The * * GRAND * * Food EXPERIMENT

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

2010-04-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a side step away from talking about what's in our kitchen, to what's outside.

Today KFC is releasing its "double down KFC sandich" with the following specs: The sandwich consists of two pieces of fried chicken fillets that serve as "bread" to sandwich two slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese, two slices of bacon and a special sauce. It contains 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1,380-1420 milligrams of sodium (92-95% of your daily recommended sodium intake). The blogosphere has been abuzz with reviews mostly from those who are curious about this gimmicky creation and those who are appalled that it actually exists.

While I'm pretty grossed out by it too, in all fairness, in spite of all the hullabaloo, the specs aren't that much worse than what's in other fast food fare on the market. For example, the Big Mac is also 540 calories, with 29 g of fat and 1040 mg of sodium.

What really is generating all the negativity is that in essence, KFC is saying a big F-U! to the first lady's attempts to fight childhood obesity and the newly passed health care bill. "So, you want Americans to eat better and have healthy habits? Well, we'll make a sandwich that is going to be so sensational that it'll publicize itself." Basically, it's a sandwich that Big Agriculture and Tea partiers can rally behind.

Nevertheless, how to get people to eat better is not an easy thing to tackle. On one hand, I don't like how it seems that our food choices are often controlled by a combination of marketing, food prices, brand labeling, etc and the fact that there are hundreds of commercials for sugary, fatty, food products, yet none for the humble tomato. On the other hand, I don't think banning bake sales in schools (cough cough New York) or having a sugar tax will actually change people's eating habits. It seems pointless to allow bad choices to exist and thrive and then punish people for choosing them. What else are you supposed to do if you don't have access to fresh produce and every major street corner is dominated by a brightly-lit fast food joint? Side story: I remember in high school, a friend of mine counted how many McDonald's were on Beach Blvd, a 10 mile long major street. There were no fewer than 10! That's at least one every mile. It's easy to see how they can boast "Billions and Billions served."

You cannot demand people to make better choices without making those choices better. Here's an old article about the messy behemoth that shows the infuriatingly contradictory relationship between the food and healthcare industries: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10pollan.html

Any thoughts you'd like to contribute to our dinner table?

Tortilla Espanola

2010-03-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Chef Anna here. This photo is from a while ago, when I decided to make a Spanish themed dinner (or at least it's my conception of what one would like... it's probably not that accurate). Anyways, this dish is called tortilla espanola (Spanish omelet). It's sort of tricky to actually make but the preparation is easy. Basically several pounds of potatoes are cut into circular slices and are fried in a pan with onion. A few eggs that have been whisked are then added. The tricky part is keeping the potatoes, the onion, and the egg formed into an object that looks like a pie. Just like paella, the bottom is browned before serving. However, unlike paella, the tortilla espanola is served bottom side up so you get a beautiful brown top as seen in the picture.

I served the tortilla espanola with a bit of romesco sauce, a Spanish sauce made with pimiento peppers, red pepper flakes, garlic, paprika, tomato, and almond paste. It is EXTRAORDINARY!

The salad is simple, being just a bunch of spring greens and dried apricots, tossed with balsamic vinaigrette, and some parmesan cheese on top (so maybe that's not totally Spanish, but whatever). I'm dipping into my Italian roots there. =)

L'amour du chocolat

2010-03-06T12:59:00.001-08:00

I've experimented with a few truffles recipes and I've finally settled on Alton Brown's recipe. However instead of using brandy in the truffles, I prefer to use Grand Marnier or some other flavored alcohol. So far I've tried Bailey's, homemade cherry brandy, and peppermint schnapps.

Truffles are surprisingly not that hard to make if you're not trying to get a crispy outer chocolate shell. It's dark chocolate, butter, cream, corn syrup and some flavored alcohol in a pot, all melded together into chocolatey deliciousness.

The truffles you see above are the ones that I made for Jay on Valentine's Day. They were quite a success. =)

Here's the link to Alton Brown's recipe if you want to try it:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-truffles-recipe/index.html

Beef Ragu

2010-03-05T23:29:00.001-08:00

This is Italian comfort food or at least I think it is. What is better than stew meat simmered in red wine, tomatoes, onions, fennel seeds, oregano, basil, and other veggies for hours until the meat becomes all stringy and tender? This meal was rather cheap to make since the beef and red wine were both on sale. I suggest getting a table red wine for this meal. You'll end up putting a lot of the wine into the sauce but having some extra left to drink makes the meal that much better.

Seared Albacore Salad Nicoise

2010-03-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

As complicated as this dish looks, it took only 20 minutes to make and even less time to put together.

1. Cut 3 large red potatoes into quarter and boil until softened, but not so that they fall apart.
2. Steam green beans
3. Rub 2 tuna steaks (1-1.5 lbs) with salt and pepper, olive oil and sear in a pan, about 2-3 minutes per side. Slice into 1/2 inch wide slabs.
4. Toss potatoes and tuna in large bowl with the following: 2 TB dijon mustard, 1.5 TB white wine vinegar, 1 tsp dried tarragon, 1/2 cup fresh parsley, 1 TB olive oil, 1/2 cup red onion slices and pepper.
5. Plate tuna/potato mix over salad greens with green beans, tomatoes and olives.

