all food, all the time

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2011-08-11T10:30:00.002-04:00

First CSA Share!

2011-06-19T21:49:00.001-04:00

Here is the first box from this seasons' farm share from Frog Holler farm

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It's National Donut Day!

2011-06-04T10:07:00.002-04:00

So you should go enjoy some donuts. If you have a favorite donut shop, share it with the world on my other blog donutdatabase.blogspot.com

There's always room for donuts

2011-04-06T19:14:00.000-04:00

I have some very important news... I have taken over the Donut Database blog. This website lets you find donut shops, wherever you are, and add your favorite donut shops to a big map of all the donut shops in the world! Or at least that is the ultimate goal. I will also be featuring various amazing donut shops, and inviting all my adoring readers to send in names and pictures of their favorite places to get donuts. I'm hoping that I can use my new status here to score free donuts. Check it out....
www.donutdatabase.blogspot.com

Terribly Happy....

2011-03-11T00:16:00.001-05:00

....about the danish I just made. Also, that's the title of an awesome movie from Denmark. Oh, I'm so clever! Anyway, I've been wanting to make some kind of so-called "laminated dough" for a long long while, but it always seemed like such a time commitment. Apparently "laminated dough" refers to kinds of dough with layers and layers and layers of butter (or shortening or lard, probably) in them, as a result of folding the dough, then rolling it out, then folding the dough, then rolling it out, then folding the dough.... sigh. And did I mention that you are required to refrigerate said dough for at least an hour between each folding/rolling session?
Well, because we are having the longest winter EVER and I am now suffering from extreme cabin fever, I have a lot of pent up energy. Last weekend, I somehow managed to channel this into baking, rather than just surfing the internet, watching horror movies, or drawing sharpie tattoos on myself and my children...
I started the dough on Friday night...and by Sunday "morning" (2 p.m.) there were fully formed danish ready to consume. Just to give you an idea of the time line.
That being said, there was nothing at all that was hard about making these. I consulted both Martha Stewart and Nigella recipes, as well as googling "danish pastry" and ended up with this:
1 cup milk (* have some extra on hand..more on this later)
2 envelopes instant yeast (or "rapid"....if you use active dry, dissolve it in the milk first)
4 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs salt
1 pound of butter (softened...cut it up into tablespoons and lay on a plate, and it will soften in about 15 minutes)
2 large eggs and 1 egg yolk
Preserves
Sugar (to sprinkle on the tops)
Another egg, beaten (to brush on the tops, do not mix into the dough)

1. Put the flour, yeast, sugar , salt, 4 Tbs of the butter, and milk into the mixer and mix until the dough becomes cohesive. This is where the potential need for extra milk comes in. I don't know what it is about baking...is it related to the moisture in the air? The brand of flour? Who knows... but sometimes I end up having to add a lot more liquid just to make the dough stick together. Anyway, add the extra milk a tiny bit at a time so that you do not drown the dough.
2.When it comes together and does not have any big dry clumps of flour, knead it with the dough hook, or by hand, very briefly, until relatively smooth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate several hours, or overnight.
3. Now, take it out of the fridge and I suggest letting it sit for just a few minutes because it will be really hard to roll out at first. Then, roll it out into a big rectangle, about 1 1/2 feet (yes really) by a foot. Approximate. It should be about a quarter of an inch thick. Now, distribute the butter all over two thirds of the dough, like this:

It will seem like way too much butter, and this is coming from me, and I heart butter. But it will be fine...everything will be alll right.
4. Now, fold the naked 1/3 over the butter, and then flip that folded part over the rest of the buttered part. Basically, fold it into thirds, like a business letter, as they say.

Voila. It will be bulging with butter in an almost obscene way. Try to sort of pinch the edges to keep the butter from seeping out the seams.
5. Roll it out, to the same dimensions as before. Now fold it into thirds again. And put into the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic. This is the first "turn", and there will be three turns. Now, you can start to imagine how danish and crossaints get all the layers, right?
6. After an hour (at least) take it out, roll out, fold up. Re-wrap, put back in fridge. For another hour.
7. See # 6. This is the third and final turn. EXCEPT, after this one, leave it in the fridge for 3 or 4 hours or overnight. This is for letting the dough rest and the butter get really cold before you cut into it. Or, it's tradition, perhaps. I don't know, but it seemed to work.
8. Now you are ready to SHAPE and FILL! Roll it out a final time into a big rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut along the edges so they are nice and straight.
9. Now, cut into 12 equal sized squares. Make cuts from each corned in toward the middle, like this:

But stop short about an inch from the middle of the square. (I know these pictures are not good, I was using my phone. I can't find my camera charger)
10. Fold in corners like such:

Until you get this:

Ta da! A cute little pinwheel! Make sure you really press the dough into the center of the pinwheel - otherwise, when you bake them, they will pop open and you will end up with danish in the shape of iron crosses, which is probably not a message you want to be sending.
11. Put a spoonful of preserves in the middle. Put on a baking sheet which has parchment paper if you have it (which I never do), or aluminum foil, which is what I did. Because I'm too lazy to wash baking sheets, this way you just peel off the foil and throw it away. Just typing that made me feel guilty about the environment.
12. When all 12 pinwheels are made (they will have to go on two baking sheets, fyi), cover them with plastic or a damp cloth, and let rise for an hour. Preheat the oven to 375.
13. Brush beaten egg on the tops, sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 20 minutes, switching the sheets halfway (in other words, 10 minutes on the top rack, 10 min on the bottom rack, for each sheet of pastries)

14. Cool on baking rack

While I was making these, I was so enthusiastic that I started to get all kinds of ideas about making a different kind of pastry each weekend, inviting a bunch of people over for brunch, etc.... now just thinking about all those things makes me exhausted! These were time consuming, but worth it, and delicious, really.

You should make this....

2011-02-26T12:45:00.001-05:00

Flan. Looks fancy. So easy to make. Don't even bother to use a recipe for flan that involves reducing down the milk or cream or whatever. This recipe makes flan to rival any other flan, I promise. And I'm not tooting my own horn, because I didn't make the recipe up, it comes from Nigella, with just tiny adjustments to temperature and time. And by the way, even though the name "flan" suggests Spanish or Mexican cuisine, flan=creme caramel as far as I'm concerned, so you could call it that and serve it with French food.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Put 3/4 cup of sugar into a (metal) pie pan or a cake pan, or a tarte tatin pan, roughly 9" wide.
3. This is the ONLY tricky part....put the pan over medium heat on the stove...you will probably have to use oven mitts here so that you can keep lifting the pan and swirling it around. You want the sugar to melt and turn the color of caramel. Now, let me tell you what I actually did when I made this, because I don't you to get discouraged at this point in the recipe. The sugar was taking a very long time to caramelize, and I was nervous to keep leaving it directly on the burner, because I could see the sugar caramelizing in the spiral pattern of the burner. So, after a while, I put the pan into the oven. Then I just kept checking it. Between the burner and the oven, after a while MOST of the sugar looked caramel-colored, BUT there was still some sugar that had not even melted... wtf? So I ended up stirring it with a teaspoon and it all melted and turned a nice, uniform color. I hope this doesn't put you off the recipe. You could probably do the whole thing in the oven. Also, be careful during this part, because sugar burns are bad news.
4. Ok! The most difficult part is over! Now, mix together well: one can of evaporated milk, and one can of condensed milk, 3 large eggs, and 2 tsp of vanilla. Pour this mixture into the pan, on top of the caramelized sugar.
5. Put the pan into a bigger pan, like a roasting pan, and pour 2 cups of really hot water into the pan. Make sure the water does not get into the smaller pan!
6. Put the whole thing in the oven, for about an hour. You will have to stick a knife into it and see if it comes out clean. It should not look so jiggly as to be liquid, however, you can't expect it to lose all of its jiggle.
7. Refrigerate it overnight or at least for several hours. When you are ready to eat it, flip it over onto a platter and pour the rest of the syrup out of the pan onto the flan.

Tamale Time

2011-02-22T23:22:00.000-05:00

Oh, how I love alliteration!
These are kind of a pain in the a** to put together but don't let that stop you - it's not that hard.

First figure out what you want to fill them with --- I am not giving any recipes here. You could go a million ways. You could cook pork, chicken, beef etc., as you would for a filling for something else, like say, oh..enchiladas. Or you could cook black beans with onion, garlic, serrano pepper, oil, water, until tender then mash them up in a pan with more oil and add salt until they taste good, which is what I did this time. You could just cook some chorizo, which would probably be the fastest thing to do, now that I am thinking about it. They even make "soyrizo" for any vegetarians out there, but I cannot vouch for the taste....I've only seen it. You could do whatever you want.... the sky's the limit for you, pal!

