The Secret Recipe Club: Red (Brown) Rice Salad

Can I just tell you how much I love secrets? I do. I love to be on both the giving and receiving end. I like to try to guess and I like the surprisee to guess too! It makes me feel like I've done a good job if my subtle hints are left undetected. CrAZy? Maybe but I think it's fun!

So this whole Secret Recipe Club is right up my alley. I love getting my assignment each month but I also love the anticipation of waiting to see who was assigned my blog.

This month I was assigned Gloria of The Ginger Snap Girl. Gloria is a baker at heart and participates in so many food clubs. I don't know how she finds the time to create all these masterpieces (Red Velvet Whoopie Pies anyone?!) but she does and her husband is one lucky dude!

When I read about a photography workshop she attended, put on by White on Rice Couple, and the Red Rice Salad that Diane served them, I knew that's what I wanted to try. That and I was so jealous of her awesome experience at the workshop! Gloria raved about the salad and even described the vinaigrette as "magical!" How could I not try it?!

Gloria was right! That vinaigrette would make shoe leather taste delicious. I'm sure of it. It's a little sweet, a little salty, and just the right amount of both. I whipped it up one night to jazz up some plain old brown rice (didn't even bother to look for the red rice since Gloria said it's hard to find) and my whole family raved about it. My husband looked so surprised when he tasted the first bite and said, "This rice is really good!" I take it my rice is typically bland!

I omitted the cucumbers because I made this on a whim (so unlike me!) and didn't have any available. I actually think I prefer the salad warm and therefore don't think cucumbers would be that great. The recipe says it can be served warm or cold and I can easily see adding various vegetables, depending on your temperature preference.

This will become a go-to addition to our boring brown rice. My husband thanks you, Gloria (and Diane)!

Red (Brown) Rice Salad
from The Ginger Snap Girl

For rice:

1 1/4 cups brown rice, uncooked
1 3/4 plus 2 T. water
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley

1. Put brown rice and water together in a pot with a lid.
2. Set the heat to high, and bring the rice/water to a boil uncovered.  Then put the lid on the pot, and reduce the heat to low/simmer.  If your lid has a steam valve, keep it closed.  Let the rice simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat, and let the rice sit in the covered pot for another 10 minutes.  It’s ok if you let the rice sit longer than 10 minutes (20 or 30 minutes is fine too), but don’t let it go any less.  I prefer my rice to be slightly chewy, not mushy, so I usually remove the lid after 10 minutes.

Shallot Vinaigrette:

3 large shallots, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 T. olive oil or grapeseed oil
2 tsp agave nectar (or sugar)
2 T. tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a small non-stick skillet, add 2 T. oil and heat on low.  Add shallots and garlic and cook until mixture is a light golden brown (about 15 minutes).  Remove from heat and add in remaining 2 T. oil and remaining ingredients.  Stir until well blended.

When rice is finished cooking, add parsley and vinaigrette.  Stir to combine.  Serve warm or chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serves 4-6 people as a side dish. 

The Secret Recipe Club: Thai Shrimp Bites with Peanut-Lime Dipping Sauce

It's time once again for the Secret Recipe Club.  Today I'll be outing my secret.  Sounds dramatic, huh?  After holding it in for a month, I finally get to reveal my new blog crush, Inquiring Chef!

As always, I could not wait to start my assignment and I quickly delved into her recipe index.  I'm very thorough when I make my selection because I have to make sure I'm choosing the perfect one for me.  That means I read through EVERY single recipe!  I'm not looking forward to the day that I'm assigned a blog with thousands of recipes.  Who am I kidding, I'm always up for a good challenge.

Being rather indecisive makes selecting just one recipe a little challenging.  I swear I don't remember always being this indecisive but as of late, I can't seem to make a single decision on my own!  Well to add to it, I literally wanted to make every recipe I came across on the Inquiring Chef's site.  Maybe I was hungry, maybe her pictures lured me in, or maybe I've just been having a hankering for Asian-inspired food.  You see, Jessica was has been in Bangkok for about 2 years (I think she's home now) and has been inspired by the culture around her.  If her recipes are any indication of the food scene in Bangkok, sign me up!  The flavors, the produce, the varieties are just endless.

