Funeral Sandwiches

Hey there! Yep, I'm still alive. I've just been submerged in life. Living with Mr.S and the kidlets has been keeping me crazy busy. Kidlets? Should I even be calling them that anymore? One's a tween and the other a teen...and with age has come the teen angst, the normal stinky teen boy smells (Sweet Baby Jesus, why do their rooms consistently smell like a combo of dirty socks, sweat and ass?) and hormones, hormones, hormones. Rampant hormones and mood swings around every corner. Please someone, tell me it gets better at some point?! Plus, Pepper has decided to go around peeing upstairs (maybe because it already smells like socks, sweat and ass?) so we've had to put a doggie belly band on him. It seems to be working but I'm constantly velcroing and unvelcroing the sucker for him so he can go out. I'm like a doggie valet. I'll have to take a pic of him wearing the belly band, it's really cute (we bought him one that has bowties on it) but man, does Peppy hate it! Talk about a really disgruntled poodle.

Anyhow, I did come up for air and do some cooking this weekend. About a month or two ago, my friend Julie posted on Facebook that she was eating a funeral sandwich. My interest was piqued, I had to ask, "What's a funeral sandwich?" Turns out it's a type of slider made with Kings Hawaiian rolls, filled with thinly sliced lunchmeat and cheese, and then glazed with a sauce.  You shove them in the fridge to marinate and then pop them in the oven. I'm not 100% sure but I think they're some kind of spin-off of the Southern funeral biscuit.

I decided to make some this week and Mr. S and Kidlet #1 LOVED them, in fact Kidlet #1 has been begging me to make them again. He even offered to wash my car if I made them for him. I could get used to this. ☺

So if you need a dish for football Sunday, to take to bunco or just something to nosh on- give these a whirl. They're super easy to make (and you can even make them the night before). Traditionally they're made with ham and Swiss but I prefer turkey and provolone, so use whatever combo you like. They all taste good with the glaze.

Funeral Sandwiches

Ingredients

12 Kings Hawaiian rolls
12 slices of turkey lunchmeat (thinly sliced)
12 slices of provolone cheese
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

1. In a Pyrex measuring cup, melt your butter. Add in the Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, brown sugar and onion powder. Whisk together.

2. Coat your 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.  Split the whole package of rolls in half and place the bottoms in the pan.

3. Use a pastry brush and baste each roll bottom with the sauce.

4. Fold a piece of lunch meat and cheese onto each roll bottom.

5. Place the roll top on.

6. Brush each roll top with sauce. Then drizzle the remaining portion of the sauce over the top of the rolls.

7. Cover tightly with Saran Wrap. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 3-4 hours but overnight is even better.

8. Preheat over for 350 degrees F.

9. If you want to get fancy you can sprinkle the rolls with poppy seeds or toasted sesame seeds.

9. Bake uncovered for 12-15 minutes.

10. Remove from oven. Eat right away.  (FYI: These do not reheat well so eat 'em up!)

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Springtime Savory Dish : Asparagus Flan

It's a bit hard to tell in the photo but the flan is actually more of a muted light green then yellow.

A few years ago, Mr.S and I took a little getaway to Seattle. We found a wonderful little rustic restaurant in the Capitol Hill neighborhood called Cascina Spinasse. We indulged in the chef's tasting menu and had a fabulous evening there. One dish that really stood out taste wise, was the roasted leek flan. I've enjoyed traditional flan on numerous occasions but a savory flan was something new to me. The leek flan at Spinasse was amazing and I fell in love with it. This winter, I ran across an asparagus flan recipe in an old issue of Gourmet (the recipe was adapted from a dish served at the Andrea Hotel Ristorante in Turin, Italy) and I bookmarked it. Now that we're in the midst of springtime and the locally-grown, vibrant green asparagus spears are readily available (and cheap) at the farmers' market, I thought I'd try my hand at making asparagus flan. I pretty much followed the recipe in Gourmet but I did opt to leave off the rich Italian Fontina sauce in an effort to be healthier. I also took note of a helpful tip on Orangette to push the pureed asparagus through a sieve to get rid of any woody bits. The asparagus flan came out great- it had the silky-custard like texture you'd normally find with flan but instead of sweetness you're greeted with an intense, fresh asparagus taste. Next time, I think I might tweak the recipe a bit by perhaps mixing in some lovely roasted leeks, cooking the flan in individual ramekins and adding a dab of sauce. I think it would be a perfect first course for a dinner party.

 

Asparagus Flan (slightly adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

Ingredients

 

2 lb fresh asparagus, woody ends removed

4 large eggs

1 1/3 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Butter an 8-inch by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of wax paper, then butter paper.

