Resolution: Food

30th recipe - Nutella brownies

2010-12-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

I recently started following the Savory Sweet Life blog and have been loving it so far. Several months ago, she put up a recipe that looked really interesting to me. It combined my love of Nutella and brownies and looked super easy so I thought I would give it a try. The recipe came courtesy of a cookbook by Abby Dodge, dedicated to recipes using only 4 ingredients.

Overall, the brownies came out kind of meh for me. I think I may have overcooked them so I would definitely suggest taking them out sooner rather than later. Also, I used a metal mini-muffin pan without liners which I think may have really upped the heat factor, which meant again, I should have taken them out sooner. I'm not sure if I'll try them again, but if I do, I'd probably make sure to use liners and also bake them for exactly the amount of time suggested in the recipe - 11 to 12 minutes - even if the brownies don't look like they're completely done.

Ingredients:
(makes 12 bites)
1/2 c. Nutella
1 large egg
5 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped hazelnuts
powdered sugar, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini-muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

Whisk together Nutella and egg until smooth. Whisk in flour until blended. Spoon into liners until about 3/4 full, then sprinkle with hazelnuts. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes.

I sprinkled mine with powdered sugar, which really helped even out the hazelnut flavor. I guess it really depends on how much you love hazelnut.

29th recipe - Katsu

2010-12-26T12:15:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, katsu? So simple, so easy, but still, I've never done it before. So one weekend, I decided it was time and I went for it. The katsu itself was very easy. But what I'm really thankful for is that I found an amazing tonkatsu sauce to go with it.

Ingredients:
chicken, pounded to about 1/2 in. thick (you can also do this with pork or beef, or really anything you think would be good breaded and fried)
salt and pepper, to taste
all-purpose flour
beaten egg
panko bread crumbs
oil for frying

Directions:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Set up three bowls, with one containing flour, the next the egg, and the next the panko. Dredge the chicken breast in flour, then dip into egg, then press into the panko bread crumbs. Repeat the egg and panko steps if you want to make them super-crispy.

Fry them oil, for about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Tonkatsu Sauce
Ingredients:
1 c. ketchup
4 tsp. dry mustard powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

My first try wasn't perfect - I partly blame the uneven heating on my stove and the lack of a proper utensil to flip the chicken with. But still, it came out very nice, light, and crispy. And I can definitely foresee myself making this again in the future. I'm excited about making katsu curry someday and I'm glad I've got at least a little confidence with the katsu part of things.

28th recipe - Mediterranean chicken

2010-12-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, you're just in the mood to use up what's in your freezer. And sometimes, you have a lot of frozen chicken. And if you're lucky, then sometimes, you're also trying to figure out what to do with all the white wine in your house. If this ever happens to you, then this recipe might do the trick.

The original recipe did call for kalamata olives, but K's not a huge fan, so I left them out.

Ingredients:
3/4 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. white wine
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. diced onion
1 c. tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp. white wine
3/4 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat oil and 2 tsp. white wine in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and saute about 4 to 6 minutes on each side, until there's a golden crust. Remove the chicken and set aside. In the same pan, add the garlic and onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add 3 tbsp. white wine and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the thyme and basil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Return the chicken to the skillet and cover. Continue cooking over low heat until the chicken is cooked through. Add parsley to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

I served mine over wild rice, although many of the commenters suggested adding cheese and serving this over a pasta, which I think would work well. The flavors were simple and clean, and while I wonder what it would have tasted like with the olives, I thought it tasted quite good without.

27th recipe - Chocolate bread pudding

2010-12-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

This is one of those desserts I wish everyone at Wedding Week had tried. It didn't look great, but it was really delicious. Maybe it was against too many competitors, like the lemon cake and the chocolate gooey butter cookies. But still, I thought it was a strong candidate and the few who tried it thought it was really awesome.

Unfortunately (or not), I don't have any photos of this one, but I'm sure you all know what a bread pudding looks like. The recipe (with a few changes) is from Paula Deen, but surprisingly, doesn't have any butter or cream cheese in it. Perhaps Ms. Deen does have some restraint after all.

Ingredients:
1 (1-lb.) loaf French or Italian bread, cubed and dried
3 c. milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. Bailey's irish cream
1 c. sugar
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract (the original recipe calls for 2 tsp.)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated (I used chocolate nibs instead since I couldn't find a whole bar of chocolate in Puerto Rico)
whipped cream, optional (I went without, which may have led to most people skipping over the bread pudding)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and spread bread cubes in the dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together milk, cream, and Bailey's.

In another bowl, combine sugars and cocoa powder and mix well. Add sugar mixture to milk mixture and mix well.

In another bowl, add vanilla, almond extract, and cinnamon to the beaten eggs. Combine the egg mixture and milk mixture and mix well. Stir in grated chocolate (or chocolate nibs). Pour over cubed bread in the baking dish. Let the mixture stand for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bread absorbs most of the milk mixture.

Bake for 1 hour or until set, meaning a knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.

The pudding can be served warm or cold with whipped cream.

26th recipe - Baked tilapia

2010-12-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

At some point, as a budding maker of food, you start to take recipes and merge them together. Well, during my Super Diet, I was on the search for low calorie foods that wouldn't skimp on flavor. After perusing the net, I decided to make a baked tilapia seasoned with some of Emeril's BAM powder, which I had made before.

It turned out tasty and I have made it again since then. Even K thought it tasted good. And, as you've figured out by now, K doesn't generally have 100% positive comments about anything.

Ingredients:
4 (4-oz.) tilapia filets
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. butter, melted
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
Emeril's BAM powder (recipe can be found here)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pat the tilapia filets dry and place them in a baking dish. Pour lemon juice over them, then drizzle melted butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley, and BAM powder (to taste). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until fish flakes easily.

I paired mine with a baked potato and salad, but of course, this dish would go well with a number of things. It's easy to make, budget-friendly, and won't make your loved ones hate you.

