Vegetable & Tofu Red Curry

IF YOU DON'T LIKE TOFU, YOU CAN STILL MAKE THIS.

Really, it's okay. I used to hate the stuff. Like most foods, I keep trying the ones that I don't initially like and I research them on their benefits and figure a way to include the really good foods in my diet and my cooking. Soy-based crap is good for you. End of story. SO ARE VEGGIES!!! You don't like vegetables? Go to a farmer's market, go to a grower's ranch, whatever you do, stop buying that waxed, tasteless crap from your supermarket chain store. It's no wonder people think they don't like veggies - yuck!

This meal is easy, it saves well, it is highly substitutable (i.e. chicken, fish or shrimp for the tofu and any veggies you want).

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 oz extra firm tofu (or whatever meat, I don't care!)
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 tbsp lime juice
  
• 1/2 onion thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed & chopped
• 1 bell pepper sliced
• 1 crown broccoli, separated into florets
• 1 zucchini halved & sliced
• 5 mushrooms, quartered
• 1/2 cup Napa cabbage sliced
• large handful of tiny heirloom tomatoes or grape tomatoes
• 1 cup Light Coconut Milk
• 2 TBSP red curry paste
• dash chili-garlic sauce ( i like it hot!)
  
• 2 cups cooked brown basmati rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Drain tofu & chop into cubes, press liquid out.
2. Heat sesame oil in frying pan and saute tofu till golden.
3. Remove to bowl and toss with lime juice & tumeric.
4. Heat olive oil in same pan and add onion & garlic, saute 5 minutes
5. Add tofu back to pan and cook until browned about 5 minutes.
6. Mix coconut milk, curry paste & garlic sauce and add to pan with all veggies.
7. Stir to combine and let simmer 6-10 minutes.
8. Serve atop rice.
9. Be happy, healthy, and rejoice!
   

Spinach, Mushroom & Feta Omelette

In a perfect world I could eat:

• BREAKFAST every morning that would consist of either migas or chorizo/eggs/potatoes/tortillas (served at El Matador all day people, all day).
• LUNCH every day of grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries and BEER! Glass after frosty glass of ice cold beeeeer!
• Then - cheese, wine, pasta, tacos, bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, I do NOT live in a perfect world... That diet above would kill me and probably make me not feel to good! So, although my blog has some mighty sinful un-diet friendly food on it, I try to give a lot of it away :) (Such as the cinnamon pull apart muffins! Eat one and get rid of them!)

Hence, this breakfast. It IS the most important meal of the day. Starting your day with something nutritious gets you off on the right foot. I use more egg whites than whole eggs. A single yolk contains 70% of your cholesterol for the day. Also instead of piling on a bunch of greasy cheese, I opted for Feta - one of the lowest fat options for cheese. Stuffed full of lightly wilted spinach and sauteed mushrooms and served with a side of whole grain toast - this omlette is a great way to start the day!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg whites
• handful fresh spinach (rinsed)
• 3 mushrooms sliced
• cooking spray
• 1-2 TBSP feta

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wilt the spinach in a pan over medium-low heat. Squeeze out liquid & roughly chop.
2. Saute mushrooms with cooking spray in same pan. Add spinach back to pan and keep warm.
3. Spray omlette pan with cooking spray over medium heat. Whisk eggs to blend and add to pan. Cook without touching until the edges of the omlette peel back from the pan and it starts to set.
4. Gently flip omlette and cook until fully set.
5. Crumble feta over half of the omlette, top with spinach & mushrooms.
   
6. Slide onto plate and fold top over the filling. Top with extra feta & fresh salsa (or in my case, Tapatio!)

Flourless Chocolate Cake for the Girls

(pardon my picture...i was at Melita's house and was LOST without my Lowel Ego Light. Had to use a flash :::gasp::: I am ashamed!)


Saturday night was a girl's night at my girl Melita's house! I have been promising her chocolate cake for a long time... So, naturally, that's what she was going to get when she requested that I bring dessert! She made these OUTSTANDING chicken enchiladas, a beautiful salad and amazing white and red sangrias!

I have a confession to make. I like chocolate. BUT, I do not necessarily LOVE chocolate. I need cheese more than chocolate, in a world where you must make some sacrifices. These are super rich. I used 4" springform pans with removeable bottoms, but I really think they would be better smaller. Perhaps in 2 oz ramekins... these were definitely TOO big for how rich they are.

I would also liked to have made fresh vanilla bean ice cream to accompany my should-have-made-more-miniature cakes... but..but...but... okay I have no excuse except that I was busy at the beach laying in the sun being happy.

