My First Daring Bakers Challenge

What is a daring baker?

She/he is a person who loves anything having to do with flour, butter, sugar, yeast (or rice flour, tofu and agave for some of us! hee!) and the opportunity to better their baking skills

This is the most recent description that I have read about the DaringBakers.

After months and months of drooling over the pictures of many daring bakers blogs, I decided that it was time to join in on the fun. So I requested to be a member, and the next month I was given the challenge (recipe).

When I got the recipe, I was wondering what I got myself into. Julia Child? French Bread? I copied and pasted the recipe into a word document, and it was 14 pages long. I gasped. But, I was determined to make an attempt. I set aside President's Day to make the bread since I didn't have to work. And I was glad I did. I started at 11am and it was finished (but not ready to eat) at 9:00pm.

I have to say, the recipe was not at all difficult, and the 14 pages were more explicatory than anything else. The rising time, is what took the longest, but preparing the dough was fairly simple.

I would like to thank Breadchick of The Sour Dough and Sara of I like to Cook for giving me the opportunity to brag about making my first french bread. : )

I am so proud to have completed my first challenge, and I am even more proud to be a part of this wonderful group of foodies.

You can check out the other DBer's blogs with this month's challenge Here.

And Because the recipe is pretty long, here is a link to it .

Yellow Rice with Sofrito and White Beans

To go along with the pork I decided to make a sofrito rice. I found a recipe on epicurious that looked great, but of course with some tweaking, I think I made it better. I wanted that same southwest-y flavor that complimented the pork. So I added a couple more ingredients, and basically added more of what was called for. It was the perfect compliment to the pork, and I see this being something I make again soon.

Yellow Rice with Sofrito and White beans

(Gourmet Magazine, December,1995)

For sofrito

1 tablespoon minced onion I used one medium onion finely diced

1 tablespoon minced red or green bell pepper I used one whole poblano pepper finely diced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander sprigs I omitted but added ground coriander

1 small garlic clove, minced I used 3 large

2 teaspoons olive oil Upped to one TBS.
1/4 teaspoon turmeric upped to 2 Tsp.

3/4 cup long-grain rice Used 1 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups water I used 3 1/4 cups Chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt I used 2 Tsp.

My Additions

I also added 1/4 cup white wine

2 tsp. cumin

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. ground pepper

1 can great northern beans drained and rinsed.

Make sofrito:

In a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan cook onion, bell pepper, coriander, and garlic in oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add turmeric (and cumin) and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in rice, and salt and pepper and stir until rice is toasted about 2 minutes. Add wine and let cook a couple more minutes. Add stock and let come to a boil uncovered, without stirring, until surface of rice is covered with steam holes and grains on top appear dry, 5 to 8 minutes. Add beans at this point and Reduce heat to as low as possible and cook rice, tightly covered, 15 minutes more. Remove pan from heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Spicy Rubbed Roasted Pork Loin

Oh man did I have a time thinking of how I wanted to cook this roast. I bought it on sale, and I was determined to prepare it this evening. I browsed probably a million recipes, and nothing really stood out to me. So once again, I started to throw things together. One thing I did do is brine the pork one day ahead of so it would lock in the flavors, and ensure a moist and tender roast. I think I was in the mood for something south of the border, or southwestern, because all the spices I used were of that family of flavor. I will probably add a little more of the seasoning and let sit for about an hour in the fridge the next time I make this. Or I may make a sauce out of the drippings. But tonight, I was just too hungry to do all that. It came out perfect, and moist like I had hoped. I think I will be brining all my pork roasts in the future.

Brine:

1 gallon cold water

1 cup boiling water

1 cup kosher salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs. peppercorns

2 sprigs each of fresh rosemary and sage

Dissolve the salt and sugar in the boiling water and add to cold water. Add rosemary and sage. Let water cool completely before adding pork. Add pork and put in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready to use, rinse and pat dry.

