So Tasty I'm Crying

Pasta: 1 egg for every cup of flour. 1 tbsp olive oil. Add water as needed.

Cajun Mushroom Loaf.

Recipe from Eatonville, D.C.  Use the three types of mushrooms, 1/2 cup of each. Mince them instead of slicing. Drain and dry the mushrooms after washing so there is less liquid in the pan. I didn’t have cajun seasoning, so loosely followed this recipe. 

Ingredients. 1 stick butter.  1 cup white onion, diced. 4 garlic cloves, minced.  2 sprigs fresh thyme. 1½ pounds mushrooms ( mixture of crimini, shiitake and button mushrooms). 4 eggs. 1 cup heavy cream. ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped. 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning blend. ½ cup bread crumbs, seasoned. 

Rugelach.

Dough.Cream cheese.Butter.Flour.Salt.

Filling.Jam.Nuts.Currants.Cinnamon.

My dad has been making Stolen for every Christmas morning since 1978 when the recipe was published in Gourmet Magazine.  

We said we were going to eat until we couldn’t see our feet.  And we did.  

We took a cooking class at Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An, Vietnam and made our own rice noodles and pho. 

For vegetarian pho, substitute straw mushrooms and textured tofu. 

Cauliflower.Quiche.

We used the All-Butter Pastry Dough recipe and improvised the preparation. We prepared the dough and put it, covered in the over at 375 to bake for 25 minutes without chilling it. 

While the crust is baking make the filling. We used a mix of duck and chicken eggs. Duck eggs taste gamier, so this combination gave the quiche a richer taste. 

Blanche cauliflower. Mince garlic and add salt to it.  Add garlic, a pinch of salt and spices to eggs. Beat.

Remove crust from the over and remove foil. Pour filling into crust and place cauliflower generously in batter.  Cover in cheese.  We used a combination of cheddar, parmesan and gouda.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until cheese has browned and egg is set.  

Crust. 1 1/4 cup wheat flour. 1 stick unsalted butter. 1/4 tsp salt. 3 to 5 tbsp water.

Filling. 1 to 1 1/2 heads of cauliflower. 2 garlic cloves. 6 eggs. 1/2 cup half and half. 1 cup milk. 1/4 tsp nutmeg. 1/4 tsp cayenne. 2 1/4 cups cheese. salt. 

Recipe courtesy of Melissa Roberts, Gourmet, September 2009.

Peach. Blackberry. Apricot. Cobbler.

Combine peaches, blackberries, apricots, sugar, flour and cinnamon in bowl. Squeeze lemon or lime juice over mixture.  Let sit while making the crust.

Blend flour and salt together.  Combine shortening and butter. Add half of the butter mixture into the flour. Mix. Add remaining butter mixture. Mix. Gradually add tbsps of water until desired consistency. 

For the topping combine butter, granola and white and/or brown sugar.  

Pour fruit into crust. Top with several slices of butter. Spread granola over top. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and 350 for 35-45 minutes.

Ingredients.

Filling. 4 fresh peaches. 1/2 cup of blackberries.3 fresh apricots.  1/8 cup white sugar.  1/8 cup brown sugar. juice from 1/4 lemon.  2 pinches cinnamon. 

Crust. 1 cup wheat flour. 1 tsp salt. 2/3 cup shortening. 2 tbsp chilled butter. 4-5tbsp cold water. 

Topping. 2-3 tbsp of butter. 1/4 cup brown sugar. 1/3-1/2 cup granola. Nuts and dried currants are optional.

Recipe for crust is from the Joy of Cooking, Volume 2, p. 360. 

Tonight’s Menu: Tandoori Shrimp. Sweet & Sour Okra. Cauliflower with Cumin and Asafetida. 

For timing, its best to let the shrimp marinate while you’re cooking the other dishes. Cook the shrimp while keeping the other prepared dishes warm.

Shrimp.

Combine yogurt, ginger, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper, ground cumin seeds, garam masala and tandoori masala.  Add shrimp.  Let these marinade together for 15-30 minutes. 

Melt butter in frying pan.  Once melted, turn to medium high and add yogurt sauce to the pan sans shrimp. Cook until thick and bubbly.  Add shrimp and cook until they are bright pink and tender.

Ingredients. 4 tbsp yogurt. 1 inch chopped ginger.  1 clove garlic.  5 tsp lemon juice. 1 1/2 tsp cumin. 1/4 tsp garam masala. 1/4 tsp tandoori masala. 3/4 lb peeled shrimp. 4 tbsp butter.

Okra.

Combine chili, garlic and 3 tbsp. water in food processor to create paste. Put paste in bowl and mix with cumin, coriander and turmeric.  

Heat oil in pan. Put cumin seeds in hot oil.  Within 5 seconds, seeds should sizzle. Reduce heat and add sauce. Stir for a minute. Cut okra into 2 cm lengths. Add okra, salt, sugar, lemon and 4 tbsp water. Stir and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook until okra is tender - about 10 minutes.  

Ingredients. 14 oz. fresh okra. 7 garlic cloves. 1 dried, hot chili. 7 tbsp. water. 2 tsp cumin. 1 tsp ground coriander. 4 tbsp. v. oil. 1 tsp cumin seeds. 1 tsp salt. 1 tsp. sugar. 4 tbsp. lemon juice.

Cauliflower.

Cut cauliflower so florets are separated into medium-sized pieces. Heat oil in pan. Add asafetida. A second later, add cumin seeds.  Stir for 10 second to infuse oil with flavors. Add onion.  Stir until brown.  Add cauliflower and chili.

Turn heat down to medium and stir.  Stir in ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and salt.  Stir. Add water, lemon juice. Stir and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook on low for 7 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Ingredients. 1 head of cauliflower. 3 tbsp v. oil. pinch of asafetida. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds. 1/2 medium onion, sliced. 1 fresh, green chili, chopped. 1 tsp. ground cumin. 1/2 tsp ground coriander. 1/4 tsp. turmeric. 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. 3/4 tsp salt. 1/2 cup water. 2 tsp lemon juice.