After a long 2 weeks, Anna and I had a chance to sit and enjoy a nice dinner with a bottle of reisling. =D

Persimmon

2010-03-05T22:10:00.001-08:00

Every weekend A and I take a walk around the neighborhood to see what wonders we can find. Sometimes its fresh rosemary and mint, other times a cool looking stick that could make a 3 foot tall sling shot. This time it was a persimmon!

The story behind getting this persimmon is sort of funny. A and I saw it from a block away near Hawthorne and Euclid. My fingers twitched and my eyes brightened, and A thought to himself, "Oh no, Eileen's going to try and get the fruit. She's always getting into trouble." Of course, I coerced him to help me. You should have seen our human ladder. He hoisted me up and tried to balance as I frantically lunged for the fruit. Several people passed us during these minutes and must have thought we were nuts.

Not quite sure if taking fruit off someone else's tree is lawful since it is "poaching" but if anyone asks, the fruit needed to be picked. At my future home, if I have any fruit trees in the yard, there'll be a clear sign saying "Please take whatever fruit you can reach."

Pandan Chiffon Cake

2010-03-05T22:09:00.002-08:00

Anna turned 24 earlier this week (the baby of the house!) so we surprised her with this creation. She got home before we go the chance to decorate it, so I ended up hiding the cake and frosting it in my room, with no one the wiser. So what is this curiously green cake? It's a pandan flavored chiffon cake with coconut frosting between the layers and a sweetened whipped cream frosting with fresh pineapple. Pandan is a flavoring used in Southeast Asia that tastes like a cross between vanilla, taro and hazelnut.

Sharri was the first to introduce me to Pandan. Thanks girl!

Pancakes so fluffy, you'd want to roll up in them!

2010-03-05T22:09:00.001-08:00

Buttermilk pancakes are really the only ones worth making. Once you've made them, they'll become a brunch staple.

This is probably one of the fluffiest buttermilk pancake recipes I've come across that has generous amount of both baking powder and baking soda. Here's a little info on what makes these similar chemicals different.

Here are the basics for this recipe.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

The full recipe can be found here. We halved this recipe and added 1 tsp of vanilla extract to make them more delectable. They are so lightly sweet and fluffy that they're great just on their own.

Fractal Broccoli

2010-03-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

Awesome fractal broccoli at Monterey Market.

Vegan Creamy Asparagus Soup (with Cashew Cream)

2010-03-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

This cream of asparagus soup is so creamy and yet so vegany--oh the wonders of cashew cream. It doesn't taste at all nutty. This is the recipe from vegan chef Tal Ronnen as recommended by Yumi garnished with spinach and sunflower seeds.

Home made Horchata and Soy Milk

2010-03-05T22:06:00.000-08:00

Soy milk and horchata is kind of like mayonaisse. When asked where it comes from you respond "Obviously, it comes in a jar or container." It never really occurs to most people that these foods can be made at home. There's good reason why...it's a bit labor intensive for what you get. But, the results are fantastic.

For soy milk:

Step 1: Soak beans overnight by covering them with water so that there's 1/4 inch of water on top. About a cup of dry beans (50 cents!) will make well over a half gallon of milk depending on how "beany" you like your drink.
Step 2+3: Once the beans are soft, use a food processor to blend them. Boil blended beans in pot with 4-5 cups of water over medium heat. Make sure you don't burn the beans or you'll get a burnt flavor. Boil for 20-25 minutes. Strain mixture.
Step 4: Adjust flavor, dilute with water to the consistency you like and if you like add sugar 1 tsp at a time until you get it to the sweetness you like. I like my soy milk very beany with just barely a touch of sweetness.

How to make Horchata:

Step 1: Take 3/4 cup of white rice and pulse to break into small powdery pieces. In large pot, add blended rice, 1 cup of blanched or slivered almonds, 2 cinnamon sticks or cinnamon powder and cover mixture with 6 cups of water. Set for 3 hours. After 3 hours, remove cinnamon sticks, blend the mixture in a food processor and strain liquid.

Horchata is the perfect drink for a humid day.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

2010-03-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

Its citrus season and the meyer lemon tree out back has been a baby making machine =D, so we made some lemon marmalade with whole cloves based on this recipe. It's amazing how when sugar is heated it becomes syrupy and when you heat up fruit, it becomes jelly! Chemistry in action. Even if you're not into jam, making lemon clove marmalade just makes the kitchen smell so inviting.

Here's Aleister investigating our lemon marm-topped yogurt.

Spinach-Shitake mushroom Tofu Dumplings

2010-03-05T22:01:00.000-08:00

A standby favorite recipe from my vegetarian soul-mate Yumi

Dumplings are such comfort food. Whatever form they take, perogis, wontons, potstickers, mandoo!, samosas, ravioli, etc, they will warm your heart and stomach. They're also great because it doesn't matter what you put in them. They will be good no matter what.

Does everyone get this much comfort from dumplings? Maybe it's the case especially for me because growing up, on Sundays, my dad and I would fold dumplings together. We'd compare how "neatly" pleated our dumpling folds were. "Like this--90 degrees, see? Like this?" My dad would say as if he had somehow engineered the perfect dumpling folding technique. Sometimes we'd make over a hundred to store in the freezer! As soon we got enough made to feel confident that we were making progress, my mom would run over, take our wrapped works of art and toss them into boiling water. We'd eat them just as quickly as we made them.

This particular dumpling is normal gyoza skins. The filling consists of shittake mushrooms, minced garlic and ginger, drained frozen chopped spinach, crumbled firm tofu, scallions, pepper and soy sauce. Sautee dumplings in a pan and for the dipping sauce try a 1 part soy sauce to one part water with a bit of lemon juice and minced ginger. I dare you to try saving some because they will disappear! One time Yumi and I made 60 of these and ate all of them in one sitting. This is why we are best friends.

