Chocolate Chip Rectangle

This is a cookie-in-a-pan concoction. Doesn't make portion control any easier, but I made scaled down the recipe in the hopes that even if we consumed the whole pan in a day and a half, at least it wasn't twice as much! This also evolved from what I thought was half a bag of chocolate chips I found languishing in the cupboard. By the time I had the modest amount of cookie dough all mixed up and ready to accept the chips, I discovered it to be more like 2/3 of a bag, so the end result is a super chocolatey treat. I think the proportions are kind of nice, actually. And the texture on these beat the crispy hard little discs my butter laden drop cookies tend to be. In rectangle form it becomes a melty, flaky, chewy, gooey sensation.

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 t vanilla
1 1/8 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 -2/3 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Butter (dimensions of pan) glass pan to prevent rectangle from sticking. In an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the white and brown sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in the egg. Then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Lastly, fold the in chocolate chips. Spread dough into rectangular pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Park Grill

Discovered a new Gruner today-- this Kurt Angerer "Spies" Gruner Veltliner from Kamptal, Austria. Went nicely with PG's hummus appetizer which is dolled up with cumin, sweet peppers and olives; and later with a smoked salmon club sandwich. Must find this one on my next trip to a proper wine shop. Can't wait to sip it again.

Carrot Ginger Soup and Sesame Dressed Salad

The soup is quick and easy.. and vegan. The salad ended up being kind of elegant in its simplicity by virtue of using a few things that I jsut happened to have on hand (hard boiled eggs, raw broccoli sticks.) Of course, it too could be vegan without the egg (although I personally love the flavor combination of egg and sesame). This made a nice, light dinner on a hot, steamy evening.

Carrot Ginger Soup

1 carton of Imagine No-Chicken broth
7-8 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger (I grate a frozen piece of ginger, it's easier to handle and it dissolves as soon as it is heated.)
salt, white pepper & freshly grated nutmeg to taste
2 T sunflower oil

Heat oil in the bottom of a dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add ginger and stir to dissolve, about 1 minute. Add broth and carrots and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes. Transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Makes 4 servings

Salad
2 c herb salad, or other baby greens, mix
1/4 c Trader Joe's broccoli slaw (this is basically just raw broccoli and carrots cut into shoelace-size sticks)
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1 T black sesame seeds

Dressing
3 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sesame oil
1 T tamari
pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake. Drizzle onto salad.

Makes 2 servings

Coffeecake Muffins

Woke up the other morning craving a cinnamon bun, but since I can't be bothered with yeasts, and doughs that need time to rise and be rolled out, I decided to make some nutty, cinnamony quick muffins instead. These were made pretty much to the letter according to a recipe in Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which, with the exception of pancakes, has been an indispensable resource in this house.

Recipe to come...

Cauliflower Au Gratin

I've never made an au gratin before, and though we tend to avoid dairy I thought I could lighten it up a bit. This was laborious as all get-out... when am I going to learn that Bechamel sauces and sauces like this one that require constant tending on the stovetop do not mesh well with a toddler in need of constant entertainment! I omitted additional butter that the original recipe called for, and I used 2% milk instead of whole. It still sank my battleship. In a good way. In a good, but in small doses because I have to wear a bathing suit in less than a month kind of way.

Cauliflower Gratin
Adapted from Ina Garten

1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets
1 t salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided (I used Emmetaller instead)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (I used romano instead)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (I used not fresh instead)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Chateau Guiraud-Cheval-Blanc 2006

A dark horse of a little Bordeaux that was more appealing days 2 and 3 after opening and with a bowl of oil-cured olives.

Pear Cardamom Bread

Ingredients

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• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar (scant)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled pears (1-2)
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs

topping

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F; grease bottom of loaf pan. Combine all wet ingredients in one bowl and all dry ingredients in another. Then combine all ingredients, except topping, into one bowl. Pour into loaf pan. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle on top. Bake 55 minutes.

Yummy Reisling

2007 Ayler Kupp Rielsing Spatlese

Enjoyed this Reisling with the Two Peas Curry mentioned below. A delicious match! Sweet and light. Well balanced.

Two Pea Curry with Garam Masala Roasted Carrots

Garam Masala Roasted Carrots

4 carrots, peeled
1/4 c olive oil
2 T Garam Masala

Slice carrots lengthwise into 4 thin strips. Toss with olive oil and spices and spread out on a caking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until brown in a 400 degree oven.


