Roasted Beets with Sautéed Beet Greens

I avoided beets for a very long time, because I dislike both pickled beets and borscht.  Much like brussels sprouts, beets once again prove my theory that there is a delicious way to consume any vegetable – you just have to know how to prepare it to your liking.  My favorite use for beets?  Roast the beets until the sugars start to caramelize, and serve over sautéed garlicky beet greens.  Delicious!

Roasted Beets with Sautéed Beet Greens
a Sugar Scientist original kitchen protocol

Ingredients:

• one bunch beets, well cleaned
• one medium onion, diced
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Scrub beets to remove all dirt, and rinse beet greens well.  Chop off greens where leaves end and remove remaining ‘stems’ from the beet root.
3. Quarter each beet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast beets in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes, then remove foil and continue to cook uncovered at 400F for another 20 minutes until beets can be easily pierced with a knife.
4. Remove from oven and allow beets to cool.  Drain remaining beet-infused olive oil from baking pan and pour into a skillet over medium-low heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.  Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces and add to the skillet.  Sautee until greens are wilted.
5. If desired, peel beets once they have cooled enough to handle.  The beet skin should easily rub right off, but the skin is perfectly edible and adds a nice texture.
6. Serve roasted beets over beet greens, topped with salt and pepper to taste.
   

Cookies & Cream Mini-Cheesecakes

Earlier tonight, Always a Northerner asked for suggestions for a bake sale to raise money for the flood victims of Binghamton.   I feel like typical cupcakes and cookies are a dime a dozen at bake sales, so I suggested these mini-cheesecakes as a fun alternative.   My favorite part is the oreo cookie as a crust, which makes them relatively neat and tidy to hold in your hand without requiring a fork.  They’re so quick to make, super tasty (if you like cheesecake), hold up well throughout the day even without refrigeration (I’ve brought them to many an outdoor summer potluck), and you can make them days ahead of time and pop them in the refrigerator until you need them.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes 
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
Ingredients:

• 1 package Oreo cookies; 30 left whole, 12 coarsely chopped
• 2 pound cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• pinch salt

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 275F.  Line muffin tins with paper liners.  Place one cookie in the bottom of each muffin liner.
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually add in sugar and beat until combined.  Beat in vanilla.
3. Slowly add in eggs, sour cream, and salt, beating until combined.  Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
4. Divide batter among the 30 muffin liners with cookies, filling each to almost the top.  Bake until filling is set, about 22 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Remove from liners just before serving.

Pretty enough in muffin liners to serve at a bake sale…

… and super tasty when popped out of the liners!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad

So many of the food blogs I follow create such labor-intensive, elaborate foods. Cooking for hour upon hour, multiple-day steps, tragic stories of one tiny mistake ruining the entire recipe. While I certainly appreciate, and often enjoy, mastering new techniques in the kitchen, I so often find that the most enjoyable meals are simple, fresh, and require no real skill whatsoever.

This is certainly the case with this salad. Every time I make it, I expect to be disappointed because I have built it up to such amazing flavors in my head, and yet each time, it's every bit as flavorful as I was expecting.

If you have a knife and an oven, make this. It's fast, it's easy, and it's unbelievably delicious.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
adapted from What Would Cathy Eat?

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1 bunch scallions, green and white parts, chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Spread the sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender and brussels sprouts are crispy.
3. Add the roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts with the red peppers, scallions, and black beans.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lemon juice, mustard, and basil. Whisk in the olive oil.
5. Mix the dressing with the salad, adding additional salt, pepper, or lime juice to taste.

Update: I made a summer version of this salad for a 4th of July picnic, using what I had in hand… no brussels sprouts, but 4 red peppers, 2 yellow peppers, and  2 green peppers.  I loved it even more, with the crunch from all the peppers, and it was a perfectly light and colorful addition to the picnic!

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

After spending all day cooking food for my mother-in-law, I invited our close friend (and accountant) over for dinner. Dinner was a success -- he loved the brussels sprouts gratin (his first time eating brussels sprouts) and for the first time in several years, we don't owe hundreds and hundreds of dollars in taxes! In fact, we owe a big fat whopping $3.00. Now, it's certainly not the same as getting a refund, but since we had set aside $1,200 for taxes, it's kind of like more money back into our pocket!

I love (love love love) brussels sprouts. Typically I just roast them, but I decided to spruce them up a bit since I was cooking dinner for a friend. Even Husband, who is not a fan of any vegetables in particular, deemed them "not bad", which is a smashing success!

