Rosemary Focaccia

I have vague, but very fond, memories of my mom baking focaccia when I was really little. The aroma of fresh bread and herbs would invade the whole house. I don't know what happened exactly, but she stopped--maybe when someone decided margarine was healthier than olive oil. I'm so glad those days are gone!

I made this recipe recently; Sarah asked to bring bread to Christmas dinner, but being snowed in, I couldn't just grab a baguette from the store. Focaccia does take awhile--no instant gratification here--but it is worth it. It's not labor intensive, you just need a few hours for all of the rising. Before I made this, I'd never used yeast before. (It's not so bad after all.) This bread, from my Sunday's At Moosewood Restuarant cookbook, was everything I'd hoped it would be--and just like I remembered.

SIDE NOTE: If you don't currently own a rosemary plant, stop reading this and go buy one. Now. No, I'm serious. Go. There's no reason not to have your own rosemary plant. You don't need much space, they don't care if you neglect them for a little while and they will grow almost anywhere, even through droughts. (They can also live up to 30 years--definitely worth the $5 investment.)

I used fresh cut rosemary for this recipe (and I use in it many other things--especially when roasting vegetables), but you can use dried rosemary if you have to. Moosewood also suggests trying a variety of other herbs and topppings, like thinly sliced onion, black olives, sage, basil, oregano, chives, etc. Any way you go, it'll be amazing.

• 2 tablespoons dried or fresh rosemary leaves (I added some dried thyme and dried basil to my fresh rosemary)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 package dry yeast (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups unbleached white bread flour*
• 1 teaspoon course salt (This was too much for my taste, a light sprinkling would be enough.)

1. Finely chop your fresh rosemary and transfer to a large mixing bowl with the other herbs. Pour the boiling water over the herbs and let cool to a temperature comfortable on the inside of the wrist. (This took about 5 minutes. The water should be around 105-115 degrees for the yeast to activate properly.)
   
2. Add the yeast and sugar.
3. After about 5 minutes, when the yeast is bubbling, add the salt and one tablespoon of olive oil.
   
4. Stir in the whole wheat flour. Add only as much white flour as you need to make the dough pull away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is smooth and springy. As you knead the dough, add just enough flour to prevent sticking. The dough should remain rather soft.
6. Oil a large bowl. (I just sprayed one lightly with TJ's Pam-type stuff.) Place the dough in the bowl, then flip it once to oil both sides. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth (I used a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel), and set aside in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it's doubled in size.
7. Punch down the dough and knead it for a minute or two. Oil a large baking sheet with olive oil. Stretch and pat the dough until it is roughly 12"x12". Cover the pan and let the dough rise again for about 45 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make indentations with your fingertips about every 2 inches all over the dough. Sprinkle with coarse salt and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
9. Bake 25 minutes or until golden. Serve warm!

*A more traditional recipe would probably use all white flour, but this tasted the same and is more healthful.

For more information on bread baking, I highly recommend The Tassajara Bread Book, which I discovered when watching the interesting documentary, How to Cook Your Life. Check them out.

Leta's Pozole

Andy's mom makes the best Pozole (also spelled Posole). Ok, it's pretty much the only Pozole I've ever had, but it's delicious! Last night we made it at Andy's new house and it was enough for me and three dudes.

What's in it

oil

1 lg yellow onion, chopped

2 lb (or so) pork shoulder/loin cut in small cubes

tall can of canned beer

cumin, ground coriander, red chili powder (sweet)

2 cans green chili, drained and chopped

1 lg can hominy, drained

1 small can corn, drained

steamed tortillas

mexican cheese, crumbled (Alexis, help me with the name here) or grated monterey jack

lime

chopped cilantro

How it's done

In a dutch oven, clear onions in oil on stovetop. Add pork and brown. Then add beer and spices, cover and simmer 45-60 minutes. Add cans of hominy, corn, chili. Simmer until warmed.

