While we’re not normally believers in smothering vegetables in sauces to make them more appealing to kids, here’s a recipe we do approve of. It takes green beans and, without covering them up, augments their flavor in a delicious way. The recipe is super-easy too.
We first provided this recipe on one of our other sites, RealFoodTraveler.com and knew it would be perfect for Everyone Around the Table too. The recipe is courtesy of Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, Inc. The family-owned and operated business is located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Their best-known product, The Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce is how the business really gained popularity (pour a little over cream cheese and you have the easiest ever appetizer to spread on crackers). The owners, Case Fischer and Mark Wieser started selling jams and jellies in their store, Das Peach Haus(R), made from peaches grown in the orchard out back – the very same ones Mark Wieser grew up with on the family land. Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, Inc. has expanded to more than 150 products that are distributed throughout the U.S., Mexico, Canada and beyond. You can buy their products at www.Jelly.com as well as in many larger grocery stores and smaller independent stores, and on Amazon.com.
Seville Orange Green Beans shown served with turkey roulade and focaccia bread.
Seville Orange Green Beans
Ingredients: Salt 1 lb. fresh string beans, stem ends removed 6 slices of bacon Fischer & Wieser Seville Orange & Fennel Marmalade (available on their website and through this link on Amazon.)
Instructions: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 TBS of salt.
Add the string beans and cook for 4 minutes or until the beans are cooked but still crunchy.
Drain and then place the string beans in a cold bath of water. This will stop the cooking process and allow the green beans to retain their bright green color.
Dice the raw bacon. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook it until it’s crispy, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan but leave the bacon fat.
Add the cooked green beans to the pan with the bacon fat and stir to coat, cooking the beans in the fat. After sauteeing for about 3-4 minutes, add 1/2 a jar of Seville Orange & Fennel Marmalade from Fischer & Wieser. Add a pinch of salt.
We’ve been trying to eat more vegetable-centric meals. When we decided to do this, I was intimidated. I’m a major carnivore and couldn’t believe vegetarian meals could be as delicious as a steak, a burger, or tacos, for instance. So the first place I went looking for ideas was among my notebook of family recipes. Turns out, there were a lot of recipes in there that my mom and grandma had made that either are vegetarian or could easily be because meat was just an ingredient in the dish. Here’s one of the recipes that my family loved when I made it recently. It’s hearty, very healthy and full of flavor. And it’s great leftover too.
Yellow Squash & Garbanzo Beans Over Cracked Wheat
Ingredients: 4 small yellow squash, sometimes called “crooked neck squash” 1/2 white or yellow onion (your preference) 2 14-oz can crushed tomatoes 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup olive oil One can garbonzo beans, drained 2 cups cracked wheat, also known as “bulger” wheat 4 cups water 1 chicken bouillion cube
Instructions: Cut the squash into cubes. Chop the onion. Drizzle the olive oil in a large skillet or large flatbottom pan with sides at least two inches deep. At the same time, in a large pot like you would use to make rice, heat the water with the boullion cube until it’s boiling and the cube is completely dissolved. Pour in the wheat and stir, cooking per the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, saute the onion and squash in the olive oil until both are getting softened. Sprinkle the cinnamon, allspice, pepper and salt over the squash and onion and stir to combine a little. Add the tomatoes and stir, cooking until the squash is tender but not mushy. Add the garbanzo beans and stir, cooking until everything is heated through. Serve the squash mixture over the bulger wheat, adding salt and pepper to taste.
I had never had a Biscochito cookie until I was staying at Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico a few years ago. Boy, had I been missing out my whole life! Light, crispy but tender, and full of holiday-inspired spices, the traditional southwestern cookie is delicious and delightful. The chef was gracious enough to share the recipe with us.
Biscochitos Cookies
Recipe graciously provided by: Chef Paul Voboril Angel Fire Resort’s Executive Chef.
The cookie is served during special occasions and especially during the Christmas season. It was developed by the residents of New Mexico over the course of centuries, from the Spanish colonists of what was then known as Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
Ingredients: 6 cups all-purpose flour 1 TBS baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 2 cups lard 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 tsp anise seed 2 eggs 1/4 cup brandy 1/4 cup white sugar 1 TBS ground cinnamon
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the lard and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Mix in the anise seed, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the sifted ingredients and brandy, and stir until well blended.
On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness, and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. The traditional is fleur-de-lis. Place cookies onto baking sheets. Mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tops of the cookies.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.
