Lefties

Green lentils salad

I am not a fan of left-overs (left-handers however, big fan). I try to master the art of cooking exact serving sizes so not to have to wrestle with re-heating and re-eating the same food a few nights later (with the exception of soups and stews... I'm okay with that). However, being the imperfect perfectionist I am, undoubtedly there is always a left-over to deal with. In this case: lentils.

You may remember my last battle with lentils, and having to hide them in MRN's lunches to try to get rid of all the left-overs. This time I cut down the serving size and changed up the recipe (basically-- guessed on amount and made something up). It ended up being a much bigger hit (though, considering it wasn't a hit at all the first time, the only way for it to go was up. But I'm nothing if not persistent. It may be because I added bacon... but hey-ho; anything to get some veggies on the plate).

Alas, even with the doctoring, we still had left-overs (that I knew I would have to eat; because while I won a battle with the beans, I knew not to push my luck by hiding it in MRN's food). So I decided to add cold lentils to a salad. I'm a big lunch-time salad fan. But I don't love making them at home. It's one of the (many) things I miss from the US-- all those lovely entree-sized salads. YUM. I have to admit, though-- this home salad was pretty good and hearty. I mean, it's not a Cheesecake Factory chopped salad (I love me a chopped salad), but it was a fair substitute. What I've found with home salads is it's all about the dressing-- and I'm not talking from the bottle; I'm talking the easiest home-made salad dressing in the world, adapted from my grandmother's soy-vinaigrette concoction that she's been making since I can remember. There's many varieties of this recipe (you can make it thicker and creamier by increasing the lemon to olive oil ratio to mustard; or add some minced garlic for a extra kick), but the real benefit is that you simply can't mess it up. It's a real, grab what you have in the fridge, whisk it up and voila yummy dressing.

For the lentils:

• 1/2-c Green puy lentils
• 2 small carrots, peeled and diced
• 3/4-c Chicken broth
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1-tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• Diced, crispy bacon (optional)

Place lentils in bowl and cover with boiling water; Let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While lentils are soaking, heat olive oil in pan on medium-high, add onions and cook 5-7 minutes until start to get translucent. Add carrots, spices and cook about 10-minutes, until carrots are soft. Toss in garlic and cook for 2 minutes (until fragrant). Stir in lentils and chicken broth and reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. If you're using bacon, dice and fry, stir into finished lentils. Great with pork or salmon, or (as I've used it), on salads!

Easy homemade salad dressing:
Basic:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (or water if you don't have lemon)
• Whisk together and toss with salad

If you want to get fancy:
Add a heaping teaspoon of dijon mustard (regular or whole-grain; whatever floats your boat), 1 clove garlic, minced, and some fresh ground pepper to the dressing. The mustard will make the dressing thicker, and oh so yummy.

MB had a little lamb

Yeah, I know. There's all kinds of wrong with that title. Alas, I'm feeling a bit uninspired (and who am I kidding? For a marketing person, I've always been completely useless at product names and titles). But having just watched the series premier (thanks Project Free TV) of "Once Upon a Time" starring Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin, I have fairy tales and nursery rhymes on the brain (verdict: promising. Definitely enough of a hook to keep me watching next week).

All that to say, I finally started cooking again. Between travel (play and work), colds (mine and MRN's) and general malaise, I haven't been up to experimenting in my kitchen (though I did make a big dinner at MRN's brother's a few weeks ago-- yes, I've taken my show on the road). I got back in the mood this weekend when looking for inspiration (on Pinterest-- where else?) for Christmas food gift ideas and came across this lovely looking baked potato. I am not usually a big fan of baked potatoes. Too much, well, potato I guess. Don't get me wrong-- I love them mashed, roasted and even boiled (well, new potatoes, anyway). The more butter, garlic and seasoning, the better. But give me a baked potato? I'll always pass. However, the aesthetics of this thinly sliced baked potato seemed too much to pass up. I mean, come on! How pretty is this thing? So to the market I went, and I decided to pair it with herb-crusted lamb chops (yes, yes, I've posted this recipe before, but when it's good, it's good). Plus, this post is really more about the potato (well, almost).

Am I allowed to say, YUM to my own food?? The potato really turned out to be a combination roasted and baked, with the outside nice and crispy and inside mushy. You cut the potato almost all the way through (trick is to lay a spoon lengthwise along the outside of the potato so when you slice it, it stops your knife from cutting all the way through) and then "fan" the slices to better soak up the melted butter and olive oil mixture that you pour on top, and to capture the minced garlic, salt and pepper I decided to add. See, while I saw the pic on Pinterest, I actually forgot to "pin" it-- so I had to improvise with the recipe. And I was out of regular dijon mustard (for the lamb), so used wholegrain dijon, and I think it turned out even better... I'll be substituting that in the future. I also still have herbs in the garden so was able to add fresh mint, rosemary, flat leaf parsley and regular thyme to by store-bought fresh lemon thyme. The addition of mint was delightful. But really, you can use any combination of fresh  herbs you have on hand-- I usually end up with parsley and thyme because that's what's most prevalent in my fridge.

