Tim's Summer Minestrone

Note: To fill the orange Le Creuset, double the recipe.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons? dry sherry
1 rosemary sprig
3 thyme sprigs
4 parsley sprigs
2 leeks (white and light green parts) chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
small zucchini, sliced into disks
small yellow squash, sliced into disks
1 large carrot, food processed
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups mushroom broth
2 pound pre-cooked Vallarta beans
3/4 lb roma tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced green beans
water to cover

To serve:
Pesto (Bittman's)
Spinach, sliced

Cook:
See NYT recipe Minestrone with Shell Beans and Almond Pistou

Mendocino Mac & Cheese

We decided to have a picnic in Russian Gulch State Park on a Saturday afternoon after camping in MacKerricher State Park. I craved mac and cheese and Tim wanted hot dogs, so we broke out the Coleman stove and our stash of pre-cooked food from the coolers. Tim had prepared summer minestrone with pesto and shells, but we didn't feel like having soup on such a warm gorgeous day. So this is how we improvised.

Soundtrack:
Ry Cooder & V. Bhatt - A Meeting at the River

Ingredients:
Cooked pasta shells
Pesto (basil, garlic, parmesan, olive oil)
Penzey's seasoned salt (next time, try Maldon?)
Butter
Milk
Monterey Jack cheese (next time try a different cheese combo), shredded
Spinach, sliced into ribbons
(Lemon? - next time)

Cook:
Melt butter with milk in pot
Add salt (and something lemon?)
Add pasta shells to warm them up
Add spinach
Add shredded cheese
Add pesto
Stir continually from the bottom

Foggy Summer Vegetable Stew

Fresh ingredients:

6 yukon gold potatoes
carrots, chopped
4 cloves of garlic (smashed)
2 lbs tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 lb brown mushrooms
1 bunch swiss chard
1 meyer lemon (juice and 1/2 of the peel)
basil ribbons
oregano, chopped
shallot

Pantry ingredients:

1 bay leaf

sea salt
ground black pepper
olive oil
white beans, pre-cooked
2 dried red chili peppers, ground

ground black pepper
1 cup red wine
parmesan

Directions:
In a french oven, saute leeks in olive oil with bay leaf, garlic, ground pepper, sea salt, oregano, thyme and red chili flakes for 5 minutes.
Boil water in kettle.

Add wine, hot water and lemon. Bring to a boil.
Remove bay leaf.

Add potatoes, carrots and tomatoes.
Simmer 20 minutes.

Add beans, basil, swiss chard leaves and corn.
Simmer 5 minutes.

Serve with olive oil and parmesan.

Taiwanese Chicken Soup v. 3

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 2.25 lbs chicken legs)

1 handful of dried goji berries

1 carrot, peeled

2 bunches of green onions (white parts chopped)

1/2 lb shitake mushrooms (whole, rinsed) OR handful of dried black mushrooms, rinsed in hot water

1 large ginger root (peeled and sliced diagonally)

4 garlic cloves (smashed)

baby bok choy, chopped

kosher salt

ground black or multicolored pepper
red chili flakes

sesame oil

1 meyer or eureka lemon
1/4 cup xiaoshing rice wine

Cook:

Heat up cast iron pot.

Saute first batch of chicken until browned (about 6 minutes each side - don't crowd pan).
Season with kosher salt, ground black pepper and red chili flakes while sauteing.
Saute second batch. Don't let any bits on the pan burn.

Remove chicken.
Add lemon juice to deglaze.
Saute white part of green onions, ginger and garlic with sesame oil for a few minutes.
Add xiaoshing rice wine.

Put back chicken.
Add mushrooms, goji berries, carrot, bok choy.
Add enough water to cover everything.
Bring to a boil, then simmer partly covered for 45 minutes.

Serving notes:

- After the soup is done, remove ginger and carrot and shred the chicken.

- Serve with rice or noodles.

Tim's Pasta a la Frank Sinatra

Sauce:
red wine, to taste
pasta water
one carrot, shredded
roma tomatoes, pre-roasted (see separate recipe)
basil, fresh ribbons
oregano, chopped fresh
meatballs or sausage
mushroom or chicken stock, 1/4 cup
shallot or onion, diced

Sauteed separately:
garlic
dried red chili peppers
salt, to taste
olive oil
yuchoy or broccoli rabe

Pasta:
spaghetti, boiled and then shocked with cold water
olive oil to keep it from sticking together

Three Cheese Vegetable Lasagna

SAUCE

• olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
  
• 6 carrots, finely chopped (this time used 3 carrots)
  
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 24 oz chinese eggplant, skinned and chopped (this time used 12 oz)
  
• 12 oz artichoke hearts, defrosted
• 1 cup white wine
  
• optional: 6 ounces spicy Italian sausages, casings removed
• 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, strained and chopped (next time use pre-chopped?)
  
• 3 oz tomato paste
• 1 bunch chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• ground black pepper
  
• ground dried spicy red pepper

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onion and carrots; sauté until softened, about 12 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

LASAGNA

• 12 oz (15) lasagna noodles
• 16 oz grated mozzarella cheese
• 16 oz ricotta cheese (this time used 8 oz)
  
• grated Parmesan cheese
• 16 oz fresh baby spinach (this time used 10 oz)
  
• 2 large eggs
• ground black pepper
  

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Shock with cold water and drain. Add grapeseed oil.

