Stone Crab Cakes with Mango Habanero Jam

Spring has sprung in California! We even had a touch of summer last weekend with temperatures in the high '70s! On Saturday, we hosted a dinner for Foodbuzz's March 24, 24, 24 that started with these lump local stone crab cakes atop a bed of baby arugula and surrounded with fresh avocado and mango-habanero jam.

Cleaning rock crabs takes work, but our focus was on local food, so we used what we could find at Pearson's Port (above). For non-locavores, I suggest using a crab with a higher meat-to-elbow-grease ratio, like dungeness. Adam and I cracked, shelled, picked, and sorted for what seemed like an eternity and still some shell made it into the final product. Just as I warned our guests, I heard the tell-tale crunch of teeth meeting chitinous exoskeleton. "Whoops!", I thought as Adam and I pointed at each other.






Eating locally requires flexibility and improvisation. You might not find a recipe's exact ingredients and sometimes things just refuse to go according to plan. When we planned our crab cakes, we wanted thin, Jell-o like sheets of mango-habanero jelly, but lack of fridge time gave us a fruity jam. Regardless, sweet, succulent mango pairs perfectly with super-hot habanero!
 
Take Maryland to the tropics with these light and flavorful crab cakes!

Makes 6 cakes

INGREDIENTS:

Mango Jelly:

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced finely
• 1/2 tsp habanero, minced
• 1/4 bell pepper, minced
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin

Crab Cakes:

• 4 rock crabs or roughly 2 cups lump crab meat, picked over
• 1 rib celery, minced
• 1 slice onion, minced
• 1/4 bell pepper, minced
• 1/2 cup panko +/-
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 egg, beaten to blend
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• olive oil
• 2 cups baby arugula, washed
• 1 Tbsp blood orange olive oil (or orange juice whisked with olive oil)
• 1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 1 avocado, peeled and diced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin jam well in advance, it needs to chill at least 4-6 hours. If you don't have time, you can just reduce the jam to be a runnier "compote".
2. In a small saucepan, stir mango, habanero, bell pepper, water, sugar, cider vinegar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
3. Pulse in blender to smooth out chunks. Return to pan and bring back to a boil. Reduce until thick jam-like consistency.
4. Put 1/4 cup cold water in a bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in hot mango mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Pour into a 8x8 glass pan. Set in refrigerator to firm 4-6 hours.
5. Pick over crab to ensure there is little shell in the meat as possible. Combine with minced celery, bell pepper, onion. Stir in panko. Add mayo, egg and lemon juice. Stir to combine
6. If too dry, add more mayo and/or egg. If too wet, add more panko. You should be able to form nice patties from the mixture - slightly crumbly, but able to hold shape. It's a balance between too wet (dense) and too dry (falls apart during cooking).
7. Form patties with hands and place on wax paper lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until ready to cook.
8. Whisk blood orange olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Toss arugula with just enough dressing to lightly coat. 
9. Preheat oven to 375'
10. In large frying pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add crab cakes and cook until golden brown on the bottom - about 2-3 minutes. Flip carefully and cook on the other side 2-3 minutes. Place on a baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake in oven another 5-8 minutes to finish browning.
11. Plate: Center bed of arugula, topped with crab cake, surround with mango jam and avocado.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 : Eating Local in Orange County

Each month, Foodbuzz hosts an event called 24, 24, 24 featuring 24 different meals, happening in 24 hours, around the world at 24 different blogs. It's a unique way to step inside the kitchens, dining rooms, and Saturday nights of food bloggers around the globe. The posts run the gamut from beer pairings to non-stop dessert tastings; from martini explorations to five-course dinners. We decided to cook a 3-course meal using almost all locally sourced food!



For those of you already familiar with The Bite Me Kitchen, you know we are passionate about buying local and supporting small businesses. It may be convenient to shop at the Corporate Supermarket, but your dollar goes further and buys you better quality food at a mom-and-pop store or a farmer's market. We are fortunate to live in Southern California's mild climate where abundant farmer's markets provide us a seemingly endless supply of fruits and vegetables. Weekend markets also feature artisanal bread makers, cheese-makers, small batch olive oil producers, and dairies, but the biggest surprise of all is that the UCI farmer's market (Saturday mornings in Irvine) is one of the only places you can purchase locally raised beef.


I was up with the sun and set out to be the first market shopper, because if you want the best, you have to be there early! Bright bunches of cut flowers fill rows of white buckets; dirt-covered carrots overflow their crates. Freshly baked baguettes peek from baskets to the sound of vendors hawking their wares. The jovial bustle of the marketplace and the crisp morning air has everyone smiling. My mission: buy locally grown and organic fruits and vegetables, some local honey, a fresh baguette, locally-raised beef, and then off to one more stop to pick up live crabs!

Cowboy Frank Fitzpatrick of 5 Bar Beef can be found in a back corner of the market. He's easy to spot. He's the only cowboy in Irvine, complete with boots, hat, and pickup truck. In the bed of his pickup sits the freezer that contains my first objective: Local, grass-fed beef. Frank raises cattle the way they should be: on open land, grazing real grass, right in nearby Silverado Canyon. Frank's beef is naturally lean because it's not fed the excess fat and grain that 'marbles' commercial beef. His steaks are dark purple, laced with thin sinews of fat, and best cooked slow and low, and eaten rare. We're so used to seeing beef with tons of fat, that upon first inspection 5-Bar steaks don't even look like beef. This is what beef looked like before industrial feed lots. The taste will take you back to the beef you ate as a child. Real, nutritious, full of flavor, with no chemicals, no hormones, and no grain. His steaks, roasts, and short-ribs are frozen immediately after slaughter to seal in the flavor. I bought a handful of New York strip steaks and a couple packages of short-ribs for later.