Serve topped with cheese, cilantro and lime. Eat with steamed tortillas (use them to pinch of pieces of the stew).

*We had this for dinner again tonight (July 2010) with Ngoc and Dave, and Dave's (mexican) grandma makes traditional pozole. He recommended adding a ham hock or pig's foot to the broth for stewing, and also recommended adding shredded fresh cabbage for garnish and sliced radishes.

Oh Fudge!

This fudge recipe came from my Aunt Cindy, and she got it from the back of a condensed milk can. Good things can be found in the most bizarre places.

This is the easiest dessert I've ever made, and so incredibly delicious. I think it took me 5 minutes to prepare the fudge before sticking it in the fridge. This just might be dangerous.

What's in it

3 C (18 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

dash of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

chopped nuts (optional)

How it's made

Find a 9 inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper.

Over low heat, melt chocolate, salt and condensed milk. Stir often to avoid burning. Remove from heat, then stir in vanilla. Mix in chopped nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate 2 hours till firm. Turn fudge upside down on cutting board and peel off paper. Cut into squares.

Sweet Potato Pie

I made this pie for my Grandma DeVault on Christmas, and boy does she have a sweet spot for pies. I've never seen her move so fast. I am not a fan of pies, but I had a slice of this one, and it was literally the best I've had in a long time - very flavorful and great texture. Everyone loved it.

This is a really simple recipe, and believe it or not, it's a little difficult to find a recipe for sweet potato pie these days. Pumpkin has sort of taken the forefront. This recipe makes two pies.

What's in it

3-4 sweet potatoes or yams (I prefer yams - the orange/red ones)

1/2 C butter, soft

1 Tbl pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 C sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp chinese five spice powder (if you have it)
4 eggs, beaten

3/4 C evaporated milk (6 oz)
2 pie crusts

How it's done
Cook the potatoes (uncut and unpeeled) until tender in boiling water, until firm but tender (about a half hour). Drain, cool, peel and mash.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine mashed potatoes (yams), butter, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon. In a small, separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk, then blend into potato mixture. Pour mix into 2 pie shells and bake 60 minutes or until done.

Tom Kah Gai: Chicken Coconut Soup

I've always been a fan of Thai food, but Thai cooking somehow seemed rather mysterious. Then Amber told me about a wonderful cookbook called Quick & Easy Thai. (Now, I've seen some "easy" Indian food cookbooks that don't seem to have a quick recipe in them, so I was a little hesitant.) But, the author--previously a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand--wrote these recipes for busy people to cook on a weeknight.

As it turns out, many Thai recipes are not difficult to prepare and can be made any time, not just on fancy special occasions. The recipes I've tried are pretty amazingly simple, but still incredibly delicious. Some of the recipes call for exotic ingredients (that is, if you live in Oregon and not California), but most of the time you can substitute or skip an ingredient and your dish will be fine.

This is an impressively flavorful soup! It pairs well with other recipes in the book, like chicken satay or crab cakes.

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced crosswise
• 6 wild lime leaves, cut into quarters (optional)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (a light version is available at Trader Joe's)
  
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth or water)
• 10-12 slices galanga (this is a relative of ginger--I substitute fresh ginger slices)
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass (available at Whole Foods and Safeway--do not leave this out!)
• 3/4 pound boneless chicken cut into bite-sized chunks (or tofu!)
• 1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms

1. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, fish sauce and green onions (plus half of the wild lime leaves--optional). Set aside. Put chopped cilantro in a separate small bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, add the coconut milk and the chicken broth. Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the galanga or ginger and lemongrass (plus remainder of lime leaves, if using.)
   
3. Add the chicken and mushrooms. Return to a gentle boil and simmer until the chicken is cooked--about 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Pour the lime juice mixture into the pot and mix well! Ladle soup into serving bowls and sprinkle chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
   

*Serves 4*

I substituted the chicken for tofu only because I was also serving another chicken dish, but if you use vegetable stock, tofu and leave the fish sauce out this would be vegan. The fish sauce does add a distinct depth to the soup, though, as it does to a lot of Thai dishes. If you have vegetarian friends who eat fish, leave it in for best results.

