Matzo matzo matzo

I recently bought a box of whole-wheat matzo to make a dessert called "Chocolate Caramel Crack" that one of my favorite bloggers, the author of smittenkitchen.com, claims that "is the one [recipe] everyone asks for by name." Intrigued by the high praise, bizarre name, and unexpected combination of ingredients (matzo? chocolate? caramel?), I decided to bring a batch to a meeting I suspected would run long, meaning that a sweet snack like this would be wholeheartedly welcomed. The recipe is super-simple and involves melting some butter and brown sugar to create a carmel, spreading this over some matzo crackers on a baking sheet, liberally sprinkling some chocolate chips over it, popping it in the oven, and within an hour, you have Chocolate Caramel Crack. Though the Crack disappeared within an afternoon, the leftover matzo sat in its box on my shelf, passed over for more familiar ingredients when I was assembling lunch or dinner. One afternoon, I vaguely remembered a dish featuring matzo that my uncle and aunt once served at a party, and after poking around the internet a bit, I found a version of "Matzo Brei." This is a traditional Jewish dish in which slightly softened matzo (in water or milk) is cooked with eggs like an omelet or scrambled. It is often eaten during Passover and it is commonly topped with apple sauce, salsa or preserves (I happened to have some salsa verde on hand which was a wonderful addition). I have taken to making this about once a week for dinner, it is quick and healthy but seems a little exotic. Two cost-effective, delicious and unique recipes that I highly recommend trying. I apologize for the lack of a photo, though neither of them are especially visually appealing, they make up for it in taste!

Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Crack

From smittenkitchen.com

Adapted from David Lebovitz, who adapted it from Marcy Goldman who is the genius that first applied this to matzo

4 to 6 sheets matzo or approximately 40 Saltine crackers or crackers of your choice
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into a few large pieces
1 cup packed light brown sugar
A big pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate)
1 cup toasted chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts or a nut of your choice (optional)
Extra sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet completely with foil, and then line the base of the foil with parchment paper, cut to fit.

Line the bottom of the baking sheet with matzo or crackers, covering all parts. [If using matzo, you'll need to break pieces to fit any extra spaces, which will be annoying because despite being perforated, it does not actually break in straight lines. I have some luck pressing a serrated knife straight down along a sectionbetween perforations, if that (hopefully) makes sense.]

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes, stirring it well. It will thicken a bit as it cooks. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and then quickly pour it over the matzo or crackers. You’ll want to spread it quickly, as it will begin to set as soon as it is poured.

Bake the caramel-covered crackers for 15 minutes, watching carefully as it will bubble and the corners might darken too quickly and/or burn. You can reduce the heat if you see this happening.

Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand five minutes, and then spread them evenly across the caramel. An offset spatula works great here. If you’re using them, sprinkle the chocolate with toasted chopped nuts and/or sea salt. (The sea salt is great on matzo. On Saltines, it’s really not necessary.)

Once completely cool — I sometimes speed this process up in the fridge, impatient as should be expected in the face of caramel crack(ers) — break it into pieces and store it in a container. It should keep for a week but I’ve never seen it last that long.

Recipe: Matzo Brei

From:epicurious.com

4 matzo

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Crumble matzos into a large sieve placed over a bowl to catch crumbs, then hold sieve under running cold water until matzos are moist and softened but not completely disintegrated, about 15 seconds. Transfer to bowl with crumbs, then add eggs and salt and mix gently with a fork.

Heat butter in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add matzo mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until eggs are scrambled and matzo has begun to crisp, about 3 minutes.

*Delicious with some salsa poured on top!

Out-of-the-Box Breakfast

I've had a small basket of fresh figs lingering in my fridge and so this morning I used them as inspiration for a tasty and simple breakfast that is a little unusual but super satisfying. I made a fruit pita pizza, first taking a whole wheat pita round, spreading it with some low-fat cream cheese, fig preserves and then halved fresh figs. I think you could swap out different jams and fruit for fun combos- I'm thinking about orange marmalade and sliced strawberries for tomorrow. I also have a friend who recommends almond butter and honey on warm pita for a sweeter option for breakfast. It's nice to break out of the cereal routine once in a while. Do you have any creative takes on the most important meal of the day? Let me know!

Granola Memories

I recently moved back down to school after spending the summer at home in San Jose. This transition is always a little difficult for me, since it means several "good-byes for a little while" to family and friends up there and also a definite shrink in personal space. Our LA apartment is teeny-tiny! Just about once a week at home this summer I made granola. Homemade granola compared to store-bought is like fresh produce and supermarket produce- the second is a woeful imitation of the first. Also, I love making granola in small batches because it allows you to change your combinations of fruit and nuts each week, meaning that you have a variety of custom-blend granolas always in your cupboard. Salivating yet? I also love this recipe for its source- I got it from the Mercury News but it was interestingly originally published in a pregnant woman's cookbook. If it's good enough nutritionally for those moms-to-be, I figure it has to be good for me too . So this week, in order to make the apartment feel a little more like home, I made some granola. The smell of the honey and oats baking is so wonderful that they transported me to my home kitchen. I hope you enjoy making this as much as I do.

