DinnerCakes

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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Food Photography – Earth, Wind and Fire Scramble

January 20th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Every time I go out on travel my usual diet goes out the window; it’s not really an option. For most restaurants vegetables in general are just an after thought, never mind an actual complete meal. It can be a bit frustrating, honestly, but on the upside it provides me with an “excuse” to sample cuisine I wouldn’t normally expose myself to; and that is a must when traveling. Exposure to different (and tasty) meals is a highlight of many trips.

This past weekend some friends and I went down to Orlando, Florida for a wedding. Disney~~land~~ World to be exact. But instead of flying, we decided it would make a great road trip; so we rented a car early Friday morning and embarked on a 15 hour drive. With two other people to rotate driving responsibilities and those two people being friends, it turned out to be a pretty fun trip. We crashed at a friend’s place who happens to live in the city and had a really good time (and ate a lot of really good food).

Sunday morning before the wedding Ben, Lindsey, Carolyn and I went out for brunch at a local spot called HUE and had some really excellent food. On the third Sunday of every month they feature something called Disco Brunch with a DJ and some horribly designed menus (the typographer in me died a little), giving each item some clever name like Billie Jean and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I ordered the Earth, Wind and Fire scramble which was scrambled eggs, smoked ham, Gouda cheese and potato hash. Delicious. If ever in the area for brunch, I strongly recommend HUE.

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Much Needed Comfort Food – Thick Mac and Cheese

January 18th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Sick. By far the most heinous of four letter words. Give me your fornicates, your cruds, your hecks, your shrews; I shall not flinch. Just keep your diseases far, far away. In a locked box. Under the sea. On Mars. Like a beat up Ford pinto far past its prime, my body fails me through a non-stop runny nose, fatigue, a sore throat and that annoying stuffed-up head feeling. Bah! I hate being sick!

I did this delightful dance a few weeks ago, a condition I largely blame on the pressures of work, trudging through the needs and responsibilities, cutting whatever I can from my list of Things That Require Motion or Thought (which is quite a large list, by the way). When I’m like this everything is a candidate for the chopping block; even, dare I say it, cooking. Who wants to stand and pay attention to hot burny things when they’re sick? There aren’t any beds in the kitchen! Nonetheless, sustenance must be found and after waking from a post-work nap a few Fridays ago my hunger trumped my sickness, so I stumbled into the kitchen. This was a day for simple. This was a day for comfort food. This was a day for mac and cheese.

I was in no mood to go hunting for ingredients at the local mega mart (have I mentioned it is friggin’ cold here?) so this became a foraging venture, searching for left over ingredients from earlier recipes or ingredients that I had intended to use but for whatever reason did not (the realm of forgotten ingredients). This, my friends, was delicious. The perfect sick-day comfort food.

Thick Mac and Cheese
12 oz fat pasta
4TB butter
1 onion; chopped
1 green pell pepper
1 garlic; minced
1 hablano pepper; minced
1 cup light cream
5 oz pepper jack
5 oz cheddar
1tsp chili powder
1tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 cup frozen peas; thawed and drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels; thawed and drained
2-3 cups cooked kidney beans
1/2C chopped fresh cilantro; chopped

Boil your noodles in salted water. In a large pan, saute your onion and green pepper until the onions are translucent. Add your jalapeno and garlic, cooking for another minute. Drop your heat to medium-low and add the cream, cheese, herbs and spices; cooking until well combined. Once ready, add your pasta, vegetables, beans and cilantro. Toss to coat and cook for a few minutes until the vegetables and kidney beans are hot. Serve and enjoy.

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Slow Cooker Week – Day 6, Slow Baked Apples

January 16th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

While you’re reading this I’ll be in Florida! A friend of mine is getting married and she and her husband have decided to do a destination wedding at Disney World. Three of us, motivated by either love of the open road or thrift, have decided to drive all the way down to Orlando, starting early (early) Friday morning. It should be quite the journey and we already have plans to check out Paula Deen’s restaurant in Savannah. Everything else is up in the air.

Mmmm, apples. So delicious. I couldn’t resist conjuring up something in the ol’ crock pot with apples; and the sweeter the better! Crisps are delicious baked fruit dessert with many excellent candidates to take on the starring role, but there is a cool twist you can take with apples, using the fruit itself as the dish. This is a twist off an excellent Alton Brown recipe, who I must credit for this idea. Very delicious.

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp
This recipe makes plenty of filling for 6 apples. You can scale it back if you’d like or just sprinkle over.

4-6 firm baking apples (Granny smith, Braeburn, etc)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 stick cold butter; diced
5 teaspoons honey
1 cup apples juice

Cut a thin layer off the bottom of the apples so they sit flat. Do the same with the top and peel a third of the way down. Rub the exposed parts with lemon juice so it doesn’t brown. Core the apples without going all the way through (don’t lose any sleep if you do). Hollow it out a bit for the stuffing.

