On Cake

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That’s right, no free ride in my kitchen! If you want a Monday night dessert, I don’t care how quick it is, you have to work for it (although I am strongly reconsidering the “teach them to do laundry” policy after the gum and pen incident in the dryer.)

Separately, isn’t it amazing when genetics dictate taste for 3 generations?! From my mom to me to my little guy, see chocolate, eat chocolate is the guiding principle.

Now back to cooking. Yes, making these molten chocolate cakes will take longer when children help. But you know the adage, if you teach a man to fish…? Same thing with baking a cake 😉

This is an older fave from the Everyday Food Great Food Fast cookbook. Also online.

We used callebaut semi-sweet chocolate which inspired the whole baking affair in the first place. Picked it up at Murray’s in NYC Sunday, baked it up less than 24 hours later.

Try not to overbake or it won’t volcano, although it will still be delicious.

Bonus?! It’s almost as good day 2 in the microwave – B

“P” is for Pasta…and Pazzo

Oh…(expletive!) I'd wanted to make the Bon Appetit pasta with bacon, leeks and cream I'd seen a couple of months ago. In fact I was elbow deep, close to the finish line, when I cracked open the NEW pint of cream I had bought for this and another recipe. And that's when I saw it, a solid block of this isn't going to work. Oh…(expletive!) Honestly, I think I said it more than twice.

To my guy's credit, he offered to run to the store. But I knew that 15 minutes wouldn't be kind to the already cooked pasta. Then I remembered the Bon Appetit recipe was supposed to be a riff on carbonara, which is exactly what we had for dinner, but with the extra flavor of leeks.

I'm including the link to the original recipe with some caveats. I did not cook the bacon pieces in butter and olive oil. Instead, I rendered it in slices, drained most of the fat from the pan and added maybe a tablespoon of butter and oil each. Then I cooked the leeks, chopped the bacon and and added it back in.

I also used about 12 ounces of pasta, which gets added to the ingredients in the pan. To make it carbonara, I whipped 2 eggs with a cup of pecorino romano. I turned off the heat and added it to the hot pasta, tossing it quickly to cook the eggs without scrambling.

Don't forget to save some pasta water to add for sauciness. Also remember extra cheese is better. I consider thyme optional from the original recipe if you're making egg based carbonara.

Best to do blood work before dining – B

 

Cookies…By Popular Demand!

For goodness sake, I tried to give you greens (see previous post) y'all only want cookies. Fine! I celebrated the March snowstorm making agave oatmeal chocolate chip. Mostly I wanted to use the agave that was sitting in the pantry for a while. The best way to get inspiration is to try to use up an ingredient.

Here's what I learned about agave. It has about the same number of calories as granulated sugar, it's sweeter, so some people use less depending on the usage, and it has a lower glycemic index as measured by the current standard.

Here's what I learned about your cooking preferences. Baked good recipes will always be more popular than greens…I tried 🙂

The recipe is straight from the Dominos website. Cookies are on the sweeter side, especially since I subbed chocolate chips for the raisins.

And yes, good with milk, hot chocolate, tea, coffee and wine – B (and for breakfast)

 

Greens Are Good. I Mean It!

Along the lines of…if a tree falls in a forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound? I offer, if a child says she/he doesn't like kale before trying a mixed green sauté, does it mean it's not tasty?!

In my quest to jazz up late winter vegetables (again!) I looked to an older Bon Appetit recipe. There I found a Late-Summer-Greens Sauté that I thought was phenomenal. Never mind it's not late summer, I have Trader Joe's, emporium of imported baby greens and well priced wine, if yours is lucky enough to have a liquor license. Mine doesn't.

So I got a selection that included baby kale – you can't fault a mom for trying – and set to work. Click here (or on the previous link!) for the super simple recipe that I cut by a third. Forewarned was fore-armed when it came to making too many greens that included heaven forbid – kale!

At least the younger one tried it…right before moving it away from the honey chipotle meatballs and rice.

To your health – B

 

Mash Up

Swing…and… miss! It happens at dinner from time to time, especially if you cook often and take a few chances while you're at it. I'm not talking inedible dinner or anything, but let's just say I could live without a repeat of last night's soy ginger chicken. Ditto the “sweet potato fries”. How many times have I made these?! A crowd pleaser if you're looking for the junior set to eat orange veggies, but I'm as over it as I am winter story's that are named.

But even in the bleak late winter vegetable aisle I spotted a ray of white!

Cauliflower!

I will not roast you (again!), but I will make you look like a fam fave in the form of mash. So easy you don't need a recipe!

Cut up and steam 1 head of cauliflower with one russet potato. When soft, put in food processor with a dollop of olive oil and a splash of milk. Use just enough dairy to make a smooth purée. Salt to taste, adding white pepper if you have (I didn't).

