Thursday, August 22, 2013
Side Dish-Garlic Sesame Spinach
As I write this tonight I am watching Chopped. I love these cooking shows, but I am just not a good timed Chef. I love to lolly-gag in the kitchen, taking my time and savoring the culinary experience. I love my jazz music and my glass of wine while I cook and for some reason these shows usually don't allow those luxurious...seriously what are they thinking? The favorite part of these shows for me involve the revelation of mystery ingredients and tonight when they opened the basket all I could think was,"dang I would be screwed." However, once I started to analyze the ingredients I was pleasantly surprised as my culinary mind kicked into gear and I actually thought of a use for everything. The ingredients included:
- Pickle juice-perfect for flavoring in any dish, love the salt and the dill flavors
- Fish carcass-looks disgusting, but I could use it to make a stock
- Herb stems-could be pureed to add flavor in any dish or cooked with the fish carcass to enhance the flavor of the stock
- Over ripe tomatoes-definitely puree them because those suckers are not pretty
They are also allowed additional ingredients from the pantry. So the challenge has 20 minutes and this is what I came up with...I would do a gazpacho with the tomatoes and I would add charred red peppers and cucumbers. I would add the fish stock I made from the carcass, the pickle juice and the herb stems. And once everything is in the blender I think it would come together, especially with a bit of spice and seasoning...maybe chipotle peppers with adobo sauce, cumin, salt and pepper. I think some grilled shrimp on top would take it to the next level...think I might actually need to try this.
However, tonight I decided to make an easy, fresh and veggie side dish for dinner. I have been craving spinach and after the gym all I wanted was something easy with a glass of wine that would allow me to sit my ass in front of the TV and think mindless thoughts.
As a side note, this is a crazy time at my day job, as we are going through a computer replacement project. So I am definitely realizing just how much of a saviour my gym and cooking time really is. This next month, I have no doubt that these elements of my life will keep me sane. Cheers to surviving this computer project!!
So I made Food Network's Garlic Sesame Spinach:
Cook 8 to 10 garlic cloves and a pinch of red pepper flakes in a skillet with vegetable oil until the garlic is golden. Add 10 cups baby spinach and cook until wilted; add a big splash of water and some salt. Top with toasted sesame seeds and drizzle with sesame oil.
The only thing I did differently was use olive oil instead of veggie oil.
I love sesame!! So the sesame oil and sesame seeds added great flavor to the spinach. Plus I just feel healthy every time I eat spinach. My only complaint about this recipe, which has nothing to do with this recipe, is the fact that you put two giant bags of spinach into a pot and just like magic you have one serving.
I also have to say I love bagged spinach. When it comes to spinach, I am not a culinary purist, that will only eat it if you cut it and clean it yourself. I remember as kid, complaining to my Mom every time she served me spinach. And it wasn't because I hated the flavor or the texture, it was because of the dirt. I remember always telling her there was dirt in my spinach and for some odd reason she just never had any sympathy. And believe me it wasn't because she grew the spinach herself or failed to wash it, it was just that I grew up before bagged spinach was readily available and so she washed it herself, often leaving sand or dirt granules on the leaves for my little teeth to find. Grrrr!!!
It is my Friday night and so now that I have spent some time with all of you, I am going to go back to my glass of wine and my episode of Chopped! Sweet dreams!!
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