I'm calling in for reinforcements _ Mindy and I have a squadron function on Friday and it's the annual Cook-Off. Last year I brought the title home for 'best hot chili' with our Pork Chili Verde recipe - I have to say, it's a really mean recipe and it's as good as it is labor intensive. But since I won't have time to char, peel and babysit peppers any time this week, I decided to call in reinforcements.
Fellow hungry girls - you got anything for us??
Sorry for the picture of Homer, all I can think of when someone says the word 'chili' is 'Mmmaaarrrgggeee, chili!'
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees) 1/4 ounce active dry yeast 1 teaspoon honey 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, honey and 1 tablespoon of the oil, stirring to combine. Let it sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the sale, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding flour 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but slightly sticky. You might not use all the flour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky; about 3-5 minutes.
Oil a large bowl with the remaining oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to double in size, about 90 minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is best used on the day it's made. It does keep in the fridge overnight (make sure you leave a LOT of room) but gets very sticky.
We make pizza about once a week. I preheat my stone for an hour in a 425 oven.
We had Mindy and her clan over for dinner last night. We have dinner together at least once or twice each week (it's a leftover reflex from the deployment days). I have to be on my A-game because if I slip a little Mindy will end up cooking everything (which is not as bad as it sounds!). So last night we made Mahi Mahi with Fresh Cilantro Chutney (Bon Appetit, October 2007). There was really nothing special about the mahi - seasoned with adobo (it really called for s&p, but the Puerto Ricanness runs deep!) and some cumin - but the awesome part was the chutney. It was used as liberally as chimichurri and it was just so flavorful, I'm sure Mindy can back me up.
ingredients :: 1 cup (packed) chopped fresh cilantro 1 large kiwi, peeled, cubed 1/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk* 1 large garlic clove, peeled 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño chili
preparation:: Coarsely puree first 5 ingredients in processor. Season chutney with salt and pepper.
Think of it as Middle Eastern huevos rancheros. Shakshuka (pronounced shack-SHOUK-ah) is a classic North African/Middle Eastern dish. In Israel, it's typical cafe food, eaten any time of day with pita or a slice of bread.
It's a humble, extremely simple recipe: thick tomato sauce, peppers (bell or hot), onions, with eggs poached on top. But as with most recipes of this kind, there are thousands of regional and cultural variations on the theme. You can add or subtract sausages, hot peppers, grated cheese, or red wine, just as you would with any good tomato sauce. I make it with leftover spaghetti sauce.
Use the recipe below as a sketch, meant to be adjusted and riffed off of.
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2 sm. onions, sliced 1/4 cup olive oil 4 garlic cloves, crushed or sliced finely 1/2 green pepper, sliced or cubed 1 red pepper, sliced or cubed 1 fresh red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional) 1 sm can tomato paste 1 can whole tomatoes (cut tomatoes in half, juice reserved) 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon coriander 6 (or so) eggs salt and pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
1. Make tomato sauce: In heavy saucepan, dice onions and fry in olive oil until golden. Add garlic, peppers and tomatoes. Stir gently, on medium heat, and add reserved tomato juice, tomato paste, and spices until sauce becomes stewy and aromatic. Add water or juice as necessary if sauce becomes overly thick.
2. Poach eggs: Once sauce has become thick, with a spoon carve out holes in sauce and gently place raw the eggs in holes. Cover saucepan and simmer until eggs are poached.
Serve very hot in the pan, garnish with cilantro. Great with fresh bread or toast.
Serves 4 for breakfast.
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Here's a video someone took at the excellent Dr. Shakshuka restaurant in Jaffa (just south of Tel Aviv), where the owner demonstrates his technique. (No Hebrew language skills required.)
I got this recipe from The Best of Shaker Cooking. I was given this cookbook as a present when I left Darrow. I had doubts that there would be anything good in it, but it has been a surprisingly good resource! This bread has an almost sponge-cake-like consistency. I think it would be quite good with chocolate sauce for a dessert. PLEASE don't tell Bob about the milk or butter in the recipe. He is in love with this bread.....
