The Week In Photos ~ What I Cooked

February 17, 2012

How can it possibly be Friday already?

This past week was crazy – my kitchen is feeling used and taken advantage of. I’ll be scrubbing it first thing tomorrow morning.

I made popcorn with white truffle butter for the kids. It was an utter flop for them and an absolute hit for me. I baked these amazing thumbprint cookies, but If you’re on the lam and don’t want anyone to find out your identity I would suggest you avoid making these. They disappeared rather quickly…

The hit of the week was my french onion soup with miniature turkey meatballs. I’m still thinking about it.

I made a double recipe of pie dough to stick in the freezer, peeled a crap load of beets for a lovely soup with dill and crème fraiche, opened a jar of Mario Batali spaghetti sauce because I was lazy. Yes I know, shame on me – but it was really quite good. But might I suggest a smaller image of Mario himself on the label? It’s a little disturbing.

I also cooked soft boiled eggs and cleaned out my fridge.

And no, I did not eat that adorable dog frolicking on the beach. That’s Mango. He took me for a nice long walk at Crissy Field.

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Vegetable Ginger Pot Stickers

February 12, 2012

Vegetarian meals are becoming more and more frequent around here. One child is a bona fide carnivore, the other, turns her nose up at the thought of meat. Being the one and only “cooker” as my kids refer to me, I refuse to make several different meals to accommodate picky palates.

So I usually just lie. Yes. I lie.

“These are chicken pot stickers” I said with great enthusiasm today, all while staring down at my shoes trying to not get caught in a fib.

The meat eating child totally bought it and ate the entire plate of pot stickers.

These sound complicated, but are oh so easy once you’ve made one or two. I’ve gone vegetarian here, but you can add ground turkey, chicken, shrimp, or raccoon if you live someplace that actually eats raccoon (please don’t go out and hunt down a raccoon) Serve as an appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce, as a main course with some grilled asparagus and jasmine rice, or with a fragrant vegetable or chicken broth for a light healthy soup. Yum.

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Vegetable Ginger Pot Stickers

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 24 pot stickers

Ingredients

  • 2 tbs toasted sesame oil
  • 2 cups finely shredded and chopped Napa cabbage
  • 1 cup finely shredded and chopped carrots
  • 3 scallions chopped
  • 1 clove garlic finely diced
  • 1 tbs chopped ginger
  • 1 tbs plum sauce
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • Zest of half lemon
  • 2 tbs toasted sesame seeds
  • 1/2 cup silken tofu drained and patted dry
  • 24 round wonton wrappers
  • Water for moistening wrappers
  • Coconut or canola oil for frying

To Make

  1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add sesame oil. When oil is hot add cabbage, carrots, scallions, garlic, ginger, plum sauce, soy sauce, honey, cilantro, zest and sesame seeds.
  2. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until veggies are softened but not mushy.
  3. Remove from heat and add tofu. With the tines of a fork, incorporate tofu until pea sized.
  4. Refrigerate filling until chilled, 1-2 hours.
  5. Lay wonton skins out and one at a time, moisten edges and fill center of each skin with 1 tsp of mixture. Fold skin in half forming a semi-circle. Starting at one end pinch edges closed with thumb and finger.
  6. Heat 1 tsp oil in large sauté pan over medium-high until slightly smoking. Add 6 pot stickers at a time and lightly brown on each side. Lower heat and add 1/4 cup water, cover to steam pot stickers for 2 minutes.
  7. Repeat with remainder of pot stickers.
  8. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Yum.

Discussion 6 Comments Category Photography, Recipes Tags , , , ,

The Week In Photos

February 10, 2012


Every Friday I’ll be posting photos I’ve taken during the week. I’m calling it “The Week in Photos” Catchy, right?

Coconut cupcakes, cows with wigs, fresh pasta…it’s been a busy week. I will not however, be preparing the recipe for the pigs’ foot ragout – I have an aversion to feet of any sort, human included. I found this recipe in an old recipe box with my Grandmother’s cookbooks, it must date back to the 1930′s.

Click on a photo to get a better look…

 

 

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Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

February 9, 2012

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and there’s no doubt that most of you will be enjoying a bit of chocolate the days leading up to and on February 14th (I’m sure all while wearing something very sexy) So what about me? Meh. I can take it or leave it. The chocolate that is.

