On New Year's Day, you're supposed to have black eye peas and ham. So, Hopping John is a perfect delivery method.
Many years ago (like, 15), I'd tried the Treebeards recipe, but substituted turkey ham instead of regular pork ham, in an attempt to make it healthier. Blech. I had tried it at least twice that I remember and it was a dry mess.
I decided to give the Treebeards recipe another try, still with the turkey ham, this year. I'll be damned if it didn't turn out to be just about the best, least guilt-inducing comfort food ever.
A few things made the difference this time. First, saute the hell out of the veggies/aromatics, using olive oil instead of butter. Go for a deep rich brown carmelization on them, not just softened. Also, add an extra tablespoon or so of the oil to make up for the fat you're losing from the pork ham. Then, take absolutely seriously the "until tender" instruction regarding the beans. I ended up cooking them for a full hour longer, tasting them every 10 minutes. Totally worked. Score.
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2010
Smoked Gouda and Chipotle Grits
I've had a fondness for cheese grits since I was a kid, when my mom would make them by adding Velveeta (I think) to grits and add slices of hot dogs (it was the seventies). Even in the south, this was apparently a little bit weird - I remember taking them to school in sixth or seventh grade for a pot luck and getting weird-ass looks. But, damn, they were tasty.
This fine recipe was a new addition to Christmas dinner this year, replacing a Treebeards recipe for which I seemed to lose the touch. This past weekend was about relaxing, guilt-free, until the paper comes back with red marks for revisions. Comfort food was in order.
The first batch tasted mind-blowingly good. The second, merely excellent. The big difference was the taste of the gouda, which came through much better in the Christmas batch. Saturday's batch, not so much. I end up adding a little salt and about 8 oz of a mild cheddar to punch up the flavor. It's still really, really good.
The lesson here appears to be to get the strongest flavored gouda you can find, though I have no idea how you would know until you got the cheese home.
This fine recipe was a new addition to Christmas dinner this year, replacing a Treebeards recipe for which I seemed to lose the touch. This past weekend was about relaxing, guilt-free, until the paper comes back with red marks for revisions. Comfort food was in order.
The first batch tasted mind-blowingly good. The second, merely excellent. The big difference was the taste of the gouda, which came through much better in the Christmas batch. Saturday's batch, not so much. I end up adding a little salt and about 8 oz of a mild cheddar to punch up the flavor. It's still really, really good.
The lesson here appears to be to get the strongest flavored gouda you can find, though I have no idea how you would know until you got the cheese home.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Treebeard's Butter Cake - Revisited
This is too good not to share. even with being on haitus.
Janie Baur, one of the authors of the Treebeards' Cookbook (one of the all-around best books in my collection), came across my entry for their Buttercake and had this to add in the Comments. Rather than let it get buried, here is her wisdom. Thanks, Janie!:
"Hal, I was poking around the Internet this morning and came across this. When I wrote the Treebeards cookbook nine printings ago, we converted this recipe from a gigantic recipe that was used in the restaurant, hence the 3 ounces of cream cheese...and no, I don't believe they even make it any more. At least I haven't been able to find it for a few years. I put the leftover in my Food Saver bags and it stays good almost indefinitely.
Try experimenting with flavor variations like these:
Toffee — Fold a cup of almond toffee bits or chocolate-covered toffee bits into the filling before adding it on top of the crust
Chocolate — Use a chocolate cake mix in the base and add 3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder and fold in an optional 1 cup chopped nuts in the topping
Lemon — Use a lemon cake mix in the base and for the base, add a teaspoon of lemon extract plus 3 to 4 tablespoons of finely shopped lemon zest
The flavor combinations are endless once you start moving away from the traditional buttercake. I also make my buttercake the day before I'm going to serve it. It's always better the second day. I don't know why -- it just always is. At Treebeards, the day-old buttercake is always marked with a piece of tape on the bottom of each piece of individually wrapped piece and those are always the first pieces of cake to go first -- and there's a very specific reason for that -- they're clearly the best!
Have you ever used Penzeys double-strength vanilla? In my book, vanilla doesn't get any better than that."
Vanilla-wise, I am still working through a huge bottle of "La Vencedora." According to Cook's Illustrated, vanilla is incredibly shelf-stable, but I'll definitely give Penzey's a try for the next bottle.
A meta thing about Blogger: I know of no way to get the email addresses of commenters. Which means I can't respond directly to them and I would love to be able to thank Janie. If anyone can point me to the setting, it would be most appreciated!
Janie Baur, one of the authors of the Treebeards' Cookbook (one of the all-around best books in my collection), came across my entry for their Buttercake and had this to add in the Comments. Rather than let it get buried, here is her wisdom. Thanks, Janie!:
"Hal, I was poking around the Internet this morning and came across this. When I wrote the Treebeards cookbook nine printings ago, we converted this recipe from a gigantic recipe that was used in the restaurant, hence the 3 ounces of cream cheese...and no, I don't believe they even make it any more. At least I haven't been able to find it for a few years. I put the leftover in my Food Saver bags and it stays good almost indefinitely.
Try experimenting with flavor variations like these:
Toffee — Fold a cup of almond toffee bits or chocolate-covered toffee bits into the filling before adding it on top of the crust
Chocolate — Use a chocolate cake mix in the base and add 3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder and fold in an optional 1 cup chopped nuts in the topping
Lemon — Use a lemon cake mix in the base and for the base, add a teaspoon of lemon extract plus 3 to 4 tablespoons of finely shopped lemon zest
The flavor combinations are endless once you start moving away from the traditional buttercake. I also make my buttercake the day before I'm going to serve it. It's always better the second day. I don't know why -- it just always is. At Treebeards, the day-old buttercake is always marked with a piece of tape on the bottom of each piece of individually wrapped piece and those are always the first pieces of cake to go first -- and there's a very specific reason for that -- they're clearly the best!
Have you ever used Penzeys double-strength vanilla? In my book, vanilla doesn't get any better than that."
Vanilla-wise, I am still working through a huge bottle of "La Vencedora." According to Cook's Illustrated, vanilla is incredibly shelf-stable, but I'll definitely give Penzey's a try for the next bottle.
A meta thing about Blogger: I know of no way to get the email addresses of commenters. Which means I can't respond directly to them and I would love to be able to thank Janie. If anyone can point me to the setting, it would be most appreciated!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Cheddar Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
I praise God that I had already decided to make these even before the Green Onion Biscuit Fiasco of '08. I can still taste the baking soda.
These were okay, but need some work. First off, they were a bit dry for my taste. Part of that was my on-going issue with yellow-orange food. Where Yukon Golds made it difficult to see how well mixed-in the eggs in my gnocchi were, the somewhat orange batter (from the cornmeal and the cheddar) made it difficult to see how brown these biscuits were getting. Simply put, they were overdone.
Granted, this may have been, in part, because I didn't take seriously the direction that this was to make only 8 biscuits which were then to be split. In other words, these babies are HUGE. So, by making about 16 normal ones, I may have hastened the over-doneness.
Secondly, the flavor was a bit bland. This may have been because of the dryness, which kills taste. But it definitely needs some sharpness. Maybe some mustard powder, like you use to punch up Mac & Cheese.
Overall, there is potential here, so I'll give this guy another shot or two.
These were okay, but need some work. First off, they were a bit dry for my taste. Part of that was my on-going issue with yellow-orange food. Where Yukon Golds made it difficult to see how well mixed-in the eggs in my gnocchi were, the somewhat orange batter (from the cornmeal and the cheddar) made it difficult to see how brown these biscuits were getting. Simply put, they were overdone.
Granted, this may have been, in part, because I didn't take seriously the direction that this was to make only 8 biscuits which were then to be split. In other words, these babies are HUGE. So, by making about 16 normal ones, I may have hastened the over-doneness.
Secondly, the flavor was a bit bland. This may have been because of the dryness, which kills taste. But it definitely needs some sharpness. Maybe some mustard powder, like you use to punch up Mac & Cheese.
Overall, there is potential here, so I'll give this guy another shot or two.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Ratatouille
As I mentioned a while back, I have a ton of marinara sauce. But at the same time, I'm watching what I eat pretty carefully these days, which means I can't be eating too much pasta. So what to do?
Somehow, I thought of doing a fake lasagna with some zucchini thin-sliced horizontally, with the Morningstar Farm Grillers Prime or Sausage Recipe Crumbles (or whatever they're called) and some low fat ricotta or cottage cheese. Though I was not too keen on the cheese portion. My neighbor and trainer Heather, pointed out that this is basically rataouille, if I added eggplant and red bell pepper.