It's delicious – B

Stand by for cauliflower fritters!

 

Breakfast Salad Redux

Those who know me from my radio show are familiar with my food idiosyncrasies. As an early, early morning riser, I just couldn't stomach the traditional breakfast foods. Actually, I could eat any number of sweets, danish, donuts etc., but not appropriate for daily consumption. Anyway, I came up with the breakfast salad as an alternative. And as I explained to my son as he was enjoying his high carb, low protein, produce wasteland of a breakfast (cereal), mine is better.

Start with leftover or made to order bulgur wheat, following package directions. Then add fruit or veggies, making it sweeter or more savory. I'm a salt lover, so here is my recipe.

1/4 cup dried bulgur, cooked

Small handful parsley, chopped

Half a tomato, chopped

Half a bell pepper, chopped

1 small cucumber, chopped

1/2 lemon, squeezed

A drizzle of olive oil

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Salt & pepper

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Mix the veggies with the bulgur. Dress with lemon juice & olive oil. Toss in the feta. Season with salt & pepper. Easy to double, or make party size! Keeps for a couple of days, but may need some dressing refreshing.

Good any time of day. Add kalamata olives if you like, I do – B

 

Risotto for Everyone

Today a lesson in food history. The invention of the spoon predates comfort food. No chicken/egg dilemma here. Think about it – cereal with milk, mashed potatoes and gravy, chicken soup, Ben & Jerry's from the pint, the scrapings from mac & cheese, peanut butter from the jar, lemon curd (trust me!). They would be nothing without the spoon. The spoon came first.

This is the over-long preface to the inclusion of risotto in the comfort food category. Plus it's super simple to make. Arborio rice inhales liquid and flavors. And if you're frugal, it's a great way to use up bits and pieces. Feel free to add leftover meats or asparagus. Risotto, a little wine, a crackling fire…the only thing missing is the spoon 🙂

Ingredients:

A handful of chopped pancetta or 3 slices bacon or 1 tablespoon olive oil (vegetarian)

A medium onion, chopped or 2 shallots

2 garlic cloves, chopped

At least 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced or chopped – feel free to rehydrate dried mushrooms too! Add the strained liquid to the pot.

A mug of frozen peas defrosted in microwave 2 minutes

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

At least 4 cups chicken or veg stock (vegetarian)

1 tablespoon butter

a handful of grated Italian cheese like Parmesan

Render the fat out of the pancetta in a tall sided, heavy bottom pot, medium heat or lower. Meanwhile heat broth to a simmer and keep it there-it will absorb in the rice better. After about 10-15 minutes, take out the meat, leaving the fatty deliciousness. Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt. Cook for 5 or until soft. Add the garlic, cooking 1-2 minutes. Raise the heat. Throw in the mushrooms, cooking until the liquid is gone. Add the rice, tossing with the fat and veg in the pan. Now cook in the wine until it's mostly evaporated.

Add stock by the ladle, waiting until each ladle is absorbed to add more. and give it a stir every few minutes. When rice is just about cooked thru but still firm, add peas. Heat and turn off flame. Add butter, cheese, salt & pepper to taste. It takes about 20 minutes once the rice goes in, keeping the bubbles at a steady clip but under control.

Serve with extra cheese and/or a sprinkle of fresh herbs. Make sure they (your family) appreciate you for your excursion into classic Italian comfort food.

Buon Appetito – B

 

Old Bones, New Soup

I will never be confused with Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert, but then again I never claimed to be a restaurant. I will tell you I can make chicken soup with one hand tied behind my back, and so can you!

Here is a no fail “recipe”.

Stock

2 roasted chicken carcasses, or the equivalent in bones, raw or roasted, or a whole chicken plus necks and wings

A couple onions, halved or not

A couple carrots, chunked or not

A couple celery stalks, leaves too if possible, chunked or not

A couple garlic cloves, whole & peeled

A parsnip, chunked or not

A turnip, halved or not

A hunk of ginger, optional*

1/2 teaspoon peppercorns (not ground)

Fresh dill if you have, or not

Throw it all in a heavy bottom pot, whatever you have of the above list, and cover with water. Chicken is obviously required. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer. A whole 3-4 pound chicken will cook in about an hour fifteen to thirty. If it's all bones, I let it simmer for hours. I prefer the bones.

Sieve out the lumps and bumps. Cool and refrigerate.

Soup

When ready to make soup, add fresh carrots, noodles, herbs if desired, salt & pepper to taste.

Do laundry at the same time, doubly productive – B

Note: proven to be effective for fighting colds.

Tip for cooling. Saw this one in Vegas. Fill a bin, pot or your sink with tons of ice and water. Insert zip top bags or plastic containers of stock in bin, pot or sink until cool. Alternatively snow banks work too.

