iron stef

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

500th post!!

Hi Everybody! Welcome to my 500th IRON STEF POST! WOOO! Let's Celebrate with a Champagne Cocktail, a wee bit of reminiscing and a GIVEAWAY!

First, the booze. Sparkling wine is a must for such occasions! I have created a simple, fun cocktail to say "Cheers" to all my loyal readers. Because you guys are the best! Thanks for reading, commenting, tweeting and hanging out with me! *Clink*

To make the "500th Iron Stef Bubbly Sweet & Spicy Bubbly Cocktail*" put .5 oz. of ginger liqueur (I am absolutely in love with The Big O) into a champagne flute, drop in 1 canned lychee with a splash of it juice, and top off with a cold dry or semi-sweet sparkling white wine (I don't know a lot about sparkling wines.... I chose this Toad Hollow Risque because there's a dancing frog on the label). Party. *I need a better name for this. see the giveaway details below to help.

A few posts I wrote about why I blog and what blogging has brought to my life. So instead of another mushy post, I'll just list my 10 favorite Iron Stef recipes ever. It was hard to choose just 10, because I had so much fun making all this food. I feel that the following 10 do the best job of embodying the essence of what I hope describes Iron Stef : delicious, fun and creative.

Meatloaf cupcakes. So nice, I posted about them twice!

Fennel & Sausage bread pudding. I have since made variations of this savory bread pudding countless times. My mouth is watering.

Nam Tok Beef. What a thrill to finally figure out how to make my favorite Thai restaurant dish!

Sushi Ceviche. A great way to have sushi at parties without much fuss!

Tater Tot Pizza. Yes, I went there. And it was glorious.

Caramelized leek, chanterelle and ricotta tart. It's true. This will get you laid.

Mint Pea ravioli. Spring in a pouch.

Poutine with Bacon Jalapeno Gravy. Poutine is nature's perfect food. Also? Bacon broth.

Fig Pistachio Goat Cheese spread. A fantastic recipe for all your party and picnic needs. Pretty colors, too!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with ham and Sage Butter. Dumplings of pure love, you guys.

Now for the giveaway!! You have 2 chances to win this handsome and functional Iron Stef Apron! For chance 1: leave a comment telling me your favorite Iron Stef recipe/post. For chance 2: Leave another comment with a name idea for the cocktail above. I will draw random numbers to choose a winner on July 24, 2012. All comments must be made by July 24 at 5:30 pm in order to be entered.

Thanks again for reading. Cheers!

Saturday, July 07, 2012

liver-cleansing balls

A friend on twitter linked to this list of 14 foods that cleanse the liver. The timing was uncanny... after a road trip that was based mostly on brewery visits through cheese country, my liver was in dire need of a good scrubbing. I was determined to make balls using as many of the foods on the list as I could. Spinach balls have been on my to-do list for a while, so I started there as my basis, because leafy greens are great for your liver (and most of your other parts). In all, I got 6 of the 14 recommended foods into these bad boys.

They turned out great! Very tender and flavorful, they would make a great appetizer simply dipped in yogurt, or in a pita sandwich. I made a simple vegetable soup with even more liver-friendly foods from the list (cabbage, cauliflower, carrots) and ate some of the balls with that. In one dinner I managed to get 9 of the 14 liver-cleansing foods into my gullet!

Liver-Cleansing Balls

-5 cloves garlic, chopped (FOR YOUR LIVER!)
-1 shallot, chopped
-1 Tablespoon olive oil plus about 1 cup for pan frying (FOR YOUR LIVER!)
-2 teaspoons turmeric (FOR YOUR LIVER!)
-2 teaspoons curry powder
-1/2 teaspoon granulated ginger
-1/2 teaspoon coriander
-about 8 cups spinach leaves, roughly chopped (FOR YOUR LIVER!)
-4 cups whole wheat bread crumbs (I toasted some oat bran bread and whizzed it up in a food processor) (FOR YOUR LIVER!)
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (FOR YOUR LIVER!)
-3 eggs
-salt and pepper to taste

Cook the garlic and shallots in a skillet in 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil until just soft. Add the spices and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add the spinach and cover. let spinach slightly wilt for just about 2 minutes or so. Add spinach and garlic mixture to a food processor and chop fine. Add the walnuts and pulse until incorporated. Add this mixture to a bowl with 2 cups of the breadcrumbs and the eggs. Season and mix until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

Put the remaining 2 cups of breadcrumbs in a shallow dish or bowl. Use a melon baller to scoop the spinach mixture (it is a pretty loose dough, you will need to practice gentleness) into the breadcrumbs. Gently press the crumbs around the balls of mixture, form with your hands and set aside. Repeat until all of the spinach mixture is used (makes about 4 dozen).

Coat a skillet with about 1/4 inch of olive oil and heat. Cook the balls in the olive oil over medium-high heat, using tongs to gently turn them until all sides are golden brown and delicious. Remove to a paper towel-line platter and cook the rest of the balls in batches, being careful not to crowd them in the pan. Add more olive oil when needed. Serve warm with Greek yogurt.