Then, make the masa - this is the corn part of the tamales.

1. Get a bag of instant masa, they have it at almost every grocery store.
2. Mix 4 cups of instant masa with 2-3 cups water - enough to make it a pliable dough.
3. Put 8 oz of shortening* in the mixer and beat it. Or do it by hand. Then mix in the masa. Then add enough chicken broth or other liquid until it comes together to the consistency of playdoh. Mmm, yummy.
(*or lard, wink wink)

Now, assemble them
1. Soak dried corn husks in hot water for 20 minutes (weigh them down with a bowl or something)
2. Spread (or, smoosh down with your fingers) about one big tablespoon of tamale dough in the middle of the corn husk, in a square about 3x3in

3. Put a spoon full of filling in the middle of this. Looks pretty, right? Refried black beans are not photogenic.

4. Fold one side of the corn husk over, so that the filling is getting folded into the middle of the dough, then fold the other side over. Then, fold the bottom of the corn husk up, and tie around it with a string. This reads much more complicated than it really is.

Once they are all assembled, you can wrap them and freeze them, supposedly, or put them in the fridge for a day or so, or steam them right away. Find a pot that you can either put a rack in the bottom of, or use a big pasta pot with a colander insert, which works perfectly. Now put water in the bottom. Stand all the tamales up, with the folded part at the bottom, in the pot. Put a damp cloth over the top, then put the lid on. Turn the heat up to about medium-high and steam those suckers for an hour.

You can make sauce to go on them, and I recommend that you do, since I kind of think tamales can be a little bit dry. This is just a smooth tomato salsa

1. Put 2 cans of diced tomatoes, half a chopped onion, 2 serrano peppers, and 2-3 cloves of garlic in the blender and blend into oblivion.
2. Heat about 3 Tbs oil in a pan and pour in the tomato mixture, cook for about 15-20 minutes over medium low heat.

Perhaps I should add here that this makes an absolutely insane amount of tamales. This much dough would likely make about 40 tamales, but I stopped at 20, so I can't be sure. The salsa ranchera recipe yields a ton also, but now you will just have something to dip your chips in.

Now, for your fun fact of the day....one of these is just called a tamal, not a tamale. Just in case you were wondering. Also, there are certain wolves in the arctic....and sea otters are ticklish.

last gasp of summer...

2010-08-25T17:32:00.001-04:00

lunch at Seva...cantaloupe soul, fries, veggie Reuben, TLT

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Trailer trash trifle

2010-08-12T21:42:00.001-04:00

brownies + chocolate pudding + coolwhip+ health bar crumbs

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The Agony and the Ecstasy

2010-08-09T23:53:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, we got the idea to go downtown and have a wee little snack at @burger, on Liberty... thank god we walked there, I can only hope all that cardiovascular exercise counteracted the heart-clogging effects of all this...

I think Marcus was correct in estimating these milkshakes to weigh in at a couple pounds each..

I just have a delicate little appetite, so I only had this little burger, above

Marcus bravely took one for the team and ordered the "Trash Can Burger"... I think it had: velveeta, chili, a fried egg, chips, fried onions, peppers, pickles.... It was a perfect balance between disgusting and delicious

My (cousin's) Big Fat Italian Wedding

2010-08-04T15:38:00.007-04:00

Oh, you don't know about cookie tables? I'm so sorry you aren't Italian... these are pictures of the THREE cookie tables at my cousin's recent wedding. Unfortunately, between the open bar, the tarantella, and the food coma I was in, I forgot to take pictures of the buffet. Let's just say, it was the kind of food you would expect to see in an episode of Sopranos, and I mean that in the highest respect because I love that show. Sorry anti-defamation league. Notice I said "Sopranos" and not "Jersey Shore", because if anyone gives Italian's a bad name, it's those fist-pumping idiots, not the sociopathic killers depicted in any good mob movie. Even the bride compared her wedding to Connie's in Godfather. So there.

Anyway, cookie tables.... homemade cookies... tables full....

Groceries fit for a ....person who makes more $ than a public school employee

2010-03-18T21:27:00.002-04:00

Really though....isn't this the most beautiful array of groceries you have ever seen? I want you to take particular note of the FOUR POUNDS of chocolate in front. You see, I was planning to make ganache and I knew the proportions, but I got them mixed up, so I accidentally doubled the amount of chocolate that I needed. I know, it's hardly a tragedy. Somehow, someway, I will find a use for all that chocolate....

P.s. Can you guess where I got these lovely groceries? I bet you can!

I'm back!!! You can all relax now

2010-02-25T17:58:00.006-05:00

Hello everyone out there...all two, or maybe three, people who look at my blog! I've been busy...working a new full-time job, taking care of my two small energetic children, falling head-over-heels for a guy who can totally cook....but while I've been doing these things, I've been cooking and taking pictures so it's time to start blogging again. I'll start with these pictures of a recent dinner party I had...

In the picture above, you'll see lovely pita bread on the left, and not-so-lovely dried

Persian limes on the right. I did my shopping at Jerusalem Market (I think that's the name) on Plymouth Rd, which has all manner of middle-eastern food, for extremely reasonable prices...I don't know what to do with dried Persian limes, by the way...does anyone have any ideas?
Next let me show you this amazing dish of braised chicken and root vegetables, which my dear friend Chris made and brought over, still warm from the oven...mmmmm
My darling friend Christi, author of the food blog....uh, the name escapes me, because she hasn't posted anything in such a long long time...anyway, she made this delish caprese salad..
A tray of honey-soaked goodness... I think my favorites were the ones on the left, but it's hard to say..

Here is Nick's plate, which nicely represents all the things I cooked, clockwise from the top: Dena's pilaf (recipe to follow), Christi's salad (oops, I didn't make that), fried halloumi cheese (tastes better than it looks, like "vegetarian bacon", as Nigella would say), fried eggplant, and Syrian green beans (I posted this recipe much earlier, but what the hell...I'll post it again).

Everything was delicious, if I do say so myself, and thanks to everyone who cooked and ate and made this dinner party possible.....my only regret was that everyone left too early :( Are we getting old? Oh well..maybe next time...

Okay, here is my aunt Dena's pilaf recipe, I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing it!! My comments are in ( ).

Dena's Pilaf

2 cups rice (basmati is what I used)

1 1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp anise

4 cups chicken broth

golden raisins

1 onion, sliced very fine

pine nuts (I used sliced almonds...Cheaper!!)

1. Brown pine nuts and onion in olive oil and set aside

2. Brown rice in oil, then add chicken broth, cumin, and anise

3. Throw in raisins (a couple handfuls maybe?)

4. Simmer till rice is done (about 40 min)

5. Place in bowl, put onions and pine nuts (or toasted sliced almonds) on top (and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds if you can get them...hint: Hillers had little containers of pomegranate seeds, so you don't have to seed any pomegranates yourself, if you are lazy..like me)

Fried Eggplant

1. Slice eggplants, about a half inch thick, and put them in a colander, then sprinkle them liberally with salt. Leave in the sink and watch all the moisture drip out of the eggplants...gross and strangely satisfying at the same time.

2. Pat them dry and brush off most of the salt.

3. Dip them in flour (make sure they are dry first), and fry in shallow olive oil

4. Eat them warm with greek yogurt..mmm

Lebne dip and Toasted pita chips (not pictured, but still good!)

1. Get some lebne ("yogurt cheese", just plain yogurt that has been relieved of much of its water so its consistency is between sour cream and cream cheese) and za'tar (a middle eastern spice blend). You may have to go to a middle eastern grocery store for these...and I'm not 100% sure what all is in za'tar, so I can't tell you how to make it yourself

2. Mix some za'tar into the lebne, and stir it up good..

3.Cut pita bread into lil' triangles, brush them with olive oil, put them on a baking sheet

4. Bake them at probably 400 or so, until they look nice and crispy

5. Take them out and sprinkle LIBERALLY with salt

6. Dip them in the lebne/za'tar dip....ta-da!

Laura's Syrian Green Beans...so good they are posted on this blog twice

1 lb green beans
1/2 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil (don't skimp here)
couple fat pinches sugar
salt and pepper to taste
half a lemon

Ok, it looks like a lot of olive oil, but trust me. Heat the olive oil in a big pan. Add the onions an cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the green beans, cook a few more minute, then the garlic, and cook yet a few more minutes. Now add the tomatoes, juice and all, and the sugar. Cook over fairly low heat for about 35 minutes, or until the green beans are soft, and almost starting to fall apart. You are not looking for crunch here. It should all be melded together, stewing in delicious olive oil. Mmmmm. Trust me and make it, it is like crack. You'll keep going back to fridge to sneak more bites, and it is even better the next day.

