Back when I was little, prior to the familial rift, my family used to throw a joint birthday party for my grandfather (July 20), my mom (July 21), and me (July 26). We three chocoholics would have a chocolate birthday cake with our combined age on top. My mom would always maintain that I was turning 25, as she and my grandpa were never as old as the cake implied.
Though these communal birthdays are a thing of the past, something chocolaty seemed like the ideal gift to give my grandfather at tomorrow night's birthday/hooray-for-finishing-grad-school dinner.
Even though I was not very successful with the white chocolate saffron truffles, I decided Maya Gold truffles would be hard to mess up. Having learned my lesson from last time, I didn't boil the chocolate (only the cream), and the truffles firmed up quite nicely!
Unfortunately, my grocery store didn't have Maya Gold chocolate bars, so I had to make due with Spicy Maya. As these bars lack the hint of orange found in the original bars, I peeled a little bit of orange rind and let it infuse its flavor into the cream. Delicious! The only thing I would change would be the fact that I used unsweetened cocoa powder on the outside of the truffles and it is a little more bitter than I would like. Perhaps next time I'll mix in a little sugar. Still, I think my grandpa will love them.
Recipe Review: Maya Gold Truffles
Recipe Review: Thai Sticky Rice Mango
Back in June, while I was up in north county checking out of my school, I stopped by a Thai foods store in order to get a few specialty ingredients. I bought various curry pastes, a giant bottle of fish sauce, tom yum soup paste, and a bag of sweet rice to make this recipe.
Now, I'm a little slow getting around to things (so much other stuff to do) and this recipe requires an overnight soak for the rice, but I got my act together and made it today. The rice was so good that I wound up spoiling my appetite for dinner a spoonful at a time! So, I did what the recipesmith does and just had a delicious bowl of Thai sticky rice nectarine for dinner.
What? You were expecting some other fruit? Mango, perhaps? Well, that had been the plan, only the mango I had sitting above the fridge, though it smelled delicious, was brown and odd inside and clearly not fit for human consumption. I'm not very good at ripening mangoes at home. I always leave them for too long. Luckily the nectarines I picked from R's family's backyard on Sunday were also delicious with the sticky rice.
In other happy news, I had my last day of summer classes today and finished up the paper for my masters project. All I have left is to present it on Friday, and then I'm all done. I can't believe it!
Recipe Review: Peanut Sesame Noodles
Here I sit, alone, having spent the afternoon and evening working on the final paper for my masters program (and made decent progress, btw). R has been off on a day-long bachelor extravaganza for an acquaintance of ours who is getting married next weekend, leaving me a quiet house (so quiet) in which to work.
Also, much to my delight, I got to try out a recipe R would probably object to: peanut sesame noodles. Any sort of peanut-flavored dish just reminds him of peanut butter, though this one is so savory and delicious and filled with other flavors that the peanut flavor is not overwhelming. I've actually been tasting the leftover sauce all evening, it is so good. I can't wait to try it with soba noodles (I used somen, like in the picture, which was also delicious). Make this recipe!
Well, as long as you aren't allergic to peanuts.
Recipe Review: Chocolate Risotto
I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July (and those of you outside the U.S. didn't work too hard)! Instead of fighting the crowds, I hiked up the hill behind my house and watched San Diego area fireworks from there. Not quite as large and lacking coordinating music (though some of the other people who hiked up the hill did have a radio with them), but you do get to see multiple shows at once.
On the 5th of July, part of my evening was spent making chocolate risotto. I'd purchased the ingredients a while back, intending to make it for my mother's visit, but due to laziness and a bit of skepticism on R's part, I'd put it off until now. The results, however, converted the two of us into true believers. Chocolate risotto is delicious! A new classic!
Perhaps due to my cooking it a little hotter than recommended, or maybe my rice wasn't quite the same, my risotto turned out a bit runnier than the one in the picture on the original website. Next time, I think I will add a little more rice. Still, it's a keeper!
A menu to impress one's mother
I'd say it also impressed my future in-laws, but, as they said to my mother, they've always had good food at my house. My mom is the one who, despite all reports to the contrary, refused to believe that my cooking skills had improved since middle school. Of course, this was one I couldn't win either way, as her comments on the improvement of my cooking skills echoed of kindergarten teacherly judgment and really rankled (though, prior to beginning to teach, my mom did apologize for the fact that she would inevitably talk to us in her teacher voice).