Rub for pork

1 Tbs. cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

4 garlic cloves

1 Tbs. spicy mustard (dijon will work)

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 sprig rosemary leaves removed

2 sprigs thyme leaves removed

2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. salt

Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth. Score pork with a sharp knife in a few places and spread rub all over pork. Let sit for about a half hour until pork comes to room temperature.

1 onion quartered

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup chicken stock

preheat oven to 325 degrees

Heat a large oven safe skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Sear pork on each side until well browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add onion, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Cover and cook about an hour or until internal temperature reads 140. Take out of oven and remove from pan. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve

Brownie Delicious

In the mood to bake, I asked my very resourceful nesties to point me in the direction of a Great brownie recipe. I got quite a few replies, a couple of them being Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies. I was ready to make them until I saw it called for instant coffee, which I didn't have on hand. So I went with my second choice that Bridget recommended on this blog, but it would have been my first if I would have seen them in the blog before I went surfing for Ina's recipe. Omg, these pics had me drooling!

So I was all set to make them, but realized I didn't have any unsweetened chocolate on hand. After doing some research, I found that you can substitute semi sweet as long as you cut back 1 Tbs. granulated sugar per 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate.

Everything was going great I melted the chocolate, combined all my ingredients, went outside for a few to see the eclipse, came back in and spread the mixture in the pan. I kept thinking to myself, that the batter was a lacking viscosity but spread it in the pan anyway. I even dotted the top with the toasted walnuts. Then I saw it. The BUTTER. I left out the butter. How in the world I did that is beyond me. But it happened. So I went outside to look at the eclipse again to think about what I would do.

I came back in, used the spatula to scrape the batter off the foil and back into the mixing bowl. I nuked the butter until melted, and then folded it in the batter. What a difference, the batter was now like the brownie batter I've seen before.

You know, I would have never known the difference. I'm so glad I didn't give up on them. These brownies were fantastic. Chewy, light crust on the top, and just perfect with some butter pecan on the side.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup pecans or walnuts (4 ounces), chopped medium (optional)
1 1/4 cups plain cake flour (5 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate , chopped fine
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into six 1-inch pieces
2 1/4 cups sugar (15 3/4 ounces)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13- by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and, if using extra-wide foil, fold lengthwise to 12-inch width; fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. If using nuts, spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

4. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost--simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.) When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs one at time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.

5. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting foil overhang. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares and serve. (Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)

Sauteed Turkey Cutlets w/ Sage Vermouth Pan Sauce

My mother-in-law was coming over for dinner tonight so I wanted to make something lip-smacking good. I asked my cooking board ladies for some ideas on how to prepare my turkey cutlets. One nestie, Bakingblonde recommended this recipe from Katie's blog and subbing the turkey cutlets for the chicken. Sounded delicious, so I decided I would do something similar.

I browsed a few different recipes on Cooks Illustrated but I ended up just taking bits of a few different recipes. I was so happy how everything turned out. The turkey was so perfect. I am definitely going to be using these cutlets again soon. And the sauce, well I shamefully admit I licked the plate. And Chads. My MIL caught me doing that last bit, whoops!

Sauteed Turkey Cutlets

(inspired by CI and My Nesties)

6 1/4" thin turkey cutlets

3 Tbs. canola oil

flour for dredging

Salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning

Season cutlets with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge in flour shaking off excess and set aside. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over med. high heat. Saute cutlets a couple minutes on each side transfer to a plate and put a tent of foil over the plate to keep them warm.

**CI recommends to heat your oven to 200 degrees and put cutlets in the oven until ready to serve***

Pan Sauce:

1/2 cup onion finely chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

2 Tbs. fresh chopped sage

1 1/2 Tbs. canola oil

1/4 cup dry vermouth

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cup crimini mushrooms

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

2 tsp. flour

water

Use the same pan that the turkey was sauteed in. Heat oil and add onions and mushrooms. Saute a few minutes and add garlic. Saute for a couple minutes more and add the vermouth and sage. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan,. The simmer until almost all the vermouth is evaporated. Add chicken stock salt and pepper and reduce by 1/2-3/4. Add a flour and water slurry to sauce if it isn't thickened to your liking. Serve over turkey cutlets.