Does bacon make everything better?

2009-09-06T19:59:00.004-04:00

It's a freshly fried donut, with bourbon-caramel sauce, vanilla gelato, peanuts, whipped cream, and a cherry. Sprinkled with bacon.

This is from Zingerman's Roadhouse. And yes, bacon did make this better. However --I just tried a Manhattan made with bacon-infused whiskey a few days ago, which confirmed my fear that there are some things that are not improved by the addition of bacon. Sad.

moules marinaire

2009-04-23T21:08:00.003-04:00

Oh man I made these so long ago I can barely remember how I made them..and now I feel really, really lazy... Ok, well, first you have to soak the mussels in cold water for a bit to get the sand out. Then scrub them, if they're lookin dirty or whatever. Ok, then chop some garlic and shallots. Put a tablespoon or two of olive in a big pot. Saute the garlic and shallots for a minute or two, then dump in the mussels and a cup of white wine, then cover and turn down heat so the mussels steam. Cook them for about, oh I don't know...7 or 8 minutes? Until most of them open up. Then, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put in a pretty bowl. Then, add to the juices in the pan: a few tablespoons of butter, and a tablespoon or two of dijon mustard, and bring this to a quick boil. Then pour it over the mussels. The end!

Bahn Mi Bonanza!

2009-04-06T10:45:00.005-04:00

I didn't really have a Bahn Mi "Bonanza", I just like alliteration.
These are amazing vietnamese sandwiches that bring together the beauty of french baguettes and mayonnaise (which is originally french, right?), with the tangy southeast asian flavors of fish sauce and pickled vegetables. And they are very easy to make. Unless, like me, you go to the Chinese grocery store to look for pickled daikon and carrots, bringing along two small children who spend the whole trip alternating between holding their noses and begging for Pocky. This was very distracting and I never found pickled daikon & carrots, so I had to buy daikon and carrots fresh and pickle them myself. Which wasn't really hard, just a pain in the ass. It would have been easier if I could've gotten the shredding attachment on the food processor to work, and didn't have to julienne two pounds of vegetables myself. I'm not complaining, it's just that I'm a really slow cutter. I need knife lessons.

Here are the ingredients to make the version of Bahn Mi that I made, but bear in mind that Bahn Mi can have all kinds of different things in them, so don't feel limited.

Baguette

Pickled carrots and daikon

mayonnaise

Pork

Cilantro

Cucumbers

Red onions

Sriracha

Here is the pork recipe:

2 pounds of pork chops, or similar, cut into small slices

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

4 Tbs fish sauce

4 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs freshly ground black pepper

4Tbs finely chopped onion, or shallot

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp sesame oil

Mix everything except the pork in a ziploc bag. Then add the pork and let it marinate for at least an hour. Heat up a pan fairly hot and fry the pork but good.

I guess you could halve this recipe, but why would you?

Ok, here is the pickled daikon and carrot recipe, if you find yourself needing it:

1/2 pound carrots, shredded or julienned or similar

1/2 pound daikon, cut up like the carrots

3 cups warm water

3 Tbs rice vinegar

3 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs salt

Pack the daikon and carrots into a clean jar. Mix all the other ingredients together until dissolved. Then pour this mixture into the jar. Put this in the fridge and leave for a few days before you use it, ideally. (I had to use it after a few hours, so I had to sprinkle extra vinegar on the sandwich to make up for it)

This recipe, on the other hand, I already halved for you, because I pickled two pounds of vegetables, which turns out to be quite a lot, unless you are going to eat this all the time. But feel free to double it back if you wish.

I doubt that you need instructions on how to assemble a sandwich, but... here you go:

Cut a piece of baguette open, spread mayonnaise on it, add sriracha, layer pork, cilantro, cucumbers, pickled vegetables in whatever ratios you want. Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Braciole (known in some circles as "Sunday Gravy")

2009-03-29T11:41:00.006-04:00

First let me say that I realize my camera work needs help. I'm working on it. Anyway...

Here is my family's recipe for the long-simmering tomato sauce that you see people eating in every movie about Italian Americans. There's a reason they are all eating it...because it's so damn awesome. In fact, I will no longer watch one of my favorite movies of all time -Goodfellas- unless I have this spaghetti on hand, or on the stove at least, because otherwise, I'll get to the part when they are making sauce in prison, and I'll need some. I'll write out the whole recipe, but really, I can synopsize it like this: Put some kind of beef or pork product in a pan and brown it in olive oil, then add some kind of tomato product (sauce, paste, puree, juice, whatevs) and just let it all cook over low-ish heat for at least 4 hours. You can add garlic, basil, oregano, and sugar, but if you forget, which I have done on more than one occasion, it will still be amazing. Really, the only ways you can screw it up are if you a) burn it, or b) don't cook it long enough. You can use whatever meat you want: italian sausage, pork chops, country style ribs, braciole (which is rolled beef), meatballs, pepperoni, etc. etc. You can use all those things or just one, or whatever combo.

Okay, here is the step-by-step recipe, handed down from my paternal great-grandmother Speranza to my grandmother Bette, although I'm copying a recipe that is in my mother's words.

1 flank steak (or top or bottom round)

2 lbs ground beef

Italian bread crumbs

Eggs

2 big cans tomato sauce

1-2 small cans tomato paste

one paste-can of water

garlic, minced, plus 2-3 cloves cut into big chunks

dried basil

dried oregano, optional

sugar

Pound flank steak on both sides. Sprinkle with minced garlic, basil, and oregano. Roll up and tie with white cotton string. Meanwhile, brown chunks of garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil and remove. Add rolled flank steak and brown on all sides. Turn down heat and add sauce, paste, water and more seasonings to taste (about 1 Tbs of each).

You will learn that exact amounts don't matter too much, but here is the essential thing: cook this a looooong time. Joe's dad [this would be my grandfather] says it must be cooked at least 4 hours or the sauce will taste "fresh" (God forbid!). Just keep checking to makke sure it tis not cooking down too fast or sticking. You can always add a little more water. Sauce should be just simmering.

After flank steak has been simmering in the sauce for a couple of hours, make the meatballs: put meat in a bowl, add a couple of eggs, a half cup of bread crumbs, plus a tablespoon of milk. Just keep adding these ingredients until the meatball are kind of loose but they'll stick together. Make them any size you like but they'll take longer to cook if they are bigger - duh. Put them in a big roasting pan that you've oiled with a little olive oil. Bake them in 350 degree oven until they are pretty brown. Then take them out and put them in the sauce for the last hour and a half or so --not too much longer or they will really fall apart. After at least 4 hours, cook the pasta of your choice. When it is done, remove the flank steak (braciole) from the sauce, cut away the string and cut into slices. Put meat on a serving dish and ladle a little sauce over it. Drain pasta and put in bowl mixed with some of the sauce. Put extra sauce in a little pitcher at the table.

You can add or subtract ingredients from this recipe - it is impossible to ruin unless you burn it or make the sauce too watery. You can add chunks of pepperoni, which will make it a little spicy. Use Italian sausage instead of or in addition to the braciole. I have even made it vegetarian -- I just put more olive oil in when I browned the garlic and cooked it down for hours. You can also use dried red pepper flakes. You may want to double the amount of sauce if you're serving lots of people or if you want lots of leftovers. Leftovers the next day - meatball sandwiches, yum!

Mang'!

Wenslydale with cranberries, why can't I quit you?

2009-03-08T15:02:00.004-04:00

It was bad times when I suddenly couldn't find my cheese obsession anywhere. I ended up going to five stores before relenting and going to Whole Foods, which had it, thank god. It's just lucky that I was low on funds when I went or I would've seriously considered buying the $40 half-wheel of it, just to save the hassle of hunting it down again --at least for a while.

Here is a sandwich I made with the cheese, plus roast beef, dijon mustard, and my other current food obsession --sweet dill pickles. I put all these together between day-old whole-wheat zingerman's farm bread and fried it in butter...yeah

I WANT MORE FROSTIIIIIING!!!!!!

2009-02-25T17:26:00.005-05:00

That is what Julia screamed at The Cupcake Station yesterday. Screamed. I had forgotten her preferred manner of eating cupcakes, which I'm embarassed to admit. Okay, at home, I just let her eat the frosting off the cupcake, and then I put more frosting on. The cupcake itself is just a vehicle for frosting. Which is not okay at The Cupcake Station, where the cupcakes are $2.25 each. I quieted her down by quickly promising her under my breath that we would never come to the cupcake store again if she screamed like that, and luckily, she did not call my bluff. Above is the Mocha Latte cupcake: "moist chocolate cake filled and frosted with rich espresso buttercream topped with coffee beans" mmmm

The girls both had Chocolate Petals --chocolate cake with (pink) buttercream Julia is doing her Sean Penn impression above. She was mad about the frosting situation and she did NOT want it captured on film

Cal enjoying her cupcake.

