Uncategorized « DinnerCakes

Mmm, Carbs – Tomato Lentil Sauce

March 16th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

Red bell peppers have been on sale at my local grocery store on and off for months. I have no idea why, but I try not to question gift horses in the mouth (which, by the way, is a saying that never made sense to me). Instead, I eat as many of these horses… I mean peppers, as I can fit into recipes.

Red bell peppers can be great in sauces and I was in a serious carb mood; hence today’s recipe. The paprika is subtle (you know me and spices. add more if you’d like) and the tomatoes work surprisingly well with the lentils. This dish is nice and simple because you really just throw ingredients in the respective pots and stir occasionally. As usual, let us know what you think.

Tomato Lentil Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions; chopped
2 carrots; diced
1 red bell pepper; diced
2 garlic cloves; minced

1 cup lentils
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sweat the onions, carrots, bell pepper and garlic cloves in the butter and oil until really soft; approximately 20 minutes. While sweating, cook the lentils. When the vegetables are ready, add the lentils, tomatoes, paprika, red pepper flakes and salt. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with a pasta of your choice (I recommend spaghetti). Enjoy.

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Kitchen Tips – Quickly Thawing Beef, Poulty, and Other Meats

March 14th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

There are days when I get home from work where all I want to do is dig into some food as quickly and simply as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook, but we all have our ‘meh’ days. On those days I just want all my ingredients at home practically ready to go. Wouldn’t it be great if you came home to find your vegetables freshly chopped?

I’m not much a fan of frozen vegetables for most dishes, but I do recognize the value of frozen meats. When you have some beef tips or chicken breasts in the fridge you’ve got a small window of availability before they begin to spoil; usually within a few days. If you freeze it, however, then your window can range from a few months to even a full year (keep in mind, after a month most begin to slowly degrade in quality). But how to get that meat ready to be cooked and in my stomach as quickly as possible?

Cooking meats before they are fully thawed can be, to quote the Joy of Cooking (also known as my culinary bible), disastrous. Not only do you run the risk supporting the growth of harmful bacteria, you will most likely end up with something that’s cooked on the outside and raw on the inside. Not exactly good eats. If you know your meat’s thaw time in the fridge and you plan ahead, no problem. But stuff happens. You run out the door on your way to work and forget to move something from the freezer to the fridge only to return in the evening, stomach growling, with a frozen block of unhappiness. Sigh…

When this happens, use a technique I picked up from an episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats: running cold water. Put your meat in an airtight bag, place that bag in a bowl of cold water, and place that bowl under a small trickle of water in your sink. The trickle ensures the water stays cold (warm water = bacteria fun zone) while not spiking your water bill. This method is safer and faster than on your counter top.

Any questions or topics you’d like us to cover? Send us an e-mail at dinnercakes@gmail.com.

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Stir-fried Shrimp with Fermented Black Bean Sauce (not to be confused with regular black beans!)

March 13th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

D’oh! As I started to type I noticed that my hand felt sticky. I looked down only to find that my wedding ring is covered in cake! This is a pretty typical day in the life of Ghost Baker… actually this is a good day – normally if cake’s involved it’s probably also squished into my clothes or in my hair.

The reason for today’s mess is that I’m working on a fairly detailed birthday cake for my mom for this weekend. I’ve even drawn specs for the cake to compare what different decorations might look like. We always want to impress our moms, right? Please keep your fingers crossed for me, and I’ll let you know how it goes!

Today’s recipe, however, features dinner, not cake. I was given Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook for Christmas (are you sensing a pattern? I was lucky enough to receive many excellent cookbooks!). Though I’d flipped through the book and oogled things several times before, this was the first time I tried a recipe. I was drawn to Martha’s “Stir-Fried Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce.”

This recipe does require a trip to your local Asian grocery store, but if you haven’t been to one before consider this your special invitation! You can find great deals on certain things at Asian grocery stores (rice in bulk, various sauces, etc).

Let me warn you that fermented black beans smell a bit strong, but they’re just soybeans that have been preserved in salt. They are not the same thing as typical black beans. They give the dish a distinct flavor. If you like Asian food then you will likely enjoy this dish.

This would also work really well with tofu – either replacing the shrimp with tofu or adding tofu in with the shrimp. I didn’t alter Martha’s recipe too much, but I did try to make things a little simpler and take the edge off the salty black beans. I eliminated the soy sauce and scallions and added a little more hoisin sauce. If you try this with tofu, please let me know how it goes! Aside from a trip to the Asian market, this dish comes together very quickly and requires little prep.

