Linguine with Clams and Tomato Fennel Salsa

I'm ashamed to say this is directly from Epicurious.com. But it is so delicious and wonderful that I must share it with as many folks as possible. The recipe can also be found here. Please try it.

Ingredients
2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes (about 4 large)
1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb
1/4 cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons (packed) chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1/2 teaspoon (packed) grated orange peel
2 cups dry white wine
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 large garlic clove, crushed
30 littleneck clams (or 15 cherry stone clams) scrubbed
12 ounces linguine

Directions
Combine tomatoes, chopped fennel, red onion, basil, olive oil and orange peel in medium bowl. Season salsa with salt and pepper.

Bring wine, fennel seeds, salt and garlic to boil in very large pot. Reduce heat, cover tightly and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Add clams. Increase heat to high, cover and cook until clams open, about 7 minutes (discard any clams that do not open. Using slotted spoon, transfer clams to bowl. Strain clam cooking liquid through fine strainer; return to same pot. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1 2/3 cups, about 7 minutes. Add tomato salsa and bring to simmer. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook linguine in large pot with tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper; toss to blend. Add clams; stir over medium heat until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Roasted Beet Salad with Bleu Cheese and Pine Nuts

I love beets! And this is a great way to prepare them. It takes time to roast the beets, but assembly is a snap.

Ingredients
--Salad--
4 medium beets (~4 oz. each) washed, trimmed, and wrapped in foil
1/2 bunch spinach or arugula or watercress, washed and trimmed
1/4 c. pine nuts
2 oz. or more bleu cheese, crumbled
Additional toppings could include minced red onion, minced fresh herbs, diced apple -- according to your taste. You could also replace pine nuts with toasted or candied walnuts. Bleu cheese could be replaced with goat cheese crumbles.

--Dressing--
1 minced garlic clove
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Dash of sugar
1/2 tsp. whole grain mustard
Salt and pepper
I like to go light on dressing, but if you like more dressing on your salad, double the recipe.

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place beets wrapped in foil in oven, and roast for ~1 hour. Remove and let cool. Remove foil and slip off beet skins. Cut beets into quarters or eighths, as you prefer.

While beets are roasting, toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium low heat. Stir occasionally and remove from heat once pine nuts are fragrant and a light golden brown.

Also while beets are roasting, combine ingredients for dressing in jar with screw-top lid. Shake to blend and let sit for flavors to infuse.

Once beets are ready, combine greens, beets, nuts and any other ingredients you like (except cheese). Drizzle dressing over top and toss to coat. Add cheese crumbles and toss gently to mix.

Serves 4.

Jessica

Kefta: When things don't work out ...

This past weekend I tried making kefta. It was my first effort, and I looked at a dozen recipes, salivating at the thought of spicy ground lamb with a hint of mint or cilantro, served with a tasty cucumber yogurt sauce. Oh, the dreams I had! Things began to go down hill when the grocery didn't have ground lamb, so I bought lean ground beef. Not the same, I'm afraid. Also, the recipe called for shredding the onion. Well, to preserve my eyes, I will never shred onions without a food processor (and I am without a food processor). No matter how small you mince the onions, it really didn't seem to work very well -- getting it all stuck together in little egg-shaped balls was a nightmare. And then, there wasn't enough salt! Here's the recipe, which has some merit, but could use improvement ...

1.25-1.5 # ground beef (should use lamb)
1 onion minced
3 Tbsp. each, chopped fresh cilantro and chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. each ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon (should go lighter on the cinnamon), and cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste (be liberal)

Blend all together and shape into 12-16 egg shaped balls of meat. Place on broiler pan and broil 4-5 minutes on each side.

So there's the kefta. I brought it to a party, and people did eat it after I salted it some more. I was disappointed that there were leftovers, however. I brought them home and delayed eating them for a day or two. Leftover meat doesn't sound appetizing to me! But I am on a new mission to stop wasting food, so I knew I had to eat them.

