Month: April 2014

Spanikopita Strudels

Well Dined | Spanikopita Strudels

As per usual, I went to have lunch with Melissa of Smells Like Brownies.  We had actually planned on going out to eat that day, but Melissa said she was planning on making these spanikopita at some point that day and I thought that sounded waaaaaaaaaay better than eating out.  And then it turned out that she was looking at the exact same recipe I had been eyeing for awhile.  Great!  So we whipped them up pretty quickly, and while they were in the oven there was a knock at the door.  Her Greek neighbor came by to drop off some homemade baklava – serendipity!  Sometimes being spontaneous or changing your plans leads to some pretty great stuff.

Well Dined | Spanikopita Strudels

Anyway, you will not believe how easy it is to make these.  First step – filling.  Whiz a whole bunch of fresh spinach around in a food processor until chopped but not pureed (we don’t want soup here) – I suggest doing it in 3 batches.  Then add some well beaten eggs, feta (you know my favorite brand), and cottage cheese.  The cottage cheese threw me for a bit of a loop, I wasn’t expecting that.  Some recipes use ricotta, but what I ended up liking was the creaminess of the cottage cheese.  I think ricotta dries out quite a bit when it is baked.

Well Dined | Spanikopita Strudels

The next part can seem daunting, but I promise it’s not really that fussy.  When working with pyllo dough, you need to move quickly or it will dry out.  The box will usually have tips, like keeping the bulk of it covered with a cloth while you work, but I find that I don’t really need that.  In order for it to bake into crispy layers, you need to get fat in between the sheets of phyllo.  Most people brush butter over the sheets, which is time consuming and actually doesn’t work as well as other methods because it saturates the dough too much and weighs it down.  I recommend drizzling the butter, or if you are really in a rush – spraying with cooking spray.  You will need to use the brush on the top of the strudel, though, to make sure it is covered.

Well Dined | Spanikopita Strudels

Now I didn’t get any pictures of the rolling up process, so please check out Smells Like Brownies for a more detailed tutorial.  What I love about these is that they are large and self contained (versus baking in a big sheet like a casserole and cutting into triangles).  So one strudel is a serving and you have a good visual reminder of that (not that that will prevent you from eating two, or three…).

Well Dined | Spanikopita Strudels

These are really very easy to make, and they come out so perfectly.  The phyllo is buttery and crispy, while the filling is silky and creamy.  I’m pretty sure this will be my go-to recipe for homemade spanikopita.

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Broccoli Cheese Quinoa Casserole

Well Dined | Broccoli Cheese Quinoa Casserole

You know that cheesy broccoli and rice casserole that makes it’s way to every potluck ever?  That is so bad for you, but so yummy, that you eat heaps of it and you tell yourself that it’s got broccoli so it’s okay?  Well here’s your chance to pig out, because this version (made with quinoa instead of rice) is a lot better for you.

Well Dined | Broccoli Cheese Quinoa Casserole

Of course, to convince my husband to eat it (and because I wanted more protein without having to make a separate dish), I threw some shredded rotisserie chicken in there.  You can see in the photo that I just threw big florets of steamed broccoli in there.  I ended up wishing that the broccoli was more evenly spread throughout, so I will recommend chopping it first.

Well Dined | Broccoli Cheese Quinoa Casserole

This is hearty, and creamy, and just plain awesome.  Kids (and big kids) will gobble it up.

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Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro

I actually ate here a while ago, but the experience was so bad that I have been putting off writing about it for a long time.  Vinifera is located inside a Westin hotel near Reston.  I decided to head out there for some wine and tapas before picking my husband up at the airport, and it ended up being a huge mistake.

I sat out on the patio, which was totally gorgeous, but it took 20 minutes before I could flag down a waiter to take my order.  I put in an order for a whole bunch of tapas at once, and also some wine.  The wine arrived pretty quickly, but the food didn’t even start arriving until 40 minutes later.  40 minutes!!!  And then it was only the little one bite skewers; the rest of the food took even longer.  That is totally unacceptable.  And the food wasn’t even that good.  Less than average, I would say, and I tried a whole range of things.  I won’t even break down for you what I ordered, because it was all so forgettable.  The $1-2 “pintxos” seemed like a great bargain, but they are literally tiny toothpick bites like you would find passed around at a party.  Tiny, not that good, not worth $1-2 each, and definitely not worth a 40 minute wait.  The rest of the food (and wine) was also overpriced.

I would maybe, MAYBE, say that it would be a nice place to grab a glass of wine on the patio, but not if you are on any kind of a timeline and watch out for a steeper than average mark-up.

