Quick Chicken Piccata

2 frozen chicken breasts - mostly, but not completely defrosted
pesto (or a basil, garlic, olive oil mixture) 2 T
1 garlic clove minced
flour - 1/3 C
lemon juice - 3 T
white wine - 1/2 cup
capers - 2T

Slice the chicken breasts into slices about 1/4 inch thick
place about 1/5 C of flour in a shallow dish - add black pepper
dredge the chicken slices in the flour, tapp off excess and set slices aside on a plate
heat 2T olive oil in a large skillet
add chicken slices and cook without moving for about 3 minutes, turn each piece and cook on the other side
when chicken is cooked, add wine, pesto, capers, lemon juice, and garlic to the pan
toss to combine and coat
remove and place chicken slices
add a bit more wine to the pan and deglaze, spoon pan sauce over chicken slices

Saffron Cinnamon Rice

2/3 c rice (I used white jasmine rice)
half an onion - coarsely chopped
2/3 C chicken stock
1 garlic clove - mashed
1 pinch of saffron threads
1 pinch of cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
olive oil

Heat 1 T olive oil in a skillet with a lid - add onions and saute for a few minutes

add saffron threads to chicken stock

add rice grains and more oil if necessary - saute for 4-5 minutes until rice begins to brown
peel and chop garlic - add to the rice and stir - let cook for another 30 seconds
slowly add chicken stock - saffron mixture - let boil and then reduce heat so mixture simmers
add cinnamon and cayenne pepper
cover and simmer for 15 minutes - stir occasionally, stir and add more liquid if necessary

Garden salad with grapefruit vinaigrette

Plant red lettuce and arugula in a garden and wait several weeks for leaves to emerge - watering as necessary

Tear off enough leaves for two salads, pick for critters, rinse, and spin

take a left-over grapefruit half prepared from breakfast but not eaten earlier in the week out of the fridge (or create one if necessary) Pick the half- supremes out of the fruit and set aside

Squeeze the juice into a bowl - add 1.5T olive oil, 1T balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp honey to the juice and whisk. Taste and correct.

Place the leaves in bowls - add the supremes, some chopped onions, some dried craisins, and whatever else. Add the dressing and serve.

Simple pomodoro sauce

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes (a good brand)
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
3 cloves garlic
10 basil leaves
3 T olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes

Dump can of tomatoes and can juice into a saucepan, add sugar, salt and garlic (skinned and sliced, but not mashed)
Cook over low heat fo 30 minutes.
Mash tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon and then continue to cook for another 15 minutes
Remove from heat, Mash more if necessary, add remaining ingredients (checking for taste) - stir to combine.

Simple - very tasty

I made this with the sweet potato ravioli (separate post) but came to realize that this was not the right sauce for it - though I did add a T to the center of each serving for color and is was tasty.

Sweet Potato Ravioli

Sweet Potato Ravioli with sage butter sauce:

Pasta:

2.5 C all purpose flour
1 C semolina flour
Pinch of salt
4 eggs - lightly beaten

Sift flours and salt into a mound on a counter - make a well and add eggs. Incorporate eggs with your fingers and form gooey mess into a ball - kead for 10 minutes.

I found the "dough" to be to solid to knead by hand so I threw it in a stand mixer with a dough hook and added (a bit at a time) about .25 C water - the mixer got a dough ball formed (worth doing) but was not squishing it enough to get it smooth - so I kneaded the ball by hand for 10 minutes and let it sit for 15 - this worked very well - the dough was not too dry, but held up very well to rolling and cutting.

Break off plum sized chunks of dough and run through a pasta roller on decreasing widths to get pasta sheets.

Filling:

2 sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped into 1" cubes
1/3 C chopped cashew nuts
1 T brown sugar
2/3 C chicken stock
.5 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/5 tsp. thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic

Boil the potato chunks in water in a small or medium saucepan for about 8 minutes - until they are cooked through like potatoes for mashing. Drain the potatoes, add the chicken stock and mash - add more stock or water if necessary to create a smooth consistency.

Mince the rosemary leaves and smash the garlic - put both in a mortar and pestle and mash into a paste - add the paste to the potato / stock mixture.

Mash the cashews in the mortar and pestle and add to the mixture

Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat - adding more liquid if necessary - (I suppose I could have skipped the mashing and thrown everything in a food processor this would have helped keep chunks out of the nuts - through the end result was tasty - perhaps next time) - also, taste and correct - I made this up as I went. Some grated Parmesan, or some ricotta might be a good addition.


Sage Butter Sauce:

Melt 2T butter in a small sauce pan and add about 8 sage leaves (I had some frozen and the were fine) cook for a few minutes and then add about 3T of white wine - I used a chardonnay that I then served with the meal). Strain into a small bowl - pushing on leaves to extract all sauce.


