If you love a great sandwich, gather round.  This is the tale of Mummy's pepper steak sandwiches.  A dish that perplexed me regarding steak cuts, and weirded me out with the spice blend.  When I was eating this dish, I was reminded that my preconceived notions are almost always wrong, I need to trust Aarti, because I have no idea what I am talking about.

First I though, steak on a sandwich?  When I splurge on steak, I want to grill it, or cover it in butter and have a nice sophisticated dinner.  Putting an expensive meat on a sandwich seemed disrespectful. Then when I saw that this was pepper steak, I thought it meant spicy sermons and bell peppers to set my mouth ablaze. Again I read the recipe, and the spice blend didn't seem like it would taste very good, with the cloves and the cinnamon.  I don't want to ruin this nice steak by putting it on a sandwich AND making it taste like pumpkin pie.  I was queen of the skeptics on this one.  

I have no idea what I am talking about.  I took one scrumptious bite of this sandwich and now I'm a believer.  Not a trace of doubt in my mind.  I'm in love...  lol, okay, I'll stop with the song.  The pepper is merely fresh ground pepper, the steak flavor was on point, and sandwiches with steak are damn delicious.  I urge you to try this and become a believer yourself.  

You will need:

1 pound sirloin petite roast, or sirloin fillets

1 TSP whole black peppercorns

3 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of cayenne 

1 TBSP malt vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Kosher salt

2 TBSP sunflower oil

1 medium onion sliced into half moons

2 TBSP minced, peeled fresh ginger

1 large ripe tomato sliced into 1 inch wedges

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 toasted sandwich rolls

Step one, slice the steak against the grain in 1/2 inch pieces.  Then take your knife or a mallet and flatten them to around 1/4 inch thickness.  Set aside.

In your spice grinder, grind the peppercorns, cinnamon stick and cloves into a powder.  I suppose you can use already ground spices, but a fresh grind is extra flavorful.  Add your ground spices to a small bowl, then mix in the cayenne, vinegar and 1 TSP Kosher salt.  When mixed, you will have a grainy and sand-like paste.  Cover your beef strips with the paste and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

In a large (preferably cast iron) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and a pinch of Kosher salt.  Heat onion until translucent, around 2 to 3 minutes.  Add in the ginger and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes longer.  You want the onions to be light golden brown and smell sweet.

Make a layer of onions covering the bottom of the pan, then add the beef strips, laying them atop the onions.  Cook for about 3 minutes, until the underside of the steak has browned slightly.  

Stir the beef and onions all together and cook for another minute.  Then add in the tomatoes, and stirring occasionally, heat for around 5 minutes or until the tomatoes start to wilt down and the skins roll back slightly.  

Turn off the heat entirely, and let everything sit for 5 minutes.  The tomatoes will meld into the juices from the beef and onions to make a slight gravy type sauce.  Add the water and scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate all the liquids into a gravy sauce.

Toast your rolls lightly, and if you like, butter the insides.  (That is my trick to make any burger or sandwich taste like it came from a restaurant)  Fill with your steak mixture with a bit of the sauce to get absorbed by the bread, and top with cilantro.  That, my friend, is one tasty sandwich.

Things I've Googled This Week #4

This is going to be a fun segment of the blog where I share the tips that I have been learning along the way.  I am forever googling things to make sure I am not missing any of the finer details of different cooking processes.  Maybe I can save you a little time and share what I have learned.

Q: How to tell if a pomegranate is ripe?

A good pomegranate will be heavy, which indicates that the fruit is loaded with juice.  Poms are usually not picked until they are ripe, so you should be able to consume right after purchase.  They are typically in season in North America from late summer to early winter.  Thank goodness I decided to make High Five sweet potatoes in September.  That was totally a fluke!

Q: Is this grapefruit rotten?