Please let me know what combos of dried fruit and nuts, or other granola mix-ins, you like, or if you have a particular granola recipe you're a fan of. I recently changed the settings on the blog so anyone, not just blogspot.com members, can comment on the blog. I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Recipe: Fruit-filled Granola

Makes 5 cups

Ingredients:

Canola oil

½ cup honey, molasses or maple syrup or a mixture

¼ cup canola oil

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick-cooking variety)

½ cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup dried apricots

1/3 cup dried banana slices

Prep.:

Preheat oven to 250. Lightly grease a large baking sheet with sides with the canola oil and set it aside.

Combine honey and oil in a small saucepan and heat just until hot. Place rolled oats and sliced almonds in a bowl and mix. Add honey-oil mixture and mix until well combined.

Spread granola mixture evenly on baking sheet. Bake about 40 minutes, or until light golden. It will still be soft when it comes out of the oven but will harden as it cools. Do not overbake, or granola will have a bitter, burned taste. Allow granola to cool completely.

Add dried fruit to the granola and mix well. Store in an airtight container or a zip-lock bag.

*I follow the measurements but then substitute whatever dried fruit or nuts I have on hand. It's a lot of fun to play around with the recipe! For example, in the above picture I added whole almonds, chopped dried figs and a dried fruit blend from Trader Joe's that has golden raisins, dried blueberries and dried cranberries.

Summer Salad Deluxe

Above: Compartmentalized tomatoes, Belgian endive, manchego cheese cubes and honeyed almonds atop a bed of dressed arugula.
Ever since my mom and I had a fruit and cheese plate at Village California Bistro in Santana Row, I have been a little bit obsessed. And now, after watching Julie & Julia and catching a bit of a French fever, I am even more interested. I like them because they seem like a sophisticated way to begin or end a meal. They encourage adventurous eating by offering new kinds of cheeses or pairings. They also fit well with a locavore mentality since seasonal produce is the co-star. The salad below from Bon Appétit is refreshing on a warm summer day and is like a fruit and cheese platter tossed together. I hope you enjoy it!

Recipe: Arugula Salad with Honeyed Almonds
4 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups whole blanched almonds
4 tbsp. honey

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. chopped shallots

6 cups mixed baby greens (about 3 oz.)
5 cups arugula (about 3 oz.)
1 head Belgian endive, cut into matchstick strips
6 oz. thinly sliced manchego cheese (or 6 oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved)
1 12-oz. basket cherry tomatoes, halved

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush rimmed baking sheet with oil. Oil large sheet of foil; set aside. Mix sugar, cinnamon, paprika and cayenne in medium bowl. Add almonds and 1 1/2 tbsp. honey and toss to coat. Spread almonds on prepared baking sheet. Bake until almonds are brown and glazed, stirring occasionally, about 14 minutes. Turn almonds out onto oiled foil and cool, seperating almonds with fork. (Honeyed almonds can be made 3 days ahead. Cool completely. Store airtight at room temperature).

Whisk remaining 2 1/2 tbsp. honey and vinegar in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup oil. Mix in shallots. Season vinaigerette to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine mixed baby greens, arugula and Belgian endive in large bowl. Toss with enough vinaigerette to coat. Mound salad on plates. Arrange manchego cheese around salad (or sprinkle shaved Parmesan over). Sprinkle almonds and tomatoes atop salads.

From Bon Appétit, September 2001

Notes: I used manchego imported from Spain that I picked up in Trader Joes that was wonderful. Does anyone have a favorite cheese they'd like to share about? I cubed it for the salad and liked the effect. The almonds are also wonderful- I'm thinking of using the lefotver ones to top a cream cheese tart.

Summer Reading: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Above: Reinventing convenience food with homemade jars of condiments

I recently finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and I’m still chewing on the thoughts sparked by her chronicle of eating very locally for an entire year. The book is part treatise on the benefits of eating local foods and part garden diary, with some recipes thrown in. Her tone is not scolding but rather inspiring, and days after finishing the book I asked my friend if she would be up for trying one of Kingsolver's canning recipes with me. We visited 3 grocery stores before finding one that carried glass jars and lids (for San Jose readers, it was Luckys in the El Paseo shopping center) and then picked up fresh produce from the Ferry Building farmer’s market. We spent the next couple of hours prepping the ingredients, sterilizing the jars in the dishwasher and “processing” the filled jars in a large pot of boiling water. Each time a cooling jar lid “pinged,” indicating that it had successfully sealed, we danced in the kitchen, giddy with the volume (22 jars!) of homemade condiments we created. The results so far have been super delicious- my family loves the chutney spread on wholegrain crackers with some cheddar cheese, and my friend and I recently used the sweet-and-sour sauce for a fresh take on a broccoli and tofu stir-fry. I encourage you to try the recipe and support the locavore movement!

