cookingnight

Amaretti-stuffed Peaches

2007-10-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

I realized I forgot to post this one too, in case anyone wants to make some peach goodness.

*note - as a substitution for the amaretti, I followed one reviewer's suggestion and used macaroons with a little bit of almond extract - seemed to work.

From: Epicurious

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup coarsely crumbled amaretti (Italian almond macaroons, preferably Lazzaroni brand)

2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

8 firm-ripe small peaches (about 2 lb), halved lengthwise and pitted

Accompaniment: mascarpone cheese or crème fraîche

Prep:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and pour into a 13- by 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Pulse 3/4 cup crumbled amaretti in a food processor until finely chopped, then add flour, sugar, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Blend until butter is incorporated, then add egg and blend until smooth.

Scoop out just enough peach pulp from center of each peach half with a melon-ball cutter or a small spoon to create a 1-inch-deep cavity. Arrange peaches, cut sides up, in baking dish, then brush skins with melted butter from dish. Divide amaretti mixture among cavities, then sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup crumbled amaretti over filling. Bake until filling is puffed and crisp, 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Active time: 15 min - Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Makes 8 servings.

Carol's Dal Curry

2007-10-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

From last week - the Dal Curry y'all loved.

From: Recipezaar.com

time to make: 1¼ hours/30 min prep

2 cups lentils, stones picked out and boiled till soft

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, washed well and chopped

1 large tomato

1 can coconut milk

1 can tomato sauce (medium size)

curry powder

turmeric

ginger (fresh or ground)

ground cloves

cumin

cayenne

salt

1. Cover bottom of saucepan with vegetable oil.
2. Fry onion about 5 minutes, add cilantro and continue frying over medium heat, until onion is golden.
3. Add tomato and let get a little soft.
4. Add rest of ingredients, including spices (add spices according to your taste!) and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

Couscous with Spiced Zucchini

2007-10-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

Okay all, posting to get it started again! Here's my recipe from two weeks ago...

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup plain couscous

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bring broth with 1/4 teaspoon salt just to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over couscous in a bowl and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside until ready to use.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion with 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add zucchini and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low, then stir in coriander, chili powder, cumin, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Gently stir zucchini mixture into couscous and cool to warm or room temperature. Just before serving, stir in mint and lemon juice.

Original from:

Gourmet, September 2005

Cheese-Garlic Biscuits

2007-06-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

from Betty Crocker

2 cups original bisquick
2/3 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Philip used pepper jack)
2 T margarine or butter, melted
1/8 t garlic powder

Heat oven to 450. Stir bisquick, milk and cheese until soft dough forms.
Drop dough by 9 spoonfulls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 -10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Orzo Salad with Chickpeas, Dill, and Lemon

2007-06-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

from Cooking Light
aka ZoZo salad

1 cup uncooked orzo
1/2 cup thinkly sliced green onions
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled feta
1/4 chopped fresh dill
1 (19 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained (i think someone commented that it needed more garbanzos which was a correct statement because i used a 15oz can. i usually a make a 1.5 batch because i can't find 19oz cans of the beans)
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 t extra virgin olive oil
1 T cold water
1/2 t salt
1.2 t bottled minced garlic

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with caold water, drain.

Combine pasta, onions, feta, dill, and garbanzos in a large bowl, tossing gentle to combine.

Combine juice and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a wisk. Drizzle over pasta mixture, toss gentley to coat.

Yield: 4 (1 1/4) cup servings.

Great to make the night before - gives flavors more time to infuse.

Mango Lassis + more love from Seattle

2007-02-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

In the hectic pace of Microsoft life, Sean sends us more love from Seattle with... a Dildo song.

Sean: "This one's for cooking night." http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7561891079024207771

Healthy Mango Lassi
10-15 min. prep/5 min blender time

3 cups yogurt
1 cup water
4 ice cubes
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 tablespoons sugar
4 sprigs mint, 1 reserved for garnish

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend and garnish with fresh mint.
3. Serve chilled!

*recipe from www.recipezaar.com

Black-eyed peas with Dill

2007-01-31T21:40:00.000-08:00

(A little late coming, but I'm just catching up to everything, including my RSS feeds....)

