Simple Marinara

We are creatures of habit. We wake up at our normal time, do the same things, shop at the usual stores, and eat repetitively. When we find a product, whether it be a shirt, a tool, or a food, we tend to stick with it. So it surprised me the other day when D announced that he was sick of our favorite marinara.

What? I thought the sauce was just perfect. Tomato-y, a little oily (but in a good way), perfect on its own or as a base. I'll admit, I was a little sad at the thought of finding another sauce. That is, until I remembered this recipe, which I had bookmarked a few months before. It was easy to make and the ingredients plain; the reviews promised the taste was anything but. I made it one Sunday afternoon along with some homemade ravioli. It was simple enough to complement the fresh noodles and cheeses, but vibrant enough to jazz up the box o' whatever I threw together later that week in a weekday rush. Turns out I didn't miss that old jar of sauce too much!

Marinara Sauce
Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Combine the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring sauce to a simmer, then lower the heat. The sauce should be at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of melted butter float. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.

Remove and discard the onion. Salt to taste.

Homemade Pasta

Italian cookbook

Spinach, Chard and Ricotta Tortellini

http://homecooking.about.com/od/pastarecipes/r/blpasta51.htm

http://www.annamariavolpi.com/ravioli.html


http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/11813/ravioli-with-spinach-and-ricotta-filling

Dulce de Leche Apple Crisp

Find that recipe!

Grasshopper Brownies

This is another dish I made and brought to the baby shower. By my own admission, I went a little crazy... but these were really, really good :)

Grasshopper Brownies


Brownies
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
10 1/2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not extra-bitter or unsweetened and no more than 60% cacao if marked), finely chopped
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Mint Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
10 oz white chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
10 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For the brownies, first, preheat the oven to 375 with the oven racks in the center. Grease a 9x13 pan, or line with foil for easy removal.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then the flour, cocoa, and salt. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

For the mint ganache, first, bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and pour over white chocolate in a bowl. Let melt for1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract and chill until thick, about 1 hour.

For the chocolate ganache, bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate in a bowl. Let melt for 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Chill until thick, about 30 minutes.

Finally, to assemble the layers, spread a thin layer of mint ganache over the top of the brownie. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Then spread chocolate ganache over mint and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Peach Cupcakes - Nope, Cake - with Brown Sugar Frosting

One of my closest friends is due with her first baby, a little girl, at Thanksgiving. This weekend we celebrated that with a small shower hosted by another of my friends. The hostess put together an amazing pancake bar and I offered to provide some sweets. And it was almost a train wreck.

I live in a different city than where I grew up. I'm lucky, though, because its just a 6 hour drive (or a 45 minute flight) home, which means I get to be there for all the little things. Like baby showers. But the relevance to the story is that when I got to my dad's house on Friday evening I had a lot on the schedule: figure out what to make, pick up what I needed at the grocery store, and make it.

The first thing to do seemed easy enough, but I'm an indecisive girl and just could not decide what to make. I asked my siblings, the hostess, my boyfriend and never came to a conclusion. In the end, I made everything.

I took my brother to the grocery store with me. I knocked over a giant display of spices. He laughed and I bought him horchata.

Then I came home and got down to business. First I stuck some of this in the oven, which I've done plenty of times before, and it threw up all over the place. Which its never done before. I had to turn off the oven, let it cool off, and scrape half-caramelized dulce de leche off the bottom of the oven. Disgusting.

When I got back on track I got on a roll. I started making the batter for this amazing peach cake, and when it was done I opened the cupboards to grab my dad's cupcake tins. I couldn't find them. My bother told me that not too long ago, my dad had thrown away a whole bunch of kitchen stuff that he didn't use. Including the cupcake tins AND all but one cake tin! I ended up baking a three-layer cake using one cake tin. It was special.

The whole story is to tell you people that I worked hard for this cake, and it was worth it. The frosting especially is going to make it into my regular cake rotation because brown sugar plus cream cheese? Count me in!

Peach Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from here


Peach Cake 
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt
4 large peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped small

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare cake tins (I suggest using more than one!).

In a small saucepan, combine peaches with 1/4 cup of water. Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until peaches being to break down. Set aside to cool.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and reserve. Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. Gently mix in the buttermilk. Slowly add the dry ingredients and fold in the peaches.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.


Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients, heavy cream, and vanilla, beating until frosting is smooth and light.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

My family, like many others, spends our holidays with a few other families. We rotate venues and change menus every year, but some things always stay the same. Christmas Eve, for example, is always at my family's house. We always serve seafood bisque, pork pies, and carrot cake. Its just tradition.

A few years ago at Thanksgiving the hostess served a pumpkin sage soup. I'm usually not one for pumpkin, but this soup was out of this world. Since then, regardless of where we are gathered, she has brought soup over as a first course. And since then, regardless of season, I've had dreams about this soup.

It has finally cooled down - and rained! - in Southern California and I've been feeling fall-ish. I want to wear boots and cute coats and eat soup. I attempted, mostly in vain, to recreate the famous soup. I wasn't successful, but this version is quite delicious all on its own.


Apple Pumpkin Soup
Very Loosely adapted from here

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small-to-medium pumpkin
5 medium apples
2 tbps olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 tbps chopped garlic
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper
applesauce
sour cream or creme fraiche

 

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel and roughly chop apples and pumpkin. Toss with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until soft but not mushy.

Heat 2 tbps olive oil in a dutch oven. Sweat chopped onions, carrots, and celery. Add garlic and saute until all vegetables are soft. Add the stock and the roasted pumpkin and apple. Blend, either with an immersion blender or in batches until the entire soup is smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Serve with applesauce and sour cream.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille
Adapted from here

1 onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped garlic
3 cups tomato sauce
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large eggplant
3 zucchini
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
4 potatoes
fresh thyme
Salt and pepper


Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Pour tomato into the bottom of a glass 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the garlic and onion into the sauce, stir in one tbsp of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Slice the vegetables using a mandoline, approximately 1/16-inch thick. Arrange slices of vegetables in rows in the baking dish, alternating vegetables. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the vegetables and season with thyme, salt, and pepper

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 45 minutes, until vegetables cooked, but not totally limp.

