Baklava Bites
Posted by: cinnybear on: May 30, 2009
This is one of the few recipes that I like to remake as my “to cook” list continues to grow and grow. The list grows at an average rate of 3 recipes per week with the cooking execution rate of 1 a week (sometimes even less, sadly. )
I really need to get out of the “what are the stats?” mode. I actually prefer to make these than the traditional form of baklava because they are bite-size and…cute. Yes, food can be cute!
Ingredients
1/3 cups sugar + 2 tbs sugar
3/4 cups water
1/3 cup honey
1 cinnamon sticks
4 2×1/2-inch strips orange peel
1 teaspoons rose water
1 /2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1.5 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
12-15 fresh phyllo pastry sheets. Thaw phyllo dough in fridge overnight!
Directions
Syrup preparation: Stir 1 /3 cup sugar, water, honey, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Mix in rose water. Chill until cold.
Filling preparation: Mix walnuts, ground cinnamon, allspice, and 2 tbs of sugar in medium bowl.
Phyllo dough preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush mini-muffin pan with some melted butter.
- Place the first sheet of phyllo dough on a flat surface. Brush with butter and place another sheet of phyllo dough on top. Repeat the process until you have layered 6-7 sheets of phyllo dough.
- Cut the phyllo dough into 3 inch x 3 inch squares. Gently press each square into the muffin pan so the edges protude in an even fashion. Repeat for all muffin holders.
- Bake in oven for 6-7 minutes (or until golden brown) and cool for a few minutes. Do not remove from the pan.
- Spoon walnut mixture into each phyllo cup and then drizzle about a spoonful of the syrup over each phyllo cup.
- Patience is key when making baklava. Give the baklava a few hours to rest (I can only seem to wait half a day) before enjoying!
The Gourmet Meat Lover’s Pizza
Posted by: cinnybear on: May 4, 2009
No, this is not a pizza with triple cheese and piled high with pepperoni.
I admit I had pizza 4 times consecutively this week…and that I have not weighed myself afterwards. I don’t know what made me want to make pizza for the fourth time (the calling of random cured meats from the grocery store?)…but I am so glad I did because the results were utterly drool-worthy.
And it only takes 12 minutes to bake.
Ingredients
- 1 Boboli© pizza crust, thin crust
- 1 packet of Boboli© pizza sauce
- 1/3 cup Linguica sausage, pre-cooked and sliced thin into 1/8 slices.
- 1/3 cup Salami, pre-sliced, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/3 Capacolla, hot , pre-sliced, and cut into bite-size pieces. Minimal marbling.
- 3-4 bella mushrooms, sliced, and torn into halves or thirds.
- 1.5 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp fresh oregano
- 4-5 large basil leaves
- 2 cups Monterey jack cheese, grated.
Note: the meat should be gently packed into the cup. Vary the amount and proportions of the meat based on your preferences. Just make sure not to pile on too much otherwise the pizza will sink!
Directions
- Preheat over to 450 F
- Wrap the linguica sausage in a few paper towels and microwave for 40-50 seconds. Remove from microwave and press gently to extract any additional oil (this step prevents the pizza from getting too greasy)
- Spread pizza sauce over the crust and evenly distribute the cheese.
- Evenly distribute the meats, mushrooms, oregano and fennel seeds.
- Bake directly on the oven rack for 12 minutes.
- While pizza bakes, layer the basil leaves on top of each other and roll them into a tight funnel. Slice the basil into thin strips.
- Garnish pizza with basil and serve.
Roasted Beet and Feta Salad
Posted by: cinnybear on: May 3, 2009
A new found obsession with beets.
My encounters with the beet are few and far in between. Besides confusing them as being big radishes, my thought was always, “what is that dark purple thing at the salad bar with the weird lines? That can not look good. Can we get please get through from the salad line so I can get my chile-cheese baked potato?”
…and just a few weeks ago, a strange curiosity took over and I tried the beet.
And I liked it.
And I liked the freshly roasted beet even more.