I'll definitely be trying this potato again... perhaps with more seasoning and, well, butter. Because as Julia Child always said, you can never have enough butter...


Herb-Crusted Lamb Chops with Garlic Baked Potatoes
(adapted from Williams-Sonoma's "Wine and Food" cookbook)
To get the food on the table together and hot, I put potatoes in first for about 30 minutes and then popped in the lamb for the last 15 minutes. In addition to perfectly a perfectly timed entree, your oven is also piping hot for a perfectly roasted lamb chop.

• Preheat oven to 450 F

For the potatoes:

• 2 med potatoes, rinsed and scrubbed (you can peel them, but I love that crispy skin)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped, for serving

Instructions:

• Melt butter and olive oil in a sauce pan
• Thinly slice potatoes almost all the way through (see spoon trick above), gently "fanning" out the slices
• Place potatoes in a baking dish
• Pour olive oil and butter mixture over potatoes, making sure to coat all the slices
• Sprinkle garlic in between the slices
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Place in oven for 45 minutes (checking at about 30 to make sure that they're not burning)
• Remove from oven and cover until serving
• Sprinkle parsley over potatoes 
• Optional: sprinkle cheese on the potatoes 5 minutes before removing them from the oven; bacon would be good too! Serve with sour cream, chives and all the trimmings, if you so desire!

For the lamb*:

• Approx 3 lamb chops per person (depending on the size, but I usually go with that)
• 1/2 c minced fresh herbs (such as flat leaf parsley, thyme, mint, rosemary, marjoram)
• 1 tbsp wholegrain dijon mustard (or regular if more readily available)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 2 tbsp olive oil

*This recipe is supposed to be enough for 12 chops-- but I usually use the entire mixture on just 6; So if you have more chops, you may want to double the recipe so you can get a good amount of the herb mixture on both sides of the chops.

Instructions:

• Season both sides of the lamb chops with salt and pepper
• Stir together herbs, mustard, olive oil and garlic
• Spread mixture on both sides of the chops
• Place an oiled flat rack in a large roasting pan lined with aluminum foil (not essential but makes clean up that much easier)
• Arrange the chops on the rack and roast until an meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chop (away from the bone) registers 135 F for medium (about 15-17 minutes; In my fan assisted oven, 15 minutes is the perfect amount of time)
• Remove from oven, lightly tent chops with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes
• Serve immediately

Nom-Nom-Nom

If you don't know it by now, I love to cook. I do get hooked on favorite recipes, but I also like to try new ones. The last couple of years I've focused on learning how to cook red meat-- since I married a Brit and all and they love their meat. But seeing as I was raised a vegetarian (for all intents and purposes-- although we ate fish and sometimes turkey), other meats were sort of a mystery. And while I cook all sorts of fish, shellfish was one area that I tended to avoid. It was the special treat meal that you'd order in restaurants and pay through the nose for. But, like all food, someone has to prepare it-- so why not me? So I started tackling shellfish... prawns, clams, mussels... but one thing remained at arms reach-- my favorite ever: scallops.

I don't know why I found them to be intimidating, but maybe it was because I LOVE them, and didn't want one bad experience at home to turn me off to them forever. But thanks to my wonderful brother- and sister-in-law, I gained the courage to try them at home. And they are delectable. Forget spending $20 at a restaurant-- you can make this at home for $5-- for two people! This is Gordon Ramsay's recipe (via my bro- and sis-in-law who made this for us at a dinner party). I've made it several times, experimenting with the quantities of the ingredients (and adding the salt when pan searing the scallops) to get the balance right (MRN doesn't like tomatoes so I use less; I like more spice, so more chiles)-- and I think I've finally hit pay dirt. This is pure yumminess and perfect for a summer evening (not to mention a very easy recipe that is guaranteed to impress your guests).

Pan Seared Scallops with Spicy Corn Salsa

Ingredients:

• Fresh, large scallops (3-4 per person)
• (1) 14-oz can of sweet corn
• 1/2 packet of grape tomatoes (approx 100 g/3.5 oz), diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 3 small green or red chiles, finely minced
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• dash of soy sauce
• juice from one lime
• curry powder
• fleur de sel (or kosher salt if you don't have it)
• olive oil (for cooking scallops)
• rocket leaves (optional)
• fresh coriander (or cilantro for you California peeps-- also optional), chopped

For scallops:

• Heat olive oil on high heat in saute pan (should be VERY hot so that oil is almost smoking)
• Remove muscle (if still attached) and rinse and pat dry. Slide scallops in half. Dust both sides with curry powder and sprinkle of fleur de sel (I usually dust the second side once in the pan).
• When pan is very hot, add scallops and sear for 1 min per side (watch them carefully because you may need less time depending on your stove top).
• Remove from pan and set aside

For salsa:

Combine all ingredients except scallops, curry, fleur de sel and olive oil in bowl and toss to combine.
Heat salsa is large saute pan for 2-3 minutes until warm.

