Fancy Pants Foodie

Foodie news, reviews and how-tos from Arkansas and beyond.

Poblano Quinoa Cucumber Bites with Cumin Vinaigrette

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Attendees at the North Little Rock Vitamin Shoppe's Share the Health event loved these Poblano Quinoa Cucumber Bites with Cumin Vinaigrette

Attendees at the North Little Rock Vitamin Shoppe’s Share the Health event loved these Poblano Quinoa Cucumber Bites with Cumin Vinaigrette.

An aside…

This title reminds me of a silly page I want to do someday on this website. I want to have a “fancy food name generator.” It will have a series of food words that go something like this: adjective noun noun noun with a(n) adjective noun noun. Refresh the page and you’ll get something like this:

Crispy Tomato Kumquat Compote with a Creamy Asparagus Sorbet
or
Savory Watermelon Kimchi Pizza with a Chilled Habañero Reduction

Anyways.

This weekend I participated in the national “Share the Health” expo held at Vitamin Shoppes nationwide, setting up camp at my local store in North Little Rock. While others demonstrated taekwondo and sold bikes, I whipped up samples of this tasty quinoa salad. Even the healthy-food averse were converted. Hallelujah!

I served the salad cold atop tiny rounds of fresh cucumber, but it could be served as a meal component or salad all by itself, warm or chilled.

Here’s the recipe, as promised to those in attendance. I think you’ll love it!

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Poblano Quinoa Cucumber Bites with Cumin Vinaigrette
Serves 30 as an appetizer, 8 as a main dish or salad

  • 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
  • 2 Poblano peppers
  • 1 Red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 T. dried parsley (or 1/4 c. fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped fine)
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin, plus extra for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 2 cucumbers
  • Optional: Fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish

If the package states to do so, rinse and drain the quinoa. In a medium pot, heat the quinoa by itself over medium-high heat a minute or two, stirring occasionally, until slightly toasted, then add the broth and the garlic clove. Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook according to package directions, probably about 15 minutes, until the quinoa is done and all the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, roast the poblano peppers. If you have a gas cooktop, this can be done there. Place one or both peppers directly on a burner and turn on the flame. When one side is charred, turn carefully with heat-resistant tongs. (Turn on the vent if you have one!) If you do not have a gas cooktop, you can do this under the broiler of your oven. Place the peppers on a baking sheet just under the broiler. Stand nearby and watch, turning with tongs when the top is charred. With either method, when all sides are charred, place the peppers in an airtight container such as a plastic storage bag or rigid container with a lid. Allow the peppers to steam while you continue.

Chop the bell pepper, which we’ll use raw, into small dice. You can do this by cutting the pepper in half, carefully removing the white membranes and seeds with the tip of your knife, and slicing the pepper halves into very thin strips, about 1/8″ thick. Line the strips up and cut into small cubes.  Place in a large bowl.

By now your poblanos are ready to peel. Hold them under running cool water and scrub off the charred skin. If some skin wasn’t charred and doesn’t want to come off, don’t worry about it. Now dry the poblanos and cut the flesh into small pieces with the same method as the bell pepper. (Yeah, it will be more floppy, but it’s floppy deliciousness.) Add to the large bowl.

In a jar, add together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, herbs and cumin. Shake to combine, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Keep it in the jar for now.

When the quinoa is done and still warm, turn it out into the large bowl and gently mix it with the peppers, being careful to not crush the quinoa. Pour the vinaigrette over the mixture and fold it in gently. If possible, let this stand, covered, in the fridge for at least 4 hours before using.

When you’re ready to serve, slice the cucumbers about 1/4″ thick. Sprinkle sparingly with kosher salt. (Skip the salt here if these will sit out a while, or they’ll weep.) Find the garlic in the salad and remove it. Using a small spoon or melon baller, place a small amount of the salad on top of the slices. Sprinkle with another bit of kosher salt and a dash of cumin. Add a small sprig of parsley or cilantro if you like.

Prettied-up option that I skipped during my show: Before slicing the cucumber, use a vegetable peeler to make four or five stripes evenly around it. When you cut the slices, they’ll have a cool pattern and they’ll be easier to eat if the peel is tough.

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I so enjoyed making new friends at this show, especially those of you who had questions about how food changes can affect your health. I hope I can be of service to you. Stay in touch!

Zesty Orange Quinoa Salad

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At our house, we’re getting ready for Disney. In just 7 short days, we’ll be on our way to the Mouse and all the walking and such that will come with it.

Trying to get in better shape (and to detox from my recent sugar overload), I’ve been a really good girl in the food department the past week or two. And since I really love quinoa already, this tangy salad was an easy swap.

Concentrated orange juice is one of those things that I normally eschew, being basically concentrated orange-flavored sugar and all. But for this application, it works, giving a super-concentrated orange flavor without watering things down. If I had some of that frozen orange zest like we had in culinary school, it would be a worthy lower-sugar substitute. But these days, I am all for using what’s already in the house.

How do you like to prepare quinoa? Let me know in the comments.

Enjoy!

