Rissa's A Little of This and That

This dinner night didn't have a big theme or any obvious coordination in the menu, but was just a good excuse to pick out some wonderful recipes as always. In general, I was pleased..I'm always thankful to have two extra sets of hands when it comes to these menus!

Cumin-Scented Samosas with Mint Raita

I'm a big fan of samosas and realize that they can be made into a healthy version. Although anything 'individualized' becomes labor-intensive. That combined with phyllo dough (hence how these were made lowfat) takes some care in assembly! But the end result was just plain yummy. Make the filling - warning: lots of ingredients - assemble the phyllo dough and bake in oven. The mint raita is a must. From what I recall, I think this is one sauce you should actually make extra. It's a terrific compliment.

Hot and Hot Tomato Salad

I saw this recipe and just knew it was dinner night worthy. I will say it's labor intensive though! Some steps not worth it (the black eyed peas roasted in the ham hock with onions, etc). The salad is terrific because it used very fresh and unusual ingredients. Heirloom tomatoes are always great and the baby okra was something new to try for all of us. A little 'different' in the way it was fried, but I liked it. Hands down - the dressing was one of the best homemade dressings I have ever had! Beautiful once assembled and very filling and delicious, this salad is a hit. Though I would not venture to make it for more than a few people..

Fresh Corn Tart with Chipotle Cream

First thought that comes to mind is that there's nothing like good ol' Mexican chorizo. "Soyriso" just doesn't cut it! But once you get past that, this was decent. Not the biggest hit of the night, but a good pairing with the rest of the menu. Also yielded a lot of food and heated up well as leftovers. Good way to use my cast-iron skillet, too!

Oven-Fried Chicken

The Cooking Light version of oven-fried chicken is expected to just not be 'the same' as umm..KFC. The most common complaint is that it doesn't turn out with that "fried" crust (bread is soft versus crunchy). Sure, this was no Southern fried chicken, but I think a decent attempt. And not too difficult. The recipe tries to get the full crunch by having you turn the pieces halfway in between cooking. We forgot to do that part. Woops!

Chocolate-Raspberry Layer Cake Although the cake doesn't LOOK like the gorgeous Bon Appetit photo in the magazine, it sure tasted wonderful! This is chocolate on chocolate on chocolate with some raspberries. And some milk might be nice to serve with it! Not sure what went wrong on the ganache..it was not the smooth, spreadable consistency as is the cake in the photo. Something easy to try again though..just boil lots of heavy whipping cream and pour it over the chocolate to melt. Other than that, this cake is restaurant quality..because it's so rich, a little goes a long way.

Southern with a Modern Flair

My inspiration for this menu was the pulled pork sandwiches. I saw a recipe in a Cooking Light magazine and knew I wanted to try it at my next dinner night. Since pulled pork is a traditional dish from the South, I decided to go with a Southern theme with a Modern twist.

Bruschetta with Peach Salsa and Melted Brie (Courtesy of Cooking Light)

This was a simple dish to throw together and turned out pretty delicious. The peaches were sweet and fresh which paired well with the rich and creamy Brie. Anyway, how can you go wrong with melted Brie? I would make this recipe again with no variations.

Vodka Berry Fizzes (Courtesy of Rachael Ray)
Vodka + Sprite + Berries = Adult Koolaid. Be careful, you can drink a lot of this quickly and can't really taste the alcohol but it may catch up with you!
Alabama Pulled Pork Sandwiches with White Barbecue Sauce (Courtesy of Cooking Light)
Yummm my mouth is watering thinking about these little guys. I always thought pulled pork was one of those things that had to slow-roast for hours in order to be tender and juicy but this recipe proves that you can do it in about an hour. The pork is delicious and sweet because of the apple cider vinegar. The sauce is very vinegary but white barbecue sauces often are. I love vinegar so this was no problem for but don't expect a traditional bbq sauce. The only thing I wouldn't make again are the biscuits. Why bother when you can just buy mini buns for less work and a better taste?

Barbecued Baked Beans - Unfortunately, I can't remember where we found this recipe but the beans were traditional barbecue baked beans, with a little bacon. Delicious!

Lemon-Lime Layer Cake (Courtesy of Cooking Light)
This was pretty moist considering it didn't have too many liquid ingredients. The citrus flavor paired really well with a home-made white chocolate ice cream that we also made. This cake isn't for everyone but I loved it! If you're a fan of lemon or lime flavors, then definitely give it a try.