3. Steam asparagus in a steamer set over boiling water, covered, until very tender, 6 to 8 minutes. (I used the steamer basket in my rice cooker instead.)

4. Purée steamed asparagus in a food processor until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. (You will have about 2 cups purée.)

5. Using a rubber spatula or spoon push the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove woody bits. This is a bit of a PIA but really makes a difference in the texture of the flan.

6. Whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl, then add in asparagus purée.       

                           

8. Pour asparagus mixture into pan.                 

7. For the water bath- you will need a large rectangular baking dish. Place a folded dishtowel in the baking dish. Place your round cake pan on top of the dishtowel. Add enough boiling-hot water to reach halfway up the side of the smaller pan. Bake in a hot water bath until flan is set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. 

 

 

9.Transfer pan to a rack to cool slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.          

                               

10. Run a thin knife around edge of flan to loosen, then invert a serving plate over pan and invert flan onto plate. Remove pan and discard paper. Cut flan into wedges. (I served some grated Parmesan on the side for sprinkling.) Serve immediately.

 

 

Optional Fontina Sauce:

 

Ingredients

 

1/4 lb Italian Fontina, rind discarded and cheese coarsely grated (or cut into 1/4-inch dice if too soft to grate)

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large eggs yolks

1 tablespoon butter

 

Instructions

 

1. Put all sauce ingredients in a metal bowl, then set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.

 

2. Heat sauce, whisking until cheese and butter are melted, and then stirring with a wooden spoon, until sauce is slightly thickened and registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 8 minutes.

 

3. Remove bowl from pan. Serve sauce with flan.

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Holiday Appetizer : Sausage Balls

Holy moly, we're almost at the end of 2013! Can you believe it? This year went by so fast! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I spent Xmas with Mr.S.'s family. They do a big Christmas dinner at Mr.S.'s, everyone brings a few dishes and his parents make a delicious ham. This year I was in charge of lemon bars, sausage balls and green bean casserole (that last dish wasn't by my choice, it was requested). I was excited about making the sausage balls. I found the recipe last year in a magazine while at the hospital. It was a recipe submitted by the Voltaggio brothers (of Top Chef fame) for a Thanksgiving issue. It sounded intriguing so I took a photo with my phone and looked it up online later on. The recipe is quite easy to make (just a handful of ingredients), can be prepared ahead of time (just pop them in the oven right before guests arrive) and perfect for a holiday party finger food. I found that the sausage balls taste great when paired with a dipping sauce (honey-mustard, sweet chili, or even an aioli goes great with these). Also, the leftovers are fantastic when used in an egg strata the next day (just sub in the sausage balls for the bread and cook as usual). I threw in some leftover ham and cheese from the previous night's dinner when I made ours. Mr.S . and Kidlet #1 loved the sausage ball-strata.

Holiday Sausage Balls (adapted from Redbook Magazine)

Ingredients

3 cups Bisquick pancake mix
1 lb. bulk country or breakfast sausage (not in casing, crumbled)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

fresh out of the oven

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper so that the sausage balls don't stick.

3. Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a large stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment and mix everything thoroughly.

4. Use your hands to form 1 1/2 inch balls and place on the parchment paper. Make sure the sausage balls are spaced out evenly.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes until they are puffed and a golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack or platter and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.

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Shady Lady Tomato Sauce

"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." - Lewis Grizzard

Shady Lady tomatoes...they're like the sexy, busty sirens of the farmers' market. With their deep lipstick red color and voluptuous shape, how can you resist them? You can eat them sliced on a plate with some buffalo mozzarella with a good balsamic drizzle or stacked with a thick cut of smoky applewood bacon and some creamy avocado on a fresh, hearty slice of sourdough. There's so many delicious ways to enjoy this heavenly fruit. One of my favorite ways to consume Shady Lady tomatoes is to oven-roast them and then make them into a sauce. The sauce is rich in flavor and smooth like butta', much too good to plop on a bowl of ordinary pasta. I like to use it to dress up appetizers like crostini or mini meatballs. With this batch, I used it to sauce some eggplant parmesan bites I made for some patio dining. We grew some wonderful Japanese eggplants in our garden this summer at Mr. S.'s which I sliced up into rounds. I dipped the round in egg yolk, then tossed them in a mixture of Parmesan cheese and dried breadcrumbs and fried them in some olive oil until they were nice and crisp. (I then placed them on some paper to absorb the excess oil.) Next, I spooned a tablespoon of my Shady Lady tomato sauce on the round and sprinkled some Parmesan on top and served the eggplant bite hot. They were a hit! Next year we'll have to grow more eggplants.

Our Japanese eggplants in the garden when they were about 1/4 of the way grown- don't they look like X-mas ornaments?

