1 tsp love

What did you eat for breakfast today?

2008-06-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

To accompany a feature on the importance of eating breakfast, New York Magazine asked 60 of their staffers (I'm assuming...) what they had for breakfast. I find the results both fascinating and hilarious.

New York Magazine: The Breakfast Manifesto - A 60-Person Poll

I had 2 Kashi blueberry waffles with maple syrup and earl grey tea.

Mahi-Mahi with Avocado Salsa

2008-06-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

I make fish a lot. What can I say? I'm a big sucker for fish. And when that fish is fresh, wild-caught, and organic, it's on, baby. When I was growing up, my mom often fried thinner fishes, like tilapia and rockfish, and served them with a rice that was peppered with tons of fresh dill. I prefer to save the grains for a side dish and instead use meatier fishes like mahi-mahi and hallibut with a thick, chunky salsa like this one.

I found this recipe on the Cooking Light website, and I just loved it. The combination of flavors is perfect. The fish is well, but delicately, seasoned, and the salsa that accompanies it is full of incredible freshness. Not to mention, I was totally in the mood for avocado. Who am I kidding? I'm always in the mood for avocado. If you click the link, you'll see they made the salsa a little finer than I did but I prefer a more thick, rustic salsa. I also chose not to use chilies as I didn't have a pair of gloves on hand and hate the way they make your hands taste spicy for days (that's right, I'm a nail-biter!). The recipe called for grilling the mahi-mahi but I just broiled it because I don't have a grill, and it turned out wonderfully. I definitely recommend it if you want something that packs a punch but is still light enough to be eaten outdoors in the summertime. This is also my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by the lovely Maninas from Maninas: Food Matters.

P.S. My apologies for being M.I.A. the last two weeks, I was wrapping up finals, which is also why I didn't participate in last month's Daring Baker's Challenge. The good news is, with school over, I have a lot more free time so you can anticipate more frequent posts.

Mahi-Mahi with Avocado Salsa
from Cooking Light
serves 4

Ingredients:
Salsa
1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch chunks
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup minced red onion
1 jalapeño pepper or serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Mahimahi
1 1/2 pounds mahimahi, cut into 4 pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a large, nonreactive bowl (glass, stainless steel, or glazed ceramic), and mix gently with a spoon. Set aside. You can prepare this salsa up to a few hours before serving and store it in the refrigerator in a covered container.

In a deep, nonreactive dish (glass, stainless steel, or glazed ceramic), marinate the fish with the other ingredients for 20-30 minutes before grilling.

Grill over coals or on a grill, or cook under a broiler for 6-8 minutes per side. Serve the fish with the salsa on top.

Nutrition:
(serving size: 1 piece of fish and about 1/2 cup salsa)
CALORIES 284; FAT 12g (sat 2g,mono 8g,poly 2g); PROTEIN 33g; CHOLESTEROL 125mg; CALCIUM 49mg; SODIUM 438mg; FIBER 5g; IRON 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12g

Ina Garten's Spring Risotto

2008-05-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

photograph credits to Sadiqeh

I have been loving Ina Garten lately. For my birthday, I bought myself Barefoot in Paris, in the hopes that I might learn a few French recipes before I get to France in September. She's so classy and elegant, and yet so effortless and calm. More than anything, her recipes are fun. They're recipes you can play around with and put your own twist on and eat any way you like. Ina treats her readers like they are her close friends, not her ignorant pupils. Best of all, I tend to have (relative) successes when attempting her recipes. She includes just enough information that you manage to pull it off, even when you're sure it will all fall apart.

When I was cooking for two of my most favorite friends last week, Sadiqeh and Idris, I knew I wanted to try another Ina recipe. I knew Sadiqeh in particular would appreciate the combination of deliberateness and comfort that I found from Ina's foods time and time again. I had a bunch of asparagus I wanted to get rid of so I picked her Springtime Risotto.

We all loved it. I kept tasting it periodically and it was good every time, but the addition of mascarpone and lemon zest right at the end really made it phenomenal. I had heard of mascarpone many times, but had never cooked with it before. It gave the risotto this amazingly creamy consistency without being too rich or overbearing. Its saltiness also added some depth to the peas and asparagus. My favorite part was definitely the freshness. I have always thought of risotto as a warm, winter comfort food and was amazed to see how fresh and light it could be with the addition of more vegetables and lemon juice. I omitted the fennel, because I just don't like fennel, and as usual the recipe below is my version (use the link for hers).

Spring Risotto
adapted from Ina Garten
serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
5 to 6 cups simmering chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 pound asparagus tips
10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup Italian mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for serving

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add rice and stir for a minute to coat with the oil and butter. Add stock and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add more stock, two ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. The whole cooking process will take 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, discard the tough ends of the asparagus and cut the tips diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool immediately in ice water.

When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm.

Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture, plus the Parmesan cheese. Allow to sit off the heat for a few minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot with a sprinkling of chives and more Parmesan cheese.

Endless Summer Nights

2008-05-04T10:32:00.001-07:00

As the school year comes to a close and Nayereh gets closer to graduation, I find myself spending more and more nights sitting outside---eating, talking, laughing with friends---and it makes me incredibly optimistic about this summer. I usually look forward to the summer because it involves some sort of traveling. Three summers ago my mother went to Iran and Syria together, two summers ago Nayereh and I backpacked through Europe, and last summer I was in Morocco, Germany, and Austria for a few months. This is the first summer in quite a while that I don't plan to do any traveling. Nevertheless, I look forward to it with as much anticipation as any other summer. I look forward to just relaxing, and using the opportunity to think about how lucky I've been to have done so much traveling and what I look for in my future traveling endeavors (I'll be leaving in September for Nice, where I'll be all of next year). Anyway, these nights we spend outdoors have become so frequent I figured it was worth snapping a few pictures (despite the bad lighting) to attempt to share the kind of warm summer tranquility we all share in our sunroom.

One of my favorite parts of the summer is the delicious, fresh ingredients availible. One of the best uses of perfectly ripe summer vegetables is bruschetta. Sadiqeh makes it everytime. I'm sure Nayereh and I could do it too, but she manages to slice and dice all the ingredients with such a perfect delicacy that makes each bite harmonious.