To serve:

If serving with rocket, place a few leaves at the bottom of an appetizer-sized bowl or plate. Spoon salsa over rocket leaves. Place 6-8 scallops over salsa (or however many you're serving per person; if they're particularly large, and you are serving this as an app, may want to reduce to 4). Sprinkle with fresh chopped coriander (or I use parsley because I'm not a coriander fan...).

A cooking kind of weekend

Inspired by GP I suppose, it was a lovely weekend filled with family and cooking, as you've spied in the last couple of posts. Sunday was no different and since we FINALLY had some sunshine (and it nearly hit 68F! WHOOP!), we decided to grill (though we ate inside since it was still freakishly cold). MRN requested something "normal" (though he was kinder in the nomenclature) so there were hamburgers but then I got to be more creative, making:

Marinated lamb kebabs (marinated overnight in red wine, red wine vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic and an assortment of fresh herbs including rosemary and thyme) speared with red onions, yellow and red peppers and served on toasted pine nut cous cous (made with homemade chicken stock).


"Mom's potato salad" (right) which is a standard Hawaiian concoction that contains very little potato combined with pasta, hard boiled eggs (shredded), carrot (also shredded), crab meat, onion, black olives and mayo.

&

Homemade "Waldorf" salad with shredded chicken (left)-- my random concoction which this time became a Waldorf by based on what I happened to be able to find in the pantry; in this case, apple, celery, raisins, red onion, walnuts, chicken, S&P to taste and some mayo). This is one of my favorite things to make and eat with all the layers and textures. It's also great as a hors d'oeuvre which you can serve in Tostito "scoops" (which you can't find here, so I served it with corn chips on the side instead).

and last but not least,

Peach crostata (Ummm... half eaten; couldn't beat away the eaters to let me take a photo first)--a variation on apple and a perfect substitute for the summer. But I really must learn patience to convert measurements. The whole guessing on the amount of butter is making for some interesting results.

I also used GP's chicken stock recipe to freeze and store stock for future use (and use it for the cous cous that was served with the lamb). However, it yielded LOADS more than the recipe's stated 3 liters-- try 6. Whoops. So I froze 3 liters, reserved 2 cups for the cous cous and used about 1/2 a cup for a lemon/olive oil/rosemary sauce for the lamb... the rest I'll make into chicken noodle soup with the left over chicken from the stock (half of which was used for the chicken salad). And by the way-- cooking cous cous in chicken stock-- so much better! It gives it a whole new dimension and is so much tastier (thanks Ina!).

So not only was there lots of cooking this weekend, but one item ended up resulting in all sorts of applications (the chicken, the stock, the veggies...). And now when Ina's recipes call for "good chicken stock" (which it what it actually says) I can pull it out of the freezer instead grabbing a stock cube. I'm sure food will taste magnificently better for it. (So I'll keep telling myself.)

Gwyneth's Cookbook: First Attempts

Breakfast probably being my favorite meal (well, it's my favorite party... I used to love to host and go to brunches), I decided to try a few of Gwyneth's (yes, we're on a first name basis) breakfast recipes first thing on a rare sunny Saturday morning. I couldn't pass up the apple spice crumble muffins (they reminded me of my beloved Mani's apple spice cakes-- vegan, no refined sugar and absolutely delicious) and turkey breakfast sausage. Both were YUMMY. I had to substitute the spelt flour called for in the recipe with whole meal flour because it's impossible to find spelt flour in Northern England (even a trip to the health food store yielded a big fat fail), so I'm not sure if that changed the chemistry in the muffins or not. And I also learned that "corn flower" is the same as corn starch (so now I have two boxes-- American and British). Plus I've now exhausted the very last of my lovely grade A organic maple syrup (also something I can only find in London-- called for in both recipes). I also added a little more spice to the turkey sausage because I think ground turkey in Britain tastes a little off, so I usually spice it up to compensate. I'm off to make vegetable stock (also from GP's cookbook). Can't wait to try some more recipes...

Homemade turkey breakfast sausage

















The turkey sausage recipe called for fresh sage. Luckily the herbs I planted in a hanging basket outside of the kitchen door are growing like gangbusters despite the chilly temps!