I served this over orzo and roasted asparagus.

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Risotto with Basil

I had no choice but to use my eggplant tonight. It was either use, or toss. I *hate* wasting food, so I decided to make a risotto with my eggplant. Although the only person to enjoy it would be me because eggplant is on Chad's long list of "I do not eat".

Since I knew he wasn't going to be sharing this dish with me, I decided to add in another item on his list, goat cheese.

I looked in the fridge and found a bit of basil. I threw that in as well. It was a very simple, but fantastically flavorful dish. I loved the way the flavors of the eggplant and goat cheese complimented each other and with the hint of basil, heavenly.

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Risotto with Basil
1 1/2 cups cubed eggplant salted and put aside for one hour (to extract excess moisture)
1/2 cup arborio rice
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
2-3 Tbs. basil roughly chopped
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup white wine
3 1/2 -4 cups chicken stock (heated)
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Heat a meduim sized skillet over medium heat. Add butter and oil, when heated through add onions. Saute onions until they become soft, add garlic and saute a few minutes more. Add rice and eggplant and saute until rice looks toasty. Add white wine and stir until evaporated. Add about 1/2 cup of stock and stir until evaporated. Keep doing this until rice is tender but al dente. At the end add the basil and cook a couple of minutes, then add goat cheese and stir to incorporate. Serve immediately.

Pan Seared Shrimp

I really meant to use this shrimp on Friday (Lent), but Chad and I went out to eat instead. I wanted to do something rather simple and I found a really easy, quick and delicious sounding recipe on Cooks Illustrated. The only thing I did different was add a little more garlic, and added some red papper flakes.
It is funny how much my shrimp shrank though. I swear they are 21/25 sized, but in the pictures they look smaller. It didn't matter though, they were so fabulously good, that we ate them in about 5 minutes.

Pan Seared Shrimp

(Cooks Illustrated)

Garlic-Lemon Butter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
1 medium clove garlic , minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/8 teaspoon table salt

Shrimp
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds shrimp (21/25 count), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar

1. Beat butter with fork in small bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and 1/8 teaspoon salt until combined. Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, toss shrimp, salt, pepper, and sugar in medium bowl. Add half of shrimp to pan in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; using tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand until all but very center is opaque, about 30 seconds. Transfer shrimp to large plate. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and shrimp; after second batch has stood off heat, return first batch to skillet along with flavored butter and toss to combine. Cover skillet and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired

WC Recipe Exchange: Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

One of my favorite past times is to hang out on a message board on The Nest called "What's Cooking". It is composed of newlywed ladies from all over the U.S. as well as some other countries. They are a wonderful bunch of gals, and I have made some great relationships with quite a few of them and can't wait to meet some of them IRL this summer.

We participated in an anonymous recipe exchange and the theme was "healthy cooking". Everyone who participated sent Faye (the organizer) a recipe and she sent them out to us.

I recieved this soup recipe. I am so happy I got it, because I love, love soup. And so does Chad. The best part is that it really is so healthy. With only 280 calories, I think I can have another serving. : )

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

(source: anonymous for now)

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking wild rice (I used Uncle Ben's Long grain and Wild, I couldn't find just wild rice in my grocery)

Cooking spray

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato

3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

10 ounce light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

PreparationCook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until potato is tender.
Combine milk and flour, stirring well with a whisk. Add the milk mixture to potato mixture; cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in rice, chicken, pepper, and salt. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 280(23% from fat); FAT 7g (sat 4g,mono 1g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 24.9g; CHOLESTEROL 52mg; CALCIUM 329mg; SODIUM 879mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.7g

Banana Bundt Cake, Dorie Style

Watching the bunch of banana's Chad picked up from the grocery turn from a nice bright yellow, to a brownish black I decided it was time to either toss 'em or bake with 'em.

I wanted to do something different than just a plain old banana bread. And I didn't want to do muffins. So I started to search through the foodie blogosphere and decided on this Dorie Greenspan recipe from The Biscuit Pusher's blog (thanks!)