25th recipe - Baked penne with roasted vegetables

2010-12-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

A few vegetarians were in attendance at Wedding Week, so on the day of the wedding, I made this special dish for them. Unfortunately, I never had any for myself, but the comments I received led me to believe that it came out very well. Maybe someday K will have to go on a meatless diet, and I will have the chance to make this again. The recipe came to me courtesy of Ms. Giada.

Unfortunately, this is another picture-less entry, so just try to imagine pasta with tons of vegetables, tomatoes, and shredded cheese.

Ingredients:
2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 summer squash (or any squash really - I used whatever I could find at the Puerto Rican grocery store), quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cremini mushrooms, halved
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt, divided into 2 portions
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided into 2 portions
1 tsp. dried Italian herb mix or herbs de Provence
1 lb. penne pasta
3 c. marinara sauce (store bought or homemade, see here for a great recipe)
1 c. grated fontina cheese (I believe I substituted gruyere here since I couldn't find fontina easily in Puerto Rico)
1/2 c. grated smoked mozzarella (or regular mozzarella would be fine too)
1 1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
1/4 c. grated parmesan, plus 1/3 c. for topping
2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

On a baking sheet, toss peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.

Boil a large pot of salted water and add the pasta. Cook for only 6 minutes since the pasta will continue cooking in the oven, then drain.

In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, and the remaining salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to gently mix until all the pasta is coated and the ingredients are fully combined.

Pour the pasta mixture into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top with the remaining parmesan and distribute the butter pieces. Bake until the top is golden and the cheese has melted, about 25 minutes.

24th recipe - Lemon cake

2010-12-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

Here's another winner from Wedding Week. One of my big emphases during that whole extravaganza was dessert. And seeing as how we were in the middle of a tropical island with bags and bags of fresh lemons around, I decided it was time to try this recipe from Ina Garten.

It came out really fantastic. I had to make my own buttermilk, which turned out to be pretty easy. I also took people's advice from the comments section and poked holes in the bottoms of the cakes using the handle end of a wooden spoon and poured syrup into them so that the entire cake would be saturated with lemony goodness. In order to keep things a bit cleaner, I also decided to pour the lemon glaze onto the cakes while they were still in their baking tins, which led to K making the comment that they could have used more icing on the sides, on the bottom, and well, all over if he had his way.

Ingredients:
(makes two 8-inch loaves)
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 c. granulated sugar, divided into portions of 2 c. and 1/2 c.
4 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1/3 c. grated lemon zest (6-8 large lemons)
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided into portions of 1/4 c. and 1/2 c.
3/4 c. cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
lemon glaze (recipe below)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two loaf pans (8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 2 1/2") or line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Cream butter and 2 c. sugar until light and fluffy (you can use a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for this step). With a mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, and add the lemon zest.

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

In another bowl, combine 1/4 c. lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Alternate adding flour and buttermilk mixtures to the butter and sugar batter, making sure to start with flour and end with flour. Divide the batter evenly and pour them into the pans. Smooth the tops and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.

In a saucepan, make a lemon syrup by cooking 1/2 c. sugar with 1/2 c. lemon juice over low heat until the sugar dissolves. After the cakes have cooled for 10 minutes, spoon the syrup over the cakes slowly and allow the cakes to absorb the syrup. To maximize lemony goodness, take the cakes out of the pans, poke holes in the bottoms and pour syrup into them.

You can then pour glaze onto the cakes after they've completely cooled.

Lemon Glaze
Ingredients:
2 c. confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 1/2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Combine sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

And now, it's time to take in the beautiful, summery, super-delicious pictures.

23rd recipe - Chocolate gooey butter cookies

2010-08-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sadly, this post is going to have to be picture-less. I made these during Wedding Week and there just wasn't time to snap a photo. But, trust me, these are both easy to make and delicious. Imagine a cookie that was pretty to look at, surprisingly molten inside, and ended up tasting like chocolate candy. Sounds good, right?

This surprising little concoction uses cream cheese AND boxed chocolate cake mix. Can you guess where I got it from?

I'll give you a minute to really think it over.

. . .

Think you got it? If you guessed Paula Deen, then you are a smart cookie.

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (18 oz.) box moist chocolate cake mix
confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Beat in the vanilla. Beat in the cake mix. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll the chilled batter into tbsp.-sized balls and roll them in the confectioner's sugar.

Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and bake for 12 minutes. After baking, you can sprinkle them with even more confectioner's sugar.

The comments section of this recipe suggests you could use other boxed cake mixes, including lemon and spice, and get equally excellent results. Someday, when I'm not Super Dieting, I'm going to have to try this.

22nd recipe - Rosemary grilled chicken thighs

2010-08-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

I found these pictures and the recipe and thought I should add them to my blog. Unfortunately, I can't remember everything I did to tweak the recipe but I'm pretty sure about most of it. If not, well, I tried.

Strangely enough, this is a Rachael Ray recipe. This is strange mainly because I can't stand her, but if it makes things any better, this is for a dinner which tends to be her best subject area (if I have to hear her explain one more time about how she can't bake, I might take a paring knife to the good ol' jugular vein).

If memory serves me correctly, this turned out pretty good. The original recipe did call for portabello mushroom caps, but I used baby bellas. It also called for porcinis and bacon (or pancetta), but I didn't have either on hand, so I just left them out. In the photos you'll see that I placed the finished chicken on top of some mashed potatoes and paired it with a simple salad.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
3 stems fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large shallot, chopped
8-10 baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. dry red wine
chicken stock, optional

Directions:
Heat a grill pan over high heat. Drizzle chicken with oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Grill for 5 minutes on each side and remove from heat to rest for 5 minutes.

In a medium skillet, add 2 tbsp. oil and saute garlic and chopped shallot over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute the mushroom for 10 minutes. Add flour and cook for another minute. Add red wine and reduce the liquid by about half, which should take about one more minute. If it needs more moisture, you could add a little chicken stock at this point and simmer it together for a few minutes.

21st recipe - Potato salad

2010-07-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

So, yeah. I love potato salad. Which is why I'm probably on a Super Diet now. *rolls eyes* I like my carbs, okay?

