Wilted Spinach Salad with Warm Feta Dressing

A salad recipe from epicurious.com, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wilted-Spinach-Salad-with-Warm-Feta-Dressing-240677.

So simple, only a few readily available ingredients.

9 ounces of fresh spinach

5 TBS olive oil

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/3" thick wedges

7 ounces feta cheese

2 TBS sherry wine vinegar

Wash and remove stems from spinach, place in large bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add onion; sauté until brown and softened, about 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl with spinach; remove skillet from heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and cheese to skillet. Stir to melt cheese slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over spinach; toss to coat and wilt slightly.

I didn't measure the feta or olive oil really, and used red wine vinegar because we didn't have sherry wine vinegar. Turned out great, served it with hamburgers.

Chicken in Lemongrass Sauce

Thai-inspired main dish, per Ashley and Sandra's request:

12 ounces green beans

2 TBS vegetable oil

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast or thigh, cut into 1/2" strips

1 medium onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup lemongrass

3 TBS fish sauce

3 TBS sugar

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 cup chicken stock or broth

2 TBS spicy oyster sauce

Cook beans in large saucepan of boiling salted water just until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, onion, and garlic; stir-fry until chicken is partially cooked, about 4 minutes. Cut lemongrass into rounds (so that you can remove them easily), add to skillet, along with fish sauce, sugar, coriander, and turmeric; stir 2 minutes. Add beans, stock and oyster sauce (I used shrimp paste and roasted chili paste instead of oyster sauce); reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe comes from epicurious.com, originally printed in Bon Appétit, September 2000. Here are my modifications: added lime zest and juice of 1 lime. You want to balance the flavors of hot, sour, sweet, and salty, so you can adjust the amount of chilis or chili paste, citrus, sugar and salt (or fish sauce).

Chicken Madras

Here is a convoluted Indian recipe. It is convoluted because I have never followed the printed recipe, but no worries, this one turns out pretty well and can survive your experimentation. This one is for Brian and Jessica, so good luck to them finding fenugreek, methi leaves and mango powder in Brooklyn! Don't worry about all the variable ingredients: just use the flexibility as a opportunity to experiment, and let the dish turn out a little differently each time!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 tsp ginger paste (I use fresh)

1/2 tsp garlic paste (I use fresh)

1/2 c. tomatoes, diced (or up to 1 c)

1/2 c. water

SPICES 1

1/2 tsp garam masala (or a little more)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp red chile powder

at least 1/2 tsp of black pepper

1 Tbsp coconut milk (plain yogurt is better, I use 1/2- 3/4 cup)

1 lb boneless chicken, cut into 1" cubes (I prefer breasts, thighs, or a combination of the two)

SPICES 2

1 pinch mustard seed

1 pinch fenugreek seed (I use much more, up to 1 tsp)

1 pinch cumin seed (I use more, maybe 1/2 tsp)

1 pinch whole, pre-soaked white lentils (optional, I use about 1 tsp)

5-6 whole dried Thai red chiles

5-6 curry leaves (I find these optional)

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro (this really should be a handful of dried methi leaves)

1 tsp salt

mango powder to taste

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a pan. Add diced onions; stir until they are golden in color. Add ginger and garlic, fry for 1/2 minute. Add tomatoes, water, and SPICES 1 and cook for a minute or two. After it starts to boil, let it simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a fry pan. Add mustard seed, fenugreek seed, cumin seed and lentils, then fry until the mustard seeds start popping. Add whole red chiles and stir until the mixture turns a darker color. Add curry leaves. When the leaves become soft, take them out. Add tomato puree and cooked chicken to pot and mix all the ingredients together with a ladle. Add salt, methi, and mango powder to taste, for tartness.

Bloody Mary Mix

Thanks to our realtor, Frank, for this drink recipe, worth every bit of trouble to make from scratch. I like a variety of cocktail-style drinks, but have never taken much interest in bloody marys until I tried this recipe.

BLOODY MARY RECIPE

1/4 TSP. White Pepper

1 TBSP. Garlic Powder (OR 1 Clove Minced Gar;ic, Preferred)

1/2 TSP. Black Pepper

1 TBSP. Celery Seed

1 TBSP. Horseradish

4 TBSP. Worcestershire

4 TBSP. Red Wine

Juice of 1 Lemon

Juice of 1 Lime

Dashes of Tabasco

24 oz. Spicy V8

ENJOY!

Apple Cake

Holiday dessert, compliments of one of my colleagues in the Winston-Salem Symphony...I am so terrible, I can't remember if it was Kay or Betty that gave it to me. Moist, simple, and delicious.

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups raw, peeled and chopped apples

1 cup chopped pecans

Beat eggs, add sugar and oil. Beat well. Mix dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Add vanilla. Fold in apples and nuts. Bake in greased and floured 9 X 13 inch pan in 350 oven for 45 minutes.

GLAZE

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine first three ingredients in a pan. Bring to a boil, cook for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Take off stove and add vanilla. Pour over the cake when you take it from the oven.