I think my grapefruit was mere hours from being past the point of edible.  When I cut it open, it wasn't the bright pink glow, rather a dull dusty pink color which looked rather sad.  When I cut the sections, the fruit wasn't very firm.  The tiny juice 'vesicles' (I had to google the name for those too.) didn't seem to stay attached to their neighbors very well.  It was definitely almost in too mushy to eat territory.  To keep your grapefruit fresh, keep it in the refrigerator or use it within 3-4 days.  It is 100% rotten when it is slimy, moldy, dried out, spotted, or smells bad.

Q: How to steam a pita?

The direct method with a steamer basket.  Fill a wok or pan with water, bring to boil and sit the pita in the top (not touching the water) and allow the steam to heat the pita through.  I don't have any of this stuff, so the next neato suggestion is to wet a paper towel, and wad it up loosely.  Take a brown paper bag, and put your wet towel wad in the bottom.  Keeping the bag on it's side, add the pita, but not letting it touch the towel, and fold the bag shut.  Microwave of 30 seconds-1 minute.  The wet paper towel + microwave heat in a bag creates a little steam oven for your pita.

Q: Onions in ice water?

Turns out this does in fact take the bite out of the onion.  (Not that I didn't believe you, Aarti)  I learned you can also use milk, it will mellow out the taste.  Someone on the chowhounds forum suggested that the acids in the onions that burn your eyes are water soluble, so soaking them dilutes/removes them from the onion.  I don't know if that is confirmed with science, but I suppose it makes sense?  It makes a big difference when you are eating a raw onion, so remember this tip for your next burger cookout or dinner salad.

Q: China pine nuts?

Let me tell you.  I needed pine nuts as a mere garnish for a sweet potato dish and a hummus recipe I was making.  I am talking like 10 seeds per person total.  Well I was at the store with Aaron, about to throw the three dollar pine nuts into the cart and it was like the record player in a dance hall screeched to a halt.  We can not buy pine nuts that are from China.  Dead serious with a fear in his eyes.  Well here I am googling it, and apparently pine nuts from China can be known to cause 'Pine Nut Syndrome' and they pretty much mess your tastebuds up and everything tastes bitter and metallic.    Kind of crazy.  Annoyed, I spent the extra $$ to get the $10 pine nuts from Italy.  All for a stinkin' garnish.

Q: Tips for grits

More cheese is better, and take your time.  They need more seasoning than you think, and also more time.  A rushed grit, is a lumpy, unpleasant one.  Slow and steady wins the race.  I used instant, but apparently that is a no-no.

Q: Pinterest tips for food blogging

I was looking to get some tips on how to get my recipes seen more.  I learned that in order to be followed and re-pinned more, you need to pin A LOT.  Also a good tip is to have a lot of different boards that are specific.  For example, I originally had my recipes into feasting (meat), fasting (vegetarian) and desserts.  Now I have chicken recipes, freezer meals, cakes and pies, cookies and bars, and everything in between.  If you found this site via Pinterest, welcome!  If you'd enjoy following my perfectly curated boards, find me here.

I Ain't Chicken Chicken

You'll have to forgive me.  I was so hangry by the time the chicken was done that I just started cutting it into pieces right after it came out of the oven.  Once it was slice in half, it dawned on me.  Shoot, I need to take a picture first!  I think you still get the gist though, yes?  This chicken was super tasty, and isn't that crunchy outside just gorgeous.  I guess only people who are really into food think stuff like that...
As much fun as I had butterflying this chicken (yuck!), I think this will turn into one of my regular roast chicken recipes.  I love recipes where you can cook the whole shebang in one pot.  The citrus flavor paired with the fragrant spices made this a really delicious dinner.

You will need:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 TSP ground cardamom
1 TBSP orange zest
1 TBSP grated peeled fresh ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Kosher salt and ground pepper
1 whole chicken, 4-5 pounds, giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry
2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 TBSP sunflower oil, plus more for drizzling


You will start by making a butter mixture.  Soft butter will mix a lot easier, just sayin' :).  Mix butter, cardamom, orange zest, ginger, garlic, 1 TSP salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Set aside while you butterfly the chicken.