I was excited to use this recipe because it meant I was able to use the bundt pan that I bought, oh, 5 months ago. The pan was dirt cheap at Marshall's and although I didn't need one, how could I turn down a $4 peice of baking equipment? Plus, it is the cutest thing, and I just wanted it.

The cake came out omg, moist. So much better than I imagined! I decided to add finely chopped pecans to mine as well as an orange glaze. The cake on it's own was fabulous, but I liked the tanginess of the orange glaze, and the crunch of the pecans. It's going to be tricky keeping away from this cake before bed.

Banana Bundt Cake

(from Dorie Greenspan "From My Home to Yours" via The Biscuit Pusher)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter at room temp

2 cups sugar

2 tsps pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, preferably at room temp

About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups)

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350.

Generously butter a 9 to 10 inch (12-cup) Bundt pan. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (the mixture will curdle -- just keep mixing), all the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture.

Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to de-bubble the batter and smooth the top.Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Check the cake after about 30 minutes, if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding on the rack to cool to room temp.If you have the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving -- it's better the second day.

For the Glaze:

1 1/2 C. powder sugar

1 Tbs. melted butter

1 Tbs. milk

2-3 Tbs. fresh squeezed orange juice

Whisk ingredients together until smooth and using a spoon drizzle over cooled cake.

Lubyee Bil Lahmi with Moghrabieh

In other words, green bean stew with meat and Lebanese cous cous.

I thought I would start off my Lebanese theme with a hearty stew of meat and green beans. I haven't had this dish in quite a while, and it is my first time making it. I browsed the web and only found a few recipes that I liked. So I decided to go on a limb and make my own. This stew is usually prepared with lamb, but we didn't have any of that here at home so I used stew beef instead. The long cooking time ensures that the meat will be nice and tender, falling apart and mixing with the sauce and beans. I decided to serve the stew over the moghrabieh instead of the usual rice. I love the big size of this cous cous, it really went well with the stew. I also served this with the pita bread I made below.

Now if only my Jiddy (grandfather) was here to share it with us, I think I'd make him proud!

Lubyee Bil Lahme

1 1/2 lbs. stew meat

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. coriander

salt and pepper

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. butter

1 lb green beans cut in half

1 1/2 cups diced onions

3 cloves garlic minced

1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 Tbs. allspice

2 Tsp. ground coriander

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups mograhbieh

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. allspice

preheat oven to 350

Mix the flour with the tsp. of coriander and salt and pepper. Toss the stew meat around in the flour and shake off the excess.

Heat a large cast iron skillet, or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil and melt butter. Add the stew meat and brown all over, remove with a slotted spoon and put aside. Add the onions and cook until soft, add the garlic and cook for a fw more minutes. Deglaze the pan with the stock and add tomatoes and spices. Put the meat back in pot, cover and put in oven for one hour. At the one hour mark add the green beans and cook for about another hour or until meat is very tender.

When you put the green beans in pot start the mograhbieh. Add the mograhbieh to a pot and add the olive oil, a pinch of salt and allspice, mix together. Add 2 cups boiling water, cover and let sit for about 30-45 minutes.

Serve the stew over the cous cous.

Lebanese Pita Bread

There is nothing like home made bread... Amazingly better than store bought. I have been craving some good Lebanese food all week so I decided to have a Lebanese theme for the next few days. I got started with my theme by baking this pita bread. I browsed through tons of recipes online and finally decided to use this one. It really was an easy recipe to follow, and they came out beautiful. This recipe makes 12 pitas, plenty enough for Chad and I to stuff for sandwiches, or just accompany our meals the next few days.

Lebanese Pita Bread
(fabulousfoods.com)
2 C warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Place 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl and sprinkle yeast and sugar over the water. Stir to blend and let sit until dissolved.

Place flour, salt and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast mixture and remaining water and beat (preferable with a heavy duty electric mixer) until flour is completely integrated. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed -- about 5-8 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl and oil top of dough lightly. Cover with a warm kitchen towl and let rise in a warm place until doubles in size, about 1 1/4 hours.
Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead to remove the air bubbles. Roll into a log and divide dough evenly into 12 pieces. Pat each piece of dough into a ball, them use a rolling pin to flatten into discs about 1/4 inch thick and 6 inches in diameter.

Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 500° F. and place oven rack in lowest position.
Bake the bread, one pan at a time, until puffed and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool breads on a wire rack.

Zucchini and Potato Tortilla

I was in the mood to cook this morning. Not something I do on Saturday mornings, but I was motivated by my hunger. I decided to make a tortilla, since that is one of the only ways I will eat eggs. I had a zucchini on hand so along with the potatoes and onion, I threw that in as well. Came out very nice, with leftovers. Now I have a bite to eat before Church tomorrow.

Zucchini and Potato Tortilla

2 smallish potatoes sliced in half moons

1/4 cup oil

1/2 med. onion diced

1 zucchini sliced in half moons and then sliced in half again

7 eggs

3 Tbs. half/half

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to broil.

Heat oil in a medium sized oven proof skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook until tender, do not fry!! While potatoes are cooking mix together the eggs and half and half, salt and pepper. Remove potatoes and set aside. Pour out oil leaving a Tbs. remaining. Add onions and zucchini and cook until onions are soft. Add the potatoes back to the pan and stir so everything is mixed evenly around the pan. Add egg mixture and let cook for about 5-8 minutes. Put skillet in the oven to cook the top of the tortilla. When the top starts to brown, take it out and put a large plate over the top of the skillet. Flip the tortilla and cook on the stovetop a couple minutes more.

"Lent"il Soup: In Honor of Lent

I wanted to make something meatless for Chad and I for the Lent season. I found this really easy, and delicious recipe from Alton on the FN website. It sure could have come in handy today for lunch when I absentmindely ate the gumbo leftover from last night's meal.

We had already eaten an early dinner because we had service at 7pm, but I made this to be one of our standby meals. I plan to bring a bit to work, and then freeze the rest.

As always, Alton has come through with his recipes. The only thing I omitted was the grains of paradise as I have never heard of, nor had this on hand. I added about 1 1/2 Tbs. of fresh ground pepper to make it peppery. For garnish I added homemade croutons (french bread cubed, brushed with olive oil and toasted) and carrot shavings.

Lentil Soup

(Alton Brown)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed

1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes

2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise

Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. Serve immediately.

A Quicker Gumbo

In honor of Fat Tuesday, I wanted to make a New Orleans inspired dish. Gumbo is what I was craving, but ugh, who wants to do all that work on a week night?

When I was in Nola a couple months back I happened to stumble across a product that I have doubted until tonight. Jarred Roux. I doubted it because I pride myself on cooking a roux the right way, standing over a pot stirring from anywhere to a half hour to an hour.

When I first opened the jar I was immediately turned off. It was a big brown clump surrounded by oil. Hmmmm I thought, this is going to be interesting.

I sauteed up my veggies, added the sausage and then in went the brown clump and oil. After stirring for a minute it started to come together. I added the stock, stirred again and lo and behold, gumbo was in the making. All in about 15 minutes. I'm shocked that this actually worked. Gumbo in 30-40 minutes? Yup. Impressed, hell yes. I don't know if I'll be able to find this product here in Atlanta, but it is nice to know that such a product exists.

Quick Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

2 Tbs. oil

1 medium onion diced

2 stalks celery chopped

1 green pepper diced

3 cloves garlic minced

Meat from a small rotessirie chicken (about 2 1/2 cups)

1lb andouille sausage diced

1 1/2 cups frozen sliced okra

1/2 jar Richard's Cajun Roux

8 cups chicken stock

1 Tbs. cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's)

2-3 dashes Worcestershire

Hot sauce to taste (I use Crystal's)

File powder to top rice

Fresh chopped parsley to garnish

Heat a big heavy pot over medium heat and add oil. When oil has heated add onion, celery and green pepper (the trinity). Saute about 5-8 minutes until onions just start to brown. Add sausage and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes more. Add roux, worcestershire, and seasonings and stir until everything is covered and smooth. Add chicken stock while stirring continuously. Add chicken bring to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes. Add Okra the last 5 minutes. Serve with white rice, hot sauce and french bread.