For her bruschetta, she prefers Roma tomatoes which are more firm than the vine-ripened variety and hold up better when being diced. She finely dices several tomatoes with a handful of fresh basil (another amazing summer ingredient), a couple cloves of garlic, a shallot or two, and a bit of olive oil. Sometimes I forget how incredible fresh, simple ingredients can be and this bruschetta is a perfect reminder.

Another staple at our little evening feasts is my orzo salad, which I've been making for years from a Giada de Laurentiis recipe. It's so easy and so delicious, it's the perfect crowd-pleaser. You simply boil up some orzo and drain it. In a big bowl mix the warm orzo with salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, spinach (Giada prefers arugula), feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, dried cranberries (Giada prefers dried cherries), and fresh torn basil leaves. I feel like a cooking show host, but please, please, please try it. You will be amazed at how delicious something so simple and easy can be.

Here is a photo of our sunroom with the lights turned off, which is how we usually sit around. When you turn off the main overhead light, the few sources of light are the Christmas lights which Nayereh put up both out here and in her bedroom, a Moroccan lantern, and whatever candles we happen to have lying around.

This is a pretty standard spread at our table. In addition to the loaf of french bread, we have Sadiqeh's bruschetta, sliced fresh mozzarella, a fat wedge of Brie cheese, avocado slices, a medley of olives, a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping, and my favorite orzo salad (to be served with the feta cheese which is kept separate because Nayereh is vegan). The unidentifiable black square on the left is Nayereh's ipod which provides the musical sylings of the evening.

I know I'll be having more delicious evenings like these (the summer hasn't even really begun, yet!), and I hope as the weather gets nicer more people take advantage of it and spend more time outdoors. Bring some cheese, and you're welcome to join us anytime!

Soups with Sadiqeh

2008-04-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite people is my friend Sadiqeh. She comes over sometimes on weekends and we eat always manage to have amazing conversations and enjoy equally amazing deliciousness. Both of us being soup fans, we have had soup together on two different occasions.

One Sunday night, weeks and weeks ago, I decided I wasn't really up for all the work I had due the next day and would rather have spent the night avoiding it and hanging out with Sadiqeh. She agreed to come over, even though we live about an hour away and she would have to go home relatively early because she had work the next morning. I wasn't sure what to make but wanted something warm and comforting because it wasn't yet as warm as it is these days. After little coaxing, I convinced Sadiqeh to stop by Whole Foods and pick up some fresh parsley, No-chicken Broth and Parmesan.

When she came over, we made delicious tortellini in broth, with fresh chopped parsley and Parmesan crisps. I had seen "recipes" for these Parmesan crisps everywhere! I first watched Giada de Laurentiis make them on Everyday Italian and then encountered them here and here. I love cheese and relish every excuse to eat it. Tossed into a fresh salad, sprinkled on baked fish fresh out of the oven, spread onto crunchy toast; you name it, and I'll put cheese on it. Soup? No different. This soup ended up being super cheesy because the tortellini was filled with cheese as well (hey, I'm not complaining...), and I thought it would be a good idea to just drop some Parmesan into the soup as well. Oh, and did I mention before the soup we shared fresh tomatoes, toast and Boursin?

Cheese lover or not, this soup was lovely. It was light because of the simplicity of ingredients but filling because of the hearty tortellini. The original recipe serves 8 and even though there were just two of us, I halved the recipe and took the rest to work for lunch the next day. Equally delicious!

The photo down at the bottom is one from a couple weeks ago when we weren't in the mood for anything too heavy and made Amy's Low-Fat Low-Sodium Cream of Tomato Soup, which I have already blogged about, even though it doesn't involve any real cooking. Sadiqeh and I dropped in some extra cream I had lying around to make it extra rich and delicious, and topped it with more fresh torn basil leaves.

Cheese Tortellini in Light Broth
from Giada de Laurentiis
serves 4

4 cups low-salt chicken broth
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (9-ounce) package cheese tortellini
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Season the broth with pepper, to taste. Add the tortellini. Simmer over medium heat until al dente, about 7 minutes.

Ladle the broth and tortellini into soup bowls. Top with parsley and Parmesan crisps and serve.

Parmesan Crisps from Giada de Laurentiis
makes 8-10 crisps

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour a heaping tablespoon of Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2 inch apart.

Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool.

photograph taken by sadiqeh

David Lebovitz's Devil's Food Cake

2008-04-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago I had two friends coming over and an unfortunately empty fridge. They were coming over to hang out at about 9 or 10 at night, so I knew I wasn't exactly obliged to have a feast prepared. Nevertheless, I always like to have something for guests to munch on, but my fridge was failing me. I wracked my pantry to trying to figure out which ingredients I had on hand to whip something up with. Suddenly, I was inspired by the new box of cocoa powder I recently bought to make a chocolate cake. Now, because it was so late, I didn't want to opt for a tall, heavy cake with tons of layers and frosting or a rich, dense one either. After sifting through David Lebovitz's recipes (he's the best, isn't he?), I found this cake. Like he says, its the perfect compromise for different type of cake lovers. Instead of making two layers and a ganache, like David suggests, I halved the recipe and served the one layer with a dusting of powdered sugar. It was so good that the three of us (with a little help from one of my roommates) devoured the entire thing. I definitely recommend it if you want a lighter chocolate cake that isn't too dense but is still plenty moist and delicious.

Devil's Food Cake
adapted from David Lebovitz
serves 4-6

4.5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups raw sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup strong coffee
1/4 cup 1% milk
powdered sugar (for dusting)

Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9" x 2" cake pans and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.

Sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Beat together the butter and sugar about 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs. Mix together the coffee and milk. Stir half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, the add the coffee and milk. Finally stir in the other half of the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter into the two prepared cake pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

A Random Tuesday Lunch: Pasta Salad

2008-04-15T08:58:00.001-07:00

I've been saying, since I started this blog, that I would start posting about more average culinary experiences. I love going into the kitchen with a recipe and a plan and challenging myself, but I live for the afternoons you whip something up without too much thought, with whatever you have on hand, and it turns out splendidly. Those are the culinary experiences that are so fun and thrilling and that I can't wait to share with others, who also probably have the same ingredients on hand and can try it out.