Vegan Maple Cupcakes with Sugared Walnuts

There are a number of vegans in my life and they have happily introduced me to the art of vegan baking. Up until a few years ago, I'd been under the impression that 'vegan' automatically meant no tasty desserts. Oh, how very wrong I was.

My friend Audra lent me and Natalie a snazzy little book called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Between the two of us, we've made a nice array of delicious cupcakes--and people are definitely surprised to find out they are vegan.

I've had numerous people tell me that the little treats from this book are the best cupcakes that they've eaten--ever. But this recipe in particular really takes the cake...

For the Sugared Walnuts:

• 1 cup walnut halves
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• Dash of salt
• Dash of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Spread the walnuts on a pan and bake for 6-8 minutes. Toss after 4 minutes and keep a close eye on them so they don't burn. Remove from oven and place in a bowl to cool. Prepare a lightly greased piece of parchment paper to use in just a minute.
2. Pour sugar, maple syrup and salt into a large, heavy skillet. Heat on medium, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts and the mixture is thick and smells caramel-ly.
   
3. Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts and cinnamon. Stir to coat each nut. Immediately spread coated walnuts on the parchment; use a spatula to keep them from clumping. Cool completely before handling.

For the Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/4 maple extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugared walnuts (from above recipe)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners. (Recipe only makes 12 cupcakes.)
2. Whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl. Set aside for a few minutes.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg into a separate bowl and mix. Whisk the maple syrup, oil, brown sugar, vanilla and maple extracts into the soy mixture.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until lumps dissolve. Fold in the sugared walnuts.
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

• 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
  
• 1/4 cup room temp. margarine (Earth Balance is the best!)
• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar (sift it for silky smooth results)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
• 1/4 cup soy milk

1. Beat the shortening and margarine until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for 3 minutes. Add the maple extract and soy milk. Beat until fluffy--5-7 minutes.
2. Frost cupcakes and top with the remaining sugared walnut pieces.

Thai Mango Sticky Rice

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, desert.  This tasty treat is good at any time of day, just like all good Thai food.  The newest iteration of Yum Sunday* happened last Sunday when I made this and Thai Iced Tea, and brunched at Lauren and Mary Ann's house.  

This treat is really easy to make, although it has a few steps, so if you have any questions, let me know!  I actually think mango sticky rice may be the avenue for world peace.

What's in it

1 1/2 C long grain sticky rice (I have a bag from Koda Farms, and it's called Premium Sweet Rice)

2 C unsweetened coconut milk (I use one can)

1 C sugar

2 tsp salt

ripe mangoes or other fruit (berries and bananas work really well)

sesame seeds

How it's done

Soak the rice in water overnight.

Drain the soaked rice, and place in a steamer basket.  You can use a traditional bamboo steamer inside a pot, or place cheesecloth over your own steamer basket to keep the rice from falling through.  Steam the rice 30-45 minutes, until the rice is plump and glistens, and pinches into chewy lumps.

While the rice is steaming, combine the coconut milk, sugar and salt in a medium pot and cook over medium heat.  Cook, stirring gently, for about five minutes until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and set aside.

When rice is ready, place in a large bowl, and pour the coconut mixture on top, stirring gently to mix.  Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.  I did this the night before and re-heated in the microwave.

Slice the mango and/or the other fruit.  

Serve the sticky rice on small dessert plates with sliced fruit on top, and sprinkled sesame seeds (or dried mung beans if you have any).  The rice tastes best when served warm.

