Real Good Taste

BBQ Lunch Box

2010-11-04T21:15:00.000-04:00

So- my new phone has a camera and I thought it would be a great way to take a picture of my lunchbox for the blog. As you can see, it was not the best idea ever and the rice looks positively radioactive, which I promise you it was not. So, if you will excuse the picture, let me tell you about my lunch.

First off, I like tofu. I always have and it's nothing that I'm forcing upon myself (or Zach) for the vegan challenge. I don't really understand it when people say they don't like tofu, as I think it's fairly neutral in terms of taste and texture. What I love about tofu is it's ability to soak up flavors in a sauce or a marinade. I would say that about 90% of the time that I eat meat, I'm not actually after the meat itself, but the delicious curry, sauce or marinade that it's in, so tofu is a perfect substitute for me. In preparation for the Vegan MoFo, I got Vegan with a Vengance from the library and marked a ton of recipes that I wanted to try, including BBQ Pomegranate Tofu.

I'd never made BBQ sauce before, so I thought I would try it, along with some coconut rice and roasted broccoli. I made a few changes to the recipe, substituting fresh pomegranate for the pomegranate molasses as my grocery store didn't have it, and leaving out the peanut butter, since Zach can't stand it. I've also decreased the amount of oil and soy sauce that the tofu is baked with, as I thought it could do with less. The BBQ tofu took a bit longer to make than expected (45 minutes total) so by the time dinner was finally ready, I was starving, but it was totally worth it. I can't remember the last time I made a protein plus two sides, so that in itself was novel. The BBQ sauce was great on the tofu, and the roasted broccoli was crisp and delicious, both with and without the sauce. I overcooked the rice a bit, but I'm sure you won't have that problem. Recipes after the jump.

BBQ Pomegranate Tofu
Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance
Serves 4

For the tofu
1lb/450g firm tofu, cut into 12 pieces
1 t. olive oil
2 t. tamari

For the BBQ sauce
1 T olive oil
1 C/2 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1t five-spice powder
4oz/120g tomato paste
2 C/500ml vegetable broth
2 T pomegranate molasses
1/2 C pomegranate arils
1T Tamari or soy sauce
1/4C/60ml maple syrup
1t hot sauce (or to taste)
1t liquid smoke

-Preheat oven to 350. Put the tofu in baking dish, pour the olive oil and soy sauce over it, and turn to coat. Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the pan from the oven, flip the tofu and bake for another 15 minutes. While the tofu is baking, start the sauce.

- Heat a saucepan over medium. Add the oil and saute the shallots for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic, 5 spice and tomato paste and sauté 1 minute more. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

-Put a few ladle fulls of sauce over the tofu and bake for 15 minutes longer.

Coconut Rice
Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance
Serves however many you'd like it to

Jasmine Rice
Light coconut milk
1 Lime

- Prepare rice according to package directions, substituting coconut milk for about 1/4-1/2 of the water.

- When rice is finished cooking, add the zest of one lime and fluff.

Roasted Broccoli
Serves 4

1.5lb/700g broccoli
olive oil
salt
pepper

- Preheat oven to 350F (you may already have it going for the tofu).

- Cut broccoli into florets, put in on a large baking sheet, drizzle on a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Give it a good mix and stick it in the oven for 20-30 minutes, stirring once. It's done when it's crisp-tender and starting to brown.

Lentil Chili

2010-11-03T13:58:00.005-04:00

Since the weather had suddenly gotten cold here and I've had to pull out my winter biking gear for my daily commute, chili seemed like the perfect thing to help me defrost after the ride home from work. One of my favorite cooking magazines, Cuisine at Home, had a recipe for lentil chili which was practially vegan so it I thought it would be a good start to my Vegan MoFo. I will admit to being slightly sceptical of a lentil chili, thinking that chili had to include beans, but I was completely blown away at how delicious it was. Smoky and full of spice without being too hot, it was absolutely perfect with fresh hot corn muffins and even better for lunch the next day along with a hunk of fresh bread and avocado. You won't miss the beans- I promise. Recipe after the jump.

Lentil Chili
Adapted from Cuisine at Home
Serves 6-8 (extra portions freeze well)

1 T. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and diced*
1/4 C./120ML tomato paste
1 T. chili powder
1 T. dried oregano
1 t. smoked paprika
1.5 T cumin
1 t. coriander
28oz/800g canned diced tomatoes
2 cans/22oz/600ml V8 (or substitute tomato juice)
3C/750ml hot water
2C/400g lentils, green, brown or red
lime wedges for serving
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

- Heat a medium-large pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the onion and peppers; cook for 5 minutes until softened but not brown.

- Add the garlic, tomato paste and spices. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until tomato paste begins to darken. Add the diced tomatoes, V8, water and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to keep the pot at a simmer, partially cover and cook for 45 minutes, or until the lentils are done to your liking.

- Serve with lime wedges, your favorite garnishes and fresh hot corn bread.

*I always try a piece of raw jalapeno before I add it to a recipe as they can vary in heat. That way, if you happen to get a super spicy one, you don't accidentally make 5-alarm chili.

A New Challenge

2010-11-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

Ok- I know that some of you may be slightly wierded out by the logo, and rightfully so. I don't think I've ever (intentionally at least) made something vegan for the blog. Vegetarian, sure, and there probably have been a few things that didn't have any animal products, but it wasn't something I'd ever set out to do. I haven't become a vegan, and I don't think I ever will, however, I have been thinking about what I need to do to get the blog up and running again. I decided that I needed a challenge, some kind of outside goal, something that would force me to try out new things. In short, I needed to get back to my goals for starting this blog in the first place.

A friend of mine has been trying out all sorts of vegan things lately, and I've seen a few vegan cookbooks that looked amazing, so I thought, why not give it a try? My initial idea was to attempt one completely vegan week and write about it, but with travel plans for nearly every weekend in the next month, I didn't think that would be possible. Then I came across Vegan Month of Food and decided this was the inspiration I needed; a month of something totally new, with lots of other people doing it and providing recipes and ideas. I can't promise that I'll be a vegan for the next month (and I'm slightly afraid I'll get kicked out of the MoFo because of it) but I will be cooking vegan at home, and letting you know how it goes. I hope you'll stick with me for the next month as I try this experiment as I hopefully gain some new cooking skills, recipes, and inspiration in the kitchen.

A New Look

2010-10-28T08:23:00.000-04:00

What would a new start be without a new look? I rather impetuously decided to try out a new template last night. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I'll give a few days to get settled, and me a few days to make some formatting tweaks, and see how I feel about it. As always-- your comments are welcome.

A Return to the Daring Bakers- Doughnuts

2010-10-27T21:31:00.005-04:00

I have an unhealthy obsession with doughnuts. I love them, well and truly. Although I avoid most fried foods as I don't think they're worth the calories, doughnuts will get me every time. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'll eat any doughnut that crosses my path. As a rule, I prefer cake style over yeast, especially if those yeast doughnuts come from Krispy Kreme. A certain college roommate of mine loved Krispy Kremes, particularly the way they 'melted in your mouth'. Her words, not mine; I like to masticate my baked goods, thank you.

The only other time I attempted doughnuts was in my 10th grade foods class in high school. I remember the special cookie cutter we had (with center hole removal device) and covertly snacking from a brown bag of doughnuts for the rest of the day. Needless to say, I was pleased with the first challenge to bring me back in to the DB fold.

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I chose the Pumpkin Doughnut recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine, by way of Epicurious, as it was a cake-style doughnut, and I had half a can of pumpkin in the fridge from another recipe. I didn't get creative with this one, besides cutting the recipe in half (as there was absolutely no reason for me to have 24 freshly fried tempting treats in my kitchen), so you can follow the link to get to the recipe. This time around, I didn't have a special device for cutting out the center hole so I improvised and used a rolled up piece of paper. Not the best, but it worked, especially once I started dipping it in flour between cuts. The only word of advice I have on the recipe-- make just half the amount of spice sugar to roll the doughnuts in. I made the amount the recipe called for and had tons left over.

A Tuesday with Dorie

2010-10-12T21:12:00.004-04:00

I just spent a Tuesday with Dorie, and not just in cookbook form, in real, live, reading from Around My French Table, telling stories about Madame Saucisson form. This was my first book signing, and I was utterly charmed. Dorie is, as they always say, much smaller than the slim woman you expect from pictures. So small, you wonder how she could really be the author of so many books about food, but then she starts talking and you immediately think that yes, this is someone who knows food and loves to share it, both in cookbooks, and in person for those lucky enough to be guests in her home.

As I was waiting in line to have my book signed, I started chatting with some fellow Dorie-admirers, who happen to be food bloggers as well. Strange as this may sound, it was the first time I had ever met other food bloggers in person. Three out of the four of us had been Daring Bakers at one point, and I was reminded again how easy it can be to talk to complete strangers when food is the common denominator. Meeting them, and talking with one of my food idols has inspired me to give Real Good Taste another go, so you will be hearing from me again in the near future. Until then, I'll leave you with a few links to my favorite Dorie Greenspan recipes.

Perfect Party Cake (the name really does say it all)
Dorie's Macarons Parisiens (I'm still working on perfecting this one)
Florida Pie (you'll never go back to plain Key Lime again)
Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes (you can see the recipe if you search in Baking: From My Home to Yours on Google books
And finally, Dorie's own website, where she often posts recipes and stories about her fabulous life.

Spinach Parmesan Polenta with Mushroom Ragu

2009-12-11T17:16:00.003-05:00

Hearty but not heavy, a breeze to make, especially if you have a slow cooker. Recipe up tomorrow.

It's Complicated

2009-12-10T23:18:00.005-05:00

Just got back from a screening of It's Complicated, the new Meryl Streep-Alec Baldwin movie. I am dead tired and starving (why oh why did I think and English muffin with cream cheese and a banana was a sufficient dinner?). Before I miss today's posting deadline foraging around my kitchen trying to scrounge up something edible and slightly less weird than what I had for dinner, I thought I'd put up a quick post about the movie.

I was worried that this post wouldn't be food related, but it is, as Jane, Meryl Streep's character in the movie, owns a bakery. It's one of those gorgeous only in the movies kind of bakeries where everything is just so and all the customers look like movie stars. Jane cooks throughout the movie and it one great scene shows her making chocolate croissants with the help of a nifty machine to roll out the dough. Anyway- the movie was absolutely hilarious, the kind of entire theater laughing out loud and can't stop hilarious that too few movies I've seen recently are. I completely recommend it and now I'm going to eat. Be back with a recipe tomorrow.

On Recipes

2009-12-09T22:42:00.008-05:00

I was listening to The Splendid Table, Lynn Rosetto Casper's NPR radio show on food this weekend, when one of her guests started talking about the unreliability of recipes on the internet- specifically in the blogosphere. My ears perked up immediately, as the internet is my main cookbook and I write a food blog with recipes. Her guest made some valid points but his main bone of contention against blogs is that the recipes are not tested multiple times, as would a recipe from the late and great Gourment magazine. I will be the first to agree that having an army of professional cooks test a recipe again and again times to tweak it and make it perfect is a great way to make sure the recipe will work every time; however, I have made recipes from such august publications that have been bland or even downright unpalatable. Even though an army of chefs and cooks labored over it for weeks it just wasn't any good. I have also made many recipes that I have found on blogs by home cooks writing about what they made for dinner that have been fantastic. That's not to say there aren't a lot of bad recipes floating around the internet, but to dismiss food blogs out of hand, as the guest (if only I could remember his name) seemed to do, is too harsh for my taste. So much of a recipe is about trust- you are trusting that the author of the recipes has given you a set of instructions to allow you to recreate his or her dish. You invest your time and money into this and you want it to pay off with a delicious tasty product.

It's been a few days since The Splendid Table broadcast and I've continued to think about the idea of recipes. There are certain cookbook authors/chefs that I trust implicitly. Take Marcella Hazan, author of The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Her recipes are detailed and precise without becoming burdensome. Her tips enlighten and, most importantly, I have never made anything from The Essentials, that wasn't absolutely delicious. I've expanded my palate to new things, because I knew I could trust her recipes. She is the kind of cookbook author you want on your shelf.

While I don't think many food writers in the world could compare to Marcella, there are a few blogs that I cook from with the same confidence. Chocolate and Zucchini, the very first blog I ever read, is one. Clotilde explains things so clearly I never fear that I've gone astray and she cooks the kind of food I want to eat. Another blog I know I could make anything from is Tartellete. Granted, Helene is a professional pastry chef, which helps, but I know every recipe on her blog would work.

All this brings my back to my blog. I have made every recipe I post her at least once, sometimes twice, and in a fewspecial cases, six or seven times. I endeavor to make sure that my recipes are clear, concise and functional but I don't really know if they are. I like to hope so, and there have been many times when I have turned to the archives to make a recipe again and they seem to work.

This week Kat at A Good Appetiteposted about her intention to make my Chicken Saagwala and I got nervous, really nervous. Had I written the recipe correctly? Did I forget a key ingredient? Did I defrost the spinach before adding it or not? I'm not sure about the answers to any of these questions but I do hope I got things right and that Kat and Matt enjoy the dish as much as I did.

I'll end this post with a request and a question. If you have to make one of my recipes, or your own version perhaps inspired by what I have done here, please let me know how it's turned out. It if works great- if it's a failure even better. Let me know where I could have been more clear and what went wrong and I will try to fix it. I'm not sure I can offer realtime assistance, but if you're cooking and things aren't looking so great, send me and email and I'll try to help. Thank you in advance.

I've told you a bit about what I think about recipes-- any thoughts you'd like to share? Are the any cooks/books that you trust implicitly? any that you think are terrible?

Sushi Kaiten

2009-12-08T22:32:00.004-05:00

Check out this kaiten sushi restaurant in the middle of a shopping mall- neat, huh? I first had the pleasure of eating at a sushi kaiten restaurant when I was visiting a friend in Japan a few years ago and seeing the parade of perfectly placed nigri and rolls, along with other treats, just doesn't get old. I could, and usually do, spend an inordinate amount of time watching the dishes wiz by before I choose anything. It's easy to divide up the tab with sushi kaiten too- just count your colored plates and figure out how much you ate and owe.

This restaurant is a branch Wasabi, which I have been to before. If you get a chance to stop by, I recommend the fusion dishes on the menu- a bit passe I know, but the chef if Peruvian Japanese and the chicken anticucho, tender bites of fiery chicken perched on a tower of steaming rice and lashed with bright orange sauce, is delicious.

Moo Shu

2009-12-07T20:14:00.002-05:00

Moo Shu is one of my favorite take-out Chinese dishes. The crunchy cabbage, hoisin sauce and rice wrapper always seem to hit the spot. This is an easy homemade version, one where you can easily control the salt and fat and leave out the MSG altogether. Don't worry about getting the ingredient amounts exactly right- a bit more or less or any of the veggies won't hurt. This recipes cooks in about 10 minutes so it's very helpful to have all your ingredients lined up and ready to go, mise en place style- this way you won't be frantically searching for the ginger root while attempting to stir a skillet full of shredded cabbage. This recipe includes chicken but it would be just as tasty if you left it out.

I served the Moo Shu with store-bought hoisin sauce (is it even possible to make hoisin sauce at home?) and corn tortillas, since I couldn't find rice pancakes. It satisfied my Chinese craving and was cheaper and healthier than ordering in. Recipe after the jump.

Moo Shu with Chicken
Adapted from the Weight Watchers Cookbook
Serves 6

4 T low-sodium soy sauce (2T for vegetarian)
4 cloves garlic, minced (2 cloves for vegetarian)
1 T minced ginger root
1/2 lb (250g) chicken breast or tenders, cut into bite sized pieces (optional)
1 small head of green cabbage
1 T neutral flavored oil such as canola
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 C straw mushrooms
1/2 C bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
chili paste to taste
hoisin sauce and tortillas to serve

- If you are using chicken. Make a quick marinade for the chicken: combine 2T soy sauce, half of the minced garlic and the chicken in a dish or resealable plastic bag. If you have the time, let it marinate in the fridge for an hour, if you don't, let it sit on the counter while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Combine the remaining 2 T soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a small bowl.

- Remove the out leaves of the cabbage and wash. Carefully cut the cabbage in half then remove the stem by making two cuts at a 45 degree angle on either side of it, aiming and inch or two into the cabbage, depending on how big the stem looks. Cut each cabbage half in half again, then slice lengthwise, creating long, thin cabbage strips. Set aside.

- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a very large skillet (I used a 12in). Drain the marinade from the chicken. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the chicken and stir-fry until chicken is cooked, 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken.

- Add all the vegetables to the skillet and stir to coat with oil. Cook, stirring often, until cabbage just starts to wilt, about 4-5 minutes, then add the chicken, the soy sauce mix and the chili oil. Stir to combine .

- Serve the Moo Shu with hot tortillas or pancakes. Let your guests make their own wrapper by spreading on a bit of hoisin sauce and more chili paste if they dare, then topping it with the Moo Shu mix.

Wedding Cake Continued

2009-12-06T15:46:00.003-05:00

Heading back to the subject of wedding cakes, I thought I would tell you a bit about my experience baking one. J- asked me a few months ago if I would be able to make the cake for her wedding. Of course I agreed, I mean, if she was willing to trust me to bake for her wedding, who was I to say no. I promptly put the subject out of my head for a few weeks only to begin researching- the more I learned, the more a feeling of dread started to creep into my stomach.

I quickly realized, after spending some quality time on the Wilton website, that there was no way I could bake a single cake that would serve 160 people, the anticipated number of guests. I put the idea to J- of a smaller two tier cake (her original request) along with a sheet cake or two. She agreed and I got to work. We talked flavors and she and P-, her then fiance now husband, decided on two- a lemon raspberry I based on Dorie's Perfect Party Cake and I carrot cake using Ina Garten's recipe.

I used the Wilton charts to figure out how much batter I needed for each cake pan and made Excel charts with formulas to determine how much I needed of each ingredient. I shopped, and then I began baking and kept baking and baking for two days. One of those days I ate nothing but frosting. For some reason I thought it was a good idea, and cream cheese frosting has some calcium in it, right? I also called Zach in a panic about 5 times when I though that the carrot cake had failed. His co-workers probably thought I was nuts, although I had buttered them up with many samples of the prototypes.

In the end, the cake and I both survived. J- had little photos made of her and P- and we used them to decorate the cake, I thought the black and white looked great against the cream cheese frosting. Now that's it's a few weeks after the wedding and I can actually think of frosting again without my stomach turning over, I'm looking forward to my next baking challenge.

Spinach Pie with Yeast Crust

2009-12-05T23:06:00.002-05:00

One of my first uses of the yeasted pastry crust was this spinach pie. I like to think of it as a cross between a spinach pie, where the majority ingredient is spinach and is only bound together with a bit of egg, and a quiche, that deliciously silky dish of eggs and cream, sometimes flavored with a bit of spinach. This pie is light, almost fluffy, green with spinach and kept from boring with a bit of herbs de provence, nutmeg and cheddar cheese. If you have a crust ready to defrost from the freezer it comes together in just a few minutes. I've served it with salad, although that is a bit unnecessary with all the spinach. A light soup might be nice or, you could do what I did, and wrap up a leftover slice and take it to the airport with you- the crust will hold it together - then, when everyone else is buying $9 sandwiches that taste like cardboard, you can unwrap it and enjoy. Recipe after the jump.

Spinach Pie
Serves 6, 8 as an appetizer
Adapted from the Weight Watchers Cookbook

1/2 recipe yeasted pastry crust OR 1 recipe better for you pie crust OR a 9-10 in pie crust of your choice
16 oz (450g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1/3 C low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs
3 egg whites
1, 12oz (300ml) can fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 t salt
a few grinds fresh pepper
a grate or two of fresh nutmeg
1 t herbs de provance
2 oz. (56g) cheddar cheese, shredded

- Preheat oven to 375. Grease a pie plate or ovenproof skillet. Roll out the dough and inch or two bigger than the baking vessel (just pop the pan on top of your rolled out dough to see if you need to roll it bigger). Gently roll the dough about half with up the rolling pin, starting at the far end and picking up the dough with your finger and letting it roll under the pin as you roll it back. Lift the pin with the dough straight up, drape the loose bit over one end of the pan and roll it across. Press the crust down into the pan and trim the edges so they don't hang overboard. Use the trimmings to patch up any holes that may have occurred.

- Sprinkle the spinach evenly over the crust.

- Place remaining ingredients through the herbs in a blender or blending beaker and wizz the heck out of them, until the mixture is perfectly smooth. [if you don't have a blender just wisk it well by hand, the cottage cheese will remain a bit lumpy but it'll taste fine]. Pour the egg mixture over the spinach in the crust and then sprinkle the cheese on top.

- Carefully place the pie in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and very nearly set in the center (test by jiggling the pan slightly- be sure to use and oven mitt). Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Wedding Cake

2009-12-04T23:12:00.001-05:00

Jeez- it's only the fourth day of NaBloPoMo and already I'm writing this up after 11pm... so much for avoiding the procrastination bit. A few weeks ago I made a wedding cake (well several wedding cakes) for a friend. The experience was both useful and utterly exhausting, which is why I haven't posted about it before now.

Lesson 1: It is entirely possible to make cake for 160 in a home kitchen.

Lesson 2: Eating nothing but frosting all day inadvisable.