All that being said, they came out okay. Easy, fast & chocolatey!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate chips (not unsweetened)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (the higher quality, the better)
• parchment paper
  
• ramekins or tartlet pans or springform pans or one large 8" pan.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut butter into chunks and melt with chocolate in a double boiler* over low heat stirring until smooth.
2. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar until smooth.
3. Whisk in 3 eggs.
4. Sift cocoa over the bowl and gently whisk in just until combined.
5. Line ramekins or pans with parchment paper circles the same size as the bottom and grease bottoms & sides.
6. Dust with a little flour & tap out excess.
7. Divide batter among your pans and set pans on a baking sheet.
8. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until a thin crust forms on top. Depending on the size of your ramekins, you may only need 10-15 minutes. Take a look at them! An 8" single cake will take @ 25 minutes, so the smaller you go, the less time it will take.
9. Let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Run knife around edge and invert onto a plate.
10. You can make a day ahead - cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Don't have a double boiler? Neither do I! Take a small metal bowl and set it over an even smaller pan that has about a 1/2" of water in it. You do not want the bowl to touch the water. If it does, get a larger bowl. You want to simmer the water so that the steam rises up and heats the bowl....thus melting the chocolate.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Muffins

Recipe courtesy of Joy the Baker

Whoever decided to mix brown sugar, butter & cinnamon really ought to go straight to hell. No evaluation, no checking for good traits or kind deeds, straight to hell because that combination is sinfully delicious. I hate to say it, but it's delicious even when it's not cooked! Refined sugar HELL.

There is no justifying these muffins as anything that I need. I tried to replace half the flour with whole wheat flour (and it worked great!) but it didn't make this any healthier. That being said - make them, eat one, give the rest away as fast as you can!

Makes: 1 dozen

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup + 2 TBSP warm water
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 TBSP flour
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• handful of golden raisins (optional) and handful of chopped pecans (i think that's mandatory)
• extra flour, white sugar & cinnamon for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

1. Stir flour, salt & yeast in a large bowl.
2. Add water & olive oil stirring to combine.
3. Knead into a ball 1-2 minutes or until smooth, adding more water if necessary.
4. Oil bowl lightly and turn ball of dough to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1-2 hours (doubled in size).
5. Punch dough down gently and re-cover for another 20 minutes.
6. Grease a muffin pan and flour it (shaking out excess).
7. Preheat oven to 350'.
8. On a floured worksurface, pat your dough into any shape - just get it to about 1/2" - 3/4" thickness.
9. Cut it into little chunks (size of the tip of your thumb is good).
10. Sprinkle chunks with a touch of flour and a handful of sugar and a bit of cinnamon, toss on the counter top to coat.
11. In separate bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, white sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, pecans and/or raisins. I mixed with my hands so that the butter was incorporated thoroughly.
12. Pack the muffin tins halfway full with dough chunks. Top with a Tbsp of the sugar mix, then more dough, then more sugar.
13. Bake for about 12 minutes.
14. Cool in pan 15 minutes, run a knife around the edge and scoop out!

THANK YOU JOY!! This recipe was wonderful!!!!

Daring Bakers in March - Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

A huge thank you to Leah for all her help despite not feeling well, but most importantly for being a great friend! Also, a big thank you to Becky who came up with the idea of the cannelloni and brought fantastic wine and a new friendship and a final thank you to Paul(ie) who brought wine, an appetite and good conversation.

Who are the Daring Bakers and what are these challenges?
Click here to find out! Basically, it is a online group of people who love to cook from all around the world. Every month one recipe is selected that challenges us to move out of our comfort zones and explore something new! This months choice was a diversion from the usual bakery / dessert items into the realm of pasta.

I love making my own pasta, but had never made spinach pasta, lasagna (from scratch) or this version of ragu. My awesome friend Leah (The Snacking Chef) came over and we made a day of it!

The original recipe called for layer upon layer of spinach pasta, bechamel sauce and ragu, each dusted with a little Parmiggiano Reggiano. I however, LOVE cheese, and saw a good excuse to make my homemade low-fat Ricotta. We tried to make the pasta as directed, but I found there was not nearly enough liquid, eggs or olive oil to make a smooth sheet. I tweaked it a bit and came up with something that worked! The ragu was phenomenal - there were a few hurdles, a few times I looked at it and gagged (you'll understand when you add the milk - gross!) but we followed the directions (by in large) and it was phenomenal. I could eat this over anything... The bechamel was bechamel, nothing spectacular (is it ever?) but it does add to the lasagna overall and I highly recommend finding fresh nutmegs and grating them by hand.

I also recommend drinking copious amounts of wine, but wait till you've done the lions share of the work first or you will quit halfway! I also recommend doing the sauces and the cheese the day before. Then doing the pasta, assembling and cooking the next day. It is roughly 5-6 straight hours of non-stop cooking if you do it in one day. Which is therapeutic, but not necessary. The recipes below are MY version. For the original recipe as given, go here!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

SPINACH EGG PASTA (Pasta Verde)
INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 3.5 cups flour (all purpose works fine)
• 6 oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed and moisture squeezed out)
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 2-3 TBSP water

DIRECTIONS

1. Mound flour on a work surface (i just use my counter, but I wouldn't suggest using marble or stone - it's cold).
2. In a separate bowl, gently mix the eggs, yolks, 2TBSP oil, spinach and 2 TBSP of water.
3. Make a well in your flour and gently pour the liquid mix in.
4. Using a fork (or like me, your finger) stir the center allowing the flour from the outside to fall into the well. You want to incorporate the flour without letting the liquids run all over the counter. Nothing is perfect here, just mix the two things.
5. Keep mixing until it has become a shapeable mass... if it is still too dry, add water and oil by the teaspoon full.
6. This takes TIME and EXPERIENCE!
   