Easy Two Pea Curry

2 cardamom pods
1 t turmeric
1 T fresh ginger*
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 t mustard seed
1/2 t cumin
5 T sunflower oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1 c frozen (thawed) green peas
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 c diced tomatoes (and juice from the can)
1 c fresh baby spinach leaves

Gring mustard seed and cardamom in a mortar with pestle. Add oil to large pan on medium heat. Add spices, garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant. Add onion. Saute until translucent. Add peas, chickpeas. Saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and reserved juice from can. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Just before removing from heat, add spinach and stir it through the curry until it wilts but remains bright green.

*My trick with ginger is to keep it frozen and then cut it with a vegetable peeler. The strips dissolve in the hot oil without having to mince them with a knife.

Strawberry Short(cup)cakes

Viv's sugarfree birthday cupcakes as detailed here. Next time I'm going to replace half of the oil with applesauce to lighten them up a bit. The oil makes them moist, but kind of dense. Fluffier would be better. And for the adults, I added a mascapone frosting. It did contain sugar, so V didn't have any of that (plus she's not doing dairy yet). But she was happy with her cake topped with strawberries (her current favorite food) and we were rewarded with the classic one-year-old fist in the cake, mouth stuffing takeown.

The recipe for the frosting a: made twice as much as I needed for 28 cupcakes, so next time cut it in half, and b. insisted it be made just prior to serving, but the extra leftover stored well in the fridge and tasted just as good the next day, so this too can be made in advance next time.

Martha Stewart's Mascarpone Frosting

1 pound mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, I lowballed this and use slightly less
1-1/4 cups heavy cream, I used half and half instead

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat themascarpone, cream and confectioners' sugar until medium-soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes on high speed setting. Be careful not to overbeat. Use immediately.

Viv's Birthday Lunch

For my girl's first bash, I did a simple lunch for the family. Viv had hummus, prunes, cucumber and noodles, but the rest of us had chickpea bruschetta, a green salad and two kinds of lasagna. I made almost everything the day before and just popped the lasagnas in the oven once everyone arrived. It was the lowest-stress cooking for 12 people I've done yet. Recipes follow, plus notes on what I'd tweak for next time.

Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta

2 cans chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) drained
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
3/4 cup roughly chopped olives (i used a mix of some cheap regular old black olives plus some capers)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt
pepper

Spread the chickpeas and whole cloves of garlic on a baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix it all up. Roast in an oven preheated at 450 for 20 minutes or so, or until golden brown. Chop garlic. In a large bowl, mix with chopped parsley, olives, garlic, and balsamic. Serve on toasted slices of baguette.

*I don't think I'll make this version of chickpea bruschetta again. It was too dry and the roasting made the chickpeas into had little nuggets that didn't have a prayer of staying on the bread. Needed more tang and acidity. Maybe next time I''ll ad some tomatoes and use more pungent olives.

***

My Winging-It Red Lasagna

1 jar of TJ's tomato and basil marinara sauce (this is a good sauce without sugar or vinegar)
8 lasagna noodles
1 lb. ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups fresh, baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 c freshly grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, if baking right away. Boil lasagna noodles until done. Drain and toss with a little bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. In a separate bowl beat egg and add ricotta cheese. Mash together and stir until well combined. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with a layer of sauce. Then add noodles (4). Top noodles with 1 cup of spinch leaves. Add ricotta mixture, dotting it over the spinach layer and gently smoothing it out to create an even layer. Add another layer of noodles (4). Add the rest of sauce and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes until done. If assembling anf refrigerating, overall bake time will increase by about 15 minutes.

**
This next one ended up being quite laborious, but worth it. I had never mae a bechamel sauce before, so now I feel like I've earned some major cred as a home cook for having made one. Thanks Mario Batali for the web guidance. And thanks Jeff for whisking constantly the final 10 minutes after my arm gave out. This lasagna is also notable for perking up a not-so-special Viognier I ha bought for cooking and ended up drinking with the leftovers. I lightened up the recipe I followed, but it still produced a rich, creamy lasagna.