Wilt spinach in sauce pan. Add ricotta and Parmesan cheese. Add pepper. Mix in eggs.

LAYERING

Spread a layer of sauce over bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
Place 1/3 noodles over sauce.
Spread 1/2 of ricotta-spinach mixture over noodles.
Sprinkle layer of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Repeat layering.

Arrange remaining 1/3 noodles over sauce.
Spread remaining sauce over noodles.
Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over lasagna.

BAKING

Preheat oven to 350°F.

(Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna 40 minutes; uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

Brownie cupcakes

I made these about a week ago. They were good, but almost more like cupcakes than brownies.

[NEXT TIME: For chewy brownies, try removing baking powder, not sifting the flour, and mixing the batter more roughly than muffin batter. Also try swirling in ordinary peanut butter or peanut butter chips and not adding the second 12 oz chocolate chips.]

• 16 oz unsalted butter
• 16 oz plus 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder
  
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 18 oz demerrara sugar
• 10 oz all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Maldon sea salt (more if excluding peanut butter?)
  
• 6 oz smooth peanut butter (used Berkeley natural hippy stuff that doesn't separate)
  

Melt together the butter, 16 oz of chocolate chips, the unsweetened chocolate and the peanut butter in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture.

Add the remaining 12 ounces of chocolate chips to the chocolate batter.

Put brownie mixture into mini-cupcake (1 oz, 24) pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 17-18 minutes. If you freeze them, they can be revived at 350 F for 8 minutes (starting from a cold toaster oven).

Red Chile Enchiladas

[NOTES: Rick Bayless uses ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, black peppercorns and poultry broth in his red chile sauce for enchiladas. He uses the poultry broth to thin out the sauce to the consistency of a light tomato sauce. He says that New Mexico chiles have a bland, red-chile flavor, and that ancho chiles taste reminiscent of milk chocolate and create a red/brown sauce. Next time, I'd like to use half New Mexico and half Ancho chiles + black pepper + a spicy little chile + possibly more water or white wine to thin out the sauce.]

Ever since I finished my Legal Aid externship in East Harlem, I've missed the El Paso Taqueria enchiladas with red chile sauce. Since then, I've had far too many red enchiladas with tomato-based sauce. I never thought to blame the tomatoes until I found this red chile enchiladas recipe in Saveur (June 2009), from a family in Las Cruces, near El Paso. The sauce is simple and exactly what I've been looking for.

We headed to Las Palma and Casa Lucas Market for fresh tortillas and lots of chile peppers.

Tonight, I just made 9 enchiladas, but after realizing what a pain it is to deal with the food processor for so little sauce, I've decided to scale up the recipe so I can freeze the sauce.

Sauce for 24 - 27 enchiladas (8 - 9 portions):
40 dried New Mexico and/or Ancho chiles
optional: add 1 - 2 small hot chiles with seeds
20 cloves garlic, roughly sliced
4 limes, juiced
2 tBsp ground cumin
4 tsp demerara sugar

Remove chile stems and deseed them. Roughly chop them. (Try pulsing them in the spice grinder next.)

Soak them in 4 cups of boiling hot water for 20+ minutes.

Saute garlic in dutch oven for 2 minutes in grapeseed oil.

Pour chiles and soaking water into a food processor. Add sauteed garlic, lime juice and cumin. Pulse until smooth.

Strain through spider sieve (not mesh sieve) to remove solids.

Put chile sauce in dutch oven. Heat sauce over medium heat for a few minutes, then turn off heat.


Building the enchiladas:
corn tortillas (3 per person)
optional: shredded, cooked chicken
grated mozzarella
grated sharp cheddar
1 chopped red onion (note that onions will taste raw if not precooked)
cotija cheese, crumbled
sour cream or crema

Fry each tortilla in grapeseed oil until crispy - about 15 to 20 seconds. Drain each one and stack them on a plate.

Preheat oven to 450F.

Place enchilada on a baking sheet.
Coat one side with sauce using a spoon.
Add onion, cheese and (optional) chicken.
Wrap up, folded side down.

Bake for 5 minutes.

Plate 3 per person. Top with crumbled cotija cheese and sour cream.
Serve immediately with raw cabbage salad and plaintain chips.

Pulled Braised Chicken

First night: serve with buttermilk biscuits and peas.
Otherwise, use as a basic item for the week.

Ingredients

Fresh:
boneless chicken thighs - 4 lbs
carrots - 2 large ones, in large pieces
yellow onion - 1 large, in large pieces
(meyer) lemon - juice from 1 lemon

garlic - 6 cloves, smashed
1 slice of bacon (browned before chicken)

Pantry:

olive oil
IPA beer - 1 cup or more
salt and pepper
2 whole dried red chili peppers, stems removed and ground

bay leaf - 2

peel from half a lemon

Cook
Brown chicken in french oven for 6 - 7 minutes on each side (in batches).
Salt and pepper while browning
Remove chicken.
Brown onions, chili peppers, bay leaf for 5 minutes.
Deglaze with beer.

