Yippie Kay Ay!

Better hang up them stirrups, cowboy, and put on your best bib and tucker. It’s Family Dinner Night!

Better yet, it’s Vegetarian Cowboy Dinner night (thanks Jimmy for the idea)! And no, it’s not an oxymoron. B/c it IS possible to make a vegetarian cowboy dinner. A thick and filling vegetarian chili, hot homemade buttermilk biscuits, a bit of crunchy sweet coleslaw, wild rice and beans, homemade and bubbling apple pie. Can I say, yum? Uh-huh. And if that hasn’t made you happy yet, throw in a table set for 7, several rounds of Jenga and you’ve got yourself a country ho-down. No joke.

So putting my bad cowboy lingo aside, I have a funny story to tell. I hosted last week’s family dinner at my new apartment and much to my dismay, I woke up on Thursday only to discover that the stove top didn’t work! The oven was beautiful, perfect for pies and cookies and tarts. But those burners! GAH. Being brilliant, I tested every single burner and left them on while I showered. Maybe, they needed some time to warm up? Ahh, hindsight is 20/20… and LUCKILY (or rather unluckily? I’m not sure yet, I have to think about that one), the burners still did not work!! So, I stressed out over how I was suppose to fulfill my hostess duties without a working stove?! What to do?!? So, being absolutely brilliant (second time), I decide to haul all my supplies down the street to my old apartment (which btw has a milkweed bug infestation, among other things) and cook the chili there, then haul it back up the hill to my new place to serve everyone. Crazy, no? Well, I have the pictures and the guns (biceps) to prove it. And did I mention, it was probably 90*F that day? Sweltering hot, I was dripping with sweat and it didn’t help that I also kicked up the spice factor for this chili at the persistent urging of Vivian and Andrea who kept telling me the chili wasn’t hot enough. I used something along the likes of 5 heaping tablespoons of chili powder, a couple fresh jalepenos (with seeds), several dried pasillas and California chile pods thrown into the hot simmering chili. And I guess, it still wasn’t hot enough. Too bad I choked the first time I taste tested the chili.

Yummy Veggie Chili

So I’ve never made chili. I don’t even think I’ve really had chili, unless you count that stuff from a can they pour over nachos and fries. So, where to even begin? Well after doing a bit of research from here, and here, I began to get an idea of where to start. The basic ingredients and guidelines are below. I have half of this and that, but you could definitely use the entire can of (let’s say) stewed tomatoes. But honestly, I’ve never made anything so easy in my life. And it is VERY quick and it packages well, like leftovers for lunch the next day – not that there were leftovers this time. The ingredients below can easily serve 6, or 8 if you have fixings on the side.

Ingredients:
1.5 green bell peppers, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
3/4 large onion (white or yellow), diced
1 cucumber, diced [I accidentally grabbed this instead of a zucchini, oops]
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash/zucchini, diced
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 cans (15 oz each) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) corn kernels, drained
1/2 cup vegetable broth
several diced jalepenos, seeds in tact if you are brave
lots of dried oregano
a couple of cloves of fresh garlic, diced
lots of different kinds of peppers and hot things: chili powder, cayenne pepper, black and green chiles
sugar, salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large pot (at least a couple of quarts I would say), drizzle a bit of oil and heat on medium high. Add garlic and onions and allow to sweat. After a few minutes, throw in peppers and sauté until those are nice and tender. Throw in the squashes and cucumber. Allow all the veggies to soften and then add the beans and let them sizzle in the pot to heat up all the way through. If the pot is looking a little dry, add a little of the vegetable broth. Then pour in the stewed tomatoes and allow to come to a low boil. Add more vegetable broth to thin out the chili, if need be. At some point, my chili wasn’t thick enough, so I actually added a tablespoon of starch to the broth before pouring it into my pot. Allow everything to incorporate and get happy on the heat. By now, you should have a thick chili consistency. Now comes the seasoning – season to taste. Yes, that simple. The tomatoes are fairly sweet, so I would stay away from too much sugar. But generous amounts of salt and heat factors should do the trick. And for effect, we added a bunch of dried chiles and let them soak in the chili broth until serving. But it’s a nice smokey taste that adds volume to the flavor. Throw in a handful of oregano, and then add the corn. Taste test again and again after each addition. I had Vivian and Andrea taste test EVERYTHING.

