Spezzatino? (You Do, and You'll Clean It Up!)

I caught an episode of Giada at Home the other day, and she made something called a "spezzatino,"  which was basically Chicken, Artichoke, and Cannelini Bean Stew. And of course, I converted the recipe to be made in my magic pot! As the weather is soon to turn frigid again, this dish is delicious, healthy, and will stick to your ribs until spring makes a proper--and less capricious--return.

Chicken, Artichoke and Cannellini Bean Spezzatino
(Source: Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis via Food Network)

4 cups chicken stock
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 sprig of rosemary
1 bay leaf
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 oz. bacon, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 celery stalks, large dice
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans (or butter beans), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley*

Add the stock, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, rosemary, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes to the Instant Pot and stir well to combine. Submerge the chicken thighs and cook on poultry for 15 minutes, then do a quick release.

Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a skillet, cook the bacon, and reserve the crispy pieces. Then sauté the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in the bacon fat until the onion is tender.

Remove cooked chicken from the broth to cool. Add the sautéed veggies, artichokes, and beans to the IP and cook on low sauté until the carrots are tender. Remove the bay leaf and rosemary stem. Cut the chicken into one-inch pieces and add it and the fresh parsley* to the pot. Taste to correct seasonings. Serve the stew garnished with the reserved bacon pieces.

*A few handfuls of fresh spinach or basil would also be nice.

Trader Joe's to the Weeknight Rescue!

I have made the most delicious, quick and easy, though somewhat unusual dinner. I'm calling it Pork and Beans Pasta. I used leftover pork roast that I had cooked in my magic pot, two pints of homemade marinara made with my own garden tomatoes and herbs, and two cans of Trader Joe's Giant Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce. Then I served this hearty, savory sauce over Trader Joe's Organic Red Lentil Sedanini (like a small penne). So tasty, and so packed with protein and legume-y goodness!

 

Snowed-In Din-Din

We're experiencing the first Snowpocalypse of the year, and I wanted to make a good Sunday supper last night, but without having to leave the house in a blizzard. I had a pork roast that I had in the back fridge and needed to cook. So I sprinkled it liberally with seasoned salt, browned it on all sides in a skillet, then threw it in the Instant Pot with a bottle of beer, a sliced onion, some garlic cloves, a few glugs of Worcestershire sauce, a good squirt of sriracha, and a bay leaf. I cooked it on the meat setting for 75 minutes and let it release naturally.

Then I found a box of cornbread mix in the pantry, so I zhooshed that up with some caramelized onions and creamy goat cheese. After I took this picture, I added a sidecar of my homemade Hot Pink Jalapeno Garlic Kraut.

Hot Pink Jalapeno Garlic Kraut 
(Source: Adapted from Nourished Kitchen)

3 1/2 pounds red cabbage, shredded
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and minced
4 medium jalapeno peppers, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon pink Himalayan salt

Toss the cabbage, garlic, jalapenos and salt into a large mixing bowl. Knead the vegetables together by hand for five minutes until they begin to release their juices. Allow the shredded vegetables to rest a further five minutes, then return for five more minutes of kneading.

Layer the salted vegetables into a quart-sized fermentation jar or crock (find a crock online), and pack tightly until the brine created by the vegetable juice and salt completely submerges the shredded cabbage and peppers. Weigh down the vegetables with a glass weight sterilized stone or other heavy item small enough to fit within your crock, close and ferment at room temperature.

Taste after about three weeks and continue to ferment if the sauerkraut hasn't achieved the level of tartness you prefer. Transfer to cold storage when sour enough for your liking.

Cornbread with Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons butter

3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

1 15 oz. box cornbread mix (or 2 boxes of Jiffy)

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup chevre (goat cheese), broken up into large crumbles

To a large skillet over medium-low heat, add two tablespoons of the olive oil and the onions, and cook, stirring frequently until dark golden brown, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool to warm (not hot).

In an 8x8 baking dish or deep dish pie plate, add the other two tablespoons of olive oil, swirl it around, and put the dish in the oven to preheat to 375 F. Meanwhile, whisk the cornbread mix with the buttermilk, eggs, Parmesan, and black pepper. Stir in about 2/3 of the caramelized onions.

When the oven comes to temperature, remove the heated baking dish and pour in the cornbread batter. Poke the goat cheese crumbles here and there down into the batter. Top with the remaining caramelized onions. Bake for about 35 minutes until a tester comes out clean in the middle.

The college where I teach was closed today because of the snow, and I had some more time for home cooking, I decided to make some zesty succotash to accompany my leftover pork and cornbread.