Pearson's Port is one of my favorite Orange County markets; a tiny second-generation fish shack located at the entrance to Newport Back Bay underneath Pacific Coast Highway. Pearson's is the place to go if you want the real catch of the day. When I asked how fresh their swordfish was, Terese (the co-owner) replied that her husband Tommy speared it earlier that morning. It doesn't get any fresher! Live rock crabs crawl over each other in large tanks, and other tanks alternate between holding live lobster and live spot prawns, depending on the season. These are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, and they sell the best seafood in town, at exceptional prices. Terese and her daughter helped me pick out four good-sized rock crabs and we spent a good while conversing about how they do business and some of the struggles they are subjected to as small commercial fishers. With my bag of angry crabs, I set off for home.




Friends arrived just as the sun slipped over the horizon, and we chatted in the warm evening air with white wine and champagne spritzers. I served a sliced baguette from Picket Lane Bakery alongside a compound butter made of whipped butter with fresh minced garlic and parsley.



We boiled and cleaned our angry crabs, then combined them with a dash of minced celery, onion, and bell pepper to make lump crab cakes. The mango is not local, but I used it to make a mango-habanero jam to compliment the salty-sweet crab. I finished the plate by adding some local organic baby arugula and diced avocados from Irvine's Neff Ranch.



For the main course, I really wanted to showcase the 5 Bar Beef. I'm a little bitter because I had a few too many glasses of wine and completely overcooked the steaks! Ahhh! Grass-fed beef requires very little cooking at an extremely low temperature, and I just kept right on talking and sipping my wine, spacing on the beef in the oven. Fortunately, our company didn't seem to mind, and the beef's flavor still shone through. We plated the beef simply - a serving of local potatoes whipped with the above compound butter and roasted purple carrots.



Last, but never least, dessert! A simple tart of golden puff pastry, topped with a rhubarb compote, pastry cream, and local honey-brushed strawberries. It's absolutely incredible what a week of warm sunshine can do for local strawberries. Ours were deliciously succulent and full of sunny sweetness!



All in all, it was a rousing success. So many items can be bought locally from the farmer, the rancher, the fisherman, the butcher, the baker - maybe even the candlestick maker. For us at the BMK, the satisfaction that comes from buying small and local, and being a part of our community by giving our hard-earned dollars to local businesses is only equaled by the knowledge that we're doing the right thing for our bodies and our planet. Buying local is better for the environment (transport = energy + waste), and it's better for you to eat food that is minimally processed.. Look around your community and ask those who may be in the know (restaurant chefs, your local butcher, your neighbors...) for their recommendations! Thank you to Foodbuzz, for letting us showcase our passion for real food and a big thank you to our wonderful dinner guests who made the night memorable!

ALL RECIPES COMING THIS WEEK!!!!!!

Halibut on Portabellos & Spinach, Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

I grew up helping out in the kitchen, but I didn't really get interested in the culinary arts until after high school. It was the late '90s, and I was on a date in San Diego's Gaslamp District. I remember ordering a glass of wine without showing my (underage) ID and feeling so mature and extravagant. I ordered the halibut and conversed in the awkward faux-adult manner of a girl who's not yet a woman. My beautifully plated meal arrived and in an instant, changed my life. I recall hardly anything about the date but the details of the meal are permanently etched in my mind. Flavors, textures, the magical interplay between succulent portabellos and fresh spinach, the richness of roasted garlic and piquant rosemary. I thought to myself:

I can make this!

Over a decade has passed since that initial spark, and my passion for food has only grown. Cooking has helped me through a lot, and I'm always grateful for what it has brought to my life. It kept my hands busy at times when they might find their way into trouble. Zen-like concentration over a cutting board brings me peace after a tough day. My cooking nourishes and spreads happiness to those I feed. My knowledge and understanding of the food industry's environmental and social impact continues to grow. Cooking has brought me together with a vast community of people who share this passion. It is now a vital and integral part of my life, my future, and my relationship.