I Think We Would Be Great Friends

I heart Gwyneth Paltrow. Not in a stalker kind of way-- I mean, I haven't even seen all of her movies (though Sliding Doors has to be one of my all time favorites), nor do I own the soundtrack to Country Strong (haven't seen that one either)-- but I do have the music from Duets (love me some Huey and Gwyneth). But in the way that I think she seems like a really cool, down-to-earth chick, despite of her Hollywood legacy and status. She just seems like she's a kindred spirit; and, even though I've never met her (and the likelihood of meeting her seems pretty slim), sometimes I feel like we're ships passing in the night-- my having lived in the places she has (or nearly near-- she in London, me in Manchester; she in Santa Monica, me in the SF Valley; both in NYC). She's someone that I'd love to sit down and have a meal with (and cook with!). Not to mention since we both married Brits, it would be fun to compare notes and lost in translation stories.

I picked up her new cookbook, "Notes from my Kitchen" in Waterstones yesterday (the US version is called "My Father's Daughter"). I'd flagged it as something to check out when it was first published but hadn't come across it until this week. I was drawn in right from the introduction-- she talked about food just like me! Her passion for food and how it's woven into her family life is the way that my love of food has been instilled in me from a very early age. I come from a long line of amazing "home chefs" and from a food culture (as opposed to foodie although there are certainly some of those too)-- on both sides of my family: father's (American Southern) and mother's (Hawaiian-Asian). Not many people know that food in Hawaiian culture is intrinsically about family. It's where loved ones gather to share their lives; it's a symbol of love and welcome-- I always joke that you can't walk into a Hawaiian household without breaking bread-- or at least taking something home with you. And there's never a shortage of food either. You will leave stuffed to the gills and with a doggie bag. MRN (and his initially unsuspecting family who've now been properly "Hawaiianed") teases me about it constantly. For me, as it seems it is for Gwyneth, feeding people is showing them how much I love them.

There's many things that I love about this cookbook (I haven't made anything yet since I just got it but I've already dog-eared lots of pages). First-- it's beautiful. Not just the food pictures (I hate cookbooks without pictures. While the recipes might be great, you eat with your eyes first, and I find food pictures to be inspiring and mouth-watering), but the layout, the fonts and the icons (easy references for if it's quick, freezer friendly or "make-ahead," vegetarian, vegan, a one pot meal or a fancy meal). Yes, once a typography lover, always a typography lover. And perhaps the BEST thing? The English version is written in British English-- measurements and all (and cooking times in both C and F-- although now I'm going to have to figure out if "teacup full" is a US "cup"... I think this cookbook might end up with my scribbles reverse-translating back into American English...). She's also translated ingredients for what we can find here in England (e.g. single cream... which I still haven't figured out if that's half and half)-- so no lengthy Internet searches to find substitutes and no more guessing as to how many cups of butter I need for a recipe (because I usually guess which has made for some interesting outcomes). Okay, and the BEST-best thing? She even has a recipe for turkey breakfast sausage patties-- my all time favorite breakfast item from the US that I can't get here. Yay! Now I can make my own! I also love that she's included her tips for a "well stocked pantry"(or cupboard in the UK)-- and that I have most of the things on the list in my own pantry (aside from some of the vegan and health food items that I need to order online or pick up when I'm in London). But mostly, it's the recipes themselves. I don't think I've ever had a cookbook where I want to try everything in it (sorry, Ina). But seriously, there isn't a recipe that doesn't seem absolutely delectable. Bonus? They all seem to be straight-forward and relatively easy (as we know, my requirement for cooking). Score!

I've always believed that you can make absolutely delicious food without all of the brouhaha. It seems Gwyneth would agree.

(The U.S. version)

Channeling my inner Mexican

Full disclosure: I'm not actually Mexican.

I mean, growing up in Southern California, I was often mistaken for being Mexican (or Filipino-- I'm not that either). This is probably because of my mutt-ness (translation: mixed ethnic background) which has lent itself to my being able to blend in in a lot of places. Take NYC for example- there I was often mistaken for Puerto Rican or Dominican. It's really a shame that my Spanish isn't better. Although I'm a good faker.

All that to say, I must have been Mexican in another life because I love Mexican food. It's my go-to comfort food after Japanese, Chinese and Italian (for the record, I'm not Japanese or Italian either-- though, there is some Chinese in here). Alas, Mexican food is virtually impossible to get in England (oh, okay-- GOOD Mexican food). This has led to me trying to make Mexican food. Alas, without an abuela of my own, I'm having a hard time making it authentic. But I am having a go at it.

The latest round started with breakfast. I was craving huevos rancheros and chilequiles from Loteria Grill at the LA Farmer's Market. Oh, lovely chilequiles with choice of salsa and huevos with choice of rancheros. However, because proper ingredients are scarce here (umm-- doritos do not a corn chip make), I can't quite seem to replicate. So I make this instead:

It's essentially a cheese quesadilla with cholula sauce inside and a scrambled egg cooked with chopped green onions and red chiles. I will sometimes add salsa or black beans, but often times I eat it just like this (if you look closely you'll see that I already started before I remembered to take a photo).