2 cups water
2 fresh dill sprigs plus 2 tablespoons chopped dill leaves
2 large scallions, white and pale green parts cut into 1-inch pieces and dark green parts chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (10-oz) package frozen black-eyed peas

Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Bring water, dill sprigs, white and pale green parts of scallions, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, covered. Reduce heat to moderately low, then add peas and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool, uncovered, then transfer mixture with any liquid to a serving dish and stir in chopped dill, scallion greens, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Cooks' note: Black-eyed peas can be cooked, cooled, and dressed 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Makes 4 servings (as part of mezedes).

We still get love from far away

2007-01-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

You never really leave cooking night, even if you stop coming.

[18:16] Sean: i saw this today, and thought of cooking night.
[18:16] Sean: http://www.porn-bread.com/

Rice with Spinach, Lemon & Dill

2007-01-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

from Deborah's Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

This was a super tasty, simple rice dish that had enough moisture in it that I ate it the next day for lunch cold and it was still good.

2T olive oil, butter, or mix
1C finely chopped scallions, including an inch or 2 of greens KC: I probably used 3/4 C of scallions
1C long-grain white or brown rice KC: I used white
1 large bunch of spinach leaves, finely chopped
2T chopped dill or 2t dried KC: I used dried
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt & pepper

Warm oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add scallions and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, 3-4 minutes. Add the rice, spinach, dill, lemon zest, and 1/2t salt. Cook until the spinach has wilted. If using white rice, add 1 3/4C water (brown rice- 2 1/4C). Bring to boil, then lower heat and cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, 15-18 minutes for the white rice (30-40 min for brown). Add lemon juice and gently loosen grains with a fork. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Season with pepper and serve.

nian gow - a chinese bean cake to celebrate the new year

2007-01-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

(from about.com)

INGREDIENTS:
16 oz. Mochiko sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour), plus a bit extra for sprinkling on the baking dish (mmv - i couldn't locate sweet rice flour, used white rice flour instead)
1 stick of butter or 3/4 cup of vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 to 1 3/4 cup sugar--depending on if you like it sweeter (mmv - i only used 1 cup. because i use regular flour, i should have possibly upped the sugar amount)
1 Tb baking soda
One can of red azuki beans
PREPARATION:
Mix everything* but the beans with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Beat for 2 more minutes at high speed.Sprinkle Mochiko flour over a 9"x13" baking dish that has been oiled or sprayed with Pam.Spread half of the batter on the bottom of the baking pan Spread the red azuki beans (you can mix some batter into the beans if they are too thick to spread).Spread the other half of the batter over the red azuki beans. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.Test for doneness by inserting a chopstick (this is Chinese New Year’s Cake after all)—if it comes out clean, it is done.Recipe by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Asian American Village contributing editor.
* mmv: i softened the butter in the microwave, but then adding the cold milk hardened it again. this made it a pain in the rear to mix. i suggest setting the milk out to bring it to room temp before adding it. maybe nuking it for 20-30 seconds would suffice?

North Africa!

2006-11-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

Here are the recipes for my suggested menu for this week, all from Vegetarian Table: North Africa, one of the best of the "Vegetarian Table" cookbook series.

Hlelem
Bean, Chard, and Noodle Soup (Tunisia)

2T olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2c chopped celery leaves
4c vegetable broth (you can get decent veggie broth powder in the WF or CM bulk -- BHS)
One 6oz can tomato paste
One 15oz can butter beans with their liquid
One 15oz can garbanzo beans with their liquid
1lb Swiss chard, stems included, finely chopped
20 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, minced
1/2c crushed dried capellini (angel hair) pasta or thin egg noodles
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
2t harissa (I'll bring mine to Kate's and we can add it there -- BHS)
Lemon wedges for garnish

In a large saucepan or soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the celery leaves and stir until wilted. Add the broth and the tomato paste and stir to blend. Bring to a low boil. Add the butter beans, garbanzo beans, chard, parsley, and crushed pasta or noodles. Cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and harissa. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Ommok Houria
Mother Houria's Carrot Salad (Tunisia)

1lb carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2c water
12 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, minced
1t ground caraway
2T olive oil
3T red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Harissa to taste (I'll bring mine to Kate's and we can add it there -- BHS)
12 Kalamata or nicoise olives
2 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the carrots, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the carrots are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain. Transfer them to a medium bowl. Add the parsley, caraway, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and harissa. Stir well to blend.