I totally hate handling raw meat, so this seemed really daunting at first.  I assure you it isn't that bad.  If you can stick your hang up the inside of a chicken to get the giblets out, then you can probably handle this.

Start with your chicken breast side down with the neck part facing you.  With some sturdy kitchen shears, you are going to cut on either side of the backbone from neck to butt.  You should be able to remove the backbone in one long strip.  now you can flip the chicken over, breast side up, neck still facing you.  In a move reminiscent of first aid training, you will do a 'chest compression' type move.  Using your weight on the heel of your palm, give the chicken a good press until you hear a crack and your chicken is flattened.  You want to rotate the little chicken knees facing each other (like the chicken is knock-kneed).  That wasn't so bad, was it?

Take the butter mixture, and side it under the skin all over the chicken.  You should be able to separate the skin from the meat to make little pockets with your fingers.

At this time, we will focus on potatoes.  Slice them 1/4 in thick.  In a bowl, toss them with 1 TBSP sunflower oil, salt and pepper.  Allow them to sit at room temperature along with the chicken for 30 mins - while you preheat your oven to 500 degrees.  Yes, 500, that isn't a typo.  *

Drain any water that the potatoes have given off, and place them in your skillet in an even layer.  (cast iron is the way to go here)  Now place your chicken on top of the bed of potatoes.  Tuck the wing tips behind the shoulders so they won't burn.

Into the oven it goes.  20 minutes, then rotate and cook for another 20 minutes.  The skin will be nice and crispy and internal temperature should be 160 in the thigh area (that zone takes the longest to cook #stopsalmonella)

Let the chicken rest on a cutting board 10 minutes before cutting up and serving.  At this point, flip your potatoes around.  If you want more crisp taters, pop them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes.  Mine looked pretty good as is, so I skipped that step.

*Aarti suggests giving your oven a quick wipedown.  At temps that hot, anything that may have spilled in there may start smoking and setting off your smoke detectors!

I hope you enjoy this tasty meal!

Baba's Ghanoush (Baba Ghanoush)

I remember the first time I had baba ghanoush.  It was on a sampler plate at this tiny hole in the wall Greek restaurant in Denton, TX.  I thought I was pretty cool and culturally aware for having tried hummus in the year 2000, before it was as widespread as it is today.  I was exploring the depths of my newly found vegetarianism, and it was taking me on a cross continent taste tour.  I looked at the different globs of brown goop on the plate, grabbed a pita triangle and hesitantly dipped it in the mush.  I took a bite and I was transformed.  It was the culinary equivalent of Cinderella's tattered dress turning into the beautiful ball gown.  My tastebuds were never the same after that magical mushy bite.  The warm pita, the tart lemon with the olive-oily nutty eggplant.  I knew I could be a vegetarian for life and never feel deprived.  Well I was wrong about all that, but baba ghanoush is still one of my most favorite things to eat.  Can you find a better way to eat a vegetable??  I don't think so.  

You will need:

2 large eggplants

juice of 1 lemon

2/3 cup tahini

1/2 cup fresh minced parsley

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Since I am rocking the electric stove, I used the stovetop method as described.  Prick the eggplants all over with a fork.  In a 450 degree oven, roast the eggplants on a large baking sheet for 20 minutes, until soft.  After the 20 minutes, I turned the broiler on the really char the outer skin, but that was me going rogue.

*Alternately, if you are using a gas stove, plop those eggplants on the open flame (one per burner) and with tongs, turn every 5 minutes until the outside is charred.  

Now that your eggplant is cooked, you want to set aside and cool for a few minutes.  These guys will be HOT.  

Once they are cool enough to touch, remove the stem and the ends, and carefully peel the charred skin off.  Mince the flesh of the eggplant into small chunks.  You can use a food processor but Aarti and I prefer a chunkier ghanoush.  It will get gummy if you over blend it.  