Anyway, I decided to try a new recipe for potato salad during "Wedding Week" for the whole family to try and I thought it came out pretty good. I like my potato salad creamy and with eggs so this recipe from Aaron McCargo, Jr. (the cute guy on Big Daddy's House and winner of the 4th season of The Next Food Network Star) sounded perfect. After trying it, I think the only thing I might change would be a little less mayonnaise and maybe the addition of some mustard powder.

Ingredients:
About 1 1/4 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (the original recipe called for Yukon gold, but I ended up using Russet potatoes, which turned out fine)
3 large eggs
1/2 c. diced onion
1/2 c. diced celery
2 tbsp. sweet relish
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. mayonnaise
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and spread potato cubes on a sheet pan to cool.

Bring a separate pot of water to boil and add the eggs, cooking for 12 minutes. Immerse the eggs in a bowl of ice water until they are cooled completely, then peel them under cold running water before roughly chopping them.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, celery, relish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mayonnaise. Fold in the potatoes, eggs, and scallions. You may want to taste at this point to see if any more seasoning is needed.

Forgive the messiness of the photos - conditions during "Wedding Week" were a little crazy and I'm lucky I didn't chop a finger off making as much food as I did. So, yeah, my plating may have been a little less than desirable - but everything was delicious!

20th recipe - Gorgonzola and porcini mushroom risotto

2010-07-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Oh my god - where have I been? Well, I traveled for the first half of June to such exotic places like Panama Beach, FL and back to New York, which was fun, but obviously didn't allow for a lot of cooking. Then I had family in town, and once that was over, K and I began what we like to call the "Super Diet." So again, no cooking.

Sigh. I have no idea when Super Diet will be over, but I have to keep blogging. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it all work, but I'll figure something out.

Anyways, I'm going to provide two recipes today to help make up for my absence. This first one is a Giada recipe and was actually made before I moved to Texas as a treat for K and my brother who was visiting and helping me pack the ridiculous amount of kitchen stuff I own. It turned out incredibly rich and I probably should have taken it off the stove a bit sooner (it came out a little on the dry side), but if I hadn't made that mistake, I'm sure it would have come out perfect. I would definitely make it again and pair it with something really light like an arugula salad.

Ingredients:
4 c. low-sodium chicken stock
1 1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
3 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 c. arborio rice
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. grated parmesan
3/4 c. (3 oz.) crumbled gorgonzola
1/4 c. chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Over medium-high heat, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the porcini mushrooms and remove from the heat and set aside for 30 minutes. The mushrooms should be tender at this point. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

Reheat the stock to a simmer and keep warm over low heat.

In another saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp. of butter. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes, until the onions are tender but not brown. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter mixture. Add the wine and simmer for about 3 minutes, until the wine has almost completely evaporated. Begin adding the chicken stock to the risotto 1/2 c. at a time and stir continuously until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding more chicken stock. The entire chicken stock adding process should take about 20 to 25 minutes, and the risotto should be tender and creamy at the end.

Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the cheese, chives, salt, and pepper. Now you're ready to eat!

19th recipe - Basil lemonade

2010-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Sure, sure, you can buy lemonade at the store but have you ever thought that it tastes a little funny? A little chemical-y? Well, while I was planning for my "Wedding Week" I really wanted to make a tasty lemonade for my guests, especially because there were going to be a few who don't drink. And I came across Giada's recipe for Italian lemonade (which is basically a basil-infused lemonade). I tinkered around with the sweetness level and settled on the following as my preferred recipe.

Ingredients:
1 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
about 5-10 leaves of fresh basil
2 c. lemon juice (about 12-15 lemons)
3 c. cold or sparkling water
optional ice
optional lemon twists or basil for garnish

Directions:
First, start out by making the basil simple syrup. It's much easier to get your sugar into your lemonade when it's already in simple syrup form. To make it, just combine the 1 cup of water with the sugar and basil in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the solution is absolutely clear. Let it completely cool before making the finished lemonade.

Sieve out the basil leaves and you should end up with about 2 cups of basil simple syrup. Mix it together with the lemon juice and cold/sparkling water and you'll have a delicious lemonade that has a pleasant aroma and subtle taste of basil.

Friends and family have all said that this is a really great lemonade. It may sound strange at first but the lemon, sugar, and basil really work together as a flavor combination. And, if you want to make a basil lemonade vodka drink, trust me, that works really well.

18th recipe - Nutella cookies

2010-05-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been a crazy couple of months. First, I went off and got married in Puerto Rico. Then, pretty much as soon as my new spouse and I got back from "Wedding Week," we started packing because we decided to move from NY to TX. We've now been in TX for almost a month and I'm finally finding the time, energy, and motivation to restart the posting on this blog (thanks to Ms. A. C.-H. for the friendly pushes).

The way I've counted, I owe about 9 recipes to make up for my extended absence. I think I'm actually pretty close to meeting that number, but especially for the recipes I tried while in Puerto Rico, there aren't always pictures. So, if you see a few posts in the future that are picture-less, it's okay, there's nothing wrong with your browser, it's just that my camera wasn't fast enough to catch up with the speed with which people ate my food (or at least that's what I like to to think).

Anyhow, let's get on to the food. What follows is a recipe I patched together from a number of recipes I found for Nutella cookies and peanut butter cookies. The back story is pretty simple - because we knew we were moving, I stopped shopping and I found a jar of Nutella that absolutely had to get eaten (because I hate throwing away beautiful things like Nutella). Plus, I've been on the search for a really kick-ass Nutella cookie recipe for who knows how long (please see my avatar as a reference).

The results were pretty awesome - crispy outside with a thin, chewy inside. Basically, exactly what you'd expect if you made a peanut butter cookie with Nutella instead of peanut butter.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 stick butter
1/2 c. Nutella
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, cream together butter, Nutella, and both sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Use a spatula to stir in the flour mixture.

