Vanillamanda

Meat wrapped in meat.

2011-07-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Seriously, dieting is a ridiculously frustrating thing. There's nothing like the phrase "low-carb" to make me want cupcakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am being pretty good though, mostly because I am facing two trips in two months, and I want to lose enough weight that it won't matter if I gain ten pounds eating my way through two of the biggest food-centric cities in the US.

In any case, the Atkins website has some pretty interesting stuff on it these days- they've asked some chefs to come up with great low-carb recipes, chefs such as Mike Isabella from Top Chef, Simpson Wong of Cafe Asean in New York, and Courtney Thorne-Smith from... hmm... Melrose Place.** But this one caught my eye and I have to say, 50% of it was fantastic! The other 50% was bitter and gross (apparently, radicchio gets even more bitter when you cook it) so we are just going to share these lovely sea scallops wrapped in one of my favorite things... prosciutto!

How did I manage to make something as exciting as prosciutto
look this boring? I would have taken more photos, but I ate all
of the rest of it. Oops.

Prosciutto Wrapped Sea Scallops with Tomato Coulis
from here

Ingredients

1 plum tomato
1 very small yellow onion
3 ounces extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
8 very large sea scallops (about 1 pound)
8 pieces prosciutto, sliced thin

Cut tomato in half and the onion in quarters and cover with about a tablespoon of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking dish and roast in a 400 degree oven until tomato skin is slightly browned. Set aside and cool, then blend (I used a hand blender) with the tablespoon of vinegar until mostly smooth. Slowly add 1/4 cup of the olive oil and continue blending until it comes together (just a few seconds- try not to blend the olive oil for very long.) Set coulis aside.

Rinse scallops, pat dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each scallop. Heat heavy saute pan on medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Carefully place each wrapped scallop in pan (with one bare side of the scallop touching the pan, not the prosciutto) and cook for about 8 minutes total, turning only once!

Transfer scallops to plate and drizzle with the tomato coulis.

This was quite a lovely dish- the sweet, slightly briny scallops offset the salty prosciutto nicely, and the tomato coulis added a wonderful tangy counterpoint to the whole thing. I would serve this again, perhaps with some steamed green beans, spinach, or basically anything but that sauteed radicchio!

Later this week- panna cotta, Atkins-style!

** I know that she's been an Atkins spokesperson for a long time, but you have to admit she seems a bit out of place here...

Meat-week.

2011-07-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

So, hi- I have been doing a serious low-carb thing this week. Since I really need to show you something better than the grilled chicken breast or the hamburger patty that I ate, there's no weekday post. I have high hopes for some things I am making tomorrow night, so you will most likely hear from me on Saturday. Until then, here are some pretty peppers that may or may not end up roasted and tossed on a salad.

(Don't worry, this is not going to become just a blog of meat. I don't think I can last that long without cupcakes!)

Christmas in July

2011-07-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hi there. It's hot here, so I wanted something frozen last night... and I killed my ice cream maker a while back. (It's not good when smoke comes out of it, apparently!) So... I had this melon:

Which is a Santa Claus melon. I have not been able to verify exactly why it's called that- one source said it's because they last a long time ("'til Christmas!") and another said it is because they are at their peak in December. (I kind of doubt this a little as it's July now and they seem pretty much in season.) It looks like a rough watermelon on the outside, but when you cut into it you'll find a very sweet, honeydew-like melon.

I decided to go with a granita. Good for a number of reasons: yummy, doesn't require the oven to be on, doesn't require an ice cream maker. All you need is fruit, a blender, a fork, and a dish.And if you don't have a melon, you can do this with most any fruit.

Santa Claus Melon Granita
(adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz)

Makes about 3 cups
1 medium-sized melon (2 pounds)
1/3 cup sugar (you can play with this amount a lot depending on what fruit you use)
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup water
Pinch of salt

Split melon in half, and scoop out the seeds. Slice and then cut the melon into chunks and purée in a blender or food processor with the sugar, lime juice, water, and salt until completely smooth.
To freeze granita, pour the mixture into the dish and place in the freezer. Begin checking it after 1 hour. Once it begins to freeze around the edges, stir with a fork, breaking up the frozen parts near the edges into smaller chunks and keeping it pretty evenly frozen.

Return the dish to the freezer, then check the mixture every 30 minutes afterward, stirring each time and breaking up any large chunks into small pieces with a fork, until you have fine crystals that look rather like shaved ice. If at any time, the granite freezes too hard, leave it out at room temperature for few minutes until it softens enough to be stirred again with fork, and rake it back into crystals.

Scoop some into a bowl, and enjoy!

Pea Shooter

2011-06-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

I discovered yesterday that I am a big fan of pea shoots.

They are more delicate than other sprouty things (bean sprouts, I am looking at you) and have a sweeter, brighter taste than many of the microgreens I have tried. I was feeling like something fresh and healthy, so here's a little salad I threw together last night. It goes nicely with this sort of Asian-inspired dressing, but lends itself to any number of variations. It's super simple, and almost not really a recipe. The hardest part is cutting the mango and radish to the same sized little matchstick pieces.

Cabbage and Radish Salad with Edamame, Mango, and Pea Shoots

1 1/2 cups green cabbage, chopped very small
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 cup edamame
4 or 5 medium sized radishes, julienned
half a mango, julienned
A handful of pea shoots, chopped
1 thinly sliced green onion

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Top with salad dressing.

Asian-ish Dressing
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves of chopped fresh garlic
1 teaspoon chili sauce (optional)

Combine all ingredients (a mason jar works great for this) and shake well.

I started out getting all fancy with my presentation, but it was impossible to eat it like this with a normal-person sized fork.

So I gave up on the fancy part and dumped it in a bowl. It was still really good.

See you soon!

Here we go 'round...

2011-06-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

Well, that was a much, much longer break than I thought it would be. I am back, and by back, I mean actually back to posting regularly! I have a few things stockpiled and some exciting new ideas for things to try. I was just... uninspired and mojo-less for a long, long time. But the bounty of summer has arrived in Southern California, bringing irresistible fruits and veggies to all of the farmers markets! First up: mulberries!

Prior to hearing that a booth at the market had mulberries, the sum of my knowledge was from that childrens' song. So I knew that they grew on a bush, and that we are supposed to go 'round it. I did a little online research, and found that different types grow all over the world, from white mulberries in east Asia, to the Riviera mulberry here on the west coast, which is what I think I got at the market. They look rather like a long, skinny blackberry. They are very sweet, but the texture of a plain mulberry was a little "meh" to me, so I decided to bake them into something. I thought if blackberries and lemon were such a great combination, maybe the same would be true for mulberries. So, here is a lovely, fluffy, not-too-sweet muffin. Perfect for breakfast.

Mulberry-Lemon Muffins
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins in Baking From My Home to Yours
(makes 24 standard muffins, because I like doubling recipes)

1 1/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
4 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
about a cup of mulberries, washed, de-stemmed, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare two muffin pans with cooking spray or with paper muffin cups. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the zest is very lemony. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, almond extract, lemon juice and melted butter until smooth. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry, and stir until just blended. Do not over mix. Add the mulberry pieces and fold in gently.

Divide the batter evenly in the muffin cups. Top with sanding sugar if desired.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes clean. (Honestly, I usually end up using a piece of spaghetti. It works just as well.) Cool for 5 minutes before eating.

These were great- pretty, solid little muffins with a nice, delicate crumb. If you are not eating them all right away (why would you not do that?) they benefit from being slightly warm, I just put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

See you in a few days!

A Variation on my Favorite Cake, Ever.

2010-11-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

It's been busy in real life again, but hopefully I have things back to where I can cook and bake more regularly. (It's all good things that are happening, so I can't really complain too much!)

I picked up some quinces the other day, and didn't know really what to do with them. Quinces are odd, rather like an apple or a pear but with thicker skin and they taste kind of awful unless you cook them first. You will want to test this and try one when you just have it peeled, before you cook it... but trust me. You don't need to do that.

These quinces, I poached. There were three of them. Just peel and slice them and put them in a large, flat-ish pan with 2 cups water, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Poach these for about 45 minutes. I hadn't planned on letting mine caramelize, but they did, and they were still quite fabulous. The fruit turns a wonderful rosy color when cooked.

No matter what I do, it still looks like sea urchin sushi in this photo...

Now, what to do with them when they are done poaching? If you are feeling lazy (which I considered) you could just serve this over some nice gelato. Very quick and easy. If you have a little more time (and it really doesn't take much) you can make a cake. Specifically, you can make Orangette's French-Style Yogurt Cake.

This cake, in all of it's various forms, is my absolute favorite cake. It is simple, humble, and lovely. And you can do just about anything to it and it still tastes good. This time, we are going to add the quince slices in a layer in the middle, and we are going to add a little cinnamon to the batter in order to make it more autumnal.

French-Style Yogurt Cake with Poached Quince
(adapted from here or here)

1/2 cup whole milk yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup of canola oil
3 poached quinces, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

for glaze:
reserved liquid from poaching quinces (if it gets solid while cooling, heat it up for 30 seconds, it will get saucy again quickly.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a 9 inch cake pan with canola oil spray or butter, then line the bottom with parchment and spray or butter that too.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, and stir until well mixed. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, and stir until it is a smooth, light yellow batter. Pour about half the batter into your prepared pan, then set the quinces in the pan. try to cover as much area as you can. Add the rest of the batter on top of the quinces, making sure to cover the fruit completely, and bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is firm and springy to the touch.

Cool cake for about 20 minutes, turn out carefully and remove the parchment. Flip the cake back over so it is right side up. Let cool completely and brush generously with poaching liquid.

This was just marvellous. The cake is always wonderfully moist no matter what you add to it, and the quinces with the cinnamon gave it a really nice fall sort of flavor. I am thinking I want to try it again with orange zest and cranberries for Thanksgiving!

A Jedi's strength flows from the Pancakes...

2010-11-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hello! I have a silly little technique for you today, in fact, I don't know as I can really even call it a technique... more of a gadget. I got these awesome Star Wars pancake molds for my birthday from my lovely friends Michelle and David, and I am pleased as punch to recommend them to you too. You can get them here if you are so inclined.

When I was a kid, my mom would make shaped pancakes like Mickey Mouse heads and teddy bears... basically, anything that could be made by pouring circles and ovals freehand. I think these molds are a little more up my alley because there's absolutely no artistic ability needed.

There's a buttermilk pancake recipe on the packaging they come in, or you can use whatever pancake recipe you like. I used one from Martha Stewart. I wonder if Martha is a Star Wars fan?

Star Wars Pancakes
(original recipe here)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cooking spray (I prefer the canola oil spray from Trader Joe's)

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or just in a bowl) stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter, mix at low speed until just combined. There might be a few little lumps of flour. This is okay - you don't want to over mix it.

Spray each pancake mold thoroughly with baking spray. Get all of the little nooks and crannies. Spray a large, flat flying pan or griddle lightly with oil, and place the molds in the pan. Make sure that all of the molds are flush with the bottom of the pan- you don't want any leaking! If your pan isn't large enough, work in batches. You can keep the pancakes warm in a 175 degree oven if needed. Heat pan until a drop of water bounces off the surface.

Carefully add about 1/3 of a cup of batter to each mold. If needed, use a spoon (or butter knife) to get batter into all areas. Don't touch the mold until there are bubbles on the surface of the batter and the edges are dry. (If you try to release the mold before the pancake is mostly set, you will end up with a big blob. There is patience involved in the process!) Carefully remove the mold from the cake and flip it to brown the underside. Keep warm until serving.

Serve with warmed maple syrup and butter, and may the Force be with you.

Just to be clear, the pancake molds were a gift to me but they were purchased from Williams - Sonoma, this is not a solicited product endorsement.

A Tropical Halloween

2010-10-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

No, I don't know why. I randomly picked up some passion fruit this week, and... well, passion fruit are weird little things. They aren't very pretty.

Wrinkly and old-looking when they are ripe, and they barely have any pulp at all. But I had never tried them and I like passion fruit syrup in things, so I thought I should at least attempt something. They are another fussy fruit, you need quite a lot of them to get any juice or pulp at all. So I thought maybe trying something where I just needed a tiny bit would be a good idea.

By coincidence, I also had some sad looking bananas and I thought, passion fruit, banana... something tropical? But since it's Halloween-time, I wanted something orange and brown. (Close enough! I am not about to make a licorice cupcake just so I can have something orange and black!) So, the logical thing to make (stay with me here) was a banana-chocolate cupcake with passion fruit cream cheese frosting! Of course!

