sriracha mayonnaise

I learned this week in the NY Times that sriracha, a spicy red pepper sauce that we always have in the refrigerator, is not an authentic Vietnamese condiment, but in fact was invented by a Vietnamese immigrant to Los Angeles of Chinese origin. Interesting! Apparently it's all the rage among chefs in New York to use it in subtle and imaginative ways. I tried the accompanying recipe for sriracha mayonnaise, which is excellent with both French fries and steak. It's worth saving to make again. (I made a fourth of this quantity and had enough for two batches of oven fries and a steak).

Sriracha Mayo

2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup sriracha hot sauce
2 tablespoons condensed milk
1 tablespoon sea salt.

Mix everything together, preferably in a food processor. Spicy and good. Supposedly also a good accompaniment for onion rings.

Quick dinner idea - grilled chicken with harissa and yogurt

I have lots of updates but just haven't had time to post... but a recipe in yesterday's NY Times for beef marinated in harissa and yogurt gave me a good idea. You may know that tandoori chicken is marinated in yogurt to tenderize it, but this is a brilliant idea. Harissa is a spicy pepper paste we bring back from Morocco (it's Tunisian in origin), which you can get at Middle Eastern grocery stores and gourmet food shops. Adding harissa to yogurt for a marinade and then grilling the chicken is AWESOME. I chopped up some regular and sweet potatoes, chopped an onion into chunks, and mixed it with crushed garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Italian seasoning, then cooked those in the oven at 450 for about 30 minutes. Very fast dinner.

Grilled chicken with harissa and yogurt, side of roasted regular and sweet potatoes

2 large boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup yogurt
2 Tblsp. harissa (could do more to make it spicier)
salt
1 crushed garlic clove

Mix the marinade, chop the chicken into small, one inch chunks. Marinate it two hours. Grill. 45 minutes before you want to eat, make the potatoes. I used about 2 pounds potatoes, one large onion, chopped, 1 crushed garlic clove, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, 4 Tblsp. olive oil, and 1 Tblsp. balsamic vinegar. Toss well, cook at 450 for 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

another chocolate chip cookie recipe...

Can this blog stand yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe? I admit I came across this one under rather dubious circumstances. Having a craving for cookie dough, yet continuing with my resolve not to eat raw eggs while still breastfeeding the baby, I was scouring the web for eggless dough recipes I might consume. I found this one, which apparently originated in a vegan cookbook by author Chandra Moskowitz.I didn't have high hopes for the recipe at first-- where's the brown sugar? Where are the eggs? but if I could consume a little dough in the process of baking the cookies, I figured I would be happy. I was surprised when this one actually turned out to be quite delicious. Really good, in fact I'd make it just for the cookies alone. (And the dough doesn't taste half bad either). Again, the recipe is good enough to make me curious about the cookbook-- it's now on my Amazon wishlist.. I adapted it with less salt from the original recipe and with nuts.

Eggless, vegan chocolate chip cookies...

1 cup Smart Balance butter substitute, i.e. margarine
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (doesn't need much if your margarine already contains salt)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or vegan carob chips)
1/2 cup walnuts, pecans, whatever

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add molasses and vanilla, then dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by big spoonfulls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to cookie rack.

Eggplant Parmesan

A good eggplant parmesan ought to be substantial enough that you almost feel like you're eating meat. For years I've tried different recipes but haven't found anything that creates this effect. I also didn't really want to deep fry the eggplant, even if that might have been a potential secret. But I just found a great recipe-- thanks to my friend Bob. He had served it before at a dinner party and I vowed to get the recipe. I made it last night, and it's amazing. I believe the original source is Cook's Illustrated. The eggplant is baked, too, so it's almost good for you.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

2 pounds globe eggplant (2 medium eggplants), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 slices high-quality white bread, torn
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Tomato Sauce

3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped


8 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella, (2 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
10 fresh basil leaves torn, for garnish


1. FOR THE EGGPLANT: Toss half of eggplant slices and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt in large bowl until combined; transfer salted eggplant to large colander set over bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant and kosher salt, placing second batch in colander on top of first. Let stand until eggplant releases about 2 tablespoons liquid, 30 to 45 minutes. Arrange eggplant slices on triple layer paper towels; cover with another triple layer paper towels. Firmly press each slice to remove as much liquid as possible, then wipe off excess salt.

2. Put two rimmed baking sheets on each rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Pulse bread in food processor to fine, even crumbs, you should have about 4 cups. Transfer crumbs to pie plate and stir in 1 cup Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside.