Artichoke Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles
2 jars of TJ's artichokes, quartered
1/2 c pine nuts
1/2 large white onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c dry white wine
salt and white pepper to taste
3 t fresh minced thyme
1 c freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
3 T butter
3 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, if baking right away. Boil lasagna noodles until done. Drain and toss with a little bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. In a large pan over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil. Add onion and garlic. Stir and cook until onion is translucent. Add artichokes and thyme and saute 5 minutes more. Add wine and salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the bechamel sauce.
--
Bechamel sauce

5 T butter
4 T flour
4 c milk, I used 2%
2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

--

To assemble lasagna, butter a 9 x 13 baking pan. Line the bottom with a layer of noodles. Follow it with béchamel sauce, artichokes, and some grated cheese, and repeat the order, until all is used up, divvying things out so the last layer is béchamel, cheese, and artichokes. (Made two complete layers, plus an additional top layer of noodes, béchamel and cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes until done. If assembling anf refrigerating, overall bake time will increase by about 15 minutes.

M. Chapoutier 2007 Belleruche Cotes-du-Rhone

A Grenache Noir and Syrah blend. I'm the biggest straight-up Syrah fan, but this blend offered a full-yet-subdued jammy flavor with a good body. Paired nicely with a spinach salad with goat cheese, strawberries and balsamic vinaegrette.

Shittake and Beansprout Noodles

Improvising something Japanese-ish with pantry items from way back (kombu and bonito flakes) and whatever was on hand. Additionally, most of the things for this dish are available at the big chain corporate grocery store right around the corner from my house, which I hate to shop at, and seldom do, but on this particular day convenience won out.

Dashi:
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, cut up into smaller bits
1 large spring onion, chopped
8 cups of water
2 sheets of dried kombu, rinsed
1 1/2 packages (about 5 T) dried bonito, tied up in a little steeping bag

Noodles:
1 package Nasoya Japanese style noodles
4 T black sesame seeds
4 hard boiled eggs
1 package of bean sprouts
4 T spring onion, chopped
1 package of shittake mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 c baby spinach
3 T sunflower oil
1 T sesame oil

To make the dashi, bring water to a boil and add kombu, ginger, and onion. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add bonito and let simmer for 10 more minutes.

Boil noodles. They only take 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a pan over medium-high heat, heat sesame and sunflower oils. Add garlic and onion and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms and beansprouts and saute for 10 minutes, or until mushrooms are cooked through and tender. Stir in spinach and cook 2-3 minutes more, until spinach is wilted but still bright green.

Serve noodles in a bowl topped with warm mushroom mixture, slices of hard boiled egg, sprinkling of black sesame seed and a ladle or two full of dashi. Tamari may be added to taste.

This made extra dashi which ought to freeze well and be useful to have on hand for future okayus or noodley brothies.

Viv's sugarfee birthday cupcakes

Sugarfree experiment #2 yielded a winner. I was a little worried because the batter looked kind of rubbery, but the texture of the cupcakes once they were baked was moist and cakey. Not sure what I'm going to frost them with yet, or if I'll frost them. Maybe I'll just top hers with a strawberry.

1 cup unbleached white flour, less 1 tablespoon
1/4 tablespoon arrowroot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 c sunflower oil
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1/8 c milk
2 eggs
½ tsp organic vanilla extract

Preheat the over to 325 degrees. Measure the 1 cup flour, then remove 1/4 tablespoon of flour and replace it with the 1/4 tablespoon arrowroot. Mix flour, salt, arrowroot, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine oil, milk, vanilla, rice syrup, and eggs. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Pour batter into silicone cupcakes cups (don't require greasing). Bake for 28 minutes. Makes 9 cupcakes.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pregnancy and then breastfeeding has really cranked up my sweet tooth for the past 2 years, but now that Viv is wanting to eat everything off of my plate I've decided to bake without sugar so she doesn't get conditioned to have a big sweet tooth from an early age.
Since I've found a local supply of date syrup I'm experimenting with this and rice syrup and agave nectar as sugar replacements.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c date syrup
1/4 c brown rice syrup
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, date and rice syrups, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly.

3 Pour into muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes for small, silicone cups; 30 minutes for large muffins in muffin tin pan.

Makes 8 large muffins or a dozen small.

Verdict: Cut the allspice next time because the date syrup already lends it that smoky flavor. Try the agave in place of the rice syrup next time for more sweetness? They aren't decadently sweet, but moist and spicy and perfectly tasty.

UPDATE 10.2.09: I used 1 full cup of date syrup and no rice syrup; canned sweet potato instead of pumpkin; and omitted the allspice altogether. Much more dense and rich tasting as a result. J even thought they were chocolate muffins.