1 cup small pieces of orange peel
water
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 TBS butter
1 egg
2 c. milk
4 c. flour
4 tsps baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
Put the orange peel in a small saucepan and just cover with water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of the sugar and boil until you get a syrup. Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg and milk. Mix flour with baking powder and salt. Add to other ingredients and beat well. Add the orange peel mixture. Put the batter into two greased bread pans. Let stand for 20 minutes. Bake for 40 minutes in a 325 degree oven.
I told Mindy I would give her this recipe when she was complaining that her pozole recipe took too long to cook. I found this one earlier in the year out of a Bon Appe and the cool thing is that by using the purchased chicken time cuts down immensely and making pozole is actually doable.
ingredients::
3 tablespoons olive oil 3 bunches green onions, sliced 4 teaspoons ground cumin 2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika 10 cups low-salt chicken broth 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite tomatoes in juice 1 purchased roast chicken, meat shredded, skin and bones discarded 4 teaspoons hot pepper sauce 3 (15-ounce) cans golden or white hominy in juice 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
preparation::
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add green onions, cumin, and paprika; sauté 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, chicken, and hot pepper sauce. Puree hominy with juice in processor or blender. Mix into soup; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Ladle soup into bowls.
I've created a place to share links to great sites for recipes which doubles as a shameless plug for my recipe blog, Jenny's Recipes. I was feeling lazy about re-posting....
Made this Wednesday as a test for the business. Everyone loved it. Tasters included my friend Julie (who sent me the recipe) and her family, as well as three pre-school teachers who are on Weight Watchers. There's a joke in there somewhere!
I modified the original recipe by doubling the amount of broth (I used homemade chicken -- not veg), adding a second can of beans, and changing the 1 cup of heavy cream to 1/2 cup half-and-half. I also added the seasoning to the onions, rather than at the end. I think that they really need to bloom in the oil, but that's me. Recipe yielded 4 quarts with these changes.
Finally, true confessions. It's a Rachael Ray recipe. So it's quick and easy, and I'm going to recommend it despite how infernally annoying I find her.
Here's the modified recipe. 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice 2 cans (15 ounces) black beans, drained 2 cans (15 ounces) pumpkin puree 1/2 cup half-and-half 1 tablespoon curry powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper Coarse salt 20 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped, for garnish
Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Saute onions 5-10 minutes until softened, then add curry, cumin, cayenne and stir about 1 minute. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in half-and-half and salt to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve garnished with chopped chives.
1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley 1 cup (packed) fresh cilantro 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano 2 garlic cloves, peeled 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 2/3 cup olive oil
Just mix it all up in a blender and drizzle all over chicken, meat, fish... and let some fall on your plate but make sure you have enough fresh bread to clean the plate with!
sweet p. (Patri) Lives in SoDak but hails from PR, which means she never cooks without Adobo Goya too far from her reach. Cooks a mean rice and beans, thinks that plantains are the fruit of the gods, and swears by good rum. Has seriously expanded her horizons after leaving her tropical paradise - she prefers buffalo to regular meat any day! And she plans vacations almost solely based on the food possibilities.
rikerman (Lisa) Lives in NJ but has known to make grown men cry with her gumbo. She has impressed bonafide southerners with her ability to make a roux. Many new recipes have been tried because of what the CSA she and Bob belong to is producing that week.
mideast-transplant (Martha) Lives on the Mediterranean coast and works at a seafood restaurant. She has a thing for halva and martinis (but not at the same time). Has been called a "gourmet garbage can," for eating anything, as long as it could be from the pages Gourmet magazine.
mindy (Mindy) Is also awesome and also hungry.
MischAgain (Jenny) She's awesome too, and I bet likes chocolate now and then.
AKAinNJ (Allison) Grew up eating virtually nothing. Discovered a whole world of food at college. Married into a family where cooking was an art and took off with a whisk in one hand and a saute pan in the other. Been making a business of being a personal chef for four years now. Makes about 700 quarts of soup between September and June each year. Who'd have guessed?!