Stir-fried Shrimp with Fermented Black Bean Sauce
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook
serves 2

5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed and crushed with the back of a spoon (found in Asian market in a small, usually clear bag)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, minced (be sure to lightly peel the papery covering off)
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (found in Asian market, or if you have to you can substitute dry sherry or white wine)
3 teaspoons hoisin sauce (found in Asian market, or the international food section of your grocery store)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 medium frozen shrimp, peeled and dethawed under cold running water
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup white rice, cooked in a rice cooker or according to package instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, peanut oil, black beans (don’t forget to mash them first with the back of your spoon), ginger, Chinese wine, hoisin sauce and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Heat wok on medium high until it sizzles when you sprinkle a few drops of water on it. Add oil to the wok (never add oil to an unheated wok… remember what my Chinese cooking instruction said, “hot wok, cold oil”). Right before adding the shrimp to the wok, toss it with the cornstarch to coat it. Add shrimp to the wok, count to 5 and then press down on the shrimp with your wok utensil for a few seconds to sear it. Stir it quickly a few times, then let it sit for another few seconds. Continue this pattern until your shrimp turn pink and curl up, just another minute or two. Shrimp cook quickly. Pour in the sauce mixture and turn the heat up on the wok. Cook for just under a minute without stirring to let the flavor lock in, then stir before serving to coat.

Serve shrimp immediately over rice.

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Shove It – Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Beppers with Couscous

March 12th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

All right, pop quiz: Name the first 3 three dishes that come into your head when you think “vegetarian cuisine.” Go! (No, seriously. Reader requests welcome.) For me, this list includes stuffed bell peppers; which is a bit ironic considering I’ve never actually made stuffed bell peppers. Until this week, that is.

I’ve had stuffed bell peppers before, but never a vegetarian one that I’ve enjoyed. Meat has a nice flavoring effect that can be difficult to compete with at times. Enter the power of spices.

Both couscous and cauliflower have very mild flavors, so it’s up to the spices and sauted aromatics of the dish to take center stage. The chickpeas add a subtle flavor but also a nice additional texture. You can use any type of bell pepper you’d like, but I recommend a red or yellow. Their sweeter flavors really complement the curry of the filling; which fortunately isn’t lost in the roasting process.

Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers with Couscous
You can use big long red bell peppers like I did, but I’d recommend the more traditional shorter fat ones if you have a choice. Of course, these have the nice advantage of becoming quasi-finger food.

2 cups cooked couscous
2 tablespoons oil
1 yellow onion; chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 garlic cloves; minced
2 cups cauliflower; chopped small (see picture)
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one can, rinsed and drained)
3 red or yellow bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon fennel
1/8 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sweet curry
1/2 cup stock
1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 medium sized red or yellow bell peppers

Preheat the oven to 350.

Saute the onion and thyme in oil under medium high heat until browned; approximately three minutes. Lower to medium heat and add the garlic for an additional minute; stirring frequently to prevent burning. Transfer to a medium bowl along with the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Cut off the top half inch of your bell peppers and remove seeds and membrane. Stuff your bell peppers with your filling, placing them in a glass baking pan as you go (metal sheets would work in a pinch, but you may want to oil it first). If you have extra, just pile it on top. Place your peppers in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until everything is cooked through. Enjoy.

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Food Photography – Braised Pork with Clams, Mariner's Style

March 11th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

(Pictured: Emeril’s recipe for Braised Pork with Clams, Mariner’s Style (Portugal), cooked by my father-in-law for dinner on Saturday night and served over pasta. Enjoying this awesome and unique dish with just a bit of bite made adding a Dutch Oven to my wish-list a top priority.)

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What Comes From Discussion – Cabbage Soup with Beans

March 10th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

I should probably come as no surprise that I talk food a lot with friends. Besides the immense amount of time Heather and I go back and forth on various ideas, there are several other people with food on the brain quite often. One of my recent talks with one of these people has been about cabbage soup.

The only cabbage I knew of growing up was the german style red cabbage my mother would make, stinking up the entire house. Oh, how I hated it. But I want to like it. I want to start over, bury the hatchet and live in vegetable harmony. Cabbage has a few things going for it. Other than being incredibly cheap (less than a dollar a pound!), it’s a good source of dietary fiber and vitamin C. My friend was supposed to be working on her own perfect cabbage soup recipe to share (*cough*cough*), but I could wait no longer. Enjoy my cabbage soup.

