Chef Edwin « DinnerCakes

Strange (Edible) Worlds

February 15th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

I don’t consider myself to be much of a skilled photographer; usually I just take a butt-load of shots and hope a few come out well enough to share. There are some real geniuses out there pushing the boundaries of normal convention and this one definitely applies. Matthew Albanese creates painstakingly detailed small-scale models to create some beautiful landscape scenes. One of them, Paprika Mars, is made almost entirely from food. Twelve pounds of paprika! Good lord. Very awesome.

Paprika Mars. Made out of 12 pounds paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder and charcoal.

Via Gravity Wins.

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Not Quite Rice Noodles – Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry

February 15th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

The massive snow storm of 2010 appears to have abetted, finally. Forecast predicts a wee bit more snow (argh) but we should returning to normal soon. Have I mentioned that I hate winter? I hate winter. At least there’s squash.

Another adventure with spaghetti squash! At 89 cents a pound it’s rather hard to pass up. I didn’t feel like going pasta style and had a hankering for stir fry. I think broccoli is my favorite vegetable. I kinda just ran with this one not knowing where it’d end up. Overall, pretty happy; though I’d leave out the bean sprouts next time. They just didn’t add anything, and took away a bit. Still, quite proud and I shall do it again!

Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry With Broccoli

1 small spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large onion; quartered and sliced
1 green bell pepper; cut into slices
4 cloves garlic; minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 jalapeno pepper; diced
8 ounces broccoli; cut into small florets

Sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar

Pierce the squash several times and cook at 350° for an hour. Once done, let cool and cut in half lengthwise. Mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Cook the onion and green pepper with the peanut oil in a large wok under high heat for several minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno pepper and cook, constantly stirring until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl, add 1/3 cup of water and the broccoli. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until all the water boils away. Add the remaining ingredients and toss, mixing well, and serve.

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Working With What I Got – Baked Eggplant With Tomato And Onion

February 11th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

I am so over this whole snow thing. DC got blasted with another round and rumor is we’ve hit a new record in snowfall. Whoopie. Things got pretty clear by this afternoon, fortunately, and with any luck we’ll begin the slow, gradual return to normalcy around here. Fingers crossed.

Didn’t have a whole lot of ingredients in the kitchen yesterday during this apocalypse, but I did have more eggplant. This another recipe that calls for roasting, which is nice to take away the eggplant’s natural bitterness. I’ve always liked tomatoes with onions, and this is no exception.

Baked Eggplant with Tomato and Onion

1 eggplant
1 onion; cut into quarters and sliced
2 tomatoes; chopped
3 garlic cloves; minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Preheat your oven to 350°. Cut your eggplant in half, lengthwise, sprinkle with salt and set aside to weep for five minutes. Rinse well, dry and set in a baking dish; flesh side up. Combine the onion, tomato, garlic, herbs and salt in a small bowl. Make a small slice down the middle of each eggplant half and heap your topping on. Bake for 30-40 minutes, pressing the topping down 2-3 times with the back of a spoon. Serve and enjoy.

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Going Turkish – Roasted Eggplant with Mint Yogurt

February 8th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Good morning, loyal DC readers! If you’re on the east coast then I hoped you fared well in Snowpocalypse/Snowmageddon/Snowtorious B.I.G. or whatever other clever name being spread in your neighborhood. The DC office (of DC. Hah!) fared quite well with nothing extreme to report. Whole lotta snow, past my knees, and a whole lotta fun. I must say, the children’s playground was quite empty when I walked by. Yes, I rode down the slide; several times.

Ghost Baker is not faring too well right now. She and her hubs have been fighting with intermittent power outages and pretty much full time loss of cable and internet. A Heather without her movies is not a Heather you want to be around. 😉 Good luck, Morgan!

I’ve been doing a lot of cooking in random styles lately and this weekend I went Turkish. A group of friends from college and I try to get together every month or so so we don’t lose touch; often it’s dinner and board games and often it’s at my place as I am located conveniently for all parties (less work for me!). While in Germany a couple years back I ate mezza style with family, which is kinda like Spanish Tapas; lots of small dishes; eaten mostly with your hands. Eggplant, an ingredient I’ve never been a huge fan of, is a pretty prevalent dish in Turkish cooking so keeping my intent to be more open minded this year, I jumped right in.