My sis then turned me onto a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup from the wonderful Year of Slow Cooking blog at the same time I found one from The Pioneer Woman. Score! More Mexican-flavored goodness (because, as far as I know, neither of these women are Mexican either). I liked elements from both recipes, but wanted to use the slow cooker because, well, I have one (oh, okay-- because it's a hell of a lot easier than standing over the stove). Plus, I didn't exactly have all of the ingredient (because while I glanced at the recipe, it would have made way too much sense to actually write anything down). I chose to boil the chicken with onions and garlic because I think it comes out so much moister (although, I guess it's going in the soup, so it doesn't really matter)-- next time I may roast it like the Pioneer Woman does.

Anyhoo-- here it is: Crockpot 365+Pioneer Woman+Mikie B. Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts
• 2 sm-med white (or yellow) onions, 1 diced, 1 cut into chunks
  
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 8 oz can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 large can of sweet corn
• 1 small jar of salsa
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed (or you can use dried beans, but you need to soak them overnight-- for at least 8 hours-- it's easier to used canned. Too bad I didn't have any...)
• 6 cloves of garlic (mince 3; smash 3)
• 3 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3-4 small, hot chiles, diced (optional)
  
• 4 c chicken broth (I used a combo of chicken bouillon cubes and the stock from the boiled chicken)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 c sour cream
  
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 5 corn tortillas, sliced into strips
  
• Diced avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro, chopped red onion (all optional- for garnish)
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Directions:

• Place chicken in stock pot and cover with water and add chunks of onion, smashed garlic and a tsp of kosher salt
• Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until fully cooked
• Remove chicken and some of the onion/garlic and place in baking dish to cook slightly
• Shred chicken with two forks (or fingers-- which is easier-- if it's cool enough)
• Combine cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano
• While chicken is cooking heat olive oil in a frying pan and saute onion, minced garlic, red and green peppers and half of spice mixture until soft
• Add beans, corn, crushed tomatoes, salsa, veggie mixture, diced chiles (if adding) and shredded chicken to crock pot
• Pour in chicken broth and add tomato paste
• Cook on low heat for 8 hours
• Stir in 1/2 c sour cream and toss in tortilla strips before serving; let sit for 15 minutes to let tortillas soften (you can't get good corn tortillas here, so instead I crumbled tortilla chips-- also not great but it was okay-- on top just before serving). Taste before serving-- I significantly amped up the spices because I like lots of seasoning and it tasted a bit bland, despite the heavy salted ingredients like chicken broth. But feel free to experiment and add/remove things you don't like (e.g. the spice)
  
• Garnish with toppings, as desired

CAVEAT: Baker, I am not

I've never been a proficient baker-- and at the grand old age of 35, I think I can pretty much write that skill off. The fact is-- I don't like baking for a number of reasons:

1. I don't have a sweet tooth. I attribute this to my healthy parents and their somewhat hippy-ish ways where we were much more likely to eat wheat germ and keefir than eat anything with refined sugar. Not that they were beasts. My mom made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. They just weren't a daily thing and we only got to have them as the most special treat (sometimes made with whole wheat flour).
2. Baking and dessert making is fussy. There's lots of weird ingredients (cream of tartar??) that you don't use often or frequently. There's measuring-- exact measuring, which I do not do. And there's little room for improvisation. If you don't have a specific ingredient it's not as easy to find a substitute. And things have to be done in order. Blah.

That said, I do like to serve a full meal-- including dessert. But my lack of baking talent and sweet tooth pushes me towards things like tarts or crisps (or clafoutis, which I've recently discovered. Not only delicious but achingly simple-- it's basically pancake batter poured over fruit and baked). No-- I very rarely make my own crust.

We're headed to a bbq tonight and I wanted to bring something sweet. And since I'm an annoying perfectionist and a wannnabe foodie, I decided I'd have to make it. I've been tossing an idea around in my head based on a frozen yogurt concoction I used to love in high school. In case you didn't know, Los Angeles is the land of frozen yogurt. In the 90s, we kids would go to the movies on Saturday night and then head to Humphrey's or Pagliachi's for blended yogurts. Blended, you say? Indeed. You start with a base (nonfat vanilla or chocolate frozen yogurt-- yes, so LA) and then add mix-ins. It could be candy, chocolate chips, fruit-- you name it, they mixed it. But it wasn't hand mixing-- they had these special machines that would blend it to perfection while still maintaining the frozen yogurt-ness. I had two favorite combos: 1) vanilla with oreo and cream cheese (sounds gross, but if given the opportunity, you must try it); and 2) chocolate with espresso and cinnamon.