Torta de Mele

Torta di Mele
Apple, lemon, and fig cake

adapted from here

• 50g ground walnuts or almonds, or some plain flour
• 600g granny smith (you must use a tart cooking apple or your cake will be too sweet….trust me) apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 115g unsalted butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 165g (3/4c) dark brown sugar
• 110g (1/2c) raw or regular caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 100ml milk
• 150g (1c) plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• about 100g dried figs, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Lemon syrup

• about 150g raw or white sugar or 180g honey
• splash (about 1 Tbs) water
• juice of half a lemon (or whole lemon if you want it tart-er)

Generously grease the sides of an 8″ springform cake tin (up to the very top), line the base with greased baking paper or foil (then place greased ring on top), and dust with ground nuts or 1 Tbs flour. Rotate pan and tap to distribute the nuts/flour evenly across every surface of the pan. Set aside.
Combine apple slices and lemon juice and zest in a bowl and toss to coat the slices. Set aside. Preheat oven to 180C (355F)
In a medium sized bowl whisk eggs, 110g of the dark brown sugar, all the caster sugar, and vanilla, until paler, creamy and thick. Stir in melted butter, then flour, baking powder and milk, until fully incorporated, but do not keep mixing once fully incorporated.
Pour a third of the batter into your cake pan and spread gently so the layer is even. Arrange a third of the apples as a single (do not do a double layer all the way around) layer on top of the batter. Scatter with half the figs. Repeat. Top with last third of the batter, then finish with apple slices.
Rub remaining dark brown sugar and cinnamon together, then scatter over the apples.
Bake cake for 1 hour and 20 minutes (check at the 1 hour 15min mark), or until a skewer inserted comes out clear (it will have some moist bits on it). Cool for twenty minutes in the pan before running a knife around the cake and removing the ring. Then let cool completely before removing foil and base.
To make syrup, simmer sugar and water for a few minutes over medium heat in a very small saucepan, until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir through lemon juice. Pour syrup over while hot.
Serve with double cream, ice cream, whipped cream or mascarpone.

Roasted Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

Whenever I go out to eat Mexican food I always face a dilemma: whether to order red sauce or green sauce. I always regret that I can't try both! So after I made red enchilada sauce earlier this year, the most natural next step was to make a green sauce. Pretty soon I'll be whipping up special dishes for myself with one half red sauce and the other half green :)

Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce

10 medium tomatillos, husked and washed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large poblano chile
2 jalapeno chiles
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 cup water stock
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 lime juiced

First roast the chiles and tomatillos: Preheat the broiler and put the chiles on a baking sheet. Broil until black and blistered on all sides. Remove from the oven and place in a tupperware. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then remove and peel. Discard skin, core and seeds.

Heat oven to 450F and place tomatillos on a sheet pan. Roast until lightly browned on one side (about 5 minutes), turn and roast until evenly browned and starting to blister.

Heat a sauce pan until medium and add oil, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring regularly for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Add tomatillos, chile, oregano, water or stock, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to an easy simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Stir in cilantro and lime. Blend in batches and simmer until the desired consistency is reached.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

There are a few things we've gained since moving back to the west coast. Perfect weather, for example. Good mexican food. Beaches that can actually be enjoyed. On the other hand, there are plenty of things we miss. The walk-ability of the city. Reasonable public transportation. And all types of food; mostly though, pizza and bagels.

I've covered my attempts to recreate the thin crust pizzas of New York City. So far I haven't been successful, but its a work in progress. I've made quite a few pizzas so far and, although they aren't anything like what can be had in Brooklyn, you certainly won't hear me complaining about all the pizzas I've had to eat along the way.

Which brings us to bagels. The bagels in NYC are incredible. There was a corner store just down the street from our old apartment that made bagels fresh, every morning. If we were up early enough we could smell them from our balcony - but we were very rarely up at 4am! 

These bagels were just one of the hundreds of bagel offerings throughout the boroughs - served warm, with a large schmear of cream cheese. After New York bagels, its hard to find a good substitute. So I did what any good food blogger would do - I tried to make my own.

We are an open-bagel household; we love all kinds. Bagels have their place: everything or onion bagels for sandwiches, plain bagels for lox, etc etc. Our favorite bagel, though, is the cinnamon raisin. Its the perfect amount of sweet for breakfast and is good with cream cheese, butter, or even peanut butter. When it was time to decide what kind of bagel I would be making, cinnamon raisin was an easy choice.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Sponge
1 teaspoon instant yeast
4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 1/2 cups water, room temperature

Dough
1 teaspoon instant yeast
3 3/4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
2 cups loosely packed raisins, rinsed with warm water to remove surfact sugar, acid, and natural wild yeast

To Finish
1 tablespoon baking soda
Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
Melted butter for brushing (optional)
Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (optional)

First, make the sponge. Mix the yeast and flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the water, stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 2 hours, or until it becomes foamy and bubbly. The sponge should double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped.

To make the dough, add the rest of the yeast to the sponge and stir. Add all but 1/2 to 1 cup of the flour, and all of the cinnamon, sugar, salt and malt. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until the ingredients form a ball, then slowly work in the remaining flour until the dough is stiff. Add the raisins at the end of mixing.

Transfer the dough to a countertop and knead for at least 10 minutes. The dough should be firm, but still smooth and pliable. If the dough is too dry or rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough is tacky or sticky, add more flour. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

Immediately divide the dough into equal pieces - 12 (4 1/2 ounce) pieces for super sized bagels, 16 (3.375 ounce) regular-sized bagels, or 24 (2.25 ounce) perfectly smaller bagels. Form the pieces into rolls.

Cover the rolls with a damp towel and rest for 20 minutes.

Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly spray with oil. Poke a hole in the center of a ball of dough and rotate your thumb to widen the hole. The dough should be stretched as evenly possible around the bagel.

Place the shaped pieces two inches apart on the pans. Mist the bagels lightly with spray oil and cover each pan loosely with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Check to see if the bagels are ready by using the “float test”. Fill a bowl with cool to room-temperature water. The bagels are ready if they float within 10 seconds of being put into the water. Take a bagel and test it. If it floats, return the bagel to the pan, dry it, then cover the pan and put it in the refrigerator overnight. If it does not float, return the bagel to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature. Check the dough every 10 minutes or so until a tester floats

 The following day preheat the oven to 500°F with both racks in the middle of the oven. Boil a large pot of water and add the baking soda. Sprinkle parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour.

Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit. They should float within 10 seconds. After 1 minute, flip them over and boil for another minute.

Place the boiled bagels back on the pans and bake for five minutes, then rotate the pans 180-degrees. Lower the oven temperature to 450°F and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the bagels are light golden brown.

Remove the bagels from the oven and let cool on a rack before serving.

The Mister's Birthday Meal

D is a simple man. He likes what he likes, dislikes what he doesn't, and has clear lines drawn between the two. He isn't overly excitable and he hardly ever gets mad. He wants very little, and what he does want, he gets. I love him for these qualities, but it sure does make his birthday tough :)

Speaking of birthdays, he recently celebrated his 25th. Between his job being crazy, the new house, life, etc we were pretty busy, but I made sure I had time to make him his birthday meal. Its the same every year - baked ziti for dinner, dirt dessert after. The key to a good baked ziti is a good sauce and this year I was able to make the sauce using tomatoes and herbs from our garden! Needless to say, it tasted better than last year.