Blogger Recipe Night

Like many foodies I subscribe to a plethora of food blogs and other sites, and finally made the effort to recreate some of the delicious recipes that had been piling up in my e-mail "Recipe" folder. Most of the recipes for this dinner came from chefs chosen by Tasting Table, and dessert was from my favorite dessert blogger, Bakerella! (Nicole)

Piquillos Rellenos

This recipe came from Rivera, a Latin restaurant in downtown LA that I have been wanting to try. The dish itself was fairly easy to make, and a good appetizer. Melted cheese is pretty much always delicious, and the raisins add a unique and sweet touch.



Asparagus, Radicchio and Roasted-Calamari Salad
I was slightly disappointed in this salad, thinking that it was going to better than it turned out to be. It was okay, but not a recipe that we would plan to make again. I would cut back on the asparagus a bit, as there was a bit much compared to the other ingredients.


Seared Scallops with Coconut-Mussel Stew
Our favorite recipe of the night! I had eaten a somewhat similar scallop dish at Noir, a local restaurant here in Pasadena, and loved it. When I saw this recipe I knew that I wanted to try it at home, and this recipe is a keeper. We learned that crowding the mussels in the skillet doesn't work too well, and they will cook more evenly and faster when given some space. This dish takes some work, but is well worth it if you are a scallop lover.


Cake Pops
After seeing pictures of cake pops online I knew that it was something that I wanted to try out, and the Foxy Foodies were up to the challenge. We chose a more simple design, smiley faces, and sadly most of ours were not too smiley! The recipe called for an entire can of frosting, but that seemed to be a bit much. Using less would have made the cake pops a little more dry, and also able to hold their shape a bit better. The food marker pens that we used were no match to write on the chocolate-coated cake pops, so our faces were a bit light; maybe I should paint it on next time with frosting coloring? The cake pops were delicious though, and quite filling - we could only eat one!

Vamos al Caribe!

We've been exciting enough to try foods around the world, and then I realized we hadn't yet tried my own culture. Believe it or not, it's hard to find "Dominican cookbooks" so I knew I couldn't get too specific there. But I pulled the recipes that I had onhand from all around the Caribbean. Did it come out like Dad's cooking? Nope..it really wasn't my best of dinner nights. But that is bound to happen..let's blame it on the lack of authenticity from the recipe sources? Call us passionate cooks, but we do experiment and have humanly 'off' nights. Anyway, this just gives me a challenge to master for next time!

The Real Mojito

Mojitos are a classic favorite..so refreshing and full of citrus. But to get that citrus taste, it takes work! You must muddle the lime and mint leaves together (lots of mint leaves), add more limes and sugar and muddle, muddle, muddle. Again..the trick is to muddle to release the flavors. It's work when you have 6 drinks lined up in a row! I appreciate my local watering hole all that much more. I think it's just too much work to make at home for more than two people, but the result being a delicate balance between sugary and citrusy makes for a delicious beverage.

Seared Queso Fresco and Queso Panela with Cilantro Mojo

Who doesn't love cheese? Queso panela was hard to find, so we stuck with queso fresco which I grew up on. Frying ("searing") the cheese made it a little rubbery to be honest..and the cilantro mojo didn't make a huge difference. All in all, it is not like a mozzarella cheese stick that melts as it cooks and adapts well with marinara sauce. Though it was super easy to make and a great idea for an appetizer, it wasn't something to make again.

Cuban Black Bean Patties with Pineapple Rice


Surprisingly, the low fat dish was the best dish of the night. Black beans and rice are classic to Caribbean cuisine and it tasted just great. Being that the patties were low fat though, they were a bit on the dry side. (didn't fry them in oil) Mixing with the rice made it no issue though. Some might think pineapple in rice is an odd combination, but it gave it moisture, flavor (especially with the cilantro) and just came out delicious!


Tamarind-Glazed Chicken Thighs

This recipe had so much promise and sounded amazing. Just fyi, frozen tamarind pulp is only found at hispanic food stores. The idea of boiling the pulp and apple cider vinegar/brown sugar into a nice reduced sauce and then baking the chicken with this glaze sounded delicious. Problem is the sauce never really reduced, so it came out watery. We baked the chicken anyway with it, but it just did not come out like the picture. Perhaps we didn't have enough patience because we were making double the recipe and did not give it proper time to reduce, but it was a disappointment.

Whiskey Cake
What to say..this wasn't our best of nights, but it has to be blogged, right? I know whiskey is not that Caribbean..rum may have been more appropriate, but I decided to try it anyway. The cake tasted like straight alcohol!!! I never thought I'd say this, but maybe we add a little less next time? No frosting on the cake (which to me does not make it seem cake-like), but it really wasn't needed either! Just ok..would not make again.

Heather's Korean BBQ Night!