Cabbage Soup with Beans

2 tablespoons oil
1 yellow onion; chopped
2 leeks; sliced (whites only)
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups stock or water
2 large carrots; diced
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 large white potato; chopped into quarter inch pieces
1/2 head of green cabbage; cut into 1/4 inch slices or shredded
2 cups cooked great northern beans (or one can rinsed and drained)
1 teaspoon salt

Sweat the onion, leeks and garlic cloves in the oil until soft and translucent; approximately 10 minutes. Add the stock, carrots, herbs and bring to a boil. Add the potato and simmer until slightly soft; approximately 15 minutes. Add the cabbage and simmer for an additional 15 minute; adding the beans and salt for the last five minutes.

Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy.

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Dessert for Breakfast – Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal Ice Cream

March 9th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Hello, hello! If you were on the east coast this weekend, then you enjoyed some incredibly gorgeous and mild weather. I was in Richmond celebrating some birthdays, and it was a little disconcerting to experience almost 80 degree weather in the same city that saw 11 inches of snow earlier in the week.

In any event, the return of the sun made me crave a cool and creamy treat – nothing that a little dessert for breakfast couldn’t fix!

I absolutely love maple & brown sugar oatmeal, and I don’t think I’m alone. I remember in college when I was an RA I set up a snack station in the study lounge during exam week; the maple & brown sugar oatmeal all disappeared over night.

So it occurred to me to try making Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal Ice Cream, inspired by my favorite ice cream recipe book, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book: Over 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Drinks, And More by Bruce Weinstein. You will need an ice cream machine for this recipe. You can actually buy some fairly decent yet inexpensive ones these days; I own a Deni that is probably 6 or 7 years old at this point.

It does have a bit of a chewy consistency because of the oatmeal. If you’d like it to be less noticeable then you can use Quick Quaker Oats (not instant) instead of Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats. To get that maple taste I used pure maple syrup, feel free to use your favorite brand. It’s just enough to add sweetness, without being overpowering.

Also, because I try to lighten the fat content of things wherever possible, I used light cream instead of heavy cream. Most great custard recipes call for heavy cream, and if you’re making this ice cream for guests or to impress then you’ll probably just want to use heavy cream as well. Every time I use light cream it just doesn’t freeze as well in the ice cream machine, and I wind up having to freeze it overnight in a separate container so that it’s not soupy. I don’t mind doing this but it can be a hassle, and of course it delays the immediate gratification of enjoying the ice cream right out of the machine.* Good luck!

Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal Ice Cream
inspired by Bruce Weinstein

3/4 cup brown sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 cups roll oats (not instant)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups light cream*
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

In a medium bowl, beat sugar and egg yolks until thickened. Set aside.

Bring the milk to a low boil in a medium saucepan. Add oats, salt and cinnamon. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, stirring continuously until the oatmeal is thick and creamy (if you taste it at this point you’ll think it’s too salty… but don’t worry, it all comes together). Slowly beat the hot oatmeal into the eggs and sugar (this will kill any harmful bacteria present in the eggs). All the mixture to cool slightly, then stir in the cream. Cover and chill or refrigerate overnight.

Once chilled, stir the mixture into your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When finished, the ice cream will still be very soft. Transfer to a freezer-safe container (I usually use corningware or a covered glass bowl) and freeze overnight. Before serving, let it sit out for three minutes so that it’s easier to spoon the ice cream into your favorite bowl.

*Update: Hello, everyone. I received a few questions about light cream versus heavy cream. As you might guess, heavy cream has a higher butterfat content than light cream. This higher fat content lends itself to thickening and increasing in volume. Heavy cream can also hold its form a little better for pastries or cheesecakes. Substituting light cream for heavy cream in something like cheesecake will probably not work out well. I noted above that substituting light cream for heavy, as I did in this recipe, really doesn’t work well in ice cream machines and so you need to do extra freezing to harden the ice cream. If you choose to use light cream, make sure you plan ahead to allow plenty of time for freezing.

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A Hankering For Hummus – Garlic Hummus

March 6th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

I had a hankering for hummus (and alliteration) the other day, which was odd considering I can count the number of times I’ve had hummus quite possibly on one hand. But hey, details; hankerings cannot be denied. It was adventure time in Chef Edwin’s kitchen.

