foodwanderlust

October/November Cook Club Part 2: The Maple Syrup Cookbook

2011-12-29T08:03:00.000-05:00

The Maple Syrup Cookbook

by Ken Haedrich
Cookbook Score: 3.83

Top Scoring Dishes: Sweet and Sour Chicken Cashew Salad, Sweet Potato and Bacon Bisque, Maple Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Lowest Scoring Dishes: Roasted Pepper and Chickpea Salad, Maple Apple Pie

As explained under our Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook cook club entry, for October/November Cook Club, we decided to do something a little bit different... At the DC Cook Club party back in September, we talked about how much we loved PUMPKIN and how awesome it would be to cook many things PUMPKIN. Well, as luck would have it, our cook club member, Rachel, had a cookbook devoted to all things pumpkin -- the Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook. To further amp up the autumnal nature of this round, Rachel also offered her copy of the Maple Syrup Cookbook for us to use for this round. So we bring to you a flurry of fall flavors broken into two blog entries. This first one is devoted to all our pumpkin creations (click here!) and the second one, here is devoted to MAPLE SYRUP. In addition to the recipes from the Maple Syrup Cookbook, cook club members had the chance to make maple syrup recipes from our past cook club cookbooks. These reviews are at the end of this entry -- the scores were not averaged into the scores for the Maple Syrup Cookbook.

The Maple Syrup Cookbook introduced us to the very many things you can make with maple syrup. Not just for waffles and pancakes any more, this cookbook offered everything from Orange Maple Chicken Wings to Hot and Spicy Shrimp Kabobs, Tawny Maple Cheesecake to the classic Sugar on Snow. YUM. Cookbook author Ken Haedrich also teaches us all about the process of creating maple syrup and profiled numerous maple syrup and sugarmakers. I actually didn’t realize how much I loved maple syrup until I made some of the recipes from this book!

For your cooking pleasure, the recipe for one of the top scoring dishes:

SWEET POTATO AND BACON BISQUE

Ingredients
4 cups peeled, diced sweet potatoes
4 cups water
6 bacon slices
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups light cream or milk
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Sour cream, optional

Directions
1. Bring the sweet potatoes and water to a boil in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are very tender. Remove from the heat.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, saute the bacon in a skillet, until crisp. Remove from the pan; blot with paper towels. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of fat, then add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. Working in batches, puree the potatoes and cooking water in a food processor or blender. (Always be careful when pureeing hot liquids in a blender. Never fill the container more than one-third full to avoid the risk of the lid blowing off.) Return the puree to the soup pot, then stir in the onion, light cream, salt, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Crumble the bacon and add that also. Heat, but do not boil, and serve piping hot. Put a small dollop of sour cream in each bowl, if desired.

And on with the reviews!

APPETIZERS

Amanda’s Maple-Glazed Chicken Wings

Score: 4.0

I really enjoyed making this recipe--it was very easy to put together, and the chicken was very tender. They seemed to be a hit at the party I took them to--there were many compliments, and the chicken was still very tender the next day. My only complaint was that the wings were not flavorful enough for me, which could have easily been remedied by marinating them a bit longer. The recipe recommended a minimum of 4 hours, and, due to time constraints, I only marinated them for 2. I would love to try this again, just with a longer marinating time.

SALADS

Rachel’s Roasted Pepper and Chickpea Salad

Score: 2.0

I love the idea of this dish, but in reality it's just too much. Too many flavors that don't really work together, too many textures, and too much dressing. The cheese is especially jarring - so if you include it, cut it up really small. The leftovers were totally meh - the flavors didn't blend, even overnight. It was fun roasting my own peppers on my gas stove though, so not a total loss.

Comments from the DC Cook Club: “I liked the varying textures of the chickpeas, smoked cheese, and peppers.” “Good side salad.” “I didn’t expect it to be cold, but I really liked the flavor of the ham with it.” “Delicious, bold flavors.”

Jackie’s Sweet and Sour Chicken Cashew Salad

Score: 5.0

I LOVED THIS RECIPE. Not only did I add a new dressing to my repertoire (the recipe included a separate recipe for the sweet and sour dressing consisting mainly of maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, ground ginger, garlic…) but I just found this salad to be endlessly delicious. The flavors were just spot on – chicken, scallions, cashews, celery, mixed with the dressing, tahini (I replaced this with equal measurements of peanut butter), and orange zest. I wouldn’t have thought to add the orange zest, but it gave it a wonderful fresh tasting quality. As a sidenote, the recipe called for 2 cups of cooked chicken… I took a short cut and bought a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket (which I ordinarily love anyways) and chopped up the chicken breasts. Definitely will be making this again.

And some DC cook club comments: “A little too sweet for my taste – I expected a more savory dish.” “Love this –so flavorful – the orange notes are interesting and unexpected. 5.0.”

SOUPS

Julie’s Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup

Score: 4.0

Yummy! This was a bit of a gamble but sounded too interesting not to try. The combination of pumpkin and mildly spicy curry with the tartness of apple (and cider!) and sweetness of maple is unusual but very yummy, and even better on the second day. The recipe called for pumpkin puree which is not commonly sold here in UK so I got to try making my own as well as the added bonus of spicing and toasting the pumpkin seeds for snacks - my boyfriend and I enjoyed these so much that I made some more the following weekend:)

I had some pumpkin puree left over which after a google search inspired me to try a number of other great recipes. Long live pumpkins and seasonal cooking!

Amanda’s Sweet Potato and Bacon Bisque

Score: 4.5

I really loved the flavors of the bisque--the bacon and onion made it very interesting. It was very rich, and a little sweet, so it definitely needed to be consumed in moderation. The recipe, while easy, was very involved, and required lots of attention. That being said, I had lots of other cooking going on at the time. I would love to try this again with a lighter side--like a salad. We had tons of heavy pumpkin and maple dishes at our dinner party.

BREAD / MUFFINS

Julie’s Lemon-Maple Zucchini Bread

Score: 3.5

I'd always wanted to try a zucchini cake/ bread recipe since I once had a delicious chocolate cake with surprise ingredient zucchini as a teenager. It was a bit painful to invest a whole cup of the home made maple syrup my friend gave me in Canada earlier this year but I liked the outcome - moist and fragrant with very understated sweetness. The recipe was easy to put together and I was impressed that with wholemeal flour but the bread still felt and tasted light. It was best fresh on the first two days while still moist and aromatic, a bit boring after that so would probably toast and butter any leftovers.

Julie’s Maple-Walnut Oat Muffins

Score: 4.0

I was excited about making these as I'm a big fan of oats (porridge or pancakes or cookies) but haven't really had much experience of making muffins. I was initially surprised because I was expecting sweet muffins and these were not, but after I got used to that, the muffins and I got on very well indeed. I loved the wholesome nutty flavour of oats and walnuts and the coarse texture they lent. These make perfect breakfast fare with a cappuccino, or as an afternoon snack with butter and honey (kind of like scones).

ENTREES

Anjali’s Gingered Pork Medallions

Score: 3.5

This Asian-inspired recipe would have been much better had it not been part of a heavy pumpkin/maple menu. That being said, the sauce was tasty and made for an excellent addition to vegetables and rice later in the week.

SNACKS

Anjali’s Candied Popcorn and Nuts

Score: 4.0

This recipe was very easy and the result was a very addictive snack! I liked the saltiness of the sunflower seeds and popcorn along with the sweetness of the maple syrup and the hint of spice with the cayenne.

DESSERTS

Jackie’s Pineapple Upside Down Spice Cake

Score: 3.8

In my own nerdy baking way, this cake was pretty fun to make J Breaking out my new-ish turquoise cast iron pan, I got to try a new baking technique -- this recipe called for boiling together butter, maple syrup, and sugar, gently placed the pineapples in the buttery goodness, and then poured the cake batter on top. Popped the pan into the oven for about 30 minutes and then after two minutes of cooling, flipped over the cake to see the pretty golden rings of pineapple inserted into the spice cake. The cake itself tasted pretty wholesome – made with some whole wheat flour and buttermilk, it wasn’t overly sweet. The pineapple/sugar/butter/maple syrup mixture on top gave the cake a boost of sweetness with a touch of caramel. The only thing I wished was that I had eaten a slice right out of the oven – I saved it to bring to our cook club party, so it cooled down by then. But nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a quick zap in the microwave.

And comments from our DC contingent: “Moist and yummy! I liked the crunchy bottom (top?) and the spongy texture.” “Very moist. 4.0.” “Moist and great fall flavors. 4.0.” “This is a very good PUDC. It’s just not my favorite kind of cake. 3.0.”

Rachel’s Dreamy Almond Bars

Score: 3.5

These are delicious, and a nice combination of two of my favorite flavors - maple and almond. I didn't calculate the calories for these, but the ingredient list kind of tells you everything you need to know. While these would probably be popular at a party, for that calorie load I'd rather have ice cream, or spice cake with maple frosting. A preparation note: Use a BIG pan for these. I used the bigger of the two pan sizes suggested in the recipe, and the filling still spilled over the edges onto the bottom of my oven and filled my apartment with sugar smoke.

Comments from the DC Cook Club: “Sweet and salty – I loved the combination and the crust was a nice shortbread texture.” “The shortbread crust had a great buttery flavor that balanced the crunch and sweetness of the almond topping. 4.5!” “In love. Definitely decadent and can’t eat many more than… two in one sitting. Loved the balance between sweet and slight saltiness.” “Liked the combination of salty and sweet. Very buttery.”

Amanda’s Maple Apple Pie

Score: 3.0

The name of this recipe is a little misleading. To me, this seemed to be more of an apple crisp than a pie. It had an oat crumb topping, which was very tasty, but the bottom had a pie crust. The crust got a little too soggy, and I would have just eliminated it altogether. Next time, I will modify this recipe either without a bottom crust, or with a crust on top, instead of the oat crumb topping.

SAUCES

Amanda’s Maple Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Score: 5.0

Condiments are pretty much my favorite food item in the world, and given that I am a Tennessean, barbecue sauce always catches my eye. So, this recipe seemed to be the obvious choice! This sauce was very simple to put together, and had many great components--mustard, garlic, of course, maple syrup. I made this sauce on 2 separate occasions, and it was a big hit both times. I think it compliments both pork and chicken very well. This one is a keeper!

And a dish from a past Cook Club cookbook...

Plenty

Sonia’s Brussels Sprouts & Tofu

Score: 4.5

The marinade was sweet and spicy and very flavorful. I enjoyed the cooking method of the sprouts (cut into thirds and pan fry) as it made them crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The sautéed tofu retained a lot of flavor from the marinade and went well with the vegetables.

DC Cook Club comments: “Loved this dish. Combination of tofu and Brussels sprouts was perfect, especially with Asian flavors. 5.0.” “OMG SO GOOD. I want to eat this everyday. Any kid would eat these Brussels sprouts. 5.0.” “Loved this! Fantastic flavors and enjoyed the mix of the crunchy Brussels sprouts versus the softer texture (yet firm) of the tofu. 5.0.” “Best tofu ever – really nice with the sprouts.”

October/November Cook Club Part 1: Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook

2011-12-29T07:33:00.003-05:00

PUMPKIN LOVERS COOKBOOK

by Betty Gabbert

COOKBOOK SCORE: 4.18

Top Scoring Dishes: Curried Mexican Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Spaghetti, and Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

Lowest Scoring Dishes: Praline Pumpkin Pie

For October/November Cook Club, we decided to do something a little bit different... At the DC Cook Club party back in September, we talked about how much we loved PUMPKIN and how awesome it would be to cook many things PUMPKIN. Well, as luck would have it, our cook club member, Rachel, had a cookbook devoted to all things pumpkin -- the Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook. To further amp up the autumnal nature of this round, Rachel also offered her copy of the Maple Syrup Cookbook for us to use for this round. So we bring to you a flurry of fall flavors broken into two blog entries. This first one is devoted to all our pumpkin creations (and at times, butternut squash creations) (to check out our maple syrup reviews, click here). In addition to the recipes from the Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook, cook club members had the chance to make pumpkin recipes from our past cook club cookbooks. These reviews are at the end of this entry -- the scores were not averaged into the scores for the Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook.