When did you begin cooking? What meal started it? How has it shaped your life? Let us know! We're all ears!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 fillets halibut, individual portions
• salt and cracked pepper
• 1 head spinach, washed, leaves only
• 2 medium portabellos, gills scraped out with spoon, sliced into 1/2" thick slices 
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 head garlic, separated from bulb, but not peeled
• olive oil
• 6-8 baby potatoes, halved or quartered
• rosemary, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup cream or half and half
• 1 shallot sliced
• 1 small tomato, seeded and finely diced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350'. Rub unpeeled cloves of garlic with olive oil. Place on foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven, turning occasionally until golden brown and soft. Watch carefully so that the cloves don't explode.
2. Remove garlic and allow to cool to touch. Squeeze garlic out of husks. Smash garlic. 
3. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in sauce pan over medium-high. Add shallot and roasted garlic. Saute 5-10 minutes until golden and fragrant. 
4. Preheat oven to 400'. toss cut potatoes in 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt, cracked pepper and rosemary. Place on foil lined baking sheet.
5. Add wine, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add cream, whisking gently so that the cream doesn't coagulate from too much heat. Lightly simmer, stirring often.
6. Optional: use an immersion blender to quickly puree sauce in on/off turns. (You don't want to whip it). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Bake potatoes for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and tender (while you do everything else) 
8. Wilt spinach in pan. Set aside.
9. Melt butter in large pan. Add mushrooms, saute over medium until soft and tender about 10-15 minutes. Keep warm.
10. Pat fillets dry. Salt and pepper generously. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large pan and heat over high. When oil is hot, add fish, and cook until lightly golden on the bottom about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook other side another 2 minutes. 
11. Gently transfer fish to a baking sheet or baking pan. Bake the rest of the way through - another 5-6 minutes. NOTE: the potatoes should be just about done at this point, so you can reduce heat to 350 to quickly finish them while the fish cooks simultaneously.
12. Plate: place spinach on plate, top with mushrooms, top with halibut. Drizzle sauce around. Add potatoes. Garnish with diced tomatoes.

Mixed Grain Pilaf with Scallops

We stand accused of cooking a lot scallops. Guilty as charged, Your Honor! What can I say, scallops are an incredibly versatile source of lean protein, and keep well in the freezer. Perfect for a weeknight meal, this fresh pilaf is an excellent way to mix new grains into your diet. Tired of choosing between rice and potatoes? Let this unique blend of couscous, wheatberries, and wild rice show you that grains can take center-stage on your plate!

Although this dish starts with cooking three grains separately, there's hardly any work. Everything can be done up to a day in advance, and a store-bought black bean garlic sauce is an excellent way to add tons of flavor without changing most dish's style. It's salty and smoky with a hint of funky fermentedness that accents the bright cilantro beautifully.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 12-16 large scallops
• salt and pepper
• 2-3 Tbsp avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil is okay)

• 1/2 cup wild or brown rice
• 3/4 cup water
• pinch salt

• 1/4 cup wheat berries
• 3/4 cup water
• pinch salt

• 1/2 cup couscous
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp avocado oil
• pinch salt

• 1 Tbsp Olive oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ribs celery finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely grated
• 1-2 Tbsp Black bean sauce mixed with 1 Tbsp water
• 3 green onions sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Small handful pine nuts, toasted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the wild rice, water, and pinch of salt in a small pan. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer over relatively low heat 20-30 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Do the same for the wheatberries.
2. For the couscous, bring the water, salt and oil to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add cous cous. Cover tightly and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with fork.
3. It's ok if the grains cool. They will be tossed in a hot pan later.
4. Meanwhile, prepare rest of ingredients (slicing green onions, chopping onions, garlic, etc...)
5. Pat scallops dry. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
6. In large wok or pot, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and celery and quickly saute 3-4 minutes until softened. Stir in rice, cous cous, wheat berries and carrot.
7. Add black bean garlic sauce (mixed with water). Toss. Taste. Add more if necessary. It can be a powerful flavor, so I always start with a little.
8. Toss in cilantro and pine nuts. Keep warm.
9. Heat 2-3 Tbsp oil in a large frying pan over high heat.
10. Add scallops one at a time, swirling each to coat the bottom in oil.
11. Allow to cook until the bottom is golden, roughly 2-4 minutes or until it can be easily flipped.
12. Flip and cook other side 2 minutes.
13. Plate pilaf, top with scallops and garnish with additional cilantro if desired.

Chanterelle & Aged Gouda Omelete

Good Morning and Happy Weekend! No recipe today, just a tempting picture to get you started for the day. A simple omelet is transformed by Winchester Cheese Co.'s aged gouda (available at the UCI Farmer's market for those of you in Orange County) and fresh chanterelles sauteed in butter.

A slab of Irish soda bread topped with rhubarb-strawberry jam and a serving of potatoes with bacon and onions completed the meal and made for one heck of a brunch!

Enjoy your weekend!

Pickle-Brined Chicken Breasts

How many times have you dumped out a jar of pickle juice after you ate all the pickles? How many?! Now spank yourselves that many times. Heck, twice that many.

Here's a useful piece of information: Brining a chicken breast overnight produces deliciously juicy, perfectly seasoned chicken every time. I'm near tears thinking of the countless gallons of pickle juice I've poured down the drain; all those uncounted gallons of briny gold! A simple solution of vinegar, salt, sugar, and assorted spices unites to bring you the most flavorful, tender, and moist chicken breast that will ever cross your plate. Satisfaction guaranteed. If you don't like it, send us your pickle juice, because we're out and I'm having major withdrawal. I might ask the neighbors to search their refrigerators for forgotten pickle jars. I'm force-feeding Adam pickle after pickle to get through the jars we have. Please help!

Marinate the chicken overnight. Sear the skin to lock in the juices and caramelize the exterior. Roast in the oven to cook through. Be happy. Be addicted. Eat the best chicken of your life.

P.S. There's a familiar flavor you might recognize... Tell us what you think it is!

PLAN AHEAD: must brine at least 6 hours!!