Baked Ziti

My momma's recipe

For the sauce:
1 onion
3 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 tbsp garlic
a whole bunch of tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
red wine
salt and pepper
oregano
basil
1 lb ground beef, cooked
turkey sausage, to taste, cooked

Chop the aromatics and saute in olive oil in a large pot - I used my dutch oven. When the carrots are starting to soften add garlic and half of the chopped tomatoes. Cook until carrots are soft and tomatoes are bursting.

Remove from heat. Let cool, then puree in blender. Return the puree to low heat and add tomato paste, wine, and water as needed to get to a saucy consistency. Add remaining chopped tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs; add meats. Let simmer for as long as possible to let flavors meld.

For the ziti:
2 boxes ziti, cooked
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese

Combine cooked ziti and sauce in a large, oven safe pan. Stir in a few handfuls of cheese. Top with extra sauce and extra cheese. Bake until pasta is warm throughout, and cheese is melty and bubbly. Serve.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Swirl

I came home from work after a long, long day and was seriously not in the mood for dinner. I ate some refried beans - you know, for the nutritional value - and whipped up some of this ice cream. I can say with 100% confidence that it was a very, very good decision.




Double Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Swirl

Adapted from here

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth salted peanut butter

In a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together cream, milk, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Heat until the milk and boil until thickened. The mixture will look the consistency of chocolate pudding. Remove from flame and stir in the the chocolate chips. 

Place mix in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, and put in the fridge until cool.

Once cool, follow the manufacturers instructions on the ice cream maker to churn ice cream. Once the mixture has chilled and thickened in the ice cream maker, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Don’t over mix. You want a nice ribbon of peanut butter running through the ice cream.

Transfer the ice cream into a freezer safe container and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Cover and freeze until solid.

Pizza Sauce

I've talked about my adoration for pizza, and my ongoing project to recreate the perfect Brooklyn pie. I've discussed dough and oven and things like that, but one thing I hadn't delved into, either on this blog or in my life, was pizza sauce. The Mister had been bugging me for a while to make my own sauce and I finally gave in tonight. I'm really glad I did because in the world of pizza making, this is the simplest part of pizza to tackle and it really made a big difference.

When researching sauces I found that traditional Neopolitan pizzas (which are most like the ones you can find in New York City) are generally made with sauces that are not cooked prior to going in the oven. This proved to be an easy way to wade through the millions of sauce recipes available on the web. I ended up combining a few recipes to come up with something that sounded tasty, was easy to make, and used only things I had on hand. It came out really well and truly made a difference in the overall taste.

Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
dash paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tbsp olive oil

Whisk together all ingredients. Let sit for 1 hour before using to allow flavors to meld. Enjoy!

Dulce de Leche Brownies

Despite my best efforts to get rid of any leftovers, I still had dulce de leche around the house. The situation was getting desperate - something had to be done to get that gooey, caramelly goodness out of my fridge. Luckily, I had this recipe in my pile of things-just-begging-to-be-made and a bunch of hungry coworkers to enjoy them.

Dulce de Leche Brownies

Adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris (Broadway Books)

8 tbsp unsalted butter
6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup dulce de leche

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil to cover the bottom and the sides of the pan. Grease the bottom and sides of the foil.

Melt the butter and the chocolate over low heat in a medium saucepan. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, and flour.

Scoop only half of the batter into the prepared pan. Then drop one-third of the dulce de leche over the brownie batter and drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Repeat with remaining batter and dulce de leche.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until center is just set.

Challah for Rosh Hashanah

Challah has been on my to-make list for a long while. When the Mister and I started dating he introduced me to challah french toast and I've been hooked ever since. Because he is not particularly observant we usually only have a loaf around the holidays, and my yummy french toast is a special occasion treat.

Last year at this time I worked in an area with a large Jewish population. There was a bakery that I had heard good things about, so I decided to get our holiday loaves there. The day before Rosh Hashanah I stopped by on my lunch break and found a line out the door and around the corner - there was no way I was going to get back to work on time. Luckily, a patient of ours recognized my scrubs and not only let me cut ahead of her in line, but also bought me two loaves of bread!

This year, both to cross an item off my list AND to avoid that line, I decided to make my own challah. I roughly followed a recipe from The Complete American Jewish Cookbook, which has been my lifesaver as the main cook in a half-Jewish household. One change I did make was to add raisins, and I didn't braid the loaf as is tradition at Rosh Hashanah.

The loaf came out very pretty. It was really fun to make and even more fun to cut into and enjoy as a part of our Rosh Hashanah celebration. (PS - Challah + honey = yum) I'm really excited to make it again, and to try braiding.

Shana Tovah!

Challah

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup hot milk
3/4 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 eggs, 1 yolk reserved
3 cups flour
1 cup raisins

Melt the butter in the milk. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt and let cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, dissolve the yeast in the water. Let stand until yeast has activated. Mix in 1 full egg and 1 white, then pour into milk mixture and mix well.

Slowly pour in flour, mixing well. Knead until smooth and elastic (I used my mixer; the book says it should take about 5 minutes). Place dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

After the rise, punch the dough down. Flatten into a rectangular shape and pour raisins down the center. Fold top of dough over and pinch edges shut.

Roll the dough into a long rope. Coil the rope into a 9" cake pan or pie pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour, until puffy and full.

Whisk the reserved egg yolk with 1 tbsp cold water. Using a pastry brush, lightly cover the dough with the egg wash.

Bake at 375 for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Tent with aluminum foil if loaf becomes too brown.

Apricot Cherry Clafoutis

A few weeks ago a patient brought in some apricots from his tree. He brought several large bags, and any of the staff who wanted some had more apricots than they knew what to do with, including me. After a quick search on the internet (and a trip to the store for some cherries) I knew exactly what I would be making: clafoutis.

I'd had my eye on clafoutis recipes since this time last summer, when cherries were in season. I never did get around to making it last year, mostly because I ate all the cherries on their own before I had a chance to. By using apricots and cherries I had plenty of fruit for the clafoutis, and could still snack on cherries to my stomach's content.

Apricot Cherry Clafoutis

Adapted from here

6 large or 8 small fresh apricots, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
1 1/4 cups milk (low-fat or whole)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
Powdered sugar for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray and put the apricots and cherries into the pie plate.

Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract. Add the flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit and slip the dish into the hot oven.

Bake the clafoutis 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned around the edges and the custard is set - it will still be somewhat jiggly, but it should no longer be liquid in the center. Remove the pan from the oven and let the clafoutis cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Gazpacho

I had gazpacho for the first time almost exactly two years ago. The Mister and I were on vacation at his family's beach house, along with his uncle and girlfriend. They made us dinner one night, and although I don't remember the main course at all, I do remember the meal started with a bowl of gazpacho.