Happy Mardi Gras Part II

One king cake just wasn't enough. I made the first cake with fruit filling, but I also wanted a more traditional king cake. So I found the perfect recipe here. It was fairly easy until it got to the part about incorporating the butter. I don't have a KA mixer (boo hoo) so I tried to cut it in. And let me just say that was a little too much of a pain in the arse. So I ended up using the tools God gave me... yes, I used my hands (I promise they were clean!) I have never smelled something so delicious baking up in my kitchen. I swear I was at the mall smelling the same aroma I do when Cinnabon is cooking up a batch of rolls. MMMMM.

It didn't come out as pretty as I wished, but I don't care. The taste was too outstanding to let that detail bother me. But what did bother me was that I cut the part of the cake that had the baby. Damn! It's tradition that whoever gets the baby has to buy the next king cake. So I guess I'll have to buy myself one, or make another.

Again, I'm so sad to not be in Nola, but this cake truly brings the excitement of the season to me. Maybe I can throw some beads at Chad to get the full effect. Or, vice versa, and I'll show him something, (wink, wink).

King Cake
(recipe by Danno from Nola Cuisine)

For the Brioche:
1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp Warm Water (115 degree F)
1 tsp Iodized Salt
2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Milk2 tsp Orange Zest, minced
2 Cups All Purpose Flour, sifted
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Eggs, beaten
1 1/4 sticks cold Unslated Butter, cut into very small dice
1 Egg beaten and 2 Tbsp water, for the eggwash

Dissolve the yeast in the workbowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, let stand until frothy.Dissolve the salt, sugar, orange zest and milk in a small bowl. When dissolved combine the milk mixture with the yeast mixture. Mix the cinnamon with the flour.With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, then gradually add the flour, until all is incorporated. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough is formed. A little more flour may be necessary. With the motor running, incorporate the butter into the dough, a little at a time but rather quickly so that it doesn’t heat up and melt.Turn the dough into an oiled bowl, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot.When the dough has doubled in bulk punch it down, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Roll the dough out to a 6 x 18 inch rectangle. Spead the Pecan filling (recipe below) out in the middle of the rectangle along the whole length, leaving about 1 1/2 inch on each side. Place the baby trinket somewhere with the filling. Fold the length of the dough over the filling and roll up tightly, leaving the seam side down. Turn the roll into a circle, seam side down and put one end inside of the other to hide the seam, and seal the circle. Place the cake on a baking sheet and let rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Place the king cake into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
When the cake cools, brush with some of the glaze (recipe below) thinned out with more cold water. This will help the sugars adhere. Decorate the cake with the colored sugars and drizzle some of the thicker glaze onto the cake.
Place on a large round serving plate and decorate with Mardi Gras beads, doubloons and whatever else that you like.

For the Pecan filling:
1 Cup Pecan halves, broken up slightly and roasted until fragrant
2/3 Cup Brown
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1 pinch of salt
4 Tbsp Steen’s Cane Syrup
Combine all of the ingredients together.

For the glaze
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Tbsp Bourbon
Water (enough to make a paste that can be drizzled) I used milk
Combine the sugar and bourbon, whisk in enough water to make a glaze that can be drizzled.

See the baby? That was totally meant for someone else.

Aphrodisiac Pasta

Maybe I'm trying to get lucky with dh, or maybe I just wanted to participate in a blogging event. I'll let you decide. But whatever my motives were, this pasta dish full of aphrodisiacs was a deeeeelicious.

I've entered this dish into the Kitchen of Love blogging event hosted by Mele Cotte. According to her list of aphrodisiacs posted on her blog I incorporated 4 of them: wine, garlic, arugula and pine nuts. With that manyI'm thinking that we may should be extra randy tonight ; - D

This dish was super easy and only took about a half hour. Not too shabby for a weeknight. I do have a lot left over, so looks like it will be going to work with both of us tomorrow. Don't forget to check out the round up on Mele Cotte's blog Feb. 12th!