To serve, make a mound of the Ommok Houria on a plate. Stud it with the olives and garnish it with the hard-cooked eggs. Serve at room temperature.

Couscous Belboula
Barley Grit Couscous (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia)

2T olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 large tomatoes, quartered
24 fresh cilantro sprigs, tied with cotton string
4c vegetable broth (you can get decent veggie broth powder in the WF or CM bulk -- BHS)
1t ground turmeric
1t black pepper
1/2t ground cinnamon
3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
2 rutabagas, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 globe eggplant, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch-thick sticks
Salt to taste
2T unsalted butter
1c barley grits
1T smen or olive oil (smen is apparently an African butter, spiced and aged 6 weeks, so probably go with the olive oil -- BHS)

Preheat the oven to 200F. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, broth, turmeric, pepper, and cinnamon. Cover and bring to a rolling boil. Add the carrots and rutabagas and lower the heat to medium. Cover and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add the eggplant and zucchini and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. To prevent the vegatables from overcooking, with a slotted spoon, transfer them to an ovenproof dish and keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve. Keep the broth simmering in the pot. Discard the cilantro and season with salt.

In a medium saucepan, place 1 cup of the broth and 2T of butter, and bring to a low boil. Remove from the heat and add the barley grits. Stir to blend. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Fluff the barley grits with a fork to break up any lumps. Sprinkle lightly with 1/2c of the broth to moisten. Add the smen or olive oil and mix well.

Arrange the barley grits around the perimeter of a serving platter. Place the vegetables in the center. Serve with some of the remaining broth on the side.

Mhalbi
Custard with Orange Flower Water (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia)

1/3c cornstarch
3c whole milk
1/4c sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2T orange flower, rose, or rose geranium water.
1/2c almonds, toasted pine nuts, or pistachio nuts, coarsely ground
2c fresh raspberries (optional)

In a small bowl, dilute the cornstarch with 1/2c of the milk. Set aside. In a heavy, medium saucepan, bring the remaining 2 1/2c milk, sugar, and cinnamon stick to a boil. Add the cornstarch mixture. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the cinnamon stick. Stir in the orange flower, rose, or rose geranium water. Pour into 5 individual ramekins or parfait glasses. Let cool.

Sprinkle with the nuts and garnish with fresh raspberries, if using. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Brussels Sprouts Poached in Cider with Onions and Apples

2006-11-06T23:39:00.000-08:00

I have to be honest and admit that this is really not my favorite of all the things I've ever cooked. I prefer brussels sprouts steamed lightly and then sauteed in butter and salt, with smoked gruyere grated over them before they're done, but that's primarily because, hey, smoked gruyere, how can it be bad?

These were good and definitely more interesting & subtle than the gruyere variety, but I still pined for the richness missing with the... well, the missing fat. There's really not much in here.

This is from Georgeanne Brennan's France: The Vegetarian Table. You'll probably see a theme with my cooking night recipes: the Vegetarian Table books are a handy reference whenever I need an explicit ethnicity of food, since they have a good selection of all dishes (appetizers, soups, small plates, entrees, desserts, etc.) from each culture. That said, some are better than others. I have yet to make anything mind-blowing with Italy and France, but America (no surprise, since it's penned by Deborah Madison), Thailand, and North Africa are real gems.

Oh! One last thing about this recipe: when I made it, I doubled it for cooking night, and ended up having to cook it in my wok, so the ingredients were not all directly touching the bottom of the pan and I had to stir it a lot, so I expected the timings to be off, but they were way off. Seriously, scanning the recipe, the cooking times are, in order, 3-4 minutes, 3-4 minutes, and 10-15 minutes. For me it was--no exaggeration--more like 10-12 minutes, 10-12 minutes, and 50-60 minutes. No joke. The sprouts still were a tiny bit tougher than I wanted after that long, too. Don't let that discourage you, just beware that you will need to be confident in your eyeballing and tasting abilities to potentially make up your own timings.

