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COOKING VIDEO: Yummy, Low-Calorie Roasted Carrots And Parsnips Recipe

December 1, 2011 at 8:11 am · Filed under Vegetables-Salads-Herbs, Videos

 

If you’re like most people, you probably enjoy carrots. But have you tried their cousins, parsnips?

Parsnips look like large, pale yellow carrots (the flesh underneath is creamy white). When cooked, they have an even sweeter taste than carrots, delivering subtle notes of butterscotch, cardamom and honey.

Like carrots, parsnips are native to the Mediterranean. Early Romans ate them wild, then cultivated them. Food trivia: The original carrots were purple, not orange. Today’s ubiquitous orange carrot was bred in Holland in the late 16th century. You can find heirloom purple carrots at some farmers markets. A mutant strain called white carrots—the same pale yellow color as parsnips—is also grown.

In this video, the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, shows how incredibly easy it is to make a delicious (and healthy!) side of roasted carrots and parsnips. Make a double batch—they’re delicious hot or cold, not just at dinner but also with lunch or for a low-calorie snack.

You can add your own twists to this recipe, including fresh herbs or a drizzle of flavored olive oil before serving.
   
   

Find more of our favorite veggie recipes in our Vegetables Section.

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TIP OF THE DAY: 10 New Ways To Use Pomegranate Seeds (Arils)

December 1, 2011 at 7:09 am · Filed under Fruits, Nuts & Seeds, Tip Of The Day

Yesterday was National Pomegranate Day. It’s pomegranate season.

There’s nothing quite like those tart, ruby-hued seeds that spill forth from their crimson shell, bursting with tang and brightening up your mouth like drops of sunshine.

Beyond healthy snacking and dazzling garnishes, there’s more versatility to this fruit than you may think.

It’s easy to add pizzazz to your dishes with pomegranate seeds. See how we’ve used them in:

  • Condiments & Decor: Try Pomegranate Bowls, Pomegranate Gastrique, Pomegranate Marinade and Pomegranate Relish.
  • Snacks: Take a bite of Rustic Pomegranate Wedges, Pomegranate Trail Mix and Yogurt-Dipped Pomegranate Seeds.
  • Other Recipes: Glamorize with Pomegranate Cake Topping, Pomegranate Canapés and Pomegranate Salad Topper.

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    Get the recipes/instructions for the 10 tips.

    		  
    Beyond a beautiful garnish, pomegranate
    seeds add splendor to condiments, snacks and other recipes. Photo courtesy PomWonderful.com.

    Find more of our favorite fruits and recipes in our Gourmet Fruit Section.

      

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    GIFT: The Best Peppermint Bark

    November 30, 2011 at 7:10 pm · Filed under Candy & Confections, Kosher Nibbles


    The best peppermint bark we’ve ever had.
    Don’t miss it! Photo courtesy Enstrom.

    		   We’ve tried every peppermint bark we’ve come across. And the winner:

    Peppermint Bark from Enstrom Candies of Grand Junction, Colorado.

    It’s a perfect blend of top-quality dark and white chocolate with crushed peppermint candy and chocolate cookie pieces. We admit to total addiction.

    And we have to stock up on it, because it’s only made during the holiday season.

    We promise you: Anyone you give a box to will tell you it’s the best peppermint bark they’ve ever had.

    And they’ll pine for December 2012, when another box might come their way.

    Enstrom Candies are certified kosher.

    Get yours at The Nibble Gourmet Market—home to our very favorite treats.

     

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: 41 Things To Do With Leftover Ham

    November 30, 2011 at 6:54 am · Filed under Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Tip Of The Day

    A week later, we are still working our way through leftover Thanksgiving ham.

    We received a lovely ham gift basket from TommyMoloneys.com. The ham was about 10 pounds, and joined a large turkey and five sides to feed a group of eight. Needless to say, plenty of everything was left after the meal.

    While the other leftovers were polished off by Sunday, we’re still munching on lots of leftover ham. We developed this list of 41 recipe ideas, and have been ticking them off three times a day. Yes, it’s a ham-a-thon: a ham marathon. Let us know what we’ve left off the list.

    Leftover Ham For Breakfast & Brunch

  • Breakfast burritos (scrambled eggs, ham and shredded cheese in a tortilla wrap)
  • Congee (Chinese rice porridge—make it with Cream of Rice) with diced ham, pea and scallions
  • Chef salad (with the leftover turkey)
  • Homemade “Egg McMuffins”
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    Ideas to finish our leftover ham. Photo courtesy FraMani.com.
  • Eggs Benedict (poached eggs and ham on English muffins with hollandaise sauce)
  • Frittata or omelet
  • Ham croissants (roll shredded ham in refrigerated croissant dough)
  • Ham and eggs, any style
  • Ham and waffle “sandwich”
  • Quiche

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    Leftover Ham For Lunch

  • Croque Monsieur (a hot grilled ham and cheese sandwich with Emmental or Gruyère)
  • Ham & grilled cheese with Brie, Cheddar or other favorite cheese (pineapple slice optional)
  • Ham salad
  • Ham salad/egg salad combo (add diced hard-cooked eggs to the ham salad)
  • Ham salad in a red bell pepper
  • Ham sandwiches with special condiments: chutney, cranberry-horseradish relish, honey mustard, chipotle or wasabi mayonnaise