The title of the Pumpkin Lovers Cookbook really speaks for itself. Chock full of straightforward and simple recipes that star the pumpkin with random bits of trivia ("Pumpkins grow faster when fed with milk or sugar water through a slit in their stalks. Some double their size in only a few days," "Morton, Illinois is the pumpkin capital of the world," and "One of the best varieties of pumpkin for pies is the Small Sugar.") and a listing of pumpkin events around the country and places to enjoy "fall activities." Who knew you could make so many things out of pumpkin?

Recipes from two of our top dishes for your cooking pleasure...

CURRIED MEXICAN PUMPKIN SEEDS (PEPITAS)

Ingredients
1/4 cup curry powder
1 1/4 cups water
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
juice 1/2 lemon
2 cups salted pepitas (Mexican pumpkin seeds)
butter

Directions
Mix together in saucepan the curry, 1/4 cup warm water, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and lemon juice. When well blended, add 1 cup water; then heat, stirring constantly until mixture simmers. Add the pepitas and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain (save curry mixture for currying more pepitas), spread pepitas out on a baking sheet, dot with butter, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toast in very low oven, 275 degrees, for about 1 hour, until they are crisp. Yield: 2 cups. (To curry more pepitas, mix 2 teaspoons curry into the remaining mixture, add water to make 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and repeat as before.)

PUMPKIN SPAGHETTI

Ingredients
1 cup solid pack pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup softened butter
12 oz. thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Mix pumpkin, cream, 1/2 cup cheese, and nutmeg in small pan. Bring just to simmer over low heat, stirring once or twice. Remove from heat. Add butter to spaghetti in large bowl. Toss till butter is melted. Pour pumpkin mixture over pasta. Toss. Transfer to serving dish. Season to taste.

APPETIZERS / SNACKS

Neena’s Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Score: 3.5

I chose this recipe because I have been looking for a quick and easy soup. And, this recipe ended up being perfect. The instructions called for the "cooking" to all take place in the microwave, so it was definitely a quick make. Rather than using orange juice from concentrate, I just used regular orange juice, and I also eliminated the chicken boullion granules from the recipe. The consistency of the final product was not perfect, so I used a little bit more milk. I also added a dash of nutmeg for a bit of a kick.

Neena’s Curried Mexican Pumpkin Seeds
Score: 5.0

I chose this recipe because I have been looking for a healthier snack while I study rather than the usual potato chips, granola bars, etc. And these pumpkin seeds definitely fit the bill. I absolutely loved this recipe-very easy and absolutely delicious. I altered the recipe a bit by using 4 cloves of garlic and about a tablespoon of paprika, and it turned out great! My guests were taking handfuls at a time!

ENTREES

Rachel’s Pumpkin “Spaghetti”
Score: 5.0

This dish is awesome. I will make it again and again for parties and potlucks. It's so simple - it takes less than 20 minutes to make, and it reheats well. It's not a healthy choice, so I'm going to try to lighten it up for everyday use by subbing in wheat pasta and lighter dairy ingredients, and maybe adding spinach. But the original recipe is perfect for special occasions.

And some thoughts from the DC contingent: “Delicious! Very creamy and good flavor. 4.5.” “LOVED! Perfect for a wintry day.” “Creamy.” “My new favorite version of mac & cheese. I want more! 5.0.”

BREADS

Monica’s Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
Score: 4.0

The whole wheat pumpkin bread uses a lot of honey (2.5 cups!), so don't think you can just whip this up when you're bored one day unless you're also a part-time beekeeper. The bread was moist and delicious, and it made three loaves, which is great if you're feeding an army. I am not, so next time I'll just halve the recipe. I think because of its moisture content it wouldn't keep very well for more than a few days, but that's okay because it was gobbled up in half a day by my small office and will probably have a similar result in your kitchen. You might try adding a little less moisture (honey? water?) if you want to avoid this. I think cranberries would be a nice addition to the recipe if you were feeling feisty.

And some thoughts from the DC contingent: “Just the right amount of sweetness and moist. 4.0.” “Nice pumpkin flavor, but would have liked more spice.” “Super moist and reminiscent of banana bread (good thing!) 4.0.” “Yum! Nice and moist. 4.0.”

Jackie’s Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Score: 4.5

This bread was a WINNER. Definitely fits under the banana bread family – a bit sweet, perfect for eating in chunks, and happily married with chocolate chips. The recipe made two loaves, which I divvied up, half a loaf to work with J, half a loaf to work with me, and one loaf to serve to my out of town guests. I admit that I added in chocolate chips… I can’t help myself with these types of breads to do that. In truth though, not sure how well the dried cranberries and chocolate chips worked with one another, but I could have devoured both loaves myself, so… The recipe itself was super straightforward – no mixer required, just a little elbow grease, and a handful of ingredients. Would definitely make again.

DESSERTS

Sonia’s Pumpkin Cheesecake
Score: 4.0

The Pumpkin Cheesecake was a big hit at the birthday party I attended. The cake had a subtle pumpkin flavor that was enhanced by the spices in the recipe. I made some changes to the recipe, including using gingersnaps for the crust instead of zweiback (I had to Google it) crumbs and nixing the sour cream topping. Instead, I drizzled the cheesecake slices with a whiskey caramel sauce, which complemented the other flavors very nicely. My only complaint was that the cream cheese didn't blend completely smoothly, resulting in a slightly lumpy texture.

Monica’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
Score: 4.5

These are reminiscent of what I call "kitchen sink cookies" in that they combine a variety of different ingredients that work well together into one dessert buffet of a cookie. Double the chocolate, cook them for 15 minutes, and you've got a winner on your hands. It made a lot of cookies (the recipe ain't jokin' when it says 6 dozen), but I was eating them by the handful so the fact that they might not keep well (same problem as the whole wheat pumpkin bread -- super moist, almost too much so) shouldn't be a deterrent to your making them. I suspect the batter would freeze well if you only wanted to bake a few cookies at a time, but I can't be sure. Easy and a crowd-pleaser.

And comments from the DC contingent: “Moist and chocolatey.” “Could have eaten the whole plate – delicious! 5.0.” “These were AWESOME. Fantastically soft (as chocolate cookies should be…) and a great balance of pumpkin and chocolate.”

Jackie’s Frosted Spicy Pumpkin Bars
Score: 4.0

I love pumpkin baked goods… I was intrigued by this one because of the “spicy” twist. I think the “spice” was supposed to come from the ground ginger. I’m not sure if my ground ginger was a bit old, so less spicy, but nevertheless, these bars tasted delicious. They were quite moist and perfect for snacking on any time of the day. The “frosted” part was really more of a viscous icing – a spoonful of it would spread quickly on top and drip down the sides of the bars. Not that I’m complaining – there wasn’t a lot of sugar in the bars themselves, so anyone looking to satisfy their sweet tooth would enjoy the extra oomph of the icing. All in all, I would make these again!

Jackie’s Praline Pumpkin Pie
Score: 2.5

This was actually the first recipe of the bunch that I picked – I wanted to bake some sort of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and this cookbook offered a ton of options. I picked this one because it was (1) a little different and (2) J loves praline. The one hiccup was I couldn’t find the no-bake custard mix that it called for, so substituted it with a vanilla pudding mix. That apparently was not a good call. Although the pie itself tasted good, it didn’t set… and was really a pie of candied pecans on the bottom and pumpkin pudding on top. I think it would be better with the no-bake custard mix (which would have resulted in a firmer consistency), but I probably wouldn’t make this again.

Leanne’s Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake
Score: 4.8

Really easy cheesecake to make, and received rave reviews from everyone who ate it!

OTHER PUMPKIN RECIPES FROM PREVIOUS COOK CLUB COOKBOOKS

From Nigella's Christmas

Two of our lovely cook club members cooked up Nigella's Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Lasagna. Here were their takes:

Monica’s Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Lasagna
Score: 3.0

Very labor intensive, and Nigella way overestimates the cooking time of EVERYTHING! The pumpkin needs less than half an hour to become soft enough to put into the lasagna, and the lasagna itself dries out if you leave it in the oven for an hour -- I should know, I did it. I had none of the "shallow tomatoey cheesey pool" at the bottom of my pan. It was not "gorgeous." Solution? Extra pasta sauce served with each slice of lasagna. I omitted the sage and used pre-made pasta sauce, but everything else was according to the recipe, and it was yummy (though dry until I realized all it needed was more sauce). My advice would be to cut the cooking time in half on both the pumpkin cooking part and the baking part, and to cover the lasagna in the oven for the first 20 minutes it cooks so you don't lose any of that moisture. Also, this makes a HUGE batch of lasagna so I'll probably cut it in half if I make it again.

Leanne’s Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Lasagna
Score: 4.5

Also received rave reviews. Only thing was it didn't taste as good the next day--this one really needs to be eaten the same day it is made. Also easy to make. I used regular lasagna noodles instead of fresh ones, and it turned out fine.

From Giada's Kitchen

Anjali and Neena’s Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto
Score: 2.0

So it turns out Neena (my sister, newest member!) and I both picked this recipe, so we decided to make it as part of Thanksgiving dinner. I was super excited to finally be trying my hand and risotto, a dish that has previously scared me off due to its high maintenance. While the texture of the final dish was exactly has it should be, the resounding response from everyone was "Oh my, it takes like vanilla!" Seriously, the vanilla was borderline offensive. The final dish definitely needed something to balance the vanilla, perhaps more parmesean cheese or other savory ingredient. I probably will not make this exact recipe again, but I am glad I finally tried making risotto. (Neena approves this review)

From Molto Gusto (Mario Batali)

Sonia’s Butternut Squash and Mushroom Salad
Score: 4.0

The combination of cooked and raw mushrooms was a nice textural contrast and complemented the squash well. The dressing was simple, but really brought the dish together (the truffle oil didn’t hurt!). DC Cook Club comments: “I wish the mushrooms had been cooked, but otherwise quite yummy.” “Nice mix of the soft butternut squash against the mushrooms.” “Flavors were a little plain, even though I loved the veggies.” “Good flavors, maybe marinate the mushrooms more?”

Julie’s Broiled Pumpkin with Apples
Score: 3.5

Very simple (to make and also in terms of ingredients and flavours) and very tasty - I love butternut squash-sage combos and almost anything with apples so it was hard to go wrong here. The first time round, for my taste the squash was overcooked and the amount of dressing too much (a bit too overpowering/ acidic) but I had faith in the high potential of this dish and the second time round it was a lot better.

August/September Cook Club: PLENTY by Ottolenghi

2011-10-07T17:10:00.001-04:00

PLENTY BY OTTOLENGHI

COOKBOOK SCORE: 3.81

TOP SCORING DISHES: Garlic Soup with Harissa, Crusted Pumpkin Wedges with Sour Cream, Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango, Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Salad, Castelluccio Lentils with Tomatoes and Gorgonzola, Mushroom and Herb Polenta, and Figs with Basil, Goat CHeese, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

LOWEST SCORING DISHES: Mushroom Lasagna, Roasted Butternut Squash with Sweet Spices, Lime, and Green Chile, and Avocado, Quinoa, and Fava Bean Salad

The turn of the seasons between August and September seemed like the perfect time to have the absolutely gorgeous cookbook, Plenty, as our cookbook. As it turned out though, the period of August and September is a weird time to whip up produce focused dishes – it is kind of like going shopping for clothes between seasons. The produce (like clothes) were kind of neither summery nor autumnal. But we managed to cook up some delicious dishes anyways ;)

I originally came across Plenty during one of my (many) amazon.com browses (it is a good way to take breaks from work!). Plenty caught my eye because of its cover photo of eggplants with buttermilk sauce (the description of the dish doesn’t do it justice!) – beautiful purple eggplants, covered in a white sauce punctuated with the ruby red pomegranate seeds. When I finally broke down and ordered Plenty, I was not disappointed. Unlike our last cookbook, “Ten,” the cookbook was filled with beautiful photos of dishes whose titles ordinarily wouldn’t tantalize me. (plus, bonus, the book has a padded cover!! Love all those little details).