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

•  1 jar pickle juice (we used mostly bread & butter pickle juice + some dill juice + some Boar's Head bread & butter with horseradish)
• Olive oil
• 4 chicken breast halves, bone-in, skin on (trust me, I usually do skinless, but you want this!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place chicken breasts in a large ziplock bag. Add pickle juice. Seal. Double bag if you're paranoid like I am of the bag leaking in the refrigerator.  Marinate 6 hours up or overnight, turning bag occasionally to make sure all chicken is soaking.
2. Preheat oven to 350'.
3. Remove chicken from brine. Pat dry with paper towels.
4. Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in oven-proof skillet or large pan over medium high heat.
5. Add chicken breasts SKIN side down and cook until skin is golden, about 6 minutes. 
6. Flip over and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.
7. Transfer skillet to oven or place chicken breasts on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes longer, rotating as necessary. (Our oven cooks unevenly, as do most, so I always rotate food 1/2 way through).
8. Remove breasts from oven to a platter. Tent with foil. Let rest 10 minutes.
9. Serve, drizzling remaining sauce from baking foil onto chicken.

We served our chicken breasts with sliced, roasted sunchokes (YUM!) and sauteed swiss chard with garlic. We de-glazed the chicken pan with stock and sauteed the chard & garlic until slightly wilted.

Corned Beef & Cabbage Potato Pizza

Until I sank my teeth into this pizza, I had never tasted corned beef. We never ate it growing up, and I survived 30 years without it. To be honest, it always sounded gross to me. Corned beef. Who are you and why should I crave you? Are you animal? Vegetable? Mineral? I scoured the Internet for answers. Corned beef is just a brined beef brisket? I love pickled stuff! I relented; pickled beef can't be all that bad.






In true wacky BMK style, we made our St.Patrick's corned beef and cabbage into potato dough pizza! A quick search revealed what we thought would be the perfect dough recipe. Simple enough: bake potato, rice potato, mix with water, yeast, and flour. No big deal, right? Ninety minutes later we checked our dough and found science-project-gone-wrong Goozilla had doubled in size and become a fascinating new life-form. I tried to slide the flour-yeast-potato amoeba from the bowl to knead it on the counter and it glommed onto everything in a two-foot radius. Dinner was ruined!






While I was busy choreographing my impending tantrum (pouting and stomping feet), Adam stepped in to do battle with Goozilla. Adam doesn't bake, but he has a knack for rescuing my failed baking attempts. I think the Chicagoan in him just innately understands pizza, because as he hucked flour at the beast, it began to resemble dough.

The Luck'o'the Irish was with us (we both have lots of Irish blood) because despite the mishap, this pizza came out beautifully! The cheese melted into the mustard and formed a funky, gooey sauce that complimented the salty cabbage and beef. We rejoiced in our defeat of Goozilla, who had changed from drive-in B-movie nightmare to a delicious and unique pizza crust, with texture the perfect blend of airy and chewy. The recipe below is what actually happened. If you don't think you have what it takes to tackle Goozilla, use a regular pizza dough, or try another potato dough recipe. This combination of flavors is not to be missed! Go forth and conquer this Irish pizza!






INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz potatoes (we used russet)
• 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115'F)
• 4 cups + 2 cups all purpose flour, separated
• 2 tsp salt
• 6 oz thinly sliced Corned Beef
• Half of a head of cabbage, thickly sliced
• Big pinch of : allspice, coriander seeds, peppercorns
• 2 pinches of salt, 1 bay leaf
• water
• high quality Horseradish mustard with seeds
• Irish stout cheddar, shredded (we found some at Trader Joe's)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375'. Poke a few holes in your potato(s) with a fork or knife. Wrap it in foil. Place in oven and bake 1 hour.
   
2. Remove from foil, allow to cool enough to handle. Slice open and scoop out flesh into a potato ricer. If you don't have one, thoroughly mash potato flesh.
3. In large bowl, mix warm water and yeast gently, until all the yeast is absorbed. Mix potatoes into yeast/water mix. Add salt. Begin adding flour 1 cup at a time. It will take about 4 cups and still be slightly wet. Form a ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with saran wrap and set aside for 90 minutes.
4. Now it will look really gooey and hideous. Begin kneading flour into it, 1/2 cup at a time just to the point that it is a cohesive, solid dough. 
5. Preheat oven to 425'
6. Stretch evenly by hand. Oil a large rimmed baking sheet. Stretch dough into baking sheet. Cover with damp towel while you do the following:
7. Fill pan with 2-3 inches of water. Tie spices in a piece of cheesecloth or cotton, add to water and bring to a boil. Add cabbage and quickly boil for 1-2 minutes. Drain in colander.
8. Bake pizza dough in oven until golden on the bottom (use a pizza spatula to check) about 15 minutes total, turning once halfway.
9. Remove from oven.
10. Spread mustard on dough. Top with cheese.
11. Top with cabbage.
12. Spread meat evenly over pizza. It will shrink so use a lot!!!
13. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Irish Soda Bread

Irish soda bread has a history as rich and varied as Ireland's people. Each region has its own size, shape, and blend of ingredients. Some say the loaf's cross mark wards off the devil, others say it lets out the bread's faeries. I think this version keeps the faeries inside, because this bread is pure magic. Firm crust. Warm, crumbly interior. Wholesome grain flavor. The perfect vehicle to shovel ungodly amounts of butter or Irish cheddar in your face while still oven-warm. The following morning, we gently toasted thick, scone-like slices, and slathered them with strawberry-rhubarb jam. Pure heaven.