If you are using fresh passion fruit, carefully cut the fruit in half with a sharp knife, and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. The easiest way to get juice only is to put the pulp into a sieve and press lightly until all you're left with in the sieve is seeds. This will not give you very much juice! I had 5 of the little suckers, and I got about half a cup of juice out of them.

From there, I took my trusty Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" chocolate cake recipe and messed with it, just a little.

Perfectly Banana-y Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 very ripe (brown to black) medium-sized bananas, mashed
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with cupcake cups.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. (I used the bowl of my stand mixer, everything goes in here anyway.) Add eggs, milk, and bananas and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Gently stir in boiling water. The batter will seem way too thin, it's really not. Gently fill the cupcake cups 2/3 full and bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely.

Passionfruit Cream Cheese Frosting, Halloween-Style
Cream 2 8 oz packages of room temperature cream cheese with
8 tablespoons of room temperature butter in bowl of electric mixer
until smooth. At the lowest speed, gradually add 3 cups powdered sugar.
When incorporated increase speed and beat until smooth. Add 1/2 cup
passionfruit juice. This may not make the frosting orange. It might be
sort of yellowish. If you are going for a Halloween look, add a few drops
of orange gel food coloring at a time until you achieve the color you want.
If frosting is too soft, add a small amount of powdered sugar at a time
until you reach desired consistency.

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and garnish with chocolate sprinkles.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Making up for lost time...

2010-10-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

I know, two days in a row! I am on a mission! (Apparently, the mission involves eating a lot of baked goods.) With my new and improved kitchen, I feel like branching out into new areas of domesticity. Like canning, for instance. After the fridge pickles a few months (months!) ago, I wanted to try "actual" canning. Everyone makes it seem so complex and scary, and it really doesn't have to be. You don't need a large amount of special equipment or anything. It is helpful to have a special canning jar lifter, but it's not required. (I didn't have them for this first experiment, I am probably getting a set because it would make the whole experience that much easier.) You will also need a big pot with a lid, and some sterile canning jars with lids and rings. You can sterilize the jars and lids in your dishwasher, even. Just run them through on the hottest setting. Keep the jars warm in the dishwasher until you are ready to go.

I picked a very modern, very easy apple jelly with a small yield to start, mostly because I want to make an apple tart in the same book, and apple jelly is an ingredient in the tart. You'll also notice that there aren't any pictures of the process. Not only is it kind of a boring process visually (you use a microwave), but the combination of boiling water and glass jars means Amanda has to leave the camera out of the equation.

Apple Jelly (adapted from The New Basics Cookbook)
makes about 2 pints

2 cups apple cider (you can make it yourself or purchase good quality organic cider)
3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 three ounce packet of liquid fruit pectin

Heat a large pot of water over medium heat on stove. (Enough water to cover your jelly jars completely without overflowing the pot.)

Put the apple cider and sugar in a large microwave safe bowl. Stir thoroughly. Cook uncovered in microwave at full power for about 10 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and return to microwave for 5 minutes. Stir in pectin and return to microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Skim foam off the surface and carefully pack jelly into your sterile jars. Wipe jar with a clean paper towel, carefully place lids and rings on jars tightly. (Just as tight as you can make it with your bare hand.)

Carefully lower all jars of jelly into your hot water bath so they are not touching and cover. Bring water to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove jars immediately and let dry on a towel. Check for a proper seal by poking the top of the lid with your finger. It shouldn't indent or make a noise. Let sit until firmed. Mine was firm the next morning.

Look how pretty!

This was much easier than I expected, and I am going to be sharing more canning experiments in the future.

And so it begins...

2010-10-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

I love the autumn, even in LA where it's not really that much different than most of the rest of the year. Every once in a while, I see a tree with leaves that change, sometimes it's a little cooler, and there's a crispness in the air. (Now that it's not 113 degrees, like it was a couple weeks ago...) Mostly, I love the autumn because it's the start of baking season. Which, if you don't know, goes from Halloween all the way to Valentine's Day in our house. Or perhaps Easter.

Domo wants to be sure you cut the right pumpkin in half.

Pumpkin pie was probably one of the first things I ever baked... but I have never used a real pumpkin for it! You will want to get the ones that say "pie pumpkin" or "sugar pumpkin." They are smaller than your average jack-o-lantern, with smoother skin. One 6 inch (ish) diameter pumpkin will be enough for a pie.

First of all, carefully cut your pumpkin in half. Use a serrated knife and a sawing motion. Be very careful not to cut your fingers off, please. Once you have it cut in two, scoop the seeds out (Save them, separating them from the stringy orange goop. I think I am going to use mine for some granola.) and slice the pumpkin into quarters. Take those pieces, put them in a microwave safe bowl with a couple inches of water, and cover. Microwave on high for about 20 minutes, until flesh is very tender. (PLEASE TAKE CARE WHEN UNCOVERING THE DISH. STEAM BURNS ARE PAINFUL.) (I am speaking from experience. No, I won't show you my very gross burn.)

When the pumpkin is completely cool and your finger is properly bandaged, scoop the flesh out into a large bowl. Puree with your trusty hand blender (or however else you choose to puree) until it is very smooth. It's going to be quite a bit lighter in color than your average pumpkin from a can. You should have about 3 cups.

Now, the fun begins

Pumpkin Pie Made From a Pumpkin!

3 cups pureed pumpkin
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 12 oz can evaporated milk (you could also use soy milk if you wanted to.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Everything goes in a big bowl, and stir stir stir. That's really about it.

For the crust, I used Dorie Greenspan's Good For Almost Everything Pie Crust (scroll about 2/3 down the page, if you can manage to get past the marshmallow recipe)

Carefully place your crust into your pan (I am using a cheapy tin foil one here, sorry about that) and crimp the edges. Some day I am going to learn how to do a good pie crust edge! Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust and carefully place it in your hot oven. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes. Watch to make sure your crust doesn't brown too quickly- if it does, protect it with some foil. When it's done it will be golden brown on top and pretty firm to a light touch. (Don't accidentally poke your finger in it. I have done this before.) Let cool to room temperature, then serve. This would be lovely with some whip cream with a little bit of bourbon or maple syrup in it, but there are certain people that don't like whip cream at all, so here it is in all of it's unadorned glory:

Aside from the burn that was all my fault, it's really not that much more work to get the real pumpkin to make pies. I will be doing it again, probably in the very near future.

Whew! That was... fun?

2010-10-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all, that was a much longer break than I expected to take! Between a broken oven in our old place ("Since you're moving in a month, we can just fix it when you are gone!"), a move into a lovely new apartment (With a dishwasher! And counter space! And did I mention a dishwasher?!?), a trip to Nebraska for my best friend's wedding (Yay! Nebraska is awesome!), and some ridiculously stressful changes at work, it's been a very interesting couple of months. But now we are back, settled in our new home (if not totally unpacked) and ready to start cooking and baking just in time for the holidays. So, if you are still here, thanks for sticking around!

Today's recipe is pretty simple, but it's a technique I have never used before. I work with a very lovely lady who doesn't eat eggs, so every time I bring in baked goods, poor Vicky doesn't get any! Today, hopefully, I started to make up for that. I was nervous to bake without eggs, but I read up here and there and came up with a brownie that is both vegan and pretty tasty!

There are many different things you can use to replace eggs in baking, but you do have to be careful that you don't end up with something too oily or an overpowering flavor. I chose applesauce for this, and a little bit of vegan margarine. If you want to make sure you are being totally vegan with this, be sure to get a granulated sugar that specifies it is vegan. Some refined sugars use animal products in their processing. Also, this recipe is very forgiving for any ingredients, you could switch up the flour for a gluten-free version (you should also add xanthan gum if you are doing this, from what I understand), you could use any number of soy/nut/rice milks instead the water. If you aren't worried about veganism at all, you can use real butter, real milk... the possibilities are endless!

Vicky's Vegan Brownies
(original recipe here, there are a lot of great ideas in the comments section!)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Lightly spray a glass 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour in water, add applesauce, melted butter and vanilla; mix until well blended. Pour into prepared baking pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm to the (light) touch. Let cool completely and cut into squares.

I am still trying to figure out where and how to take pictures in my glorious new kitchen, so expect some wacky lighting and angles for at least couple weeks!

See you soon! (Promise!)

Where Am I?

2010-08-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

Not here, and I apologize for that! Some "real life" things are afoot, and as soon as I get a handle on those I will be back. Besides, I am eating super-boring food right now. I sincerely doubt if you want to see the Trader Joe's frozen brown rice I made for dinner last night! :-)

See you soon, I promise.

Being "Healthy"

2010-07-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

I have been more concerned lately than ever about what goes into my food and how that affects my body. On the other hand, I am a big fan of junk food. The occasional foray into fast food happens. The rare can of Spaghettios (now with Food Poisoning!) is consumed. A Funyun will occasionally pass my lips. One thing that I love, love, love... is Nutella. I think it's mostly a nostalgia thing, I first had it when I was "studying" in Germany, and I never looked at the ingredients of this delectable spread until very recently. Do you know what the first two ingredients in Nutella are? Sugar and vegetable oil. THEN hazelnuts. What the heck? So, I decided to try my hand at a "healthier" Nutella-like spread. It still has sugar and oil in it, but much less. And the main ingredient is indeed hazelnuts.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread (adapted from the LA Times.)

2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use the highest quality you can)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 tablespoons hazelnut oil, more as needed (you may substitute liquid coconut oil or grapeseed oil.)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts evenly over a cookie sheet and roast until they darken slightly and become aromatic, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer hazelnuts to a damp towel and rub to remove skins.

In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, scraping the sides as needed so they process evenly, about 5 minutes.

It won't be completely smooth using a food processor...

Add the cocoa, sugar, vanilla, salt, and oil to the processor and continue to process until well blended, about 1 minute. You may need to add more oil to reach a more spreadable consistency.

It will be a little grainier than Nutella, and a little less sweet. I am ok with that, and I hope you are too. Put it in an airtight container in the fridge, and it should keep for at least a couple weeks.

What to do with your nutella? You can heat it a little and put it over vanilla ice cream or on a crepe. You can use it with peanut butter on a sandwich, you can put it on toast. You can swirl it into a pound cake batter, or into a cheesecake. You could dip fruit in it. You could also eat it with a spoon, if you were into that sort of thing. I promise I won't judge if you do.

Biscotti Ugly

2010-07-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

I am not normally a huge fan of biscotti, they are a little too hard for me and I don't like dipping them in coffee, it's just not that appealing to me. But I love almonds, and I love Italian things, so I thought I would give them a try. I totally botched the recipe and came up with a cookie that I liked even better! The problem is I followed the recipe exactly, so I don't know really what I did wrong so I can do it again. I have an idea that I just didn't bake them long enough, so maybe next time I make them I will not bake them long enough again.

This is a more crumbly, softer cookie than a biscotti, and I am just fine with that.

Almond Biscotti (from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add cornmeal and whisk again to blend.

With a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for three minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes. Beat in the almond extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Mix in almonds.

Make two long logs on baking sheet, about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. The logs will be more rectangular than domed, and will not have a smooth surface.

Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden but still soft to the touch. Remove from oven and cool on rack for half an hour.

Transfer the logs to a cutting board. (I just picked up the parchment and carefully slid it over to the cutting board) Using a serrated knife, trim the ends and cut logs into 3/4 inch thick slices.

Return slices to baking sheet, separating each slice, and bake for another 15 minutes until they are golden and firm. Cool to room temperature on a rack before serving.

Now, my cookies never got firm! I think they were a little under-done on the first round of baking and that set up this lighter, crumblier texture that actually reminded me of my all-time favorite cookie, the almond bar from Victoria Pastry in San Francisco. (They won't give me the recipe!) I took these to work with me and from the noises people made when they ate them, I think that they went over pretty well, despite their very non-biscotti appearance. I will attempt actual biscotti in the future and let you know if I conquer it. Until then, I am going to keep eating these.

In a Pickle

2010-07-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hi.

I know, I haven't been around recently. The combination of being in a mental rut and being on a diet... it has weighed heavy on me. But, I am back, hopefully no longer in a rut, but sadly still on a diet! So, today we have for you something I have always wanted to try (mostly because I am still totally intimidated by actual canning): Refrigerator Pickles!