This morning/afternoon (when you wake up at 11, the lines between them are blurred, hehe), I knew I didn't want salad, or eggs, or a sandwich. I figured a pasta salad was a save bet, and I figured I'd throw some canned tuna in there to get some protein and of course tons of fresh parsley for flavor. It was delicious and fresh and totally satisfying---a perfect lunch for this lazy morning/afternoon. (I feel so good about it, I'm clensing my palate with a little extra deliciousness.) I've decided to enter it in as my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, this week hosted by the darling Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook.

The "recipe" is as follows:

Tuesday Afternoon Pasta Salad
serves 1

1/2 cup pasta, cooked and drained (I used elbows because they're my favorite)
1 can of your favorite tuna
1 handful chopped parsley
1 handful grated Parmesan (I'm going to try feta next time)
3 small tomatoes, cut into wedges
1-2 tbsp olive oil
freshly ground salt and pepper

Mix and enjoy, baby!

Black Bean Salad

2008-04-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite types of American cuisines is Southwestern. There is something about the combination of lime and cilantro that makes my mouth water with delight. One of the things about Southwestern cuisine thought, is that, like Mediterranean cuisine, it's not very complicated in the process, so you need to make sure you have the best possible ingredients. For this reason, I find myself not usually making Southwestern style foods as much in the winter because things like tomatoes and cilantro never seems fresh enough. When my friend Sam had a barbecue for his birthday a couple weeks ago though, and the weather was warm and perfect, I knew it was close enough to summer to make a nice big Southwestern salad. This one was super easy and was finished within minutes of putting it out on the table. I'd definitely recommend it if you want something a little different to make. The combination of lime and honey and cumin and cilantro that hits you in every bite is phenomenal. Give it a whirl!

Black Bean Salad
from Guy Fieri
serves 6-8

2 cans black beans, drained, about 30 ounces
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup diced pineapple
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies

2008-04-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

I will admit: I was a little hesitant to post these cookies so soon after the other cookies, but then I figured there can never be too many cookies. I loved the Dorie Greenspan cake I made for last month’s Daring Bakers challenge, so when I needed to bake some chocolate-y cookies I went to Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies. The title of these cookies also did a little persuading for me also.

So my sister, who is much more religious than I, decided to throw a “pray for world peace” get together at her house. Her husband is Iraqi, and I suppose this was a way for them to feel as though they were doing something about all the mayhem and death taking place over there. I don’t know how I feel about praying to achieve a goal though. Don’t get me wrong, despite my secular beliefs about society and government, I like prayer. I believe in a sort of personal connection one can make to God and the warm and fuzzy kind of dialogue that can take place when you do (think Marjane Satrapi’s conversations with God in the beginning of Persepolis). Recently especially, I have been particularly skeptical about using prayer to achieve tangible, life-or-death goals.

Although, I have heard stories about miraculous things happening when people put their collective energies into willing something to be true, and I suppose I do believe them, so I’m not a complete cynic. Finally, I decided to show up, partially because I figured it can’t hurt, and partially because my sister was sick so I wanted to help her with baking the goods for people to eat post-prayer.

I’m not really one for group prayer because I tend to think of prayer as a sort of personal thing, so I won’t talk about the experience of being there. Instead, allow me to focus on the cookies. I decided to make them because I thought it was rather fitting to make World Peace Cookies for a Pray-for-World-Peace event. Also, so many people have posted these cookies that I had to give them a try for myself and see how they turned out.

Boy, were they delicious! I loved the kind of kick of chocolate goodness that they pack in every bite. The chunks of chocolate gives them a more dynamic cookie, with more varied texture. My only complaints were that the mixture was so thick and crumbly that several cookies fell apart as I attempted to cut them from the refridgerated log (In fact, now that I think about it, that whole cutting process was rather annoying…). Also, the cookies were left out on the table for people to take at their will and I found they were much drier later in the night. Perhaps this is because I only had time to refrigerate them for an hour, before baking. Either way, they sure did taste good, and I was glad to try out a recipe so many bloggers have posted about.

World Peace Cookies
from Dorie Greenspan
Makes 12 big cookies

175g all-purpose flour
30g unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
155g unsalted butter, at room temperature
145g light brown sugar
50g caster sugar
½ teaspoon fleur de sel or ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt – I used salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
140g bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous ¾ cup mini chocolate chips – I used semisweet but will bake them again using bittersweet

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together. Beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more. Pour in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined - for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half – I weighed the dough to make sure the parts would be even. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 4cm in diameter. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours - the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before making- bake for 1 minute longer.

Preheat oven to 160˚C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1 cm thick - the rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them- don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie. Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 3cm between them.

Bake the cookies on sheet at a time for 12 minutes- they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet until they’re cold – that’s when they’ll be firm. Serve them warm or at room temperature.

Cinnamon Pecan Cookies

2008-04-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

I should begin this post by telling you how much I adore Patricia Scarpin of Technicolor Kitchen. I have been reading her blog for ages, and I don't even remember how I stumbled upon it. She's such a sweet person and all her recipes look amazing. I've been bookmarking them and bookmarking them and realized the other day, I had yet to try any. So when I had to make some cookies for an event at my sister's (more on that with another post), I knew I could trust a Technicolor Kitchen recipe. Patricia is a huge fan of Donna Hay (if you read her blog, I don't need to say anymore), and so I thought I'd trust her and try these Ice-Cream Scoop Pecan and Cinnamon Cookies.

I had already made Dorie Greenspan's very chocolatey World Peace Cookies (again, that's for another post), so I wa so tired of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Plus when I offer an array of baked goods, I always try and get something non-chocolate out there. Also, my mother just recently sent me an e-mail about the health benefits of cinnamon and honey. I had always known about honey's various healing properties but cinnamon was news to me. In fact, as I write this, I'm drinking Cardamon Cinnamon Tea that my friend Sadiqeh inspired me to get. So delicious (and I usually hate cardamon...).