3. Combine flour and 1 teaspoon pepper in large zipper-lock bag; shake to combine. Beat eggs in second pie plate. Place 8 to 10 eggplant slices in bag with flour; seal bag and shake to coat eggplant. Take out one baking sheet, add three Tblsp. regular oil. Remove eggplant slices, shaking off excess flour, dip in eggs, let excess egg run off, then coat evenly with bread crumb mixture; set breaded slices on heated baking sheets. Stick in oven. When sheet is full, do same thing with other baking sheet.

4. Bake until eggplant is well browned and crisp, about 30 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes, and flipping eggplant slices with wide spatula after 20 minutes. Do not turn off oven.

5. FOR THE SAUCE: While eggplant bakes, process 2 cans diced tomatoes in food processor, about 5 seconds. Heat olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and garlic is light golden, about 3 minutes; stir in processed and remaining can of diced tomatoes. Bring sauce to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. TO ASSEMBLE: Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Layer in half of eggplant slices, overlapping slices to fit; distribute 1 cup sauce over eggplant; sprinkle with half of mozzarella. Layer in remaining eggplant and dot with 1 cup sauce, leaving majority of eggplant exposed so it will remain crisp; sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Bake until bubbling and cheese is browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; scatter basil over top, and serve, passing remaining tomato sauce separately

best chocolate chip cookies ever...

The recipes on this blog give the appearance that my diet consists only of pasta, chicken, and cookies. Which isn't true, but I do have another another amazing cookie recipe to share. People have been rhapsodic over these cookies on various food blogs, but the hype is true-- they're great chocolate chip cookies because they have the maximum of chocolate chips and nuts. And it's nice how they cook on parchment paper, which I've never tried- they cook smoothly and come up very easily. They are made with cold butter, another difference I've noticed from other cookie recipes, and the oven is a little cooler than in standard cookie recipes. And the nuts are toasted... Those might help make these cookies so amazing, but who cares. They're just incredible. And I plan to buy the cookbook as a result of having tried this recipe...

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
from David Lebovitz, Great Book of Chocolate

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown with no problems)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 300. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat sugars and butter until smooth, add egg, vanilla and baking soda. Mix flour and salt, add to batter. Add chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheet, three inches apart. Bake 18 minutes. Yum.

Ligurian Chicken

Been making this for five years now... adapted from a NY Times recipe from chef Jamie Oliver. I had this on my old food blog, which I kept from 2000-04, but I never transferred it to this new one, so I am always hunting for the recipe. This is an excellent chicken preparation-- good for winter, and hearty yet light.

Ligurian Chicken

2 Tblsp. flour, mixed on a plate with salt and pepper
1 four pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces (bone-in)
2 Tblsp. olive oil
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/2 cups Kalamata olives, with or without pits
3 ripe plum tomatoes, halved, seeded, and coarsely chopped

Dredge the pieces in 2 Tblsp. flour, mixed with salt and pepper, then saute them in olive oil over medium-high heat. Don't be tempted to touch them until they develop a golden crust and the juices are sealed in. Turn them over, adding four little branches of rosemary and 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced. When garlic softens but does not color, add 1 1/2 cups white wine and bring to a boil. Then add 1/2 cup kalamata olives, and 3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped. Simmer partially covered until chicken is cooked and broth is reduced and tastes savory. The recipe said 15 to 20 minutes but the pieces of a big bird took slightly longer, so make sure it's done without overcooking it.

holiday cookies

I found two recipes for cookies this year that I will add to my library of cookies: Lemon Cornmeal Cookies (from this month's Cooking Light) and Triple Chocolate Cookies (originally from the Food Channel, altered slightly). The Lemon Cornmeal cookies are unusual; they develop a sugary crust on the bottom but are chewy on the inside from the cornmeal. The chocolate cookies are great-- and their ingredients can be altered slightly to make a different type of cookie each time. I will definitely be making these again.

LEMON CORNMEAL COOKIES

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light-colored corn syrup
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together, set aside. In mixing bowl, blend butter and sugar until smooth. Add oil, corn syrup, lemon peel, and egg whites until well mixed. Slowly add flour mixture, mix well. Drop by tablespoons one inch apart on greased baking sheet, bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool cookies on tray on top of wire rack-- this helps to crisp them up a bit.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (OR 1/3 cup brittle chips)
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix butter and sugar in mixer until well combined, add oil, egg, vanilla and mix until creamy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the two kinds of chocolate, and the walnuts and mix well. Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.