Arroz con Leche

Snowapalooza 2010 continues . . . I just finally dug my car out today and guess what?  Another storm is due tomorrow!  Yay and Hopkins is closed again.  No one who works there can believe it – Hopkins NEVER closes.  Anyway, after 2 days of being trapped in my apartment, and after digging out my car, I took a little drive.  Nowhere special – just to Walmart to return the icecream machine that died a couple months ago.  At some point, I might think about getting a new one.

Anyway, the cooking continues as well.  Getting ready for my Mexican fiesta Saturday night . . . assuming of course that we don’t get 5 more feet of snow and the entire state shuts down!  So tonight, I made Arroz con Leche, or Mexican Rice Pudding.  I found the recipe online and naturally, made a few changes!  The original recipe called for whole milk, but I only have skim around the house and I didn’t see why it wouldn’t work with skim, especially since it has sweetened condensed milk in it as well which should make it nice and creamy.  It called for 2 cinnamon sticks and I didn’t have any.  I found out that 1 stick = 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, however, I felt that 1 teaspoon of cinnamon might be a bit too much, so I kept it at 1/2 teaspoon.  I also added a little kick – 2 tablespoons of rum!  Yum!  I can taste it in there but it’s not overwhelming.  It’s excellent.  My plan is to serve a trio of desserts.  I have these long white plates that I got from Walmart.  I also got little square dishes from Target.  I was going to have a bowl of Arroz con Leche, a couple churros, and a yummy coffee and kahlua drink I found on the internet.   While I’m thinking of it, I love, no worship, my cookbooks, but it’s almost scary how rarely I use them – I get so many recipes from the internet.  Okay back to dessert.  Here’s the drink recipe:

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Kioki Coffee

1 12-ounce coffee mug, preheated
1 cup French Roast brewed coffee
1 jigger brandy
1 jigger Kahlua or other good quality coffee liqueur
1/4 cup lightly whipped cream
 
Pour hot coffee into the heated mug. Add the coffee, brandy, and Kahlua and stir well. Top with whipped cream. Serves one.

I plan to make a double batch of this and serve it cold in a tall shooter glass. 

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Arroz con Leche

 

3 cups skim milk
1¼ cup water
1 cup rice, short or medium grain
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup raisins, soaked in warm water to soften
1 tablespoon rum
2 teaspoons vanilla

Bring whole milk and water to a slow simmer in a large pot, over medium/low heat. Stir in rice, add in cinnamon sticks and barely simmer, uncovered, until rice is softened which should be about 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally. When rice is soft, remove cinnamon sticks and stir in condensed milk, vanilla, salt and raisins. Return to a slight simmer and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and rice has a pudding-like consistency. Serve hot, topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Since I’m making this a few days ahead of time, I didn’t cook it for the additional 15 minutes at the end.  I decided to leave it wet in hopes that it will continue to absorb while it sits in the frig for the next couple of days.

 

olá – Spicy Mexican Pumpkin Soup with Chipotle Puree

I’m getting anxious for Cinqo de Mayo!  Any holiday that gives me an excuse to make (and eat) Mexican food is a good day.  So I’m having company over this coming weekend for a Mexican fiesta!  I decided to make things easier on myself and make some of the dishes ahead of time.   This is the weekend of the Great Winter Blizzard of 2010 in Maryland.  I’m calling it Snowapalooza! 

So naturally, I knew the storm was coming and stocked up on all the ingredients I needed to make a couple of the courses.  On the menu is a spicy pumpkin soup that I adapted from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill’s Pumpkin Soup with Mexican Cinnamon Creme Fraiche and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds.  My soup is actually better for you because rather than straining out the vegetables from the broth, I pureed them into it.   I coudn’t understand why you would go to all the trouble to cook these wonderful vegetables, simmer it with vegetable stock, and then strain them out?  What’s that about?  Another change I had to make was going lightly on the chipotle puree since one of my friends who is coming this weekend is French and therefore has a delicate little French palate!!   

I made my own Chipotle Puree using a can of chipotles in adobo sauce.  I removed each individual jalapeno, sliced it down the side and removed the seeds and stems.  These are the peppers after I have removed all of the seeds but before processing.

I reserved as much of the adobo sauce and onions as I could manage.   I pulsed it in a mini food processor adding about 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock.   This is after it’s been pureed.