Step 1: Buy some pita.
Step 2: Impromptu feta-yogurt-dill dressing (1/3 c. plain yogurt, 1/4 c. crumbled feta, 1/4-1/2 tsp. dried dill, salt and pepper)
Step 3: Slice some fresh tomato and cucumber
Step 4: Heat the kefta, slice it, and load into pita with veggies and liberal amounts of dressing

Hmmm ... a surprise! It was a damn tasty sandwich, and tastier the more dressing I added. Nice to know you can make lemonade from some no-so-exciting lemons...

Fried Eggs, a Revelation

I don't mean to say that I just discovered fried eggs, or anything nonsensical like that. I have long been a die-hard fan of the over-easy and sunny-side-up varieties. My father used to make me fried eggs nearly every day, when I was little and scrawny and he wanted me to gain weight. He vowed to make me anything I wanted if I promised to eat it all. My request was always 2 fried eggs, sunny-side-up, with 2 pieces of toast. I have to wonder what my cholesterol was at that age ...

Anyway, despite my love of eggs, I never learned to make fried eggs very well--the whites stuck to the pan and yolks always broke. So disappointing. But today I made five (5!) fried eggs, all without mishap. The key? Lots of oil in the pan, and the correct heat. Thank you, thank you, Joy of Cooking (1997).

This venerable tome tells us that, for 4 fried eggs, we need 1-2 Tbsp. of olive oil or butter in the pan, heated at medium low heat. This is a LOT of oil (I think), but I used 1.25 Tbsp -- 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1/4 Tbsp. butter -- and didn't add the eggs too soon. Halleighlujah! It all worked just great. After the first four, I fried the fifth without adding extra oil, and that worked too, though it was little sticky. And they were all mighty tasty.

So in case you struggle making fried eggs, trust the Joy of Cooking. It won't lead you astray.

jessica

Chickpea Salad

I like this salad because it's very cheap, quick, easy, and keeps well (for a few days). It's inspired by my friend's Armenian 'salat', a chickpea and parmesan recipe on Orangette's blog, and the Lebanese salad recipe in The Healthy Kitchen (2003).

Ingredients
1 16-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 yellow or red bell pepper, diced
1/4 c. high-quality grated parmesan
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Handful fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients in medium mixing bowl, and let sit for 30 minutes or so. Enjoy!

Alternatives

• You can also use more tomato, cucumber, and pepper: 2 small tomatoes (or 1 large) and the entire cuke and pepper. You may need more olive oil and lemon juice.
• Instead of parmesan, use crumbled/diced feta or goat cheese.
• You can also omit the cheese for a vegan salad, but cured kalamata olives might be a nice replacement. In fact, maybe just include kalamata olives anyway!

Jessica

Banana Mocha Smoothie

I thought our country's obsession with smoothies was a little over the top, until I made this smoothie. Now I wake up excited to have it again. I also wind up waking my husband with the sound of the blender -- unfortunately, he doesn't love this smoothie quite as much as I do.

Ingredients
1 banana, cut into chunks and left in the freezer for a few hours
1 c. or slightly less of plain (fat-free, if you like) yogurt
1 dash vanilla
1/4 c. coffee -- better if it's cold or at least not hot
1 Tbsp. sweetened cocoa

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Garnish with sprinkles of cinnamon and nutmeg. If you don't have plain yogurt and sweetened cocoa, you can also use 1 c. vanilla yogurt (omit dash of vanilla) and add unsweetened cocoa. If you don't have time to freeze the banana chunks, just use an unfrozen one and add 2 ice cubes to the blender.

Jessica

Poached Eggs

I really love poached eggs. There were such discovery for me when I was a kid -- I didn't know you could make eggs that weren't fried or scrambled. But then one night when I was maybe eight and couldn't fall asleep, I walked into the kitchen to find my dad making poached eggs for a nighttime snack. He made some for me, too, and served them in the traditional (and some may say horribly foul) manner of our family: heavily salted and peppered, then mashed with a fork and mixed together with crushed saltines. Yum. I still find it a great comfort food. Although, as my grandmother says, we don't eat poached eggs this way in front of company.