Brussels Sprouts Gratin
A Sugar Scientist Original Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• olive oil spray
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup smoked gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup panko
• 1/4 cup shredded gouda cheese

Directions:

1. Trim brussels sprouts and cut in half. Arrange on a baking sheet, spray with olive oil, and sprinkle salt over top. Roast at 425C for 30-40 minutes, until crispy.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour and let simmer. Stir in the milk, nutmeg, and grated gruyere cheese. Continue stirring until cheese is melted and smooth.
3. Pour bechamel sauce over the brussels sprouts and toss to cover. Transfer brussels sprouts to a 9x9 inch baking dish.
4. Sprinkle panko and grated gouda on top.
5. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Recipe Ideas

It’s time for me to turn the tables a bit and ask all of you for a little recipe help.

You see, my mother-in-law is on chemotherapy for breast cancer and is currently neutropenic. For the non-biology types, neutropenia is characterized by super low white blood cells, which makes you particularly susceptible to infections. As a result, my MIL is no longer allowed to go to work (she works in a hospital setting where germs run rampant), eat any raw fruits or vegetables, have flowers in the house, etc., because all of these can increase your exposure to various bacteria. But the real kicker for her – she can no longer order takeout. For someone who exists mostly on takeout, this is a very, very big change.

To help her out, I’m planning on cooking as many frozen dinners to send to her as my tiny freezer space will allow. I never cook ahead of time and freeze food for myself, so this is a pretty foreign operation for me. I’d love your tried-and-true freezer meals, since Googling is a bit overwhelming, and some people say things like “I think this will freeze!” but I’m looking for actual confirmation, since I’m sending these off to my MIL and not just keeping them for myself!

Specifically, I’m looking for recipes that are:

1) Easy. She’s going to be on chemo for at least 4 more months, followed by several months of radiation, so I’d like to prepare as many meals as possible.

2) Foolproof when it comes to meat. Since I don’t consume meat myself, I don’t have a ton of experience cooking with it. I want recipes where I don’t have to worry about undercooking the chicken and accidentally killing off my MIL – in other words, whole roasted chicken? Bad. Casserole with cubed chicken that is cooked to the point of no possible rawness? Good.

3) Minimal preparation after thawing. Thawing sauce on the side and pouring it on top is fine, but nothing that requires preparing rice or noodles separately. On days she is feeling her worst, I want her to just take it out of the freezer, put it in the oven, and walk away.

Since I know tastes and preferences can change during chemo, I plan on gathering as many recipes as possible and sending her a list, so she can pick what sounds most appealing to her right now. Any links to recipes you have tried that freeze well would be greatly, greatly appreciated! So far, I'm planning on making a vegetable lasagna, stuffed shells, and portobello black bean enchiladas.


This also seems an appropriate time to do a quick plug for my best friend from high school, Shannon, who is walking 60 miles this fall for breast cancer. In addition to working full time as a behavioral therapist in a school for autistic children and pursuing a masters’ in clinical psychology, Shannon makes jewelry as a hobby and sells it on Etsy. Currently, 100% of the proceeds from her jewelry sales are going towards fundraising for her walk for breast cancer. Check it out – maybe you’ll find a piece you love and will support a great cause at the same time! (I wear lots of Shannon-made originals, and get compliments on them all the time!)

Huevos Rancheros

I have never really been much of a breakfast person. On the rare occasion that I find myself going out to brunch, I bypass all the breakfast options and head straight to lunch. I suspect this is because I will almost always choose savory over sweet (probably unexpected from someone who wants to open a bakery), and most breakfast foods have a hint of sweetness to them -- french toast, pancakes, waffles. I'm also not a huge fan of eggy-flavored things, so omelettes, fritattas, and even simple scrambled eggs don't particularly excite me. But one thing I do love? Mexican food! So, it should come as no surprise that I adore huevos rancheros (the egg is balanced out with a tortilla and salsa), and it is at the top of my list for making weekend breakfasts when Husband comes to visit.

Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients:

• 1 can seasoned black beans
• 1 cup salsa of choice
• 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
• 4 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat black beans in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Spray frying pan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat one tortilla until golden brown, then flip. Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the tortilla and let it melt.
3. Break one egg over the melting cheese, using a spatula to help hold the egg yolk on top of the tortilla. Once the egg white starts to set, quickly flip the tortilla over. Cook 2-3 minutes on the opposite side, until yolk firms, and then flip back upright onto a plate.
4. Repeat with remaining tortillas and eggs.
5. Serve with salsa and black beans.

Super Sugar Cookies

Rolled sugar cookies have long been my nemesis in the kitchen. I suspect it is because my grandmother has handed down the World's Best Gingerbread recipe, and this declaration comes from someone who doesn't particularly care for gingerbread in the first place. The dough is soft, easy to roll out, not sticky, doesn't spread in the oven, and stays soft for days. I've been searching for the sugar cookie equivalent for YEARS, and nothing was quite right. Some rolled out well but were too crunchy, some tasted great but didn't roll well, and some... some were just utter disasters spreading into amorphous blobs. But finally, FINALLY, just when I was about to give up all hope... I noticed my bookshelf. All these years, I've been searching the internet for the ultimate recipe, and yet there it was, right in my apartment the whole time, hiding inside my copy of America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. Why, oh why, did I not think to look there in the first place? America's Test Kitchen has never let me down, and this is no exception.