Ah, the sweet aroma of a mire poix!

So, now, here is my adaptation of the pumpkin soup.

 

Spicy Mexican Pumpkin Soup with Chipotle Puree

3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (not flavored pie filling)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon chipotle puree (see directions below)
About 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup creme fraiche
Garnish: 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Heat the butter in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook until soft. Add the stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. In small batches, puree the vegetables and stock in the blender.  Return each pureed batch to the stockpot and whisk in the pumpkin puree until smooth. Bring to a simmer and add the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and the 1 teaspoon chipotle puree. Whisk well before tasting it as the chipotle puree tends to clump up and then all of the sudden the heat will sneak up on you!  Cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add water, if the soup is too thick. Remove from the heat and whisk in 1/4 cup of the creme fraiche and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the soup among 4 bowls and garnish and a handful of pumpkin seeds.

I decided not to add the creme fraiche until right before I serve it to my company, so this soup is a little thinner looking and less creamy then it will when it’s properly plated.  I intend to serve this soup as one of several courses so I will not be using large bowls, thus, I expect to get about 8 small soup bowls out of it.

 

Split Pea Soup

My friend Kristine recently posted a recipe for Split Pea Soup on her Facebook page.  I’ve never made it before, but it sounded like the perfect dinner on a cold and rainy night.  It’s a cold and rainy night, so I pulled up the recipe online at the Whole Foods website, memorized the ingredients and went about cooking.  Since I don’t eat pork, I used turkey bacon.  Also, I left out the garlic (but only because I forgot it) and instead of making it in a slow cooker, I cooked it in a 5 quart stock pot.  So here’s my recipe.  I thought it tasted really good.

 

1 medium onion, diced
2 medium-sized carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
6 slices turkey bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups split peas, rinsed and sorted
1 bay leaf

Saute the onion, carrots, celery, bacon pieces and salt in olive oil for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly.  The bacon should be a little browned and the onions translucent.  Add the chicken broth, split peas and the bay leaf.  Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover with a lid, slightly off-center to allow the steam to exit.  Cook at this low simmer for about 1 hour, remembering to stir the mixture from time to time (about once every 10 or 15 minutes).  Remove the bay leaf. Serve.

Serve with a nice crusty whole grain baguette and a gewurztraminer  Right now, I’m enjoying a 2008 Maple Ridge Gewurztraminer.  I’m no expert at wine/food pairings, but I think it’s good together.

 

Homage to Pecorino Romano

Everyone has heard of Parmigiano Reggiano or parmesan cheese.  But not as many have heard of Pecorino Romano.  Happiness for me is having a 2 pound chunk of it in my refrigerator.

Pecorino Romano is one of the oldest cheeses produced in Italy.   Made from sheep’s milk (pecora is Italian for sheep), it was originally made in and around Rome, but the production was later moved to Sardinia and today it is produced in several locations including the Tuscany area.  Its production throughout Italy is closely monitored by the Consorzio Per La Tutela Del Formaggio Pecorino Romano (Consortium for the Protection of Pecorino Romano Cheese).

Matured for five months Pecorino is a soft table cheese, matured for at least eight months, Pecorino Romano becomes a hard cheese suitable for grating.  Aromatic, pleasantly sharp, and salty, it is often preferred on highly flavored sauces.  25% of Pecorino Romano is protein, and while 31% of it is fat, because of its sharpness, a little goes a long way.

Pecorino Romano can be stored first wrapped in wax paper and then carefully covered in plastic wrap for several months in the refrigerator.  It can also be frozen, but once it is frozen and then thawed, it’s more difficult to grate, but easy to crumble.

When I’m having friends over for dinner, I like to make the salad a special course and here is one way to dress up a plate of field greens. 

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Pecorino Romano Crisps

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
pinch of ground red pepper

In a skillet over a medium high heat, sprinkle approximately 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese in the skillet.  As it heats, it will bubble on top and start to brown on the edges.  When you feel it’s toasted enough, remove the skillet from the heat and carefully lift up the edges of the crisp with a spatula.  Slowly slide the spatula under the crisp and remove the crisp it from the skillet to a plate to cool.

Makes approximately 6 crisps.  Serve one or two on the side of the salad plate.

