Très Leches Cake

 Okay, it has for sure been a long time (years in fact) since I posted anything on this site. Despite that, I still use this website a lot to reference receipes that I like. So, I thought what the heck - I'll throw this one on there as I put together a bunch of recipes together but given that I have eaten almost the whole cake myself (oy I know, not good for the post-baby weight loss but it was sooooo good.) Okay and also, the picture is terrible but I have 1000 things going on and so just took one shot with my phone before I ate this piece just to prove I made it. So, here we go with this recipe!

Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients 

 Cake

5 eggs - separated 

240 g all purpose flour 

190 g sugar - will be split into 2 (see below) 

1.8 tsp baking powder 

100 mL whole milk (or half heavy cream half water as I do it)

2/3 tsp salt 

(1/4 tsp cinnamon - optional) 

(1/2 tsp vanilla - optional) 

(pinch of cream of tartar - optional) 

 

 Syrup

1/3 cup heavy cream

9 ounces sweetened condensed milk 

12 ounces evaporated milk 

 

Frosting 

2 cups heavy cream 

1 Tbsp caster or confectioner's sugar 

Directions 

1.) Heat oven to 350-degrees. Butter the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan, leaving sides ungreased so that that cake can climb up the sides. 

2.) In a medium bowl, whisk and then sift flour, baking powder, salt, +/- cinnmon 

3.) In a larger bowl or in a bowl with a mixer, beat egg yolks for 30seconds until fluffy and then hadd half othe sugar (~90g) on high speed until the ribbon stage forms (~10 minutes), then beat for 1 minute more on medium speed. Add in the milk and beat until incorporated and then lower the speed and mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Then, if using a bowl for a mixer, transfer this to another bowl to let it sit and thoroughly clean the bowl and the whisk attachment / beaters. 

4.) Now, with a clean bowl and beaters / whisk attachment, whisk egg whites for 30 seconds to ensure that they will froth. As long as they are frothing, add the remaining sugar +/- a pinch of cream of tartar (helps to stabilize things) and beat until soft peaks form. 

5.) Stir 1/4 or a big scoop of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture +/- the vanilla extract and mix to soften the egg yolk mixture. Then, put the rest of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and gentle fold them together. 

6.) Transfer the batter to the pan, smoothe the top, and bake for ~25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

7.) Let cool. Then, stable at 1/2-inch intervals with a skewer. Mix together the 3 milks of the syrup in a 2-cup measuring cup or another bowl with a spout. Drizzle 1/3 of the milky syrup over the cake. Let it slowly absorb for 5-10 minutes. Then repeat this x2 until all the milk has been added to the cake. 

8) In a mium bowl, beat heavy cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Top the cake with the whipped cream. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight before serving.

 

Cacio e Pepe

While I was less than thrilled with Rome when we visited last year (too many people, too much hype), I did come back with a new pasta love, Cacio e Pepe. I hadn't had it before in the states. When reading, however, about what to eat when in Rome (the answer is that everything is geared towards tourists and particularly amazing), I did take note that Anthony Bourdain said to just eat Cacio e Pepe anywhere in Rome. So, I took his advice and was very pleased that I did as it was delicious. I was sad to not see it on many restaurant menus here in the states, though, so I was happy when I found this recipe by Mark Bittman on the New York Times' website. The comments I think are quite helpful, though. Here's how I made it for a single portion for myself. 

Cacio e Pepe  

Ingredients

1/3 cup pasta 

~1 cup of grated cheese (see below), equal parts pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Regiano (important that this is real brick cheese to start and not pre-grated cheese that is commonly available)

pepper, freshly ground


Directions 

1. In a large pot, fill about half way with water and salt well (1-2Tbsps). When boiling add the pasta. 

2. Meanwhile, in a food processor (or you can do this by hand with a grater), grate the cheese until quite fine. 

3. Begin to watch the pasta closely and when it is about 1-2 minutes from being done (you'll have to check it carefully), transfer the pasta only to another saucier type of pan. Then, add ~1 cup of the pasta water to the new pan. Turn the heat on medium-low. Slowly, sprinkle in the cheese, turning the pasta over until it forms a nice sauce that clings to the pasta. Once you have enough cheese to do this, stop and don't add too much cheese or it gets too thick and sticky. 

4. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and so it has the nice look with all the black specks evenly dispersed. 

5. Enjoy! 

Apple Crisp

My favorite recipe for apple crisp was from one of the professor's who lived in my dorm at university as a "professor in residence." I made it for a long time, but it required Bisquick, which I just never have on hand. When looking to make this recently, I was looking at other recipes, and essentially put one by the NYTimes and the professor's together to create this version. 


Apple Crisp

Ingredients

8-10 apples 
3/4 cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup oats 
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. 

2. Peel the apples and cut them into small 1/2-1 inch chunks. Place them in the bottom of a 8 or 9-inch round baking pan with somewhat taller sides. Pour the water over the top. 

3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt. Mix in the butter with hands until the consistency is like sand. Then, mix in the sugar, oats, and cinnamon. 

4. Pour the topping over the apples and cook for about 40 minutes, until the topping is browned and the apples are tender. 

5. I like to serve it warm, but you can serve it hot or at room temperature with ice cream. 

Fried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Found this nice recipe on the NYTimes recipe webpage and made some changes. Thought I would share. Apologies for the less than appetizing pictures - I decided to post this after I already ate it, so this is the pictures from my lunch container. Still looks good, though!

Fried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Chickpeas + Chutney

Ingredients 

FOR THE EGGPLANT

2 pounds of small Italian eggplants sliced 1/4-inch thick rounds 

A lot of olive oil (1/2 cup probably) 

1 large yellow onion, cut in half and then sliced (into smiles)

5 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon smoky or sweet paprika 

1 pound ripe tomatoes (I used Roma in the winter), chopped into 1cm chunks

1 15-ounce can (1 3/4 cups) cooked chickpeas (if in the can, drain and rinse the chickpeas)

FOR THE CHUTNEY 

 2 cups of mint leaves 

1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves & tender stems (1 bunch) 

1 jalapeno pepper cut into chucks (and seeded if you don't want it too spicy)

1 scallion cut into 1-inch chunks or 4-5 chives 

1 garlic clove

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1-2 teaspoons water only if needed to get the blender going

TAMARIND CHUTNEY 

2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate 

1 teaspoon maple syrup

Serve over rice. 

Preparation

(If making rice, start that now)

1. Season the eggplant slices with salt all over. Heat a large flat-bottomed skillet over medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the slides on the bottom of the pan to fit in one layer without overlapping. Cook until the bottoms are browned, about 3-5 minutes per size, then flip and cook for a couple minutes more. You will most likely need to add more oil during the frying (the eggplants soak up a lot of olive oil). Once cooked, transfer the eggplants to a plate and continue this with the other slices of eggplant until they are all cooked. 

2. Heat another 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and then add the onions and cook until golden and softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes (don't burn the garlic). Add the spices, tomatoes, and chickpeas, and 2 tablespoons of water. Partly cover the pan and let this simmer for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are completely broken down. Taste and salt (lightly) if needed. 

3. Add the eggplant to the pan and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens to your liking. 

4. While the eggplant / chickpeas cook, place the mint chutney ingredients in a blender or in a food processor and blend until pureed. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt, or both. 

5. Combine the tamarind chutney ingredients in a small cup / bowl. 

6. Serve over rice with the chutneys and with plain yogurt if you would like. 

Enjoy! 

Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Vodka Sauce

The night before the Twin Cities Marathon (which I recently successfully ran!), my running partner made homemade pasta while I put together some sauces. It was part of our grand carbo-loading plan. The next weekend, she invited me over for homemade gnocchi - this time with no carbo loading in mind, just pure taste-filled pleasure. They turned out so well that I tried to make them myself at home - with success! They're actually super easy - easier than other pastas that require the pasta machine to make. They're so soft and pillow-y! Despite binge-ing on them all last week and declaring myself carbed-out over the weekend, I made them again this week, and they turned out great once again. So, here's the recipe for future use. Try them - you won't be disappointed! 