Drop cookie balls onto parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes. (Please note that you can add criss-crossing if you want to make them even flatter and crispier. Also, here are a few things I learned in making these cookies: 1) If your brown sugar is a dried out brick of nonsense, you can microwave it in a bowl covered with a damp paper towel, then wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1-2 minutes to make it usable again, and 2) increasing the amount of baking soda will make your cookies crispier, whereas adding more baking powder will make them puffier and lighter.)

17th recipe - Chicken marsala

2010-03-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

This week, I did my recipe of the week super early. See, there was a small snafu when I did the chicken teriyaki and well, I ended up with a lot of extra chicken. What better way to use up chicken than to make chicken marsala. Indisputable logic? I think so.

This recipe comes courtesy of Emeril. It came out really well and K actually liked it. (Sometimes when I talk about K like that, I feel like I'm talking about Mikey from the Life cereal commercials.) The sauce was a little sweet, very buttery, and the mushrooms were fantastic. The chicken also came out flavorful on its own because of the great seasoning that went into the breading.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. Essence (recipe below)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if they're thick, cut in half and pound thin, otherwise, just pound thin)
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. butter
3 c. sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake is recommended - I used white button instead of shiitake)
3/4 c. Marsala
1 c. chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional: chopped chives for garnish

Directions:
Combine flour and Essence on plate and stir well. Quickly dredge chicken in the mixture and shake to remove any excess flour. (I dredged mine a couple times to make sure that every section had some flour on it, but still made sure to shake off the excess.)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt in 1 tbsp. butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In the same skillet, add 1 tbsp. of butter and add the mushrooms. Cook them while stirring frequently until the mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and they've given off their liquid. Add that Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any bits at the bottom of the skillet. Once it's reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes until the sauce thickens up a bit. Lower the heat to medium and add the chicken breasts and continue to cook for about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and add salt and pepper to taste.

Essence (Emeril's BAM Powder)
Ingredients:
(makes about 2/3 c.)
2 1/2 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. dried leaf oregano
1 tbsp. dried thyme

We decided to serve this with some whole wheat spaghetti. I have a confession to make. I really HATE whole wheat pasta. There. I said it. But, it's in our house and we need to eat it. Thankfully, this wasn't such a terrible way to get through it. The sauce was savory enough to make up for the worthlessness of the pasta.

16th recipe - Stuffed shells with arrabbiata sauce

2010-03-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

What would I do without Giada? Eh, probably find recipes from someone else. But it's so nice knowing that her recipes are consistently tasty and easy enough to follow. And I certainly appreciate her focus on making things from scratch.

I've had stuffed shells before and thought that they were okay. My usual complaints are that the filling isn't very exciting and there's generally too much of it. I was attracted to this recipe because it sounded like it would be spicy, but to be honest, it wasn't and I might spice it up more the next time I make it. Also, I liked this recipe because it gave me the chance to make marinara from scratch. And I loved it. Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever buy marinara again.

The filling for these shells is downright delicious. I love the addition of the mint - it lightens it up and adds a nice herbal depth.

Ingredients:
(makes approximately 36)
12 oz. (1 box) jumbo pasta shells
2 tbsp. olive oil plus extra for greasing
6 oz. prosciutto (the recipe suggested thinly sliced pancetta but my store didn't have any)
2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 c. marinara sauce (recipe below)
2 (15-oz.) containers whole milk ricotta
1 1/3 c. grated parmesan
4 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tbsp. dried basil (recipe recommend 3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil but again, store was out)
1 tsp. chopped fresh mint
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. shredded mozzarella

Directions:
Lightly oil a 12 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish and set aside. Lightly oil a baking sheet or tin foil.

Partially cook the pasta shells in a large pot of boiling salted water, about 4 to 6 minutes. You want to make sure they're not fully cooked, because they will go in the oven later. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pasta shells and drain them. Place them on the oiled baking sheet/tin foil to cool, spreading them out so they don't stick together.

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add prosciutto/pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add red pepper flakes. (Be careful not to burn the red pepper.) Add garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add marinara sauce and bring to a simmer, stirring often.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan, egg yolks, basil, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spoon about 1 1/4 c. of marinara on the bottom of the oiled baking dish. Fill the cooked shells with the cheese mixture, about 2 tbsp. per shell. Arrange the shells in the prepared dish (fold side pointing downwards). Spread remaining marinara sauce over shells, then sprinkle with mozzarella.

Bake in lower third of oven until filling is heated through and the top is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
(makes about 8 cups)
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

Directions:
In a large pot, heat the oil on medium-high. Add the onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, sea salt, and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Rewarm over medium heat when ready to use.

15th recipe - Chicken teriyaki

2010-03-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe I've already done 15 new recipes this year. It's been really fun along the way since I've always loved cooking, but to think that I've made 15 brand-new things is pretty cool.

For my fifteenth, I was happy to try making chicken teriyaki for the first time. I tried to find a recipe that was as close to what I've had in California as possible, but I think I'm going to have to keep looking. Still, for a first try, this one came out pretty good.

Ingredients:
1 lb. of chicken thighs, with skin
1/4 c. light soy sauce
1/4 c. mirin
1/4 c. sake
2 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. cooking oil

Directions:
Place uncut chicken in bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Pour in soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Marinate overnight.

Heat cooking oil in frying pan. Drain chicken and reserve the marinade. Over high heat, fry the chicken, skin side down, until skins are brown and start to crisp. Flip chicken over, lower heat to medium and continue frying for a few minutes or until opposite side starts to brown.

Pour in reserved marinade, lower heat, cover and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is done and sauce has thickened.

Transfer chicken to chopping board and chop into strips about 1/2-inch wide. Arrange over rice and spoon extra sauce over the chicken.

OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with grated ginger and chopped green onions before serving.

Basically, what I'm looking for in the future is a crispier skin and thicker sauce. If you're familiar with California teriyaki (and Seattle teriyaki according to my friend), the sauce should be pretty thick, like what you get with General Tso's chicken - so I might tinker around with adding more sugar or corn starch. Either way, this is not the end.

14th recipe - Mexican tortilla chicken soup

2010-03-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been away - I'm sure you've been dying to see my new attempts at cooking. Or maybe you haven't been - just don't tell me if that's the case.