In a bowl whisk together your eggplant chunks, lemon, tahini, parsley, salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust the seasonings if you need.  Dig in!  (best served with warmed pita triangles)

Aloo Gobi

In my household, I really try to make balanced dinners.  What usually ends up happening on nights we don't have frozen pizza or cereal for dinner (we are going to make stellar parents one day..) we end up with the meat+starch+vegetable formula.  Vegetables are either frozen or out of a can, and if I remember, maybe a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  It is so boring, I am bored just telling you about it.  Every day of my life I have intentions to eat more vegetables, and be healthy and strong, and the frozen broccoli ain't cutting it.  Needless to say, when I looked this dish over I just knew it would be a hit, and the most interesting vegetable to ever adorn a plate in the Hinkley household.

It takes minimal effort beyond microwaving the steam-in-a-bag peas to whip up this colorful and tasty cauliflower and potato dish.  It almost looks like popcorn too, so that might be a good way to fool the little ones into eating vegetables!

You will need:

2 TBSP sunflower oil

1/2 TSP cumin seeds

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin

1 Serrano chili - slightly punctured with a knife for less spicy, cut from stem to tip (but not split in two pieces) for most spicy

1/2 in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 large Yukon gold or red skinned potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

1 TSP ground coriander

1/2 TSP ground turmeric

1 head cauliflower (about 2 1/2 pounds) trimmed into bite sized florets

1 small tomato, diced

1/4 cup water

Kosher salt

1/2 lime

Handful of chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Fresh ground black pepper

In a large saute pan, heat the oil on medium high heat until almost smoking.  Add the cumin seeds to the oil (they should immediately sizzle) and crushed garlic.  In a few seconds the garlic should be golden brown on one side.  

Flip over the garlic, then add in the onions, Serrano, and ginger.  Stir everything together.  You are wanting to cook everything until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes.  If they appear to be browning and becoming crispy too fast, lower the heat.  

Next toss in the potato, coriander, and turmeric.  Stir and try to get the potatoes well coated in the spice blend.  Cook for 3-4 minutes to seal in those flavors.  Repeat for the cauliflower.  Add to pan, toss to coat and allow to cook for a few minutes in the spices.

Now add the tomato, water, and a teaspoon of Kosher salt.  Cover your pan, and reduce the heat to low.  Cook for around 25-30 minutes until both potato and cauliflower are cooked through.  Add the squeeze of lime juice and the chopped cilantro to finish the dish off.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt/lime/pepper if need be for your personal tastes.  Enjoy!

Things I've Googled this week #3

This is going to be a fun segment of the blog where I share the tips that I have been learning along the way.  I am forever googling things to make sure I am not missing any of the finer details of different cooking processes.  Maybe I can save you a little time and share what I have learned.

Q: Do graters get dull?
Yes, kind of?  I ran into some people who are using their grandmother's box grater and it is still going strong.  Then there are others who claim they need to use lots of pressure to grate anything, and worry about their delicate fingers paying the price.  I am an in-between.  My grater is fine, but it does seem dull-ish.  It can be done, sharpening a grater that is, but it hardly seems worth the time and effort.  Below are just a sampling from amazon, and they run around $7-$20.  I did learn some good advise though.  The dishwasher will dull your grater faster.  You should clean it right away to prevent dulling from having to scrub off dried up cheese or vegetable goop.  And if you are grating something soft and having trouble (soft cheese or fruits) freeze those things first and you will have an easier time grating.  The more you know.



Q: Sliced into half moons?
One of the recipes I made called for a serrano cut into half moons.  I thought at first it meant slice the whole pepper in half, length wise so you half of the long tube, then sliced so you have a bunch of little 'c' shaped pieces.  Turns out my instincts were correct, yay!

Photo source

Q: What does curdling look like?
Curdling seems like one of those things that you'd know it if you see it.  I needed more information though.  Answer, very chunky.