Corn and Lima Bean Succotash

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red onion, diced

1 cup chopped roasted red and yellow peppers

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 16 oz. bag frozen baby lima beans, thawed

1 16 oz. bag frozen sweet corn

1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

few shakes of hot sauce, to taste

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, peppers, garlic, and lima beans for a few minutes until the onion is tender. Add the corn, Creole seasoning, black pepper, hot sauce, vinegar, sugar, and chicken broth. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the broth has almost entirely evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in the fresh parsley.

The last thing I cobbled together on my snow day (again, I was not interested in leaving the house!) was a Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut Bundt Cake with Bittersweet Ganache Glaze from a box of yellow cake mix. For a "cheater" cake, it turned out pretty darn good, I think!

Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Bundt Cake with Bittersweet Ganache Glaze

Cake:

1 (15.25-oz.) pkg. yellow cake mix (without pudding added)
1 cup plain yogurt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 (3.4-oz.) pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nut pieces

Ganache Glaze:

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cake mix, yogurt, eggs, vanilla bean paste, pudding mix, oil, and water in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium, and beat until light and fluffy, two to three minutes. Gently fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

Pour mixture into a lightly greased and floured Bundt cake pan. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Remove cake from oven, and cool in pan for about ten minutes. Transfer cake from pan to wire rack; cool completely, about one hour.

Microwave the bittersweet chips and the cream in a large bowl for one minute, then whisk until smooth. (Microwave an additional 30 seconds if needed.) Whisk in the butter until smooth. Pour the glaze completely over the cake. Let the ganache set before slicing and serving.

Always Save the Instant Pot Broth...and Make Soup!

I woke up an hour early yesterday for no reason, so what's a gal to do but get up and head to the kitchen to make some soup in her magic pot? I had some reserved black bean liquor from making refried black beans recently, and I bought some spicy sausage that was an in-house special at a local grocery store. I added some sweet potatoes and other tasty things, and ended up with this soup. And it's gluten-free and fairly low-carb--well, it has the good carbs, anyway--if such things are important to you. (I shared the leftovers at work today, because I'm nice like that.)

Spicy Sausage, Black Bean, and Sweet Potato Soup

1 lb. spicy sausage (chorizo or Italian)
1 large onion, diced
1 large Cubanelle or Italian frying pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch chunks
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 quart black bean liquor* (or chicken or vegetable stock)
4 cans black beans, drained and two cans mashed by hand

Saute the sausage in the IP with the onion, pepper, and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Add the sweet potatoes, oregano, and black bean liquor or stock. Cook on manual for four minutes. Do an instant release, then add the black beans, and additional stock to thin if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*My black bean liquor (reserved liquid in which a previous batch of beans were cooked) was already very well-seasoned, but if you're using regular broth or stock, you may wish to add other/more seasonings such as paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper, to taste.

For the beans, I rinsed a pound of dry black beans and let them soak while I got started on the other ingredients. In 1/4 cup olive oil in the IP, I sauteed a large onion, four large cloves of minced garlic, and 4 whole canned green chilis that I chopped (I was looking for a chipotle in the freezer when I found the milder green chilis, so I used those). To the sauteed veggies, I added two teaspoons of dried oregano, a teaspoon of chopped dried rosemary, a half teaspoon of black pepper, and a teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, and ground celery, and a good pinch of cayene. I put in the drained beans and a quart of vegetable stock, stirred everything, then cooked on chili/bean mode for 35 minutes. I let it release naturally, drained and reserved the liquid, mashed the beans by hand with a potato masher, adding some of the bean liquor back in until I reached a desired consistency, then seasoned to taste with a favorite cilantro seasoning salt blend.

The Art of Living...with Cast Mates That Have Food Issues

I am performing in a musical this weekend, and unfortunately, I picked the worst time in the world to get a cold that then developed into a respiratory infection with bronchitis and laryngitis ("Ain't nobody got time for that!"). So while I was at Walmart yesterday waiting for my prescriptions for antibiotics and codeine cough syrup, I wandered around the store and decided I should make a Mexican fiesta for my cast mates before tonight's performance. The problem is, I've got one gluten-free gal, two vegetarians, one person who hates all vegetables, and two who don't do "spicy." Plus, there are another 20 or so more "normal" eaters in the cast and crew, so I had a lot of different mouths to feed. Talk about a complicated order!