Sweet and Simple Coleslaw
source: SmittenKitchen
This was so simple that I think I am forever going to have a batch in the fridge. I love coleslaw and making it at home lets you control the fat content – a definite perk for figure watchers. I went easy on the mayo as it is not in the best interest for my polka-dotted tankini, but if you kick up on the other flavors (tangy cider vinegar and sweetness from the cabbage), you don’t miss the fatty mayo. Also, I cheated a bit – I was too lazy to shred all the veggies myself, so bought the pre-shredded salad packages. Super convenient! And to make it more ‘homemade’, I threw in shredded bell peppers, half a head of Napa cabbage, and half an onion (now you know why my chili is missing half an onion). Semihomemade, Sandra Lee (who I detest) would be proud.

Ingredients
2 packages pre-shredded coleslaw salad
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2/3 cups mayo
start with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
start with 1 tbs sugar
pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the veggies and disguise the fact that you used store-bought-help. In another bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar and sugar. I kept having to add more vinegar and sugar, so I don’t know the exact amounts, but taste test as you go and you can’t go wrong. Just make sure not to add too much vinegar or you’ll end up with a liquidy dressing, when what you want is something more creamy. Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss until thoroughly incorporate. Generously sprinkle fresh ground pepper and toss together. Cover and chill in the fridge for an hour.

But wait! There’s more. No cowboy meal would be complete without homemade buttermilk biscuits. And can I just say, that it was soo difficult to find a recipe that did not call for shortening or lard. Yes, shortening and lard are very authentic, but I try to avoid them as much as possible (keeping in mind, the polka dotted tankini and my trip to Australia in a few weeks). But with lots of help from Google, we were able to find a fairly simple recipe sans lard and shortening.

Buttermilk Biscuits
source: AllRecipes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 dash salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the buttermilk. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 2 minutes. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet, roll into a 6×6 inch square, and cut into 12 even sections. Do not separate. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center of the square comes out clean. Separate into biscuits, and serve hot.

Jimmy and Jessica’s Apple Pie
From now on, these two will be known as the J^2, until they can think of a better alias. But let me just say that this pie was amazing. While I was hauling my chili across the street, these two worked wonders in the kitchen. The pie dough was deliciously flakey and DID NOT require lard or shortening, thank goodness! We can thank Jimmy’s Ma for that recipe. It was fairly simple (as simple as pie goes, anyway, because really you know pies are difficult), and you didn’t have to worry about taking too long or warming up the dough too much as there were no fatty ingredients, just oil and water.

The Granny Smith apples were all hand peeled, cored and sliced, then individually dipped in the cinnamon sugar mixture. They were then layered around the pie tin such

that when you cut into the pie, you could see all the wonderful layers. Yuuum.
As a sidenote, J^2 are notorious for not following recipes, even for baking. Incredible. But our pie filling was loosely based on this one with some minor adjustments. Again, adjust to taste.

Jimmy’s Ma’s Pie Crust
We actually doubled this so we could make the lattice top for the pie. Soo pretty!
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil such as canola or corn
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water.
Directions
Measure flour and salt into bowl. Add oil, mix until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until flour is moistened and dough almost cleans side of bowl. (If dough seems dry, 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil can be added. Do not add water.) Gather dough together; press firmly into ball. Roll out. Transfer over a pie tin and trip edges OR do as Jimmy did and roll the edges up to form a lovely ridge you see in the pictures below. With the remaining dough, cut out half-inch strips and use to weave a lattice pattern over the pie once the pie shell is filled.

Pie Filling
1 Pastry for double-crust pie [we made enough for the crust and top]
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples [Granny Smith works best]

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*F.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt; add apples and toss to coat. Pour into pie shell. Weave the strips of dough to make a lattice, pressing down the edges to seal the deal and ensure that the strips stick to the pie. Brush the top with a beaten egg and sprinkle raw sugar (for texture) over the top. The egg helps the pie brown to a lovely golden amber and the large sugar crystals really sparkle. Great effect AND flavor. Bake for 20-35 minutes, keeping a vigilant eye (Constant vigilance!) Remove from oven, allow to cool a bit before serving. Cut and enjoy!

So at this point, you better be groaning in sheer and utter contentment from all this food. I know all my friends did. At some point, someone unzipped her pants and let her tummy spill out – so much more comfortable that way. But thanks for joining us for another Family Dinner, perhaps next time you can actually come by and eat with us. There is nothing like cooking with your friends, with everything in chaos; dining ware everywhere; people covered in flour and chili sauce; bits of apple peel in the sink, counter, table, hair, etc; even bowls of dried chilies waiting for someone brilliant to taste test (there was in fact a chili eating contest, smart one Vivian). Dinner was true vegetarian cowboy fare served with a great group of fabulous friends. Another success in the kitchen and wonderful family meal at the apartment.