This recipe came out light and delicious. K started wondering how I could possibly call this a soup, considering the number of things that went into it, but still, it's really just a soup. The recipe comes courtesy of Mr. Tyler Florence, who despite coming across as kind of a weirdo at times, really does know how to cook.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 small yellow onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
1 quart chicken stock
freshly-ground pepper
cooking oil, for pan-frying
8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 1/2 c. shredded cooked chicken
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, diced
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. coarsely chopped cilantro
1 lime, cut in wedges

Directions:
Coat bottom of stockpot on medium heat with olive oil. Add onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes. While stirring, cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in stock and season with pepper. (Tyler would also add salt here, but I decided to leave it out to cut down on the sodium.) Simmer for 20 minutes.

In skillet, add enough cooking oil to deep-fry. Heat to medium-high. When oil is ready, add tortilla strips in batches and fry until they are crisp on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt while they strips are still hot.

Once everything is ready, serve by ladling soup and piling on shredded chicken. Top with avocado, tortilla strips, and shredded cheese. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

So yeah, it's basically a chicken vegetable soup.

13th recipe - Potato, cheese and onion empanadas

2010-02-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

I'm planning on making a large number of empanadas so I'm on the search for a great empanada dough. Thankfully, I think I've found it. The filling wasn't so important to me, but this one turned out great nonetheless.

The dough recipe came from epicurious.com, which they attribute to Gourmet, October 2004. In one word: delicious.

Ingredients:
(makes 12)
2 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1/3 c. ice water
1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar

Directions:
Sift flour and salt into large bowl and blend butter in with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.

Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in small bowl. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. (The mixture will look not done. That's okay.)

Dump the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather the dough bits together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to combine the dough into one main piece. Form the dough into a flat rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least one hour.

When ready, cut dough into 12 pieces. Roll each individual piece into a ball, then use well-floured rolling pin and flat surface to create a 5-inch circle. Fill with desired filling and pinch edges together. A fork can be used to crimp the edges so that filling doesn't spill out. You can brush the empanadas with egg wash before baking to make them look pretty.

Now, on to the filling. As I mentioned, I wanted to go simple since it was really all about the dough. So I chose to make my own potato, cheese and onion mixture.

Ingredients:
1 medium russet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
5 oz. cream cheese
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven.

Boil potato cubes for about 20 minutes. Drain and mash potatoes. Stir in cheeses until melted.

Heat oil in pan and fry onion. Add in cumin, pepper, salt, and cayenne. Add to potato mixture.

Once empanadas are formed, place them on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet on one of the racks for about 12 minutes. Move baking sheet to the other rack and bake for another 12-13 minutes.

Ummm... can I just say. These came out fantastic. Flaky, buttery crusts with creamy goodness inside. Just look for yourself.

12th recipe - Turkey chili

2010-02-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Here's another recipe that I've been waiting years to try. While so simple on the surface, chili also seemed so intimidating to me. People talk about how you have to add things at the right time and develop the flavors. Well, in actuality, making a decent bowl of chili is pretty easy. I should point out that I used a lot of prepared products, but I also think that's okay, given the reputation and development of chili throughout the years. I mean, we all have to admit that chili's generally not considered fine cuisine; it's really more about making something tasty with what you got.

And boy, was it tasty.

I found a number of recipes online and combined this and that together to come up with something I thought would please both me and K.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1.5 lbs. ground turkey
1 (1 oz.) package taco seasoning mix
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chili pepper flakes
1 tsp. cumin
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 12 oz. Mexican lager
7 oz. salsa
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (9 oz.) chopped green chile peppers
1 can (8.75 oz.) whole corn kernels, drained
1 can (19 oz.) dark red kidney beans, drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
sour cream, to taste
shredded Cheddar cheese, to taste

Directions:
Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook ground turkey, breaking into small pieces with wooden spoon. Season with taco mix, coriander, oregano, chili pepper flakes, cumin, and tomato paste. Mix until all the meat is evenly coated and continue cooking until turkey is well browned. Pour in beer and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers, corn kernels, and kidney beans. Again, let simmer until it becomes as thick as you'd like. (If it's already too thick, you can add water to thin it out.)

In a skillet, heat remaining tbsp. of oil and cook the onion and green bell pepper until the onion is translucent. Add the onion and bell pepper to the chili.

Continue cooking the chili for as long as you can at a low simmer (I let mine go for about 1.5 hours before serving) and check occasionally to make sure the consistency is what you'd like.

Garnish with green onions and add sour cream and shredded Cheddar cheese as you see fit.

In our case, this was really a perfect amount of heat, but others might find it too spicy. (In fact, even my diced tomatoes were marinated with jalapenos.) You can always cut down the ingredients here and there if you want to tone it down. Also, if you don't want to use beer, you can always use beef broth instead. Personally, I loved the way the beer made the chili a little bitter and the smell was unbelievably good, but not everyone loves beer (which makes me sad just typing it).

The other great thing about chili is that it's so versatile. You can serve it by itself with crackers, or in our case, over a baked potato. I also love having chili on top of rice, and I know some people even eat it with spaghetti.

Anyway, you don't want to hear me go on and on about how much I love chili, so here are the pictures.

10th and 11th recipes - Jalapeno poppers, stuffed jalapenos

2010-02-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

You probably think I messed up my resolution. But, I didn't. I'm just late posting. To remind you, "My 2010 resolution is to cook a new recipe at least once a week." I never said anything about posting on time.

Now, with that out of the way, let's get down to business, shall we?

This past Sunday was Superbowl XLIV. Which meant the deep fryer had to come out and play. One of the foods I'd been dying to try out for the longest time was jalapeno poppers. (A little background here - Jack In The Box makes the best jalapeno poppers IMHO. It is my life's goal to recreate those suckers.) I mentioned this to K and he asked me to try out one of the recipes he remembered as a kid - stuffed jalapenos. I figured, WTH and went for it.