So I made two enchilada casseroles: one was vegetarian and gluten-free using corn tortillas, brown rice, both black and chili beans, sauteed onions, garlic, red and yellow peppers, zucchini, and fire-roasted tomatoes, and then cheese and red sauce. The meaty, gluten-filled version was made with flour tortillas, mild Anaheim pepper strips, chicken spiced with cumin, paprika, and chili powder and mixed with sauteed onions and garlic, along with cheese and then mild green enchilada sauce. There was sour cream to cool things down and my friend Jamie's red savina hot sauce to spice them up.

I also served an easy taco-type salad on the side: iceberg/carrot/cabbage mix topped with shredded cheese, black olives, (prepared) corn and black bean salsa, crispy tortilla strips, with (bottled) avocado ranch dressing. I thought everything turned out great, but I came home with a lot of the GF/vegetarian version, and I actually thought that one was slightly better! Oh well, I won't have to cook tomorrow...or the next day!

P.S. And I came up with what I think is an ingenious idea for keeping the casseroles warm throughout the show. I used an extra-large heating pad underneath the two foil lasagna pans. Worked like a charm, except that it shuts off after awhile (safety feature), so you have to check on it and turn it back on every so often. Still, am I not clever??

Gluten-Free/Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

2 cups uncooked brown rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion

2 sweet peppers (yellow & red)

1 medium zucchini, shredded

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, drained

2 teaspoons each: paprika, cumin, chili powder

1 teaspoon each: ground celery, seasoned salt, sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

40 oz. red enchilada sauce

18 small corn tortillas

2 cans beans, drained (I used chili beans and black beans--pinto would also be good)

4 cups shredded Mexi-cheese blend

sour cream and/or hot sauce to garnish

Steam the brown rice and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and sauté the onions, peppers, zucchini and garlic until tender. Pour in the can of tomatoes and stir in the spices and sugar. Set aside.

Assembly: In a 9x13 pan, layer in one quarter of the sauce, corn tortillas, half the rice, half of the beans, half of the veggie mixture, about a cup and a half of shredded cheese, and another quarter of the sauce. Repeat the previous layers, ending with a final layer of tortillas and the last quarter of the sauce.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes at 375 until bubbly, hot in the middle, and slightly browned around the edges. Add another cup of cheese on top and put back in the hot oven for five minutes just to melt the cheese.

Green Chicken Chile Bake

deli roaster, skinned, boned and shredded

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 teaspoons each: paprika, cumin, chili powder

1 teaspoon each: ground celery, seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

40 oz. green enchilada sauce

8-10 medium-sized flour tortillas

1 large can (27 oz. or two small cans) mild Anaheim chiles, drained and ripped into strips

4 cups shredded Mexi-cheese blend

sour cream and/or to garnish

Skin, debone, and shred a deli chicken. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and sauté the onions until tender. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Mix the onions and garlic and spices to the reserved chicken.

Assembly: In a 9x13 pan, layer in one quarter of the sauce, flour tortillas (cut to fill in spaces), half of the hand-torn pepper strips, half of the chicken mixture, about a cup and a half of shredded cheese, and another quarter of the sauce. Repeat the previous layers, ending with a final layer of tortillas and the last quarter of the sauce.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes at 375 until bubbly, hot in the middle, and slightly browned around the edges. Add another cup of cheese on top and put back in the hot oven for five minutes just to melt the cheese.

Only 167 days until summer!

Tonight, we had a little taste of summer in the dead of winter: Teriyaki pork steaks (broiled in the oven instead of grilled) and a healthful, tasty salad of barley, chickpeas, sugar snap peas, and sunflower seeds, with fresh dill, little nuggets of tangy goat cheese, and a spiced vinaigrette. DELISH, and by itself, it would make a perfectly hearty lunch or vegetarian entree in the warmer months. If you don't have barley, you can use farro, quinoa, or even brown rice. I also chose to swap out sugar snap peas for green beans and goat cheese for the feta, and I added a few cloves of minced garlic, because it seemed wrong not to. So go crazy and have fun with it!

Chickpea, Barley, and Feta Salad

(Source: Bon Appetit)

Serves 4

8 oz. green beans, halved crosswise (I used 12 oz. of frozen sugar snap peas steamed in the microwave)

kosher salt

1 cup pearled, hulled, or hull-less barley

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 15.5-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed

4 oz. feta, crumbled (I used little bits of goat cheese to garnish each serving instead)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2-4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced, optional

Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about three minutes. Using a sieve or a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl of ice water. Return water to a boil, add barley, and simmer until tender (refer to packaging for timing); drain. Let cool on a baking sheet.