Add carrots, onion, lemon juice, lemon peel, garlic, and hot water to barely cover.
Bring to a boil.

Simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove chicken, pull apart.
Remove everything else, store or serve separately.
Separate broth from oil.
Put chicken back into broth.
Add olive oil.

Chinese Pork Buns

For my 30th birthday party:
1. Steamed Buns
2. Braised Pork Shoulder with Chinese Spices
3. Pickles
4. Shitake mushrooms (for vegetarians)

1. Steamed Buns
[To be inserted - Alton Brown + Momofuku = 50 buns]

2. Braised Pork Shoulder with Chinese spices
Adapted from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, p. 139.

Clean a 6 lb bone-in pork shoulder.

The night before roasting, rub pork shoulder with this mixture:

3/4 tBsp salt, ground

1/4 tsp black pepper, ground

grapeseed oil

Slice a head of garlic into slivers, poke holes into pork shoulder with a knife, and put slivers in the holes.

Cover and refrigerate the pork shoulder until 1 hour before cooking.

Brown the pork shoulder, and remove.

Place in Le Creuset french oven:

1 yellow onion (or the whites of a bunch of scallions), roughly sliced

1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 tsp demerara sugar

1/8 cup soy sauce
1 cup Chinese rice wine
hot water to cover
spices (see below)

In a cheese cloth bag:
4 star anise
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 ginger root, sliced
orange zest strips (from 1/2 an orange)
1 red chili pepper, broken in half

Preheat oven to 375F. Place meat on top of vegetables, and pour in hot water. Water should reach 1/3 way up the roast. Add spice bag.

Roast in oven, covered, for 75 minutes. Turn roast over and cook for another 30 minutes. Turn and cook for 30 minute increments until roast is tender. Total roasting time should be about 3 hours.

Remove roast, shred meat. Remove vegetables, and place meat back into sauce. Serve with steamed buns, scallions and pickles.

Quinoa salad

bed of salad greens (little gem, chickweed or spinach)

cooked quinoa

cooked lentils

chopped raw tomatoes

chopped raw shallots

olive oil

lemon juice

chopped avocado

ground pepper

sea salt

optional: grated parmesan, pumpkin seeds, roasted garlic

Cauliflower & Roasted Tomato Pasta

(Tim & Steph improvisation)

Fresh ingredients:

tomatoes

basil

shallot

garlic

cauliflower or broccoli

Parmesan Reggiano

eggs

optional: sausage, bacon or pancetta

Pantry ingredients:

dried pasta

black pepper

sea salt

olive oil

grapeseed oil

dried chili peppers

Penzey's Northwoods Fire spice

Roast tomatoes at 225 F for 5 hours with olive oil, salt, ground black pepper and basil.

Coat a skillet with grapeseed oil, bring it to 275 F. Saute green garlic, ground black pepper (1 tsp peppercorns), dried chili peppers, a touch of Penzey's Northwoods Fire spice, sea salt. Toast for a minute.

Add shallots and cauliflower. Press down on mixture with a pot lid. Brown mixture but watch out for burning it.

Grate some Parmesan Reggiano into a bowl.

Boil spaghetti or ziti, shock it with cold water, coat with olive oil.

Poach a few eggs.

Coat a clean skillet with olive oil, bring it to 275 F. Saute ground black pepper (1 tsp peppercorns) and green garlic for a minute. Toss in pasta (with no pasta water).

Plate pasta with cauliflower, roasted tomatoes, poached eggs and grated cheese. Garnish with fresh basil.

NOTE: When serving to guests, either omit eggs (for vegetarians) or turn it into a carbonara: mix the egg yolk into the pasta sauce + add a bit of bacon or pancetta.

chocolate stout cupcakes with salted caramel frosting

Adapted to taste from chow.com's salted caramel frosting and Dave Lieberman's chocolate stout cupcake.

Makes 12 regular sized cupcakes. Next time make 24 mini cupcakes. (I also doubled the frosting in this version of the recipe.) See a mini cupcake recipe for proportions: http://bakingbites.com/2008/06/mini-chocolate-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

Cupcake ingredients

8 oz all-purpose flour

3 oz unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

8 oz (evaporated cane) sugar

1/8 teaspoon Maldon salt

6 oz stout beer (recommended: Guinness)

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1.5 large eggs (3 oz)

3 oz plain yogurt

Cupcake directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sifted flour and baking soda.

In another medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar, stout, melted butter, salt and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Whisk in yogurt until thoroughly combined.

Gradually and gently fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Don't over mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 13 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out. Store cupcakes, without frosting, overnight in a frigovere.

Frosting ingredients

4 oz granulated sugar

4 tablespoons water

4 oz heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon Maldon salt

8 oz powdered sugar

Frosting directions

1. Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking on medium heat, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color.

2. Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Set aside until cool to the touch, about 20 minutes.

3. Combine butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.

4. Turn mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add caramel. Beat frosting on medium-high speed until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until stiff, about 45 minutes, before using. If necessary, re-whip in stand mixer to loosen up frosting.