The crisp above is not quite ready to remove from the skillet. 

Once you get comfortable making these small crisps, you can begin to make larger ones.  Make a crisp that is approximately 4 inches in diameter and then gently press over and around a small pyrex ramekin that has been turned upside down.  Voila, a Pecorino Romano cheese bowl.  You can put a few field greens in it and you’ve got a beautiful salad and an edible bowl!

Next time you’re in the gourmet cheese section of your grocery store, try Pecorino Romano instead of parmesan (one thing – I personally don’t like Locatelli brand – it’s too strong tasting).

 

Kung Pao Chicken

After making the best Kung Pao I ever made a couple days ago, I was fearful that I wouldn’t be able to recreate the recipe.  When I cook, I tend to just poured things in and chopped things up and never measured anything.  So this morning, I had to take a more scientific approach and measure, weigh, chop, and document!  Here, now, is my recipe for Kung Pao Chicken.  It’s pretty hot & spicy (Lisa C., this will be mild to you!) so if you’re a little timid, cut back the chili & garlic sauce to 2 Tablespoons, until you’re sure you have the right heat level.

I’ve never been a huge fan of vegetables, as you can probably tell from the picture below (I do like carrots)!  However, feel free to add vegetables.  Some suggestions would be canned water chestnuts, bamboo shoots,  and baby corn (all drained).  Also see the note at the bottom of this post about a rice cooker that also allows you to steam veges.  You could steam some broccoli (cut into small pieces) and add to the Kung Pao, but bear in mind the more veges, the less you taste the sauce as it was intended.  Lastly, my recipe has a large proportion of chicken to the sauce.  If you prefer more sauce, you may have to 1 1/2 the sauce ingredients.

1 lb chicken breasts, deboned, fat removed
2 large carrots
3 large spring onions
½ medium sized red pepper
½ cup low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy Stir-Fry Sauce®
¼ cup Asian Gourmet Spicy Chili & Garlic Sauce®
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 teaspoons sesame oil (be sure it’s real 100% sesame oil and not sesame oil flavored canola)
¾ cup unsalted peanuts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Tenderize the chicken breasts.  Cut into strips (or dice to whatever shape you prefer). 

Slice the spring onions, set the tops aside and dice the bottom pieces of the onion a little more until finely chopped. 

Peel and julienne the carrots.  Julienne the red pepper. 

Over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to a large skillet.  Sauté the chicken until all of the pink is gone (about 5 minutes). 

Turn the heat to low.  Add the onions and toss to combine.  Add the soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, chili & garlic sauce and sesame oil.  Sauté another 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes a little bubbly. 

Mix the cornstarch thoroughly with the chicken broth.  Turn the heat up a little to medium again.  Add the chicken broth and cornstarch mixture.  Continue to cook until the sauce thickens a little. 

Remove skillet from the heat and add in carrots, red pepper and peanuts.  Toss the mixture and set aside.  The vegetables will continue to cook but won’t be too mushy.  If you prefer them softer, add them a little sooner in the process.

Serve with the rice of your choice and cups of Chinese tea.

If you don’t already have a rice maker, I highly recommend one.  A nice one is the Rival 6-Cup Rice Cooker for only $16.98 at Target.  It also has a steaming basket so if you want to have some steamed broccoli along with your Kung Pao Chicken, you can do this easily!  You can cook the rice and then steam the vegetables at the same time.

 

Soufflé – Voilà!

My first attempt at making a soufflé was a complete success.  Oh wait, one minor detail that I’ll mention in a minute.  It was easy to make and easy to bake (once your apartment maintenance people finally fix the oven thermostat for the fourth time).  And the best part is, is tastes delicious.  I started with what I thought would be a pretty easy recipe from Better Homes and Gardens for Zucchini and Feta Cheese Soufflé.  I’ve copied the recipe below as well.  I made 2 of them in the classic tall soufflé style and one more like the picture on the BHG website.  To allow the soufflé to raise high, I used wax paper and made a collar.  I buttered the inside of the ramekin, but here’s the one glitch.  I forgot to butter the wax paper.  It stuck just a little, but I peeled it off carefully.  If you plan to make this yourself and take pictures, I highly recommend two things:  1. mise en place, and 2. take pictures as soon as it comes out of the oven, so have the place picked out where you’ll photograph it.  It sinks very quickly!