The Cupcake Station is on Liberty, by the way. I don't know how long a cupcake-only store will last in this economy, so you should probably check it out sooner rather than later.

Happy Lame-o Valentines Day!

2009-02-15T14:00:00.007-05:00

Honestly, I have found Valentines Day to be completely underwhelming since I was about 10. BUT...it's a very exciting holiday for five- to ten-year-olds, because they get to have a party at school. Callie was really excited for about two weeks beforehand. So we made cupcakes to honor St. Valentine. I'm pretty sure that there is some kind of gory legend connected with St. Valentine himself, but I can't remember it. Anyone?

We made Devil's Food cupcakes, with Nutella frosting, and we filled them with raspberry jam, just to be extra fancy. And, since the girls like to rock out while baking, I put the word "love" into the search on my itunes library and played the following :

Love, Reign O’er Me –The Who

Cry For Love – Iggy Pop

Tainted Love –Soft Cell

Somebody To Love – Jefferson Airplane

Sunshine Of Your Love –Cream

Underwater Love –Faith No More

Love To Hate You –Erasure

May This Be Love –Jimi Hendrix

Whole Lotta Love –Led Zeppelin

Fell In Love With a Girl –White Stripes

Dub The Frequencies of Love –Gogol Bordello

Sea of Love – (two versions) Cat Power, Tom Waits

Could You Be Loved –Bob Marley

Devil's Food cupcakes:

Put paper cupcake liners in two cupcake/muffin pans for total of 24

Heat oven to 350

In one bowl, whisk together:

2 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, whisk together:

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk (or one cup milk, into which you have squeezed half a lemon)

1/2 cup nonalkalized cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

In yet another bowl, beat until creamy:

1 stick of softened butter

Gradually add and beat on high speed until fluffy:

1 cup sugar

Beat in one at a time:

2 large eggs

On low speed add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk mixture in 2 parts, beating until smooth.

Fill cupcake papers about halfway, and bake for about 18-22 min -- check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, they're done

After these have cooled, fill them with raspberry jam

Just poke holes in them with a chopstick, then put jam in a plastic ziploc and squeeze jam into the cupcakes.

Then make the:

Nutella Frosting

I did not exactly measure while making this, so the most important thing is to add enough powdered sugar to make a consistency that will not slide off the cake, and yet will be easy to spread. First you take:

2 sticks of softened butter

Put them in a mixing bowl and add:

4-6 tablespoons of Nutella

Beat these together, then add:

6 oz of chocolate that has been melted, then cooled a little

Then add powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency. If you make the frosting too stiff, you can add milk to thin it back out.

Frost the cupcakes, and sprinkle with hearts.

You love it, you want it

2009-02-04T19:43:00.012-05:00

Alright, admittedly I have not done much interesting cooking in the last 6 months or so. I was busy. And uninspired. But sometimes you get hit simultaneously with the right combination of emotional turmoil and free-time and this creates the perfect storm for cooking something really good. Kind of like the protaganist in "Like Water for Chocolate" who channels all her emotion into her cooking when she can't be with the man she loves. Except I'm hoping that in my case nobody bursts into flames. Anyway, initially I was going to make mole because it's a really long process, but I started too late collecting the ingredients and by the time I got home I was exhausted. So I made pork in adobo sauce instead, and apple and roasted poblano salad, and avocado sauce.

Here I am taking seeds out of a pepper with one hand while I take the picture with the other, which is why the picture looks so unnatural!

Here is the finished dinner, all beautifully plated. Ta da!

Oh yeah! I also made a Tres Leches cake. Ever had it? Well you should. When I was teaching in L.A., everytime it was someone's birthday or something, we'd have one of these cakes. They were readily available in all the grocery stores near the school. I always assumed it was hard to make, but it's really, really easy. Which just tells you this: even if you can't get some particular type of food where you live, you can always make it. What are you, lazy? Callie helped me make this cake, which was fine because she actually can help me now.

So there it is. It was all delicious, if I may say so.

Now --don't you wish you were here? Because if you were, I would make this for you.

Recipes:

Lomitos Adobados - Pork Tenderloin in Adobo Sauce

Adobo Sauce:

2 ancho chiles, seeded, deveined, and soaked in 1 cup cold water for 30 minutes.

1 large garlic clove

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2-inch piece cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

6 whole black peppercorns

1/2 cup water

Drain the chiles, put them in the blender, then blend, baby, blend.

Pork:

Rub with adobo sauce. Marinate in ziploc bag at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350.

Heat 4 Tbs oil in cast-iron skillet and sear the tenderloins over high heat for five min or

so. Then put the pan in the oven and roast for 15 min for medium. Did you know pork

does not have to be cooked to well-done anymore? Well now you do. Don't fear the

trichonosis.

Apple-Poblano Salad

2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch strips (roast them by putting them under the broiler or over an open flame until blackened, then stick in paper bag for about 10 min. Then you can just rub the skin right off)

2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small cubes

1/4 cup hulled pumkin seeds, toasted in a dry pan

1 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Sea salt

Mix it all together, and let the flavors blend for about 30 minutes or so.

Avocado Sauce

1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks

1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

half a clove of garlic

1 cup of milk

1 cup of water

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro leaves

Blend away.

Let the pork rest for 10 min, slice it, then plate all this up prettily.

Tres Leches Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

6 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 teaspoons Mexican vanilla extract

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 13-oz can evaporated milk

3 cups heavy cream

Spray bottom and sides of a 9-by-3 inch springform pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Combine eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high speed until doubled in volume, about 5 min. Reduce speed to low; add the water and 1 tsp of vanilla. Mix well. On very low speed or by hand with a long spatula, gently fold dry ingredients into the batter. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 min, or until cake is firm on top and has pullad away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and place pan on rack to cool for 10-15 min. Turn cake out on a serving platter, put a plate over the cake, and turn it right side up. Let it cool.

While cake is colling, whisk together the sweetened condensed mile, evaporated milk, 1 cup of heavy and cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla; set this aside. Using serrated knife, slice top of cake off. Poke the top of the cake all over with a toothpick. Pour the milk mixture over the cake in several batches so that it can completely soak. Refrigerate.

When ready to serve, whisk the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream on top of cake. Garnish with fruit, if you must.

I got all the recipes straight from a cookbook, and I really didn't change any of them because everything in this cookbook is so fabulous, you just don't want to mess with it, you know? The cookbook is from this restaurant in Austin, TX, called Fonda San Miguel, which is the best Mexican restaurant I've been to, I think. It's not tex-mex really, even though it's in Texas. It strives to be more traditional Mexican. And yes, I've been to some really good little dives that had great Mexican food, and were probably more authentic, but I don't know. It's really frickin good, what else can I say.

Mitchell's Fish Market

2009-02-01T22:10:00.004-05:00

I recently went to Mitchell's Fish Market in Plymouth with my dear friend who was craving their mussels in white wine sauce. Here are some pictures of the mighty tasty dinner we had there: Above: BBQ bacon-wrapped shrimp and cheddar grits, beer battered shrimp, and garlic broiled shrimp.

Above: "Shang Hai" scallops, blackened tilapia, jambalaya, cedar-planked salmon

Above: The dish that started it all; mussels in white wine, butter, garlic, tomatoes, and parsley.

That was a hell of a lot of seafood my friend! And really good. But the best part of the evening was getting to see Tony Little, of the "Gazelle", right there in the restaurant! My life is complete! He was even wearing his baseball cap with long curly hair pulled through the back. If you don't know who I'm talking about, then clearly you need to watch more infomercials.

Meijers is a shining example of cultural sensitivity

2009-01-31T18:37:00.003-05:00

Right in front of the Mexican food at Meijers. I took this picture just minutes before a checkout girl started loudly ranting about how she hates "working at this place because it gets worse everyday!"

Inaugural cupcakes? Yes We Did!

2009-01-21T10:21:00.006-05:00

It's hard to get a good likeness in frosting

Arigato Christi!

2009-01-21T10:16:00.003-05:00

These are but a few pictures of a fabulous meal made by my dear friend Christi. I will say no more and instead encourage you to check out her blog: www.pleasedevourme.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T19:31:00.003-05:00

Peking Duck at Gourmet Garden was an excellent idea! I only wish i'd had my real camera...

