Pear and Ginger Muffins

This is another recipe from Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express. These are super-yummy and it is very hard to eat just one.

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 TBS honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced pears (about 1/4 inch dice)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl mix flour, sugars, baking powder and ground ginger.
3. In another bowl whisk together sour cream, oil, honey and eggs. Fold into dry ingredients.
4. Mix in pear dice and divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.
5. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack.

Salt-Crusted Beets

I made this recipe as part of our anniversary dinner and even thought I was completed befuddled by the 'crusting' part of the recipe once I figured out that it was more of a 'sand castle' building skill than a culinary one, things went well. When crusting the beets just follow the instructions and place them on the salt mix mound instead of trying to hold it in your hands, like I did for the first 5 minutes. Put it down, really, and crust the top and sides with salt. It doesn't need to be perfect since it's not part of the final presentation. For the creme fraiche, we couldn't find pre-made one and didn't have time to make it from scratch, so we just used sour cream and it was really really good. And now that I think about it, not that hard to make - once I gave up having to perfectly crust them, things went smoothly and easy. The result is a salty flavor on the beets that was pretty amazing. John decided it was a definitive 'restaurant worthy' effort!

ps-call me if you start freaking out when salt-crusting!

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INGREDIENTS::

Horseradish Crème Fraîche:
1 cup crème fraîche (8 ounces)
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar

Beets:
2 cups coarse kosher salt
5 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
3 large unpeeled beets (each about 8 ounces), trimmed, scrubbed

PREPARATION::

For horseradish crème fraîche: Whisk crème fraîche, horseradish, chopped chives, and Sherry wine vinegar in small bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

For beets:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix coarse salt, horseradish, thyme, and orange peel in medium bowl. Place three 3-tablespoon mounds of salt mixture on small rimmed baking sheet, spacing apart. Top each salt mound with 1 beet, then cover all beets with remaining salt mixture, pressing very firmly with hands and forming crust around each beet, covering completely.

Roast beets 1 3/4 hours. Remove from oven; crack salt crusts open and remove beets. Peel beets; cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange beet slices on platter. Serve with horseradish crème fraîche.

(from Bon Appetit February 2008)

Chipotle Scalloped Yams

I modified the recipe I found on food network site to get rid of cream and use up some frontera grill brand chipotle sauce I had. You can use whatever chipotle pepper form you want, though use less than the amount if you're not using salsa - original recipe called for 1 T. of chipotle puree. Lindsey requests that I not use the black pepper next time.


2 cups skim milk
4 heaping tablespoons chipotle salsa (Wegmans)
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Whisk together milk and chipotle puree until smooth.

In a 9 by 9-inch casserole dish, arrange the potatoes in even layers. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, milk, and salt and pepper to form 10 layers.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes, remove cover and continue baking for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the milk has been absorbed and the potatoes are cooked through and the top is browned. Inspired by Food Network recipe.

Spaghetti Carbonara

We made this for dinner tonight and it was totally awesome. The original recipe calls for a complex process of curing pork belly but guess what - I happened to have some bacon in the fridge and the recipe had this alternative to the pork belly fest - so in went the bacon.

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Ingredients

12 ounces diced browned bacon
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine

1 pound spaghetti
1 1/2 cups fresh shelled peas (from about 1 1/2 pounds peas in pods) or 1 1/2 cups frozen petite peas, thawed

2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

In large skillet bring first five ingredients so a simmer and keep warm.

Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Add peas; cook 1 minute longer.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, and parsley; set aside.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Whisk 1/4 cup hot cooking liquid into egg mixture. Add pasta; toss to coat. Add mixture to skillet with pork and toss, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Season generously with black pepper. Divide among bowls and serve, passing remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese alongside.

Of oil and grounds.

Two questions for my fellow hungries:

First - how do you save your used frying oil? My mom had this awesome canister when we were growing up that was made out of some metal and it had a lid but right under the lid it had a sieve so when you would pour the cooled off oil it would strain it.

Second - does anyone know how you can reuse used coffee grounds? I make coffee every morning and I read somewhere that it's good to use it as part of your plant food - any clues?

Christmas in a glass

We went out to dinner with friends last month (extraordinary enough), and the Gladstone Tavern had a fabulous and gorgeous red winter cocktail that is going to be our standard this holiday season.

1 part cassis
1 part pomegranate juice
top with sparkling wine

I had some Norwegian berry liquor in the house (don't ask) that made an acceptable substitute for the cassis, so I'm sure Chambord or any other would do fine. Today I did buy the real stuff for company, though.

I'm thinking of serving it with a fresh raspberry in the glass, or maybe on the rim. Might also be interesting with cranberry juice.

Cheers!

breakfast bars

I splurged on the new Nigella Express cookbook. I've only had time to try one recipe, and I was immediately drawn to the breakfast bars. They are a yummy cross between a granola bar and a breakfast bar. YUM. Obviously you can use whatever nuts or seeds you have on hand.

• 1 14-oz can condensed milk
• 2.5 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (I used a mix of cranberries and dried cherries)
• 1 cup mixed seeds (I mostly used sunflower seeds with some sesame seeds thrown in)
• 1 cup unsalted peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees and oil (I used the spray) a 9 x 13 baking pan.
2. Warm the condensed milk in a saucepan
3. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula or big wooden spoon to fold everything together.
4. Spread the mixture into the pan and press to make the surface even.
5. Bake for 1 hour. After about 15 minutes, cut into bars (I made 16) and cool completely on a wire rack.