I am leaving for a 3-week sojourn to Australia (land of Donna Hay!!) soon, and blogging will be limited. I have quite a bit to work on before I fly out of SFO on the 6th, including a couple of grants for the lab, a few papers, packing, posting at least one or two more entries, working at Ici, growing old, the usual. But oh, so much to do in so little time! But so long for now, happy cooking and arrivederci!

—AnhD—

 

Bananas in Pyjamas…

…are coming down the stairs…?

The biggest challenge college students face is NOT, in fact, found in the classroom. It’s something much more universally understood than Reimann’s or Bulgakov or even Darwin – I’m talking about rot and mold and time’s effect on food. You do not understand, I don’t think, how difficult it is to grocery shop for one person and make the best use of the shelf life before it goes bad. And I have a penchant for erring on the side of over buying AND I like variety, so I always end up with way more bread (naan, pita, sandwich, AND dinner rolls on one grocery trip once!) and fruit (a 6 lb watermelon, a cantelope, 2 bunches of bananas, 5 lbs of strawberries, 10 Fuji apples, essentially too much fiber in a diet) than possible for human consumption over the period of a week. And sadly, most of it isn’t salvageable. Molding alu naan and squishy avocados, not much you can do. But, occassionally you end up with something like overripe bananas and it’s a dream come true!

I’ve been in the process of moving into the new apartment and so junk has accumulated everywhere, and I managed to ‘misplace’ a bunch of bananas which I did not discover until I saw a haze of fruit flies hovering in a corner of the kitchen. Eureka! So I fought the fruit flies, screened the bananas and quickly searched for a banana muffin recipe. Voilà!

Banana Crumb Muffins
source allrecipes
I used way more bananas than required for this recipe, and so they came out very moist and had to cool considerably before transferable from the pan to the rack. I also mixed in chopped pecans and chocolate chips into the batter as well as added a bit to the streusel topping. Yuum. And they smelled sooo good! A crunchy top (I love streusel), wonderfully ripe banana bits, cinnamon sweetness. You are gonna love these too. And the perfect resolution for overripe bananas!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375*F. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

In the upcoming days, there is going to be quite a bit of change and updating. I am getting ready for FoodBuzz as well as trying to increase traffic now that TasteSpotting is no longer (sorry Jean). My camera, however, is broken, so the pictures will be iffy. Family Dinner this week will be fairly quiet as there will be empty chairs. Olivia is getting ready for China and the other regulars are preoccupied. But no worries, a new cast is coming to town, so check back for the details.

Happy cooking!
—Anh D.—

A Stroll down Garber Lane

“Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what’s to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come. The thing is, we didn’t have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves… for growing up.” (The Wonder Years)

Last week, the graduate student Piggy works with invited us over for dinner. There was a certain amount of mounting excitement and anticipation as the day arrived. We were all worked up over what to bring, and I was personally apprehensive about how best to act – afterall, the other guests would all be much older.

What would we talk about? What could I possibly say to a bunch doctorates or people with more degrees than names without sounding absolutely ridiculous? Despite the apprehensiveness, we decided on a Fruit Tart à la Dorie Greenspan and Joy of Baking.

During dinner, I couldn’t help but notice a sense of being out of place. The pace of the dinner could not have more different from our usual Family Dinner, where everyone and everything is chaos and laughter. This dinner was composed, contained, and very mellow. We conversed over wine and olives before dinner; and during dinner, the dialogue continued over frittata and rosemary potatoes, among other tapas. There was an almost overwhelming sense of control that Piggy described as slightly restrictive or repressive relative to Family Dinner.

I, for one, appreciated the European pace that allowed everyone to truly savor the food and appreciate the delicate herb flavors infused into the potatoes and frittata. There was an elevated level of food appreciation and sophistication that I think we lack at our Family Dinners but was ever present at this dinner. All-in-all, the whole experience made me feel old. Older. I am starting to appreciate dinners like this. It is a premature sign of aging. Uh-oh.

You think I over react. No – this just happened to be the apex of an already accumulating pile of indicators. I now come to understand the term “growing pains.” There is this new surge of emotions that I have to cope with and I don’t know how best to do it. Some people age gracefully; right now, I feel like that process is rather choppy and disjointed. I think about things I didn’t use to, and forget how to have fun and be spontaneous. It’s a real problem. Between work, home and the kitchen, I don’t do much else. I work seven days a week and I guess the monotony that comes with growing up is taking a real toll on me. And I don’t mean to complain and whine, because it is inevitable, I just wish that I was more in control of my personal growth – such as I could dictate the terms and means of growth rather than having it ramble about in a confused manner.