Not a fan of that vegetable, by the way. My stepmother is the only person that's actually made me eggplant that I liked and it was seriously fried, so I dunno if that counts.
I decided to give it a shot. The first effort, san eggplant, was really pretty good. I did a bit of experimentation, even trying some eggplant I found at the farmer's market. I got the small zucchini-sized ones (not japanese eggplant, smaller versions of the regular). I think I have a really winner here. After all that, I finally opened a cookbook and found that I was making pretty close to authentic ratatouille.
Oh, and I freaking love my ScanPan saute pan. More on that another day, but my God, it's like magic.
Here's my first shot at writing a recipe:
1 small, narrow eggplant
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium zucchini squash
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 red ball pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
1 cup marinara sauce
1+ tbsp fresh oregeno
2 tbsp fresh basil
Slice eggplant into thin disks. Place in single layer in a colander (over a paper towel or plate to catch the liquid) sprinkled with kosher salt. Sprinkle kosher salt across top as well. Let sweat for ~45 minutes.
Slice onion and red bell pepper into sticks. Slice yellow squash and zucchini into thin disks. Using the back of a chef's knife or pastry scraper, mash peeled garlic cloves with kosher salt into a paste (salt crystals will act as an abrasive). Mince herbs. At the end of the 45 minutes, pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.
Heat saute pan to medium high. Add olive oil. When oil starts to shimmer, add onions. When onion softens, add mashed garlic. When garlic is browned, add zucchini and summer squash. Heat until both start to soften, turning a bit translucent. Add eggplant and heat until that starts to turn translucent as well. Add red bell pepper. Heat until bell pepper begins to soften. Pour marinara into pan around the edges and sprinkle the herbs across the top. Gently fold in the sauce to the vegetables until heated through.
Serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main course.
* This seems to be all the rage these days. I learned it at the Chopping Block and have since see it on How to Boil Water with Tyler Florence and, yes, America's Test Kitchen
Somehow, I thought of doing a fake lasagna with some zucchini thin-sliced horizontally, with the Morningstar Farm Grillers Prime or Sausage Recipe Crumbles (or whatever they're called) and some low fat ricotta or cottage cheese. Though I was not too keen on the cheese portion. My neighbor and trainer Heather, pointed out that this is basically rataouille, if I added eggplant and red bell pepper.
Not a fan of that vegetable, by the way. My stepmother is the only person that's actually made me eggplant that I liked and it was seriously fried, so I dunno if that counts.
I decided to give it a shot. The first effort, san eggplant, was really pretty good. I did a bit of experimentation, even trying some eggplant I found at the farmer's market. I got the small zucchini-sized ones (not japanese eggplant, smaller versions of the regular). I think I have a really winner here. After all that, I finally opened a cookbook and found that I was making pretty close to authentic ratatouille.
Oh, and I freaking love my ScanPan saute pan. More on that another day, but my God, it's like magic.
Here's my first shot at writing a recipe:
1 small, narrow eggplant
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium zucchini squash
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 red ball pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
1 cup marinara sauce
1+ tbsp fresh oregeno
2 tbsp fresh basil
Slice eggplant into thin disks. Place in single layer in a colander (over a paper towel or plate to catch the liquid) sprinkled with kosher salt. Sprinkle kosher salt across top as well. Let sweat for ~45 minutes.
Slice onion and red bell pepper into sticks. Slice yellow squash and zucchini into thin disks. Using the back of a chef's knife or pastry scraper, mash peeled garlic cloves with kosher salt into a paste (salt crystals will act as an abrasive). Mince herbs. At the end of the 45 minutes, pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.
Heat saute pan to medium high. Add olive oil. When oil starts to shimmer, add onions. When onion softens, add mashed garlic. When garlic is browned, add zucchini and summer squash. Heat until both start to soften, turning a bit translucent. Add eggplant and heat until that starts to turn translucent as well. Add red bell pepper. Heat until bell pepper begins to soften. Pour marinara into pan around the edges and sprinkle the herbs across the top. Gently fold in the sauce to the vegetables until heated through.
Serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main course.
* This seems to be all the rage these days. I learned it at the Chopping Block and have since see it on How to Boil Water with Tyler Florence and, yes, America's Test Kitchen
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Black Bean Quinoa Salad
First off, it's pronounced "KEEN-wa."
A few weeks back, I went to a dinner party with a friend who's in Yoga school. As you might expect, all vegetarian. Which, frankly, is fine by me. I found a long time ago that, if necessary, I could go meatless, assuming that included fish, eggs and dairy. Vegans, however, are crazy.
Everything was good, but the one hands-down standout was this dish. I'd never had quinoa before and there were a lot of diced tomatoes, which to this day are my kryptonite. But, damn, this is good. Quinoa is a grain which is apparently a "super-food." It's whole grain, so lots of fiber, but chock-full of protein as well. Usually, I think these kinds of food suck. I'm looking at you, kale. But this actually tastes good and has a nice texture. It's kind of like cous-cous. In fact, I bet you could sub it in very easily. It cooks up kind of like rice, so that's easy.
The recipe does feed an army, though. I succumbed to temptation and and made a double batch, to help work down our tomato and peppers crop. Don't do that. Seriously. As good as it is, it gets tiring eating it twice a day for a week just to finish it before it can go bad.
This recipe was actually my first exposure to the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook. Fortunately, I had made it before trying the Gingered Broccoli, so I still have a good feeling about this book.
A few weeks back, I went to a dinner party with a friend who's in Yoga school. As you might expect, all vegetarian. Which, frankly, is fine by me. I found a long time ago that, if necessary, I could go meatless, assuming that included fish, eggs and dairy. Vegans, however, are crazy.
Everything was good, but the one hands-down standout was this dish. I'd never had quinoa before and there were a lot of diced tomatoes, which to this day are my kryptonite. But, damn, this is good. Quinoa is a grain which is apparently a "super-food." It's whole grain, so lots of fiber, but chock-full of protein as well. Usually, I think these kinds of food suck. I'm looking at you, kale. But this actually tastes good and has a nice texture. It's kind of like cous-cous. In fact, I bet you could sub it in very easily. It cooks up kind of like rice, so that's easy.
The recipe does feed an army, though. I succumbed to temptation and and made a double batch, to help work down our tomato and peppers crop. Don't do that. Seriously. As good as it is, it gets tiring eating it twice a day for a week just to finish it before it can go bad.
This recipe was actually my first exposure to the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook. Fortunately, I had made it before trying the Gingered Broccoli, so I still have a good feeling about this book.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Gingered Broccoli
I was pretty excited when I found this recipe in the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook. Ginger, broccoli, soy sauce, what's not too like?
Well, first off, the recipe doesn't point out you should reduce the heat after putting in the broccoli, which I didn't think about. So, that didn't work so well. The sauce didn't burn, but pretty much solidified. I mixed in some more soy sauce, housin sauce and vinegar to thin it out and ended up with over steamed broccoli with vinegar. Blech.
I tried again, taking care to reduce the heat, which seemed to work fine for the doneness of the veg, but the flavor still wasn't very impressive. Kind of like a over-vinegared American barbeque sauce on broccoli.
On the plus side, this was my first use of my new Microplane grater which I got for renewing my Cook's Illustrated subscription. That thing is sweet. Especially for ginger. Unlike a regular grater, you don't get those annoying strings from the root. Even without the handle or the end-tabs (Cook's Illustrated cheaped out on that), this is highly recommended. And seeing all the others on their site just adds things to my Birthday and Christmas wish list.
Well, first off, the recipe doesn't point out you should reduce the heat after putting in the broccoli, which I didn't think about. So, that didn't work so well. The sauce didn't burn, but pretty much solidified. I mixed in some more soy sauce, housin sauce and vinegar to thin it out and ended up with over steamed broccoli with vinegar. Blech.
I tried again, taking care to reduce the heat, which seemed to work fine for the doneness of the veg, but the flavor still wasn't very impressive. Kind of like a over-vinegared American barbeque sauce on broccoli.