*Yum Sunday was originally known as Waffle Sunday, which happened every Sunday at Alexis' house in Forest Ranch.  Alexis' mom, Patty, would make homemade Belgian waffles, and serve them up with a minimum of five of your favorite toppings.  When Alexis and I lived together in college, we had a revival of Waffle Sunday, although then it would happen at any time or day of the week.  After Andy and I dated a couple years, he finally introduce me to Thai Temple here in Berkeley, which is a temple that serves Thai food for breakfast every Sunday.  This is where I discovered Mango Sticky Rice.  After ritually going to Thai Temple months in a row, it became known as Yum Sunday (Yum!, for short).  I would have to say each of these iterations of breakfast were life changing.  Each of these iterations brought together friends and family, taking time out of the busy pace of life.  I highly encourage you to start your own Yum Sunday tradition.

Hamburger Pie

Get ready for some major white people food. This recipe came from the back of a Bisquick box back in the 80's when I was a kid, and it's one of my favorite dishes ever. I think Bisquick called it Crustless Quiche. Whenever I eat this in the break room, folks swarm. It feeds four, or two for dinner and lunch.

What's in it

1 lb ground beef

1 chopped onion

salt and pepper

1 C shredded cheese

3 eggs

1 1/2 C milk

3/4 C Bisquick or TJ's all purpose baking mix

How it's done

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Saute the onions and beef until cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the grease and add the mixture to a pie pan. Sprinkle with cheese.

In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk and baking mix. Pour over cheese (it will be a bit lumpy).

Bake 30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Eat with catsup on top, and green beans on the side.

This dish probably has tons of opportunity for alterations and improvements, but I've never had the guts to try - it seems sacrilegious for me.

The image above is from a newer version I've been baking, with chopped fresh broccoli mixed in. So delicious!

Peanut Blossoms

Today we're having our annual christmas party at Andy's mom's house, and it wouldn't be complete without these babies.  They are my favorite all time holiday cookie, and I think Andy's, too.  Delicious peanut butter cookie with a huge Hershey's Kiss on top - it really can't get better than this.  Plus, they're super easy to make.

What's in it

3 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

dash of salt

1 C butter

1 C peanut butter

1 C sugar

1 C brown sugar

2 eggs

4 Tbls milk

1 tsp vanilla

Hershey's Kiss (unwrapped)

How it's done

Pre heat the oven to  375.

Sift together flour, soda, salt.  Set aside.

Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar.  Add eggs, milk and vanilla, and beat well.  Blend in dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  

Roll into balls (maybe a Tablespoon or two), then roll in sugar, and set on ungreased baking sheet.  Put in the freezer for a few minutes before baking in the oven.  Bake for 8 minutes, then remove and put a Kiss on top of each one, pressing it down into the ball.  Bake for 2-5 minutes more.

Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.

Martha's Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Right after I bought Martha Stewart's Cookie Cookbook (currently my favorite cookbook--see my review of it here), Mark told me about these delicious triple ginger cookies from Trader Joe's. I thought I might be able to find something similar to bake for him in my new book. Turns out there wasn't an exact recipe match, but I decided to give these chocolate gingerbread cookies a shot. They're on the cover of the book, so I figured they were probably tasty.

They are. I baked a (vegan*) batch for a party this summer and they were a hit. There's something slightly odd about a chocolate/ginger/molasses combination, but after the initial shock it somehow works really well. These cookies have a really bold flavor profile, combining ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg with freshly grated ginger.

They are a bit more complicated than cookies I was used to making, but it's worth every extra minute.

• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon (freshly grated, if you can) nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used regular)
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated, peeled ginger
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsulphered molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water
• 7 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate, in 1/4 inch chunks
  
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (so worth the investment)
2. Sift the first 6 ingredients together into a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and fresh ginger together until lightened--about 4 minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat until combined. Add molasses and beat until combined.
4. In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water.
   