I bookmarked no less than 10 of her recipes in a matter of minutes.  I know you'll be surprised to hear that I passed up her Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies!  It was hard but when you see all the rest of her recipes, you'll understand.  Once again, I chose 2 recipes to try.  The first, and the one I'm entering this month, is her Thai Shrimp Bites with Peanut-Lime Dipping Sauce.  Holy wow!  These little gems were de-lightful!  Wes, my mom, and I could not keep our paws off of these.  Thankfully we had around 30 to share between us and we easily could have gobbled them all up in one sitting.  They had so much flavor on their own but the dipping sauce amped it up even more.  Wes couldn't say enough about them.  I'm already thinking of new additions to change them up next go-round.  And there will be a next go-round!

Thai Shrimp Bites with Peanut-Lime Dipping Sauce
by:  Inquiring Chef


for the sauce:
1 cup (235 mL) coconut milk
1/3 cup roasted peanuts (unsalted), roughly chopped
2 tsp. light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp. siracha (more or less, to taste)


for the bites:
1 Tbsp. roasted peanuts (unsalted)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
3/4 pound (340 g) raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined (I used precooked)
24 wonton wrappers (I think I got more like 30)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil


Make the sauce.  Combine coconut milk and peanuts in a small saucepan over medium heat.  When the coconut milk begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until thickens slightly (mine never really got thick, so I just cooked it for about 7 minutes).  Pour coconut milk into the bowl of a blender or food processor.  Add remaining ingredients and pulse until mixture is smooth and creamy.  Pour the sauce into a small bowl and leave the blender out to use for the filling.
Combine the filling.  In the bowl of a food processor or blender, pulse the peanuts and garlic until they form a paste.  Add green onions, cilantro leaves, soy sauce, and shrimp, pulsing until only very small pieces of shrimp remain and the ingredients are evenly incorporated.  Transfer the mixture to a small bowl.
Assemble the bites.  Working with one wonton wrapper at a time, place a heaping teaspoon of shrimp filling into the center.  Dampen the edges of the wrapper by dipping a finger in water and running it along the edge.  Gather the wonton wrapper at four points, pressing them together to enclose the filling.  Put the filled wrappers on parchment paper and cover with a slightly dampened paper towel (to prevent them from drying out).

Cook the bites.  Place a large saute pan (that has a tight-fitting lid) over medium-high heat.  Add vegetable oil, swirling it to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.  When the pan is warm, place the shrimp bites in the pan, close to one another, but barely touching.  Cook until the bottoms of the bites are crisp and golden brown, 5-6 minutes.  Gently pour 1 Tablespoon of water down side of pan and cover with the lid.  Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook, covered, for another 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.
Serve immediately, with Peanut-Lime Sauce on the side.
–
Make Ahead. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a day before serving.  It will need to be gently heated in the microwave or on the stove in order to return to a smooth consistency for serving.  I did make mine a day ahead but did not reheat it the next day, I just served it cold.  It was still just as tasty!

The bites can be assembled up to four hours before cooking.  Store them in the refrigerator on parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Cover them with slightly dampened paper towels to prevent them from drying out.  

I also tried her Salmon Tacos Avocado Salsa and Cilantro-Orange Slaw.  As many times as I've made fish tacos, the thought never occurred to me to use salmon as the fish!  The lightbulb went off when I saw Jessica's recipe and it was a delicious combination.  I think I might actually prefer the salmon to plain white fish because it packs more flavor and add a little more meatiness to the tacos.  I did jazz up her the salsa a bit by adding a little cumin and chili powder but that's a personal preference when it comes to guacamole inspired things.  I also let the slaw marinate overnight to allow the flavors to soak up a bit more.  Overall, a great recipe that we'll surely be repeating.

The Secret Recipe Club: Couscous aux Champignons

Oh secret club, how I've missed you!  After a brief holiday hiatus, the Secret Recipe Club is back in full swing this month.  I'm not sure which I look forward to more, getting to get acquainted with a new blogger or getting to see which recipe of mine some secret blogger selected.

This month, I was thrilled to be paired with not only a blogger that I follow, but one I've actually met.  In person.  Mindy of The World in My Kitchen is one of the founding members of the Kentucky Food Bloggers group on Facebook and orchestrated the wonderful get-together we had last fall.  I appreciate Mindy's style of cooking because she tries to provide delicious, yet healthy meals for her family.  She is also a world traveler, unlike myself, and tries to span the globe in her recipe selections.