The pound cake of your dreams

2008-12-17T18:57:00.003-05:00

This recipe comes from my granny, Ruth Cox. She got the recipe from a friend at a bridge party, long ago. How come no one plays bridge anymore? This cake is heavy, literally and figuratively.

Here's the recipe, in my granny's words:

Sponge Pound Cake

3 sticks butter (or 2 butter and 1 marg)

6 eggs

1 box powdered sugar

1 box (powdered sugar box full) of twice sifted flour (cake flour)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter, add sugan, then eggs, beating well after each. Add flour, then vanilla, using slow speed of mixer.

Bake in greased and floured large tube pan in 300 degree oven for 2 hours.

Invert on to rack leaving pan over cake till it drops onto rack then cools.

**Laura's notes: You should make sure everything is at room tempurature before mixing! Also, as you can see from the picture, you can also bake this in two loaf pans. Just shorten the time to about 50 minutes. You can also sprinkle powdered sugar on the cake if you want to gild the lily.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup: It'll cure what ails you

2008-12-01T19:46:00.005-05:00

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup:
I know it looks like a long recipe, but if you have everything out, it really isn't hard. It is yummy and fairly healthy, and it keeps and you can reheat it. It's better than boring regular chicken noodle soup. And in all fairness, I didn't invent this, this is pretty much a recipe from cooking light, but I made a couple (tiny) changes.

First take:
2-3 chicken breasts
Boil them until they are no longer raw. Then REMOVE THEM FROM THE WATER, BUT DON'T DUMP THE WATER OUT. Chop up the chicken. (Or you can skip this and just use 2-3 cups already cooked chicken, like those cute little rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. In which case, start the next step with 4 cups boiling water).

Then take:
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 lb or so snow peas
and put these in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. The spinach will wilt and the snow peas will turn a slightly brighter green. Remove these and drain in a colander, then put them in a big bowl, but once again DO NOT DUMP OUT THE WATER!

Now take:
1 package of rice sticks/pad thai noodles (the wide ones, fettucine-width, NOT angel hair-
width)
Put these in the ever boiling water for about three minutes, then drain (now you can dump the water). Put them in the bowl with the vegetables. They will form a clump in a few minutes and you'll think you ruined them, but don't worry - they'll loosen back up in the soup.

Now heat over medium-high in a big pot (all the soup will end up in it):
1 Tbs vegetable oil

Add:
2-3 thinly sliced shallots, or frankly, 1/4 sliced regular onions
2-3 tsp red curry paste (comes in a little jar next to soy sauce etc. in most grocery stores)
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Saute these for a minute or so, and stir, stir, stir

Now add:
6 cups chicken broth
Let it come to a boil, then add:
1 can coconut milk
Reduce the heat, simmer 5 minutes

Now dump the chicken in and add:
4-5 chopped green onions (green and white parts)
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs fish sauce (nam phoc, i think. Again, check with the various asian sauces, or go to an
asian grocery store and get some. It is cheap and it keeps, plus it's a key ingredient for pad
thai, so there you go. I use the brand with the picture of three crabs on the front, if anyone
cares)
Handful chopped cilantro OR several cubes of frozen chopped cilantro, which they sell at
trader joe's and are very handy, especially if you don't love cilantro (Tip: too much cilantro
tastes like soap!)

Cook for a couple minutes to let all the flavors blend. Now, taste it and add salt if it needs it, which it will unless you used really salty broth.

Last of all, dump in the clump of noodles and vegetables. Stir it around to loosen up the noodles. Squeeze in a lime and add some Sriracha sauce (has a picture of a rooster on it, if that helps) or other hot sauce i guess would work.

Garnish the bowl with dots of sriracha and lime wedges, if asthetics mean anything to you.

Ta-da!

Variations:
Ok, you could easily substitute tofu or shrimp for the chicken. You could also sub the broth for vegetable broth. You could toss in some chunks of peeled lemongrass, then take them out before serving. You could probably get away with adding a little rice vinegar in place of lime juice if you didn't have limes. And you could add a bunch more and/or different vegetables. Basically if you have the spices, the fish sauce, the curry paste, and some kind of broth, you could throw in whatever, and it would probably be pretty good. You could likely substitute the noodles without anything dire happening, too.

Good bye summer bounty -an homage to the farmers market

2008-09-16T22:07:00.002-04:00

Here are some pics from the farmers market this summer. Isn't summer produce pretty? Makes me wish I lived somewhere with a longer growing season...naw, cause then we wouldn't have fall and all the things that go along with it, like cider and donuts and apple orchards. Anyway, check out the plate of stuff near the top of the plate --that's a plate of deliciousness from Pilar's Tamales. Sooo good.

BTW if anyone happens to read this, and has a good recipe, for anything, PLEASE send it to me. I loves collecting recipes.

No I don't have the munchies

2008-08-10T17:29:00.003-04:00

Here's a new taste treat -- Doritos with avocado. It's really good. My mom invented it. I'm not sure if she really wanted the credit for that or not, but there it is! Actually, I've been sitting on the couch most of today, and this is the perfect thing to eat while you sit around, only we are all out of Doritos. I thoroughly enjoyed this low-brow hors d'eouvre the other evening while watching the train wreck that is The Two Coreys. I'm pretty sure there is a new episode on tonight so I may just have to hook up a tray of these bad boys while I watch those (former) bad boys. I love the Coreys.

Summery food!

2008-08-06T21:30:00.005-04:00

Mmmmmm. I did not make this food. The credit goes to Jane, the girlfriend of one of my childhood friends, Topher, and she is really a great cook. The corn and korean bbq ribs were awesome, and she also made a great tiramisu. Topher's mom, Judy, also made a delicious angelfood cake with yummy cream cheese frosting. Everything was great --thanks you guys!
Here is the corn recipe:
Grill the corn. Scrape a thin layer of mayonnaise on it for "glue". Roll in grated cojita cheese, and sprinkle with chili powder and lime zest, and serve with lime wedges.

Bi bim bop

2008-07-03T22:11:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone - I made this delicious bi bim bop with tofu the other night when my dear brother came over for dinner. The tofu is so good, even if you don't like tofu, you'll like this.

1. Cut up a block of extra firm tofu.

2. Make marinade:

2 1/2 T soy sauce

1 T sugar

1 T rice wine

1 T sesame oil

1 clove of finely minced garlic

1/2 tsp minced ginger

several green onions, sliced

1/4 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1/8 tsp pepper

water

(this is really bulgogi marinade, so try it with beef too. Really, I don't usually measure, I just dump some of each of the above in a ziploc bag and throw in whatever, you can't really screw it up)

3. Add tofu to marinade.

4. Cut up your vegetables into thin slices or julliene. I bought this nifty tool at the grocery store called a "julliene grater" (see photo), it is like a vegetable peeler, but serrated, so you just run it along the carrot or whatever, and it makes perfect little ribbons. So easy.

I used carrots and cucumber because they are cheap, and pretty. Like me!

5. Oh yes, you should be cooking some rice now. Preferably short grain rice with this. The brand I used is called Calrose, I think.

6. Ok, now just cook a few eggs into an omelet and slice it up, or just scramble them, which is what I did because I'm lazy.

7. Now, cook the tofu in a little oil. If you want it crispy, you should probably try to drain off the marinade first. It is really good in the marinade though, so you could throw it in a pan and heat it through. It is good cold in the marinade, also. That's the beauty of tofu -- no salmonella!

8. Now really you just assemble it. Rice, tofu, vegetable, top it with some hot sauce - I had some awesome Korean hot bean paste given to me by my dear friend. Thanks Christi!

9. You can also garnish it with more green onions.

10. I don't know if this is authentic bi bim bop, but I don't care.

Happy friggin fathers day

2008-07-03T22:04:00.004-04:00

On what will have been our last holiday spent as a cohesive nuclear family, Ross made a brisket for fathers day. Actually it was really good, here is the recipe: Mix together chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar and rub it onto a brisket. The next day grill the brisket over very low heat for most of the day. Let it rest for 30 minutes or so, carve it against the grain, and eat it.

Cuba Libre!

2008-06-05T21:18:00.005-04:00

Ok, these are not the most appetizing pictures. I forgot my camera so I had to use a cell phone. HOWEVER... the food was DELICIOSO at Cafe Habana, where these lovely shots were taken. The top is a view of the ropa vieja (literally "old clothes" but don't let that put you off), which was a spicy stew-like wonder with beef, tomatoes, peppers, etc. and served with yellow rice and fried plantains...mmmm. The bottom picture shows a fish taco (on top of my ropa vieja) which was AWESOME, for lack of a more sophisticated word. Really good, and the first fish taco I've seen since on a menu since California. So, so good, and served with "lime crema" which was the perfect tangy companion. One more reason to go to Cafe Habana....perfect mojitos.