Ingredients
- 2 large beets (3 inches in diameter) – trimmed, scrubbed, and washed
- 2-3 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs course ground sea salt
- ¼ cup of fresh feta cheese
- 2-3 handfuls of salad mix (leafy greens, minimal to no lettuce)
- 1/2 English cucumber, sliced
- 10 mini-tomatoes, sliced horizontally
- A small handful of toasted walnuts (optional)
Salad Dressing
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450F and cover a rimmed baking pan with foil.
- Scrub beets and cut off the end and tops of the beets (leave about 2 inches of the stem from the top of the beet). Cut the beet into 4 equal wedges.
- Place beets in baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Seal with pan with another layer of foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove cover after 50 minutes and roast for another 30 minutes. To check for doneness, you should be easily able to stick a knife or fork through the beet.
- While the beets cook, prepare the salad dressing. Place all ingredients of the salad dressing in a container with a lid and shake well (normally I use a mason jar but I found empty plastic water bottles work just as well).
- Slice the beets (the skins of beets are edible but if you prefer it without the skin, it should come off fairly easily after being roasted)
- In a large bowl, assemble the salad ingredients and beets. Drizzle with salad dressing (note: please do not use all the salad dressing, use based on your preferences) and enjoy!
Chicken Scarpariello
Posted by: cinnybear on: May 2, 2009
Recipe revisit – because it’s just that good.
No cheese on an Italian dish? My thighs can’t be more grateful (I’m pleasantly ignoring the presence of sausage)
This recipe has a mouth-drooling combination of crispy-skinned chicken, spicy sausage, bell peppers, and hot cherry peppers. Needless to say, it’s spicy…however the spiciness is rounded off with well with the subtle sweetness of the chicken and vegetables.
If you can’t find hot cherry peppers, use picked banana peppers.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces sweet or spicy Italian sausage , casings removed
2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves , trimmed of excess fat and skin and cut crosswise into 2 or 3 pieces
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 medium onion , halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 large red bell pepper , stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
3-5 pickled hot cherry peppers , stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips (about 1/4 cup)
3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/3cup white wine vinegar plus 2 additional tablespoons
3/4cup low-sodium chicken broth plus 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add sausage and cook, stirring to break sausage into 1/2-inch pieces, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer sausage to plate lined with paper towels. Remove skillet from heat; pour off fat into small bowl and reserve; wipe out skillet with paper towels.
2. Return skillet to medium-high heat and heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil until smoking. Pat chicken dry and liberally season with salt and pepper. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and brown on other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate. Remove skillet from heat and pour off fat into bowl with sausage fat; wipe out skillet with paper towels.
3. Return skillet to medium-high heat and heat 1 tablespoon reserved fat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and cherry peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sugar, 1/3 cup vinegar, and 3/4 cup broth; bring mixture to boil, scraping up browned bits from pan bottom.
4. Add sausage and chicken (with any accumulated juices) to skillet, arranging chicken pieces in single layer, skin side up, on top of peppers and onion. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees, 18 to 22 minutes, removing smaller pieces sooner if necessary. Meanwhile, combine cornstarch, thyme, and remaining tablespoon broth in small bowl.
5. Carefully remove skillet from oven (handle will be very hot) and transfer chicken, skin side up, to platter or individual serving plates. Place skillet over medium-high heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. Simmer sauce mixture until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, taste sauce and add up to 2 tablespoons vinegar. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce around chicken, being careful not to pour it directly over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Fresh Picked Strawberries
Posted by: cinnybear on: April 28, 2009
Nothing is quite as satisfying as combing through acres of strawberry fields knowing that you can pick strawberries to your heart’s content (or until the bucket is full). Then there’s always the satisfying part of eating strawberries off the vine while no one is looking…or maybe they don’t even care.
If you’re down in Southern Orange County or Northern San Diego, go visit the Carlsbad Strawberry fields off of Polamar Airport Road. Spend a few hours perusing for the perfect-shaped strawberries, or if you’re me, look for the mutated-genetic-defect looking ones.
Here’s my attempt at recreating Nation’s Strawberry Pie since I’m not in the Bay Area. There’s something to be said on how they stack those strawberries…I will have to study the art of stacking strawberries when I go back home!