Yes, it's that time of year, where giant piles of little pickling cucumbers teeter in pyramids at the markets... I love all kinds of pickles but since I am on a low-sugar kick I decided to go with a basic dill spear to start off. (I will get around to bread and butter pickles, my favorite, at some point.)

Refrigerator Pickles
Adapted from my Grandma, who made "real" ones.

12 or so pickling cucumbers
4 cups water
3 cups white vinegar (I ran a little short and added some apple cider vinegar)
A large handful of fresh dill
1/3 cup white sugar (I reduced this, by the way. You can play with the sugar level to taste)
1 head of garlic, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons pickling spice
2 Tablespoons of dill seed
3 Tablespoons of coarse salt (make sure to use a salt with no anti-clumping additives)
a pinch of red pepper flakes
4 quart sized self-sealing canning jars

Wash your jars thoroughly (you can run them through the dishwasher, it's so easy that way!) and set aside. You don't have to worry about boiling with these. Wash the cucumbers very thoroughly, slice into spears, and place in a large bowl.

Pour rest of ingredients over the top, stir gently, and let sit at room temperature for about 3 hours.

Carefully put the cucumber spears into the jars, add liquid and spices from bowl to cover, and close lids. Store in the fridge for at least 4 days and up to one month.

Refrigerator pickles are a great cool crispy treat that doesn't involve standing over a hot stove now that summer is finally here!

Come back Friday for another new ingredient from one of California's great independent farmers. (I promise, this isn't going to become the all-vegetable blog. I have some very non-diet-friendly ideas to share with you soon!)

Gettin' Figgy With It

2010-06-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was very happy to see figs at the farmers market yesterday! Fresh figs have been on my list to try for a while, and fig season is just getting underway here in So Cal. These are mission figs, from Avila Farms. They are small, a little soft, and give off an earthy, figgy scent that is just divine.

For my first foray into figs, I wanted to make something pretty simple and decided that I would cook up a little sauce that might complement pork or chicken. It's really easy to do, and a couple pint baskets make enough for several different meals.

You could even thin it out a little with honey or a liqueur of your choice and use it as a sauce over ice cream, or use it as a base for a fig ice cream as done here.

Simple Fig Sauce (inspired by David Lebovitz' Perfect Scoop)

1 1/2 pounds figs
1/2 cup water
one lemon (organic, unsprayed)
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons Tawny Port

Remove the stems from the figs and cut them into 8 pieces each. Place in a non-reactive pan with the water, zest entire lemon directly into the pan.

Cook on medium heat, covered, until figs are soft, about 10 minutes.

Remove lid and add sugar and port, continuing to cook and stirring regularly until figs are at a jam like consistency.Turn off heat and let cool completely.

When cooled, add to blender and process with the juice from the lemon until it looks like jam. At this point, you can use it as a condiment for meat, or thin it down to use as a lighter sauce. Keep sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I really liked this, and I think it goes very nicely with more rustic meats- pork loin or roast chicken would be ideal for something like this, with some green beans and mashed potatoes. I also imagine that it would be pretty darned good simply on a cracker with a piece of cheese, or perhaps as the filling in a baked brie in puff pastry.

Thanks for stopping by, see you next week!

A Cupcake Quest

2010-06-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

The standard cupcake has been in regular rotation in my kitchen, but... well, the standard cupcake is only interesting for so long! Cake, a swipe of frosting... I have been thinking about bakeries and their fancy cupcakes- their fillings and their swirly frostings... I think it's time I branched out. Over the next couple weeks, I will be exploring different ways to fill a cupcake. Today, we are taking a basic chocolate cupcake (from this classic book) and filling it with cream cheese filling, and topping it with a swirl of this, the best, easiest chocolate frosting ever. (Yes, I could have used that cake too, it's awesome, but I wanted to be difficult.) Really, any cupcake you like will work with this method.

Take your cupcake, and gently, with a sharp knife, cut a little cone about an inch deep.You will want a piece that looks like this:

and a cake that looks like this:

Cut the point of of your little cone so there's room for the filling.

You can just use filling in a zip-lock with the corner cut off, nothing fancy. Fill the hole in the cake about half-way, and replace the top.

At this point you are ready to frost. I used a #11 round tip, cut the very end off of your disposable bag (or use a fancy professional washable one, which I haven't gotten yet) and place the tip at the cut corner of the bag- push it gently in so it's secure, being careful not to tear the bag. Place the bag tip down in a water glass and pull the bag open, and fill the bag with your frosting (maybe about half-way full) twist the top of the bag closed so the frosting is pushed down in the bag and easy to handle.

Squeezing gently directly over the cake, pipe a swirl of frosting on, covering up the cut area of the cupcake completely.

Voila! Fancier than usual cupcake, with a little surprise inside!

Honestly, I am looking forward to trying the "other" method- squirting the filling into a whole cupcake - because this way, there's a little too much manhandling going on, and I felt like the finished cake was rather precarious! (Although, they stayed together fine. I think it was just me being paranoid.) Tune in next week for part two in the Great Filled Cupcake Quest!

In Praise of McMenamins

2010-06-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

I am from Oregon originally, and while there are many, many lovely things about the state (Decemberists! Shakespeare Festival! Pinot Noir! Tillamook!) there are a few things that I can't live without. One of them is a chain of restaurants/breweries/hotels/wineries/distilleries called McMenamins. Each location is a magical land of food and beverage. If you ever are in Oregon (or select places in Washington), go to one of these fine establishments. Have a Captain Neon Burger and a pint of Terminator Stout. You won't be sorry.

My mom sent me a bag of genuine Oregon hazelnuts (or, Filberts, if you are actually from there...) and once I had this exciting bundle in my possession (along with my roller skates from junior high, thanks mom!) it was easy to decide what to do with them. My all-time favorite McMenamins' dish: the order-it-at-least-once-every-Oregon-trip McMenamins' High Pasta. (No, I don't know why it's High, there's nothing to be worried about in the recipe. It may have been invented at High Street Cafe, my first McMenamins...) It's a very simple dish, but full of unexpected nutty flavors. Much like Oregon itself.

McMenamins' High Pasta (recreated from here.)

Half a stick of butter
Two handfuls of baby spinach
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted (do this in one layer on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.) and roughly chopped
6 ounces whole wheat linguini, cooked and warm.
Salt and Pepper

Brown the butter in a large saute pan until it is golden brown and fragrant (not burnt, please.) Remove from pan and set aside.

Add a smidge of olive oil to the same pan, add spinach and cook until just starting to wilt. Add tomatoes, cook for another 2 minutes. Add linguini and butter to the pan. Toss to distribute evenly and continue to cook for another minute. Finally, add cheese and toasted hazelnuts. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Ah, Oregon... I miss you and your simple nuttiness...

Can't-eles

2010-06-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

I promised myself when I started a blog that I would be honest, and if something didn't quite work out I would come out and say it without shame.

So... this didn't quite work out. I have enough batter for at least 2 more batches, but once you see the recipe you will realize why I didn't just keep going last night. Something about a 2 hour bake time...

A cannelé is a French pastry from Bordeaux. It is like a creme brulee made into a little cake. A nearly-burnt, crispy outside layer that conceals a custardy interior scented with rum and vanilla beans. They are fabulous, but also a bit notorious for being difficult. I had a couple things working against me, in that I am using a silicon mold instead of the lovely but ridiculously expensive copper molds, and my oven... ah, my oven. Sometimes it runs hot, sometimes it runs cold... sometimes it does both within the same baking time. Please, if you don't have an oven thermometer, invest in one. They are cheap and they can help regulate a temperamental oven.

I don't want to discourage you from baking these though- this was only my first attempt, and now that I have a better idea of the whole process, I am going to try again tonight and update tomorrow, hopefully with better results. (If not, at least you can laugh with me. Or at me. Whichever you prefer.)

I chose to go with the Martha Stewart version, because the baking temperature was lower and I figured my oven could handle it.

Cannelés (From Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook) (Yes, again, it's a pretty fabulous book!)

4 cups milk
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
4 large egg yolks
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of milk, the butter, and the vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter has completely melted. Set aside to cool slightly, remove and discard bean pod.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, rum, and remaining 2 cups of milk. Add the flour and salt, whisk to combine. Add the hot milk mixture to the egg-yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 1 day, or up to 4 days.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the most boring photo I have

ever taken...

Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. If using copper molds, place on rimmed
baking sheet, coat with cooking spray, and place in freezer for 20
minutes. If using a silicon mold pan, this isn't necessary.

Remove batter from refrigerator and whisk vigorously. (Batter
may be separated.) Fill each mold to 1/8 of an inch from the top.

Bake, rotating sheet half-way through, until cannelés are dark
brown and slip easily from their molds, about 75 minutes to
2 hours. Check by turning one cake from a mold, it can easily
be replaced and cooked longer.

When done, let pan (or molds) cool for about 30 minutes
and carefully turn out of molds. Cannelés should be served
the same day they are baked.

Maybe a little more custard-like than you would want...

So... I should have paid more attention to my oven thermometer.
With the long baking time, the temperature fluctuated a lot and the
cakes were overdone on the outside and underdone on the
inside. I was a little intimidated by the silicone pan (it was my first
time using one) and thought the cakes would stick so I didn't check
them. Now that I am over that, I am going to try again
tonight with a lower temperature and I will check the cakes.

That said... these were still really yummy. They didn't taste burnt,
just rather like the top of a creme brulee. Take two will be tonight,
and I will update in the morning!

UPDATE:

Yay! I am excited to say that round two worked like a charm...

I didn't really do anything different, but I just paid more attention
to how hot my oven was running. Yay!

Fennelicious

2010-06-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Fennel is one of those things that I never really think about. I like licorice things (I am well aware that many people don't, in fact I am in the minority among my friends and loved ones) and I like celery-like things. (I know, some people don't like that either.) So I don't know why fennel isn't more on my radar! I have had it exactly twice in my life, counting last night. I will probably be having it more now that I have gotten past the odd shape and feathery fronds.

I looked at a lot of recipes for inspiration and guidance, and then just kind of winged it...

Braised Fennel

3 fennel bulbs, fronds removed, bulbs quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375° F
Add olive oil to a large, heavy oven-safe pan and heat. Carefully add quartered fennel bulbs and brown, turning once, until golden, about 4 minutes total. Add broth and wine to pot and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and remove cover from pan. Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes until liquid is reduced almost completely and fennel is soft and golden brown. Salt and pepper to taste (mine didn't take much salt, as the broth was a little salty) and serve.

This is a great, easy side dish. The anise flavor really mellows out and the crispy bits from the browning combined with the silky texture of the braised fennel really makes for a nice sensory experience. Give this to people that think they don't like fennel, they might change their minds!

Do Not Incorporate the Towel!

2010-06-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

So, I really like cake. I like layer cakes, and cupcakes, fancy cakes, and simple pound cakes. Basically any cake, chances are I will like it. I like jelly roll cakes, Bûche de Noël, and roulades. There's something about it being a log, and you cut into the log and there's that neat little spiral inside. I had no idea how they were made though! It seemed magical and complex. Turns out that while it may be a little magical, it's not complicated at all. The most important part, it seems, is to make sure you don't end up with a towel in your cake!

Chocolate Baileys Roulade with Cream Cheese Filling
(adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)

1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted, plus more (a lot more!) for dusting
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream
6 large eggs, separated, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
Cream Cheese filling (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 325 ° F. Line a 17x12 inch jelly roll pan
(or cookie sheet) with parchement paper and set aside.
Dust a large, clean kitchen towel with cocoa, set aside.
Into a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa and flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk, beat egg yolks
on high speed for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set
aside.

With a clean bowl and whisk, whip the egg whites on low speed
until foamy. Raise speed to medium-high and add the sugar in a
slow, steady stream, beating until stiff peaks form.

Fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the egg-yolk mixture to
lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until just combined.
Fold in the Baileys, then gradually fold in the cocoa mixture until
just combined. Do not overmix.
Pour batter into prepared pan, spread evenly and smooth top
with an offset spatula.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through.
Immediately invert cake onto prepared towel, carefully lift
off pan and peel off parchment paper. (I forgot to do this!)
Starting on a long side, roll towel and cake into a log,
incorporating towel as you go. Transfer cake and towel to a wire
rack, seam side down, to cool completely.

This would have worked a little better without the

parchment, but it just made the cake a little wavy.

Unroll cake, leaving it on the kitchen towel. Using an offset
spatula, spread cream cheese filling evenly over the cake.