It took me almost a year to move gazpacho out of the "to-make" list. When I did, I used a recipe I swiped from another blog that looked easier than most. It didn't turn out very well. In fact, when The Mister tried it, it didn't stay down very long. If you know what I mean. Another year later, I decided it was time to give gazpacho another shot.

This time I used a recipe from my go-to for the classics: The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook. And although I made some minor changes to fit my tastes, I stuck to the essentials of the recipe. The soup was exactly what I wanted: fresh, simple, and delicious with some home made croutons on top.


Gazpacho

From the Dean and DeLuca Cookbook

1 small can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 tbps olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

A few hours before serving, combine all ingredients. Let sit in a covered container to let the flavors mellow and combine.

Just before serving, blend 1/2 of the soup (or more, depending on your tastes). Serve topped with croutons.

Peach Ice Cream

I love the dollar store. I could walk around for hours, browsing all the knick knacks and random goodies you can find. And I inevitably end up spending a lot more money than I planned because - oh my gosh! They have frozen peaches here for a dollar!

So, there I was. Home from the dollar store with two bags of frozen peaches. I had big plans for each - the first went toward my morning smoothie, the second, to this ice cream.

Peach Ice Cream

Adapted from here

2 1/2 cups ripe peaches
3 eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
dash of salt
2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)

In a blender, purée half of the peaches. Mash the remaining peaches with a potato masher. Set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until blended. 

In a large saucepan over low heat, warm the milk and cream until it just begins to steam. Temper the egg mixture with the cream, then pour the everything back into the heavy saucepan. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and smooth. Remove from heat, and refrigerate the mixture for several hours or until well chilled.

Add the peaches to the chilled mixture, stir well, and pour into a 5-quart ice cream freezer can. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

I'm not kidding when I tell you I'm on a serious ice cream binge. Since I got the ice cream maker, every flavor I come across is made into mental ice cream on the spot. Unfortunately for my waistline, many of these are also being made into real-life ice cream as well.

I made dulce de leche brownies a few weeks ago for a coworker's going away potluck and I've had some extra dulce de leche sitting in my fridge since then. Rather than attack it with a spoon (like I have been) I found a way to turn it into a caramelly, soft, delicious ice cream. Which I promptly attacked with a spoon. I can't win.


Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

Adapted from here

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound dulce de leche (about 1 2/3 cups)
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl.

Chill mixture well, then freeze in ice cream maker until almost firm. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.

Grilled Pizza

I've mentioned before that I feel very strongly about pizza. Since moving to California I've been on a quest to find the perfect pie, either in a restaurant or at home. So far I've found a few good places and have made a few good slices, but haven't found anything that measures up to Brooklyn standards.

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome when making pizza at home is the heat. While most home ovens will reach only 500 degrees or so, optimum pizza-making temperatures are 700 to 800 or more. To overcome this home cooks have gotten creative with their ovens, either lining the inside with bricks or forcing the oven into self clean mode. Another option is to fire up the grill and cook pizza over an open flame, which I tried tonight.

Grilling pizza is a little tricky only because its a little more labor-intensive while cooking. Instead of throwing the pizza in the oven and forgetting about it, the dough is cooked plain, flipped, topped, and cooked some more. I made two types of pizza tonight: one with pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese and the other with pesto, zucchini, and goat cheese. Both were unbelievable. The dough got nice and fluffy and the toppings were perfectly cooked. I had never made grilled pizza before tonight and I can assure you, I'll be making it again soon.

Vanilla Birthday Cake

Vanilla Birthday Cake
Adapted from here

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken


Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then butter parchment. (Alternately, you can use a cooking spray, either with just butter or butter and flour to speed this process up.)

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just Incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. (I like to drop mine a few times from two inches up, making a great big noisy fuss.) Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Gnocchi

The first time I ever ate gnocchi is one of the most memorable meals of my life. The Mister and I had just moved to New York City, had just moved into our first apartment, and were getting used to our new lives. His parents had come out for a wedding and we went out to dinner with them and his cousins at this little Italian bistro in Brooklyn. It was a beautiful June night and we sat on the patio and talked and drank wine and had a great time. And I ordered gnocchi.

I've spent the two years since that night (two years! holy crap!) working on making gnocchi as light and airy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious as the ones I tasted that night. So far, I haven't gotten it right, but this recipe is the closest I've gotten. I've found that baking the potatoes is the only way to cook them - boiling, while faster, doesn't yield the same fluffy results. I don't have a potato ricer so I've used a hand mixer almost every time with great results.


Gnocchi

Adapted from here

8 medium Russet Potatoes

2 eggs - beaten
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano - Grated
3-5 cups of flour
handful of fresh basil leaves - roughly chopped
salt/pepper


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place potatoes into the oven and bake for until fork tender. Rest until cool enough to work with them and then remove skins. Mash with a hand mixer.

Transfer the potatoes to a clean, lightly floured surface and add the eggs, Parmigiano, a pinch of salt, and 1 cup of flour. Begin kneading together, adding more dough until you have a ball of dough.

Cut the dough into small manageable sections and roll each of the sections into logs. Cut the logs into small 1″ sections.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, place the gnocchi into the water and allow them to cook until they rise to the top and swell up.

When gnocchi are done. Transfer them with a slotted spoon into the sauce pan, toss gently with sauce to combine. Garnish with additional basil and Parmigiano Reggiano if desired.

Dulce de Leche

I'm completely serious when I say that one of my bigger regrets in life is that I didn't come around on dulce de leche sooner. I don't know if this says more about how wonderful my life has been, how well I can let things go, or how really really amazing dulce de leche is. Maybe its all three?

I grew up in a fairly hispanic part of the United States. I grocery shopped at little corner tiendas, buying peppers I couldn't find at the chain down the road or home made tortillas. There's even an adorable little abuela who sells tamales on my road once a month. I've had every opportunity to befriend dulce de leche, but I somehow got it in my head that I didn't like it. I didn't know what I was missing.

There's no epiphany to this story, no one event that changed the course of my dulce de leche loving life. But now that I've come around I crave the stuff. So far, none of the store brands have come close to the rich caramel creaminess I've had before, so I started looking for recipes to make at home. There are plenty out there, but I'm more than a little apprehensive about boiling a canned good on my stove for hours. I found a great recipe from David Lebovitz that calls for baking, rather than exploding simmering, the sweetened condensed milk.



Dulce de Leche

Adapted from here


1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk


Preheat the oven to 400 F

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a shallow baking dish. Stir in a few shakes of sea salt.

Set the dish in a larger pan and pour water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway to the top. Cover the smaller dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until browned and caramelized.

Remove from oven and let cool. Store in the refrigerator until use.

Almond Joy Cookies

I'm not one to mess around with a good thing. And as far as I can tell, chocolate chip cookies are about as close to perfect as can be. So when I came across yet another recipe that meddled with the CCC I almost rolled my eyes and moved on. Almost. This time, I'm sure glad I didn't.