More, and more useful, lessons from my wedding cake experience to come. And here is the rest of it.

Yeasted Pastry Crust

2009-12-03T20:04:00.004-05:00

The friend who introduced me to Dessert Grec also introduced me to the New York Times Health Section recipes. Like so many in the DC area, I get the Washington Post, and don't read the Times. Even if I did, I wouldn't look to the Health Section for something to eat, but that is where Martha Rose Schulman posts a new recipe every week, one purporting to have certain healthful components. I found the setup a bit cumbersome, a recipe index would be handier than an un-alphabetized list of themes/ingredients, but C- likes it and while I was visiting last month, we made a few of the recipes. Some were better than others (cauliflower topped with nearly straight up tahini was a miss) but I was intrigued by a whole pastry dough made with yeast and resolved to give it another go when I got home.

When I got home a few weeks ago, I made a batch of the dough in about 5 minutes, using my KitchenAid. So far so good. The dough rose exactly as expected and I rolled a little less than half of it out to use as a crust for a spinach pie. As Schulman notes, it is easier to work with than a traditional pie crust- the gluten you develop with a light kneading makes the dough stronger and less prone to holes and breaking. Another plus- it's made with half whole wheat flour and perhaps the biggest plus of all, just a quarter of a cup of olive oil, making it much lower in fat, saturated fat, and calories than a traditional crust. It does have a pronounced whole wheat flavor, which I liked in the spinach pie, but which has the potential to overpower more delicate ingredients. I found it a tad salty as well; next time I'll reduce the salt a bit and see if that helps.

Even with the slight problems, this is my new go-to crust for savory applications, especially in pie form. For sweet things and if when I want a flakier crust, say for free form apple pie, I'll still use my Better for You Pie Crust . One last note- with the dough scraps from tonight's dinner, I made simple plain and cinnamon sugar crackers, the best homemade crackers I've ever made. It's worth making a batch or half batch of the dough, rolling it thin, and then baking it up for a crispy snack.

For Martha Rose Schulman's Whole Wheat Yeasted Olive Oil Pastry click here.

Dessert Grec

2009-12-02T14:18:00.001-05:00

This recipe came to me by way of an American friend living in France who found it in a French cookbook so I'm not sure if it's really Greek, but I do know that it's really tasty. From what I understand, many French people end a meal with a cheese course or yogurt. While the idea of eating cheese after dinner is a bit strange to me, having a cup of yogurt seems like a natural way to end a meal on a light note. You aren't tempted to have seconds of the main course, as you know something else is coming, but the yogurt provides a sweet finish without adding too many calories. Plus, it aids digestion and is a good source of calcium.

This Greek yogurt dessert includes dried peaches or apricots and a bit of honey to sweeten it up though you can play around with your favorite flavorings to customize it. Zach likes his yogurt with sweetened dried coconut mixed in, though that's not the healthiest option.

Dessert Grec
Serves 2

1 C low-fat yogurt, Greek style is most delicious but regular works too
2 dried peaches or 4 dried apricots
2 t. honey

- Roughly chop the dried fruit and divide between two pretty dessert bowls. Top each with half the yogurt and half the honey. Pop in the fridge while you prepare dinner and enjoy for dessert.

Chicken Saagwala and a Challenge

2009-12-01T16:41:00.014-05:00

Was it really a month ago that I was promising new posts and recipes with regular frequency? Alas, my innate laziness has manifested itself in the blogosphere was a severe lack of postings. As I need a swift kick to get the posting started again, I have joined the NaBloPoMo- the National Blog Posting Month Challenge. The official big month of daily blog posting was in November, but NaBloMaPo goes on every month and I'm looking forward to the challenge so check back every day (gasp) for a new food related posting.

And now, for my first November posting, what could be better than this Chicken Saagwala? After all the Thanksgiving turkey and cranberrry sauce, and with all the holiday parties with cookies, hams and the rest of it, this light chicken and spinach dish is full of flavor but easy on the waistline. Did I mention you can make it in about 30 minutes?

This recipe is based off one I found in the Weight Watcher Cookbook. Before you write it off as 'diet' food and therefore tasteless and me as having abandoned good food altogether, hear me out. We all, from time to time, need to focus more on healthy eating. For me, that time is now, and I have to think that some of you out there would like some lighter options to make at home during a month when there are tempting holiday treats at seemingly every turn. I'll never post anything on the blog just because it's healthy- it also has to be delicious and something that I would be happy to serve to guests in my home.

I made this recipe last night fully expecting it to be a mediocre homemade Indian dish but Zach and I were blown away wth how tasty it was. The spices really pop thanks to a quick toasting in oil and since it cooks quickly, the spinach and tomatoes retain their color and the chicken breast doesn't dry out. I added some yogurt at the end to round out the flavors and add a hint of creaminess dish and served it with some (leftover) white rice. This really is one of the tastiest dishes I've made in a long time and I'm excited to have another winning Indian dish in my repertoire. Also a plus- it's gluten-free and could easily be made vegetarian with the substitution of tofu instead of the chicken. Don't have yogurt on hand? Stir in a little cream for a richer flavor or leave it out all together if you're lactose intolerant.

Note: this flavor of this dish depends on the quality of your spices. If you curry powder has been hanging out in the spice rack since the last administration it's probably time to get a new one. I used McCormick brand curry powder (the one in the glass jar with the green lid) and would recommend it.

Chicken Saagwala
Adapted from the Weight Watchers Cookbook
Serves 4

1 T plus 2t vegetable oil
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T + 1 t curry powder
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t ground cumin
12oz/350g chicken breast or tenders or tofu, cut into chunks
2 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
12 oz/300g frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/3C/75g low-fat plain yogurt
hot white or brown rice, naan, or pita bread (optional to complete your meal)

- Put the oil, ginger, garlic and spices in a non-stick skillet (that has a lid) and turn the heat to medium. Once the mix starts sizzling and bubbling, stir and toast for 2-3 minutes until very fragrant.

- Add the chicken and stir to coat with the spice mixture. Add the tomatoes, mix again and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, still on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

- Add the spinach, stir, re-cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

- Add the yogurt, stir and and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with your accompaniments.

Now Watching

2009-11-22T21:49:00.003-05:00

The French Chef with Julia Child. I searched for it on a whim at the library and was pleasantly surprised that it was available as Mastering the Art of French Cooking has a huge waiting list. I guess all those fans of Julie and Julia have the DVD set on their Netflix queues. So far I've seen Julia prepare potatoes 4 ways (dauphinoise, shredded potato pancakes, casserole with sausage and mashed potato pancakes) and I would make any one. Judging from the way Zach cheered every time Julia said "I'll just put a touch of cream in" I don't think he would mind if we had potatoes for dinner every night this week. Julia does use a ridiculous amount of butter and cream in all of the recipes, but I bet the potatoes are amazing. I would like to try the potatoes dauphinoise and the potato sausage casserole, but knowing myself, will probably be cutting down on the fat a bit (Julia did say that you could use milk instead of cream for the potatoes dauphinoise).

Image is the cover art from the DVD set.

Fall Apple Cake

2009-10-29T12:02:00.002-04:00

Two boxes of apples from my dad's yard in New Jersey + friends coming over for dessert = fall apple cake. It's suddenly turned into fall in DC, so a warm apple cake seemed like the perfect weeknight treat. I based this off an old recipe that I love, but couldn't find, in the 30 minutes I had to get a cake in the oven before M&S arrived. It makes a buttery cake base that holds lots of tart apples and has a caramel topping that takes it a step beyond your typical apple cake. All it takes is about 30 minutes of prep work (even less if you have an apple peeler/corer, which I don't).

The first thing to do is find a cast iron skillet (or other stove to oven pan) and then estimate how many apples you would need to fill up the skillet with apple quarters. This depends completely on the size of your apples- with the little ones from my dad's yard, I probably used 10. If you have monster grocery store apples, you will probably need less, though you could cut them into eights and probably should, as you don't want the apple pieces to stick out above the edge of your pan.

Once you've figured out the apple situation, it's time to peel and core. I don't take the whole peel off the apple because 1) I'm lazy and 2) might as well keep some of the vitamins in. I peel in a spiral pattern, leaving a few stripes on. I wouldn't recommend skipping the peeling step completely, as the apple skins don't soften like the rest of the fruit during baking and fighting to cut an apple peel with a fork does not make for an enjoyable dining experience.

When you've finished the apples, pop the sugar and butter in the skillet over medium low heat and let melt. Don't stir but pick up the pan (oven mitt, please) and tilt it around to combine the ingredients. Let cook to a medium amber color and remove from the heat. It can be a little hard on your first few attempts to discern the color of the caramel from black skillet, but watch for the color on the foamy parts. Arrange the apples in rings around the pan, then make your cake batter and pour over the top. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350F, turn the cake over onto a plate and serve warm.

Fall Apple Cake
Serves 8-10

Apple topping:
1/2C (100g) sugar
2 T. (30g) butter
apples (read above to figure out how many you need)
lemon juice

Cake:
1 recipe, yellow or white cake (coming soon)
(If you are really pressed for time you could use a box mix although it only take a few minutes to put together this recipe)

- Preheat oven to 350F/180C

- Peel, core and cut apples in fourths or eights depending on the size. Toss with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

- Heat the butter and sugar in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Don't stir but pick up the pan (oven mitt, please) and tilt it around to combine the ingredients. Let cook to a medium amber color and remove from the heat.

- Arrange the apple pieces in rings in the skillet. Pour the cake batter evenly over the top of the apples. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cake is puffed and golden and a tester inserted in the cake come out clean.

Tossed Salad with Indian Spiced Chicken

2009-10-28T10:34:00.001-04:00

I remember reading an article a few years ago stating that the average American family has about a dozen core recipes in its meal lineup, and repeats them, with a few variations, most of the time. At the time, I thought that would be awfully boring, but I've given more thought to it lately, as I haven't been making things I thought were interesting enough to post on the blog. Part of why I started writing this blog was to encourage myself to try new foods and techniques in the kitchen and it's worked, but lately I found myself in a culinary rut. Granted, this was after a summer of heavy travel when I had simply gotten out of the habit of meal planning and into the habit of pasta and veggie burgers. Now that some big life things have happened- Zach and I got married, I'm leaving my job to take some time off before the new job starts (a luxury I really do appreciate), I am ready to get the blog fired up again.

I thought I would start with a 'make the old new again' kind of recipe, turning Indian Spiced Chicken Bites into a meal but putting them on top of a tossed salad with an Indian spice dressing and serving it with warm pita. Is it the most magnificent thing I've ever made in the kitchen? Certainly not; but it was a quick, balanced meal that combines everyday ingredients with a few new tastes to add some excitement to a weeknight dinner.

Tossed Salad with Indian Spiced Chicken
Serves 2, easily doubled
Dressing based on this recipe

1/2 recipe Indian Spiced Chicken Bites
1/2 head romaine (or your preferred) lettuce, torn into pieces
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 C. raisins or chopped dried apricots

salad dressing (below)

- Toss all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Top with dressing and toss again. Serve.

Salad dressing (you'll probably have leftovers)

a bit of lemon zest
2T lemon juice
1/2t turmeric
1/2t cumin
1/2t coriander
1 small glove garlic, mashed into a paste
1/2t sugar
2t grated fresh ginger
chili paste to taste
salt to taste
1/4-1/2C light flavored oil

- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl with a wisk.

Pumpkin Spice Macarons

2009-10-27T21:45:00.006-04:00

This month was supposed to be my triumphant return to the Daring Bakers but it began with a baking disaster and is ending with me typing up this post at 10pm on posting day. I have seen macarons online for a while now and have always been more intrigued by their looks than what I thought they would taste like. While the sandwich cookies look so cute, meringue has never been my thing, so I'd never gotten around to trying them, until this month that is.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

For my first attempt, I carefully separated the eggs and let the whites come to room temperature. Then I proceeded to overbeat them. I knew it but decided to continue on with the cookies anyway, thinking that everything would be all right. Oh no, it was not. The cookies ended up flattened sticky messes and even though I'm usually a one picture per post type of person, I'm sticking in an extra picture of my overbeated egg whites- just in case you aren't sure what they look like (I wasn't). So here they are= if your egg whites look like this, toss them out and start again.

For my next attempt, I whipped the white much more carefully and things turned out pretty well. I couldn't find my piping tips when it came time to pipe out the cookies though, so I ended up make them much thinner than I should have. They turned out a little flat, but still have a hint of the 'foot' they are famous for.

For flavoring I decided to go fall, and mixed nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and allspice into the macaron batter and made an unsweetened pumpkin cream cheese frosting. I find pumpkin quite bitter on its own, but it worked out really well against the incredibly sweet macarons.

One last confession before I end my post. Since my first macaron attempt failed, I switched recipes for the second. The DB challenge recipe is below, but for my successful attempt, I used Helene's recipe. I'm sure both will work, as long as you're careful with the egg whites.

Macarons

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.

Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable)
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• Sifter or sieve
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients
2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.) Confectioners’ sugar
2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.) Almond flour
2T (25g, 88 oz.)Granulated sugar
5 Egg whites (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami's note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

Garlic Scape and White Bean Dip

2009-08-31T10:08:00.000-04:00

My summer travels have come to an end and I'm back in DC (for the next week at least). While my summer photos are loading I thought I'd post this dip that I made earlier in the summer. It's healthy, delicious and easy- for a while I was making a batch a week to have as a snack. Yes, garlic scape season has passed us by but it's just as good made with fresh rosemary and a small piece of garlic. I used this recipe from Zested, a blog worth visiting just for the photos alone and made even better by the great recipes. I'll be back soon with more recipes and travel food posts.

Milanos

2009-07-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

Milano cookies are one of my favorite commercial (as opposed to homemade) cookies so I was pretty stoked to see that one of the two recipes for this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was for a homemade Milano style cookie by Gail Gand. I knew I would be traveling so resolved to make these cookies early in the month and give them to a professor of mine as a thank you gift.

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I set to making the cookies, making a few modifications (bad Daring Baker, I know, but I couldn't help myself). Not everyone loves citrus with chocolate and as as the cookies were a gift, I decided to leave out the lemon extract. Without the lemon to balance out the 2T of vanilla extract, I thought 1T would be more than enough to flavor the cookies. The batter came together quickly but looked much to thin to make cookies and then I (figuratively) smacked myself on the head as I realized I forgot to add the flour. Disaster averted, at least for the time being.

Pastry bag improvised, cookies piped and in the oven. 7 minutes later, one gigantic burnt cookie mess comes out of the oven. The cookies had completely run together and burnt. Crud. Scrape trays and start over. Next go, about half of the cookies came out useable. Third go and a few lessons learned. Pipe very small dots, not lines of batter, and leave 3 inches between the dots. Watch them carefully and pull out as soon as the edges get golden. Use parchment or tin foil and pull off the hot sheets immediately, then remove while still a little warm. Ok- method down, several rounds later I have dozens of wafer thin cookies in varying shapes and sizes.

Ganache made without problems and then the fun begins. I spread out a layer of cookies and played a matching game, trying to put them in relatively equally spaced pairs, held together with the ganache.

Finally, I finished making all the cookie sandwiches and rewarding myself by eating the remaining ganache with a spoon. The finished cookies looked pretty, if a bit rustic in their uneveness. The vanilla taste was a bit too strong for me, even though I had halved it, but overall they were good but perhaps not quite worth the trouble when it's so easy to buy a bag...

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Smoky Grilled Chicken

2009-07-23T10:05:00.001-04:00

Back in D.C. from a lovely long vacation and thought I would post on this smoky grilled chicken I made a few weeks ago. It's from a recipe my co-worker S- and I saw on the Food Network (don't worry, it was after hours) and we both thought it looked amazing. First, a spice rub and then a long, slow cook on a grill with wood chips to give the chicken great flavor and color. It was fantastic, easily the best grilled chicken I have ever made, and quite simple too. The only problem was that the chicken took about 2 hours to cook so we had dinner at around 10pm... which meant there was a little too much time for mojitos beforehand.

I followed the Neely's recipe closely, so I will leave you with the link and few notes:

1) We used a 'sweet' smoking mix S- picked up from World Market that included applewood but had other things too
2) We have a kettle style charcoal grill so followed Alton Brown's suggestion of making a foil pouch for the (pre-soaked) wood chips and snipping little holes it and it worked well
3) The chicken might take a long time to cook through- have some tasty drinks on hand and friends to keep you company while you wait

Rhubarb Citrus Tart

2009-07-02T09:55:00.001-04:00

I made this tart while visiting my family in New Jersey a few weeks ago. Only after I got back from the store did I remember that my dad has some semi-wild rhubarb growing in the back yard. The tart recipe is from Gourmet magazine. This is one of those desserts that prettier to look at than it is to eat. The recipe called for frozen puff pastry and the only thing available was the national brand- I'm sure it would be better if you could find an all butter pastry. The citrus glaze for the tart seemed like a good idea, except after boiling it for 20 minutes and still having much more than the recipe said I should I turned the heat up to full blast, hoping to reduce it quickly. I should have known, especially after this many daring bakers challenges, how quickly sugar can caramelize over high heat. Luckily must have developed my sense of smell a bit because as soon as I got a whiff of caramel I was able to pull the pan off the stove before the whole thing burnt into a solidified citrusy mass.

I salvaged what glaze I could and attempted to spread it over the warm tart but as it was the consistency of molasses, it didn't go very well. Still, I thought it was pretty enough to warrant a post and thought that it might serve as inspiration for some other, better, rhubarb dessert.

Garlic Scape Pesto

2009-07-01T10:09:00.002-04:00

This recipe seems to be all the rage this year as more and more people discover garlic scapes. My first experience with garlic scapes (which are the green tops farmers cut off the top of the growing garlic early in the season) came last year courtesy of our CSA. I didn't really know what to do with them so used them mostly in stir fries. This year though, I've come across recipes highlighting the fresh flavor of the scapes, like this pesto I adapted from Dorie Greenspan. I think that my scapes were a bit bigger than Dorie's as you can see that my pesto came out rather thick, even though I kept adding tablespoons of water to thin it out. It has a coarser texture than basil pesto but the garlic flavor and surprising burst of spice made it a great cracker topping. Next I'm going to whir it up in the mini-prep again with some basil leaves to make a scape and basil pesto.

The Darings Do Dumplings

2009-06-23T12:19:00.014-04:00

Late yes, but so good they deserved the post anyway. A few years ago I decided to have a dumpling making party- I invited a few friends over, we made a few fillings and spent a happy hour sealing wrappers. Then, when it came time to cook the dumplings, we ended up with a mushy on the outside/raw on the inside mess. My friend M- disputes this, and says that only the pork ones came out raw and the rest were fine, but pork crudo dumplings sort of ruined it for me and I decided to leave dumpling making to the pros, until this month's Daring Cooks Challenge at least.

Jen, from Use Real Butter, chose dumplings as last month's challenge and the real challenge was to make the wrappers from scratch. I was nervous at first but her directions were great and the dough came together in no time at all. While the dough was having a rest, I made a pork filling, following Jen's recipe exactly. Make that almost exactly. I thought I had a huge knob of ginger at home but it turned out I had about 2T worth, half what the recipe called for. I hoped that would be all right and pressed on.

I started to roll out the little rounds and realized that it would take me the entire afternoon to roll, stuff and seal all of the dumplings so I called for backup. Zach and I set up an assembly line. He would roll out the little dough knobs and I would stuff and seal. Pretty soon we had about 40 dumplings lined up and ready to go. I put half in the freezer and pan fried the rest for lunch.

While they may not have been quite as pretty as the dumplings you get from restaurants, they were just as, if not more delicious. The filling had the perfect blend of ginger and soy, even though I used less ginger than called for. The crunch of the golden brown crust played perfectly off the soft top of the wrapper and (cooked!) pork filling. This recipe is definitley a keeper.

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers
Recipe from Jen at Use Real Butter
Makes about 40 dumplings

pork filling: (this makes a bit more than you will need- use the rest as filling for stuffed cabbage or make a dumpling burger or meatloaf out of it)
1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried - rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
1/2 cup (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
2 T (25g) ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

dough:
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Make the filling:
Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2 (my mom’s instructions): In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.

A Surprise from the Garden

2009-06-22T10:39:00.001-04:00

I am not good with plants. I never have been. In college, I killed a cactus. When we bought out house last fall, I saw the rosebush outside and wondered how long it would last. I decided on the less is more approach to rose care, meaning I ignored it and hoped it would ignore me and not immediately keel over. For the past few weeks, roses all around DC have been in bloom and our little rose plant (I'm not sure I would call its two spindly stalks a bush) yellowed and looked sickly in general. Then this morning, as I was wheeling my bike out on the way to work I saw this gorgeous pink and peach rose. I was so shocked I immediately pulled out the camera thought I should post the picture, even if it's not food related. Have a good Monday-

Just What the Doctor Ordered

2009-06-21T02:54:00.000-04:00

It's been a rough couple of months for me, as my lack of posting may have tipped you off too. I was having a particularly tough week when I logged on to my email and saw that Goldie from Confessions of a Serial Baker sent me a Sweet Lemonade Award. The award is for having a great attitude and while I know my attitude hasn't been the best lately (and I thank all of my friends for putting up with me) this award really means a lot to me and came at a time when I really needed it so- thank you Goldie.