The foxy foodies have experimented with many ethnic foods but up until this night, we had never attempted Korean food. I decided to give my fellow Koreans some love and came up with a menu focused on Korean BBQ dishes, that you would find in any restaurant in Los Angeles Korea Town. With the help of my boyfriend, James (who also happens to be Korean), I put together the following menu together.

Kalbi - Korean Shortribs (Courtesy of my new favorite blog CookingCloset)

This is probably the most common form of Korean BBQ that you would get in a restaurant. This recipe is relatively simple, just throw a bunch of ingredients into a bag with the meat, and marinate overnight. Most of us enjoyed the sweet-garlicky flavor of the marinade but thought that some of the pieces of meat were fattier than others. One caveat is that we didn't use an outside grill because I don't have one and instead used a grill pan. I think grilling outside would have made a big difference.

Bulgogi - Korean BBQ Beef (Courtesy of CookingCloset)

We were slightly disappointed with this recipe as the beef lacked flavor even after it marinated overnight. On top of that, some of the meat was really chewy which could be a quality issue. I think next time, we would just rather go to Ktown to get our Bulgogi. :)

Pa Jun - Korean Savory Pancakes (Courtsey of the NY Times)

I know what you're thinking...what the hell is a savory pancake? Well imagine an Asian-flavored frittata with a lot of veggies in it. You can customize this recipe to include the veggies that you like the best. All of us enjoyed this recipe and it's relatively easy to throw together.

Oi Muchim - Korean Cucumber Salad (Courtesy of Cooking Light)

When you go out to Korean BBQ, the server will bring over an array of side dishes called Banchan that you're supposed to eat along side all that meat. The banchan can range from traditional American potato salad, to fermented cabbage (Kimchi), to cucumber salad. I have a strange love of cucumbers and this was super easy to make. We all thought it was a healthy, spicy salad that went well with the heavniess of the meat.

Chap Chae - Sweet Potato Noodles (Courtesy of some random blog)

So, this is also a version of banchan and it is my absolute favorite! I can eat at least two bowls of these noodles. Sweet potato noodles are essentially like rice noodles - translucent, thin, somewhat sticky noodles that go great when paired with vegetables and an Asian sauce, like in this recipe. You can also customize this one and throw in whatever veggies you have laying around. We all really liked this recipe but agreed that the sauce to noodle ratio was slightly off. We all wanted a little more sauce to dip our noodles in!

Vanilla-bean Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting
(Courtesy of Bon Appetit)

Koreans don't typically eat dessert and when they do, it normally involves some sort of red bean. As I enjoy my red beans with rice and not in cake-form, I decided to switch it up a little and go the non-traditional route. I really wanted to incorporate an Asian pear in the dessert but after spending an hour googling recipes, I opted for this coconut cupcake instead. After all, coconut is sorta Asian right? The cake turned out delicious and very moist but we all agreed that the icing was almost too rich and too buttery. I know...how can you go wrong with buttercream frosting but for some reason, I thought this version could have used a tad more sugar.

Nicole's assorted Tasting Table recipe dinner - November 2009

Like many foodies I subscribe to the Tasting Table e-mail newsletter, and the delicious recipes that they send each week had been piling up in my Inbox without ever being tested. I especially wanted to try the dinner menu recipes for Thomas Keller, as I have eaten at Ad Hoc and one day aspire to dine at the French Laundry. This dinner night was an effort to use those recipes, plus one for Ebelskivers so that I could put to use the special pan that Rissa had given me.

Sausage-Stuffed Danish Ebelskivers

Heather took the reins on this recipe, which turned out requiring some skill to flip over the little dough balls in the pan while cooking. We branched out from the recipe's suggested savory filling of sausage, and also cooked some with chocolate or berry jam filling. The possibilities for fillings are endless, both sweet and savory. They were a delicious appetizer, and the extra ones reheated well for my snack the next day.
Ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups flour
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 pound precooked bulk breakfast sausage
Real maple syrup

Directions:
1. Separate egg yolks and whites into two bowls. Beat egg yolks. Add sugar, salt and milk; stir. Mix in flour, baking powder and baking soda.
2. In second bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into the other mixture.
3. Lightly grease each cavity of the ebelskiver pan. Over medium heat, fill each cavity 2/3 full with batter, and tuck a teaspoon-sized piece of precooked sausage inside, pushing it down so that the batter covers it fully. Cook 2 minutes and then flip the ebelskivers with two wooden skewers... (this method works best, and prevents scratching of the nonstick). Cook for another 2-1/2 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Repeat until all the batter is used.
4. Serve immediately, with maple syrup.