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook sunflower seeds, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes; let cool. Toss green beans, barley, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, feta, dill, lemon juice, garlic (if using), and toasted spice vinaigrette (recipe follows) in a large bowl.

Toasted Spice Vinaigrette
(Source: Bon Appetit)

Makes about 1/3 cup

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toast coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds in a dry small skillet over medium heat, tossing, until fragrant, about three minutes. Let cool, then chop. Whisk with oil, vinegar, and mustard in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Do Ahead: Vinaigrette can be made four days ahead. Cover and chill.

Chopped: Lebanese-Style

I had no desire to get dressed and go to the store today to buy something to make for dinner, so I started digging around in the fridge and unearthed some leftover brown lentils. Then I made some steamed rice, caramelized a couple of onions and some garlic in olive oil, added some cumin and a good splash of hot pepper vinegar, and TA-DAH, mujadarrah--Lebanese lentils and rice with fried onions--served with a big dollop of Greek yogurt (or sour cream)! ‪#‎MeatlessTuesday‬

Mujadarrah 

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons butter
2 large sweet onions, very thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 cups cooked brown lentils
1 1/2 cups steamed rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon hot pepper vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Add two tablespoons of the olive oil and butter to a skillet over medium heat and cook the onions until dark golden brown. In the last five minutes of cooking the onions, add the garlic and continue cooking. 

Reheat the lentils (I microwaved mine), then combine with the steamed rice. Drizzle in another couple of tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle in the cumin and hot pepper vinegar, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a big dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.

Follow-up 12/24: If you have leftovers, the next day for breakfast/brunch, reheat the mujadarrah and top with a couple of fried or poached eggs, douse with hot sauce, and top with sour cream. YUM!!

CLCA Day 6: A High Protein Salad for Lunch

"Cyd's Low-Carb Adventure," Day 6

Breakfast: Strawberry-Mango Smoothie (with almond milk)
Lunch: Tuna and Chickpea Salad--pictured
Dinner: Roasted Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs with Cauliflower Mash and Sautéed Zucchini--pictured
Dessert: I am suspecting Sugar-Free Jell-O, though I wasn't around to witness it. ;-)

Tuna and Chickpea Salad

(Source: Miracle Whip's web site)

1/3 cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cans (5 oz. each) white tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed
1 stalk  celery, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Mix first three ingredients until blended. Combine remaining ingredients in medium bowl. Add dressing mixture; mix lightly. Serve with crackers, or spooned over torn mixed salad greens.

A Restorative Soup for the Ailing and for Their Caregivers

Well, my ridiculous roommate has gone and done it this time! After the end of a tiring week on Thursday night, I was looking forward to coming home, chilling out, and fondling the remote control for awhile. But when I arrived, poor Cyd was writhing in pain on the couch, and then running to the bathroom to be sick off and on for about two hours before we decided that it wasn't getting any better, and she needed to go to the ER. I was there with her all night, until they finally admitted her at about 6:00am for further testing. And she's been there ever since. They have run almost every test imaginable, but they still haven't been able to conclude what's causing her such severe abdominal pain. It's very frustrating, and it's hard to watch her suffer. :-(

Meanwhile, I'm doing my best to finish teaching my summer class, hold down the fort at home, attend my musical rehearsals in the evenings, and be at the hospital with Cyd as much as I can, all at the same time. It has been exhausting, to say the least. And, of course, I've been eating a lot of crappy food along the way.

So I decided, if I didn't get some nutritious food in me, that I was gonna have to join Cyd in the hospital soon! So before I left for the hospital today, I started a crock pot full of a Portuguese sausage, white bean, and kale soup. Then I just added canned beans and kale when I finally got home, and had a quick but very nutritious dinner. I actually bought the ingredients to make this awhile ago, because I have two other friends who have been battling illnesses, and I wanted to take something healing and nourishing to them. But now I'm hoping it will sustain me while I play nursemaid to my poor roomie. And--God willing--they'll discharge her soon, and I can help make her well with the leftovers.

Portuguese Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup

1 lb. linguica (but mild Italian sausage will do)
1 large onion, diced
2 large stalks celery, diced
1 large red pepper, seeded and diced (or a couple of roasted/jarred peppers)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes, to taste
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon paprika (you could do 1/2 smoked, if you like)
2 cans diced tomatoes, with juice (I like at least one of them to be fire-roasted)
1 quart chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 cans cannellini and/or Great Northern beans, drained
Small bunch of kale, de-stemmed and finely chopped

Sauté the sausage, onions, celery, pepper and garlic until the meat is browned and the veggies are tender. Deglaze the pan with the wine.