Spanakopitas

2010-03-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

A's part Greek and his family always makes this spinach pie over the holidays, so we make a point to make it every year---because honestly, NOBODY DOESN'T LIKE SPINACH PIE! He insists that we use the recipe that his grandma uses, even if this means sometimes making multiple long-distance phone calls because we forgot. But for now, a copy was given to us and now after 3 years its a well-creased, stained 8x11.5 sheet of paper-- well-loved no doubt.

This year, we made the traditional sheet spinach pie and with the extra phyllo made cupcake versions that was good to grab on the way out as a buttery breakfast. Let us know if you'd like the recipe!

Apples

2010-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is a photo from November, when it was still apple season. Every fall, Berkeley Bowl carries near 12-15 different varieties of apples. Not only is that freaking amazing, but the checkout folks have to keep track of all of them too. So A and I started to wonder what's so different about them? Here's a sampling of 4 we set out to try from left to right: washington, granny smith, jazz, and golden delicious. Golden delicious and Jazz were my favorites from this batch. Aren't the colors just gorgeous?

Purple Bliss

2010-01-29T01:32:00.001-08:00

This is from a recipe that appeared in the Health section of the New York Times. It became an instant favorite of this household, being both flavorful and healthy! Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/health/nutrition/05recipehealth.html?_r=1&em

Basically, it's a concoction of eggplant, basil, crushed tomato, chickpeas, onions and garlic. Served hot with whole wheat pita bread on the side, it's fantastic. I imagine cous cous with raisins and pine nuts would go well, too.

Next up on my list of recipes to attempt is jalapenos en escabeche (pickled jalapenos, carrots, and onions). It's one of those yummy things you find at taco trucks and I really want to have some here. This is the link to the recipe I'll be trying (stay tuned for results): http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2386-pickled-jalapenos-jalapenos-en-escabeche

Dancing to a Curiously Hypnotic Beet

2010-01-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

We cut into some beets and found this beautiful pattern underneath, it's like a LSD laden tie-dyed party in there.

Butternut Squash Savory Tart (with arugala, onions and gruyere)

2010-01-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

This tart is wonderful anytime of year because it's got a whole host of intertwined flavors.

First make the dough- this is just your basic pastry dough you can find anywhere online. We used 1/2 whole wheat because it makes us feel better about eating this tart. It's fun to use your fingers to spread the dough into the pan.

Skin a butternut squash, cut into cubes, rub with olive oil, sprinkle salt pepper and a dusting of cayenne pepper, and roast in oven at 350 until tender but still firm, like 25 min?

Slice onions into thin slivers and sautee with salt, pepper and some thyme until soft.

Create layers of squash, onions, arugala and sliced swiss cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is melty and crust is crusty about 35 min?.

Voila! Just looking at these photos makes me crave some of this lovely pie.

A tale of Sugary Sweet love

2010-01-28T23:44:00.001-08:00

Alan and I were making chocolate coated almonds one day and experimenting with making chocolate letters. Well known in our social circles for his knack of making cute tokens of affection, he made me this chocolate heart. Aww....shucks.

The Most Quintessential Raspberry Chocolate Cake

2010-01-28T23:18:00.001-08:00

Presenting the world's most decadent 3-layer-rasberry filled chocolate cake. For my mom's birthday, she casually requested a chocolate raspberry cake. Let me say this---it did not disappoint. It was an epic tour-de-force of a cake because it is a 3-layer cake with a meringue-based buttercream frosting. I was handicapped though because my folks only had 1 cake pan and no electric beater. Whipping eggs by hand is brutal--but miraculously it all came together after.

Here's the recipe for the cake, the frosting was based on Martha stewart's buttercream frosting with added coco powder, and the raspberry filling.

To decorate, melt semisweet chocolate in a double boiler. Put into a frosting cuff or tough ziploc bag with a tiny hole. To create letters, write words with chocolate onto wax paper and cool in refrigerator.

Tofu Peanut Soup With Brown Rice

2010-01-28T23:18:00.000-08:00

Chef Anna speaking. =)

This is the peanut soup topped with tofu that I made the other night. Lately, we chefs here have been trying to eat vegetarian for health and cost reasons. Peanut soup is one of the most delicious vegetarian dishes I know. I've been really into peanut soup ever since I had a bowl of it at a Ghana restaurant in Berkeley. It's very humble really, consisting mostly of some spices, some sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. However, if you bulk it up with brown rice and some golden tofu, it becomes a very satisfying meal.

To make the golden tofu, you need to take a block of tofu, drain it, and cut it up into small squares. Then you want to press down on the squares with a paper towel a few times to remove a lot of the liquid. This will help them fry a nice golden brown color. Once they've been drained of a lot of their liquid, stick them in a pan that contains about 2 Tbsp of peanut oil that has already been heated. Let the tofu cook there until one side is golden brown. Then keep flipping it until all sides are golden.

This link tells you how to make the peanut soup. I prefer to use crunchy peanut butter when making it because I like a little bit of crunch in the soup. We also used brown rice instead of regular rice since we consider it to be a healthier option. Anyways, enough rambling; here's the recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peanut-Soup-with-Rice-and-Scallions-103559

Bon appetit!