These cookies are, dare I say, my definition of perfect. The dough is soft enough to roll easily, not remotely sticky -- no flour necessary to roll them out, which helps them hold their shape better (adding extra flour to the rolling surface and rolling pin often cause cookies to spread). They sat out Friday night cooling and Saturday night drying, uncovered, and are still perfectly soft today. And, they're not too sweet, which I like, since royal icing is just another layer of sugar on top.

Instead of the standard creaming sugar and butter and then adding in the flour, these cookies use reverse creaming. The butter is added to a flour and sugar combination, which eliminates all those little air pockets that tend to make cookies balloon up. The recipe also calls for superfine sugar; if your grocery store doesn't care it (mine does not), process 1 cup of granulated sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds, then measure the appropriate amount.

And, of course.... HERE WE GO, STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!

The Perfect Rolled Sugar Cookie
Source: America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 16 tablespoons softened butter, cut into half-inch pieces
  
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat the butter into the flour mixture, adding one piece at a time. Mixture should look crumbly and slightly wet
   
2. Beat in the cream cheese and vanilla until the dough begins to form large clumps. Knead the dough in the bowl by hand several times until it forms a large, smooth mass.
   
3. Divide dough into two even pieces. Form into a 4-inch disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to two days (dough can be frozen at this step for up to a month).
   
4. Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to a 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness, no flour necessary. Slide the dough, still between parchment paper, onto a baking sheet and refrigerate 10 minutes. This firms the dough to ensure a perfect cut with the cookie cutters.
   
5. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
   
6. Remove dough from refrigerator. Carefully remove top piece of parchment paper and cut out cookies. Transfer the cookies to the baking sheet, spaced one inch apart.
   
7. Bake the cookies until light golden brown, approximately 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transfering to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating.
   
8. Repeat with remaining dough. Dough scraps can be re-rolled up to two additional times (ATK claims once, but I re-rolled mine again afterward and the cookies still held their shape perfectly).

Spicy Squash "Salad"

The term "salad" applies here very loosely -- the original recipe off of which it is based is served on a bed of arugula, making it kind of like a salad. And the original version looks very tasty, indeed... but I wanted something with more of a nutritional punch. I'm tired of playing the game where everything is so tasty that I want seconds, but can't fit it into my calorie count. Instead, I'm packing everything so full of vegetables now and making everything so nutrient dense that I can have seconds -- or thirds -- if I want!

The original recipe calls for three tablespoons of olive oil and a cup of goat cheese, both of which have been reduced. It also calls for 4 cups of arugula, which I swapped out for 2 pounds (approximately 8 cups) of cooked turnip greens. Why turnip greens? Well, they were recently on sale at my grocery store, so I decided to give them a whirl. I had no idea what a nutritional superfood they are -- one cup of turnip greens brings 5g of fiber, 2g of protein, 220% of daily Vitamin A, 66% vitamin C, 20% calcium (!!), and all for a mere 29 calories. Needless to say, I'm hooked, and have been eating my way through bags and bags ever since. Turnip greens have one of the highest calcium levels of the cruciferous vegetables, which contributes to its bite -- a definite peppery taste. I thought it would pair perfectly with a spicy dish, and this sure didn't disappoint.

As far as eating my fill, I ate until I was stuffed, roughly a fourth of the "salad", weighing in at 332 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 17 grams of protein. Imagine eating until the level of being "stuffed" on pizza or a pasta dish -- easily, quadruple the calorie count, and half the nutrients.

Spicy Squash "Salad"
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup green lentils
  
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus olive oil spray
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  
• 1 tablespoon paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 pounds (~8 cups) turnip greens
  
• 4 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
  
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  

Directions:

1. Soak lentils in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain, then cook in boiling water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.
   
2. Preheat oven to 375F. Toss butternut squash with cumin, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and spray lightly with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes, flip squash, and roast another 10 minutes.
   
3. Place turnip greens in a large (very large) stock pot with one cup of water. Cover and heat over medium-low heat until wilted, 10-12 minutes.
   
4. Combine lentils, squash, and turnip greens, and crumbled goat cheese in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Taco Soup

Even though I have hundreds (maybe not hundredS, but at least a hundred) recipes and photos waiting, I'm starting back up with something I made right now, and am enjoying while I write this out. One of the things I miss the most since I've moved is the "huge" (by inner-city 690-square food condo standards) pantry next to the kitchen. Now, I have a small kitchen with minimal storage, and I have to share it all with another person. Gone are the days of keeping a stocked pantry; I really have to grocery shop every few days now (carrying a gallon of milk uphill a mile totally counts as a workout, right?).