Fresh Berry Fruit Tart

Sweet Tart Dough
as seen on Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Dorie Greenspan

This dough was fairly easy to make, even for a novice like me. I did everything by hand as I don’t have a food processor at the apartment. But it worked out wonderfully. The dough itself is nutty and sweet and very tasty. The recipe makes enough for 3 9-inch tarts, so plenty of left over for another time as these freeze well.

Ingredients
2 1/2sticks (10 ounces; 290 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2cups (150 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Lightly packed 1/2 cup (2 1/4ounces; 70 grams) ground blanched almonds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups (490 grams) all-purpose flour

Directions
By hand, blend butter and confectioners’ sugar well in a large bowl. Add the ground almonds, salt, and vanilla and continue to stir/mix until smooth. Separately, lightly fork the eggs and drizzle into the sugar/butter mixture while continuously stirring the bowl. Add the flour and mix only until JUST combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.
At this point, the dough should be very soft. Mine resembled cookie dough. Gather the dough into one mass and divide into three equal portions. Shape each portion into a disk and plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4hrs-48hrs before rolling and baking. The dough can also be frozen for up to a month if wrapped air-tight.

When you are ready to roll out and bake: Working with one dough disk at a time (the others can be left in the fridge), place a sheet or two of plastic wrap on your work surface as the dough is rather sticky. I also placed another sheet of plastic between my Pom glass (in lieu of a rolling pin) and the dough to prevent sticking, flipping the crust over several times and redoing the plastic sheet to ensure there were no creases in the dough. Starting from the center of your dough dish, roll outward to the edges, applying an even pressure all the while. Roll until large enough for your pie tin, with excess fringe. If at any point the dough gets too soft to work with, place the entire dough sheet on a cookie sheet and refrigerate.
Remove one plastic sheet and center the dough (exposed side down) over the tart pan. Press the dough against the bottom of the pan and up the sides, removed the top sheet of plastic wrap and roll your rolling pin across the rim of the pan to cut off the excess. Use excess dough to patch up any cracks. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.
Preheat oven to 350*F. Line the crust with foil and fill with beans or rice to ensure even baking.
Depending on your needs (whether you need a partially baked or fully baked pie crust), bake for 20-30 minutes, keeping a vigilant eye after 20 minute mark. Before further working, remove crust from oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature.

Pastry Cream
from JoyofBaking
We used this pastry cream only after my attempt at SK’s Strawberry Tart Cream failed. And it was fairly simple to make and didn’t require too much time. Just don’t speed up the process or you will end up with an unspreadable, lumpy mess. Take it easy and follow directions to a point. If there was ever a situation where directions were essential, I would say it would be for tart making.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1/8 cup (20 grams) all-purpose flour
Scant 3 tablespoons (20 grams) cornstarch
3/4 tablespoon (10 ml) liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy, Kirsch) (optional)

Directions
In a bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together. Do not let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming. Sift the flour and cornstarch together and add to the egg mixture, mixing until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the milk and split vanilla bean on medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer. Remove vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and add the seeds to the egg mixture.
Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. DO NOT heat on high because it will thicken up too quickly and you will have a lumpy mess. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 – 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.
Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

Assemblage
Spread a thin layer of apricot glaze or melted chocolate over the bottom and sides of tart to prevent the crust from getting soggy. Allow the glaze to set for 20-30 minutes in the fridge. Spread the Pastry Cream into the tart, filling about 3/4 full. Level with an offset spatula.
To decorate: the freshest fruits of the season! And for once, looks matter! So, use bright fruits like berries, kiwis, mango, pineapple, whatever happens to float your fancy. We used thinly sliced kiwi and strawberries, whole blueberries and ribbons of mango. Arrange to your own fancy and design.

So this has been a terribly long entry. I realize that I am definitely a Tolkien, so I apologize for the verbosity and (at times) excessive details. As a side note, the non-tart pictures on this entry were taken that night either on the walk over to our friend’s apartment or at the apartment itself. I am still musing over that inevitable thing called ‘growing up’ and I find it bothersome and irritating. But as it is inevitable, I’m just going to let it run its course and try to muster up as much graciousness as possible to help the transition, all the while, keeping the heart young and spontaneous. So God help me.

Salutations from the Kitchen!
—Anh—