I think the poached egg is a good basis for riffing and I like to try new variations. I am especially fond of poached eggs with tomato, either fresh or in a sauce, and in particular the Moroccan Eggs Benedict at Cafe Mogador in the E. Village (http://www.cafemogador.com/), which are topped with a spicy tomato sauce and hollandaise. I've tried to create a version of my own at home, sort of. It has none of the Morrocan spices and, in a heart-healthy gesture, I eschew the hollandaise (I'm not a huge fan, anyway). I came up with the following, which I really like. The simple spicy and fresh tomato sauce is a great foil for the creamy yolk of the poached egg.

1/2 pint ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
2-3 T. minced onion
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (according to your tastes)
2 eggs
1 slice whole grain bread, halved, or 1 split english muffin
pecorino shavings

Heat oil in small pan over med-high heat, then add onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, and red pepper flakes and saute over med to med-high heat, stirring occasionally until tomatoes begin to soften and break down (maybe 10 mins.?). In the meantime, toast the bread or english muffin and poach the eggs. For anyone who has difficulty poaching eggs, epicurious.com offers a great tutorial.

To serve, top toast with poached eggs, sauce, and pecorino shavings.

If you don't like this, you may want to give poached eggs with crushed saltines a whirl. You just might be surprised.

Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

This weekend I thought I would try cinnamon rolls -- I tried them several years ago, but they didn't turn out so very well. However, now that I've had a few successes with yeasted doughs, I thought it was worth another try. It was. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 c. lukewarm water
1 1/2 packets yeast (I used rapid rise)
3 T. sugar
1/3 c. dy milk
1 egg
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided + extra flour for kneading
3 T. oil
1 1/4 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in water, then whisk in sugar, dry milk, and egg. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and beat well with spoon. Let rise for 30 min.

Fold in oil and salt, then mix in another cup of flour. Turn out onto floured board and knead the dough until it is smooth and doesn't tear. Let rise 40 min. In the meantime, mix together 2/3 c. of brown sugar with 1 T. of cinnamon, and 1/2 c. raisins (optional).

After dough has risen, punch it down and turn out onto floured board. Roll dough out into rectangle, about 1/4 in. thick. (If dough is too springy to roll out, let it sit for 5-10 min. to allow it to relax.) Spread 3 T. of softened butter across surface of dough, then sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll dough up lengthwise into one long tube, trying to keep it tight. Cut tube into sections about 1 in. thick and place them flat on greased baking sheet, leaving space around them to spread out. Let rise 20-30 min.

Brush cinnamon rolls with an egg wash, and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 min. Take from oven and brush, while hot, with a powdered sugar glaze (1/2 c. powdered sugar mixed with 2 or 3 T. milk). Then eat. And eat and eat and eat. Makes about 12.


Note: I think It might be easier just to mix the softened butter with the sugar and spread it on that way, and I amended the recipe so that the cut sections are larger -- I followed the original recipe and only cut mine about 3/4 in. thick (which made 15 rolls) and found myself wishing that the cinnamon rolls were a little higher. Other than that, I thought this was a really wonderful recipe. It comes from the terrific and always reliable Tassajara Bread Book.

Mimi and Flo

Well, this has nothing to do with food, but if you're looking for some Web-based entertainment, check out my friend's new show "Mimi and Flo"! It's about two young women -- one from Wisconsin (not sure where Flo's from) -- who try to make it in New York, despite roommate crises, employment struggles, and bad footwear. The best part is that it's like one of those "create your own ending" books, where you can decide what happens. I always loved those books! If you did too, you'll love the show, I promise ...

www.mimiandflo.com

Blueberry Muffins with Struesel Topping

Today I really had an itch to bake, and so I decided to make some blueberry muffins. I've also got some baguettes and brioche in the works, but muffins are nice, (almost) instant gratification.