Aphrodisiac Pasta

1 box rigatoni

5 slices proscuitto chopped

1 medium onion chopped

3 large cloves garlic minced

3 cups fresh arugula coarsly chopped

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

2 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, saving 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining.
Heat a medium sized skilled over medium heat and add proscuitto. Cook a few minutes until some fat has rendered. Add butter and olive oil to pan. When butter has melted add onions and red pepper flakes. Cook until onions are wilted and add garlic. Cook a couple minutes more and add wine. Scrape any bits that may have been left on the bottom of the pan from the proscuitto. Let simmer about 5 minutes over low heat.

Transfer pasta to a big bowl and add parmesan cheese, arugula, proscuitto, pine nuts and onion mixture. Add pasta water and toss. Serve with love.

Happy Mardi Gras!

In the spirit of the season I decided to make a king cake. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a cake that is shaped into a ring and is either filled or unfilled. It is a tradition for these cakes to make their appearences during the Mardi Gras season (which starts on January 6th, or twelfth night). I decided to make both, but for this post I will only feature the filled because my other dough has to rest in the fridge over night.

I'm so disappointed to have missed this Mardi Gras season, it is something I have been celebrating for almost 20 years. And by celebrating, I don't mean going to Bourbon St. to see all the boobs and other body parts being flashed for some "good" beads. We do it the local way and hang uptown, where one of our friends has a home close to the parade route. Easy to walk back and forth for use of a clean bathroom. : ) .

So back to the cake.... I looked all over the internet trying to get a copycat recipe of Gambino's bakery, or McKenzie's Bakery (popular in Nola) king cake and I was unsuccessful. But I did fall upon this recipe, and I am glad I did. The description of the filling alone stood out to me, "mixed berry and cream cheese." ::drool::

The dough process was fairly easy, but the rolling it jelly roll style part got me. I think I used too much of the berry filling, but I was still able to seal it and form it into a ring. It baked up beautifully, nice and brown on the top. I was really happy to hide any imperfections the icing and sugars. The only thing I did differently was add the baby before the cooking. Otherwise I follwed this recipe to a T.

Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese King Cake recipe

( Recipe and directions by Amanda from "What We're Eating")

For Dough:

2 tbsp butter

8 oz sour cream

5 tbsp sugar, separated into 4 & 1 tbsp

salt - two finger pinch

1 package (7g) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees)

1 egg

3-3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

oil - doesn’t matter what kind, just for your hands and the bowl

For Filling:

8 oz frozen mixed berries ( used Trader Joe's brand of berry medley)

1 tbsp water1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt (a pinch)

6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 oz sour cream,

1/3 of a beaten egg

1 tbsp lemon zest

For Icing:

2 cups

1 tbsp butter, melted

4 tbsp milkpinch o’ salt

For Colored Sugars:

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar (not powdered), separated into