After scouring the Internet for all of 5 minutes, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and modified it a bit:

Ingredients:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 strips turkey bacon, crumbled
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
a bunch of jalapenos, seeded and halved lengthwise (save seeds from one jalapeno)
1 c. milk
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. Italian bread crumbs
enough oil for your deep fryer

Directions:
Blanch the jalapenos for about 5 minutes so that they get a little soft.

Mix together the cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon, cayenne pepper, and seeds from one jalapeno. Stuff mixture into jalapeno halves.

Put milk, flour, and bread crumbs in separate bowls. Dip jalapeno into milk first, then into flour, making sure they are well coated with each. Allow the jalapenos to dry for about 10 minutes. Then, dip in milk and roll through breadcrumbs. Allow to dry. Repeat milk and breadcrumbs.

Heat oil to 365 degrees and deep fry the jalapeno poppers for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Okay, so here's where we get a little off track. The grocery store didn't have a ton of jalapenos left (we actually went the night before Superbowl which is pretty indicative of our ability to plan ahead) and the ones they did have were all on the smallish side. As you'll see, this affected the stuffed jalapeno recipe a bit. As for this recipe however, the size of the jalapenos didn't affect the taste and they came out delicious.

With the leftover cheese mixture, I rolled them into balls, followed the breading procedure and deep fried those too. They were also very tasty and most likely, incredibly bad for me. But I think that's really what Superbowl is all about, don't you?

As for K's mom's stuffed jalapeno recipe, there were quite a few substitutions. First, her recipe called for pickled jalapenos - I used fresh ones in much the same way as I did for the jalapeno poppers. Her recipe also described a very watery batter, and I decided just to bread them the same way I did the jalapeno poppers. But, here's the rub. Because I had to use jalapenos cut in half, instead of whole ones, I had to be really careful handling these stuffed jalapenos so that the insides wouldn't just fall out. It worked out in the end, but I think next time I'll try the pickled jalapenos just so that I can handle the jalapenos without worrying about their insides coming undone.

Ingredients:
a bunch of jalapenos, blanched, seeded, halved (save seeds from one jalapeno)
1 lb. ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp. salsa (in our case, I used 2 tbsp. mild salsa, and 1 tbsp. hot sauce)
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Brown meat, onion, and garlic. Drain the fat. Mix in other ingredients, including jalapeno seeds, adding egg last. (Ours came out a little bland, I would probably add some cayenne pepper here if you like your Superbowl finger foods on the spicy side.)

Stuff the peppers, bread in the same way as described by the jalapeno popper recipe, and fry.

And finally, what Superbowl celebration is complete without the hot wings? I did a batch of Korean wings and regular buffalo wings. For the buffalo wings, I double-fried in the same way as I did the Korean wings and tossed in a sauce made of 3 tbsp. Frank's hot sauce and 2 tbsp. melted butter.

8th and 9th recipes - White wine risotto, chocolate white chocolate chunk cookies

2010-01-31T15:04:00.000-08:00

I've finally done it. Something I've wanted to do for ages. A dish that is so simple-looking and yet, so needy. With pride bursting from every pore of my being, I am proud to present to you - risotto.

The recipe is only slightly modified from Giada De Laurentiis's champagne risotto. The only differences are my substitution of turkey bacon for prosciutto and my substitution of white wine for champagne.

Ingredients:
7 slices turkey bacon
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 asparagus spears
2 tbsp. butter, divided into two sections
1 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 c. arborio rice
3/4 c. white wine
1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Cook turkey bacon until crisp. Cool and cut into pieces suitable for garnishing.

In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Blanch asparagus in chicken broth for 2 minutes. Remove from broth and let cool. Keep broth at low simmer. Cut asparagus on the bias into 1-inch pieces.

In another medium saucepan, melt 1 tbsp. butter. Add shallot and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add arborio rice and stir to coat in the butter. Continue stirring rice for another 3 minutes. Add white wine and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 c. broth and stir until completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Repeat the addition of broth, 1/2 c. at a time, until rice is tender but still firm, and mixture is creamy. REMEMBER TO NEVER STOP STIRRING. The entire process of adding broth should take about 20 minutes. Once it's ready, remove immediately from the heat. Gently stir in asparagus pieces, remaining 1 tbsp. butter, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Garnish with turkey bacon and serve immediately.

This dish took a lot of patience and my weak arms were more than a little sore afterwards, but it was so worth it. I'm still drooling now thinking about how good this risotto was. Thankfully, this recipe made just enough for me and K, because if it had made enough for leftovers, I may have ended up going up a few pant sizes last night.

My second recipe of the week was borne out of necessity. In this house, K cannot live without a dessert. And seeing as how we ran out of ice cream sandwiches, I offered to make him some cookies. Sounds easy, right?

Well, K's kind of particular so it can be a little difficult to find something that I consider worthy of making and that doesn't involve the things he dislikes, like raisins, or fall flavors like pumpkin. Thankfully, the Barefoot Contessa saved the day. Again. It's time for chocolate white chocolate chunk cookies.

Ingredients:
(makes 20-22)
1 stick unsalted butter, at RT
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 extra-large egg, at RT
1/3 c. good unsweetened cocoa
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
6 oz. good white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then the egg, and mix well. Add cocoa and mix again. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt, and add to chocolate mixture with mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in white chocolate. (A few notes here - Ina would add 1/2 tsp. salt, but K thought it was a bit too salty, so I adjusted the recipe to 1/4 tsp; also, Ina would add a lot more white chocolate, but I think that's a little overkill.)

Drop dough on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or rounded tablespoon. Flatten the dough slightly (if dough is too sticky, wet your fingertips). Bake for 12-15 minutes (12 if you like them more chewy). Remove and let cool. (Ina recommends cooling on a wire rack, but I don't have one - they seemed to cool fine on a plate.)

These are highly addictive cookies. I've now put K on a 4 cookie/day limit. Oh, they're also strangely better the cooler they get. So if you taste one right out of the oven and don't love it immediately, give it a few minutes.

5th, 6th, and 7th recipes - Korean fried chicken, turkey/chicken lasagna, doughnuts

2010-01-25T05:10:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was another whirlwind of trying recipes. K joked that I should have made my resolution to try out 52 recipes because I'd be so far along now if that were the case.