Anyway, these cookies were fabulous. They were moist and had the perfect amount of crumminess. I recommend them to anyone who likes a little spiciness in their sweets. Definitely not too much spice though...the cookie is more reminiscent of cinnamon than a big old cinnamon punch in the face (which I wouldn't have minded, really). I also love pecans with sweets. I'm definitely a sucker for their richness and nuttiness. I didn't have an ice cream scoop (oh the perils of a college student kitchen!) so I just used a spoon and guesstimated. Give them a whirl next time you're looking for an extra-special cookie.

Cinnamon Pecan Cookies
from Donna Hay Magazine, Issue #33
makes about 12 cookies

4 ½ oz unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 ¼ oz pecan nuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 355ºF; line two large baking sheets with non-stick baking paper. Place the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Fold through the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and pecans – dough will be very stiff. Scoop the mixture, using an ice-cream scoop, onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart – cookies won’t spread much.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to wire racks.

Cobb Salad

2008-04-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

So I told you all about my new (turkey) bacon addiction and my desire to post more of my ordinary meals, right? Well, here I am, using the bacon, posting the meal. I don't care what anyone says, Cobb Salads are delicious. It's the perfect salad for people who don't typically consider themselves salad lovers (which is totally not me, p.s.) because its packed with so many rich, delicious things that no one can say no to. Its the type of salad I love to make a big bowl of because if you're going to do all that chopping, it might as well not be for a little dinky serving, and because I always want more.

I would like to add that for me, the Cobb Salad has whole other significance. I should probably use this as an opportunity to confess (especially since we seem to be enjoying the spirit of confession these days): I am a TV junkie. I know, I know, it's disgusting. I should be ashamed of myself because TV is the demise of intelligent life, yeah, yeah, yeah. In my defense, I ~~never~~ rarely just park myself in front of the TV and watch anything that's on. I have specific shows that I take very seriously: Entourage, Desperate Housewives, Big Love, Grey's Anatomy, Real Time with Bill Maher, Weeds, The Office. Love them all.

And The L Word. Oh, the glorious L Word. I've been pretty addicted to the L Word since I discovered it years ago. I think its interesting and intelligent and well-made, and well, I just love it. One of the main couples in the show (that all the fans root for) is Bette and Tina. In the beginning of the fourth season, when they've broken up for good and all the Bette/Tina fans were just crushed, they went out to eat (to discuss matters other than their relationship) and both ordered a Cobb Salad. Nothing more was said about the Cobb Salad, but I think to all the Bette/Tina fans, we knew those Cobb Salads were symbols of how much the two of them still had in common, so much they still shared. Those Cobb Salads gave us hope, when we thought there would be no more Bette/Tina. Now that was season four, and season five just ended and sure enough, Bette and Tina got back together. The L Word creator, Ilene Chaiken, does these little podcasts after each episodes where she cooks up something that relates to the show and describes the process of making that particular episode. For the season finale of season five, she made Cobb Salad Wraps (as in, "That's a wrap! Season's over!"). She never mentioned the significance of the Cobb Salad part of the wraps, but I remembered that fateful episode in season four, and I reveled in the deliciousness of Ilene's choice.

That's enough ranting and raving about the L Word and the Cobb Salad, but needless to say, its more than just a salad to me. It was recently announced that the next season of the L Word, t he sixth season, would be the last season. So I'm posting this recipe in honor of all things L Word. That said, here are the ingredients for a real Cobb Salad. Just mix them up and enjoy! It doesn't have to be that serious, I promise.

*Also, this is my entry for the Nutriferia Springtime Salad Roundup. Yayyy salads!

fried turkey bacon
hard-boiled eggs
romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
tomatoes, diced
avocado, diced
chicken breast, cooked and diced
crumbled Roquefort or Blue cheese

Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, Norouz Style

2008-03-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

This month, the Daring Bakers decided to take on Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. In Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie describes this cake as the ultimate cake to use again and again for parties of all sorts of occasions. When it comes to baking, I know I'm not likely to develop a repetoire of all sorts of wildy different, intricate desserts, so I am all about delicious basic recipes that I can modify to use in different ways (you know, like Amy Sedaris's Vanilla Cupcakes!). With that in mind, this cake is the perfect recipe for me. The cake base is a lemon one and if you read this blog enough, you know anything lemon-flavored makes my heart skip a beat. Dorie explains that if lemon isn't your favorite flavor (to hell with you, lemon-hater!) you could swap out the lemon extract for any other flavored extract (raspberry or orange make me think "mmmm"). You can also experiment with different flavors with the layer of preserves that goes between all the layers, the buttercream, and the cake decoration. You could even add in cocoa powder and make the cake chocolate. The possibilities are endless and this cake's versatility definitely makes it one I'd feel comfortable using again and again.

As you have already probably deduced from my rants on lemon-flavoring, I went with the lemon base for the cake, as the original recipe perscripes. Between each of the layers, under the buttercream, there also goes a layer of preserves. Dorie's original recipe calls for raspberry preserves, but I wanted to make my cake a little Middle Eastern (in honor of Norouz, the IranianNew Year) so I used fig preserves. Another really traditional Iranian option would be rose preserves (delicious, if you've never tried them), but I thought that wouldn't pair well with the lemon. The cake baking process was fairly simple but it's hard to horizontally half the cakes (to make four layers total), because they don't rise too much. I was a little frustrated with this but it ended up working out for the best because I think its prettier with thin layers. Unfortunately, my uneven cutting lead to some lopsided layering, mais c'est pas grave. Dorie's cake is decorated simply with a layer of buttercream and coconut surrounding the whole cake, but that just seemed a little too busy for me and so I opted for a layer of buttercream and walnuts on the side and then a paisley-shape made out of walnuts on the top. Walnuts are a staple in so many Middle Eastern desserts and I think they pair really nicely with figs. They were also easy to crush to make up the paisley-shape, which was actually much harder than I anticipated.

the cake in front of the traditional Norouz sprouts, garlic, and coins

I'll admit, I've never used a Dorie Greenspan recipe before and I'm usually skeptical when trying recipes from new people. BUT I've read Dorie Greenspan success stories so much that I was excited to finnally get a chance to try something out. I was very pleasantly surprised with this cake, so maybe I'll be using Dorie sometime soon (keep your eyes peeled for her World Peace cookies which I should be baking within the next couple days).