Scrape everything into a crock pot and stir in the rest of the ingredients, except the beans and kale.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4. Fish out the bay leaves and add the drained beans and chopped kale. Cook for another fifteen minutes or so until the beans are warmed through and the kale has wilted.

Recreating My Wegman's Faves at Home

While I was at the PBGV National last month, one of our best dog trainers and competitors celebrated one of her dogs earning a MACH 3 (a very advanced agility title). They had a specially-decorated cake--for us humans, not the dogs. Initially, I declined a piece, because I'm not really a cake person. But her husband (who bought the cake) insisted I try it, that it was amazing....blah, blah, blah. It looked like a regular old grocery store cake to me. Boy, was I wrong! It was DELICIOUS! It had a dark chocolate bottom layer, fresh raspberries in the middle, a lovely, moist vanilla cake layer, and then a fairly thin coating of this creamy, whipped frosting (not nauseatingly thick and grainy like most commercial frostings). I asked the hubby where he got this wonderful cake, and I should have known, it was Wegman's, the world's best grocery store.

When I stopped at Wegman's on the way home to New York, I was tempted to buy a lemon raspberry cake that they were selling, but I was afraid that it wouldn't survive the long drive home in a hot car. I did buy  many other wonderful things, though. I especially love Wegman's salad and deli bars with all the prepared dishes. My favorite is their gigante bean salad. I bought a container of that to eat right away, but I also bought a big bag of dried gigante beans to try to replicate the salad at home.

And today was the perfect opportunity, as my friend, June, had a little end-of-the-school-year barbecue and potluck at her house. It turned out to be quite the gourmet event, too! A new couple, Ray and Ben, made a splash with a lovely Israeli couscous salad with fresh veggies and mint. My friends, The Cones, made a yummy pimento cheese spread, and a stunning shrimp cocktail platter. (Jarrod told me that his secret was cooking the shrimp with pickling spice. Yum!) And my friend, Patti, brought a comforting bundt cake that was a recipe of her mom's.

As for my contributions to the affair, I went with the Wegman's theme, and I brought both a gigante bean salad that I could easily live on and a cake that was in the style and flavor of the one that we enjoyed so much at the dog agility trial. It had both a vanilla layer and a chocolate layer with fresh raspberries as well as raspberry coulis in the middle, and a soft, whipped vanilla bean frosting. It was humble-looking (like all my cakes are--decorating is NOT in my wheelhouse), but it held together as it was sliced (that was my main worry), and I think the taste and texture were excellent. It was certainly an experiment worth repeating. Next time, I might try an oil-based vanilla cake to make it less dense, especially when refrigerated.

Gigante Bean Salad

(Source: adapted from Tamara Duker's blog)

Cook half a pound of gigante beans (soak overnight, then boil until tender). Roast one small red pepper and one small green pepper over open flame (your gas burner will do just fine). Peel their skins off and slice peppers into super-thin strips. (I used red and yellow roasted peppers from a jar.) Mix cooked beans with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, two tablespoons olive oil, one tablespoon fresh chopped parsley (I used chives), 1/2 cup (or more, to taste) of roasted pepper strips, one or two minced garlic cloves, and salt to taste. I added a teaspoon of paprika. Let salad marinate in fridge for several hours so flavors can blend. Serve at room temperature.

White on White Buttermilk Cake

(Source: BakeSpace)

Note: I made half of this recipe in one cake pan.

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/3 cups sugar
3 large egg whites
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

To make the cake: Place one baking rack one-third from the bottom of the oven and the second two-thirds from the bottom. Preheat the oven to 350-f degrees. Line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper rounds, grease with butter, and dust with flour (or spray with flour added).

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed about two minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg whites and vanilla and beat on medium speed for about one minute. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Add about half of the buttermilk and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Continue adding dry and wet ingredients alternately, scraping the bowl down and beating until incorporated after each addition. End with the dry ingredients. The batter will be thick and glossy.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Stagger the cake layers on the oven racks so that no layer is directly over another. Set two layers on one rack and the third on the other. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean and tops are flat and browned. Monitor the layers carefully for doneness; each one me be done at a different time.

Set the cake pans on racks to cool for ten minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks and cool completely before frosting. At this point the cakes can be tightly wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and frozen up to three weeks.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake (aka Hershey's Black Magic Cake)

(Source: Ina Garten, via Food Network)

Note: I made half of this recipe and baked it in one pan.