The great thing about hummus is that it’s incredibly easy (and therefore fun) to experiment with. Once you’ve processed your recipe base (chickpeas, tahini, oil, maybe some water), you can pretty much go wherever you want. Add a little bit of this, a dash of that, maybe some more of this… Order doesn’t really matter because it’s all being processed together. Just start small; add a bit of one or two things, taste and let your pallet tell you where to go.

Garlic Hummus

1 head roasted garlic
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon (one lemon)
4 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoons coriander
1/4 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoons cayenne
1 teaspoons kosher salt

Fit your food processor with the chopper blade. Throw in the garlic and process until minced. Add your remaining ingredients and continue to process. This hummus is a bit thick, so feel free to add some more oil and water, a bit at a time until it reaches your desired consistency (me, I like it thick). Enjoy.

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Who Needs Scallions? Mashed Potatoes and Rutabaga

March 5th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Two dinner posts in one week instead of dessert? This is Ghost Baker blasphemy! And I picked rutabaga to work with; such a bizarre looking vegetable. Maybe hitting our 100th DinnerCakes post this week has made me loopy.

Don’t worry, I’ve just been cooking a lot lately and trying new things… and thankfully they seem to be working out well! Weight loss and weekly baking weren’t really fitting together, though I believe Chef Edwin got a good laugh at my dreams of a pound cake diet (which he sarcastically termed my “pound diet”).

My mother-in-law got me a subscription to Food Network Magazine for Christmas which I have already toyed with before here. This was a really cool gift because now I get great, seasonal recipes delivered directly to my door (er, mail slot). Today’s recipe was inspired by the Nov/Dec 2008 issue featuring some fancy potato recipes.

The original recipe called for a few things that I thought were a little unnecessary for my purposes (a weeknight side dish). And my husband quickly vetoed my quest for fresh parsley and scallions in the grocery store stating incredulously, “Who has ever eaten something and said it needs more scallions!?”

So here we are! I took out some of the “fluff,” used basic Russet potatoes instead of Yukon Gold and added broccoli. This recipe makes a shallow baking dish full of mashed potatoes and rutabaga. We had enough leftover for a full week of dinners and/or lunches… quite a bit, really. But I surprisingly never got tired of it! This dish really is a nice surprise. I’d only had rutabaga once before at Thanksgiving 2008. I thought it had a very distinct, almost bitter taste that didn’t agree with me, but combining it with potatoes makes it much more mild and very enjoyable.

Mashed Potatoes and Rutabaga
adapted from Food Network Magazine

1 pound rutabaga (yellow turnip), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons margarine, room temperature (I did half regular butter and half margarine in an attempt to reduce the fat content, but you certainly don’t have to)
3/4 cup half and half, warmed
salt, to taste (I used coarse Kosher salt)
1/2 tablespoon oil (I used Smart Balance oil)
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
3/4 cups plain breadcrumbs

In a large pot, cover cut rutabaga and potatoes with cold, salted water and bring to a boil on medium heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to a simmer until the vegetables are tender (they should hold there form, but there should be little resistance when pierced with a fork). This will take approximately 30 minutes.

Drain the water and turn the heat down to low. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the butter (not the margarine) and mash (I used a potato masher) until smooth (I like to leave just a few potato chunks in mine, but I know everyone has there own preference!). Add the warm half and half and salt. Keep warm on low setting.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of margarine with the oil in a skillet on medium. Add the breadcrumbs and broccoli and cook until broccoli is tender, stirring so that the breadcrumbs don’t burn.

Pour the potato mixture into a shallow baking or casserole dish. Sprinkle potatoes with the breadcrumb/broccoli mixture and serve.

Note – after discussing this dish with Edwin, we think mashed cauliflower might also be good in here, possibly as a substitute to the Russet potatoes. Let us know if you try it out!

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Food Photography: Our 100th Post!

March 4th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

Can you believe it? It’s already our hundredth post! Oh, how time does fly… Now, this picture may not look like much (poor lighting, bad framing, grainy, etc), but it has special significance. Back when Heather and I were just (re-)getting to know each other, we took a fondant class together at a local cooking supply store. This is my result.

The class was an… interesting experience and one that we both enjoyed. As far as I’m concerned, this is where it all began. It’s been good working with ya, Heather; and I’m sure I speak for both us when I say it’s been great writing for all you loyal readers. Happy 100th, and I hope we see you for another 100 (and beyond)!

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