If you think bread is too hard to make, but love rustic bread, this is the bread for you! I promise you that in no more than 5 minutes you will have bread in the oven. You know what that means, you little Leprechauns? More drinking time! More bread! More beer! More butter!

You can make this recipe into one round loaf, a few smaller loaves, or whatever floats your Blarney Stone. Just remember that as you reduce the size of the loaf, reduce the baking time accordingly. To test if your bread is done, use the "clean toothpick" test and knock on the base of it. Cooked bread will sound slightly hollow.

Makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 
• 4 Tbsp McCann's Irish Oatmeal (or rolled oats or wheat bran)
• 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar (packed)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/2-1 3/4 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425'. 
2. Flour a pizza stone (or a baking sheet). Preheat stone or baking sheet in oven.
3. Combine first 7 ingredients in bowl. Whisk until well blended.
4. Rub butter in with fingertips until the butter is distributed and it resembles a fine meal.
5. Stir in buttermilk slowly, mixing with hands. You may not need all of it. You want a nice damp dough, but not so sticky that your hands are a total mess.
6. Form a ball.
7. Plop the ball on the stone or baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut an X in the top of the loaf quickly and lightly.
8. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating halfway at the 20 minute mark.
9. Remove from oven, allow to cool to warm before slicing. 

In regards to the flaxmeal, oatmeal, etc... I just used what we had. The original recipe called for wheat bran, wheat germ and old fashioned oats. I think you can use whatever you want. You're adding texture, flavor and nutrients so feel free to add whatever you'd like. Fruits and nuts are also good options!

Guinness & Dark Chocolate Brownies

The moment I saw these brownies, I knew this would be our St. Patrick's Day dessert. Guinness and chocolate?! Whoa. I don't consider myself a chocoholic, but these were so rich and intense I dropped character and ate two the night I made them. Pouring my first cup of coffee the following morning, I ate another! Make a double batch; one for yourself, and one for everyone else.

I like my chocolate rich, smoky, and slightly bitter. I crave complexity, varied undertones, and hints of strong flavors like sea salt, chili powder, or ginger. These unexpected twists surprise the palate and elevate the brownie from the lunchbox to the white linen tablecloth. Using Guinness Extra Stout (which Adam compared to motor oil, as opposed to creamy draught Guinness) is perfect to underscore the blend of bittersweet, semi-sweet and milk chocolates.

Chocolate and Beer - The perfect Irish dessert!

Think less sweet, more sinful. These are not your mother's bake-sale brownies. These are the brownies of a naughty Irish girl expelled from Catholic school for drinking on campus.

Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.


Recipe from bitchincamero by mel

Makes one 9x13 pan
INGREDIENTS:

•  1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 8 oz dark chocolate bar (bittersweet), chopped
• 3/4 Tbsp milk chocolate chips
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• almost 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups Guinness Extra Stout, room temperature, foam skimmed off
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• few spoonfuls powdered sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375' and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper (preferred) or grease it with butter.
2. Whisk flour, cocoa and salt together.
3. Using a double boiler (or a medium metal bowl set over a smaller pan of simmering water - make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water), melt the dark chocolate, milk chocolate and butter. Keep the temperature low and slow.
4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until slightly frothy. Pour in chocolate mixture slowly as to let the chocolate slowly cool (don't cook your eggs!).
5. Whisk Guinness into egg/chocolate mixture. Fold carefully, don't beat to death. You want this soft and fluffy.
6. Whisk flour mixture in slowly until thoroughly combined.
7. Pour mixture into dish and top with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven, cool. Dust with powdered sugar (use a sifter or a fine mesh sieve to shake it over!) 
9. For the cute clover pattern, I used a real clover atop the brownies and shook the sugar over it, using tweezers I gently lifted the clover off. You can use paper cut outs as well!

Polenta Gnocchi with Vegetarian Soyrizo Chili

Despite the ongoing love affair between polenta and the BMK, we still haven't made a basic creamy polenta. It just doesn't appeal to me. When I first mentioned polenta to Adam many months ago, he shrugged noncommittally saying he had never been impressed by it, but once we sliced some up and tossed it on the grill, he changed his tune.

I'm not fond of wet grains. I'll take fluffy pilaf over wet risotto, chunky smashed potatoes over cream-whipped potatoes, and crispy polenta over grits-style. I like chewy, crunchy texture, and baking or grilling polenta is a great way to get it! Polenta gnocchi is new to the BMK, but not a new idea. The Romans gave us Gnocchi alla Romana, but this version is much easier. I'm all for making things from scratch on the weekends, but post-work Wednesday I want good, healthy food on the table as fast as possible.

I can't say enough good things about these pseudo-gnocchi. They're fluffy and crispy and stand in perfectly for chili's favorite sidekick, cornbread. Adam thinks that they look like tater tots (what's wrong with THAT?!), I say they look like tasty goodness. Boring vegetarian food? Not here at the BMK. Soyrizo adds a nice spicy smoke to this quick chili, but feel free to use ground meat, soy crumbles, or whatever floats your boat.

One tube of polenta should make enough gnocchi for 4 people, but... um... uh.... it served 2 at our house. You'll soon see why!

