Spicy IPA Hummus

Grab yourself a mug of beer and let's cheers to the start of 2014! We'll probably need some snacks to wash down that beer. How about this spicy IPA hummus and some chips or carrots? Sounds perfect.

Spicy IPA Hummus (adapted from The Beeroness)
Ingredients:
2 jalapenos, stemmed and roughly chopped (remove seeds if you want it to be less spicy)
3 tbsp tahini pasta
15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (peeled, if you have time)
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup IPA beer (I used New Holland Brewery White Hatter), plus additional if necessary

Directions:
Place the jalapenos, tahini, chickpeas, parsley, oil, lime juice, garlic powder, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until everything is pureed. Stream in the beer while the processor is going. Add additional beer until you get to your desired consistency.

Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or veggies.

Chipotle Hummus

I don't know what it is about warm weather, but it makes me want to make hummus. It makes me want to grill up some veggies, throw them on top of a thick slice of bread slathered with that homemade hummus, and jump in head first. Maybe it is the fact that the farmer's market is up and running and you can find lots of delicious and fresh veggies. Maybe it is because a hummus sandwich doesn't require turning on the stove. Maybe it is due to the fact that I've been working long and crazy hours and this comes together so fast.

Regardless of the reason, you should definitely dust off your food processor and make this chipotle hummus. The chipotle pepper gives it a nice smoky and spicy kick. If you aren't in too much of a rush, you should spend the time to peel the chickpeas. Like I mentioned in my last hummus post, this really does wonders for the creaminess.

Serve the hummus with tortilla chips, pita chips, or an assortment of raw vegetables. Or throw it on a pita or piece of bread, top it with some grilled peppers, onions, and mushrooms and enjoy the start of summertime.

Chipotle Hummus
Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 large garlic clove
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
2 tbsp tahini paste
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/4-1/3 cup water

Directions:
Optional, but recommended: Peel the garbanzo beans.

Combine the beans, garlic, pepper, tahini, lemon juice, oil and cumin in a food processor. Pulse until mixed well and chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in the water until you reach your desired consistency.

Corn, Tomato, Avocado Salsa

"I put my hand upon your hip when I dip you dip we dip" -- that song reminds me of 7th grade-- the Red Hot Chicken Wings (our "team" name for the a third of the 7th grade class for these little competitions and stuff we had). For some reason whenever I hear (or think of) that song it takes me back to my end of the day class and the girls I used to sit with. To tell you the truth, I don't even know the rest of the lyrics just the hand and the hip and the dip part. Sounds awkward-- just like I was in 7th grade when I was trying to grow out my bangs and dealing with all the middle school drama.

Maybe if we had eaten more homemade dips at Northeast Middle School (instead of just singing about them) there would have been less of the wonderfuls vs the nerds. Who knows. But I can tell you that this salsa will make you happy now. It is so quick and easy to whip together, there is no excuse not to do it.

Corn Tomato Avocado Salsa
Ingredients:
1 8.5 oz can corn, rinsed and drained
1 avocado, diced
1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (choose whatever kind you want, I used quartered grape tomatoes)
juice from 1/2 lime
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Mix together the corn, avocado and tomatoes in a bowl. Add the lime juice and stir to coat. Stir in the salt. Taste! Add freshly ground pepper and more salt, if necessary, to your liking.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Creamy Lemon Hummus (and Superbowl Ideas)

SUPERBOWL XLVII

It is happening this Sunday. Are you ready?!

This is the first year that I'm actually really excited about watching the game because the Ravens are playing! It is Ray Lewis's last game and I'm very optimistic that they will take home the trophy. For good luck, here's a picture of Scott and me when we went to a Raven's game a few years ago. Although they lost that game so maybe it isn't good luck...

In the past, the thing that has made me the most excited for the Superbowl is not the game nor the commercials but the food. I love a party where everyone cooks up their favorite appetizers and you eat with your fingers all evening. For that reason, I've put together a list of fairly quick and easy snacks for your coming Superbowl party. Make one of these and you're sure to bring smiles to the faces of your fellow party-goers.