Thomas Keller Roast Chicken

This recipe called for a ~2lb. chicken, which was impossible to find at my local supermarket. The only ones that I could find were over 4 pounds, which I shouldn't have been surprised about after recently watching "Food Inc." and seeing how the poultry industry operates. The presentation was not quite as nice as in the picture since we did not have four legs and breasts to plate, but the chicken was still very good.

Serves four

Ingredients
2 - 2¼ to 2½ lb. chickens
Brine
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. chopped thyme leaves
1 c. chicken jus, warmed
Fleur de sel
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Rinse chickens under cold water, then submerge in pot of brine and refrigerate six hours.

2. Preheat oven to 475°.

3. Remove chickens from brine, rinse, and dry with paper towels. Season inside and out with salt and pepper, truss chickens, and let them sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.

4. Salt and pepper chickens again. Place two heavy, ovenproof, 10-inch skillets over high heat. When hot, add half the oil to each. Place birds breast side up in skillets, then into the oven, legs first.

5. Roast for 40 minutes, checking every 15 minutes and rotating skillets to brown evenly. When done, temperature should read approximately 155°F. Remove from oven, add thyme leaves to skillets, and baste birds with the juices and thyme. Let sit in a warm spot for about 10 minutes.

6. Carve each bird into 4 serving pieces. Arrange one breast and a leg on each plate, top with ¼ c. chicken jus, and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Brine for Roast Chicken

Ingredients
1 c. kosher salt
¼ c. plus 2 tbsp. honey
12 bay leaves
½ c. garlic cloves, skin left on, smashed
2 tbsp. black peppercorns
3 large rosemary sprigs
1 large bunch thyme sprigs
1 large bunch Italian parsley sprigs
Grated zest and 2 large lemons

1. Combine all ingredients and 1 gallon of water in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil.

2. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely before using.

Thomas Keller Salade de Laitue

This salad was easy to make and complemented the rest of the meal. The dijon vinaigrette was good and the overall flavor not too powerful, but this was not as much of a standout as some of the other salads we have made.

Serves four

Ingredients
4 heads Bibb lettuce
2 tbsp. minced shallots
2 tbsp. minced chives
¼ c. Italian parsley
¼ c. tarragon leaves
¼ c. chervil leaves
½ c. house vinaigrette
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Core the heads of lettuce. Separate leaves but keep each head by itself; discard outer leaves. Head by head, place the leaves in a bowl of cold water to refresh them and remove any dirt, then dry in a salad spinner.

2. Place the leaves from one head in a bowl; sprinkle with a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper, 1½ tsp. each shallots and chives; and 1 tbsp. each parsley, tarragon, and chervil.

3. Toss gently with 2 tbsp. vinaigrette and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Repeat with remaining heads.

4. To serve, arrange outer leaves as the base on the plate and rebuild each head of lettuce, ending with the smallest leaves.

House Vinaigrette
Makes about 2½ cups

Ingredients
¼ c. Dijon mustard
½ c. red wine vinegar
1½ c. canola oil

1. In a blender, combine the mustard and vinegar at medium speed for about 15 seconds. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in 1/2 c. canola oil.

2. Transfer to a small bowl and, whisking constantly, slowly stream in the remaining 1 c. oil. Use immediately or refrigerate up to two weeks.

Thomas Keller Lemon Tart (Tarte au Citron)

This tart was just okay. The quantity of pine nuts was a bit too much, and overpowered the taste of the crust in a negative way. I also accidentally slightly burned part of the top of the crust, so that did not help matters. Cooking that part of it properly would have helped, although overall we gave this one a thumbs down.

Serves eight

Ingredients
2 c. pine nuts
1/3 c. sugar
4 c. all-purpose flour, plus extra
1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra
3 eggs, cold
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 6 pieces
2 egg yolks, cold
¾ c. sugar
½ c. lemon juice

1. Place pine nuts in food processor and pulse; add the sugar and 4 c. flour and pulse until nuts are finely ground. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.

2. Add room-temperature butter, 1 egg, and vanilla; mix to incorporate. Divide the dough into three equal parts. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes before using (Because the dough uses only one egg, it’s difficult to make a smaller quantity. Freeze the extra for another time.)

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.

4. Remove tart pan from fridge; press 1 ball of chilled pine nut dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off excess.

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes; rotate; bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool while you make the filling.

6. Bring about 1½ inches of water to a boil in a pot slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl you will be using for the sabayon. Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk remaining eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute.