First, I recommend having all your ingredients measured (mise en place).  I actually had shredded another zucchini and it was resting in a colander with salt sprinkled on it when I took this picture .

I just thought the butter looked totally cool when I used the macro setting on my camera!

The zucchini after the liquid has been squeezed out.

The mixture before the yolks have been stirred in or the egg whites folded in.

The batter, ready to go into the oven.  The first picture shows the ramekin with the collar that allows the batter to raise higher.

Zucchini and Feta Cheese Soufflé

2 cups shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
tablespoons margarine or butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ cup milk
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
4 eggs, separated

Place shredded zucchini in a colander; sprinkle with the salt and toss lightly. Let stand 30 minutes. Rinse and drain. Squeeze out excess liquid; set aside.

In a saucepan melt margarine or butter. Stir in flour and mustard. Add milk. Cook and stir until bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in zucchini and cheeses. In a large bowl beat yolks with a fork. Gradually stir in zucchini mixture.

In a mixing bowl beat whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the whites into zucchini mixture. Gently fold remaining whites into zucchini mixture. Spoon into six 6-ounce greased soufflé dishes or custard cups*.

Bake in a 375°F oven for 20 to 25** minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Serve immediately.

*I used 3 9-oz ramekins, but keep in mind that I made two of them very tall and only one of them like described in the recipe/picture on the BHG website.  Had I made them exactly as the recipe instructed, it probably would have filled 4 9-oz ramekins.

**The small soufflé cooked for 25 minutes, but the taller soufflés cooked for another 15 minutes.

The recipe also instructs you to “grease” the ramekins, but I preferred to butter them.  I can’t say if that makes a huge difference over using a vegetable spray, but my guess is that it contributes to the flavor.

Another strange thing to note is that the recipe on the BHG website lacks a measurement for the dry mustard.  It says only “teaspoon”, however, I couldn’t imagine it would call for anything more than 1/4 teaspoon.

 

Thanksgiving Day 2009

Today was the first Thanksgiving without Dad.  In part it was so sad and the room felt empty without him.  But of all the things to be thankful for today, my little nephew – the first nephew – who is only 15 months old, brightened up the day with his smile, and his silliness, the way that only a little child can.  He brings love into the home and he fills up a little of the space left by my Dad.

I don’t want this to be a sad post – but I had to say those things.  Naturally, today was a day of eating and I of course had to try something new on my family – mwahahah – my willing guinea pigs!!  I recently bought an icecream machine.  It’s a Deni.  The jury is still out about whether I like it or not.  The first batch of icecream I made was Pumpkin Icecream.  I got the recipe from the Williams-Sonoma website (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/pumpkin-ice-cream.html).  It turned out delicious.  It is very rich and the spices are pungent, so if you don’t like the flavor of nutmeg and cinnamon, you might want to cut back on it in the recipe.  This type of icecream isn’t something you eat a bowl of, but rather you have a scoop of this along side a slice of pie. 

Getting back to the icecream maker now – I made a batch of new batter to put into the machine.  I used the Chocolate Peanut Butter Icecream recipe directly from the manufacturer’s book.  I poured the batter, no I scooped the batter into the moving icecream machine.  The batter was so thick.  I had suspicions that it wasn’t going to work.  And within a minute, the machine stopped.  I read the instructions carefully and it said the one reason it might start and then stop is because you poured the batter in BEFORE turning on the machine.  Okay, I made that mistake when I tried to make the Pumpkin Icecream, but I learned my lesson.  I removed the pumpkin mixture, cleaned out the freezer canister, returned it to the freezer and then started over a few hours laters.  The second time I tried the Pumpkin Icecream, I had the machine running before I put in the batter.  And voila’ it worked.

But I did it right with the Chocolate Peanut Butter icecream.  I made sure it was running before I started putting in the batter.  But now I’m having the same problem again, only worse.  I tried twice last night to get it moving.  Both times, the machine stopped and I cleaned it out and refroze the canister and started again.  It was midnight last night when I gave up.  I got home from Thanksgiving dinner at my mom’s about 8pm and I gave it another try.  This time, I did everything right.  However, in about 15 minutes, the machine stopped again.  And, what’s worse, is that when I test the mixture, it doesn’t even look like it’s freezing up except around the immediate edges of the canister.