Savory Snacks for Your Superbowl Party:

Salsa

Guacamole

Black-eyed Pea Hummus

Sriarcha White Bean Dip

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

Baked Tortilla Chips

Pretzel Rolls

Pizza

Baked Ravioli

Chicken Nuggets

Boneless Buffalo Wings

Chicken Quesadillas

BLT Spring Rolls

And in case that list wasn't extensive for you, I'm sharing with you a recipe for literally the creamiest homemade hummus I have ever made. When Deb of Smitten Kitchen posted that the key to making creamy homemade hummus was to peel the chickpeas, I wasn't sure if I believed her. Was it really worth the effort, I asked myself? Like any good scientist, I set out to test the hypothesis. I've made hummus plenty of times and I have found that it is not quite as creamy as what you can pick up at the grocery store. But this peeling of the chickpeas, genius. It was quite certainly creamy! And totally comparable to the tubs you get at the store. Experiment successful -- hypothesis confirmed-- certainly worth the effort. I will never go back to the skins again. 

Creamy Lemon Hummus (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients:
About 2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned or cooked yourself)
1/2 cup tahini paste
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4-1/3 cup water


Directions:
Peel the skins of the chickpeas.

Place the chickpeas in your food processor. Pulse on high for approximately 1 minute until they form powdery clumps. Add the tahini pasta, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Pulse again until pureed completely. While the processor is on, stream in the water until you get a smooth, creamy texture.

Taste and season with additional lemon and salt as needed.

Makes about 2 cups.

Serve as a dip for vegetables and chips or in place of hummus for any recipe.

Sriarcha White Bean Dip

This week at the farmer's market I bought a watermelon. After I got it home, I immediately went to work with my melon baller. I don't know about you, but I think any type of melon tastes best when in perfect bite-sized balls. It may take little more patience and time than simply chopping up the watermelon, but it is worth it in my book. After the task was completed, I was left with an overflowing bowl of juicy red goodness (in one of my largest bowls that could no longer be closed with its lid). Needless to say, I've been eating lots of watermelon since Saturday. And it tastes just like summer!

Speaking of summer, can you believe that it is the last day of July!?!?! It feels like I just moved to IL but I've been here for more than six months?!?! 

Oh my goodness <<shakes head>> 

Realizing how "long" I've been here makes me start to think of what's going to happen next. Please keep a look out for job postings for organic chemistry professors for me, ok? The application process is speedily approaching. And no matter what we do, time doesn't slow for anything.

Completely unrelated to job searching, but related once again to summer foods, is a pita pocket stuffed with lots of fresh veggies like cucumber, spinach and tomato. Of course, you will need some sort of a "dressing" for this sandwich. My suggestion this spicy bean dip. It is kinda like an Asian inspired hummus. No tahini so I don't think we can technically call it a hummus, but it is still pureed beans. The sriarcha gives it a nice kick and the flavors are rounded out with curry powder, soy sauce and lime juice. It was a great compliment to my pita, but I also enjoyed it by the scoopful on top of multigrain Tosititos scoops and assorted vegetables.  

Sriarcha White Bean Dip (adapted from White on Rice Couple)
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked Northern beans (or 2/3 15 oz can, rinsed)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sriracha sauce
1 glove of garlic
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup water, plus more if necessary
juice of 1/2 lime

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is reached.

Serve with crackers or tortilla chips. Or use as a spread for a sandwich or pita full of veggies and shredded cheese.

Guacamole

I'm not one of those people that has a go-to guacamole recipe. Like with many things that I make, I simply go with whatever I have in the fridge and pantry. Sometimes I'll pick up those guac seasoning packets from the store and mix it with the mashed avocado and a little bit of tomato. However, as with store-bought taco seasoning, the packets are full of sodium and do not really allow you to adapt the size of your dish. And because avocados don't last long once you open them up, it is always better to make only what you will eat in a day or two.

