Salmon Burger with Kale Chips

Sometimes you just want a burger when you know you shouldn't have one. The craving is something that happens to many people, and in most cases, you'll justify succumbing to the urge to indulge.
"I deserve it!"
"I've eaten healthy all day!"
"If I put lettuce on it, it's like a salad, right?"

...

WRONG!

But, my friends, I have a solution that's delicious and much healthier than a beef burger: salmon burgers! These are pretty simple to make, and while they don't have the same juiciness as beef, they pack a lot of flavor, and go really well with a wide variety of sauces and toppings. For this meal, I made salmon burgers in pita pockets with avocado, lettuce, and tomato with sundried tomato pesto and kale chips.

A Healthy and Inspired Breakfast

Inspiration for a good meal can come from anywhere. I will often look at recipes or menus to get ideas for the things I cook. Sometimes I will just come up with something out of the blue or figure out a meal from a conversation with someone about cooking. One of my favorite sources of inspiration for meals is when I eat something at a restaurant that I enjoy and then try to recreate it in my kitchen. In the East Village, there is a restaurant called Northern Spy Food Co. It's a small rustic space with a fresh and imaginative American menu. I've eaten there a number of times, and I'm particularly partial to their brunch. They have one dish that is a kale salad with squash, cheddar, and eggs. I love kale, and this salad always catches my eye. I decided to do a take on a kale salad with eggs for breakfast, inspired by the dish at Northern Spy.

A (Kind of) Spooky Halloween Meal

This Halloween, I was not really in the dress-up spirit. I normally come up with an original idea for a costume, but for some reason, this was not my year for good costume ideas. The impromptu snowstorm on Saturday didn't help matters. Instead of coming up with some half baked idea, I decided to channel my creativity into creating a Halloween themed meal. I decided on roasted and mashed butternut squash, crispy purple kale chips, and stuffed calamari with blueberry sauce.

Crispy Chicken, Creamy Kale, Melty Mushrooms

Mixing and matching textures in a dish can bring the quality and experience of eating up to a new level. Chicken is a really great meat to play around with textures. The skin lends itself to crisping so well, and when done right, the skin can be a crispy compliment to the textures around it, both the sides of a dish and the meat itself.

Swimming Between Kale and Asparagus

I was in the mood for a very healthy and flavorful dinner. I had read a blog post about pasta with walnut and kale pesto, and I wanted to make my own version of the pesto but with a light fish instead of heavy pasta. I decided on tilapia, because it's a little heartier than cod, but still has a much lighter taste than salmon or trout. Along with the fish and pesto, I wanted some roasted spring vegetables, so I grabbed a bunch of asparagus and a bulb of fennel.


I made the pesto first so I could let it sit while I prepped the rest of the meal. I always try to make sauces first so they have plenty of time for the flavor to expand. For this pesto, I used a head of kale, basil, garlic, walnuts, lemon, parmesan, and olive oil. I chopped the garlic and cut the kale from the stems. I toasted the walnuts in a pan (about 5 minutes) and then a added some olive oil, the garlic and kale, and a squeeze of lemon and sauteed until the kale began to wilt. I added all of this to a blender along with the basil, some more lemon, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I blended until smooth and added some grated parmesan and made sure the nutiness and citrus were balanced and the pesto tasted right.

Once the pesto was done, I preheated the oven to 375 and prepared the fish. I wanted to bake the fish, so I cut up an onion in slices, put them in a baking dish with some balsamic vinegar and the fronds from fennel bulb. I coated the fish with salt, pepper, and olive oil and laid it on top of the fennel fronds, onion and balsamic. Once the fish was ready, I prepped the asparagus and fennel, cutting off the rough ends of the asparagus and cutting the fennel into thin strips. I tossed the veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper and put them on a baking dish. I put both the fish and the veggies in the oven and baked for 25 minutes.

Once the fish was cooked through (I checked the fish by seeing if it flaked with a fork) and the veggies were starting to brown, I took them out of the oven. For the presentation, I lined the asparagus and fennel in alternating lines on the plate. I then laid the fish on top and spooned the pesto on top.

The dish was really tasty. The pesto had the familiar garlic and basil taste, but the walnuts and kale gave it a very earthy and unique flavor, complimenting the light taste of the fish perfectly. The asparagus worked really well with the fennel, their flavors balancing well, and a bite with both veggies and the fish was a well balanced burst of flavor. Best of all, the dish was extremely healthy!