Poached Anjou Pear Tart

2010-01-28T22:31:00.000-08:00

Oh my lord this tart is good, so good that after making it the first time, I was making it like every weekend. Fattiness increased--> self-esteem slightly decreased--> more tarts made as comfort food. See how this is a viscious cycle?

First the pears:

1) Boil 3 large anjou pears completely submerged in water with whatever spices you want, vanilla, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, etc. They are ready when the skins, which were green, turn a light yellow brown and if the skin comes off when you touch it. You don't want to remove the skin too soon before the dough is done because the pear flesh will brown. When you are ready for the pears, peel the skin with your fingers, a knife is too hard and will go right through the flesh of the fruit. Cut 1/2 inch slivers, removing core.

The pastry dough for a 9- inch tart!
2) In a food processor, pulse together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter cut into small pieces. The dough should be crumby. Don't let it become completely smooth. Stir in enough cold water about 3 TB to pull the dough together. Shape into a disc (so that it's easier to roll out later) and wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

3) Roll out pastry dough into a circle that it is about 10-12 inches wide. You can arrange the pears in anyway you want, just leave room for the crust. I'm not sure how to explain the method of folding the dough to achieve the twisted crust pictured about, but you can also just roll the dough over the pears, pinch together loose areas and use a fork tines to add a notched decoration on the crust. Sprinkle the entire tart with sugar. Pop in oven until golden brown. To get the glazed crust as pictured without using a torch, add extra sugar on the crust and after the tart is done baking, put the broiler on and quickly broil the tart so the sugar melts and crystalizes. You must be attentive at this step as you may easily burn your beautiful tart!

Most importantly have fun!

Wonderful Winter Portobello Mushroom Stew

2010-01-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

This is Chef Anna speaking. Here's a picture of a really simple meal to make and one that is especially comforting on a cold, rainy day. The portobello mushroom serves as the meat of this stew, making it very satisfying indeed. We got this amazing recipe from Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," one of our favorite cookbooks so far (other than the Julia Child one I got for Christmas). Served over egg noodles, this stew creates an orgasmic taste experience in your mouth.

Anyways you need these ingredients:

-- olive oil
--onion
--chopped rosemary
-- pepper, red pepper flakes
-- garlic cloves
-- mushroom broth (or water)
-- sherry
--white vinegar
--tomato paste
-- butter
--parsley
-- portobello mushrooms
--white mushrooms

I imagine this stew would go really well with a wine like a Chianti or some other strong red wine since it is so meaty. If you try it with a wine that goes well with it, let me know. =)

Bon appetit!

Flourless "Pterophyta" Chocolate Cake

2010-01-28T21:56:00.001-08:00

This is the pterophyta cake that helped us win a nifty little popcorn maker at the PostBacc Bake Off last fall.

The name of this cake is the result of a really really bad pun. All the chefs contributed to this cake, but it's a recipe that Chef Eileen taught us after interning at Chez Panisse. First of all, it's a flourless chocolate cake. Secondly, if you look carefully you'll see that the stencil made by Chef Anna looks unintentionally like a fern. Chef Caroline, our resident biology expert, made the astute observation that ferns (pterophyta) don't have flowers. Our cake didn't have any flours in it. Thus, pterophyta cake was born and the name just sort of stuck. =)

*****

Eileen here: Here is a couple more photos of this flourless chocolate cakes that we've experimented with. I don't quite have an exact recipe, as I've been working mostly by taste. Here's the basic gist though:

Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a double boiler, melt equal parts unsweetened chocolate and unsalted butter. (1/2 cup each) Make sure to use a high coco-butter content chocolate like Guittard (available in the bulk section from Berkeley Bowl). Do not use nestle "chocolate chips" as they will give you a dry burnt mess!

2) Dissolve about 1/2-3/4 c of sugar into melted chocolate mix, or to taste. You may want to make it a tad sweeter than you would like because the rest of the mix will dilute it a bit. Take off heat and cool so that it's not steaming, warm to touch but still liquidy.

3) Whip 5 egg whites until they form stiff white peaks. Save egg yolks! Sometimes when you whip eggs, there will be some liquid underneath the foam that will kinda deflate the volume of the mix so make sure as much of it gets all whipped.

4) Mix the egg yolks into the melted chocolate mix which is warm and shouldn't cook the yolks.

5) Transfer chocolate mix into a large mixing bowl. Fold in egg whites.

7) Butter a 9 inch round or square pan--spring form round pans are the best! Pour in mix to fill no more than half the height of the pan, and smooth out. Bake for 50 minute or until the cake gets a nice crusty top and when you prick the center with a toothpick it comes out clean. Because it's an egg white base, the cake will rise a bit (POOF!) and deflate, but it'll still be delicious!

8) Great with powdered sugar or raspberry puree!

Dinner Guests

2009-11-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

We usually make a lot of food, so friends and loved ones drop by to eat with us. Here is Mrs. C's cartoon rendition of one of frequent dinner guests.

His shirt says "Build Levees" because he studies rivers and cool shit like that

He's saying "I'm going to throw away this phone" because he's kinda old school and doesn't like having a cell phone.

He's thinking "Hootelolly" because he's kinda crazy, being bearded and all.

I don't know what the "I love the Jesuits" stuff is about.

In general, we like having him come around because he brings some good dinner conversations.