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Zesty Orange Quinoa Salad
Serves 2 as main dish, 4 as sides

  • 1 c. traditional (white) quinoa
  • 2 c. vegetable broth or water
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 large head broccoli, cut into medium florets
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1/4 c. cider vinegar
  • 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 T. frozen orange juice concentrate
  • 1 tsp. dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. dry basil
  • 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 2 T. celery leaves, chopped
  • 1 T. fresh mint, minced (optional)

Cook quinoa according to the package directions, using the broth or water at a 1:2 proportion.

While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables. When all the vegetables are diced, put the peppers, broccoli and celery (not the leaves) in a microwave-safe bowl with a few tablespoons of water. Cover the bowl and microwave on high, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until the broccoli is bright green. Strain out the water. If you prefer not to use the microwave, you can blanch and shock the vegetables by boiling water, cooking the vegetables for about a minute, then straining them and rinsing with cold water.

Prepare the dressing in a small jar or other container with a lid. Place the vinegar, olive oil, orange juice concentrate, mustard, dry basil and black pepper in the jar, cover the jar and shake well.

When the quinoa is done and still warm, fold in the veggies, celery leaves and mint if using. Fold in as much dressing as you like, being careful not to crush the quinoa.

Serve warm or chilled, either alone or mixed with salad greens. No further dressing is needed.

Clarity and Goat Cheese Watermelon Salad (Recipe) at #AWBU

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Watermelon salad inside a hollowed watermelon half with rosemary sprig

Keep reading (or skimming) and be rewarded. Our winning Watermelon and Goat Cheese Salad with Rosemary. Not bad for thrown together, Iron Chef style.

I started Fancy Pants Foodie about three years ago now, with the original intent of showing you peoples how to make some upscale food, fairly easily, at home.

Having had the journalism bug (and degree) as well, the blog soon included coverage of food events, new restaurants and stores, chefs and other food-related news. Sometimes the voice I used in these didn’t exactly match the one I used for recipes and instructional posts. Still doesn’t. One day you get snarky and fun, and the next you get inverted-pyramid-style straight journalism.

At the recent Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged conference, voice was an issue of conversation. Yeah, we needed to clarify our purpose, and then our voice. But what if we’re a little bipolar in what our blog does, like me?

What’s the purpose of this blog thing, anyway?

I’m very humbled and honored to say that this humble space has received a lot of love over the past three years. This is despite the redesign and site upgrade that I’ve threatened now for two years and still haven’t accomplished. The theme you see here (if you’re reading before said upgrade happens) is the one I randomly chose in the middle of the night when I decided to pull a blog out of my rear.

At the conference, and even more so after, I had to really think about what I’m doing in this space.

Sometimes lists help with clarity, so I made this one:

  • I write the blog to teach people how to cook from a semi-pro perspective, especially upscale things that may be new to them.
  • I also tell people about food news that’s going on in Arkansas.
  • And occasionally, I use the blog to inspire people to participate in food-related things that are bigger than themselves, or just to mess around and have fun.

So, if you’re counting, that’s at least three different blogs. All run together.

Based on what I learned at #AWBU, here’s some ideas:

  • No more straight-faced journalism pieces. I’ll save those for any outside writing gigs that use that sort of style. Even for newsy pieces like chef interviews or openings, my natural snark and wit are going to appear if it kills me. This is a blog, not a newspaper, for crying out loud.
  • A blog redesign is urgent, and will include categories separating the major styles and topics of the blog. I’m thinking “Recipes,” “News & Events” and “Features,” plus a category for outside work I’d like to do. Or something like that. Opening clips of all the stories will flow on the front page, though.
  • Write more freely. I tend to overthink and thereby not post as often as I should. The more I write, the more other good things happen.
  • Work on developing more of a community of Arkansas food people, specifically those who want to learn more about upscale cooking at home or professionally. I get traffic from all over the world, but I’d love for more of that to come from right here in our state, and for those who visit to join me in conversation.

Other bloggers have recapped the details of our conference pretty well, so I don’t feel obligated to fill you in on every little thing. But, of course, the highlight for me was Foodie Friday, completely dedicated to food-related blog love, orchestrated by the fab Lyndi of NWAFoodie.

And the best part of Foodie Friday? Iron Chef. No lie. After some brainstorming, sensory and other writing exercises, we were assigned a group and were placed into the hands of Tina Marie Wilcox, the “Herb Lady” at the Ozark Folk Center. Of course, I bounced in my seat when this activity was announced. By the way, we’d be feeding all the other AWBU attendees who were showing up for a reception. With OUR food.

Our team was assigned its herb: Rosemary. Walkthrough of a room filled with random available ingredients. GO.

We ended up making a sautéed mushroom and herb bruschetta that wasn’t my favorite ever, due to minimal of access to the toaster oven, as well as a stellar rosemary & berry lemonade created by fellow food blogger Kat Robinson. But the winner-winner-herbal-dinner was our watermelon salad with goat cheese and a red wine vinaigrette. With rosemary. Fo reals.

We won the “Best Use of Herbs” category by judges from the local Anglers restaurant.

