Chocolate chunk sables with fleur de sel

I had a snow day from work on Friday so decided to do a little baking! The snow outside was very pretty but I don't think I would've gotten a snow day if this was the Midwest :)

I haven't baked much since moving to Brooklyn, as my electric convection oven makes me crazy and I keep burning the bottom of everything - only the bottom element comes on when baking and it typically gets way too hot.

I was feeling inspired after a co-worker brought in some lovely chocolate biscotti with mini chocolate chips yesterday (thanks Diana!). They were just sweet enough and not too sweet for being double chocolate.  It made me think of a Dorie Greenspan recipe I remembered reading a little while back for her World Peace cookies that were based on French chocolate sables - they weren't on her website so I started looking at several different recipes for chocolate sables, basically a chocolate shortbread cookie, and this is what I came up with - they turned out great and the salt is so perfect!

I made these delicate cookies with King Arthur white whole wheat flour since I only buy whole wheat or this white whole wheat flour.  I also don't like my sweets too sweet so this recipe reflects my tastes, but if  you want to go a little sweeter, you can up the sugar a little bit. And I've always loved peanut butter cookies that were a little more salty so thought I would do a little sprinkle of fleur de sel on top for a little extra salt kick - and they look great too!

Cannellini bean and smoked turkey stew

This simple stew is all about the smoked turkey.  If you've ever wondered what to do with those smoked turkey drumsticks, wings, or even smoked porkchops you see at the grocery store in the meat aisle, adding them to a soup or stew is an easy way to really deepen the flavors of your dish and add a nice smokiness.

I bought smoked turkey drumstick pieces that were cut into slices, and cut them into smaller, bite sized pieces. Turkey drumsticks have those tough tendons along the side, so you'll want to remove those. I also removed the skin but did throw the bones in while the soup simmered away, and then removed them before serving.  

I threw this together with just one can of cannellini beans and a can of diced tomatoes and only made enough for a few servings, but you could easily double the recipe.  You can also make this looser for more of a soup, or thicker for something more like a stew.  I decided to go with a nice, thick and hearty stew and served it with ciabatta.  If you like, you could grate a little pecorino or parmigiano reggiano over it before serving.

Pork-stuffed tofu with tomato sauce

Tofu is not just for vegetarians!  This is a favorite from growing up - a mixture of pork, scallions and fish sauce is stuffed into slices of tofu, pan fried and then served with a sweet and salty tomato sauce and served over rice.  You could also try this with ground chicken, though don't go too lean. I use a fattier ground pork - fattier pork gives it a little more flavor and texture, but you can use leaner pork if you prefer.

This recipe makes enough for two tubs of tofu - any additional pork mixture can be formed into patties or meatballs and pan-fried and served with the tomato sauce as well.  I used a firm tofu here, but you could get away with using medium firm tofu as well.

You can halve the recipe to work with one tub of tofu but leftovers reheat well and typically, people tend to buy ground meat by the pound so I made this for 1 lb. pork.

Chicken and rice with ginger scallion and chili garlic sauces

This is one of the simplest but fantastic and satisfying dinners you can whip up.  Poach the chicken, make the dipping sauces while the chicken is cooking, and then use a few cups of the chicken broth to make your rice.  And if you want a little veg, throw in some broccoli into the chicken broth for a few minutes.  And you'll still have some chicken broth leftover to make a pot of soup.

This is often referred to as Hainanese chicken, but I think some version of this exists throughout all parts of Asia.  When I was growing up, my parents would just throw chicken into the rice cooker with the rice and enough water to cook the rice, and everything would be done when the rice cooker button popped up.  I would make this in college by throwing frozen chicken breasts along with the rice into my little rice cooker for a simple dinner.

Sometimes I make the dipping sauces, and sometimes I just eat everything with nuoc cham, the staple Vietnamese sauce made with fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chili and lime juice or vinegar.  For this meal here, I served the chicken and rice with a ginger scallion sauce and a sweet chili garlic sauce made with Sriracha.  It's such a simple dish but it's really delicious and so satisfying - every time I make this, I always tell Rick that I could eat it everyday!

Seafood gumbo

In honor of Mardi Gras, we decided to make a seafood gumbo last night with a few things in the freezer - okra, scallops and shrimp, veggie staples of onion, garlic, carrots, celery and the addition of a green pepper and some fresh parsley, and then a few pantry staples - canned tomatoes, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and hot sauce.  This isn't a super traditional gumbo - I looked at several recipes online for some guidance on making the roux, and then adapted to what we had on hand and seasoned to our tastes.  I also like to use a lot more veggies than what is probably typical.  Rick did a great job with the tedious process of making the roux!

We've been cutting way back on our meat consumption so made this with scallops and shrimp we had in the freezer - it'd be a great recipe for all you Catholics starting Lent today :)  You can certainly adapt this recipe to what you have on hand or want to include - we've made other gumbos with the addition of fish (something firm fleshed), crawfish, chicken, and andouille sausage. 