Assembling and cooking the ravioli:

grate a bunch of Parmesan cheese - at least 1 C grated

Take a pasta sheet (probably about 5 or five inches wide by 4 feet long - and place it on a counter (dry! and, I initially used dishtowels under the pasta - but this made it difficult to cut the raviolis out) place small (about 1.5 tsp) dollops of the sweet potato mixture on half of the sheet (thr other half will be floded over on top) - spaces with enough clearance around each to cut out a ravioli - fold the other half of the sheet over the dolloped half and press the dough carefully around each dollop so the tops and bottom sheet meet (be caseful not to rip the top sheets)

use an espresso cup or some similar round object with about a 1.5 " diameter - cut out raviolis (ther are many ways to do this - I will try a pizza cutter next time)

Do not stack the raviolis between cutting and cooking - I did and had a difficult time separating them (many were ripped)

the left over dough can be re-rolled.

Cook the raviolis in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes.

Remove from water with a slotted spoon and serve topped with sage butter sauce (above) and a relatively big mound of freshly grated Parmesan cheese - which will melt with the heat of the raviolis and the sage butter sauce.

suprising thai dressing

I made this as an afterthought to be a salad dressing for greens and cucumber slices to serve with Thai rice and trader joe's curry chicken tenderloins

.5 c rice vinegar
1.5 t sugar
1 t palm sugar
juice of half a lime
a few slices of a red chili pepper
1 t soy sauce
a tiny splash of sesame oil

combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat - bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes
transfer to a small container and stick in the ice maker in the freezer to cool in order to serve right away

This ended up being a smooth, slightly thickened, tasty dressing. It worked on the salad, and the chicken , and the rice. It would probably work as the main dressing for a variation of teryaki sauce.

huevos rancheros - sort of

I used left-over improvised cilantro chimichurri, corn tortillas, all the potatoes in my cabinets for hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese for tasty huevos rancheros

Hash browns:

1 russet potato
3 red potatoes
1 medium yellow onion
.5 red pepper
.5 jalapeno or other hot pepper
1 t cayenne pepper
3 T olive oil
2 t salt
kosher salt
dash white pepper

Preheat oven to 400
Dice the potatoes - so they are in uniform cubes less then .5 inch - this allows them to cook fairly quickly and evenly
put diced potatoes in a mixing bowl and cover them with water - let sit while you chop everything else - at least 10 minutes (8 worked fine for me)
chop onion in to fairly large chunks - a bit bigger than the potato cubes
chop red pepper into pieces about the same size as the potatoes
mince the jalapeno pepper
drain the potatoes (i dumped them into a big strainer)
wipe out and dry potato bowl
dry potatoes (good faith effort is OK) and put them back in the bowl
add 3T olive oil, cayenne pepper, onions, red peppers, salt (not the kosher salt), and the dash of white pepper - stir to combine
prepare a cookie sheet by sprinkling the kosher salt on it - dump potato mixture on the pan and spread evenly - it should not be more than a single layer deep
cook for about 30 minutes - stir after 20

cilantro chimichurri

1 c cilantro leaves
1 medium onion
.5 chili pepper - minced
3T olive oil (or more as needed)
1t salt

put everything but the olive oil in a food processor with the blade and process until it is smooth
pour olive oil in the spout with the processor running - keep adding until the mixture is the consistency of pesto.

tortillas:

put corn tortillas in something to steam them (with a wet paper towel - I just bought a tortilla steamer / server thing - ugly, but functional)

heat two skillets - at least one non-stick

scramble 5 eggs in one skillet (I think traditional huevos rancheros have fried eggs - but it was easier and fine with scrambled)

-place as many tortillas as will fit in the other skillet - turn after 30 seconds
- add a layer of grated cheese over half of each tortilla, about the same amount of potatoes, (check a big one to make sure they are cooked through), a chunk of eggs, and a spoonful of the cilantro salsa.
after the cheese is melted, fold and serve

A Rummy!

Improvised after a long day at work:

Combine in a shaker in about the following ratio:

3 Rum
1 Triple Sec
3 Pineapple Nectar
Juice from half a lime
Juice from half a lemon
1 Pomegranate Juice
.25 Grenadine

Shake and strain into a glasses filled with ice with the tonic poured in it:

Scillian Sytle Potatoes Gratin

This recipe is from epicurious here:

It was fairly quick to put together using a food processor. It would be much more time consuming cutting all the potatoes with a knife. Very tasty. I served this with roast pork.

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, halved
Olive oil for brushing plus
4 tablespoons, divided
2 cups chopped onions
Coarse kosher salt
2 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, very thinly sliced
8 tablespoons (packed) grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided
3 tablespoons drained capers
2 cups low-salt chicken broth

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Rub 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with cut side of garlic clove. Brush dish with olive oil. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, sprinkle with coarse salt, and sauté until soft and beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes.

