Elizabeth Orsini’s (Grilled Teriyaki) Tofu Broccoli Salad and cookbook review: From Garden to Grill

#CiderMillPress #ElizabethOrsini #FromGardentoGrill

Summer grilling season has arrived! I’ve been playing in a great produce-centered grilling book,  From Garden to Grill: Over 250 Vegetable-based Recipes for Every Grill Master. My review of the book is below, but first I wanted to share a terrific grilled teriyaki tofu and broccoli dinner with you. This recipe is vegan, but the book itself is vegetarian with a lot of suggestions of how to make recipes vegan, paleo, gluten-free, or how to add meat. It’s delicious and super filling, so no side dishes are required. Perfect dinner on the patio. You just need a few string lights overhead and icy Pellegrino, lemon cucumber water, or lovely white wine to go with it.

If you’re new to tofu, a nice dish is all about the drain. Cut it into chunks as the recipe instructs, wrap it in a lot of paper towel, set a plate on it, and set a big can on that and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. Or, I sometimes cheat, and just stick it in my panini press for the same amount of time. Saves, paper, too. Niiice. In this recipe, I threaded the tofu on soaked skewers, so I’d have less to turn on the grill. 

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Jen’s BBQ Smoked Brisket (or Pulled Pork) Migas. Brunch!

#Texas

I’ll gladly spend all day working on dinner but I suffer from serious morning laziness. This is a problem because I love brunch. We moved to Texas about 10 years ago, and discovered migas. Tortillas fried in oil, and eggs scrambled in. Oh baby. That is a fine breakfast. It seems tragic that I’d missed out on these until then. <sniff> No, it’s okay. I’ve been making up for lost time. My version is for morning underachievers who want to get close enough without extending themselves. I make them with tortilla chips. Sometimes the atomic orange ones. <I know!> I treat them like nachos and load them up with everything good. When I smoke meat, I love to save the leftovers in little baggies in my freezer for future migas. Come on! Let’s get you into some migas!

Serena Cosmo’s Maltagliati with Creamy Lemon Sauce AND Ravioli with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe with a Browned Butter and Sage Sauce recipes and Cookbook review: The Ultimate Pasta and Noodle Cookbook

Do you have a pasta roller collecting dust? Oh, baby! Let’s break that thing out! I’ve been playing in an amazing pasta book for a week. The Ultimate Pasta and Noodle Cookbook. It’s just fantastic.

I couldn’t decide which recipe to ask permission for. Maltagliati with Creamy Lemon Sauce is the perfect first homemade pasta. As the author explains, “Maltagliati translates to “badly cut” in Italian.” It’s generally the scrap pieces from making more specific pasta like ravioli, so she has you cut diamonds and triangles in the sheets with a pasta wheel without any fussiness. And the creamy lemon sauce is the easiest and it’s delicious. It would be the perfect first pasta to tackle, getting you that wow at the table right out of the gate

At the other end of the spectrum, is a Ravioli with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe with a Browned Butter and Sage Sauce, showing you what you can do when you want to flex in the kitchen.

I couldn’t decide. So I asked for either one of those. A huge thank you to Cider Mill Press for giving me permission to share both so you can really taste that book! I’ll tell you all about the book first, then give you the recipes to try!

Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies recipe and Cookbook review: Dorie’s Cookies

Do you love cookies? Me too! I have the ultimate cookie book, Dorie’s Cookies. I thumbed through it and it had so many beautiful cookies that I was surprised that she’d chosen such a humble looking cookie for the cover. Then I found the recipe, World Peace Cookies. I had to try them. They are amazing cookies. She’s really not overselling it with that name. A huge thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for letting me share the recipe with you. I’ll get to my review of the book afterwards, but first those cookies!

RIP Anthony Bourdain

I’m so sad about Anthony Bourdain. What a tragic loss.

Today, I’m raising my glass in celebration of him and all of his wonderful contributions to the world. Also, making his chicken satay with fake ass peanut sauce and serving it in a pineapple. I adored his storytelling.

Hot Summer Night recipe and Cookbook review: Tipsy Texan: Spirits and Cocktails from the Lone Star State by David Alan

I have an absolute favorite cocktail book and it really shines in the summer, Tipsy Texan: Spirits and Cocktails from the Lone Star State. The author, David Alan, is a legend in Texas. If you go down to Franklin BBQ in Austin, you’ll see a sandwich up on the board, called the Tipsy Texan and it was created for David. I still haven’t tried that. Because brisket. And ribs. Nice excuse to drive back down, don’t you think?! Anyway, this cocktail book is amazing. Truly. There are so many complex fruit drinks in there that are perfection out in the hot sun. A huge thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for letting me share the recipe for Hot Summer Night with you! It’s the best cocktail I’ve ever had. Lemon lovers, meet your new favorite drink! If you hug me later, no need to explain. I’ll know you tried it. 😉 I’ll get to my review of the book in a minute, but first, let’s get back to that cocktail!

Marcela Valladolid’s Creamy Beer Shrimp–Stuffed Poblano Chiles recipe and Cookbook review: Casa Marcela: Recipes and Food Stories of My Life in the Californias by Marcela Valladolid

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Mexican cookbooks, Casa Marcela: Recipes and Food Stories of My Life in the Californias. It has a special place in my heart because she demystified tamales for me. I hadn’t even realized sweet tamales were a thing, and then I saw her pineapple tamales. The whole book is filled with special dishes. Tons of produce. Fresh seafood. Oozy cheese. Yeah, I love it. I’ll get to the review afterwards, so you can get a glimpse of what it offers, but first I wanted to share her recipe for Creamy Beer Shrimp–Stuffed Poblano Chiles with you. Shrimp sautéed with garlic and arbol chiles, then simmered in dark lager and heavy cream, with some cheese stirred in at the end. You need to try this! A huge thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for letting me share the recipe with you.