But it's not. Sigh. Anyways...

The semi-theme of this weekend was to try out the new deep fryer I bought for the house. The possibilities are simultaneously exciting and completely predictable. I'm sure I'll try out more adventurous things in the future, but to start, I present to you fried chicken and doughnuts.

To be fair, the fried chicken isn't that simple because it's a Korean fried chicken recipe. In honor of Bon Chon and Kyochon, I present to you a recipe that I tweaked from powerplantop on YouTube:

Ingredients:
vegetable oil for deep frying
1 lb. chicken wings or drumettes with skin
flour
corn starch
salt
pepper

Sauce:
1 tbsp. Korean hot pepper paste (go-chu-jang)
3 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. Worcestershire
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. Korean red chile pepper (go-chu-ga-ru)
1/2 Korean hot green pepper,minced
1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 green onion, diced
sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:
Preheat your oil or deep fryer to 350 degrees. I used vegetable oil so that it wouldn't impart any flavor to the chicken, but I'm sure any deep frying oil would be suitable.

If you have chicken wings, cut them into two pieces so you have pieces like you would when you order hot wings (don't forget to cut the wing tips off). Make sure your chicken pieces are fairly dry and then dredge them in a combination of flour, corn starch, salt, and pepper (I think I used roughly 2 parts flour to 1 part corn starch - salt and pepper is to taste). Once your oil has reached the right temperature, put the chicken in for 10 minutes (make sure not to overcrowd the fryer). Remove the chicken and drain on paper towels for about 10-15 minutes. Place chicken back in fryer for 10 minutes. Then remove and drain again.

The sauce can just be thrown together into a large saute pan and heated until it's the desired consistency. Once the chicken is done with its second deep-fry and drained of excess oil, throw the chicken into the saute pan and cover with sauce. The goal here is to sear the sauce onto the chicken skin without making the crispy outside soggy. If your pan is hot enough and your sauce has reduced enough, this should only take a few minutes at the most.

These came out delicious but K and I are still trying our best to come up with something that's less sticky. We tried deep frying one of the wings after sauce had been applied, and it had the right outside texture but definitely lost some of its flavor. I'll let you know if we improve on the recipe.

Moving on, the next night, since we'd eaten all the Korean chicken and had no leftovers, I decided to try making my first lasagna for dinner. I love Ina Garten and she had a highly rated recipe for turkey lasagna on the Food Network's website. I pretty much followed it except for substituting in a combination of turkey and chicken for turkey alone, doubling the sauce, adding red wine, using dried basil since I couldn't find fresh, reducing the amount of goat cheese, adding some extra vegetables, and leaving out the salt. Okay, now that I've typed that out, I realize I didn't follow it that closely.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 c. chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. sweet Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
3/4 lb. ground chicken
2 (28-oz.) cans crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
2 (6-oz.) cans tomato paste
1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided into 2 sections
1/4 c. dried basil
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2/3 c. red wine
1/2 lb. lasagna noodles
1 (10-oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
15 oz. ricotta
2 oz. goat cheese
1 c. grated parmesan, + 1/4 c. for sprinkling
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add turkey and chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink, breaking the meat into small chunks. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, one section of parsley, basil, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and red wine. Simmer uncovered until thickened.

Now Ina doesn't boil her lasagna noodles, she soaks them in hot tap water for 20 minutes. Unfortunately, my tap couldn't get above lukewarm, so I had to boil them. I just made sure to take them out a few minutes early so they wouldn't get too soggy.

In a bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta, goat cheese, 1 c. parmesan, egg, remaining section of parsley, and 1/4 tsp. pepper.

Layer in a 9 x 12 baking dish as follows: sauce (< 1/3), noodles (1/2), mozzarella (1/2), ricotta mixture (1/2), zucchini (1/2), sauce (< 1/3), noodles (1/2), mozzarella (1/2), ricotta mixture (1/2), zucchini (1/2), and sauce (< 1/3). Sprinkle with 1/4 c. parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the lasagna rest before serving and ladle on remaining sauce if desired.

In retrospect, I would not do the zucchini again. It made the lasagna a little watery on the first day although it was totally fine the next day. In fact, the entire lasagna got much tastier the next day. Also, like I mentioned, I doubled the sauce. The sauce is really delicious, in fact, I'm planning to eat some of it as a meal in and of itself, but if you don't love sauce, you can certainly cut down on that part of the recipe. And finally, I highly recommend the addition of the spinach. I thought it gave the lasagna a lovely color and added a great taste. The red wine addition also worked out beautifully, giving the lasagna another layer of flavor that I really loved.

Alright, the final recipe. Picture Sunday morning and the undeniable desire to fry something else. Yeah, you guessed it. Doughnut time.

This recipe is from cdkitchen.

Ingredients:
(makes 12)
vegetable oil for deep frying
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tbsp. shortening
1 egg
3/8 c. milk

Directions:
Heat oil to 375 degrees.

Beat half the flour and remaining ingredients in large mixer bowl on low speed for about 30 seconds. Increase to medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour with a spoon (a beater or whisk will just get all gummed up by the batter). Turn dough onto well-floured surface and roll around to lightly coat dough with flour. Roll gently to 3/8 inch thick.

Cut dough into doughnut shapes. Slide into hot oil with wide spatula. Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface. Fry both sides until they're golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Cool and sugar or frost.

I tried making all kinds of shapes, and the traditional doughnut shape is really best. Doughnut holes don't turn very easily so you end up with uneven cooking and if you just lay in a flat disk, the middle doesn't cook and stays doughy. I didn't have a proper doughnut cutter, using a drinking glass and a tall shot glass made the doughnuts a bit too small and too crispy. I'll have to try again with a proper cutter.

You'll see in the photos, K and I made two glazes - a traditional vanilla and a chocolate. Neither turned out great, so I won't bother posting the recipes. Enjoy!