There were two main final reasons why I wanted to introduce Plenty as our August/September cook club book. (1) the cookbook is entirely vegetarian – it is authored by British chef, Yotam Ottolenghi, who is not a vegetarian but was tapped by London’s The Guardian newspaper to write a weekly column of vegetarian recipes; I had always wanted to work in more veg dishes into my repertoire and, admittedly, often feel like a meal isn’t a meal without some meat. But I was ready to have my opinion changed and Plenty has definitely added some great veg dishes to my life. (2) my friend, and fellow cook club member, Julie, highly recommended the cookbook to me – she had tried numerous recipes out of Plenty and was enthusiastic about the results.

So, here we are… how was Plenty? Check out our reviews below (and while you are at it, check out our friends at A Cookbook A Month’s review of Plenty). The reviews are categorized under the same headings as listed in the cookbook.

For your cooking pleasure, two recipes from two of the top scoring recipes:

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

Serves 6

Ingredients
½ cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ fresh red chile, finely chopped
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 cup sunflower oil
2 eggplants, cut into ¾-inch dice or into ¼ inch thick strips
1 and 2/3 cup basil leaves, chopped (if you can get some use Thai basil, but much less)
2½ cups cilantro leaves, chopped
½ red onion, very thinly sliced

Directions
In a small saucepan, gently warm the vinegar, sugar, and salt for up to 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chile, and sesame oil. Allow to cool then add the lime zest and juice.

Heat up the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the eggplant in three or four batches. Once golden brown, remove to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave there to drain.

Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water, stirring occassionally. They should take 5 to 8 minutes to become tender but still al dente. Drain and rinse well under running water. Shake off as much of the excess water as possible, then leave to dry on a dish towel.

In a mixing bowl, toss the noodles with the dressing, mango, eggplant, half of the herbs, and the onion. You can now leave this aside for 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve, add the rest of the herbs and mix well, then pile on a plate or in a bowl.

Figs with Basil, Goat Cheese, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 shallot, finely chopped
½ tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
salt and black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
1½ cups arugula
¾ cup mixed purple and green basil leaves
8 ripe figs, at room temperature
2½ oz young and creamy goat cheese

Directions
Place the shallot, mustard, and pomegranate molasses in a medium bowl. Add some salt and pepper and whisk vigorously as you slowly pour in the olive oil. You are aiming for a homogenous dressing.

Add most of the arugula and basil leaves to the dressing, reserving some to finish the salad, and toss gently. Lift the dressed leaves onto a large serving plate, spreading them out to line it.

Cut the figs vertically into quarters and arrange over the leaves. Next, dot the figs and leaves with teaspoonfuls of cheese. Scatter the reserved leaves on top, drizzle with extra oil and season with some salt and pepper.

***REVIEWS***

Roots

Julie’s Surprise Tatin

Score: 3.5

This was indeed a tasty surprise, really nice combination of sweet caramel/sundried tomatoes and savoury goat's cheese with juicy potatoes. It also looks pretty and goes well with a green salad as suggested. It's a perfectly nice dish, but doesn't get full marks just because there are so many more outstanding Ottolenghi recipes :) Like most of his recipes, it's not complicated to put together but does take time to assemble.

Elaine’s Roasted Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes with Caper Vinaigrette

Score: 4.5

This was very moreish (ie what the Brits say to mean it's so nice that you want to keep eating more once you've started!) and would make the perfect roast dinner side. Super easy to make since the oven did most of the hard work (no need to peel/cut/dice garlic, rosemary, and thyme). For the dressing I went a little lighter on the capers and added more maple syrup to suit my taste because I was worried that the capers would be too overwhelming but to be honest once the veggies absorbed the dressing it wasn't such a strong flavor at all. I loved that tomatoes were only added in the last 10 mins of cooking, just long enough for them to warm and pop!

Funny Onions

Amanda’s Stuffed Onions

Score: 3.0

I gave this dish a 3 because I wasn't a huge fan of the flavors, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. There seemed to be too much of a contrast between the feta and tomatoes and the onion. I have to confess that I forgot to include bread crumbs in the stuffing mixture, which maybe affected the flavor somewhat. Overall, the recipe was super easy to make, and is one that is great for when you have tons of other hands-on cooking going on, which is why I was disappointed in the end product.

Anjali’s Garlic Soup with Harissa

Score: 4.25

I love garlic (and am thus, definitely not a vampire). Thus, I chose this dish. If you buy pre-peeled garlic, this is super simple. Otherwise, it might have been a bit work intensive. I will note that I minced the garlic in the food processor before adding it in, and I think this was a mistake, because the pieces later did not puree well. This made the soup quite watery, which was solved by the recipe's request for a dollop of Greek yogurt. The results were a hit at the party. The harissa added great flavor and I had plenty left over to put on sandwiches/eat with pita.

Mushrooms

Rachel’s Marinated Mushrooms with Walnut and Tahini Yogurt

Score: 4.0

I did not have high hopes for this recipe, but I loved it. Would be a really nice side, or serve over lettuce for a main. I swapped out the fava beans for lima beans because I was unable to find fava beans in my grocery store. Next time, I will double the marinade -- it's delicious.

DC Cook Club Comments: “The flavors combined really well in a surprising way. The walnuts were so crunchy and yum, and I liked the lima beans and mushrooms.” “Loved the mix of textures with the bite of the mushroom and the crunch of the walnuts. The tahini yogurt added a great flavor.” “Good, but needed some more flavor.”

Lisa W.’s Mushroom Lasagna

Score: 2.0

I am always looking for a good lasagna recipe. I was very excited about this one since it is vegetarian. When I chose it I did not know that the sauce was béchamel. How brilliant, right? Not so much. The béchamel tasted amazing by itself. However, an hour later when it was baked in the lasagna with the porcini and fresh mushrooms, it lost its flavor. The entire lasagna was over-powered by the porcini mushrooms. Perhaps the lasagna would have tasted better if I had used spinach lasagna noodles as recommended. However, I could not find these noodles in my local grocery store. Overall, my husband and I decided that lasagna needs marinara sauce. Period.

Zucchini and Other Squashes

Elaine’s Zucchini and Hazelnut Salad

Score: 3.5

This was super simple and fast to make, no more than a 20 min job! I wanted this to be more salty though so if I were to make it again I would increase the amount of balsamic vinegar used and/or parmesan cheese added at the end. Perfect summer salad to go with grilled meats.

Monica’s Stuffed Zucchini

Score: 3.5

Surprising flavor (sweet!) and I loved the texture of the rice contrasted with the zucchini. DC Cook Club Comments: “Zucchini was a bit soggy and stuffing was lacking flavor.” “Very good, surprisingly sweet. The texture was nice, thought it might be too mushy.” “I liked the stuffing, but I’m not the biggest fan of zucchini.” “Pretty, but oddly bland. Maybe bump up the spice?”

Leanne’s Crusted Pumpkin Wedges with Sour Cream

Score: 4.8

I picked this dish at last minute when I realized one of my other choices used produce that was no longer in season. And I am so glad I did! It was relatively easy to make--I was concerned at first, because the topping that was supposed to crust the pumpkin wedges wasn't sticking to the pumpkin, but in the end it didn't really matter. The dill and sour cream sauce that went with the pumpkin was a perfect match. Also, this was the favorite from the people who tried the dishes I made.

Amanda’s Roasted Butternut Squash with Sweet Spices, Lime, and Green Chile

Score: 2.0

The flavors of this dish were somewhat lacking and it seemed to be a little too labor intensive for the end product. I would have preferred to use lime juice instead of lime slices to enhance the flavors. I did love the combination of yogurt and tahini--the sauce was very tasty and unique. One positive that came from trying this recipe was that I cooked with a new spice (again!)--cardamom. It is a very interesting spice and hope that it turns up in other recipes again soon!

Brassicas

Anjali’s Saffron Cauliflower
Score: 3.5

My mother recently bought me saffron from a spice souk in Dubai, so I was eager to start using it! The recipe was pretty straightforward. It was not my favorite but is a simple side that I could use again in the future.

Jackie’s Broccoli and Gorgonzola Pie

Score: 3.0

I originally chose this recipe for a few reasons: (1) J LOVES broccoli, so what is better than a buttery cheesy broccoli pie? (2) I was making it for our DC cook club party and it didn’t have to be served piping hot and (3) I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making more pies. Well… at least one of the three reasons worked out (#2). I had some missteps along the way… This pie is made with puff pastry, also a bonus because I could just purchase the frozen puff pastry instead of having to make my own crust. I’ve never used the frozen puff pastry before though and defrosted the pastry without unfolding it first – so I had to roll out the pastry but it never quite reached the size of my springform pan. Solution: create a broccoli and gorgonzola POT PIE (no real crust on the bottom and sides, baked up in pot instead of a pie pan). Not quite a “pie,” and I do agree with one of the comments below that this would probs have been better as a traditional pie. J also couldn’t attend our DC cook club party as it turned out, so didn’t meet objective #1. I was a bit disappointed with the results. Everything smelled delicious as I was cooking it together, especially the leeks (this was also my first time cooking with leeks, and I think that I successfully managed to clean them of all their sand and dirt, and cook them). But, the actual results were pretty bland and the flavors didn’t come all together. I think next time, I would mix all the ingredients together before baking so you really get a taste of everything in one bite (the recipe called for first the leek mixture, then the broccoli, and then “dotted” with gorgonzola).

DC Cook Club: “There was a surprising flavor in there that I couldn’t figure out, but I love broccoli plus cheese, so good job.” “Great taste, would have preferred a more typical presentation.” “Yummy. Loved the pastry shell and cheese, made the broccoli very edible.” “Yum! Great way to use broccoli.”

The Mighty Eggplant

Amanda’s Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

Score: 5.0

Based on reviews from the last round of cook club, I like the soba noodles. They're super easy to prepare, and delicious! This recipe did not let me down. I loved the combination of flavors and was glad to snack on the leftovers for the next few days. The recipe said to fry the eggplant and I decided to saute it instead--turned out great and I loved the flavor. I also eliminated the red onion at the end, and did not miss it at all! Uncooked onion is not my favorite, and I feel that it would have overpowered the dish too much. Soba is going to become a staple in my kitchen.

Tomatoes

Leanne’s Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Salad

Score: 4.7

I recently started trying quinoa recipes which is why I chose this dish. When I was reading the actual ingredients I was a little worried since it sounded kind of bland. Luckily, I was wrong--while there really isn't any dressing on this salad, because there are so many herbs, it was incredibly flavorful, and really healthy too!! I would definitely make this again.

Leaves, Cooked and Raw

Julie’s Spinach, Egg and Pecorino Pizza

Score: 4.5

Delicious! Even though it's totally unorthodox an probably banned in Italy, I'm a big fan of Pizza Fiorentina (spinach and egg) found elsewhere. As this was a Middle Eastern version of the same - without the tomato sauce and with zatar and sumac instead - it could hardly fail to please, and actually I think I liked it more. Don't be put off by the picture; I managed to overcook the dough a little courtesy of my temperamental oven but it was moist nonetheless.

Green Beans

Sonia’s Warm Glass Noodles and Edamame

Score: 3.5

This was a good dish with a nice mix of sour, salty, and spicy. I was surprised that the recipe called for the juice of 4 limes, but the other ingredients (sugar, tamarind) mellowed it out into a nice tangy flavor. I thought that this was a unique recipe--I hadn't used glass noodles in the past and normally only eat edamame as an appetizer—but it didn't have a "wow" factor for me.

DC Cook Club Comments: “I loved the surprise spice balanced by the acidity of the lime juice. I could eat a whole bowl of these for a light summer meal.” “A little spicy for me, but overall very good. Glass noodles are awesome!” “Awesome!” “Noodles were an unexpected texture, looked like rice noodles, but much more dense. Just something to be aware of with mung noodles.” “Good flavor, but somehow insubstantial.” “Loved the spice!”