Shady Lady Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

5-6 big Shady Lady Tomatoes ( peeled*, cored, seeded, halved)

5-6 garlic cloves, minced

2 small yellow onions, sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil

glug of dry, red wine

2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 bay leaf

handful of fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon good-quality balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Place tomato, garlic and onion in a glass baking dish. Spread out in a single layer, don't crowd. You want them to roast, not steam. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 20-30 minutes until they start to caramelize (slightly browned and shriveled).

3. Place roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions in a food processor and give it a few good pulses. Place in a medium-size pot over medium heat. Add wine, sugar, sea salt, bay leaf, and fresh basil. Add a splash of good quality balsamic vinegar. Allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

4. Taste. Season with fresh ground pepper. Adjust seasonings if needed.

Marcella Hazan writes in The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: "No other preparation is more successful in delivering the prodigious satisfactions of Italian cooking than a competently executed sauce with tomatoes."

 

* The easiest way to peel a tomato is to :

1) Slice a shallow "X" on the bottom of the tomato. Then submerge the tomato in boiling water for 20-30 seconds. Remove and plunge in an ice bath for 30-45 seconds. Remove from the ice bath. The skin should peel off.

OR

2) Freeze the tomato. Remove the tomato from the freezer and let it thaw. Once thawed the skin should slip right off the tomato.

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Refreshing Pineapple Gazpacho

 

Eleven years ago, I got married to my (now ex) husband. The marriage didn't last but we had a wonderful wedding in Hawaii at the Hale Koa Hotel. Now mind you, this was back before destination weddings became über trendy and everybody and their brother started having them there. Anyhow, if you haven't been to the Hale Koa and get the opportunity to check it out, do so. It's a lovely 70+ acre oasis nestled in the western corner of Waikiki. We had the wedding in a lush, tropical garden that backed up to a shimmering sandy beach. I couldn't have asked for a better backdrop for our nuptials. If it's so fantastic, why isn't everyone having their wedding at this particular venue, you ask? Well, the catch with the Hale Koa is that it's a hotel and resort owned by the Department of Defense and only for active duty or retired military and their families. Luckily, my dad's retired military so we were able to hold our wedding at this fab location for much less than all the other swanky places on the island.

One hurdle we encountered though during planning was that the hotel had a strict policy that only they could cater events held on their grounds so we had to let them do the food. What a bummer! Most of it was what you'd expect from a hotel's catering department except two courses which really stood out to me: our passion-guava wedding cake and the pineapple gazpacho (neither of which I think they offer anymore). Now, normally I'm not a fan of gazpacho (mostly because I detest tomatoes) but this chilled soup was so refreshing- an exquisitely balanced medley of sweet and tart with just a slight hint of spiciness...and no tomatoes! It was the perfect opening dish for an island wedding. I loved it! It was fun, it was light, it was tasty! Every summer since, I've always meant to try and replicate that soup but never got around to it. Finally during our recent mini heat wave, I decided to try and recreate it. I made several different recipes I found online and in various cookbooks and then took the ingredients and tastes I liked best to create my own version.

If you're sick of salads, this soup is a nice alternative during the dog days of summer; not to mention, that pineapple has a lot of anti-inflammatory qualities. Gazpacho is a great dish to whip up for parties, you could serve it in shot glasses for cocktail hour or if you want to fancy it up for a sit-down dinner, place it in chilled martini glasses. The best thing though is--it's simple to make and there's no hot stove or oven required.

Refreshing Pineapple Gazpacho

Ingredients

1 pound of pineapple, cut into chunks

1/2 of a large English cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 medium yellow bell pepper, cored and chopped

1/3 cup diced red onion

1-2 scallions (mostly white), thinly sliced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 1/2 cups of DOLE pineapple-orange juice

3 tablespoons Italian dressing

1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

sea salt and pepper, to taste (optional)


Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender. Cover, blend until relatively smooth.

2. If you would like the soup to have a smoother texture/be thinner, you can put the soup through a chinois or sieve. If you would like it to be thicker, take a slice of crusty peasant bread, soak it in water, squeeze the water out, add it to the gazpacho and blend again.

3. Taste. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

4. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours so that the flavors have a chance to meld. Serve chilled.

5. Garnish with diced cucumber and bell pepper...or for some crunch, sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts and some cilantro.

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Painting the Town Red: Cranberry - Jalapeño Salsa

(shown au naturale & "tweaked")

Looking for something sweet, sour and spicy that you can make in a flash for a party? Then you definitely need to try this crazy-delicious cranberry-jalapeño salsa by allrecipes. I made some for Thanksgiving this year, with a few tweaks (namely mixing it up with a block of Philadelphia cream cheese) and served it up with some sesame water crackers...and voila!  A party in your mouth!  What's nice about this salsa is that you can use the leftovers for a multitude of other dishes. I gave some to a friend to taste test and she came up with the brillant idea of  pairing it with some grilled sausage. Mmmm!