Did you ever wonder why your guacamole turns brown so soon after making it? It's all about the science! Fruits contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase is capable of oxidizing the phenols in the fruit when exposed to oxygen in the air. The oxidases can be inhibited (stopped from doing their function) temporarily by the addition of acid such as lime juice. Alternatively, if you store the pit of the avocado (see picture below) in an air-tight container with the guacamole, it will consume the oxygen in the bowl and prevent browning. Since there are a large number of these enzymes within the fruit, these things are only temporary fixes and without a doubt eventually the green color will turn to brown. Don't ask what they do to the guacamole in grocery stores to keep it a fluorescent green color; I don't wanna know.

Anyway, this is the guacamole, Scott and I whipped up for the fajitas last weekend. It was quite flavorful and delicious and I would definitely recommend it.

Guacamole

Ingredients:

1 large avocado

10 grape tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

1 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Mash the avocado in a bowl. Add the tomatoes, parsley, lime juice and cumin and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate, covered with the pit, until ready to serve. 

Makes approximately 1.5 cups.

P.S. Thanks for sitting through the science lesson :)

Homemade Salsa

Salsa may be one of my favorite foods.

I love the salsa that you get at Mexican restaurants as soon as you sit down. I like the large jugs of Pace salsa that accompany departmental events and parties. I prefer the fresh salsa you can pick up from the vegetable section of the grocery store. And, no surprise I'm sure, I really enjoy making homemade salsa.

I love that you can make just about any fruit and vegetable into a "salsa". Take for example the cucumber and mango salsas that I've already shared with you. Just chop your ingredients up and serve them atop some crispy tortilla chips or as a garnish for a burger or fish and you've successfully created a "salsa". Of course, some meals, like our steak fajitas, call for a more traditional salsa-- tomatoes, onions and jalapenos. Simple enough. I always add a little bit of red wine vinegar and lime juice to deepen the flavor and give some more acidity to the tomatoes. Depending on how acidic your tomatoes are, you may need to adjust the flavors to your own taste. Feel free to add cilantro, if you can stomach the flavor, as that is typically found in salsa as well. Me, I skip it... just the beauty of flexibility when creating recipes at home.

Homemade Salsa
Ingredients:
4 roma tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 small onion, cut into large chunks
1-2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno pepper, cut into quarters (seeded if desired)
juice of 1/2 lime
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add lime juice, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Pulse until the desired consistency is reached. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Chill until ready to serve.

Makes approximately 4 cups.

Bacon, Fried Green Tomato and Pimento Cheese Sammy

During my first year of grad school, our go-to bar was this great place, Tyler's Taproom. It has pool, a few televisions, foosball, and best of all, A LOT of beer choices. There is a wall (actually two) that is full of taps as well as lots of assorted bottles. They have lots of seasonal and unique flavor profiles. Unfortunately, the food at Tyler's was only okay; they had a few good burgers, but it really wasn't even that good. After awhile, we stopped frequenting Tyler's and would only go for birthday or defense celebrations. Imagine my surprise when in my last year of grad school, I discovered that they had revamped their menu significantly. They added a number of new and interesting sandwiches and entrees. One of them representing the south in every bite- a pimento cheese and fried green tomato BLT. This weekend I set out to curb my craving for this sandwich (unfortunately I couldn't make the trip to Durham), by recreating it in my kitchen. 

In my opinion, a great sandwich should be gooey, messy and above all, delicious. This will not disappoint. Let me introduce you to the players for our sandwich today:

The bread is the vehicle for all the goodness. This seeded sourdough bread I got from a local bakery was perfect as the base. Next, you need crispy bacon- none of that flimsy, greasy stuff (what do you think this is? an all-night diner?). And, of course, the stars of the show, the pimento cheese and the fried green tomatoes. 

I'm going to assume you know how to pick up some bread from the store (or make it yourself) and microwave/bake yourself some super crunchy bacon. I'll focus here on the recipes for the pimento cheese and the FGT. 