If this put you in the mood for Cuban food, here's a recipe for cuban-style black beans that I made the other day. Actually, I can't really vouch for their authenticity but they do the job.

1 bag dried black beans

2 onions

several cloves of garlic

1 can diced tomatoes, or several non-canned tomatos that you have diced

bell pepper, if you have one

olive oil

dried cumin

salt and pepper

(Start the day before you want to eat)

1. Rinse the beans and discard any with odd appearance. This is no time to be accepting of those who are different.

2. Boil a kettle of water. Put the beans in a big heavy pot, and pour the boiling water over to cover them by several inches. Leave overnight.

3. Drain and recover with water, or don't bother.

4. Quarter one of the onions, add to the pot, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for several hours until the beans are tender and NOT al dente.

5. Take out the big onion chunks. Dice the other onion, and the pepper if you have it, and saute these with the tomato in some olive oil, in a different pan. If you wanted, you could use bacon fat instead of olive oil, I bet it would be yummy. Add the garlic, minced, and saute until soft, but don't let it burn!

6. Add a scoop or two of beans to the onion/tomato mix and saute away for a minute or two. I think I may be abusing the word "saute", but you know what I mean. Cook it in a pan.

7. If you have people around you who object to visible chunks of tomatoes or onions, you should now put the contents of the pan (onion/tomato mixture) into a blender and blend until smooth. If noone objects to the chunks, you should just mash the mixture with the back of a spoon until the beans are nice and pasty.

8. Now add the onion/tomato mash or puree back into the big pot of beans and continue to cook for a spell, until nicely thickened.

9. Serve it with rice, baby

I'll mention here that this is a good thing to make on the weekend and then eat during the following week because a) while incredibly easy, it takes forever to make, and b) it gets better the next day and the next. Now that I think about it, you could probably make these in a Crock Pot if that is your bag

Best brownies evah

2008-05-14T19:28:00.003-04:00

Look at these brownies we devoured...I'm pretty sure this picture was taken later in the day they were made. Brownies are sooo easy, you can mix them in one bowl, scrape it into a pan and call it a day. This recipe is from, yes, once again, the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to bake. Martha knows from baking, and she has never let me down. Oh, except I did have to bake these brownies for about an hour, versus the recommended 40 min. I love me some chewy brownies, but not liquid brownies. And here is a tip for brownie making: Trader Joes has giant bars of bittersweet chocolate for much less $$ than those other grocery stores. TJ - you my boy!

The anti-Atkins diet

2008-05-05T15:18:00.007-04:00

I know I have a post about challah already, but this is different. This is challah from Great Harvest Bread Company, so it's a whole different phenomenon. I once ate half a loaf of it just on the way home. It smells great in there, and they will give you big, hearty, samples that you can slather with delicious soft butter. I got a loaf of challah (beware - they only make it on Friday) and a loaf of "extreme cinnamon" which was a whole-wheat-y, fabulously soft, filled-with-cinnamon-and-sugar, carbohydrate dream. We demolished these loaves over two days (plus the sugar cookie pictured at bottom, purchased for Cal as a reward for going into yet another store), along with a stick of butter.

Murgh Makhani, a.k.a Butter Chicken, a.k.a. Awesome

2008-05-03T21:21:00.003-04:00

So, after going to two Indian restaurants in a week, I was absolutely craving Indian food. I decided to try to make Chicken Makhani, sometimes called Butter Chicken, because it is delish and because I had Chicken in the freezer and I am trying to use things I already have. However, upon beginning, I realized I didn't have all the spices. So I went to By the Pound, which is a great store on South Main in Ann Arbor. It has all manner of bulk food, but especially cool are the bulk spices. I bought about 15 different spices. Then, I made Garam Masala. For this, I had to spread all these spices on a cookie sheet, toast them, then grind them. Really, it was easy. Cumin, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, & nutmeg were in this Garam Masala, which I got from a nifty little book called Curries without Worries.

Cal and I made Parathas to go with the Chicken. I got the recipe from a cool blog (veggiecookbook.wordpress.com) with lots of good looking vegetarian Indian recipes. These parathas are flatbreads, stuffed with spiced potatoes, and fried. The picture shows Cal folding the dough around the filling, before rolling it out. She makes a great sous chef.
And here is a picture of our dinner: Murgh Makhani, basmati rice, stuffed parathas, yogurt, and cucumbers. It was DEEELICIOUS!
The recipe I used for the Chicken Makhani was from allrecipes.com. Since these are not copyrighted, I don't think I'll be breaking any laws by putting the recipe here. If I am wrong, please let me know! I am an upstanding citizen. Don't let the length of the recipe put you off. Just make it on the weekend. Or, marinate the chicken the night before you want to make it.

Makhani Chicken (Indian Butter Chicken)
Submitted by: RKOZELRated: 4 out of 5 by 80 members
Prep Time: 1 Hour Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 5 Hours 15 MinutesYields: 6 servings
"This fragrant, spicy Indian butter chicken recipe is from the owner of the India Cuisine restaurant in Seattle, Washington. Serve with hot Indian bread."
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 pounds skinless,
boneless chicken breast halves
- cubed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt to taste

1 cup yogurt
salt to taste
2 tablespoons garlic paste
1/2 tablespoon garam masala
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons ginger paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped green
chile pepper
2 cups tomato puree
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt to taste
1 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek (I could not procure these, so I left them out - no harm done)
leaves
1 cup heavy cream
DIRECTIONS:
1.
To Marinate: Place chicken in a nonporous glass dish or bowl with lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chili powder and salt. Toss to coat; cover dish and refrigerate to marinate for 1 hour.
2.
Drain yogurt in a cloth for 15 to 20 minutes. Place in a medium bowl; mix in salt, garlic paste, garam masala, butter, chili powder, ginger paste, lemon juice and oil. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken, replace cover and refrigerate to marinate for another 3 to 4 hours.
3.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4.
Place chicken on skewers. Place skewers in a 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until almost cooked through.
5.
To Make Sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garam masala. When masala begins to crackle, mix in ginger paste, chopped garlic and green chile peppers. Saute until tender, then stir in tomato puree, chili powder, salt, garam masala and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring in honey and fenugreek.
6.
Place chicken in sauce mixture. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Stir in fresh cream.

Sha-na-na-na-naan

2008-04-28T17:05:00.005-04:00

I have been to two Indian restaurant lunch buffets in the last week, and really, I could go every day.

The first one was at Temptations, on Washtenaw in Ypsi. The top picture is of Christi's artfully arranged plate at Temptations.

Here's what Temptations had at their buffet:

Onion Bhajii (spiced fried onion rings),

Vegetable pakoras,

Tandoori Chicken

Murg Makhani (butter chicken)

Vegetable Chettinadu

Channa Masala

lemon rice and plain basmati rice

and, naan

Also, a few assorted types of chutney, and rice pudding

All-you-can-eat, for about $8.50. Everything was good, although the Vegetable chettinadu was clearly made of frozen mixed vegetables. And the health inspector came in and stuck a thermometer in various dishes, which was mildly disconcerting, although everthing must have been ok, because we did not have any ill effects afterward. Except wanting to take a nap.

Then, I went to Raja Rani, on the corner of Division and William, in Ann Arbor. The second picture down is my plate, and the third down is Nick's. Also for about $8.50, and also all ya can eat, when I went they had:

Vegetable pakoras

Tandoori chicken

Chicken Tikka masala

Chicken Makhni

Palak paneer (spinach with cheese cubes)

Pakora curry (vegatable dumplings cooked in yogurt)

Mushroom mataar

Channa chatt (spicy, fresh, cold chickpea salad/relish)

carrot halwa, rice pudding

naan

best chai ever

MMMMmmmmm. Everything was absolutely delicious. I can't even pick a favorite, but the the
pakora curry and channa chatt were new to me and soo good. And I could drink that chai all day. The buffet is the way to go, because you can try so many things. I'm not sure if they have it on weekends, but I'll find out. I grabbed a menu, and regular entrees range from 8 bucks for all vegetarian entrees to 12.50 for Tandoori shrimp. The menu is not as extensive as Temptations, but judging the buffet choices only, Raja Rani gets the edge. I'll have to go back to Temptations before I can do a more thorough analysis.

When I got back from Temptations, I made naan (bottom pic). My dear friend Christi hipped me to this recipe. I am too lazy to type it, but you can find it at allrecipes.com. Just type in "naan". The recipe I used is the one submitted by "mic". It is good and easy, and makes about 30 (smallish) pieces of naan! This led to some unorthodox naan uses, including naan with jam, and naan-dogs. And Jules learned a new word.