Serves 2 (with leftover chili)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced finely
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tube Soyrizo 
• 1 small bell pepper, diced
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 handful frozen organic corn or 1 ear's worth kernels
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 - 15oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground chili
• 1 tsp regular chili powder
• 1-2 tsp dried oregano, powdered between hands
• 1/4 cup diced sweet onion
• handful cilantro minced
• 1 - 18oz tube polenta
• cooking oil spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large pan or wok and add onions and garlic. Saute 2-3 minutes.
2. Add soyrizo and saute 1-2 minutes.
3. Add bell pepper, beans, tomatoes, corn, jalapenos, bay leaves and spices.
4. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. 
5. Simmer 10-15 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 425'
7. Meanwhile, remove polenta tube from wrapper and set on cutting surface. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil.
8. Slice polenta into 1/2" slices.
9. Using a small cookie cutter (mine is about 3/4" in diameter) cut circles out of each slice of polenta.
10. I found that by starting around the edges, stamping as close to the cut areas as possible and finishing by cutting out the middle, I had very little waste!
11. Place polenta "gnocchi" on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt or if you have it, chili salt (chili flakes & salt in a grinder).
12. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, flip and move around, bake another 10 minutes or until crisp and golden.
13. In a small bowl, mix onion and cilantro.
14. Serve chili, topped with onion/cilantro mix, cheese (if desired) and surround with polenta gnocchi!

If you do not have a cookie cutter this size, you can use whatever works - be creative! A spoon, a knife to cut equal sized pieces, anything will do. You want small, evenly-sized bites.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Cilantro-Lemon Puree

We spent all weekend sleeping. Sleeping. Coughing. Wheezing. Blowing noses. Drinking Tea. Eating phở. Come Monday I had no choice but to be back at work. You know what got me through my day? Knowing that Adam was making homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner. Hallelujah.

Simple. Fresh. Full of nutrients. Low calorie, low fat, and easy on your body. A quick puree of lemon juice and cilantro leaves brightens up the flavors and underscores the subtle citrus of the lemon pappardelle noodles.





For a quick soup (like when we're under the weather), we poach and shred chicken breasts and use pre-made stock. If you have a chicken and want to make your stock from scratch, have at it!

Make a bunch. Eat, and be well!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 oz (half of a package) Trader Joe's Lemon Pappardelle (or whatever egg noodle you like)
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 ribs celery, large dice
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3-32oz cartons low sodium Chicken Broth
• 4 large tomatoes,seeded and diced
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and cracked pepper
• juice of 2 lemons
• handful of cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place chicken breasts in a pan that just fits the two of them. Cover with 1" of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to simmer and cook roughly 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the breast. Check for done-ness by peeking into the middle.
2. Remove from water and allow chicken to cool to touch. Shred with two forks.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in stockpot over medium high heat.
4. Add onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Saute 5-6 minutes.
5. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Salt and pepper. 
6. Add chicken and stir to heat through.
7. Add noodles and simmer until tender.
8. We used an immersion blender to make a quick puree of cilantro and lemon juice.
9. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with lemon-cilantro puree.

Southwestern Ragú with Tomatillos and Nopales

Here at The Bite Me Kitchen, I'm affectionately known as the Boss Lady.

It's not that I strive to be pushy, it's just my nature. Organizer. List-maker. Mise en place-er. The only time Adam gets to cook without me butting in like an over-protective mother hen is when I'm sick, or not at home. I admit, this is probably not my most endearing attribute, but at least I'm honest.

So when he regaled me with his vague notion of a southwestern ragù, somewhere between ragù and salsa verde, with a touch of mole, he lost me completely. I like clean, clear, pronounced flavors, like an artist's broad brushstroke. Adam is a cross between Dr. Jekyll and Jackson Pollock, splattering food and ingredients all over his culinary canvas, but somehow his food always works. It's vibrant, unique, complex, and brilliant. I've learned that letting him loose is a good idea.










After a brief consult with The Flavor Bible and a quick explanation of the skeletal structure of ragù, he was off to the cutting board. The next thing I knew there was a Tuscan Nonna dancing with a dashing Caballero in our kitchen. The counters were strewn with cactus paddles, blackened tomatillos, knives, spices, and tequila! Danger!

The result was fantastically unlike anything I've ever eaten. Nopales are highly nutritious and have a squidgy texture with a slightly citrus flavor. We had the gnocchi on-hand from a previous night, but polenta "gnocchi" would make a great substitute. (We think an improvement!)










Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large nopales (cactus leaves), "eyes" shaved off with vegetable peeler, cut into 1/2" squares
• 1 cup tequila
• 2 serrano peppers
• 12 tomatillos, husks removed
• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground chili
• 32-oz container vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cocoa
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• crumbled cotija, for garnish
• Sweet Potato-Ricotta Gnocchi or Polenta

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large pan over high heat. Add  tomatillos and serranos and cover, roasting until lightly blackened and softened on all sides, about 6 minutes. Stir occasionally and re-cover. Once blackened, remove from pan and dice peppers and quarter tomatillos.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large pot or pan over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, carrot, celery and nopales. Saute until fragrant about 5 minutes. The nopales will turn a paler green and release some clear syrup. This is okay!
3. Remove vegetables to a bowl temporarily and add pork. Brown the pork well, allowing a crust (fond) to form on the bottom by gently turning the meat as opposed to scraping the bottom of the pan.
4. Once a nice crust has developed and the pork is browned, deglaze with 1 cup tequila and bring to a boil, scraping up the fond and reducing until the alcohol smell is gone. 
5. Stir in the vegetables, including tomatillos and serranos and add 1 cup vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium until almost all the liquid is gone. 
6. Stir in chili powder or ground chili
7. Add more liquid 1/2 cup at a time, simmering over medium-low every 15 minutes or so, until the container is gone.
8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in gnocchi and allow to come back to a boil. Once gnocchi float to surface, wait 2-3 minutes. Then remove with slotted spoon.
9. Right before serving, stir in coriander, cinnamon, cocoa and zest. 
10. Serve, garnishing with cotija cheese.

