The Spice Rack

Limoncello

2006-05-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not an alcoholic. I do realize that I posted a cocktail only a few weeks ago. But I just got this months Saveur (one of my favorite cooking magazines, if you hadn't noticed my now) and they have a feature dedicated to cooking with lemons. And there hidden in the pages was a sidebar on this zesty liquor. I had it at a tiny Itallian restaurant whoose name I don't remember this summer, but it was the perfect after dinner drink to sip on a hot and balmy night. It was a wonderful surprise to find a recipe for it, so I thought I would share.

Limoncello

Wash 25 lemons and dry.
Peel the zest from each lemon in wide strips. (Save the rest of the lemon for a later use)
Place zest in one liter of Everclear, and put both in a large glass jar with a tight-fitting lid
Put in a cool, dark place for 48 hours.
Cook 3 1/2 cups suger in four cups of water in a large pot. Stir regularly until it comes to a boil
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely
Strain alchohol over a seive into pot with sugar water.
Stir and return to glass jar
Serve and enjoy
You can store it in a tightly sealed jar at room tempurature for up to three months.

Corn and Feta Omelet

2006-04-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost here, and the warm weather is screaming for light, fresh, tasty food. I've had this recipe stored away in one of my recipe notebooks for awhile, but I just recently tried it for the first time. The original calls for goat cheese, I prefer feta so I substituted it. Feel free to use either.

3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup corn kernals
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup crumbled feta
4 fresh chives

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs together with the salt, pepper, and corn.
Melt the butter in a large skillet
Add egg mixture and cook about one minute, or until the eggs have begun to set
Sprinkle omelet with about 3/4 of the cheese and 3/4 of the chives.
Fold the omelet over
Sprinkle remaining cheese and chives and fold the omelet again so it forms a triangle.
Slide onto plate and enjoy.

Eggplant Bruschette

2006-04-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

This week I decided to write about what I consider to be a greatly underappreciated vegetable...eggplant. I love it, but I always find myself at a loss when I try to come it with recipes to make with it. So when I came across this recipe in the March issue of Gourmet I gave it a try at once. And it's great. I'd never considered making eggplant into a hummus-like spread, but it's fantastic. Give it a try the next time you need a unique appetizer.

Eggplant Bruschette
1 baguette
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 garlic cloves, one left unpeeled
1 small eggplant
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon chopped, fresh rosemary
1.4 teaspoon fresh, chopped oregano
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut baguette into 1/4 inch slices
Brush one side of each with olive oil, and arrange on a baking sheet
Toast for about 8 minutes
While warm, rub with the 1/2 clove of garlic

Reduce oven to 350 degrees

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Make shallow incisions in each side with a sharp knife.
Arrange, cut side up, in a baking dish, add whole garlic clove.
Sprinkle with thyme, rosemary, oregano, sea salt and pepper over the eggplant.
Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until the garlic clove is tender (30-35 minutes)
Remove garlic from pan and save. Continue to cook to eggplant until it is very tender (another 20-25 minutes)
When the garlic is cool, squeeze from the peel onto a cutting board.
Put eggplant on a cutting board when it is done and allow to cool.
Scrape the eggplant out from the peel.
Finely chop eggplant and garlic together. Put in a bowl.
Add parsley and remaining oil and stir until combined.
Season with salt and pepper.
Spread the mixture on the toasted baguette and enjoy!

Mojito

2006-04-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

A friend has fresh mint growing in his front yard and we've been looking forward to warm weather and mojitos on the front porch for weeks. This drink is best enjoyed in the dead heat of summer, but its feels like its summer already in Columbia. We made a batch yesterday and they were delicous. I first sipped this tasty Cuban drink in New York last summer and have been obsessed ever since. So whip up a batch and enjoy the warming weather.

What you'll need:
White rum
fresh mint
white suger
soda water
ice
lime

Start by making a simple syrup. Combine about a cup of water with 1/2 cup of white suger. If you like a sweeter drink you can increase the amount of suger.
Heat sugar, water and a few mint leaves in a saucepan on the stovetop until all the suger is dissolved into the water.
Pour about a shot into a glass with plenty of ice. (You can vary how much rum you use depeding on how stiff you like your drink and how big your glass is)
crush a few mint leaves with a mortar and pestle and add to the glass
Add about 2 tablespoons of the sugar syrup
Top off with soda water. (Again how much you use will depend on how stiff and how sweet you like your drink. Play with the proportions until you find what works for your taste buds.)
Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the top.
Stir and enjoy.

