Black Radish Slaw with Toasted Quinoa

These poor black radishes sat in the fridge for weeks. Actually, it may have been over a month. Totally neglected. As the one who does most of the cooking, it was up to me to get up the guts to work with these again. The last time was almost two years ago and I was a bit stunned by their pungent flavor. It was a similar reaction to what I had when I first tried dandelion greens. But now I'm a fan of those greens. I found a way to mellow them and I knew I could do the same with black radish.

After weeks of meals loaded with butter, cream, sugar, and all those delicious and rich ingredients, I was ready to lighten things up a bit. Slaws are my favorite this time of year. Between the soups and stews, it's nice to balance things by preparing a big salad with a zingy slaw. A little sweetness comes out through the agave and carrot, with a touch of tang from the lime. It's got a lot going on. A ton of flavor; a lot of textures. And it reminds me to remain fearless in the kitchen. At face value, an ingredient can be intimidating. Approaching it with a little finesse, however, can transform it into something beautiful.

Black Radish Slaw with Toasted Quinoa

Yields: Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth 2 medium-sized black radish, peeled and root end trimmed. 2 medium-sized carrots, peeled 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves 1 lime, juiced 2 tsp agave 3.5 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt 1 tsp smoked paprika Baby spinach, rinsed Sesame seeds

Instructions

1. To cook the quinoa, add the veggie broth to a pot and bring to a boil.  Stir in the quinoa, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until all the veggie broth has been absorbed, approximately 15 minutes.  While it's cooking, prepare the rest of the slaw.

2. Using a shredding side of a box grater, grate the black radish and carrot into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together lime juice, agave, and 1.5 tablespoons olive oil, along with the mint leaves and 1 tsp of Kosher salt. Pour dressing over grated radish slaw and toss together. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.

3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a medium sauté pan.  Set over medium-high heat.  Once the oil has heated, add the quinoa to the pan and spread out across the surface.  Refrain from stirring as this will allow the quinoa to crisp up.  After 2-3 minutes, give the quinoa a stir, season with 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt and 1 tsp smoked paprika and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. On a platter, add a couple heaping handfuls of baby spinach. Top with slaw, then sprinkle toasted quinoa and some sesame seeds over it.

Chard + Roasted Garlic Pesto

What can be said in New Year rhymes, That’s not been said a thousand times?

The new years come, the old years go, We know we dream, we dream we know.

We rise up laughing with the light, We lie down weeping with the night.

We hug the world until it stings, We curse it then and sigh for wings.

We live, we love, we woo, we wed, We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear, And that’s the burden of the year.

The Year, Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Chard and Roasted Garlic Pesto

Yields: Approximately 1.5 cups pesto

Ingredients

1 head garlic 1 bunch chard (around 4 cups of packed leaves), rinsed, dried and deribbed 1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed 1/2 cup slivered almonds Juice of one lemon 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated Olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a piece of aluminum foil that's big enough to wrap around the garlic. Peel off the majority of the paper from the garlic and slice off the top to expose the tops of each clove. Place in the center of the aluminum foil and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Wrap with aluminum foil and place directly on oven rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

2. In a small sauté pan set over medium heat, cook the almond slivers, stirring often to make sure they don't burn, until they become lightly toasted.

3. Remove garlic from the oven, squeeze out each clove and transfer to a food processor, along with the toasted almonds. Pulse until the almonds are chopped and have turned into a coarse paste. Add the chard, parsley, and lemon juice, along with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and pulse until pureed.

4. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve with bread or toss with pasta.

The Cider Mill (Scotch and Cider Syrup Cocktail)

I failed at posting a Hanukkah recipe. I had one in my head but never got around to making it. I guess I'll just have to save it for next year. This seems to always happen to me when it comes to holiday recipes. Even this post, a cocktail to ring in the New Year, almost didn't happen. Vijay, Brandon and I had talked a few weeks ago about doing another What I Drink post, since we had such a blast with the first one. We're a few guys who not only love food, but enjoy getting creative with our cocktails. And whenever a holiday comes around, you can bet that the three of us have come up with a creative beverage to go with the celebratory feast. But, as I said, we were pretty close to not succeeding in our second installment.

I'm so glad we stuck to our guns, though. Each of us have come up with drinks that use seasonal ingredients and somewhat underused booze.  Brandon's working with champagne and infused brandy. And Vijay did a little switch up by putting mezcal in his version of a Blood and Sand, and cranberries are always a wonderful addition to a cocktail, both in flavor and color.

As for this little concoction I mixed together, well, it took me a little while until I figured out exactly what I wanted to make.  Originally, I had a hot toddy in mind, but I'd been anxious to try out this little cider syrup trick and I've already posted an apple hot toddy... so that was out. Then I considered doing something with mezcal (I know, I'm obsessed), but when I looked in our cabinet, I found that we were all out (GAH!). So, I went with Scotch. Despite my love for a little single-malt goodness, I've never had it paired with other ingredients. Well, I'm hooked now. Don't be skeptical. Try it, and you will be too. Promise.

I'm not sure I'll be able to whip up something for next week. I might just take a little time off. We'll have to see. Then again, if there's some free time and I'm inspired, you may see me pop up here.  If not, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Happy Hanukkah. Merry Christmas. Enjoy your Kwanza. Or your Festivus.

Oh, and happy New Year.

The Cider Mill (Scotch/Apple Cider Cocktail)

Yields: 6 drinks

Ingredients
For the cider syrup
3 cups apple cider
3 star anise
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled

For the cocktail
10 oz single malt Scotch (nothing too peaty, I used Tomatin)
2 tablespoons Amaro Luxano
3-4 dashes Grapefruit bitters
1.5 oz lemon juice
Lemon peel

Ice cubes

Instructions

1. Add apple cider, star anise and ginger slice to a pot and set over high heat. Boil until the cider reduces to 2/3 cup or until it reaches a thin syrup consistency.  Let cool. Remove star anise and ginger.

2. In a large bowl, mix together cider syrup, Scotch, Amaro, grapefruit bitters and lemon juice.

3. Add 8-10 ice cubes to bowl and give it a good stir with a spoon or ladle. Let sit for 10 minutes to let the ice melt a little. This will dilute the drink slightly. Ladle drink into punch cups and rub each rim with lemon peel.