Eggplant is friggin’ bitter raw and I’ve never actually heard of an eggplant recipe that didn’t involve frying or roasting. This recipe takes that harsh bite out, puts a bit back in via garlic and cools you down with mint and yogurt. I tried this with a baby eggplant, but I’m sure your regular eggplant would work as well. With how easy this recipe is, you really have no excuse not to try it!

Roasted Eggplant with Mint Yogurt
If using regular, larger eggplants, be sure to up the amount of yogurt ingredients and the amount of time roasted. I’d recommend 20 minutes for the first phase and starting with 30-35 on the second. Let us know how it works out!

2 baby eggplants
1/4 greek yogurt
3 gloves garlic; minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh mint; roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Roast your eggplant in a baking tray for 15 minutes at 400°. Remove from the oven, cut them lengthways and roast for another 25-30 minutes, cut side up, until the flesh forms a dip when pressed. While the eggplant is roasting mix your remaining ingredients together in a bowl.

When the eggplants are ready, remove from the oven and cut a slit (not all the way through!) lengthways down the flesh of the eggplant. Press down the flesh a bit with a spoon (or carefully with your fingers) to form a bit of a hollow dip for your yogurt. Spoon yogurt in, serve and enjoy.

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Food Photography – Deep Fried Oreo Sundae!

February 3rd, 2010

by Chef Edwin

My apologies for the less than stellar photography, but I had to share this. I lot of food was consumed on my trip down to Florida (and I mean a lot). While in Orlando, after a long day riding many excellent roller coasters, we walked to a local seafood restaurant called CityFish. I’m not much of a seafood guy but I’ve been working on expanding my horizons and I’m glad I did. The fish was excellent.

After our delicious main course, we took a gander at the dessert menu and saw a deep fried oreo sundae that could not be ignored. Practicing some discretion, we decided to buy one and split it among the four of us rather than wallow in the (delicious) guilt of having our own. This was not the first fried item of the trip and neither was it the last. I must say, this sucker rocked and difficult to describe. Definitely not an everyday indulgence, or month, but something special to enjoy on your birthday, or to celebrate a promotion, perhaps saving the world.

Put it on your to-try list!

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From Foe To Friend – Baked Tomatoes With Cilantro

February 1st, 2010

by Chef Edwin

I never really liked tomatoes as a kid. Being a picky child growing up, unless it was in Heinz 57 or Ragu form chances were I would not be a fan. To be fair, the tomato plant started this cold, unamaciable relationship when it decided to give me hives. My mother had a small vegetable (and tomato) garden in our backyard and one day while my sister and I were playing we somehow ended up in the garden and next thing I know I’m breaking out in itchy bumps with absolutely no idea what’s going on. Tomatoes fired the first shot.

Fast forward to present day and the tomato and I are best buds; hanging out, making soups, playing catch (i like to throw ball-shaped food up in the air. i usually catch it), having a good time. I friggin’ love tomatoes now and do not mind saying that I will, on occasion, eat this noble fruit like an apple. Oh, if only the old me could take a gander now.

This is a nice simple recipe that would work well as a no-fuss side dish. You could easily be prepare this, set it aside, and pop it in the oven when the timing works with everything else on the dinner menu. I opted for dried cilantro simply because I had it and I hate buying fresh herbs when I know I’ll only use a small fraction and the rest will slowly whither and die in my fridge (so much anger….). Feel free to go the fresh route if so inclined; just use two tablespoons rather than two teaspoons.

Baked Tomatoes With Cilantro
Be sure to serve this directly from the baking dish, as the tomatoes will be very soft.

4 tomatoes (approximately 2 pounds; maybe a bit less); cut into 1/4 inch slices
5 cloves of garlic; minced
2 teaspoons dried cilantro
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (much less if you’re a spice wuss such as moi)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Lightly oil a glass baking pan and layer your tomato slices as shown in the photograph above. Combine your remaining ingredients and spread/smother/slather atop the tomatoes. I recommend just using one of your (clean! you wash before cooking, right?) hands to mix and distribute. Simple with a bit of salt and pepper, then bake for 25 minutes. Serve in the baking dish and enjoy.