And now, my nominees for the Sweet Lemonade Awards are:

Vera of Baking Obsession. Vera's can-do attitude and beautiful photography make me feel like I could make any of her recipes (and the ones that I have have been fantastic)

Hannah over at Bittersweet wows me with her pictures and cheers me up whatever my mood with her delicious vegan treats.

Chocolate Chip Cake

2009-06-19T14:42:00.003-04:00

This is a little cake I made with as I was testing out cupcakes a few weeks ago. I only have two cupcake pans, so when I filled the pans before I finished the batter, I whipped out a ramekin and decided that a cakelette was in the works. I baked it for a bit longer than the cupcakes and took it out when it had risen over the edge of the ramekin and was a delicious looking buttery golden color. Unfortunately, the center of the cake fell as it was cooling but that just meant I had to cover it up with whipped cream and strawberries. Zach and I shared it out in the garden, as this was before the killer mosquitos took over the yard. Just looking at it again now makes me want another one.

Turkish Style Baked Eggs

2009-06-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

I was reading Chocolate and Zucchini the other week and saw Clotilde's link to The New Vegetarian Column in the UK's Guardian newspaper. I was intrigued as I had read about the column's author, Yotam Ottolenghi, on other blog posts as he is the owner of a delicatessen, in the true meaning of the word, in London. I'm always on the lookout for meals that don't involve meat, and Zach and I love getting Turkish food out, so I eagerly read through Ottolenghi's recent columns looking for things to make.

When I had found this recipe and announced to the office that I was going to make baked eggs with yogurt and spinach for dinner, my co-worker S- actually started laughing. I will admit that it might sound a bit strange, but if you think about it like a variation on eggs florentine, with the spinach, yogurt instead of hollandaise and a bit of chili oil on top, it starts to sound a lot more normal.

It only took about 10 minutes to put everything together and it should have only taken another 10-15 to bake but I can never tell when baked eggs are done and cooked them for way too long. The finished dish was still really good though, topped with garlicy homemade yogurt, even if the eggs were overcooked. The chili sauce was a revelation though-- as its very similar to an amazing sauce that Zaytinya, one of our favorite DC restaurants, puts on its manti.

I made a few changes to the original recipe, as I couldn't find arugula and reduced the fat content a bit (per usual) so my version of the recipe is below.

Turkish Style Baked Eggs
Adapted from The New Vegetarian
Serves 2-3 for dinner

1 bunch (300g) fresh spinach
2 t. olive oil
4 eggs
3/4 C (150g) Greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 T (20)g unsalted butter
1/2 t. sweet paprika
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
6 sage leaves, shredded
salt for topping

- Preheat the oven to 300F (150C). Wash the spinach, remove the stems. Head a big frying pan over medium high heat with the oil. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt. Cook until the spinach is wilted and all of the water has evaporated. If you can, use a spatula to squeeze more water out of the spinach.

- Put the spinach in a small, ovenproof dish and make four wells that go almost to the bottom of the spinach. Break and egg into a custard cup (try to keep the yolk whole) and then pour into a well; repeat with remaining eggs. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the egg whites set. (you might want to give it a stab with a fork to check doneness as it's very hard to do by sight)

- While the eggs are cooking, mix the yogurt, the crushed garlic and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Leave on the counter till ready to serve.

- Wipe out the pan you used for the spinach. Add the butter and turn on the heat. Cook until the butter stops foaming then add the paprika and red pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Add the sage leaves, cook for another minute and turn off the heat.

- Remove the eggs from the oven when they're done. Fish the garlic out of the yogurt mix, then pour the yogurt on the center of the egg dish. Pour the butter mix over the top and serve immediately.

Spring Pea Pasta

2009-05-31T10:15:00.002-04:00

I went home from work on Wednesday planning to make some pasta with olive oil and garlic for dinner, as I hadn't really been shopping since we'd come back from New York. Usually, the first thing I do when I get home is read the Style section of the The Washington Post. Even though I could read the whole thing online during the day, I really am a bit of luddite and really like to sit on the couch and go through the paper, turning my fingers gray with newsprint. Reading the paper online just isn't the same for me.

On Wednesdays, the Post puts out its Food section so I start there before moving to style. The section, like most in the paper, has clearly lost some staff over the last few months and introduced a new format. Perhaps because of this, not many recipes have made the leap from the page to my kitchen. Last Wednesday though, the butterfly pasta with baby peas immediately caught my attention.

Farfalle is actually one of my least favorite pasta shapes, but the delicate sauce of peas and snap peas sounded really good. The fussy recipe, involving ice water baths, cooling, reheating and a blender, just seemed like too much for a Wednesday night and I thought that I could streamline the recipe and get a similar taste. I put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta and got started by chopping an onion and sweating it in a bit of butter. Then I poured in some vegetable broth and brought it to a boil. When the onion was soft, I poured in all but a handful of a bag of frozen petit peas and cooked them just for a minute or two. Out came the immersion blender and I whirred the sauce together with a few sage leaves, then drained the pasta and tossed it all together. Much easier than the original recipe. Granted, I didn't have the snap peas or shallot but I don't think the recipe was really harmed for the lack of them.

The bright green sauce livened up the mix of pastas (a result of the bare pantry) and a perfect, slightly sweet dinner for a spring night. Since the whole meal came together in the time it takes to boil and cook a pot of pasta, I'm sure this one will be on the menu again.

P.S. I had some extra sauce leftover, which I ate as a cold pea soup for lunch the next day. The original recipe suggests mixing leftovers with some greek yogurt for a dip...

Spring Pea Pasta
Adapted from The Washington Post
Serves 4 for dinner

10 oz. (280g) your favorite short pasta
2 T. (20g) butter
1 medium to large onion
2 C (480ml) vegetable broth (can sub. chicken broth)
1 lb (450g) fresh or frozen baby peas
3-5 fresh sage leaves (or your favorite fresh herb)

- Put a large pot of water on to boil. Chop the onion and add to a smallish saucepan with the butter. Sweat the onion over medium/medium low heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes.

- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions. When the pasta has about 5 minutes left, add all but a large handful of the peas to the veggie broth mix. Boil for 2-3 minutes, until the peas are just tender. Take off the heat, add the fresh herbs and puree very carefully using an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and whir it away.

- Drain the pasta, return to the pot and add sauce to taste. Toss well and serve right away.

Apple Strudel

2009-05-27T09:21:00.007-04:00

This was a last minute challenge if I've ever done one. Zach and I got back from a weekend in New York on Monday night and when I logged in to the Daring Kitchen yesterday, just to check on the ingredients needed for this months challenge, I was startled to see that I had just one night for the challenge. Luckily, this month's apple strudel seemed manageable so I made a grocery list and got to work.

The strudel dough came together so quickly I almost wanted to laugh- really, this easy? I prepped the apples while the dough rested and then met a friend at the gym. When we got back, I spread an old sheet over half of the dining room table and while K* and Zach looked on, proceeded to roll and stretch out the dough. Once I floured both side of the dough, it rolled out easily. I tried to be as delicate as possible when picking it up to stretch out, but I still got a few holes, which I patched up with a little water. The dough didn't quite make it to 2'x3' but it was tissue thin in most parts so I cut off the edges, put in the filling and rolled the whole thing up, using the sheet as a sling.

After 30 minutes in the oven, the strudel came out golden brown and with a buttery, tangy apple smell filling the house. I attempted to wait patiently for the required 30 minutes, then K* and I tried a piece. I was shocked at how well the dough came out- crisp, lightly buttery in contrast to the soft apples and raisins. This one is a definite keeper.

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Apple Strudel

(Tips and notes from our hosts at the bottom)

Preparation time
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes

15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool

Apple strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.
Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Tips
- Ingredients are cheap so we would recommend making a double batch of the dough, that way you can practice the pulling and stretching of the dough with the first batch and if it doesn't come out like it should you can use the second batch to give it another try;
- The tablecloth can be cotton or polyster;
- Before pulling and stretching the dough, remove your jewelry from hands and wrists, and wear short-sleeves;
- To make it easier to pull the dough, you can use your hip to secure the dough against the edge of the table;
- Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible.

Tomato Mozzarella and Spinach Pasta Salad

2009-05-18T16:28:00.000-04:00

I ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad to have at a work lunch last week and, as I hate to see food go to waste, brought the leftovers home. With recent family visits and graduation to go to I haven't been cooking very often at all lately. I knew there wasn't much in the fridge but two bunches of baby spinach leaves. Once I got home, I found a box of penne in the back of the cupboard and decided everything could go together to make a warm pasta salad. As I heated the water for the pasta, I washed and spun the spinach, then put it in my big salad bowl along with the tomato mozzarella salad. I cooked the penne then drained it and tossed it together with the veggies and cheese. The pasta salad was summery and delicious. It was good warm and as cold leftovers and would make a great picnic or pot luck addition.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Spinach Pasta Salad
Serves 4-6 as a main course

2 cups tomato mozzarella salad OR 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes plus 1 cup tiny fresh mozzarella balls and 1/2 C. of your favorite red wine vinagrette
2 small bunches baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
10 oz. whole wheat penne

- Set a pot of water on to boil. Clean and dry the spinach and put in in your serving bowl. Add the tomato mozzarella salad and toss to combine.

- When the water comes to the boil, add the pasta and cook until all dente. Reserve 1/2 C. pasta cooking water then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta tot the serving bowl and toss to combine. The spinach should wilt slightly. If it looks too dry add some pasta cooking water. Serve immediately or save for later.

Daring Cooks: Ricotta Gnocchi

2009-05-14T00:01:00.001-04:00

For the launching of Daring Cooks, Lis and Ivonne chose a ricotta gnocchi recipe from the Zuni Cafe. The recipe looked easy enough, especially after watching this helpful demo from the cooks at the Zuni Cafe, so I planned on making the gnocchi as a light Sunday night dinner. Since ricotta is the star ingredient of these gnocchi, I made a special trip to Whole Foods to get an artisanal one, instead of the usually grocery store variety. Both the recipe and the video advised straining the ricotta overnight to ensure that the gnocchi wouldn't be too liquidy so I did. When it was finally time to make the gnocchi, my ricotta has firmed up a bit but it didn't look like the video as it was still very soft. What is a daring cook to do but press on with the recipe in the face of possible failure?

I followed the rest of the recipe exactly yet the gnocchi mixture looked more like soup than anything that could be scooped into quenelles. I poured a bit of the soup onto a plate of flour and attempted to jiggle it into some sort of shape and when that didn't work, I used a spoon to scoop it up and into a waiting pot. My test gnocchi promptly disintigrated and I didn't think that one egg white would do much to help it. I poured it back into the strainer and decided to try to drain some additional water out of it. One visit from my aunt and uncle and two days later, I remebered the gnocchi at approximately 10am.

I ran down to the kitchen, certain that the batter would be a solid mass, to find a that it really hadn't firmed up much at all. I prepared a test gnocchi though, determined to salvage something from it, and it held together all right so I had the batch and put them straight into the freezer.

A few days later I made the gnocchi for lunch. The gnocchi held together when cooking but didn't fare so well coming out of the pan. The ones that survived were light and fluffy, if a bit salty, probably from concentrating everything by extracting the water. I served them with a brown butter sage sauce, which was mild enough not to overwhelm the ricotta but still added a bit of flavor.

Even though my my gnocchi fell apart the recipe was easy to make, so I'd like to try them again with a different ricotta in the future.

Note: These gnocchi are gluten free except for a dusting of flour as a very last step. I think that you could easily use an alternative flour and keep them totally gluten free.

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: From The Zuni Café Cookbook.
Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.

Tips:
- If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe, there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it.
- Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn't look very wet, it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.
- When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It's okay if they look a bit wrinkled or if they're not perfectly smooth.
- If you're not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. If you let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.
- For the variations to the challenge recipe, please see the end of the recipe.

Equipment required:
- Sieve
- Cheesecloth or paper towels or coffee filters
- Large mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Tablespoon
- Baking dish or baking sheet
- Wax or parchment paper
- Small pot
- Large skillet
- Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)

For the gnocchi:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:
8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water

Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.
If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.
To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.
Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.
Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.
Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.
Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.
Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.
Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.
In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep.
With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl.
Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.

At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.
Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.

If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.

Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.

You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.
Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside.

In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other.

Once the water is boiling, salt it generously (mine ended up too salty, so you might want to go light on the salt.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).
When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking.

Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.

With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

Farrah Olivia

2009-04-17T16:36:00.000-04:00

Zach's dad and J- have been in town for the weekend and took us out to dinner at Farrah Olivia, one of the top restaurants in the DC area. Zach and I had been there for restaurant week last year and, as it was the most delicious meal I ever had, I was very excited to go back. I put on my new black dress with new emerald green heels adn we were off.

The dining room of Farrah Olivia is serene, with huge windows on two sides and a faint African feel to the decorations as a nod to Chef Morou Outtara's heritage. We sat down and the hostess handed us thick, mint green menus which I could have read all night without eating a thing and still gone home happy. Through some coordination, we finally all decided what to get an ordered and then the fun began.

First came a bread basket and small plate with four toppings: horseradish cottage cheese, curry butter, bok choy pesto and tomato paste. I went back and forth between the four but finally decided the curry butter was my favorite. It's golden yellow color and distinctive curry flavor that tasted just like my favorite curries from Denmark won me over. The bok choy pesto came in a close second though with the clean Asian flavors reminding me of summer and our CSA.

Next came a tiny amouse bouche on a straw skewer. Mushroom cornbread with a bacon creme and slice of grilled shrimp. It was a perfect bit with the earthy mushrooms setting off the sweet shrimp and the creamy sauce balancing the cornbread.

Highlights of the first course; my ying and yang hot and cold pea and carrot soup, J-'s salad served in a crisp cone with shockingly yellow dressing on the side and Zach's deconstructed escolar sushi with soy pearls and wasabi powder.

The main event, as with all the courses, came with narration as the servers explained all of the intricacies of the dish. My braised beef rib was perfection. The meat was so tender that it fell apart as the merest touch of a fork and the mushroom puree and bbq essence made the dish taste like my grandma's pot roast times 50, comforting but intense at the same time. Zach's pork tenderloin was juicy but even though the mole perfectly balanced the chocolate, cumin and spice, I was reminded that I just don't like mole. He does though, and loved it.

Farrah Olivia really does save the best for last. Dessert was fantastic. Zach and I had a bit of negotiation but settled (meaning I prevailed) on the mango soup. The dish came out in a shallow bowl. It held a layer of bright orange mango soup with a perfectly shaped quenelle of coconut sorbet with flecks of golden toasted coconut on top. Circling the soup were little jewels of mango and lychee. When I say that this dessert was a triumph of the chef's, I am not exaggerating. We were all well and truly speechless.

At the very end the kitchen sent out a little plate of sweets with a tiny truffle, pineapple jelly and pine nut cookie for each of us. I didn't really need anything more after the mango soup but of course I had to try each. The pineapple jelly sweet but covered in a sour sugar; a very grown up sour patch kid. The pine-nut cookies were crisp chewy and delicious and reminded me yet again of a cookie my grandma used to make, only better (I feel rather guilty typing that one out).

All in all it was a perfect dining experience. Not exactly for the faint of wallet but if you'll be in DC for a few days and want to splurge on one nice dinner, Farrah Olivia is the place to do it.

Farrah Olivia
Alexandria VA

Our Future Veggies

2009-04-04T22:28:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago our CSA farm, Bull Run Mountain Farm, had an open house. Zach and I decided to go at the very last minute and hopped in the car and drove out to The Plains, about 40 miles outside of DC. I hate to say it, but I don't often get beyond the beltway and didn't regret doing so as we got off 66 and drove past a few miles of McMansions on the way to the farm. As we turned off the main road though, things began to look up.

We wound our way along a two lane road with old farmhouses and, as we started up a hill and into the trees, turned off on the dirt track to the farm. We bumped along for a mile or two, all the while headed up through the forest as I thought, "how the heck can anyone farm here?" We never made it out to the farm last year so even though it's called Bull Run Mountain Farm, I never realized it's actually on the top of a mountain. As Leigh, the farmer, explained, it's the farmland for poor people, as the wealthy had their farms in more fertile valleys (and have long since sold out to developers).

Leigh took us on a tour and we saw the greenhouse where 70,000 seedlings are kept warm with a wood stove, the fields and the chicken coop, where we got to collect fresh eggs. The two crop fields are on a flattish part of the mountain but still have a definite downward slope and were much smaller than I thought they'd be. It's amazing how much Leigh can grow in such tight quarters.

Now that we've been out to the farm once, I hope we'll make it again so I may have some more farm updates for you as summer unfolds.

Homemade Lasagna, Daring Bakers Style

2009-04-03T10:37:00.002-04:00

I'm back from the longest holiday Real Good Taste has ever had with the DB challenge I made on time but didn't post. Thank you all for your patience. New posts will be up shortly and you will see me on your blogs soon.

I was really shocked when I saw that this month's Daring Baker's Challenge was a lasagna. I've pretty much only made sweets since I joined the group and even when we had a savory option, like with the lavash crackers, I still added a sweet topping. My purpose in joining the group was to be challenged in the kitchen though, so pretty soon I was thinking how delicious a lasagna with homemade pasta would be, a definite indication of how long it had been since I last made pasta by hand.

As regular readers of Real Good Taste know, I had a huge exam mid-month that kept me out of the kitchen for far too long. I decided my reintroduction to real cooking would be with this lasagna. Nothing looked too hard, but I thought it would be a good idea to split up the cooking and made the béchamel sauce the day before hand. Lasagna day was a beautiful and warm day here so I thought I would take an hour or two to get the meat sauce and pasta done and then go out and help Zach with some yardwork. Well- I started cooking a 11am and ended at 4pm with few breaks in between.

I used Marchella Hazan's recipe for bolognese meat sauce, as it had far fewer ingredients than the DB version, and while it didn't need much prep, I had to be around to add the milk, wine and tomatoes one by one, allowing for full evaporation in between.

Once the bolognese was gently bubbling away, I turned to the pasta. I assembled everything and decided that my floor would thank me if I beat the eggs and spinach together in a bowl, instead of attempted to do in on the narrow counter and ending up with a Niagara Falls of green eggs cascading onto the slate tile that is impossible to clean. I began to work the flour into the egg mixture and everything seemed to be going well except for one tiny problem- the dough was the right consistency but half the flour was left on the counter. Worried that I wouldn't have enough pasta for the lasagna, I added another egg and kept going but still had about a cup of flour left over. Four eggs seemed like going overboard so I wrapped the pasta dough in plastic and let it rest. Then came the real fun.

Since the move I haven't been able to locate some of my favorite kitchen supplies, including my 2 foot long french rolling pin, so I had to work with was a 10in. american pin. What this means it that I had to divide the dough into quarters and go through the three step rolling process 4 times. By the end of it my arms were burning like they did the time that I did a strength class at the gym with 5lb. weights only to realize at the end of the class they were 5kg. While I had hoped to be done with the pasta several hours earlier my arms did get a chance to rest before the assembly.

I cooked the pasta briefly in heavily salted boiling water and started on assembly. Our instructions called for thin layers of béchamel and bolognese but said that we should use the full amounts of both when putting the lasagna together. I ended up using 4 layers of pasta, which was only half of what I had made. I would recommend using two eggs for the pasta and just working in as much flour as you can. That will make plenty of pasta for the recipe.

By the time dinner was finally ready I was dead tired from the day of lasagna making. The finished product was good, but I'm not sure it was worth all the effort. That said, Zach loved it and said he'd like to have it again and I could see everything going a lot better with the right rolling pin and amount of dough. I did like making pasta by hand and would like to experiment with ravioli or other filled pasta.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna
adapted from from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
serves 8 as a first course, 4-6 as a main course

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Bolognese Sauce (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method
Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
2 C. (240g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour [I updated this to reflect the right amount of flour for the number of eggs)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.
Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm).

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

# 3 Bolognese Sauce
Recipe from The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

1 T. vegetable oil
3 T. butter
1/2 C. chopped onion
2/3 C. chopped celery
2/3 C. chopped carrot
3/4 lb. (340g) ground beef (it will be tastier if you use 80 or 85% lean)
salt
pepper
1 C. whole milk
a little ground nutmeg
1 C. white wine (dry if you have it)
1 & 1/2C. plum tomatoes with the juice

- Add oil, onion and butter to pot. Cook on medium until the onion becomes translucent (3-4 minutes) then add the celery and carrot. Cook for another two minutes and stir to coat them in the butter and oil.

- Add the ground beef, a fat pinch of salt and some pepper. Break up the meat with a spoon and cook till it's not red.

- Add the milk and let it simmer over very low heat until it has completely evaporated. Grate in a little bit of nutmeg (less than 1/8t.) and stir.

- Add wine and let simmer over very low heat until it has completely evaporated. Add the tomatoes and and stir to coat the sauce. Use your spoon to break the tomatoes up into pieces. Cook at a very, very low simmer (just a few bubbles popping up every minute) for 3-4 hours. Stir it every one in a while and if it looks really dry, add a 1/2 C. water. In the end you don't want to have any water or obvious liquid left. The sauce should be very thick, more like pieces of beef and veg slightly coated in tomato. It should smell amazing. Give it a taste for salt and use in the lasagna or on your favorite pasta.