In any case, here was the menu last Sunday:
- Caramelized spicy peanuts
- Garlic brandy shrimp
- Caramelized onion and leek tart
- Pasta with butter, Parmesan cheese, and pepper
- Salad
The meal was a smashing success. I really can't recommend the shrimp recipe highly enough. Simple, fast, and completely delicious. Everyone loved it. R was quite jealous that I got to eat what little was left over, so you can tell this recipe will be made again in the near future.
The tart (inspired by this recipe) was good, but I think it could have been better. I caramelized the onions and leeks, spread them on a sheet of puff pasty, grated a little cheese on them, then baked (no fennel seeds for us, thank you). The sides of the pasty wound up puffing up, but the onion-covered parts did not. Next time, I think I'll bake the pastry on its own for a bit before adding the onions, just to give it a little more volume. Still, quite a successful evening.
Recipe Review: Saffron White Chocolate Truffles
Alternately titled "The time I found out my kitchen scale can't measure fractions of grams."
Seeing as my mom has come for a visit this weekend, I've been trying out all sorts of new recipes (as well as pulling out the old favorites) so that I can finally convince the woman that I know how to cook. Apparently she needed to see it to believe it.
Anyway, I decided to try out these interesting looking truffles in honor of her visit. Fortunately I had gotten a large jar of saffron at CostCo for a very reasonable price a few years back, as otherwise this recipe would be quite expensive. As I was trying to measure out the necessary half gram of saffron (don't let that comma fool you), I found out that my scale can't measure a half gram of anything. How inconvenient! So, I would up using a large pinch of saffron. I also managed to screw up the order of the recipe by throwing everything in the saucepan instead of just heating the cream and other ingredients and then adding them to a separate bowl of chocolate, which resulted in a longer cooling time and a softer texture. In the end, though, it was the taste that did this recipe in for me. Maybe I put in too much saffron, maybe the saffron should have been ground instead of left as threads, or maybe it is just that I'm not the biggest fan of white chocolate, but I didn't really care for them (this being said, I'm still looking forward to trying the same woman's recipe for maya gold truffles).
They are, however, very tasty in muffin form. Inspired by these Cadbury Creme Egg muffins, I decided to make some saffron white chocolate truffle muffins of my own. I added a little bit of melted truffle to the batter and then placed chunks of truffle in the uncooked muffins, but I think it would still be pretty tasty if you only added melted truffle to the batter.
Saffron White Chocolate Truffle Oatmeal Muffins
Oatmeal muffin recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book
- 1 1/3 c flour
- 3/4 c rolled oats
- 1/3 c sugar
- 2 t baking powder
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 beaten egg
- 3/4 c milk
- 1/4 c cooking oil
- saffron white chocolate truffles
1. Preheat oven to 400* F. Grease twelve muffin cups or use paper baking cups. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and cooking oil. Add liquid ingredients all at once to dry ingredients and stir until moist. Melt a truffle or two in the microwave and mix resulting liquid into muffins.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Place marble-sized piece of truffle into each muffin cup. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool muffins on a wire rack and serve warm.
Recipe Reviews: This weekend's endeavors
Dinner last night was a nice little meatball number that I served with rice and a salad. Tasty, but I don't know if they'll make it into the permanent rotation. (Speaking of rice, have you tried Free Rice? You just match words to their meanings, but the game adjusts to your vocabulary level, making it a nice brain work out.)
As a last-minute Father's Day gift, I wound up making some caramelized spicy peanuts this morning for my dad and grandpa. This was after making a batch of caramelized spicy sunflower seeds and finding them completely irresistible. They're not hard to make and watching the sugar transform in a flash from liquid to sandy solid and then caramelize is really cool. Now that I know how to give nuts crunchy sugar coating, I'm enthralled by the possibilities of what else I could dust them with afterwards. Chocolate? Bacon salt? Ginger powder? The possibilities are endless.
Recipe Review: Applesauce
Alternately, this post could be titled "What I do with my evenings now that I don't have class."
Of course, this is just the first week without evening classes and also the last week of school, so I could just be feeling giddy. Anyway, I decided it was time to harvest some of the apples from my lovely apple tree and make applesauce. I love applesauce and I also hate to see things go to waste, even bird-pecked apples. Given that my garden appears to be feeding all of the local wildlife, it is really no surprise that the majority of the apples have a few divots taken out of them, if not large chunks.
The recipe I used was from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving I recently bought, along with some tools to keep me from dropping jars of jam into boiling water and scalding myself. I'll tell you now, the can lifter they have make canning much less frightening than it was when I was using my standard-issue tongs. I'm also glad the whole thing is no longer a two-man operation.