Cranberry-Jalapeno Salsa (adapted from a recipe by allrecipes)

Ingredients

makes roughly 2 cups of salsa

1 (12 ounce) bag cranberries, fresh or frozen

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 bunch green onions, cut into 3 inch lengths

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

2 limes, juiced

3/4 cup white sugar

1 pinch salt

1 block of Philadephia cream cheese (optional)

Instructions

- Combine cranberries, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a medium blade. 

- Chop to medium consistency. 

- Refrigerate if not using immediately. Serve at room temperature.

* TIP: For an alternate serving suggestion, original recipe says to just pour 1 cup of salsa over a block of cream cheese and serve it that way but I found mixing the salsa and the cream cheese up in a food processor made a better tasting product.

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Thyme Out: Goat Cheese & Apple Tarts

It's been a giant rainfest here lately and the last thing I've been feeling like doing is driving. It's been a cold, damp weekend and tonight was the perfect night to relax with girl friends, gab and drink wine (thanks for hosting, Kristen!). I needed a dish I could throw together without having to don galoshes and slosh my way to a grocery store. Since I had a few Granny Smiths and a log of goat cheese in the fridge I decided to bake a batch of A Cozy Kitchen's Goat Cheese & Apple Tarts. I halved the recipe (listed below is the original recipe) and it came out fine. To top it off, when I came home from hanging out; the house smelled all warm and toasty from the thyme, prompting me to brew a cup of hot tea and put on some Nina Simone before settling down at the laptop.

FYI: This recipe makes a great appetizer but I think it'd pair perfectly with a pipin' bowl of soup as well. Check it out for yourself.

Goat Cheese & Apple Tarts


Ingredients

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

10 oz goat cheese

2 granny smith apples (or similar variety)

2 tbl olive oil

1 tbl chopped fresh or dried thyme


Instructions

- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.

- While the puff pastry is still frozen, lay flat and cut into squares.

- Place the puff pastry pieces on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spread goat cheese in the center of each puff pastry square.

- Core and thinly slice the apples. Arrange the apple slices on the pastry, making sure that the cheese is completely covered.

- Drizzle the assembled tarts with olive oil & sprinkle the thyme over them.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until it's golden brown on the edges. Serve immediately.

(* Keep a close eye on the tarts once they're in the oven. I found they browned very quickly and took them out at 18 minutes; however, each oven is different.)

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Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tartlets

(photo by Melanie Dinos)

This past weekend was packed with parties galore! Friday night was a birthday/sushi making party, Saturday night followed with an All Hallow's Eve party and Sunday was a birthday dinner for Mr. S.'s pops. For the latter two, I decided to throw together some caramelized onion and goat cheese tartlets (I bet you're starting to salivate like Pavlov's dog already, right?) Well, they were simple to make, came out great and were gobbled up immediately.

Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tartlets

Ingredients:

1  sheet of frozen puff pastry dough (you can find this in the freezer section of your local grocery store)

1  large sweet onion ( peeled and diced/ or thinly sliced)

1  8 oz. package of goat cheese

3-4 T unsalted butter

1 t of sugar



Instructions

- Thaw puff pastry dough for 30 minutes.

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

- Using a thick-bottomed pan, heat butter on medium high. Add onions. Make sure onions are coated evenly. Stir occasionally and allow to sauté until onions are caramelized (about 20-25 minutes). Add sugar to onions while cooking.

- Using a circular cookie cutter, punch out circles.

- Prick pastry with a toothpick or fork several times to aerate it.

- Place one circle of pastry in each opening of  mini muffin pan. Press down so that the pastry conforms to the shape of the pan.

- Place a spoonful of goat cheese on top of each pastry circle.

- Follow with a spoonful of caramelized onion.

- Bake at 400 degrees F for 13-15 minutes until pastry is a golden brown. (When you take the tartlets out of the oven, some bits of the caramelized onion will be quite dark...don't worry your onions aren't burnt. If you taste those small charred bits, they're quite sweet.)

- Serve warm.