Arrange 1/3 of potatoes in even layer in prepared dish. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Scatter half of onions over. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano and 1 tablespoon capers. Repeat layering with half of remaining potatoes, coarse salt and pepper, remaining onions, 2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano, and 1 tablespoon capers. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Arrange remaining potato slices over. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper and remaining 1 tablespoon capers. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pour chicken broth over. Press down firmly on potatoes to compact gratin.

Cover gratin tightly with foil and bake until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 4 tablespoons Pecorino Romano. Bake gratin uncovered until cheese is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let gratin stand 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Beef Burgundy Crepes for valentines day dinner

Valentines day dinner:

Beef Burgundy crepes with orange-glazed carrots, arugula salad, and nutella-raspberry crepes for dessert.

I didn't have any bacon or olive oil - so I made the beef burgundy with no bacon, some canola oil, and a cup of cheap wine. It was still pretty good - though it would be much better if I made it with some care. Overall this was pretty easy and worked well enough to make again.

For the carrots - I boiled (in salted water with a pinch of sugar) some baby carrots for about 5 minutes (this was too long) and used a sauce of:

Simmer until reduced: 1.5 T melted butter, zest and juice from about half an orange, 1t lemon juice -
Add about a T 50/50 flour water mix - stirred smooth to thicken the sauce.

I sort of drizzled the sauce over the carrots - and it didn't look great - next time I will try tossing the carrots in the sauce - but it tasted good.

To garnish the beef burgundy crepes, I spooned some of the burgundy sauce over the rolled crepes, and them mixed about 2T sour cream with 1.5ish t water (to thin it) and spooned this on over the sauced crepe - this worked well, looked good, and tasted good.

The dessert crepes were simple - reheat pans - toss in a crepe, add a stripe of nutella and some raspberries, fold, plate with some ice cream, add a few more rasberries, sprinkle with powdered sugar (through a strainer)

Here is the Crepe Recipe I used:

1 scant C flour
2 eggs
1 C milk
2 T butter - melted and cooled
salt

Sift flour into a bowl
add eggs and 3 or 5 T of the milk - stir to combine
add the rest of the milk and stir to make a thin batter
add the butter, salt to taste, and whisk for several minutes

brush some oil in a crepe pan (I used 2 10' saute pans - 1 non-stick, one stick) and heat. Add 3T batter and tip to coat pan - cook about 3 min. on one and 1 min on the other

Here is a Beef Burgundy recipe from recipezaar. I haven't tried it yet - but I used it to figure out what ingrediants to get.

3	slices bacon, diced
1	lb boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
2	garlic cloves, minced
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	teaspoon fresh ground pepper
12	ounces mushrooms, halved
1 (14	ounce) can beef broth
1 1/2	cups dry red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon
10	ounces small white pearl onions, peeled (about 24)
1 1/2	teaspoons dried thyme or 1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4	cup flour
1/4	cup water

Not the one? See other Beef Burgundy Recipes

• Stews
  
  
• Pressure Cooker Stews
  
  
• French Stews
  
  
• Beef Stews
  
  
• Reduced Carbohydrates Stews
  
  

1. Cook bacon in a heavy 4 qrt Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat until crisp.
2. Transfer bacon with slotted spoon to a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Brown meat with garlic, transferring it to a plate.
4. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.
5. Add mushrooms to drippings in pan; cook 3- 4 minutes or until mushrooms are browned, stirring frequently.
6. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with bacon.
7. Set aside.
8. Return meat with any juices to pan; add onions, broth, wine, and thyme.
9. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.
10. Cover; simmer 1 hour.
11. Combine flour and water, mixing until smooth.
12. Stir into meat mixture.
13. Stir in reserved mushroom mixture.
14. Bring to a boil; reduce heat.
15. Simmer, uncovered, 34- 40 minutes or until meat is tender and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
16. Remove thyme sprig if fresh thyme was used.
17. Serve over noodles, rice or potatoes, if desired.

Steak Salad with Cous Cous and Asparagus

This was a quick and easy dinner using stuff I had in the fridge and lying arond.