I took the cake with me to a lovely little dinner with my best friend and her mother and we alone devoured at least 1/4 of it. The other 3/4 disspeared over the course of the next day as roommates and friends slowly attacked the rest of it, which I left on our kitchen counter. Everyone agreed it was fantastic. Mostly what I worry about with cakes is that they will be too crumby or not flavorful enough. This one was perfect with an almost pound-cake like consistency (without the pound cake heaviness). The flavors of both the cake and buttercream are sutle so the fig and walnut really their chance to shine through. I'll admit, I've avoided cakes for years in favor of cupcakes, mostly because I've had such bad luck with them, but after this success, I'll probably find myself baking cakes more and more often. Next time you need a cake for a birthday or party, give this recipe a try!

The Perfect Party Cake
from Dorie Greenspan
serves 8-10

For the Cake:
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing:
2/3 cup fig preserves
About 1 ½ cups crushed walnuts

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake:
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream:
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat. Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake:
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Pasta Carbonara

2008-03-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

So I'm sick and tired of this blog featuring so many baked goods! Don't get me wrong, baking can be fun and I'm glad I'm challenging myself with all this Daring Bakers stuff, but I need to start featuring the good old stuff I whip up for lunch and dinner. Usually, its not exciting enough to be worth the photographing and posting, but tonight I wanted something special for dinner.

I wasn't sure what to prepare but wanted to use some turkey bacon I had sitting in the fridge. Now, I never eat pork so I always sigh with disappointment when I see delicious recipes that feature bacon. I know, I know, I could buy turkey bacon more frequently, but I don't go shopping for meat that often, because I so rarely cook it, and only half the time does the halal meat store carry my favorite variety of turkey bacon. But this week, I've happened to have some that my mother bought for me because she knows how much it thrills me. And oh boy, have I been using it! I've been making bacon and eggs, cobb salads, baked risotto with bacon. It's freakin bacon galore over here! My vegan roommate is less than thrilled... I'm even considering making Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Tonight for dinner I knew I wanted pasta, and of course I wanted more turkey bacon, so I settled on something I've wanted to try for ages: Pasta Carbonara. I decided on a Giada de Laurentiis recipe because this one was particularly simple and I suppose I trust her with regards to Italian food (less intimidating than Mario Batali, who I love so much more). I didn't feel like being exact so I modified it to use the ingredients I had on hand. If you want the real recipe (not my modified version), use the link below. After giving it a whirl, I would like to say: I think I have a new favorite food. This was outrageously delicious! I'm sure I'm pretty late to the party because I've been seeing pasta carbonara's everywhere forever, but gosh, if I would have understood the magnitude of how incredible it was, I would have tried it much sooner. Next on the list of things to try is Rachael Ray's Carbonara Deep-Dish Pasta-Crusted Pan Pizza.

This is my first entry to Weekend Herb Blogging, this week hosted by Ramona from The Houndstooth Gourmet.

Pasta Carbonara
modified from Giada De Laurentiis
serves 1

1/4 lb turkey bacon, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsp 1% milk, at room temperature
1/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella, plus some for garnish
1/4 lb dried pasta
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat a large saute pan, until hot. Add turkey bacon and saute until brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Season with black pepper and remove pan from heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese.

Add pasta to salted boiling water and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse with water; you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will stick. While the pasta is still hot, return it back to the pot. Add the browned turkey bacon and mix well. Add the milk/egg mixture and coat the pasta completely. It's important to work quickly while the pasta is still warm so that the cream mixture will cook, but not curdle. Add remaining cheese and chopped parsley.

Amy Sedaris's Vanilla Cupcakes

2008-03-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

It has been birthday season in my life recently. A little bit ago, in the same week, it was my niece and nephew's birthday, this past Saturday was my roommate's birthday and today was my sister's birthday. For regular people, this many birthdays means a whole lot of birthday cake. But for me, it just means tons and tons of cupcakes.

For her birthday, my niece decided to throw a fairy party. In advance, my sister and her created (with the wonders of a little machine very foreign to me that you may know as "the sewing machine") little fairy dolls that looked like each one of her party guests. Upon arrival (decked out in their prettiest dresses and hairdos), each little girl fairy made a wand, complete with ribbons and sparkles and all of that good stuff. For dessert, my sister asked me in advance to make cupcakes. We decided, with my niece as our consultant, that vanilla would be a safe bet. I made the cupcakes the morning of, and brought them over (rather easily, thanks to my handy dandy cupcake carrier, thanks Nayereh!). Together, my niece, sister-in-law and I decorated them making a basic powdered sugar/butter/milk frosting that we dyed purple. To make them extra special I picked up edible flowers from Whole Foods, which were actually just pretty standard flowers, but they made them look so pretty and fairy-like. My sister-in-law brought over the adorable cupcake tree in the photo which I'm totally jealous of because just like cupcakes need their own proper carriers, they need their own towers.

I used Amy Sedaris's vanilla cupcake recipe which I just love. I'm sad to report I think this cupcake recipe has actually gotten a bad rep because of Chockylit's comparison of it to Martha Stewart's vanilla cupcakes. She concedes that they are more delicious, but ultimately goes in favor of Martha's cupcakes if you need them to be pretty and presentable. Let me hereby say (I like to pretend lots of people read this blog and take my opinions very seriously), I (respectfully) disagree with the verdict reached. Not only are Amy's cupcakes more delicious, but mine have come out perfect looking (perfect domes and all!) every time. This is definitely my go-to recipe when I want basic vanilla cupcakes or a vanilla base with which to add on something new and exciting (like lavender!).

