Gourmet Popcorn

Posted on December 14, 2015 by melsmosaic

Had a party to attend the other night and wanted to take something a little different. After flipping through a recent issue of Food & Wine came across a good sounding recipe — Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios. All flavors sounded perfect so to the kitchen I went.

Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I made air popped stuff in a microwave container I have, so didn’t need this oil)
1/2 cup popping corn
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups shelled unsalted pistachios (8 ounces)

Directions

-Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine the vegetable oil and popcorn, cover and cook over moderate heat until the corn starts to pop. Cook, shaking the pan until the popping stops,  3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the popcorn to a large bowl and season lightly with salt.
-Wipe out the saucepan. Add the olive oil, sugar, sesame seeds, soy sauce, garlic powder and 2 teaspoons of salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add the pistachios and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Scrape the pistachios onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until bubbling. Scrape the pistachio mixture into the popcorn and toss well. Let cool before serving.

Make Ahead
The mix can be made early in the day and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Prep-wise, not as easy as I expected. The pistachios did not get crusted/coated. I got clumps of sesame seeds with soy sauce and a glaze over the pistachios. But, overall, the taste was nonetheless delicious. So, was glad I tried the recipe. Would totally make it again.

Mole de Pistache (Pistachio Mole)

Posted on February 26, 2015 by melsmosaic

Wanted to make a new (to me) recipe the other day and did some Mexican food research in a great cookbook — Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook. Wanted something fairly unique versus the normal tacos, etc. Found a recipe that sounded great — Pistachio Mole. Had to give it a try. I had to alter it a bit because of some of the dairy factors.

The quick mention:

Martha Chapa puts together the unusual and delicate combination of pistachios and avocado leaves in this new version of mole.

Ingredients:

8 chicken legs with thighs (I used chicken breasts)
3 cups white wine
3 cups water
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic
4 avocado leaves, fresh or dried**these are pretty much non-existent in the States — the best substitute I found based on research is a combination of bay leaves and cracked anise seed
salt
6 tablespoons butter (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons oil (sort of brought this and the above together)
1 chile poblano, roasted, peeled and membranes removed
10 oz shelled pistachios, skins removed
freshly ground pepper

Garnish

1/2 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
fresh avocado leaves (optional)

Directions

First, the fun part was roasting the chile — I no longer have a gas stove so tested the ability of doing this on an electric (coil) one. Quite interesting. I turned on all fans and opened all windows.

-In a large covered saucepan over medium heat, simmer the chicken in the wine and water along with 1 onion and the garlic, avocado leaves and salt until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the chicken, reserving the stock, and return to the saucepan.

-While the chicken is cooking, heat the butter and oil in a skillet. Add the chile, remaining onion and the pistachios and saute until lightly browned.

In a blender or food processor, grind this mixture with a little of the reserved stock, then simmer in a covered saucepan over very low heat for 30 minutes. Pour over the chicken and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Before serving, add pepper and more salt if needed.

-In a small skillet, saute the onion in the butter for 5 minutes or until translucent. Garnish with the onions and, if you like, fresh avocado leaves.

The end results was quite unique. I love pistachios so you can never go wrong. It could have used a touch more salt and I would say maybe a hint of lemon. I would definitely recommend trying this.

Carrot Salad with Coriander and Pistachios

Posted on May 13, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was flipping through my Bon Appetit magazine the other day and came across a great sounding recipe that I had to test last Sunday. It was their Carrot Salad with Coriander Vinaigrette and Pistachios from the recent May issue. Perfect for a sunny day!

Ingredients:

¼ cup unsalted, shelled raw pistachios
¾ teaspoon coriander seeds (thought I had seeds and realized too late I didn’t, went ground)
½ garlic clove, finely grated (only half a clove?!?! — yeah right!)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
⅓ cup olive oil
Kosher salt
1 pound carrots, peeled, julienned or coarsely grated (totally use the food processor with the right blade)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems (didn’t keep much of the stems on and chopped it a bit)

For ease, take those carrots to the food processor. Throw them down the tube and get them shredded quickly.

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop. Note: I normally just toast them on the stove, easier. And, second note, I had roasted ones to begin with so didn’t have to do anything — saved a step!

Toast coriander in a small dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Let cool; coarsely chop. — this is where I just threw some ground coriander in the pan and toasted it, worked just as well!
Whisk garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and coriander in a large bowl, then whisk in oil; season with salt. Add carrots, toss, and let sit at least 30 minutes. I sort of threw all those ingredients on top of the carrots and stirred — it worked.

Toss with cilantro and pistachios just before serving.

(DO AHEAD: Salad (without cilantro and nuts) can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)

This was absolutely delicious! So quick and easy to make. Will be a great recipe for the summer for cookouts, BBQs, etc! And, it’s gluten and lactose free and vegetarian, so will work for many people.

Brussels Sprouts Actual

Posted on November 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

After testing a Brussels Sprouts recipe last week I opted for a standby for Thanksgiving dinner. It has veggies, fruit and nuts. Had made it a few times and it’s quick, easy and delicious and would be better for Turkey Day. What do you need? Can’t ask for many fewer basics:

-Brussels Sprouts
-Dried apricots, coarsely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
-Pistachios, coarsely chopped — if you even want to (about 1/3 cup)
-S&P
-olive oil