Recipe: RELISH, SAUCE AND CHUTNEY – ALL IN ONE DAY

Thanks to Janet Chadwick,

The busy person’s guide to Preserving Food

If you don’t have a garden, you can stock up on tomatoes, peaches, apples and

onions at the end of summer, when your farmers’ market will have these at the

year’s best quality and price. Then, schedule a whole afternoon and a friend for

this interesting project that gives you three different, delicious products to eat all

winter.

Canning jars and lids: 14 pint jars, 7 half-pint jars

Start with a very large, heavy kettle. You will be adding different ingredients and

canning different sauces as you go.

4 quarts tomato puree

24 large apples

7 cups chopped onions

2 quarts cider vinegar

6 cups sugar

2/3 cup salt

3 tsp. ground cloves

3 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. red pepper

2 tsp. mustard

Puree tomatoes; core and coarsely chop apples; coarsely chop onions. Combine

in large pot along with the vinegar, sugar and seasonings. Bring to a boil and

simmer for about 2 hours or until thick. Meanwhile, preheat water in a canner

bath and sterilize jars and lids (in boiling water or dishwasher) and keep them hot

until use. Fill 7 pint jars with some of the thickened Barbecue Relish, leaving 1⁄2

inch headspace in each jar. Put filled jars in canner with lids screwed on tightly

and boil for ten minutes. Remove and cool.

2 quarts sliced peaches

6 cups sugar

1⁄2 cup water

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. Tabasco sauce

In a separate pan, cook peaches and water for 10 minutes, until soft. Add sugar

and bring slowly to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until thick (15 min.),

stirring to prevent scorching.

Add peach mixture to the remaining tomato mixture in the kettle and bring back

up to a boil to make Sweet and Sour Sauce. Fill 7 pint jars leaving 1⁄2 inch

headspace, boil in canner for ten minutes. Remove and cool.

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts

Add these to the kettle, mix well and bring it back to a boil to make Chutney. Fill

7 1⁄2-pint jars leaving 1⁄2 inch headspace. Boil in canner for ten minutes.

Remove.

As all the jars cool, make sure the jar lids pop their seals by creating a vacuum

as contents cool. You’ll hear them go “ping.” To double check, after they’re

entirely cooled, push down on each lid’s center – it should feel firmly sucked

down, not loose. (If a jar didn’t seal, refrigerate and use the contents soon.) The

ring portion of the lid can be removed before storing; when processed properly,

the dome lids will stay securely sealed until you open the jar with a can opener.

Label each product before you forget what’s what, and share with the friend who

helped. The Barbeque Relish is great on broiled or grilled fish or chicken. The

Sweet and Sour Sauce gives an Asian flavor to rice dishes. Chutney can perk up

anything.

*From animalvegetablemiracle.com/Relish.pdf

Reaping the Benefits of Fresh Corn

From top: Close up of the colorful Corn and Tomato salad; Avocado Soup makes for an aesthetically pleasing first course
Sometimes I wonder why summer was so disproportionately blessed with heavenly produce. Trips to the farmer's market are especially rewarding this time of year (and dangerous for the bank account!). Other seasons may have their highlights, but to me, none can compete with summer's produce bounty. Each summer I anticipate the return of the corn-hawking man at the West Valley market, who shouts out the delicious benefits of his wares and his deeply discounted prices. No amount of haggling is needed to convince me to buy some sweet summer corn. Here are 2 recipes- one that I've made countless times over many summers and one new but bound to be a repeat. I hope you are enjoying this season's abundance of fresh produce!

Recipe: Tomato and Corn Salad

Notes: This recipe is a mainstay for my family every summer. It is exactly what I crave on a warm evening. We like to substitute basil or cilantro for the marjoram, but you can use whatever fresh herbs you like.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 ears fresh corn, husked

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram

4 large butter lettuce leaves

Procedure:

 Cook corn in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Cool. Cut kernels from cobs.

Whisk oil and vinegar in medium bowl to blend. Add corn, tomatoes, feta, and marjoram; toss to coat. 

From: Bon Appétit, August 2004

Recipe: Avocado Soup with Toasted Corn Kernels

Notes: I used only half of the jalapeno and everyone agreed that it was the perfect touch of heat without overpowering the soup. The recipe recommends serving the soup with cheesy toast.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved

1 jalapeno chile, seeds removed

4 avocados, halved and peeled

Grated peel of 1 lime and juice of 3 limes

3/4 cup cilantro leaves

Salt and pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups fresh corn kernels

Procedure:

Using a food processor, finely chop 2 cloves of garlic and the jalapeno. Add the avocados, lime peel, lime juice, and 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves; season to taste with salt and pepper. Process until just combined. With the machine running, slowly pour the chicken broth until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little bit of water or more broth.