Struesel Topping
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. finely chopped almonds
1/3 c. brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
Blend together until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Makes about 1 cup topping, which is more than you need for the muffins, unless you're really generous with the topping, or make 2 batches of muffins, which I would recommend :)

Muffins
Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 400 F. Grease a standard 12-muffin pan or line with paper cups.

Whisk together in large bowl:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. almond meal
1/2 c. brown sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Whisk together in another bowl:
1 lg. egg
3 1/2 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
Juice from 1 Meyer lemon
1 c. yogurt (can use non-fat)

Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and use a few light strokes until they are 2/3 blended. Add:
1 1/2 c. frozen or fresh blueberries

Mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix -- the batter will be stiff and not be smooth. Fill muffin tins with mixture (~2 Tbsp. per tin). Sprinkle each with a healthy dose of struesel topping. Bake for ~14 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Enjoy!

Jessica

Baked Chicken Breast with Onion, Garlic, and Rosemary

I've been somewhat anti-chicken lately, but all day I couldn't help think about this dish from The Joy of Cooking (1997), which I hadn't made in a few years. On my walk home, I stopped at two grocery stores looking for fresh rosemary (a very nice touch it would have been, too) and was disappointed. I also wanted to serve it with kale but, alas, no kale was to be found. But everything turned out well -- I had dried rosemary at home, sweet potatoes, and found some lovely green beans that I steamed and served with butter, lemon, toasted almonds and tart dried cherries. Dessert was broiled grapefruit -- warm grapefruit is a bizarre experience! But not bad, either. I'd like to try it again with better (read: sweeter, ruby red) grapefruit. Here's the recipe for the chicken, which turned out quite moist and delicious.

Ingredients
1 1/2-2 lbs. bone-in chicken breasts, or a mix of white and dark meat pieces, with skin
1 large red onion, sliced into rings
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. good quality olive oil
1 tsp. dried rosemary, or 2 tsp. fresh
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a medium bowl, combine onion, garlic, and rosemary, and drizzle with 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Rinse chicken and pat dry, then sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Some folks would say to remove the skin, but I say no! Because the skin (I think, anyway) keeps the meat from drying out. I don't actually eat the skin, but find it's crucial for cooking. If you feel an urge to remove it that cannot be tamed, simply beware that you may have dried out chicken, particularly if you're cooking white meat. In a medium size baking dish -- I use a 10-in. square pyrex dish -- spread 1/2 the onion-garlic-rosemary mixture. Set the chicken pieces on top, and cover with remaining onion mixture. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil, and pop into the oven for 45-55 minutes. I use the hack method of checking if the meat is done by cutting it open (gasp!). It's very uncouth and I don't recommend it if you wish to impress guests. Better to use a meat thermometer or something like that.

One problem I found this time around (but not always, strangely) is that the onion and garlic on top of the chicken start to brown and char a bit. I like charred onion, but burnt garlic is terrible. It didn't actually get burnt, but I was nervous. That said, I might recommend covering the dish with foil or a lid for 1/2 the cooking time, to avoid burnt garlic. In the end the garlic and onion on the bottom get all soft and delicious, almost -- but not quite -- carmelized, and who can dislike that? So tasty.

Despite this last caveat about the onion and garlic, I really recommend trying this dish out. It's serves 2 very hungry people, or 3 normal ones.

Jessica

Apple, Celery and Bleu Cheese Salad with Almonds

This recipe goes with the mushroom bisque post, since I served them together. I think the recipe is based on the Waldorf salad. The original recipe I worked from is located here, but this is how I prepared it ...

