with the lesser amounts of apple juice, brown sugar, and honey.  Taste (before bringing to a boil and simmering), and add more as necessary.  If you have similar tastes to me - add some extra hot sauce and apple cider vinegar. Then slather on everything all summer long.      

For the Chicken and Rub

1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons hot smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 whole chicken, halved and backbones discarded or reserved for another use

For the Sauce

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (about 1 small onion)

1 teaspoon freshly minced garlic (about 1 medium cloves)

3/4 cups ketchup

1/3 - 1/2 cup apple juice

1 -2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 -2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sandwich rolls and pickles, for serving (optional)

For the Chicken and Rub: Mix together salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Season chicken halves all over with rub and refrigerate for at least 6 and up to 12 hours.

For the Sauce: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned around the edges, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, apple juice, brown sugar, honey, vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Puree sauce with an immersion blender, or transfer sauce to the jar of a standard blender, and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. If not using right away, transfer to a jar and store in refrigerator.

Fire up smoker or grill to 225°F. Add wood chunk to smoker following manufacturer's instructions, or set wood chunk on top of embers if using a grill. Place chickens in smoker or on grill over indirect heat, and cook until breast meat registers 160°F on an instant read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from smoker and let chickens rest until cool enough to handle.

This can also be done in the oven.  Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.  Place chicken in an ovenproof dish and cook for about 1 ½ hours or until the breast meat registers 160°F on an instant read thermometer. 

Using hands or two forks, pull chicken into thin strands, discarding skin, cartilage, and excess fat.

Measure out 3/4 cup of barbecue sauce and set aside. Reheat remaining barbecue sauce in a large saucepan. Stir shredded chicken into hot barbecue sauce and cook until chicken is warmed throughout. Serve immediately on sandwich rolls with reserved barbecue sauce and pickles, if desired.

emerald.

These deep green pendant lights are truly dreamy.  Especially when paired with black, white, and wood.  




Image via Pinterest. 

cherry shortbread bars.

Everyone has a food that conjures images of summer.  Or perhaps they feel as if it isn't summer until they consume said food.  For some its a toasted almond bar from a Mr. Softee truck.  For others it may be a lobster roll and a lemonade.  I imagine some feel nostalgic for a BLT made with the first heirloom tomatoes of the season and then there is the camp that feels it isn't summer without something made on a grill. Namely a good burger best served with a cold beer.

For me, it's cherries.  And not sour cherries.  I am talking about big old bing cherries.  The kind you eat my the handful while sitting outside preferably at a beach though on a bench isn't necessarily a bad thing. I eat cherries until my fingers turn pink and then I keep going because I love them.

So it's easy to imagine that come July, I am looking for every recipe possible that incorporates cherries. There are salads of micro greens, blue cheese, and cherries.  There are porkchops with cherry salsa.  And then there are desserts.  Cherry pie, cherry crumble, cherry clafoutis (such a classic) cherry brown butter bars (here's hoping I get to make those again next week), and now for the newest addition, cherry shortbread bars.  

These are the new unsung hero of picnics but they work just as well consumed at the beach or straight from the fridge after a long day at work.  It's summer in a neatly packed, handheld, and portable square.

Cherry Shortbread Bars

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

The original recipe calls for peaches and while the peach version is insanely delicious, I couldn't help adapting this to work with cherries because I am a cherry-aholic.   I changed the spices around (and added a little almond extract) just because.  The resulting bar is sublime.   

I cut mine into 24 2 x 2 1/2-ish squares. You can halve this and bake it in a 8 x 8 pan instead.

1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (12 5/8 ounces or 359 grams) cups all-purpose flour (can replace 1 cup with graham flour aka my new favorite thing)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Couple of gratings of fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 cups cherries pitted and halved (quartered if really large) 

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns and the very second that you turn around to do something else. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter, almond extract, and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly.

Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Pour the cherries over the base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over cherries and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Keeping: I’ve kept mine in the fridge and they’ve held up great. These would freeze well, between layers of waxed paper, with the container sealed well in plastic wrap.   

sweeden.

The Sweedes really seem to excel at just about everything.  The women dress incredibly (vintage Levis and perfectly slouchy white tee shirts) and their homes are that perfect mix of modern/minimalism with just a dash of whimsy.  I want.   