7. Set the bowl over the pot and whisk mixture while turning the bowl. When eggs are foamy and have thickened (about 2 minutes), add one third of the lemon juice. Continue whisking while turning, adding remaining lemon juice in thirds, until the mixture is thick, light in color, and the whisk leaves a trail in the bottom of the bowl (about 8-10 minutes). Turn off heat and leave bowl over water, then whisk in butter.

8. Pour the warm sabayon into the tart crust and place the pan on a baking sheet.

9. While sabayon is still warm, put in preheated broiler. Leaving the door open, brown the top of the tart (just a few seconds).

10. Remove the tart from the broiler and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Andrew's Herb Risotto

This was a good risotto that also packs a healthier and colorful punch with the vegetables in it. Not quite as rich as a typical risotto, but that was a good thing. Overall we liked this recipe.

Prep Time:10

MinCook Time:35

MinReady In: 45 Min

Original Recipe Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup trimmed, diced fennel bulb

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, divided

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

3 1/2 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat oil and butter in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add fennel, bell pepper, onion, garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons mint, 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley, 1 tablespoon rosemary and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Saute, stirring, until vegetables are slightly softened (about 2 to 3 minutes).

Stir in coriander and rice and saute, stirring, until rice grains are oil-coated (about 3 minutes). Pour in wine and stock and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is almost absorbed and rice is tender but firm. (Note: Stir once or twice while simmering.)

Remove pan from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in remaining mint, parsley, rosemary and lemon zest, then add lemon juice and cheese. Cover saucepan with waxed paper and let stand 8 to 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 289 Total Fat: 11.2g Cholesterol: 15mg

Rissa says, "Do as the French do!" October 2009

I always thought I didn't like French food...until of course my best friend on FoodNetwork (you must know by now that's Ina Garten herself) showed me otherwise. My impression of it was that it was only wine-based and way too strong at that. Typically, I like wine in my glass and not my food, ha. I eventually learned that there are delicious dishes with butter, good cheeses, broths, etc. This had to be tried! So without intending to simply pull all Ina recipes (too easy), I looked throughout my cookbooks to see what could be pulled into this meal. It was a fun meal to coordinate and came out (mostly) well!

Gruyere Cheese Fondue with Roasted Potato Spears

Yes, yes..this is actually more Swiss than French..but it seemed like a great fit for the menu. Fondue is a fun dish for a dinner party. But this Rachael Ray recipe was NOT a winner! The sauce came out thin and the wine flavor was too strong for my liking. We tried to keep it warm with the tealight burner and then it started to burn, and burnt wine + cheese = no good. It was just not the fondue recipe we were going for. Potato spears can be kind of a heavy item to dip as well. I'd say bread is the better option!

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

Now this recipe was fantastic! Make things easy on yourself and buy the pre-cut butternut squash at Trader Joe's. Roast that with the maple syrup, olive oil, salt and pepper, and voila..it's the highlight of the salad. Okay, the walnuts, cranberries, and generous parmesan amounts contribute as well. I liked the colors in this dish..very festive and fall-like. Only gripe is that like with most salad, it's not one that keeps super well. I'd say it's best when used the same day.

Chicken with Dark Beer (Coq a la Biere)

Two words for this recipe: labor-intensive! We should have taken a better picture..it doesn't do justice for the work that it was! It all starts with seasoning and flouring the chicken, cooking in butter for 5 minutes. Then the pan is removed from the heat, gin added to it, and lit on fire! That part is a little scary but truly added flavor to the dish, so I'd say a necessary step. After the flames die down, the vegetables are added to the pan and all simmers for 45 minutes. The recipe says to use a cheesecloth but I don't recall doing that..or if we did I'd say now you can probably skip that part. After the chicken is fully cooked, it's removed from the pan and the rest gets made into a sauce for the topping once combined with yogurt. Again, quite a bit of work..(this is obviously a simplified description). I'm sure some would say they wouldn't make because of the complexity. But it was very tasty, went well with the menu and made for great leftovers with the celery root puree.

Celery Root Puree

Excuse the wine glasses in the photo..just contributing to the theme of the night. ;)

True experiment here trying celery root puree. It just seemed too bland to just go with mashed potatoes and I've heard good things about celery root (who woulda thought!). It was easy actually. Just boil the celery root, potato, and onions in milk for 30 minutes and process all together with butter. I thought the leftovers were yummy too and went nicely with the very flavorful chicken.

French Apple Tart

French in the name made this the right dessert. It was SO yummy. I'm not a fan of making pie crust or dough in general, but after watching Ina make this on her show it seemed less intimidating. The ingredients are simple and wasn't ridiculous to make. For a second we were nervous that it overcooked in my oven, but the crispy parts were pretty good, too! Very yummy pastry and serves well with ice cream.