Ingredients
1 med./large apple (~8 oz.) such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Braeburn, cored and cut into small dice
2 stalks celery cut into small dice
2 oz. crumbled bleu or roquefort cheese -- I used the pre-packaged crumbles, which aren't very good; they're really salty. They work in a pinch, but it might be a good idea to use less salt with them.
1 Tbsp. plain yogurt + 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise -- you can also use 2 Tbsp. mayo, if you like
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 c. raw slivered almonds
2-3 c. fresh baby spinach leaves, for serving

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F; place raw almonds on cookie sheet and toast in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Mix diced apple, celery, and bleu cheese in mixing bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice and mix. If using yogurt and mayo, mix in small ramekin or bowl, and then add to celery/apple/cheese mixture. Combine well. Add salt and black pepper to taste, and mix in almonds. Evenly divide baby spinach onto 3-4 plates and top with apple-celery salad.

Jessica

Mushroom Bisque

I love mushrooms! (So does my husband.) He was trying to work in his office and confessed he was distracted by the delicious smells from the kitchen as I made this soup. I made a nice celery, bleu cheese, apple, and almond salad served on top of baby spinach to go with, which was tasty, too. Here's the mushroom bisque recipe, based on Molly Katzen's from the Moosewood cookbook, with some tweaks.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. sliced mushrooms--can use button mushrooms or a mix. I only had button mushrooms and it turned out well. But it'd be even better with a variety ...
1/4 c. dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 c. boiling water
1 med. red onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, minced
1 tsp. salt
2 sm. garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
2 1/2 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 1/2 Tbsp. tamari
1 large baking potato, skinned and diced + 1 c. of cooking liquid
2/3 c. whole milk
cracked black pepper to taste

Directions
Put the potato on to boil, and simmer until tender. Also, heat 1/2 c. water to boiling and soak porcini mushrooms for a few minutes. As potatoes boil, melt butter in lg., heavy saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and celery and saute 5 min., stirring occasionally. Then add fresh mushrooms, soaked mushrooms with liquid, and salt and cook for 10 minutes, covered -- stirring periodically. Halfway through 10 minutes, add thyme and garlic (adding them later keeps their flavors brighter) and continue cooking. When mushrooms are finished cooking, add sherry and tamari and remove from heat. Set aside.

Place cooked potato in blender with 1 c. of cooking liquid, and blend until smooth, adding more cooking liquid if you think it's too thick. Return potato puree to a clean large saucepan and puree mushrooms with their liquid. If you run out of liquid -- as you surely will -- add the milk in with the mushrooms. Combine mushroom puree with potato puree. If the mixture is too thick add more milk until you acheive desired consistency. Warm gently over medium-low heat, add cracked black pepper to taste, and adjust other seasonings. Serve immediately with crusty bread or some buttered whole grain toast.

Jessica

Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

I've been intending an international dumpling theme for the blog, but I've been a little daunted by the labor involved in dumplings, so I thought for now that I'd post a very basic (yet tasty) chili. Its spiciness is nicely balanced by creamy sweet potato and cannellini beans. Even my husband, who hates sweet potatoes, loves this recipe. Despite my earlier jab at the price of cardamom pods at Whole Foods, I have to confess that I really enjoy their cookbook, where I found this dish.

1 T. oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1 lg. red pepper, chopped
1 minced garlic clove
1 pound boneless chicken breast, chopped
1 can canellini beans, drained
1 c. chicken stock
2.5 c. water
2 lbs. sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
0.5 tsp. cayenne
1 minced jalapeno

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat and saute onion, red pepper, and garlic for about 5 min. Add chicken, cook until opaque, then add remaining ingredients. Bring chili to boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 min. Top with a dollop of sour cream or full-fat yogurt and sprinkle with chopped scallions. Serves 6.