Mrs. Squash

2009-11-06T22:56:00.000-08:00

Hi there! Afterhours has been bugging me to stop slacking on the blogging, so here I am. Okay, so let me make this quick.
Picture # 1: Squash bread pudding. I don't really remember how I made it. This picture is from, like, two O Chem tests ago!
Picture # 2: More squash. This time in a risotto with half arborio rice and half wild rice. Oh, those little red flecks are peppers from our neighbor's garden. The reason we ate so much squash is that there were also Delicata squash in the garden. Delicata is my favorite kind of squash, but the ones in the garden were not as good as the store-bought ones. I say, leave squash growing to the experts, especially when you live in Berkeley where the summers are chilly. Anyways, these squash dishes were cheap, satisfying, and a bit mushy. The crunchy-chewy quality of wild rice was a good counterpoint to the mushiness of the squash.
Picture #3. This was delicious! It may look a bit like airplane food from the 1990s, but the dish had a warmth and depth to it on account of cinnamon sticks and cloves. This recipe is called "Irish Stew," but it is actually a Parsi recipe from the wonderful book, My Bombay Kitchen:Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking, by Niloufer Ichaporia King.

It's Decorative Gourd Season!

2009-11-06T22:40:00.000-08:00

McSweeney's has the most awesome article about how every fall, our nation develops a gripping collective obsession with gourds of all shapes and sizes, written from the perspective of the anti-Martha Stewart, and aptly titled: It's Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers!

Here is Mrs. C, tenderly looking after the gourds. Note the look of devotion (perhaps even obsession?) in her eyes.

I thought the carving was Mrs. C's self-portrait, but apparently it was a skull. Go figure?

Oxtail Soup

2009-11-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

Whenever I tell people I'm making Oxtail soup, they genuinely ask me, "Ox have tails???" I guess in your day to day you don't really ask these kind of questions, but the answer is "yes, but not anymore."

This is one of the heartiest Korean soups you can make and by far one of the easiest. You just need 3 ingredients.

1. You get about 2 pounds of oxtail and trim off as much of the fat.

2. Put them in a pot and add water so the tails are submerged, add 4 cloves of garlic.

3. Bring to boil and lower heat and simmer for 2-3 hours. After a while the broth takes on a beautiful nutty color and it tastes really really good because of all the flavors coming out of the bone. The meat will be super tender and come right off the bone. The best part are the clear squishy tendon bits.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with green onions

5. Serve with rice of course!

The best way is to just use your fingers. It's more satisfying that way.

Chili Lime Cashews

2009-11-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

We, at this blog, don't give snacks the credit they're due. We had half a bag of raw cashews left so, coated them with chili powder, ground coriander, dash of salt, brushed the whole thing with a little olive oil and squeezed some lime juice on top and roasted in the oven for 15-20 min at 370.

Cashews are pretty awesome on they're own, but they were even better all jazzed up this way.

Salmon Cakes with Yogurt Chive Sauce

2009-11-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

Just look at these orange beauties grilling up! There's something to be said about the wonderful aroma of well-seasoned salmon filling your house. It had some coriander, cayenne pepper, chives, lemon zest and good ole mayonnaise. Check out the recipe here.

After many foodings (food+outing) Mr. A and I have come up with our ratio theory to food pricing. The more stacked a food is, the more expensive. If it is taller than it is wide, then it will be more expensive: French food, New American, you get the picture. If its wider than it is tall, it is less expensive: Mexican platters, Chinese food, Pizza! The salmon cakes were served to look more expensive than they really were (total cost less than $20 to make 6 servings.) They rested on some polenta with grilled tomatos, and a sprig of oven-roasted kale with a side of yogurt chive sauce.

Aleister being pouty because he couldn't have any salmon.

Chicken Piccata with Arugala

2009-11-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hello dear reader, sorry for the delay. Exams and such. But we have been cooking up a storm this past month and have some gustatory delights to share.

Here's a very simple dish that tastes divine! Serves 4-6

Make the lemon-butter sauce:

1. Sautee 6-8 finely diced garlic cloves in TBSP of olive oil

2. add 1/2 cup of salted butter and melt over low heat, stirring so it doesn't burn

3. add 1/4 cup of water

4. add 2-3 TBSP of freshly squeezed lemon juice, depending on if you like more tartness. If it's too lemony, add more butter and water to dilute.

5. add salt to taste

Make the pasta with fixings

1. Boil water with pinch of salt, and throw in your choice of pasta. Drain out the water when it's cooked and set aside

2. Dredge chicken breast fillets with flour, salt, pepper and thyme

3. Lightly brown chicken in some olive oil. Check to make sure its thoroughly cooked.

4. Slice the breast meat after cooking so that the meat stays juicy and put back in pan.

5. Add the cooked pasta and 1/4 cup of capers to the chicken

6. Add the lemon-butter sauce to the mix

7. Lastly add about 5 cups of baby arugula and allow it to wilt, but don't overcook. You want the color to be bright green. Arugula has a peppery herby flavor that will mellow out when cooked. It adds such a good flavor to any mediterranean dish.

8. Add last sprinkles of freshly ground black pepper

Serve up with your favorite white wine!

****

We tried the pasta out with some refreshing beet salad with more arugula and asian pear Recipe from epicurious. Roasting your own beets takes FOREVER!! so just get the ones in a can--they taste pretty much the same. Even though Mrs. C doesn't agree with me.