Brussels Sprouts Poached in Cider with Onions and Apples

For me, this dish conjures up the Norman countryside in late autumn and early winter when the last fall apples are still on the ground beneath the trees, but the first cider has already been pressed. The rolling hills have mist hanging about them until late into the morning and you sense, as you drive along, that if you have the good fortune to be invited into the kitchen of one of the stone farmhouses that dot the countryside, you will surely be offered a small glass of warming homemade calvados.

1 lb brussels sprouts
2 Golden Delicious or other sweet apples
2T butter
2T olive oil
1 yellow or red onion, chopped
1 1/2c apple cider
1/2t salt
1/2t freshly ground black pepper
2 star anise
1/4c balsamic vinegar

Trim the stems from the sprouts and cut each sprout in half from the top through the stem end. Halve and core the apples, peel them if you wish, and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes.

In a skillet or heavy-bottomed saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients eventually, melt the butter with the olive oil over low heat. When they begin to foam, increase the heat to medium and ad the onions and apples. Saute until the apples have softened and the onions are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sprouts and saute, stirring gently, for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the apple cider, salt, pepper, and star anise. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the sprouts are easily pierced with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the contents of the pan to a warmed serving dish, discard the star anise and cover to keep warm. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the pan juices are reduced by half. Add the vinegar and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring and scraping the pan to loosen any bits that may be stuck to it.

Ed: I actually found the vinegar to be too much, maybe because my completely different cooking times had already reduced the cooking liquids down substantially. I'd recommend not adding all the vinegar at once, but rather adding and tasting as you go. You do want it to be very vinegary, to be clear, since it is just a dressing, and not meant to be drank on its own, but not so vinegary it drowns the other flavors!

Pour the hot pan juices over the sprouts mixture and serve immediately.

Baked Beans

2006-11-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

I promised a few people I'd post this recipe, and kept forgetting. My recipe for this week is sitting on the stove taking much longer than it's supposed to be for the brussels sprouts to soften up, so in the meantime I thought I'd write this one up.

This is from America: The Vegetarian Table by Deborah Madison. Generally all of the Vegetarian Table series cookbooks are excellent, although America is among the best. North Africa is also fantastic. France is currently proving a little off on the cooking times (at this very moment!)

I added powdered Lapsang Souchong tea to the recipe to give it a particular smokiness. Lapsang Souchong is a particular kind of black tea -- not expensive, and quite common at any tea shop -- that is smoked in woven baskets over pine fires. The tea itself smells like a camp fire. It is not subtle. Don't overdo it, or the tea can easily overpower the rest of the flavors.

Also, soybeans take longer to soak and cook than just about any other bean. They also expand more than most beans while soaking. I'd recommend putting them to soak the night before, and adding water over the course of the next two hours, eventually leaving them covered by a good 3 inches of water or more. I cooked them for 3 hours and they still could have used more. I guess the message is just this: err on the side of over-doing it with the beans. You can't really ruin beans by cooking them too much, but too little and they're tough and chewy.

Baked Beans, like Apple Pie, is a definitive American dish. There are a number of slow-cooked bean dishes throughout New England, all with their arguable differences, but they always include pork of some kind, a sweetener--first maple syrup, then molasses and brown sugar--and the bean itself, which might be a navy bean, marrow bean, yellow-eyed pea, or another. A splash of bourbon or rum finds its way into beans as they travel south. The slab of salt pork is what provides succulence for the beans. Since it's not used here, I've switched to the soybean, a creamy, fat little legume that gives the final dish the richness it needs. Soybeans can take up to 3 hours to cook until tender, so I prefer to cook them on top of the stove until they're done, then finish them in the oven, instead of tying up oven heat and space. Unsoaked soybeans take 35 to 40 minutes in a pressure cooker.

3c yellow soybeans, picked over and soaked for 12 hours in [filtered, not tap -- Ed.] water to cover
4 bay leaves
1 small yellow onion, peeled but left whole.
4 whole cloves
3T safflower oil
3c finely diced yellow onion
1/3c brown sugar [I used light -- Ed.]
1/2c molasses
1/3c tamari
2t salt
1 1/2t ground chipotle chile or pureed chipotle in adobo sauce
1-2t ground Lapsang Souchong black tea (my addition -- Ed.)