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients

1. Large sweet potato or a combination of sweet potatoes and yams. About 2-2.5 lbs total. 
2. 1 large egg 
3. 1/4 tsp salt 
4. 1 - 1.5 cups flour
5. 1/4 cup white wine (perhaps)

Directions

1. Bring a larger saucepan filled with water to a boil. Also bring a large pot filled with water + dash of salt to a boil. 
2. While waiting for the water to boil, peel the potatoes, cut in halves or quarters (if large), then place into the saucepan of boiling water and cook until they are soft (a fork can be inserted to them without resistance)
3. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a clean bowl. 
4. Put the potatoes through a potato rice or do a combination of grating the potatoes and mashing them so that they are fairly smooth and there are no major chunks. 
5. Mix in the egg fairly well. 
6. Fold in 1 cup of flour; add more if necessary. The dough should still be somewhat sticky. If it ends up being too dry, add the white wine about 1 teaspoon at a time to combat the dryness until the flour is incorporated. 
7. On a good-sized cutting board or clean surface, sprinkle a handful of flour. Take about 3/4 cup of the dough and roll it out into a 'snake-shape' until it's about 1-2cm thick and not sticking to the board. Try not to overwork. Cut the snake into 1-2cm pieces. Repeat with all the other pieces of dough until it's all made into gnocchi.
8. Place the raw gnocchis in the larger pot of boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the gnocchis float + 1 minute. Then, drain the gnocchis and immediately either cool with some water or drizzle with olive oil / butter to prevent them from sticking. 
9. They are ready to eat with the sauce of your choice! 


Vodka Sauce

Ingredients

1. 1 large onion 
2. 3 cloves of garlic 
3. 4 large tomatoes
4. 1 Tablespoon basil 
5. 1/2 cup vodka
6. dash of olive oil or 1 tablespoon of butter 
7. 1/4 cup heavy cream 
8. Salt to taste

Directions

1. Clean the tomatoes, cut out the stem part, cut in half and place in a blender (VitaMix preferably). Blend until smooth and almost juice-like (about 15-20 seconds). Set aside.
2. Dice the onion (cut it into 1cm squares). In a large saucepan, place the onion and olive oil/butter and bring it to warm / sizzle over low-medium heat. Cook until the onions get somewhat transluscent. Stir regularly to prevent too much browning. 
3. Chop the garlic into little pieces. One the onions are about done, add the garlic and the basil and cook until you can smell both of them - about 30-60 seconds. 
4. Add the vodka, and stir. Once cooked down, add the pureed tomatoes. Cook until the sauce has cooked down some and the sauce is the thickness that you like - about 5-10 minutes. Take off of the heat. 
5. Take an immersion blender and blend the whole sauce to get rid of the onion chunks. 
6. Add the heavy cream. Stir. 
7. Ready to serve - enjoy! 

Peach, Nectarine, and Apple Cobbler

When you live in a part of the country / world with seasons, summer is a season that you come to cherish. Not only does it bring back great memories of long, lazy, and fun days filled with swimming, biking, road trips, and running through a sprinkler in your backyard, but it brings with it the most amazing fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Yes, fruits and veggies you can find all year long, but let's face it - winter strawberries just don't taste as good as the summer ones, especially if you just picked them off the vine when they are still warm from the sun. I can't even find peaches outside of July and August in the grocery, so when they are here, I try to take full advantage. This cobbler is just one great recipe that I changed up a little from the original on epicurious. You can make it with all peaches, all nectarines, or probably all apples, but I like the mix and usually pick among the best and most ripe fruits that I have in the kitchen so that I get the best product. I've included below my recipe that makes a larger product (enough for a 9"x13" pan). I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did! 

Peach, Nectarine, and Apple Cobbler

Ingredients

Fruit Filling: 

5 ripe peaches

3 ripe nectarines

1-2 apples

1/3 cup sugar 

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cobbler Topping: 

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 and 3/4 sticks cold butter 

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup boiling water 

9x13" baking dish

Directions 

1. Heat over to 425 degrees. 

2. Start to boil some water on the stove or take 1/2 cup of water and put it in the microwave for 45second-1minute to warm. 

3. Take all the fruit, peel and slice it into 1/2-1 inch pieces (I left some of the nectarines with the skins on, however). Try to do this over the baking dish so that the juices from the fruit are collected in the pan. Put all of the sliced fruit evenly into the bottom of the 9x13-inch pan. Sprinkle with the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch, then mix it in the dish with a spoon so that the fruit is generally evenly coated with these. 