On the plus side, this was my first use of my new Microplane grater which I got for renewing my Cook's Illustrated subscription. That thing is sweet. Especially for ginger. Unlike a regular grater, you don't get those annoying strings from the root. Even without the handle or the end-tabs (Cook's Illustrated cheaped out on that), this is highly recommended. And seeing all the others on their site just adds things to my Birthday and Christmas wish list.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Lemon-Rosemary Lamb (and/or Chicken) Kabobs
Annnnnnd I'm back. The hiatus wasn't doing squat for my thesis writing, so why not?
I don't know much of what to say about this recipe beyond it is the main reason I decided to start growing rosemary. This marinade blew me away, even more so when I realized that it would be great on chicken as well. Even as a marinade for whole breasts. Good eatin'.
It's also another example of how Better Homes and Gardens' "The New Grilling Book" is one of the best all-around cookbooks I own.
I found that the best way to get the lamb is to buy cubed lamb stew meat. I tried getting larger cuts and cutting them down to kabob sizes, but it was totally not worth the trouble or cost. Though I paid less per pound, that savings was quickly blown away by the waste in the trimming. Granted, I don't have great butchery skills, but still...
So, I finally, finally decided to make this this year after the plants out back are getting pretty gigantic. I've been holding off, afraid to touch them so they would be as strong as possible before the winter. Which was completely irrational, I know. They and the sage are doing great. The temps just dropped to the 60's this week, so I figure I have a few more weeks before I have to mulch and cover them. And then pray.
I don't know much of what to say about this recipe beyond it is the main reason I decided to start growing rosemary. This marinade blew me away, even more so when I realized that it would be great on chicken as well. Even as a marinade for whole breasts. Good eatin'.
It's also another example of how Better Homes and Gardens' "The New Grilling Book" is one of the best all-around cookbooks I own.
I found that the best way to get the lamb is to buy cubed lamb stew meat. I tried getting larger cuts and cutting them down to kabob sizes, but it was totally not worth the trouble or cost. Though I paid less per pound, that savings was quickly blown away by the waste in the trimming. Granted, I don't have great butchery skills, but still...
So, I finally, finally decided to make this this year after the plants out back are getting pretty gigantic. I've been holding off, afraid to touch them so they would be as strong as possible before the winter. Which was completely irrational, I know. They and the sage are doing great. The temps just dropped to the 60's this week, so I figure I have a few more weeks before I have to mulch and cover them. And then pray.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Red Wine Marinara
I made another pass at tomato sauce and, while I've been happy with my previous attempts, I really knocked it out of the park with this batch.
I used the Eastside Cafe's recipe as a base, tripled it and used 1/2 red wine and 1/2 low sodium chicken broth for the water. The tomatos were Dei Fratelli again and the herbs came from our various plantings. Once it had cooked, I took my immersion blender to it (which I didn't do last time) and brought it to an even, smooth sauce. Absolutely perfect.
The downside is that by tripling the recipe, I had a LOT of sauce. Thank goodness it freezes well.
The recipe is reprinted with the kind permission of the Eastside Cafe.
Carter, Ruth, Elaine Martin & Dorsey Barger. Inside the Eastside: Recipes from the Eastside Cafe' Menu. Austin: Eastside Cafe/Blame Books 1993. p 22. Buy it here (It's now titled Eastside’s Inside Secrets)..
I used the Eastside Cafe's recipe as a base, tripled it and used 1/2 red wine and 1/2 low sodium chicken broth for the water. The tomatos were Dei Fratelli again and the herbs came from our various plantings. Once it had cooked, I took my immersion blender to it (which I didn't do last time) and brought it to an even, smooth sauce. Absolutely perfect.
The downside is that by tripling the recipe, I had a LOT of sauce. Thank goodness it freezes well.
The recipe is reprinted with the kind permission of the Eastside Cafe.
Carter, Ruth, Elaine Martin & Dorsey Barger. Inside the Eastside: Recipes from the Eastside Cafe' Menu. Austin: Eastside Cafe/Blame Books 1993. p 22. Buy it here (It's now titled Eastside’s Inside Secrets)..
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Turkey Spinach Meatloaf
I found this recipe for Turkey Spinach Meatloaf many years ago in the Houston Chronicle. Prior to this, the only time I ever had Turkey Meatloaf was when we would visit my grandmother in Abilene, Texas.
For a number of years, we went to visit her for a week every summer, to give my parents a much needed break from us. I have to say, in spite of her age and the fact that it was, well, Abilene, she did a really good job of keeping us entertained. The only serious bout of boredom I recall was during the election of Pope John Paul I as we had to stay at her place for several days on end waiting for that damned white smoke. Thank God there was a seven hour time difference, so that by the time the cardinals would pack it in for the day, we'd still have the afternoon to get out.
Back then (the mid-to-late seventies), getting ground turkey wasn't as easy, so she was dependent on the whims of the local butcher. It seems she had about a 50% to 75%success rate getting it at the time of our visits - missing out on it just enough that it was a special treat. Her recipe was essentially a poultry oriented version of the basic beef loaf. She had a great touch with the seasonings on that.
So, when I spotted this one, I jumped on it, already being primed for the concept. Of course, it's very, very different. But very tasty. The basil really comes through, which was particularly useful this week, seeing as how I had to finish up the mountains I bought from Restaurant Depot.
This batch didn't work out as well as it had in the past. The flavor is fine, but it falls apart too easily. There are two basic reasons, I think.
First, I doubled the recipe and used two square cake pans. My second loaf pan is in a box somewhere down in the basement. Second, I went the almost completely fat free route, using 99% lean ground turkey breast and egg substitute, so I think there wasn't as much binding action going on. It usually cooks a lot longer for me that it did, as the loaf pans are twice as deep, which I think may give the egg proteins more time to firm up, like a custard.
Writing this makes me think that someday, I need to try to recreate hers. I can still remember the taste, so it may be doable.
For a number of years, we went to visit her for a week every summer, to give my parents a much needed break from us. I have to say, in spite of her age and the fact that it was, well, Abilene, she did a really good job of keeping us entertained. The only serious bout of boredom I recall was during the election of Pope John Paul I as we had to stay at her place for several days on end waiting for that damned white smoke. Thank God there was a seven hour time difference, so that by the time the cardinals would pack it in for the day, we'd still have the afternoon to get out.
Back then (the mid-to-late seventies), getting ground turkey wasn't as easy, so she was dependent on the whims of the local butcher. It seems she had about a 50% to 75%success rate getting it at the time of our visits - missing out on it just enough that it was a special treat. Her recipe was essentially a poultry oriented version of the basic beef loaf. She had a great touch with the seasonings on that.
So, when I spotted this one, I jumped on it, already being primed for the concept. Of course, it's very, very different. But very tasty. The basil really comes through, which was particularly useful this week, seeing as how I had to finish up the mountains I bought from Restaurant Depot.
This batch didn't work out as well as it had in the past. The flavor is fine, but it falls apart too easily. There are two basic reasons, I think.
First, I doubled the recipe and used two square cake pans. My second loaf pan is in a box somewhere down in the basement. Second, I went the almost completely fat free route, using 99% lean ground turkey breast and egg substitute, so I think there wasn't as much binding action going on. It usually cooks a lot longer for me that it did, as the loaf pans are twice as deep, which I think may give the egg proteins more time to firm up, like a custard.
Writing this makes me think that someday, I need to try to recreate hers. I can still remember the taste, so it may be doable.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Barbequed Chicken Pot Pie
In unpacking my cookbooks, I realized that I had never used my Cooking Light cookbook. My recent weight gain has made that a bit more of an imperative.
We often have our friends, BJ and Chris, over on Mondays so we can watch Heroes. So, needing to feed folks gave me the nudge to grab the book and look through it on the train. One surprise: a huge proportion of the recipes are for beef and starch. There are very few recipes for anything centered around green vegetables. That strikes me as very strange. Despite that, this recipe jumped out as kinda retro, but tasty. There's nothing "pie-like" about it, though. No crust, just bread across the top. Anyway.
It's all about the learning these days, but I really didn't expect to get anything out of this effort in that regard. But I was still preparing when they came over and started talking through the recipe with Chris (a great cook in his own right). I mention I'm a little apprehensive about the 12 oz of chili sauce. That's two full bottles of hot sauce, which seems dangerous. I was figuring I'd do it to taste, but still…
Whoops. Thank God he was there. Chili sauce is NOT pepper (or "hot") sauce. Chili sauce is actually a ketchup-like condiment that was, he says, a staple of crappy 50's recipes. I had no clue at all. I worked in a grocery store stocking shelves for 3 years in high school and I can't remember ever hearing of this. He ran over to the Jewel for me and all was good. BTW - it tastes a little like cocktail sauce, like for shrimp cocktail.