Quiche in a Crepe

2009-03-08T23:36:00.003-04:00

The final push has begun, T minus 5 days until my comprehensive exam. As you can imagine, I've spent very little time in the kitchen lately and when I have, it's just been to throw a few things together for dinner without regard for a recipe or making things presentable enough for a photo. Last Friday I couldn't stand it anymore and decided to find a recipe and make something new for dinner. I didn't want anything too heavy, or that would take to long, and after throwing some ideas around at the office (it's great to have co-workers as interested in food as I am) I decided on a quiche.

Though I love getting quiche out, it's always seemed a bit too fussy and indulgent to make at home. Pastry crust, for me, is reserved for special occasions and Friday night dinner is not one of them. I poked around a bit on the internet and came across an Alton Brown recipe for quiche made with a crepe crust instead of a short pastry. It seemed like the perfect solution and so it was. Zach made the crepe batter while I was at yoga and used some dried herbs de provance in place of the fresh called for (he even looked up the equivalency for dry to fresh herbs online!) and the crepe batter was ready to go when I got home. We cooked the crepes, sliced up the taylor ham, quickly sauteed an onion in a bit of olive oil, beat the eggs and milk and things were ready to go. I don't have a jumbo muffin pan, as Alton calls for, so the recipe made about 10 mini-quiches instead of the 6 in the recipe.

The quiche came out perfectly. It had light, delicate texture and the herbs de provence complimented the flavor of the eggs and ham. A little cheddar cheese on top added color and richness and with a spinach salad, it was a complete dinner.

I made very few changes to the recipe so I will give you the link if you'd like to try it and I'll list my changes below.

- Substitute a few slices of taylor ham for bacon
- Use olive oil in place of butter
- Cut back on the cheese to 4 ounces
- Make sure to grease your muffin tin!!! I didn't and had a heck of a time trying to get the final quiches out
- My quiche took about 20 minutes to cook in the regular size muffin tins- the quiches will get all puffy when they are done.

Macerated Strawberries with Lemon Creme

2009-03-03T23:49:00.004-05:00

Tired of months of the apple vs. pear debate every morning while packing my lunch, I long for something a bit more exciting in the fruit department. The other day I saw the first strawberries of the season in the grocery store and while I know they have been trucked up from Florida, I still can't resist. After sniffing a few packages to find the most fragrant (if you know a better way to pick out a good carton of berries without tasting them, do let me know so I can avoid the strange looks I sometimes get from other shopper) I put two in my basket.

I sampled a berry when I got home-- not terrible but not great either, about what one would expect in early March living in DC. The berries needed a boost if I was really going to enjoy them, so I decided to macerate them in red wine and serve them with a little cream. Soaking strawberries in red wine does sound a bit odd; I was extremely skeptical the first time I tried it out. I expected the berries to taste a bit like the raisins you get in mulled wine- overplump and alcoholic. I was surprised when I tried one and it tasted more like strawberry. I can't really explain how it works- I think it has something to do with the alcohol in the wine releasing additional flavor compounds but soaking strawberries in white wine intensifies their berry flavor. It's a good trick to use with mediocre berries but absolutely amazing with fresh, ripe summer berries. Recipe after the jump.

Strawberries with Lemon Creme
Serves 2, easily multiplied

1/2 lb (250g) strawberries
1-2 C. (250-500ml) red wine (you don't want to use an expensive bottle here- really anything you have open will do)
1 T. sour cream
1 T. Greek yogurt
1 t. sugar
a bit of lemon zest

- Cut the strawberries in half or quarters if they are large. Put the berries in a bowl and pour in just enough wine to barely cover the berries. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

- Combine the sour cream, yogurt and sugar.

- After the berries have macerated, drain* and divide between two bowls. Top with the creme and grate a bit of lemon zest over each and serve.

*Sadly the wine is not drinkable at this point-- trust me on this one, I've tried.

Chef Wan's Flourless Chocolate Valentino

2009-02-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.*

My first thought when I saw this monthly challenge was relief. Relief that I wasn't going to have to go to three grocery stores trying to find ingredients and spend two days in the kitchen dirtying every bowl and utensil we have. Not that I don't love the challenges that really test my skill in the kitchen- I would have never known how much I love a Swiss Meringue buttercream without the Praline Cake or that cracker can be made at home without the Lavash, but with my comprehensive exam rapidly approaching, I didn't think I could handle such an intense challenge so I was pleased to see a (fairly) simple flourless chocolate cake on the list for this month.

The recipe comes from Chef Wan, a Malaysian super-star chef, but it very unfussy. Wendy and Dharm warned us that with so few ingredients (chocolate, butter and eggs), the flavor of the chocolate really matters, so I immediately though of buying the chunks of Ghiradelli chocolate that Trader Joe's sells in the baskets near the register. We made a trip out only to find out that TJ's no longer sells them since Ghiradelli doesn't sell them the huge chocolate bars anymore. I really didn't want to go to another store to look for chocolate (and wasn't sure I could even find anything better for a reasonable price) so I got two TJ's pound plus chocolate bars, one semi-sweet and one 72% and came home to bake.

The cake comes together remarkably quickly. Melt chocolate and butter, whip egg whites, mix yolks into the chocolate, stir it all and bake. That's it. I let the simplicity guest the best of me and attempted to do a little kitchen multitasking while I was whipping the egg whites and when I came back to them, they were just, just on the far side of stiff peaks. I didn't want to use a whole extra 5 eggs though, decided it would be fine and kept going. I baked the cake, let it cool and then, at the appointment time attempted to release it from the springform pan.

I should mention that almost all of my baking supplies were my grandmothers and are from the 1960s, so my springform has been around a while. Its age means that the pin sticks, sometimes a lot. As I was yanking on the pin while trying to keep the whole cake from falling on the floor, the pin suddenly shot free and my thumb, which had been on the rim of the pan to keep it steady, slipped loose and plunged down into the cake, making a huge crater along one side of the cake. I attempted some emergency repairs but the nature of the cake (while warm it's very light and almost foamy) prevented it.

The next day, I took a few pictures, trying to keep the crater out of the shot, then cut the cake to take it to a party. I expected the cake to cut like a big block of fudge, but it sort of crumbled all of the place and kept braking apart. I sampled one of the broken pieces and while it had a very deep, rich chocolate flavor, it was a bit dry and had an almost mealy texture. I'm pretty sure this was due to my over-beating the egg whites but am really curious to see what other bakers thought of the cake.

*You'll notice I don't talk about making ice-cream in this post because I didn't. As much as I would love to make it, I don't have an ice-cream machine and without it, I was pretty sure I'd end up with a frozen block of sweetened cream, which just doesn't appeal to me.

Chocolate Valentino
Recipe from Chef Wan
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

1lb. (454 g.) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
10T (1 stick plus 2T or 146g. ) unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

- Preheat oven to 375F/190C

- Melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl in the microwave, stirring often. Set aside to cool.

- While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan (8in. springform please) and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.

- Whip the egg whites in a medium/large metal or glass bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

- With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

- Stir the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

- Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until no white remains. You want to do this as gently as possible so you don't deflate the batter.

- Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

- Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold and cool completely. Serve plain or with berry sauce, whipped cream or ice cream.

Southwestern Spiced Beef Tenderloin with Chipotle Mashed Potatoes, Lemon Crema and Wilted Spinach

2009-02-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

Long name but what if I told you that you could have all of this on the table within 40 minutes? You might be doubtful at first, but with a little planning you can do it quite easily.

I couldn't decide what to make for Valentine's Day dinner, but after getting the recipe for the spiced flourless chocolate cakes I thought that the main course should have a similar flavor profile, a bit spicy, to make it seem like a real menu, not just things thrown together for dinner. I went through my old issues of Cuisine at Home, looking for inspiration and came across the recipes mentioned above. It seemed like more fuss than I usually bother with, but as it was Valentine's Day I decided it would be worth it. Once I started cooking though, I realized that this menu is deceptively simple.

Nothing about it is hard, tricky or complicated and it's easy to keep components warm as you make them, so there is no last minute freakout as you realize that the steaks are done but your potatoes have 5 minutes to go. The chipotle mashed potatoes add a new flavor to an old standby and the lemon crema tames the heat and brings a bit of richness and extravagance to the party. Garlicky wilted spinach adds a burst of bright green color and texture contrast and serves as the perfect nest for a piece of spice encrusted beef tenderloin.

I'm usually a bit nervous about butchering a decent cut of steak since I only make it twice a year, but the cooking technique I used (a mash of America's Test Kitchen and Alton Brown's methods) makes it foolproof. I hope that you'll try out this menu for your next dinner party, or special occasion at home dinner- I will definitley be making it again.

When I was cooking I wished that I had a breakdown of when to do what, instead of 5 recipes on a page without any direction so I've put together this timing list. I hope it's helpful

Southwestern Spiced Beef Tenderloin with Chipotle Mashed Potatoes, Lemon Crema and Wilted Spinach
Adapted from Cuisine at Home
Serves 2, with room for dessert

Timing Notes:
-1 hour before cooking, put beef on the counter to take the chill off
-15 minutes before cooking, turn oven on to 200F, take out all your ingredients and line them up on the counter
Cooking starts:
-Put steaks in oven
-Peel potatoes, chop and set to boil boil
-Make lemon crema
-Make compound butter
-Prep additions to the potatoes
-Drain and mash potatoes, reserving the liquid.
-Take steaks out of the oven and sear on the stove, set aside to rest.
-Wilt spinach.
-Plate and enjoy.

For the Beef:

1 t. brown sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. chili powder
a few grinds of pepper
2 beef tenderloin filets, about 4oz (120g) each
1 t. vegetable oil

- Preheat oven to 200F.

- Mix the sugar and spices and press the top and bottom of each fillet (leave the sides unseasoned)) in the mix. Insert a probe thermometer into one of the filets and set the alert temp. to 95F (for very rare). Bake filets on a wire rack above a pan for 20-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature is achieved.

- Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat with the vegetable oil until it begins to smoke. Sear the steaks for about 45 seconds on each side or until they develop a brown crust. You can sear the sides as well if you like. Set the filets aside to rest for a few minutes and serve.

For the Spuds:

1/2 lb (500g) potatoes
1/2 C. half and half
1 T. scallion, thinly sliced
1 chipotle en adobo, minced (start easy on the peppers, they're spicy)
salt and pepper to taste

- Peel the potatoes and cut into uniformish chunks. Put in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes (I drained the water into a metal bowl so I could pour it back into the pot and use it as a double boiler to keep the potatoes warm)

- Let the potatoes dry in the pot for a minute or two. Heat the half and half. Put the potatoes in a heat safe bowl and then mash them with as much cream as you like and chipotle as you dare. Mix in the scallions and add salt and pepper to taste.

- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set over a double boiler to keep warm.

For the Lemon Crema:

2 T. lowfat sour cream
2 t. lemon juice
zest of about 1/4 a lemon

- Mix it all together in a little bowl and chill till ready to plate

For the Compound Butter:

2 t. butter, softened
1 t. chopped parseley, or celery leaves
a bit of lemon zest (depends how much you like it)
a little squeeze of lemon juice

- Mix it all together and then stash it in the fridge until ready to use

For the Garlic Wilted Spinach

1 clove garlic, smashed
1 t. olive oil
6 oz (180g) baby spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste

- Add the garlic and olive oil to a skillet large enough to hold the spinach. Heat over medium low until the garlic get lightly browned. Add the spinach and stir to coat with the oil. Cook until just wilted and then plate immediately.

For the assembly:

- Divide the spuds evenly between the plates.

- Top each with half of the lemon crema.

- Split the spinach between the plates and set it on top of the crema.

- Perch a filet of beef on top and finish it all off with a pat of the compound butter.

- Enjoy.

Quick Apple Pear Crumble

2009-02-26T08:39:00.001-05:00

It seems like I've been posting about a lot of desserts lately. I think it's due to all the studying I've been doing for my comprehensive exam (two more weeks to go--eeeek). I barely have time to cook us real dinners these days, but on the weekends I always want to bake or make some kind of dessert to make up for the fact that we ate veggie burgers and spaghetti for dinner most of the week.

The inspiration for this apple pear crumble came from my Abel and Cole cookbook. The original recipe is more of guideline so I felt free make a smaller portion and reduce the butter used for the topping. It's not much to look at, but its the perfect winter comfort dessert. The apples and pears keep their texture but the best part is the the spicy, sweet crumble. I still consider it a relatively healthy dessert though as 4-5 servings only has 2.5T of butter. Recipe after the jump.

Quick Apple Pear Crumble
Inspired by the Able and Cole Cookbook
Serves 4-5

2 apples, peeled in zebra stripes and cored*
2 pears, peeled in zebra stripes and cored*
1 T. rum or brandy
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 T. sugar
1/3 C. (40g) flour
1/3 C. rolled oats
1/3 C. (60g) dark brown sugar
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground ginger
a few grates of nutmeg
pinch salt
2.5 T butter

- Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly great a casserole dish or pie plate.

- Chop apples and pears into 1/2in (1cm) cubes. Place in the dish, pour on the rum, lemon and sugar and toss to combine.

- In a small bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, spices and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop into the bowl. Use your finger tips to work the butter into the flour mixture, rubbing it between your fingers like you are feeling the texture of a cashmere sweater at Neimans, until the butter is incorporated and the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.

- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is golden and the fruit is tender. Serve hot or at room temperature.

*I like to leave on the peel for its nutrition benefits but leaving all of it on can give the crumble an unpleasant texture. My solution is to remove about half of the peel of the fruit by taking off stripes with a vegetable peeler. The zebra striping leaves enough peel that I at least feel like I'm getting some vitamins, but not so much that it affects the texture of the finished product.

Spiced Flourless Chocolate Cakes with Dulce de Leche Sauce

2009-02-21T08:37:00.000-05:00

It's funny how spot-on Shakespeare was when he wrote, "Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?" Names for things, especially in the culinary world, convey the essence of what a thing. Truffle, mousse, souffle, all convey a specific type of food that plays on what we know. You don't expect to get Hershey's bar when you ask for a truffle or an ice pop when ordering chocolate mousse. In the same way, a souffle conjours up a light, almost ethereal dish, rising out of its ramekin in stately fashion yet ready to fall at the slightest wrong move. I say all this by way of introduction to a flourless chocolate cake I made despite its recipe's claim to end in a souffle.

The day before Valentine's day, a recipe for a Mexican Chocolate Souffle made its way into my inbox. I was imediatley intrigued, as I hadn't even begun to consider what to make Zach and myself for dinner the next night. We really don't go big into these kinds of things, but I thought it would be nice if I actually made an effort on dinner, as school and work have kept me out the kitchen lately. The souffle recipe seemed easy enough and I had everything on hand it make it.

After a dinner with a Southwest theme, I set out to make the souffles. The recipe had been scaled back to serve 2 and as I read through the ingredients, the proportions just seemed off. 60g of chocolate to only 1 egg white? I didn't seem like enough egg white base to me, but as it was 9pm on Valentine's Day, I couldn't quite go off on a recipe search so I soldiered on. Everything for the souffle came together quickly. I used an improvised double boiler to melt the chocolate mixture, managed to use another half teaspoon on the instant coffee powder that Zach hates but I have on hand from recipes like this one and used my handy new immersion blender with wisk attachment to beat the egg white. I carefully folded the mixture together, much more calmly than the last time, spooned the souffle into the prepared ramekins and set them in the oven.

Ten minutes later I peeped in the window expecting to see my little souffles popping over the top of their molds. Instead they had barely risen half an inch. 'Maybe they are late risers', I thought and decided to wait. By the time the appointed cooking period was over, the hadn't even risen to the top of the ramekins. I still hoped they would taste like souffles, and took them out to the table to serve. I went to take a bite. My spoon encountered some resistance, not easily sliding through as it would with a souffle. I took a taste. Chocolately, a little dense, with hints of cinnamon, coffee and maybe a tiny taste of coconut. Good. Really good. But not a souffle. I had made a flourless chocolate cake.

Shakespeare was right in that a name for anything, imbued as it is with all of one's past experiences, influences how satisfied we are with it. I had made a terrible souffle, but a great chocolate cake. By changing the name of the recipe, and calling it was it is, and not what it wants to be, it tastes even sweeter.

Spiced Flourless Chocolate Cakes with Dulce de Leche Sauce
Adapted from Cuisine at Home
Serves 2

Unsalted butter and sugar
60 g. bittersweet chocolate (about 1/3C. chocolate chips)
2 T milk
1 t Malibu or coconut rum
1/2 t instant coffee powder
1/2 t cornstarch
1 t sugar
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1 egg, separated
Splash vanilla extract
Dulce de leche sauce (recipe follows)
Cocoa powder for dusting (optional)

- Preheat oven to 400F.

- Butter and sugar 2, 6oz (180ml) ramekins.

- Melt chocolate, milk, rum, coffee powder, cornstarch, sugar and spices in a double boiler until chocolate is completely melted. Stir to combine. Remove from heat but leave the double boiler on.

- Wisk together the egg yolk and vanilla then temper in to the chocolate mixture. Return the chocolate mix to the double boiler and cook for 3 minutes, wisking constantly. Remove from heat, cool to a warm room temperature.

- Whip the egg whites (in a metal or glass bowl- no plastic please, it will inhibit the whipping) until stiff peaks form. Stir one quarter of the whites into the chocolate mix to lighten it. Gently fold in the rest of the whites- its ok to leave the mixture a little bit streaky.

- Bake for 20 minutes or until the top looks dry but the sides have not pulled away from the ramekins. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Dust with cocoa and drizzle with dulce de leche sauce and serve.

Dulce de leche sauce

1 T. dulce de leche (check out Vera's easy recipe if you'd like to make it yourself)
1 T. half and half or milk

- Microwave ingredients for about 20-30 seconds until they are hot and easily combine into a sauce

Tomato Vegetable Soup

2009-02-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

I never much liked tomato soup growing up. I always thought of it as the sharp, slightly metallic tasting stuff the school cafeteria ladies served us from huge vats on grilled cheese day. I didn't hate it, but I wouldn't ever choose to eat it either. Then, a few years ago, I decided to give tomato soup another try. I found a recipe that looked good and went for it. It was delicious. Sweet from sauteed onion and carrots but with a distinct tomato taste enhanced by roasting the tomatoes. It's still the only recipe I make, though I have adapted it over the years to make much more than the original called for (why make only one meal worth of soup?) and to take out about 2/3C of oil. Don't worry- you won't miss it at all. Recipe after the jump.

Tomato Vegetable Soup
Adapted from Michael Chiarello
Makes 10 cups

1, 28oz (800g, it doesn't need to be exact) can diced tomato
2 T. olive oil, divided
1 very large or two medium onions
2 carrots
2 celery ribs
4 C. (1L) chicken stock (or veggie stock)
2 small bay leaves
1/2 t. dried basil
2 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste

- Preheat oven to 450F. Drain the tomatoes from the juice, reserving the juice for later use. Spread the tomatoes out on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 T. olive oil and roast for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to brown.

- While the tomatoes are roasting, dice the onions, carrot and celery. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a soup pot and sweat the vegetables on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until the onion in translucent. Add the reserved tomato juices, chicken stock, roasted tomatoes, bay leaves, basil and butter to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes- you want the veggies to be very tender.

- Puree the soup using an immersion blender or by transferring it in batches to your blender (don't forget to take out the center plug in the blender lid and cover it with a folded towel or silicon oven mitt so the steam can escape). Taste the soup and add salt/pepper to your liking and serve. Also keeps very well in the fridge for a few days.

I Saw Chef Spike!

2009-02-16T20:31:00.004-05:00

Yes, it's true. I saw Chef Spike today [an aside- just in case you are not Top Chef obsessed like I am, Spike was a contestant on season 4 and charmed us all with his quirky style and delicious looking food] Towards the end of season four of Top Chef, we started to hear some rumors here in DC that Spike would be opening up a restaurant. Pretty soon a website was up for Good Stuff Eatery. It didn't have much besides a concept- burgers, fries and shakes but made only with the best ingredients, and a prospective opening date, Spring 2008. DC already has a lot of burger joints but this one would have a semi-celebrity at the helm and K* and I immediately made plans to go, but, as the best laid plans are wont to do, they got delayed.

Finally, we made specific plans for our pilgrimage. Presidents' Day, since we were both of from school and work, was it. On the way, K* and I had debated to likelihood of Chef Spike being at Good Stuff. She was more hopeful than I, as I imagined that Spike would be, well I don't know what else exactly he might be doing other than running his own restaurant but I figured there must be something. We walked in to the converted row house and joined the bunch of people standing near the cashier and then I saw him. I will admit, I squealed a little. Spike was behind the counter, expediting the orders, wearing his trademark fedora. I felt a bit better for behaving like a 13 year old at a Jonas Brothers concert when a woman who walked in behind us did the exact same thing.

As I tried to concentrate on the menu instead of the pseudo-celebrity chef, I saw there were about 8 burger choices from the plain to jacked up versions with options of egg, bacon, cheese and assorted other toppings, along with fries, Chef Spike's fries (seasoned with thyme), onion petals and milkshakes. I like to keep it simple with burgers and got the Farmhouse Cheddar along with an order of Chef's fries and K* got the Colletti's Smokehouse with fried onion, bacon and BBQ sauce and the famed marshmallow milkshake. A few minutes later we got our orders, found a table and got ready to try our first taste of a Top Chef worthy meal.