The last time Husband was down and I was able to grocery shop with his car, I noticed my cabinet was a little over-stuffed, so I've decided it's time to clear out the contents -- random cans leftover from something I decided not to make, jar of sauce leftover from a rare Costco trip, etc. Surveying the contents today, I discovered multiple cans of black beans and diced tomatoes. Ah-ha: taco soup time! And made even tastier with a few leftover tortilla scoops from our New Year's Eve party!

Taco Soup
(an original Sugar Scientist kitchen experiment)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds soy crumbles or ground beef
  
• 2 onions, chopped
  
• 1 red pepper, chopped
  
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
  
• 2 jalapenos, chopped
  
• 4 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning (or 2 packets)
  
• 12 ounces beer of choice (I used Abita Pecan Harvest Ale)

Directions:

1. If using beef, cook in skillet until no longer pink. Drain and transfer to a large Dutch oven or stockpot. If using soy crumbles, just add frozen crumbles directly to stockpot.
   
2. Add onions to ground beef/soy crumbles and cook over medium heat until onions begin to brown.
   
3. Add red pepper, tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans, corn, and jalapenos. Stir in taco seasoning. Pour beer into stockpot and stir gently.
   
4. Simmer soup over low heat for one hour. Partway through cooking, mash soup with a potato masher to thicken the soup.
   
5. Garnish with favorite taco toppings -- tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

One of the advantages to long-distance marriage is that I’ve been working my way through the massive list of recipe ideas which include ingredients I love, but Husband hates. This was an excellent candidate, as asparagus is my favorite vegetable and Husband refuses to eat it… and walnut are my favorite nuts, whie Husband is not a nut fan in general (unless they are in the form of peanut butter). Unfortunately for Husband, I think I liked this enough that it’s going to stay in the rotation even when we are living together again – good thing he knows how to make peanut butter and jelly!

Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 pound whole wheat rigatoni
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
• 1/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Add green onions and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes more.
3. Add cooked pasta to skillet, then stir in cheese and walnuts.

Nanaimo Bars – Daring Bakers

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I couldn’t think of a more appropriate dessert to make right now, considering the Olympics are just around the corner.  For those of you who are not familiar with Nanaimo Bars, they hail from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and are more or less the official dessert of BC.  Seriously, they are everywhere.

That said, I already knew off the bat that I have an extremely strong dislike for Nanaimo bars.  I really enjoyed this challenge, however, because it allowed me to pinpoint exactly why I detest them so much.  The middle layer is always described as a “custard”… which I think of as kind of a thick pastry cream or pudding.  I like custard.  I do not, however, like the “custard” layer AT ALL.  Now that I’ve made it, I realize that it’s hardly a custard, but more of a glorified buttercream… and I loathe frosting.  Seriously, hate it.  That nauseatingly sweet, tooth-dissolving flavor and texture is a HUGE turn off for me.  But please, don’t let MY dislike of Nanaimo Bars turn you off.  A simple test – if you savor the frosting on your cupcake and save it to the very end, make these – fast!  If, like me, you try to wipe off every last drop and still wind up throwing out half of the cake because it is too “tainted” with frosting…. well, just make these for your Olympic opening ceremonies party, but pass on trying one out yourself. :)

The first part of the challenge was to make homemade graham crackers.  I opted to pass on the gluten free version, not because I am opposed to gluten free baking, but I am making an extreme effort to cut down on groceries, and by making these with regular all-purpose flour, I already had all the ingredients on hand.  I rolled out my dough on the thicker side, and LOVED the results.  Instead of crunchy like a normal graham cracker, it had the exact same flavor, but was soft, similar to the difference between a gingerbread cookie and actual gingerbread.  I liked these so much that I’m not sure if I’ll ever buy another packaged thin crispy graham cracker again!

 

Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 7 tablespoons butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup honey
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Add the cubed butter and cut in until the mixture forms a coarse meal.
2. Whisk together honey, milk, and vanilla.  Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together.
3. Turn the dough onto plastic wrap and chill until firm, 2 hours or overnight.
4. Sift a layer of flour on the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle (depending on the size of your work surface, you may want to divide into two balls of dough), about 1/8 inch thick (mine were 1/4 inch think).  Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares.  Move to parchment-lined baking sheets and prick surface with a fork.
5. Bake for 12 minutes at 350F, or until golden brown in color.