Pulses

Jackie’s Castelluccio Lentils with Tomatoes and Gorgonzola

Score: 4.8

Let me tell you, finding castelluccio lentils was quite the expedition. Or, well, finding the puy lentils that I replaced them with (as ok’d by the cookbook). The idea is using lentils that didn’t get too soggy too quickly. I eventually found myself at the bulk aisle of Whole Foods (thanks Sonia for the tip!) and bought an excessive amount of lentils (had problems equating pounds of lentils to how much was called for in the recipe). But this actually is a-OK with me, because I LOVED THIS DISH (and have actually bought more tomatoes to cook this again). The recipe was more time consuming than I expected (the roasting of tomatoes took about 1.5 hours), but it was worth it. Mixed together with the lentils and roasted tomatoes were sliced red onions marinated in a delicious vinegar mixture. I had served this with gorgonzola on the side (in case guests weren’t blue cheese fans), and I must say, I love it with and without. The brightness of the acidity in the vinegar and the tomatoes balanced out the earthy lentils wonderfully, and the blue cheese gave it that extra oomph. And it is even better the next day, after all the flavors have more time to marinate together. So, I was really happy with this (plus, my first foray into cooking lentils… lots of firsts with this cook club). Definitely making this again!

DC Cook Club Comments: “I enjoyed the tomato and red onion mixed with the earthy lentils.” “Yummy! Blue cheese was a definite must, but I’m not such a fan of raw onions, so I could do without them in the future.” “Excellent. Tomatoes were perfect.” “These were great. Ate them all up!” “Really nice! Tasted fresh and flavors really work together.” “Definitely enjoyed the blue cheese and lentils.”

Amanda’s Spiced Red Lentils with Cucumber Yogurt

Score: 4.0

I chose this recipe based on the small hit of fall weather Texas has been having. Soups and stews are my favorite when the weather gets cooler, so this dish seemed like an obvious choice! The recipe was pretty easy to put together, and it introduced me to some new spices I had heard of, but never cooked with. I was unable to find curry leaves, but Anjali assured me that it wouldn't have a negative impact on the recipe. She was correct! The lentils were flavorful and hearty. The recipe suggests to generously salt the dish before serving, and they were not kidding. The salt helped the flavor tons, as well as the addition of butter just before serving. :) I will be making this one again.

Grains

Monica’s Avocado, Quinoa, and Fava Bean Salad

Score: 2.5

Good flavor, but it was more like guacamole at the end. It's okay, I made it! I'll take the blame. DC Cook Club Comments: “Great taste, texture too creamy.” “Good textures, but something missing with the flavors.” “It was hard to discern the different ingredients and flavors, but I would use this as a dip or spread for crackers in the future!” “I feel like quinoa and avocado combine to make an unpleasant paste.” “Yummy! Loved the quinoa, made it more filling (and the beans) – made a dip seem like a meal.”

Pasta, Polenta, and Couscous

Leanne’s Lemon and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Score: 3.0

I was really excited to make this dish--it sounded amazing. This recipe actually involved making your own pasta dough, and it was about as labor-intensive as you would expect, especially since I don't own a pasta machine. Rolling out the dough by hand was time consuming, and I also don't think I rolled it thin enough which make the ravioli too chewy. Anyway, I was not impressed with the end result: the ravioli wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great either. Just kind of average, and for the amount of time it took, not worth it. I wouldn't make this again.

Elaine’s Sweet Corn Polenta

Score: 4.0

On the whole this was a nice dish and not too difficult to make, great use of fresh sweet corn and as the recipe said not too heavy. However I'm not convinced that the eggplant/tomato part is good enough on its own. Perhaps I should have used sweeter tomatoes but it certainly lacked something... the feta was a nice inclusion and added great smooth texture. I had this as a standalone meal so added some peppery rocket to compliment which was a perfect addition. A great meal to have on a cold night.

Jackie’s Mushroom and Herb Polenta

Score: 5.0

I had heard rave reviews about this dish from Elaine and Julie, so in the last week of this round of cook club, I decided to make this on a whim for J and me for a weeknight dinner. And I am definitely happy I did! It was fairly simple and straightforward. The recipe consisted primarily of chopping some herbs, cooking up the polenta, mixing in deliciously rich cheese and butter, cooking up mushrooms, and then popping it in the oven under the broiler. This is an incredibly rich dish, with loads of unami flavors (I was also very excited to use the truffle oil Anjali recently gifted me). My favorite part was the polenta itself – I tasted it prior to piling the mushrooms on top and the flavors were right on point. The recipe also included slicing taleggio cheese to insert between the polenta and mushrooms before going under the broiler – I didn’t think this was necessary because the dish had sufficient cheesy-goodness, so would probably omit that next time around.

Fruit with Cheese

Anjali’s Figs with Basil, Goat Cheese, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Score: 5.0

I love all of the above ingredients, so this was an obvious choice for me. It was simple and straightforward, and I finally got to use pomegranate molasses! Everyone enjoyed the salad. I must admit, I added some fig balsamic vinegar (a recent purchase from Chelsea Market!) to the salad dressing.

And, lastly, Sonia and I made two bonus dishes for the DC Cook Club party. I baked up an adaptation of Giada's sweet corn and mascarpone lasagna (check it out here!), which was a pretty amazing mixture of sweet, indulgent, and lemony. ... And we are always spoiled by Sonia's dessert treats that she brings to our parties. She baked for us a RED WINE CHOCOLATE CAKE (from Smitten Kitchen) and served it with homemade cardamom ice cream. Yum. Doesn't it look delish?

Sweet Corn and Mascarpone Lasagna

2011-10-07T13:00:00.000-04:00

While I had a month off between switching jobs, I watched a lot of TV. Particularly, cooking shows and one of my faves is the lovely Giada DeLaurentiis. Not only do I find her recipes are often successful and delicious, but I just enjoy her show. It feels like I’m in the kitchen with her when she’s cooking and I also love the episodes where she is cooking for a party she is throwing with her friends or an outing with Jade. So, for this past round of cook club (check out everything that was made out of Plenty by Ottolenghi here!), I snuck in one of Giada’s dishes for our DC cook club party – her SWEET CORN LASAGNA that she made with her Aunt Raffy. It was the perfect dish to add in because all the other dishes were vegetarian.

The dish was a huge hit! As my friend Rachel said, it is the perfect dish to convince non-vegetarians that vegetarian food can be delicious and filling. It is a bit sweeter than your typical lasagna with the base of the dish consisting of sweet corn and mascarpone. I didn’t mind that at all. In fact, I taste-tested the corn mixture a few times to make sure it had enough seasoning and by the end, I could have just eaten the corn mixture by itself.

On another note, I had been concerned that it would be overly citrusy / lemony based on the reviews listed under the recipe, so I ended up zesting just half the lemon. The lemon notes definitely shine in this dish, but I thought it was a nice complement to the richness of the cheeses. I also forgot to completely thaw the corn before throwing it in the food processor, which turned out ok, just took a bit longer to whizz around.

Lastly, Giada made these lasagnas as “mini-lasagnas” in small ramekins – so, single serving lasagnas. Because I was making this for a crowd, I cooked this up in the traditional lasagna way in a lasagna pan. I used three layers of noodles (so four layers of sauce) and cooked initially for about 40 minutes, checked it, and cooked for probably another 10 minutes. I will definitely be making this again!

Sweet Corn and Mascarpone Lasagna (courtesy of Giada DeLaurentiis with slight adaptations)

Ingredients
Butter, for ramekins
12 lasagna sheets
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (4 ounces) finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus 1/2 cup (2 ounces)
1/2 large lemon, zested
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded sharp Provolone
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter lasagna pan. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain.

In a food processor, blend the corn, cream and garlic until chunky. Add the mascarpone, 1 cup of the Pecorino Romano cheese, the lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add the basil and pulse until just combined.

Spoon some of the filling into the lasagna pan and spread enough to cover. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the provolone. Layer four lasagna noodles on top of the sauce and provolone.

Put another layer of filing on top of lasagna, making sure to cover all the noodles so they don’t get too dry in cooking. Add more provolone on top. Layer with four more lasagna noodles. Repeat once more.

On the top layer, spoon any remaining filling on top of the pasta. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Continue baking longer if necessary. Cool for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cookie Carnival: Sweet Banana Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-08-31T07:35:00.001-04:00

OH MY. Wow. Hello soft cookie goodness. What a wonderful recipe to bake up for my first foray back to Cookie Carnival. I was shocked to discover that my last Cookie Carnival post was back in December 2009 (oh those pecan pie cookies!) -- time has just flown by! Every month, I received the Cookie Carnival emails and loved reading about the baking adventures of my fellow bakers (check out the most recent roundups posted by Tami, our lovely Cookie Carnival hostess). And now I'm excited to start baking again! I just finished one job and am in the midst of a month of catching-up-on-my-life before I begin my next job. Also, today is my husband's first day back at school and surely, a batch of cookies will help to appease a bunch of high schoolers?

So, August's Cookie Carnival brought us SWEET BANANA PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES from Canada's Food Network chef, Anna Olson. (Check out our round up of cookies here) Or, perhaps better renamed as, Elvis's dream cookies. Or as decadent sandwiches of savory and sweet. I was very pleasantly surprised by these cookies. From the photo on the Food Network website, I thought that the cookies would be crunchy -- like a typical "sandwich" cookie. The cookies, however, were delightfully soft -- not only fresh from the oven, but hours later as well. The filling -- made of cream cheese, peanut butter, and bananas (softened slightly in a butter-sugar-cinnamon melted mixture) -- was not overly sweet and a very nice complement to the peanut butter cookies.

In the first batch, I made the cookies at the suggested tablespoon measurement. These resulted in cookies larger than I expected. For the next batches, I shrunk the cookies down a bit, to fit 16 on a tray instead of 12, baked them for about 7 minutes, to yield a larger number of cookies. The smaller cookies turned out as equally soft and delicious as the larger cookies. Plus, the combination of two cookies plus the filling is quite rich, so for me, personally, the smaller cookies were perfect. Also, these cookies are fantastic by themselves -- I definitely plan to make them again both with and without the filling!

RECIPE:

Ingredients

Cookie

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons golden brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon rum
pinch cinnamon
2 bananas, sliced
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Directions

To Assemble

For cookies, preheat oven to 350° F. Cream together butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in peanut butter. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture and blend in. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and crisscross mark them with a floured fork. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cookies just start to colour around the edges.
For filling, in sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugars and increase heat to medium-high. Stir until melted and bubbling. Add rum (watch out for flames). Add cinnamon. Stir in bananas to coat, set aside.
Cream together cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Mash bananas and add to cream cheese mixture until smooth. Chill for 20 minutes.
Fill between 2 peanut butter cookies to make sandwiches. Repeat with remaining cookies.
Yield: 12 sandwich cookies. (P.S. My version yielded 22 sandwich cookies -- a mix of the larger size and the smaller size)

Cook Club: Ten by Sheila Lukins

2011-08-16T11:02:00.001-04:00

TEN by Sheila Lukins

Average Score: 4.36

Perfect Scoring Dishes (there were SO many "top scoring dishes" so here are the list of dishes that scored a perfect score): Julie’s Beet and Apple Soup, Jackie’s Olivada, Jackie’s Sesame Noodles with Apples and Cucumbers, Monica’s Paella Rice with Shrimp and Chorizo, Monica’s Roasted Asparagus, Amanda’s Sparkling Limoncello, Amanda’s Summer Soba Noodles w/Zesty Dipping Sauce, Sonia’s Sinful Chocolate Tart, Lisa H.’s Farmers Market Corn Salad, Anjali’s Skirt Steak with a Touch of Latin America

This round of cook club spanned three months, instead of two -- the summertime proved to be quite busy for our members AND the cookbook we chose, TEN by Sheila Lukins, is chock full of excellent options. The author of the cookbook, Sheila Lukins (of “The Silver Palate” fame) decided to put together a cookbook that consisted of her favorite “types” of dishes. Finding that she could probably name at least TEN recipes for each dish, she came up with the brilliant plan to include at least 10 recipes for each type of dish. My mom actually introduced me this cookbook and I am very glad she did! Something different about this cookbook for me is its lack of pictures. I often get drawn to cookbooks because of the beautiful food photography -- so I feel like it says something when a cookbook speaks to you without any glossy beautiful photos to lure you in.