Also this light sculpture is positively amazing.   


Image from here.  

roasted zucchini salad.

In my never ending quest to eat more vegetables without feeling as if I am eating more vegetables, I've begun to really think about salads and what a salad actually is and can be.

The default is to think of salad as a side to the main meal.  It probably conjures images of lettuce (most likely iceberg), halved cherry tomatoes, and cucumber slices.  I imagine it is tossed in an "herbed" Italian vinaigrette and served with a couple of slices of bad Italian bread.

And it's bad.  Just really awful and the reason I hated salads for so long.

But now that I have my own kitchen I can rethink everything.  My salads have begun to look very different then your standard "lettuce just thrown into a bowl with a couple of sub-standard accouterments".  They are flavorful! Each ingredient is well thought-out! And they are comprised of things other than lettuce.  Don't get me wrong - I love a good head of butter lettuce and arugula is the cat's pajamas but you know what makes for a really great salad base? Roasted zucchini.  Zatar roasted zucchini to be exact.  It's flavorful, substantial, and it can stand-up to a whole slew of mix-in's without getting limp and soggy.   Things like chickpeas, toasted chopped almonds, and feta.  It's a salad that can stand-up as a main but can also serve as a side at your next BBQ without going bad.  If there is a way to make summer even better, this is it.      

Roasted Zucchini Salad with Chickpeas, Almonds, and Feta

Serves 4 as a main and 6 as a side

This salad is a dream because it tastes just as good on the day of as it does 2 days later.  How many salads manage to get better with age?   Like 3.  Maybe.   Being able to make it ahead and have it still taste phenomenal hours later is why it deserves a spot at your next summer soiree.  Call dibs on the leftovers for lunch.

For the Zucchini

4 or 5 small to medium sized zucchini sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons zatar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sumac

For the Salad

1/4 cup almonds toasted and chopped
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup mixed herbs (I used basil, mint, and lemon thyme)
1/2 cup crumbled feta

For the Dressing

Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Squeeze of honey
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon aleppo pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place the zucchini slices in a bowl and toss with the olive oil, zatar, salt and sumac.  Lay the zucchini slices in a single layer on the baking sheet (this will need to be done in 2 batches).  Roast for 15 minutes.  Flip the zucchini and then roast for an additional 10 minutes.   Repeat with the remaining zucchini slices.

Combine the zucchini slices in a bowl with the almonds, chickpeas, herbs, and feta.  

Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Pour over the salad ingredients and toss to combine.  Eat with abandon.

fried zucchini blossoms.

Last week when Tyler left me for composting school, my dinners were rather abysmal.  I just don't have the energy to cook epic meals for myself.  Cooking, at least for me, is about feeding others so when there is no one else around, it kind of looses its appeal (not to mention not having Tyler around means I loose my dishwasher). Instead of meals I consumed random bites of food - namely wedges of good cheese and piles of sauteed vegetables.  

But he is back (!) and all of the vegetables I stared at longingly last week were purchased with abandon this week.  Carrots! Cauliflower! Broccoli and Squash Blossoms i.e the ingredient I was most excited about.  I've discussed them before and how incredible they are stuffed with ricotta but this time I tried something slightly simpler and somehow they turned out even more incredible - burrata served as the base for the fried zucchini blossoms.  A sprinkling of chopped garlic scapes, torn basil, a generous drizzle of olive oil, and a bit of flaky sea salt and black pepper topped it.

It was perfection especially after a week of less than exciting meals.  To be on repeat until I can't find squash blossoms anymore.  

Fried Zucchini Blossoms 
Recipe from Bon Appetit 

Zucchini blossoms may turn people off (who wants to eat a flower?) but they are incredible and very popular in Italy.  They don't taste floraly.  Rather then taste like a mild zucchini.  If you see them, buy them.  

Vegetable oil (for frying)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

12 ounce chilled Pilsner, lager style beer, or club soda

Zucchini blossoms (stamens removed; about 2 dozen)

Sea salt

In a large pot, heat about 1" oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl, then whisk in beer until almost smooth (some small lumps are welcome—don't overwhisk or you'll deflate the batter). One by one, dredge the blossoms in batter, shaking off the excess; gently lay them in the oil, without crowding the pan. Cook, flipping once with a slotted spoon, until golden brown, 2-3 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with sea salt and devour while hot.