 

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients:

• For Bottom Layer:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
• For Middle Layer:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder or vanilla pudding mix
  • 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• For Top Layer:
  • 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Melt unsalted butter, sugar, and cocoa in the top of a double boiler.  Add egg and stir to cook and thicken.  Remove from heat.  Stir in graham cracker crumbs, nuts, and coconut.  Press firmly into an ungreased 8x8 inch pan.
2. Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and confectioner’s sugar together.  Beat until light in color.  Spread over bottom layer.
3. Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat.  Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Cannoli-oli-oli (Daring Bakers)

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

I had mixed feelings about this months DB’s challenge.  On one hand, I looooove cannoli (every time we are in an Italian restaurant or pastry shop, my father and I have to share a cannoli).  On the other hand, I detest frying in my current kitchen.  Don’t get me wrong; I have no fears about frying (Husband’s friends nicknamed me Latke Julie, after all)… but the kitchen in our condo faces the inside of the building, so there are no windows and no proper ventilation system to the outside.  As I know well from my yearly latke-fest, the scent of frying oil lingers in my condo for DAYS, and it takes over the whole place – even my clothes in my closet reek of oil.  It is truly disgusting.

But, since I have already missed my maximum number of passes for DB challenges, I forged ahead.  As I have mentioned before, I have zero room for “kitchen stuff”, so I passed on ordering actual cannoli forms which would require storage somewhere.  Instead, I put my thinking cap on and forraged, eventually cutting apart the handle of an old Swiffer which I needed to replace anyway.  Worked like a charm!

As far as the cannoli, they were delicious, but oh-so-rich.  I went for a banana filling – sliced bananas stuffed in the cannoli, and added banana extract to the filling mixture.  DELICIOUS.  Since I didn’t make enough to feed the entire lab, I wound up eating two and threw away the rest.  My waistline thanks me.  And my condo will be thankful if no more Daring Bakers/Daring Cooks challenges require frying!

Cannoli Shells

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened baking cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup wine
• egg white from one large egg
• 2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir in the oil and vinegar, and just enough wine to make a soft dough.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended.  Shape the dough into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
2. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until very thin, no more than 1/8” thick.  Cut out 3 to 5 inch circles (I used the rim of a glass as I don’t have round cookie cutters).  Roll the cut circle into an oval.
3. Oil the outside of the cannoli forms.  Roll the dough oval from the long side around each form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap.  Press well to seal.  Set aside to allow the egg white to dry.
4. In a deep, heavy saucepan, poor 3” of oil.  Heat the oil to 375F with a candy thermometer.
5. Carefully lower a few cannoli tubes into the hot oil.  Do not crowd the pan.  Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so they will brown evenly.
6. Lift a cannoli form with a slotted spoon out of the oil.  Using tongs, grasp the cannoli form at one end.  Very carefully, remove the cannoli form with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan.  Place the form on paper towels to drain.  While still hot, grasp the form with a potholder and pull the cannoli off the form with a pair of tongs.  Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels.  Place shells on cooking rack until ready to fill.
7. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough.  If reusing canoli forms, allow them to cool before re-wrapping with dough.

Cannoli Filling

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ricotta cheese, drained
• 1 2/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon banana extract
• banana slices
• melted chocolate, for shells

Directions:

1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth.  Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a towel.  Weigh it down with a heavy can and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator overnight.
2. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the ricotta until smooth and creamy.  Beat in the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and banana extracts until smooth.  Chill until firm.
3. Melt chocolate over a double burner.  Dip ends of cannoli in chocolate.
4. Place sliced bananas in the center of the cooled cannoli.  Add filling mixture to a ziploc bag, snip off the corner, and squirt into the tube (or use a pastry bag if you have one).  Drizzle melted chocolate over the cannoli.  ENJOY!

French Macarons (Daring Bakers’ Challenge)

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

So, here’s the thing. I don’t really get the macaron craze. Cute little bakeries and pastry shops all over D.C. seem to sell them for an arm and a leg, much like the cupcake craze, and, much like cupcakes, I have no desire to pay an exorbitant price for them. And also much like cupcakes, I don’t even particularly like macarons. But the recipe sounded like a challenge, so I was in.

This was the very first thing I tackled after 3 weeks sick on the couch with swine flu and pneumonia. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t such a good plan; I was still feeling sick and had zero patience. To say I half-assed this recipe would be generous; really, at best, I quarter-assed this. All month, the Daring Bakers’ forum has been full of failed attempts… apparently, macarons are quite the tricky little beasts. And there I was, still not yet fully recovered, throwing my hands in the air and saying.. what the hell? Let’s give this a try.

All sorts of tips and tricks were shared in the forums in order to get this recipe to work. In my illness-induced annoyance state, I ignored all of them. Age your egg whites on the counter for three days, they said! I let mine sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before whipping them up. Be sure to sift your almond flour and sugar together three times so it is smooth! In my matchbox-sized kitchen, there is no room for non-essentials like sifters or mesh sieves, so not only did I not sift mine three times… I didn’t sift mine at all! Oh yes, there were LUMPS. And I narrowed my eyes and glared and told my macarons to suck it up and deal.