preheat broiler and heat a grill pan

1 ribeye steak
arugala (or whatever greens are available)
1 c cous cous
1.25 c chicken stock
2 T craisins
2 T diced apples
asparagus
1 lemon cut in half
Montreal steak seasoning

add the stock, craisins, and apples to a small saucepan and bring to a boil

toss asparagus in olive oil, season with salt to taste -
arrange in a singe layer on a cooling rack placed in a cookie sheet - place under broiler for 5-7 minutes

press seasoning into both sides of steak
grill the steak for about 4-5 minutes on each side without moving
place one lemon half on the grill pan - cut side down while grilling the steak

take the boiling stock off heat and add the cous cous to it - let sit five minutes covered and then fluff with a fork

after the steak is finished grilling, let it rest and assemble a salad and dressing

use the grilled lemon to make a lemon vinaigrette dressing (I used olive oil, cider vinegar, a bit of white vinegar, the grilled lemon juice, and some dried herbs)

slice the steak, serve over salad greens
serve the asparagus over the cous cous

Hors-Derby: Dates vs. Thai Wings

I made the wing recipe below for an hors d'oeuvre contest among friends last night. the recipe looked interesting to me because it uses authentic ingredients. It was tasty and came together well - but, in the end, it looked like a bunch of deep fried chicken wings covered with sticky sauce (which it was). I might try baking rather than deep frying if I do these again. The corn starch and rice flour coating worked very well.

My wifes' goat cheese stuffed, basil and prosciutto-wrapped dates were well made, tasty, unique, outstanding, etc. and earned a well-deserved victory for her.


Thai Wing recipe from MarthaStewart.com:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 fresh red Thai chiles, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 pounds chicken mini drumsticks from chicken wings or chicken wings, separated at the joint
• 1 ripe mango, cut into 1-inch slices
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Grape seed or corn oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1. In a medium saucepan, combine soy sauce, lime juice, nam pla, garlic, chiles, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely.
2. Place drumsticks in a shallow baking dish. Pour over soy sauce mixture and toss until chicken is well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss mango slices with salt. Let stand 30 minutes.
4. Add enough oil to a deep, heavy-bottomed pot to reach a depth of 3 inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry.
5. In a shallow dish, mix together cornstarch and rice flour. Working in batches, dredge chicken in cornstarch mixture and carefully add to hot oil. Cook until crisp, browned, and cooked through, about 10 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain temperature.
6. Transfer chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Place hot-and-sour sauce in a large bowl; add chicken and toss to coat. Serve immediately with salted mango and mint leaves.

Hot and Sour Sauce:

• 1/4 cup grape seed or corn oil
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped dried red finger chiles
• 1/2 fresh red Thai chile
• 1 piece fresh galangal (1/4 inch), peeled and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/8 teaspoon belacan (shrimp paste)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3/4 teaspoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring, until deep golden brown. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to the jar of a blender. Carefully puree until smooth. Transfer to a large mixing bowl; set aside until ready to use.

Date recipe from Epicurious.com

1/3 cup soft herbed goat cheese
16 Medjool dates, pitted
16 large basil leaves
4 wide, thin slices prosciutto di Parma, each cut into 4 long strips
16 toothpicks, soaked in water 10 minutes

Heat broiler to low. Spoon 1 teaspoon cheese into each date; wrap with a basil leaf, then a prosciutto strip. Secure with a toothpick. Broil until cheese bubbles, about 3 minutes. Serve warm.

Easy Sesame Green Beans

This is very easy and tasty:

• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions

1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add green beans to basket; reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook until crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil; season with salt and pepper. Add green beans and sesame seeds; season with salt and pepper, and toss.

Pad Thai II

2/27/08 - I finally got pretty good results!!!! I tried once following the recipe below fairly closely - it was OK - but there was not enough sauce. I tried it again doubling the amount of sauce and cutting the rest of the recipe in half - this seems to work! I didn't use all of the sauce, but I had enough to use an amount that seemed right, and then add a bit more. I had about 2 T left over. Also, I used green onions (the top 2/3ds - cut into inch long pieces) instead of garlic chives.

I cut the rest of the recipe in half to keep the amount that goes into the wok manageable so it will stir-fry rather than steaming (unless you have a huge wok and a big flame - I do not) If there is too much stuff in the wok, the temp. goes down and things steam and get soggy. If you need more than half this recipe makes (2 big servings) work in batches - it only takes a few minutes to do each.

I have had good luck setting out all the ingredients, ready to throw in the wok in about the right order - because once you start, there isn't really time to chop, pour, or measure anything. I have burned the crap out of my shallots (you have to start over - it will taste nasty with burnt shallots) several times because of lack of preparation for the next step.

Since my last Pad Thai post I have taken two Thai cooking classes - one in the US and one in Thailand - and I have tried making pad thai 6 or7 times with various different recipes and techniques - and it is still a work in progress. Here is what I did tonight:

2 T Oil (I use canola)
2 shallots - minced
1 chicken breast - cut into .5 inch pieces
2 eggs - scrambled
rice stick noodles (5-6 oz.) - soaked in hot water (boil then remove from heat and add noodles) for about 5 minutes (test along the way - they are ready when softened but still have a bit of firmness - if they are left too long they will turn to mush in the wok) and then drained
.5 tsp chili flakes
1.5 C bean sprouts
3/4 C garlic chives cut into 1.5 inch lengths (scallions are fine)
2 T ground peanuts
1 lime cut into 1/8ths

sauce:
2 T tamarind pulp - (I have a thing of tamarind concentrate ($1.69 from Bangkok 54 in Arlington ) - this works well. I tried making pulp by mashing and straining dried tamarind pods once. It worked, but it took forever and there were still lumps after much effort with a mortar and pestle)
1 T Palm Sugar - (also from Bangkok 54 - good and cheap)
1T Fish sauce
pinch white pepper
smaller pinch salt


For sauce:

Combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan and heat (low to medi and stir until sugar dissolves (stinky!) - turn off heat and set aside.