In a small nonstick skillet, toast the corn kernels over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned. Season with salt and let cool. Stir 1 1/2 cups of the corn kernels into the soup.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top each with remaining corn kernels and cilantro leaves.

*I believe I ripped this recipe out of a Rachel Ray magazine. However, when I checked on her website, I couldn't find the recipe, but I believe it may be old enough to have been cycled out of their archives.

Salsa Verde

Above: This Lompoc artichoke traveled many miles to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and to our backyard; the ingredients for this salsa before being whirled together
Father's Day at our house was a fiesta- I made seafood fajitas with a mango-avocado salsa and spicy sour cream. It was also my first time working with scallops and I am a convert! They taste so sinfully buttery even if you haven't added a drop to the recipe and they are super quick and easy to cook. Anyways, the recipe today is actually the appetizer to the Mexican feast above. I made a salsa verde as a dip for artichoke leaves, published in Bon Appetít's April 2007 issue. The sauce is wonderfully tangy and the toasted fennel seeds and capers add levels of complexity to the dip. My family usually just pair our artichokes in humble butter, olive oil or mayo but the stakes have been raised by this recipe. We almost polished off the whole bowl. Fortunately there was some leftover, because my mom had inspiration to try it on some crackly cheesy flatbread and it was amazing! My dad also tried some on a taco and confirmed its versatility with rave reviews. This is my new fav appetizer and I can't wait to try it out at a BBQ or pool party soon! Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures of the completed appetizer, but trust me, this is a good one to try!

Recipe: Salsa Verde
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves
2 tbsp. drained and rinsed capers
3 tbsp. chopped shallot
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves
1 anchovy fillet
Pinch of dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. whipping cream
2 tsp. Sherry wine vinegar

Procedure:
Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and toast until aromatic and beginning to darken, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to food processor. Add parsley, capers, shallot, garlic, tarragon, anchovy, and crushed red pepper to processor. Puree untill coarse paste forms, scraping down sides occasionally. Transfer to medium bowl. Whiskin in oil, cream, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

From Bon Appetit April 2007, pg. 120

Bacon+Cheddar+Pear Quick Bread

Above: A serving suggestion for this bread is as an apertif with a drink before dinner, as shown top, and below, breaking it down to quality ingredients: the shredded and cubed cheddar, chopped bacon, dried pears, fresh rosemary and walnut pieces that come together to make this bread amazing.

I spent most of this morning clearing out old cooking magazines that have accumulated over the years. I simply cannot toss them in the recycling without revisiting the glossy pics and recipes that inspire ambitious menus. I found myself pausing the most often at recipes that utilize all the luscious summer fruits, berries, plums, peaches, etc. I'm especially excited about the Farmer's Market this summer, given the tragic death of our small Farmer's Market in Westwood, I am craving time amongst the stalls piled high with fresh produce. The recipe today, however, is revisiting the theme of the last post about savory breads. Dorie Greenspan, a contributing author to Gourmet and Bon Appetít, and of her own blogwww.doriegreenspan.com, recently featured this Bacon Cheddar and Dried Pear bread. It is an absolutely fantastic recipe! My friend Katie commented that eating a slice is akin to a treasure hunt- one bite brings a gooey cube of warm cheddar, the next a salty crispy bacon bit and the next a sweet and chewy pear piece. I decided to substitute rosemary for the sage in the recipe, and then ended up forgetting to mix it in! I chopped it and sprinkled it over the top last minute, which made for a colorful presentation. Warm from the oven or toasted the next morning with a little bit of butter, this bread is one I plan on definitely making again. It would be fun to play around with mixing different combos of meat, cheese and dried fruit to customize your own version with what you like or have on hand!

Recipe: Bacon-Cheddar Quick Bread with Dried Pears

INGREDIENTS

• 5 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese plus 1/2 cup 1/4-inch cubes extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces total)
• 1 cup finely chopped moist dried pears (about 3 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously butter 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch metal loaf pan. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
• Combine bacon, all cheese, dried pears, walnuts, and sage in medium bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in large bowl to blend. Whisk eggs, milk, and olive oil in another medium bowl to blend. Pour egg mixture over flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Add bacon-cheese mixture and stir until incorporated (dough will be very sticky). Transfer dough to prepared loaf pan; spread evenly.
• Bake bread until golden on top and slender knife inserted into center of bread comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool bread in pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic, then foil, and store at room temperature.
  From Bon Appetít: http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/10/bacon_cheddar_quick_bread_with_dried_pears