And deal they did. Much to my surprise, after reading about failure after failure, mine worked just fine. On the first try. With not-yet room temperature egg whites, non-sifted almond flour, and an oven that is notoriously off by quite a bit (but I don’t own an over thermometer, so I don’t know what that ‘bit’ is). MY biggest problem? Piping them out. I don’t own actual pastry bags (see reference to non-essential items for matchbox-sized kitchen) so I went with the good old snip off a corner of a ziploc bag. Nevermind that I even had circles drawn out underneath my parchment paper, I absolutely, positively, could not get that batter out in a circle… let alone in a same sized oval. Of course, this didn’t affect the quality of the cookie itself, but made sandwiching them up a bit difficult. Knowing my stomach was not yet up to par, I made these with my Husband’s tastes in mind – a simple dark chocolate ganache filling. I was thrilled that they turned out well; he was thrilled to eat them. All in all, a win-win situation!

See that ruffley edge along the base? Those are called macaron “feet” and are the defining characteristic of a macaron. Yeah, I didn’t know that either.

French Macarons

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 egg whites, room temperature (-ish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200F.
2. Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl.
3. Beat the egg whites using a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
4. Sift (HA. suckers!) a third of the almond flour into the meringue and fold gently to combine. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Do not overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
5. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (or, for the truly frustrating experience, snip the end off a ziplog bag). Pipe one-inch sized mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake the macarons for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375F. Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and back for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

When I first saw this in Gourmet as a raspberry buttermilk cake, I made it. And it was good, but nothing that totally knocked my socks off. Quick, easy, and a perfect everyday cake. By this point, my blackberries were a week old, I was getting tired of baking with them (something I never thought would be possible), and I didn’t want anything heavy or extravagant, because I would not be bringing the resulting recipe into the lab after the previous whining over not baking enough. I decided to try the buttermilk cake again, replacing the raspberries with blackberries, for something a little lighter to have around for a weekend when Husband was visiting. And you know what? It was so much tastier. When it comes to just eating, raspberries are my favorite, hands down. But when it comes to baking, I think the verdict is in – blackberries make EVERYHING better! This cake is ridiculously simple to make, so give it a whirl! (Interesting tidbit of note: unlike the raspberries, my blackberries were so fat, they all sank straight to the bottom of the cake!). This wraps up Blackberry Extravaganza week - I hope you enjoyed it and found a recipe or two to add to your collections!

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake
adapted from Gourmet June 2009

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup fresh blackberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat together butter and 2/3 cup sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and egg.
3. At low speed, mix in flour and buttermilk until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter blackberries over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.
4. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool an additional 10 to 15 minutes more.

all the blackberries hiding on the bottom of the cake

Blackberry Peach Galette

If there is one thing you make from my Blackberry Extravaganza week, make this. Really. Make this. Now. It was amazing. A-MA-ZING. It was so amazing, in fact, that it apparently turned one particular labmate into a greedy monster who stormed up to me and verbally berated me for not bringing in more, droning on and on about how it was so unfair that I didn’t consider the number of people in the lab and that some people took larger slices and not everyone would get a “big enough” slice and it just wasn’t fair next time, could I just get my act together and bring in MORE? I just sort of sat there with my jaw hanging open, because after I brought in blackberry pie bars, berry oatmeal crumble bars, blackberry scones, and then a blackberry peach galette, I get yelled at for not baking ENOUGH? Sorry, but my Ph.D. stipend is very small, and it does not pay for me to provide your breakfast buffet! I suspect it will be a very long time before I bake for the lab again – isn’t it a shame when one rotten apple spoils everything for the whole bunch?

I really love galettes so much more than pies – I’m not sure why, but the whole rustic look really appeals to me. Plus, I love that they are filled with fruit slices rather than a soupy fruit filling and the crust tends to be thicker, so galettes can be picked up and eaten with your hands, rather than requiring a fork and a plate (perfect for consumption during lab meetings). I went with blackberry and peach because I picked both at the farm, and the flavors complimented each other together perfectly. Obviously, you can use any fruit in a galette, but I loved these together so much I would be hesitant to change it up next time; personally, I can’t imagine another combination that I would personally enjoy more!

Blackberry Peach Galette
adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 11 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons ice water
• 3 large, ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
• 1 cup blackberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Add flour and salt to a medium bowl. Cut cold butter into small chunks and throw on top of flour. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender under mixture resembles small crumbs the size of peas. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time while stirring the dough mixture with a fork. Bring dough together and put into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
3. Sprinkle flour and sugar over fruit. Stir.
4. Roll out pastry dough on a floured surface to at least 12” in diameter. There will be enough dough for one large and one small galette. Transfer dough to baking sheet.
5. Dump fruit mixture in the middle of dough and dot with 1 –2 tablespoons butter.
6. Pull up edges of dough and pleat. Dip fingers in water and moisten between the pleats to seal. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes. When done, the fruit will be bubbling and the crust will be golden brown in color. Remove from the oven and cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack. Eat all for yourself and do not share because it is just too delicious.