Gently roll cake again into a log (do not incorporate towel).
Wrap with the towel and refrigerate on a baking sheet for at
least 2 hours. When ready to serve, generously
dust roulade with cocoa and slice with a serrated knife.

Quicky cream cheese filling:
Place 2 8 oz packages of room temperature cream cheese,
4 tablespoons of room temperature butter, 2 cups
powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons of
vanilla extract and beat until smooth. It's that easy.

So, this was much more simple than I expected it to be,
but I did learn a couple things. One, I need more kitchen
towels that aren't the terrycloth kind. This one worked, but...
it was a little odd using it. Two, too much frosting is
better than not enough. And three, Martha Stewart really
has a gift for stating the obvious. We had a lot of fun picturing
the person in the test kitchen who rolled the towel up inside
the filled cake!

It was a really tasty cake, too. I liked the chocolate and the
Baileys and cream cheese combo. Martha's cake was originally
mocha with mocha mousse and that sounds good too, so I think
this is one that will stay bookmarked in my book.
Mmmm, cake.

Thanks for coming by, and I hope to see you on Friday for some Fennel!

How I Didn't Set the Kitchen on Fire

2010-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. There are very few things in the world that I really, really don't like to eat. One of them is eggplant. I don't like the consistency of it.

So no eggplant parmesan, no moussaka... there is of course an exception to my eggplant aversion, and that is baba ghanoush. I looooooooove it. Partially because it's not the consistency of an eggplant. So, I have eaten a lot of baba ghanoush (and it's lesser-known Greek cousin, melitzanosalata) at many a restaurant. But I have never made it at home, and I have always been a little intimidated by the big purple fruit (yep, it's a fruit.)

But you know what? I met a couple of them over the weekend. And they were so nice that I set them on fire and then peeled off their skin.

Baba Ghanoush adapted from the really lovely book Modern Classics by Donna Hay

2 Eggplants
1/4 cup tahini
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sea salt and cracked black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Chopped parsley for garnish

Cook eggplants one at a time on a gas cooktop flame. I am not kidding about this! I was so nervous, I thought I was going to set the kitchen on fire, that at the very least, I would set off the smoke detector.

But nope, nothing bad happened. I did outfit my stove with a layer of tinfoil so I wouldn't have some awful clean-up to do. Turn the eggplant carefully every couple of minutes with tongs, until it is soft and the skin is black and charred.

Oh, the carnage!

Allow the eggplants to cool completely. (And I do mean completely!) Remove skin.

Roughly mash the flesh and process in blender with tahini, garlic, and lemon juice until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. With the motor running, gradually pour in the 1/3 cup of olive oil.

Garnish with parsley and serve with warm pita bread.

Technique Tuesdays!

2010-06-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I don't want to make something that has a wacky and weird ingredient in it, but I don't want to just post the same old thing all the time, so I hereby present to you: Technique Tuesdays!! This will be just what it sounds like- each week, I will experiment with a technique I have never done before, with either good or laughable results- I promise I won't edit for my ego. New ingredient posts are moving to later in the week- you will see those around Friday. So, join me as I try my hand at pita bread!

I am probably the last food blogger on the planet to try the no-knead bread method, but now that I have tried it once I am going to be a huge proponent of it. Or possibly just huge, from eating all of the bread I will be baking. It's so easy I felt like I was doing something wrong! My source is a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François, and I couldn't be happier with it. I can't wait to try every single kind of bread in this book.

You start with a master recipe, one of several in the book, and make the dough. Then once your dough is ready you can go in many different directions with what sort of bread you want to end up with. Not only did I make enough pita for dinner and leftovers, I have enough dough still in the fridge to make something else tonight or later in the week! Yay!

Pita Bread
Using the Boule recipe (Artisan Free-Form Loaf) from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour

Warm the water slightly, to about 100 degrees. (This was probably the hardest part of the whole recipe.) Add the yeast and the salt to the water in a 5 quart bowl or a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve. Add the flour all at once, measuring it in with a dry-ingredient measuring cup by gently scooping up the flour and sweeping across the top with a spatula. Don't pack the flour and don't use a big two-cup measure- you end up with too much flour that way. Mix with a wooden spoon until it is uniformly moist. No kneading needed. Just leave it in the bowl, cover it, and let the dough set for a couple hours.

In two hours, you will have a dough that is ready to go in the oven, but it will be easier if you chill the dough at least three hours, or overnight - it gets less sticky and easier to work with.

When you are ready to make your bread, put your pizza stone in the oven (if you don't have a pizza stone, go buy one or some untreated terra cotta tiles from Home Depot will work just as well and they are cheap) and heat your oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. This was when I discovered that my oven only heats to 450, even when it's set on 500. Even when you let it heat up for a half an hour! So, I was hoping for the best.

Take your dough out of the fridge and grab about a pound of it (you will have quite a bit left over) and divide this into smaller, equal pieces (depending on how big you want your pitas) dust with flour and roll out into a circle an 8th of an inch thick. Do not slash the pita or it won't puff.

I rolled this one a little too thick, it puffed unevenly.

That's more like it!

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until lightly browned and puffed. You may need to take the pita off the baking stone in order to achieve brownness. Mine never really got brown, because of my temperature issue, but it was otherwise very pita-like. When you remove the bread from the oven, wrap it in a clean dish towel for a few minutes on a cooling rack, this will provide the soft, chewy texture that pitas are known for.

Now that I know how to do this, I will make this and other no-knead breads all the time. The dough went together in about 20 minutes, the waiting time was very forgiving, I didn't have to hover over a warm bowl of dough to see when it was exactly doubled, no punching down the dough, no effort at all.

Please stop by later in the week to see what I served the pita with!

A Shifty Looking Vegetable

2010-05-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

First off, I want to let you know that I am rolling out a couple changes on the blog, hopefully starting next Tuesday. I am pretty excited to share more of my "learning experiences" with you as time goes on.

Until then, I shall share with you these little guys, the rather odd looking but very versatile chayote squash. This plant is native to Central America, but is now found throughout the world, especially in Asia, where they use the leaves and shoots also.

They look like they need googly eyes.

And when they are in a group, they look like they are up to something. Perhaps like they are planning to gum you to death

I don't want to post someone else's recipe verbatim, but I will link to the blog- Simply Recipes. Elise is brilliant, her recipes have never failed me, and her photos make me drool. I served this with chicken mole and carnitas tacos, a couple different kinds of salsa, and chips and guacamole. It was a fun little birthday fiesta for our friend Kim, who I put to work the second she got to our place (I'm like that) and she reports that you should take care when peeling the chayote as it can really, really dry out your fingers. Sorry, Kim!! (But happy birthday anyway!)

The only change I made to the recipe was that I used queso fresca instead of monterey jack, because I had a lot of it!

So, I bring you Chayote with Tomato and Green Chile, adapted from here.

Be super careful, not only for the dry skin issues mentioned above, but also that you get every single bit of the skin off before you cook it. It's not pleasant to eat.

You can, however, leave in the core with no problem.

Cooking the anaheim chile and onion- anaheims are super-mild, by the way.

After adding the tomato/garlic mixture. This smelled fantastic!

Apparently it's hard to take a good picture of a covered, boiling pot. Go figure!

This tasted fabulous, the squash was a little like a zucchini, but also reminded me a lot of turnip (in a good way!) the tomato-y, garlicky broth was fantastic and was a nice foil to the sweet flavors of the mole and caritas. I will definitely be getting these again!

Strange Fruit

2010-05-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

So, every now and then someone gives me some random weird food item, which is a great perk of having this blog! Last week, a co-worker who shall remain nameless came to my desk with these...

He explained that he had just been out of the country and saw them and thought of me. (No, I really wasn't sure how to take that either.) He said "do you want them?" and I said without hesitating "YES!" no even really knowing what they were. I had seen them in a couple grocery stores but they were about 5 bucks each, and since he had bothered to break the law to get them for me, how could I possibly say no?

How did he get something through customs that

looks so much like a pointy grenade? No idea!

The fruit in question is a horned melon, or Kiwano, and it's from Africa originally, it's also grown in California, Chile, and New Zealand.

I had a few ideas for this fruit, a sorbet perhaps, or a cocktail, or a smoothie. I am so glad my husband said "Smoothie!" when I asked him, because preparing this was a pain in the butt and I was happy to just throw everything in a blender when it came down to it.

The seeds, as you can kind of see, are completely encased in this weird jelly substance. Slippery and slimy. Impossible to get out. Heck with that! I thought, and scraped all of the flesh out of the fruit and into the blender. Nothing a really fine strainer won't handle.

It worked out pretty well, a minimum of seed bits and about a cup of fruit puree. At this point, I tasted it. Grass. Specifically wheatgrass. And a little bit of cucumber. Not anything that I would crave, but not unpleasant. I poured half the puree back in the blender with about 6 heaping tablespoons of plain yogurt and a tablespoon of honey and blended.

This was... good, not great. At this point I added half a banana. This was really good now. The banana and honey made for a sweeter drink, but it didn't totally cover the flavor of the Kiwano. All in all, it was very refreshing and I felt really healthy after I drank it!

Is the Kiwano something I would spend 5 bucks on in a grocery store? Probably not. But it was yummy and a new adventure in bizarre fruits from foreign lands. So thank you, smuggling co-worker! It was a nice surprise! :-)

I Want to Hold Your Hand... Pie.

2010-05-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ah, rhubarb. It's a vegetable. A tart, tart vegetable. (Although it was ruled in a court of law in New York that it was a fruit because Americans "use it as a fruit." Um... so, if we starting using underpants as hats, they would be classified as hats? Whatever.) So, it's a tart vegetable that we mostly use in sweets. Oh, and also the leaves are toxic. Thus, someone had cut them off by the time they were at the market, which is understandable but really too bad because it's prettier with the leaf.

In any case, I haven't had a lot of rhubarb in my life. We had some in the backyard garden when I was a kid, but I wasn't a huge fan... but lately, as a "grown up" I have had a couple of cobblers and sauces that I really liked, so I thought this week I would give it a try.

I am a big fan of pie, however the problem with pie is you can't really eat it on the go. You have to have utensils and plates and such. Thus, the hand pie is a lovely invention that I am a huge proponent of. I thought about making strawberry rhubarb since the markets are full of these amazing, ridiculously cheap berries right now, but... this is about making friends with this weird "fruit" so I went with a very simple, traditional combo that I gathered from a couple different resources.

Rhubarb Hand Pies
(adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum and this awesome blog)

Filling:
2 cups rhubarb, sliced to 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp potato starch (you could also use corn starch or flour- this was on the shelf that I can reach without getting the step ladder out so I used it.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl, stir well and let sit for about half an hour.

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 Tbs of sugar
1 stick very cold butter, cut to a small dice
4 Tbsp ice water
1 egg
3 Tbsp milk
Raw sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir dry ingredients together thoroughly. Add butter in and work it into the flour mixture with your hands, adding the ice water as needed until it is a moist (but not wet) dough. It should be easy to work with without adding more flour. Take a small ball of the dough and roll out into a circle, depending on how big you want your hand pies. Mine were about 6" in diameter. Put a couple spoonfuls of the rhubarb mixture on one side of the dough, fold it over, and pinch the seam closed.

Carefully place this (I used a large spatula) on a cookie sheet and continue until you have them all ready to go.

Crack egg into a small bowl and whisk in milk. Brush over pies with a pastry brush and sprinkle lightly with raw sugar.Bake for 30 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and filling is warm and bubbly.

I had a little bit of dough and a little bit of rhubarb left over so I made the world's tiniest rhubarb cobbler, which also worked out pretty well! These were super yummy and I would most definitely make them again!

Fried Green(ish) Tomatoes

2010-05-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am in love with these. I am a huge fan of breakfast, and a huge fan of southern food, and a huge fan of fried things. Especially things that are fried in bacon grease. Really, any recipe that has bacon grease as an ingredient? It's alright in my book.

Also, I would like to apologize for my green tomatoes being not as green as one might like. I really thought I was getting green ones, but they kept ripening! The one I have left? Totally red now.

These were as easy as easy can be, and not really even a recipe... I googled "fried green tomatoes" and got basically the same thing from 50 different sources, so here you go:

Fried Green(ish) Tomatoes

2 green tomatoes (not heirloom tomatoes that are green and ripe, but regular tomatoes that aren't red yet)
Corn meal
Salt and pepper
Bacon grease (couple tablespoons full, or just make some bacon and use that)

Slice tomatoes into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch rounds.