1/2 cupsfood coloring - blue, red, green, & yellow* if you can’t find superfine sugar you can use regular sugar. it will just be much more course)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Start the dough.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter, 4 tbsp sugar, and salt. Stir. Once the butter has melted, add the sour cream and heat to luke warm, about 105 degrees. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup warm water, yeast, and 1 tbsp sugar, then stir. Allow the yeast to sit for about five minutes, until it has been activated. If the yeast does not become active, toss out the mixture and start with a new packet of yeast. Once the yeast is active, whisk in the warm butter and sour cream mixture, the egg, and 1 cup of flour. Whisk until smooth. Using an oiled wooden spoon, begin mixing in small amounts of flour until you form a soft dough. This will generally take about another 2 cups of flour, just go by touch. You don’t really want a sticky dough, but a slightly sticky dough is okay because you can knead in more flour as you go, whereas it’s much harder to add liquid. Turn the dough out on to a clean surface lightly dusted with flour. With oiled hands, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes. Place the ball of dough into a large well-oiled bowl, then flip the dough so all of the surface area of the dough is oiled. Cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down) and a hand towel, then set the bowl in a warm (about 80-85 degrees is best) draft-free area and allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. (I find an area around the preheating oven is usually the best warm and snuggly environment for the yeast.)
While the dough is rising make the filling. Place the frozen berries, lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the berries for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the berries have broken down and the liquid will thickly coat the back of the spoon. It may be necessary to assist some of the larger strawberries in the breakdown process by smooshing them with a spoon. While the berries are simmering away, add the softened cream cheese and 1/8 cup of sugar into a mixing bowl. Cream the mixture together until smooth. Add in the sour cream, egg, and lemon zest and mix until thoroughly blended. Set the cream cheese mixture aside. Once the berries are finished, transfer them into a bowl to cool for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, refrigerate the berries until the dough has finished rising, so they have more of a chance to firmly set.
Once the dough has doubled in size, pour it out onto a lightly floured long piece of parchment paper. Lightly flour the top of the dough and a rolling pin (a smooth-edged glass will work in place of a rolling pin in a pinch). Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 18 inches long and 7 or so inches wide. Gently lift all the sides of the rectangle to make sure the dough is not sticking to the parchment paper, this will be important when you go to roll up the cake. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1 inch border around the outside of the dough. Next, evenly spread a thin layer of the berry mixture over the cream cheese layer. You may not need to use the entirety of the berries.

Roll the cake up, in a jellyroll-esque fashion, starting by rolling the unfilled border of the dough closest to you over the filling, and carefully begin to roll the dough up into a log. When you have only a few inches left, take the unrolled part and complete the log by gently lifting and pressing the remaining part of the dough up on to the log, so it’s seam side-up. Carefully press on the seam to ensure a solid bond. Very carefully work the two ends of the log together to form an oval, then press the doughy edges together to completely seal the cake into an oval.

Slide the parchment paper that the king cake is on, onto a large movable surface, such as a large cutting board or a sheet pan. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper then place the sheet pan, parchment side down, on top of the king cake to form a king cake sandwich. Trying not to smash the cake, quickly flip the sandwich over and lift off the top cutting board or sheet pan. Gently peel back the parchment paper, and voila!, the king cake is transferred to a parchment-lined sheet pan, seam side down, and ready for its second rise and the oven. Recover the cake with greased plastic wrap and a hand towel and allow it to rise for another 30 minutes. Bake the cake at 375 degrees in the upper 1/3 of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown. Immediately transfer the cake to a cooling rack after removing it from the oven. This is most easily done by sliding the parchment paper onto the rack directly from the sheet pan. Allow the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes before icing the cake.

During the second rise, make the colored sugars. Place 1/2 cup of superfine sugar into three separate bowls (standard soup bowls work well). Using the food coloring make one bowl of green sugar, one bowl of yellow sugar, and one bowl of purple sugar (more of a red purple than an indigo). Use the back of a spoon or a pestle, work the food coloring into the sugar by grinding it against the side of the bowl and working the coloring throughout all of the sugar. Continue this until the sugar is uniform in color and there are no clumps. Mardi Gras colors are super vivid so use as much food coloring as is necessary to achieve them!

Once the cake has cooled for 15 minutes, make the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, melted butter, and milk until smooth. You want the icing to be able to drizzle easily but not just run right off the cake, so if the icing is too thin, just whisk in more sifted powdered sugar and if the icing is too thick whisk in a touch more milk.

After the cake has had a chance to cool, remove the parchment and move the cake to whatever platter you wish to serve it on. Cut several strips of parchment paper a few inches wide and tuck it underneath the edges of the cake for easy clean up after decorating. At this point, stick a dried bean or little plastic baby into the cake through the bottom. It’s tradition in Louisiana that who ever gets the baby has to spring for the next cake! Else where, it’s a sign of good luck . Drizzle the icing evenly over the cake and allow it to ooze down the sides. Before the icing has a chance to set, sift on rotating strips of colored sugar. Carefully remove the pieces of parchment paper. King cake is fantastic eaten warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!…but only after christmas and before ash wednesday, otherwise it’s just gauche!