Wok n Woll

Grilled bison kebabs

To celebrate warm summer days and easy entertaining here's a lean dish that's long on flavor. Bison, available at many supermarkets, is gaining in popularity for its rich, meaty flavor, nutrient density and lower fat content. When cooked to medium-rare, bison yields a tender texture.

Ground bison also makes a terrific lean, yet juicy, burger or meatloaf.

For the kebabs, choose thick rib-eye bison steaks (the cuts are labeled the same as beef), and cut them into large uniform pieces. A generous sprinkle of salt, allowed to penetrate the cubes for an hour or more, enhances their flavor.

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A simple " salsa" of tiny tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, chives and lots of golden garlic really gilds the lily. Warm wedges of rustic bread topped with fontina cheese make a great accompaniment.

Grilled bison kebabs with pine nut-chive salsa, spinach

Prep: 30 minutes
Marinate: 1 hour
Cook: 16 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless rib-eye bison steaks, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup dried currants
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large head garlic, separated into cloves, peeled, finely chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 package (5 ounces) fresh spinach, rinsed, patted dry

1. Sprinkle steaks with salt in large glass bowl; toss to mix. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Soak six or eight 12-inch-long wooden skewers in water 1 hour, or use metal skewers. Put currants into a small dish; add very hot water to barely cover. Let soak 10 minutes. Drain.

3. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until warm. Add garlic. Simmer until garlic is barely golden, about 5 minutes. Add pine nuts; cook until nuts are golden, 3-4 minutes. Stir in drained currants, tomato halves, vinegar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper. Remove from heat; stir in chives.

4. Prepare a grill for medium-hot heat. Rinse the bison; pat dry. Thread cubes onto the skewers (do not the pack the meat tightly together). Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place the skewers over the hottest section of the grill; cook 1 minute. Turn; cook 1 minute. Move the skewers to a cooler portion of the grill; cook until medium-rare, about 6 minutes. Arrange the spinach on a large serving platter. Put the bison skewers on top. Spoon the pine nut salsa over the kebabs.

Nutrition information:
Per serving: 430 calories, 47% of calories from fat, 23 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 94 mg cholesterol, 21 g carbohydrates, 37 g protein, 658 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.

Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune

Herb Biscuits

Breakfast is the most important meal. Aside from lunch and dinner. The dietitian insists it kick-starts the metabolism. The parent believes it improves concentration. The rest of us swear it eases that inevitable condition: morning.

Herb biscuits

Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up
1/2 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing tops
1/3 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons chopped herbs (mix chives, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram)

Mix:
Whisk together flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender. Drizzle in buttermilk and cream; shower with herbs. Mix gently with a fork until dough just comes together.

Shape:
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat into a 1-inch thick rectangle, about 8-inches-by-4-inches. Use a pizza cutter to divide into eight 2-inch square biscuits. Brush tops with buttermilk.

Bake:
Slide into a 400-degree oven and bake until golden and firm, 15 minutes. Enjoy warm with fried chicken or tepid as the bedrock of a glorious sandwich.

Leah Eskin is a Tribune special contributor. Contact her at leahreskin@aol.com

Strawberry Marshmallow Mousse

Strawberry Marshmallow Mousse

Too see more, click on title above!

bels: Desserts and Ice Creams, Fruit, Marshmallow

This recipe was really easy, quick to make and tasted wonderful. The combination of the delicate flavour and pleasant tartness of the strawberries with the creaminess and sweetness of the marshmallows is unbeatable!

• 280 g Fresh strawberries, halved if large 
• 25 g Vanilla sugar 
• 100 ml Water
• 140 g Mini marshmallows 
• 200 ml Double cream

1. Put all but 3 strawberries into a pan along with the water and the sugar. Over a medium heat, cook strawberries until soft enough to mash, about 3 minutes. Take off the heat and squash the berries, using a fork, until pulpy. Add the marshmallows, then stir them into the hot strawberries until they dissolve. Leave to cool. 
2. Whip the cream until it holds its shape. Fold the cream into the cooled strawberry mix, then spoon into one bowl or separate pots and chill for about 2 hours, or until set. Cut the reserved strawberries in half and use to decorate.

Skillet Pasta Puttanesca

This recipe courtesy of Christine's Cuisine

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 anchovy fillets , rinsed and minced (optional, but important for flavor)
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups water
• 12 ounces ziti (3 3/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped coarse
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Combine oil, garlic, anchovy, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 12-inch, ovensafe nonstick skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15 to 18 minutes.

4. Stir in wine, Parmesan, basil, and olives. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve.

Source: Cook’s Illustrated

Blueberry Shortcake

When the summer months come, I find it almost impossibly hard to resist buying fresh blueberries by the double basketful. Thank goodness they're such good brain food! (These days my brain needs all the help it can get. Unlike with strawberries, where all you have to do is cut them and sprinkle them with sugar, to get the blueberries juicy enough for shortcake it works well to cook them, just a little, with sugar. This way more juices are released. This recipe makes a lot of blueberry topping. If you find you have leftover, it's great over ice cream, or better yet, pancakes.

INGREDIENTS

Berries

• 5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 pinch cinnamon

Biscuits

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 7/8 cup (1 cup minus 2 Tbsp) heavy whipping cream
• 1 large egg*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Heavy cream for whipping

*The egg is optional. Including the egg will result in a less crumbly shortcake biscuit, but either way, with or without egg, is good.

METHOD

1 Place blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cinnamon into a medium saucepan. Heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture is just barely coming to a simmer. Use a potato masher to mash up the berries a bit, to release the juices. Remove from heat and let come to room temp.

2 Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl stir together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the small cubes of butter, and use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with pea-sized pieces of butter still intact.

3 In a small bowl mix the egg, whipping cream, and vanilla extract. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into it. Stir with a fork just until the dough barely comes together. Do not over mix or your biscuits will be tough.

4 Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a large pancake shape, about 3/4 to 1-inch thick. Using a pastry round (or the lightly floured ridges of drinking glasses) cut into biscuit forms and place 1 1/2-inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat. You can also cut the biscuits into squares if that's easier. The the dough is too soft to work with, put it in the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes first.

5 Put the biscuits in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they have risen and are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack.

Serve the berries spooned over biscuits that have been broken open, and top with whipped cream.

Serves 6-8.