7. Knead the hell out of it. If your arms don't hurt you aren't doing it right. It's a firm, tough dough.
8. You must knead it until it is SMOOTH, SHINY and ELASTIC.
9. If it is not those things, keep kneading. This can take up to 15 minutes of hard work!
10. Once it is smooth, shiny & elastic, wrap it in plastic wrap and set it aside for 30 minutes - 3 hours at room temperature.
11. I have a hand-crank pasta machine - I highly recommend it as to hand rolling (ugh!)
    
12. Flatten your dough into a disk and score it with a knife into roughly 8 pieces (like a pie).
13. Grab one piece, tear it in half, and put the rest under a kitchen towel or the plastic wrap.
14. Squish your ball into a squarish disk and start running through the pasta maker, starting on the widest setting. Narrow the setting each time, gently stretching with your fingers as necessary. You want each strip to be roughly 4" wide and 8" long and so thin that it is almost transparent (but not tearing).
15. Set each strip to dry either on a chair back or on a pasta rack.
16. Continue until you have 16 sheets. This is more than you need! You can save the dried sheets or like boil them and make cannellonis like I did (see PICTURE below).

CANNELLONIS

RAGU
INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
• 7 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 medium onion, minced
  
• 1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
  
• 1 medium carrot, minced
  
• 4 ounces boneless veal shoulder or round (ask your butcher to grind for you!)
  
• 4 ounces hot Italian sausage (remove from casing)
  
• 8 ounces beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (ask your butcher to grind for you!)
• 1-2 ounce thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
  
• 2/3 cup dry red wine
  
• 1.5 cups (12 ounces) chicken or beef stock
  
• 2 cups (16 ounces) whole milk
  
• 6-8 canned plum tomatoes
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat olive oil in pan over medium-high heat (this is your browning pan). Place another LARGE pan nearby (everything will be transferred to this pan eventually and finish simmering in here).
2. Add pancetta, garlic, onion, celery, carrot and saute until soft and coloring golden about 10 minutes, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon.
3. Add your meat and cook over medium heat. You really want to brown the meat. Cook it thoroughly, allowing it to sit long enough to being the browning process. We drained the meat a bit as I was using a non-stick pan (makes browning tough). Turn the meat gently as to not scrape anything accumulating on the bottom of the pan.
4. This may take 15+ minutes!
5. Once you have a nice layer of crunchy dark crap on the bottom of the pan, transfer your meats/veggies to that other pan waiting nearby and set over medium heat.
6. Add red wine to the browning skillet and lower heat so that it bubbles quietly. Reduce by half about 3 minutes, scraping up the brown bits into the wine.
7. When reduced, pour into the meat pan and stir to combine.
8. Add 1/2 cup broth to the meat pan and let it cook over medium heat until most liquid is evaporated (about 10 minutes). Repeat with another 1/2 cup.
   
9. Stir the last 1/2 cup stock in with the 2 cups milk. it's going to look NASTY. but trust me, it will be okay.
10. Adjust heat so that liquid slowly bubbles, cover partially and cook for 1 hour, stirring frequently.
11. Grab your tomatoes out of the can with your hand and smash them in your hand and add to the pot. Stir to combine. Adjust how many tomatoes you add by how much you like them (the original recipe calls for 3, but I wanted more, so I added more - it's my world!)
12. Cook uncovered another 45 minutes or so and season w/ salt & pepper.

RICOTTA CHEESE
(go here for recipe!)


BECHAMEL SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:

• 4 TBSP unsalted butter
• 4 TBSP flour
• 2 2/3 cup whole milk
• salt & pepper to taste
• roughly 1/4 tsp + freshly ground nutmeg (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

1. melt butter in saucepan over medium-low heat
2. sift the flour over the butter and stir without stopping about 3 minutes.
3. whisk in the milk, a little at a time, stirring to combine.
4. Bring to a slow simmer and whisk whisk whisk whisk whisk 5-10 minutes as it thickens.
5. Season with salt, pepper & nutmeg.

ASSEMBLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, you should have these things:

• 1 cup freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano
• Ragu
• Bechamel
• Fresh Ricotta Cheese
• Pasta Sheets
• Large pot of salted Boiling Water for pasta
• a Large glass pan (13x9)
• foil
• Appetite
• WINE (that's for the cook)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring your water to a boil
2. Preheat your oven to 350'
3. Make sure all your sauces are warm
4. Lay out double layers of paper towels, EVERYWHERE, you will be cooking the pasta sheets & laying them there to drain.
5. Have a large bowl of cold water nearby.
6. Drop 4 noodles into the boiling water and cook maybe 1 minute. Gently remove and place in cold water to stop cooking. Take out of water and place FLAT on paper towels. Repeat 4 times (4 x 4 = 16 smartypants)
7. Add a thin layer of bechamel to your glass pan
8. Layer your noodles (if you did it right, this will be TWO noodles)
9. Spread a thin layer of bechamel over the noodles, then a thin layer of the ragu, sprinkle with romano/parmesan.
10. Top with another layer of noodles and a layer of ricotta, top with more noodles.
11. layer bechamel, ragu, parm/romano, noodles.
12. Is your dish almost full? End with noodles and a generous sprinkling of parmiggiano & romano.
13. Cover with foil (make sure the top doesn't touch the foil.
14. I used the rest of the noodles to make cannelloni.
15. I tore some basil and mixed it with the ricotta, smashed a handful on a noodle, rolled the noodle up and placed in a 8x8 glass baking dish with bechamel on the bottom.
16. I filled the dish tight and then added more bechamel on top, some crushed tomatoes and some romano/parmesan. If you have ragu - add it on top! If not, maybe drizzle with tomato sauce or pasta sauce.
17. Cover that with foil too and bake along with your lasagna.
18. Bake 40 minutes. Remove foil, bake 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
19. ENJOY!
    

Homemade Ricotta Cheese (and it's low fat!!)

Believe me, this is EASY!! This is something you can do while you are doing other things... It takes 30 minutes of a fraction of your attention and 15 minutes of absolutely no attention. It's delicious. I never thought Ricotta was much of anything special until I had fresh Ricotta in Italy. I thought it was an over-glorified cottage cheese (of which, I'm not a huge fan of on it's own).

Fluffy, light, slightly salty, and it holds up under any kind of cooking!

I have stuffed raviolis with it, calzones, lasagna, appetizers, you name it! It's one of the most incredible things on the planet. Even better - you can make it at home and all you need is a LARGE (no joke) stainless steel pot, a candy thermometer, a colander and a package of cheesecloth. The stainless steel pot is mandatory as it is part of the whole sanitary/dairy/thing. Also, you really should get a thermometer - it will help your cooking and baking immensely!

Every time I make ricotta - it yields different amounts. If I'm lucky, I get 2-3 cups of Ricotta. If I'm impatient, I get less. It's not an exact science, but you WILL get the hang of it quick!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 gallon 2% reduced fat MILK
• 5 cups LOW FAT BUTTERMILK
• 1 tsp high quality SEA SALT

DIRECTIONS:

1. Stir both milk & the buttermilk in your stainless pot over medium-high heat.
2. The milk is COLD so you do need to have the heat up pretty high. You do not want to boil, but you DO want to start heating it up.
3. Heat milk, stirring gently and occasionally until it reaches 170' (about 20-30 minutes).
4. Once it reaches 170' STOP STIRRING. This will allow the curds to form.
5. When the milk reaches 190-195' remove it from heat and line your colander with cheesecloth (i take my large sheet & fold it in 4), place your colander over a large bowl and move it near your pot.
6. Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, gently remove the curds from the top of the pot (the curds will be floating on the surface, the yellowish whey is beneath).
7. Discard whey (or you can use it for stuff - like feeding pigs).
8. Drain curds in colander for 5 minutes.
9. Gather up corners of cheesecloth and tie at top forming a little purse.
10. Hang over the kitchen sink (i tie mine onto the faucet) and let drip for 15 minutes or so.
11. You want to get most of the moisture out by hanging.
12. Untie cloth and put Ricotta in a bowl, toss gently with salt & a fork and let come to room temperature.
13. Use or cover tightly and refrigerate up to 4 days.

Calzones with Chicken Sausage, Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Peppers & Homemade Ricotta

Pardon the delay, dear readers... It was a not-so-nice week and then my weekend was consumed with a hint of bullshit and some GOOD time spent on my first Daring Bakers Challenge (posting this Friday the 27th!) and a dinner party. SO, without spoiling THAT, I made my own low fat Ricotta Cheese to use IN the challenge. I will post the recipe for the Ricotta tomorrow...

You might think I'm crazy (hell, who doesn't!?) but Ricotta is tremendously easy to make and well worth the little effort it takes. I had extra Ricotta left over and decided to make Calzones tonight with a few things I had handy...

Now, I couldn't find refrigerated pizza dough at Henry's Market so I made my own. It does NOT take that long! It rises as long as you are chopping everything else, so don't think it will add any time. Or, you can always use refrigerated pizza dough (like at Trader Joe's)...

Calzones can be made ahead, frozen, reheated, you name it! Stuffed with anything, even things you may not put on pizzas. AND - for those of you with vegetable-adverse families (YVETTE!!) this is a great way to sucker them into it. Looks & tastes like pizza, but you can really fill it with fresh veggies!!

Serves 4

PIZZA DOUGH

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups + 1/4 cup FLOUR (you can use all-purpose OR whole wheat!)
• 2/3 cup warm water (ideally around 115' - so pretty warm!)
  