And as it turns out, this cookbook was a GREAT success. A number of the cook club members bought the book for themselves after trying out their recipes and we had the highest number of "perfect scores" for this cookbook than any other. Many of the recipes provided a new technique that turned an ordinary recipe into a great one. If you try out any recipes from this cookbook too, please leave a comment! Would love to hear about how your dishes turned out.

Some general comments from cook club members:

Leanne: I bought this cookbook after cook club and made tons more recipes out of it. The mac & cheese recipe is amazing! I also made the caramelized banana cake recipe which was really good, the tomato soup recipe (the one with orange zest in it)--AMAZING, the mint pea soup (not that great, but I am not a pea fan), and the lemony roasted potatoes (SO easy and really delicious). I LOVE this cookbook!!!

Amanda: I LOVED this cookbook . . . so much so that I ordered it from Amazon. :) The recipes are easy to follow and I liked the variety of fresh ingredients that were used.

For your cooking and tasting pleasure, here are two of the top recipes:

Sesame Noodles with Apples and Cucumbers
Serves 6

Ingredients:
For the sesame sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon chile oil, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the noodles:
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces spaghettini
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For finishing:
1 Granny Smith apple, unpeeled, julienned, tossed with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice to prevent discoloration
3/4 hothouse (seedless) cucumber, peeled and julienned
4 scallions (white bulbs and 3 inches green), thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped salted peanuts
1/4 cup tiny radish or alfalfa sprouts

Directions
1. One day ahead, prepare the sesame sauce. Place the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and peanut butter in a blender and process on high speed until smooth, 1 or 2 minutes.

2. Combine the sesame oil, peanut oil, and chile oil in a spouted measuring cup, and with the blender running, drizzle them into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate overnight to thicken.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the olive oil and the spaghettini, and cook until the noodles are al dente (just tender), 8 to 9 minutes. Drain, reserving some of the pasta cooking water. Place the noodles in a large bowl and toss with the sesame sauce, using the reserved cooking water to thin the sauce if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the noodles to a shallow pasta bowl. Drain the apple and sprinkle it evenly over the noodles, followed by the cucumber, scallions, peanuts, and sprouts. Serve immediately.

Farmers' Market Corn Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
4 ounces slender fresh green beans, stem ends removed
1 cup diced, peeled, seeded cucumber (1/4-inch dice)
2 medium-size ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 scallions (white bulbs and 3 inches green), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette

Directions:
1. Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil.

2. While the water is hearing, use a sharp knife to strip the corn kernels off the cobs, cutting as close to the cobs as possible; you should have 2 cups.

3. Cook the corn kernels in the boiling water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, run under cold water, and drain again. Pat dry and place in a large bowl.

4. Bring another saucepan of salted water to a boil, and add the green beans. Cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, run under cold water, and drain again. Pat dry and add to the corn. Toss in the cucumber, tomatoes, scallions, and parsley. (If you wish, you can refrigerate the mixture for up to 4 hours before serving. Remove it about 30 minutes before serving).

5. Just before serving, season the salad with salt and pepper and toss it lightly with the vinaigrette.

And now, the reviews! Enjoy!

DRINKS:

Amanda’s Sparkling Limoncello

Score: 5

Such a delicious and simple summer cocktail! I could have sipped this for hours...and we did at our cook club dinner party. This beverage is perfect for pool days...or when you're missing summertime. :)

Sonia’s Blushing Sangria

Score: 4.5

I served the Blushing Sangria at the DC Cook Club dinner party, and it was a refreshing treat in the summer heat. I added a bit more Cointreau than the recipe indicated, replaced the cantaloupe (not a fan) with watermelon (very well-received substitute!), and added a few blackberries that I found at the farmer's market. I felt that the amount of sparkling water was a little excessive, as the sangria tasted a bit watered down. Next time I make this, I will use flavored sparkling water or perhaps cut down on the amount I use. Note: I doubled the recipe for the party, but kept the fruit amounts the same, and I would recommend this, as we all had plenty.

DC Cook Club Party comments: “Very refreshing and summery, but a bit too watery.” “Delicious summer drink.” “Very summery!” “Super awesome – loved this. Perfect for a party. Definitely support watermelon addition.” “Very fresh, yummy, doesn’t taste like alcohol (which is nice).” “Great fruit flavor!”

APPETIZERS / SOUPS:

Julie’s Beet and Apple Soup

Score: 5.0
I've been really excited about trying out different ways of preparing (and eating!) beetroots since rediscovering them a year or two ago so I had to try this one. The recipe was simple to follow and an adventure for the senses - great smells while preparing it (earthy beetroot boiling, sweet caramelising apples, zingy lemon juice) and the result was not only really tasty but also a beautiful vibrant colour and smooth thick texture. You have to like beetroots though as (a) the flavour is pretty strong, and (b) they are weird alien-looking things to work with and stain your hands or gloves pink! I'd recommend it cold - perfect for a summer evening - but also tried warming up a little and that would work really well in as comfort food in colder weather. Definitely serve with the creme fraiche as ecommended in the recipe. I used chicken stock (normal not homemade) this time but would try it with veg stock next time.

Leanne’s Garden Greens Soup

Score: 4.8
This was a delicious and simple broccoli soup. I was a little worried that it would be bland just because there were no spices or anything in the ingredients. However, the flavors were really delicious, and blandness was not at all an issue. I would definitely make this again!

Jackie’s Olivada

Score: 5.0

I love olive tapenade, so when trying to pick out an appetizer type recipe for our DC Cook Club party, I went for the “olivada.” This recipe was super straight forward and easy to make. The part that took the longest was pitting the green, manzanilla olives (the kalamatas were much easier, they just peeled right off the pits). But otherwise, it was as simple as pitting/chopping several ingredients and throwing them into the food processor or a quick whiz around. We ended up making two batches of the olivada – just the one serving seemed too small – and we were very happy to have leftovers for the next week. Perfect for spreading on bread and crackers, we also used the olivada in lieu of dressing for salads. Some comments from our DC Cook Club guests: “This was a really nice salty olive tapenade that was a tasty topping with the bread.” “Great app!” “Olives rule!” “Oh my gosh – super great! Wonderful flavors, at first bite!” “Burst of flavor, but a little salty.”

Monica’s Spiced Goat Cheese Slather

Score: 3.5

Short story: I substituted sour cream for creme fraiche and ricotta (full fat!) for goat cheese. I made a double recipe. It was a hot day. The ricotta plus creme fraiche mixture made the slather into more of a dip than a slather. That being said, it was delicious, it was a real crowd pleaser at a Fourth of July cookout, and I was totally okay with it as a dip. But it made a lot of dip. So I used some of the extra "slather" as a sauce for angel hair pasta, and it was AMAZING. So think outside the box when you make this slather. Use it as a slather, a dip, a pasta sauce, a face mask . . . whatever. Okay, maybe not the last one. But I think the recipe deserves some credit for turning out delicious even with all of my “substitutions.”

Monica’s Roasted Garlic

Score: 4.5

I know I requested four recipes in the first go-round, but then my boyfriend's tempo-roomie bought a massive bag of garlic at Costco, and I remembered seeing a roasted garlic recipe in this book that would be a perfect way to use it all. Considering my unhealthy love of garlic, this recipe was a no-brainer. The final result was a head of garlic that was deliciously creamy and spreadable, and I would've loved to throw it in a small dish of olive oil for dipping bread into during an Italian dinner. Next time, I'll be sure to have crusty bread on hand just for that purpose!

Amanda’s Watermelon, Cucumber, and Tomato Salad

Score: 4.5

This is a perfect summertime salad! It was very easy to put together, just required lots of chopping. The recipe included feta, which was an awesome addition and paired nicely with the watermelon. The only thing that I would have done differently is use smaller tomatoes (like grape or cherry tomatoes) and not peel them. In my opinion, it took too much time and effort to peel the tomatoes, and it didn't really change the flavor of the salad all that much. The next time I make it, I will definitely skip this step and use smaller, more flavorful tomatoes.

Amanda’s Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup

Score: 4.5

This recipe sounded so appealing, I just had to try it out, and so glad I did! The dish is one of those that is easy to make when other cooking is going on. As indicated by the title, roasting is involved...for 2 hours. All I had to do was peel and cut the carrots, parsnips, onion, and ginger in large pieces and toss them in the oven. Once the vegetables finish roasting, it took 15 minutes to have the dish completely ready. The soup was really flavorful. I can't wait to make it again!

Rachel’s Ricotta Slather

DC Cook Club comments: “Even though this was a simple dish, it was very tasty, and went well with the caponata.” “Wonderful.” “So simple, surprisingly good.” “A little bland.” “Great light flavor.”

Mai's Farm Stand Caponata

DC Cook Club comments: “Great Mediterranean flavors.”  “Delicious combinations.”  “Lots of yummy fresh veg, kind of lost all mixed together.”  

ENTREES:

Julie’s Ginger-Lime Cod in a Bowl
Score: 3.5

This recipe was easy enough to follow and had nice subtle flavours - a mild version of Thai soup. I also liked the way you end up with a large juicy fillet of cod and have other elements in the soup (broccoli, tomato, pasta) to pick at and provide colour contrast. However I haven't given it a top score because for my taste it was too mild and unexciting for the effort involved. Personally I prefer stronger flavour contrast and a simpler cooking procedure without so many pots, so if I were to repeat I'd add some chilli and more lime juice to give it some kick and just add noodles, broccoli at appropriate time to the sifted broth to keep things simple. Still, you should try this yourself if you like Asian-inspired broths as my rating is quite subjective - this was tasty but just not compared to my favourite Thai broths. P.S. I substituted veggie broth for chicken broth (it's a fish and veg soup after all so the chicken broth seemed out of place) and fine thread Asian wheat wok-style noodles as I couldn't find angel hair pasta.

Julie’s Pink Lentil Dal with Fresh Ginger 

Score: 4.0

This was a tasty dish and fun to make as "tempering oil" was a new technique for me and released some delicious aromas. It wasn't a smart recipe to pick for summer but given that we're not having much of a summer and ate this on a rainy weekend it worked perfectly. The only reason it doesn't get a top score is that it's up against stiff competition from various London Indian/ Pakistani/ Nepalese restaurants that produce delicious dals. However for a self-made one this was pretty good and I will be making it again.  Be aware that the name doesn't really match the name which I found a little disappointing but I was quickly reconciled to my bowl of creamy yellow aromatic comfort food, and I liked the addition of cilantro (coriander) and lemon juice for some contrasting freshness. We had this with naan bread one day and with basmati rice another day - both worked really well.  P.S. Recipe adaptations: this turned out a little too soupy and salty for my taste, so I'd recommend starting with less water and half the salt and adding as necessary to taste during cooking.

Leanne’s Tandoori Chicken

Score: 3.0

I was really excited to make this dish--it sounded delicious!  However, in reality, it was underwhelming.  The flavors just weren't that good, and it was not at all what I expected.  I made the pineapple raita to go with it, which was decent, but also not incredible.  I would not make this dish again.

Jackie’s Lemon-Herbed Chicken Drumsticks

Score: 3.0

I chose this recipe for its bright, summery flavors, its ease in serving it to a large group of people, and the ability to prep it ahead of time so we could take it over to Rachel’s house for the party (that said, the wait/cook time was on the lengthier side… the drumsticks had to be marinated for several hours and then cooked for another 1.25 hours).  The flavor profile was mainly lemon and thyme, which smelled incredibly delicious and enticing as the drumsticks cooked.  We tried a drumstick right from the oven (before I cooked down the marinade to pour over the drumsticks) and the chicken was very moist, but not as flavorful as I expected.  Unfortunately, by the time we all ate them at the party, I found them to be rather… unattractive… and they were quite sticky to handle with the thickened marinade on top.  All this said, I would probably make this again, but would plan to eat it immediately.  DC Cook Club Comments:  “Good.”  “Love the lemon flavor.”  “These were nice, but I admit not a big bone-in chicken fan.”  “Fresh taste.”  

