Recipe: Grilled Halloumi w Pickled Onion

 

This is one of my standby appetizers when I'm going to a potluck or hosting a party. It's vibrantly colorful with translucent, jewel-like red onions set against bronzed slabs of halloumi and a bed of fresh greens and more importantly for gatherings—this crowd pleaser is a cinch to make, so you can actually enjoy the party too rather than slave away in the kitchen.

Simply give the onions a quick chop & pickling an hour prior, then pan fry some halloumi on a pan just prior to serving. Then voila, a plate of oozy, salty cheese (which is what I love about halloumi, its high melting point means you can get a crispy char on the outside while it retains a softened, almost but not quite melted texture within) whose richness is cut with acidic onions and peppery arugula.

In hindsight, I kinda feel guilty even calling this a "recipe", but the results are definitely splendid.

Grilled Halloumi with Pickled Onion

Ingredients (serves approx. 8)

14 oz. Halloumi cheese, sliced into quarter-inch slabs

1 small red onion, cut in half vertically, then thinly sliced so you get semi-circles out of the rings

4 oz. red wine vinegar

1 oz. water

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups arugula, washed & dried (or your leafy greens of choice)

vegetable oil

Directions:

1. About an hour before serving, put the sliced onions in a bowl or a jar and add vinegar, water and sugar. Swish or shake occasionally, making sure all the slices have some time to immerse in the vinegar mixture.

2. 10 minutes before serving, heat up a skillet on medium-high heat for 30 seconds. While skillet is heating, put the arugula in a platter.

3. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the surface of the skillet, then put the cut slabs of halloumi cheese in.

4. In about a minute or two (when you see the edges of the cheese getting golden brown & bubbly), flip the halloumi and allow it to pan fry for another minute.

5. Put the halloumi on top of the arugula, then the pickled onion slices.

6. Pour half the pickling brine onto the skillet to deglaze, then drizzle over platter and serve.

Fave Bites & Sips from Vegas, Dec. 2013

With T-24 hours before I head to Las Vegas, so Sin City's definitely been on my mind lately — and it's a good a time as any to reminisce some of my favorite bites & sips from my last excursion there... a month ago.

I know, gussied up burgers aren't anything new - but I definitely dug Bachi's Mr. Ho's burger, when the burger was given an Asian treatment with garlic, ginger, sauteed mushrooms and lop cheong (Chinese sausage) - the last ingredient, with its sweet-savory fattiness, is what made it extra memorable. And kinda makes me want to buy some and put it on everything!

We also tried their famous foie-gras Shogun burger too, while that was good too -- the foie totally got lost within all the other ingredients.

Drinks-wise, a return to Cosmpolitan's Vesper Bar was a must. While the near-unanimous favorite with my friends is the One Night in Bangkok from a former menu (a refreshing Thai twist on a Ramos gin fizz), from their current menu I loved their Moscow Mule spin -- the Garden of Hermitage with Enlightened Spirits' Rosemary-Lavender vodka, Thai basil eau de vie, basil, ginger & lemon. I was afraid it'll be too perfumey at first, but the aromatics were nicely balanced and gave this effervescent drink that uniquely fragrant je ne sai quoi.

Other modern interpretations there that I love: The Last Samurai (a Rob Roy twist with Japanese whisky, punsch & amaro nonino) & Chai One On (Brandy milk punch given a spicy twist with chipotle, Masala & even a Yogurt liqueur!)

Embracing fitness for the new year...

A shadow selfie during one of my urbanhikes
around Socal.

... I know, not a very novel concept around this time of year, when gyms are filled to brim, workout classes are booked to the max, and people are generally scrutinizing every calorie they consumed & burned.

But for the Type B me, I'd much rather take a relaxed approach to fitness & healthfulness. And thus, some of the "goals" for the year include:

• Finding more activities I enjoy and just do them.
• Naturally incorporate more activity throughout the day (taking the stairs, parking further from destination).
• Focus on how I feel after the workout.
• Progress on my exercise performance without over straining.

And for something more concrete, putting in the recommended 150+ minutes of activity a week & hitting my 11,000 daily steps at least 3 days a week.

All of these were notions that were reinforced in a resolution-themed tweetchat I participated in last week under my @foodie_fitness alter-ego*. The two biggest takeaways, doing anything is better than nothing at all . . . and unless you're really enjoying the workout itself—as opposed to its effects—it's all too easy to throw in the towel.

With this in mind, I plan on going on a little "fitness dating" (a term I'm borrowing from Jeanette DePatie a.k.a. The Fat Chick, who co-hosted the tweetchat) this & next month, just so I can have a few more fun workouts to add to my usual mix of tennis, hiking, rollerblading, cardio-dancing & kickboxing, yoga and good ole fashioned jogging.

Here's to a healthy & fit 2014!

*Disclosure: City of Hope, the other co-host of the tweetchat, is where I punch my 9 to 5. But thoughts, opinions expressed on the @foodie_fitness twitter handle are my own.