Spring Vegetable and Tortellini Salad

Well Dined | Spring Vegetable and Tortellini Salad

Happy Easter!  It has been a long, crazy winter.  We had just a hint of spring before a cold snap hit again, but it looks like we are on our way back and hopefully it will last this time!

herbs

I took advantage of the nice weather to plant my container herb garden.  I’ve got chives, French thyme, English thyme, lemon thyme, and oregano thyme in one pot.  The big one has common sage, purple sage, rosemary, spearmint, tarragon, Greek and Italian oregano, and dill.  And the last one has sweet basil, thai basil, amethyst basil, lemon basil, and parsley.

bunnies

I also cleared out and cleaned up my tiny backyard, and while I was removing dead leaves, I accidentally uncovered a nest full of baby rabbits!  I was totally shocked and didn’t know what to do.  I yelled for my husband to bring me a box to put them in while I hit the internet for advice.  Leave them alone and put them back was the unanimous decision.  Mama rabbits only visit the babies 2 times a day to feed very quickly (1-2 minutes) so that predators won’t know where they are.  So baby rabbits have not been abandoned and they don’t need to be rescued (unless injured by lawnmower, dog, cat, etc…).  In fact, trying to take care of them yourself will likely kill them!

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Miso Butter Four Ways

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This innocent looking container holds a magic ingredient that will take your food to the next level.  What is it?  Miso butter.  Two ingredients – miso and butter – combine to make a perfect substance.  So simple, but so good.  You could just slap this on some toast and call it a day.  But if you want to get a little more creative, I have a bunch of ideas for you.

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First up – scallops seared in miso butter.  That’s it, it’s that easy.  I served these with my other miso obsession – miso creamed kale.

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Next – broiled salmon topped with miso butter, served with miso butter glazed baby carrots and coconut-miso barley.

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Moving away from seafood for a bit, I made this coconut chicken recipe and replaced the regular butter with miso butter.  It made it so much better than the original, which I was already a fan of.  I also used cherry preserves in the sauce because that’s what I had, but apricot or peach would work better.  I made a side salad with romaine, sliced radishes, blanched green beans, and a carrot-ginger dressing to go with it.

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Lastly, we have a stir-fry made with miso butter.  Fast, easy, and delicious.  The salmon was broiled with a store-bought red miso and yuzu glaze.  I’d say it wasn’t any better than the salmon topped with the miso butter.

Best of all?  All these meals are healthy and low-carb.  Most of them are grain-free!  What would you do with your miso butter? (more…)

Spiced Cauliflower “Couscous”

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You guys, I am in love… with a recipe.  A recipe for cauliflower that is pretending to be cous cous and filled with herbs, spices, buttery cashews, and plump golden raisins.  It’s so good it’s stupid.  And easy, did I mention easy?  And low-carb and healthy and gluten-free and vegan and all the things.

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I am desperately trying to move away from grains and starches, but it is so hard when my brain had been programmed to think that dinner is meat, starch, vegetable (in that order in terms of importance).  So anything like this that I can find that satisfies my need to have a starch, without really being one, is awesome.  Oh yeah, and my husband LOVED it.

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I served it as a side to some store-bought kebabs because of the distinctly Middle Eastern flavors.  But I’m wondering if I can use the same technique and change up the flavorings (a la this post) to do some different things.  Speaking of flavorings, this recipe uses a spice blend called za’atar that is super yummy.  You should be able to find some in the spice section of your store, but if not here are two recipes to make your own. (more…)

Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Feta and Tahini

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I’ve been pretty lazy about blogging this past week, so I’m bringing you another vegetarian lunch with Melissa back to back with the last one.  I know that you don’t mind, though, because our lunches are AWESOME.  This one, in my opinion, is one of the best we have done recently.  Lentils, chickpeas, raw onion, and feta with tahini, sesame, and herbs.  So good, so satisfying, creamy and crunchy, nutty and sharp, it’s everything.  And so, so healthy.  Let’s also take a second to appreciate how gorgeous Melissa’s platter is.  She has the best dishware!

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The only thing that takes time in this recipe is cooking the lentils, but they are pretty hands off and you can do them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge til you need them.  This recipe has you cook them with sage and garlic to infuse the lentils with flavor – I love it.

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While the lentils are cooking, toss red onion with olive oil, lemon juice, feta, and herbs.  I was a little unsure about this at first – so much raw red onion?  But it became my favorite part of the dish.  The lemon juice kind of cures the onions as they sit and mellows them out.  They become sharp, crunchy bits of awesomeness in the salad.  Also, feta – I love feta.  I especially love Mt Vikos Traditional Sheep and Goat feta.  I swear they are not sponsoring me, but they really should (hint, hint) because I use their feta all the time. (more…)

Farro Stuffed Portobellos with Goat Cheese

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Who would stuff a mushroom with more mushrooms?  Melissa from Smells Like Brownies and I, that’s who, for our weekly vegetarian lunch get together.  Melissa had a ton of farro given to her by a neighbor that she needed to start using, and she was craving mushrooms.  So she found a recipe for balsamic roasted mushrooms with goat cheese to mix with the farro, yum.  You know how much we love goat cheese.  But then she thought, what if we put that inside of a portabella and grilled it?  And I said, why the heck not!  Mushrooms inside of mushrooms, people – it’s inception with fungi.

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Mix up some baby bellas and tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic, thyme, garlic, and red pepper.  Careful there – we thought we just added a pinch, but it turned out spiiiiiiiiicy.  Thank goodness for goat cheese, amirite?  Then roast those babies up.

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Once they are roasted, mix them together with cooked farro, spinach,and goat cheese and spoon the mixture into portobello caps.  The baby bellas are going inside the mamma bella!  No?  No one else finds that funny?  Just me?  Fine. (more…)