• 1 packet Dry Active Yeast
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 TBSP olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix your yeast into the warm water, stirring to dissolve. Set aside 5 minutes.
2. Whisk your flour & salt in a large bowl.
3. Add olive oil, honey & yeast to flour.
4. Stir until combined, then begin to knead with hands, adding more flour if too sticky.
5. Knead until smooth and elastic.
6. brush a large bowl with a little oil and place ball of dough in it, turning to coat dough with oil.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour.

CALZONE FILLING (the measurements are all guesses, I do it all by eye)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large or 2 small chicken sausages (i like spicy)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3/4 cup home made Ricotta (or, fine, store bought. REALLY try the homemade stuff!)
• 1/2 jar roasted red bell peppers, diced
• 1/2 jar artichoke hearts, rinsed & diced
• 1/2 cup ea of Parmesan and Romano (or 1 cup of Parmesan)
• 1/4 cup Pesto
• 1/4 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450' with a pizza stone in it. (I suggest buying one because they are AWESOME and homemade pizza is the BEST, but you can also use baking sheets, just don't tell me.)
2. Lay out some wax paper on a large baking sheet, dust liberally with flour.
   
3. Heat a little oil in a pan and toss your minced garlic in. Remove the sausages from their casings and add to the pan. Cook thoroughly (5+ min over medium high heat). Drain and set aside.
   
4. On another floured surface, split dough into 4 equal size pieces. You can roll, stretch or whatever you want - just get those 4 pieces into a round shape, about 1/8" - 1/4" thick.
   
5. Set rounds on wax paper.
6. Spread a thin layer of pesto on half of a round, leaving a 1/2" border.
7. Top with ricotta, artichoke hearts, peppers, sausage and cheese.
8. Fold top over the filling and crimp the edges to seal.
9. Brush tops & sides with a little olive oil
10. Prick the calzones so that some steam escapes (a few holes will do).
11. Transfer gently to the pizza stone in the oven & bake at 450' for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Transfer to a rack and cool slightly.
13. Enjoy!!!

Breakfast for Dinner = Happy

There are weeks, like this one, that just make you want to crawl out of your own skin and run like hell. During those weeks, I couldn't care less what I eat in a way. Yet, my compulsive side wins out usually and I manage to get something decent to eat (nutritious, lower cal, appetizing).

Today it was the old breakfast-for-dinner thing. I made a guy breakfast last Sunday and it was a thrown together scramble/hash type thing of the roasted potatoes from the night before and eggs and cheese... I served it and though DAMMIT that should have been MINE! Needless to say, I've had a scrambly/eggy/hashy thing on the brain since.

Also, I have been ogling Ree's crashed potatoes...so those two thoughts collided post gym workout and I made THE BEST MOTHER F*ING breakfast I've ever had in my life.

Serves 1 (because that's how I roll)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 baby potatoes (tiny!)
• 1 shallot, sliced & rings separated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites
  
• salt, cracked pepper, oregano
• Grated sharp cheddar
  
• TAPATIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put potatoes in pot and cover barely with water. Bring to boil and cook over medium heat until tender when pierced with fork.
2. Drain potatoes.
3. Heat oil in small omelette pan or frying pan till hot.
   
4. Put potatoes in pan and smash gently with, well, anything really. A potatoe masher works, a glass works better, just smash them into the pan.
5. Add the shallots, cook till brown on the bottom, flip that mess and cook with a dash more oil until brown on that side.
6. Beat egg + whites in bowl with whisk.
7. Dump over potatoes, season with salt, pepper & oregano.
8. Scramble, stir, who cares what you do - you CANNOT go wrong!
9. Serve with grated cheese and tapatio!
10. =)
    

Individual Bombe Cakes with Homemade Mint Chip Ice Cream

A beautiful dessert for my beautiful sister's birthday!

Every year for my sisters birthday that I can remember, she has asked for Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake for her birthday.  My mom would head down to the local Baskin Robbins and order a log cake with chocolate cake and mint chip ice cream.  Every year. Same thing. Over and over and over and over again.  Sensing my excitement yet?  In order to stave off the same experience this year, I thought I'd surprise her with her very own Mint Chocolate Chip Bombe Cake with real ice cream using real mint.

This dessert is guaranteed to elicit gasps at the sheer beauty of the half-sphere of chocolate.  The real present lies inside as guests loved smacking the top with their spoons and cracking the shells open to reveal the lush mint ice cream inside.  For someone who doesn't exactly love mint chip ice cream, I found this batch to be fresh, bright and delicious. 

I found this bombe mold online and purchased it just in time for her birthday!  You can bake in it, freeze it and it washes up easily!  I also highly recommend purchasing an ice cream maker, but don't blame me for your weight gain!!  This dessert can be made in advance and can be done in stages: homemade ice cream, chocolate shell and brownie bottom. The ice cream can be made, churned and frozen up to 1 week in advance.