Jackie’s Sesame Noodles with Apples and Cucumbers

Score: 5.0

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THESE NOODLES.  We originally selected this dish because the recipe reminded us of Jonathan’s favorite noodles – the dan dan noodles – at a Northern dim sum restaurant that we go to.  And it surely lived up to our expectations.  The sauce is a food-processed mixture of sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, peanut butter, and Sriracha (the recipe called for “chili oil” but we had sriracha in the house, so went for that!) – the recipe calls for making the sauce a day ahead to allow it to thicken in the refrigerator.  We followed that procedure, but I’m not sure if it made a big difference or not.  Regardless, the sauce was deliciously peanut-y with a slow heat that hits you at the end of each bite and clung on nicely to the noodles (spaghetti!).  The recipe called for julienning some granny smith apples, cucumbers, and green onions to sprinkle on top.  It was a nice addition – a good crunch factor – but in my opinion, unnecessary.  We so loved these noodles that I immediately made another batch of them the next day and ate them a few more times that week.  Will definitely make again!

DC Cook Club Comments: “Surprisingly cohesive flavors with the apples, cucumbers, and sesame/peanut.  Love the extra heat.”  “Very flavorful, loved the peanut butterness of it.”  “Always love PB noodles.”  “Best dish ever!”  “Love the peanut sauce.”  “Great peanut flavor with a nice bite from the cucumbers and tangy sweetness from the apples.”

Monica’s Paella Rice with Shrimp and Chorizo 

Score: 5.0

I love paella.  I discovered my love for it during my summer in New York because this fantastic Cuban place across from my apartment at Columbia had awesome happy hour specials that my roommate and I frequented after work.  I can't believe I didn't learn of it sooner!  I'm so glad it's in my life now.  The only problem with paella is that it's a very intimidating dish.  I've been meaning to try it for a while, but it always seemed too scary to attempt so I usually just ordered it at tapas restaurants instead.  Chicks love tapas. I'm so glad I tried this!  It was easy, though a big time commitment, and it turned out so well that Neal and I barely had leftovers.  I highly recommend it as a main dish or as a potluck side dish.

Amanda’s Summer Soba Noodles with Zesty Dipping Sauce

Score: 5.0

In a word: yummy. In two words: simple yumminess. Out of all the recipes I chose for this round, this one was my favorite. I LOVED the sauce for these noodles! It was super easy to make and the ingredients were simple. As the title suggests, the dish is very summer-y. Very refreshing and not too heavy for the hot summer days. I think it goes without saying that this recipe will be around my kitchen for awhile.

Lisa H.’s Zuni Cafe Roasted Chicken and Bread Salad

Score: 4.4

It was really good.  It was difficult to make the bread salad.  I would make the chicken again, but I don’t know that I would make the bread salad again, it was good out of the oven, but once it cooled off it wasn’t as good.  

Anjali’s Skirt Steak with a Touch of Latin America

Score: 5.0

This dish is the next best thing to getting on a plane on going down to South America.  Ok, maybe not, but it certainly was a crowd pleaser.  The dish itself was simple and straightforward.  The flavors in the chimichurri were bright and perfect for summer. I used the leftovers on eggs and toast! I will definitely keep this in my arsenal for the future.

Mai’s Creamy Goat Cheese Butterflies
DC Cook Club Comments:  “Liked the creaminess with the salami.”  "Love the salami, great subtle cheese flavor without overpowering the al-dente pasta.”  “Really nice, versatile.”  “Wonderful flavor combination.”  “Yum!”

Rachel’s Shrimp Tacos

DC Cook Club Comments: “Perfect summer meal; loved the refreshing sauce.”  “Great.” “Great combo of fresh flavors.” “Sauce was amazing.”  “Love the sauce.”

SIDE DISHES:

Sonia’s Quinoa with Chimichurri Herbs

Score: 3.5

I chose this recipe because I love quinoa and was excited to try a new way to prepare it.  This was a pretty simple recipe that could easily be a weeknight side or light lunch, since the only real cooking involved is with the quinoa itself.  I found that the flavors were good (though better after being allowed to marry for a few hours or overnight), but that it wasn't a very attractive dish.  I later added in a chopped plum tomato which added the color and flavor that seemed to me to be lacking.

Amanda’s Roasted Beets w Tangerine Vinaigrette

Score: 4.0

My parents made roasted beets the last time I was home and I loved them! They roasted them in the oven with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper--simple and amazing! Naturally, I had to try this recipe. I liked Sheila Lukins method of roasting the beets in theory (the recipe said to trim the beets, wrap them in foil and roast with the skins on-super easy and less chance of staining everything in the kitchen), but they were a little too soft in my opinion. The tangerine vinaigrette went really nicely with the beets and was very easy to make. This recipe will be making an appearance again--using my parents' roasting method.

Rachel’s Green Taboulleh

DC Cook Club Comments: “Very enjoyable.”  “Nice, but pretty standard.”  “Nice mix of flavorful ingredients.”

Mai’s Confetti Corn Pudding

DC Cook Club Comments: “Made stomach happy!”  “Loved the fresh crispy corn flavor and texture!”  “Very fresh!”  “Loved the fresh corn flavor, great texture.”

Monica’s Roasted Asparagus

Score: 5.0

Asparagus!  What a vegetable.  I don't even know how or where it grows, why it's sometimes white, or why I have to break off part of it before I cook it.  But I know that I like it, and that I've always wanted to find a perfect recipe for it. I had no idea asparagus could be so easy and so good. My previous method for cooking asparagus wasn't that far off from this one in technique (and identical in ingredients and prep!), but I was missing one essential step:  ten minutes of cooking the asparagus while covered with foil BEFORE cooking it uncovered for another ten minutes.  What a game changer!  The asparagus came out tender and creamy, but the tips were crunchy and slightly charred.  I expected to have leftovers, but I couldn't stop myself from taking seconds . . . and thirds.  I found myself eating them stem-side first so I could enjoy their creamy texture and then crunch down on the tips at the end.  Yum.  Just writing about them now makes me want to make them again!

Lisa H.’s Farmer’s Market Corn Salad

Score: 5.0

It was easy to make and had great flavors.  I have already made it again.  It says to mix it together right before serving, but it’s still good the next day.  (As a sidenote, Lisa also notes: I loved this cookbook.  Everything people made was so good.)  (Anjali, the hostess of the Dallas Cook Club dinner party, also comments that Lisa's corn salad was a big hit and Amanda already made it again for a 4th of July BBQ!)

Anjali’s Caramelized Fennel

Score: 4.5

Two words that sing to my heart. (Although, if you have been following this blog, you will remember that it was the original Cook Club where conquered my fear of fennel!) The dish, again, was incredibly straightfoward, but the results were spectacular.  I was actually so focused on the steak and hosting the dinner, that it was a complete afterthought, but still turned out well!  I do think this dish is better for winter meals, given the addition of butter, but either way, it is an excellent and easy side to make.  

DESSERTS:

Leanne’s Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

Score: 4.2

This cheesecake was simple to make, but where problems arose was in the baking.  It took almost triple the baking time to set!  If it weren't for that, I would have ranked it higher--people seemed to really like it, but the hassle of waiting by an oven for almost three hours was a huge negative.

Amanda’s Peach Blueberry Pie

Score: 4

I have to confess...I did not make the pie crust from scratch, as the recipe suggested. Making my own pie crust is one of the few things that I find completely intimidating, cooking wise. Plus, there were several other dishes to be made for our dinner party (and I do not own a rolling pin). So, I let Pillsbury do some of the work this round. Once the pie crust issue was taken care of, the rest of the dish came together quickly and easily. I thought the filling combination was great...again, this is a perfect summer dessert. Per usual, I thought it would be enhanced by the addition of vanilla ice cream :), but forgot to buy some for our dinner party. I will make it again...perhaps with my own crust. ;)

Sonia’s Sinful Chocolate Tart

Score: 5.0

After an unsuccessful attempt to slightly modify the chocolate filling recipe (thus wasting $10 worth of quality chocolate -- still mourning), I turned out my very first tart, and it was absolutely delicious. I had some difficulty turning the rolled out crust into the tart pan, and ended up pressing a good amount of the dough into the pan. This didn't affect the taste or texture of the crust, and I was actually very pleased with its flavor. The almonds definitely added a lot to the dish, and I would use this crust recipe again (though would note that you should use a fork to poke holes in the crust before baking, or use pie weights). The filling (the second time around) was silky and smooth, and had just a touch of sweetness with the chocolate. I don't feel that the creme fraiche garnish was a perfect accompaniment to the chocolate, and would instead do an almond extract or hazelnut liquor-infused freshly whipped cream.

DC Cook Club comments: “Unexpected, RICH flavour.  Would serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.”  "Chocolate!!"  "Wonderful rich chocolate flavor paired perfectly with the butteryness of the crust."

Monica’s Grilled Vanilla Peaches

Score: 4.0

I’m so glad I tried a non-chocolate dessert.  IT WAS SO GOOD.   This was a very simple recipe, and I could see it working well for any stone fruit (apricots, plums, etc.).  Don’t expect for grill marks to appear on your peaches, though, or you might cook all of the delicious right out of them. Perfect for this time of year!

Sonia's Big Strawberry Shortcake

Score: 3.75

I chose this cake because I love strawberries, but prefer to eat them fresh, rather than cooked. The berries are highlighted in this recipe, which required few ingredients, and was relatively simple to make and assemble. The cake layers were dense, almost like a pound cake. The addition of the orange juice and zest gave it a nice subtle flavor. The only change I made to the recipe was to add a bit of Cointreau (left over from the sangria) to the whipped cream to play off of the orange notes in the cake. While the flavors were really nice, I think the heaviness of the cake was not in line with the fresh fruit and airy whipped cream, especially for a summer dessert. Also, take heed of the note to eat this dessert immediately; it does not travel well, especially in the heat.

Cook Club: Mario Batali's Molto Gusto

2011-05-18T19:45:00.000-04:00

MARIO BATALI’S MOLTO GUSTO

Top Scoring Recipes: Anjali’s Sunchokes with Walnut Gremolata, Jackie’s Linguine with Lemon, Amanda’s Hazelnut Stracchiatella Gelato, Sonia’s Ricotta Gelato

Lowest Scoring Recipes: Jackie’s Broccoli Rabe Pesto Pennette

Average Score: 3.94 (3.9375)

This month’s Cook Club brought us Mario Batali’s MOLTO GUSTO. The book is structured on what Mario describes as “the true world of Italian meal ideology” … which apparently is built around vegetable antipasti, leafy salads, cheeses, salumi, pastas, pizzas, and gelati or copette. The recipes are simple and short with a focus on maximizing the best ingredients. The recipes are organized by seasonal availability of the produce – perfect for the turn of seasons! The dishes are perfect for sharing, and as it turns out, were a hit for the most part! This is one of the highest scoring cookbooks from which we’ve cooked.

For your cooking and tasting pleasure, here is the recipe for LINGUINE WITH LEMON, which scored a 5 out of 5:

Serves 6

Ingredients
4 lemons, preferably Meyer or Sorrento
Kosher salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound dried linguine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for serving

Directions

Grate the zest and squeeze the juice from 2 of the lemons. Using a sharp serrated or other knife, cut off the tops and bottoms of the remaining 2 lemons to expose the flesh. Stand each lemon upright on the cutting board and cut away the peel and white pith in strips, working from top to bottom and following the natural curve of the fruit. Hold the fruit over a bowl to catch the juices and cut down along the membranes on either side of each section to release it, letting the sections drop into the bowl.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add 3 tablespoons kosher salt.

Meanwhile, combine the lemon zest, juice, olive oil, and butter in another large pot and heat over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Remove from the heat. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until just al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the lemon juice mixture and stir and toss over medium heat to coat the pasta well. Stir in the lemon sections and cheese (add a splash or two more of the reserved pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce) and serve immediately, with additional grated Parmigiano on the side.

And here are all our reviews! Enjoy!