These cookies take the chocolate chip cookie to a whole new level by adding in almonds and coconut. The resulting cookie is chunky, chock full 'o stuff, and absolutely delicious. I used dark chocolate chips in this batch and they really did taste like Almond Joy bars. Yum.


Almond Joy Cookies

Adapted from here


1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups of flaked unsweetened coconut
1 cup chopped almond

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In your stand mixer, combine the butter, sugars, and vanilla until smooth. One at a time, beat in the eggs.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips, coconut and almonds.

Let dough cool in the fridge. When ready, drop by the spoonful onto a prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool on the pan before moving them to a wire rack.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

A girl I work with has recently dealt with some pretty scary medical issues. She underwent a small (but pretty scary) surgery to remove a cancerous lesion on her thyroid. Although the surgery is fairly easy, as far as surgeries go, it does have some pretty strict limitations on post-surgical activities. Because the thyroid is located on the neck, my coworker had very clear instructions to not talk for an entire week after her surgery. Imagine, a week without speaking.

Since she would be home from work for a week by herself, I put together a post-surgery survivial kit. I let her borrow some books and movies, bought as many crossword books and sudoku puzzles as I could get my hands on, and other stuff to keep her hands and mind occupied for that week. Oh, and I also baked her cookies.

My coworker has some pretty strange tastes. Ok, not strange, just night and day to what I like. First off, she doesn't like chocolate. Or apples. I don't know what to do with someone like that :) But I had to think outside my normal baking comfort zone, which is to pack as much chocolate into as little square footage as possible. I settled on classic oatmeal raisin cookies because they seemed like a safe bet - no chocolate in sight.

I found my recipe here, which is quickly turning into my go-to for anything I bake. These cookies are everything that Deb promises: thick, chewy, and perfect in texture. Yum.


Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.

Chill the dough for a bit in the fridge for a few hours, overnight if you can.
The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Madeira-ish Chicken

I have a problem.

I spend a good amount of my free time searching for new recipes. I read blogs, cookbooks, and magazines. I try to recreate dishes I've had at friends houses and restaurants. And I just don't think I'm capable of following a recipe.

No matter how yummy a dish looks, or how foolproof the recipe, I want to change it. I want to play around with the spices, omit ingredients, made additions. No matter if I'm cooking dinner or - gasp! - baking a cake I just can't help but mess around with it. But maybe that's the beautiful thing about cooking - that anyone can take any recipe and make it their own. What's a recipe, anyway, besides an idea with some instructions?

This recipe was the second in my dutch oven. Can you tell I love my dutch oven? I really do. I love that I can saute the chicken, then the onions, then make the sauce, then put it all together. Then put it in all the oven. Beautiful. The only one more excited than me is my resident dishwasher.


Madeira-ish Chicken


Adapted from here, adapted from Williams-Sonoma

6 chicken thighs, fat cut off
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 lb. sliced carrots
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and pepper. In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil on med-high heat and brown the chicken on both sides. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the onion into the pan juices and saute until barely softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the wine and Worcestershire sauce.

Return the chicken to the pan, nestle it in between the mushrooms and onions, cover and braise on medium-low heat until cooked through, 20 minutes. Once the chicken is done, put the pan into a pre-heated oven, uncovered, and broil for 5 minutes to re-crisp the skin. Adjust the seasoning in the sauce, stir in chopped thyme and serve.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

I recently came into possesion of an ice cream maker, and I'm pretty sure its going to change my life. My manager at work used to work in the food service industry, doing baking and catering and the like. Since then she has been diagnosed with some pretty severe food allergies and had to give up wheat, eggs, dairy... pretty much all the things she used to cook with.

While unfortunate for her, I've certainly benefitted from her bad luck. She has been going through her kitchen and garage, cleaning out her old supplies, and donating to my, "I'm teaching myself how to cook" charity. So far I've gotten cookie cutters, pie weights, silicone baking cups, thermometers, cooling racks, and now, an ice cream maker. Its an older model but I can tell you one thing - it still works.

I've had this bad boy for about a week and I've been using it a LOT; pretty much every time that bowl is frozen I'm taking it out to whip something up. I've made strawberry granita, which didn't come out very well, chocolate ice cream, and my favorite so far: strawberry frozen yogurt.

The Mister and I picked up a huge crate of strawberries at Costco on Saturday. Random tangent: I LOVE California produce. That night we were sitting at home, recharging after a day of house shopping (and gearing up for more on Sunday) and were trying to decide what to eat for dinner when we realized that dessert would be much better. We had an unopened plain yogurt in the fridge and thus, strawberry froyo was born.

We love chains like Pinkberry, so we decided to go easy on the sugar to keep things nice and tart. We wanted chunks of strawberries so we didn't puree the mixture, and cooked the strawberries in phases so that some broke down completely and some stayed in larger bits. This was delicious that night, but even better the next day after a chance to solidify in the freezer.

I have a feeling this ice cream maker is going to be very, very well used.


Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe


Adapted from here

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups full fat yogurt (if use low or non fat, then add 2 Tbsp cream)


Place half the strawberries, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the rest of the strawberries and continue to stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the strawberries as the mixture is heating. As soon as all of the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Whisk in the milk and yogurt, until completely incorporated. Place the mixture in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour until completely cold.

Process the mixture in your ice cream maker 20 to 25 minutes. Eat immediately or keep in freezer until served.

Makes about 1 quart.

Justified

I don't post a lot of dinner recipes here. I'm in a dinner-funk: I haven't tried anything new in a while, and I'm getting bored with the same old, same old. But this article made me feel a bit better about what I do cook: because 90% of the time, it starts with 'saute onions and garlic in olive oil.' Yum.

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies

The Significant Other (SO) has been away this week, and I have a confession to make: I really, reeeeeally enjoy eating while he isn't around. Its nothing against him; I'm just free to make whatever I want, when I want, how I want. I don't have to worry about making something too fatty (he is an 80's baby. His mother fed him lo-fat and no-fat everything.) or too vegetarian (the man loves his meat.) Also, I get to indulge on desserts :)

These brownies are sinful. They are everything I think a good brownie should be... dense, chocolatey, but not overly sweet. Mmmmm, betcha can' eat just one... I know I can't!

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies

(From Apartment Therapy via Food Network Canada)

1 cup unsalted butter

3 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 large eggs, at room-temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

The original recipe includes a ganache frosting which I skipped, in the interest of being more portable.

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8x8 pan and set aside.

Melt melt butter in microwave in a glass mixing bowl. Stir in chocolate and mix until creamy - I stuck everything back in the microwave for 30 seconds so the chocolate was nice and melty.

Stir the sugar into mixture until combined. Microwave for 30 seconds on high, then stir until shiny.