-Heat oil in wok over medium high heat- add shallots and stir fry for about a minute - (be careful not to burn - I have burned the shallots here twice (2-27-08 - three times now))
- Add the chicken pieces- stir fry until no longer pink
- lower heat and add eggs - stir to scramble
- add noodles and chili flakes (not too much or the dish will steam and not stir fry) and stir fry for about a minute
- add sauce - stir fry for another minute (keep things moving to keep from burning in wok - I have had to add more oil here to keep things moving - I have also added a bit sherry or rice wine for this purpose)
- add half of the bean sprouts and half of the garlic chives - stir fry for another minute
- remove from heat, plate, garnish with remaining sprouts, chives, and peanuts and limes

serve with Thai chili sauce (this is important - a bit (start with a few shakes - .5t) of this stuff really brings it together)

White Cheddar Corn Chowder

I made this soup while making the potato pancakes.

Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 6 ears of corn)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add celery, and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add coriander, cumin, and cayenne. Raise heat to medium-high, and add wine. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add potatoes, stock, and milk, and bring to a boil (skim any foam from surface). Reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Add corn, and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer 2 cups soup to a blender. Let cool slightly, then puree. Return puree to pan, and stir. Reheat if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into bowls, and top with cheese. Chowder can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Potato Pancakes

This recipe worked well and was tasty:

• 4 large russet potatoes, peeled
• 1 small white onion, finely grated
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup beer
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Pink Applesauce
• Sour cream, for serving (optional)
• Caviar, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Shred potatoes using the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl of ice water. Alternatively, place half the potatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the shredding disk attachment and process until shredded. Repeat process with remaining potatoes; transfer to a large bowl of ice water. Using a strainer or slotted spoon, transfer potatoes, reserving liquid, to another large bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel; gently squeeze dry.
2. Set reserved liquid aside for 10 minutes to allow starch to sink to the bottom; carefully pour liquid from the bowl, reserving milky residue (potato starch), and discard. Transfer potatoes back to bowl with potato starch.
3. Add onions to bowl; stir in eggs, beer, flour, salt, and pepper.
4. Line a baking sheet with paper towels; set aside. In a heavy nonstick skillet, heat 1/4-inch of oil. Spoon scant 1/2 cup of potato mixture per pancake into skillet, working in batches and taking care not to crowd the skillet.
5. Fry on both sides until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to prepared baking sheet to drain; transfer to oven to keep warm. Repeat process with remaining potato mixture. Serve hot with applesauce, or sour cream and caviar, if desired.

Green Curry Thai Rice

.5 C Rice
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp green curry paste (or more for more heat)
3 kaffir lime leaves - minced
1 tsp minced lemongrass
1/4 C chicken stock
1 T canola oil

Heat canola oil in a saucepan over medium heat
add lemongrass and curry paste - cook for 2-3 minutes - until fragrant - but do not burn
add rice, coconut milk, chicken stock, kaffir lime leaves-, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer
simmer, stirring and adding more stock or water, as necessary, until rice is cooked through

Quick Chicken Enchiladas

This was a quick and and fairly easy way to throw together chicken enchiladas adapted from this recipe at allrecipes.com.

2 Chicken Breasts
half an onion - chopped
half a green pepper - diced
1/4 cup black olives - minced
2 or 3 tsp. parsely (I used fresh but dried would work)
2 cloves garlic pressed
1 C grated cheddar cheese

1/4 C mole sauce (I used Trader Joes)
1/4 C water
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 C plain yogurt

1 can of tomatillos
2 T white vinegar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
.5 tsp salt
5 flour tortillas

-preheat oven to 350
-heat a nonstick skillet - cook chicken alone in the skillet - brown for about 3 or 4 min per side
-remove chicken breasts, cube, and return to pan
-add onions, peppers, and some salt - cook for 3 or 4 minutes
- add garlic, olives, parsley, stir, cook for 2-3 minutes
- add parsley, mole, tomato sauce, water, yogurt, cheese - stir until melted and combined
- reduce heat and bring to simmer

- steam tortillas in microwave - put a damp paper towel in their bag, and nuke for 1.5 min

-put a tortilla flat in a small baking dish (about 8 x 10 ish) spoon in .5 cup of mixture
- fold the tortilla over mixture (bottom 1/3,up, sides in, fold filled 2/3rd up over remaining third)
- repeat with other tortillas to fill dish
- top with tomatillo salsa and cheese and bake for 20 minutes

tomatillo salsa:

combine in food processor:
1 big can of tomatillas - drained
.5 chopped jalapeno (or to taste)
pinch cumin (or to taste)
pinch salt (or to taste)
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/4 c chopped onions
1/4 c chopped green pepper
tsp lime juice

Coconut Macaroons

These were really easy - especially with some extra chocolate sitting around from tempering.