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Cornmeal Blini with Smoked Trout and Crème Fraîche

Who doesn't like appetizers? They're cute, they're tasty and you can pop them in your mouth in one bite. No muss, no fuss. About a year and a half ago, I had this great cornmeal blini appetizer at a cooking/dinner party. The host had taken a recipe from Chow and substituted the caviar with smoked fish. The miniature-sized apps were delectable and I filed the recipe away in my "to make" file. Yesterday, Mr. S. and I attended a BBQ at his cousin's house and I decided to try my hand at them. Well, making teeny, tiny "pancakes" is actually harder than it looks. After the first half dozen or so, I gave up trying to achieve a perfect circle and settled for a haphazard oblong shape...hey, it all tastes the same, right? :)

Cornmeal Blini with Smoked Trout and Crème Fraîche

Ingredients

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

Vegetable oil for frying

1.5 cups crème fraîche

1/4 lb. smoked trout (I used applewood smoked Steelhead Trout purchased at Taylor's Market)

1 bunch chives, finely chopped



Instructions

1. Heat oven to 250°F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt and stir well to mix. Add egg and milk, and mix until smooth.

3. Heat a heavy griddle or frying pan over medium heat until hot, then brush or mist with oil. Using a spoon and working in small batches, drop tablespoons of batter into the pan. When bubbles form evenly on the top of the blini, flip over and cook until golden.

4. Transfer the first batch of cooked blini to a heatproof plate lined with paper towels and keep warm, covered, in the oven. Repeat with remaining batter.

5. To serve, top each warm blini with 1 tablespoon crème fraîche, a tablespoon of smoked trout and a pinch of chives. Serve immediately.
 
(Adapted from Chow.com's Cornmeal Blini with Caviar recipe.)

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Oka-san's Gyoza

Now that the weather's cooling down, I've been craving Japanese comfort foods like crazy- gyoza, curry rice, omurice and ramen just to name a few. So what better way to celebrate this early autumn weather than to have a gyoza making party? It was a bit chaotic in my small kitchen but I had a great time pinching gyoza wrappers, munching on Japanese snacks and catching up on goings-on with four of my lovely lady friends. Also, just by happenstance everyone had opted to make different types of fillings so there was an array of flavors to choose from come tasting time. For my gyoza attempt, I went with my mom's traditional pork gyoza recipe. They came out great but I still think they taste better when my oka-san (mom) makes them.

Oka-san's Pork Gyoza

Ingredients

2 packages of gyoza wrappers (the round kind)
1 Napa cabbage, de-ribbed and minced
1 lb. ground pork
1 t table salt
1/2 t sugar
2 t sesame oil
1 T freshly grated ginger (use a microplane grater)
2 T green onion (green part only), minced
2 T nira (minced)
5 cloves garlic, finely minced

Instructions

1. Wash, de-rib and mince the cabbage. Place in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.  Firmly squeeze the cabbage to remove any residual water, this keeps the cabbage from becoming soggy during the cooking process.

2. In a large bowl, mix the cabbage, pork, garlic, nira, green onion, ginger, sugar and sesame oil together. Use your hands to really mix it in and work it. Ball it up and throw it against the bowl a few times. This helps to spread the ingredients out and tenderize the meat.

3. At your work station: place a large plate, small bowl of water and a container for the completed gyoza (I used a Pyrex casserole pan).

4. Start with 4 gyoza skins on your plate. Place a tablespoon of filling at the center of each skin. Then wet your index finger and trace the edge of half of the skin. Fold the dry half over the filling, creating a seal.  Pinch the skin in the center and then continue to make pleats down each side or start on one side and work your way across. Don't worry if your first few come out looking like a wolverine chewed on it, it gets easier as it goes.  Here's a great tutorial, if you'd like to perfect your technique.  Gyoza Tutorial

5. Place each completed gyoza in your "done" pan.

6. When complete, you can either freeze them or cook them. If you choose the latter, get a large skillet ready.  Place a teaspoon of oil in the skillet at medium-high heat. Once it's hot, place your gyoza on it (spaced so they're not touching). Cook until the "bottoms" turn brown.

7. Then pour 1/4 cup of water into the skillet (be careful!), cover, lower the heat and allow the gyozas to steam cook.

8. When the water's gone, the skins appear translucent and the meat seems firm, it's done. Remove from the pan and place on a papertowel covered plate.

9. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce (mine's : equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar with a splash of chili oil and sesame oil).

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Heavenly Hummus

You've heard of the Midas Touch, right? Well, my friend Cate has what I like to refer to as the Hummus Touch. She touches plain old garbanzo beans...and "POOF!" they metamorphize  into some mind-blowing, magically delicious hummus. Mr. S.'s eyes glaze over in hummus lust whenever her hummus is mentioned...seriously, it's the best tasting hummus you'll ever have. If you don't believe me, follow this recipe and find out for yourself but don't say I didn't warn you!

Ingredients

3 cups of garbanzo beans (buy dried chickpeas and rehydrate them, they taste so much better than the canned beans...it's worth the hassle.)
1 can of white kidney beans (save the liquid)
1 large lemon
4-6 garlic cloves (pressed)
2-3 T tahini
4-6 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepping Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)

- Place dried chickpeas in a large bowl, pick out any debris or unsavory looking beans.

