Category Archives: Entrees

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel

Posted on January 8, 2012 | 6 Comments

Choosing a recipe can sometimes feel like putting together a baseball team.  It is the home chef as general manager.

In each field, the objective is the same — to please the folks at home by offering them a winning dish while remaining within the allotted budget.  The objective is straightforward.  As is the theory behind it:  acquire the best ingredients, assemble, and serve warm.

But this process is never as straight forward as it seems.  Expensive ingredients, like high-priced free agents, may Continue reading →

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Vegetarian Tofu Chili

Posted on December 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

As the Holidays come to an end and the weather turns from cool to downright frigid, a warm bowl of chili becomes all the more inviting.

While I was in Cincinnati, I made a version of that city’s namesake chili.  In that effort, I used ground turkey to thicken the chili and give it that hearty depth.

This year, Caitlin and I have been striving to eat less meat, all Continue reading →

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Aloo Gobhi Masala

Posted on November 30, 2011 | 4 Comments

The other day, when I was in the gym, I was flipping through the channels, searching for something to hold my attention while on the treadmill.  After a few clicks, I stopped, landing on the familiar fedora of Indiana Jones.

As Indiana trekked through the jungles on his elephant, I immediately recognized this movie as the second installment in the series, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  I wasn’t old enough to see the movie in the theaters — I was only four — but I can remember watching the movie as a young teen, perhaps catching the movie on television late one weekend night.

Owing to my young age, Continue reading →

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Weeknight Spaghetti with Roasted Butternut Squash

Posted on November 6, 2011 | 3 Comments

This meal answers that important, incessant, weekday question.

After braving our respective routes — Caitlin, the Red Line, I, the Beltway — we arrive home around 7:00 p.m., tired from the day’s activities.  After a quick moment of reprieve, we often head down to the apartment gym to get some much-needed exercise.

Once we’re back upstairs, the question rears its head.  The question that creeps into our minds every night, demanding an immediate answer.  The question is bandied about Continue reading →

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New Mexican Posole: Part II

Posted on August 30, 2011 | 6 Comments

In preparing for my move, I worked on paring down what I needed and what I did not.   I went through my closet to determine what clothes I was wearing and what clothes I was not.  I looked around my bathroom, and decided what items had outlived their utility.  And naturally, I went around my kitchen, searching for redundancies, coordinating with Caitlin to ensure that we did not arrive with two or three of every useful kitchen device.

Beyond these steps, I also worked to use up my food.  There was no need to stack my car with bags of flour and sugar.  By the same token, there was no sense in throwing away perfectly good butter or eggs.  The last few weeks saw a veritable flood of baking and cooking.

Among these items, Continue reading →

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Tuscan White Beans

Posted on July 31, 2011 | 7 Comments

These days there are legions of bloggers, forming a veritable army of individuals tapping dutifully on their keyboards from all around the world.  And for those who aren’t blogging, there are still brigades of those tweeting and providing regular status updates on facebook.  All of which can seem very much like overkill.

But maybe it isn’t.

I’ve been listening to Continue reading →

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Baked Macaroni and Cheese with a Kick

Posted on July 23, 2011 | 9 Comments

The other day, I noticed that there were three unopened boxes of elbow macaroni, sitting peacefully in my cabinet.  And I know what happened.  Every trip to the Kroger leads me through the pasta section.  And I think, “Hmmm.  I wonder if I have any macaroni at home?”  Better safe than sorry, I pick up a box and add it to the cart.

Tired of pushing those boxes out of the way Continue reading →

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Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Posted on July 10, 2011 | 4 Comments

Veggie burgers have a come a long way.

I can remember going to a BBQ and watching the hamburgers and hot dogs come off the grill.  That moment where the football game ends and the conversations stop, and people line up to grab their meal, before shuffling over to the condiment bar.  And then, like some back-alley, black-market transaction, someone casts their eyes over the party, slips a furtive hand into their purse, and hands the chef a frozen pattie from plastic baggie.  The veggie burger.

But no more.  Continue reading →

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Sloppy Joe

Posted on May 9, 2011 | 6 Comments

After work and a trip to the gym, it may be 8:00 by the time I get home.  And despite a liberal, daytime-snacking policy, I’m hungry for dinner by that time.

Even though I enjoy cooking, a Wednesday evening — with only a few hours left before bedtime beckons — is not the best time to launch into an hour-long culinary experience.  Quick, easy, and delicious are the weekday watchwords.

Sloppy Joe fits the bill.  This meal Continue reading →

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Sirloin Steak with Israeli Couscous

Posted on April 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Every so often, I like to treat myself to a steak.  During the week, I often settle for a cold sandwich of almond-butter and jelly, chicken salad, or sliced turkey.  Lunch is unabashedly dull.  If I have the energy, I try to make something more exciting for dinner: fish, perhaps, or even arepas, the Venezuelan corn cakes that I recently discovered.

Fish and arepas are appealing because they are quick and easy to cook.  But so is steak and so is couscous (provided I don’t make it more complicated than necessary).  And unlike a broiling fish, there’s a certain pleasure in hearing the sizzle of the steak, as the hot iron meets the cool, raw side of the meat.  After a quick flip and a few minutes in the oven, the steak is cooked, leaving you five minutes of  eager anticipation, as the steak cools and cooks under its foil tent.

If you remember to marinate the Continue reading →

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