Beef Curry Stew

Have you seen the movie Ratatouille? There's a scene near the end where the Scrooge-like food critic takes a bite of a nouveau ratatouille and is transported back to his childhood in rural France. Food creates powerful associations between senses and memory that last a lifetime. I grew up in suburban Chicago (a land of truly bitter winters) and nothing said home like coming out of the freezing cold to smell a pot of mom's beef stew simmering on the stove.
 




It's been a little chilly out here (for California) and St. Paddy's looms on the horizon; the perfect conditions for reinventing Irish Beef Stew with a little twist - Curry!

The British Isles are known for meat-and-potatoes fare but they have some fantastic ethnic food and you can't find better curry, except maybe in India. A fusion between the two seemed natural, so here it is!

Dedicated to Paula, my mother.







Note: To make a traditional Irish stew, leave out the (*) ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb+ beef stew meat
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 25 pearl onions or 15 cipollini onions
• 2 shallots, diced
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, large dice (about 1/2" pcs)
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 30 small heirloom tomatoes (cherry size) can substitute 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 20 tiny fingerling potatoes (about 1-1.5" length) or longer fingerlings, halved
• 2 Tbsp thyme
• 1/2 can Guinness Stout
• 2 - 32oz cartons beef broth
• salt and pepper
• 3 bell peppers (green, yellow, red), cut into 1/2" slices*
• 1 red jalapeno, diced*
• 4 Tbsp curry powder*
• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1"x1" cubes*
• 1 tsp chili powder*
• 1 tsp turmeric*

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blanch and peel onions: Bring a small pot of water to boil. Drop in onions and cook for 1 full minute. Immediately transfer onions to a sieve and run cold water over them continuously (or place in an ice bath to stop cooking). Using a small paring knife, slice off the flattish side of the onion and pull outer skin off. Set aside, repeat.
2. Mix 1 cup all purpose flour, salt and pepper in a large ziploc bag. Rub meat with Worcestershire sauce. Add meat to bag and shake to coat with flour.
3. Salt eggplant cubes and set aside to sweat out bitterness for at least 10 minutes.
4. In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Add meat and brown thoroughly, turning occasionally about 10 minutes total. Remove meat from pan. 
5. Reduce heat to medium and add shallot, garlic, carrot, celery, and eggplant. Saute for 5 minutes.
6. Deglaze with 1/2 can Guinness Stout. Drink the other half.
7. Add tomatoes, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, and jalapeno to pot. Saute 2-3 minutes.
8. Add all spices, mix thoroughly.
9. Add all beef broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover. Simmer at least 90 minutes, up to 3 hours, covered.
10. Serve over rice or with crusty bread (or both!)

Eating Smart & Sustainably

You watched Food Inc., you read The Omnivore's Dilemma, and you're trying to stay afloat amidst the ebb and flow of conflicting health-trend news. Every day the media bombards us with the truth-of-the-moment: Eat more meat! Be vegetarian! Don't consume dairy! Buy only organic! Don't buy organic if it comes from China! Buy Local! Buy only from farmers with 2 heads, four legs, and three left arms!

It's a lot to take in, even for folks as dedicated to food and nutrition as we are at The Bite Me Kitchen. I shudder to think what the average person hears, believes, and understands about the myriad of Food Do's and Don'ts. Massive food recalls, horrific animal cruelty photos from industrial feed lots, looming apocalypse from deforestation and noxious gases, and the price of real food skyrocketing make the future look bleak! People of Earth, how did we get here!?

Let's all take a deep breath. Feel better?

I'm a big believer in common sense. I don't need a specialist, or a scientist, or a newscaster to tell me what that means or how it works. Do I see ingredients in my food that I can't identify? Does what I buy come from a farm, or a factory? Is it something my body needs, or something I just want? Do I eat too much pre-packaged food that generates extra waste? Was my chicken, egg, cow, or pig raised by a farmer, or a merchant? Here's a basic outline, a springboard rather, to begin change in your own home without feeling helpless or overwhelmed.






Take Baby Steps:

Once you start asking these questions, the answers can be unsettling. Some of you will be stirred to action, others will continue to look the other way. For those of you who want to make some changes, start small. Choose one food group to tackle at a time. After seeing Food, Inc. we immediately decided to make two small but significant changes. We now buy only local, organic, free-range eggs, and organic (non-GMO) soy products. Some people chose to stop eating meat after watching Food Inc., which completely boggles me. I found the implications of the Monsanto (the leading producer of GMO soybean seeds) segment to be far more disturbing. Buying only organic soy products is our middle finger to massive corporations like Monsanto, and their questionable business practices. The lesson here is that small changes in our diets and behavior are generally more effective than short-lived radical measures. Try eating less meat. Try eating some organic foods. Try reading your labels. A little bit at a time, chip away at old habits and forge new ones.