Cassoulet in the Mountains

While visiting my sister in Aspen along with Heath and my cousins Adam and Stephanie, I wanted to cook a great meal for everyone to celebrate our trip. I wanted to cook something hearty and warming in the cold Colorado air; something that would refill us after a solid weekend of skiing. I decided on making a cassoulet with crispy braised chicken legs with a kale caesar salad. I picked up 6 chicken legs, 3 cans cannellini beans, bulk chorizo, fennel, onion, parsley, diced canned tomatoes, garlic, some white wine, and bay leaves. To cook the cassoulet, I diced the onion and sauteed it in a large saucepan. I added the garlic after a few minutes, and once the onions began to get translucent, I added the chorizo to brown it and cook through. Once the chorizo was cooked through, I added the beans (drained) and the can of tomatoes and some chopped parsley. I added a little salt, pepper, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, and a little bit of sugar and let the pot simmer for 45 minutes on low to cook through and let the flavors expand.While the cassoulet cooked, I prepped the chicken by patting it with paper towel and rubbing salt and pepper over it. In a large dutch oven, I heated some olive oil on medium high, and in batches, browned the chicken skin side down for about 5 minutes, and then flipped and cooked for about 1-2 minutes. Once the chicken was browned, I set aside. I drained most of the fat from the dutch oven and added the sliced fennel and onion. Once the fennel and onion became translucent, I added garlic, white wine, and bay leaf. I added the chicken back in in one layer, skin side up, and put the pot covered in the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes. Once the chicken was cooked through, I put the cassoulet in large bowls, served the chicken on top, and the fennel and onions on top of that. I added a little parsley garnish on top as well.

For the kale caesar, the key is making a good dressing. For the kale, I steamed it for a few minutes until it’s starting to wilt. I tossed the kale with a little salt and set aside in a large salad bowl. For the dressing, I used a small food processor and mixed 2 garlic cloves, dijon mustard, an egg yolk, and 2 chopped anchovy filets until smooth and combined. I then added lemon juice, red wine vinegar, worcestershire, and a dash of tobasco and mixed until that is fully combined. I then added olive oil while stirring to emulsify. The result is a creamy, tangy caesar dressing. I cooked the leftover egg white in a small sautee pan, mixed that with the kale, tossed the salad with the dressing and added some croutons.
The trip was awesome, amazing skiing, fun stories, great meals. This meal was a really special way to finish the trip up, and we all had a great time.

Braised Moroccan Pork Ribs

I was in the mood for something braised and warm on a cold winter’s night. I was thinking Osso Bucco, but it was too expensive, so I decided on braised Moroccan pork ribs. I decided this in Whole Foods, so I had to wing the ingredients based on my knowledge of Moroccan flavors. I wanted the sweetness of apricots and saltiness of olives to come through and compliment the rich fatty flavor of the ribs. Rather than typical bbq or roasted ribs, I wanted to have the warm stew-like feeling of braised meat. I got home and got to cooking. I threw a bunch of spices that reminded me of Mediterranean flavors and got the ribs braised. The pork worked perfectly with the spices and the braising liquid was a great accompaniment on top of the potatoes. The kale offered a nice change of texture from the pork and mash, and the whole meal almost made me forget there was a couple feet of snow outside. If you don’t want to make the potato parsnip mash, the dish would work really well over polenta, couscous or another fine grain.

Braised Moroccan Pork Ribs over Parsnip and Potato Mash with Crispy Kale

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs St. Louis Pork Ribs
1 tbsp each of cumin, pepper, coriander, mustard seed, cinnamon, turmeric, sugar and salt (if you have extra, save it for another use)
1 carrot
1 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
2-3 cups of chicken broth (enough to cover ribs)
Cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 lemon sliced
1 cup olives
1 cup Turkish dried apricots
2 tbsp honey
1 lb potatoes
½ lb parsnip
Milk
Butter
Salt Pepper
Kale
Olive Oil

To Cook!

Spice Mix:
Mix cumin, pepper, coriander, mustard seed, cinnamon, turmeric, sugar and salt and grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until fine.

Pork ribs:
Coat the ribs in the spice mix and sear both sides. Add the carrots, onion and garlic around the ribs, stirring so that they don’t burn while the ribs sear. Add the broth to cover it along with a little more spice mix, the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, lemon slices, olives, apricots and honey. Braise for 1.5 hours until ribs are just falling off the bone.

Potato and parsnip mash:
Bring water to a boil, add salt and boil the potatoes and parsnips and boil for 10 minutes until they are fork tender. Strain, reserving a little of the boiling liquid and mash them. Add salt, pepper, milk, and butter and mash until very smooth.

Crispy Kale:
Preheat oven to 350. Wash kale and dry thoroughly with paper towel. Massage the leaves with olive oil, and put in the oven for about 8 minutes until lightly browned and crispy. Toss with salt and serve on top or on the side of the ribs.