Serves 5 (the mold has 5 half-spheres, but you will have extra brownies & extra ice cream!)

BROWNIES
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (high quality)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350' and line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with cooking spray.
   
2. In large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt & cocoa powder.
3. Melt butter in microwave or on stove in small pan.
4. Mix in sugar, eggs & vanilla to butter.
5. Incorporate dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring thoroughly to combine.
   
6. Bake for 10 minutes and check, depending on thickness of brownie (should be 1/4-1/2" thick) until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool.
8. Using round cookie cutter just smaller than the diameter of the bombe mold, cut out circles of brownie and set aside on wax paper.  Eat the scraps :)
   

CHOCOLATE SHELLS
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 - 16oz bag chocolate chips (semi-sweet or bittersweet, i prefer a darker chocolate here).

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt chocolate chips in double boiler or in metal pan set on top of small pot filled with 1 inch of simmering water. (Make sure the water does NOT touch the bowl bottom).
2. When chocolate is melted thoroughly, reduce heat and using a silicone pastry brush, brush the chocolate into the molds.
3. The best way I found to do this was to slop a brush-full of chocolate in and then paint it around.
4. Set mold in the fridge to set chocolate (1-2 minutes). Remove and bring back to room temp for 5 minutes.
5. Repeat (brush with second coat of chocolate, set in fridge).
6. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
   

ICE CREAM
INGREDIENTS:

• 5 egg yolks
• just under 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 drops green food coloring
• 6 oz semi-sweet organic chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. In heavy saucepan heat milk, 1/4 cup sugar and mint over medium low heat.
2. Heat until steaming, stirring constantly. DO NOT BOIL! Remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes - 1 hour.
3. In large bowl, whisk eggs yolk and remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
4. Ladle 1/2 cup milk mixture into egg yolk mixture and whisk to blend.
5. pour egg mixture into milk mixture and place over low heat.
6. Stir constantly and cook until mixture thickens enough to coat back of a spoon (6-7 minutes). DO NOT BOIL!!!!!
7. Strain custard through mesh sieve into bowl, pressing thoroughly on mint leaves to extract flavor. Discard solids.
8. Whisk in heavy cream and food coloring.
9. Cover &a chill until cold at least 6 hours or overnight.
10. Process custard in ice cream maker until thick and chilled. During last minute of churning, add chocolate chips.
    
11. If not using right away, transfer to air tight container & freeze until firm, about 4-5 hours.

BOMBE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soften ice cream by letting it sit on the counter for 30+ minutes.
2. Scoop ice cream into zip-lock bag and snip the corner off.
3. Fill molds with ice cream, leaving about 1/4" to push the brownie base into.
4. Push brownie rounds gently on top of ice cream.
5. Cover gently with plastic wrap and foil and place in freezer.
6. 15 minutes before eating, remove from freezer and let soften slightly.
7. Peel back mold and invert onto plates!

Almond Crusted Salmon with Lemon-Leek Cream and Spring Herb Pesto New Potatoes

Serves 4

SALMON

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 Tbsp Butter, unsalted
• 4 large Leeks - halved & thinly sliced (white & pale green parts only)
• 5 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
• 1.5 cups whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1 cup sliced almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 4 6oz salmon fillets (I bought Scottish Salmon from Santa Monica Seafood - amazing!)
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. In large pan, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat.
   
2. Add leeks and saute 2 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium low and cover, cooking till tender & stirring occasionally about 15-20 minutes
4. Increase heat and add lemon juice, cook until almost all liquid has evaporated, 1-2 min.
   
5. Add cream and 1 Tbsp lemon zest and reduce heat to simmer over low heat 3-4 minutes.
6. Cool slightly and transfer to blender. Process until smooth.
7. Strain sauce over large bowl, pressing firmly on solids to extract all flavors. Set sauce aside & discard solids.
8. Season with salt & pepper. (can be made a day in advance, refrigerated & covered).
9. Mix almonds, parsley, lemon peel, salt & pepper in a bowl.
10. Sprinkle salmon with salt & pepper, dredge in flour (shaking off excess).
11. Brush floured side of salmon with beaten egg and press almond coating to adhere.
12. Place salmon on foil lined baking sheet, nut side up.
13. Re-warm sauce over low heat.
    
14. Heat broiler.
    
15. Melt 2 Tbsp butter with 2Tbsp olive oil in large frying pan over medium high heat.
16. Add salmon nut side down and cook until crust is brown (5 minutes).
17. Flip over gently and cook other side until mostly cooked through (3-5 minutes).
18. Place salmon back on baking sheet and pop under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until crust is crunchy.
19. Serve salmon on plate, spooning lemon leek cream gently around.

POTATOES

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2.5lbs baby potatoes halved or quartered if large.