5. Put frosting in pastry bag.

Tim's Eggplant Tofu Basil Noodles with Broccoli

Note: Tim plans to do further experiments before finalizing the recipe.

Preparation:

- remove BROCCOLI (or other green vegetable), EGGPLANT, BASIL, TOFU, MUSHROOMS, SHAOSHING COOKING WINE, CHIU CHAO CHILI OIL, SOY SAUCE, [HOISIN SAUCE (OPTIONAL),] GINGER, LEEKS, letting all ingredients come to room temperature; prepare the ingredients as time permits during the subsequent recipe steps
Note: peel BROCCOLI stalks and chop into 1-1/2 inch long sticks, like carrots

- boil water in a steamer pot set up

- boil salted water for noodles

- When steamer water is boiling, steam the CHINESE EGGPLANTS at high heat for 5-10 minutes, (vary time based on size and tenderness, then set aside and let cool).
Note: check after 5 minutes to see if tender yet -- do not overcook (they will continue to cook while cooling, so be careful not to overcook)

- Toast WHOLE SICHUAN PEPPERCORNS in a dry pan and then grind in pestle or a spice mill.
Note: around 2 tbs (need to experiment with using less)

- mince GARLIC and GINGER

- when water is boiling, add CHINESE NOODLES (UDON-STYLE CHINESE NOODLES (TRY THIS NEXT TIME) or FLAT SHANGHAI-STYLE NOODLES); when al dente, drain, rinse with cold water until fully cooled, then toss with GRAPESEED OIL and set aside
Note: consider reserving a portion of the cooking water and add later

- when eggplant has cooled, slice into 1-1/2 inch strips.

- Heat large pan saute pan or wok to 350-375 and add a generous amount of GRAPESEED OIL
Note: thermometer will not measure the All Clad's temperature accurately until there is oil in the pan (because it reflects the infrared?)

- Add MINCED GINGER, and MINCED GARLIC, CHIU CHAO CHILI OIl, ROASTED GROUND SICHUAN PEPPER and WHOLE DRIED CHILI PEPPERS (all ingredients to taste) and cook for 1 MINUTE, stirring constantly.
Note: only add small amount of sichuan pepper,

- add LEEKS and BROCCOLI (or other GREEN VEGETABLE) and cook for several minutes until green vegetable starts to become tender
Note: Add additional GRAPESEED OIL as necessary during this (and following) steps
Note: as vegetables are added, increase heat as needed to maintain pan above 300 degrees

- add MUSHROOMS, TOFU a and then immediately add SHAOSHING COOKING WINE and SOY SAUCE (pouring a portion directly over the dried chili peppers and then bruise the peppers to release all liquid)
Note: optional -- add small portion of RESERVED NOODLE WATER r at this point to increase volume of and thicken the sauce
Note: can also add HOISIN SAUCE (OPTIONAL) at this point

- Remove dried chili peppers from the pan

- Add NOODLES, EGGPLANT and BASIL to the pan and toss, heating through and coating with the sauce mixture

- Remove from pan and serve immediately

Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 lb whole chicken
• 2.5 ounces honey
• 4 ounces kosher salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• thyme leaves
• 1 lemon
• olive oil
• ground black pepper

Directions

Mix honey, salt, bay leaves, a thyme branch, juice from a lemon and a small amount of warm water in a pot.

Pull skin away from chicken just enough to place thyme leaves and garlic under skin. (When cleaning chicken, don't cut off flap - use it to truss chicken later.) Place chicken in liquid, breast side down, and add enough water to almost cover the chicken. Cover and leave in refrigerator for 3+ hours. (After brining over night, it was too salty.)

Remove chicken 1/2 hour before starting to cook.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Make sure rack is in middle setting.

Rinse off brine and place on rack in deep pan, breast side up. Grind pepper in cavity. Truss: Tie legs together with twine + tuck wings under. Rub chicken with olive oil and ground pepper.

Roast chicken breast side DOWN on a v-rack in a roasting pan, uncovered. After 20 minutes, flip and baste chicken. (Uneven basting may cause skin to brown unevenly.) Roast another 20 minutes and check temperature. Raise oven temperature to 425 F to brown the skin. Roast another 20 minutes or so.

(The roasting temp and time seem off. Next time, try roasting at 400 F for 20 minutes, flip and baste chicken, then raise temp to 425 F and roast another 30 minutes, check temperature, then probably roast another 10 - 20 minutes, depending on the temperature. Also consider roasting for a period at 450 F.)

To check temperature: thigh should register 175 - 180 F. Breast meat should register 150 - 155 F.

Let chicken stand 5 - 10 minutes (to finish cooking).