Mix in marscapone cheese, vanilla, eggs and beat until smooth.

Sift together the flour, salt and cocoa. Stir into chocolate mixture just until combined.

Pour batter into pan and smooth top to ensure even baking. Bake for 40 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Cabbage, Carrot, and Jicama Slaw

I'm a particular eater.

I don't like seafood. I don't like mushrooms. Before I moved to California and had real avocado, I didn't like those either. The list goes on. But I'm lucky enough to like a lot of foods. I enjoy eating most fruits and vegetables, most meats, most anything. And as long as its not too gross or strange, I'm comfortable trying new things.

The Mister is not so open minded. While he will try new things, even more so than me, there are a lot of things that he's tried once and has sworn to never eat again. Things like corn chowder, garlic, Indian food, cabbage, and chicken thighs are just not things he will incorporate into his diet. But I don't think he dislikes as much as he thinks he does, and a small part of my meal planning/cooking goes toward preparing the things he won't eat in a way that I think he will like. Sometimes he refuses what I make altogether, but a lot of times he ends up not hating it, if not enjoying it.

This slaw is one of those experiments. He doesn't eat cabbage often and refuses to eat cole slaw at all, but I think that what he really doesn't like is the mayo. I wanted to make a slaw with ingredients I know he likes, with a oil and vinegar based sauce, and see what he thought about it. This one is a little Asian-Mexican fusion, with both cabbage and jicama, and made a little spicy with sriracha. I like it... but we will see what the Mister thinks :)


Cabbage, Carrot, and Jicama Slaw

1/2 head green cabbage
3 carrots
1 medium jicama
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp sriracha
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbps dry cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
handful raisins

Chop cabbage, carrots, and jicama into small strips. Place in large bowl.

Whisk together oil and vinegar. Whisk in seasonings and pour over vegetables, mixing well. Let sit for a few hours to let the flavors mellow and blend.

Add raisins just before serving, if desired.

No-Knead Bread from the New York Times

I don't know why I waited so long to try this.

I bought a dutch oven a few months ago, and so far I've used it for a lot of really delicious things. I've made meat, I've made sauces, I've made entire dinners in the thing, and they've all come out very well. But until now I hadn't made the one thing I really, really wanted to make: bread.

The No-Knead Bread recipe from the NYT has been making the rounds in the blog world since it printed in 2006, and I'm sure pretty much every one came out perfectly. The recipe is easy to follow and the technique is minimal. I was so happy with how this bread came out - crunchy brown crust, soft and holey crumb. And so tasty. Man, I love bread.

I had only one complaint with how my bread turned out, and I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with the recipe. As usual, I think the humidity in my apartment did me no favors with my loaf. While the outside was crunchy the inside was a little moist, more so than I would have liked. Life is hard when you live so close to the beach, right?


No-Knead Bread
Adapted from the New York Times
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Baked Falafel

When the Mister and I lived in New York City one of our favorite things was choosing a neighborhood to explore. After taking the train over, we could wander for hours up and down the streets, in and out of the shops, just enjoying the city.

Of course, we worked up an appetite on these long walks, and just as much as the neighborhoods we loved sampling the local food. One of our favorite things to eat was falafel, and there are hundreds of options in NYC.

When we moved to LA we missed the falafel almost as much as the pizza. I said almost. And although we haven't found good replacements for either, its much easier to make falafel at home. We like to bake ours, but otherwise we eat it just like we did in New York - in a big pita with tzatziki sauce, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and pickles. Now, if we could just make pizza this good...

Baked Falafel

Adapted from here

1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans

1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans, place in a medium sized bowl and smash with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Using 2 spoons, form the mixture into small balls, then flatten slightly. Place onto a well-oiled baking pan and bake for 10-15 minutes on each side, until brown.

Serve with mini pita pockets, hummus, tahini sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and/or cucumber.

S'mores Brownies

Last weekend my coed soccer team got together to watch the World Cup. We have a few people on the team from the UK, and the US played England on Saturday, so we all headed over to one player's house to BBQ, watch the game on his big screen, and talk a lot of smack.

I wanted to bring something over for dessert that was easy and delicious, and brownies were the perfect choice. I had a lot of marshmallows left over from a BBQ the week before and I thought brownies would also be the perfect way to use them up - and keep me from eating them straight from the bag!

These brownies were tasty, but not perfect. I like thick fudgy brownies and these were light and cakey - must have been something to do with the 2tsp of baking powder! Next time I'd use more chocolate and less leavening. Oh, and more marshmallows :)



S'more Brownies
Adapted from here

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup crushed graham cracker
12 big marshmallows (next time, I'd cut them in half)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9×13-inch baking pan with 2-inch-high sides. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Stir butter and chocolate in a medium sized bowl over a heavy saucepan of simmering water. Stir chocolate and butter in this double boiler until melted and smooth.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Stir in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients. Fold in graham crackers. Pour batter into prepared pan. Dot with 12 large marshmallows. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30- 40 minutes minutes.

Marshmallows will be browned and puffy but will deflate as the brownies cool. Cool for at least 20 minutes than slice with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too messy and sticky. Serve or wrap individually in wax paper for storing.

Pizza Pizza!

Hi, my name is Shawna, and I'm a pizza snob.

I can't help it. I lived in Brooklyn.

Since moving to LA I've spent hours... HOURS... trying to create something in the least bit similar to good Brooklyn pizza. (I'm convinced I can't recreate it... there's gotta be something in the water in NY!) I've experimented with different dough recipies, with different sauces, with toppings, with cheeses, you name it. I'm becoming a bit obsessive, and you can bet as soon as I own a backyard I will be building myself an outdoor brick oven. (see, I told you I was obsessive)

I'm more than satisfied with my latest results. Seriously, this pizza was friggin delicious. So now I'm going to share with you how to do it.

First things first: equipment.

I use a pizza stone. Let me rephrase that: you will get nowhere without a pizza stone. Even the cheapo $10 Chefmate I picked up at Target is so. worth. it. A lot of other people play with bricks in their ovens and whatnot; I'm saving bricks for my future oven. For now a simple pizza stone suits me just fine.

Mixer. The dough needs to be well worked. I love my mixer for doing this for me.

Pizza peel. Because that pizza stone needs to be 500+ degrees. You don't want to touch it. Trust me.

Ingredients. I admit, I don't use all the high quality stuff. I'm poor. I use store brand all-purpose flour and 99 cent crushed tomatoes (also from Target!). That being said... THE CHEESE IS IMPORTANT. Buy good cheese.

Peter Reinhart's Napoletana Pizza Dough Recipe
(From the Bread Baker's Apprentice via 101 Cookbooks)

4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled

1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with baking parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil (or lightly oil the parchment). Using a metal dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), You can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it, Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan, Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag.

3. Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. (Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)

4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Before letting the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. Now let rest for 2 hours.