Combine the remaining ingredients except the apple juice and work in your hands until everything is combined and the butter is in loose clumps in a sandy mixture. Stuff the apples with your filling until overflowing and place in your slow cooker. Sprinkle your remaining filling over the apples, followed by the apple juice. Cook covered on low for 4-6 hours, until the apples are tender. Serve hot, chilled or at room temperature. Enjoy.

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Something to Think About…

January 15th, 2010

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

From a July 9, 2008 article, Quest for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie, in the New York Times:

Why, then, does almost everybody say they prefer homemade to bakery bought?

Mr. Rubin smiled, having already figured out the answer. “It’s the Warm Rule,” he said. “Even a bad cookie straight from the oven has its appeal.”

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Slow Cooker Week – Day 5, Pear-Nut Upside-Down Cake

January 15th, 2010

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

I was not raised with a need for fancy desserts – Pillsbury funfetti cake, ice cream cakes for birthdays and Eggo waffles layered with Neapolitan ice cream at my grandmother’s house were among my favorites. So the idea of making a cake in a slower cooker sounds just fine to me!

However a quick search of slow cooker or Crock pot cake yields results called something like “dump cake” or “chocolate mess cake.” Though I imagine these cakes to be much like my idea of heaven – a pot full of warm, gooey, fudge-like cake to completely make a mess of myself with – that’s probably not what you guys come here for.

A pulled a recipe out of my November Food Network Magazine for Pear-Pecan Upside-Down Cake. I had my reservations about it, but it mostly turned out well!

This would be an excellent cake for a weekend brunch, served with coffee. It’s unfortunately not the most attractive cake, so I’m not sure I’d bring it out on a serving platter to show my friends… just bringing the plated slices out of the kitchen will work! Some quirks about the cake:

I couldn’t fit the 3 Bosc pears it calls for in the bottom, I could only fit 2 and a sliver. I thought I had a 5 quart slow cooker, so maybe the pears used in this recipe were abnormally small?

One of the sides got a little darker than the other. I wonder if this might have anything to do with me opening the lid a crack to peek in and somehow throwing off the cook temperature. It’s possible! So do not peek! Ever!

You’ve got to like pears. This cake is like sweetened pears with a side of cake.

Make sure you cool the cake for an extra 10 minutes after removing it from the slower cooker, before turning it on to a platter.

I did not make many changes to the original recipe. I didn’t use whole milk at room temperature, I used skim milk that was still cold. I didn’t toast the pecans first, and I combined pecans with some cashews. When picking out your Bosc pears, try to get pears on the small side; large pears tend to take over the cake. Again, though it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing cake ever created, it’s really a very tasty and light breakfast cake.

Pear Upside-Down Cake
from Food Network Magazine

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon for greasing; 3 tablespoons cut into small pieces, 4 tablespoons softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 small Bosc pears, peeled, halved lengthwise and cored
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup nuts, finely chopped (I combined pecans and cashews)
1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk

Butter the inside of a 5-quart round slow cooker and line it completely with a large sheet of foil, butter the foil as well. Turn the cooker on low and sprinkle the cut-up butter and the brown sugar over the foil. Add pears, arranging them in a circle, cut-side down.

Mix flour, nuts, cornmeal, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. In the large bowl of a mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on low until just blended. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides as needed (3-5 minutes). Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

With the mixer on low, alternate beating the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture in two batches, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium just until smooth. Spread over pears. Drape paper towels over the top of the slow cooker (just under the lid, not touching the cake) to prevent condensation from dripping onto it (do NOT peek once cooking starts!). Cover and cook on low about 3 hours, when cake sets and the sides brown. Turn off the cooker and let the cake rest about 20 minutes.

Lift the cake by the foil and place on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Carefully invert onto a platter and peel off the foil.

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Slow Cooker Week – Day 4, Vegetarian Stuffed Grape Leaves

January 14th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Is it sophisticated or just pretentious to call something by its natural, but foreign name? I’m not sure but I do know a dolma by any other name is still delicious. I was introduced to these delectable morsels at a friends going-away dinner in northwest DC and I was hooked from the start. My face lights up in joy when I see these at a new restaurant, preparing my mouth for as many as I can cram in there. So good…..

Making these suckers, I must admit, is a bit involved. First you have to get the grape leaves out of the jar (which, in itself, was a task), separate them, rinse and dry them…. then, after preparing the stuffing you have to hand wrap each one! In the future, this shall be a two day task for me; one day preparing, another cooking. Or maybe, one day doing everything but rolling and cooking….. I don’t know, I’ll figure it out. I must say this is a nice thing to just drop and not worry about. Given the cook time, though, this is more a weekend and workday meal.