As I pulled my burger out of the bag, I noticed it was on the smaller side and had been squished a bit into the wrapper which seemed rather odd- I mean, why would anyone squish a bun on purpose? I took out the fries, heavily seasoned with the thyme and managed to control my excitement and appetite just long enough to take the above photo and then dug in.

The burger was delicious. Really, really good. Juicy, cooked medium-rare and had the perfect amount of toppings, enough to taste everything but not too much to overwhelm the meat. The fries could have been crispier but had a great flavor and were cooked well on the inside. The milkshake though, was a revelation. Normally I don't love milkshakes (why not just eat ice cream?) or marshmallows (chemicalized sugar just doesn't appeal to me) so I was quite skeptical when K* wanted to get the toasted marshmallow milkshake. I expected to try a sip and then politely pass the glass back to her. I couldn't have been more wrong. The milkshake was so smooth and creamy it was like drinking liquid creme brulee. It had a subtle toasted sugar taste, not at all like a commercial marshmallow even though it had on sitting on top. I loved the burger but hands down I would go back and have a milkshake. For lunch. By itself.

Beside this litany of praise I have 2 minor complaints. 1) You don't get to pick how you like your burger done and 2) there is little consistency with how the burgers are cooked. Mine was medium rare, far less done than I usually order it and K*'s was quite well done, much to close to incineration stage for her liking. It wasn't that huge a deal and both of us still really liked our meal, but a minor point, one that I think both of us expected Chef Spike would have taken care of. Overall though I'm glad I finally got to go and I'm thinking of what other Top Chef fans I can round up to justify another trip in the near future.

Good Stuff Eatery
303 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Capitol South Metro

Closed Sundays
Burgers $5-8
Fries $2.75-$4
Milkshakes $3.50-$4.75 but totally worth it

Chocolate Mousse

2009-02-03T13:12:00.007-05:00

Chocolate mousse is not a dessert for the faint of heart or waistline. It involves copious amounts of chocolate, butter and raw eggs and has about a billion calories and grams of fat per serving. It is also impossibly creamy, melting in your mouth chocolately goodness. If you are going to splurge on a chocolate dessert, let this one be it.

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner, friends who have been exceedingly kind in helping us move in the past, so I wanted to do something special for dessert (aka not something on the healthy dessert week list). The idea of chocolate mousse had been floating around in my head for some time so I decided to give it a go. I started searching for recipes online and found they seemed to fall into two general categories: those with whipped cream and those without. I was already leaning toward a cream-less recipe as I was worried about it weeping or separating when I came across David Liebowitz's version of Julia Child's classic recipe. After seeing Julia's kitchen in the American History Museum when my dad visited a few weeks ago, I felt I could not go wrong with one of her recipes.

I was right. The mousse was just what I had hoped for. Intensely chocolate yet not heavy which was nothing short of a miracle considering the amount of butter it contains. It was the perfect ending to the meal and since I made a full recipe for the four of us, Zach and I got to enjoy the leftovers for a few nights too.

David's version of the mousse recipe is so clear and I made so few changes to it (besides substituting orange rum in for dark rum as that's what I had on hand) that I'll leave you to him if you'd like to make it with two suggestions:

1) Ghiradelli makes very high quality chocolate chips that are much less expensive than comparable chocolate in bar form. Since the quality of the chocolate is very important in this recipe, you might want to think about chips as an alternative.
2) You can melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave instead of on a double boiler to save a little time and trouble.

Red Cabbage

2009-02-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

Can I admit it? I like cabbage. A lot. It's seems shameful to own up to it as cabbage isn't sexy, trendy or quite frankly even very pretty. But I do like it.

Take red cabbage for instance. What else would brighten up a plate of meatballs, boiled potatoes and pan sauce quite so much? Nothing that would even remotely go with Scandinavian food, that's for sure. There's just something about slightly crispy yet tender cabbage with a hint of lemon and a pinch of sugar that makes me think of Denmark and my exchange student days... but getting back to more practical matters, red cabbage can go from cutting board to table in about 10 minutes- always a plus in my book. Recipe after the jump.

Red Cabbage
Serves 4-6 as a side

1 head red cabbage (about 2 lb/1kg)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
spoonful of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

- Remove the other leaves from the cabbage if they look dirty or beaten up. Split the cabbage in half from top to bottom and then cut out the root. Position one cabbage half cut-side-down on the cutting board and slice the cabbage thinly (1/4in, 1cm) parallel to the root. Repeat with the other half.

- Put the cabbage, garlic and 1/3 c (100ml) water in a pot with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 4-8 minutes, depending on how cooked you like the cabbage. Personally, I aim for a just cooked but still a bit crispy stage that it close to the 4 minute mark.

- Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Black Bean and Chard Enchilada Pie

2009-01-29T09:41:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the flashy photo- it was the only one of the bunch that came out and as I liked this recipe so much, I just had to post it, even with the bad photo.

K* and I have been attempted to have Saturday study sessions this semester. With roommates stopping by, the Saturday paper inserts and about a hundred other things more interesting than our schoolwork, these sessions are never as productive as we'd want them to be. Especially for me, as I generally spend the last hour trying to decide what to make for dinner that night so I can stop at the grocery store on the way home. Last Saturday was really cold here so I wanted something comforting and warm but not too heavy. I came across an enchilada pie on one of the blogs that I read and decided that would be the perfect thing.

Of course, I'm almost never content to make the first recipe for anything that crosses my path, so I kept searching until I came across one for a chicken and swiss chard enchilada pie on the Food Network website. The chard intrigued me, as it's one of my new favorite vegetables, but I didn't really feel like dealing with chicken. It's not that I have anything against chicken per se but it seems to get thrown in a lot of recipes as a sort of protein filler, without regard to enhancing the flavor of the recipe at all. The chicken in this recipe, just cooked and shredded with no seasonings, filled that role to a T, so I decided to substitute black beans instead. Cheaper, easier and hopefully tastier.

I had the choice of two types of canned black beans a the store- regular and seasoned. Normally I'm skeptical of pre-seasoned products but these black beans only had onion, garlic and oregano added and were 35 cents cheaper than the plain beans so I was sold. When I got home and ready to cook, I noticed the recipe called for frying the tortillas in oil before assembling the pie. While this would prevent the tortillas from getting mushy, it would also add a layer of fat and fuss to the recipe that I really wasn't looking for. Instead, I popped the tortillas in the oven to dry out a bit while it was preheating.

While they were drying, I chopped and cooked the chard with garlic and made the blender tomato sauce and Zach shredded the cheese. Assembly took 5 minutes and after 20 in the oven, dinner was ready to go. I was a little nervous for my first forkful with all the changes I had made to the recipe, but I am happy to report it all went well. The beans had just the right amount of flavor and the chard added a hint of sweetness. The tortillas did get soft, but I sort of like that in a casserole. The sauce had great flavor but I would have liked it with more spice and in a greater quantity, so I've reflected that in the recipe below. This one is definitley going to make a reappearance (it would be great for a pot-luck and is also gluten free).

Black Bean and Chard Enchilada Pie
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine/FoodNetwork
Serves 6

2 t. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard (can close your hand easily around the stalks), leaves and stalks separated
1/4 C (60ml) water
2 cans (14oz/400ml each) seasoned black beans, drained and rinsed (or use plain and add a pinch of cumin and coriander
12 small corn tortillas
I recipe Mexican-style tomato sauce, recipe follows
1/2 C (125ml) chicken or vegetable broth
8oz (225g) sharp cheddar or monterey jack or a blend

- Preheat the oven to 350F. While the oven is heating, spread the tortillas directly on the racks and allows to dry until they are leathery but not brittle. Set aside for later.

- Cut the chard stalks into small pieces. Add the chard stalks, water and garlic to a large skillet, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Chop the chard leaves into pieces and add to the stalks. Cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the chard is tender. Drain well. Mix the chard with the beans.

- Spread about 1/2 C(125ml) tomato sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish and top with a single layer of 4 tortillas. Spread on half of the chard and bean mixture, 1/3 of the cheese and 1 C. of tomato sauce. Place another 4 tortillas on top and repeat. Place the last 4 tortillas on top, top off with the remaining sauce and then the rest of the cheese.

- Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve immediately.

Mexican Style Tomato Sauce

1 35oz (1000ml) can plum tomatoes with their juice
1 onion, chopped coarsely
2 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
2 fresh jalapeno chiles (use more or less depending on your spice preference)
1 tablespoons vegetable oil

- Blend first 4 ingredients in your blender until smooth.

- Heat oil in a large skillet. Pour in tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Use in recipe above.

No DB For me

2009-01-29T09:04:00.003-05:00

Time just seemed to get away from me this month and all of a sudden its posting day and I have nothing to show for it...

Luckily, my fellow Daring Bakers are much more organized that I am and have have a great job with this month's challenge. Please check out the the link below to see some of their creations.

The Daring Bakers January Challenge

Healthy Desserts Week: Choco Cupcakes

2009-01-26T16:30:00.001-05:00

Ok- maybe I shouldn't be ending healthy desserts week with a recipe for chocolate cupcakes but hear me out. One small cupcake is not the end of the world, or even the diet if you happen to be on one. Yes, a commercially made, baseball sized, trans-fat packed cake with a mountain of whipped Crisco, oops, I mean frosting, is not remotely healthy or tasty. But, one small homemade cupcake at the end of a week of eating healthily, well, it just makes sense. Why deprive yourself of all chocolate or baked goods, when all that's really needed is a bit of moderation.

One of my biggest problems with baking (other than straight up disasters) is the leftovers. Since Zach and I are just two, there is always way too much just sitting around the house, even when I cut recipes in half, as I often do with Daring Bakers challenges. I either have to plan to have people over or I end up eating way too many sweets. Well, this time I decided to cut back, way back, on a recipe to only make 3 cupcakes (why 3? well the recipe originally made 12 cupcakes so 1/4 of it makes 3, though it would have made a bit more sense to do a third of the recipe and get 4 cupcakes out of it...). This would solve the problem of leftovers and, as I said earlier, one cupcake is not a bad thing.

I chose a recipe from 500 Chocolate Delights, a cookbook my friend D-- gave me a few years ago, for Mississippi Mud Cakes. The book is definitley British in origin, so I was a bit curious as to the name of the cupcakes but they looked very chocolaty so I thought I'd give them a try. The batter comes together in just a few minutes and uses ingredients most people have in the cupboard.

The cupcakes weren't quite as chocolatey as I had hoped, but I think the addition of some cocoa powder (I've added it as an option in the recipe below) should fix that. The small portion size and total number of cakes worked out really well so I think I will be sizing down more baking recipes in the future.

Small Batch Choco Cupcakes
Makes 3

1/4 C (40g) chocolate chips
3 T (40g) butter
1 T cocoa powder
1 egg
2 t (10g) sugar
3 T. (22g) self raising flour (or 2.5t flour + 1/4t. baking powder)

- Preheat oven to 325. Grease your cupcake tins or use silicon molds.

- Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a small microwave safe bowl. Add the cocoa powder and stir to combine. Lightly beat the egg in another small bowl. While stirring, slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the egg [this could potentially scramble your egg so if the chocolate mixture is too hot to touch, wait a few minutes until is cooled down]. Add sugar and flour and mix well. Divide mixture between the three cupcake tins/molds and bake for 17-20 minutes or the tops are mostly dry and set. Serve immediately or let cool for later.

Healthy Desserts Week: Italian Pear Cake

2009-01-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

After a brief break, healthy desserts week is back for two last posts.

I decided to get the new year off to the right start (it seems a bit old already, doesn't it?) by making this pear cake for dessert on New Year's Eve. I was flipping through The Essentials of Italian Cooking when I came across this recipe, in the book called "A Farmwife's Pear Tart" and was intrigued (or as intrigued as I could be as I read out the name to Zach and he started laughing). More pear than batter and the batter itself had no fat or leavening agents. It sounded a bit strange, but as Marcella Hazan has never led me wrong in the past, I thought I'd give it a try.

I chose fairly firm Anjou pears, according to Marcella's instructions, peeled them, cut them in half and used a teaspoon to scoop out the core. Then I sliced each half into about four thick slices lengthwise. I mixed all the other ingredients into a rather thick batter (with the addition of some vanilla extract though I would have preferred to use almond had I had any- pear and almond make such a nice combination) and sent in the pears, giving everything a few good turns with the spatula. I poured, well pour isn't really the right word, since at this point the cake was more like pear slices thinly covered in batter; in any case, I got the batter into the pan and attempted to even it out as best I could, then dotted on about 2 teaspoons of butter (which the recipe said was option but I didn't want my guests to be in diet dessert purgatory) and baked till puffy and lightly golden.

The cake is moist and dense, yet as it's still mostly pear, wasn't too heavy. The fruit hadn't become too soft and still had a pleasant texture which the soft cake contrasted well with. Everyone like it, so this will definitley be on the menu again. Yes, it does have a fairly high amount of sugar, but I think that is to keep the cake moist in the absence of fat. Next time I will probably try cutting down on the sugar and seeing if it still works out.

Italian Pear Cake
Adapted from The Essentials of Italian Cooking
Serves 8

Note: Because of the high moisture content this cake needs to be stored in the fridge if you are not eating it right away.

2 eggs
1/4 C (20ml) milk
1 C (200g) sugar
1 t. (5ml) almond or vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1.5 C (180g) all-purpose flour
2 lb. (900g) firm, but not rock hard, winter pears
2 t butter (optional)

- Preheat oven to 375F. Butter and flour a 9in round pie plate or cake pan.

- Beat together eggs, milk, sugar, extract and salt. Wisk in flour. Set aside.

- Peel pears. Cut in half and scoop out the core. Cut into thick 1/2 (1cm) slices lengthwise. Stir sliced pears into batter.

- Pour pear mixture into the pan and spread out as evenly as you can. Dot with the butter (if using-- it will help the top brown) and bake for about 50 minutes or until puffy and lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Presidential Inaguration

2009-01-21T12:04:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the disappearing act in the middle of healthy desserts week. I didn't realize just how crazy things would get in the middle of DC during inauguration weekend and that, combined with still no internet at home, kept me offline for 4 days.

So- as you can see above, I had a ticket to the blue zone of the inauguration. My friends and I (no Zach, he had to work) spent the night in the District, had our recommended 3+ plans for getting to the inauguration (which we used as they kept shutting down metro stations as we were in the train) and got to our security line. After going to the concert on the Lincoln on Sunday (amazing) we were expecting more of the same- neatly organized security lines that were long but moving. What we found instead was chaos. There appeared to be a large crush of people that extended toward the Blue Gate. The people in the crowd had blue tickets and believed they were in line, but no one official could confirm that for us. After standing for an hour and a half and moved approx. 100 yards toward our goal (that was still about 2 blocks away) we made the decision to abandon ship.

All of us were really disappointed not to make it in, but we decided the next best thing would be to make a run for a bar to at least see it on tv. Luckily a friend used to live in the Capitol Hill area, so I knew where we should head and we managed to get a table, a hot drink and access to a real bathroom while watching the inauguration on tv. The atmosphere in the bar was pretty cheerful considering pretty much everyone else were blue ticket-holders like us and overall I had a great time. It was an amazing day and I'm glad I could be there for a part of it.

I've heard from and about quite a few other blue ticket holders that couldn't get in yesterday either. It seems like it was a combination of very bad planning, too few security staff and a possible power generator breakdown. It's just too bad that with all the time and money spent on the inauguration so many people who had traveled so far couldn't get in.

Healthy Dessert Week: Grilled Pineapple and Ice Cream

2009-01-15T10:04:00.002-05:00

Second in the series of posts about healthier desserts.

I've seen TV chefs grill fruit on and off for the past couple of years and always thought it looked interested but never really thought to give it a try myself. Now that I'm looking for fruit based desserts, however, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. For my first attempt, I decided on pineapple since Zach and I have eaten enough pears and apples to come out of our ears at this point in the winter. Thinking of cost, and also the amount of time and mess it takes to break down a fresh pineapple, I picked up a can of rings at the grocery store.

Actual grilling wasn't quite an option since 1) it's the middle of winter and 2) we don't own a grill. I thought about using the grill pan, but it's sort of annoying to clean so I turned to the broiler. I fished some rings out of the can, patted them dry with paper towels and placed them in a row on the broiler pan. Then I popped them in the oven and broiled till the top side turned golden (well in some cases rather more black than golden- I got a little distracted) and flipped them over to cook the other side.

Arranged on a plate with vanilla ice cream,* the rings made a rather Olympic presentation. It looked rather pretty and would have been even better if I had a tiny ice cream scoop or melon baller and could have made little scoops of ice cream to put in each ring. On the first taste, I was surprised at how much sweeter broiling made the pineapple. The sugars really concentrated and caramelized with the broiling and I have to admit, became a bit too sweet for me. The hot pineapple did go well with the cold ice cream though, and I think that a lot of people (I'm thinking of a few friends in particular) who have more of a sweet tooth than me, would really like this.

* Ice cream? During healthy desserts week? How is this possible you ask? Well, non-premium ice-cream (at least the store brand I buy) has about 120 calories and 5 grams of fat per half cup serving which is really not much at all. Combined with the pineapple rings, the total calorie count for the dessert is under 200 and it has some calcium, lots of vitamin C and a bit of fiber as well, which makes it count as a healthy dessert in my book.

Healthy Desserts Week: Poached Pears

2009-01-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

I think most of us are trying to make lighter food after the holidays but if you've anything like me, it's really hard to give up having dessert after having treats every day during the holidays. One of my mini-resolutions (I think the whole resolution thing is sort of silly but at the same point the new year does seem like a good time for some re-assessment), well, back to the point. One of my mini-resolutions is to make more healthy and fruit based desserts.

For me, dessert has always meant something sweet, quite possibly creamy and most likely involving chocolate. I love cookies, candies, ice cream and everything else like that. I also know that denying myself dessert in an attempt to 'eat more healthily' will cause near instant demoralization coupled with a constant desire to eat whatever sweets I see, no matter how processed they might be. So, I have decided to try to expand my definition of dessert to things made mostly of fruit and less sweet things in general. Not that there isn't a place for chocolate (there will always be a place for chocolate) but perhaps in more moderate quantities.

So, for the rest of this week, I will be bringing you healthier desserts that I've made recently, starting with these white wine poached pears.

These pears are so easy and elegant I can't believe I've never made them before. This was also the first time I've had pear and chocolate together and I was sort of shocked at how well it works. Of course, you don't have to do the chocolate and could just serve the pears but since this dessert includes a whole serving of fruit and only a little bit of added sugar, the chocolate is totally worth the extra calories.

These pears would be perfect after a richer dinner and would also be a great dessert if you need something gluten free. Plus, you can poach the pears ahead of time so there's almost no prep once your guests arrive.

Wine Poached Pairs with Chocolate
Serves 2, easily multiplied to serve more

2 pears, ripe but still a bit firm (I used Anjou)
1 C. (250ml) sweet white wine
1-2 C. water (250-500ml)
1/4 C. sugar (25g)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
4 snack size dark chocolate bars (20g)
sliver of butter

- Peel the pear and slice off just enough of the bottom so the pears can sit upright without being wobbly.

- Select a small pot that will just hold the pears (you may want to try a few out before you peel so you don't get them dirty). Add the wine, sugar and 1 C of the water and bring to a boil. Add the lemon juice and the pears. Add additional water if you need it to either cover the pears (if they are upright) or to allow the pears to roll around a bit (if they are on their sides)

- Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until the pears are tender. Carefully fish the pears out of the poaching liquid (a wire spider or silicon oven mitt works best) and set down to cool for a few minutes. [Stop at this point if you are making the recipe ahead of time. Wrap and refrigerate the pears and reserve 1T of the poaching liquid for later]

- Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave. Add the butter and 1 t. of poaching liquid and stir until a smooth sauce is formed. (Tip- if you add too much liquid the chocolate sauce will break and turn weirdly clumpy, just stir in another sliver of butter and stir and that should fix it).

- To serve- pool a little bit of chocolate on each plate and set the pear on top.

Quick Carrot Soup

2009-01-13T10:06:00.002-05:00

It seems like I have this idea every winter but not much ever comes of it-- I decide to make more soups. They're economical, generally healthy and make great leftovers. Usually I make a soup as the main dish, but this time I decided to have a soup as the vegetable with dinner. This carrot soup comes together in about 5 minutes of prep and cooks for only 20 minutes. It's very carroty tasting so if you like carrots you'll like this soup. You can vary the herbs you sprinkle in at the end depending on your taste or what else you're serving at dinner. Plus it's a not your typical vegetable side dish and is really vibrant orange color and very cheery on a cold winter day. Recipe after the jump.

Quick Carrot Soup
Serves 4-5 as an appetizer
Adapted from French Women Don't Get Fat*

1 lb. (450g) carrots
1/2 T. butter
1 T. fresh chopped parsley or dill or any herb you like
salt and pepper to taste

- Slice carrots into 1/4 in. (1/2cm) thick rounds. Place in a soup pot and add water to just cover the carrots. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until carrots are tender.

- Use a stick blender (if you've got one) to puree the soup or carefully transfer it in batches to a blender and puree (making sure to remove the vent in the lid and cover it with a kitchen towel or silicon potholder so steam can escape) and then return it to the pot.