Salt and pepper to taste on both sides, and dip both sides in cornmeal. Carefully fry in hot bacon grease (and I mean carefully!) in a large frying pan. Cook until golden brown and crispy on both sides, gently turning once.

That's it. Seriously. Super easy, super tasty. They are soft and tangy on the inside, and crunchy on the outside, and they are perfect for a breakfast or brunch where you aren't really concerned about that whole "healthy" thing.

Some Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti...

2010-04-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

So... yeah. I am a big wimp. I can't make it all the way through Silence of the Lambs. I know this because after I made this appetizer course on Friday, my husband and I tried to watch the movie. Though I got through Hannibal Lecter's famous quote about what to serve with census taker's liver, I didn't get much farther than that. 30 minutes in I suggested we stop and watch something else for a while. Perhaps something with bunnies and kittens.

I have never really thought much about these, in fact until recently I didn't know that those giant pea pod things I saw in early spring were actually fava beans... so I picked up a couple pounds this week and decided to make a fava bean spread, and why not, some liver pâté. That was of course a slippery slope to getting a bottle of Chianti...

I know... he says "nice" Chianti... but this was surprisingly

good. Also, I am a sucker for wine puns.

Fava beans are a little labor intensive, but it wasn't complicated at all - just a lot of steps. Here's the "recipe" I came up with. If you are interested also in the chicken liver pâté, the recipe is here.

Fava Bean Spread

2 pounds fava beans (unshelled)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Prepare the fava beans by carefully removing the beans from the outer protective pod. The beans are covered in a second layer that is difficult to remove when they are raw:

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the beans for about 5 minutes. Rinse in cold water and let sit until they are cool enough to handle. The second layer of shell should be easy to remove at this point, and you are left with a shiny, bright green bean. (You will see at this point why you need two pounds of beans for a cup of spread!)

Toss the beans in a saute pan with some olive oil, the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beans are very tender.

In a blender or food processor, puree beans until mostly smooth. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with pita chips or baguette rounds.

I really liked this, and honestly all of the steps weren't that big of a deal. You can shell the beans while watching something you don't really need to pay attention to on TV, and other than that it goes together super-fast. Experiment all you want with seasonings too, I am thinking Herbes de Provence would be nice, or perhaps just a little fresh tarragon. The fava beans on their own have a nice clean flavor that went quite nicely with the buttery richness of the pâté and of course with the "nice" Chianti.

A Cupcake for Grown-Ups

2010-04-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

I know. It's not really a "new" ingredient. But it is! Sure, I have had tangerines...

... but this isn't, technically, a tangerine! It's a Primavera Seedless Mandarin, and it is the sweetest, juiciest little citrus you will ever want to try.

I suggest that you do try it soon because they are only available through about mid-May. These are from Polito Family Farms in Valley Center, California. I was very tempted to just post a recipe that said "rinse fruit off, peel and eat" because they are fabulous just like that.

However, there was a party to go to... and most people that know me know that means cupcakes. So, I consulted Dorie Greenspan's great book Baking: From My Home to Yours and found a lovely chocolate cupcake to mess around with.

Chocolate-Mandarin Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Candied Mandarin

Candied Mandarin Slices

2 or 3 Mandarins
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Carefully wash mandarins and slice evenly into quarter inch rounds, discarding ends. Add water to a saute pan set over medium heat. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add mandarin rounds and bring to a gentle boil.

Continue cooking for about 20 minutes, flipping the fruit once. Watch to make sure they don't dry out.

Gently remove with a slotted spoon to dry on a rack with something underneath it to catch the drips. When dried completely, slice into quarters.

Picture credit: Jodi Benker

Cupcake (adapted from here)
(I doubled the recipe, this will give you 24 cupcakes)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice (this replaces the butternilk in Dorie's recipe)
4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled
one whole mandarin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in regular-sized muffin pans.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter at medium speed until it is fluffy and very light yellow. Add sugar and continue beating for 2 minutes, until fully incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, scraping sides of bowl as you go, then add egg yolks in the same way. Beat in vanilla, then reduce mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Scrape the sides of the bowl again, mix in the mandarin juice, then beat in the rest of the dry ingredients. Remove from mixer, add the melted chocolate and incorporate completely with a rubber spatula. Using a microplane, add the zest only of the whole mandarin by holding it over the bowl and scraping the mandarin across the microplane until the zest is all removed. (This way gets more of the orange oil into the batter. Make sure you stop zesting as soon as you reach the bitter pith of the mandarin.)

Divide the batter even among the muffin molds. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until a skewer (or, if you are me, a piece of spaghetti) inserted into their centers comes out clean. Cool on a rack completely.

Ganache:

16 ounces heavy cream
16 ounces dark chocolate

Chop dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Heat the cream to just simmering in the microwave (about 3 minutes) making sure it doesn't boil over or scorch. Add the cream to the bowl of chocolate and let sit for a couple minutes to melt the chocolate. Beat with electric mixer until ganache is smooth and thick. Let set until slightly thicker, then cover cupcakes with ganache.

Place one quarter of a candied mandarin slice on top of ganache.

Picture credit: Jodi Benker

As Dorie warns in the book- this is a grown-up cupcake. It's not very sweet, the chocolate is dark, and even though I added the super-sweet mandarin to the mix, it's not really the sugar-bomb that many cupcakes are.

Add to that the dark chocolate ganache and the "weird!" candied mandarin slice... I witnessed three little girls nibble cautiously and then abandon these... the adults, however, seemed pretty happy.

Hairy Potato and the Half-Gallon of Hot Sauce

2010-04-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, this funny looking character is not actually a potato, it's a taro root. It's also called a lot of other things: dasheen, cocoyam, aroei... the list goes on and on. Wikipedia lists over 20 countries that use this hairy little root- it can be found on almost every continent. If you've been to Hawaii, you may have had it in poi. I've seen taro chips, kind of like potato chips, at Asian groceries... basically, this stuff is all over the world and I have never had it (that I know of), cooked it, or even touched it until this week. So... looking for an excuse to make some jerk shrimp and these mojitos, I decided to make dasheen fritters, from a recipe I found on a news site from Dominica. (I really do love the randomness of the internet...)

So, we are going to call it dasheen from here on out, just for regional authenticity.

Dasheen Fritters (Adapted from here.)

2 pounds dasheen
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons butter (I may have added more than this. Maybe.)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup mixture (half and half) of breadcrumbs and flour
vegetable oil for frying

Dasheen MUST be cooked before you eat it. It's also recommended that you wear rubber gloves while peeling and prepping it.

Peel and slice the dasheen into 1/4" thick slices. Boil this in water until it's tender (like you would potatoes for mashed potatoes- not at all firm, but you don't want it totally falling apart either.) In fact, go ahead and mash it like you would mashed potatoes. (Drain and rinse one time first. You want there to still be a little starch.)

Stir in the salt, butter, milk, and egg.

At this point, if you want to add a few drops of hot sauce that would be a good idea. (I just made some awesome hot sauce, so I am putting it in everything. Also, I made enough to fill a 750ml bottle, so I kind of HAVE to put it in everything.)

Flour your hands with the flour/bread crumb mixture and form the dough into flat patties.

Bring oil to 350 degrees F in a wide, shallow pan. Gently lower patties into oil with a slotted spoon, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook, flipping once, until fritters are golden brown. Set aside to drain on paper towels. Serve with more hot sauce.

I didn't get to take a lot of pictures of this process because of the goo factor, and I had a lot of other dishes going too- we had jerk shrimp, a tropical fruit salad, and red beans and rice. It was a nice mix of Caribbean flavors, and all of us dasheen newbies were pretty happy with the fritters. It tasted rather like a cross between a potato and a plantain.

I definitely want to get these again, and perhaps try a dish from another part of the world.

Oh, and because they are pretty, here's some habaneros for you:

If you want the recipe for this outstanding hot sauce, go here. I didn't have a can of peaches around, so I used a can of mandarin oranges and it was a GREAT substitution!

A Little Bit of Virtue

2010-04-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, I do like to eat something healthy every now and then. This week, I present to you a salad that is a little new and a little nostalgic for me. It uses two ingredients I've never used before, Kabocha squash (which doesn't really count, because... well, it's a squash!) and Mitsuba, a Japanese herb that I had to look up on the internet after I bought it and found out... basically... it's parsley. But it's Japanese Wild Parsley, so it counts! Tasted by itself, it has a mild, pleasant flavor, not totally like parsley, maybe a little like watercress or celery?

The true star of this salad, though, is the dressing. When I was a kid, I visited my sister in the San Francisco Bay area and we went to Benihana. There wasn't a restaurant like this in my hometown at the time, so I was impressed with the "international" flavor and ambiance. Sitting with people you don't know? Someone cooking at the table? I felt very cosmopolitan. I think the chef threw a shrimp at me. I also discovered that the very least Japanese dish on the menu- the tossed green salad- was covered with a dressing I would crave regularly for years.

Fast-forward to my post-college days, I was living in a house with a grand kitchen and decided to teach myself to cook. One of the first "big girl" cookbooks I bought was "Sundays at Moosewood Restuarant" by the Moosewood Collective, a fairly pretentious name for the chefs at a pretty well-known restaurant in Ithica, New York. I was flipping through and found... the salad dressing from Benihana!?! Well... they didn't refer to it by name, but I just knew it was. It went together in a snap, and sure enough, it was my dressing.

I still have this book, it's got a few stains and a lot cryptic marks in the margins, but the dressing still goes together in a snap and is still one of my favorites.

Japanese-ish Salad with Kabocha Squash and Mitsuba
(serves about 4)

Squash:

3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 half Kabocha, sliced into 1/4" crescents and peeled
Salt and pepper

Whisk first 3 ingredients together, brush generously on both sides of squash slices. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grill or pan grill slices, about 4-5 minutes each side, until fairly tender. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.

Dressing:

1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 medium carrot, grated
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon apple cider
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil (use something that doesn't have an assertive flavor- canola perhaps)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in blender and process until mostly smooth, add salt and pepper to taste.

Salad:

Kabocha Squash slices (you can use the slices as I did here, or you can chop it smaller)
1/4 cup of Mitsuba, leaves only
1 head of lettuce- I used red leaf, you could use pretty much anything you like
Grape tomatoes
Thinly sliced, peeled cucumber
Any other salad vegetables you might want!

Toss together ingredients and top with dressing.

I tried to get fancy with it last night, but I had it again for lunch today just all tossed willy-nilly in a bowl. It was just as good.

I really enjoyed the contrast of the sweet squash, the tangy, gingery dressing, and the crisp vegetables and herbs. I felt pretty virtuous eating this, but to warn you, expect something fried for next week!

Kabocha

Kumquat. Kumquat. Kumquat.

2010-03-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

It's a weird word.

I had only eaten one kumquat in my entire life previous to this weekend, in a grocery store in Austin, TX. It was... sour. Bitter. More peel than fruit. I didn't see the point. But I have always thought they were... well... cute.

Ah, but little kumquats... what to do with you? The obvious answer to douse them in sugar. (Which is probably my answer to far too many "problems")

Candied kumquats, it turns out, taste a lot like marmalade (go figure!) and are an excellent counterpoint to my new favorite lemon cream tart. Have you noticed that I am a little tart obsessed? (You might be correct in assuming it's because I can't make a pretty pie crust. Maybe.)

Lemon Cream Tart with Candied Kumquats
(Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's excellent Baking: From My Home to Yours)

Ingredients

1 pint of kumquats
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
pinch of sea salt

1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

1 fully-baked 9-inch tart shell (you can use a dough shell, a shortbread crust - perhaps made from your leftover girl scout cookies and some melted butter - or even a crust made from a couple scoops of almond flour, a little sugar, and melted butter. Cook these press-in crusts for about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until they are golden brown, then cool completely.)

Special Equipment: Instant-read thermometer, a strainer, blender, and double boiler (or a heat proof bowl that fits in a regular pot loosely.)

Procedures:

Candied Kumquats:

Wash the kumquats thoroughly and remove the little green stem bits (this occurred to me after it was too late, they get soft so it doesn't really matter, but the little green bits bugged me) Slice the kumquats into rounds and remove the seeds.

They pop out pretty easily, since they are so big and the kumquats are so small)

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil with one cup of sugar and pinch of salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add kumquat slices and simmer until fruit is soft, about 15 minutes.