We had this lovely gumbo with some brown rice, topped with chopped parsley and sliced scallions.

Chuc mung nam moi! Happy Tet and new year, year of the Tiger!

Happy new year everyone!  February 14, 2010 is the start of the Year of the Tiger!  According to some Chinese zodiac sites online, this year will bring big changes for everyone as the Tiger is one of the most dynamic and dramatic signs of the Chinese zodiac calendar.

My brother and his girlfriend were in town this weekend and we started the morning with Dim Sum at Oriental Garden on Elizabeth St. in Chinatown, and then watched some of the festivities before heading back.  We stopped at the Vietnamese shop on Grand (see my post on picking up food in Chinatown) and picked up a banh chung in honor of Tet, the Vietnamese new year - also the same as the Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year.  

I felt a little sad being away from my family today as most of my family is all together in Minnesota at my aunt's house, eating lots of great food and celebrating together.  But at least Rick and I were with my brother and his girlfriend all weekend, and now that they are gone, are still celebrating a little in our own way having some banh chung.  I thought about cooking today, but we were feeling really lazy after the busy weekend!  I do feel motivated to cook some traditional Vietnamese Tet dishes though, so may attempt a few of them later on this week.

Banh chung

Banh chung is an important part of every Tet celebration.  It is a cake of sticky rice with layers of creamy mung beans and fatty pork seasoned with lots of pepper and fish sauce. It's wrapped in layers of banana leaves and then wrapped in plastic wrap or a combination of aluminum foil and plastic wrap and then boiled for hours. After they are boiled, the are often decorated for the new year in red and gold. They can come thin small or large squares, as well as in round logs, called banh tet. There are also vegetarian and sweet versions but the traditional filling is mung beans and pork.

Tofu chocolate pudding

Just in time for a little Valentine's Day indulgence - chocolate pudding made with silken tofu!

This is one of those desserts that you can feel a little less guilty about - and get your protein too.  It also takes about 10 minutes to whip together with a microwave and a blender so anytime you're craving a little something sweet and chocolate-y,  and don't mind the time it takes to chill the dessert, whip this up in your blender.  You can also spice it up with a little cinnamon and chile powder, and if you like, a little whipped cream.

Kale, vegetable and barley soup

In honor of today's snow day here in New York, here's a nice, hearty soup to keep you warm!

This soup lends itself to adaptation with whatever veggies you have on hand. The barley adds some whole grains and great texture, and thickens it up a bit.

This recipe is vegan, but you can grate a little pecorino or parmigiano reggiano on top when serving. You could also use chicken broth or add a cheese rind to the broth for a bit of flavor, or use some butter for sauteeing the veggies for a little richness. And if you're not vegetarian and want to add a little shredded cooked chicken, you could do that as well.

This recipe is a little light on the herbs but feel free to increase the amount of thyme, basil, or change the combination depending on what you have on hand. Parsley would work great.

Cactus, nopales, nopalitos

Nopalitos or nopales, Spanish for the prepared Prickly Pear Cactus pads, is one of my favorite food discoveries in the last 5 years.  Fresh or jarred, they have a mild flavor and add a nice texture to dishes.  They are lovely in a salad, or added to scrambled eggs or chicken quesadillas - see recipes below.  

You can find them in your local Latin/Hispanic grocery store, in the Hispanic foods aisle of your grocery store, or order them here. If you find them fresh, you can carefully scrape off the spines - they are usually already largely removed but you'll want to remove whatever stubs are left behind.  Often, you'll see them sold in small packages already cleaned up and chopped up.  Or, if you can't find them fresh, it's usually pretty easy to find them jarred or canned. They are typically seasoned a bit with onion and cilantro, and often there is a picked hot pepper in the jar as well.

If you find them fresh, you can either grill or boil the pad whole and then slice into slices or dice them up.  Grill until tender - maybe 10-15 min. depending on how hot your grill is.  If boiling, cook for for about 15 min. until tender.  After they're cooked, slice or dice for use.

If using canned or jarred, you'll notice they come in a liquid and are slightly slimey - don't worry.  Just give them a good rinse, just like you'd rinsed canned beans.  Drain well and then use in salads or in the preparations below.  They come in long slices and you can either leave them as is, or cut into smaller pieces if you prefer.

Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes

Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes are delicious and great to eat on their own.  They are very sweet, and retain a fairly firm but creamy texture.  They're also known as Okinawan purple sweet potatoes.  They might be a little hard to find, but you should be able to find them at an Asian grocery store or market.

They're used in Hawaiian and Japanese dishes and even in pastry.  I haven't experimented with them much but like them just simply boiled.

Boil until tender when pierced with a knife, 10-15 min. Peel and eat!

Shrimp and avocado salad

This salad was inspired by leftovers from my weekend of cooking fish tacos  and spring rolls - leftover boiled shrimp, shredded lettuce and cabbage, avocado and pickled red onions are all thrown together with a cumin lime vinaigrette.  You can also add some other vegetables - bell peppers, corn, black beans would all be nice.