The result was pretty damned good. I used the bread stick option, since Jewel didn't have the cornbread. I think it would taste and cut better. I also upped the cumin a bit (several shakes over the pan) because I just love the stuff. and added about 1/4 tsp of salt. Channing was very apprehensive when he saw the onions sautéing and was prepared to go for the frozen soy patties if need be. But he loved it, surprising himself.
I served it with broccoli steamed in champagne (really - long story), tossed with champagne and olive oil and a salad of mixed field greens with Brianna's Chipotle Chedder dressing.
We often have our friends, BJ and Chris, over on Mondays so we can watch Heroes. So, needing to feed folks gave me the nudge to grab the book and look through it on the train. One surprise: a huge proportion of the recipes are for beef and starch. There are very few recipes for anything centered around green vegetables. That strikes me as very strange. Despite that, this recipe jumped out as kinda retro, but tasty. There's nothing "pie-like" about it, though. No crust, just bread across the top. Anyway.
It's all about the learning these days, but I really didn't expect to get anything out of this effort in that regard. But I was still preparing when they came over and started talking through the recipe with Chris (a great cook in his own right). I mention I'm a little apprehensive about the 12 oz of chili sauce. That's two full bottles of hot sauce, which seems dangerous. I was figuring I'd do it to taste, but still…
Whoops. Thank God he was there. Chili sauce is NOT pepper (or "hot") sauce. Chili sauce is actually a ketchup-like condiment that was, he says, a staple of crappy 50's recipes. I had no clue at all. I worked in a grocery store stocking shelves for 3 years in high school and I can't remember ever hearing of this. He ran over to the Jewel for me and all was good. BTW - it tastes a little like cocktail sauce, like for shrimp cocktail.
The result was pretty damned good. I used the bread stick option, since Jewel didn't have the cornbread. I think it would taste and cut better. I also upped the cumin a bit (several shakes over the pan) because I just love the stuff. and added about 1/4 tsp of salt. Channing was very apprehensive when he saw the onions sautéing and was prepared to go for the frozen soy patties if need be. But he loved it, surprising himself.
I served it with broccoli steamed in champagne (really - long story), tossed with champagne and olive oil and a salad of mixed field greens with Brianna's Chipotle Chedder dressing.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
(Turkey) Chili
When I was a kid, every year at Halloween, my mom would make us chili for dinner before we went trick-or-treating. If I remember right, it was to keep us warm on the cold October nights. But it was Texas, for God's sake. Right now, as I type this at 12:30 in the morning, it's 66F down there. It was always an agonizingly slow dinner because I just want to go run out and get the good stuff. It was really good chili, though. I appreciated it a lot more the other times she served it, when I didn't feel I was missing out on prime candy-gathering time.
In the spirit of the holiday, I decided to whip some up. I threw this recipe together from a few I found at the International Chili Society, memory of previous cookups and a few things I found in my spice collection. This works great with turkey, but should be good with beef as well. Tonight's batch was virtually fat free. If you go with beef, I would recommend adding up to another pound, to account for the loss of volume from the fat when browning and draining the meat before adding in the rest of the ingredients. A longer simmer time may be needed to tenderize the beef more.
TURKEY CHILI
2 pounds ground turkey breast
29 oz can tomato sauce
3 cups water
2 tablespoons masa flour
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon dried oregeno
1 tablespoon fresh sweet basil, chopped
1/2 tablespoon dried epazote
1/2 tablespoon dried jalepeno
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Brown ground (turkey) meat until cooked through. Mix masa flour with 2 cups warm water into a smooth paste. Stir into chili to tighten it and add flavor. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour. Add water if needed during simmer.
This used up the last of the summer basil crop here. This worked out really well - I'm very pleased with the results.
One thing I've noticed - up here in Chicago, they don't sell ground beef for chili. I know, big surprise, but it never occurred to me how regional that was until I looked for it last year.
I remember my mom mentioned several times that she read one chili cookoff champion claimed his secret was to use several different sizes of meat: regular grind (i.e. hamburger), chili grind (much larger) and stew chunks. His theory was that every judge had a preference for the cut size of meat and, this way, he satisified them all. The turkey kind of naturally ends up giving several sizes of meat chunks, by the way it binds during cooking. You have to really break it up in the browning to get that consistent hamburger texture, but if you dial it back...
In the spirit of the holiday, I decided to whip some up. I threw this recipe together from a few I found at the International Chili Society, memory of previous cookups and a few things I found in my spice collection. This works great with turkey, but should be good with beef as well. Tonight's batch was virtually fat free. If you go with beef, I would recommend adding up to another pound, to account for the loss of volume from the fat when browning and draining the meat before adding in the rest of the ingredients. A longer simmer time may be needed to tenderize the beef more.
TURKEY CHILI
2 pounds ground turkey breast
29 oz can tomato sauce
3 cups water
2 tablespoons masa flour
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon dried oregeno
1 tablespoon fresh sweet basil, chopped
1/2 tablespoon dried epazote
1/2 tablespoon dried jalepeno
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Brown ground (turkey) meat until cooked through. Mix masa flour with 2 cups warm water into a smooth paste. Stir into chili to tighten it and add flavor. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour. Add water if needed during simmer.
This used up the last of the summer basil crop here. This worked out really well - I'm very pleased with the results.
One thing I've noticed - up here in Chicago, they don't sell ground beef for chili. I know, big surprise, but it never occurred to me how regional that was until I looked for it last year.
I remember my mom mentioned several times that she read one chili cookoff champion claimed his secret was to use several different sizes of meat: regular grind (i.e. hamburger), chili grind (much larger) and stew chunks. His theory was that every judge had a preference for the cut size of meat and, this way, he satisified them all. The turkey kind of naturally ends up giving several sizes of meat chunks, by the way it binds during cooking. You have to really break it up in the browning to get that consistent hamburger texture, but if you dial it back...
Monday, October 29, 2007
Chicken Noodle Soup with Herbs
Quickly on the heels of making the chicken stock, soup had to be made. As I do with most of my soup-oriented needs, I pulled out my copy of the Eastside Cafe's Soup Yourself. I mentioned the Eastside earlier, but it was buried in an update to the running "Things I Want to Make" post.
The Eastside is one of my all time favorite restaurants, owned by a woman I went to high school with, Dorsey Barger. I had the good fortune to go there shortly after it opened, when I was travelling as the Texas sales rep for W.W. Norton (my Willy Loman year - yeah, it was that bad). I went there originally because, even though Dorsey and I didn't know each other that well in high school, it was a touchpoint of something familiar.
Well, it was a double win. I got to know Dorsey better, even in the few spare moments she could spare from running this new endevour, which was great. Neat, neat lady. But even if I had found she was a complete monster, I probably would have continued to eat there anyway, because it's just that good.
There was a certain ubiquitous flavor palate at local restaurants which I labelled simply, "Austin Food." Kind of a California health food/Tex-Mex mix. Lots of black beans, avacodos, tortillas, sprouts, corn, mild salsas, etc. Ultimately, it was bland and a bit heavy. If you're familiar with Austin, I would consider the Kerby Lane to be prototypical in that regard, but it was everywhere you went.
The Eastside's menu was still generally recognizable as Austin Food, but actually had flavor and balance. The Eastside took the ideas that were floating around Austin and executed them right and, from the reviews I've read, continue to do so today.
So, anyway, getting to eat there was an oasis in an unending desert of despair that year.
In deciding what to do with my stock, I realized I'd never gone with the obvious, traditional choice before, so I went with the Chicken Noodle Soup with Herbs. Boy, I'm glad I did. BTW - I emailed Dorsey and she gave me permission to share this (and a few future) recipes.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP WITH HERBS
12 cups chicken stock
1 cup onions, diced
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 teaspoon fresh basil, minced
2 tablespoons lemon thyme, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chives, minced
2 cups dry egg noodles
4 cups cooked chicken, diced
Salt and pepper
In a large soup pot, place stock, onions, oregano, carrots, celery, basil, lemon thyme, parsley, garlic, and chives. Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. Add chicken and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Add noodles and cook 10 minutes until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
*If lemon thyme isn't available, use thyme instead.