I’m just going to say it: this soup is going to ruin you for all other tomato soups going forward in your life. My mom made this soup for me when I was growing up, after years of having your typical tomato soup. The simple additions to a basic can of soup takes it to a whole new level. Your kids will love this take as much as you will. It’s great with a grilled cheese sandwich (tips on that below).
Tomato Cream Cheese Soup Recipe
Makes 2 bowls or 4 cups of soup
Ingredients: 2 TBS butter 1/4 of a medium size onion, chopped 6 oz. cream cheese, cut into smaller pieces and softened at room temperature 2 cans condensed tomato soup 1 cup whole milk 1/8 tsp garlic salt 1/8 tsp paprika (optional) 1/4 tsp dried basil
Instructions: In a medium-to-large, high-sided pot, melt 2 TBS butter and saute the onion until softened but not browned. Stir in the cream cheese until it starts to soften even more. Gradually stir in the soup and milk. Immediately add in the spices. Using a hand mixer or immersion blender, blend all the ingredients until it’s smooth and thick. Heat through but do not let it boil.
Grilled Cheese Sandwich Tips:
1. Use a sourdough bread 2. Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of each slice. 3. Then spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top of the butter. Yes, really!
This will create a delicious, golden brown, toasty side.
MeetThoa Nguyen, baker and owner of Asian-French inspired Bánh & Butter Bakery Café in Aurora, Colorado. She is a contestant on the “Holiday Baking Championship” in 2023. Nguyen’s restaurant serves a variety of sandwiches, sweet and savory pastries, mille-crepe cakes, sandwiches, desserts, coffee, milk teas and specialty drinks. We had the opportunity to talk to Nguyen about her experience on the show.
Thoa Nguyen competes in the Food Network show, “Holiday Baking Championship” in 2023. This and the cover photo are courtesy of Food Network.
Although some people apply for the opportunity to be on a Food Network competitive cooking show, sometimes, they reach out to potential contestants. That was the case for Thoa Nguyen who had posted a photo on Instagram of a Yule Log which is a traditional and rather complicated cake shaped and decorated to look like a log. Someone from Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship” show saw the post and called the bakery Nguyen owns, asking to speak to the baker who made that cake.
E.A.T.: When you first got word that you’d been accepted as a contestant on the show, how did you feel? Thoa Nguyen: I was really skeptical. I didn’t have as much of a really great reaction as I had hoped. Two years prior to all of this, I had an opportunity to be on another competitive cooking show. And out of nowhere, they sent me home after flying me out and gave me no reason as to why they were sending me home without getting to compete. And so that was very heartbreaking. I didn’t even get a chance to really show myself. So, I had my guard up.
I was skeptical of getting this and wondering “oh my gosh, is this going to happen again? Am I, like, just a replacement?” But when they told me that it’s a for sure thing, I had to let it soak in for a bit. And then finally, I just got really excited that this was truly happening.
E.A.T.: Once you were there, what was the experience like? TN: There are a lot of interviews so that they get to know who you are so that they get to really embrace your story. And then it’s nerve wracking because you have to really put in a lot of time for those interviews which can be very time-consuming and tiring. But then you go into the kitchen and you have to execute. And that was an everyday step – you do their interview. You compete. You continue to do interviews as you’re baking. And then finally you do more interviews of how you felt about the competition. It’s all about really trying to keep your storyline and why you did what you did and why you picked the flavors and why you chose to bake this. Ultimately, they’re just trying to really tell your story the whole time.
E.A.T.: Why is that? Why are they so intent on telling your story versus just focusing on what you make? TN: I think it’s great to have a story that viewers can really relate to. They know it’s a holiday show. It’s a family friendly show. And for people to be able to relate with each contestant, it makes you feel a connection with each one, which then makes it much more nerve wracking, and also much more exciting, when you feel like there’s some type of connection with someone you’re watching on TV.
E.A.T.: While you’re in the competition, do you have time off? TN: We do. It kind of depends on the judges whether they have any obligations because your schedule typically revolves around theirs. For instance, if they had to be at a food convention or something, then that would give us a longer weekend off. Otherwise, there are just breaks in between the shows as well.
E.A.T.: Since you filmed this last spring, was it hard to put your mind in holiday mode when tulips were popping up? TN: No, not at all. When you’re on the set, you know that it’s the Food Network Holiday Baking Championship. They have the set designed to be very holiday and very Christmassy. And when you get into that kitchen, you just feel like you’re right in holiday time.