I lightened the pimento cheese by subbing Greek yogurt for some of the mayo. It is so yummy that I won't judge you if you eat it on top of some celery or mini bell peppers (side note: I'm obsessed with those mini bell peppers right now. Perfect for salads or perfectly snackable!).

The FGT are really baked green tomatoes, but that just sounds silly. The green tomatoes are sour and complement the cheese and bacon perfectly. The crust was crunchy and not too heavy. I ate one by itself and I think I would have preferred to dunk it in some ranch. I think these work great for a sammy but I'm not sure I would recommend eating them without additional flavoring. You could certainly step up the breading with some chili powder or cumin or even some shredded parm if you wanted to play around with FGT in order to eat them plain.

On to the good stuff. Doesn't that just look AMAZING?!?! 

If you're going all out Tyler's style, serve them alongside some good and garlicky french fries as I did. And don't plan on kissing anyone right after dinner. ;)


Pimento Cheese (adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine July 2012)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tbsp diced onion
1 1/2 tbsp light mayo
1 1/2 tbsp Greek yogurt
2 tbsp chopped pimentos
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined completely. Chill until ready to serve.


Baked "Fried" Green Tomatoes (adapted from A Veggie Adventure)
Ingredients:
1/8 cup wheat flour
1/8 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large green tomato, core removed and cut into 1/3 slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place a baking sheet in the oven as it is heating to get it hot.

Stir together the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, sugar and paprika in a shallow bowl. Add the buttermilk to a different shallow bowl.

Remove the baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Working quickly, dip each tomato slice into the buttermilk and then into the breading, shaking off excess. Arrange on baking sheet.

Bake for 30 min, flipping once at the halfway point.


Bacon, FGT, and Pimento Grilled Cheese (Inspired by Tyler's Taproom)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup pimento cheese (see above)
2 slices FGT (see above)
2 slices of good quality sourdough (or other bread of choice)
3 slices of crispy cooked bacon
~1/2 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:
Heat a frying pan on medium heat.

Spread approximately 1/4 tbsp of butter on one side of each piece of bread. On the opposite side of one piece of bread, spread the pimento cheese. Stack on the FGT and then the bacon. Top with the other piece of bread, butter side out.

Add the sandwich to the heated pan, butter side down (put the slice with the pimento cheese on it as the bottom piece), cover sandwich with a lid, and cook until browned, approximately 2 min. Carefully flip over and cook the other side until browned, approximately 2 min.

Remove from the heat and consume! :)

Black Eyed Pea Hummus

What did you do on Saturday night? I spend my night making this:

A complete disaster in my kitchen!

Albeit, a beautiful and yummy disaster. I'll soon be sharing with you some of the things that I made. I included a few labels to get you thinking about what they might be... It really was an enjoyable evening. I donned my apron and kinda just went at it prepping food, following recipes, and making a few things up myself.

One of the things I started out with was hummus. I've been longing to make hummus since I got my new food processor, so I figured it would be a good place to start. Of course, I thought I had chickpeas in my pantry; however, when I went to grab them, I didn't have any. So I went with black eyed peas instead. I roasted a bulb of garlic and combined that with a few seasonings in the processor. The resultant mixture was delicious! I may have ate it with some blue corn chips for dinner. Don't judge. :)

Black Eyed Pea Hummus

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 bulb of garlic plus 1 tsp olive oil

3 tbsp tahini paste

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tbsp water to reach desired consistency

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut off the top part of the garlic bulb to expose the cloves. Remove excess skin and then drizzle top with 1 tsp olive oil. Roast for 45 min. Allow to cool and then squeeze out the bulbs.

Combine the peas, garlic, tahini and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until mashed completely. Add the chili powder and paprika and pulse to combine. While the food processor is going, add the olive oil followed by water until it reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. 

Garnish with extra paprika. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or cut vegetables.