Carter, Ruth, Elaine Martin & Dorsey Barger. Soup Yourself: 50 Simple yet Sublime Soup Recipes from the Eastside Cafe'. Austin: Eastside Cafe/Blame Books 1992. p 52. Reprinted with kind permission. Buy it here.
When I make a recipe for the first time, I generally try to avoid making changes, so I get a sense of the baseline outcome. The only changes I made to the recipe were:
This, also, was the clincher in my decision to expand my summer herb growing operation next year. For the last five years, I've grown sweet basil, rosemary and, occasionally, dill. Now that we have the space outside and I'm using them enough, I'm going to add tarragon, sage, oregeno and thyme. Maybe cilantro, but that's so cheap, it's almost free.
The Eastside is one of my all time favorite restaurants, owned by a woman I went to high school with, Dorsey Barger. I had the good fortune to go there shortly after it opened, when I was travelling as the Texas sales rep for W.W. Norton (my Willy Loman year - yeah, it was that bad). I went there originally because, even though Dorsey and I didn't know each other that well in high school, it was a touchpoint of something familiar.
Well, it was a double win. I got to know Dorsey better, even in the few spare moments she could spare from running this new endevour, which was great. Neat, neat lady. But even if I had found she was a complete monster, I probably would have continued to eat there anyway, because it's just that good.
There was a certain ubiquitous flavor palate at local restaurants which I labelled simply, "Austin Food." Kind of a California health food/Tex-Mex mix. Lots of black beans, avacodos, tortillas, sprouts, corn, mild salsas, etc. Ultimately, it was bland and a bit heavy. If you're familiar with Austin, I would consider the Kerby Lane to be prototypical in that regard, but it was everywhere you went.
The Eastside's menu was still generally recognizable as Austin Food, but actually had flavor and balance. The Eastside took the ideas that were floating around Austin and executed them right and, from the reviews I've read, continue to do so today.
So, anyway, getting to eat there was an oasis in an unending desert of despair that year.
In deciding what to do with my stock, I realized I'd never gone with the obvious, traditional choice before, so I went with the Chicken Noodle Soup with Herbs. Boy, I'm glad I did. BTW - I emailed Dorsey and she gave me permission to share this (and a few future) recipes.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP WITH HERBS
12 cups chicken stock
1 cup onions, diced
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 teaspoon fresh basil, minced
2 tablespoons lemon thyme, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chives, minced
2 cups dry egg noodles
4 cups cooked chicken, diced
Salt and pepper
In a large soup pot, place stock, onions, oregano, carrots, celery, basil, lemon thyme, parsley, garlic, and chives. Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. Add chicken and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Add noodles and cook 10 minutes until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
*If lemon thyme isn't available, use thyme instead.
Carter, Ruth, Elaine Martin & Dorsey Barger. Soup Yourself: 50 Simple yet Sublime Soup Recipes from the Eastside Cafe'. Austin: Eastside Cafe/Blame Books 1992. p 52. Reprinted with kind permission. Buy it here.
When I make a recipe for the first time, I generally try to avoid making changes, so I get a sense of the baseline outcome. The only changes I made to the recipe were:
- Used shredded, rather than chopped, chicken. Because that's how it came off the roast chicken. Most of the bits were bit-sized, so it seemed overkill to chop them on top of it.
- Used thyme instead of lemon thyme (a noted, valid substitution), since I couldn't find the lemon variety.
- Added more like 3 to 4 cups of noodles instead of 2 because the noodles were pretty big and there was a LOT of empty air in the measuring cup. But more importantly, I really like the noodles and at that point in the recipe, all of the flavors are established. It'd be really hard to screw it up based on noodle volume so late in the game.
Result? Awesome. I kept the salt and pepper to a minimum, which was totally the right move. The flavor of the herbs really came through. This was miles away from any pre-made chicken noodle soups. I was able to get 10 cups of stock from the batch earlier and subbed in 2 cups of stock made from concentrate (not boullion). Next time, I think I'd be safe in adding another carrot, as I like them a lot, but otherwise, it stays as is.
This, also, was the clincher in my decision to expand my summer herb growing operation next year. For the last five years, I've grown sweet basil, rosemary and, occasionally, dill. Now that we have the space outside and I'm using them enough, I'm going to add tarragon, sage, oregeno and thyme. Maybe cilantro, but that's so cheap, it's almost free.
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Most Awesome Cake Ever - Chocolate Brownie with Dulce de Leche Filling and Chocolate Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
I made this for Channing one year for his birthday, and perfected it over a few occasions. However, it had been a while and we were way, way overdue. Since it was recently my birthday, we threw together a party, but the entire motivation, really, was so that I could make (and eat) this cake. And why did we need to have have 20 people over? Why couldn't I just bake it and eat it ourselves? Because it's so incredibly rich, you have to share.
I'm not entirely sure where all the inspiration came from, but the main source was the Acadian Bakery's Brownie Chocolate Mousse cake. I had it for the first time at a friend's birthday party years ago and was completely hooked. If you're in Houston, I can't recommend them more. They may have the monumentally bad judgement to think that a photo of Pres. Bush on their home page is a good idea, but the cakes are outstanding.
The Brownie cake is just what it sounds like. Two layers are dense, moist brownie. I just use the Duncan Hines plain recipe (no nuts, caramel chunks, etc). There's enough going on in this that you don't want to have to work with their additives as well.
Now, Channing is a big fan of cream cheese icing, so that was a must. He loves red velvet cake, but I suspect that it's because that cake is a cream cheese icing delivery mechanism. Incidently, he joked that he wanted "a red velvet cake shaped like an armadillo" for our wedding. You know, marrying another man is gay enough. Adding in references to Steel Magnolias is really just too much. Though with the crappy job that La Royale Icing in Oak Park turned out on the wedding cake we did have, we may have been better off. Yes, that is an anti-endorsement. They suck. HUGE waste of money.
Ahem.
The Joy of Cooking recipe for cream cheese icing has variations for chocolate and orange flavors. So, immediately, I say, "Screw it, I'm doing both." I took the chocolate recipe (3 oz of melted unsweetened chocolate to the base recipe - I used semisweet instead) and added orange extract and a sharp cinnamon to taste (about 1/2 tsp and 1 tsp respectively).
Then, I decided to fill it with Dulce de Leche in the middle and used the Heath Bar balls to top it. Diabetes inducing goodness. To use the Dulce de Leche as a filling, open the can and stir the caramel a bit until it's a smooth, spreadable texture (it starts out as a flan-like custard). I've also added a Mexican vanilla to it at times, which works well.
It'd been a few years, so I was really out of practice in assembling and decorating cakes. The result was, frankly, a mess. But it's really, really hard to mess up the flavors and, damn, it tastes so freaking good, it doesn't matter.
I did learn a few things:
- Brownie Layers - Use one box per standard cake pan. I tried doing the 13"x9" pan (I wanted to make a larger version, as we ran out one year), but the layers are just too thin to get from the pan in a single sheet. Also, do NOT use the "cake-like" recipe (adding the extra egg). It makes them rise, which makes frosting very difficult. My top layer started sliding off the Dulce de Leche filling (which was admittedly laid too thick, as well).
- Toffee Topping - I recently discovered Terry's Toffee here in Chicago. Not only is it hands down the best toffee I've ever had, they make an Orange Blossom flavor which worked just great with the other flavors. I chopped up those and put them on top instead of the Heath bar. Highly recommended.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Creative Experiment: Low(er) Fat Saag Panir (Indian Creamed Spinach)
I never posted this recipe from the Indian Meal mainly because the book it comes from, the Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking, is a monster and, consequently, kind of hard to get onto the scanner. It's a very interesting read - it only suffers from a lack of pictures.
I've had mixed to bad results with the recipe. These are all related to consistency - the flavors are good enough that I keep coming back for another try. The first time, it was kind of oily. That was also my first-ever attempt to cook Indian at home, so there were other things going on, including making ghee from scratch with the baking method I mentioned before. I also took the recipe very literally and fried the panir by hand. I found later that you can buy fried panir frozen at the Indian market, thereby skipping that messy and oily step. Note that you can also buy fresh panir at the market as well, so you can fry it yourself if you want, but you don't have to make it. Fortunately, I figured that out before the first attempt.
I tried again for the dinner and it came out frighteningly stiff. I'm still not sure how, other than I may have simply added way too much cream cheese.
In either attempt, it was tasty, but seriously unhealthy. So, I figured I'd try to de-fat it as much as possible. My intent was to use just a bit of ghee (~1 tbl) to cook the spices and skip the cheese and cream entirely.