This is the first recipe I have tried out of this book, though I have bookmarked a few others. There are definitely some odd ones (the page opposite applesauce has a recipe for "strawberry smooch," whatever the hell that is), but it seems to have enough good recipes and tips to make it worth the money. Makes a darn tasty applesauce.
Applesauce
Adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Makes about 4 quarts (I got 6, but I think I like a thinner applesauce)
- 12 lbs. apples, peeled (or not, if you're planning on using a food mill like I did), cored, quartered, treated to prevent browning, and drained
- water
- 3 c. granulated sugar (optional) (I wound up using 1 c. to take the edge off, as a few of the apples I picked were still a little green)
- 4 T lemon juice
- cinnamon (optional)
2. In a large saucepan (more like a vat), combine apples with just enough water to keep them from sticking. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 5-20 minutes, until the apples are tender (time will depend on the variety of apple and their maturity). Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
3. Working in batches, transfer apples to a food mill or food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree until smooth. (After all the apples were out of the water, I reserved ~ 4 c. and poured the rest out.)
4. Return apple puree to saucepan. Add sugar, if using, and lemon juice; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking (you can also add some of the reserved apple-water to loosen things up). Maintain a gentle boil over low heat while filling jars.
5. Ladle hot applesauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot applesauce. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 20 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, and store.
Recipe Reviews: A few good ones
Although I've been too lazy (and tired, and stressed, and lacking in time, etc.) to post, I have been trying a few recipes.
Way back on Memorial Day weekend, R and I were invited to a barbecue. Aside from bringing meat, I knew the one thing people my age want but always forget to bring is salad or some sort of vegetable. Perhaps it is because our parents always brought some sort of odd salad to potlucks, but the people I know rarely think of anything other than main dishes and desserts. In any case, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to whip up a quinoa salad that I had been planning on making that week anyway.
As I don't care much for green peppers, I substituted red ones and seasoned the water used to cook the quinoa, but other than that left the recipe pretty much as it. It turned out quite nicely (and I have several other people to back me up on that), and made a large number of portions which I was able to eat throughout the week.
The other recipe I tried recently was blue cheese mac & cheese, which was, as you might guess, totally awesome. As long as you like blue cheese, that is. We're thinking that next time we might add in some bacon, just for extra awesome.
Recipe Review: Homemade Bread Crumbs
If I believed in that sort of thing, I would say I must have faced starvation in a past life. Why else would I be so neurotic about throwing away food? Of course, R giving me post-apocalyptic novels to read seems to have only increased that drive to save and hoard food.
In any case, homemade bread crumbs are certainly a more normal expression of that making-food-out-of-leftovers drive. Plus, it totally removes the guilt associated with the heels of bread (or, in this case, a couple of orphaned hot dog buns and some old pita bread).
I'd normally write out the directions for you, but I didn't think I could top the step by step guide, with pictures, I used. The bread crumbs turned out quite nice and crispy, and the whole thing was quite easy. I don't think you'll be seeing me buying breadcrumbs ever again.
Recipe Review: Infused Vodka
I'm not much of a vodka drinker myself, but a friend's birthday provided the perfect excuse to try infusing a little bit of flavor into alcohol. Out of all the berries at the supermarket, the raspberries were the most fragrant, so I decided that they and a couple of moist-looking vanilla beans would make a nice combination.
I've got to warn you, though, that you really should check this concoction regularly. Due to school and the rigorous cat medication and feeding routine, I completely forgot about this for a week. Although it had turned a lovely raspberry color (sucking the pigment right out of the raspberries themselves), the dominant flavor wound up being the vanilla. Perhaps one bean would have been enough, but I suppose it will make a nice flavorful mixer.
Vanilla-Raspberry Vodka
Adapted from wikiHow
750 ml medium grade vodka
1 punnet fresh raspberries
2 vanilla beans
1 1-qt. mason jar
1. Wash fruit and split open vanilla beans. Place the fruit and vanilla beans in the clean mason jar
2. Add the vodka and seal the jar. Put it out of the sunlight (perhaps in a cabinet), but somewhere where you won't forget about it like I did.
3. Wait a week or so, testing the flavor every day or two. You might want to take out the vanilla beans a few days before the raspberries finish infusing.
4. Filter liquid back into the bottle (I used a coffee filter I liberated from my school's lab supply closet) and enjoy. One could also turn the pale raspberries into a rather potent smoothie, if so desired.
Of course, now that I've done that I find myself wanting to try other projects (and am pining over the associated tools).