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Some Dumpling Experimentation – African Inspired Rice Dumplings

January 28th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Growing up with an German mother, Bavarian dumplings were not an uncommon accompaniment to main courses of goulash, beef tips and rouladen. To say I was quite fond of these suckers doesn’t really saw much, since I inhaled just about every dinner mom put before me (I was a…. healthy eater). I never really understood how they were made growing up, existing in this nebulous state of origin; with characteristics from several directions. A little potato, a little noodle, a little cake. It was a delicious mystery. Later I came to find out that mother (and her mother and probably her mother, etc etc) made dumplings from a box mix, killing that unknown with a dull thud.

I have a few of those very box mixes in my cupboard, of course, because there’s just something about the food you grew up eating that takes you to a warm comfortable place, no matter what it is or how it was made. I am amazed sometimes by the culinary geniuses at some restaurants, but it will never replace my mom’s home cooking. Ever.

That being said, I do love stretching my wings, throwing myself into an area of cooking that I have no experience with and very little business trying. I’ve been reading a bit about cooking in the Middle East and Africa (thank you, local library) so I decided to try a dumpling inspired by this reading; not from a box (sorry Mom!).

African Inspired Rice Dumplings

1 onions; chopped
2 garlic cloves; minced
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon allspice
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup cooked long grain rice; strained well (press the water out a bit)
2 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons milk
salt and pepper

Saute the onions with the butter in a large pan for five minutes then add the garlic and spices and cook for another five minutes. Mix with 1 cup of flour and set aside.

Process the rice in a food processor for 30 seconds and transfer to a mixing bowl along with 1 1/2 cup of flour, milk along with salt and pepper to taste. Mix together, adding additional flour until not too sticky to work with (it will still be a bit sticky). Work into golf size balls and then flatten. Put 1-2 teaspoons of your onion mixture on your rice dough and wrap around to reform a ball. Boil in water for 30-40 minutes until dough is cooked through. Serve and enjoy.

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Do You Eat It?

January 26th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

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Embracing The Fungus – Mushroom Barley Soup

January 26th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

The weather has been pretty nuts here lately. Not that I’m complaining, with my absolute hate of the bitter cold. But it seems a bit odd to me when the days of January are sporting temperatures in the 50’s and (low) 60’s; and that oddness is compounded when you’re eating stews and other wintry-themed dished. Madness!

Heather and I have both been trying to expand our horizons this year; returning to ingredients that we have less than pleasant feelings towards. One of the big ones for me is the mushroom. It’s a friggin’ fungus! As a friend of mine once said: “you might as well lick the bottom of your shoe.” To be fair, I’ve been slowly coming around to these suckers. The stock I made for Slow Cooker week was quite successful and Lost Dog Cafe has, by far, the best veggie burger I have ever had (WITH mushrooms). So here I go, jumping into the world of mushrooms!

Barley is not an ingredient you see very often in recipes, which is a shame. Pearled barley is simple, healthy grain to work with and has a nutty flavor with a chewy texture. It serves as an excellent thickener too. I used this to complement some white button mushrooms. And the result? A tasty mushroom soup I’ll actually enjoy eating! The flavor is subtle, but delicious.

Mushroom Barley Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion; chopped
1 carrot; diced
1 stalk celery; diced
1 cup pearl barley; rinsed and drained
10 oz mushrooms; cleaned and sliced (I used white button)
6 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 fresh chives
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat a large stock pot under medium heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery with olive oil until softened; approximately 5-8 minutes. Add your remaining ingredients and simmer until the barley is soft but chewy. Serve and enjoy!

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Counting Calories – Be Sure To Add a Margin Of Error

January 20th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Everyone knows that most restaurant food is not great for you, health-wise. Chances are you can make just about anything on the menu at home with more nutritional value and less fat, calories, etc. Of course, that’s not why we go to restaurants and like everything it’s all about moderation. Moderation is a hard guideline to live by, however, if you’ve got no real clue what you’re eating any many restaurants are responding to the shift in more health conscious consumers by including nutritional information on their menu.

A recent study, however, found that the average calorie count for food was 18 percent higher than the given amount; just shy of the FDA’s 20 percent limit.

Take, for instance, a serving of plain, dry toast from a Denny’s somewhere around Boston that the lab found had 283 calories, 192 percent more than the 97 figure from the restaurant chain.

A little disconcerting for those of us that try to keep our intake in check when eating out and something to be aware of in the future.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/01/restaurant_calories_counts.html

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