Well, that didn't work out so well.
As soon as I added the spinach I knew I was in trouble. I used thawed chooped frozen spinach from which I'd squeezed out the water, just like I have been instructed in every other recipe I've made that uses it. Right away, it was way too dry. So, after it cooked for about 8 minutes, as instructed, I stirred in 3 tbl of cream, just to loosen it up a bit. The flavor was a bit strong. This was because, without bothering to read the spinach package, I had doubled the seasonings assuming that my big bag of Goya frozen spinach was twice as much as what the recipe called for. Not. true. I tried adding only half, but it was a guess. To cut the flavor, I went ahead and added some frozen fried panir I had. The result was fine tasting, but not the lowfat creation I had envisioned.
Looking back, I think my big problem was squeezing out all of the water from the spinach.
PALAK PANIR SAK
Chopped Spinach with Panir Cheese
One of the most popular vegetable dishes in North India is palak panir sak. Every temple and household has its own variation. Sometimes it is made exclusively with spinach, and at others with mixed greens - spinach and mustard, collard, fenugreek or beet greens. Some variations attain notoriety by pureeing cooked spinach and simmering it with cream and fried panir cubes. Other renditions remain textured, matching equal amounts of fried cheese with buttery, wilted chopped spinach. It is a moist, succulent dish that is delicious with hot flatbreads. Bite-sized pieces of flat bread are used to scoop up bits of cheese and spinach. Try palak panir sak with Griddle-Baked Village-Style Corn Bread, Mixed Bean Salad with Fennel or chopped tomatoes with herbs and oil and Golden Pumpkin Toovar Dal Soup for a delicious, nutritious meal.
Preparation time (after assembling ingredients): 5 minutes
Cooking time: about 30 minutes
Serves: 5 or 6
1-2 hot green chilies, cut into pieces
1/2 inch (l.5 cm) piece of fresh inch ginger root, sliced
4 tablespoons (60 ml) panir whey or water
1/2 tablespoon (7 ml) ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) turmeric
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon (l ml) paprika
6 tablespoons (90 ml) ghee or nut oil fresh panir cheese (page 313) made from 6 cups (l.5 liters) milk, cut into 1/2-inch (l.5 cm) cubes (about 6 ounces/170 g)
2 pounds (1 kg) fresh spinach, washed, trimmed and finely chopped, or two 10-ounce (570 g) packages of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) garam masala
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
3 tablespoons (45 ml) cream or cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1. Place the chilies, ginger and whey or water in a blender or food processor bowl fitted with the metal blade. Process to a smooth puree. Add the coriander, turmeric, cumin and paprika and pulse to blend well. Set aside.
2. Heat the ghee or oil in a nonstick wok or 5-quart/liter saucepan over moderate heat until it is hot but not smoking. Gently add the panir cheese and fry for about 5 more minutes, constantly turning the cubes with a gentle hand, to evenly brown them on all able sides. (If you use a stainless steel pan, the cubes invariably stick to the pan and tend to easy spread apart.) When the cubes are golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Carefully add the wet spice (masala) to the hot oil and then pack in the freshably spinach leaves. Reduce the heat slightly, cover, and cook for 8 minutes. Using two forks, turn the spinach over so that the cooked leaves on the bottom change places with the leaves on top. Cover and cook for another 8 minutes. (If you are using frozen, defrosted spinach, cook it for only a total of 8 minutes.)
4. Add the garam masala, salt, fried panir and cream or cream cheese. Cover and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Stir well before serving.
I've had mixed to bad results with the recipe. These are all related to consistency - the flavors are good enough that I keep coming back for another try. The first time, it was kind of oily. That was also my first-ever attempt to cook Indian at home, so there were other things going on, including making ghee from scratch with the baking method I mentioned before. I also took the recipe very literally and fried the panir by hand. I found later that you can buy fried panir frozen at the Indian market, thereby skipping that messy and oily step. Note that you can also buy fresh panir at the market as well, so you can fry it yourself if you want, but you don't have to make it. Fortunately, I figured that out before the first attempt.
I tried again for the dinner and it came out frighteningly stiff. I'm still not sure how, other than I may have simply added way too much cream cheese.
In either attempt, it was tasty, but seriously unhealthy. So, I figured I'd try to de-fat it as much as possible. My intent was to use just a bit of ghee (~1 tbl) to cook the spices and skip the cheese and cream entirely.
Well, that didn't work out so well.
As soon as I added the spinach I knew I was in trouble. I used thawed chooped frozen spinach from which I'd squeezed out the water, just like I have been instructed in every other recipe I've made that uses it. Right away, it was way too dry. So, after it cooked for about 8 minutes, as instructed, I stirred in 3 tbl of cream, just to loosen it up a bit. The flavor was a bit strong. This was because, without bothering to read the spinach package, I had doubled the seasonings assuming that my big bag of Goya frozen spinach was twice as much as what the recipe called for. Not. true. I tried adding only half, but it was a guess. To cut the flavor, I went ahead and added some frozen fried panir I had. The result was fine tasting, but not the lowfat creation I had envisioned.
Looking back, I think my big problem was squeezing out all of the water from the spinach.
PALAK PANIR SAK
Chopped Spinach with Panir Cheese
One of the most popular vegetable dishes in North India is palak panir sak. Every temple and household has its own variation. Sometimes it is made exclusively with spinach, and at others with mixed greens - spinach and mustard, collard, fenugreek or beet greens. Some variations attain notoriety by pureeing cooked spinach and simmering it with cream and fried panir cubes. Other renditions remain textured, matching equal amounts of fried cheese with buttery, wilted chopped spinach. It is a moist, succulent dish that is delicious with hot flatbreads. Bite-sized pieces of flat bread are used to scoop up bits of cheese and spinach. Try palak panir sak with Griddle-Baked Village-Style Corn Bread, Mixed Bean Salad with Fennel or chopped tomatoes with herbs and oil and Golden Pumpkin Toovar Dal Soup for a delicious, nutritious meal.
Preparation time (after assembling ingredients): 5 minutes
Cooking time: about 30 minutes
Serves: 5 or 6
1-2 hot green chilies, cut into pieces
1/2 inch (l.5 cm) piece of fresh inch ginger root, sliced
4 tablespoons (60 ml) panir whey or water
1/2 tablespoon (7 ml) ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) turmeric
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon (l ml) paprika
6 tablespoons (90 ml) ghee or nut oil fresh panir cheese (page 313) made from 6 cups (l.5 liters) milk, cut into 1/2-inch (l.5 cm) cubes (about 6 ounces/170 g)
2 pounds (1 kg) fresh spinach, washed, trimmed and finely chopped, or two 10-ounce (570 g) packages of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) garam masala
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
3 tablespoons (45 ml) cream or cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1. Place the chilies, ginger and whey or water in a blender or food processor bowl fitted with the metal blade. Process to a smooth puree. Add the coriander, turmeric, cumin and paprika and pulse to blend well. Set aside.
2. Heat the ghee or oil in a nonstick wok or 5-quart/liter saucepan over moderate heat until it is hot but not smoking. Gently add the panir cheese and fry for about 5 more minutes, constantly turning the cubes with a gentle hand, to evenly brown them on all able sides. (If you use a stainless steel pan, the cubes invariably stick to the pan and tend to easy spread apart.) When the cubes are golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Carefully add the wet spice (masala) to the hot oil and then pack in the freshably spinach leaves. Reduce the heat slightly, cover, and cook for 8 minutes. Using two forks, turn the spinach over so that the cooked leaves on the bottom change places with the leaves on top. Cover and cook for another 8 minutes. (If you are using frozen, defrosted spinach, cook it for only a total of 8 minutes.)
4. Add the garam masala, salt, fried panir and cream or cream cheese. Cover and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Stir well before serving.
Dulce de Leche
I love dulce de leche. Love, love, love it. I have ever since I had it at Marini's Empanada House in Houston's Montrose back in the '70's. Which was, by the way, a horrifying neighborhood to be in as a young gay teen. The clones were out in force and, because they were the only gays you ever saw or heard of, the inescapable conclusion was, "Oh my god, I'm going to have to be like that when I grow up." Ahem. Anyway, those empanadas were worth it.
Teen trauma aside, here's the recipe, which I received from a secret agent raised in Argentina (no lie!):
DULCE DE LECHE
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Place in stock pot, cover with water and boil for 5 hours. Periodically add water to keep the level above the top of the can. Remove can from water (with tongs, of course) and let cool. Open can and stir to get a smooth, creamy consistency.