Vanilla Cupcakes
from Amy Sedaris
16 cupcakes

1½ sticks unsalted butter
1¾ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
2½ teaspoons baking powder
2½ cups flour
1¼ cups milk

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
3. Beat in eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder.
4. Add flour in 3 batches, alternating with milk.
5. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds or until mixture is smooth and satiny.
6. Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean.
7. Cool on wire rack for 45 minutes or until at room temperature.

Julia Child's French Bread

2008-02-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

So my first Daring Baker challenge has definitely lived up to its name, daring that is. It actually did exactly what I wanted being a part of the Daring Bakers to do for me---challenge me to try (with many other lovely bakers from around the world) recipes I might have otherwise skipped over, out of sheer laziness. This month's challenge was hosted by the lovely Breadchick Mary (from The Sour Dough) and Sara (from I Like to Cook).

There couldn't have been better timing on this challenge. Over my winter break, stranded at my parent's house taking care of my father who was miserable without my mother (who was on her yearly vacation in Iran), I began reading Julia Child's My Life in France. It appealed to me on so many levels. Having recently begun cooking and baking myself, I could so easily relate to the apprenehension with which she entered the food world (whatever that means....). Also, I am studying abroad next year in Nice, France (it's official!), and her intense fascination with all things french really mirrored my own. I love that she never tried to mask her adoration and passion for France which cynicism, but instead embraced it, regardless of how idealistic and romantic it may seem to others. Anyway, the book consumed a week of my life and I spent so much time just completely in awe of Julia and all she accomplished. On a side note, has anyone read Julia & Julia? I'm thinking of picking it up next...

This French bread recipe was quite intimidating, as it goes on for pages and pages. After reading about how meticulously Julia wanted to perfect it, helping American bakers get as close to authentic French bread as possible, I knew I had to give it a try, at least for Julia's sake (not to mention out of love and dedication to all my new Daring Baker friends!).

It was precisely as intense as I imagined it would be. I started at 10am, and had the first slice at 9:30pm (hence the poorly lit photo...sorry!). At so many stages in the process I paced my kitchen, panicked because I wasn't sure exactly what I was doing or I was missing some critical tool that was pivotal for a certain step int the process. There was some improvisation, not enough to compromise the integrity of the recipe (or of the Daring Bakers), but enough that is bound to occur in a college student's meek kitchen. It was definitely a serious undertaking. Then again, this was my first experience baking bread (pizza crust is probably the closest I've come...which was actually somewhat similar). That said, it was SO worth it. Me and my two friends devoured all three loaves as soon as the necessary cooling time had passed. I had planned to make a corn chowder to accompany it but we had so many amazing things to top the bread with, I didn't bother (double-cream brie, sharp white cheddar, strawberry jam, local honey, butter, vegan butter, etc.).

Like I said, the recipe was quite complicated, but I was amazed how (with a little patience) delicious French bread can be made. I'm not sure when I'll try it again, as I'm a little breaded out, but I know at some point I want to keep working at this recipe so I can see if it might improve when I am more properly equipped.

I made a batard, a regular boule, and a garlic sesame-topped boule. The consistencies of each were so different (eek...does that mean I did something wrong?) so I can't say which was my favorite. All I can do is encourage you to try for yourself. And please, invite me over when you do!

Mario Batali on Saucing Your Pasta

2008-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

Khoresht Karafs: Iranian Celery Lamb Stew

2008-01-24T15:58:00.000-08:00

So my mother has been pretty disappointed that in all my excitement about food and different cuisines I have yet to master classic Iranian dishes (I'm 100% Iranian after all...). Because I'm on winter break with no class or work, its the perfect time to work on learning to actually make the foods I've eaten over and over again with delight throughout my life.

If you wanted to be simplistic and divide classic Iranian dishes into two categories they would be Khoresht and Khorak. Khoresht is a stew-like creation that is always served with rice. Khorak simply means any food that is served on its own, without rice. Khoresht tends to be slow-cooked a little more labor intensive. This particular khoresht, karafs, includes tons of celery and parsley, a little mint, and lamb. The recipe is rather easy, and I find it quite delicious.

Khoresht Karafs
serves 4-6

1 bunch/head celery, sliced (without leaves and ends) in 3/4" pieces
2 bunches parsley, stems removed, rinsed and very finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2-1 lb lamb (depending on how much meat you like), cut into 1" cubes
1 tbsp dried mint
olive oil
dried onions
water (or stock, if you prefer)
lemon juice
salt & pepper

Add the celery to a pan on medium-high heat and let them sweat (without oil) until any/all juices released is evaporated. Once it has been sufficiently cooked and browned and is tender, put it aside. To the warm pan on medium heat, add the chopped onion and sauté. Add 2 tbsp oil to the onions and when the onions are somewhat browned, add the lamb, up the heat to high, and cover.

In a different pan on medium heat, sauté the chopped parsley and dried mint. After about 10 minutes, the parsley should have wilted somewhat, add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp dried onions, 1 tbsp dried mint. Mix and let cook for another 2 minutes.

When the lamb is browned add the celery and wilted parsley mixture to the lamb, add enough water to almost cover the ingredients, 3 tbsp lemon juice and let sit on low heat for 2 hours.

After two hours, add salt and pepper and taste (add more lemon juice if you like). The consistency should be something like this:

Potato-Crusted Sea Bass in Mango-Carrot Broth and Mango-Green Pepper Salsa

2008-01-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

taken with the iPhone. sorry, I'm without camera

Okay so after blogging about the cupcakes the other night, I was feeling adventurous and (a little too) confident about my ability to master that particular Bobby Flay recipe. Assuming I'd manage fine enough, I set out to make Bobby Flay's Potato and Cascabel-Crusted Halibut with Mango-Carrot Broth and Mango-Green Onion Salsa. Wow. Even the title is a mouthful. That says something about how ambitious I was feeling. But boy, was I wrong!