5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F (most home ovens will go only to 500 to 550F, but some will go higher). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.

6. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift I piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue shaping it. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss as shown on page 208. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.

7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other top- pings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American "kitchen sink" approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. A few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including sauce and cheese is sufficient.

8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.

9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.

Tres Leches Cake

The Mister and I grew up in Arizona, and although we've since moved away, still love Southwestern cuisine. Mexican is our very favorite, and we have spent a lot of time in New York and Los Angeles finding good Mexican restaurants - its harder than you think!

We are also creatures of habit: when we find a dish we like, we stick with it. While we pretty much always enjoy our dinners out, we certainly don't get out of our comfort zone and try new foods. For example, I didn't ever eat mole until I was 23 years old and living in Brooklyn. We've also never tried Southwestern classics like cactus or rattlesnack, both of which I've heard are quite yummy.

Tres Leches Cake is another Mexican treat we had never tried, so it was made a part of our Cinco de Mayo menu. Its a super easy cake, very eggy and light, that is drenched with three types of milk - tres leches - and allowed to soak up all the goodness. Topped with whipped cream, its a decadent but light treat that didn't last long around here.


Tres Leches Cake

Adapted from here


1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
4 teaspoons vanilla

1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 - 13 ounce can evaporated milk
3 cups heavy cream
sugar, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 glass baking dish.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Mix eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat on high speed for 5 minutes or until volume has doubled. Reduce the speed to low and add one teaspoon vanilla and water. Mix well.
Gently fold the flour ingredients into the egg mixture.
Pour the batter into the dish and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The cake is done when the center is firm and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Cool the cake on a rack for 15 minutes.

Whisk together the evaporated milk, condensed milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
Using a tooth pick, poke holes all over the cake. The holes will allow the cake to absorb more of the milk mixture.
Pour or spoon the milk mixture slowly all over the cake and allow it time to soak in before adding more milk. Refrigerate.
When you are ready to serve the cake, place the 2 cups whipping cream in a chilled mixing bowl and begin mixing on medium. Add one teaspoon vanilla and the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and beat on high until stiff peaks form.
Spread whipping cream generously on the top of cake. Serve and enjoy :)

Bubble and Squeak

I first found Bubble and Squeak thanks to a good friend. We have a Thursday tradition of meeting at a small pub in AZ for trivia, karaoke, and cider - and now food. One night I had come without eating dinner first, and though I wasn't thrilled to have to eat typical English Pub food, I think I made out quite well.

Bubble and Squeak is a traditional English dish that's generally made from leftovers and served with a big breakfast. (I like mine best late at night and after a few drinks - its great drunkfood.) Its silly name reportedly comes from the sounds it makes while frying cooking. Oh, yeah - its not health food :)


Bubble and Squeak

1/4 head cabbage
2 cups mashed potatoes
Butter for frying
Salt and Pepper to taste

I started with leftover potatoes and a wilting head of cabbage.

Bring small pot of salted water to boil. Roughly chop the cabbage into bite sized pieces and boil until soft, about 6 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frypan. Saute potatoes and cabbage together with seasonings until edges are crispy. Some make small patties and fry like latkes; I like mine in a mash. Either way its yummy.

Horchata

This was a fail.

Horchata is one of my favorites. Any time I go out for Mexican, particularly at a small roadside stand, you can bet I'm ordering a horchata. So when I made my Cinco de Mayo feast it was an easy to decide what we would be drinking.

I followed this recipe, roughly. I'm sure its a perfectly good recipe, but my finished product was chalky and bland. I strained it a number of times through a cheesecloth, but for whatever reason I just couldn't shake that ricey taste. Better luck next time?

Horchata

1 1/4 cups white rice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup almonds
4 cups water
sugar to taste
1 tsp vanilla

Place rice and almonds in a large container with a tight lid. Cover with water and stir to combine. Cover and let sit overnight.


Add sugar and, using a blender, blend in small batches until smooth. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer, lined with cheesecloth, into a bowl. Discard solids.

Stir in vanilla, then transfer to a pitcher and chill in the refrigerator. Serve over ice.

June?

And where did the first six months of the year go?

...

Yep.

At the beginning of the year I made a long-ish list of all the yummy things I wanted to make this year. Since we're now halfway through, I thought it would be appropriate to see how I've done so far.

Made:

Granola Bar - amazing banana flax bars. Perfect for breakfast.
Horchata - super chalky and overall not good
Marinara - good for my first time, but still want to work on it
Pizza Dough - I'm allllllllllllmost happy with it!
Meatballs - hard to do without pork, but yummy.
Lamb - marinaded and grilled. So good.
Enchilada Sauce
Ropa Vieja - came out better this time.


And because I have a very long way to go still, I'm narrowing it down to the next 8:

Pasta & Lasagne
Bagels
Yogurt
Pizza Sauce
Granita
Everyday bread
Granola
Challah & Stuffed French Toast


Now... where to start? :)

Carne Seca

After living in New York I bought myself a Mexican cookbook. New York City is a place of many cultures and of many restaurants - we ate exceptional Cuban food, Guatemalan food, El Salvadorian food, Puerto Rican food - but good Mexican really is hard to find. Its even difficult to find the right ingredients at the grocery stores. At one point, D's cousin (a Brooklyn resident) stumbled on canned enchilada sauce at a store in New Jersey and bought enough to stock us up - that's how desperate our Mexican food situation was.

Ironically, I learned after moving back to the West Coast that my very favorite Mexican restaurant has 3 locations in the United States - 2 in Phoenix and 1 on on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. While this could have saved me in my futile search for passable Mexican, I'm curious to see how authentic the Manhattan location actually is.

I finally got around to using this cookbook last week. I don't know what took me so long, but I'm glad I finally did - this was probably some of the tastiest meat I've ever had. Carne Seca translates to "dried meat" in Spanish and that's exactly what it is - meat that is slow cooked, seasoned, then dried. I used it in enchiladas with red chile sauce, but its just as good on its own. I'll definitely be making this one again!


Tucson Carne Seca
From The Border Cookbook


Dried Beef

3 lbs round or shoulder chuck roast
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp fresh black pepper
10 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp groud dried mild red chile
8 cups water
juice of 2 limes

Combine all ingredients except the lime juice in a dutch oven or large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 2 - 2 1/2 hours until the meat is very tender. Cool the meat in its cooking liquid for 30 minutes. Strain the cooking liquid, reserving for later use.

Tear the meat into thin shreds and transfer it back into the original pot. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and simmer over medium heat until all liquid is evaporated. Toss meat with lime juice


Dried Seasoning Blend

1 tbsp groud dried red chile powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Transfer the meat to 1 or 2 baking sheets, spreading it thin. Sprinkle the meat with half the dried seasoning blend and bake the meat at 275 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir well, and sprinkle with remaining seasoning. Return to oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until browned and dry.