Betsy

Squash Curry

(c) by Gabriel Heck, who I took a Nepali cooking class from last year in Madison

Every week, or almost every week, the place I work has a graduate student group meeting, where one of the grad students presents on work they're doing or just something they find interesting. Part of the responsibility of being presenter is also to provide food for everyone, because the meeting's over the lunch hour. Lunch can be simple, like salad and bread, bagels and cream cheese, or pizza. It's so nice to have someone provide your lunch! But some people (I consider myself one) get a little more elaborate in what they serve. My favorite meal was prepared by an Armenian student, who brought delicious cheese filled pastries, Armenian salad (cucumber, tomato, lettuce, dill, cilantro, red onion, lemon juice, feta, olive oil, and maybe black olives?), and hummus and pita. It was really delicious! Last time I presented, I made a baked potato bar, with homemade white chicken chili, salsa, spinach, sour cream, bacon bits, cheddar, etc. and homemade cookies and fruit for dessert. This semester, I wanted to try out some Indian recipes that I hadn't used for a while (well, one of them -- this one -- is actually Nepali). I made this dish, dal, raita, and some basmati rice. I also bought some naan, and mango and coconut macaroons for dessert. I think it turned out well! Sorry there are no photos, but we haven't replaced our digital camera yet. And the good thing about this recipe is not its appearance. Anyway, below are the details ...

Ingredients
3 T. canola oil
1/4 t. fenugreek seeds
2 bay leaves
1 medium squash, cored, peeled and chopped (~5 c.)
*Most any type of squash or pumpkin can be used in this dish, esp. butternut, kuri, and other sweet squashes. Since I hate chopping squash, I used sweet potato, ~3 large ones.
1 t. tumeric
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
1 t. salt
1/8 t. cayenne
1 large tomato, chopped (~1 c.)
1/2 c. water
1 t. cinnamon

Directions
In a medium pot, heat the canola oil along with the fenugreek seeds and the bay leaves (I used medium heat). Once the fenugreek seeds darken, add the squash and tumeric, and cook for a few minutes. Add the ginger, cumin, coriander, salt, and cayenne, and cook for a few more minutes. Add the tomato and water. Cover and cook until the squash is soft throughout (~15 min.). Uncover and add the cinnamon. Cook for ~1 min., then remove from heat.
Serve warm with rice.

Jessica

Thai beef salad (yam neua)

First, let me say that I’m so happy B. has joined me on the blog, since I haven’t posted anything in over a month, due to a faulty digital camera. Since I think recipes are pretty dull without photos, I haven’t felt inspired to post much. But Betsy convinced me to post my most recent dish, a Thai beef salad, even without a photo. The dish is very good as leftovers—if fact, possibly better, as the flavors come out after it sits a while. So, without further ado, here it is.

Thai Beef Salad (Yam Neua)
Adapted from www.templeofthai.com/recipes/thai_beef_salad.php

Ingredients
8 oz. decent quality steak, sirloin or other
2 large Serrano chilies, minced
1 large clove garlic, sliced crosswise very thin
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce (some people use soy sauce instead of fish sauce, but the flavor really isn’t as good)
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (or more—I really like lime)
1 bunch rice noodles (~1 serving, according to package)
6 sprigs fresh mint, remove leaves and tear into small pieces
1/2 small cucumber (seeds removed), peeled and sliced thin
1/2 small red onion, sliced very thin
2 sprigs cilantro, stems removed

Preparation
Grill or broil the steak until medium-rare. Trim off any fat. Cool and slice thin, into pieces approx. 2 inches across and 1/8 inch thick.

As steak cools, prepare rice noodles and dressing. For noodles: completely submerge them in boiling water, cover, and let sit for 4 minutes or so. Then drain and place in medium size mixing bowl.

Mix garlic, chiles, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar in a small bowl. Add the sliced meat and toss with the cucumber and onion. Taste and add more fish sauce if desired. When ready, mix with rice noodles. Serves 2 as a meal, more as an appetizer.

Jessica

Twisted Baguettes, Reprise

After I saw the twisted baguette recipe posted here , I thought surely even I couldn't mess it up. I heard somewhere that yeast knows when you're intimidated, and I think this is all too true -- often my yeasted doughs rise sluggishly or not at all. But this ever-so-easy recipe turned out so well! I took a photo, even before I thought I might post on this blog, simply because I was terrifically proud. Here it is:


I even emailed it to friends at work, most of whom, it seemed, were more excited by my sugar, coffee, and tea tins . . .