I've been reading Julia Child's My Life in France, which absolutely delights me in ways food books have never done so before. I have always been a little embarrassed at the degree to which I romanticize about France and she makes me feel just so justified in doing so. Anyway, she always goes on about the importance of not apologizing and the value in being able to make do with all your mistakes in the kitchen. That said, there were many mistakes in my attempts to create Bobby's recipe. First, I couldn't find Cascabel chile powder or habanero chiles, so I had to make do with whatever seemed to fit (regular chile powder [what kind of chile does that use, anyway?], and some other unidentifiable chile pepper). Then, the fish monger at Whole Foods was out of halibut, so I opted for Sea Bass, not quite realizing how expensive Sea Bass was until I made my way to the cashier. I left my green onions at the market, so the Mango-Green Onion Salsa became Mango-Green Pepper salsa. Finally, in the frying, the potato "crust" on the halibut formed a sort of skin and slid right off as soon as I attempted to plate it. Despite all of those mishaps and "whoops!"moments, I managed to finish it off and I thought it was quite delicious. And Julia has me convinced that that's all that matters!

If you'd like to be ambitious too and use the original, use the above (or below) link. My version is below.

Potato-Crusted Sea Bass in Mango-Carrot Broth and Mango-Green Pepper Salsa
adapted from Bobby Flay
serves 4

Carrot-Mango Broth:
2 cups fresh mango juice or canned mango nectar
2 cups fresh carrot juice
1 tablespoon toasted whole fennel seeds
2 tablespoons toasted whole coriander seeds
1 chile
Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the juices, fennel, coriander and chile and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes, or until reduced by half. Strain through a fine strainer and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mango-Green Onion Salsa:
1 large mango, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 green chile, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeeze lime juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Sea bass:
4 sea bass fillets, 5 to 6 ounces each
Salt and pepper
1 large Idaho potato, peeled and finely shredded
1 tablespoon chile powder
3 tablespoons olive oil

Season the fillet on both sides, to taste, with salt and pepper. Cover the flesh side with a thin layer of the shredded potatoes, pressing down so it adheres, and sprinkle with the chile powder. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Cook the fillets, potato-side down, until the potatoes are lightly browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, turn the fillets, and cook until done to taste, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the mango-carrot broth into a large serving bowl and arrange the fillets in the bowl. Top each fillet with mango-green chile salsa and serve any remaining salsa on the side.

Gingerbread Cupcakes w/ Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

2008-01-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

photo courtesy of the lovely Nayereh

Okay, so I know the holiday season is over and no one feels like hearing about gingerbread anymore but I wanted to post this anyway, because you know what? Better late than never. Right? Isn't that what they say? Okay then. Here we go. And from now on I promise to be more timely about posts.

I have been a Bobby Flay fan since I became an intensely addicted to Iron Chef America and since I visited Bar Americain last March, which I STILL recommend to New Yorkers looking for creative (and rather costly) meals. That being said, I usually avoid his recipes because they are so intensely complicated I just feel overwhelmed and inept after looking through them. I decided I wanted to use one of his recipes when making gingerbread because its such a multifaceted flavor that already has so many components, I might as well go Bobby Flay on it.

I usually am not the biggest fan of gingerbread, partially because I hate molasses and hate having to buy it for gingerbread, but also because I had such a dreadful and unsuccessful time attempting to make gingerbread men (they are harder than they look, dammit!) a few Decembers back. Still, I bought the most adorable Santa cupcake liners and I had to use them with something and I figured gingerbread cupcakes were the most holiday-related cupcake around. Bobby tops his cupcakes with a Carmelized Mango Buttercream, which sounds delicious but was a bit too adventurous (and complicated...hmph) for me. Instead I opted for Rachael Ray's pumpkin cream cheese frosting. A little complex, yet not too out there for a Christmas dinner at Yasmina's. Although, now that I think about it, Yasmina's Pakistani family loves Mango, so perhaps the Mango buttercream would have been more of a crowd-pleaser...

Either way, I thought the cupcakes turned out excellent and Nayereh managed to snap a photo before they were eaten up. They were moist, balanced, and not too strong (spiciness is exactly what I think turns off gingerbread haters). The ginger glaze between the cupcakes and the frosting adds a bit of moisture and more of a ginger kick (again, without too much intensity). I'd definitely recommend them if you feel like gingerbread without all those pesky little men.

Gingerbread Cupcakes
from Bobby Flay
makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons black strap molasses
3/4 cup water

For the ginger syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

For the ginger syrup, bring all the ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until the sugar has melted and the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat and infuse for 30 minutes. Remove ginger just before using.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12-muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners and spray the inside of each liner and the top of the pan with nonstick cooking spray (Instead of cooking spray, I invested in one of these which you fill with olive oil or whatever you like and reuse it. I love it and recommend it to everyone!).

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves into a medium bowl. Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and molasses in a large bowl until blended. Add some of the water to batter then some of the dry ingredients to the batter. Continue alternating with the water and flour until everything is added and smooth.

Fill each paper liner with 1/3 cup of the batter, about 1/4-inch below the top of the liner. Place into preheated oven and bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Remove from the oven and brush the tops liberally with some of the ginger syrup. Allow cupcakes to cool prior to frosting.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
from Rachael Ray

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 orange, zested
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, nutmeg, orange zest and vanilla with hand mixer at medium speed. Beat in sugar until frosting is fluffy. Frost cupcakes and top with crystalized ginger or sprinkles.

Snickerdoodles

2007-12-25T19:31:00.001-08:00

Snickerdoodles are one of those cookies that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Despite the fact that my family never celebrated Christmas, I always took part in some sort of festivities with close friends. Certain treats, like snickerdoodles and peppermint bark, were always a part of the holiday season for me, and just the thought of them makes me nostalgic. When we had people over for a little holiday party I knew I had to attempt making them for myself. I was also intensely inspired by the Bake or Break post on Snickerdoodles and Chocodoodles, which was so beautiful that it shoved me into attempting my own little balls of cinnamon-sugary goodness!

Snickerdoodles
from Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess
makes about 32 cookies

1 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar, + 2 tablespoons for rolling cookies
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°. Line or grease baking sheets and set aside. Combine flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until smooth.

Mix together cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Pinch dough into walnut-sized pieces and roll into balls. Roll each ball in cinnamon/sugar mixture, and place on baking sheets.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool and enjoy!