Q: Sirloin vs NY strip
I am not yet a meat expert.  If it isn't ribs, I have no idea where cuts of meat come from on a cow.  My only concern between sirloin and NY strip was that the recipe I was making called for sirloin.  So I am wandering my grocery's meat department looking for sirloin.  There were 100 Ny strips, and 3 sirloins, however to my naked eye, I could see little to no difference.  Though that could be said for most all cuts of meat!  I found out that these two are very similar.  They come from a muscle that goes down the spine of a cow (kind of like where a girdle would go?) .  The end closer to the spine is a bit more marbled with fat, which is sirloin.  The NY strip is leaner and further down the side of this muscle.  I think this is right...I start reading this stuff and my eyes glaze over a bit.  Long story short, I could have used either.

Q: Cleaning inside crock pot
I was way too nervous about ruining my crockpot when the mango pulled pork incident happened.

#amateurs.

Thankfully this isn't a rare problem, so the internet was super helpful.  I knew of course not to submerge the inside in water, that would ruin the electrical components.  I read that you can either leave a cup of ammonia inside the crockpot with the lid on.  Those harsh fumes clean the gunk right off.  You can also use over cleaner with really stubborn messes.  Both options were a little harsh for my liking, so I just took dish soap and my trusty scouring pad and scrubbed it all off.  The heating element is pretty well protected in the wall of the unit, so nothing was damaged with the minimal wetness that got in there.

Q: Can you freeze pulled pork after 3 days?
Aaron and I ate pulled pork sandwiches for like six meals in a row and we still had over half of it.  We need more friends to invite over!  I didn't know if it was safe to freeze after it had been cooked for a while.  I couldn't find any information against this idea.  So I went ahead and froze it, but I froze it in single serving amounts.  I didn't want to unfreeze three day old pork and not use it all the day I unfreeze it.  Stay tuned to see if I have any food poisoning to report in the coming weeks, lol!

Q: Why do people like sweet pickles?
I couldn't find the answer.  They are disgusting and I have no idea why Aarti suggested they go on the pulled pork sandwich and not dill.  I used dill and they were amazing.  Sweet pickles, blegh!

Chickpea Artichoke Masala

Chickpea artichoke masala took me by surprise.  It was the end of the week, and I was on day three of not feeling like cooking when I came home from work.  I usually stock the fridge with one or two convenience meals per week for such an occasion.  However it was Friday.  We ate frozen pizza two nights ago, and take out the night before.  I thought, I need to go ahead and tackle that recipe.  Half the items are out of cans, it won't be too much effort.  

When I make my grocery list for the week and decide which Aarti Paarti recipes to tackle for the week, I let the visually appetizing pictures lure me to them.  This recipe caught my eye because I love artichokes big time.  Well Aarti and I must be simpatico, because I turned to page 184, and read that this recipe came to Aarti whist donning sweatpants and trying to throw a quick dinner together with what she had on hand.  I gathered my sweatpants wearing self to the kitchen and got to work.

This chickpea artichoke masala may not be much to look at, but it was very tasty.  I am mainly accustomed to eating artichokes via a cheese laden dip, so it was great to explore new ways to use this tasty bulb.  I served this with rice and naan and it was a very filling and healthy meatless dinner for a Friday.  Maybe you will like it too?

You will need:

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/2 in peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

2 TBSP sunflower oil

1 TSP cumin seeds

1 TSP ground coriander

1/2 TSP garama masala

1/4 TSP paprika

1/4 TSP turmeric

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 TBSP fresh lime juice (juice for 1/2 a lime)

1 (14.5 oz) can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup water

First you take the onion, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes and blend until smooth in a small food processor or mini chopper.  Mine stayed a little chunky, but blend to your desired smoothness.

In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering and very close to the smoke point, over medium-high heat.  Add in the cumin seeds and let them boil/pop for around 30 seconds.  Next add in the tomato onion paste.  Sauté until mixture darkens and thickens, around 10 minutes.

Next go the spices.  Add the coriander, garam masala, paprika, and turmeric.  Sauté for about 30 seconds.

Now time for the yogurt.  Slowly drizzle in so it does not curdle.  Add lime juice, chickpeas, artichokes and water, then simmer together for 10 minutes.  Season if need be, and serve.