I found a recipe here:

But I didn't have any condensed milk - so I found a substitution recipe here:

I cut both recipes in half and ended up with 34 macaroons. They took about 25 minutes in a 300 degree oven. After they cooled a bit, I drizzled some chocolate on them. I remelted the chocolate over an off-heat sauce pan pf of water that had just boiled. I brought the chocolate up to about 105 degrees - it wasn't really runny enough to drizzle - but I got it to work using the back of a spoon.

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (SUBSTITUTE)
1 c. instant non fat dry milk 2/3 c. sugar 1/3 c. boiling water 3 tbsp. melted butter Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator. Equal to 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand milk.

Makes 90

• 2 large egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 bags shredded sweetened coconut (14-ounces each)
• Ice cream, optional for Icearoons

Directions

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites and salt until frothy, about 2 minutes. Stir in condensed milk and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold in coconut until well combined.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Using a teaspoon and your fingers, form macaroons into 1 1/4-inch mounds about 1 inch apart.
3. Bake until macaroons are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a cooling rack; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Tempering Chocolate

My plan was to temper chocolate and dip cream caramels in it. Tempering chocolate turns out to be a pain. I worked in it last night until past minute and failed in two attempts. I did more research today - and I think that last night I put the "seed chocolate" in at too high a temperature - and it melted before if could do any seeding. And then - I only took the temp. down to 88 - 91. THis was not cool enough according to other methods I read today.

So, now I am trying again - I remelted the chocolate from last night (over a double boilier - heat off - after simmering lightly) the melted chocolate got up to about 118 and is in the process of cooling to 80. I plan to ring it up to 89 using a bowl of warm water.

For cooling it, I transferred the melted chocolate into the bowl of a stand mixer, and stirring with the dough hook on the lowest setting - that way I don't have to stand there and stir it fo half an hour as it cools. Off to check the temp... 86.4 and cooling.

The tempering directions I am following now are here:

Double Boiler Tempering

Chop chocolate blocks into small pieces or use chocolate wafers.

Fill bottom of double boiler so the hot water does not touch the bottom of the upper pan. Do not let the water boil. Stir the chocolate while melting to ensure even heating. Try to avoid creating air bubbles. Heat chocolate to 120 F. to 122 F.

Replace the hot water with 70 F. water, no cooler. Stir until the chocolate cools to between 79 F. and 80 F. It may occasionally be necessary to add additional cool water to the bottom of the double boiler.

Now replace the 70 F. water with warm water (about 92 F. to 93 F.) and raise the temperature of the chocolate to between 88 F. and 89 F. for dark chocolate or 84 F. to 86 F. for milk chocolate or white cocoa butter coating (white chocolate). Maintain the appropriate temperature while dipping. If the chocolate exceeds 90 F., it will be necessary to repeat the tempering process.

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The directions I used last night - which were good - but led me a bit astray about the "seed" method are here: At cookingforengineers.com - which also appears to be a good site.


When the chocolate got down to 80 degrees - I put it over a bowl of 95 degree water and brought it back up to 89. It was still pretty thick - too thick to use effectively - I tried a test strip on some parchment - and after three or four minutes it didn't look like it had tempered propoerly, it was still soft and bent rather than snapping. I added warmer water to the bowl under the chocolate and brought it up a bit more - slightly over 90. At this point, I decided to dip the caramels anyway.

Dipping took about an hour - I kept an eye on the temperature and replace the water in the bowl under the chocolate with warm / hot tap water every now and then. I used wooden skewers to dip the caramels - I think tongs or some other way of grabbing a caramel from two sides might work better. One problem with the caramels is that when they first came out of the freezer, they were too solid to stick a skewer in. After a while, they became too soft to stay on a skewer - so they had to go back in the freezer.

The chocolate must have been in temper - because in the morning, the caramels were shiny and the chocolate broke with a snap. I think I could have doen a better test for tempered-ness by dipping a spoon in the chocolate and putting it in the fridge for a few minutes. The first sign of success I noticed was the dough hook on the mixer - the chocolate it was covered with hardened to a shiny gloss and broke with a snap. Also, the chocolate I worked with stayed tempered for an hour with occasional reheating - sometimes the reheating went to 95 or 98 - this thinned the chocolate enough to work with and did not destroy the temper.