Look Around!


Take the time to think about your food; who makes it, where it comes from, and how it came from soil to store. Farmer's markets are an excellent place to buy local and organic food while supporting workers in your community. We found a stall at our Farmer's market in Irvine, CA for the 5 Bar Ranch. Singly-owned, locally raised (Silverado Canyon), grass-fed beef, sold to you by the rancher himself! We will be doing an article on this guy. We challenge ourselves to find food that is more local, real, clean, and fresh. We buy locally-grown avocados for $1.50 instead of Chilean avocados for $1; organic eggs from 45 minutes away in Norco (they have these at Costco, fyi), instead of eggs a third the price from far, far away.






Don’t Be a Pig!

These are difficult economic times for everyone. For those of you that worry about cost, make a goal of eating less, but higher quality food. America is a nation of fat people obsessed with losing weight. On the freeway I see obese people in cars stuffing their faces with fast-food as they drive under “Lose Weight Now” Lap Band billboards. You don’t need a double cheeseburger. You don’t need a 12 oz. steak. You don’t need a double chicken breast Marsala. Seriously, you don’t. You might want that, but your body doesn’t need that much protein by a long shot. I’d rather have less steak of higher quality, better taste, and positive impact on the world. I’m willing to bet that the average American can halve the amount of protein on their plates and be happier and healthier for it. You know what fits perfectly in that empty space left on your plate? Vegetables. Real, fresh, nutritious, and low-calorie vegetables. Weird science, right?

Be educated! It’s your body, your health, and your planet.

http://www.foodincmovie.com/get-involved.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/6-baby-steps-toward-a-mor_b_481624.html

www.animalfactorybook.com 

www.AnimalWelfareApproved.org

Sweet Corn Risotto with Chili Dusted Scallops

We asked what you wanted on our Facebook page last week, and we got a clear answer. A big hello to Lorie who said:

"Risotto with mozzarella and scallops or prosciutto? I had this amazing lunch @ a restaurant that closed, and despite many attempts to recreate the stringy melted cheese/rice phenomenon - total failure."`

Who doesn't love a girl who knows what she wants?! We put our heads together to come up with a risotto that will turn that total failure into a rousing success. You want a cheesy, melty risotto? You got it! We had scallops on-hand, but feel free to substitute shrimp, or whatever suits you! Feeling naughty? Wrap those shrimp in thin strips of bacon and grill until crisp. This blog is about the risotto, the topping possibilities are endless.

Let's begin by demystifying risotto: It's just rice, toasted and cooked slowly to absorb water, then stirred with cheese. Adding liquid a half-cup at a time ensures that the rice only gets as much liquid as it needs without over-saturation. Add broth, stir, keep simmering, and taste, taste, taste. If you feel you only need a splash more, then just add a splash! Trust your taste-buds.

There are TWO key parts to any cooking endeavor:

1. Read the recipe. From start to finish even before buying your ingredients. Check if you can substitute what you have on hand. Make sure you have all the tools! How long will it take?
   
2. Mise en place. Prepare all ingredients and have them on the counter with all required utensils/tools. Preparedness prevents last minute chopping or diversion of your attention hunting for the right tool.

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup Arborio rice (Italian rice meant specifically for Risotto)
• 2 ears fresh corn, kernels sliced off cob (or you can use a generous 1-2 cups frozen corn)
• Roughly 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 16 large scallops, patted dry
• chili powder
• 1 jar roasted bell peppers, packed in water (all red or mixed red and yellow is fine!)
• 1/2 cup cubed or grated pepper Monterrey jack cheese
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1/2 jalapeno sliced into thin rounds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Puree jar of bell peppers in a blender, food processor or Magic Bullet (perfect size!)
2. Pour puree into a small pan and set over low to warm.
3. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in medium pot over medium heat.
4. Add onion, garlic and cumin and saute until fragrant 2 minutes.
5. Add rice and stir, toasting gently about 1 minute.
6. Add corn and 1 cup chicken broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil (raising heat if necessary). Once boiling, reduce heat to a nice simmer.
7. Stir the rice frequently, watching as the rice soaks up the liquid. When the liquid is almost gone, add in 1/2 cup broth. Continue to gently stir. Continue adding liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the rice tastes mostly done, tender and creamy. Season with salt and pepper. You can continue to add a little liquid in to keep the rice from drying out. Reduce heat to low. This whole process will take about 20-25 minutes.
8. Meanwhile dust scallops with chili powder and set aside. (If doing shrimp, wrap with bacon and dust with chili powder, place on preheated grill and cook until opaque - 5 minutes).
9. Heat large frying pan with 1 Tbsp oil over high heat. Swirl to coat the whole pan. Place scallops in pan and sear for 2-3 minutes. Do not move, until you flip them! 
10. Flip scallops and sear an additional 2-3 minutes. Add jalapeno slices to pan to crisp. Remove scallops and jalapenos to plate.
11. Stir cheese into rice to melt.
12. Plate risotto, surround with roasted pepper sauce, top with scallops, cilantro and jalapeno crisps.