Meat can be refrigerated for 2 days

Pi Day Part Two: Crack Pie

Because we live in different places - or, because I'm the rogue who has moved out of state - my pie loving friends and I have limited opportunities to get together. We missed pi day this year, but planned to celebrate when I was home in April.

We failed. But not before I made my pie.

This year I decided to make Momofuku's Crack Pie because the recipe had been recommended to me by someone at work and because I was super jealous of the Boyfriend's big trip to New York. I loved the buttery, cookie crust but honestly, that was about it. It was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too sugary, even for my sweet tooth. I could only eat a few bites at a time, and even though the gooey consistency was fun, I ended up throwing about three fourths of it away. Shame.



Crack Pie
Adapted from Momofuku by the LA Times

Cookie


2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (3 ounces) flour
Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
1 egg
Scant 1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) rolled oats


Preeat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.

Whisk the egg into the butter mixture. With the mixer running, beat in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully combined. Stir in the oats until incorporated.

Spread the mixture onto a 9 by 13 baking sheet and bake until golden and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cookie.

Crust

Crumbled cookie for crust
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt and mix until evenly combined. Press half of the crust into each of 2 pie tins to form a thin, even layer.

Filling

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar
3/4 cup plus a scant 3 tablespoons (7 ounces) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon (3/4 ounce) milk powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
3/4 cup plus a scant 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 egg yolks
2 prepared crusts
Powdered sugar, garnish


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.

Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.
Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown (similar to a pecan pie), about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.
Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. The pies are meant to be served cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Rosemary Chicken Pot Pie

Screw Passover.

Well, no. Don't do that. But I'm forgetting about getting those recipes posted (maybe next year, right?) and moving on. To a holiday that happened before. What?

Pi Day.

In the past, my friends and I have gotten together to celebrate March 14th, 3/14. Its been going on since high school, and although we weren't able to get it together this year (we tried TWICE!) we still found ways to celebrate. Or at least I did. Because an excuse to make and eat pie should never be passed up.

I went a different route this year, with a savory pie. D and I were home the evening of the 14th, undecided on dinner and absolutely not motivated to leave the house. Thanks to a pretty well-stocked freezer and to luck, we had all the ingredients on hand for chicken pot pie.

The pot pie was perfect. It is comfort food at its finest - warm, heavy, and delicious. We will definitely be making this again.


Rosemary Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from The Dean & DeLuca Cookbook

Pie dough, rolled into a round disk

2 1/2 lbs diced chicken - we used leftovers from a chicken we had roasted earlier in the week
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
3 celery ribs, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 cup chopped onion
5 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups boiling chicken stock
1 cup milk
1/3 cup cream
2 1/2 tbsp rosemary (recipe calls for fresh, we had dried - it worked)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook the garlic, celery, onions, and carrots until tender, about 6 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and mix quickly with a whisk for 1 minute. Add the stock, milk, and cream. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce to moderate low heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and rosemary.

Mix chicken, vegetables, and cream mixture. Place in a large baking dish. Place the rolled-out crust over the mixture and prick the top with a fork.

Make an egg wash by whisking 1 egg with 2 tbsp water. Lightly brush the dough. Bake pot pie in oven for 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Happy Passover!

The Jewish holiday of Passover begins tonight at sundown. It is traditional on the first night (and the second, if you're really observant) to have a meal and service called a Seder. I'm not Jewish but D is, so for the last few years we have had what we call a "sorta-Seder".

Our sorta-Seder is part traditional, part borrowed, and part our own. We don't read through the entire service, just the parts we like and the parts that involve wine! We are having guests this year for the first time and I've just about finished the preparation, but I wanted to share the menu - hopefully it will keep me a little more on track with posting recipes/pictures than last year.

Sorta-Seder 2010

Matzoh Ball Soup

Roast Chicken with Sage and Rosemary
Roast Potatoes
Broccoli and Califlower
Charoset

Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce

Ropa Vieja

I like food. Really. I like to buy it, I like to cook it, and I really, really like to eat it. And I don't discriminate. Unless it comes from the sea, I probably like it. But if I had to pick one favorite this would be it. Ropa Vieja.

It means "old clothes" in spanish, and its a traditional Cuban dish. I first discovered it while exploring Cuban cuisine at a place called Havana Cafe in Phoenix, AZ. It was my first time eating there (now I'm a regular customer whenever I'm in town) and I'd never heard of the dish, but it sounded good. Its basically a stew of shredded beef, peppers and onions, seasoned with garlic, cumin, oregano. My dad and I once took my grandmother, who grew up in Cuba, and she said it was the most authentic Cuban dish she's ever eaten in the States.

This recipe is straight from Havana Cafe's website. I tried making it once a few years ago and it couldn't have gone worse. The butcher gave me the wrong - more expensive - cut of meat, which just didn't shred right. I didn't know how to peel tomatoes so I just threw them in chopped (I've since learned) and it was underseasoned. But I couldn't let my favorite dish go without a fight; no, this recipe deserved a second chance! So with a few more years of cooking under my belt I tried again, and I'm sure glad I did.


Ropa Vieja
courtesy of Havana Cafe

2 ½ pounds Flank Steak

4 Bay Leaves
1 Onion, cut into eighths
1 Carrot, sliced
1 Potato, cut into quarters
Salt and Pepper
Water to cover

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 medium Green Peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
2 Habanero Chiles, seeds and stem removed and chopped
1 can Chopped Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Paste
Oregano
Cumin
2 Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup Red Wine

Wash the flank steak and place it in a large heavy pot. Add the bay leaves, onion, carrot, potato, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1-2 hours until meat is tender.


Remove steak to a plate and cool, strain liquid into a bowl and set aside. When steak is cool enough to handle, shred it using two forks.

In a large fry pan, add olive oil and sauté the next 5 ingredients until tender. Add the tomatoes, wine, and 1 cup of the reserved liquid. Season to taste and cook for about 20 minutes uncovered to reduce and create a sauce for the shredded meat.

Add the shredded meat and season to taste. Serve with rice and beans or moros.

Tap Tap Tap. And Bandwagon.

Hi I'm back!

The holidays were busy. So busy. I cooked a LOT. I ate even more. It was blissful.

But now its 2010 and hopefully I'm back on track here.

Tonight I finally decided to give quinoa a try. I didn't know what to do with it, really, so after a pretty quick search through some of the blogs I frequent (am I the last person to try this stuff?!?!) I decided to go a simple route. Lets just say it was a good decision. I made a really quick saute of cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and carrots with some lime and cilantro and served it with plain quinoa. Deeeeeeeeeeeelicious. Just like everyone says, nutty but not overpowering, and substantial. I'm stuffed. No meat. This is odd for me.

I'm definitely on board with this quinoa thing!