Asparagus

2006-04-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is a quick little recipe that goes good with everything. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the exact measurements so feel free to adjust as you like.

1 lb asparagus.
Olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Cut the rough ends off the asparagus.
Place the asparagus in a baking dish and coat with olive oil. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar over to taste.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake at 450 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

I like my asparagus a little crunchy so I don't cook it for too long. Adjust the cook time until you find one that works for with how you like your asparagus cooked. This works great as a side dish with almost anything. Hope you enjoy!

Hummus

2006-03-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

As I write this I am eating fresh hummus on warm pita bread. It is one of my favorite snacks, and what I am always eating on my frequent trips to the Cherry Street Artisan in downtown Columbia. I had never considered making it myself until my issue of Saveur arrived in my mailbox this afternoon. There on the cover the simple tagline read "How to Make Great Hummus." I thought it would be a great experiment for this blog. I think the hummus at the Artisan is pretty tasty, and I wondered if I could do better. The article had several variations, but I decided to stick with the most traditional for comparison's sake. I was surprised to find the recipe is so simple and easy to make. So if you ever need a quick afternoon snack this might be the recipe for you.

4 cups drained, canned chickpeas
I clove garlic
Salt
1/2 cup sesame paste
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. Paprika

Place drained chickpeas in a food processor and puree until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. The move the puree to a large bowl.
Crush garlic in a press or with the broad side of a chef's knife
Add to the chickpea paste along with a pinch of salt
Add sesame oil, lemon juice, and salt to taste and mix well
Drizzle hummus with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.
Enjoy with warm pita or vegetables. It's also good for the comparison.

While I enjoyed this recipe, it was a little drier than what I am used to. I prefer the Artisan's more moist variety (although Saveur's editors insist its not as authentic.) But I recommend that you try the recipe out. It's easy to play with until you get it the consistency and flavor you like.

Fettuccine Alfredo

2006-03-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

You'll have a hard time finding a better dish with which to clog your arteries than a heaping bowl of sinfully creamy fettuccine Alfredo. That said, it's one of my favorite dishes, although I must admit I don't make it that often. I found this recipe a few years ago in an old magazine that was lying around at work and I love it! I substitute Brie for the gorgonzola that the original recipe calls for, you can use whichever you prefer.

An interesting story kept popping up on the internet when I was searching for the roots of this recipe. So I though I would share it here.

It's generally agreed upon that Alfredo Di Lilio, a Roman restauranteur, created our modern version of fettuccine Alfredo in 1914. The dish was an improvement that he made upon an similar, earlier Italian dish that was made only with butter to tempt the lost appetite of his pregnant wife.

This buttery dish certainly tempts me.

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup pine nuts
2 ounces thin prosciutto slices cut into slivers
5 ounces Brie cheese
1/2 cup whipping cream
Approximately 3 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
8 ounces dried fettuccine
2 tablespoons fresh basil
Ground pepper to taste

Over medium high heat in a saucepan lightly toast the pine nuts. Then transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
In the same pan add the prosciutto and cook until slightly browned. Then add to the bowl with the pine nuts.
Break cheese into small squares and put in a bowl, add the cream and microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the cream forms bubbles. Remove from microwave and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
In the meantime combine wine and chicken broth in saucepan. Add the thyme and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
Return heat to high. When the liquid is boiling add fettuccine. Cook until pasta is tender, There should be a generous amount of liquid, you can add extra broth if it is too dry.
Add cheese to the mixture and stir for about 1 minute.
Remove from heat and let stand for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
Serve in bowls and sprinkle with pine nut/prosciutto mixture and serve immediately.