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

In between the layers, I spread on a couple of tablespoons of raspberry coulis that I had in the freezer and a generous cup of fresh raspberries. Then I frosted the whole cake with a sour cream vanilla bean icing.

Sour Cream Vanilla Bean Frosting

(Source: adapted from All Recipes)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
5-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and salt. Stir in confectioners' sugar, and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

In which I create guacummus (or hummamole?)

My friend, Janice, was snowbirding down to Florida for most of January, and she just got home yesterday. So she invited a few friends around to have dinner together tonight before the onslaught of spring semester hits us smack in the face come Monday. Of course, I asked what I could bring, and of course, she pretty much had everything covered as she always does, but I thought I might at least bring a little appetizer--nothing too difficult or fancy (I wanted a lazy last weekend before heading back to school).

I recently had a chat with a high school friend about hummus and all the different varieties one might make. This made me crave hummus, and it also compelled me to make a slightly more adventurous variety. As it happens, I had some perfectly ripe avocados looking at me on the counter, so I decided to invent...drumroll, please...GUACUMMUS (or is it hummamole?)! Ok, a quick perusal of the interwebs tells me that I probably didn't invent avocado hummus, but I'd like to think I may have perfected it with the following recipe.

Guacummus (Avocado Hummus)

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained
1/4 medium to large onion, roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
squirt or two of sriracha (or hot sauce or a few pickled jalapeno slices)
1 tablespoon water, if needed

Blend all this in the food processor, adding a little water to achieve the right consistency. Then throw in a small handful of cilantro leaves and pulse a few more times.

Polar Pantry Pilfering

Here's the hip new phrase of the season: POLAR VORTEX! I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but I just took this screen shot from weather.com a few minutes ago. Yesterday, the low was "only" -12, but the wind chill factor got down to 35 below! 35 BELOW! Like that's even a thing! This is New York State, not Antarctica!

Because it has been so unbearably cold, and our driveway is one long, deathly ice floe, going shopping is something to avoided at all costs and only undertaken in the most desperate of circumstances. Happily for me in times like these, I have a spare fridge and freezer in the garage, and an overstuffed pantry to keep us alive until there's a brief reprieve in the weather. So for dinner tonight, I raided the pantry for a whole bunch of canned goods and fashioned a quick and hearty taco soup which I let simmer in the crock pot while I kept the taps trickling, the space heaters aimed toward the pipes, and the fire stoked and crackling.

Now this super-quick cheater "recipe" is called 8 Can Taco Soup, but I can't abide canned chicken (except maybe in that Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip, and even then, only in a pinch). I often have a deli chicken half-frozen in the outside fridge for occasions just such as this, so mine was a seven can soup. Actually, six cans and a jar, as I used a homemade salsa verde, because I didn't have green enchilada sauce on hand. Lastly, I didn't have a taco seasoning packet, so I made my own spice blend, which is better anyway--less sodium. Oh, and I used homemade chicken stock, not canned.  So it was really a five can soup! LOL! My point is, and I do have one, is that you can adjust this recipe according to what you have in your pantry so that you don't have to run to the store during the PoVo. (See what I did there?)

Slow Cooker 8-Can Taco Soup 

(Source: adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used Cuban-style black beans from TJ's, drained not rinsed)
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I used dark red kidney beans--just because I didn't have pintos, though chili beans or ranch-style beans would be good, too)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (I used fire-roasted)
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can chicken breast, drained (I used a deskinned/deboned rotisserie chicken, torn into pieces)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can green enchilada sauce (I used a pint of homemade salsa verde)
1 can chicken broth (I used two cups homemade stock)
1 packet taco seasoning (I used 2 tablespoons dark chili powder, 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

Dump all the ingredients into slow cooker and stir together. Cook on low heat for 2-3 hours or high for about an hour. Serve with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and a dollop of sour cream.

Party fare...thoughtfully made.

We are enjoying a delightful ice storm in the region at present, so I wasn't too keen on leaving the house and having to chip my car out and slide down the roads. But my dear friend was having a Christmas party Saturday night, and I was afraid that she might not have many guests. Since I decided to attend at the last minute, I didn't have much time to pull together anything fancy to take to the potluck party. So I threw together that simple Tuscan white bean dip and crostini that I had at the Christmas cookie exchange last week.

