Juicy Lucy

This sounds foul, but the Juicy Lucy (I understand) is actually a St. Paul, MN tradition.  At the Blue Door Pub, the highlight is generally the melted-cheese-filled burgers, but I found deep-fried cheese curds dipped in tomato sauce even more compelling.  Fried green beans sounded like a good idea (vegetables, right?) but had nothing on the chewy, just-barely-melty cheese curd appetizer.  My blue cheese "Blucy" was good too, if not a little too greasy.

Chicken & Quinoa Tabbouleh

This is a great spring or summer salad or one-dish dinner for a lighter night.  It's inspired by a Clean recipe but modified to be appetizing for even my husband.

Ingredients:
• Rainbow quinoa (or really any type)
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped into small but crunchy pieces
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• Juice of 2 good-sized lemons, plus teaspoon zest
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into small bite-size pieces (I poached them in vegetable broth but would grill them with olive oil and sea salt next time)

Cook the quinoa in water, making sure to wash the grains first.  While quinoa is cooking, chop the vegetables and mix in olive oil, salt and lemon and grill the chicken, setting aside to cool before dicing.  Mix everything together in a large bowl and cool to room temperature.  (This is ok to refrigerate, but best served at room temp rather than ice cold.)

For some extra greens, I served it with dino kale sauteed in olive oil, sea salt and turmeric.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf

This is a wintry meal with strong and sensitive flavors.  The recipe came from Clean but includes my modifications below.  It's gluten-free, dairy-free.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts (I used skin removed, but can use skin-on)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly lengthwise
• 1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

In an oven-proof skillet, cook the balsamic vinegar, rosemary and garlic until it's been reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 20 minutes.  Heat oven to 425°.  Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and salt, then place in skillet.  The balsamic reduction should be about 1/4" to 1/2" of liquid in the skillet.  Cover the skillet with a lid and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until breasts are cooked through, and spooning the reduction over the tops of the chicken every few minutes.

Wild Rice Pilaf Ingredients:
• 2 cups cooked wild rice, made with a vegetable stock
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Bring vegetable stock to a boil according to the directions of the wile rice you purchase.  Cook the rice, about 50 minutes.  While the rice is cooking, chop the shallots, cilantro and mint and toss in olive oil and salt.  Once cooked, stir in the rice and drained sunflower seeds (soaking them for water for 2 hours gives them a nutty, chewy texture).  Served with the chicken, the pilaf contributes a foil for the intensity of the chicken.

Clean Eating

2011 was the year of feeling under the weather.  To kick-start 2012, I decided to attempt the Clean Program, a cleanse meant to reset the immune system and some other bonus side-effects.  The main concept is to reduce food toxins in the body that cannibalize your immune system by requiring too much of it for digestion.  Once those foods are eliminated and the toxins make their way out of the system, you sleep better, see greater skin clarity, feel less joint pain and even shed some pounds.

The first step was to eliminate gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, caffeine and alcohol.  Whoa.  At first, I thought there were tons of recipes and options.  After literally three days, I felt the opposite.  It's crazy how many gluten-free products contain soy or milk and how vegetables start to taste like eating grass after weeks of exclusive consumption.  The shakes I ate for breakfast and dinner were horrible—gritty and flavorless—yet satisfying in a way that helped me not be hungry for real food.

Did I feel different after 3 weeks?  Maybe.  I felt lighter and was sleeping great.  But let's get real for a minute.  I write a food blog.  I'm obsessed with fine dining.  I want to taste ever flavor on the planet and I want to cook for as many hours a day as I can manage.  Removing delicious food from my life did not a happy Ellen make.  I would certainly recommend removing dairy from your diet for a few weeks to see how you feel.  I noticed a big difference in something random, my throat was totally clear every morning.  Now that I've added cheese and yogurt back into my diet, I often wake up with a sore throat that takes an hour or so (and a shower and a multivitamin) to clear up.

I'm still going to post the best recipes I tried, since they're worth trying again!