Lemon Cookies

2007-12-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

Me and lemon are best friends. If you've been reading faithfully, you've already read about/seen my adventures with lemon broth soup. I'm a firm believer that adding lemon juice (fresh squeezed, please) to so many things (broiled fish, yogurt sauces, chicken soup, teas) to cut into the taste and provide a little burst of freshness, a similar experience to adding fresh herbs (a whole other post...). While I have not had positive experiences attempting to make lemon curd, I love it and think drizzling it over yogurt or cake or anything really is delicious (note to self: try again...). Further proof that lemon flavored goodies reign supreme is that even the bakeries that suck at everything (like DC's CakeLove, which is an experience I don't even want to get into right now), make delicious lemon bars.

Cookings seem to be THE holiday food. Shortbread, sugar, gingerbread, you name it and someone will be making it within the holiday season. After reading about so many people's adventures with lemon cookies, I have been consistently craving them. Our mini-holiday soiree was the perfect opportunity to test these bad boys out.

Cathie's version, which was adapted from Martha Stewart, looked so fantastic that I chose them to sample. They were so fantastic! I overcooked the first half of my batch and they were a little crunchier than I would have liked but the second half turned out just right. The flavor was just right, with tons of lemon flavor and enough sugar, without being too sugary. Enjoy!

Lemon Cookies
makes about 20
from Cathie Cooks Food

2 cups flour (plus more for work surface)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

Put granulated sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 1 minute. Add butter and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla and lemon juice. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour mixture.

On a lightly floured work surface, halve the dough. Flatten each half into a 10 inch disk, and warp each in plastic. Freeze until firm, about t 30 mins.
Preheat oven to 325F. Working with 1 half at a time, roll out dough on parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. cut shapes from dough with a 3 inch flower shape cookie cutter. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut a hole in centre of each with a 1-inch round cutter, repeat with remaining disk. Warp scraps in plastic. Freeze 30 mins, re-roll, and cut.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until set, about 12 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Before serving sift confectioners sugar over cookies.

so I didn't actually make this but...

2007-12-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know this is a food blog, and that usually involves the creation of YOUR OWN food, but this post is an exception I must make.

The following combination was perfect for me today. It was cold, I had no time to make anything substantial (i.e. finals start tomorrow), and I have tons of fresh herbs left over from the weekend that I need to use before they go bad:
- 1 can Amy's Organic Low-Fat Cream of Tomato Soup
- 1-2 tbsp Fat Free Half & Half (who knows what's really in that stuff...)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2-3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

This is good. Really, really good.

Buttermilk Pie

2007-12-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday night I saw The Waitress. I just LOVED this movie. It was very artfully and cutely directed, and being a foodie, I loved the use of food as a medium of self-expression. I'm also a huge Keri Russell fan since the good old Felicity days. Anyway, the movie gave me a ridiculous craving for some form of pie. Now, considering the fact that it's finals week and I really should be studying/writing papers, pie-baking is not high on my list of this to do. But amidst my procrastinating today, I found a recipe for a pie that took less than 5 minutes to prep AND used all the leftover buttermilk that I got for the cilantro buttermilk biscuits. I saw several variations of this pie, many of which included real pie crusts which I didn't have pre-made and I didn't want to make (considering I technically don't have the time to be baking at all...heh), but this one was pretty basic.

The result was SO delicious. The pie has a sort of custard-like consistency, but the top is firm and crunchy. It only used 1 cup of sugar (Paula Deen's recipe called for 1.5 cups), and I still found it very sweet and rich. I certainly didn't mind, but if you are sensitive about too much sweetness, you could get away with using less sugar. It probably also depends on how tart your buttermilk is. I have seen it topped with confectioner's sugar and/or cocoa powder, but I used a mixture of sugar and cinnamon which was excellent. It reminded me of some dessert I knew I had at a friend's house as a child, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. Either way, if you have some extra buttermilk on hand that you need to use or just want a really quick pie, this one is definitely for you.

Buttermilk Pie
adapted from Paula Deen

1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Bisquick (or, as I used: 6 tbsp flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp oil)
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan.

Put all ingredients in a bowl and blend for 1 minute with a handheld electric mixer. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes.

Top with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or (my favorite) cinnamon.

the most delicious salad EVER...for now at least

2007-12-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

So I have an unfortunate tendency to stick to what I like. Don't get me wrong, I can be daring and adventurous and all that, but when I know what I like, its comforting to just keep enjoying it over and over again. The problem is, of course, that then I get sick of it and never want to see it again. This fall, I abused a salad. Don't call the police or anything, it wasn't too serious, and I've realized my mistake and we've both moved on. But I just loved this salad so much, I couldn't say no. The combination was usually mixed greens/cherry tomatoes/sliced mushrooms/goat cheese/Trader Joe's Champagne Pear Gorgonzola dressing. The dressing was a little bit sweet and I loved the way it played with the tangy goat cheese. Problem is, now the thought of that salad makes me want to avoid salad altogether! Blegh! All that sweetness??? Who needs it in a salad, anyway?

Point is, I've moved on to greener pastures. In an effort to get myself back to salads and still avoiding that particular salad, I have been experimenting with tangier things. Today, I had this idea for the following salad, just made everything up as I went, and was blown away by how delicious it all turned out. I saved the extras of it to have for dinner again tonight. Uh oh, here we go again...

Components:
Your Favorite Mixed Greens (mine is presently a mixture of mâche, radicchio, and frisée)
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, cut in half
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Marinated and Broiled Mushrooms
Chick'n Strips (or real chicken if you prefer)

For the Mushroom Marinade:
Portabello Mushrooms
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Goddess Dressing
1 tsp minced garlic

For the Chicken Sauce:
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce (low sodium, please!!!)
1 tsp minced garlic

I marinated the mushrooms for 20 minutes and then put them on the top shelf of my oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. I sautéed the chick'n strips in the sauce for about 3 minutes and they absorbed all of it pretty nicely.

Finally, mix all the components and enjoy the most delicious salad...ever (maybe?).