 

Let’s Get Stewed

Someone's britches got a little too big for her Le Creuset this week. Absorbed in the Top Chef finale and the premise that someone eliminated (!) earlier, could come back and claim the title, I missed all the classic signs of a braise running out of liquid. Rather I was congratulating myself that the next night's dinner was already in the oven before the current night's dishes were done dish washing. Idiot! To shorten the story and end the irony, I pulled said stew from the oven, added beef stock and rescued the son of a gun. Kicked myself in my over-confident pants while I was at it.

Two lessons learned – one, I should have run my oven no higher than 325 to simmer. Two, if making a small scale stew (2 lbs of meat) it is possible to cook thoroughly and almost reduce the liquid to nothing in two hours. For the life of me I have no idea why I didn't make 3 pounds of meat to double down and get two meals for the effort of one!

This week's beef stew, patterned after my mom's, was supposed to be the piece de resistance of hosting my son's friend for the week.

Start with beef chuck. If you buy lean stew meat the deck's already stacked against you. And stew is supposed to be the lazy man's (gal's) great dinner. Plus this is not a fish, it's red meat, anti-vegetarian, vegan-offensive. If you're going to have meat, enjoy it, once in a while, as guilt free as possible. I'm Jewish and from the birthplace of the lean brisket, I feel your pain. Get over it.

Ingredients

2 lbs. beef chuck, cubed about an inch/inch and a half

2 large or 3 medium onions, half chopped, half sliced

2 chopped carrots, 2 sliced carrots

or half a bag whittled carrots, chopped and half a bag left whole

2-3 cloves of garlic if desired, chopped

4-5 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed about an inch, inch and half

1 tablespoon veg oil (maybe more)

2 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups wine

1- 2 cups beef stock (or water)

1 bay leaf

Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 325. Heat Dutch oven or heavy pot on medium heat. You will need a lid. Add oil, heat! Season beef with salt & pepper. Sear in 2-3 batches to get deep color on as many sides as you can. Color = flavor!

Lower heat when meat comes out. Add oil if necessary, adding chopped onions carrots. Soften, than add garlic if desired. Salt/pepper. Add tomato paste, stir and cook a minute. Add wine, bring to modest boil and scrape up the bits in the pan. Return meat and all the juices and enough stock to cover. Add bay leaf. Pop in oven for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours, check for liquid. Add potatoes and big carrots for last 45 minutes of cooking.

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Alternatively, cook all but the potatoes and extra carrots the day before serving. Reheat and add potatoes and carrots day of. May require extra stock.

Alternatively again, skip the potatoes – make polenta or mashed potatoes.

Last alternative, shred the meat, toss with pasta like cavatelli. Parmesan. OMG, it's good!

Btw – stew is about benchmarks, like soup. No one cares what size the beef cubes are, or the size of the veggies, or what type of onion. It helps for even cooking if veggies are uniform. Same goes for proteins.

Good with fork or spoon – B

 

A New Twist On A Breakfast Basic

Your breakfast is killing you…white flour, processed cereals, over sweetened yoghurts (read the label!), the guilty pleasure muffin, pancakes! Sadly these and your daily bagel are nutritional treats (threats?!) rather than mainstays. And believe you me, no one likes a well crafted muffin more than I. Muffin making is not just a hobby for me, but an obsession and maybe…an avocation? Anyway, I digress.

I think remembering breakfast basics and consuming them can be the toughest cooking challenge of all. It is the most time crunched part of the day. Deadlines loom, children leave, the dog makes off with the peanut butter.

When you have 15-20 minutes, try this recipe for polenta, or as I like to call it, hot cereal. It's more savory than sweet and it's corn, not wheat or oat based. But our southern friends have made a staple of grits any time of day. And please don't knock it till you try it.

I use a relatively quick and lower fat version of polenta from the Everyday Food: Great Food Fast cookbook. It's a big recipe, meant for 4.

4 cups water brought to a boil with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I use kosher) and 1/8 teaspoon pepper (I skip this for breakfast)

Slowly add 3/4 cup polenta or cornmeal.

Simmer until the water is absorbed. Take off the heat and add 1 tablespoon butter, Mediterranean diet lovers can use olive oil, and 1/4 cup grated cheese, Italian or your fave.

Meanwhile toast a handful of sliced or slivered almonds 10 minutes in 350 oven.

Top polenta with cranberries, chopped dried apricots or both, almonds and a sprinkle of salt.

Breakfast served – B

Note: I've reheated leftover polenta in the microwave on day two, it works with a drop more fat or milk.

Or spread leftovers in flat pan before they cool. Cut them into shapes and grill them in seasoned pan. Top with mushrooms sautéed in olive oil/butter and shallots, touch of wine reduced, cream…omg, there I go digressing again. Chives work nicely too 🙂