Remove fruit with slotted spoon and return liquid to a boil, reducing by about half. Pour the liquid over the fruit in a bowl, and set aside to cool.

Lemon Tart:

Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in the pan of your double boiler

1. Put the sugar and zest in the top part of the double boiler. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

2. Put the top pan over the simmering water (make certain the water doesn’t touch the bottom) and cook, stirring with the whisk continuously until it reaches 180°F. Don’t stop whisking and don’t stop checking the temperature. Depending on how much heat you are using, this could take up to 10 minutes. Don't stop whisking! You will cook the eggs otherwise.

3. As soon as you reach 180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor) and discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going for another 3 minutes.

5. Pour the cream into a container with an airtight seal and chill for at least 2 hours. At that point, pour or spoon cream into prepared tart shell and smooth top. Chill for at least 2 more hours.

If you want it to be really firm, pop it in the freezer for an hour or so. I tried it both ways- I liked it better out of the freezer.

When ready to serve, top with candied kumquats.

This was really pretty good. I like the kumquats a lot better when they have been covered in sugar, and this tart was very very yummy. I think it would be a lovely Easter or Passover dessert (watching what crust you use of course) or for any other springtime meal, with whatever fruit you would like.

A Tale of Two Scones...

2010-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

It was the best of scones, it was the worst of scones...

I went to a very small market last Saturday morning in search of a new ingredient, and you know what?. There wasn't a fresh vegetable or fruit there that I've never used! But there was an intriguing stand of unusual dried fruits, from the wonderfully named Raisin City, CA (guess what they make a lot of there?) near Fresno. I was drawn to the persimmons, simply because I had never seen a dried persimmon before. I tried a sample and was sold. It was a little like a fig or maybe a date... a nice, sweet, earthy flavor that made me want a baked good, something a little homey and rustic. I thought scones would be a nice way to feature these.

They carried two varieties, one with preservatives (it was prettier) and one without (not as pretty, but a little sweeter) and I figured since I was chopping it up anyway, I could go with the ones that were a little ugly...

For once, I am not giving you a recipe in the post, and I will tell you why: the first recipe I used was less than desirable. (And by less than desirable, I mean barely edible.) It is from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, a normally lovely volume that I used regularly, but this time... not so much. "Oat and Dried Apricot Scones" sounds nice, right? Just substitute in the persimmons! Should have been great! I love Martha!

I got a rock.

She should re-title this recipe "Oat and Dried Dryness Scones." I know I measured right, I didn't just scoop flour out of the canister, I spooned it into a cup and leveled the top off... maybe it was the oats? Maybe my egg was too small? No idea. But it was pretty much a shingle with some persimmons in it. So, back to the drawing board I went. Or rather, to someone else's drawing board.

The very first food blog I ever read was Orangette, written by the lovely Molly in Seattle. She is inspiring to me, and is one of the reasons I ended up doing this blog. Her recipes are as exquisitely wonderful as she is, and I love her writing, on her blog, in her book, and in her Bon Appetit column. A couple of weeks ago, she posted about some scones from her childhood that she managed to recreate, with a result (after one particle-board experiment that may have rivaled my Martha ones) that came out "sturdy but light" and "biscuit-like." This was what I was looking for! With her kind permission, I share with you my results:

Molly's Whole Wheat Apricot (Persimmon!) Scones (recipe here)

I will leave her recipe on her blog for you to read. (Because you really should, it's a lovely blog.) But I will say that the directions she gives are so much better and more precise than what Martha (and her staff) had managed. There was no doubt in my mind of what I was supposed to do for every step of the recipe. This pleased me, not because I need hand-holding through a whole recipe, but sometimes "knead the dough" just isn't enough information! She describes what the dough will look like and it's pretty easy to know when you are on the right track.

On the right track.

One thing about the Martha recipe that I did like was the sugar on top, so I kept that. With the cream brushed on top first, it gave the scones a nice crunch that I enjoyed.

This was indeed the scone I was looking for! Sturdy, but not useful as a weapon. Light, but not a cake. Studded with sweet fruit, rustic but not lumpy or ugly, and definitely not dry. This was a scone I could write home about. Or write the internet about, anyway.

I have looked over the recipes and what I did several times, and I have decided to blame the oats in the original recipe. Oats are made to soak up moisture, and so I think if you are doing an oat scone, you need to up your liquids a bit. And Martha, I still love you. Don't worry.

You can see the difference here between an egg-yolk and sugar wash
(on the right) and just cream and sugar. And also the difference between
a scone and a roofing tile.

Oh, and the dried persimmons? I will be getting those again. Totally addictive. Anything that's super-sweet with very little caloric guilt is a winner in my book!

Many thanks to Molly for her quick response and general loveliness.

Finally, ferns.

2010-03-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

I think my blog posts are just destined to be towards the end of the week!

This week, I made something with these weird little things:

Fiddlehead ferns!

They are strange looking characters, a little fuzzy, a little swirly, kind of alien-looking... but as it turns out, pretty easy to work with and rather like asparagus. I used to go camping with my dad a lot when I was a kid, and I would marvel at the things that you could eat from the woods. I think the last time I had fiddleheads was when I was about 10.

Anyway, since they are similar to asparagus, I wanted to do a pasta dish with some nice spring-time ingredients: fresh herbs, a little lemon, some red pepper for color and a little sweetness, and cheese and wine. Because nothing says spring like cheese and wine!

First, a note about the pasta. I used an organic pasta imported from Italy because 1) I can't find the clamp that holds my pasta maker down to the table, 2) when I try to make spaghetti with my pasta maker, I end up with stuff that looks like Play-Dough, and 3) dried pasta from Italy is actually pretty darned good. I think it's because the surface isn't as smooth, and it "grabs" the sauce better.

Speaking of grabbing food items... if this was actually in focus, you
could see the look of sheer concentration on his face. He really wants that pasta!

Springtime Pasta (not quite Primavera)

One cup of fiddlehead fern tops

3/4 cup white wine

Half a lemon, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Half a red pepper, julienned

Handful of your choice of chopped fresh herbs (I used basil and oregano)

3/4 cup of grated cheese (mine was Pecorino-Romano)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Pasta of your choice (enough for 2 people)

To cook fiddlehead ferns, rinse them really well and trim the ends, then cook in boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain and immediately put the ferns into cold water to stop cooking. They are not completely cooked at this point! They will taste kind of icky if you try them!

Put some water on to boil for your pasta.

In the meantime, reduce about 3/4 of a cup to a cup of white wine with a tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon. Reduce it by half and set aside. In a heavy, large saute pan (or, apparently a wok) heat about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add the garlic and red pepper. Cook until tender, being careful not to burn the garlic. (I do that pretty often. I have a very short attention span.)

At about the point where you are about 5 minutes from your pasta being done, add the fiddleheads and all but about a tablespoon of the fresh herbs to the pan with the garlic and peppers.

Saute these until the pasta is ready (not more than the 5 minutes.) Add the wine reduction to the fiddleheads and toss. Remove from heat.

Reserve about a half cup of the water from the pasta pot, and drain the rest. Do not rinse the pasta. Return it to the pot, and add in the fiddlehead mixture, toss gently. Add the reserved pasta water and about a half a cup of grated cheese. Plate and top with a little more cheese, a small amount of fresh herbs, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

This is one of my favorite kinds of pasta- not a lot of sauce so you can really taste the ingredients. I was very happy with this dish, and would do it again. There's room for a lot of improvisation, and I would most certainly add fiddleheads to the mix again if I came across them in a market.

I can only point the way, Grasshopper. You must walk the path yourself

2010-03-11T12:26:00.001-08:00

Ok, so... I had a notion to cheat this week and use something rather un-unconventional as my ingredient. What ensued was my punishment for cheating. (Really though, I have never used this ingredient in cooking! It should count!)

It is Girl Scout Cookie time, and being an aunt to two Girl Scouts, I ended up buying a large number of cookies... not the least of which were two boxes of that perennial favorite, the Thin Mint. I thought... why not make those into a crust for a pie? Why not make it something choco-minty from my own childhood? Why not make Grasshopper Pie? Simple, kind of down-home in a 1970s kind of way, easy!

Hahaha! No.

I kid you not, I made an awesome, great looking crust out of some of the Thin Mints. A sleeve and a half of cookies, half a stick of butter, it looked pretty great. But... the pie itself! No no no. I ruined not one but two batches of filling using two different recipes (one was my mom's, the other from Emeril Lagasse.) The first one, I ended up with basically scrambled eggs in caramel sauce, and the second... well, the second was more like leprechaun vomit. I will not show you pictures because you might never come back here.

At this point... I decided to take my awesome crust and make a chocolate tart. And that, ladies and gentleman, without incident, is exactly what I did. Tyler Florence, thank you for saving my Thin Mint crust and my sanity.

Dark Chocolate-Mint Tart with Thin Mint Crust

Crust Recipe:

One and a half sleeves of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies

Half a stick of butter

In a blender or food processor, crush cookies to crumbs. Melt butter in microwave, add to crumbs. Mix thoroughly (you may need to add a little more melted butter- do not overdo it, or you will have a greasy crust!) and press into tart pan with removable bottom. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes and cool completely.

Tart filling recipe:

(Adapted from here )

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup 1% milk

10 ounces good quality chocolate (I used a combination of dark and bittersweet)

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs at room temperature

2 teaspoons peppermint extract or more to taste

Heat the heavy cream and milk in a pot over medium-low heat until it simmers around the edges. Remove from heat, add salt and sugar, stir to dissolve.

Add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl until blended and temper by adding about a tablespoon of the chocolate to the eggs and stirring to incorporate. (This is what I should have done with the eggs in the first recipe!) Add the egg mixture carefully to the chocolate and cream mixture. Stir until very smooth. Add peppermint extract to taste and stir.

Carefully pour into tart pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the filling is set and the surface is glossy. Remove if bubbles or cracks begin to form. Cool completely before removing from pan and serving.

Some thoughts on this recipe:

My first thought is, of course, YAY, IT WORKED!

There were some bubbles on the surface of my tart, but honestly my oven is very uneven and I don't think it would have been firm if I had removed it sooner. Just know your oven as well as you can and keep an eye on it. But those bubbles did nothing to inhibit the taste, it was rich and dark and decadent, with just a hint of peppermint echoing the mint in the crust. It wasn't grasshopper pie, but it was minty and yummy!

I thought that since I most of a bottle of creme de menthe left from my failed experiments, I would whip a little cream with some to make a festive topping- really, it was more for the light green color than anything. But it was a nice contrast to the rich tart!

Thanks for stopping by!

Splendor in the Lemongrass

2010-03-03T09:18:00.000-08:00

So... I am late with this post, sorry about that. Suffice to say that there are some weeks that just motivate you to post about alcohol. This was one of those weeks!

My ingredient this time was simple, elegant lemongrass. I have ordered many a Thai dish with lemongrass in it, but I have never cooked with it before. I can say at this point that it's easier to cook with than it is to photograph. I spent I don't know how long trying to make a green stick look interesting!

Lemongrass is a seasoning most commonly found in Southeast Asian dishes, teas, perfumes, and even herbal remedies, but since I really needed a beverage, I decided to go a slightly different route and make a lemongrass-rambutan martini. Mostly because the store I stopped at didn't have lychees.

Rambutan is related to the lychee, and seems pretty interchangeable. I did not use fresh, because what I really wanted was the sweet syrup out of the can. The fruit will either go into a tropical salad or if I'm feeling ambitious some sort of sticky-rice dessert.

So, on to the martini! (Which is, to be totally honest, something I say pretty often.)

Note: Simple syrup must chill for a couple hours before you make the drink, so plan accordingly.

Lemongrass-Rambutan Martini

1 stick fresh lemongrass
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce syrup from canned rambutan
1 lemon

To make lemongrass simple syrup, chop about 4-6 inches of lemongrass coarsely and put in heavy saucepan with water and sugar.

Lemongrass smells amazing by the way, I hovered over this pot the whole time it was simmering!

Bring to steady boil, reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Cool syrup for about 2 hours in refrigerator. Strain syrup. (This can be stored in fridge for up to two weeks.)

To make martini, measure 1 ounce of rambutan syrup, 1 ounce of lemongrass simple syrup, and 2 ounces of vodka in shaker with ice.

Shake and strain into a martini glass. (Or another glass that you like. I like this one because the martini glass made the drink look too small!) Add juice of one quarter of lemon, and garnish with lemon twist. You may also garnish with a stick of the remaining lemongrass, as it can serve as a swizzle stick, if you feel like swizzling.