After writing down several possibilities, I settled on her Couscous aux Champignons.  Sounds fancy, doesn't it?  Wes had recently mentioned wanting to have couscous sometime soon, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity.  Oddly enough, this might be the only recipe on Mindy's site that she never tasted!  Turns out, she hates mushrooms and made this as part of another club!  Her loss.

This dish came together so quickly, which I totally appreciate on a hurried weeknight.  It's very flexible and would easily be transformed with other vegetable additions.  I liked the simplicity of the mushrooms though, as it allowed them a chance to shine.

If you're not familiar with Mindy's site, go over and take a look.  I have no doubt you'll find recipes you've probably not seen elsewhere and something(s) that will surely tickle your fancy!

Couscous aux Champignons
by:  Mindy @ The World in My Kitchen

1 T. butter
1 cup chopped mushrooms (any variety will do)
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups couscous (I used whole wheat)
1 3/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper
handful of fresh chopped parsley (I omitted)

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds until it starts to soften, but don't let it brown.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5-10 minutes until the mushrooms have softened.  Add the stock and a small handful of parsley and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add the couscous, salt and pepper to taste, cover the pot, and remove it from the heat.  Let it sit for 5 minutes, add another handful of parsley, and fluff with a fork.

Secret Recipe Club: Parmesan Cornmeal Biscuits

There are so many wonderful food blogs out there but not nearly enough hours in the day to find them all.  Thanks to the Secret Recipe Club, I am fortunate enough to be introduced to a new one every month.  Sometimes I'm familiar with the blog but most of the time it's new to me.  I love getting to add new blogs to my Reader and this has proven to be a great way to find worthwhile sites.

This month I was assigned to Ann's blog, Sumptuous Spoonfuls.  Sumptuous is a such a luscious descriptive word and her photos and recipes fit the bill.  Ann is a self-proclaimed "health freak" and tries to cut the sugar and fat where possible.  Hello?  Are we twins?  I have personal mental guidelines that a recipe must adhere to before it ever gets bookmarked.  It was so nice to know that as I read through Ann's bounty of recipes, I didn't have to worry about a ton of butter, sugar, or additives.  If you can make things like Berry White Chocolate Scones and Magical Mystical Chocolate Pudding Cake with less sugar?  Sign me up!  I ended up settling on her Parmesan Cornmeal Biscuits.

I'm here to tell you, these biscuits are incredible.  I love the slight crunch from the cornmeal, mixed with the airiness of the flour.  I love that she used yogurt instead of milk or buttermilk.  I subbed Gruyere cheese in place of the parmesan and it proved to be a wonderful match!  They came together so quickly and were a smashing hit.  They got my bread-lovin' mom's seal of approval as well - and that's saying something!  I highly, highly recommend these versatile little gems.  I dare you to try to eat just one (:

Gruyere Cornmeal Biscuits
slightly adapted from Sumptuous Spoonfuls

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup 50/50 flour (white/wheat blend)
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 T. sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 T. chilled butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Gruyere cheese
1 large egg
1 cup plain low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix first 8 ingredients (flour through baking soda) in a large bowl.
3. Cut butter into small bits and mix in with a pastry cutter, 2 knives or use your fingers to blend until butter is blended in and mixture is a coarse meal.
4. Add Gruyere cheese and mix until blended.
5. In a small bowl, whisk egg and yogurt until smooth.
6. Add the egg/yogurt mixture to flour mixture. Stir well to mix into a moist, thick batter.  Add a little more flour if the batter is still really sticky.
7. Turn the batter onto a well-floured surface and sprinkle with flour.
8. Roll to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and cut into shapes.
9. Bake at 400 for 15 – 20 minutes or until nicely browned on top.

The Secret Recipe Club: Citrus-Spice Seared Salmon over Parmesan Cheese Grits

It's that time of the month again.  No, not that time, the Secret Recipe Club time!  Amanda is a genius for coming up with this club.  I love getting my assignment and then I love seeing who got me.  Then I ask, "I wonder why they chose that recipe?  Of all the recipes on my blog, why that one?  For the first 2 months, my secret admirers chose the same recipe!  What are the odds?  I swear I have more recipes than Marion Cunningham's Parker Brownies!