That's it. Essentially, boil the can for 5 hours. It seems that the can acts as a double boiler, carmelizing the milk and sugar without burning. I mentioned this method once to a friend who was a pastry chef and she had never heard of it. In her kitchens, they would use a real double boiler and have to stir it all day in the kitchen.
Even better - because the can is sealed airtight, you can put it on the shelf. I make it 4 cans at a time and save the ones I don't need for a recipe right away. Also, if you're really craving something sweet, you can eat it with a spoon.
I made this because a) I just received a new deep stock pot from my dad and stepmother for my birthday (the deeper pot means I don't have to check the water level as often) and b) I'm going to need it for the most awesome cake ever.
Teen trauma aside, here's the recipe, which I received from a secret agent raised in Argentina (no lie!):
DULCE DE LECHE
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Place in stock pot, cover with water and boil for 5 hours. Periodically add water to keep the level above the top of the can. Remove can from water (with tongs, of course) and let cool. Open can and stir to get a smooth, creamy consistency.
That's it. Essentially, boil the can for 5 hours. It seems that the can acts as a double boiler, carmelizing the milk and sugar without burning. I mentioned this method once to a friend who was a pastry chef and she had never heard of it. In her kitchens, they would use a real double boiler and have to stir it all day in the kitchen.
Even better - because the can is sealed airtight, you can put it on the shelf. I make it 4 cans at a time and save the ones I don't need for a recipe right away. Also, if you're really craving something sweet, you can eat it with a spoon.
I made this because a) I just received a new deep stock pot from my dad and stepmother for my birthday (the deeper pot means I don't have to check the water level as often) and b) I'm going to need it for the most awesome cake ever.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Ginger Honey Cookies
Hmm. These were the cookies I was going to make on Monday night that cut for time. They're from the month's Gourmet (Oct 07), though the recipe isn't posted. I made them tonight because, well, if nothing else, I paid 14 freaking bucks for the crystalized ginger on Monday, so I'll be damned if I let it sit on the shelf. Though I also really like ginger.
They tasted fine, but they were way, way too soft. I'm pretty sure that they weren't cooked long enough, but the instructions say cook for 10-14 minutes (a pretty wide variation, there, in a short time frame) until they are "golden brown." That's great and all, but how on earth can you tell when the batter starts out at pretty much that color? And this isn't a multi-batch recipe like Toll House, where you can adjust after the first sheet - it's all or nothing.
The recipe also says they they should be "pillowy." Mine were anything but. Flat, flat, flat. If I had to guess, it would be that I didn't get enough air into the batter (starting with the butter and brown sugar step).
I can tell that getting the timing of these right will result in a lot of burnt cookies.
So, screw it. No Do Overs on these. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a shot yourself after my glowing endorsement:
GINGER HONEY COOKIES MAKES 14 COOKIES ACTIVE TIME: 15 MIN START TO FlNISH: 45 MINThe crisp edge and pillow-soft, chewy middle of these cookies will be the first things that strike you when you bite into them. But it's the faintly peppery traces of ginger that will make you crave more.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger 1/4 teaspoon salt /br>1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup mild honey
Preheat oven to 350F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, and salt in a bowl.
Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and honey until combined. Reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture.
Drop 14 heaping tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto 2 ungreased baking sheets.
Bake, Switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 10 to 14 minutes total (Cookies will spread flat).
Cool completely on sheets on racks. Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Menu: Overreaching (Poached Chicken with Buerre Blanc, Broccoli with Mornay and Pumpkin Bread Pudding)
We were having folks over for the season premiere of Heroes last night. I went a little overboard...
The menu:
Mixed Greens with White Wine Vinaigrette
Poached Chicken with Lemon-Tarragon Buerre Blanc
Broccoli with Mornay Sauce
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
The meta reason for this blog really pushed me here. I realized I had been light on content this past week, an indication that I had not been getting in the kitchen like I should. So, I was looking to catch up a bit.
Ugh. Not my best moment in menu planning. The two biggest issues were 1) I made a sit down meal - and a fancy sit-down meal at that - for what should have been casual, on the couch fare 2) I didn't get done until 8:45 when we were planning on an 8:00 start.
I put this one together after going through the latest issue of Gourmet and last week's Good Eats section in the Trib while on the train. The Trib section highlight was an offering of 10 recipes for chicken breasts, the first of which had a buerre blanc, the sauce I didn't get to make hands on last week in Sauce class. If that isn't a sign...
The bread pudding addressed a few things: 1) we had a lot of stale bread from the last dinner. Those artisian loaves, even from Jewel, have only a one day freshness in those paper/cello bags and I'm really tired of wasting those 2) on Top Chef a few weeks ago, Tre was kicked off for screwing up a bread pudding, which everyone called easy. So I had to see how easy it really was. 3) Channing likes it.
I thought I could crank this whole mess out in the 60 minutes, which if I didn't have to prep, I probably could have made. Also, I can't talk when I cook - my short-term memory is just too crappy. Fortunately, I didn't attempt the cookies I was thinking about.
While a bit late and too formal, it went okay, overall. A B/B-, I think. The execution errors were small; the buerre blanc broke and one of the chicken breasts was underdone. The points off are not for the actual food quality this time.
Le blow by blow (to be moved to individual recipe entries once I post those):
While it's hard to mess up a vinaigrette, this batch was quite good. I cut the mustard (the Terrapin Ridge Cracked Pepper-Lemon-Thyme again) to 1/2 part, with 1 part white wine vinegar and 3 parts olive oil. So, I kept the taste from last time, just dampend to a smoother level. I think that doctoring it up with a little fresh pepper, lemon juice and thyme would be nice next time.
The mornay sauce went well. It seemed to be a bit thin, but after adding the swiss cheese, it turned out just right.
Poaching the chicken turned out really, really nice. I've done this for salmon before, but this never occurred to me. I think this would be much, much better for salads. It was very tender and it's easy. It's impossible to burn, of course. The super-thick chicken breasts are the bane of my existence in general and, in this case, one of them turned out under done.
The buerre blanc was both a failure and a success. I made two significant errors here. The first was not adding the lemon and tarragon until after the shallot/white wine reduction (though that seemed to reduce down decently - maybe it wasn't a bad mistake after all). The second, for sure, was that I forgot to reduce the heat when adding the cold butter. Not surprisingly, the sauce completely broke. However, it tasted amazing. This is spectacular stuff.
The bread pudding was as easy as its reputation. This turned out really nicely. Next time, I will try to use fresher bread (one day old), as this was really, really, really stale, but overall, this was a very successful effort.
The menu:
Mixed Greens with White Wine Vinaigrette
Poached Chicken with Lemon-Tarragon Buerre Blanc
Broccoli with Mornay Sauce
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
The meta reason for this blog really pushed me here. I realized I had been light on content this past week, an indication that I had not been getting in the kitchen like I should. So, I was looking to catch up a bit.
Ugh. Not my best moment in menu planning. The two biggest issues were 1) I made a sit down meal - and a fancy sit-down meal at that - for what should have been casual, on the couch fare 2) I didn't get done until 8:45 when we were planning on an 8:00 start.
I put this one together after going through the latest issue of Gourmet and last week's Good Eats section in the Trib while on the train. The Trib section highlight was an offering of 10 recipes for chicken breasts, the first of which had a buerre blanc, the sauce I didn't get to make hands on last week in Sauce class. If that isn't a sign...
The bread pudding addressed a few things: 1) we had a lot of stale bread from the last dinner. Those artisian loaves, even from Jewel, have only a one day freshness in those paper/cello bags and I'm really tired of wasting those 2) on Top Chef a few weeks ago, Tre was kicked off for screwing up a bread pudding, which everyone called easy. So I had to see how easy it really was. 3) Channing likes it.
I thought I could crank this whole mess out in the 60 minutes, which if I didn't have to prep, I probably could have made. Also, I can't talk when I cook - my short-term memory is just too crappy. Fortunately, I didn't attempt the cookies I was thinking about.
While a bit late and too formal, it went okay, overall. A B/B-, I think. The execution errors were small; the buerre blanc broke and one of the chicken breasts was underdone. The points off are not for the actual food quality this time.