This was exactly what I needed- pretty, simple, sweet but not too sweet (you can play with the amount of lemon juice if it's too sweet for you) and I think it's open to variation. I have a lot of syrup left, so I am going to try it with a lime. If you don't want to have an adult beverage, I think this would be swell as a "soda" with the simple syrup, the rambutan syrup, and some soda water or even ginger ale.

Cheers!

Sometimes a squash is just a squash...

2010-02-22T11:57:00.001-08:00

And sometimes it's a Turban Squash. It was by far the weirdest vegetable I saw this weekend, so of course I had to get it! It looks like it should have a little cute face and be dancing in a Disney cartoon.

I actually went to get broccolini this weekend, because I wanted to make a lasagna for my husband as I am going out of town for a few days... but then I saw this ridiculous looking thing and thought... well... I can make a lasagna out of that, right?

As it turns out, yes. I can.

This is another one of those no-recipe recipes, however there is something about this lasagna that is special and new to me (besides the squash) and absolutely brilliant. Freshly made ricotta. Kind of. Kenji at Serious Eats is a genius and has kindly shown us all that we don't have to buy over-priced, over-chemical-y ricotta from the store. We can make a sort of queso fresca at home that is so close and so much better tasting that the regular store stuff. So, thanks to Kenji, I will show you the steps as we go along. You can see his original post here.

First of all though, get a sharp knife and carefully cut the squash top to tail. Remove the seeds and fibers as well as you can, a few fibers (or seeds, for that matter) left in won't hurt, it will be easier to remove when it's done baking.

Put it in a baking dish skin side down with about half an inch of water and bake at 375F for about an hour and a half.

While that's baking, let's make some cheese! It's SO EASY!

In a Pyrex measuring cup, or a glass bowl, or other microwavable something, put 2 cups whole milk, a quarter teaspoon of table salt, and two tablespoons of plain white vinegar (you could also use lemon juice) and stir. Microwave on high for 2-4 minutes (mine took about 3:30 pretty consistently) Take the dish out, stir it up a little- your mixture should be at about 160F degrees and it should start forming clumps. If it doesn't, throw it back in for another 30 seconds.

Put two food safe paper towels (a coffee filter or cheesecloth would also work) in a colander, and put the colander in a bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the colander and let drain until the cheese is at the desired consistency, depending on what you want- if you want to use it as a spread, just a couple minutes, if you are stuffing cannoli with it, wait a little longer. Mine didn't take as long as I thought it would, but just keep an eye on it and you'll know when it's right for you.

This should yield about half a cup per batch. Kenji says that you can double the batch, adding two minutes to the microwave time, I didn't have a bigger dish so I just made several small batches and came up with almost 2 cups:

This tastes absolutely lovely, it's fresh and clean and a little tangy, and it doesn't have that chemical taste that many commercial brands do. As Kenji said, this isn't quite ricotta, as ricotta is made from whey and not milk... but this is so close and really tasty!

Okay, so while this was all happening, Mr. Squash baked to a lovely golden orange color:

For those of you who know me on Facebook, this is where I cut my finger with a squash.
Not with a knife, but with a squash.

I scooped out the flesh using an ice cream scoop and pureed it with my trusty hand blender. (Have you noticed how into pureeing things I am? Maybe I should start a baby food business.)

Where have I seen this before???

As I was photographing the squash puree, I had a bit of a deja vu... and then I flipped back through my camera and found the mango sorbet I made the other day...

Uncanny! Try not to serve pureed squash and mango sorbet at the same time.

Squash always makes me think sage and nutmeg, so I added about 12 leaves of chopped fresh sage and a few scrapes of fresh nutmeg (use a microplane, it smells divine while you are doing it!)

So, the next step would be to grab your lasagna noodles, either fresh or no-bake (I was lazy and used no-bake ones this time) and a baking dish, whatever size you think your squash will fit in. I used a 8x12 glass dish. Layer your noodles with the squash, the ricotta, and shredded mozzarella.

First layer

Fourth layer

Cover the dish in foil and pop it in a 375F degree oven for 45 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for 15 minutes longer. Let rest for a couple minutes, and then cut to serve.

So, my verdict on the ricotta is yes! Awesome! I will never buy regular old ricotta again at the supermarket. As for the squash... it's very good, and it worked well in the lasagna, but honestly I can't tell the difference between this and an acorn squash. Maybe I don't have a sophisticated squash palate, but I think I would probably go with something a little cheaper and more readily available. Also, in retrospect I would have added a pinch of sea salt with the sage and nutmeg. But all in all, I really enjoyed this and I love my new cheese-making abilities!

OOH-bah!

2010-02-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

So, this week I learned that the more stressed I am about the outcome of the food, the less likely it is that my photos will be in focus... and the less likely it is that I will actually remember to take photos at all...

My ingredient of the week was shiso, an Asian leafy green that is generally used as a seasoning.

It has a flavor that is hard to describe (minty? basil-y? verbena-y? fennel-y?) and it's really quite lovely. Shiso is also sometimes called Ooba, which of course is in reference to that midwife droid from Revenge of the Sith. (What? It's not? Oh, okay. Never mind then.)

I decided to go with Sake-steamed (really, poached) shrimp. You can find the original recipe here from Martha Stewart. (I know, not exactly the go-to chef for Japanese cooking...)

Here's my adapted recipe: (although I didn't adapt much, mostly in presentation, because I am not Martha Stewart!)

Sake-Steamed Shrimp (serves 4)

1 cup sake
10 Shiso leaves
20 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups sushi rice
4 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
4 tsp prepared wasabi paste

Directions:

In a large saucepan (I used a wok), combine sake with 1 cup of water and 2 shiso leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, add shrimp and poach until light pink, about 4 minutes.

It's that easy. However, it is apparently not that easy to take a picture of. Oops.

To serve, line a ramekin with plastic wrap, and then pack the ramekin tightly with the sushi rice. Invert on plate, and gently remove the ramekin and plastic wrap. Hopefully (it took me a couple of times) you will get a nice little timbale-like mound of rice. Place one shiso leave gently on the rice, and top with shrimp. Honestly, I had so many things cooking at once I failed at making them sit in a nice pretty pile, so I put the shrimp around the edge, save one. Serve with wasabi paste and soy sauce.

I liked the shiso so much that I wished I had chopped it finely and stirred it into the rice beforehand so I could have the flavor in every bite. I served this with some other small dishes: some steamed Mizune greens on the side (I was a little "meh" about this, honestly, it tasted like I think grass might taste), Spicy Noodle Salad from the fabulous Pike Place Market Cookbook (and the sadly out-of-business Gravity Bar), and these brilliant gyoza from Marc Matsumoto at No Recipes.

I was also going to include some daikon fritters, but didn't get them done. However, I do want to share with you the giant daikon I bought:

Now THAT is a load-bearing radish! Or possibly a baseball bat.

Yes, my "photo studio" is a barstool. Now you know!

Spicy Noodle Salad:

My gyoza weren't as pretty as Marc's but they were awfully yummy:

Thanks for stopping by!

The secret word of today is... FRIED!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Ehem. Sorry. My husband and I saw Pee-Wee Herman's live show the other night, during which they made onion rings in a deep fryer and a very tragic thing happened to a talking ShamWow. (I am not making this up.) In any case, this brings up a topic that is very dear to me: my own health and safety. I am a klutz. If there's something hot, I will stick my hand on it. If there's something sharp, well, I will stick my hand on that too! There isn't really a limit to the creative ways I can injure myself. So for a long time, I tried to stay away from making things like caramel and deep fried foods. Then recently I decided that I should throw caution to the wind, because 1) if I can hurt myself on something as benign as a towel, there's really no point in avoiding things of any sort and 2) I really LIKE caramel and deep fried foods. (Luckily, not together. Although, now that I've said that... hmmm.) With all of that in mind, I am deep-frying something in this post and I want to start by saying if you are going to deep-fry anything, wear closed shoes and a long sleeved shirt while doing this. Well, and pants. Always wear pants.

So, as part of my whole throwing-caution-to-the-wind thing, I wanted to make some stuffed, fried squash blossoms. I am happy to say I didn't cause any disasters during the process!

These are the little lovelies that were purchased at the Santa Monica Organic Farmers' Market, one of my favorites. I could keep this blog going for several years there, so many wonderful things I have never cooked with. This time I picked two: the squash blossoms, and this:

Quark!

This has nothing to do with particle physics.

I had heard of quark, but wasn't really sure what it even was. I asked the man at the cheese booth for something that might work as a stuffing for squash blossoms and he gave me a little sample of this- garlicky, tangy, and wonderful. Quark is kind of like cream cheese (but not) and a lot like French fromage blanc. (Thank you, Wikipedia) I have a fair amount of it left and I might try to make a savory version of a Dutch treat called kwarktaart, because... well, come on. It's called kwarktaart! How could I not want to make that?

This was actually very easy to do, so easy you don't really need a recipe. The blossoms I got were female (with the baby squash still attached). I wasn't sure of what to do with those so I snipped them off for a different dish and worked with just the blossoms.

Please be sure to inspect thoroughly for dirt and bugs!

I soaked them in cold water for about an hour, gently dried them and opened them up a little to cut out the stamens, and put about a teaspoon of quark in each, twisting the blossom closed as well as I could.

Stuffed, waiting to be battered

When this was done, I made a quick batter (possibly the quickest batter) of 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour, a little salt and pepper, and one can of beer. You can dress this up with any herbs you want, snipped chives, a little basil... it's so simple and makes a nice light batter that barely coats whatever you are frying.

I broke my candy/deep frying thermometer (see above, Amanda is a klutz) so my canola oil should have probably been a little hotter, it should be between 345-375 degrees. You don't need a lot, just enough so the blossoms stay afloat. Don't do more than 5 at a time, give them some space in the pot and remember you will want to flip them once carefully during the frying time.

I had maybe 2 inches of oil in the bottom of the pan

When they are golden brown (mine were a little under-done because of the lower temperature) remove them with a slotted spoon and let rest on a paper towel. Finish the rest of the blossoms and drain. Serve as an appetizer or as the "vegetable" as I did, because nothing says healthy veggies like something filled with cheese and deep fried!

I served these with salmon poached in white wine, a little vermouth, and some herbs, and "Pee-Wee Herman Mix" baby potatoes roasted with olive oil, a little sea salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence.

I don't know if that's actually what those potatoes are called, but it's what the vendor called them and I am a sucker for that sort of coincidence. The potatoes were especially fun- look at the purple one!

This was a very lovely meal, I really liked the light crunch of the squash blossom followed by the melty warm garlicky cheese. Now that I have proven to myself that deep-frying doesn't necessarily mean a trip to the ER, I will do this again sometime!

A Big Slimy Mess

2010-02-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

I went to the Thursday market with something in mind this week, the "custard apple" or cherimoya.

I really wanted to draw a jack-o-lantern face on this one...

I asked the vendor to pick me out some that were close to ripe, as I wasn't going to be able to use them until the weekend. (Notice how I did not go digging through the giant pile of fragile fruit on my own this time. I have learned!) I went home happily with my new little green friends, and put them in a paper sack to get ripe. I was craving a frozen sweet, so I got out my go-to ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop by David Lebowitz. He is an ice cream genius and never steers me wrong. Except that there wasn't a cherimoya recipe in the book! No bother, I flipped through and decided that the mango sorbet was close enough-- plus, the recipe called for rum and I was on board with that idea immediately!

Go buy this book! It's brilliant!

Sunday morning they were just a little soft, a little more mottled than the vibrant green they were when I bought them, and ready to go.

Mark Twain called the cherimoya the most delicious fruit known to man.
Which is good, because it is not the prettiest fruit, that's for sure...

A quick check of the internet gave me these easy instructions to prepare the cherimoya: cut in half, remove the seeds, scoop out the flesh. A more accurate description would have been "cut in half, dig around for a billion seeds, losing half the flesh in the process, and get covered in fruit goop up to your elbows." Wow, this was a big mess. But it smelled pretty good, and a couple little random tastes I tried (hey, quality control, right?) were very, very good- kind of pineapple, kind of banana, kind of strawberry. I have to say it was a great flavor. But could a sorbet be worth all of this hassle?

After wrestling the seeds out and double checking the cherimoya-mush (I have been told cherimoya seeds are toxic, much like apple seeds) I prepped the fruit and other ingredients to be cooled for the ice cream maker. I was a little let down because it looked like a bowl of porridge.