This month I was excited to be assigned Wendy from Weekend Gourmet!  I was already a follower of Wendy, so I was excited to get to try one of her recipes I had already bookmarked.  Wendy has the best giveaways too!  I won one of the best, the Whoopsies! whoopie pies.  She also just got back from NYC and seriously hit up every single place that is on my list for our next visit - Levain and Shake Shack in one day?!  I wish she could have carried me in her purse (:

Decision time.  With all the current hype in the blog world for Biscoff spread, these Triple Threat Biscoff Blondies definitely tempted me.  Or how about the Margarita Fettucini with Turkey Tenderloins?  I'm saving that one for my Thanksgiving leftovers!  In the end, I settled on her Citrus-Spice Seared Salmon over Parm-Goat Cheese Grits.  Say that 3 times fast!

What can I say?  The combination of the marinade and then the rub gave the salmon an incredible amount of flavor!  I think either would be great on their own accord but together, it's just packed with flavor.  All 4 members of my family give this one a thumbs way up, especially little Sawyer who couldn't get enough of that pink goodness!

The modifications I made were minimal.  I didn't have goat cheese, so I used a Asiago/Parmesan blend for the grits.  Even though I've made grits dozens of times before with various types of cheeses, I have to say this flavor ranks up there with my favorites.  I also have my own tried and true formula for grits that I have been threatened to stray from.

I clearly made a great choice with this recipe.  Wendy, thanks for helping me prepare a great meal for my family.  I already have another one of your recipes lined up to make next week!

Citrus-Spice Seared Salmon over Parmesan Cheese Grits
adapted from Weekend Gourmet

For the Salmon

Marinade:
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from 1 large orange)
1 large lime, juiced
1 T. olive oil
2 T. soy sauce
1/4 tsp pepper

Rub:
3 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 T. chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
zest of one lime

4 - 5oz pieces of salmon, skin on

For marinade:
In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients together.  Place salmon fillets in a large zip top bag and pour marinade over to coat.  Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. (I only marinated mine for 30 minutes and it still absorbed quite a bit of the flavor.)  While the fish marinates, make the rub by combining all ingredients in small bowl.

After the salmon has marinated, remove from fridge and apply a generous coating of the rub to the flesh side of the fish.  Heat a large grill pan or non-stick pan with 1 T. olive oil over medium-high heat.  Make sure it is hot enough before you proceed - you want to get a good sear on the salmon.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the fillets, spice side down.  Allow the rub to caramelize about 3 minutes before flipping.  Continue cooking 5-7 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork in the thickest part. 

Parmesan Cheese Grits

1 cup water
1 cup skim milk
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
3/4 cup instant grits
dash of salt
1/2 cup Asiago/Parmesan cheese blend

Bring water, milk, and broth to a boil.  Gradually whisk in grits and salt. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove lid and whisk in cheese.  Turn off heat but allow the pan to continue cooking on the burner for another 2-3 minutes to thicken up.

The Secret Recipe Club: Spaghetti Squash Gratin with Walnuts and Bacon

I had so much fun last month participating in the Secret Recipe Club that I couldn't wait for my assignment this month!  I loved getting introduced to a blog I might not have otherwise ever known about.  This month I was assigned, Mele Cotte.

The first thing I like to do is to get a little background information on the blogger.  It helps me feel like we're actually meeting for the first time, except in a stalkerish kind of way.  Maybe describing myself as a private investigator makes it sound a little less criminal.  Anywho, first up was to determine what the origin of Mele Cotte's name was.  It means 'baked apple' in Italian.  Yum, I love baked apples!  We're on the right track.  Then I discovered that Christina comes from a history of authentic Italian cooks and she is even certified by the Art Institute of Atlanta in baking and pastry!  This should be good, I love Italian and I love baking (:

As I began scouring her blog, my usual indecisiveness reared it's ugly head.  Should I use up that one lonely eggplant from my CSA and make her Stuffed Eggplant, or try a new grain and make her Mushroom Farro, or since it's starting to turn chilly, maybe her Tuscan Minestrone Soup?  They all looked and sounded so yummy but in the end, I chose her Spaghetti Squash Gratin because it was something I hadn't tried, I had all of the ingredients, and it looked delicious! 