Corn Blueberry Muffins

Makes 6:

Dry Ingredients:

• 3.5 ounces all purpose flour
• 2 ounces coarse cornmeal or polenta
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt, ground after measuring
• 2 ounces demerera sugar (try substituting 0.5 ounces honey?)
• 2 ounces butter, slightly melted
• 1 egg yolk (or 1/2 egg)
• 4 ounces plain yogurt
• 2 ounces blueberries, fresh or fully defrosted
• butter for the muffin tins

Makes 12:

Dry Ingredients:

• 7 ounces all purpose flour
• 4 ounces coarse cornmeal or polenta
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, ground after measuring
• 4 ounces demerera sugar (try substituting 1 ounces honey?)
• 4 ounces butter, slightly melted
• 1 egg
  
• 8 ounces plain yogurt
• 4 ounces blueberries, fresh or fully defrosted
• butter for the muffin tins

Directions:

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, softened butter, egg and yogurt. Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients, and fold together with a spatula until barely incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Scoop the mixture into greased 6-muffin pan. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes. Test with toothpick or fork. Remove from oven and turn out, upside down on cutting board to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Braised Pork Shoulder with Chiles

Adapted from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, p. 139.

NOTES: Next time, cut meat into chunks, increase carrots, add other vegetables (potatoes, leeks, peas), and serve as stew. Also consider adding a dried red chile pepper.

Clean a 4 lb pork shoulder, trim excess fat.

Ideally, the night before roasting, rub pork shoulder with this mixture:

3/4 tBsp salt, ground

1/4 tsp black pepper, ground

2 tsp dried Mexican oregano

1/8 tsp ground chipotle chile

olive oil

Slice a head of garlic into slivers, poke holes into pork shoulder with a knife, and put slivers in the holes.

Cover and refrigerate the pork shoulder until 1 hour before cooking.

Brown the pork shoulder, and remove. Place in Le Creuset french oven:

2 onions, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1/8 tsp ground chipotle chile

1 tsp dried Mexican oregano

1/2 tsp ground ancho chile

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns

Preheat oven to 375F. Place meat on top of vegetables, and pour in hot water. Water should reach 1/4 way up the roast.

Roast in oven, covered, for 75 minutes. Turn roast over and cook for another 30 minutes. Turn and cook for 30 minute increments until roast is tender. Total roasting time should be about 3 hours.

Remove roast. Strain sauce and serve with roast.

Strawberries & Whipped Cream

Strawberry Compote Ingredients

32 ounces of strawberries, stemmed and quartered
demerera sugar to taste

balsamic vinegar to taste

chopped mint

Whipped Cream:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Mix sliced strawberries with sugar and balsamic vinegar and refrigerate while juices develop, at least 30 minutes.

Using a mixer, beat the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.

Serve strawberries and whipped cream with mint as garnish. Optional: serve with shortbread cookies or shortcake.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium chopped yellow onion
• 1 medium chopped leek (light parts only)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 to 4 diced carrots
• 2 diced russet potatoes
• 1 pound (16 oz) dried split yellow peas
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups hot water
• optional: 1 ham hock, balsamic vinegar, chives

Directions

In a 4-quart french oven on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, bay leaves and pepper until the onions are translucent (about 10 minutes).

Add the carrots, potatoes, split peas, chicken stock and water.(Optional - add ham hock.) Bring to a boil, then simmer partly-covered for 45 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom.

Remove bay leaves. Blend with stick blender.

Optional: serve with balsamic vinegar and chives

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Cut in half and remove lower stem. Place on pan, cut side down.

Preheat toaster oven to 450F convection.

Roast for 8 minutes.

Turn heat down to 4ooF.

Roast another 6 - 8 minutes

Toss in sri racha and lime juice OR lemon juice, salt & pepper.

Peanut Butter Cookies

(Makes 2 large rolls or 4 small rolls of cookie dough)

9 oz all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 oz unsalted butter (softened)

39 g peanut or grapeseed oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 oz turbinado sugar

4 oz brown sugar

284 g peanut butter (natural style)

75 g eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

optional: bittersweet chocolate chips

Mix wet ingredients first, then add to dry ingredients.

Refrigerate dough, form into rolls with parchment paper, freeze rolls.

Bake at 375 F for 13 - 14 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Allen's Korean Pancakes

Gourmet Magazine (June 2009)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1 large egg

2 cups cold water, plus more as needed

2 bundles korean leeks (or scallions or chives), cut into 2-inch lengths

1/2 red bell pepper, julienned

mushrooms (sauteed)

1 teaspoon salt (or less)

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

grapeseed oil for frying

Dipping sauce: soy sauce, sesame oil and sriracha.

Cook:

Combine the flour, rice flour, egg and water in a bowl. The consistency should be that of thin pancake batter.

Add the vegetables, salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium high heat. Spoon batter into pan and spread it thin and wide. Cook until the edges get slightly brown and the center starts becoming slightly translucent (about 3 to 4 minutes). Flip the pancake and cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes. Place cooked pancake on a cutting board and cut into wedges.

Serve with dipping sauce.

Allen's Orange Hoisin Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

(optional: chili oil)

1 tbsp minced ginger

chopped scallions

Cook:

Saute ginger for 1-2 minutes. Add all other ingredients.

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in scallions

Allen's Peanut Noodles

Note: try reducing the soy sauce?