Put the beans in a heavy saucepan with 2 of the bay leaves and the onion stuck with the cloves. Add fresh water to cover by 6 inches and bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Scoop off any foam, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender, about 3 hours. Check to make sure there's ample liquid covering the beans while they're cooking.

While the beans are cooking, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and the remaining 2 bay leaves and cook until the onion is soft, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside.

When the beans are done, drain them, reserving the liquid, and place them in a bowl. Stir in the onion, brown sugar, molasses, soy sauce, salt, and chipotle chile [and powdered tea -- Ed.] Put the beans in a shallow baking dish and add the reserved liquid plus water, if needed, so that the mixture is a little soupy and the beans are just covered. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue baking until the beans brown on top, another 30 minutes or so.

Serve the beans on plates or in shallow bowls.

2006-10-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

SAUTEED OKRA WITH TOMATO AND CORN
This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

1/2 pound fresh okra
1 medium vine-ripened tomato
1 small onion
1 ear corn
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Cut okra into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Peel and chop tomato. Cut onion into thin slices and cut corn from cob. In a heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and saut  okra with salt to taste, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon transfer okra to a bowl.

Add remaining‚ tablespoon oil to skillet and sauté onion, stirring, until it begins to soften. Stir in tomato, water, and Worcestershire sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add corn and simmer until corn is crisp-tender and sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in okra with salt and pepper to taste and cook until heated through.

Alternatively, you can make this without the worchester sauce and add feta; it's yummy like that.

Archives fixed

2006-10-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

Cookingnight blog mantenence is complete!

- Fixed the archives so now when you go to look up an old recipe, you can actually find it.
- Figured out how to add titles and links.
- Got RSS feed working. It's at http://www.cocovelocity.com/cookingnight/atom.xml

I feel very smart. Congratulate me on my web publishing skills.

2006-10-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

6 Minute chocolate Cake
from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

Eating the last little piece of this reminded me I should post the recipe. This cake was great. Easy to make, moist, and not loaded in that much sugar or fat.

Cake
1.5C unbleached white flour
1/3C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1t baking soda
1C sugar
1/2C vegetable oil
1C cold water or brewed coffee (I used coffee)
2t pure vanilla extract
2T vinegar (I used white)

Glaze
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate (I used Schfarenberger)
3/4C hot milk, water or half-and-half (I used low fat milk)
1/2t pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt & sugar into ungreased 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together the oil, coffee, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or whisk. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly.There will be pale swirls in the batter where the baking soda and vinegar are reacting. Stir just until the vinegar is even distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Set cake aside to cool, and reset oven to 300 for glaze.

For the glaze, melt the chocolate in a small ovenproof bowl in the oven for about 15 minutes. Stir the hot milk and the vanilla into the chocolate until smooth. Spoon glaze over the cooled cake. Refridgerate for at least 30 min.

2006-09-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Ratatoille.

So, I chose to make this because a bunch of us were going to see Ratatat, and that reminds me of Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part I:

"Rats, rats for sale. Get your rats. Good for rat stew, rat soup, or the ever-popular ratatouille"

So ratatouille it was. Being a word nerd and armchair linguist, I found that ratatouille is a compound of the word rata (shitty hot food, French slang circa 1820) and touille (from touiller, to stir up). Really.

Anyhow - onto my recipe, which I made up by mixing together a bunch of other ratatouille recipes.. Which makes this a metaratatouille.