Italian Aspirations

2009-10-25T13:35:00.001-07:00

These eggplant rolls are tasty, easy to make, and cheap! The only ingredients you need are the following:

-eggplant
-ricotta cheese
-mozzarella cheese
-parmesan cheese (if wanted, for sprinkling on the top)
- fresh basil
- tomatoes
- red pepper flakes
-olive oil
- oregano
- salt
-pepper
-garlic
- other spices (sometimes I like to add fennel or thyme)

Cut the eggplant into slices. I find that the best thickness for each slice is 1 cm or so. Roast the slices in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they are tender and pliable (you need to roll up the ricotta/mozarella filling in there).

Make the ricotta/mozzarella filling. This filling using fresh basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. You can use goat cheese instead of mozzarella for a stronger tasting roll. I like to add a bit of fennel and thyme.

To make the sauce, you use some garlic, red pepper, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I like to use the fresh red hot peppers from our garden in addition to the red pepper flakes. Simmer the sauce for a while so that it takes on the spicy flavor.

Finally, wrap each eggplant slice around the filling to create an eggplant roll. Line up the rolls in a pan and cover all of them with the spicy tomato sauce. Place the pan in the oven, covered with foil, and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or so, until hot.

Bon appetit!

Tempeh Over Rice

2009-10-10T18:55:00.001-07:00

This is Yumi here, reporting for the first time from sunny Los Angeles with a (semi)-vegetarian slant. Howdy.

When Chef Eileen asked me to write for her communal food blog as an occasional guest contributor, I was super-excited! I got so excited I decided to whip out my digital camera and take photos of the dinner I prepared that night--tempeh and stir-fry vegetables over jasmine rice.

This is hardly a difficult recipe. I threw together peas, carrots, onions, scallions, ginger, garlic, a splash of soy sauce and who knows what else in a big fat saucepan. Nothing like the rush of improvisation that comes from the ticking time bomb that is your non-perishable vegetables.

Burn, baby, burn

The hardest part of this easy-peazy recipe was unwrapping the plastic wrapping on the Trader Joe's tempeh. Seriously, that shit is wrapped tighter than the dainty soles of a Chinese empress. Our kitchen scissors and the tempeh packaging went into an epic scuffle (below), and the kitchen scissors finally won.

Rock, tempeh, scissor...

For those of you who don't know, tempeh is Indonesian fermented soy cakes and has a distinctive nutty flavor. People love it or hate it, and I fortunately fall into the former category.

I just tossed the tempeh straight onto an oiled pan and added maybe a splash or two of soy sauce. Next time I do tempeh stir-fry, I plan on marinating those suckers overnight. I did a BBQ marinade tempeh baked in the oven earlier this week, and those were mighty tasty.

Toss the tempeh and the veggies over the rice. Add a scoop of plain yogurt and a sprinkle of shredded nori for kicks. Accompany with red wine, and you are all good to go.

This is why I think I need to food blog more. I take the time to look at the meal I prepared for myself. I clear away the table so I can focus on the food. After documenting the whole process, I don't want to mindlessly nom-nom away at it. I want to really make the effort to taste everything.

Coming soon to a communal food blog near you: pumpkin ravioli? Soba noodles? Mashed potatos? Stay tuned to find out!

Eggs Florentine over Polenta Cakes

2009-09-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

Chef Eileen: After days of eating breakfast in the car on the way to school, my favorite thing to do is spend a couple hours making and savoring Saturday brunch. The idea kind of grew organically...."oh look, we have some extra spinach and polenta....maybe we can make an eggs florentine....we'll have to somehow turn polenta mush into a cake...and of course this will need hollandaise sauce." I can verily say that making hollandaise sauce makes me feel like a professional cook.

But first the polenta!

Step 1: Normally when you cook polenta, it's a gooby, grit-like mess. Delicious but also amorphous. So, after cooking it, I wrapped it in tin-foil to shape it into a log, and chilled it in the freezer so that it would form a solid cake, then I sliced it and grilled them.

Step 2: Hollandaise Sauce

Recipe can be found here. Instead of cayenne pepper, I used paprika. Its a rich sauce, and it doesn't save too well so adjust recipe to make only as much as you need.

Our plates: Riverdog farm eggs with wilted spinach, hollandaise over grilled polenta cakes, grilled tomato and basil, plum and white peach fruit cup, Peet's coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Chow Down: New England Clam Chowdah

2009-09-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

Chef Eileen: Woah, the chowder's like overflowing lava. Because they only sell good chowder at fisherman's wharfs and the alternative would be cans, I always thought it must be difficult to make. They've got us all fooled! It's so easy to make. This one I made is heartier because it has more chunks of bacon bits and celery. Here's the recipe:

Recipe:

1. Boil 2 cups of cubed yukon gold potatoes in 16 oz of clam juice until soft. They sell clam juice. Weird isn't it? Yukon golds are nice because they don't become too mushy after boiling and hold their shape.

2. In a separate pan, finely dice and brown 4 slices of smoked bacon. (You can save a 1 inch square of bacon and crisp it to garnish the dish as we did above.) In the lard, saute 1 cup of finely diced onions and 1.25 cups of finely diced celery with 2-3 bay leaves and 2 pinches of thyme. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Cook until vegetables have softened.

3. In a large soup pan heat 1 cup of half and half (or cream if you prefer) with 6-8oz of minced canned clams over low heat. Add in the boiled potatoes and clam juice. Next add the sauteed mixture of vegetables and bacon. I also added a pinch of red chili flakes to make the chowder more flavorful. Lastly, add about 1-2 tablespoons of flour to thicken. Stir over low heat until the chowder becomes really thick.