Jerk Chicken

2006-03-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

I first tried this recipe last summer. It got rave reviews from my father who likes any kind of spicy foods, but my mom liked the flavor as well. This spicy Caribbean barbeque is traditionally cooked over an open flame in a wooden barbeque pit. The wood is supposed to enhance the flavor. But, since most of us don’t wooden barbeque pits in our backyards most variations of this recipe call for grilling it, which works just fine if you ask me. I found this recipe in a Martha Steward Living magazine this summer and have used it so much since that the recipe torn from the magazine is stained with the marinade. (My mom likes to tell my I’m a sloppy cook, I say a little mess is a sign of creativity in the kitchen.) You can adjust the peppers in this recipe to your taste. Habanero chili peppers are very hot, so use them sparingly if you don’t want your mouth to be on fire.

Here’s what you’ll need:

3 fresh habanero chilies, seeded and chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
8 scallions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed with the edge of a knife or pressed in a garlic press
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground allspice
1 tablespoon salt
1 ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup distilled white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup vegetable oil
freshly ground pepper
16 chicken drumsticks and thighs

To make the marinade process the habanero chilies, onion, scallion, garlic and thyme in a food processor.

Add the brown sugar, allspice. salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice and oil. Process in the food processor until you have a smooth sauce.

Divide the sauce in half, one half for brushing the chicken while you are grilling it, the other to marinate it in.

Add chicken and half of the marinade in a large bowl. Rub the marinade into the chicken making sure it covers all parts.

Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate it over night.

The next day, heat your grill to low and brush lightly with oil. Put chicken on grill and discard used oil. Grill the chicken occasionally brushing with the saved marinade. Continue to cook and brush chicken with the marinade until cooked through

Baklava

2006-02-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

Yum, this is one of my favorite deserts. I was first introduced to Greek cooking on a high school trip to the country and have loved it ever since. Baklava in its earliest forms was created in the Middle East, but it was the Greeks who first began using filo dough, and thus made baklava the flaky pastry we all know and love. These gooey ultra-rich triangles make my mouth water. I realize that two recipes using filo dough in a row might be a lot to ask. But you'll have practice from the last recipe and will have mastered the finicky stuff by now, so this one will be a piece of cake. Here's what you'll need:

1/2 pound shelled walnuts
1/2 pound almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 pound melted butter
1/2 pound filo dough (refrigerate it overnight to thaw)
plus one batch of the syrup:
1 cup honey
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

This recipe should be easy if you've mastered working with filo. If not, just handle the filo sheets as if they were delicate pieces of 100-year-old parchment and you should be fine. The layering can get a little tiresome but it's worth it in the end.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Finely chop walnuts and almonds. Mix together the cinnamon, allspice and sugar. Combine this mixture to the nuts and mix well.

Brush 9X13 pan with some of the melted butter. Line the bottom of the dish with about 10 sheets of filo, coating each with a layer of butter before adding the next. Spread a little of the nut mixture evenly over the filo sheets. Cover this with about two filo sheets, again brushing each with butter. Spread a little of the nut mixture over and repeat with the filo sheets. Continue the process until all the nut mixture is used. Cover with the remaining filo sheets, again brush each with butter as you layer.

Cut diagonally, making diamonds, through only the top layer of filo. Bake until browned and crisp. 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile make the syrup.
Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, stir constantly to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and let cool. When you remove the baklava from the oven let it cool slightly, then poor the sugar mixture evenly over the top. Allow it to cool fully before you cut all the way through.

Hope you enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from the book
"Greek Cooking for the Gods" by Eva Zane

Bastilla

2006-02-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, today I thought I would do another of my favorite recipes, and one that I am still working to perfect.

On my first trip to Morocco I sat down at a small restaurant in Tangier with a group of friends and was served Moroccan Bastilla for a first course. This was my first introduction to this spicy pie encased in a deliciously flaky and crisp crust, which is famous in Morocco. As soon as I returned to the states I got online and hunted down a variety of bastilla recipes to try. Traditionally made with pigeon, I have been working on perfecting the chicken variety, and that is the recipe I will share here. I found the recipe intimidating at first but it really isn't all that difficult. The hardest part by far is working with the filo dough, which just takes a little practice. Make sure you thaw it correctly, or it will stick together and tear, a lesson I learned the hard way the first time I tried this recipe.