What am I doing wrong?

Well, at least the Pumpkin Icecream was a hit!  My sister in law was very pleased when she heard me say I didn’t want to take the leftovers home!

 

Bounty from my father’s garden . . .

My Dad would have been so proud. Every year, for as long as I can remember, Dad had a garden. It got larger over the years, but it also get better. He was meticulous, sometimes growing plants from seeds in the basement under flourescent lights. He had a diagram of the garden all laid out on graph paper and literally measured the garden to determine how many inches apart to place the plantings!

My Dad passed away in January, but my Mom has done a great job keeping up the tradition! The garden is beautiful. She’s scaled back a little, but not that much actually. With the help of my sister’s green thumb, Mom has planted zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, and beets. She might have a few other things in there, I’m not sure. Anyway, Mom went on vacation and one of my jobs was to pick veges! Not really what I like to do. I like getting my hands dirty in bread dough, chocolate ganache, or sqeezing lemons – not dirt! Anyway, the hard work has so far reaped rewards. There were quite a few green beans, some cucumbers, a cute little zucchini, and four tomatoes.

 

 

Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce

When I worked at the East Baltimore Campus of Johns Hopkins, there was a Greek guy who stood on the corner grilling chicken and lamb for gyros and souvlaki.  It was the most delicious chicken so I asked him what ingredients were in the seasoning and the sauce.  I experimented with it at home and came up with a recipe that I think tastes just like Aris’.  So, while I was sweating at the grill Sunday, I grilled a batch of chicken souvlaki.  Incidentally, they reheat very well.  

Here’s my recipe.  Often when I cook I don’t use exact measurements so use your judgement and season to taste.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
2 or 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
sliced tomato (optional)
sliced onions (optional)

Place all ingredients in a bowl with a cover or a large zip lock bag.  Marinate the chicken overnight or at least 4 hours.

Meanwhile, make the tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce

Most Greek cookbooks will call for Greek yogurt, however, according to my friend Trish, who just happens to be Greek , most use ordinary sour cream!

1 16-oz container reduced fat or fat-free sour cream
1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh dill
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 large cucumber, cleaned, and shredded

Drain whatever water might be on the top of the sour cream.  Spread the shredded cucumber out on a large plate.  Sprinkle it with a little bit of salt and allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes.  Taking handfulls of cucumber, squeeze the water out as much as you can.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.  This sauce is best if it sits overnight.

The next day (or 4 hours later) slide the chicken cubes onto metal skewers.  If you use wooden skewers remember to soak them in water for at least 20 minutes before this step, otherwise, the wooden skewers will catch fire.  For 4 chicken breasts, I was able to use 3 long metal skewers.  Grill the chicken at medium flame, turning it over every so often to get all sides browned and crispy.  When the chicken is done inside, remove it from the grill.  Slide 5 or 6 of the cubes onto flatbread.  Add sliced tomatoes and onions if you like them.  Drizzle the tzatziki sauce on top.  Fold the bread and enjoy!

I made extra chicken and reheated it for more dinners later in the week and it reheats very well.  If your flatbread dries out, brush a little extra virgin olive oil onto it and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Here is a closeup of one of the chicken cubes with some tzatziki sauce on it.

 

Breakfast Cookies

In my renewed effort to keep my promise to myself to always eat breakfast, I made these breakfast cookies today.  I saw a recipe on the Food Network site (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/breakfast-cookies-recipe/index.html), but made some adjustments.  For one, I used apple sauce instead of the jar of baby food carrots and I made them bigger and thicker so that one cookie was all I needed along with some milk and fruit for breakfast.  I also baked them 17 minutes at 300 degrees instead of the 325 that the original recipe instructed.

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
½ cup naturally sweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup walnut pieces, chopped

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees F.   Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, apple sauce and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, chocolate chips and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Spray a large cookie sheet with vegetable spray. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, not quite full, scoop dough onto cookie tray but leave about 2 inches between each cookie.  Flatten the dough out a little.

Bake for 17 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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The walnuts add a bit more fat, but the nutrition you get from walnuts, makes them worth keeping in this recipe.  308 calories, 17.9 grams fat.  By contrast, if you left the walnuts out, the fat grams goes down to 14.6.