meat & poultry Archives • Ant & Anise

Favorites of 2013

Wow, it is that time of year again. The calendar is running out on 2013, and fast.

I feel like I’ve eaten my weight in sugar in December, from recipe testing and tweaking. With the copious, rich food (savory and sweet) over the past few weeks, I’m happy to take a little time out of the kitchen.

So to close off 2013, here are a few of our favorite posts from this year:…

Chicken madras with minted yogurt

I was craving Indian flavors this week. Something simple and fast to put together and, especially, a meal that wouldn’t leave me clutching my overstuffed belly.

Is that even possible?

I adore Indian food — the bold spices (especially cardamom and cumin), the rich creamy sauces, super spicy pickles, sweet tamarind and mango chutneys and the chewy naan bread. But we always seem to order too much when we go to Indian restaurants. Invariably, I reach that point where I’ve had quite enough to eat but somehow can’t stop myself from having another bite or two. Or five. Another piece of naan? Oh, um, well….sure, go on….

Oven Roasted Chicken with Maple Mustard Pan Sauce

I’m back from Montreal where we welcomed and celebrated the newest member of our family, Thomas Christopher, who is just over 8 weeks old.

It was an action-packed week: Catching up with family, walks to the markets and shops (while Thomas slept peacefully in his stroller, an astounding feat given all the bumps on the uneven sidewalks) and, of course, taking turns holding and rocking Thomas in our arms.

Aside from gazing into Thomas’s eyes, one of my favorite parts of Montreal was exploring the food. (No surprise there, really.) I soaked it all in, from the huge variety of locally grown apples and other produce at the Marché Jean-Talon, to the elegant display of, well, everything really but especially the breads, fresh meats and wild mushrooms at Les 5 Saisons. We even found our namesake wine in the SAQ — a pinot noir from California. Is that cool or what?…

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The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 25

So, Paleo Diet Challenge Day 25. What I think is that simple is good.

Even better: Sometimes, simple is best. I’m not sure if it has something to do with expectation management again, although I suspect it does. But it seems that, very often, the simplest meals give me the most enjoyment. They punch above their weight, as you’d say.

It’s not the special occasion dinners that I’ve either toiled over for hours that are, in the end, the best. No, more times than I can count it’s been the unexpected mid-week dinners, the spontaneous why don’t we go there? meals or the why don’t I just try this? dishes that surprise, and surpass, my expectations. Those are the ones I remember, long after.

Such is the case with the breakfast sausages. For years, I’ve secretly liked the sausages that you would find on, say, a McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin or Tim Horton’s Breakfast Sandwich. (Hmmm, I guess it’s not such a secret now.) But I would never darken the doors of those places to actually order a breakfast sandwich. I could never bring myself to do it, ever. And when I do go out for brunch, my automatic response says ‘bacon’ when I order, just because you never know what kind of sausage they might have in the kitchen. They are definitely not all the same, right?

Maybe that’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see recipes for breakfast sausage in many of the Paleo cookbooks and blogs out there. They’re simple to make, and while they’re not something I would usually think of to make for brunch, it turns out that they’re really good. Amazingly good, in fact. Even better than bacon? Very possibly.

I’m happy because now these previously-forbidden delights can be mine, without having to drive through a drive-thru. I can actually make these at home. Light bulb goes on. And really, part of my prejudice with fast food is strictly on a geeky grammar level. (I’m with Grammar Girl, spelling t-h-r-u is kind of equivalent to dotting your i’s with little hearts.) But these breakfast sausages were well worth the wait, and are grammatically correct to boot. Whew.

Paleo Breakfast Sausages

Adapted from Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield.

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly ground or chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

Preheat your barbecue to 400F*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the pork with the garlic and onion. (You can use a spoon, but I find using your hands gives you a more uniform result, quicker. Plus it's kind of fun.)
Add the fennel seed, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper and mix until combined. Add the sage, thyme and parsley, and mix again to combine.
With your hands, form the mixture into 8 patties and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
When the barbecue is up to temperature, place the patties on the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes. Flip them over and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until they're browned and firm. Remove from heat and serve.

Notes

You can also cook these on the grill or in a frying pan, and that's how I initially did them. I preferred using the grill so that any excess fat drips away. If you don't have a barbecue, I imagine broiling them on a rack on top of a sheet pan would work quite well too.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 14

Two whole weeks — day 14 of the Paleo Diet Challenge. I’m almost halfway through the challenge, and thought it would be a good time to reflect on the good and no-so-good parts so far. First, the good news.