Ingredients:
1 Eggplant
2 Zucchini
5 Ripe Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
5 Diced Garlic Cloves
1 Large Yellow Onion
1 Cup Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Cayenne Pepper
Rosemary, Oregano, Savory, Thyme (approximation of the Herbes de Provence)
Salt
(this is where things get weird)
1 Lemon
Nutmeg
White Vinegar
1/3 Stick of Butter

Steps:
- Chop eggplant into half inch cubes, and drizzle with lemon and salt to keep it looking good. Mix the juice and salt by hand to cover everything.
- Chop zucchini and tomatoes
- Chop up garlic and onions
- In a large pot, saute garlic and onion in 2 Tbsp of olive oil over lowish heat, until onions are translucent
- Add eggplant and let soften
- Touillez(!) in the zucchini and tomatoes, butter
- Add 2/3 Tsp each of rosemary, oregano, savory and thyme, AND nutmeg. The nutmeg is optional, but I think it adds a hearty flavor to the vegetables. You might want to start low on this much spice, and work your way up, by the way.. Maybe 1/3 Tsp to be safe.
- Add 1/3 Tsp of cayenne pepper (maybe more if you like more spice)
- Let tomatoes reduce (maybe 10 minutes)
- Chop up fresh basil and stir it into the mix
- Add tomato paste, and then white vinegar to taste (helps bring out tomato zest, but don't overdo it)
- Simmer until it tastes ready

So, most recipes said to make this a day in advance so the flavors can all mix together. I didn't have time for that, so the food had about one hour to get friendly with itself once I took it off the burner. And.. It was pretty good.

Another note. The vinegar and tomato paste is going to make this taste more like spaghetti sauce than ratatouille. So, again, don't overdo it.

The above, served as a side, feeds about 8. For a wine, I recommend something hearty and spicy like a pinot noir. But then, I know fuck-all about wines, and I'd probably recommend something trendy like pinot noir for just about anything.

And Ratatat was just ok. For such a sweet sweet sounding band, the guitarist is one sloppy dude live. When your band doesn't have a drummer, you can't get away with that shit, drunko.

2006-09-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

Spring Pea Salad

1/2 c fresh mint leaves, torn
1 T. capers, roughly chopped
1 sm. shallot, thinly sliced
1 t. grated lemmon zest
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
1 lb. green peas, thawed if frozen
1/2 c. (4 oz) crumbled goat cheese (I used goat feta, since it's crumblier)

Combine all ingrediants and toss.

Serve at room temp.

2006-09-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

BEETS AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS WITH FETA

This dish is a particularly good accompaniment to beef or lamb.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min

2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (preferably whole-grain or coarse-grain)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb onions (2 medium), quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 (15-oz) cans small whole beets, drained and quartered (or halved if very small)

3 oz crumbled feta (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup pine nuts (1 oz), toasted and coarsely chopped

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.

Cook onions with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Add onions to dressing, then add beets and cheese, stirring gently to combine. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.

Makes 4 first-course or side-dish servings.

Gourmet
September 2003

2006-09-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

don’t remember if i posted these two. theyre kinda oldies, but goodies!

zucchini and jicama salad with chipotle-lime dressing

1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
2 medium carrots
1 cup jicama (about ½ pound), peeled
1 cup corn kernels (thaw out frozen kernels)
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp canola oil
1 canned chipotle pepper, seeded and minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ tsp ground cumin
salt, to taste

cut zucchini, squash, carrots, and jicama into matchsticks.
mix all ingredients.

black bean and sweet potato chili

1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 -15 oz cans black beans, drained
1 -28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
2 cups sweet potato, diced but not peeled (one large potato?)

in a large saucepan, heat the oil. add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno. cook over medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring frequently. stir in the diced tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes more. stir in the beans, crushed tomatoes, and seasonings. cook for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat. stirring occasionally.
WHILE the veggies are cooking, boil water and cook sweet potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. when the veggies have about 5 minutes left, stir in the potatoes.
ladle chili into bowls, garnish with chopped red onion, scallions, or fresh cilantro.
**8 servings**

2006-09-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

made these two pies in one week. one for coworkers birthday, one for cooking night.

no-bake fresh fruit pie

4 cups any combination of fresh fruit – picked over, washed, drained, cut-up
(i actually used frozen fruit and it worked just as well)
2/3 cup granulated sugar (or more, depending on how sweet/tart the fruit is)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp unsalted butter
9 inch prebaked pie shell

in food processor, mash 1 ½ cups of the mixed fruit
in a saucepan, whisk sugar, cornstarch, and water until smooth. stir in the mashed fruit. cook over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes, or until the mixture in thick and clear. stir in the lemon juice. remove from heat.
taste the mixture. correct with sugar or lemon juice if necessary. stir in the butter and the remaining 2 ½ cups of fruit. chill until partially thickened. then spoon the mixture into the pie shell. chill until set, about 3 hours (maybe faster in the fridge).
* the cookbook suggested serving the pie with ice cream or whipped cream. i want to try it with a latticed top crust.