- Rinse the beans a few times under the tap.

- Place the beans in a large bowl (use a big one because the beans will swell as they absorb the water), cover with plenty of water and leave to soak overnight. You can leave them in the fridge if you wish, but I usually just leave the bowl on the counter.

- The next day, drain the water and place the beans in a pot with clean water.

- Bring the beans to a boil then reduce the heat to low and allow the beans to simmer for about 15 minutes.

- Skim off and discard any foam that appears on the water's surface.

- Remove the pot from heat, drain into a colander and rinse well with cold water.

Hummus Instructions

- Hummus is easiest to make in a food processor, but a blender will also do the trick. However, you might have to halve the recipe to fit (this makes a TON) it in a blender.

- Put beans in blending machine of choice, add pressed garlic, juice of half a lemon, tahini and a little bit of the reserved bean liquid (maybe 2-3 tbls) , enough for it to blend fairly easily, but not so it’s runny. Try adding a little at a time, until it’s running fairly smoothly but there are still little flecks of beans.

- Taste and add more lemon juice, tahini, salt and pepper (to taste).

- When the taste is to your liking, with the machine running pour the olive oil in very slowly in a little stream, this makes the hummus fluff up a bit as the oil is emulsifying the mix and it gives it a nice texture. ( Just make sure you’ve added all the other wet type of ingredients lemon juice, tahini, bean liquid before the oil otherwise it can wind up runny. )

- You can jazz the hummus up by topping it with your favorite accompaniment- a tasty, puree of roasted red peppers, fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil or perhaps a sprinkling of za'atar or some cumin and cayenne...the possibilities are endless.

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"You Say Tomato and I Say Tomahto..." : Fresh Pico De Gallo

It wasn't a great season for tomatoes in Sacramento this year, but the tomato seedlings Mr. S. planted did bear us a decent amount of fruit. Seen below (being fondled by my lovely assistant) are some of the tasty salsa tomatoes that came in (one of two different varieties of tomatoes that were planted). I'm not a big fan of super-liquidy salsa, so I decided to make some pico de gallo with the tomatoes instead. Pico de gallo is ultra easy to throw together and is great with tortilla chips, atop a quesadilla or my favorite...sprinkled on an omelet.

I dug up a recipe on Simply Recipes and voila! In mere minutes, we had some fresh pico de gallo for a Sunday afternoon snack. (Note: I subbed in 5 salsa tomatoes and sprinkled in a bit of cumin to jazz it up).

Fast & Fresh Pico De Gallo

Ingredients

• 2-3 medium sized fresh tomatoes (from 1 lb to 1 1/2 lb), stems removed, finely diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño chili pepper (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
• 1 serano chili pepper (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
• Juice of one lime
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: oregano and or cumin to taste

Directions

1. Start with chopping up 2 medium sized fresh tomatoes. Prepare the chilies. Be very careful while handling these hot peppers. If you can, avoid touching them with your hands. Use a fork to cut up the chilies over a small plate, or use a paper towel to protect your hands. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after handling and avoid touching your eyes for several hours. Set aside some of the seeds from the peppers. If the salsa isn't hot enough, you can add a few for heat.

2. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Taste. If the chilies make the salsa too hot, add some more chopped tomato. If not hot enough, carefully add a few of the seeds from the chilies, or add some ground cumin.

3. Let sit for an hour for the flavors to combine.

Makes approximately 3-4 cups.

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Peppa-"Do's" : Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppadew Peppers

Need a quick but tasty appetizer to bring to a potluck? Try whipping up some yummy bite-sized Peppadew treats. "Peppadew" is the brand name of sweet piquanté peppers grown in the Limpopo province of South Africa.  They're small (size of a cherry tomato), simultaneously sweet and tangy in taste and super versatile. For example, you can slice them up and put them on a sandwich, dice them and mix them into a salad or be a rebel and sub them into a poppers recipe. My favorite way to eat them is to stuff the little suckers with some delicious goat cheese.

* In the Sac area you can find Peppadews at Nugget Market. Depending on which Nugget you go to, they are located either in the cheese/deli department or the pickle aisle. They come packaged in a glass jar.