Carrot and Fava Bean Tagine

I'm certain I've prepared a meal or two since January. I'm shocked to find no posts here since then! Most likely they have been replays of old standards, as time to experiment in the kitchen continues to be minimal with the soon-to-be-one-year-old Vivi Bea in full-throttle toddle. I'm also now cooking with shortcuts: i.e. Trader Joe's presteamed beans, or precut broccoli florets; and cooking with the grocery store restrictions of our new, suburban locale. Future posts may feature rare foodie finds in this neck of the woods. All I can say is, we're cooking a lot at home because the restaurants down here leave much to be desired. And now for that tagine...

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
¾ pound carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch coins
1 1 oz. package of Trader Joe's presteamed fava beans
1 cup No-Chicken broth
⅓ cup capers
1/3 c raisins

1. Heat a wide-bottom pan over medium heat. Add oil, then onions and ginger. Cook until onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add cardamom, cinnamon, and cayenne. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds.

2. Add carrots, beans, and broth. Cover and simmer until carrots are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add capers and raisins. Cover and simmer until carrots are fully tender, 8-10 minutes. If tagine is a bit dry, stir in a few extra tablespoons broth. Add salt to taste.

Some Recent Wines

2006 Pares Balta Penedes Calcari
Jeff loves the Helvetica label, but I recall it was a pretty snappy sweet Spanish white

2007 Rayun Syrah, Rapel, Chile
I'm not the biggest Srah fan, but this one was earthy and understated

2007 Domaine de la Madone Beaujolais
A little sassier than my absolute favorite Gamay (Roches Blanche), but still a good sipper

2006 Brooks Reisling, Willamette Valley, OR
Crisp, slightly sweet, it played nicely with a Crab Rangoon

Potato Korma Curry

I started out with best intentions, but as the preparations for the two curries started to become time-consuming, and my evenings are a narrow window of feeding 2 adults, an 8-month-old, giving baby a bath and then getting her down for the night, I backed out of a delightful andhra aloo recipe I found online once my potatoes were boiled and improvized a quick solution with a spice packet I found in the back of my cupboard.

3 large potatoes, unpeeled, whole
1/2 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/3 large white onion, chopped
1/4 c water
1 packet of Sukhi's Korma Curry paste

Boil potatoes until they are done when poked in the center, about 30 minutes. Cool, peel and cut into cubes. Heat curry paste and water in a large pan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Add potato and tomatoes (with some of their juice from the can). Heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

*Here's what's in the Korma curry paste: onions, canola oil, ginger, poppy seeds, vinegar, cashews, garlic, granulated onion, salt, coriander, tumeric, chickpea flour, lentil flour, sugar, cardamom, cayenne, black pepper, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, citric acid, spices, lemon grass, shallots, kafir leaves, lemon oil.

It was tangy and had some heat! Unlike any curry I've made from scratch at home. Maybe because I don't usually have all of the ingredients (like kafir leaves or lemon grass on hand).

Golden Dal

from the yummy food blog Mental Masala. there squash and kale are added, but I was doing a separate potato & tomato korma curry so I just wanted the dal. it's hard to find Indian recipes for dal that don't assume you have a pressure cooker!

1 cup toor dal
6 cups water
1 T. vegetable oil or ghee
3/4 t. turmeric
1 dried bay leaf
1 hot green chili
1 T. grated ginger

1 t. brown mustard seeds
2 t. cumin seeds
1 t. fenugreek seeds
2 dry red chilies
1 T. sugar or jaggery

Cooking the dal
Pick through the dal for stones, sticks and other unacceptable items. Rinse the dal thoroughly, drain, and put into a large pot. Add the 6 cups of water, 1 T. oil, bay leaf, green chili, ginger, and turmeric to the pot containing the dal. Bring to a boil (be careful that it doesn't boil over), then reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot and cook until the dal are tender (30-40 minutes). Add 1 t. salt or more to taste. Reduce heat to very low.

Heat some vegetable oil or ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Have a pot lid handy in case the mustard seeds start to scatter and splatter. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, and dried chili, cook for about 30 seconds, then add the sugar. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, or until the sugar carmelizes. Pour the spiced oil over the dal and stir. Add the cooked squash and stir.

Gingersnaps

From Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book -1989

2 1/4 C Flour
1 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C sunflower oil
1/4 C molasses
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 C granulated sugar for tops of cookies before baking

Combine half the flour and all the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Gradually add in the rest of the flour. Roll in 1 inch balls and dip in sugar. Bake at 375 until tops are crackled.

Note: Dough is dry and kind of hard to work with, but cookies turn out delicious.