5. Beat half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Beat in the baking soda mixture and then the remaining half of the flour mixture.
6. Mix in the chocolate chunks, then turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Pat it out until it's 1 inch thick. Seal the wrap and refrigerate it until firm--2 hours or over night.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls (this will get your hands pretty gooey) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Chill 20 minutes.
8. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until surfaces just begin to crack--10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Eat these the same day for the best flavor. You can also store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

I think these would be especially good over the holidays! They combine all of the typical winter treat spices, but are more exciting than your average gingerbread.

(*All you have to do to make these vegan is use Earth Balance instead of butter and make sure your chocolate doesn't have any milk in it.)

café de olla

I first read this recipe while standing in my mom's little shop in San Antonio, flipping through a book she had called Mexicocina. It reminded me of how my dad would say my grandma would make coffee; just boil the water in a pot and add the ground coffee and let them seperate for a few minutes, and then pour the coffee off the top.
Café de olla is apparently traditionally made in a particular kind of pot (olla), but I have no idea what they were talking about so I just used a normal saucepan kind of deal. The recipe calls for piloncillo (a cone shaped unrefined sugar), which is probably available at a Hispanic grocery, but I used brown sugar the first time and it was still delish.
Even though this is described as a 'sweet, spiced mexican coffee', its more of an adult taste, not sweet like a mocha or something. Everyone in my house liked it except Pete...
Anyway, here's the recipe.

2 quarts water
3 ounces piloncillo, or 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 four-inch cinnamon sticks
1 cup ground coffee (probably coarsely ground)


+In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then add the ground coffee, stir, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes or so.

+Remove from heat, let sit for 2 minutes, and strain the coffee into warmed cups.



A few notes of mine:
1 This will actually make a lot of coffee. For me, at least. It says 'serves 8'.
2 When it was ready to serve, I did as I thought my grandma would have done: I ladled the liquid off the top, also because I didn't have anything to strain it with...
3 When you add the coffee and stir, it makes the most beautiful, beautiful crema I have ever seen.
4 Making this makes me feel like a real mexican grandma. :]


And, for Kate, a mini-Spanish lesson!
Olla : the cooking pot traditionally used to make this
Canela : cinnamon
Abuela, or Abuelita : Grandma, or.. little grandma! (the 'ito' means little)
Copa : cup
Azucar : sugar

Yay! I am glad to share this with you all in my first post.

Paella!

Last spring, we visited Passalacqua Winery in Sonoma for a "barrel tasting" event and the kind folks over there served visitors paella. One of our friends asked for the recipe, and Dave and I were inspired to cook this at home.

First, you'll need one of these. The following is the original recipe, but the great thing about paella is that you really can't mess it up. Just make sure you cook things long enough and everything will turn out delicious. Try it a few times and you'll learn what works and what doesn't.

Ingredients
1 cup olive oil
2-3 heads of garlic, with cloves detached but not skinned
6 red peppers or piquillo peppers, cored, seeded and sliced
5-6 pounds of chicken, preferably legs and thighs with bone in
4 yellow onions, chopped
2 16-ounce cans diced tomatoes
6-7½ cups chicken stock, homemade or canned
20-25 threads of saffron, crushed
2-2½ teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika
4-5 cups uncooked Valencian short-grain rice
2 16-ounce cans garbanzo beans
1 pound green beans, slender asparagus or baby artichoke hearts
20-24 jumbo shrimp (16/20 count)
20-24 Manila clams and/or New Zealand Green Lip mussels
4-5 lemons, cut into wedges, for garnish

Directions

Heat the paella pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and garlic and fry the peppers. (Add more peppers if you want to serve some as an appetizer.) Remove peppers and set aside.

Add chicken parts to the pan, turning to sear all sides. When chicken is golden, add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the tomatoes and the stock and reduce the sofrito base down for about a half hour. Meanwhile, crush the saffron with the smoked paprika in a mortar and pestle and add it to the stock.

After a half hour, stir in the rice and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Important: Do not stir or cover the rice. As the rice cooks, add the vegetables and the garbanzo beans.

During the final 10 minutes, poke the shrimp and shellfish into the rice mixture so that they will cook.