Sundried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins

I like recipes that play with expectations, and so I was really curious about this recipe for Cottage Cheese Sundried Tomato Muffins. Tomatoes, basil and cheese aren't ingredients you usually run across in muffins, and I was intrigued how these would taste together in a bakery mainstay. I baked up a batch to bring to work (baristas on long shifts= hungry people willing to try crazy concoctions). Like the recipe says, they are denser than a usual muffin. People said that they reminded them of a quiche, or mini pizzas. Overall, they had a very welcome reception. I think that these would pair nicely with eggs for breakfast or offer something unique in a brunch or tea time spread. I apologize for the lack of photos. My camera is broken and I forgot to use a friend's camera to snap a shot. If I make them again, I will definitely put up the pics! Ingredients note: Trader Joe's sells ground almonds, which help to cut down prep time. Also, I used all-purpose flour with good results.

Recipe: Sundried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins
From 101 Cookbooks www.101cookbooks.com/archives/cottage-cheese-muffins-recipe.html

You can use the flour of your choice in this recipe. The original recipe calls for soy flour (great for people looking for a gluten-free option), I use white whole wheat flour - unbleached all-purpose flour will work as well. To grind the almonds I gave them a whirl in my food processor. You are looking for a flour-like consistency - be sure to stop short of turning them into an almond paste.

1 cup plain cottage cheese (low-fat is fine)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup flour (see headnotes)
1 cup almonds, very finely ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), finely chopped
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a muffin pan with medium-sized paper baking cups, you'll need nine of them.

Put the cottage cheese into a bowl with all but 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, water, and eggs, and season with salt, then mix all together.

Spoon the mixture into the muffing cups 3/4 full, scatter with the remaining Parmesan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set, risen, and golden brown. Serve as hot or at room temperature.

Makes 9 muffins.

Birthday Banana Cake with Coffee Chocolate Frosting

Photos: (Top) The birthday queen and her royal court celebrate turning 22! (Bottom) Though the cake doesn't look glamorous, it contains the yummy flavor combo of bananas, pecans, chocolate and coffee!
My friend Katherine turned 22 this past Wednesday and her birthday reminded me of the simple pleasure of baking for someone else. I love traditions (my mom can be blamed for that!) and so when birthdays roll around, I find cake, candles and an out-of-tune round of "Happy Birthday To You" as necessities. What I love is to try to find a cake that "matches" the person who we're celebrating, in a fun blend of psychoanalysis and sweets. I found this recipe for Banana Cake with Coffee Buttercream saved in my archives and instantly wanted to make it for Katherine. She loves coffee, introduced me to the joys of a French Press, and her affinity for caffeine matches her hectic full lifestyle. This particular recipe is from the NYC restaurant/bakery Serendipity 3 made famous by the John Cusac/Kate Beckinsale movie and apparently is one of the owner's favs. I stuck to the cake recipe exactly, and ended up with batter for only 1 9-in. round cake, much less than the recipe says it will produce. The cake tastes like sweet banana bread, and I highly recommend keeping the pecans since they contribute to a nice contrast of texture. I swapped a quicker recipe for the coffee frosting recipe in place of the original since I was pressed for time. Let me know if you're interested in the original recipe, and I can send it to you. This frosting was a little thin, but it hardened well and had a distinct coffee flavor. It only made enough to cover the top, so if you want to frost the sides as well, you may want to double it.

Recipe: Banana Cake with Coffee Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients (for the cake):
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose flour since that's what I had on hand)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (from about 2 medium ones)
2 eggs
Scant 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup coarsely chopped shelled unsalted pecans

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use 1 tbsp. of the butter to grease cake pans (the original recipe calls for 3 8-inch pans, mine only made 1 9-inch cake, so perhaps leave this step until after mixing the batter, so that you can judge just how many cake pans you will need) line with parchment paper, and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside. Beat remaining 7 tbsp. butter and sugar togethr in large mixing bowl with electric mixer on high until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add bananas and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until just incorporated, then fold in pecans. Divide batter equally between prepared pans, smoothing tops with a spatula. Bake until cakes are golen brown and spring back when touched, 10-15 minutes. Cool cakes in their pans for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove them from pans and peel off parchment, and allow cakes to cool completely on the rack.
Recipe from Saveur Magazine

Ingredients (for frosting):
2 tbsp. butter
1 c. confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1 tbsp. strong hot coffee
1 tsp. dry cocoa
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Procedure:
Cream butter and sugar; add remaining ingredients (I added about another tbsp of coffee to increase the intensity of flavor).
Recipe from cooks.com