4. Place the fruit in the oven as it is heating up to get the fruit starting to cook. Leave it in there for no  more than 10 minutes. In the meantime, start to make the topping. 

5. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the cold butter into paddies. Take the paddies of butter and add it to the flour, mixing it with your hands (will be messy) until the flour and butter are incorporated well into each other and the butter is about the size of small peas. Add the boiling water and mix together with a spoon until well incorporated, but do not overmix. 

6. Take the fruit out of the oven. Scoop the cobbler topping on top of the fruit and gently spread to try to cover as much surface area as possible. Place the baking dish back in the oven and cook until the topping is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. 

7. This is great to serve warm for ice cream or can sit for a couple of hours to serve later. 

8. Enjoy!

Crème Brûlée French Toast

Mmm... French Toast in the morning. There is something special for me about well-made French toast. It's probably my love of carbs, and especially bread. Crispy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside, with real maple syrup and of course berries or fruit to make me feel like it's a healthy choice - I love making this recipe when I have time for it. It doesn't take a lot of time, but my usual workday routine doesn't allow time for serious cooking. With residency finished in June, however, I had July to study for boards (painful), but break  did give me enough time in the morning to indulge in making French press coffee, reading the news, and of course this wonderful French Toast recipe! 

I used to make French toast by just whisking together eggs and some cream and then dipping the bread in it and frying. However, the toast always ended up tasting a little egg-y (which I despise) and the batter usually ended up not being evenly dispersed over the toast. Thus, I decided to make a batter like you would make crème brûlée, which significantly improved the final product. It does take a little bit more time and a couple more dishes, but in the end it's significantly worth it. This recipe is enough for 1-2 people (makes 3-4 slices of toast), but can be sized up easily. 

Crème Brûlée French Toast 

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1 medium-large egg yolk 

pinch of salt 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Optional: pinch of cinnamon +/- nutmeg 

3-4 pieces of slides quality bread (I like mild sourdough)

1 Tablespoon butter 

Fruit of choice for garnishing

Real maple syrup

Directions

1. Place the heavy cream in a saucepan and turn on medium. Scald the cream (heat it until it starts to mildly bubble). While you're waiting for the cream to scald, separate the egg yolk from the egg white and place the egg yolk in a small bowl. 

2. Once the cream is scalded, warm the eggs (whisk the egg yolk constantly while pouring 1/3-1/2 of the cream into the bowl with the egg yolk, continue to whisk constantly). Place the saucepan back on the stove and then transfer the warmed eggs to the rest of the cream mixture in the saucepan, again whisk constantly. Whisk for a minute to two or until the cream-egg mixture thickens. Once it is thickened, turn off the heat. Stir in the salt, vanilla extract, and any other flavors you want the batter to have. 

3. In a larger flat bottomed pan or (cast iron) skillet, place the patty of butter and allow it to melt on medium heat. Place a piece of bread into the cream-egg batter mixture and coat both sides of the bread. Once the butter is heated (but not burned), fry the bread in the butter until the sides are slightly crispy, about 1-2 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove from the pan and put on a plate. Repeat with the other pieces of bread until all are pan-fried. 

4. Cut up fruit of your choice into bite-sized pieces. Serve on the plate with the French Toast. Drizzle with real maple syrup. 

5. Enjoy! 

Pot Roast

It's snowing. It's cold (it's only 15 degrees), and I'm sick of cooking, but don't really want to go out. Time to re-discover the good old Crock Pot!! I had a craving for beef and so made this pot roast, which I think turned out really well. Here's the recipe for my future memory and for you to try! 

Pot Roast 

Ingredients: 

1.5-2 lbs of brisket, trimmed of fat 

1 onion, cut into chunks

2-3 cups of beef broth (enough to cover the meat but not to fill the whole crock pot)

3 Tablespoons olive oil 

3 bay leafs (leaves?)

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning (or thyme)

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup red wine (optional)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon salt (if beef broth not too salty) - more to taste if needed, esp at the end with the gravy

pepper, to taste 

2-3 parsnips cut into french-fry type shapes

2-3 carrots cut into french-fry type shapes 

1/4 cup flour & 1/4 cup water, mixed into thickish paste

Mashed potatoes to your liking if you want. 