Cream caramels

I had a chocolate covered caramel with sea salt from Trader Joes -yum. I decided to try to make them. That was the easy part.

Caramel:

After searching awhile for recipes - I followed this recipe from chocolatedgourmand.com - an excellent site with lots of great pictures and tips.

I followed the recipe closely - using a silpat to line the pan that I spread the caramel in. (this is described somewhere in the site - and is worth finding and trying - it was simple) The caramel mixture took quite a while (25 min?) to come to the proper temperature - but it did, I poured it, wrapped it, left it, and it was perfect.

The next day I transferred the slab to a parchment covered cutting board, and put that in the freeze for 15 minutes. Then I cut (slowly - line by line) a grid pattern in the slab. Then I put it back in the freezer to mess with the chocolate (separate post - long story). The process of separating out individual chunks wasn't too hard after if messed with if to a while - it involved returning the slab to the freezer every now and then. Also, It took some trial and error to figure out that the best way to store the individual chunks was on anything, on parchment. They sagged when they warmed - but the resulting shape was cool. I had some on plates without parchment. These were too soft to move until I popped them in the freezer for awhile - then they came off with a bit of help from a paring knife to the bottom.


Classic Cream Caramels

2 cups light corn syrup
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
4 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Some Safflower oil.

Oil the foil lined baking dish.
Using safflower oil and a paper towel, generously oil a 9x13 baking dish lined with foil. Don't skimp, trust me.

Heat sugar and corn syrup to boil then stop stirring and cook until 305° F.
Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until it comes to a boil. Wash down sides several times with water using a pastry brush. Stop stirring and place a candy thermometer in pan and continue to boil over medium high heat. You are going to boil the sugar syrup mixture until it reaches 305° F (151° C), which will take about 10 minutes or so.

Heat cream over medium heat until simmering.
While you are waiting for the sugar mixture to heat you can heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until simmering. Remove the hot cream from heat and set aside.

Add butter to sugar syrup. Slowly add the hot cream.
Once the sugar mixture has reached 305° F (151° C), reduce heat and slowly add the 1/4 cup of cubed butter. Slowly add the hot cream to the sugar mixture. I usually do this with a small ladle or measuring cup. Keep the mixture boiling while adding the cream, but beware of boil-over if you add the cream too quickly. The boiling mixture will rise rapidly after adding the cream. Let the mixture settle down before adding more cream. The game is to keep it boiling without letting it overflow.

Continue cooking caramel until it reaches target temperature.
Once the cream has all been added, continue stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 242-243° F (116°) for dipping or else 246-248° F (117° C) for wrapping. If you like your caramel harder, you can keep heating until you get to around 250° F. If you like your caramel soft, be careful not to make it too soft. Extra gooey caramel is hard to package or dip. The caramel will usually continue to heat a degree past when you remove it from heat.

Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Add salt and vanilla.
Let sit 5 minutes before my favorite part: stirring in the salt and vanilla. If you love vanilla, then get ready for what you might call vanilla free-basing. Once you pour in the vanilla and salt, stir just until blended. As you stir the vanilla into the caramel, the vanilla bourbon will boil off and you can inhale intense vanilla smell.

Pour into oiled baking dish. Let sit overnight wrapped tightly.
Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Cover well and let cool overnight. Once you are ready to dip or wrap, peel the foil off the caramel. This can be a major pain. I simply have to find a better way. They need to make a silpat lined baking pan. The gooier the caramel, the smaller the pieces of foil rip off. Oil a large plastic cutting board and place the caramel slab there. Slice into pieces and wrap or dip.

Dip or wrap as desired.
I typically prefer to make my dipped caramels more gooey than the wrapped caramels, but note that softer caramels are more difficult to work with and dip. Even firm caramels will succumb to gravity and sag after a few minutes. When dipping, slice only as much as you need from the main block to maintain rectangular shapes.

Quick Raita!

I made this as part of throwing together a no-effort meal featuring a can of some sort of Indian soupy dish with white rice. Searched for a recipe and found this one from epicurious:

Ingredients:

1 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Wrap grated cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Whisk yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add cucumbers and toss to coat. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Sprinkle raita with pinch of cayenne pepper and serve.


I changed a few things - I used
-2/3 of a leftover cucumber - peeled seeded and minced (no squeezing - the idea here was a quick simple meal).
-1 single serving of plain yogurt
-juice of the small half of a lemon
-about a T of frozen mint leaves - chopped up
- about 3/4 t cumin
-a pinch of cayenne - and then more to taste

whisk together and eat immediately

I will try it the epicurious way sometime - with towels and time and such - but this worked very well - especially going from thinking about it to eating it in about 5 minutes.

Braised Pork Roast

This recipe is from the Silver Spoon Italian Cookbook.