Mrs. Wakefield rocks my world

2008-04-23T12:46:00.003-04:00

Guess what Mrs. Wakefield invented in the 1930's? Thats right --the chocolate chip cookie. It is her inspired recipe that is on the back of every package of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips. And while I don't usually use Tollhouse chocolate chips (sorry), I always use that recipe because it is the best. That is not opinion, it's fact. By the way, if you don't have any eggs in the house (or if you are a vegan, or otherwise don't eat eggs), just replace the two eggs in the recipe with one really well mashed banana. I know, it sounds disgusting, but truly it is delicious. Actually, you can replace the eggs with banana in other cookies. Just use the ratio of 1/2 banana: 1 egg. It really works, and it really doesn't make the whole thing taste banana-y. It actually makes cookies really chewy and moist, and sort of caramalized on the bottoms. Mmmmm. It works really well in oatmeal cookies. You should try it.

Chicken Maxine -- make it today

2008-04-21T20:24:00.002-04:00

My dear mother made this for us and it was deelicious. It is called "Chicken Maxine" after my great aunt Maxine. And here is the recipe along with my mom's lovely memories of Maxine herself:

Chicken Maxine
3 or 4 large chicken breasts (with skin on)salt & pepper2 tablespoons butter1/4 cup sherry wine2 pkgs frozen broccoli spears2 cans cream of chicken soup1 cup mayonnaisejuice of 1 lemon2 cups grated cheddar cheesebuttered cracker crumbs*====== Place chicken breasts in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dot with butter, and pour wine over all. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 and 1/2 hours, or until chicken falls from bones. Cook broccoli according to package directions, undercooking by about 2 minutes; drain well in colander. Butter a 3-quart (or 2 smaller) casserole. Line bottom of casserole with broccoli. Skin and bone chicken and tear into good-sized hunks. Place chicken on top of broccoli. Mix together the undiluted soup, mayonnaise, and lemon juice (no other liquid), and pour over chicken. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Sprinkle buttered crumbs over cheese, cover casserole with lid or foil, and bake in a 325 oven for 30-45 minutes, or until it is bubbly. This can be made a day ahead, refrigerated at once before baking, and baked as needed. Serves 6 ("or 3 like us", said Maxine). *to make buttered cracker crumbs: Put about 18-20 saltine cracker squares into a plastic bag. Roll with a rolling pin to make fine crumbs. Melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir crumbs into butter until all are covered. This can be made in larger quantities and stored in a covered jar in the refrigerator for instant use.===Mary's note: This recipe is from my aunt, Maxine DeWitt. She was married to my mother's big brother, Bob (whom my mother called Brother). Maxine was my most glamorous relative--beautiful, with black hair and brown eyes and always the coolest glasses. She was a wonderful cook. She and Uncle Bob lived in a big house in Highland Park, a beautiful tree-lined town within Dallas, Texas. Uncle Bob looked and sounded like Big Daddy--huge, with a deep bass Southern voice. He always drove a big Cadillac (my favorite one was pink), and he gave us silver dollars. Maxine was elegant and witty and I can still hear her rich warm voice calling us "darling".

Ode to a grocery store

2008-04-21T14:12:00.005-04:00

I have a problem. I go grocery shopping pretty much every day. Look at my pantry pictures for a glimpe into my descent into ingredient madness. Here's the problem- I try to plan ahead, but there is really no way to predict on, say, a Friday, what I'm going to want to make, much less eat, the following Tuesday. So I buy a bunch of stuff, which I am then not in the mood for later. So I have to buy more. The other problem I have is the fantasy of things which I may possibly make at some indeterminate time in the future. This is why I have twelve different kinds of pasta, five kinds of flour, and such esoteric delicacies as "kelp powder". Alas, even with a pantry stuffed to the gills, nothing seems to add up to anything, thus requiring additional trips to the store. Oh well. Today I went to one of my favorite grocery stores for, I swear, orange bell peppers AND THAT IS IT. I wrote a poem about the experience when I got home. I call it:

Oh, Trader Joe, Why Do You Seduce Me With Your Adorable Signs, Then Take All My Money?

I went for orange bell peppers

and I found organic cheese,

Lovely, dainty haricot verts

ready for deep freeze,

Bars of Belgian chocolate

weighing in a o'er a pound,

Korma sauce and whole trimmed leeks

were among the goods I found,

A quart of Ben and Jerry's

and chocolate croissants too,

Ten types of rice -jasmine, basmati, wild,

to name a few,

Fire roasted peppers

for a dollar ninety-nine,

sweet potato french fries

that were looking mighty fine,

Tahitian vanilla, carne asada-

they leave my heart a-flutter,

tiny cupcakes, micro-greens,

and - plugra (that's butter)

It's time to go, dear Trader Joe,

Though I'll be back I must confess,

I'm out the door with so much more,

And yet - a hundred dollars less.

I really need to stop making cookies

2008-04-21T14:04:00.002-04:00

When I got around to taking pictures of these cookies, I found only one lonely cookie left in the jar. It really wasn't even the prettiest one, because the other ones had sparkly turbinado sugar sprinkled on top. So I put it on my prettiest plate to dress it up a little. Oh well. These cookies are calle Sparkled Ginger Cookies, and they are from the cookbook "Vegan with a Vengence" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. This is an excellent cookbook, even if you are not a vegan or even a vegetarian. Everything I've made from it has been good. Don't be afraid --check it out! Plus, you have to admire a cookbook that has a whole chapter on cupcakes.

Thai salad, and Why you should not buy Organic Apples from Krogers

2008-04-16T22:29:00.002-04:00

Well, I had some Pad Thai ingredients sitting in the fridge, so I made a salad. It was good. Basically, I just mixed lettuce, and the leftover julienned veggies, and chopped peanuts with a dressing I made out of Pad Thai sauce and oil (1 tsp each of Tamarind concentrate and sugar, 1/4 tsp fish sauce, and approximately 1 Tbs veg oil --this is enough for one smallish salad.) You know what would have made it better? Grilled shrimp, or tofu, or chicken or something. How about shredded rotisserie chicken --easy, no?

And another thing -- Don't buy bags of organic apples from Krogers. Every single apple in the bag had multiple bruises. I should have taken them and demanded a refund, but I am just too lazy. So I chopped them up and made applesauce, kindof. When life gives you crappy apples, chop them up and make some sort of stewed apple concoction that you then try to pass off to your children as applesauce. Actually, they liked it.

Why are Afternoon Delight's muffins so good?

2008-04-16T22:11:00.005-04:00

Really, how do they make those muffins? Allow me to sing the praises - Afternoon Delight (on the corner of 5th and Liberty) has awesome muffins that are dense and whole-wheaty without tasting too "healthy". So, I tried to recreate them, and while these will not keep me from visiting Afternoon Delight for delicious muffins, they are still pretty good. And they have fiber- Bonus !

Oat-bran Blueberry Muffins:
1/3 c oat bran
1/4 c milk
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
6 Tbs melted butter
1 egg
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c + 2 Tbs sugar
1 c blueberries (I used frozen)
raw sugar (completely optional)

1. Mix oat bran with milk and let soak for a few minutes. I don't know if this does anything, but I feel like it might keep the oatbran from tasting too dry. (If you don't have oatbran, I'm sure everything would work out fine if you just used 1/3 c more whole wheat flour and skipped this step. But know this --at Hillers they have little tubs of oatbran, kindof over by the produce. It's probably about a cup worth, for something like 79 cents. So if you get some, you can add it to baked goods and oatmeal, to up the fiber content, if you care about that sort of thing.)

2. Add the yogurt, butter, and egg to the milk mixture, and stir/mix until all is incorporated.

3. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Then mix in the bluberries.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix until there are no huge pockets of dry flour, but do not fret about lumps - overbeaten muffins are tough (and not in a good way)

5. Put into muffin tin (with little paper cups) and sprinkle the tops with raw sugar, or regular, or none.

6. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees farenheit (if you use fresh berries, probably more like 20 min)

P.S. Somebody was watching me make these and she shreiked for "boo boos" when she saw the blueberries, so that is a picture of her enjoying boo boos whilst I finished the muffins

"I'm hungry for dessert"

2008-04-14T21:19:00.004-04:00

Somebody (not me) declared she was "hungry for dessert" -- I think the implication was that she was not hungry for an apple, more dinner, etc. Anyway, she suggested ice cream with strawberries, so that is what we had, but I tarted the strawberries up just to be fancy.