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Spicy Dilly Beans

Not too long ago I was sipping coffee with a few friends and mentioned how I had been invited to my first canning party and how excited I was to attend. One of my coffee buddies smiled and replied, "That's funny how everyone is doing a lot of the old fashioned stuff like canning and knitting. It makes me think of grandmas and makes me feel old." The comment stuck with me for a few days as I mulled it over. True, canning, knitting, gardening, cooking, etc. are rapidly rising in popularity again (just look at sites like Etsy, The Kitchn.com and Readymade if you need proof). I suppose the craft movement never truly disappeared but it has definitely reemerged into the spotlight in the past few years with the younger set. I think the resurgence in part can be attributed to the current economic climate. Without a lot of excess funds to fritter away, some people are turning to making their own products as a way to save pennies. Also for many, these activities are a great excuse to invite friends over and socialize while doing something constructive. I know these days I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, harvesting my own veggies and learning how to can...if that makes me a "grandma," so be it. :)

Anyhow back to the canning party...unfortunately, I fell ill the day of the event and had to skip. Left with several pounds of green beans and no canning supplies, I decided to pickle the beans "refrigerator style" using this great dilly bean recipe I found on  a blog called Hell Yeah, It's Vegan (don't you just love that name?). To be safe, I sterilized the jars in the oven and boiled the rings and caps.  I also quintupled the recipe to make 5 jars worth.

Spicy Pickled Green Beans
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

1 clove garlic

1-2 chilis or 1 tsp red pepper flakes

dill

peppercorns

1 lb fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed

1 c water

1 c white vinegar

2 tbsp kosher salt

Directions

- In a clean, odorless glass jar with a well-fitting lid, add garlic, dill, red pepper, and peppercorns to taste.

- Pack jar with green beans, fairly tightly, until full. In a medium saucepan, heat water, vinegar, and salt, stirring occasionally, until salt has fully dissolved.

- Slowly pour a small amount into the jar and shake it gently; the glass must be heated slowly so it doesn’t crack.

- Slowly add the rest of the liquid, leaving about ½” head space at the top of the jar.

- Let cool for an hour or two before placing the jar in the fridge.

- Refrigerate at least 1 week before consuming; they’ll get more pungent as they age, and can store just fine for months.

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Better Late Than Never Lamb Wontons

Before

After

Sometimes I am such a procrastinator...
Last Christmas I attended a party at my friend Jenn's where I had the chance to taste some scrumptious lamb wonton appetizers. The lamb wontons were so delicious,in fact, that I googled a similar recipe the very next day intending to make them. Somehow days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and I never got around to whipping up a batch. Anyhow, I got to make up for lost time this month and make them twice! And yes, the little pockets of lamb deliciousness were just as good as I remembered them.

* The original New York Times' version involves deep frying the wontons but I opted to cook them in the oven/broiler (a much healthier method).

Ingredients


3/4 pound ground lamb (Taylor's Market will ground the lamb fresh for you if you ask at the counter)

2 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons golden raisins  (I subbed in regular raisins)

3 tablespoons coarsely, chopped pistachios (roast them in the oven for a few minutes first)

34 wonton skins, 3 inches by 3 1/4 inches

1 egg (yolk removed)

Preparation

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Mix together the coriander, cinnamon, salt, pepper, raisins and pistachios until well combined. (I like to do this in the food processor so that everything gets chopped up and blended together smoothly). Then mix it in well with the lamb.

2. Place about a teaspoon of the filling in the center of 1 wonton.

3. Use your fingertip and brush the edges of the wonton skin with water. Fold into a triangle.

4. Bring each corner of the skin over each other (like in a hug over the filling) and press the edges together to seal tightly. This fold is called a crown fold.

5. Repeat.

6. Place the wontons folded-side up on a non-stick cookie sheet (or you can use parchment paper). Spacing them slightly apart.
 
7. Pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes to bake.
 
8. Remove, lightly paint each wonton with an egg white wash and them pop in the broiler for 3 minutes (this gives them their outer crunchiness and nice brown coloring).
 
9. Take wontons out of the oven and place on a cooling rack or platter.
 
10. Enjoy!

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Nasubi : Eggplant Caviar

I'll be honest, I've never been a huge fan of eggplant. Although the deep royal purple has always captivated me, I've usually found it to be a rather bland vegetable. The only eggplant that had ever peaked my interest up until recently was a strange (now defunct) Japanese reality TV show called "Nasubi" (the Japanese word for eggplant). If you've never heard about it, check out the link...it preceded the United States' "Survivor" series. All I'll say is...it involved a naked guy, an empty room and several contests.

Anyhow, being a fan of David Lebovitz' recipes I thought I'd give his eggplant caviar a try. Surprisingly, this variation on baba ganoush is quite flavorful. Mr. S thought the puree to be a tad spicy but I found it to be a nice change from your typical tamer spreads like hummus and guacamole. I opted to sprinkle a little bit (ok, a lot) of sumac on mine which gave it a nice tangy finish.

Eggplant Caviar  (adapted from David Lebovitz' recipe)
Make about six servings

[If you don't own a grill, just oven-roasting the eggplant for a longer period of time, until they're soft and wilty.]