Vegetable Antipasti

Amanda’s Spring Peas with Mint with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Score: 3.5

This was another recipe that was very easy to put together. I ran into a snag when I was unable to find fresh peas. Apparently, it was a little too early in the season, so I substituted frozen peas. The recipe called for a medium red onion, which I thought was a bit too much. The onion sort of overpowered all of the other yummy flavors in the dish. I would love to try this recipe again, except with less onion.

Leanne’s Roasted Peppers with Capers

Score: 2.5

The roasted red peppers with capers were good but not great. I also stuck to the recipe on this one as well, although I used capers from a jar and not salt packed dry ones. This recipe was really labor intensive because the peppers had to be roasted and then peeled. Honestly, even if it was less work, I wouldn't make it again.

Anjali’s Sunchokes with Walnut Gremolata

Score: 5.0

I have always wanted to eat a sunchoke since watching the first season of Top Chef when Harold (the eventual winner) made a sunchoke soup! So I had to pick this. In researching sunchokes, I found out they are related to the sunflower and are a great starch substitute for diabetics. Fun facts! Anyway, the scary part about this dish was using a mandolin! It asked for thinly shaved pieces and my knowledge of mandolins is that they can quickly lead to accidents! Thankfully, I made it through that experience without injury. The remainder of the prep was a breeze, especially because I have made gremolata several times. The final result was a hit! Everyone at the party loved the crunch of the raw sunchoke and the saltiness of the gremolata. It was a great snack for the next few days! I will definitely return to this dish for an easy side or appetizer for a large party.

Lisa H.’s Cherry Tomatoes with Crème Fraiche

Score: 3.0

I’m rating this 3/5 because I thought the crème fraiche was too rich. I thought it was really good without the crème fraiche. It would be really good in the summer with fresh tomatoes. I will definitely make this again.

Bruschetta

Rachel’s White Beans Bruschetta

Score: 4.0

Surprisingly good! So hearty! Rachel served this dish at our DC cook club party, and here were some of the comments from the night: “This was one of my favorite dishes of the evening! I could have certainly eaten the white bean salad without the bread – it was rich and full of great flavor.” “Complex flavors and spicy.” “Very good! Hearty, yummy.”

Sonia’s Broccoli Rabe Bruschetta

Score: 4.0

This dish was a nice twist on the traditional tomato bruschetta. The topping came together quickly; the broccoli rabe didn't need quite as long as directed. I added a squeeze of lemon juice to the greens while it was cooking, which helped balance the bitterness and I felt that that water was completely unnecessary, as I had quite a bit remaining that needed to be drained. The ricotta salata was a nice color contrast to the bright green, and added a bit of nice flavor. Parmesan would also be nice. Overall, this was a solid, easy appetizer that I would serve again.

Sonia served this at our DC cook club party, and here are some of the comments: “This bruschetta turned out so pretty. The ricotta salata grated on top of the broccoli rabe was a great complement to the strong taste of the broccoli rabe.” “Great, wonderful flavors.” “Nice flavor, yummo!” “Yummy.” “The broccoli rabe had an excellent flavor, would make at home.” “Yummy, a great surprise.”

Amanda’s Onion Ragu Bruschetta

Score: 4.0

This recipe was very similar to the vidalia onion confit I made from Bon Appetit Y'all. The only difference was the Mario Batali recipe included garlic, and the only seasonings were salt and pepper. The recipe was very easy to put together and took very little hands on time. I did make a small modification to the recipe, which I thought improved it quite a bit. The onions were a bit bland after being cooked with water, salt, and pepper, so I added some balsamic vinegar, and let it simmer and reduce. This was a big improvement, and I highly recommend adding balsamic or red wine in place of the water.

Insalata

Rachel’s Radicchio and Ginger Salad

Score: 4.0

Warning: only for people who like strong flavors J And DC Cook Club comments: “I never would have thought to put radicchio and ginger together, but I loved the flavors.” “Great to have a salad with the heavier pasta dishes.”

Monica’s Winter Caprese Salad

Score: 4.2

I loved this caprese! It took a little more work on the front end than I would like for a quick caprese after work, though, so I might save it for dinner parties or special weekend dinners. The tomatoes were chewy and a little hard to bite through, but the caprese was too big for one bite, so I ended up eating these messily with my hands for dinner and with a fork for cutting the leftovers at work for lunch the next day. The fresh pesto was luxurious, but this would be easy enough to make with store-bought pesto, too. The agrodolce was a great, new take on the tangy-sweet-acidic flavor that balsamic vinegar usually provides to a caprese, and it was quick and easy to make. (Check out Monica’s extended review on her blog!)

Pasta

Jackie’s Linguine with Lemon

Score: 5.0

I was really excited to make this dish. The steps and ingredients were quite simple (lemon, olive oil, butter, garlic, parm cheese), but the flavors were bright, robust, and a perfect way to welcome in Spring. I was surprised by Mario’s use of the actual lemon wedges in the dish, but I really liked the added oomph of lemony flavor that the slices infused in the dish when it was cooked all together (otherwise, it would be lemon zest and lemon juice). Mario suggests serving this immediately after making… I ended up serving it quite a bit later for our cook club party, but all the flavors were still there. Rach and I did taste a bit of it right after it was cooked, and it definitely is quite wonderful when “served immediately.” Jonathan and I then tried the leftovers the next day (with some rotisserie chicken) and it was fabulous then too. Would definitely make again!

And DC Cook Club Comments: “Very good, tasty.” “Delish! Lemon very refreshing.” “Tasty.” “Excllent! Yummy lemon flavor!” “Loved the lemony flavor – amazing!” “Excellent! This was my fave. I had seconds.” “Yum!”

Lisa W.’s Penne all’Arrabbiata

Score: 3.5

My husband and I love arrabbiata sauce with any pasta. Our fun fact about arrabbiata is that it literally means, “angry,” due to the heat of the chili peppers! We thought that this recipe was extremely easy to make and very flavorful. Although we enjoyed this dish, we still prefer Harris Teeter's arrabbiata sauce.

DC Cook Club comments: “Spicy as an arrabbiata sauce should be, but felt like some of the other flavors got lost in the spiciness.” “Spicy, but good.” “Spicy!” “A little spicy but good.” “A little spicy for my palette.” “Yum.”

Anjali’s Penne alla Puttanesca

Score: 4.75

So I really wanted the pasta Lisa W. chose (it's my sister's favorite!), but the Puttanesca was also intriguing. It wasn't until I saw the ingredient list that I realized I have never actually had puttanesca! Was I really going to eat anchovies? I was more than a bit scared, nevertheless, I proceeded. The prep was very simple, but I will say, I have a bone to pick with Mr. Batali. WHAT are Gaeta Olives? Google didn't know, the men in Jimmy's Food Store (awesome Italian grocer in Dallas) didn't know, and I certainly had no idea. I decided to subsitite with Green Cerignolas. Also, he asked for Pomi tomatoes, but I bought canned San Marzano instead. I was displeased with his level of specificity and lack of explanation, but I was quite pleased with the alternatives I chose. The dish was wonderfully hearty and savory. Each component added to the flavor explosion, but also aded a layer of complexity. No one even knew the anchovies were there! I happily ate the leftovers for days! The guests at our Italian feast were also fans.

Monica’s Pennette with Basil Pesto

Score: 4.8

The only reason this dish doesn't get the full 5 points is that it requires a food processor and fresh basil, neither of which I have on hand all the time. I used whole wheat pasta and made sure to cook it just to al dente, and the result was fantastic. The pesto was a salty, garlicky, light but delectable sauce for the pasta. I usually buy my pesto from the grocery store, but now that I've tasted fresh pesto and realized how easy it is to make, I'll never make pesto pasta with store-bought pesto again. Considering how easy these ingredients are to keep on hand (minus the basil, which is perishable and pseudo-seasonal), it doesn't make sense to pay for overpriced, preservative-filled pesto at the store when I'm craving a good Italian meal. It was such a mindless dish to make, too, so it'd be easy to make in a hurry for dinner on a week night as long as you keep the ingredients in your pantry. I think it'd also work really well with angel hair pasta, so that's what I'll try it with next time. (And check out Monica’s extended review on her blog!)

Jackie’s Pennette with Broccoli Rabe Pesto

Score: 2.0

I was very sad about this dish. I had high expectations for it – I always wanted my “own” pesto recipe that I could make again and again. And I usually really like broccoli rabe. But this dish was disappointing. The pesto itself was very bitter and then when mixed with the pasta, the pasta became, somehow, bland and bitter. It was slightly better as a leftover the next day. I’m not sure if I ended up using too much broccoli rabe, but either way, I don’t think I would make this again.

DC Cook Club Comments: “A little bland, but good.” “Slightly bitter but good.” “A little too bitter.” “Very good, though the flavor was a little strong for me.” “Very fresh and summery.”

Leanne’s Pennette with Summer Squash and Ricotta

Score: 4.5

My summer squash pasta was great and got really positive feedback. I generally stuck to the recipe, although I probably used double the amount of parm that it called for. The mint was a really nice touch although I was skeptical about how it would work with the dish. I also couldn't find pennette so I used some form of penne. This was a really easy recipe and I would make it again.

Amanda’s Penne alla Primavera

Score: Day of = 2.0; next day with modifications = 4.0; average = 3.0

I was so excited to try this recipe. I adore Primavera and was so excited to make it. The recipe has several yummy fresh vegetables, which I loved. However, I was very disappointed to see there were no tomatoes in the recipe. I thought that the vegetables would need a bit of acidity to enhance the flavor, which was a correct guess. The recipe was very straightforward and easy to put together, but was seriously lacking flavor. It needed tons more salt and pepper, and, as mentioned before, some acidity, and possibly red pepper flakes. I doubled the recipe to accommodate our 13 person dinner party, and had tons of pasta leftover. The next day, I added stewed tomatoes, and some of my mom's canned tomatoes. It was a great improvement. I will definitely try this recipe again, but with the modifications.

PIZZA

Sonia’s Margherita D.O.P.

Score: 4.0

The recipe for the pizza dough was very detailed and easy to follow. I elected to skip the parbaking step, and instead used a pizza stone, which resulted in a crisp thin crust that was chewy but not soggy (a bit of cornmeal on the bottom of the unbaked crust created an extra bit of crunch). I used premade pizza sauce (Muir Glen) rather than Pomi strained tomatoes. I added freshly chopped garlic to the sauce, which gave it a great flavor. The classic Margherita toppings were light and tasted great. My only complaint was that the crust was slightly salty. Overall, this was a really quick and easy technique for making fresh pizza. I used the remaining dough for other combinations of topping, and will be keeping this in my repertoire.

Lisa H.’s Balsamic, Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza

Score: 3.0

I used store bought pizza dough and then I didn’t correctly read the directions. So, the rating could be 100% my lack of following directions. The best part to me was the balsamic reduction you make for the onions. It was great on a salad and I think the onions would have been great on a salad too. Not bad, I just didn’t care for the combination on the pizza, but I will be making the balsamic reductions again.

DESSERT

Amanda’s Hazelnut Stracchiatella Gelato

Score: 5.0

I absolutely adore gelato, and have always wanted to try making it on my own. One of my favorite flavors is hazelnut stracchiatella, so this recipe was an obvious choice! The recipe itself was very involved, but not as hard to make as I expected. The hazelnuts had to be toasted and then soaked in milk, which gave the gelato such great flavor. Batali suggested chilling the custard for anywhere from 6 hours or overnight, and I chose to let it chill overnight, which also helped intensify the flavor I think. Once the mixture was ready for the ice cream maker, I was a little unsure of how long to let it freeze. The recipe said to use the ice cream maker instructions and vice versa, so I just checked it every few minutes while it was freezing. This is a fantastic recipe if you are not familiar with making gelato. The steps are very well defined and easy to follow. I see more homemade gelato in my future!