Spaghetti Squash Gratin with Walnuts and Bacon
adapted from Mele Cotte

Spaghetti squash, about 3-4 lbs
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1/3 cup panko crumbs
1/2 cup cheese (dry mozzarella, or whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp chili powder
olive oil
salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 350.  Carefully slice the squash in half (heating it in the microwave for 2 minutes or so makes this process a lot easier!) and remove seeds.  Rub flesh with olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder.  Roast for about 40 minutes, or until you can easily comb a fork through the flesh.

Scrape out all of the "spaghetti" flesh from each half and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place half of squash in a greased 8x8 baking dish.  Top with bacon crumbles, toasted nuts, and HALF of the shredded cheese.  Top with remaining squash, followed by remaining cheese and panko crumbs.

Increase oven temperature to 375 and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the top is brown and the cheese has melted.

The Secret Recipe Club

In the days of the Babysitter's Club books and clubhouses, I always wanted to form a secret club, girls only no less, or be invited to be in a similar club.  The furthest I got was the foot of my bed with my trusty Cabbage Patch dolls.  They all eagerly accepted their invitation and none of them gave me any "yeah right" stares.  Those were good friends to have - no backtalk, no tattle-telling, no bossing, just obedient friends.

I've never really lost that desire to be a part of a secret club.  I'd even be satisfied with a secret bookshelf in my house that gave way to a secret entrance into a secret room.  Can you tell I'm all about secrets?  I love to surprise the ones I love with secret destinations and gifts and I like to be on the receiving end too.  Maybe I'm just a secretive person.

When I first read about The Secret Recipe Club on Peggy's blog, I was very intrigued.  At first I kicked myself for not thinking of it myself and then I wondered if I could be a part.  Finally a club I could be in?  Say it's not so!  It was so and thanks to Amanda, I am a newly inducted member!

Each month we are secretly assigned a fellow blogger and we must find a recipe on their blog that we'd like to try.  We make the recipe and report back on our reveal day.  Sounds fun, doesn't it!

For my introductory month, I was assigned Pass the Sushi.  Admittedly I was nervous.  I didn't know the first thing about making sushi!  I didn't have any of the necessary equipment and I don't like raw fish.  I clicked on over and was relieved to find not a nary sushi recipe in site.  What I did find was a whole host of recipes I wanted to try.  Not surprising, I was indecisive and couldn't choose just one recipe.  Thankfully there is a time limit put on us or I just might have tried to make every recipe that sounded good.  Peanut butter banana cookies anyone?  Yes, please.  Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies, deep dish style?  Yet in the end, it was the non-dessert option that won me over; Thai Turkey Burgers with Broccoli Slaw it was!

These burgers came together pretty quickly and effortlessly.  I did alter the ingredient a bit because I was too lazy to shred a carrot and garlic powder seemed much easier than getting fresh garlic out of the fridge.  Hey don't hate me, I try to cook a gourmet meal in 30 minutes, so I'm not afforded such luxuries sometimes.  I also omitted the egg in the mix because eggs are a hot commodity in our house and I knew they'd be ok without it. I loved the slaw on the burger but I did modify it slightly so I could use up 1 of the 2 heads of cabbage I already had.

Overall, these burgers were a hit.  I'd add a bit more seasoning next time because ground turkey needs a lot of help.  The slaw added an extra dimension of flavor and a nice little crunch.  I liked the concept of incorporating Thai flavors into a burger and I'm anxious to play with the concept a bit more another time.  Thanks, Kita, for a great recipe.

Thai Turkey Burgers with Broccoli Slaw
adapted from Pass the Sushi

• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp chili paste
• 2 T. cilantro, finely chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat your grill pan to medium-high heat.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Form ground turkey mixture into patties.

Grill for about 4 minutes on each side. 

Serve with broccoli slaw as a side or on top with toasted buns.

Broccoli Slaw

• 5-6 cups chopped Napa cabbage (cut as fine as you can)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup mayo
• juice of 1 lime
• bunch of cilantro
• 1 tbsp chili paste
• 1 teas of sesame oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 20 minutes, or overnight, so that the flavors meld before serving.


Of course I couldn't stop there.  I had so much fun making these, I decided to whip up the Skillet Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie too!  What can I say about chocolate chip cookies that hasn't already been said?  Me like cookies!