Instructions: 

1. Get out your crock pot and make sure it's not dusty. 

2. Trim any fat off of the brisket. In a large flat-bottomed pan / skillet, heat the oil until just before its smoking point. Add the brisket and quickly brown on each side (max 1 minute each side). Take the brisket off of the pan and put it into the crock pot. (Don't transfer any excess oil).  

3. Put the rest of the ingredients except the parsnips and carrots into the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

4. 1-2 hours before dinner, put in the parsnips and carrots and cook for 1-2 hours. (Start the mashed potatoes soon if you want them). 

5. Take out the brisket and place on a cutting board and allow to rest for a bit. Then, cut against the grain into strips for eating. 

6. Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon and place them in a pan. 

7. Transfer the juice from the crockpot into a pot. When boiling, add the flour-water mixture and whisk until thick like a gravy. You may need to add more flour-water mixture or cornstarch-water mixture to get to the gravy consistency. There is no exact science. 

8. Serve the brisket and veggies topped with gravy and mashed potatoes on the side. Mmm. 

Miso, Ginger, and Pine Nut Dressing

My husband again has managed to make something delicious that I must document in an attempt to replicate on my own. Here is his dressing: 

Ingredients: 

2 cloves garlic 

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder 

2 Tablespoons yellow miso 

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (dark)

1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons water 

1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice 

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon chili oil 

2 Tablespoons pine nuts 

1 green onion

Directions:

1. Put into a blender, mix with an emersion blender, or whisk well together in a bowl. Serve over lettuce, other salad, or as a marinade / finishing sauce for chicken or fish. 

Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes

I am in love with my husband's cauliflower curry. He always makes it perfectly. I'm copying his recipe here so that hopefully I can make it on my own in the future. 

Ingredients: 

1 onion, chopped small 

1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into approximately 1/2-inch pieces

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped coarsely

2 medium potatoes, diced small

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 cup of frozen peas 

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons curry powder 

2 teaspoons garam masala

1/2 teaspoon asafetida

1/2 teaspoon mango powder (optional)

2 teaspoons black cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 1/2 teaspoon salt 

Directions:

1. Add one-third of the coconut oil to a large sauce-type pan. Raise heat to medium-high. Add cumin seed and mustard seed for 1 minute, until the seeds start to pop some but do not burn. Then, add onion. Saute until the onion begins to caramelized, approximately 5 minutes. Remove mixture from pan and set aside. 

2. Place one-third more of the coconut oil into the pan. Add the cauliflower, tumeric, 1 teaspoon salt, and saute for approximately 7 minutes with lid on, stirring occasionally. Stir in the potatoes. Continue to saute for 10-15 more, until the potatoes are soft, stirring regularly with a scraper, to get the little bits off of the bottom of the pan. You do not want to add water. When potatoes are tender enough to eat, add remaining ingredients and the onion mixture. Cook until the tomatoes begin to fall apart. 

3. Serve on its own or over rice. 

Roasted Chicken Tacos with Mexican Gravy

This weekend, the hubs decided that he was going to buy more tomatoes (because canning 120 pounds of them wasn't enough) in order to try making his own salsa for the first time. It went well, although I think next year we will be making some changes to the recipe. In any event, we wanted to make a dinner dish in order to highlight the salsa and settled on trying to replicate our favorite Mexican restaurant's chicken that they put into their tamales, tacos, enchiladas, etc. The chicken is always so moist, and their seasoning of it is perfect. We obviously don't know the secrets to their sauces and seasoning, but the hubs is pretty good spices and came up with this close - and delicious - mix. We particularly like roasting whole chickens as you tend to get more meat, the price per pound is cheaper, and the meat stays juicier. This also allows you to keep all the juices to make gravy or other sauces with, which is an added bonus. We will definitely keep this method of making taco meat in our recipe-box, and hopefully will branch out from tacos to other entrees to highlight the meat in the future. 

Enjoy! 

Roasted Chicken Tacos with Mexican Gravy

Ingredients

For the spice mixture:

2 Tablespoons chili powder 

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/2 teaspoon onion powder 

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

1 Tablespoon cumin 

1 teaspoon celery seed 

2 teaspoons salt 

2 teaspoons black pepper 

For the chicken:

1 whole chicken (4 pounds about), fresh or thawed 

1/4 cup of canola or grapeseed oil

2 1/2 cup water 

thickening agent (flour, potato starch, corn starch)

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees 

2. Loosen the skin of the chicken with the back of a wooden spoon. Smear 1/4 cup of canola or grapeseed oil under and on top of the skin. Take 1/2 of the spice mixture and rub it under and on top of the skin.

