Sunday, August 05, 2007

Ginger, Ribz, & Phyllo Pie

A beloved and much missed friend has come to stay with us for the weekend, and a hearty meal of 2 new now favorites on our table was in order.
The start of our meal was a refreshing, clean out the fridge salad of Boston Lettuce, some cucumber and carrot matchsticks (from our sushi the other night...post about that one soon!), tomato, alfalfa sprouts, chickpeas, avocado, and my personal favorite, That Ginger Dressing (from here). I'd always used my mini food processor for this dressing and, while great, it was rather liquid-y and not quite right. Enter the amazing immersion blender and viola! perfect, just like in the Japanese restaurants!

Next came Susan's Ribz, which I'd been dying to try. As it looks like we'll round out our summer still without a grill, I opted to bake them all the way to the end (350 oven, bake for 20 min, baste, bake for ten more, flip, bast, and bake for ten final min). These are AMAZING! we loved them. I just used a store bought sauce but looking forward to trying my hand at a homemade for next time. They are super easy to whip up (I used peanut butter as my nut butter ingredient) and I cannot wait to share them with others. Their texture is per-fec-tion. If only all seitan recipes turned out this spectacular!

Finally, another first time recipe at our house, Dreena's Broccoli Mushroom Walnut Phyllo Pie from Vive. I knew just by the ingredients that this would be great, and it is! The general consensus was that it was good, but that the walnut taste dominated a bit too much. I blame this on not toasting the walnuts enough so they were more raw tasting than the recipe likely requires. I want to make this again, but am interested in trying it with one or two small changes. Can't wait to see how that goes, but for now? I'm just excited to eat up the leftovers!

I wish I'd gotten a good shot of the top of the pie. Her technique for schrunching up the top layer makes for a very pretty presentation. Ah, what the heck...here's my crappy photo of it ;)The phyllo is perfectly flaky and the whole pie has a meaty, almost cheezy flavor. It's filling and tasty. If you haven't tried this one yet, do! Just remember to fully toast your nuts so they don't overpower the flavor.

8 comments:

Teresa said...

I've gotta try that dressing! It sounds perfect for greens.

I've made the pasta version of the phyllo pie and I loved it too!

Susan Voisin said...

So glad you liked the ribz! That phyllo pie looks wonderful--I've got to try it.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting that you can bake those ribz--I have been wanting to try them but I don't have a grill.

Everything looks amazing!

Courtney

Judy said...

Your ribs are convincingly real looking, and that phyllo pie looks amazing. Too bad I don't eat mushrooms, but I suppose I could sub in something else...?

Anonymous said...

what a great meal!

Amey said...

oh yeah,
I've been wanting to try those ribs now for a while too. They look so good & fun. One day I will get around to it.

The phyllo pie looks so fun and different!

Beth said...

yummmmmmmmmmmmm

Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan! said...

Judy- if you're not a fan of mushrooms, they make it almost meaty in texture and flavor. maybe some soy crumbles would be a good substitute? I'd just thaw them and then mix them in after processing everything else. Quorn also makes crumbles that are not soy but, ironically, made from mushrooms. they taste like meat, tho. Happy experimenting!