- Stir in the butter, herbs and salt and pepper to taste and serve. You could add a dollop of sour cream to make it a bit more fancy if you'd like.

*Ok- yes, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I got this book from the library but I did and it's actually really reasonable and has a lot of very sensible advice and recipes.

Bahn Mi

2009-01-08T10:56:00.000-05:00

Before we left for the holiday's, Zach and I had to run some errands in an area of suburban hell called Seven Corners. While I hope I haven't offended anyone who lives there, I don't feel that bad as it is a literal intersection of at least 7 roads, is completely pedestrian unfriendly and always takes about 3 times as long to drive around as you expected. Generally, I end up going in the exact opposite direction as my destination and have at least two fits of road rage before I end up getting to where I am going.

That might explain why I have only been to the Eden Center a sort of little Vietnam in a strip mall in the suburbs only once... Before we left I remembered reading about Bahn Mi, a kind of Vietnamese-French fusion sandwich in the Post food section ages ago so we decided to give it a try for lunch.

We ended up at Song Que, a huge bakery/deli/market that had 6 or 7 types of Bahn Mi for under $3.25. Zach chose meatball and I picked braised pork and we looked around at the French style breads, durian fruits, unknown sweets and prepared foods while we waited for our sandwiches. As you can see from the pictures, the Bahn Mi is served in a fresh (still warm) baguette, with thin slices of meat and pickled vegetables on top. It looked so good that I couldn't wait to take a bite. The bread was crisp, the veggies had the perfect amount of tartness and the meat, well, I know a lot of people find pork fat to be delicious, but I am not one of them.

The braised pork was mostly slices of pork fat and I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I pulled them off the sandwich and left only the small pieces of meat on the bread. Even so- the Bahn Mi was delicious with just the pork flavor and the veggies and I am already thinking of heading back to try another kind... Zach's meatball Bahn Mi did look good.

Song Que Bakery
6773 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA 22044
Open 9am-9pm

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

2009-01-07T10:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, here is the last of the pre-holiday treat foods that I need to post... after this healthier meals are on the way.

When I saw this recipe on A Good Appetite I knew I had to make it immediately. Macaroni and cheese with butternut squash sounded so good on a cold and dark December night. I got cooking and made a few minor modifications along the way. I used a bit less cheese overall and a more equal proportion of cheddar to Gruyere as that's what I had in the house. I accidentally over-roasted the squash so decided to mash some up and stir it directly into the cheese sauce, which gave it a beautiful orange color. I also put a layer of squash on top of the pasta and topped it with cheese in an attempt to get more veggies into the dish.

The mac and cheese was so good and so rich, we got about 7 servings out of the recipe (1 used 10oz. pasta). In hindsight, I wouldn't have added the extra layer of squash as it made the dish a bit too sweet overall but otherwise it great. Check out the recipe link above if you'd like to make it.

Sour Cream Espresso Cake

2009-01-06T10:29:00.001-05:00

Some technical difficulties have kept me off the internet and my first (nearly) two week vacation in years meant I was out of the kitchen but now that I am (sadly) back at work and the normal routine I will be back to posting and visiting your blogs.

There were a few things I made before the break that the internet problems have prevented me from posting that I'll put up now with a slight warning-- this was finally finished with the semester and its the holidays so I can eat whatever I want kind of food. This really hasn't worked out that well for me so you can expect healthier recipes to come.

But back to the task at hand. As soon as I saw Sue's post about Sunny Anderson's mini espresso cakes I knew I had to make them. Immediately. Luckily the semester was winding down so I thought some baking would help me relax and be more focused on my papers (at least that's what I told myself) . I followed the recipe pretty closely with just a few modifications. Instead of using 2 eggs and 2 yolks, I just used 3 eggs as Sue had successfully done. Also, I ended up using freeze dried coffee crystal instead of espresso powder. I had never bought either before and as Trader Joe's had only one kind of instant coffee, that's what I went for.

As I had no idea what the equivalent espresso powder to coffee crystal ratio was, I decided on a third of a cup. The recipe calls for you to mix the coffee with the sour cream to hydrate it and I gave this a taste to try to gauge whether it needed more coffee. It was so bitter I was a bit afraid I had ruined the whole thing! I pressed on though as I didn't want to be wasteful, and the final batter was so good, like coffee ice cream, but thicker and richer that I knew the cake would turn out. Since I didn't have mini loaf pans, I baked three small cakes in three random pans/molds. I brought one to work, gave one away and kept one for home.

Judging by how quickly the cakes disappeared, they went over really well. The cake is incredibly moist and has a strong but not overwhelming coffee flavor. I really should have told people that each cake had the equivalent of 7 cups of coffee though...

One last note-- the sour cream makes this cake so moist it keep fresh for 4-5 days on the counter and would a great one to mail to friends.

Sour Cream Espresso Cake
Makes 3-4 mini cakes
Adapted from Sunny Anderson

2.5 C (300g) flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 C (250 ml) sour cream
1/3 C instant coffee crystals (should have the metric equivalent soon)
1 C (225g) butter, softened
1.5 C (300g) sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract

- Preheat oven to 350F and grease and flour your pans.

- In a small bowl mix sour cream and coffee crystals. Set aside.

- In another bowl, combine flour, baking power, baking soda and salt.

- In your mixer bowl,* cream together butter and sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Then add eggs, one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add half the flour mixture. Let in incorporate before adding half the sour cream, then the rest of the flour and sour cream.

- Pour the batter into the pans and bake for approx. 40 minutes or until the cake has pulled slightly away from the side of the pans and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool and eat.

* You certainly don't need a stand mixer to make this recipe but I wasn't quite sure what else to call the bowl.

Bouche de noel

2008-12-30T11:13:00.001-05:00

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

This recipe had so many components and steps I'm not quite sure where to start. I made it a few weeks ago the night before my last paper was due. I started the bouche de noel and the editing at around 7pm and wrapped up at 12:30am...but had about another 45 minutes of prep on the cake in the morning before I headed to school to turn in the paper.

Wow... this post sounds really boring. I think it's because I don't really have much good to say about this month's challenge. I normally don't mind when a Daring Bakers' challenge takes forever as I feel like I am learning along the way. This time though, I think something got lost in the translation/conversion of the recipe from French and Metric into English and Customary. I was confused about pretty much everything, how long to cook each component, what consistency it should be and don't even get me started on using gelatin (suffice to say - never again). Luckily the bouche came out pretty well in the end (despite a disastrous creme brulee layer that wouldn't set at all) . Everyone enjoyed it but I think it's safe to say... I'll never make it again.

I hate to be so negative, espcially when I know how much work everyone put into this so thinking my hardest, I've come up with a few things I've learned from this recipe:

1) Gelatin is disgusting and I feel completely vindicated in my refusal to eat or use it for the past 12 years. Next time I'll use a vegetarian alternative.

2) If caffeine after 5pm keeps you up at night, eating a mocha bouche de noel at 10:30pm is not a good idea.

3) I am really spoiled as so many blogs, recipes and cookbooks are in my native language and units of measure. I have a newfound respect for those of you who translate languages and measures to work on Daring Baker's challenges or other recipes.

Cranberry Applesauce

2008-12-24T10:49:00.006-05:00

I'm about to head to the airport but I thought I would try to get this post up, as I've been so bad about posting this month. I made this cranberry applesauce first for Thanksgiving and then twice after that since it's so good. Not only is it a gorgeous, deep burgundy but it perfectly balances the tastes of cranberry and apple and takes only about 10 minutes of prep work to make. In fact, I think I'm going to go have a bowl of it now. Recipe after the jump.

Cranberry Applesauce
Adapted from Cuisine at Home
Makes about 5 cups

2.5 lb (1kg) apples, your favorite variety (probably 4-5 apples, depending on size)
1, 12oz (350g) bag fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and picked over to remove stray stems and wonky berries
2 C (500ml) apple cider
1/2 C (50g) sugar, with another 1/2 C in reserve
1/4-1/2 t. cinnamon (depending on your taste)
1/4-1/2 t. ground ginger (depending on your taste)
pinch of salt

- Peel the apples. Core and chop half the apples into chunks- whatever size you like (bigger if you're a fan of chunky applesauce, smaller if you like it smoother). Shred the remaining apples on the largest holes of a box grater.

- Put the apples and all the rest of the ingredients in a heavy pot over medium heat. Bring to a bowl and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes or until most of the cranberries have popped. It's actually rather fun to hear them pop away as you're cooking. The sauce will have thickened slightly and turned an almost uniform cranberry color. Give the sauce a taste and add more sugar, cinnamon and ginger until it's just how you like it.

- Remove the sauce from the heat and let cool, it will continue to thicken as it does. Serve immediately or store in the fridge.

Amazingly Fast Chocolate Cake

2008-12-10T20:40:00.008-05:00

Last night I hit a brick wall in my studying. All I wanted was something sweet and chocolatey and sugary to make me feel a bit better about my research paper that is currently in more trouble than a certain governor who thought he could sell a Senate appointment to the highest bidder. I hadn't gone shopping this weekend so we had no treats to speak of in the house. In fact we didn't have much of anything. I was about ready to sacrifice my principles and make a run to 7-11 when I remembered a post I had read a while ago on Food Network Musings that mentioned a microwave chocolate cake.

I ran to the computer, found the recipe and scaled it back to an individual serving. It came together in about 2 minutes and after 1:20 in the microwave I had a mug of chocolate cake. Was it perfect? No- it didn't have the deep chocolate flavor I was looking for. The texture was a bit strange too, it didn't have the tender crumb of a baked cake, more of a spongy, baked pudding consistency but it did in a pinch. I feel like I can conquer the recipe though. Maybe it's the lack of progress in my paper, but I really just wanted to get something right...

A day elapsed since I wrote the previous section and I've had another go at the cake and...VICTORY!!! I decided to make a few modifications that really improved the flavor and texture of the cake. To boost the cocoa flavor, I heated the milk and butter in the microwave then stirred i the cocoa powder and nuked it for another 10 seconds. Since the first cake was sort of spongy I cut the amount of flour in half, which I hoped would give it a finer crumb and more tender texture. Last- I used only about a quarter of an egg, to keep it from getting a firm, baked pudding texture and slightly reduced the sugar, as I like my chocolate less sweet. I took it out of the microwave after only 45 seconds, when the center was clearly set but the sides were still very moist and dug in.

The cake turned out amazingly well. It had a deep chocolate flavor and color and a crumb strikingly similar to a real baked cake. It only takes about 4 minutes to put together though and uses 1 mug and set of measuring spoons (or kitchen scale)-- I don't know what else to say about it, other than that I would actually serve it to guests- it was that good.

Amazingly Fast Chocolate Cake
Serves 1, or 2 if you're feeling generous

I've made this in both a cafe au lait style wide mug with a rounded bottom and a ramekin- both worked perfectly. If you use a regular mug, be sure to mix very well so there's no dry ingredients stuck in the bottom edges.

20g (1 and 1/3 T.) butter
30g (2T) milk
7g (1T) cocoa powder (I used Dutch processed)
30 g (2T plus 1t.) sugar
10g egg, lightly beaten (about 1/4 of the egg)
splash vanilla or other extract
15g (1T) flour
pinch baking powder (less than 1/8t., so little it didn't even register on the scale)
tiny pinch of salt

- Heat butter and milk in mug in microwave until butter is melted. Stir in cocoa powder and microwave on high for 10 seconds.

- Stir sugar, egg and extract into the cocoa mixture than add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir until smooth. If you've got room in the mug you could beat a little air into the batter it too.

- Now it's time to cook the cake. This part will depend a lot on your microwave oven. Mine is nuclear powered and the cake cooked in only 45 seconds but yours might take longer. I suggest starting with 45 and adding more time if needed. The cake is done when the center is set but the sides haven't pulled away from the mug and are still a bit shiny and moist looking. You could turn the cake out onto a plate... or you could just grab a spoon and enjoy right from the mug.

Spaghetti with Crispy Garlic Chard Ragout*

2008-12-10T12:08:00.002-05:00

This is another recipe I found in one of my mum's magazines- Gourmet, to be exact. You might remember I mentioned making a Giada de Laurentiis recipe a few weeks ago for pasta and chard that was utterly underwhelming. Well this Gourmet recipe was exactly what I was hoping for the first time around: delicate chard infused with garlic punctuated by sharp bites of feta cheese, briny olives and bursts of sweet raisin, all topped off with crunchy garlic chips. Basically perfect. So good in fact, that I ate the leftovers for 3 meals running, something that I never do.

The recipe below is very similar to the original with some minor modifications. I cut back on the amount of pasta from a carb overloaded 1 lb. for 4-6 people to 10 oz. and shifted the other proportions accordingly (well maybe I decreased the amount of oil significantly to...). Give this one a try- it does take a little time but it's well worth it. Recipe after the jump.

Spaghetti with Crispy Garlic Chard Ragout
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Serves 4-5

10 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 c. pasta cooking water
3 T. olive oil
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 c. raisins
bunch of Swiss Chard (a small handful when you grab around the stems), stems and center red ribs chopped into bite sized pieces and leaves roughly chopped
1/2 t. salt
fresh black pepper
1/3 c. kalamata olives, roughly chopped
4-5 oz. feta cheese

- Set a large pot of water for the pasta on to boil.

- Add oil and garlic to a large skillet (I used a non-stick since that's what I've got) over medium heat and cook garlic until golden, around 3 minutes. Remove garlic to a paper towel lined plate.

- Add onion to remaining oil in skillet ad cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the raisins and cook for a minute than add the chard stems and give a good stir. [Timing note- add the pasta to the pot of boiling water now] Add in 1/2 c. water, the salt and several grates of pepper to the onion and chard stems and turn the heat up to medium high. Pop on the lid and let it bubble away for 5 minutes then stir in the leaves, recover and cook for another 5 minutes (until the chard is tender).

- Drain spaghetti (don't forget to save 1/2 c. of the pasta cooking water). Toss the spaghetti with the chard mixture and olives, added as much pasta water as you need to coat everything. There won't be that much sauce, but it shouldn't look dry. Plate the pasta and top with crumbled feta and garlic chips and enjoy.

*I know this doesn't seem like a traditional ragout and it isn't but I needed a better name for this dish than pasta with chard and garlic. I wanted something that would convey a little sophistication and excitement and since one of the meanings of ragout, according to Merriam-Webster, is mixture I though it would work just fine.

Crock Pot Cassoulet

2008-12-09T15:07:00.003-05:00

Finals and some technical problems have kept me out of the kitchen and away from the computer for a while so thank you for your patience with the lag in between posts. Just one more week to go and I will finally be done with the semester and able to cook and catch up on everyone's blogs but for now I'll try to do a few quick posts.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm home is look through my mum's cooking magazines. She gets them all: Gourmet, Bon Appetite, Cooks Illustrated and a few smaller ones as well. I love flipping through and picking out recipes that look good, even though I'm not sure everyone else does as I'm constantly interrupting to read out recipe titles and say 'oh-doesn't this sound good.'

I found a recipe for a slow-cooker version of cassoulet, a French bean stew that generally takes days to make otherwise, and, as I'd just discovered my grandma's old Rival crockpot from circa 1972 in the basement of my dad's house, I decided I'd give it a try. I had to modify the recipe a bit to reduce the scale as I think modern slow-cookers are bigger than the older ones and I also left out the chicken as the recipe just called for it to be cooked in a foil packet on top of everything else in the cooker which sounded sort of odd to me. I also used bone-in St. Louis style ribs as opposed to boneless country style pork ribs (that the recipe called for), but feel free to use whichever you can find.

The cassoulet turned out very thick, with a rich sauce that was perfect to soak up with French Bread. Recipe after the jump (one last note-- you can make this in a Dutch oven if you don't have a crock pot.)

Slow Cooker Cassoulet
Adapted from Cooks' Country Magazine
Serves 6-8

1 lb. navy beans (any small white bean will do)
2 lb. Pork ribs, cut into 1 in. chunks
1 T. vegetable oil
8 oz. reduced fat kielbasa, slicked into thin pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried thyme
3.5 C. chicken stock
1/2 C. white wine
1, 14 oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 t. salt
pepper

- Pick through beans to remove any non-bean objects. Put in a saucepan and add water to about 1 in. over the beans. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes to soften. Drain beans and add to slow cooker.

- While the beans are cooking, pat pork dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and brown pork on both sides, working if batches if needed so as not to overcrowd the pan. As each batch finishes, toss the pork into the slow cooker.

- Once you have finished browning all the pork, add the kielbasa to the pan and brown for a few minutes. Remove kielbasa to a paper towel lined plate, cover and stick it in the fridge until later.

- Add the onion and salt to the same pan, along with a little extra oil if needed. Turn heat down to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add garlic and thyme and cook for an additional minute. Pour in the wine, broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the fond (tasty brown stuff on the bottom of the pan). Carefully transfer the hot onion liquid mixture to the slow cooker.

- Cook the cassoulet on low in the slow cooker for 6-7 hours,* stirring every 30 minutes or so (or when you remember-- you just want to make sure the beans on the top cook too) until the pork is tender.

- When you are ready to eat stir the reserved kielbasa into the slow-cooker and allow to heat for about 10 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.

*If you haven't got a slow cooker, just do this part in the Dutch oven over low-heat. You want the cassoulet at a low simmer for the entire cooking period.

Sweet and Salty Bacon Carmel Cupcakes

2008-11-29T13:53:00.001-05:00

When I saw the Shuna Fish Lydon recipe that Dolores, Alex and Jenny picked out for this month's challenge I wasn't that excited. Carmel Cake with Brown Butter Icing just didn't sound like my thing and as my fellow Daring Bakers kept talking about how overwhelmingly sweet the cake turned out, I realized I would have to try to get creative on this one. It's not that I don't like carmel or browned butter but sweet has never been my preferred flavor and that seemed to be what this cake was about. I like my chocolate dark, fruits tart and sugary icing kept to a minimum. I was trying to decide what I could do to keep to the original recipe yet provide a counterbalance to the sweet carmel and icing when I hit upon bacon. Now I am not the first one to put bacon into a dessert or even a cupcake but I will admit I felt pretty daring doing it.

I decided to mix crumbled bacon directly into the cupcake batter so Zach cooked up a pile of bacon on baking day then it was time for me to get to work. First off, I made the carmel. A lot of bakers posted about the problems they had with this step, so I read over some helpful instructions and got to work. I stood over the boiling sugar keeping a close watch (and had bucket'o ice water handy in case of emergency) but brought the carmel to the smoking point without problem. It was sort of scary to pour the water into the boiling carmel, but a strainer perched on top of the pot prevented any spillover or splashing.

Next I put together the batter which was relatively simple compared to past challenges- cream butter and sugar, add dry wet dry and done. I spooned some plain batter into the prepared tins and then crumbled in the bacon. I did have some last minute hesitation, worried that I was going to wreck a whole recipe but went ahead with it anyway. As the cupcakes baked, I browned the butter and made the frosting. I had a little taste of the frosting before I iced the cupcakes and I'm very glad I did. It had a nice consistency but I couldn't really get over the browned butter flavor. It was so strong I found it almost offensive and just piped a tiny bit onto each cake and topped each with a sliver of bacon.

For the moment of truth I invited M&S over (you remember M--, he gave me the romanesco). They were a bit leery of the bacon in the cupcakes but we all pulled off the wrappers and had a bite. Success. Everyone liked the bacon cupcakes. The smoky, salty flavor of the bacon balanced out the overwhelming sweetness of the carmel cake. The cake itself turned out a beautiful golden texture and was really moist, thanks to all of the sugar. S-- and Zach liked the frosting much more than I did and piped some extra onto their cakes.

Will I make this one again? No, I don't think so but I will be trying bacon in other desserts in the future.

Another Perfect Party Cake

2008-11-25T07:43:00.000-05:00

I ended up baking a birthday cake on short notice this weekend and returned to what is now and old favorite, Dorie Greenspan's perfect party cake, the one that I made as my first Daring Bakers Challenge. This time I made the full four layers and it came out so well that I thought I'd share the picture with you.

If you're looking for a cake to make for a group- this one is it. Lemon, berries and coconut look beautiful and are a great alternative to the typical vanilla and chocolate combos plus the cake is pretty easy to make and the full cake serves about 20.

One quick tip-- less is really more when it comes to the jam filling. I sort of overdid it on this one.

Cranberry Prosecco Cocktail

2008-11-24T13:38:00.005-05:00

This recipe was on the back of a Cuisine at Home magazine a few years ago. It seemed like just the kind of drink to start Thanksgiving off with-- bubbly and festive but not too sweet and actually rather sophisticated. It's delicious and I will give you the recipe as written with only two further thoughts:

1) This only makes enough for about 6 drinks- I'd advise on a double recipe.
2) Don't discard the fruit pulp after you've squeezed the juice out of it. As my dad and I discovered it's delicious and can be served with your meal as a relish.

One last thing- the photo is part of the image that appeared in the magazine as I didn't have any photos of my own. Recipe after the jump.

Cranberry Prosecco Cocktail
Serves 6, easily doubled
From Cuisine at Home

1.5 C. fresh or frozen cranberries (reserve 6 berries)
1 C. cranberry juice cocktail
1 C. sugar
juice and peel of one orange
1 bottle Prosecco or your favorite sparking white wine

- Pulse cranberries and juice in a food processor or blender until the berries are roughly chopped.