Blackberry Scones

Next up in the blackberry baking adventures came some blackberry scones. I wasn’t quite sure how these would turn out, since there aren’t a plethora of blackberry scone recipes out there, the way there are for say, cranberry scones. I thought that perhaps there is a reason for that – maybe the blackberries are just too juicy to work in a scone. When I mixed the dough, it came out SO thick and SO heavy that I realized there was just no possible way that I was ever going to be able to stretch the dough out and cut it into circles. I’m not sure what exactly went wrong – maybe the blackberries were just too much – but boy oh boy was it dense. Rather than just give up, I decided to just squash all the dough into my springform pan and pop it in the oven and see what happened. Lo and behold, after baking for quite a while – scones! These were especially tasty with the blackberry jam that already happened to be be leftover in the lab from a previous scone smorgasbord brought in by our PI!

Blackberry Scones
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 3/4 cups blackberries
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Add flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse six times. Distribute butter over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add blackberries and pulse one more time.
3. Transfer dough to a large bowl and stir in cream with a rubber spatula until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
4. Transfer dough to countertop and knead by hand until it just comes together in a rough, sticky ball.
5. Press dough into a 9-inch springform pan, scoring the dough into 8 wedges with a knife.
6. Bake dough in springform pan until tops are light brown and dough is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Cut through immediately before cooling, then cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Berry Oatmeal Crumble Bars

After making the blackberry pie bars, I decided to tackle the remaining pile of freshly picked blackberries with my personal favorite berry recipe, berry crumble bars. I’ve tried these with all sorts of berries – blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and combinations of all of the above – and they have all turned out delicious. The crunchy oatmeal topping, the sweet jam-like filling… these are the perfect summery treat! (And I think my lab agreed.) Of course, between the blackberry pie bars and these blackberry crumble bars, I still had roughly 2/3 of my initial blackberry pile remaining in my refrigerator…

Berry Oatmeal Crumble Bars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh berries of choices
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened and cut into large chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. To prepare filling, stir together berries and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until fruit is tender, about 15 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Stir into fruit mixture. Continue cooking until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes until thick. Remove from heat.
3. Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9”x13” baking pan.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. Cut ingredients together with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of mixture in a medium bowl.
5. Pour remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the dish, spread evenly, and pat down. Place filling in dollops over crust and carefully spread to cover entire surface.
6. Squeeze reserved crumb mixture into large clumps with fingers and sprinkle evenly over the top of the fruit filling.
7. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

Blackberry Pie Bars

The blackberry picking adventure confirmed the fact that I am absolutely useless at estimating anything with the U.S. measurement system.  Want to eyeball 50mL?  No problem.  Need to weigh out approximately 180g of guanidine hydrochloride?  I’m your girl.  Looking for three cups of blackberries?  <chirping crickets>  I just kept picking and picking while we were there to try to ensure that I would have enough to bake a recipe or two, but I just wasn’t sure that I had enough.

When I returned home, I looked through my collection of recipes in Evernote.  Since I was bringing this in to the lab, I wanted to avoid any kind of pies and cakes – anything which involves forks and plates.  Food to share in lab is far easier if it can be picked up with the hands on the way out the door to a seminar or to drop by and ask the PIs a question.  When I stumbled across the concept of putting blackberry pies into a bar form, I was sold.  The only potential problem?  The recipe calls for six cups of blackberries, which seemed like a LOT… and I wasn’t sure that I had enough from my day of berry picking.  Before I started mixing together any other ingredients, I pulled out my measuring cups and started doling out blackberries, one cup at a time.  However, the six cups required for the blackberry pie bars barely made a dent in the box of blackberries I bought home.  I never intended to be baking for a full week… it was just a U.S. volumetric estimation FAIL.  But a very, very yummy fail at that, since I couldn’t let all those blackberries go to waste, could I?  These were a fantastic hit, but very rich, so cut the bars small!  Stay tuned the rest of the week for what I made with the massive heap of leftover blackberries…

Blackberry Pie Bars
adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (crust)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (crust)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar (filling)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (filling)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• pinch salt
• 6 cups fresh blackberries

Directions;

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. To make the crust, combine the sugar, flour, salt, and butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.
3. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as a topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan with fingertips.  Bake the crust for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
4. While crust is cooling, prepare the filling.  Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and add the sugar, sour cream, flour, lemon juice, and salt.  Fold in the blackberries.
5. Spread the mixture over the crust.  Sprinkle the crust mixture over the filling.
6. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.  Cool for 1 hour before slicing and serving.

Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce

This is the 8th and final week of Whip It Up.  The end to the “challenge” won’t change things around here – after all, I’ve been posting a recipe per week since November – it just means that I can go back to posting from my archived recipes and pictures, rather than having to cook something new each week.  This week’s theme is “Make Your Own Take Out”, and I knew immediately what I would be making.  I may have actually drooled on my keyboard when I saw this posted over at Amy’s last month, containing my favorite Thai-inspired flavors (peanut and lime) with a mix of some of my favorite vegetables (broccoli, sugar snap peas, snow peas).  It did not disappoint – it was every bit as good as I was imagining, plus super easy and came together very quickly (in other words, a perfect weeknight meal).  It did, however, make quite a lot – eight Julie-sized portions, to be exact.  I was definitely tired of it by the end of the week after eating it every day for lunch and dinner, proving that you can, indeed, have WAY too much of a good thing.  I suspect it will be quite a while before I make it again… or I’ll just have to have friends over for dinner so they can save me from the leftovers.

Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce
Adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces whole wheat linguine
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups sugar snap peas
• 2 cups snow peas
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon lime zest
• juice from one lime
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 3/4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Toast the peanuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Set aside to cool.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse under cold running water, set aside.
3. Steam broccoli, snow peas, and sugar snap peas in the microwave until bright green and crisp-tender.
4. Puree the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, scallion, ginger, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in a food processor blender until smooth.  Coarsely chop the cooled peanuts.
5. Immediately before serving, toss the pasta with the peanut sauce.  Divide into bowls and top each serving with vegetables and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts,

Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish, and Artichokes (Daring Cooks)

There are very few things in life that I find as satisfactory as the ability to ‘kill two birds with one stone.’  Regardless of what it is, I love the feeling of getting double the results from my effort.  I still remember the exact feeling of the light bulb going off above my head in undergrad when I realized that classes for my political science major could also count as my general curriculum requirements.  In lieu of a language, I could apply classes I was already going to take for my major and count them as culture requirements.  Score!

I went through a similar feeling when the stars aligned properly for the two cooking groups in which I participate.  This week’s Whip It Up up theme is “Favorite Chef” – i.e., make a recipe from your favorite chef.  Well, the chef part was easy for me – Jose Andres.  Those in the D.C. area know him from his outstanding restaurants Jaleo (my favorite), Oyamel, Zaytinya, Cafe Atlantico, and minibar.  The rest of you may know him from his public television show “Made in Spain" or perhaps from his appearance on Iron Chef, where he defeated Bobby Flay in ‘Battle Goat’.  But then came the hard part… what to make?  I don’t own any of his cookbooks, so I scoured the internet.  While there were several recipes that piqued my interest, such as this amazing looking Guacamole in a New Way, I was often lacking access to ingredients or supplies (for example, my ice cream maker for the guacamole is in storage in my parents’ basement along with the rest of my kitchen supplies, waiting until I have a kitchen larger than a shoebox). 

Then, the Daring Cooks’ challenge recipe was announced.  And what was it?  Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish, and artichokes from none other than… Jose Andres.

Cha-ching!

The recipe was chosen by Olga of Olga’s Recipes, and you can view the original recipe here (I made a few changes in my version).  She suggested adding in squid in lieu of cuttlefish, which is what I did, since I was easily able to purchase fresh, cleaned squid at Whole Paycheck Foods.  I was a bit concerned about the squid in the recipe since it is boiled for so long – I have not worked with cuttlefish so perhaps it is perfect for the cuttlefish – but decided to just go ahead and try it as the suggested direct subsitute.  Typically when I deal with squid, if I am boiling it, I do it for no more than 30 seconds.  This recipe has a good 12+ minutes of boiling with the squid.  Indeed, the squid did turn out far chewier than I would have liked.  In retrospect, I should have listened to my gut and pan seared the squid in the beginning, removed it from the pan, and then added it to the boiling mixture for no more than a minute.  I need to be better about trusting my own judgment in the kitchen even when it deviates from a reputable recipe.  Even with the rubbery squid, I still enjoyed this quite a bit, and will certainly experiment with it more in the future.

Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish, and Artichokes
adapted from Jose Andres

Ingredients:

• 6 artichokes, cleaned, chopped into eights
• 1 large portobello mushroom, chopped roughly
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 generous splash white wine
• 1/2 pound squid, mixture of tubes and tentacles
• 3 tablespoons sofregit (recipe below)
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric

Directions:

1. Cut squid tubes into strips.  Cut apart any large clumps of tentacles.
2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan and add the squid.  Add bay leaf, artichokes, and mushrooms.
3. Sauté until artichokes are golden in color.
4. Add splash of wine to deglaze the pan.
5. Add sofregit and mix well to distribute the flavors.
6. Add water and bring to boil.  Stir in rice and boil over high heat for 5 minutes.
7. Add tumeric and lower heat to medium.  Boil another 8 minutes. or until rice has softened.
8. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

  mmm… squid

Sofregit

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 giant tomatoes, or 3 medium sized, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 portobello mushroom, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• salt to taste
• pinch ground cumin
• pinch oregano

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft, approximately 1 hour.