It's the latter that I've been musing about and pondering whether it could be made into a cupcake. I was thinking a cinnamon cupcake with chocolate espresso buttercream frosting. Only I couldn't find a recipe for cinnamon cupcakes (or even cake, for that matter). And I absolutely hate making buttercream (it has ingredients like cream of tartar), and I have no patience for it. So, improvisation, here I come. I had a recipe for vanilla buttermilk cupcakes stored away but I hadn't ever made them. Perfect-- I'd do this and add cinnamon. Err-- except I live in England and couldn't find buttermilk. A little sleuthing (and thanks to my friend Nicole's blog which introduced me to Joy the Baker), I found that you can actually simulate buttermilk. In this case I chose Joy's first method: a tbsp of lemon and a cup of milk (ironically method #3 used cream of tartar. I may have to buy this stuff). It worked! So, I made the batter and added 2 tbsp of cinnamon. Di-vine (if I do say so myself). But if I can ever find buttermilk, I may try the real-deal. I think it would make it a tad more sour / savory which would contrast nicely against the sweet...

Now for the espresso buttercream. *Sigh* after the buttermilk experiment and the whole making cupcakes from scratch, I just couldn't be bothered. A quick dig through my pantry unearthed good old Betty Crocker chocolate frosting. So I scooped it into a bowl and proceeded to add espresso. I started measuring, but then gave up and started dumping (and tasting). Chocolate overwhelms every flavor (although, take my comments with a grain of salt because I actually don't like chocolate), so I just kept adding until I could taste the espresso more than I could taste the chocolate.

The result? Yummmm. It brought me right back to being 16 and at Pagliachi's on a date with my high school sweetie. I wanted to garnish it with coffee beans, but since I don't drink coffee, they were not on hand. Thanks to my sister-in-law, I did have espresso, so in addition to using that to add to the frosting, I also dusted the top with espresso powder.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Espresso Frosting

Cupcakes (makes about 12 cupcakes-- barely)

• 1 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 4 tsbp butter
• 2 lg eggs
• 3/4 c plus 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350
• Soft flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt
• Melt btter and combine with buttermilk
• In bowl of a stand mixer* fitted with paddle attachment, cream sugar and eggs until a thick batter forms, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Mix in flour mixture until just combined and then do same with butter and milk mixture.
• Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 fill and bake 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 min then transfer to wire rack. Cool completely before icing.

Frosting:

• 1/2 container of chocolate frosting (if you're following recipe above for 12 cupcakes)--okay; if you're more talented than me, you can also make buttercream. A great recipe is here.
  
• 4 tbsp of espresso (although, taste it as you're adding / mixing-- you may want more / less)

Frost to your heart's content. (If you're feeling especially inspired, you can using a piping bag. Or in my case, a ziplock bag with the corner cut off. Hey--cooking is all about improvisation, right?

Wannabe foodie

I'm much more of a wannabe foodie on Facebook than I am here on this blog; mostly because I love to cook and post photos of finished dishes, but not so much to blog about them. But I figured that since I spend much of my spare time cooking these days (so wonder I am not gaining weight) that I may as well combine both pastimes into one so as to 1) get some more mileage out of my painfully neglected blog and 2) well, I only really had one reason.

I have a standard repertoire of food that I pull from but will mix up once in a while (Thanksgiving in a meatball was one such mix-up that was also one big mistake), but for the most part I pull from my bible: The Barefoot Contessa. I love Ina and have all of her cookbooks (thanks to my wonderful Daves) and she's my go-to woman when planning a dinner party or when I have an itch to cook something new. But I also have some other cookbooks, one being William and Sonoma's Wine and Food book which doubled as a wedding guest book (thanks to my genius sister-- married in Napa=wine; bride who is a wannabe foodie=cookbook). This is a pretty genius cookbook, esp for those who don't know anything about wine (me) or what to serve at a party with specific food (me). Plus the recipes are delicious and relatively easy (that's one of my main caveats as a wannabe foodie / chef-- if it has loads of ingredients, takes a ton of time or requires gadgets and gizmos, it's a big skip.

I always say I'll try anything once, so I dabble in all sorts of meats and ingredients. I'll also throw in some vegetarian options (much to MRN's chagrin) just to keep it healthy and heart-conscious. This is a recipe compliments of Ina but I've changed slightly-- the big things are adding heat (I love spicy food; I actually use A LOT more cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper than I've indicated below, but so as not to burn everyone off this recipe I've toned it down) and swapping tahini for tomato paste (I'm not particularly fond of tomatoes and tahini has lots of good qualities that are good for you). This is a great alternative to salsa if you're not a tomato fan too (plus the pita is healthier than those yummy corn chips because you can control the salt).

Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Spread (w/ homemade pita chips)

You'll need:

• 2 cookie sheets (with rims)
• Food processor (or potato masher)
• Large mixing bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 med eggplant (peeled & chopped)
• 2 red peppers (chopped)
• 2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 small red onion (chopped)
• 3 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for brushing on pita bread)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Whole grain, wheat or seeded pita bread (cut into narrow triangles)
• Flat leaf parsley for serving (rough chopped)
  

Directions:

Eggplant spread:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 F
• Chop eggplant, peppers and onion into 1-in cubes (don't worry about being precise; it's all going to get mushed in the food processor-- that's the technical term) and add to bowl
• Toss with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper
• Spread on roasting pan (cookie sheet) and cook for 40 minutes, tossing half-way through (the veggies should get brown, but careful not to burn)
• Remove from oven and cool slightly
• Add contents to food processor fitted with steel blade
• Add tahini and pulse 3-4 times until incorporated
• Taste for salt and pepper
  

Pita Chips:

• While veggies are in oven, prepare pita bread by cutting into narrow triangles, brushing with olive oil and sprinkling with salt; arrange on second cookie sheet
• Place in oven for 7-8 minutes
• Remove and serve with eggplant
  

Beans Glorious Beans

We eat a lot of veggies in this house (much to MRN's chagrin although he's a good sport about it). Most of the time I'll include some sort of potato to appease my English husband's soul, but mash is seriously getting boring. I've made it a million different ways-- plain, chive and cheddar, sour cream and bacon, sour cream and parsley, cream and butter, parmesan and thyme... times that by about 5,000, you get my point. B-O-R-I-N-G.

Since we've been back from the US, I haven't had a chance to do a "proper shop" (as the English would say). So I've been digging through the pantry and refrigerator, trying to be creative with the bits and bobs (another Englishism) that I have left over. One night I found an onion, half of a yellow pepper (that wasn't moldy-- score!) and some chesnut mushrooms (we keep our fridge at a ridiculously low temp, so veggies tend to last a bit longer...). Saute that up with some fresh garlic, tomato sauce and toss in some brown rice penne and voila! Instant meal. The next night came roasted brussel sprouts and some diced turkey bacon that I found in the freezer (MRN clearly didn't eat this-- he was working late that night and would have probably rather gone hungry than eat it even if he were home). The frozen turkey bacon discovery also yielded another gold mine-- ground lamb (organic, low fat) which I turned into mediterranean meatballs the next night by adding in some garlic, red onion and chopped sundried tomatoes that I found in the pantry. But what to serve as a vegetable with the meatballs? Another scavenger hunt through the pantry uncovered one small new potato. Hmmm... whatever possessed me to leave one teeny potato I'll never know. That certainly wouldn't work. I then spied a can of cannellini beans and thought, "hmmm-- wonder if I can make this work?" I peeled and quartered the potato and tossed it into a pot with the beans, a couple of cloves of smashed garlic and some extra water and brought the whole shebang to a simmer until the potato was soft. Then I drained it, returned it to the pot, added a dab of butter, salt and pepper and mashed as you would mashed potatoes. It was looking pretty dry so in went some plain yogurt (Greek 2% of course!) to make it a bit creamier, along with a slip of low fat milk. I finished by adding in some dried tarragon (my go to spice after garlic). And guess what? My experiment worked! I thought it was quite tasty.

But the true test came when I put it in front of MRN. He ate the meatballs and beans with gusto and when I asked if he liked it, he answered, "It's gorgeous!" (Of course he's so sweet, he would say that even if it were horrible.) When I asked specifically about the "potatoes" he answered in much the same. And when I pointed out that they weren't potatoes he responded:

'They're not?"

Maikib: 1; MRN: 0

I'm in training for when I have children.

Not Your Grandmother's Pot Roast

My friend Heather asked me to guest post on her cooking blog, "Pestle Mortar." So exciting! She's a kindred foodie spirit, an amazing chef (trained in pastry at the Cordon Bleu!), you can always find great recipes on her blog (not to mention, she always brings a tasty treat to a party!).

Check out her blog to get the yummy recipe.

Going to the Mountain

IF THE MOUNTAIN WILL NOT COME TO MOHAMMED, MOHAMMED WILL GO TO THE MOUNTAIN.

So were the sage words of the founder of Islam, Francis Bacon and countless other scholars and academics no doubt (in concept at least).

Everyday is still a new experience in England-- whether it's figuring out what people are saying (I will likely forever be challenged by accent and slang), what certain foods are (yes, it doesn't seem like it would be that challenging, but believe me, it is) or trying to determine why they play the same episode of Friends about five times a day... and sometimes multiple times in a week! (I've given up). In general, I've found I've been able to compromise and find alternatives-- whether it is to food (no sushi? more grilled cooked fish and musubi... thankfully i'm able to get ume and nori; although ume has to be ordered); clothes & shoes (compromise: don't buy clothes anymore; instead have funneled my shopping compulsion into things for the home and iTunes downloads... to the positive impact on my wallet, might I add); country-living (more planning outings on the weekend; dinner at least one night of the week in the city-- coinciding with one of my travel days; spending the night "in the city" be it downtown Birmingham or London, once a week).

But the one thing that I haven't been able to find a solution to? Mexican food.

I grew up in Southern California-- Los Angeles to be exact. There Spanish is the dominant language and there are actually more Mexican-Americans than Americans. "So What?" you ask? That means kick-ass Mexican food.