3. Place the spiced-up chicken in a dutch oven and pour water into the base so that there is about an inch of water under the bird. Cover the dutch oven with a lid and close the oven door (you want to steam cook the bird). 

4. Bake for about  hour 15 minutes (or per the directions with the bird) or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165. Would recommend flipping the bird half way through the cooking process. 

5. Take the chicken out of the oven when done. Remove the chicken from the dutch oven, draining any liquid from the cavity of the chicken back into the dutch oven. (Save this liquid for below. Do not discard.) Place the chicken on a plate, cooling rack, or bowl and allow it to cool some until it's at a comfortable enough temperature for you to start to remove the meat from the chicken with your hands. 

6. When it is cool enough, remove the skin from the bird and then use your hands to remove the pieces of the meat from all parts of the bird and place it in a separate bowl. Shred any larger pieces of meat with two forks. 

7. Toss the newly shredded meat with the remaining spice seasoning. 

8. Place the dutch oven with the seasoned drippings from the bird on the stovetop. Turn the heat to medium-high, and allow it to come to a soft boil. Once boiling, whisk in your choice of thickening agent (we use Egg-replacer, which is a potato starch and tapioca start based thickener, but you could also use either potato starch, corn starch, or about 1/4-1/3 cup flour mixed with 1/4-1/3 cup water). Whisk this until the gravy is thickened. Don't worry about bits of chicken in the gravy (yum!). Salt to taste. 

9. Assemble your tacos with your choice of sides:  Guacamole, salsa, onions, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce (or other greens), and/or sour cream. Use the gravy inside the tacos or drizzled over multiple tacos for presentation. 

Wild Rice Salad

Several months ago the hubs and I went to a local museum, where they were highlighting a chef who works for a neighborhood food kitchen. He has brought nutricious, delicious, and free (!) lunches to an area of town that was a healthy food desert. He made this salad to highlight our local Minnesota wild rice, which was so delicious. 

There are many types of wild rice that are commercially available, but we have found that the rice harvested by hand from the northern river beds of Minnesota is the best. Many of the local native tribes are active in the harvest and selling of the rice, which is fun. The native rice cooks the fastest and has the best flavor. We really fell in love with this salad and now make it - and versions of it - frequently at home. Enjoy! 



(Minnesota) Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients

1.5 cups wild rice 
4 cups water 
(1 broth cube)
1 carrot 
1 onion 
3 large swiss chard leaves (or spinach)
1/3 cup chopped mixed nuts (preferably walnuts, almonds, or pecans)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/4 cup raisins, dried cherries, or other fruit

Dressing

1 cup cilanto (1/2 bunch)
1/2 cup olive oil 
3 Tablespoons champagne vinegar 
3 cloves garlic 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 Tablespoon agave syrup (or maple syrup)
1 teaspoon mustard (stone ground)

Directions

1.) 2-3 hours ahead of time, cook the rice in the water with a broth cube (optional). To do this, bring the rice, water, and broth cube to a boil in a large sized pan. Once it comes to a boil, turn down and cover. Cook on low until the rice is fluffy and soft (how long depends on the rice). Drain any extra water. Place the rice in a medium sized bowl and allow it to sit at room temperature until it's completely cooled. Then, fluff. We have found that putting it in the fridge works against the consistency of the rice and instead we just let it cool to room temperature on the counter. 
2.) 30 minutes or so before wanting to serve the dish, Chop the onion into 1 centimeter pieces. Place some canola or olive oil in a saute pan and over low-to-medium heat, sautee the onions until they are soft, brown, and somewhat sweet. Then, place them aside. Grate/shave the carrot into small pieces. Roll the swiss chard leaves length-wise into a little tube and chop/slice the tube into little strips (chiffonade-style). Chop the nuts. 
3.) Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a bowl and then mixing with an electric mixer or - even better - an immersion blender until a dressing is made. The most important part of the dressing is keeping the oil to vinegar ratio 3:1 and putting in mustard to help as an emulsifyer. The other ingredients can be played with as you like. 
4.) Assemble the salad by combining the rice, veggies, dried fruit, and nuts. Pour over the dressing and stir all together.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie

Rhubarb is something new that I've gotten into since moving to Minnesota. I'm not sure why I never tried it before, but I think it was people constantly saying how sour it was. My mother-in-law made some great dishes, however, so this year when the rhubarb was ripe behind our our 'country' house, Chris picked some for me to experiment with. For my first baking experiment with rhubarb, I wanted something that was a classic, and what's more classic than strawberry-rhubarb pie? Unfortunately, pie is not totally my thing. I don't have the knack for the crust like my Aunt Lori does, and I don't have the talent at lattice work like my mother-in-law. Luckily, though, I came across this recipe by Joy the Baker, and was brave enough to try it. The crust (amazingly!) turned out really flaky and the filling was sweet but not overpowering. Plus, who doesn't love a great oaty crumble on top? (I particularly liked it because it saved me from having to roll out a top!) I decided to bring the finished product into work with me, and let's just say, it was gone by lunchtime. So, if you have some time on an afternoon to bake and putter, then give this recipe a try!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Adapted slightly from Joy the Baker 

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounce) COLD unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
juice of 1/3 lemon
1/4 cup milk 

For the Filling:
3 cups rhubarb sliced into 0.5cm chunk (sorry, we measure skin lesions in millimeters, so that's what I'm used to....) 
1 pound (1 box) strawberries with the green part cut off and then cut in half
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
large pinch of salt 
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For the Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
large pinch of salt 
large pinch of cinnamon 
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

Directions:

Make the crust:
1.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter chunks and either using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture until the butter pieces are the size of small peas or oat flakes. Pour in the lemon and the milk and use your hands or a fork to bring together coarsely. Don't over do it. You're not kneading dough here. Just try to moisten all of the flour bits. 
2.) Flour a work-surface and dump the pie crust mixture onto the work surface, shape it into a small disk (can be quite coarse), and then wrap that in plastic wrap and put into the fridge for 1 hour. 
3.) When ready, roll out the pie crust on a well floured surface until it's about 1/8 inch thick and 12 inches across. Transfer to a pie plate. Trim the edges and fold with your fingers to make a pretty design. Place in the fridge. 

Make the Filling:
4.) In a medium bowl, toss together the rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, cornstarch, lemon, and salt. Mix until all the fruit/rhubarb is covered with the sugars and cornstarch. Allow to rest as you make the crumble topping. 

Make the Topping:
5.) In another bowl, mix together the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter chunks and work them into the flour mixture by hand until the butter is the size of peas. 

Assemble the Pie:
6.) Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
7.) Remove the pie crust from the fridge.
8.) Take a big handful of the topping mixture and put it into the fruit mixture. Stir. 
9.) Pour the fruit mixture into the pie crust. Sprinkle the crumble evenly on top of the fruit mixture. 
10.) Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and place it on the bottom rack of the oven (this will catch any drippings and prevent them from burning and stinking up your oven). Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven (v. important that it's the middle rack). 
11.) Bake the pie at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for 35-40 minutes longer, or until the pie is juicy, bubbling, and golden brown. 
12.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. This will help congeal the juices and allow them to mellow. 
13.) Serve with vanilla ice cream or store in the fridge. 

This will seriously make your house smell wonderful. 

Homemade Pasta

Maybe the cooking / baking slump is over? Today, I decided for Sunday dinner (by myself since the hubs is up camping with his high school friends) to make pasta from scratch. I had tried in the past to make pasta and always horribly failed or never got it thin enough. Then last year, one of my co-interns, Dr. Erin, kindly invited me over to her house and went through the ins and outs of how to make a great pasta. It took me a little time to get down all the steps again, but once I got my muscle memory going, the pasta turned out great. It's actually quite easy and doesn't take that long once you get the hang of it. The results are so worth it. Homemade pasta tastes so much better than the boxed stuff. Plus, you can throw in any herb or even finely chopped sundried tomatoes to make an exquisite dish. Here's the recipe and the steps: 

Homemade Pasta (basic)

Ingredients:

4 eggs 

4 cups of all-purpose flour 

4-6 Tablespoons of water. 