This recipe was easy to set up - I rolled the roast in rosemary leaves, tied, it browned, and then added onions, garlic, and wine, and then left it alone to simmer. The recipe called for 90 minutes of simmering - so I didn't check the temp. for amlonst an hour - and the temp. was up to 190. Whoops. Oh well. IT was still tasty and the juices made nice gravy. The texture was card boardy. Next time I will check the temp. much sooner - and I will use lower heat fo simmnering.

2.25 Lb. Pork Roast
rosemary leaves from 2 or 3 sprigs
6 T olive oil
2 T butter
.5 medium onion - chopped
1 clove garlic - crushed
3/4 c dry white wine
1 T dijon mustard
1 t white wine vinegar (I used red - because tha tis what I had)

press half of the rosemary needles into the roast
tie the rost with twine
heat 4 T of oil and the butter in a pan
brown the roast on all sides - turning with tongs
pour off the accumulated fat
add the onions and garlic and wine
lower heat and let simmer for 90 min. (check temp after 30 or so just in case

when roast is to temp. - remove and let sit for 10 minutes
ass mustard, rest of oil, and vinegar to pan juices (I also added 1 t corn starch dissolved in about 1/4 C wine - for thickening)
Slice roast in thick slices and serve with gravy

I served sweet potato disks with this - yum!

garlic chive and cous cous salad

I made this salad to go with lemon parsley stuffed chicken. I seemed strange - I just threw together stuff that I had as a way to use garlic chives leftover from trying to make pad thai. It worked better than I expected - I might even make it again.

half a bunch (about 30-40) garlic chives
1 C cous cous
1 1/4 C chicken stock
1/4 C crasins
1/4 C cashews (chopped if you feel like it)
1/4 C chopped cucumber
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. Olive Oil
1/5 tsp. sea salt

-Boil the chicken stock - turn off heat and add the cous cous - let sit for five minutes and fluff with a fork.
-Preheat a grill pan - spray with some oil and, when the pan is hot, put in the garlic chives - let them grill for about 3 minutes and then turn the chives over to grill the other side. Salt the chives. Remove them from the pan when they are grilled on both sides.
-Chop the grilled chives into 1' lenghts
- mix all ingredients together

Improvised Ground Turkey Soft Tacos with Mole

I threw this together sort of in a hurry tonight - but it came out unusually well. I heated canola oil in a nonstick saute pan - and added half an onion minced, .5 t ground dried cayenne pepper, about the same amount of cumin, and about half that amoutn of cinnamon. After this mixture cooked for a few minutes and the onions became soft, I added about .5 lb. of ground turkey - and a bit more olive oil to keep things sizzling. After the turkey browned, I turned the heat down and added 1 pressed garlic clove, about half a small fresh chili pepper finely diced 2 T of mole sauce from trader joes, ans about 1/4 c water. I stirred, turned the heat down to a a simmer, covered, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes while some black beans and rive from a Vigo bag cooked.

I made salsa as follows: 1 med hot house tomato, the other half of the onion, about a t of cayenne powder, 3/4 t of cumin, juice from 1/4 of a lime, a tiny piece of lime rind cut into very small bits, about a t of tomato paste, about 1.5 of white vinegar, salt, one cube of frozen cilantro from trader joes, some frozen corn I had in the freezer, and a pressed garlic clove. I mixed all of this in a bowl - it tasted OK but was funny looking - so I ran it through a food processor.

I took one avocado and removed the flesh to the bowl of a masher - and added a T of the salsa, plus a bunch of salt, more pressed garlic, and more chili or cayenne powder.

I also throw some pomegranate seeds into the turkey and the salsa - since they were in a bowl nearby. (ok in the salsa - not noticeable in the turkey)

The turkey simmered with the mole sauce was very good. This is worth repeating. The soft tacos - assembled with the turkey, salsa, guac, black beans and rice, and cheddar cheese (grated) and shredded lettuce - (served on a tortilla steamed in the microwave in a plastic zip lock bag with a moist paper towel in it) were very good.

Raosted Bell Peppers

bell peppers
basil leaves
garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper

Line a roasting pan with foil, place peppers in it, and place in the middle if a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
Wrap peppers with foil after one hour - let cool.
Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds, membranes, etc, and peel the peppers.
Put the peeled peppers on paper towels to absorb juices.
Cut the ppers into strips. Lay the strips in a baking dish. sprinkle with garlic, salt,and pepper after each layer. Drizzle with olive oil. Let sit for flavors to combine before serving.

Pomegranate Dressed arugala salad

Dressing:

1 T Pomegranate vinegar
.5 T Balsamic vinegar
1 T Olive Oil
1 tsp honey
1 T lemon juice
.5 tsp coarse sea salt
dash pepper

Salad:

Arugala leaves
diced cucumber
diced carrots
craisins
cashew nuts
grated parmesan