Recipe titled Fresh Strawberry Pie under the Dessert category.
Salmon Cakes & Miso Cream Sauce
Posted by: cinnybear on: April 24, 2009
I again bought too much salmon for my own good (I love you, Costco). Looks like you’ll be seeing some more salmon recipes! I love this recipe for the simple fact that it’s just like a crab cake but doesn’t leave the reaction of:
- How much did I just pay for crab legs?
- Where is that darn nut cracker?
- All that work for…just that amount of meat?
- Can I just eat a burger now? Please?
Top if off with a curious but delightful combination of miso and cream …and everyone is bound to be happy.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup white wine or 1/8 cup sake
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 3/4 cups dry bread crumbs (pulse white bread in food processor to make your own)
- Salmon, cooked and flaked (about 7-8 ounces)
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil + 1 tsp for sautéing the onions
Directions:
- Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the green onion and garlic, and cook until tender. Stir in the miso paste and sake until blended. Bring to a simmer then stir in the cream and lime juice. Return to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat 1 tsp of oil and saute onions in a separate pan for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, salmon, sauteed onion, and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, soy sauce and water using a fork. Stir about half of this into the salmon mixture, and if it seems dry, stir in a little more until the salmon mixture will stick together in patties.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Form the salmon mixture into 2 inch patties for appetizers, or 4 inch patties for a main dish. Fry patties for about 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Serve with the sauce drizzled over, or separately for dipping.
Curry Basil Wontons
Posted by: cinnybear on: April 3, 2009
Changing the game.
There’s not much to dislike about fried wontons.
1. Fried. Check.
2. Sweet and sour sauce. Check.
3. Fried. A few more checks.
What can I possibly complain about now? I can never tell what’s inside the wonton. I just taste fried goodness and sweet and sour sauce. This is a recipe that will tickle your taste buds with the mixture of basil, curry, chicken, and coconut. No dipped sauce required!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced onion (from 1 small onion)
1/4 cup minced celery (from 1 small celery stalk)
1 small clove garlic , minced, (at least 1/2 teaspoon)
2 medium carrots , shredded (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
6 ounces ground chicken
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves
1 package wonton wrappers or gyoza wrappers
1 tablespoon table salt
1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions, celery and garlic; sauté until almost softened, about 3 minutes. Add carrots; sauté until vegetables soften, about 2 minutes longer. Add curry paste and coconut milk; cook over medium-high heat, stirring to incorporate curry paste, until most of coconut milk has been absorbed. Transfer vegetables mixture to a bowl; cool to room temperature.
2. Mix in remaining filling ingredients. Let stand about 30 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to make dumplings.
3. To make wonton bundles — Hold a square wonton wrapper in the cup of your hand. Take one rounded teaspoon of filling and place the spoon slightly off-center on the wrapper. With your thumb, fold one side of the wonton wrapper over the filled spoon. Trap the filling inside the wrapper between your thumb and index finger, gently remove the spoon and seal the wonton by pinching the wrapper together.
4. Cooking note: you can either deep fry, boil, or cook these as potstickers.
To boil: Bring 4 quarts water to boil; add salt and dumplings. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, uncovered, until filling is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove dumplings with slotted spoon. Serve with dipping sauces or drop into hot broth for soup.
To deep fry: Heat oil and fry until golden brown (2-3 minutes)
To make potstickers: Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and line potstickers in the pan. Do not move the potstickers and let a light golden brown crust develop on the bottom of the potsticker. Add enough water to cover 1/4 of the potsticker and cover. Cook until water has evaporated.
Filet Mignon Vegetable Stew
Posted by: cinnybear on: March 27, 2009
Yes, that’s right. Filet Mignon vegetable stew. Three mighty pounds of beef.
You might ask whether that amount of beef is excessive…and it probably is. Surprisingly the meat ratio to vegetables was just right so please look less wide-eyed :)
2.5 to 3 lbs of filet mignon (whole), cut into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes.
3 tbs vegatable oil
1.5 tbs Italian seasoning
2 large onions
1.5 cups baby carrots
15 small red/white potatoes.
3 stalks of celery
1 package of whole mushrooms
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup Guinness
2 bay leaves
2 cups water (2.5??)