I’m not hungry at all between meals. I’ve noticed that, in particular, my breakfasts (either eggs and ham, a bowl of fresh fruit, a couple mini Paleo muffins or a few slices of Paleo banana bread) are satisfying and keep me going for hours. And although the lunches I’m eating seem light (as in salad greens with some chicken or tuna), they’re substantial enough to stave off my usual mid-afternoon craving for something sweet. I’ll still maybe have a cup of tea in the late afternoon, but no cookies to go with it. What, no cookies?
I’m sleeping slightly better, and feeling better rested. This is with a regular 3:30am wake-up call from my cat, who likes to start his day outside once the birds start chirping. These days, I’m able to fall right back asleep after letting him out, and when I wake up a few hours later, I feel refreshed instead of my groggy can’t-I-have-just-another-half-hour-in-bed? state.
I feel a little healthier. This is a little more difficult to describe. Perhaps it’s feeling less puffy or bloated, which is probably from the lack of bread in my system. But the skeptic in me is wondering whether this all springs from a confirmation bias — as in, I believe eating a Paleo diet will make me feel healthier, so I feel healthier. Is this all just psychological? Maybe. My weight is exactly the same as it was on day 1. And I haven’t noticed a real change in symptoms of Hashimoto’s that I’m on the lookout for, like increased energy or less sensitivity to cold. My energy is about the same and my feet are still cold. Hmm.

For the most difficult aspects of the challenge, a couple things come to mind:

First, undoubtedly, is thinking constantly about what foods are in- or out-of-bounds. I am getting a better handle on this, but still finding it takes a lot of mental energy to figure out what I’m going to do for dinner so that we forget all about bread, potatoes and pasta.
The next most challenging thing is incorporating protein into every meal, especially when that protein can’t be cheese. It feels like I’m shopping much more often just to keep the house stocked with enough meat and fish.
Finally, eating out can be a drag. It’s striking how pervasive breads and grains are in restaurant menus and avoiding them takes some creativity, especially if you don’t want to have a salad, again.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa

Serving Size: 2

I love fruit salsas with grilled fish, chicken or pork. It adds a punch of color and flavor to your plate, and it's super simple to make.

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1-1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon sea salt (we use Maldon salt)

For the salsa:

2 ripe mangoes, chopped
1 orange or red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

First, make the salsa: Place mango, bell pepper, garlic (if using), and onion in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Squeeze the lime juice in, then the olive oil and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be made a few hours ahead of time -- keep covered in the refrigerator.
Preheat your barbecue to high, around 500F.
In a shallow dish, rub the tenderloin with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then sprinkle with the salt. Let this stand while you make the salsa.
Place the tenderloin on the grill and sear the first side (about 4-5 minutes), then turn it over and sear the other side (another 3-4 minutes). Move the tenderloin to the top rack (or turn off the burner directly under the tenderloin), close the lid and let it continue cooking with the indirect heat for about 10 minutes.
When the tenderloin is done, remove it from the barbecue, wrap in foil, and let it sit for another 5-8 minutes. Slice crosswise and serve with a few tablespoons of the salsa.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 12

And just like that, the miracle 3 pound loss has come back. All at once. Geesh! Maybe this isn’t a miracle diet after all. Now I’m just back where I started, which I’m fine with.

You know a few days back I was feeling a little stressed? Some of that is due to being in charge of what to eat, every single night. Bob and I both cook, and usually alternate the dinner part: Sometimes he does it all or I do it all, and sometimes we just work on separate components that come together on the plate. (And sometimes we do order take out, but that’s a pretty rare event these days.)

But now I’m getting a few blank looks and the what can we eat for dinner question. It’s true, it’s not as easy as just yanking out a (homemade) meat sauce from the freezer and boiling up some pasta. It does require a little more thought. So there it is, that extra pressure for me to lead this thing, since it was my idea in the first place.

Luckily, with a few guidelines I’m able to set Bob up to make dinner tonight: Cottage pie, a proper English dish, using mashed cauliflower on top instead of mashed potatoes. He completely takes over dinner, and I’m relieved. With a side dish of some peas, sauteed with some onion in bacon fat (kept in the fridge for such occasions), we’re set.

(I used to really despise peas for several years, and wouldn’t go near them. Too many memories of overdone, bland boiled peas when I was younger, I think. Once I discovered the onion and bacon fat trick, I was sold. Just a little jazzing up was all the peas really needed.)

It really helped my anxiety level to not worry about dinner, after almost two solid weeks of every day thinking what to make. The bonus is, of course, that the cottage pie was big enough to have plenty of leftovers. Why didn’t I think of doing something like this earlier in the challenge?

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days