- Add berry mix, sugar and juice and peel of the orange to a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until syrupy. Strain syrup and cool to room temperature.

- When ready to serve add 1-2T. syrup to your glasses than top with the sparking wine. Add a reserved berry and serve.

Two tips- use a fine mesh strainer to strain the syrup and don't chill the syrup, leave it at room temperature or it will thicken.

What is it?

2008-11-24T11:40:00.001-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posting lately. I actually have been cooking but I haven't quite figured out how to shoot in the light in the new house and all of my photos are turning out to be blurry, discolored messes. In addition, my computer has a bad cold and refuses to upload anything at the moment so I have to find alternate sources for pictures uploading.

My friend M-- offered to pick me up a romanesco at the farmers market this past weekend and since I'm never one to turn away food, I happily took him up on the offer. I'd heard of it and seen a few pictures online but nothing prepared me for my first encounter. It was sitting there in M--'s kitchen, perched on a rather nice looking cutting board. The fractal nature of the romanesco looks even stranger in person and 3-D than in a picture. I was actually afraid to touch it as it sort of looks like it should have hidden spines or something...

M-- assured me that it wouldn't bite and I very gingerly picked it up and couldn't stop staring at it. I was really acting sort of rude as M-- and I were talking and I just kept staring at the romanesco like a crazy person. I was listening to M-- though and got from him both some cooking tips and the factoid that romanesco is not some genetically engineered super plant, but an old variety from Italy.

I followed M--'s advice and cut the romanesco up into florets and steamed it for a few minutes until just tender. Zach and I dipped it in olive oil and grapefruit juice (I didn't have a lemon on hand). Though I was a little nervous about taking the first bite, the romanesco was really good. It had more of the texture of cauliflower but with a nuttier, fuller taste. I would definitley make it again but I might take M--'s other suggestion and get a head of romanesco to use as a centerpiece next time I have people over for dinner.

Potato and Onion Tortilla (Spanish Omelette)

2008-11-17T09:40:00.000-05:00

Third in the brunch series.

Aside from the muffins and the laban, I thought I needed something a little more substantial for the brunch. I wasn't expecting anyone to come starving because of the time-frame, but I didn't want anyone to leave hungry. A Spanish omlette seemed like the perfect solution, but given my history with them I was a little nervous trying it out for company. The Joy of Cooking book that I'd been using had a recipe for one and I decided to give it a try, with a few modifications along the way...

The recipe called for a substantial amount of olive oil (step number one according to a friend who lived in Spain) and a fairly low egg to potato ratio. It also called for cooking first caramelizing the onions onions, then cooking the potatoes in a skillet on the stove. As I had other things to do in the kitchen that night and as I was making a double recipe and felt like getting to bed before 2am, I decided to tempt fate by cooking the potatoes and onions in the oven. I finely sliced the onion, then peeled and sliced the potatoes as thinly as I possibly could. I spread them out over 2 baking sheets (since I did a double recipe) and liberally poured on the olive oil, salt and pepper. I roasted it for about 35 minutes at 400F, stirring every 10 minutes or so for even browning.

Then I beat the eggs in a large bowl and mixed the potato onion mixture with the eggs. I think this was a key step and once I was definitely missing the last time around. This ensures an even coating and that you won't have a really dry section of the tortilla. I heated up my cast iron skillet and trying to silence my inner monologue about trying to reduce fat, poured about a quarter of an inch of olive oil into the pan. I've had disasters in the past combining eggs and cast iron and really did not want to have one at 10pm that night. Once the pan was nearly smoking, I poured in the egg mixture and then turned the heat down. I could see the oil come up around the sides and was duly horrified but the tortilla slid right out of the pan when it was done.

The next morning I warmed the tortilla in the oven, then cut it into wedges and set it out. Judging from the fact that there were no leftovers, I think everyone liked it.

Potato and Onion Tortilla (Spanish Omelette)

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking: Party Foods

1lb. (450g) potatoes, peeled
1/2 lb. (225g) onion, cut in half and sliced
2 T. (45ml). olive oil (plus more for frying the tortilla)
salt and pepper
5 eggs

- Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the onion in half and slice it into thin half moons. Peel the potatoes and slice them as thinly and evenly as you possibly can. Spread the potatoes and onions out on a large pan, pour on 2 T. of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix until everything is evenly coated. Roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden, and the potatoes are beginning to brown. Remove from oven.

- Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Carefully add the potatoes and onions to the eggs and stir to coat.

- Put an oven safe skillet over medium high heat with about 1/4 in. (1/2cm) of olive oil in the bottom. When the oil just started to smoke, pour in the onion mixture. Use a spoon to even out the mixture in the skillet and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the tortilla begins to set. Transfer the skillet to the oven and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through (no jiggling eggs when you shake the pan. Carefully slide the tortilla out of the skillet and serve, or cool and refrigerate for the future.

Laban

2008-11-13T09:55:00.001-05:00

Second in the brunch series.

I went to the library to study last week and one of the books on display caught my attention. It was a Joy of Cooking book about party foods and since I knew we were going to have people over, I grabbed it on the way out. A lot of the recipes were a little too fussy for what I was looking for but the Laban, homemade yogurt cheese rolled in paprika and mint, kept catching my attention every time I flipped through the book.

My grandma, who was perpetually watching her cholesterol, used to make yogurt cheese but I hadn't had it in years. It's really simple to make, just take plain yogurt and let it strain for a day on the counter, then transfer it to the fridge to firm up overnight. Then it's ready to use. Laban (at least my version of it) has the consistency of softer cream cheese with a creamy, tangy taste. It's yogurt, but it's not yogurt at the same time, as the flavor has deepened. The sweet paprika and mint coating made the laban look great on the plate and added an unusual but delicious flavor. The laban went over really well- I will be making another batch in the near future.

Laban
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Makes 18 grape sized balls

2 C. plain, lowfat yogurt
1.5 t. salt
1 T. sweet paprika
1 t. crushed dried mint
Equipment: bowl, mesh strainer, cheesecloth (or coffee filters)

- Line the mesh strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth or two layers of coffee filters. Place the strainer over the bowl. Mix the yogurt and salt and pour into the strainer. Fold the cheesecloth over the top, or place a coffee filter on top. Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

- Place a few coffee filters or paper towels on a plate. Turn the cheese out onto the plate and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. The cheese will be slightly dry on the outside.

- Mix the paprika and mint. Form balls of the cheese (I did mine grape sized) and roll in the spice mix. Serve immediately.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins and an Occasion

2008-11-12T09:53:00.001-05:00

What's the occasion? Well my 102nd post on the blog and the first time (besides moving in) that we've had more than 4 people over to the new house. I'm really proud to have gotten up to 102 posts and I have to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read my blog. Everyone who has emailed or posted a comment- thank you, I really do love hearing from you. I started this blog as a way to force myself to write down recipes instead of just making something once and really wishing I could recreate it. In the past 8 months I have made some old favorites and found some new one thanks to all the great food bloggers out there. There is so much out there to cook I really have no excuse to ever say 'I don't know what to make for dinner'. I'd also to thank my fellow Daring Bakers for coming up with challenges that always push my baking abilities to the limit. So- thank you everyone.

Besides the blog milestone the other occasion was a sort of drop by to see the house brunch we had on Saturday. With everyone schedule's starting to get crazy at the end of the year Zach and I decided to have an early open house that friends could drop in for. I wasn't exactly sure how many people would come by or when, so I wanted to make some light brunch food that could sit at room temperature for a few hours. Since I am not a morning person (understatement of the year) I also wanted to make and prep as much as I could on Friday night, so I would have as little to do on Saturday morning as possible. Muffins were a natural choice as I could make the batter the night before and bake them in the morning. I made a few other things, which I'll be posting about later in the week.

These muffins are based on the basic recipe in Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for More Food. I substituted milk and vinegar for the yogurt the recipe called for and added the apples and spices. This recipe will make 24-30 muffins, depending on how big you like them but you could easily split it in half or double it. It's perfectly fine to mix up the batter at night and store in the fridge (well covered) till morning. When it's time to bake the batter up, scoop it directly from the bowl to your greased muffin tins and do not stir the batter!. Stirring will cause it to deflate and leave you with leaden muffins.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Makes 24
Adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown

Wet Ingredients:
1.5 C. lowfat milk
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 C. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 C. (205g) sugar (yes the sugar is a wet ingredient here)

Dry Ingredients:
4.5 C. (606g) all purpose flour
4 t. (20g) baking powder
2 t. (6g) baking soda
fat pinch of salt
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. ground ginger
10 grates nutmeg
1 lb (450g) apples, chopped into small pieces (I did mine in 1/4 in. cubes)

- Baking prep (the day you will bake the muffins). Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a muffin tin or two.

- Put the first 7 dry ingredient in a bowl and mix with a wisk till well combined. Add the apples and stir to coat them with flour.

- In another bowl mix the wet ingredients till well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a wisk until just combined. The batter will be slightly lump and may have a few dry spots but this is ok.

- Fill you muffin tins, filling each up about 3/4 or all of the way. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

- Carefully remove the tins from the oven and flip each muffin onto its side in the tin by inserting a butter knife on the side of the muffin and using it to gently turn the muffin. This will allow steam to escape and prevent soggy muffins. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Spice Mousse

2008-11-11T11:09:00.004-05:00

Ever since K* got a pumpkin spice cupcake at Baked and Wired a few weeks ago and let me try a piece, I have been completely obsessed with pumpkin desserts. This is a totally new phenomenon for me, as I've never really liked pumpkin pie so I've been on the lookout for recipes. I found one for baked pumpkin custard in an Argentinian cookbook I have that I really wanted to make for some friends but life intervened and I knew I just wouldn't have the time to do it right.

I started searching for faster pumpkin dessert recipes and came across one for a pumpkin mousse by Alton Brown. It was on a short video clip on the Food Network website and was the kind of recipe that I almost never make (involving canned pumpkin and instant pudding mix) but since it was an Alton Brown recipe I though it would taste all right. My grocery store didn't have the pumpkin spice pudding mix he called for, so I substituted vanilla and added my own spices. To dress it up a little I made some spiced walnuts for the top too and crushed up a few gingersnap cookies for a texture contrast.

The mousse was what I always want pumpkin pie to be- light and creamy but with a distinctive pumpkin and spice flavor. No one I served it to had any idea that it was just canned pumpkin and pudding mix and everyone loved it. This recipe is so ridiculously easy I know I'll be making it again. Recipe after the jump.

Pumpkin Spice Mousse
Adapted from Alton Brown
Makes 6 servings

1 C. heavy cream
1 14 oz. can pumpkin puree
1/3 C. milk
1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground allspice
5 grates fresh nutmeg*
1/4 C. spiced nuts for serving (optional)
a few crushed gingersnaps for serving (optional)

- Whip cream to soft peaks.

- In a medium bowl wisk together the pumpkin and milk, then add the pudding mix and spices and stir to combine. Fold in the whipped cream- it's ok for it to be a bit streaky, I think it gives it a homemade look.

- Spoon the mousse into custard cups, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours and then serve with the spiced nuts and gingersnaps. Keeps well in the fridge for a few days too.

*If you happen to have pumpkin pie spice in the house you could use it in place of the spices.

Indian Spiced Chicken Bites

2008-11-06T10:17:00.000-05:00

Did I really promise to post this one a week ago? Well, a few things have happened between then and now and we've got a new President elect. The entire time I've lived in the DC area has been under one President so I'm very interested to see what happens to the city when a new administration comes in. I'm picturing a mass exodus of staffers and lobbyists and an influx of new ones... But I will get back to the point of this blog, which is food.

To go with the curry I made last week I wanted to make some kind of protein. I had initially thought to make spiced tofu, but the local grocery store didn't have any and I really didn't want to bike to the grocery store as it was raining and dark and I was starving. Instead I bought a boneless, skinless chicken breast. I tend to think that this cut of meat has very little flavor so on the ride home I tried to think of what to do with it.

I wanted something with Indian flavors to go with the curry and remembered that a former Indian roommate of mine once marinated chicken in spiced yogurt and it was settled. I used another Alton Brown recipe initially intended for salmon as the base, changed it up a bit to use what I had in the spice cabinet, and stirred in some Greek yogurt. I cut the chicken into chunks and let it marinate for about half an hour while I fixed the rest of dinner, then broiled it.

It smelled delicious and the quick cooking under the broiler allowed it to brown slightly while not overcooking the meat. The yogurt spice mix gave just the right amount of flavor and tang to the chicken and it went perfectly with the curry. It would be really good on a party buffet too, instead of the usual chicken skewers.

Indian Spiced Chicken Bites
Makes about 20 bites

About a pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bit sized chunks
3 T. Greek style yogurt
2 t. vegetable oil (optional)
1/2 t. salt
1/3 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. onion powder
1 clove garlic, mashed into a paste
cayenne pepper to taste

- Prep the chicken by removing any excess fat and cut it into chunks.

- Mix the remaining ingredients into a bowl. Give the mixture a taste to see if you like the spice balance before you add any chicken. Once the mixture is spiced to your liking, add the chicken and stir to coat. There won't be a lot of the spice mixture but it should just coat all the chicken pieces. Let sit for 30 minutes (if you have the time).

- Preheat your broiler to high and prep your broiling pan with foil. Arrange the chicken on the broiling tray with some room in between each piece. Broil for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through and lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Weeknight Curry

2008-10-31T10:20:00.003-04:00

I love curries. Indian, Thai, East Asian, I love them all. I didn't grow up eating curry and in fact never had it till I was an exchange student in Denmark (strange place for it I know). While I was there I took a Danish cooking class with some of the other students. We made the basics- meatballs, leek stuffed meatballs and anything else you can imagine with ground pork. My strongest memory though is going into the spice pantry and getting the jar of curry at the beginning of every class. My group was a bit obsessed and we put curry in everything. Most of the time it worked out and, well, everyone has to try curried spaghetti sauce once in their life right?

I hope the intervening years have given me a bit more appreciation for the flavors that make up curry and less desire to dump it on anything and everything. I still usually resort to a premixed curry powder but when I was searching for some recipes on the Food Network website last week, I came across one for curry that didn't call for curry powder. Normally, these kind of recipes seem to call for about 10 specialty spices I don't have but this one called for spices I knew I had on had. As an added bonus it also called for a bag of frozen veggies (not usually something I do, but as we just moved and I wasn't sure I could find a knife it sounded perfect).

I made a few small adjustments to the recipe as I most of my spices were ground and not whole and I left out the fennel seed as usual (no anise flavor for me, thank you). To thicken the curry, Alton Brown called for plain yogurt and cornstarch, an idea which I really liked as it would give the curry a creamy flavor without all the fat of coconut milk. I decided to use a low-fat Greek yogurt for extra creaminess, as it's already so thick, I left out the cornstarch called for. The last change was to add a third a cup of raisins since I always like something sweet in curries.

Zach and I both really liked the curry. Easy, cheap and healthy and it had so much flavor. To go with it we had basmati rice and spiced chicken, which I will post about this weekend.

Weeknight Curry
Adapted from Alton Brown
Serves 4 (along with a protein) or 2 on its own

Tip: I think it's helpful to measure out the spices and put them in bowls according to when they get added.

1, 1 lb. bag mixed frozen vegetables
2 t. vegetable oil
1/2 t. mustard seeds
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground turmeric
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat of your knife and skin removed
2 dried red chiles (stems and seeds removed if less heat is desired)
1/4 t. sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt
2/3 C. (6 oz.) lowfat greek yogurt
1/3 C. raisins or chopped dried apricots or other dried fruit
ground black pepper to taste

- Poke a few holes in the vegetable bag and defrost the vegetables in the microwave.

- Eat the oil in a medium non-stick skillet. Add the mustard seeds and cover with a splatter screen. Cook until the seeds begin to pop.

- Add the cumin, turmeric, onion powder, coriander, cinnamon, garlic and chiles. Cook gently for 3-4 minutes to lightly brown the garlic. Add the vegetables, sugar and salt and cook on medium-high until the vegetables are hot.

- Put the yogurt in your serving bowl along with the raisins. Add the hot vegetables and stir to combine. Add pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Mustard Glazed Salmon

2008-10-30T17:29:00.002-04:00

For the first night in our new house not eating pizza, I made two recipes I found on the food network website, both from Giada De Laurentiis. The first- spaghetti with chard sounded amazing but wasn't that remarkable but the second, broiled salmon with a mustard glaze that I was ambivalent about making turned out great. It was one of those, 'why haven't I been doing this all along' moments and a recipe I will come back to again. It took about 3 minutes to put the glaze together and 5 to cook the salmon and that was it.

I did change up the recipe a bit... as Zach and I aren't the biggest mustard fans around. I decreased the amount of mustard and didn't add any full grain mustard or mustard seeds. I also used dried herbs and fresh garlic, as that was what I had on hand. And since we had a bottle of bubbly open (well we had to celebrate the house) I added a tablespoon of champagne instead of white wine.

One other note on the fish. I went to the grocery store fully intending on getting fresh fish but the only salmon they had was farm raised with added dyes. As I am really trying to stick to the recommendations on my pocket card (well worth printing out if you don't have one) I decided to buy frozen wild Alaskan sockeye, one of the best choices according to seafood watch. I thought the fish had great flavor and cooked well under the broiler.

The mustard glaze provided just enough bite to enhance the flavor of the salmon without overpowering it. I went really lite on the glaze as I was a bit afraid of the mustard flavor but I found myself wanting to put more on.

Mustard Glazed Salmon
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
Serves 2

2, 4-6 oz. sockeye salmon fillets
1 T. quality mustard (not the kind that comes in the yellow squeeze bottle)
1 t. vegetable oil
1/4 t. crushed dried rosemary
1/4 t. crushed dried thyme
1 t. white wine

- Preheat broiler to high. Grease a sheet of tin foil, place it on the broiling tray thenplace the salmon on it and season with salt and pepper. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl.

- Broil the salmon for 2 minutes then spoon on the mustard sauce and broil for another 3-6 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked to your liking. Serve immediatley.

Daring Bakers- I Love You or How I Made the Best Pizza Ever

2008-10-29T00:01:00.000-04:00

Well the title pretty much said it all. I had given up hope of ever making a decent pizza at home but thanks to Rosa from Rosa's Yummy Yums, host of this month's challenge that's all changed. This was the easiest dough to put together-- the recipe even calls for cold water so there's no chance of accidentally killing the yeast. The overnight rise in the fridge allowed the flavor of the dough to develop but I think the secret was patting the dough (in pizza size balls) out into disks before the second, room-temperature rise. That made it so much easier to toss the dough into a the pizza form. I say toss the dough like I'm a piazzola or something but the truth is that my first attempt at tossing the disk on my knuckles to stretch it out went a bit too well too quickly resulting is a torn mess that was paper thin in some parts and an inch thick in others.

I was a bit disheartened but just mashed it back into a ball and started on the second dough. This time I treated the dough very carefully as I realized how light and delicate it was. I floured my hand and very gingerly picked up the dough disk and set it on top of my folded knuckles and started using a gentle outward and upward motion of my hands to stretch and rotate the dough. Once it was thin enough (which for me is pretty much paper thin) I set it down on a floured cookie sheet and topped it with olive oil, fresh chopped tomato, torn fresh basil and mozzarella cheese, all in very small quantities.

The pizza stone was fired up in the oven and I attempted to transfer the pizza from the sheet to the stone. That attempt was quickly thwarted as the pan was too big for the oven (ah the joys of my old kitchen). I didn't know what to do but felt I had to make a quick decision before I let all the heat out of the oven so I stepped back and sort of threw the pizza off pan and onto the stone. It made it about 2/3 of the way on the stone and the rest was on the floor of the oven and hanging out the door. There was no way I could move the pizza at that point, so I just folding over the part that was hanging out and left it to cook.

After about 5 minutes the toppings were bubly and more importantly, the crust had achieved the much vaunted state of crispy blackness**- you know, the one where the crust is crispy and golden-brown except for a few spots that have gotten black and crisp? Not burnt-- just so crisp I never thought I could achieve them in my home oven.

Well-- to sum up this long story-- this dough is amazing and you must make it at home. Also-- do yourself a favor, get a pizza stone.* My cost about $15 at Target and now I'm planning to bake all sorts of yeast breads on it.

*Well, after my incident, you may want to invest in a pizza peel too.

** I was so impressed by the crispy blackness I though it should be the picture for this post. Oh- my kitchen table is not usually so messy but I made the pizza a few days before we moved...

Pizza Dough
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter)

Ingredients:
4 1/2 C. (607.5 g) bread flour or all purpose flour
1 3/4 t. Salt
1 t. Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (60g) Olive oil
1 3/4 Cups (420ml) ice water
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting (I just used AP flour)

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl.

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky.

3. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

4. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

5. You need to refrigerate the dough overnight. Your options are to place the dough on a oiled baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or to put each dough ball into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The point is that the dough must be separated into individual balls and shouldn't touch each other.

6. Put the dough into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

7. 2 hours before you make it the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

8. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

9. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

10. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

11. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE: Your crust is very thin-- it can't support a 'pizza hut' set of toppings. Less really is more here.

12. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes or until toppings are bubbling and the bottom is brown and crisp.

13. Remove from oven and eat!

Some news

2008-10-21T15:13:00.005-04:00

Some of you might have noticed a distinct lack of new posts on this blog in the last month. I can almost always make time for cooking but the past few weeks have been so hectic there have been a lot of pasta nights and straight up spoonfuls of peanut butter instead of balanced meals. I have been waiting for something to go wrong before telling you this but it finally seems like everything is really going to work out; Zach and I are buying our first house! After months of looking everything suddenly came together and then started happening so fast I was completely knocked off guard. I hope this will excuse me from the lack of posting recently and I hope to make it up once we are in the new house. We move this Saturday so there probably won't be much blog activity for another week or so-- but do check back then.

Tortellini Soup

2008-10-21T13:23:00.001-04:00

I went up to Boston this weekend to visit D-, my best friend from high school. Whenever we're together we make all of our favorite foods and since my visit coincided with Canadian Thanksgiving (D-'s boyfriend is Canadian) we got to have biscuits and green bean casserole and roast chicken. That, combined with homemade cookies, candies and everything else we ate made me promise to keep things light in the kitchen this week.

D- had mentioned she was going to make tortellini soup for dinner one night this week, so I decided to follow her lead. I'd never made tortellini soup but since I love all things pasta, it sounded good plus it had the added bonus of being really easy to fix. I honestly felt a little Sandra Lee (shudder) when getting everything together since I used store bought broth (with added onions, carrots, celery, garlic, peppercorns and a bay leaf) along with package tortellini. It really felt like cheating but after letting the soup simmer for an hour and then adding in the tortellini (which I cooked separately so I could evenly divide them for leftovers) it really tasted as close to homemade as possible. Well- I thought it did taste homemade but Zach detected some slight hint of packaged broth. His palate must just be more developed than mine. Recipe after the jump.

Tortellini Soup
Serves 8

2 qts. packaged chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 qt. water
1 T plus 1 t. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 heart of celery, chopped (I buy the whole thing then pull it all apart- then I have the stalks for snacking and the heart for cooking)
1 fat clove garlic, smashed
10 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh dill, divided
1 package premade cheese tortellini (I used Barilla brand shelf-stable kind)

- Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the veggies and garlic and cook over medium heat until softened, but not browned, 7-10 minutes.

- Add the stock and water along with the peppercorsn, bay leaf and 3 springs of dill. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook for at least 20 minutes or an hour if you have time.

- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook tortellini according to package instructions, making sure to keep them al dente. If you will be serving all of the soup right away, drain the pasta and add to the soup before serving. If you are saving most of the soup: put the drained tortellini in a bowl and mix with 1 t. olive oil to prevent sticking, measure out the pasta into 8 equal portions (I did this by the divide and conquer method on my cutting board). If you are really averse to soggy pasta in your soup like I am, wrap all the portions you are going to save in plastic wrap and store along side the soup. Then when you are ready to heat the leftovers, you can heat the soup and tortellini separately and they won't get soggy.

Virginia Wine Country

2008-10-16T13:18:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while, there will be a thing (food, activity, ect.) that I don't try for the longest time thinking that I just won't like it. I like to think that most of the time I'm proven right when I finally do get around to it- like the time I tried straight up fennel (too licoricey) or mussels, which weren't bad but I just couldn't really understand why they were good, other than the butter sauce. Other times, I'm horribly and terribly wrong about my supposed aversion and end up kicking myself that I've spent so much time not eating or doing something.

I've been in the DC area for a while now and for the past few years I've known that Virginia is a wine producing state. Having lived briefly in Austria and having had the chance to go wine tasting in Sonoma, I thoroughly looked down on Virginia wine. It certainly didn't help that all the examples I had tasted were more Hawaiian Punch than something you'd serve at a dinner party; however, when A-'s mum came to town and invited us to go wine tasting with them, I thought 'why not?'

We set out on the most gorgeous fall day with sunny skies and crisp air and drove west to Loudon County. After only 40 minutes in the car we were transported to a rural town not unlike the one I grew up and and totally different from downtown DC. To get to the first winery, we turned off the main road and bumped down a single lane dirt track for two miles before turned onto Willocroft's driveway.

We parked next to an old barn with the sign 'tasting room' by the open doors and then wandered in. For $2 we tried seven wines (beat that California). Some I liked better than others but to have the person who makes the wine explaining everything and talking about winemaking in Virginia was great. He asked about what we like and what we could taste in the wine and even though we were all far from professional in our descriptions, we had fun doing it.

After a rather circuitous detour we stopped at Doukenie Winery. This one backed onto a mountain and we drove through fields of vines on the way. Besides the usual reds and whites, we tried two dessert wines, one made of blackberries (along with grapes) and the other one made just with raspberries. We even got a piece of dark chocolate to try with the raspberry wine, to see how it would work off the taste of the berries. It was amazing and something I could definitely get used to.

We hopped back into the car and headed to the poshest tasting of the day. Hillsborough Vineyards does have a million dollar view and a gorgeous tasting room in a converted stone barn, but being rushed through a tasting of tiny pours didn't exactly endear us to the place. Neither did the wines for that matter. All of them were blends with names like 'moonstone' and 'serafina' but they didn't have that much individual character.

For the last stop of the day was at Loudon Valley Vineyards and by then I was definitely feeling the effects of all of the tasting and decided to share with Zach. The staff at Loudon Valley was so friendly and you could tell the really cared about the wines. After tasting a rich, port-like wine we decided to call it quits and head back to the city but I am already planning my next trip to the Virginia wine country.

If you're interested in wine making in Virginia, check out this website.

Thai Style Cucumber Radish Salad

2008-10-10T13:23:00.005-04:00

The other night I made teriyaki salmon for dinner (I shouldn't really say made- more like heated since it came pre-marinated from Trader Joe's) and I wanted something sour to have with it to cut the sweetness. There was a cucumber in the fridge, along with a bunch of CSA radishes which made me think of the pickles sometimes served at Thai restaurants. After a quick online search I had a few recipes that could be made in around 5 minutes. I sliced the cucumber and radishes and poured over the the juice? sauce? pickling liquid? well, whatever i should call it. It pickled for about an hour while we took a walk and baked the salmon and then it was done. Very quick and easy- crunchy and sour with just a hint of sweetness.

Recipe after the jump.

Thai Style Cucumber Radish Salad

Serves 2

1 small cucumber, sliced very thinly
2 small radishes, scrubbed well and thinly sliced
1/3 C. seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. chili sauce
1/2 t. red pepper flakes

- Mix last 4 ingredients in a small bowl then add the cucumber and radishes. Let sit at least 30 minutes and serve.

Autumn Gallette with Better For You Crust

2008-10-10T12:30:00.003-04:00

After making the butternut squash ravioli, I had about two cups of roasted squash left over. Since the ravioli didn't wow me, I wanted to do something sort of exciting with the rest of the squash. I resolved on making a sweet butternut squash galette for desert. I went as far as making the pie dough before realizing that I wasn't particularly hungry and Zach wasn't home so it was rather pointless to bake. The next day at work, I was thinking of how to turn the sweet galette into something acceptable for dinner (only on my breaks, of course). I started talking with my co-worker S-- about ideas. I suggested goat cheese to balance out the sweetness of the squash and add some visual color contrast and she suggested craisins (dried cranberries) for more flavor. We both agreed that walnuts would be an excellent addition for some crunch (and a little bit of healthy fat to balance out the pie crust) but I knew they would have to be easily removable since Zach has an aversion to nuts.

The resulting galette came together in about ten minutes and was on the table 40 minutes after that. Along with some green beans, it was a totally satisfying dinner. Very comfort foody and rich with the pie crust, but not totally unhealthy since I had made a lower-fat crust* and butternut squash packs a Vitamin-A power punch. I will definitely make this galette again, maybe without the crust for something a bit healthier. With the crust it makes a great option for a vegetarian dinner, or as a side dish for a dinner when you have both meat-eaters and vegetarians in the crowd.

* I really didn't set out to make a low-fat pie crust. I was all set to make make a regular one when I took a look at the recipe. There was no way I was going to put a whole stick of butter into a cup of white flour. I decided to go with a two to one ratio of white to wheat flour and decreased the butter from eight to five tablespoons and told the little voice in my head to be quiet. The crust turned out way better than I expected- it was still flaky and crumbly and the addition of wheat flour went really well with the butternut squash. The best part- I didn't feel nearly as guilty eating something in pie crust for dinner as I normally would.

Autumn Galette
Serves 4

2 C. butternut squash, cut into 1 in. cubes and roasted (see below)
1 recipe pie crust (see below)
2 oz. goat cheese
1/4 C. dried cranberries
2 T. walnuts, chopped

- Preheat oven to 450F.

- Roll out pie dough in the plastic bag (see below) to a circle about 12 in. in diameter. Leaving a 2 inch border on the outside of the circle, add the squash then sprinkle on the goat cheese, cranberries and walnuts. Carefully fold up the sides of the galette to cover the outer edge of the filling. If the crust breaks just pinch it back together.

- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve. The galette keeps very well in the fridge for a day or two. Reheat in the toaster oven.

Better for You Pie Crust

2/3 C. (4 oz.) white flour
1/3 C. (2 oz.) wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
5 T. butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1/4 C. ice water.

- Mix the flours and salt in a bowl. Add the chilled butter cubes. Use the tips of your fingers to work the butter into the dough using a rubbing motion between your thumb and index fingers (like you are feeling a piece of fabric) until the butter is is evenly distributed and the mixture looks like coarse sand.

- You want to be able to form the dough into a ball using the least amount of water possible which will depend on your flour and the humidity of your kitchen. Start by adding two tablespoons of the ice water and stir together. Add more water only if needed.

- Form the dough into a ball and then place it into a gallon size ziploc bag. Flatten the dough into a disk and (if you have time) refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. The dough can be made several days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator- just take it out about 30 minutes before you need to use it or the butter have made it a solid mass that is impossible to roll out.

Butternut Squash

2008-10-01T21:47:00.003-04:00

I was so good about getting my reading done this weekend that by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around I had finished nearly all of it and was mentally wiped out. I had been planning to make a butternut squash soup for dinner that night but then decided I needed a culinary challenge instead since it had been so long since I'd actually cooked anything besides pasta for dinner. I was thinking of things to do with butternut squash and my mind wandered in the pasta direction. I love getting butternut squash ravioli out in restaurants and the weather has turned decidedly fall-late, so I I decided to try making it at home. After searching around for some recipes on the internet, I decided to go with a Giada de Laurentiis recipe from the food network website, with a few minor modifications.

Though tempting, I decided not to try to do the dough by hand, mostly because we don't have a pasta roller and I didn't particularly want to cover the entire counter in gummy pasta reside. Instead, I opted for the wonton skins recommended by Giada. The recipe itself was quite simple- roast the squash, combine with ricotta cheese, onion and garlic and fill the ravioli. The hardest part was peeling and cubing the squash. My method is to cut the round part of the squash off first, leaving me two pieces with flat sides. Then I put each piece flat side down, and cut it in half again from top to bottom, than in half once again until I have eight pieces. I usually use a knife to cut off the skins, but this time decided to try using a vegetable peeler. It took a little while to do since I had to go over it a few times but I think I wasted less than with the knife method.

Once the squash was cubed I roasted in a a bit of olive oil and then combined it with the other ingredients. Then I called in the reinforcements to shape the ravioli. The recipe said it would make about 36 but we filled all 48 wonton skins with a lot of leftover filling. I cooked about 18 for us immediately and froze the rest for later. Giada suggested a brown butter sauce for the ravioli and I complied- using about half the recommended butter. We were out of cranberries so I substituted raisins and omitted the walnuts since Zach really doesn't like them.

Overall the ravioli were good but missing something. I'm not quite sure what, maybe our squash wasn't as sweet as others, or the texture of the wonton wrappers wasn't quite the same as pasta dough. Making ravioli once has made me want to try it again and hopefully the filling will turn out better next time. I'm not giving the recipe here- as I didn't really love this one but you can find Giada's recipe here.

Better late...

2008-09-29T09:43:00.002-04:00

Yes, I am a few days late with this month's Daring Bakers challenge but I am so glad I did it. This was the first savory challenge I've done and also the first that didn't require me to buy any special ingredients, or take half a day. Not that I'm complaining- I like to spend time in the kitchen, but with the way this month has been going I had given up hope of completing the challenge until I actually took the time to read the recipe.

This month we made lavosh crackers. As the challenge was hosted by two of our alternative bakers, Natalie from Gluten A Go Go and Shel of Musings From the Fishbowl the idea was for all of us to try our hand at gluten-free baking and a vegan dip but our hosts kindly gave us instructions for wheat based crackers as well. I chose to do the wheat option since I had everything for it already in the house and I didn't get around to the dip quite yet...

I was shocked at how quickly and easily the crackers came together. Basically mix, stir, knead. Then let it rise for an hour and a half and roll out as thinly as you possibly can top and bake. That's it. I decided to top my crackers with sesame seeds (on one half) and molasses sugar (on the other) to have both savory and sweet crackers. The sesame seeds didn't adhere to the crackers as nicely as I would have liked them too but that was my only and admittedly very minor issue with the whole recipe.

The crackers are crisp, delicious and totally satisfying, not to mention way cheaper than store-bought. I'm going to try to make a batch every week for Zach and I to take with our lunches so I'll keep you posted if I come up with any really good flavors.

One note: I did use a mix of white and whole wheat flour instead of the straight white called for in the recipe. I thought it came the crackers extra flavor, and fiber, yet didn't overpower the delicate nature of the crisps. Feel free to use all white flour if you want

Lavosh Crackers
Adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread
Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

1 C. (4 oz.) white flour
1/2 C. (2.75 oz.) whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. yeast
1 T. sugar
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 C. warm water
1 T. sesame seeds for topping
2 T. dark brown sugar for topping

- Stir the first 5 ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the oil and about half of the water. Stir together. Keep stirring and adding water until the dough forms a ball.

- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 10-15 minutes. Add more flour if the dough starts sticking to your hands. The dough should be shiny and sort of springy when you're done kneading. To test if it's ready you can pinch off a piece, flatten it into a disk and gently pull on the edges. It should stretch into a very thin membrane. If it rips immediately, keep kneading.

- Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 90 minutes or until doubled in bulk. (About 30 minutes before your dough is ready heat your oven to 350F)

- Divide dough in half (with a sharp knife). Lightly grease your work surface and set the dough down. Pat in to a rough square shape and lightly flour the top. Roll out as thinly as you possible can (we're talking paper-thin). You might need to give the dough a few breaks while rolling to allow the gluten to relax. Transfer to a cookie sheet. Repeat with the other dough.

- Brush the top of the dough with a little bit of water and sprinkle on your topping.

- Bake for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. Baking time really depends on how thick your dough is. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan then break apart and serve or store in an airtight container.

Couscous, Shopska Style

2008-09-23T15:44:00.006-04:00

I know my posts have been few and far between in the past few weeks. I wish I could tell you that I have been cooking up a storm and have a backlog of recipes to post but that's sadly not the case. Between the start of the semester and everything else that has been going on I haven't been in the kitchen that much. Last night was an exception, more because I needed to clean out the fridge than any noble nourishment purpose. Read More!

I had some peppers, half a cucumber, small tomato and feta cheese- all the fixing for a Shopska salad (a kind of Balkan vegetable salad). Since this would be our dinner I decided to make turn the Shopska into a pasta salad by mixing it with the Israeli couscous I picked up on the weekend. The whole dinner took about 20 minutes to put together. While the water boils and the couscous cooks you can chop the veggies, then everything gets tossed together with olive oil, red wine vinegar and feta cheese. That's it. Despite the simplicity the salad is light, fresh and delicious. We had it for dinner, but it would be a great side dish to grilled chicken or fish.

I'm entering this recipe in the Monthly Mingle, which this month is Sensational Sides, hosted by Ruth at Kitchen Experiments in place of Meeta, who usually hosts.

Couscous, Shopka Style
Serves 2 for dinner, for as a side dish

1 C. Israeli style couscous
1 1/3 C. water, or a mix of water and broth (I did 1 C. water, 1/2 C. chicken broth)
1/3 white onion, chopped
1 C. cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 small tomato, diced
1 bell pepper, or two small peppers, diced (any color you like, though orange would be prettiest)
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. olive oil
3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

- Set the onion in a bowl full of cold water and swish around then leave till you are ready to assemble the salad. This will help make it a bit less pungent.

- Bring the water (and broth) to a boil in a medium saucepan, stir in couscous and reduce to a simmer, cook for 8-10 minutes or until couscous is tender.* If you notice that you pot has run dry and a few more tablespoons of water.

- While the water boils, chop up the veggies. When the couscous is cooked, stir in the vegetables, oil and vinegar and a few grates of pepper and then the feta cheese. Taste for seasonings and serve immediately.

The salad keeps well in the fridge for a day or two, just fluff with a fork before eating.

*If you use straight water to cook the couscous, add a good pinch of salt to it with the pasta.

A Peachtree in the City

2008-09-20T12:01:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I was headed downtown to meet some friends when I came across the most amazing thing. At first I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me, that I didn't actually see the bright orbs hiding among the leaves on the tree. I approached the fence and flat out stared. Outside the Colombian Embassy, in the middle of Washington, D.C. stood a peach tree. Not some spindly, sick looking tree but a full, green tree, seemingly unaware of its urban surroundings. As I stood at the fence gazing at the tree I noticed all the fruits within arms reach had been picked and only those further in remained. This made me really happy- to see the tree there next to the busy street in it's own world just a few feet from the busy street.

Borscht is Beautiful

2008-09-19T09:43:00.001-04:00

Borscht always seemed like one of those things that my grandparents ate but was so hopelessly out of date that it would never pass my lips. This summer, I began to develop a mini fascination with it, especially after seeing beets crop up all over the food blogs that I read. When Zach and I went to our CSA pickup and red beets were labeled as 'acye' (as much as you can eat) I took three but as we were biking away I suddenly stopped (not the world's best idea on a busy bike trail) and told Zach we had to go back and get more beets as I was going to make borscht.

After loading up our canvas tote with beets we headed home. There was no time to make a soup that evening but I started to look up recipes the next day. Even though I had never had borscht before, I knew I was looking for a smooth soup that would be a violent maroon color which meant any recipe that didn't involve pureeing or enough beets was out. I also found a few recipes that called for mixing sour cream directly into the soup, resulting in a very strange Play-doh purple color, but that really did not seem appetizing. Finally, I came across a recipe by Tyler Florence that looked reasonable yet interesting. He roasted the beets before pureeing them in a soup and made a grated dill and apple topping for it.

I did make a few little changes to his recipe though. I added about 50% more beets than it called for, as I really wanted a rich beet flavor. I decreased the amount of oil called for from 6T to 3T and added a lot more dill. Fresh dill is really essential for finishing off the soup, but I used dried herbs where the original called for fresh in other places.

The borscht came out just as I hoped, a shocking purple-pink color. The taste was phenomenal too, with just the right balance of sweet balanced by the tart apple and sour cream and everything was perfumed by the fresh dill. I served the borscht at a warm room temperature but Zach decided he prefers his piping hot but I like it chilled too. For us it was dinner, with a loaf of fresh bread and a glass of wine, but it also made a great lunch the next day and would be a rather pretty first course for a fancy dinner-- in fact, I'm thinking about serving it at Thanksgiving.

Roasted Beet Borscht
Adapted from Tyler Florence
Yields 8-10 bowls

Note: The beets need to be roasted for 1 hour before you can make the soup. I did this the night before.

For the Roasted Beets
1.5 lb (700g) fresh red beets, cleaned with greens removed
1 t. dried thyme
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper

- Preheat oven to 400F. Set the beets on a baking sheet (you might want to cover it with foil for an easy cleanup) and pour on the olive oil then sprinkle with the thyme, salt and pepper. Use your hands to rub the oil and seasonings all over the beets.

- Roast for about one hour, or until beets are fork tender. Allow to cool for a bit then carefully peel of the skins (they should slide right off) and cut into chunks. Reserve beets until you want to make the soup.

For the Soup
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 t. dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 C. chicken (or veggie) stock
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T honey
1 green sour apple
1 t. lemon juice
4 T fresh dill, roughly chopped
Sour cream, for garnish

- Heat the oil in a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add in the onions, carrot and dried thyme and allow to soften for 8 minutes. Add in the chopped garlic, give a stir, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the stock and the roasted beets, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.

- While the soup is simmering, shred the apple and toss with the lemon juice. Chop the dill and mix with the apple. Set aside until ready to serve.

- After the soup has cooked, carefully transfer it to a blender and puree in batches (SEE NOTE) or use a stick blender if you have one. Return soup to pot over a low flame and stir in vinegar and honey then taste and check for seasonings. Serve immediately with the dilled apple and a dollop of sour cream or chill and save for later.

NOTE: Always be careful blending hot liquids. Don't fill the blender more than 1/3-1/2 was full. Remove the center plug in the blender lid and place a folded up kitchen towel on it. Use one hand to hold the kitchen towel wad on top while you hit the 'pulse' button with the other. This will allow some steam to escape while you are blending. If you leave the plug in the steam will build up in the blender and literally blow the top off like Old Faithful and you will be wearing borscht in your hair like I was.