And by kick ass I don't mean chain restaurants like Chipotle (although, do love me some Chipotle) or El Torito. I mean authentic, little hole-in-the-wall places that are sometimes hygienically questionable but you know abuela or perhaps tio (or tia, hijos/as o otra) are cooking recipes passed down for generations... EXCELLENTE.

And that is one of the HUGE gaps that I can't seem to fill. There's a Mexican chain called "Chiquitos" here... that is barely palatable... and not the least authentic (despite its claim). But other than that? You can barely buy ingredients (ummm... taco seasoning suspiciously tastes like curry...). So if the mountain ain't coming to Mohammed...

I've raised my chicken enchilada game to the next level and have experimented with making it taste "more authentic." I still haven't attempted to make my own sauce (I need a weekend for that), but I've been playing with the chicken mixture and think I've come up with a perfect blend thanks to some google sleuthing and piecing together bits and pieces from various places (including my friend McKay's recipe, whose this is originally based on!). Instead of grilling the chicken and cutting into chunks, I wanted to shred the chicken and make it really moist.. hence the new recipe, below. It actually is much easier than grilling (because you just let it sit on the stove) and the prep time is pretty quick. I'm still tweaking, so I'll let you know how it goes... and I'll let you know when I attempt sauces!

Hapa Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Makes 8 Enchiladas; Extra "stuffing" can be sprinkled on top before the cheese mixture

You'll need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 a medium-sized onion, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed (I usually use 3, but I love garlic)
• 1 clove garlic, diced
  
• 1 small, or 1/2 large bell pepper (any color-- but I like yellow or green for color), sliced
• 1 medium tomato, seeded (get the goo outta there) and diced
  
• 1 large (16 oz) can of Enchilada sauce
• Tortillas (i use flour, but you can use corn or whole wheat; note that whole wheat tends to be a little sweeter so you may need to counter with additional salt... it also for some reason is a little soggier... my experience shows that flour works best)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp butter
  
• Taco seasoning packet
• Hot sauce (optional; 1-2 tsp, or more depending on heat tolerance-- I like "Cholula" which is a Mexican hot sauce that you can actually get here-- it's available in most US grocery stores; one of these days I'll attempt my friend Alberto's grandmother's hot sauce which is AMAZING)
• Shredded cheese (monterey jack, cheddar, mozzarella-- really, whatever you like; in America they also have those Mexican seasoned shredded cheese packets which I found works well; but if you don't have it, I just mix a little of the taco seasoning with the shredded cheese-- same idea)

(chicken mixture before enchilada assembly)

Preparation:

• Place chicken breasts in a pot
• Add 1/2 onion, smashed garlic and salt
• Add water, just enough to cover top of chicken
• Bring to a slow boil; Once boiling, reduce to simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, covered
• Once cooked, transfer chicken to bowl or other dish and place in refrigerator to cool (really for as long as you want... just want to make it cool enough to handle). I usually scoop in as much of the onion and garlic from the broth as I can-- it makes it extra tasty.
  
• Retain broth
  
• Once cooled, shred chicken (with hands) or with two forks (if using forks, you don't really need to cool)-- for the Hawaiian readers of this blog, think kalua
  
• Melt butter in frying pan (or wok) and add bell peppers, tomato, remaining onion and diced garlic; saute until veggies are soft (you can use olive oil, but come on-- there's not much better than butter. if you use olive oil, about tbsp is enough)
  
• Add chicken, taco seasoning (if using taco seasoning for cheese, retain 1/4), and 1/2 cup broth
  
• Simmer 10 min to reduce liquid
  
• If you're using hot sauce, add to chicken and veggie mixture. I usually add about 1 tbsp or more (I like it hot!)
• Cook until warm

Now it's time to assemble your enchiladas!

• Take one tortilla and add a few large spoonfuls of the chicken mixture in the center (be sure not to overstuff-- they'll be harder to seal).
• Sprinkle a little cheese over mixture (retaining enough to sprinkle over all the enchiladas once assembled)
• Fold ends toward center and roll the tortilla to close
• Place in 13x9 baking pan
• Repeat until you have used all of the chicken mixture (or you run out of space), arranging enchiladas in baking pan
• Once assembled, pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas (you may not need the whole can-- it depends how "saucy" you want them)
• Sprinkle remaining cheese over the entire mixture
• Place in oven at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes (until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling).

(Before the oven)













(The final product*)














*if you like cilantro (I don't-- but wish I did for aesthetic purposes), you can finely chop and sprinkle cilantro over the top-- it would make it very pretty). Stay tuned for a good side to this meal in the next edition of: Going to the Mountain.

**Cook's note: taco seasoning can be VERY salty; so I usually only use about 3/4 of the packet or less; I don't usually cook with a lot of salt, so that may just be me. But between that and the enchilada sauce, beware of salt!