You will know when the dish is done when you can smell the smoky odor of the rice carmelizing on the bottom of the pan, and all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Finish with squirts of lemon and leave lemon wedges in the paella pan or perched along the rim.

Giada's Pasta with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce

Maybe the thing I love the most about going to the gym is the fact that on each elliptical trainer there is an individual TV screen that allows me to watch cable television. (I don't have a TV, so it's sort of a big deal.) The only thing that is exciting about that is, of course, The Food Network. I'm in love with a number of their shows. I also hate a few of them, including Paula Deen's ridiculously gross and fattening show (whatever it's called), and Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. (I find her "tablescapes" particularly annoying.

I do enjoy a good Iron Chef episode, a little Rachel Ray from time to time and even The Ace of Cakes. Recently, I've been paying more attention to The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) and some show with a guy named Guy. But, the show that really captures my attention is Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. Or maybe it's the cleavage that gets my attention, I don't know.

On Monday, I saw an episode of Giada at Home in which she made a shrimp pasta with an herbed cream sauce. I wanted to make it. So, I did. I liked it and so I am posting it here. I halved her recipe (which fed two people generously) and cut a few corners...

• 1/2 pound penne pasta (I use whole wheat, because why not?)
  
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/2 pound medium, peeled, and deveined shrimp (I used pre-cooked from the butcher counter at Safeway-- only $3.50 at $6.99 a pound)
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I keep Trader Joe's in my fridge, because I don't have time for chopping garlic)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I didn't really measure)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (Again, to taste. Why measure?)
  
• 1 /2 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (In the summer I'd have fresh, but I just added a little dried basil this time)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (99 cents at Safeway)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
  
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/6 cup clam juice
• 3/8 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. Boil your pasta until it's al dente, then drain and set aside. I did this concurrently with the rest of the cooking.
2. Heat a large skillet with the olive oil on medium-high. Add the shrimp, garlic, salt and pepper. Giada says to cook the shrimp for about 3 minutes until they are pink and done, but mine were pre-cooked, so I just pan fried them for a quick second until they were coated with garlic.
3. With a slotted spoon, fish out the shrimp and set aside.
4. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley and red pepper flakes to your hot pan. (I put a little dried oregano, too.) Cook for 2 minutes, stiring constantly. Throw in your wine, clam juice and the heavy cream. Let the mixture boil, then turn down to a medium-low simmer. Cook 7-8 minutes, until the sauce thickens up nicely.
5. Add your cooked pasta to the pan. Then add the grated parmesan cheese. Though she didn't do it in this recipe, Giada says that adding the pasta then the cheese allows the cheese to melt/stick to the pasta, which then helps the sauce stick to the pasta. I think that's a good idea, so I used that method in this recipe, even though she didn't.
   
6. Add the shrimp to the pan and stir to coat. You may want to add more salt and pepper to taste.
7. Sprinkle with more grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately!
   

Totopos: Tortilla Chips

This is one of those things that is really simple and mind-blowingly delicious, but that most people don't (or at least I didn't) think to do. About a year ago, I bought a lovely cookbook from a hip and tasty Mexican restaurant called Tacubaya on Berkeley's famous 4th Street. Part of why I compulsively bought the book were the enticing photos and sleek design, but Tacubaya's food also happens to be fantastic and authentically Mexican (not so many Mexican restaurants actually are).

One of my favorite Mexican dishes, chilaquiles, has a base of fried corn tortilla chips or totopos. I couldn't wait to make chilaquiles of my very own (I hope you've had the opportunity to try them and know why), so the totopos were the first recipe I attempted. Now, I have to tell you that I am afraid of frying anything. My family never fried foods when I was growing up and I had never personally attempted to fry anything, ever.

I found that this was actually nothing to fear. And while it's cheap and easy to buy corn tortilla chips at the store, this only takes a few minutes and is more worth it than I could have ever imagined.