4. Make bread bowls by cutting a loaf of sour or sweet loaf into 1.5 inch thick slices. Scoop out the insides. You can toast these bread bowl guts to make croutons. Place bread bowl on plate and line the bottom of the bread bowl with some bread crumbs to absorb some of the liquid so it doesn't leak out. Scoop.

Best served on rainy days!

Eat Up, Me Hearties

2009-09-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

I made this borscht based on a recipe I found on Epicurious (just search for borscht on the site). You start out by making a delicious beef broth using some canned beef broth, a beef shank with the bone still in it(cheap piece of meat but very good), and some onions. I simmered that for about an hour and a half and then I took out the beef shank and cut out the good pieces of meat (it's mostly bone and tendon, but it makes a very flavorful beef broth when you boil it).

Then came the carrots, beets, and potatoes with a tiny hint of dill and garlic (plus the obligatory salt and pepper) while they simmered. After about a half hour, it was ready to serve. I chopped up 3/4 cup fresh dill and put it in the soup. Then we served it in BIG BOWLS with plain unsweetened yogurt and a dill sprig on top. To go with the soup, we cut up a lot of pieces of bread really thin and put thin garlic slices on them. The sharp bite of garlic complements the earthy borscht flavor quite well.

Since we're geeks, we decided to research what wine pairings go with borscht. The answer? A Chianti. So we had that with the borscht and concluded that the wine experts we relied on were definitely right. Red wine with red soup. That's the way to go.

But our meal didn't stop with borscht and wine. I also made some flavorful swiss chard. It was a recipe I learned to make in the coops when I was cooking for sixty or so people per night. It's quite easy. You sautee some finely diced onions in butter, brown sugar and dijon mustard (to taste; I prefer more brown sugar personally). Then you add some chard and steam it. Finally, you top it off with some freshly chopped roma tomatoes (or whatever you've got available) and lots of capers. Delicioso.

Tea Eggs

2009-09-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

Chef Eileen made these amazingly beautiful eggs (called tea eggs). The first step is making some hard boiled eggs. Once they're hardboiled, you crack the egg shells ever so slightly (like the one in the picture). The cracked eggs are then simmered in a mixture of tea (in this case oolong), soy sauce, sugar and five spice powder (mix of anise, cloves, cinnamon, pepper and ginger). After a while (between 1 and 2 hours), the eggs begin to take on the beautiful tie-dyed, marbled look you see above.

Yummy!

Cauliflower Salad and Salsa over Sole: aka is this dish mediterranean?

2009-09-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

Cauliflower Salad with Green Olives and Capers is the name of the recipe in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The dressing, also from that book, was a zesty mustard vinagrette with a hardboiled egg yolk mixed in to give it extra substance. Chef Caroline used black kalamata olives, and she forgot a key ingredient-the 2 cups of chopped watercress. Oh well, nobody noticed! But that would have added a nice spicy note to balance out the earthiness of the raw cauliflower.
This saucy sole was prepared using a combo of two recipes (p. 314 & 315) from Fish Forever: The Definiteve Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson, who owns a fish shop in Berkeley. That is a really long title, and all that typing tired me out. Good night y'all. Signed, Mrs. C

Summer-Easy Gazpacho and Cornbread

2009-09-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

Gazpacho with pi-avocado (because we are nerds after all). This was Monday night dinner. You don't even want to know how old that avocado was, but underneath the brown goop we managed to find some beauty and deliciousness. That hydrangea from Chef Eileen's lab garden is still perfectly pristine-looking after several days in the vase. Exactly what kind of experiments are going on at your lab, Chef Eileen???

Gazpacho Recipe can be found here We substituted red wine vinegar for the sherry vinegar and added some tomatillos, cilantro and avocados too. Key here is to puree a lot of red tomatoes to get the color so you don't have a green gazpacho from the tomatillos, and add a yellow tomato to sweeten it up. Best served chilled!

Basic Cornbread, recipe from (once again) Deborah Madison. Chef Eileen decided to use all whole-wheat flour along with the cornmeal sweetened with a mix of buckwheat and clover honey, so it was extra hearty with a satisfying texture. Making cornbread is just about as easy making a pot of rice if you have two people working on it.

Recipe:

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Mix dry ingredients: 1 cup cornmeal + 1 cup whole wheat flour (use pastry grade if available)+2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt

Add in wet ingredients: 1 cup milk + 2 eggs + 1/4 cup butter or oil (use a flavorless oil like canola)

Sweeten with honey: we used a little bit of buckwheat (1 TB) because it has a strong aroma and 1 TB of regular clover honey.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Nectarine-strawberry Yogurt Pie

2009-09-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

This pie from last weekend was lovely and not too sweet. Sadly, only the photograph remains. Chef Eileen took the basic yogurt tart recipe from earlier and let her imagination add the rest. The crust was made of crushed up chocolate cookies. The shine on top is from a jelly of mashed up nectarines, strawberries, sugar and cornstarch to thicken. Don't ask me how or how much constarch--Eileen is the master of cornstarch in this house. I am not. The Yogurt Tart recipe is from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison.

Recipe:

Crust: pulverized Newman's organic chocolate Alphabet cookies and patted cookie dust together in bottom of man. Funny to take think that we took a cookie, smashed it, formed another "cookie" and baked it.

Custard Filling:

Strained plain lowfat yogurt using coffee filters (because we couldn't find cheesecloth) for 30 min, to get the whey out which takes out some of the sourness. Added 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla and sugar to sweeten. Poured yogurt mixture into crust and baked at 250 for 20 minutes. Yogurt should be firm when done.