2nd, 3rd, and 4th recipes - Crab cakes with cajun style remoulade, linguine with shrimp and lemon oil, vegan key lime tart

2010-01-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

I was going to have some friends over and one of them is severely lactose intolerant, so I scoured the internet for some recipes that didn't use milk, cheese, cream, or butter. It wasn't easy, but I eventually found some things I liked and put together a lovely menu with a citrus and seafood theme running throughout. Sadly, those friends couldn't come over but I had all the ingredients so I made it for me and K. Again, he seemed to like everything, even the vegan dessert!

Starting with the crab cakes, I really liked the sound of Paula Deen's recipe (and it made K feel a lot better that it wasn't a "vegan" recipe):

Ingredients:
1 lb. crabmeat (in this case, I think fresh is probably best, but I couldn't find any so I used canned)
1/3 c. crushed Ritz crackers
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 c. finely chopped bell pepper (I used red which I think gave the crab cakes a nice color accent)
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 egg
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
dash cayenne pepper (or in my house, a few dashes)
flour, for dusting
1/2 c. peanut oil

Directions:
Mix together everything except for the flour and peanut oil. Flour a cookie sheet. Shape the crab mixture into patties and place on the cookie sheet, dusting the tops with flour as well. (This is a very wet mixture so if you're worried that you won't be able to keep the crab cakes together, you can squeeze a little of the juice out of the patties before placing them on the flour, but it will make them not as moist when they're done.)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once oil is hot, place crab cakes carefully into the oil and fry them until they're browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip them over and brown the other sides. I was able to make about 7 crab cakes with this recipe.

For the sauce, I decided to make a cajun style remoulade, which according to cooks.com, was submitted by Wayne Allen:

Ingredients:
1/4 of large red pepper, chopped
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 c. fresh parsley leaves
3/4 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. horseradish
a couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce
a couple shakes of Tabasco sauce (or in my case, Sontava)
2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:
Throw it in a food processor and blend until it's the consistency you want. (I don't have a food processor so I just used a stick blender - worked great.) WARNING: This makes a ton of remoulade. I'd probably halve or even quarter the recipe next time.

Here's a photo of the result:

To continue with the theme, I found a great recipe by Giada De Laurentiis for linguine with shrimp and lemon oil:

Ingredients:
Lemon oil: (zest 1 lemon into 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil and set aside)
1 lb. linguine
2 tbsp. olive oil (I used butter)
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3 since a few of mine were a little on the small side)
16 oz. frozen shrimp (I think these are supposed to be uncooked, but I could only find cooked - I'll explain below)
1/4 c. lemon juice (about 2 lemons - I used 1 1/2)
1 lemon, zested (I used 1/2)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3 oz. arugula (about 3 packed cups)
1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:
Cook the pasta in salt water and drain.

In another large skillet or pot, heat the olive oil or melt the butter (K really wanted me to add back butter somewhere after we found out our friends wouldn't be able to make it, so I put it in here since shrimp always goes well with butter). Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Now, add the shrimp. According to Giada's recipe, you should cook about 5 minutes until the shrimp are pink. As I said above, my shrimp were pre-cooked, so I just took the pot off the heat and watched the shrimp finish their melting process. Once I was sure the linguine was ready, I put it back on and added the pasta, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. (You'll note that I cut down on the lemonyness since K isn't a huge fan of super-strong citrus flavors.) Toss to combine the ingredents and turn off the heat again. Add the arugula and watch it wilt. Add the lemon oil, sieving out the zest, which can be thrown away. Add the chopped parsley and toss again to combine.

This dish is super pretty to look at and so good. I'm really exposing K to non-sauced pasta and I think he's starting to like it:

And finally, dessert. Dessert is one of the harder things to find in a non-dairy form, especially if you're not feeling like chocolate or cupcakes. Luckily, I found a few recipes for vegan key lime pie and combined them together. I'm calling this a key lime tart because it doesn't really have the consistency of true key lime pie. But, it was still delicious and I would eat it again. But I'd probably add some whipped topping or fruit glaze because it's not the prettiest of desserts by itself.

Ingredients:
2 8-oz. tubs of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. lime juice
2 tsp. grated lime peel
2 tbsp. soy milk
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 pre-made pie crust (I ended up using mini pie crusts and had a little too much batter - oh well)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients together (except for the pie crust) and blend or food process it until it's smooth. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes. (Since I used mini pie crusts, I cut the time to 30 minutes which seemed sufficient.)

And the end result:

First recipe - Orecchiette with broccoli and turkey bacon

2010-01-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

I decided to start with a pasta recipe since I've had pretty good luck with pastas in the past. This was my first time using orecchiette and it was easy and delicious. You really have to love how the Italians created all these great shapes of pasta to take advantage of different sauces, etc. In this case, the sauce was basically a combination of butter and olive oil, so the shape of the orecchiette really helped to hold the sauce and keep everything flavorful.

My recipe is a modification of the many I found online using pancetta and frozen broccoli:

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. orecchiette
salt
olive oil
7-8 slices turkey bacon, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
5 scallions, thinly sliced
10 oz. broccoli - thawed, drained, patted dry
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. milk
grated parmesan

Directions:
Cook the orecchiette in salted water and drizzle in olive oil. Save the pasta water for later.

In another large pot, melt the butter and add olive oil. Cook bacon and minced garlic. Stir in scallions and cook for 1 minute. Add the broccoli, salt, and pepper and cook for 4 minutes. Add orecchiette and 1/2 c. pasta water. Stir together gently to combine. Add 1/4 c. milk to make a creamier sauce.

Serve in bowls and sprinkle liberally with grated parmesan.

It was really easy to throw together and K, my hubby-to-be, really loved it and ate his whole bowl. I was super-impressed.

Without further ado, here are the photos:

2010

2010-01-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

Like most people, I can't resist the urge to make a New Year's resolution. And like most people, I really suck at following through with those New Year's resolutions.

But I'm hoping this year will be different, or at least, not such a failure.

My 2010 resolution is to cook a new recipe at least once a week. This will hopefully lead to about 50 new dishes by the end of the year. Some may suck, some may astound - the real accomplishment will be in the effort I put into this.

Wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it.