DIRECTIONS:

1. In processor, blend 1 TBSP oil, garlic, lemon uice, lemon peel, salt, parsley, chives & rosemary until it resembles a coarse pesto. (can be made 1 day ahead, cover & refrig.)
2. Preheat oven to 400'. Toss potatoes with 2 Tbsp olive oil in large bowl. Transfer to large baking sheet (foil lined) and roast until potatoes are golden & tender about 40 minutes.
3. Transfer potatoes to bowl with pesto, toss to coat & serve!
   

Crab, Mango & Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, sliced paper-thin
• 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, picked over, separated into chunks
• 1 large mango, peeled, pitted, sliced
• 1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, sliced
• 2 heads Butter Lettuce or Boston Lettuce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in small bowl; whisk in oil.
   
2. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Mix in onion; let marinate 15 minutes.
   
3. Combine crabmeat, mango, and avocado in large bowl. Gently mix in dressing.
   
4. Overlap ends of 3 lettuce leaves in center of each plate, forming bowl. Mound salad in lettuce bowls and serve.
   

Spanish Olive & Cream Cheese Canapes

Makes about 40 Hors'Doeuvres

INGREDIENTS:

• sliced firm white sandwich bread
• cooking spray
  
• 1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 6 oz cream cheese, softened (3/4 cup)
• 1/3 cup pimiento-stuffed green Spanish olives (3 oz), rinsed, drained, and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
  
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons medium-dry Sherry

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375' and line baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.
   
2. In bowl, mash together ingredients parmesan through sherry.
3. Using a bite size cookie cutter (1.5" will do) cut out rounds of the sandwich bread.
4. Place rounds on baking sheet and mist with cooking spray or olive oil.
5. Bake until golden, flipping once, about 8 minutes total - keep an eye on them! All ovens cook differently!
6. Spoon a dollop of cream cheese mixture on each toast.
7. Broil about 3 minutes until slightly golden and heated through.
8. Serve warm to room temperature.

• Toasts can be made a day ahead. Cool & store in airtight container

• Cream Cheese mixture can be made a day ahead as well, cover & refrigerate. Bring to room temperature for an hour before assembling.

Blue Cheese & Carmelized Onion Squares

Hors'Doeuvres

INGREDIENTS:

• Large rectangle of focaccia (or you can make your own) or pre-bake a pizza crust
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large onions, halved, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• about 4 oz crumbled blue cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt butter with oil in large skillet over high heat.
2. Add onions. Cook until onions are soft and beginning to brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
3. Add rosemary and salt. Season onions to taste with pepper. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Continue to cook until onions are soft and dark brown, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; cool.
5. Preheat oven to 375'
6. Spread onion mixture over the focaccia, crumble blue cheese evenly over the onions.
7. Bake until heated through and cheese is slightly melted about 5-8 minutes.
8. Cool slightly and cut into rectangles or squares and serve.

Anna's Birthday Party Pictures! (recipes to follow)

Anna's Birthday Dinner Menu for Saturday

Spanish Olive Canapes
Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Squares
Pastry Wrapped Chicken Sausage Coins

Crab, Avocado, and Mango Salad with Citrus Dressing

Almond Crusted Salmon with Lemon Leek Cream
with Spring Herb Pesto Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
  and Haricots Verts

Individual Bombe Cakes with Homemade Ice Cream
(Vanilla or Mint Chocolate Chip)

March NEWS!

Big Big BIG news!

1.My sister had her BDAY this week and I am hosting her Birthday Dinner Party this Saturday! Why is this such stellar news??? Well, for one, she's awesome. Secondly, it means that for the first time in Bite Me history, I will be cooking a full dinner (appetizers, first course, main course and dessert). I will be posting recipes, pictures, etc... for your perusal!

2. This is the first month I will be participating in DARING BAKERS WhooooO! WTF is Daring Bakers? People who have my same condition (obsessive passion for cooking) who pick tough recipes, cook them and post them. BFD you say? (If you are using all these acronyms, please go smack yourself first of all, then come back and finish reading). It's a challenge! It's a dare! It forces chefs, bakers and cooks alike to play with something new... To make it their own... And for those of you lucky enough to be in the area, to GUINEA PIG for me!!! Guinea Pig as in trying it out for me, not being cuy. Morning readers, you may not want to click that link. That was kinda rude. I just couldn't stop myself.

Polenta Tamale Pie - Revisited!

What's better than ONE crappy picture? TWOOOOO crappy pictures!

Um...Well... Sorry... Some dingbatleft SD Card #1 at work and SD Card #2 in the very nice hands of a very nice man with very bad video of yours truly hiking in the snow and falling down a mountain... we'll let THAT slide... All I had was my camera phone, so here ya go. Not the best, but it's what you've got!

Okay, so my power is back on - HOOORAY! It is much easier to cook with electricity! I forgot how much ground turkey I had left from yesterday so I picked up some lean ground sirloin for tonight to throw in the mix. I usually make a full 8x8 casserole dish (you can easily make a 9x13 too).

Tonight, however, I opted to use my sweet little ramekin thingies.

WHY?