Recipe Review: Kumquat Marmalade
The trees in my backyard are dripping with citrus, and even after a month of furious eating I'm still drowning in orange fruit. Coincidentally, I recently saw a recipe for kumquat marmalade, so I dedicated this past weekend to making various types of marmalade.
Even though I think I may have overcooked mine a little and added the lemon juice before I was supposed to, this marmalade still has the most wonderful flavor. Sweet, but not cloying, and bursting with kumquat-ness. It's quite good in a crepe, let me tell you.
Kumquat Marmalade
Adapted from Charcuterista (who adapted it from Chez Panisse Fruits)
- 1 1/2 lbs kumquats
- 3 c sugar
- 1/3 c fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1. Cut off the stem end of the fruit, then split each lengthwise. Slice each half into 1/8" moons, removing and discarding the seeds as you slice.
2. Place the kumquats and lemon juice into a small saucepan and just cover with water. Add sugar and bring to a boil over high heat for 15 minutes, skimming off any foam that comes to the top.
3. Reduce heat and continue simmering until the marmalade thickens to the consistency you like (be warned, it will still be liquid and will solidify more later). Let cool, then put in a jar and refrigerate (I suppose you could also can it if you feel so inclined).
By popular demand, things that won't be reappearing on the menu
I suppose it is just a fact of life when cooking for people other than yourself: not everyone has the same tastes. So, some things I might try again wind up discarded due to apathy or dislike from other parties in the household. I suppose it saves time in the end, as there are way too many recipes to be tried for me to be tinkering with mediocre ones. Here are some recipes that fall into that category:
Lemon Thyme Tilapia Packets
I personally liked this one, but apparently some people feel that lemon obscures the taste of the fish. I found this one refreshing, and very lemony, but it could probably do with a little garlic to jazz it up. In any case, I definitely want to try the technique of roasting fish and other ingredients in a packet again.
Velvety Broccoli and Feta Pasta
Admittedly, I left the parsley out of the recipe, but I still don't think that would have saved this recipe from the discard pile. It wasn't bad, but it seemed like it was missing something. Perhaps some toasted nuts, or crumbled bacon, or fried kielbasa. Turning the broccoli into a creamy pesto-like paste was a pretty cool experience. I think I need to whip out the blender more often.
Roasted Chicken with Risotto and Caramelized Onions
Needing to find a use for the home made chicken stock I didn't freeze and the leftover roast chicken whose carcass made the stock, I found a recipe for risotto that utilized roast chicken and other ingredients I had on hand. Hoping to make this a fast event, I forgot that my household's definition of caramelized onions is very different from the one found in recipes. We want them sweet, brown, and shriveled into a tiny shadow of their former potent selves. It seems as though some recipes only want them mildly tanned. In any case, the risotto was probably best the next day as a filling for inari sushi.
Recipe Review: Steamed Asparagus with Ginger Garlic Sauce
You can tell you've found a good restaurant when after you return home, almost painfully full, you start planning your meal for the next trip. For the longest while, R and I have been searching for good Chinese food in our area. There is one restaurant we know near downtown San Diego, where R grew up, but that is a bit of a journey just for dinner. Thanks to some adept map searching, though, we were able to find a place just a few blocks away that is totally awesome.
What does all that have to do with a recipe for asparagus? Well, this evening we dined on the leftovers, but I needed a little more food to round out the small containers of broccoli beef and spicy honey chicken. I remembered that I had a half pound of asparagus in the fridge and so I tried out a scaled-down version of steamed asparagus with ginger garlic sauce. Perhaps it was overshadowed by the other items on the plate, or perhaps it's just that roasted asparagus is hard to beat, but I didn't find the recipe all that memorable. Not bad, but I didn't think it was really worth the effort.
Recipe Review: Chocolate Banana Bread
Ever since R introduced me to TasteSpotting, I've been inundated with recipes. I try to only bookmark the ones that I might actually make, but my "New Recipes" folder is staring to bulge. This recipe, though, was too delicious to wait. As soon as you've got some ripe bananas, make it! I'm on my second slice of the evening and can tell you that you won't regret it.
Chocolate Banana Bread
Adapted from You Say Tomato... I Say Tomato (who in turn adapted it from Nigella's Banana Bread, How to Be a Domestic Goddess)
- 1/2 c dried blueberries
- 1/4 c whiskey
- 1 1/4 c plain flour
- 1/3 c cocoa powder
- 2 t baking powder
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 c sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 small very ripe bananas
- handful of chocolate chips
- handful of pine nuts
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 23x13x7cm loaf pan, buttered and floured or with a paper insert
1. Put the dried blueberries and whiskey in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, cover and leave for an hour if you can, or until the blueberries have absorbed most of the liquid, then drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and get started on the rest. Put the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl and, using your hands or a wooden spoon, combine well. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar and beat until blended.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas and chocolate chips. Then, with your wooden spoon, stir in the pine nuts, drained blueberries and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, stirring well after each bit.