Ingredients for sauce:

2 packages of Tin Wah Noodle Company egg noodles

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup sesame paste

1 tablespoon black vinegar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon chinese chili oil

1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock, heated

(optional for Japanese style - 1/4 cup black tea)

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

grapeseed oil

Half version of sauce:

1 package of Tin Wah Noodle Company egg noodles

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons sesame paste

1/2 tablespoon black vinegar

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/4 teaspoon chinese chili oil

2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable stock, heated

(optional for Japanese style - 2 tablespoons black tea)

1/2 tablespoon minced ginger

1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

grapeseed oil

Suggested garnishes:

cucumber, de-seeded, peeled and cut into moons

red bell pepper, julienned

scallions

peanuts

Cook:

Whisk sauce ingredients in a bowl (other than ginger, garlic and grapeseed oil).

Saute (in a nonstick pan) ginger & garlic in grapeseed oil for less than a minute.

When pan is 250 F, add whisked ingredients then turn off heat.

Boil egg noodles, rinse in cold water, add grapeseed oil and cool.

Combine cold noodles with sauce

Eggplant Basil Noodles

Ingredients:

2 japanese eggplant

(sliced on bias and roasted at 400F for 14 minutes - layer on parchment paper, no oil)

2 scallions (chopped)

thai broccoli

fresh basil

cooked chicken or firm tofu

ginger

garlic

shanghai noodles

peanut oil

sesame oil

hoisin

chinese rice wine

chili oil

soy sauce

See proportions for sauce:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Szechwan-Style-Eggplant-with-Pita-Wedges-12780

Wild Mushroom Polenta

Ingredients:
1/2 lb wild mushrooms (horn of plenty, maitake, king trumpet, etc)
lemon juice
1 garlic clove, smashed and minced
olive oil
1 cup medium-to-coarse cornmeal
Maldon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
1 tablespoon butter, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Saute mushrooms in garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and butter. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, put cornmeal in a medium saucepan (Le Creuset) along with 1 cup water and whisk well to make a slurry; continue whisking mixture to eliminate any lumps. Put pan over medium-high heat, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, whisking frequently and adding water as needed to keep mixture loose and free of lumps, between 3 and 4 more cups. If mixture becomes too thick, simply add a bit more water; consistency should be similar to sour cream’s.

3. Polenta will be done in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on grind. Add cheese and butter. Taste and add salt, if necessary, and lots of pepper; serve topped with mushrooms.

Winter Vegetable Stew with Lentils & Quinoa

Fresh ingredients:

2 small russet potatoes

3 small sweet potatoes

1 small head of yellow cauliflower
2 medium leeks (light sections only, chopped)
1 large clove of garlic (smashed and chopped)
6 roma tomatoes (cut into 6 pieces each)
1 bunch of curly kale (de-stemmed and broken into small pieces by hand)
1 lemon (juice and 1/2 of the peel)
optional: 1 chunk of parmesan (&/or parmesan rind)

Pantry ingredients:

1 bay leaf

sea salt
ground black pepper
grapeseed oil

olive oil
1 cup red quinoa (rinsed in strainer)
1 cup green lentils (rinsed in colander)
2 dried red chili peppers

spices: ras al hanout, curry powder, hot chili powder or other spice mixture

Directions:
In a french oven, saute leeks in grapeseed oil with bay leaf, ground pepper, sea salt and spices for 5 minutes.
Boil water in kettle.
Add parmesan and saute another 3 minutes.

Add hot water, lemon and lentils.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove red chili peppers and bay leaf.

Add red quinoa, russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and tomatoes and simmer 20 minutes.

Add kale and simmer 5 minutes or less.
Stir from bottom every 10 minutes.

Serve with olive oil.

Healthier Banana Bread

Ingredients (1 regular loaf)

Dry Ingredients:
10 oz unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/16 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:
1 whole egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oz unsalted butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature
4 oz plain yogurt
6 oz demerara (or turbinado) sugar
1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt, ground after measuring
8 oz ripe bananas, peeled, and mashed with a fork

Extras:
2.5 - 5 oz toasted walnut pieces

(or blueberries)

Directions:

Sift the flour into a medium bowl, add all other Dry Ingredients, whisk together and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, oil, salt and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the egg, yogurt, vanilla extract until incorporated. Whisk in the mashed bananas.

Add Wet Ingredients to the Dry Ingredients and fold with silicon spatula until just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. Fold in the Extras.

Lightly coat a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3") with grapeseed oil. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.

Bake for 70 minutes (or until lightly browned) at 350 F. Turn the bread out of the pan and let cool completely on a cutting board or rack. Wrap in foil.

Mexican chocolate chip cookies

recipe last modified on 5.5.2010

Dry ingredients:

18 oz all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

12 oz guittard semisweet chocolate chips

Wet ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
12 oz light brown (demerera) sugar

1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili

1 egg
2 ounces milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine the flour and baking soda in a mixing bowl.

Slice the butter with a knife into the mixer's work bowl. Put the Cream the butter, sugar, salt and spices in the mixer's work bowl, starting on low speed to soften the butter. Increase the speed, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy.

Reduce the speed and add the egg, milk and vanilla. Increase the speed and mix until well combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes. Form dough into small flat disks.

Place disks on parchment-lined baking sheets (or freeze disks for later use).

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 16 minutes. (In a toaster oven, bake for 14 - 15 minutes on convection setting at 375 F.)