3 tbs tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 bunch of kale, cut into 1.5 inch strips
Warning: you need a big pot for this.
Directions:
1. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce over the meat and let sit for 10 minutes. Add a few dashes of salt.
2. While meat is marinating, cut onions into thick wedges and cut celery into 1 inch sections. If you prefer your mushrooms sliced, slice mushrooms in half (I prefer them whole). Dice 4 potatoes.
3. In a large soup pot, add 3 tbs of oil and 1.5 tbs of italian seasoning. Cook herbs for 30 seconds and add beef chunks. Brown meat on all sides, remove from pot,and set aside.
4. In the same pot, add 1 tbs oil and onion wedges,carrots, and potatoes. Saute until some of them are slightly browned. Add meat back into pot.
5. Toss tomato paste, bay leaves, celery, mushrooms into pot and saute for 5-7 more minutes.
6. Add red wine, Guinness, water, and stewed tomatoes. Let soup simmer for 1.5 hours.
7. At the 1.5 hour mark, add in kale and cook for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Almond Baklava with Rose Water
Posted by: cinnybear on: February 1, 2009
I have no excuse for not blogging for months but the question I have for you is…did you notice? Actually I have a lot of reasons why I haven’t been blogging but this isn’t a bitching blog, is it? :)
For the past few months, I’ve been eating some delightfully addicting foods which I’ll be blogging about soon enough in subsequent posts. Ajvar, Shopska salad, Macedonian toast, Sarma (aka dolmas but all meat!), fries topped with feta and oregano…
Oh, and pepperoni pizza topped with fresh basil?!
Ok, I’ll stop drooling now. For now, I’ll leave you with a baklava recipe I found on Epicurious. The rose water syrup adds a lovely flavor to the baklava but I found the almonds required a bit too much chewing in contrast to the layers of phyllo dough.
Almonds are a pain to chop. My food processor even struggled with chopping them. Perhaps I didn’t chop them small enough? Do I need to toast them before so they chop easier? –> I know, something I could google but I’m too lazy.
The thought of just using walnuts next time seems more appealing!
oh wait, did I mention that expresso with coffee ice cream and whip cream is to-die-for?
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup honey
2 cinnamon sticks
8 2×1/2-inch strips orange peel
2 teaspoons rose water*
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 cups coarsely chopped almonds (I suggest walnuts though…)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
15 fresh phyllo pastry sheets. Thaw phyllo dough in fridge overnight!
Directions
Stir 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, honey, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Mix in rose water. Chill until cold.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Brush 13×9x2-inch metal baking pan with some of melted butter. Mix almonds, ground cinnamon, allspice, and 1/3 cup sugar in medium bowl.
Fold 1 sheet of phyllo in half to form 12×9-inch rectangle. Place folded sheet in prepared pan. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with 4 more folded sheets, brushing top of each folded sheet with butter. Sprinkle half of nut mixture over. Top with 1 folded pastry sheet and brush with butter. Repeat with 4 more folded sheets, brushing top of each with butter. Sprinkle remaining nut mixture over. Repeat with 5 more folded sheets, brushing top of each with butter. Using sharp knife, make 5 diagonal cuts across phyllo, cutting through top layers only and spacing cuts evenly. Repeat in opposite direction to form diamond pattern. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
Strain rose syrup. Spoon 1 cup syrup over hot baklava; cover and chill remaining syrup. Recut baklava along lines all the way through layers. Pour another 1/2 to 3/4 cup of syrup. Let stand 4 hours (I think baklava tastes better a day later.)
Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Posted by: cinnybear on: October 19, 2008
Ain’t nothing wrong with chunky.
I love these chocolate chip cookies – now they’ve been enhanced (not surgically) with walnuts! I’ve been able to limit myself to just two cookies from the *ahem* 10 cookie batch. The rest go toward fattening up coworkers.
See recipe labeled Chocolate Chip Cookies – Perfected under the Cookies category. Just add another cup of chopped walnuts (you can also gently toast them prior to adding them to the batter)
Cookie link: http://cinnybear.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/chocolate-chip-cookies-perfected/