4. Scrape into the loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 1-1 1/4 hours. When it's ready, an inserted toothpick or fine skewer should come out lacking in dough. Leave in the pan on a rack to cool, and eat thickly or thinly sliced, as you prefer.
Recipe Review: Chicken and Asparagus with Mustard-Tarragon Sauce
Ah, my cookbook addiction. If you're part of a family that cooks then you know what I'm talking about. Every occasion is a reason for a new cookbook, every birthday, plus a few more on the side. I recently found a delicious looking recipe for Korean beef on fiery Chinese cabbage which looked delicious and led me to an out of print cookbook that, thanks to Amazon, I was able to order anyway.
Out of the many recipes I tagged once I got the book, the chicken and asparagus with mustard-tarragon sauce seemed the easiest, most seasonal, and least likely to offend the palates of my roommates, and indeed that is what it wound up being. Good, though I think it could have used a little more soul. Perhaps I should have served it on wild rice or seasoned rice, as it suggested, instead of plain white rice. I also substituted sherry for vermouth, which might have changed some of its essential character. Still, a nice dish. Something I would probably make again.
Chicken and Asparagus with Mustard-Tarragon Sauce
From On Rice: 60 Fast and Easy Toppings That Make the Meal by Rick Rodgers
- French rice or steamed rice, preferably made with long-grain rice or wild rice
- 1/4 c all-purpose flour
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into strips 2" long and 1/2" wide
- 2 T vegetable oil
- 1/3 c finely chopped shallots or scallions, white parts only
- 1 lb medium asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 c homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
- 1/3 c dry vermouth or white wine
- 1/3 c sour cream
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 2 t chopped fresh tarragon or 3/4 t dried tarragon
2. Add the remaining 1 T oil to the skillet. Add the shallots and stir until softened, about 30 seconds. Add the asparagus and 1/2 c broth. Increase heat to high. Cover and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer the asparagus with the cooing liquid to a bowl and set aside.
3. Return the chicken strips to the skillet. Add the remaining 1/2 c of the broth and the vermouth and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, mustard, and tarragon. Stir into the skillet. Return to the heat and cook until just heated though, but not boiling, about 1 minute. Stir in the asparagus and its liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spoon the rice into individual soup bowls. Top with the chicken, asparagus, and sauce and serve immediately.
Makes 4-6 servings. (In reality, it served the thee of us with no leftovers.)
Recipe Review: Chicken Stock
After making another delicious beer can chicken, I decided it was high time to try making my own chicken stock. I had seen a recipe for turkey stock and, chicken being of the poultry family, decided said recipe would probably serve my purposes quite nicely.
The result? Not bad. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to use store-bought stock again, as it now tastes incredibly salty. I think I might look for a recipe specifically for chicken stock next time, or else use more spices, as I think it might have been a little bland. However, the stock did smell delicious while I was cooking it.
Recipe Review: Roasted Asparagus
Here is a recipe so simple yet delicious that I wish I thought of it myself. Take one thing you like (roasted asparagus), add another ingredient you like (cheese), and arrive at a delicious variation on the theme.
Recipe Review: Salt Dough
For me, nothing brings on a case of childhood nostalgia faster than warm salt dough. Hardens and can be painted if left out to dry, so this also works well for making that model mountain your kid has been assigned as homework.
Salt Dough
From my mom
- 1 c salt
- 2 c flour
- 4 T oil
- 4 t cream of tartar
- 2 c water
- extract for fragrance
- food coloring
Recipe Review: Baja Fried-Fish Tacos
"Why don't we pick a fish taco up from Rubio's to compare?"
"Umm, no."
"We could just get one and use it as a model."
"I don't think so."
Although I hadn't really heard of them until I came to San Diego, fish tacos are probably the world's greatest food. Flaky, battered white fish, some sort of creamy sauce, cabbage, and a corn tortilla... Heaven. Although it is certainly more convenient to get them from the local fast food establishment (plus it's hard to beat $1 fish taco Tuesdays), this recipe is really good for a Friday or Saturday night. (Though you might want to use a little less onion in the sauce. The breath!)