• They are a bit more portion controlled (that is, if I can refrain from eating BOTH of them).
• Each portion gets cooked perfect - molten middle and baked edges.
• You can snap lids on them, refrigerate and grab for work tomorrow or throw in the oven tomorrow night when you're tired and have a fast dinner!
• Casserole just sounds so damn MATRONLY. I don't make casseroles a_sholes. I make good food!
• Trust me, anything in a small little porcelain bowl looks FAR prettier than some crap heaped on your plate out of a baking dish. I know, I know, sounds snotty - but TRUST me. I impressed myself so much that I am letting myself out of doing the dishes and allowing myself to have another glass of wine.(you didn't read that! you really didn't).
  

A few changes, instead of slicing all the rounds of polenta, I just smashed half of it up and shoved it in the ramekins - a little more natural looking that way (masa-ish). I think in the future I may mash it up with a little sweet corn for a more tamale-like-taste. I did still top the ramekins with the 'rounds' of Polenta so I could still pretend to be a civilized human being. It came out pretty-enough-looking and the bottom was wonderfully tamale-ish. I used Pepper Jack instead of Cheddar and I only used 1/2 can refried Black Beans. I used a 1/2 cup of Pace Picante Sauce and 1/3 cup of this really hot Fire Roasted Salsa stuff I have. It's all about having fun!

I rarely measure ANYTHING unless I am baking. Baking requires precision... Cooking doesn't. Do you like spicy hot? Add more heat! Do you like things wetter? Add more liquid. I'm not the boss here, you are :)

FOR YVETTE (hi Yvette!) and those of you who have family members who are vegetable-adverse: tuck in fresh chopped veggies - bell peppers, carrots, or make fresh salsa and throw it in. Meals like this are perfect for sabotaging your meat & potatoes only family members! They'll never know the difference once it's all cooked in.

Also, for my VEGETARIAN friends! Go get yourself Morningstar Soy Crumbles - same damn thing!! Be creative.

Polenta Tamale Pie

Last night I came home from the rock climbing gym to NO POWER on my whole block. Fortunately the gas was still on so my stove top and my water heater were working just fine. Had I bought BBQ-Preparable-Food I would have been relatively unaffected. However, I was going to make Polenta Tamale Pie which requires an oven. (I know, you're thinking that doesn't sound very low calorie... it's NOT, shhh! Don't tell). It's a good thing I camp a lot as I knew right where my matches were to light my candles and most importantly where my headlamp is!

No pictures today though folks. Maybe tomorrow. I had to make a few adjustments as I didn't want to try lighting my oven manually. I pan-fried the polenta and cooked the meat mixture separately then layered everything in a small frying pan (I don't ever make the whole amount in this recipe) and heated it through. It worked, not as well as the oven, but pretty damn good!

Serves: a lot

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 minced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 16-ounce bottle spicy salsa
• handful canned or fresh corn kernels
• 1 15oz can refried black beans
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 1-pound rolls prepared polenta, sliced into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350' and spray large glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Brown meat over medium-high heat in large pan.
3. Drain grease and add onion & garlic, sauteeing until fragrant 2-3 minutes.
4. Add salsa, refried beans, corn and spices to pan, stir to combine over medium low heat. Mix in 1/4 cup cilantro.
5. In baking dish, layer half of polenta on bottom, overlapping circles if necessary.
6. top with meat mixture and 1 cup cheese.
7. Arrange rest of polenta on top, then cover with rest of cheese & cilantro.
8. Bake in oven 35 minutes.

Spaghetti al Mare with Rustic Tomato Sauce

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 clams (the smaller, the better)
• 8 large shrimp (peeled, deveined, tails left on)
• 1 large hot sausage or chorizo
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup white wine
  
• handful pitted kalamata olives (optional)
  
• chili flakes
• spaghetti
• shaved Romano or Parmesan

DIRECTIONS (Stovetop):

1. Remove sausage from casing and cook in pan over medium high heat, breaking up with a fork until cooked through.
2. Add garlic and onion and saute with a touch of oil if necessary.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add canned tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, olives, chili flakes, shrimp and clams. Add white wine.
   
4. Cover and simmer while you cook pasta in separate pot.
5. Remove clams as they open to a bowl tented with foil. If shrimp are done before clams, remove those to the bowl as well.
6. When pasta is ready, drain and divide among two plates.
7. Top with seafood and sauce mixture.
8. Garnish with freshly shaved Romano or Parmesan.

DIRECTIONS (Grill):

1. Do Steps 1 and 2 as above.
2. Preheat grill to medium.
3. Make 2 foil packets with heavy duty foil.
4. Add tomatoes, olives, chili flakes and wine to sausage in pan, stirring to combine.
5. Divide sauce in two foil packets.
6. Top with shrimp and clams.
7. Divide white wine between two packets and top each packet with small sprig of Rosemary and 2 sprigs Thyme.
8. Boil water for pasta and prepare pasta.
9. Tightly seal both foil packets and set on grill about 5 minutes.
10. Open carefully to see if shrimp are cooked and clams are open.
11. When packets are cooked completely, serve atop pasta and garnish with cheese.