Austen Dinners: Pride and Prejudice

From top to bottom: Parmesan Cheese Toasts with Green Onion, playing with wontons, and a plateful of Chile Pea Puffs.
I am taking a class on Jane Austen this quarter, and my friend with whom I am taking it suggested early on in the course that we should attempt to watch the movie adaptation of each novel after we finish it. Her idea soon turned into a weekly gathering of friends to cook dinner together and enjoy the exploits of Austen's worlds. Last week was our Pride and Prejudice night, with the 6-hour long BBC television special winning out over the latest Keira Knightley version. As we settled in for a long night, we feasted on the hodgepodge of dishes made potluck style. My friend Katherine started us off with Parmesan Cheese Toasts with Green Onions (recipe at bottom) which were the perfect finger food to fuel the rest of us while we cooked. I really liked the crisp green onions in this recipe, which I think elevates an otherwise ordinary cheesy toast to a gourmet appetizer. I made the Chile Pea Puffs recently featured on 101cookbooks.com. The puffs are a fun dish to make in a group since each can play with folding and wrapping techniques, but I found the filling less hearty and flavorful than I anticipated, and taking into account the labor involved, I wouldn't highly recommend the recipe without some adjustments. Finally, my friends Lindsay and Lauren crowned the meal with homemade chocolate chip cookies, the ultimate comfort food luxury. We were left to inevitably fall for Colin Firth/Mr. Darcy with happy tummies. 

Parmesan Cheese Toasts with Green Onion (in Katherine's words):

"Its just equal parts mayo and parmesan cheese and green onion. I think I put more parmesan than the other stuff though. And then broil them till the top of the cheese just begins to brown. Also, if you cut up the baguette a few hours or a day before its good, because it just gets a little drier and toastier when you cook it (we didn't have time to do that, but its good either way)."

Ultimate Comfort Food

Above: Pomí imported sauce, shredded mozzarella and pre-made polenta role, and the bubbly magic that happens when you combine them all!

"Comfort food" is a very relative term, but to me, a large bowl of spaghetti marinara and a side of cheesy grits would both be filed away under this category. When Gourmet.com featured this recipe for Polenta Pie with Cheese and Tomato Sauce, I was at first hooked by its claim to be a quick one-dish vegetarian weeknight dinner, and it was only after I dug into the melting mozzarella set atop steaming polenta and fresh tomato sauce that I recognized both of my comfort foods united into this single dish. While winter lingers in these colder spring days, I recommend this dish as a final hearty hurrah before summer brings its neglection of the oven and turn to outdoor cooking.


Polenta Pie with Cheese and Tomato Sauce
Serves4 to 6

* Active time:10 min
* Start to finish:30 min

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 (16- to 18-oz) ready-made plain polenta roll (plastic-wrapped)
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* 1 (25- to 26-oz) jar chunky tomato sauce
* 1/4 lb mozzarella, coarsely shredded (1 cup)
* 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Oil a 9-inch pie plate or a 4-cup gratin dish with 1 teaspoon oil.

Cut polenta roll crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and line pie plate with half of slices, overlapping slices slightly to completely cover bottom of pie plate. Stir 1 tablespoon basil into 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce and spread over polenta, then sprinkle with half of mozzarella. Top with remaining half of polenta slices, then sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and remaining half of mozzarella.

Bake until bubbling and golden, about 20 minutes. While pie bakes, heat remaining pasta sauce, basil, and oil in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Let pie stand 5 minutes to firm up and cool, then serve with extra sauce on the side.

From Gourmet.com http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2006/06/polenta-pie

A note on the ingredients: I had to search a little bit for the polenta roll and ultimately found it in the dry pasta section. Also, I picked up a pre-made tomato sauce, and while I prefer homemade, I think Pomí tomato sauces taste very fresh for pre-made, and they're not too much more expensive than the average bottle.

Not Your Average Meatball

Above: Our Finnish-inspired spread and below, the meatballs cooking as the sour cream sauce reduces.
This past Friday, I made a lovely recipe with a couple of friends- Finnish Meatballs with Allspice, Sour Cream and Lingonberries from Tessa Kiros' newly released cookbook Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes.  The author's Finnish mother provided this recipe and this style of meatballs is apparently widely enjoyed in all of Finland. We were all intrigued by the combination of flavors that we did not usually associate with meatballs. If you have ever browsed through the food aisles at IKEA, you may be familiar with lingonberry jam, made with the little tart red berries in the cranberry family that grow wild in Scandinavia, Russia, Canada and Maine. We were not as familiar with allspice however. After some brief Googling, we discovered that it's name is misleading in that it is not a spice blend but indeed its own distinct spice. Since we did not have it stocked, we decided to use a blend of cinnamon and nutmeg to flavor our meatballs since allspice is said to taste like both. The resulting dish is a flavorful meatball with a creamy sauce that retains a light quality. We ate them with simple boiled potatoes and a salad, swiping a dab of lingonberry jam with each bite for a sweet-tart addition. Along with the Chocolate Stout Cupcakes I made last quarter, these meatballs place in my top favorite recipes I've made since starting the blog because of their novelty and crowd-pleasing results- everyone went back for seconds!