I’m sure I’ll write further about the conference, so stay tuned for more details, foodie and otherwise. Meanwhile, find one of the last Arkansas watermelons and make this!

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Watermelon and Goat Cheese Salad with Rosemary
From the Rosemary Team at #AWBU 2012 Iron Chef

  • One medium watermelon
  • 4 ounces goat cheese, small dice (feta works, too)
  • One half medium red onion, cut thinly into strips
  • 2 T. finely minced rosemary
  • 1/4″ red wine vinegar
  • 1/2″ extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • Fresh raspberries and a clean rosemary sprig for garnish

Cut a very thin slice off one side of the watermelon, not cutting into the flesh, to create a stable bowl. If you’re chicken, or you just forget like I did, just place the watermelon on a towel to keep it stable. Cut the watermelon in half, keeping your slice in the center of the half you plan to use as a bowl.

Using a spoon or knife, remove as much flesh as possible from both watermelon halves and cut it into chunks or cubes. Remove seeds as much as possible. Place all these pieces into a large bowl and drain all the extra liquid. Carefully stir in the cheese, onion strips and rosemary. (Save a bit of rosemary for garnish.)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour over the watermelon mixture and gently toss.

Note: If you’re using the goat cheese, it will melt and get oozy. It’s what we had available. Go with it. If I were doing this at home, I’d probably go with feta, which has a known relationship with watermelon in some circles. 

Fill the chosen watermelon rind with your finished salad, and sprinkle the remaining rosemary on top. Garnish the edges of the bowl with the berries, and place a sprig or two of whole rosemary in the side so folks know what’s in it.

Recipes from Argenta Market’s Chef Shane Henderson

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My apologies to my two readers out there…that includes you, Mom…I’ve been sick the past few days. Not the swine flu, methinks, but enough to be pretty much on my duff for three days.

Meanwhile, I’m still not with it enough to write a proper post. I still owe you the scoop on last Thursday’s Celebrity Chef Cook-Off at Pulaski Tech, as well as the press conference on the upcoming Argenta Fall Foodie Fest. (Remember to save the date, Oct. 17, and swing by after the Race for the Cure!)

So.

It just so happens that the fabulous Chef Shane Henderson of Argenta Market dropped a little gift in my email inbox, sometime during my unfortunate incarceration in an ill body. And I pass along this gift to you, a handful of fun recipes with a Southern kick, including teaching you to learn to cook thai food. Tell him thanks by stopping by his fabulous tent at the soon-ending Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market, or at his soon-opening Argenta Market storefront on Main Street, North Little Rock. Enjoy!

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(Recipes and commentary verbatim from Chef Shane Henderson)

Catfish Cake

I love Crab cakes, a few years ago I decided we needed an Arkansas version, so I turned to catfish.  I found that it worked well as a cake or simply mixed as a catfish salad which is great for fish tacos or as a dip.  You can use catfish that was fried the day before, finally a way to get to use leftovers from that big fish fry.

Makes 4 servings

  • 1 pound fried catfish (recipe follows)
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup diced red onion
  • 1/3 cups diced red bell pepper
  • 1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh parley chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon your favorite hot sauce
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs
  • 2 teaspoons neutral flavored oil, more as needed

Breakup catfish into a large bowl, add all remaining ingredients except breadcrumbs.  Use your hands to mix the ingredients.  Add breadcrumbs a little at a time until a consistency is reached which will hold together.  Taste and adjust seasonings as you prefer.  Form mixture into 4-6 2-3 inch wide “cakes”.   In a non stick skillet heat oil.  Place cakes into the oil and cook 2-3 minutes on each side until browned and heated through.  Serve on a mixed green salad, with tarter sauce, or a spicy chipotle mayonnaise.

Fried Catfish

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow corn meal
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 pound of catfish filets
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • Vegetable oil, enough to cover fish

Heat a fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with vegetable oil to 360 degrees F. Place catfish in bowl covered with buttermilk.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, seasonings, and the cornmeal. Dredge the catfish in the flour mixture and carefully place in fryer. Deep fry for approximately 7 to 8 minutes until done. Drain on paper towels, adjust seasoning with salt immediately.

Fall Salad

  • 2 Pears, Apples (Any apple will work I like the tartness of the Granny Smith or Stella Apple for this salad)
  • 1 Pound mixed salad greens, washed and dried
  • 8 ounces Dried Figs
  • 1 Small Red Onion
  • 4 ounces blue cheese (parmesan will work, even if you aren’t a fan of blue cheese it plays off of the apples really well in this salad)
  • Candied Pecans

Dice the apples and place them in the juice of half a lemon and cover with water; reserve the other half of the lemon for the vinaigrette. Cut the red onions into small, thin rounds. Toss all ingredients together with a small amount of salt, top with vinaigrette and toss again.

Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is so easy and helps accent all the flavors already going on in the salad.

  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 2 oz. balsamic vinegar
  • 6 oz. good quality olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Mix the ingredients in a small jar, top with a lid and shake to combine, then add salt and pepper to taste.