A quick taste buoyed my spirits. The flavor of the cherimoya was totally enhanced by the lime and the rum, so I was happier as I put it in the fridge.

After completely cooling, I tossed it in the ice cream maker for approximately an hour (for some reason, it always takes longer than I think it will) and when it was at about a soft-serve consistency I put it in the freezer to harden.

Action shot! (I am not good at these yet!)

I realize this looks a lot like product placement, honest, it isn't.

Two hours later, I had my verdict: YES.

Totally worth the hassle! A bit of this was like being transported to a sunny tropical island, it was really that good. I will make this again, maybe even doing a double batch, and whip up a batch of David's awesome lime sorbet to complement it!

Here is the recipe, adapted from the brilliant David Lebovitz (more at www.davidlebovitz.com or in The Perfect Scoop)

Cherimoya Sorbet

4 medium-sized ripe cherimoya
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 T dark rum
pinch of salt

Cut the cherimoya in half, remove the seeds and scoop the flesh out into blender or large bowl if using a hand blender. Add the sugar, water, lime juice, rum, and salt. Puree the mixture until smooth. Add lime juice and/or rum to taste if needed. Chill mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's instructions.

I really hope there is some left when I get home tonight...

Attack of the Giant Radishes!

2010-01-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

I went out with no real idea of what I would come home with this week, which is probably not the best way to go about this. One of the first things I came across were daikon radishes, which I have never even eaten that I know of, let alone cooked with. They are kind of like a giant white carrot, or a bleached parsnip. For some reason I have always been a little intimidated by them. I think they sensed this. I picked one of them up from the table, and it must have been a load-bearing radish because the entire pile collapsed around me. Having destroyed this poor man's display, I felt like I had to buy them. But... once purchased and safely corralled in a bag, what to do with them?

Not nearly as pretty as Meyer lemons...

Since the weather is still pretty chilly here, I wanted to do something comforting and warm- a pickle or a salad wasn't going to do it for me. I wondered if you could roast them, since they are a root veggie and all... turns out you can, and I am quite happy with what happened!

Trying to find their good side

I had no idea what a roasted radish would taste like, so I added a few leeks to the mix and decided to make a puree just in case the texture was weird. (It wasn't, I liked them before the puree also. They resemble a kind of spicy turnip. ) I also wanted to add a little wasabi to give it a bigger radish kick and some color. (More on that in a bit.) First, the recipe:

Roasted Daikon Radish Puree

6 daikon radishes, peeled and cut to about a one inch by quarter inch dice
Garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
Canola (or other neutral oil)
One leek
1 Tablespoon prepared wasabi

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place diced daikon and leeks in roasting pan or glass baking dish. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Toss with oil until vegetables are lightly coated. Roast for 35-45 minutes, until they are soft on the inside with some brown crunchy bits and leeks are caramelized. Let cool enough to handle.

Using a hand blender (you can use a regular blender but I hate washing mine) puree the daikon and leeks to the consistency of mashed potatoes- keep a few little chunks intact if you would like a rustic look.

I have a tube of the prepared... somewhere... now I have both!

Then add the tablespoon of wasabi, and pulse blender until incorporated. Serve with soy sauce on the side.

Ok, so... I really expected the wasabi to turn this a nice light green shade. Absolutely not! It was beige, beige, beige. In fact it matched the chicken breast I served it with perfectly. You can taste the wasabi, but it is ninja wasabi, alas, nowhere to be seen. You may be able to get that green I was going for by adding a few peas to the mix... but maybe I like it better this way, humble and lumpy and beige.

I really like this flavor! I think it's a great substitute for rice or potatoes with a meal. By the way, the chicken was poached in soy sauce, mirin, ginger, cilantro, green onion, and a touch of lime. I think poaching might be my favorite way to cook a chicken breast. I added some steamed peas in the pod so the whole entire plate wasn't beige.

As long as I manage not to cause any more gravity-induced chaos, I will be a daikon fan from now on!

A Ray of Sunshine

2010-01-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

While at the farmers market this week, it occurred to me that I have never once used a Meyer lemon! If you have not encountered these fabulous little gems of the citrus world, please go out and find some right now! A Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and an orange. They are sweet, but still have that lemony tang.

It's pouring down rain in L.A. right now, but I don't care...

Honestly, I am glad that Meyer lemons qualified as a new ingredient for me, as it gives me the opportunity to post this wonderful little pudding "cake" recipe. They are bright and cirtusy and cheerful, a little ray of sunshine on a plate, which I think is something we could all use right now.

Zesty!

Individual Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes

adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine
original recipe may be viewed at
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Meyer-Lemon-Buttermilk-Pudding-Cake-with-Fresh-Berries-231451

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar, divided
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
zest from 2 Meyer lemons, chopped fine
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites at room temperature

Preparations
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 6 individual serving sized ramekins and set aside.
Blend buttermilk, 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, flour, butter, lemon zest and salt in blender until smooth.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining half cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. By hand, gently fold buttermilk mixture into egg whites about a cup at a time. Batter will be runny.

My husband thinks I am obsessed with ramekins. He might be right...

Scoop batter into prepared ramekins. Place ramekins in a large roasting pan and add water until the ramekins are half-way covered. Bake until the top is semi-firm, about 45 minutes. It will still give a little, and I expected it to brown more but it didn't. Cool on rack and then chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Serve in ramekins or invert onto plate. I dressed mine up a little with some blackberries and mint, any berry would work nicely with it, you could also dust it with some powdered sugar or just leave it plain.

You can expect some shrinkage when they come out of the oven...

Some thoughts about this recipe:

This isn't really cake. It really is more of a pudding consistency which I liked a lot, but if you are looking for a traditional cake texture, this is not the recipe. If you cook it longer, it will be more firm but it will never be totally cakey.

We are fans of pudding, so this worked out well.

It says to cool and chill it, which is nice, it makes it light and refreshing. As my friend Jodi pointed out, it makes a fun noise when you dig into it. But it's also very tasty warm, after just a few minutes cooling out of the oven. Not that I ate a whole one out of a ramekin standing in the kitchen...

Wonderful!

2010-01-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

I love winter, I really do. So it's funny that I live in LA now, where there is no weather to speak of. There are trade-offs though, and one of them is that you get fresh local produce for a longer amount of time than most places. Like, say... this pomegranate. He was a little late to the game this year, but still pretty darned tasty, not to mention good for you! So, of course, I took him home and massacred him. (He came with a less photogenic companion, you will need two for the sauce.)

My entire experience with pomegranates up until now has been limited to bottles of Pom Wonderful, which resulted in the giant bottle of homemade grenadine in my fridge. Hopefully the antioxidant properties of the pom has counteracted the number of drinks I have made out of that grenadine.

When looking for something to make with pomegranate, I decided to go savory. I decided to go... meaty. (I think my butcher actually just wants to pawn weird cuts of meat off on me. I also think that so far, I am okay with that.) This is bavette d'aloyau, or in English: flap steak! Everything really does sound better in French! Bavette d'aloyau is a cut from the flank that is similar in some respects to the more expensive and trendy hangar steak. It's pretty thin as you can see, so it cooks quickly. It is a cut that really should be marinated, so let's marinate this in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

While we are doing that, let's tackle the seeding of Mr. Pom. You are supposed to slice the top off at the crown, but that wouldn't make a very nice picture so I chopped it in half. Since I am making a sauce of this, I figured it wouldn't matter if some seeds were sliced. Once you get it open, pull it apart with your fingers and pull out the pips. (Note to those who know me well- yes, this really disturbed me.)

Ok, now you have everything ready to go, so let's have the "recipe" shall we? (Another thing about having a blog- when I "wing it" I have to remember to measure now.)

Pan Seared Bavette d'aloyau with Balsamic Pomegranate Sauce

Ingredients:
3/4 pound to 1 pound of flap steak
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
Juice of 2 pomagranates
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar (you could experiment with honey, agave, brown sugar also)
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Marinate the steak in olive oil and balsamic vinegar for an hour in the fridge then remove when you start seeding the pomegranate to bring to room temperature.

Once you have the seeds separated from the pith, put them in a heavy saucepan with a small amount of water (maybe a few tablespoons) and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until the seeds are soft, about 15 minutes. Mash with a potato masher as you go, gently to keep the sauce from getting too bitter. Remove from heat and cool enough to press the seeds through a fine sieve. Discard the juiced seeds and add the juice back to the pan with the sugar and balsamic. Taste it at this point to adjust flavors. Set aside.

Melt a tablespoon of the butter in a large frying pan over medium high heat, and add the steaks.

Cook to medium rare (or your preference.) I cooked about a minute and a half on each side, and it was just a little pink in the middle. Remove steaks to plate and tent to keep warm.

Add the pomegranate mixture to the frying pan and bring to a boil. Add second tablespoon of butter and stir in.

Boil until reduced by half. The sauce will take on the color and consistency of a thin molasses. Season with salt and pepper to taste if you prefer.

Slice steak against the grain and pour sauce over the top to serve.

Final verdict: very tasty sauce, lightly sweet and a little zesty. I might even add a little bit of red pepper flakes next time. Just be aware of how long you are cooking this particular cut of meat, as it does go from slightly chewy to leathery pretty quickly.

Salty New Year!

2010-01-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

Now, when starting a food blog about new experiences with ingredients, one might start with something pretty, like a persimmon or lavender. Since I am not normal, I have chosen smoked neck bones. Yep.

You see, I had a craving for collard greens. So, I went to the queen of all things southern, Paula Deen. (Plus I had the pleasure of Googling the phrase "Paula Deen's Collard Greens.") Paula's recipe called for ham hock, smoked turkey wing, or smoked neck bones. I figured, where would I find that? I will just go for the ham hock, which I was familiar with. But lo and behold, there it was at the butcher! Smoked neck bones! Not pretty, not something I really want to think about eating, NOT something from a farmers market.. But I haven't cooked with it, so into the bag it went, and here it is:

Mmmm... pork.

So, for the inaugural "I've never used it" ingredient, I give you Paula Deen's Collard Greens, starring smoked neck bones.

(I have adapted a little, not adding salt since the neck pieces are pretty salty. I just added the garlic powder and pepper in the proportion that she calls for in the house seasoning recipe. I used chicken stock instead of water because I made some and it wouldn't fit in my teeny freezer, and I reduced the amount of Tabasco to just a few shakes as I didn't actually know who was going to eat this.)

(Also, wow, this has to be some kind of record for the least amount of butter used in a PD recipe!)

Collard Greens

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/collard-greens-recipe/index.html

Prep Time:: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time:: --
Cook Time:: 2 hr 0 min

Level:: Easy

Serves:: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1/2 pound smoked meat (ham hocks, smoked turkey wings, or smoked neck bones)
1 tablespoon House seasoning, recipe follows (I used 1/2 T pepper and 1/2 T of garlic powder)
1 tablespoon seasoned salt (I used none)
1 tablespoon hot red pepper sauce
1 large bunch collard greens
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add smoked meat, house seasoning, seasoned salt and hot sauce. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.

Wash the collard greens thoroughly. Remove the stems that run down the center by holding the leaf in your left hand and stripping the leaf down with your right hand. The tender young leaves in the heart of the collards don't need to be stripped. Stack 6 to 8 leaves on top of one another, roll up, and slice into 1/2 to 1-ince thick slices. Place greens in pot with meat and add butter. Cook for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This is not a pretty picture. Winter = No natural light for dinner!

When done taste and adjust seasoning.

I served with oven-fried chicken legs and red beans and rice. The verdict? SUPER salty. I don't know if this is from the chicken stock that I made (I don't think so because it was not a really salty carcass that I used) or the neck pieces (likely) but this was a very salty dish. If I had added the salt that Paula asked me to it would have been inedible. However, without the added salt it was still tasty, and I would make it this way again, maybe I would use water instead of the stock (or veggie stock with no salt) and maybe rinsing the meat thoroughly first to get some of that sodium out of it.

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Paula Deen's House Seasoning:

1 cup salt (I omitted the salt and just used a 1:1 ratio of pepper to garlic powder)
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Well, hello.

2009-12-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

My goal: to visit one of LA's many farmers markets each week, find a new (to me, anyway) ingredient, and make it into something fabulous. Or at least something edible. Starting at the beginning of 2010 I will be attempting to do at least 52 new ingredients for the year. Thanks for stopping by!