Betsy

Spiced Basmati Rice with Lentils and Caramelized Onions

So, in the spirit of cooperation, I've decided to contribute to my twin sister's food blog. I'm writing not from the lovely Midwest, but from New York City, where I find myself occasionally in the position of gently reminding others that there is civilization west of the Hudson River.

I'd been intent on making this lentil dish ever since I bought the beautiful Bon Appetit cookbook at a going-out-of-business sale at the end of December, but I faced some hardships along the way: first, I needed my Dutch oven, which I had loaned to a friend for a "chili night" in October, and only had returned a few weeks ago. Second, I was having a devil of time finding cardamom pods, since neither of my local groceries in Queens carried them. Curious that I should be thwarted in my cardamom search in Queens, home to many excellent Indian eateries, but I live in a largely Greek/Czech area and cardamom seems not to be a critical ingredient in my neighborhood. A brief tour of the Whole Foods at Union Square and I found the elusive spice, but for a hefty $7. Yee. I finally decided to drop in to the local Euromarket grocery. I'd never been there before, and now I can only wonder why I hadn't -- in addition to a much less expensive jar of cardamom pods, they had a whole EU's variety of chocolates, condiments, pastes, rubs, and grains.

Once I had my Dutch oven and the cardamom pods, I thought it was time to make the recipe, which is really quite simple:

1 T. butter
4 c. vertically sliced onions
1/2 c. dried lentils
2 1/2 c. water
3 cardamom pods
2 whole allspice
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1 c. basmati rice

Melt butter in Dutch oven over med-low heat; add onions and stir 1 minute. Cover and cook onions until tender, about 15 min. Remove lid, and cook until onions are golden brown, about another 25 min. Once they are caramelized, spread onions evenly along bottom of Dutch oven.

In the meantime, cook lentils in saucepan of boiling water until soft, about 20 min. Drain.

Combine water, spices, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add rice and lentils, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Cook 15 min. After lentil and rice mixture has finished cooking, remove spices, then spread mixture atop caramelized onions. Put lid on Dutch oven and bake for about 35 min. at 400 degrees. After baking, remove lid from Dutch oven, let sit for 5 min., then unmold onto platter.

Below is a slightly out-of-focus glamour photo of how it turned out:



The fuzzy picture was the only way to add glamour, really, as it is not a dish that lends itself to fancy presentation. After making this recipe, an important realization was confirmed: caramelized onions make everything tasty.

Betsy

Curried Carrot Soup, version 1

I thought to post this recipe because I tried a "thai-inspired" chicken curry from Anne's Food that burnt my lips off. I overdid the red curry paste and though it was tasty -- how can chicken breast, zucchini, baby corn, red bell peppers and coconut milk be otherwise? -- I had to call on some leftover whipped cream with ginger thins to rescue my charred tongue. I'll be more careful in the future. However, the general seasoning reminded me of the best soup I'd ever had when I was in Stockholm in 2001. It was a curried carrot soup made with coconut milk, and I've tried to recreate it several times, usually without success. Most recipes that I used as a jumping off point were too sweet, and it was hard to call up a clear memory of the soup, anyway. (I just remember loving it.) Anyway, I think I found an equivalent, slightly modified, at whfoods.org (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=recipe&dbid=27) but may try it again with the red curry paste instead of cayenne in the future. Here's version 1:

Ingredients
3 cups vegetable stock
1 large onion chopped
2 TBS fresh ginger sliced, or 1 tsp dried
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups sliced carrots
1 tsp curry powder
5 oz canned coconut milk
Healthy dose of cayenne (according to your preferences)
Salt and white pepper to taste

Sauté onion in a medium sized soup pot for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and fresh ginger and continue to sauté for another minute. Add curry powder and dried ginger if you are not using fresh, and mix well with onions. Add stock and carrots simmer on medium high heat until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add coconut milk and blend in batches making sure blender is not more than half full. When it's hot, if blender is too full it can erupt and burn you. Salt, pepper, and add cayenne to taste. Return to soup pot and reheat.

