Category: Foodstuff

Leek and Chive Muffins with Roast Pepper Cream Cheese Dip

Leek and Chive Muffins with Roast Pepper Cream Cheese Dip

The recipe is for Yorkshire puddings, but for all intents and purposes these are very soft, fluffy, light muffins, to which I added half a cup of finely chopped leeks In addition to the chives and cheese. And the little spread you eat this with is made of roast peppers, cream cheese, mayo and garlic (so you can kill your co-workers with your garlicky breath).

Followed this:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cheddar-and-chive-yorkshire-pudding-350810

But this looks better:

https://www.tastemade.com/videos/leek-muffins-with-red-pepper-dressing

Spaetzle with Zucchini Pesto and Grilled Asparagus

Spaetzle with Zucchini Pesto and Grilled Asparagus

I love-love-loved the idea of zucchini pesto, and tried it with store-bought spaetzle regrettably (regrettably because like store-bought gnocchi, Maggi spaetzle are chewy). But with any other kind of pasta or dumpling that is more tender and less al dente, I bet this combo will work just fine!

Here is the zucchini pesto recipe:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/116468422172271102472/posts/LBDJrrFccRu

Sunchoke Moussaka

DSCF7483

Sunchokes are a recent discovery for me, and as a true child of the Balkans, I had to immediately try them in a moussaka – a casserole with ground meat, potatoes, onions, and a some eggs and cheese on top. The Greeks make moussaka predominantly with eggplant and a Bechamel topping, but I have had versions with zucchini, cauliflower, etc. And I myself have Americanized the standard potato version with sweet potatoes. This here specimen has chopped and pre-sauteed sunchokes (maybe that step wasn’t necessary), some mild Italian sausage, rosemary and garlic, chopped onions, chopped parsley, and chopped tomatoes + tomato paste. And this mixture spent about a total of 40 minutes in the oven at 385 degrees F, covered in foil. After that I uncovered it, topped with two eggs and half a cup of heavy cream, three tablespoons of parmesan cheese, and broiled it.

Bulgarians usually eat it with a dollop of yogurt on top.

I am sorry I am not more specific with the ingredients and quantities, but I am sharing here just to communicate the idea of using sunchokes, and I didn’t focus on documenting the process of preparation too much.

Hoppin’ John

Hoppin’ John

This ain’t just any ol’ bowl of rice and beans, it is a Southern staple, no doubt of Western African origin. The beans are said to represent coins (money), and the ham is said to symbolize progress – because pigs forage forward without looking back. SO that is why it is traditionally served at New Year’s. This is what the Southerner’s Cookbook where I got the recipe from says anyways.

Thanks to the bacon and ham, this recipe is insanely flavorful. Here it is (I never thought I would consult a website/magazine called Garden and Gun ;)):

http://gardenandgun.com/article/hoppin-new-year/page/0/1

Brown Butter Pound Cake Minis with Cherry Compote

Brown Butter Pound Cake Minis with Cherry Compote

An extra step when making pound cake – browning your butter, can lead to exponentially better results. Well, it’s technically 3 extra steps – browning it, refrigerating it, and then letting it soften. The process is described here:

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/04/13/brown-butter-pound-cake-strawberry-compote/

(regarding the compote – I thought cherry would be better, so that’s what I paired it with)

Also, pine nuts on top are a very good idea! Warsaw Cafe in Wilton Manors makes little cakes just like this, and despite their appearance they are everything but plain!

Basil & Roasted Garlic Corn Fritters with Spiced Watermelon Pickles

Basil & Roasted Garlic Corn Fritters with Spiced Watermelon Pickles

I saw this fancy jar of watermelon pickles (sounded so exotic and Southern, that I had to try it!), and thought what could this possibly go well with. Well, since it might be a Southern thing, then in come the corn fritters. Fancified. The verdict is that they do indeed go together, because the pickles are sweet and sour, and fritters generally like that kind of thing to be dipped in, or doused with.

The fritters themselves were not based on a recipe. They include the following ingredients (in eyeballed quantities/amounts):

2 cups corn kernels (frozen, thawed and then drained; or nuked :/)

Chopped green onions

Chopped roasted garlic

1 cup of panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup of grated parmesan

3/4 cup self-rising flour

4 eggs

3/4 cup of heavy cream (or just whole milk)

Chopped fresh basil

Salt

Pepper

All of this is mixed, and then spoonfulls are scooped in a frying pan with hot oil. Fried until brown on both sides. Sorry that this is not more precise…

Chayote & Red Cabbage Coleslaw with Blue Cheese

Chayote & Red Cabbage Coleslaw with Blue Cheese

Had this unusual coleslaw at a mom-and-pop restaurant called Jimmie’s in Dania Beach, and decided it was worth reproducing at home. First, who would have thought blue cheese belongs in coleslaw?! Second – chayote? What is chayote? Chayote is a Mexican squash that tastes like a mix of apples of melons (just not really sweet) – but it makes for a great crunchy filler in a salad. So, here is the “recipe”:

Red cabbage and a peeled chayote are sliced carefully with a mandolin slicer.

Green onions (any quantity you desire) are chopped and added to the cabbage and chayote

A dressing is made with half a cup of mayo, half a cup of sour cream, a teaspoon of sugar, the juice of half a lime, som ground pepper, and the juice of half a small yellow onion (you can grate it and squeeze the liquid out of it, or grate it finely and add it as-is to the dressing).

Add the dressing to the salad, add salt to taste and top with blue cheese crumbs

Interesting and different 🙂

Jimmie’s menu:

https://locu.com/places/jimmies-cafe-dania-beach-us/#menu

Waffled Beet and Goat Cheese Hash

Waffled Beet and Goat Cheese Hash

Beet and goat cheese hash is actually an item on the Founding Farmers brunch menu in DC:

http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/DCBreakfast_WEB-1.pdf

I had it and I will lovingly  make it over and over again. But today I bravely waffle ironed the potatoes and grated beets, and topped the waffle with a milky goat cheese sauce with chopped chives. There is actually a video that shows you how to waffle iron hasbrowns, which regrettably I did not watch until now. But let me confess – the first time I tried this, the waffle fell apart. So I beat an egg, added it to the potatoes, and that way it held its shape somewhat better (some of my edges crumbled as you can see, but that can happen with any waffle).

Here is the video:

http://www.foodandwine.com/video/how-make-hashbrowns-waffle-iron

The sauce is just a random quantity of goat cheese, milk, salt and garlic powder, made smooth with a blender and brought to a creamy consistency by trial-and-error.