E.A.T.: What was your range of emotions through all of this? TN: It was fun for the most part. The times when it becomes very stressful are when there’s a time crunch and then you start to feel all the pressure of the time, counting down. You’re thinking “how am I going to execute this? Is this product going to be done?” I felt very nervous, which you can see in the first episode. I was very nervous because I started running out of time.
I think one of the hardest things is trying to come up with a flavor profile and come up with a design within very little time. Usually you get to plan these things well in advance and so with this, you’re just thinking on the fly and it makes it that much more terrifying.
Because you don’t want to be the first to be sent home, let alone that you just don’t want to be sent home at all, you really want to show people what you can do and that you’re in it to win it. It’s $25,000 on the line. So, for me, that’s life-changing and I’d hate to lose out on that opportunity. The pressure is real going into this. It’s tons and tons of emotions including terrified and nervous. You’re stressed. But then the friends that I made, the contestants, they’re all really great friends. We’re very supportive of each other. Although we’re competing with each other, we support each other. We try to get each other refocused and remind each other why we’re there. It gets you back into a mode of knowing you’ve done this for years, you can do this. So then you get a little bit of confidence and then, once that confidence comes, you start to have fun. I think the episodes that I have the most fun are probably the ones that I do better.
E.A.T.: When there’s so much at stake and so much pressure, how are you able to be friends with these people who you are competing with for hours every day? TN: I think it’s easy to be friends with them because, for one, they’re just really amazing people. They’re people you’ll be spending most of your time with while you’re away from family and friends, you know? And so it’s like your outlet to get some affirmation from people who understand and have the same interests as you. We’re all bakers and that’s something we all share together. We have the same goal. At the end of the day, depending on just the type of person you are, I lead with empathy and for me, I’d rather know that I was a good competitor and someone who had empathy throughout this whole thing rather than pushing people out of my way just to get to the very end.
E.A.T.: Regardless of the results, what do you hope will be the benefits of you having gone through this, for you, personally, for your bakery, and for your long-term professional life? TN: I’d like this to really help my business have a very secure customer base. Because of how community-oriented I am, I put myself in a situation to be very vulnerable in front of a national television audience, even to be able to help improve this community. I also really want to secure the jobs that I have laid out for my team. I have a fantastic team. The ultimate goal for doing all this was really to have a very successful business so that my team can have a security job and livelihood.
E.A.T.: What about you, personally? What has this done for you and who you are, inside? TN: I have more confidence in myself. I think I’ve always questioned everything I’ve done. I don’t always know if I’ve made the right decisions. And I think that, for me personally, taking on something like this and being on the show has really helped me grow my self-confidence. It makes me feel like, as long as I really put myself out there, I’ll be able to continue my dreams. And the dream still means being a business owner. But I like to also grow my position as a chef consultant. I’d like to be able to help small businesses in whatever ways I can, whether its menu development or with business planning and concept design. I really want to grow into that field as I continue to still be a business owner of Banh & Butter.
E.A.T.: The fact that you had to think on the fly so much during the competition, has that changed your approach to the day-to-day of the bakery? TN: It has because I’m constantly feeling innovative. Every time an idea comes, I try to execute it. But the show has really impacted my way of trying to not go overboard with all of my innovations. Sometimes simple is better.
Watch Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network to see how far Nguyen gets in the competition! New episodes air Mondays at 8/7c or stream it on Max. Find out more about the show at https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/holiday-baking-championship
Bánh & Butter Bakery and Café is located at 9935 East Colfax Avenue in Aurora. The website is: https://www.banhandbutter.com/.
We’re raiding the pantry a lot these days (I can’t help but giggle at “pantry raid”). In that way, this pandemic has been helpful in getting us to save money by “shopping” our freezer and cupboards. The other day, I found a can of garbanzo beans and some frozen shrimp. A slightly unlikely combo, I created an absolutely delicious and totally easy main dish Mediterranean Shrimp and Garbanzo Bean Salad.
I wish I had a cooking surface this big! A skillet, griddle, or grill can easily be used to cook the shrimp. Photo by Pixabay.
Chilled Shrimp and Garbanzo Bean Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
1 can garbanzo beans, drained 1 lb. frozen shrimp, shells off 1 cucumber (preferably an English cucumber because it has fewer seeds, diced 1 pint cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato, diced.
Dressing:
6 TBS olive oil 3 TBS fresh lemon juice (could sub lime juice, red wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar) 2 TBS (approximately) fresh parsley, diced up (see trick below) 1 TBS fresh cilantro (optional), diced
Slice cherry or grape tomatoes in half, or dice a regular tomato for use in this salad. Photo by Pixabay.