Strawberry sauce:
1 cup chopped strawberries -I think frozen would work fine too
2-3 Tbs sugar or more -depends on strawberry quality -ours was poor
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 tsp cornstarch
water

1. Put strawberries, sugar, vinegar, vanilla, and salt into a small saucepan over med-high heat, add maybe 1/3 cup water, cook for a few minutes until strawberries start to break down, and mixture starts to bubble
2. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with a little bit of water, until it makes a little paste, of pourable consistency
3. Pour cornstarch mixture into strawberry mixture and cook a couple minutes more until thick
4. Let it cool a couple minutes, then pour over ice cream and serve to people who have room in the dessert compartment of their stomach

Falafel folly

2008-04-14T18:43:00.001-04:00

Here is what we had tonight: falafel (from "fantastic world foods" mix), plus hummus and pita from Exotic Bakery, and delicious pilaf made by mi madre, plus some curried potatoes that were left over from the other day - good anyway. Also, I made some za'tar and tahini dressing. It was all pretty good, although the falafel would have been better if I had fried it. I baked it instead, as I was trying to atone for the 10 pieces of peanut butter chocolate bars I already ate today. Anyway, even Cal ate the falafel, albeit doused with ketchup.

Here's the Za'tar and Tahini dressing recipe:
2 Tbs tahini
1 teaspoon za'tar (middle eastern spice mix)
half a lemon
2 Tbs or more of olive oil

Whisk all together, add more oil and or lemon until the taste/consistency is on

Don't be a tofu-phobe

2008-04-14T15:05:00.002-04:00

I recently bought two pounds of tofu, so now I have to cook it. Many people fear tofu, including people in my own household. But tofu is good, good for you, and cheap, and so I keep persisting. Here is a new creation, with which I am very much pleased:

Glazed Tofu

1. First, make sure you have firm or extra-firm tofu, packed in water, not the vacuum packed silken tofu.

2. Take the tofu out of the package and rinse it, to remove any sourness from the water. If you are not using all the tofu, put the remainder in a container and cover with fresh water and refrigerate --change the water every day until you use the tofu (I know this seems weird)

3. Now, press your tofu. Fold up some paper towels and put them on a plate, then put the tofu pieces on (you can slice them in two width-wise to make this go faster). Now put more paper towels on top, then a cutting board and a pan, bowl, couple of cans, or what-ev. Let it sit for half an hour, flip the pieces, then press for another half hour. (You don't have to press the tofu, but it makes the texture denser, and thus, more appealing, at least to me)

4. Now, in a shallow dish or pie plate, mix 3-4 Tbs each: dark brown sugar, soy sauce, sherry(*Note: This is for 1/2 pound of tofu, which is enough for two people probably. If you use more tofu, adjust the marinade accordingly!).

5. Marinate the tofu in this mixture about 3-5 minutes per side. Meanwhile heat a large flat skillet.

6. Now, put the tofu in the pan --save the marinade for pete's sake, don't throw it out.

7. Cook the tofu about 2 minutes, then flip and add the marinade to the pan, cook 2-3 minutes more.

8. Take the tofu out, and squeeze half a lime into the pan. Let this cook for another minute or so, until somewhat syrupy. Now pour it over the tofu.

9. Eat it over rice, duh.

Ross makes chocolate peanut butter bars

2008-04-14T10:07:00.001-04:00

Ross made these chocolate peanut butter bars from Nigella's Domestic Goddess cookbook. They were like DIY reeses peanut butter cups. Peanut butter+butter+sugar+ chocolate=delicious.

Hooray for Pad Thai!

2008-04-13T19:31:00.001-04:00

I made pad thai tonight, and finally got the flavor right. Here is the key: don't fear the fish sauce. When you open it, it is stinky, but when used correctly, it is good (and not stinky)! I had to make the sauce twice cause the first time I put half fish sauce and half soy sauce, but I could tell it was not going to taste right, so I bit the bullet and used all fish sauce, and it tasted right to us.

Here is the recipe:

2-3 carrots, julienned

3 radishes, julienned

half a cucumber, julienned

3 green onions, sliced

2 eggs, beaten

10 oz raw shrimp

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

8 oz dried rice sticks

3 Tbs fish sauce

3 Tbs tamarind concentrate

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp chopped cilantro (I used frozen)

1 Tbs oil

1 Tbs garlic-chili sauce

1 lime, sliced

1.first make the sauce: add the fish sauce, sugar, tamarind concentrate, and cilantro; set aside

2. Now the noodles: boil some water, pour it over the noodles, and soak noodles for about five minutes. Then drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again

3. Meanwhile, stirfry the shrimp until cooked through, remove and set aside. Wipe out the wok, and add the eggs, cook like scrambled eggs, remove.

4. Add oil, and heat over med-high, then add the chili-garlic sauce, and cook for 1 minute. Add the noodles, the sauce, and the carrots, stir around and cook for a couple minutes.

5. Add the shrimp, eggs, radishes, cucumbers, green onions, and peanuts, mix well.

6. Garnish with lime slices, add hot sauce or sriracha (rooster) sauce if you want it spicier.

7. Ta dah! enjoy

Best hummus on Earth and addictive green bean recipe

2008-04-12T21:25:00.001-04:00

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but this really is the best hummus, atop some equally delicious pita, both of which I got from the fantabulous restaurant/take out down the street, Exotic Bakery. The name doesn't really describe it, it has delicious Syrian food. Hummus, falafel, lebne, etc. plus lots of pastries, and the pita they get from a bakery in Dearborn, so it's pretty local. Everything is good, and the hummus beats the pants off the stuff in most grocery stores. They also have these awesome green beans, which I recreated in my own kitchen tonight. Here is how I made them:

1 lb green beans
1/2 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil (don't skimp here)
couple fat pinches sugar
salt and pepper to taste
half a lemon

Ok, it looks like a lot of olive oil, but trust me. Heat the olive oil in a big pan. Add the onions an cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the green beans, cook a few more minute, then the garlic, and cook yet a few more minutes. Now add the tomatoes, juice and all, and the sugar. Cook over fairly low heat for about 35 minutes, or until the green beans are soft, and almost starting to fall apart. You are not looking for crunch here. It should all be melded together, stewing in delicious olive oil. Mmmmm. Trust me and make it, it is like crack. You'll keep going back to fridge to sneak more bites, and it is even better the next day.

Holla for Challah

2008-04-12T21:19:00.002-04:00

Bask in beauty of my gorgeous challah. These babies called for eight egg yokes, which I happened to have on hand, left over from a mistake with the initially egg separating during the evening of the chocolate mousse cake. Anyway, this challah was delicioso, I got the recipe from my "Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook". That's right, Martha Stewart. I've got nothing but love for Martha, and if I had unlimited time and money, I'd probably make a stab at some of her crafts too. Sometimes obsessive precision is appealing.
Well, the bread was good, what else can I say?

The chinese grocery store

2008-04-12T21:00:00.001-04:00

I love the chinese grocery store down the street from me. First of all, I love it because it has all manner of exotic (to me) ingredients, and second of all, I love it because it is cheap. Look at all the food I got (bottom picture), for about nine dollars. You can't tell from the picture, but that is two pounds of tofu, for a mere two dollars, my friend. That is about half what it costs at Krogers.

Plus, I got dried shitake mushrooms, fresh rice noodles that I plan to attempt pad thai with, jasmine tea, and a pound of the most adorable baby bok choi you ever did see. On the reciept they were listed as "baby bok choi junior", I'm guessing because they were so dang tiny! You can see how small they were, from the picture on the left. No bigger than your thumb! Ok, your palm maybe.

The top picture is the vaguely-asian dinner I made with the bok choi. It was salmon, grilled by the hus, the bok choi, stirfried with soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, s & p. Also, rice which I cooked in my rice cooker, and for once followed the advice I read once to rinse the rice, and it really did make it perfect. What a fool I've been all these years. It was all good, the girls really liked the rice, and I had to strip the baby after dinner lest she track rice throughout the house --her clothes were absolutely caked.

Chocolate mousse cake to soothe the soul

2008-04-12T20:46:00.001-04:00

Ok I've been taking pictures of food for a while, so I have a bunch that I can wax eloquent about.

Above is a picture of the most fabulous chocolate mousse cake that the hus made the other day. It was very involved, and he had to use a "bain marie" etc and like a dozen eggs, and was freakin delicious. He got the recipe from Nigella Lawson's "How to be a domestic goddess" -- I have a picture of him in an apron looking at the cookbook, but he begs me not to post it. Anyway, the recipe is basically just for chocolate mousse, but then you bake it. In other words, if you don't bake it, you can just eat it in a bowl.

Well, I am new to this blogging so I cannot figure out how to post multiple pictures throughout the post, so I guess this post is all about the mousse cake.