Okay, I know. What is wrong with me? Well aside from the giant hump on my back and a creaky wooden leg. Nothing. Chocolate just isn’t one of my addictions (I’ll get into those in another post) Don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate, it’s perfectly fine and all, but if I see a dessert menu my eye usually wanders to the fruity tart thing, not the squirting dark chocolate molten lava cake.

BUT….I have this recipe for double chocolate cookies that was given to me by a baker friend and I suppose, I suppose, I could be tempted into eating one of these each day if they just happened to be lying around my kitchen.

These cookies are super chocolatey. Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, the way a cookie ought to be, in my opinion.

I would suggest buying the best quality chocolate you can afford such as Valrhona or Schareffen Berger, but if you’re on a tight budget and are thinking about eating that can of cat food for dinner, well, just go ahead and buy the generic store brand chocolate. They’ll taste just fine.

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Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups good quality semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 heaping tbs instant espresso powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To Make

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Chop chocolate into chip sized chunks and melt 2/3 cups chocolate in microwave (on low) or over a double boiler.
  3. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Beat butter, espresso powder and sugars until creamy in large bowl. Add melted chocolate, mix for a minute or so. Add egg, vanilla, then flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Add remaining chopped chocolate chunks. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls and space 3 inches apart. Flatten with fingertips for thinner cookies.
  4. Bake 12 -14 minutes until cookies are cracked on top. Don't over bake!

 


Discussion 5 Comments Category Food, Recipes Tags , , , ,

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Tart

February 1, 2012

I was at a party a few evenings ago and was asked a question by someone who had clearly had too much to drink: If I was stuck on the planet Mercury and could only bring three items (these items must be edible) what would I bring? Hmm. Since Mercury gets plenty of sun and since my pale skin loathes the sun, I would bring a large hat fashioned from a tasty sourdough boule. I would also bring a rocket ship made out of some sort of heat resistant lunchmeat circa 1976 (hold the Velveeta) to set me free. And I would totally bring this caramelized onion and mushroom tart along for the long journey home.

This tart is my go to recipe whenever I have people over, and it usually vanishes before I have time to grab a piece. It’s extremely versatile – serve it warm, serve it at room temperature. Serve it at brunch, as an appetizer or paired with a green salad for a simple dinner.

If you’re a vegetarian, just omit the bacon, it’ll still be great.

The recipe for the dough will yield enough two 9 inch tarts or pies. I usually freeze the extra, in case I have the urge to bake something in the middle of the night, but you can certainly cut this recipe in half.

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Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Tart

Ingredients

  • Tart Dough:
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter - cold, diced
  • 6 tbs ice water
  • Onion & Mushroom filling:
  • (Adapted from Martha Stewart)
  • 4 tbs unsalted butter
  • 2 cups sweet yellow onions, sliced thin
  • 2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms such as cremini, shiitake or oyster
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup slab bacon, diced
  • 1 tbs dijon mustard
  • Fresh thyme and Italian parsley, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup smoked gouda and sharp cheddar cheeses, shredded
  • Drizzle of white truffle oil
  • 1 large egg, beaten, for egg wash

To Make

  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. In the bowl of a food processor combine flour, sugar, salt and butter. Process until dough looks like coarse meal, then add ice water, one tablespoon at a time until soft pliable dough forms.
  3. Gather dough into ball and cut in half. Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate one hour.
  4. Meanwhile, make filling:
  5. In large skillet heat 2 tbs butter until melted. Add onions and cook over medium low heat, until light brown and caramelized. Remove onions from pan and add bacon. Cook until partially crisp, then add mushrooms, adding more butter if needed. Continue to cook until mushrooms are softened. Add mustard, caramelized onions, herbs, salt and pepper, then set aside to cool slightly.
  6. Place one disk of dough onto floured surface and roll out into a 10 x 16 inch rectangle, about an 1/8" thick. Transfer to a parchment lined sheet pan and add filling. Spread mushroom-bacon mixture over dough, leaving a 2 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle with cheeses, and drizzle with truffle oil. Fold in edges and brush crust with egg wash. Bake until golden brown and center is bubbling, about 35 minutes.

 

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