3 small Japanse eggplants
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus additional for preparing the pan
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon chili pepper powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

- Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and sprinkle it with a bit of sea salt. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

- Poke each eggplant a few times and place them over a gas flame on the stovetop or a grill, turning them every so often, until they get a nice char on the outside and feel soft and wilty. Roast them for five to ten minutes.

- When cool enough to handle, cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, and place them cut side down on the oiled baking sheet.

- Bake the eggplants until the flesh is thoroughly cooked, which should take about twenty minutes.

- Remove the eggplants from oven and scrape the pulp from the skins into the bowl of a food processor.
- Add the tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and chili pepper powder.

- Pulse the food processor a few times, until the mixture is almost smooth. Add the basil and pulse a few more times.

-Taste, and add additional salt, lemon, or other seasonings, as desired.

- To serve, spoon into a bowl and make a small hole in the center. Pour a bit of olive oil in the middle and sprinkle with chili powder, sumac, or some chopped fresh herbs.

- Serve with some pita triangles.

- Eggplant caviar can be kept refrigerated for up to five days.

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Stuffed : Dolma

A few weeks ago, Mr. S. and I attended a lovely wedding held by Susan and Dan. The happy couple opted for a Mediterranean food theme and it was delicious. The dinner consisted of a greek salad, falafel, hummus, pita bread, chicken souvlaki, tabblouleh and dolma. Everything was wonderful but we both found ourselves repeatedly reaching for the dolma. So when my friend Elif, who’s Turkish, generously offered to show me how to make vegetarian dolma, I jumped at the chance. On a quiet Saturday morning over Turkish coffee, I learned how to prepare several Turkish dishes from scratch: dolma, kisir, sumac-onion salad and a walnut-garlic-red pepper spread. Elif's dolma recipe blows the store-bought variety out of the water, no contest.


Elif’s Dolma Recipe

Ingredients:

2 jars of grape leaves*
1 large diced or grated white onion
2 cups uncooked white rice
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup pinenuts
½ cup currants or raisins
1 ½ t ground cinnamon
¼ t ground cloves
2 lemons, juiced and sliced
1 t salt (to taste)

* If you live in Sacramento, try the Mediterranean market on Fulton

Filling Instructions:

- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or medium pot. Sweat the onions until they become soft, about 10 minutes.
- 2. Stir in the pinenuts. Allow the onions to carmelize and the pinenuts to brown.
- 3. Add in the currants, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt (don't forget the salt!). Mix well.
- 4. Add in the uncooked rice and 2 cups of water. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is half cooked.
- 5. Remove from heat and set aside.

Rolling Instructions:

- 1. Drain the grape leaves in a colander and then place them in a large bowl. Fill the bowl full of hot water and let the leaves sit for 10-15 minutes. Drain and rinse the leaves under cold water.
- 2. Lay one leaf, vein side up/ glossy side down with the stem end pointing towards you. Carefully remove the stem where it hits the leaf.
- 3. Place a spoonful of filling towards the middle by the stem and then using your fingers, elongate the filling into a “cigarette” shape.
- 4. Fold both sides towards the middle, then fold the stem end up and gently roll towards the top. You want to be firm but not roll too tight; otherwise, the leaf will rip when the rice expands. Repeat.
- 5. Arrange the rolls side by side, seam side down in an oven-safe pan (Pyrex or casserole dishes work well for this). It’s okay to stack them.
- 6. Fill the pan ¾ full of water and cover it tightly with aluminum foil.
- 7. Cook at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, until rice is fully cooked
- 8. Allow dolmas to cool.
- 9. Once cooled, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and garnish with lemon slices.

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What a Cute Little Clove of Garlic : Roasted Garlic

My friend Cate makes this appetizer that's always a hit at her get-togethers and simply requires only two ingredients. Her roasted garlic is so delicious that I once ate two whole heads of garlic by myself while watching an episode of Glee at her house...seriously! Sure, I smelled like an Italian trattoria and had a stomachache the next day...but damn, it was good while I was eating it.

Roasted Garlic

~ Grab a few heads of garlic.
~ Remove the loose skin, keeping the rest intact.
~ Slice off the top of the heads. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if you wish.
~ Place the garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil.
~ Drizzle generously with your favorite olive oil.
~ Wrap the garlic in foil and place it in on an oven-safe dish.

~ Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour @ 400 degrees, depending on how many heads of garlic you're cooking.

~ Remove from oven and serve.

* Cate usually serves them up with various crackers. You take a small knife or toothpick and pop the clove out of the head (it'll be soft). You can eat the whole clove as is or squeeze out the garlicky deliciousness and spread it on your cracker or sliced baguette.

Photo courtesy of  Noisebot

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