Vegan Treat Worth Trying

Top to bottom: A nice snack of Chocolate Banana Oat Bars, images from Easter Sunday: Coconut Cupcakes on an antique cake tray, Deviled Eggs with Italian Seasoned Salt on a heirloom egg tray.
The recipe I'm giving you today defies categorization and expectations as it works double-duty as a breakfast bar and dessert treat and is vegan and at the same time sinfully delicious. What sort of dish could fill this multi-task bill? These Chocolate Banana Oat Bars from Clotilde Dusoulier's Chocolate and Zucchini blog do indeed. The batter doesn't even require a mixer, and so with a few rounds with a wooden spoon and a pat down in a square pan, these bars are ready to bake and eat. Their texture is super moist due to the bananas and the chunks of melty chocolate deceive your taste buds into believing you are indulging in something quite decadent when actually these bars are quite healthy. I was only initially turned off by the recipe because of having to buy some ingredients that weren't already in my pantry, such as almond meal and grated coconut, but once these items are bought, anytime you have ripe bananas becomes a great excuse to treat yourself at any time of day with this yummy recipe. I hope you have fun with it!

Wholesome Banana Chocolate Breakfast Bars

- 200 grams (2 cups) rolled oats or mixed rolled grains
- 60 grams (2/3 cup) ground almonds, a.k.a. almond meal
- 30 grams (1/3 cup) dried, unsweetened grated coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 120 grams (4 1/4 ounces) good-quality bittersweet chocolate
- 4 very ripe, medium bananas, about 400 grams (14 ounces) when peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) whole almond butter (substitute olive oil, or slightly warmed coconut oil)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a medium baking dish with vegetable oil.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, ground almonds, coconut, and salt. Set aside. Chop the chocolate so the largest pieces are about the size of a chocolate chip. Set aside.

In another medium mixing bowl, combine the bananas, vanilla, and almond butter, and mash thoroughly using a potato masher. Add the oats mixture and mix well. Fold the chocolate in gently.

Pour into the prepared baking dish, level the surface, and slip into the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is set and golden-brown. Let cool completely before slicing into bars. If you're not serving all the bars at once, I suggest you cut out only what you need. Cover the rest with foil and keep at room temperature.

*From the French/English Zucchini and Chocolate blog http://chocolateandzucchini.com/

*I've used the olive oil suggested as a substitute for the almond butter, and the bars maintained a pleasant consistency and good taste.

A Passion for "Picoteando" and a Happy Thai New Year!

Above starting from bottom: The resultant fruit & cheese plate inspired by Village Pub, Carmen's take on Vicoise salad deconstructed to be more picotear-friendly, fast food quality pad thai and orange BBQ chicken, cute Thai iced teas, a stack of mango boxes at the booth that provided our amazing sticky rice- fresh mango combo. that the apartment is determined to recreate.

Picotear, a Spanish verb meaning to graze or nibble, perfectly describes the tradition of tapas, or small plates, that come free with a drink in Granada. This taking a little bit of this and a little bit of that and making it a meal is the philosophy behind the fruit and cheese plate that I posted in my last post. Subsequently, I made my own version the other night out of English Shropshire Blue cheese, fruit and nut crackers spread with blinberry jam, candied almonds and sliced organic Washington apples. Delicious! Last night I took a page out of Carmen's (the lady who I stayed with during my semester abroad) repertoire- a quick version of Nicoise salad. Usually she would mix up some lettuce, tuna, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and sometimes some potatoes for dinner. I added some green beans and omitted the lettuce and tomatoes, converting this salad into a kind of "picotear plate." It's easy and a nice change of pace from the usual version of meat-starch-vegetable dishes that populate my weekday rotations. On a busy day, these are the easily adaptable and customizable kind of dishes I turn to. 

On another note, my roommates and I found ourselves immersed in a crush of humanity down at the Thai New Year Festival on Sunset this afternoon. Within about 3 blocks, a plethora of booths with cooks in the back sweating over small temporary grills emanated glorious smells. A raised boxing ring and performance stage were the only interruptions to this makeshift line-up for a couple of blocks. We had been anticipating curry, and I had been hoping for something that seemed more authentic than the profusion of pad thai, orange chicken and teriyaki beef on offer. However, among the misses (my pad thai with an electric orange sauce was questionable and the lobster balls were most likely made with something other than lobster), we struck upon a few items that were worthy of gushing over, such as a plate of fresh mango with sticky rice and some Thai iced tea which was refreshing on an early summer day in L.A. In any case, it offered some of the best people watching I've seen in a long time and an excuse to visit Thai Town!