For once I was purposefully trying to be low-key and not to impress anyone with my gourmet wizardry. But when I got a plate of food from the fabulous buffet and sat down to socialize, a friend specifically asked if I had brought that white bean dip? I said yes, but how would she know that? Her response was that she knew by the crostini that were so "thoughtfully made." LOL! All I did was cut up a baguette, brush some olive oil on the slices, and broil them for a few minutes, and only on one side! Not very fancy. But I guess some folks would open up a box of crackers and call it good? (To avoid protests from the Boxed Cracker Defamation League, I'd like to say publicly that I am a strong supporter of boxed crackers, especially those red bean and sweet potato Triscuits.)

Anyway, I followed the recipe below, but I added the zest of the lemon that I juiced, about two tablespoons of shredded parmesan, and about the same amount of pine nuts. Oh, and a bunch of chopped fresh parsley. Good stuff! 

White Beans and Rosemary Crostini

(Source: adapted from Under the Tuscan Gun)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
1/4 pound pancetta, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thickly sliced
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed
2 (15 ounce) cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
zest and juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons shredded parmesan, optional

2 tablespoons pine nuts, optional
1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley, optional
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Baguette, sliced

1. Heat fireplace to a medium heat. Adjust grill racks over the flame and heat a heavy dutch oven over the rack. Alternatively, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2. Once hot, add the oil to heat. Add pancetta and render some of its fat. Add rosemary and garlic and sauté until fragrant.

3. Stir in beans and lemon juice and zest. Mash the beans with the back of the wooden spoon. Don’t mash them all smooth- you want some texture. Stir in the parmesan, pine nuts, and parsley (if using), and season with salt and pepper.

4. Toast sliced baguette. Serve the beans on top of the toasted bread. Drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

Ooh, and here's a great idea if you have any of the spread left over. I made a double batch for the party, so I had some left. Today I took four smaller sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed them, and put them in the crock pot with about six cups of chicken (or vegetable) stock and cooked this for several hours on high until the the potatoes were very tender. Of course, you can just simmer this on the stove if you're in a hurry. Once the potatoes were soft, I used a stick blender to blend the potatoes and broth until smooth, then I stirred in about two cups of the leftover bean spread. At this point, you can add some cream or half-and-half, too, if you like. Garnish with some crabmeat, and TA-DAH, Sweet Potato and White Bean Bisque with Crab! (You could also swap out the sweet potatoes for any kind of winter squash.) DELISH!

Cookie Party 2013: Christmas in Tuscany

If classes are finally over and fall semester is complete, it must be time for the Annual Padula Christmas Cookie Exchange! This year's luncheon theme was Christmas in Tuscany, and as always, it was an epicurean throwdown! Let me share some pictures from the affair...


How AMAZING is this wreath made of rosemary branches topped with a olive medley and marinated sundried tomatoes? So clever!

Appetizers: White bean and pancetta spread on crostini and more crostini stopped with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and fried sage. YUM!

The lovely luncheon tablescape.

The place settings--a tiny crock of homemade cinnamon honey butter made with Amish butter from Pennsylvania. Domenica said, "Like Texas Roadhouse, but BETTER!" Ha ha.

The main entrée was the world's BEST chicken and dumplings, or rather, homemade ricotta gnocchi that were light as a feather! I will have to make this delectable dish for myself at home. But in the meantime, here's the link to the recipe in Bon Appétit.

As if the cookies weren't enough, Domenica baked a showstopping dessert: An Italian cream cake filled with fresh orange curd and topped with toasted coconut and candied pecans. WOW!

THE COOKIES! (Thank you, Google, for the holiday "auto awesome" twinkle effect. Tee hee.)

As for my contribution to the festive exchange, I made Almond Roca Cookies. Apparently, Emeril had a cookie contest one year, and Lynn Scully of Rancho Sante Fe, CA was the winner. Well, I can tell you, these cookies are big winners! They look really fancy, but they are very simple, and I banged out six dozen of these bad boys in no time flat.

I only made one substantive change to the recipe. It calls for coarse ground almonds, so when I went to the store for ingredients, I bought almond meal or flour. Then when I looked at the pictures more carefully, I could see that they meant sliced almonds that you chop up further (I used a pastry cutter) in which to roll the dough. But I already had the almond meal, so I decided to use it, swapping out one cup of the AP flour. Then I doubled the baking soda to one teaspoon, as the nut flour is heavier than wheat flour. The cookies turned out nutty and crispy and absolutely delicious!