Walnut Cake with Chocolate Cream and Cooked Cherries

The first dessert entry on this blog! Samantha wants to make this: she just wrote me an email that said "Put this on our blog, I want to cook it," or as Tina Fey would say, "I want to go to there." By the way, on google blogs, someone already has the blog named iwanttogotothere.blogspot.com. I looked at this blog and was disappointed that it wasn't a food blog, seems like the perfect title for a food blog. Wow, this recipe looks long and complicated. We will let you know how it turns out. Serves

Recipe: Walnut Cake with Chocolate Cream and Cooked Cherries
Serves 8-10

Below you will find three recipes, all simple to make. When combined they make for a luscious layered cake offset by syrupy port cherries. But as layered cakes go, this version is relatively simple and well worth any effort you may be wary of investing.

If you lack the ingredients or inclination to go the whole nine yards, the cake, lovely and thin, is good to have on hand (a little black dress of a torte, suitable morning, noon and night), that keeps remarkably well for 2-3 days. Otherwise, make just the cherries; they’ll transform ordinary vanilla ice cream into something special, or the chocolate cream, a sumptuous accompaniment for anything really, even finger dipping.


Walnut Cake:
8 tbs. (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature (plus extra for greasing cake tins, about 2 tbs)
1 1⁄4 cups sugar
a good pinch of salt
4 eggs, at room temperature
10 oz walnuts, pulverized in a food processor until quite fine
1⁄2 cup peeled and finely grated carrot
2/3 cups sifted flour
1 ½ tbs. walnut oil
½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325.

Butter two shallow, 10-inch round cake tins. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the exposed wax paper. Lightly flower both tins.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together for about 2 minutes, until creamy and uniform, scraping down the sides from time to time. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the sides and beat for an additional 30 seconds. Stir in the pulverized walnuts and grated carrot. Stir in the sifted flour, 1/3 cup at a time. Stir in walnut oil and vanilla extract.

Distribute the batter between the prepared tins and, using a spatula, spread it out evenly. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer pierced into the center of each cake comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their tins. To unmold, use a knife tip to loosen the cake from the sides and unmold. Flip the cakes onto serving plates and peel off the parchment paper.

Chocolate Cream:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cocoa works well), broken into small pieces
10 tbs softened butter, cut into pieces
1 cup cream
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the chopped chocolate into a clean bowl. In a sauce pan, heat the cream, sugar and vanilla until it just begins to simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for a minute. Then stir, with a spatula, to combine. Add the softened butter and stir until the butter fully dissolves and the chocolate cream is uniform.
Cover the cream and allow it to sit for at least an hour. Just before assembling the cake, whip the cream until thickened and easily spreadable. It will lighten in color.

Cherries:
1 lb cherries, washed with stems removed
1/3 cup sugar, approximately
2 tbs port
2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Line a non-reactive sauté pan with the cherries so they fit in a single layer.* Sprinkle sugar over the cherries and cook at medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, or until the sugar melts and cherries are soft to the touch. Add the port and vinegar and cook for an additional minute or two, shaking frequently.

Pour the cherries and their cooking liquid into a heat proof container and set aside. Allow the cherries to sit for at least one hour; they will continue to emit their liquid. They may be made up to 3 days ahead of time. These keep remarkably well and are delicious on anything - yogurt, sorbet, cakes and anything in between.

Assemble:
Put one of the cake rounds onto the serving platter. Spread enough cream evenly over top so it is about ¼ of an inch thick. Place the second cake over top and repeat. Smooth the surface so that the top layer or cream looks attractive. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. The icing will firm up nicely.

To serve, slice the cake into thin slices and accompany with a spoonful or two of the cooked cherries.

*There will be leftover chocolate cream and cherries which should be enjoyed since both keep well and easily combine with other sweet offerings. They are also delicious eaten together.

Mashed Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Thanks to Guy Capuzzo, my colleague at UNCG who brought this side-dish to a dinner party on the weekend following Thanksgiving 2008 (turns out that meal was even huger than Thanksgiving Day itself).

Prepare this side dish up to a day ahead, and store, covered, in the refrigerator. To reheat, bake at 350º, covered, for 45 minutes.

6 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into (1-inch) cubes

Cooking spray, oil or butter for greasing

5 tablespoons honey, divided

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 and 1/2 cup fresh orange juice

freshly peeled orange skin

Preheat oven to 375º.

Place potatoes in a single layer on 2 large greased baking sheets. Lightly spray potatoes with cooking spray. Bake at 375º for 1 hour or until tender, stirring occasionally. Place the potatoes, 1/4 cup honey, butter, and salt in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon honey. Add orange juice and peel.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Mandy's "Melt in Your Mouth" Pancakes

Thanks to neighbor and UNCG woodwind colleague Ashley Barret, who gave us this recipe. Maybe someday she will tell us who Mandy is. :) Actually, it is her sister in Idaho.

Mandy's "Melt in your Mouth" Pancakes

For a variation on the standard pancake breakfast, try these oatmeal-based pancakes! I found that these take longer to cook than flour-based pancakes. Consistency reminds me of potato pancakes.

2 c. regular oatmeal

2 1/2 c. buttermilk

Combine and let oatmeal soften for 20 minutes. Add:

2 beaten eggs

1/4 melted butter

Stir and add:

1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Stir gently and allow to rise for 10 minutes. Then cook and eat. YUMMY!