Spring Break Eats: Kat Hepburn's Brownies and DIY Fruit & Cheese Plates

Above: The deceptively elegant fruit and cheese plate at Village Pub is basically an artful plating of some basic quality ingredients- try it with some leftovers for a cultured-feeling lunch.
You will all have to please pardon my lack of posts lately. It was spring break here at UCLA and I spent R&R time in San Jose with my family and friends and also got the opportunity to camp at Malibu Creek State Park with a group of friends over this past weekend. Of course, I did not go that entire time without a culinary discovery or two that I would like to share with you all! Being back home and having more time on my hands, I was able to put together some slightly more elaborate meals like Date and Walnut-Stuffed Pork Loin and Arroz con Pollo. However, I know these dishes are not likely to make their way into a time-pressed cook's regular repertoire, so I want to tell you about Katherine Hepburn's brownies, an unbelievably quick dessert that delivers delicious rewards. Apparently this recipe truly came from the well-known actress herself. I had wanted to try a version of this recipe for a while, and the chance presented itself when my friend (who was my co-chair of the Culinary Club in high school!) and I wanted a sweet treat to accompany our watching the movie Milk. The beauty of the recipe is that it only involves one pot to mix in and a pan to bake the brownies in, resulting in super minimal clean-up. My friend and I made these one evening during the break and ate them gooey and warm straight from the oven with warm milk (considering the movie we were watching, we thought we were rather clever!). Our brownies turned out comparatively thin to other brownies but were extra rich and moist. We opted for no walnuts, but I'm sure they would be great, if you're a fan of nutty brownies. Sadly, I do not have a picture of the brownies, but I do have a picture of a lovely fruit and cheese plate that my mom and I had at Santana Row's Village Pub. We were both struck by the sophistication of flavors achieved by a gathering of such few and basic ingredients. This particular one had blue cheese, candied pecans, thin toasted slivers of nut bread, marinated olives and a red wine balsamic reduction sauce, but it would be so easy to throw together a gourmet plate with leftovers you happen to have in the fridge. Consider it as a creative solution to the question "what's for lunch?"

Recipe: Katherine Hepburn Brownies

Ingredients:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation:

1. Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate and take the saucepan off the heat.

2. Stir in 1 cup sugar, add 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and beat the mixture well.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (In the original recipe, 1 cup chopped walnuts is added here as well.)

4. Bake the brownies in a buttered and floured 8-inch-square pan at 325°F for about 40 minutes.

You can cut these brownies into squares, once they have cooled, and eat them out of the pan, but it is so much nicer to pile them on a fancy plate, from which people are going to eat them with their hands anyway. If you want to smarten up your act you can put a square of brownie on a plate with a little blob of créme fraîche and a scattering of shaved chocolate. 

*Recipe from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Katharine-Hepburns-Brownies-106559

Tofu Love

Above: Tofu scramble break down- the chopped nuts, spices, cranberries and crumbled tofu (I skipped the cilantro)- and then the beautiful assembled finish!
Recipe: Garam Masala Tofu Scramble
Right now I'm obsessed with the versatility of tofu. It adapts itself to stir-frys, adds some protein to salads, is yummy baked slathered in teriyaki or honey-mustard sauce, and this afternoon I discovered how delicious it is scrambled. I know that many people have aversions to tofu. My roommate recounted the story when her family decided to replace their Thanksgiving din one year with Tofurkey, to her absolute horror. Tofu is so good for you, so flexible and so affordable (1 14 oz. block of tofu will cost you under $2!) that it would be a tragedy to relegate it to the shady world of meat substitutions. I urge you to reconsider this potential food friend, which shines in this flavorful scramble. This week is finals week, which means that quick and easy are the buzzwords when it comes to food. But that doesn't mean a self-enforced Ramen diet is obligatory- this dish took about 15 min. to throw together and paid back many times in taste the effort and time put into it!

Garam Masala Tofu Scramble Recipe

You can buy garam masala spice blends, or make your own from spices like cardamom, cloves, cumin, and cinnamon. (I personally used a blend of curry spice that we had in the cabinent and some cumin and it turned out great, so you can work with what you have!). On the tofu front, I actually like to use a firmer tofu which lends more structure in the end, softer water-packed work as well but lend a looser, and in some cases creamier texture.

Ingredients:
a splash of olive oil
couple pinches of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala spice blend
1 medium onion, halved and cut into thin slices
1/2 medium bulb fennel, cut into very thin slices
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
12 ounces extra firm orgnic tofu, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped

Add the olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in the garam masala, and then quickly add the onions and fennel.

Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Now it's up to you in regards to how long you'd like to let the onions cook - it you are in a rush, just cook them for a few minutes until they soften. If you have a bit more time, let them start to caramelized and darken. Stir in the cranberries, cook them for thirty seconds and add the tofu. Stir and stir to combine the tofu with the other ingredients. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and pistachios. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Serves 4.

*Recipe from Heidi Montag's blog 101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/garam-masala-tofu-scramble-recipe.html