butterscotch banana cream pie

¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 cups milk
3 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extact
3 bananas, sliced
10 inch prebaked pie shell, cooled to room temperature

in a saucepan, combine cornstarch and brown sugar. slowly add just enough milk to make a paste. then add the rest of the milk and egg yolks and whisk until all smooth.
cook on medium heat, stirring constantly (unfortunately, this is pretty accurate). mixture will thicken in about 10-15 minutes. if it starts to get lumpy, reduce the heat and stir more vigorously.
remove from heat and stir in the butter until it melts. add the vanilla and bananas and stir well. pour the filling into the pie shell. refridgerate until cold (or set), about 2 hours.
* i topped the pie with crushed nuts and shredded coconut to make it more “tropical” and less “old south.”
* also, this pie wont keep long – two days max.

2006-09-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

from sean's hovel:

portuguese potato and kale soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups of water (i used probably 1 cup veggie broth, 3 cups water)
4 cups white or yukon gold potatoes, chopped
½ tsp white or black pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dried oregano
3-4 cups packed green kale, stems removed & chopped
1 15-oz. can white beans, drained (i think kidney, navy, cannellini, or great northern would work)

in a large saucepan, heat the oil. add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. add water/broth, potatoes, seasonings. cook 20-25 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
stir in the kale and beans and cook for 5-10 more minutes. if you want a thicker soup, mash the potatoes against the sides of the pan. turn off the heat, let stand for 10 minutes. serve!
**4-6 portions**

2006-08-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Spinach with Tahini
from epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/1222193)
*note from cooking experience: this will take you a little longer than mentioned... for me, around 45 min. total prep/cooking. I found that that 1/2 cup of water was not enough to cook all the spinach 'in handfuls', so I had to keep adding water to the pan.

1 medium garlic clove, chopped
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
1.5 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
15 oz. loosely packed baby spinach (24 cups)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional), toasted

Blend together garlic, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and 1/4 cup of the water in a blender until smooth.

Bring remaining 1/2 cup to a simmer in a 12-inch skillet over high heat.

Add spinach in handfuls, tossing with tongs, and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.

Drain spinach in a large sieve set over a bowl, pressing to extract any excess liquid.

Discard liquid and wipe bowl dry, then stir together spinach and tahini mixture in bowl. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Serves 4.
(make double if you want more than about 2 c. worth!)

2006-08-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Goat Cheese Spread with Pistachios and Mint
only the best appetizer ever.... takes no time at all, too. :)

from "Simple Vegetarian Pleasures" by Jeanne Lemlin

5 oz. soft mild goat cheese
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped shelled pistachio nuts
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint or 1 teaspoon dried

In a medium size bowl, mash the goat cheese with a fork. Stir in nuts and mint.

Line a 6-oz. cup or ramekin with a piece of plastic wrap big enough to extend over the sides. Pack in the goat cheese mixture and smooth over the top. Fold over the plastic wrap to cover the cheese. Chill at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours before serving.

To serve, invert the container on a plate. Let it warm slightly to soften. Serve with crackers or crostini (I serve with flatbreads)... can also line plate with olives, sliced raw fennel, and orange slices.

2006-08-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

i like that you guys have included where the recipe came from...

from good housekeeping (!!) "delicious vegetable cooking:"
garbanzo salad

prep time: 20 minutes
ingredients:
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 small tomatoes (about 12 oz)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
1 green onion
1 can garbanzo beans (15-19 oz)
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, etc)

as usual, i just used the recipe as a guideline. they say to prepare a vinaigrette first, then add the vegies and the beans. i just drained/rinsed the beans. chopped the tomatoes, olives, and spices. added them to beans. poured in vinegar and oil. stirred everything up. yummy!
i also used only one tbsp of vinegar, NO mustard, and probably 2+ tbsps of each basil and thyme.

*serves 4*
but im guessing that depends on how many other side dishes there are.