3 large bone less chicken breasts
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons tumeric
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 large cinnamon sticks
3 cups chicken stock
4 egg whites
1/3 cup finely chopped almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 package phyllo dough - thaw overnight in the refrigerator

The night before you are going to serve combine the tumeric, saffron, ginger, coriander and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan with the chicken stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and then add the chicken breast to the pan. Cover and poach the chicken in the sauce until cooked (about 10-15 minutes). Remove from heat and allow entire mixture to cool. Remove the breasts from the sauce mixture and shred in a food processor, return shredded chicken to bowl with sauce and refrigerate overnight.

The next day strain off the sauce mixture from the chicken, and remove the cinnamon sticks.
Combine about half of the sauce mixture with four egg whites and scramble. Fold mixture into the shredded chicken. This will help it stick together.

Combine the almonds, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and put to the side.

Ok, here comes the hard part. You can either make about 20 small, finger food pies out of this recipe or you can make about 10 larger pies. I prefer to make the larger pies as they are easier.

Layer three to five sheets of filo on top of one another with a little oil in between each sheet. Cut sheets into squares, the size will depend on how large you want to make your pies. Put a little of the chicken mixture in each square and top with a sprinkling of the almond mixture. Then fold over so the finished product is a triangle.

Place the triangles on a baking sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
When they come out sprinkle the top of each with a little more of the cinnamon and sugar mixture and enjoy!

Sopapillas

2006-02-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow cooks,

For my first post in this new cooking blog I thought I would start with a tried and true recipe, one that has received rave reviews in the past. Since the theme of this blog is to try a recipe from a different region every week I thought I would start out with a regional cuisine that I know well, New Mexican.

Most people think that New Mexican and Mexican food are the same things. These people have obviously never been to New Mexico and tried the food or met a New Mexican, we are quick to point out the subtle differences. To illustrate those differences I will give you the recipe for one of my favorite New Mexican foods, sopapillas.

Sopapillas have a special place in my heart. The soft pillow of fried dour drizzled with honey made a weekly appearance at our dinner table when I was growing up and I have fond memories of stuffing myself to near explosion on them.

New Mexican "sopas" are a little different than their Mexican counterparts. Ours are not a dessert and are not rolled in cinnamon and sugar. They are traditionally served as an appetizer, at many New Mexican restaurants in Albuquerque you will sit down to a basket of warm sopapillas before your meal arrives. And they are served drizzled with honey. In our house, and at many restaurants, we make stuffed sopapillas turning them into a main course. When I tell people about this I generally get a disgusted look, as they are used to the Mexican variety of sopapillas. But I strongly suggest you try this, it is one of my favorite New Mexican meals.

After you have made the sopapillas, tear off the top of one and stuff it with refried beans, ground beef, cheese, salsa, tomatoes etc. It becomes something like a taco, but with a delicious twist.
Here's my moms recipe and the one I have been wowing friends with since moving to Missouri.
Sopapillas:
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon shortening
1 package (about 1 tablespoon) dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cup scalded milk

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Next dissolve the yeast in the warm water. To scald the milk put it in the microwave or on a stovetop until it is on the verge of boiling. Let the milk cool and then add the yeast and water mixture and stir.
Make a well out of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients slowly mixing together until you have dough.
Knead the dough 10/20 times until it is slightly elastic and let rise for about 10 minutes.

This recipe makes about 3/4 dozen sopapillas. From here I suggest dividing the dough into quarters, roll out each quarter into a square that is about 1/8 of an inch thick and cut the dough into nine squares. Each of these squares will become a sopapilla.
Warm vegetable oil in a large sauce pan to about 420 degrees (you want it hot but not scalding or you will they will cook to fast and not have time to puff up, medium heat on a stovetop works well) You can use however much oil you want, but it should be deep enough in the pan so that the piece of dough can be submerged.
Now here's the fun part. Drop one of the squares of dough into the hot oil and let it submerge. Here's my trick to get it to puff up (the hardest part of the recipe, nobody like flat sopas) tap the side of the piece of dough gently but consistently with spatula, or whatever you are using to remove the sopapilla from the oil. Once it has puffed with air, flip it and cook the other side. Continue to flip and cook until both sides are golden brown and repeat with all dough. When you get really good you should be able to cook more than one at a time.
Serve while they are still warm with honey, or try the stuffed variety suggested above.
Hope you enjoy!