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    Leftover Ham In Sides

  • Canned soup—split pea soup, lentil soup, vegetable soup, cream of asparagus soup, etc.—with diced ham
  • From-scratch soup with the ham bone (split pea, lentil, vegetable)
  • Green beans and/or Brussels sprouts with julienned ham
  • “Ham and Swiss” baked potato
  • Ham fried rice
  • Mashed potatoes (white or sweet) with diced ham
  • Rice with ham, peas, corn and pimento strips
  • Queso asado (baked cheese) with ham

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    Leftover Ham For Dinner

  • Fettuccine Alfredo with julienned ham
  • Ham and pineapple skewers
  • Ham, potato and root vegetable casserole
  • Ham and potato gratin
  • Ham and pineapple pizza
  • Ham pot pie
  • Ham skewers with mushrooms, onion, bell peppers and pineapple
  • Mac and cheese with ham
  • Pasta any style with ham, peas, broccoli florets, red bell pepper or pimento
  • Roasted potatoes with diced bell peppers, onion and ham
  • Spinach salad with ham instead of bacon
  • Stir-fried vegetables and ham

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    Leftover Ham For Cocktails & Hors d’Oeuvre

  • Cubed ham cocktail garnish for Bloody Marys and Martinis
  • Deviled eggs with a small dice of ham (we call it “ham and eggs”)
  • Deviled ham on biscuits, in mushroom caps, on sandwiches and canapés
  • Ham canapés (thin slices on bread or crackers with any garnish you like—sliced olives are the easiest)
  • Salumi or cold cuts platter (slice the ham very thin, like prosciutto)

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    Still have leftover ham?

    Cut it into single portions to defrost for lunch or dinner, or cube and freeze for soup garnishes, omelets, casseroles, etc.

    Find ham recipes in our Pork Section.

    Take our ham trivia quiz.

      

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    PRODUCT: Fresh Goat Cheese (Chèvre)

    November 30, 2011 at 1:10 am · Filed under Cheese-Yogurt-Dairy

    Get it while you can: pumpkin goat cheese
    for the holidays.

    		   The wife of a farmer in Hiram,* Ohio, Jean Mackenzie took her first cheese-making class in June 2007 and was licensed to produce cheese that October.

    Two weeks later, she entered her chèvres (goat cheeses) in the National Cheese Competition sponsored by the American Dairy Goat Association. She won two Best of Show awards, two First Place awards and one Second Place award. Awards continued to roll in, most recently at the 2011 American Cheese Society competition (for her Apricot Ginger Chèvre).

    In addition to plain chèvre logs, Mackenzie Creamery makes flavored logs that tempt us to hold a goat-out (really a pig-out, where we dig into every flavor). The flavors include Black Truffle, Blue, Blueberry Lemon, Cranberry Orange, Garlic Chive, Herbes de Provence, Honey, Sweet Piquant and seasonal Toasted Pumpkin.

     
    There are also small tubs of flavored chèvres: Apricot Ginger, Cognac Fig (with Courvoisier Cognac), Sweet Fire and Tomato. The chutney or syrup flavorings are on the bottom of the cup, so that when the cheese is inverted onto a plate, they turn into a topping. Just add crackers, graham crackers and/or baguette slices and serve.

    Toasted Pumpkin and Cranberry Orange chevre logs are wonderful additions to holiday tables. The Toasted Pumpkin tastes like pumpkin cheesecake.

    GOAT CHEESE TIPS
    Tips straight from the cheese-maker:

  • Fresh goat cheese should be kept as cold as possible without freezing (33°F–35°F). It will keep in the fridge for two to three weeks.
  • To open a plastic-wrapped log, use a scissors to snip off a small bit of one corner to create a ”V.” Run the scissors or a sharp knife around the edges and remove the wrapper.
  • It’s easy to slice fresh goat cheese cleanly with a piece of dental floss.
  • Serve all cheese at room temperature. Remove the cheese from the refrigerator one hour before serving.
  • Store leftover goat cheese covered tightly in plastic wrap. You need to keep out air, which allows mold to grow. If small specks of mold develop, just trim them away and enjoy the rest of the cheese.
  • Discard any cheese that develops an off-odor, strange colors or more than a touch of mold.
  • Like all cheeses, chèvre ripens as it ages. It will develop a stronger flavor in a week or two (but won’t get “goaty” like aged goat cheese).
  • Fresh goat cheese freezes beautifully for up to 6 months.

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    For retail locations or to buy online, visit the website, MackenzieCreamery.com.

    Find out why goat cheese is a good choice for lactose-intolerant people.

    Find a trove of cheese information, plus reviews of our favorite cheeses, in our Cheese Section.

    *While Hiram, Ohio may become famous as the location of Mackenzie Creamery, it was also the residence of a U.S. president. James A. Garfield lived there as a college student, instructor and then principal at what is today Hiram College. He also married a Hiram girl, Lucretia Rudolph. Several of their children were born there, including Harry Augustus Garfield, who became president of Williams College, and James Rudolph Garfield, who became the 23rd Secretary of the Interior under President Theodore Roosevelt.

      

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