Jessica

Happy New Year!

This blog is part of my New Year's resolution to improve my cooking and expand my food repetoire. As I was talking to Cisco (my husband) yesterday, I realized that though I'm a fairly good cook, overall, but it can be definitely hit or miss. And, I feel limited in the recipes I can pull off without disaster. So, I need to work on it. I had previously started a food blog with my dear friend Krista, but got out of the habit, and wanted to create one that I could really target to my cooking goals and interests, so that's why I've taken up a new one (though I will hopefully contribute more to the Recipe Coop, as well). I was really motivated to start this blog after happening upon some utterly fabulous food blogs by accident a week or so ago. First and foremost is A Cat in the Kitchen, but Anne's Food, Food and Thoughts, and Farmgirl Fare (which also has adorable pictures of her pet lamb Cary) have become fast favorites. I'm only worried that when the new semester begins I'll have a hard time getting back to work!

So, here are my resolutions ...

1. To experiment with new cuisines, including Indonesian (we've only made gado-gado so far), Ethiopian, and Scandinavian and Polish, thanks to "A Cat in the Kitchen," as well as "Anne's Food."
2. To be more adventurous with ingredients, especially by shopping at the nearby Midway Asian Market that, in addition to much needed ingredients for Chinese, Thai, and Japanese food also has a good selection of ingredients for Middle Eastern and Mexican cuisines.
3. To not eat out too much, because -- in addition to being expensive and not very time-saving -- it robs me of good opportunities to practice cooking :)
4. To learn how to preserve foods: mostly jams and jellies and peaches!
5. To master yeasted breads. Okay, at least figure it out enough, so that I'm not utterly terrified by recipes that call for yeast.
6. To get more involved in the local foodie events in Madison and the surrounding area -- and there are ever-so-many ...

I'm sure there's more, but this is a start ...

Almond Apple Cake

This lovely recipe is adapted from the Hazelnut Plum Cake on epicurious.com, but you have to have quality plums for the Hazelnut Plum Cake to work out and in Wisconsin in mid-winter, quality apples are much easier to come by. I tried the following version for New Year's Eve dinner (following up homemade pizzas -- which were okay despite too-doughy crusts), served with maple whipped cream. Unfortunately, my digital camera isn't working, so I can't photograph the nice results :( Anyway, here are the details...

Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. almond meal (Bob's Red Mill sells this; otherwise, get 1/2 c. or so of raw almonds and process in a food processor)
1/3 c. oat flour -- This was a new component, as the recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but I thought the oat flour would give a nice flavor and moistness to the cake. It does, but if you don't have oat flour (Arrowhead Mills makes some), you can use regular flour with no problem.
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 apple, thinly sliced -- you can peel or leave the skin on, either way works
1 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, in whatever proportions you like.

First, preheat oven to 425 F and butter and flour 8-in. round cake pan. You can also line the cake pan in parchment paper, if you'd rather.

Blend together almond meal, flour, and brown sugar. If you're using whole almonds, blend in food processor until well mixed. Melt butter and add vanilla when cool ... Set aside.

Combine egg whites and salt, and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in almond-flour-sugar mixture, then add melted butter/vanilla mix (batter will deflate). Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Top batter with apple slices, then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top. I do find that the center takes a little too long to finish cooking if you layer too many apples in the center (as usually happens when trying to make pretty concentric circles), so be careful not to cover the center completely with apple slices.

Place in center rack in oven and bake 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. As I mentioned, I used whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup and vanilla, for which the recipe is quite simple: 1 c. chilled whipping cream, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1-3 Tbs. maple syrup (go on the light side if you don't like things too sweet--the only disadvantage is that you then can't really taste the maple flavor). Mixed in a chilled non-reactive metal or glass bowl and beat on high until desired consistency. Be careful not to beat too long, or you'll have very sweet butter :)