Method
Place the garbanzo beans, tomatoes and cucumbers in a serving bowl.
Saute the shrimp in a little olive oil until they turn pink. Remove from the pan and add to the salad bowl.
Mix the dressing and pour SOME over the salad. Toss the mixture to coat. Serve the dressing on the table in case someone wants to add more. Serve with salt and pepper for people to add as they wish.
The unused dressing will keep in the fridge for a few days.
Variations: 1. Add other vegetables like diced onion, shredded carrot, diced celery, red/yellow/or orange peppers, or spinach. You can certainly add salad greens too. You can also switch out white beans for garbanzos, or even use both for extra protein.
2. Add a little Feta cheese or Goat cheese to amp up the Mediterranean flavor. If you aren’t sure your fellow diners would enjoy either one, serve it at the table for them to add. If you add either one before serving, the acid in the juice or vinegar will start to break down the cheese a little, helping it “spread” around a little, becoming part of the dressing which can be wonderful.
3. Serve without salad greens but spoon the mixture over a bed of rice, couscous, bulgar wheat, yellow lentils or any other grain or legume you like. The salad is also good served with skillet-warmed pita bread.
Tip for chopping herbs: I learned this from Martha Stewart – put the herbs in a cup, like a measuring cup or even just a drinking cup. Point your kitchen sheers in the cup and start snipping away. This way, everything gets cut but you don’t have any flying, or fleeing bits of herb to chase down as you chop.
The finished dish with an herby dressing. Sub/add your own choice of veggies or bases to make this entree salad your own. Photo by E.A.T.
Why roasted garlic? Baking it removes the harshness of raw garlic, (kind of) reduces the likelihood of garlic breath (remember, friends don’t let friends eat garlic alone). Roasted garlic also gives that umami sensation that’s so sensational in foods. And, because of its spreadable texture, it can be used in interesting ways. Give our suggestions below a try. The coronavirus travel ban has meant everyone is doing a lot more cooking at home. These tips will come in really handy as you get creative with your cooking.
How to Make Roasted Garlic Cloves:
Ingredients: Note: Choose whole heads of garlic when their outer peel is white and snug against their bulbs (as opposed to darker and loose and falling off which means the bulbs are getting old).
Our Garlic Roaster holds about 8 bulbs but you can make fewer or more by wrapping them in aluminum foil and resting them in a shallow, oven-proof dish. We love our Garlic Roaster though, because we can store the roasted cloves in there too.
Method: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Most recipes tell you to slice the tops off of the garlic bulbs and drizzle olive oil but you don’t really half to. We like the more rustic look of them uncut and we like to add olive oil in the recipe in which we use the cloves. Add the bulbs of garlic to the roaster or put them in in a pouch of aluminum foil, folding over the top of the foil. Some recipes also call for sprinkling roasted garlic with salt at the beginning when you drizzle olive oil on them. I don’t do that because I want to control the amount of salt in the food I’m putting the cloves in.
Roast the garlic bulbs in the oven for approximately 40 minutes. Your house will smell a-mazing, full of all of the possibilities for ways to use the garlic.
Let them cool about 10 minutes before squeezing out the bulbs which should be yellowy and squishy.
You can keep the roasted garlic at room temperature for a day or two. After that, you should refrigerate it. Don’t make more roasted bulbs than you would use in about a week.
Spread roasted garlic cloves on buttered, toasted bread – including a simple English Muffin. Photo courtesy E.A.T. Blog editors.
How to Use Roasted Garlic:
Basically, use roasted garlic cloves the same way, and in the same measurements, as you would raw garlic. You’ll still get that garlic flavor without the harshness, and without having to saute it.
Toast or grill a good, crusty bread, drizzle it with olive oil and spread a clove or two of the garlic over that. Place the toast in the bottom of a bowl and ladle pretty much any soup or stew over the top.
Do the spread-on-toast method above and lay a sunny side up egg over the top, breaking the yolk so that it mixes and mingles with the garlic and nooks and crannies of the bread for a hearty brunch. I love to do this with garlic on an English Muffin.
Put some softened cloves in a small bowl with a knife for spreading and add it to a charcuterie board. Spread the garlic on crackers and top with cheeses, meats, olives, or cornishons.
Top toasted bread with garlic cloves, topped with lightly-mashed white beans, drizzle with olive oil and top with diced cherry tomato and a sprinkle of thyme for an easy lunch or snack.
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