Totopos

~Print Recipe~

• 3 cups canola oil
• 24 fresh corn tortillas
• Kosher salt

1. Put the canola oil in a large frying pan and turn the heat up to high.
2. In the 5-10 minutes it will take the oil to heat up to 350 degrees (I don't have a thermometer, but when it's hot, it's hot), cut your tortillas into sixths to make chip-size triangles.
3. When the oil is ready, turn the heat down to medium-high. Put half of your cut tortillas in the pan, submerging them with a slotted spoon if they float up to the top. They will turn crispy and brown in about 3-4 minutes. (Try not to let them get too dark.)
   
4. Use the slotted spoon or a spatula to fish out the chips, letting as much oil as possible drain back into the pan. (You'll want to do this pretty quickly, since they'll get extra crispy if you leave them in too long.) Set the chips on a few layers of paper towels to soak up the extra oil.
5. While they're still hot, sprinkle them with salt and have a few!
6. Repeat with the other half of the tortillas.

These would be a fantastic appetizer as is or served with salsa and guacamole. The best chilaquiles I've ever had were made with these chips, and I've made a delicious plate of nachos with them as well.

The Joy of Apple Crisp

Tonight I made this and brownies.  Yum!  The apples came from an apple farm just north of Occidental.  We got a free bag of apples since Andy's family bought a Christmas Tree from a farm up there.

This recipe is from the Joy of Cooking.  I never really appreciated this book until recently, and plus, everyone I know has it.  Again, this dessert is SUPER easy to make, and delicious.  I always have these ingredients on hand, so it's perfect if you have extra apples around.  You can also use any quantity of apples, and adjust the flour/butter mixture accordingly.

Ingredients

Apples (8 medium, about 2.5 lbs)

3/4 C flour

3/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 stick (8 tblsp) cold unsalted butter, sliced

How it's done

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash the apples, then core them and cut into 1 inch chunks (you can peel them or not).  Spread them in a 2 quart baking dish (I used my cast iron skillet, and cut up enough apples to fill it).

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the butter and use 2 knives to cut the butter into the batter (like scissors) until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.  You can also use a pastry blender or food processor.  The food processor takes about 30 seconds, it's super easy.  Then sprinkles the mixture on top of the apples and tap the pan to make them settle.  Bake 50-55 minutes until brown and apples are soft.

Serve warm with ice cream!

Moosewood Fudge Brownies

The Moosewood Collective has become legendary in my recipe book library, and these brownies are not only chocolatey and delicious, they are SUPER easy to make!  If you don't own any Moosewood Cookbooks, I highly recommend them, especially the original (the newest editions have revised recipes to cut down butter and sugar content).

These brownies originated 30 years ago, and have been served in the Moosewood Restaurant ever since.  They take about ten minutes to prepare, and only twenty to bake.  Your friends will be impressed you didn't cook brownies from a box.

Ingredients

1/2 C butter

3 oz unsweetened chocolate (I use TJ's baking chocolate or Baker's Chocolate)

1 C lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/2 C unbleached white flour

How it's done

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter the baking pan.

In a large pot on the stove, melt butter and chocolate together on low heat, stirring to avoid scorching.  Once all is melted, remove from heat.  Add the sugar and vanilla and beat by hand with a whisk.   Add the eggs and beat well.  Stir in flour and mix until smooth.

Pour batter into a buttered 8 or 9 inch baking pan.  Bake for about 20 min until they begin to just pull away from the pan, and still fudgy in the center.  Bake an additional five minutes if you prefer cake like brownies.

This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a lasagna sized pan.  I also tried using my new dutch oven for this recipe, and it worked great for melting the butter and chocolate, and then once everything was combined in the pot, I popped the dutch oven in the oven.  One pot brownies :-)

I highly recommend whipped cream or ice cream with these.  Oh, and I made a variation called 'Brownie Surprise'.  It's brownies with strawberries cut up on top and marinated for a little bit.