Taking the grape leaves out of the jar can be a bit tricky. It takes a bit of force, more than you might expect, to pull them out. Be “carefully forceful” and you should be fine. Have a little faith that a won’t rip. If you have a salad spinner I recommend using it to rinse and dry your leaves. Be sure to unroll, unfold and separate them all or you’ll have a few pockets of vinegar lurking. If you don’t plan to expect to use them all (say, for example, you are a single male who writes a food blog) then save the brine the store remaining leaves for another time.

Vegetarian Stuffed Grape Leaves, Slow Cooker Style
2 tablespoons oil
1 yellow onion; chopped
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 table spoons fresh parsley; roughly chopped
3/4 cup green lentils; rinsed and drained
3/4 basmati rice
1 jar of grape leaves
Several cups of stock (or water)

Rinse your grape leaves and pat dry. Set aside. In a large pan, cook the onion under medium heat with the oil until softened; approximately 5 minutes. Add the spices, lemon juice and cook for another minute then add the parsley, lentils rice and 2 cups of stock (or water). Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes then set aside to cool.

Place grape leaves vein-side up and start placing heaping tablespoons (1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons depending on the size of the leaf) at the bottom in a slight horizontal line. Fold the sides up together, then roll up while tucking in the sides. You want it to be a little tight so it doesn’t explode while cooking. Place snugly together in your slow cooker, layering if necessary. Cover with stock (or water) until just covered and cook for 4-6 hours. Serve and enjoy.

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The Consequences Of An American Diet – 1/3 of Eligible Recruits Too Fat To Serve In Military

January 13th, 2010

by Chef Edwin

Here’s some interesting information on how our society is changing because of our eating habits. Apparently the US military has to 150,000 potential recruits a year due to their weight making them unfit for battle.

Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon’s director of accessions, told the Army Times that “[k]ids are just not able to do push-ups, [a]nd they can’t do pull-ups. And they can’t run.”

Wow.

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Slow Cooker Week – Day 3, Shredded Chicken Tacos with Homemade Salsa

January 13th, 2010

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

So let’s talk a little about slow cookers first. If you’re new to slow cookers and this theme week is baffling you so far – slow cookers are electrical appliances built to cook food at a relatively low temperature over a longer period of time. A good machine will have a ceramic cooking pot that fits into the metal, electric part and can be removed for easy cleaning and at least a low and high temperature setting. Slow cookers are NOT pressure cookers, which cooks food in a sealed device.

Why use slow cookers?

It’s easy! You can throw some vegetables, uncooked meat and spices in the pot before work, and come home after work with a well-seasoned, fully-cooked meal.

No pots and pans to clean! When you’re cooking everything together in the slower cooker, there’s not as much clean up.

Such long simmering times can increase the flavor.*

So why don’t we use slow cookers all the time?!

*Such long cooking times, while it generally won’t overcook your meats, can cause your vegetables to have their good nutrients cooked out of them.

The slow cooker is not great with all types of meats. Fish, for example, doesn’t do well in the slow cooker.

Mush – if left too long, some vegetables or meats can turn to mush

But at the end of the day, slow cookers can really be a blessing. The recipe I’m sharing today, in fact, turned out pretty awesome, and I’m not really sure how I ever made chicken tacos before without the slow cooker.

I love chicken. You may have noticed from the plethora of chicken recipes here on DC! Cooking it in the slow cooker creates the perfect consistency for tacos – the meat shreds effortlessly and it really picks up the flavor of the seasonings. Dry, rubbery chicken is a common problem with cooking chicken; the slow cooker is an easy fix!

Shredded Chicken Tacos with Homemade Salsa
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
15 oz can of black beans
grated cheddar for sprinkling on finished tacos
optional – shredded lettuce, sour cream

for the salsa:
2 fresh jalapenos, diced (remove seeds for less heat!)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
2 15 oz cans Ro*tel tomatoes (I used Mild – Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles)
salt, black pepper, garlic powder to taste

for the seasoning:
chili powder, paprika, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, black pepper

Added canned black beans, undrained, to the bottom of the slow cooker. Combine seasoning ingredients in a small bowl (I was heavy on the chili powder, paprika, and black pepper; then gave about 5 shakes of cumin; and 3 shakes of onion powder, garlic powder, salt, oregano and cayenne). Sprinkle seasoning over the black beans, then set the chicken breasts on top.

Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Spoon salsa over chicken breasts.

Cover and set to low for about 6-8 hours (my cooker runs a little hot, so my cook time was 6 hours). Makes enough for about 3 people.

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Biscuit Enjoys the Smells of Slow Cooker Week

January 12th, 2010

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Biscuit realized he hadn’t said “hello” in a while, and this bothered him cause he’s a friendly guy!

5 months and 38 pounds of adorable, mischievous puppy.

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