Banana-Apple Nut Bread

This is not as good as the Healthier Banana Bread recipe.

Ingredients (1 loaf)

Dry Ingredients:
5 oz all purpose flour

5 oz whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/16 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:
1 large egg, 1 egg white at room temperature
1 oz buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 oz grapeseed oil
6 oz demerera (or turbinado) sugar
1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt
10 oz fruit (apple & ripe bananas), blended

Extras:
4 oz toasted walnut pieces

Directions:

Sift the flour into a medium bowl, add all other Dry Ingredients, whisk together and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, oil, salt and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract until incorporated. Whisk in the blended fruit.

With a rubber spatula, add Wet Ingredients to the Dry Ingredients and fold with spatula until just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. Fold in the nuts.

Lightly coat a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3") with grapeseed oil. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake for 70 minutes at 350 F. Turn the bread out of the pan and let cool completely on cutting board. Wrap in foil.

Cuban Braised Chicken

This recipe was inspired by Paladar's Fricasee de Pollo. I "researched" that dish innumerable times last year, so I was thrilled to discover the key to the dish: achiote seeds (a/k/a annato).

Ingredients

Fresh:
boneless chicken thighs - 2 lbs
castelvetrano or kalamata olives - handful
golden raisins - 2 handfuls
yukon gold potatoes - 2+ large, chopped bite-sized
carrots - 1 bunch (or 3+ large carrots), chopped bite-sized
red onion - 1 large, diced
lemon - juice from 1 lemon
orange bell peppers - 2 large, chopped bite-sized

roma tomatoes - 6, chopped bite-sized
garlic - 4 cloves, smashed
frozen peas - half a bag
optional: 1 jalapeno pepper, 1 sausage or 1 slice of bacon (browned before chicken)

Pantry:

dried oregano - 1/2 tablespoon

olive oil
white wine, rose or beer - 1 cup or more
salt and pepper

rice (steamed)

cumin - 1 teaspoon, ground

Put in a cheese cloth bag:
achiote (annato) seeds - 1 teaspoon
bay leaf - 2
2 whole dried red chili peppers, stems removed and chopped

peel from half a lemon

Cook

Prepare steamed rice.
Brown chicken in french oven with olive oil for 7 minutes on each side (in 2 batches). Salt and pepper. Remove.
Brown onions in french oven with herbs and spices for 5 minutes.
Deglaze with wine/beer.

Add all ingredients (except peas), add hot water to barely cover. Bring to a boil.

Simmer for 25 minutes.

Add tomatoes, simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add peas, simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve over steamed rice with jalapeno peppers for garnish.

Chinese Pork Noodle Soup

Put in the oven, at 325 F:
2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
1 yellow onion, cut in half
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tsp brown sugar
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 cup Chinese rice wine
hot water to cover
spices (see below)

In a cheese cloth bag:
4 star anise
1/2 cinnamon stick
black peppercorns
1 ginger root, sliced
orange rind strips - half the skin of a mandarin orange
1 red chili pepper

Add the following after the first two hours (and remove the yellow onion), and put back in oven for another hour:
2 daikon roots - cut into thin disks
1 bunch scallions, light parts chopped
1 bunch carrots, cut into thin disks
1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and cut into small pieces
a generous amount of fresh shitakes, stems removed

Serve with noodles

Notes:
- It probably tastes even better if cooked for an extra hour.
- Spanish version: tomatoes, leeks, red onions, potatoes, ancho chili, chipotle (or red chilies), oregano, red wine, cumin, paprika, thyme. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spanish-Pork-Braise-235849

Buttermilk Biscuits

Here's my adaptation of Alton Brown's Phase III biscuit, last edited on June 23, 2010.

Dry Ingredients:

9.5 oz all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon (or less) Maldon sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

2 oz unsalted butter (frozen)

8 oz buttermilk

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1 large egg

Optional:
Grated parmesan cheese
Butter and jam

Tools:
Medium bowl
Large, shallow bowl
Whisk or fork
Sifting tool
Grater - larger holes are better, but micro-plane works too
Silicon spoon
Parchment paper
Baking pan

Sift flour and whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Grate butter into dry mixture.

Toss butter flakes into the flour mixture with your hands.

Using the tips of your fingers, rub butter into dry mixture, until half the butter disappears into the flour and the rest looks like bits the size of peas. (This should take less than a minute.)

Stick mixture in the freezer.

Combine the rest of the wet ingredients and beat well. Combine wet mixture with dry mixture gently with a silicone spoon.

Put batter into a large, shallow bowl. Flatten batter against sides of the bowl with the silicon spoon until it's about an inch thick. Bring edges to the center, and do it again 3 more times. Be gentle.

Refrigerate batter for at least another 20 minutes.

Use the silicon spoon plus another spoon to drop balls of dough (around 3") on a parchment lined baking pan. (Optional: Add grated Parmesan to the top of each biscuit.)

Bake at 450 F for 16 minutes. They should rise and won't spread much.

Turn the biscuits out into a basket lined with a kitchen towel and serve immediately.