Topping: Pureed nectarine and strawberries. Over low heat, mixed puree with 3/4 cup of water and added sugar to taste. Added cornstarch--about 2 TB? to thicken. The jelly should be translucent and peachy colored and not cloudy. Pour jelly on top of yogurt and arrange fruit slices on top!

Chill for a few hours before serving. Yum!

Leftover Day

2009-09-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

French Onion Soup using leftover sourdough bread, those last-few onions, old white and red wine. It may look like bread with melted cheese, but there is soup under there. Find the full recipe here. We modified it to use week-old red wine in addition to some white, and it had a richer and sweeter taste. The hydrangeas were picked (poached) from the flower bushes around the building where I work.

Leftover salad into which we threw in the some tomatoes and some oranges. To the right is leftover pasta in a homemade pesto sauce using some free basil, supplemented with fresh basil from our front yard, "bottom of the bag" walnuts because we don't have pine nuts, garlic, and orange juice because our lemon tree is out of lemons.

********

Several people have commented that it must cost a fortune to eat this way ("gourmet," they say). In fact, the opposite is true. The three of us share all our groceries which comes to about $25-30 a week per person for practically everything we eat (breakfast, lunch, dinner), aside from the occasional eating out. Most, if not all of the meals (salad and wine included) have cost between $3-7 a person. A couple things that probably helps us cook restaurant fare at a fraction of the cost:

1) We eat mostly vegetarian

2) Spices, dried herbs, oils and vinegars are probably the best investment. We save a lot because we make our own sauces and dressings in small quantities that are all used.

3) Buy produce that's in season.

4) Nothing goes to waste.

Fruits of the Sea

2009-09-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

Caroline bought these overripe bite-sized strawberries at the farmer's market, so we made a salad with them. The lemon cucumbers (which is a cucumber masquerading as a lemon) add a nice color, and candied walnuts were a sweet crunch. We also made a strawberry vinaigrette using strawberries, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The balsamic and berries go well together because both are tangy and sweet.

How to make candied walnuts: 1) Heat oil in pan until hot but not boiling (best to use heavy, monounsaturated oil like olive oil) 2) dissolve sugar into oil, turn up heat until sugar becomes brown and carmelized but still liquid 3) Add walnuts 4) wait until walnuts are covered with syrup 5) set them out on a plate to cool. Don't use paper towel to catch the oil because it will stick to the walnuts. Take caution during transfer because they will be super hot from the oil and will sizzle. Put in freezer to help cool.

We could barely concentrate today at school because we were all thinking of Anna's seafood paella. I'll have her put up the recipe, but as a preview, it involves risotto flavored with smoked paprika and saffron with mussel, cod, shrimp and prosciutto! Here's a tip for mussels: do not use if they are chipped are opened prior to cooking. Boil in mixture of white wine and water. Use some of the mussel juice to flavor foods!

White wine sangria with pear and strawberries. A sauvignon by Chateau Moulin de Ferrand...yeah fancy shmancy. So far our favorite of the $7 wines. It's rich, dry, yet fruity with a clean finish.

Cat v. lemon cucumber

2009-09-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

What is that thing?

It's getting closer!

Pounce!

Rainy Day Comfort

2009-09-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Rainy days call for warm mushy gobs of savory goop. For breakfast, we had sweet potato, delicata squash, and carrot puree soup in chicken broth with chives as garnish. It's really simple. Cut up veggies. Add broth. Bring to boil and cook over low heat until soft. If you want more flavor, you can uncover and let the broth reduce a bit. Use handheld blender or whisk to mush up. Season to taste.

Chef Anna then prepared second breakfast of Paprika country-fried potatoes with carmelized onions! More mush!

Our living room could double as a cute cafe

For Dinner, Alan and I tried to replicate Julia Child's ratatouille (egg plant, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatos, onions and parsley) over quinoa with Aidell's roasted garlic and gruyere sausages. Recipe can be found here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57749-2001Oct2_4.html

Thanks to Target for an adorably named red wine. It was sweet and light.

A little extra somethin' somethin

2009-09-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Amuse Bouche = "mouth amuser"

Higher end restaurants will often serve patrons a complementary amuse bouche or Lagniappe ("a little something extra") to entice or give a preview of what's to come. They're usually bite-size appetizers to give tastebuds a transition between courses.

TARTS and PIES

2009-09-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Chef: Eileen and Sharri: Homegrown red plums with allspice glaze in crumbly shortbread crust. Downright tasty! Sharri taught me the secret of cutting butter into cubes and having little pockets of butter in the crust so it crumbles.

Chef Caroline: Strained Saint Benoit yogurt with brown sugar in a pecan shortbread crust. Did you know that the stuff strained out of yogurt is whey? It's a yellow-colored sour watery liquid. Not very appetizing looking.

Prosciutto Nectarine Pizza

2009-09-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

Chef Eileen: "Mostly" whole wheat pizza dough topped with prosciutto, yellow nectarines, tomatoes, arugula, goat cheese and olive oil. The perfect summer time pizza and combination of savory and sweet.

Creamy swiss chard pasta

2009-09-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Chef Caroline: Bucatini with Swiss chard and garlic in goat-cheese cream sauce. Paired with a Spanish red Protocolo, which was medium to light bodied. Spicy and bright. Alright for a $7/bottle.