Le blow by blow (to be moved to individual recipe entries once I post those):
While it's hard to mess up a vinaigrette, this batch was quite good. I cut the mustard (the Terrapin Ridge Cracked Pepper-Lemon-Thyme again) to 1/2 part, with 1 part white wine vinegar and 3 parts olive oil. So, I kept the taste from last time, just dampend to a smoother level. I think that doctoring it up with a little fresh pepper, lemon juice and thyme would be nice next time.
The mornay sauce went well. It seemed to be a bit thin, but after adding the swiss cheese, it turned out just right.
Poaching the chicken turned out really, really nice. I've done this for salmon before, but this never occurred to me. I think this would be much, much better for salads. It was very tender and it's easy. It's impossible to burn, of course. The super-thick chicken breasts are the bane of my existence in general and, in this case, one of them turned out under done.
The buerre blanc was both a failure and a success. I made two significant errors here. The first was not adding the lemon and tarragon until after the shallot/white wine reduction (though that seemed to reduce down decently - maybe it wasn't a bad mistake after all). The second, for sure, was that I forgot to reduce the heat when adding the cold butter. Not surprisingly, the sauce completely broke. However, it tasted amazing. This is spectacular stuff.
The bread pudding was as easy as its reputation. This turned out really nicely. Next time, I will try to use fresher bread (one day old), as this was really, really, really stale, but overall, this was a very successful effort.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Treebeards' Butter Cake
It's been a slow week in the kitchen, after the event last Sunday. So, here's a recommended recipe to keep things moving along. It can be found in the Treebeards Cookbook and about a million times in the Houston Chronicle's Food section.
This is a clear winner every single time. I made it a few times in rapid succession and the same thing happens every. single. time. Everyone asks what they are and comments about how rich they must be. Then everyone makes an obligatory comment about their diet. A few people say they'll just have half of one. As they moan, everyone else takes one to see what the fuss is about. And then the carnage begins.
I've been adding a sharp Chinese cinnamon and using my Mexican vanilla to these lately to give it more of a punch, but they're awesome plain, too. A friend once tried these with egg substitute and low fat cream cheese and they were okay, but nowhere near awesome.
Do they even make those little 3 ox packages of cream cheese anymore? For the past few years, I've had to buy 2 of the 8 oz. packages and save the remaining 7 oz.
TREEBEARDS'BUTTERCAKE
350F
There is nothing quite as decadent as our buttercake. The buttery crust is topped with a rich cream cheese layer.
CRUST
3 cups Pillsbury Plus yellow cake mix*
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
FILLING
3 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 3-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
* Each box of cake mix yields 3 cups dry mix.
FOR CRUST: Generously spray a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan with non-stick spray. With an electric mixer, blend dry cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg on low speed until moistened. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pat onto bottom and sides of prepared pan. Set aside.
FOR FILLING: With electric mixer on low speed, mix 3 1/3 cups sifted powdered sugar, 2 eggs, vanilla and cream cheese until ingredients are moistened. Carefully cover mixer with a large, clean kitchen towel (making certain no part of the towel comes near the beaters), turn mixer to high speed and beat for 5 minutes. Turn mixer to low speed and remove towel. Add remaining 11/2 cups sifted powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Carefully replace towel and return mixer to high speed; beat for 5 minutes. Pour mixture over crust in pan and spread evenly.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. When cool, slice into squares.
Tidwell, Dan, Jamie Mize and Janie Baur. Treebeards Cookbook. Houston: Treebeards, Inc., 1993, p. 94 .
This is a clear winner every single time. I made it a few times in rapid succession and the same thing happens every. single. time. Everyone asks what they are and comments about how rich they must be. Then everyone makes an obligatory comment about their diet. A few people say they'll just have half of one. As they moan, everyone else takes one to see what the fuss is about. And then the carnage begins.
I've been adding a sharp Chinese cinnamon and using my Mexican vanilla to these lately to give it more of a punch, but they're awesome plain, too. A friend once tried these with egg substitute and low fat cream cheese and they were okay, but nowhere near awesome.
Do they even make those little 3 ox packages of cream cheese anymore? For the past few years, I've had to buy 2 of the 8 oz. packages and save the remaining 7 oz.
TREEBEARDS'BUTTERCAKE
350F
There is nothing quite as decadent as our buttercake. The buttery crust is topped with a rich cream cheese layer.
CRUST
3 cups Pillsbury Plus yellow cake mix*
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
FILLING
3 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 3-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
* Each box of cake mix yields 3 cups dry mix.
FOR CRUST: Generously spray a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan with non-stick spray. With an electric mixer, blend dry cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg on low speed until moistened. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pat onto bottom and sides of prepared pan. Set aside.
FOR FILLING: With electric mixer on low speed, mix 3 1/3 cups sifted powdered sugar, 2 eggs, vanilla and cream cheese until ingredients are moistened. Carefully cover mixer with a large, clean kitchen towel (making certain no part of the towel comes near the beaters), turn mixer to high speed and beat for 5 minutes. Turn mixer to low speed and remove towel. Add remaining 11/2 cups sifted powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Carefully replace towel and return mixer to high speed; beat for 5 minutes. Pour mixture over crust in pan and spread evenly.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. When cool, slice into squares.
Tidwell, Dan, Jamie Mize and Janie Baur. Treebeards Cookbook. Houston: Treebeards, Inc., 1993, p. 94 .
Monday, September 10, 2007
Pasta in White Wine
Oh my.
So, I'm cooking up steak tonight, practicing my grilling and making use of a marinade I bought at the Guiness Storehouse (i.e. the brewery tour gift shop) a long time ago. I had a bag of fingerling potatoes left from the dinner a few weeks ago that I needed to use before they went bad, so I planned on a repeat. Here's the problem, Channing hates potatoes and I didn't really want to cook yet another dish. He had a hard day, too, so telling him, "Tough, eat them anyway," wasn't really a winner move. But I really had no idea what to serve him until literally the last minute.
Two brainstorms in quick succession happened. First, I remembered that I had a a little pasta left from the Mac 'n' Cheese (I used pipe doppia rigatura, by the way. You can see it here.). I grabbed that, thinking I'd toss it in some olive oil and shred some parmesan on it, though I really wasn't sure if I had any. Then the second idea hit. I popped the pasta into the microwave for a minute and then tossed it with some of the white wine sauce from the potatoes.
Wow. This is really, really good. Like, I was tempted to steal Channing's plate good. And super light, so that's a bonus.
So, here's the recipe for the sauce, cobbled from the Fingerling Potato recipe. I would guess that this would be enough for up to a pound of pasta.
WHITE WINE SAUCE
1/3 cup dry white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
Cook pasta al dente and drain. Put pasta into mixing bowl and pour each of the ingredients over pasta and toss. Serve immediately.
The steak worked out great, too. 4 minutes per side, turning every two minutes, gave us a nice medium well done with impressive grill marks. The marinade can be found here if you aren't up to flying to Dublin to pick it up. Tasty stuff.
So, I'm cooking up steak tonight, practicing my grilling and making use of a marinade I bought at the Guiness Storehouse (i.e. the brewery tour gift shop) a long time ago. I had a bag of fingerling potatoes left from the dinner a few weeks ago that I needed to use before they went bad, so I planned on a repeat. Here's the problem, Channing hates potatoes and I didn't really want to cook yet another dish. He had a hard day, too, so telling him, "Tough, eat them anyway," wasn't really a winner move. But I really had no idea what to serve him until literally the last minute.
Two brainstorms in quick succession happened. First, I remembered that I had a a little pasta left from the Mac 'n' Cheese (I used pipe doppia rigatura, by the way. You can see it here.). I grabbed that, thinking I'd toss it in some olive oil and shred some parmesan on it, though I really wasn't sure if I had any. Then the second idea hit. I popped the pasta into the microwave for a minute and then tossed it with some of the white wine sauce from the potatoes.
Wow. This is really, really good. Like, I was tempted to steal Channing's plate good. And super light, so that's a bonus.
So, here's the recipe for the sauce, cobbled from the Fingerling Potato recipe. I would guess that this would be enough for up to a pound of pasta.
WHITE WINE SAUCE
1/3 cup dry white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
Cook pasta al dente and drain. Put pasta into mixing bowl and pour each of the ingredients over pasta and toss. Serve immediately.
The steak worked out great, too. 4 minutes per side, turning every two minutes, gave us a nice medium well done with impressive grill marks. The marinade can be found here if you aren't up to flying to Dublin to pick it up. Tasty stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)