Banana Bread

Ingredients (2 loaves)

Dry Ingredients:
20 oz unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1.5 oz buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz grapeseed oil
12 oz turbinado (or brown) sugar
1 teaspoon Maldon salt
16 oz ripe bananas, peeled, and mashed with a fork

Extras:
5 oz toasted walnut pieces

Directions:

Sift the flour into a medium bowl, add all other Dry Ingredients, whisk together and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, oil, salt and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract until incorporated. Whisk in the mashed bananas.

With a rubber spatula, add Wet Ingredients to the Dry Ingredients and fold with spatula until just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. Fold in the nuts.

Lightly coat two loaf pans (9 x 5 x 3") with grapeseed oil. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.

Bake for 70 minutes at 350 F. Turn the bread out of the pan and let cool completely on a rack. Wrap in foil.

Cooking FAILS

I generally post my successes, but I realized that I must also post my fails so that I won't repeat them.

Healthy oatmeal cookies (involving very little butter and mashed apple) - This cookie tastes obnoxiously healthy. Plus I also screwed up by using steel cut oats instead of rolled oats. Dur.

Cheap cioppino - with canned sardines and canned tomatoes. Ugh. Bad bad idea. Should have just made carrot / fennel / tomato soup, with anchovy for an accent if I really needed something fishy. Also, I give up on canned tomatoes. It's better for my health to avoid BPAs anyway.

Daikon soup

2 Daikon roots (large), sliced into disks and cut in half
1 ginger root, sliced
5 dumplings per person
1 bunch of carrots, sliced large
1 bunch of green onions, light parts chopped, rest chopped for garnish
a few handfuls of fresh shitakes or pioppini mushrooms
roasted seaweed strips for garnish
soy sauce
salt

kombu
2 packets of bonito flakes
water

Make dashi - see Alton Brown
Saute scallions with ginger in sesame oil for a few minutes. Then add dashi, daikon, carrots, mushrooms, soy sauce and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, then add dumplings, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Garnish with scallion greens and roasted seaweed strips.

Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from Ina Garten:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/shortbread-cookies-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 6 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 oz demerera (light brown) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/16 teaspoon ground Maldon salt
• 14 oz all-purpose flour

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together the vanilla, egg and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined.

Add the vanilla/egg/salt mixture. Mix.

Add flour. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.

Place the dough on parchment paper and form it into a roll. Place in the freezer.

Cut into uniform disks.

Preheat the toaster oven to 375 F convection. Bake on parchment paper for 14+ minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Sticky Rice

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sticky-Rice-with-Chinese-Sausage-230998

I made this dish with a little bacon instead of sausage. It tasted all right, but the texture was wrong. I used sushi rice, which might have been the problem. Oh well, back to buying sticky rice from the takeout dim sum spot near my muni stop.

Chinese Sticky Rice

Ingredients

3 cups Japanese sushi/sticky rice
1 cup Chinese dried black mushrooms or dried shiitake mushrooms (1 1/2 oz)
1 handful fresh shitakes
1.5+ slices of bacon
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion (white and pale green parts only; from 1 bunch)
6.5 oz whole peanuts
1/3 cup Chinese rice wine or medium-dry Sherry
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

Cover rice with cold water by 1 inch in a large bowl and soak at least 2 hours. Drain in a sieve and rinse well under cold running water.

Soak mushrooms in warm water 30 minutes, then drain, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl, and discard liquid. Rinse mushrooms to remove any grit, then discard stems and coarsely chop caps. 3Quarter sausages lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

Heat Le Creuset. Add peanut oil and heat, swirling, until just smoking. Add bacon. Add ginger and scallion and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and stir-fry 1 minute. Add peanuts and stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, and white pepper and remove from heat. Add drained rice and stir to coat.

Add broth (broth will not completely cover rice). Bring to a simmer, stir once, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 25 minutes more, then remove from heat. Stir from bottom to distribute ingredients and let stand, covered, 10 minutes before serving.

Lamb Stew

ONE
3 lbs lamb stew meat (shoulder), roughly cut into 2 - 3" chunks
sea salt
ground black pepper
olive oil

TWO
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 leeks, chopped

THREE
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 thyme sprigs, tied in a knot
2 bay leaves (entwined with the thyme)
red chili seeds (from 1 or 2 peppers)
1 cup red wine

FOUR
1 bunch of carrots, cut into large chunks
6 yukon gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
5 roma tomatoes, cut into large chunks
1/2 a bag of frozen peas

1. Clean and coat lamb chunks in salt and pepper, put back in fridge (ideally overnight) in Le Creuset.

2. Brown lamb chunks on medium heat with olive oil for 8 minutes. Remove.

2. Brown onions and leeks with bay leaf, red chili seeds for 3 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 F.

3. Deglaze with wine. Add garlic, thyme and hot water to cover. Bring to a simmer.

4. Place in oven, covered, for 1 hour and 45 minutes at 325 F.

5. Add tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and water to cover. Bring to a simmer. Put back in oven, covered, for 60 minutes.

6. Separately boil frozen peas and add to stew when complete.

(Total cook time: 30-40 minutes prep, 13 minutes stove top, 2 hours and 45 minutes in the oven.)