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl or mixer affixed with a dough hook and mix until the ingredients just start to come together into little clumps. It should be VERY crumbly. 

2. Take a about a baseball sized amount of crumbly dough and pack it together into a little flat-topped mound:

3. Squish this mound through your dough machine at the widest setting (mine is 7). It should come out like a really coarse, fat piece of pasta dough:

3. Fold this piece of dough into halves or thirds to make another little packet of dough:

Run this through the pasta machine at the same wide setting. 

4. Now you should have a smoother, but still thick piece of pasta dough. If you don't, keep folding and running the packet through the dough machine at the widest setting until there are no "runs" or other major imperfections in the dough. (It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, but shouldn't have any holes, etc.) It should look something like this: 

5. Now, once you have a piece of pasta like this, you WILL NOT fold it any more before putting it through the pasta maker. You'll just put one end in and glide it through. So, put the pasta through the maker, again (one more time) on the widest setting to smoothen it out. Then, adjust the setting to the next narrowest and run the pasta through end-to-end (no folding). Keep doing this with one or two passes per each narrowing of settings until you get down a thickeness that you like. (I don't like to use the smallest setting. I usually stop a little before that). It often helps to have two sets of hands helping as the pasta sheet gets longer:  One to crank the machine and one to feed the dough / catch the dough on the other end to ensure that it goes through smoothly. Eventually, you will end up with a REALLY long piece of thin perfect pasta dough! 

6. Now, you can use this piece of pasta to make raviloli or lasagna, or you can run it through the "chopper" part of the pasta maker and make it into strands of spaghetti or linguine. 

7. Once you have your pasta, cut it to the desired length and either boil it right away for 3-4 minutes or hang it on hangers to dry and then store in the fridge for another day. 

Enjoy!! 

Clarence House Bread Pudding

Woah woah. It has been a long time since I last posted. I went through a dry period without much baking - and more working - but now, the tides have turned and I'm baking some old tried and true recipes as well as some new ones. 

This weekend, I just wanted a little something sweet, so I started looking through my recipe book to see if anything caught my eye. A high school friend turned pastry chef gave me her fabulous recipe for bread pudding that I used to absolutely adore when I was home and would visit the restaurant where shed used to bake. She kindly shared the recipe, although it was definitely scaled up for mass production. I just wanted a small taste of bread pudding without making enough for a party, so I tried to scale it waaay down, and to my surprise it worked quite nicely. I ended up with two ramekins of bread pudding:  One for a tasty afternoon snack and one for after dinner. Mmmm. The small sprinkling of chocolate chips on top gives it just enough chocolate to make my taste buds happy, but not enough to take away from the delicious pure nature of the custard. 

It didn't take more than 10 minutes to put together and make. Don't be discouraged if you don't have ramekins either. You could make them in oven-proof tea cups or other small dishes and then place them in a brownie pan with an inch or so of water for the water bath. 

Be creative and enjoy!

Clarence House Bread Pudding - Small Scale Style
From Carla

Makes enough for 2 ramekins. 

2 pieces of toast, toasted until golden brown, crusts cut off, cut into 2cm cubes
3/4 cup heavy cream 
2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/4 cup chocolate chips 
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a teapot on the stove, start boiling some water. 
2. Place the pieces of cut up toast into 2 ramekins until almost filled to the top. 
3. In a small or medium sized pan over medium heat, scald the cream (until its bubbly). Add the sugar and whisk until dissolved. Don't let it burn / brown. 
4. In a separate small bowl, place the egg yolk. Add spoonfuls of the warm and bubbly cream to the egg yolk while mixing with a fork constantly until the eggs are warmed. Then, quickly, transfer the eggs into the main pan of bubbly cream and whisk whisk whisk to prevent the eggs from clumping. Add the vanilla extract and whisk some more.
5. Remove egg-cream mixture from heat and pour over the toast in the ramekins. Over the top, sprinkle chocolate chips and then cinnamon. 
6. Place the ramekins in a larger, deeper dish. Add an inch or so of boiling water into the pan around the ramekin dishes. Place the whole apparatus in the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the chocolate chips are melted and the custard is thicker and not runny. 
7. Serve warm. 

PS - I'm sure you could double / triple this very easily to fill more ramekins. Could also try 1/2 2% or whole milk with 1/2 heavy cream.