Oh, and I ran out of milk chocolate for drizzling at the end, so I did the last few with bittersweet, and though I am usually a fan of the darker chocolate, milk is the way to go to make these cookies taste similar to Almond Roca. However, my roommate and chief taster preferred the ones with bittersweet chocolate. So you do as your heart leads. ;-)

Almond Roca Cookies
(Source: adapted from The Cooking Channel)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I swapped out one cup of almond meal/flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (increase this to one teaspoon if using almond meal/flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 package toffee bits (I used the English toffee bits with milk chocolate)
1 cup coarsely ground almonds (I used sliced almonds that I broke up more with a pastry cutter)
4 ounces milk chocolate
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour(s), baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend sugars together on medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Add eggs and vanilla and mix at medium speed until light and fluffy. At low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and then the toffee bits. Mix until just blended; do not over-mix.

Place ground nuts in a small bowl. Using hands, roll balls of dough into 1 to 1 1/2-inch balls, then roll in the ground nuts. Place on cookie sheets several inches apart. Bake approximately 22 minutes and then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

Melt the chocolate with the vegetable oil in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Drizzle melted chocolate over cooled cookies. Place cookies on a cookie sheet and place in freezer or refrigerator until chocolate is firmly set.

There's a nip in the air...

We've reached that weird shoulder season where you might use the air conditioner one day, then need to start a fire in the wood stove the next. But it has been decidedly autumnal the last few days, so it seemed appropriate to take the first crock pot of soup--Ham, Mayocoba Bean, and Swiss Chard--to school to share with my colleagues.

I didn't take a picture because, well, they ate it all up before I got back from my afternoon class, and because it was pretty much the same formula I use for most of my bean soups, give or take. But people ooh'ed and ahh'ed and inquired after the recipe. Recipe? We don’t need no stinkin’ recipes! Tee hee. I can, however, describe my general methodology, especially for my co-workers that requested it.

So I soaked a pound of beans for a few hours in cold water last evening. Then I brought them to a boil for five minutes, turned off the heat and let the beans just sit in the hot water while I did all my cutting and chopping. I cut up two medium onions, two large stalks of celery, the stems of six stalks of Swiss chard, and four large carrots. I sautéed all of this in two tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Then I threw in four cloves of minced garlic and cooked the mixture for another couple of minutes. I deglazed the pan with a half cup of white wine, and then threw the beans and liquid, sautéed veggies, two bay leaves, a big branch of tarragon, and the big bone from some leftover ham into the crock pot. I filled it to the brim with chicken broth, and also added 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and about a tablespoon of chicken soup base. I cooked all of this overnight on high.

In the morning, I fished out the bay leaves and tarragon bundle, and the ham bone, removing any fat or gristle, and tossing the meaty bits back into the soup. Then I added two additional cups of chopped leftover ham, and the leaves of the Swiss chard (also chopped). You just need to heat the ham through and wilt the greens, and the reserve heat of the crock pot will do the trick. No need to continue cooking. That’s about it. It was YUMMY, if I do say so myself! ;-)

Feeling awful? Try some FALAFEL! (Groan.)

I belong to a Facebook group called Healthy Eating on a Budget that one of my dear friends from college coordinates. One of her friends recently posted such a delicious-looking falafel and tzatziki recipe that I felt compelled me to give it a whirl. We LOVED this! My roommate called it a "vegetarian hamburger," and commanded me to make it again and often! This is pretty quick and easy to make, and would surely spice up your Meatless Mondays (though we enjoyed ours on a Tuesday).

I read a lot of reviews of this recipe before I made it, and I have a few notes. Unlike some reviewers, I had no trouble with the little patties falling apart (made as written), and I did not even have to refrigerate them. I used panko crumbs, though, so maybe that made a difference?

I have a few other recommendations as well, including cutting the salt in the falafel mixture by at least half and taking the cumin down by half as well (it's powerful juju!), and using fresh dill and a couple of cloves of minced garlic in the tzatziki. (I already made those changes in the recipe to follow). Lastly, I suggest doubling the recipe and freezing the second batch between pieces of waxed paper for a very quick fix the next time you crave falafel!

Sean's Falafel with Cucumber Sauce (Tzatziki)
(Source: adapted from All Recipes)

For Sauce: 1 cup plain yogurt (I like Greek for this) 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped 1 teaspoon dried dill weed (I prefer 2T fresh) 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon mayonnaise   For Falafel: 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained 1/2 large onion, chopped 1/2 cup fresh parsley 2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 egg 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 dash pepper 1 pinch cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup dry bread crumbs (I used panko) oil for frying   2 pita breads, cut in half (optional) 1 cup chopped tomatoes (optional)

 

1.	In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, pepper and mayonnaise and mix well. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
2.	In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
3.	In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
4.	Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides. Serve two falafels in each pita half topped with chopped tomatoes and cucumber sauce.