Sonia’s Ricotta Gelato

Score: 5.0

I just got an ice cream maker, so I was excited to try it out with this recipe. To my surprise, this wasn't an exceptionally difficult undertaking. I made a couple of changes: replacing the corn syrup with 1/4 cup of sugar and adding a tablespoon of vanilla (I absolutely couldn't resist). The gelato had a really subtle flavor that was just slightly sweet. It was very creamy and smooth, and it achieved an appropriate level of thickness without the corn syrup (the corn starch acts as enough of a thickener). The ricotta gave the gelato a richness, without being heavy. Huge success!

DC Cook Club comments: “Delicious! Lots of rich flavor, but light at the same time.” “Delicious.” “Very tasty, good flavor.” “Delicioso.” “Superb.” “Yum!!” “Great! I had seconds.” “Really simple, fresh, creamy.”

And Sonia made these amazing Lavender Shortbread Bites to go with her gelato. Check them out at her blog!

I couldn't resist including this photo too of Monica's oven roasted tomatoes. Beautiful, no?

Cook Club: Ming Tsai's One Pot Meals

2011-03-14T20:57:00.000-04:00

MING TSAI'S ONE POT MEALS

AVERAGE SCORE: 3.58

HIGHEST SCORING DISHES: Star Anise Ginger Braised Chicken, Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter, Tamari Tofu Stirfry with Rice Noodles

LOWEST SCORING DISHES: Ginger Chicken Thighs with Parsnips, Spicy Shrimp and Avocado Salad

To kick off the new year, I wanted to dive into some of the cookbooks I received for Christmas and, after a quick poll of Cook Club, we selected Ming Tsai’s One Pot Meals. I was excited to try this cookbook because it offered a different flavor profile from the other cookbooks we have tried recently. Chef Tsai drew on a number of Asian countries in his recipes, including China, Thailand, Japan, and Korea. Also, who doesn’t love the simplicity of a one pot dish? As you’ll see though, the “one pot dish” concept was a little bit of a stretch for some of the dishes, but overall, the dishes were not too complicated or difficult.

This round also marked the first DC Cook Club party with me, Lisa W., Sonia, and Rachel (and our lovely guests). We decided to take a page out of the Dallas cook club girls’ book (Anjali, Amanda, and Lisa H) – they’ve been cooking up dishes for cook club and serving them up for one another for awhile now, which is an idea I always loved because what makes food even better is sharing it and experiencing it together! So you’ll see mixed in some of the reviews the added comments of some of the cook club-ers that were in attendance at each party.

Because the reviews are almost all entrees, I’ve listed them in alphabetical order by the name of the cook club-er. As an extra treat, here is the recipe for our top scoring dish – Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter – (SO GOOD). Enjoy!

Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter

Ming's Notes: This recipe elevates humble yet healthful tofu to great, delicious heights. It's flash-fried, which makes it golden brown and crispy. The tofu is then dolloped with a flavorful miso butter whose richness is offset by ponzu and iceberg lettuce -- a lettuce I've always loved for its compatible, no-frills crunchiness. This makes a great light meal or appetizer.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons shiro miso
2 tablespoons naturally brewed ponzu, plus more for drizzling
1/4 pound salted butter, at room temperature
Grapeseed or canola oil, for frying
Two 12-ounce packages silken tofu, each portion quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon togarashi or chili powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups rice flour
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 tablespoons finely sliced chives, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the miso and ponzu. Using a hand blender or sturdy whisk, whip until well blended. Add the butter and whip until blended. Set aside.

2. Fill a heavy medium skillet 1/2 inch full with the oil. Heat over medium heat to 375F.

3. Meanwhile, season the tofu with the togarashi and salt and pepper to taste. Spread the rice flour on a large plate, add the tofu, and dredge on all sides. Shake off excess flour and, using a skimmer or slotted spatula, transfer half the tofu to the oil. Fry the tofu until crisp, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining tofu.

4. Transfer the lettuce to a platter or divide the lettuce among four serving plates. Drizzle with the ponzu, top with the tofu, and dollop with the butter mixture. Garnish with the chives and serve.

Ming's Tips: The frying is best done in a heavy, straight-sided pan, but any heavy pan will do. You may have extra miso butter. Refrigerate it and use it later for searing fish or meat.

To Drink: A crisp lager like Yanjing from China

REVIEWS

Amanda’s Chile Pork Chops with Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Score: Pork Chops - 2.5; Brussels Sprouts - 4.0

I picked this recipe because I LOVE brussels sprouts, especially when they have been roasted, :) so this recipe was an obvious choice. The preparation was very simple and straightforward. The mixture of spices--chili powder, brown sugar, and garlic--were a great combination for the pork, I just wish it would have had more flavor after cooking it in the oven. I think next time I will marinate the pork chops for a bit before cooking to see if that enhances the flavor. The Brussels sprouts, on the other hand, were very flavorful. The first step in cooking them was to quickly heat them in the skillet with the same spices as the pork. Yum! They were definitely my favorite part of the dish! Another modification I would make is roasting the potatoes separately for a longer time, or at a higher temperature. They were, much to my embarrassment, undercooked for our dinner party. :-/ Overall, I really liked the recipe and would like to try it again with adjustments. Anjali also enjoyed this dish and gives it overall a 4.0.

Amanda’s Thai Basil Shrimp Risotto

Score: 3.5

Risotto was always a dish I wanted to learn to make, but have never found a recipe that really appealed to me. This one caught my eye though, and I decided that the time had come for me to figure it out. The recipe itself was very easy to follow, although I think it should have included more flavor or spices. Overall, the dish seemed to be missing something. That said, I understand that risotto takes some practice in order to master, so part of this score could be stemming from my lack of technique. If anyone knows of a step by step guide for cooking risotto, let me know! :) I will definitely try this one again!

Amanda’s Ginger Chicken Thighs with Parsnips

Score: 2.0

I chose this recipe for the parsnips. Having never cooked or eaten them, I thought this dish would provide the perfect opportunity for both. :) They are a very interesting vegetable, flavor-wise, and I think roasting them is the best way to cook them, which is what my recipe instructed. Again, I feel like this dish was missing something, and was a bit bland. The chicken thighs were very moist and tender, but needed lots of seasoning after they were cooked. The recipe said to bake everything together, (hence the name of the cookbook, I suppose) but I think the vegetables would have tasted better roasted separately and for less time. Anjali dined on this dish as well and gave it a 3.0.

Anjali’s Star Anise Ginger Braised Chicken

Score: 4.75

I chose the dish because I have never braised anything besides turkey on Thanksgiving and the flavor profile appealed to me. This recipe was incredibly simple! The "One Pot Meal" technique always makes like a little easier. The prep work was easy, but of course, the cook time is lengthy, but that just means more time to drink wine while in the kitchen! The end result was a hit at the party. The meat was incredibly tender (I forgot to mention, I cheated and bought thighs/breasts instead of a whole chicken because I don't like carving meat!). The flavors were rich and deep. Lucky for me, there are leftovers!

Jackie's Kung Pao Chicken

Score: 4.0

I was curious to see Ming Tsai's take on kung pao chicken, a standard Chinese take out dish. The directions reminded me of the stir fry dishes that my parents typically made, so I was mainly curious to try out the flavors of the kung pao chicken. This recipe called for sambal, which I could not find in my grocery store, so I substituted it (as suggested by the internet!) with sriacha and hot sauce... I was worried about overdoing it on the spicy, but I think next time I would kick it up a bit more. In general, the recipe was very straightforward, the chopping/cutting of the chicken and veggies took much longer than the actual cooking! I enjoyed the flavors and would make this again.

DC Cook Club Comments: “Loved that this wasn't greasy, and the peanuts really make it. The veggies add a nice crunch.” “This was a flavorful dish that had an extra crunch from the peanuts that I loved!”

Jackie's Curried Beef

Score: 3.8

My husband and I love curry dishes, so when a very cold wintery day rolled around (we've been having so many of those), we decided to make this dish. And let me tell you, it is perfect for warming up your insides and making your house smell delicious. I unfortunately could not find any skirt steak, so I substituted with another cut of beef... even though the dish cooks for quite awhile, the beef was still a bit tough (but not overly tough... not too chewy). The curried beef cooks up with the potatoes, so the curry flavor permeates everything. We served it with some rice, but I think a vegetable would make an excellent accompaniment as well.

Lisa W.'s Asian Spaghetti

Score: 3.0

My husband's favorite food is spaghetti so he naturally picked this recipe for the cook club this month. The ingredients that made this dish "Asian" are Thai basil leaves, soy sauce, and pork. Ming states that this recipe feeds 4. This recipe could easily feed 15! Overall, we thought it had a nice flavor. However, we agreed that we prefer Italian spaghetti and would stick to that as our spaghetti of choice!

The DC cook club-ers agreed, that this “tasted like very good spaghetti,” but “nothing particularly Asian about it.” “The flavors were great” and the dish created “good leftovers that stood up well to reheating.”

Lisa W.'s Crispy Tofu with Miso Butter

Score: 5.0

I cannot rave about this recipe enough! First of all, miso butter is delicious! The creaminess of the butter paired with the miso and ponzu created the perfect sauce. The tofu was dusted with rice flour, which when fried, created a yummy shell of crunchiness! The tofu was served over a bed of lettuce. In the future, I am going to cube the tofu and serve the miso butter as a dipping sauce and eliminate the lettuce as it did not enhance the flavor of the dish. Overall, this was my favorite recipe from the DC cook club party!

And some comments from our DC cook club party: “The miso butter makes this dish. It would be good on anything. I suspect (but do not know) that the fried tofu was a lot of work, and that I'd rather just make the miso butter and put it on a baked sweet potato :)”

“Score: 4.5! The miso butter stole the show at the dinner party! It was really flavorful and complemented the tofu perfectly.”

“I'm kind of obsessed with this fried tofu with miso butter dish. I could have eaten the entire plate myself and was very happy with my leftovers the next day. I adored the miso butter – gave the perfect kick to the fried tofu. I definitely want to make this dish.”

Lisa W.'s Spicy Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Score: 2.0

This dish definitely wins the award for being the most colorful dish! I love avocado with everything so I thought that this dish would be a winner. However, I realized that I am not a fan of pairing shrimp and avocado. The textures of the shrimp and avocado did not work well for me.

And some comments from our DC cook club party: “Perfect light salad - would make a great picnic item or light dinner on a hot day.” “I enjoyed the slight spiciness of the shrimp balanced by the creamy and cool taste of the avocado.”

Sonia's Wild Mushroom Polenta with Thai Basil Salad

Score: 3.5

This is an interesting combination of Asian and Italian influences. The mushrooms were hearty and stood up well to the creaminess of the polenta. I used regular basil instead of Thai basil, but the salad turned out nicely, and the bright, zesty flavors of the herbs and lemon was a good contrast with the earthy mushrooms. I was a bit perplexed as to why pink peppercorns were really necessary in the recipe. I ended up buying pink salt instead, and it made no difference with the end product (you couldn't see it at all).

Our DC Cook Club thoughts: “Unexpectedly GREAT. This would be a really nice, warm, filling vegetarian entree for a winter day, and the basil topping keeps it from feeling heavy or too ‘casserole-y’.”

“I really enjoyed this dish. Another dish that I could eat a ton of! I am a big fan of polenta and mushrooms, so the two of them coming together was ideal for me. I was very happy to snag some of the leftovers for the next day.”

“Typically, I am not a huge fan of polenta, but the addition of the wild mushrooms made this dish delicious!”

Sonia's Hot and Sour Soup

Score: 4.0

This soup has a lot of flavor, and is very spicy. The mushrooms and tofu made it substantial enough for a main course. I would definitely make this soup again, but might scale it down a bit and add bamboo shoots for a little extra crunch.

Sonia's Tamari Tofu Stirfry with Rice Noodles

Score 4.5

I think that the "one-pot" aspect of this dish was stretched a little thin (wok, colander, bowl of ice water, extra bowls for cooked broccoli and noodles), but beyond that, this was an excellent stir-fry. I was wavering as to whether or not to be lazy and skip the ice water bath, but I'm glad I didn't, because the broccoli came out bright green and really crunchy. I used brown rice noodles to up the nutritional content, and couldn't tell a difference at all. I also substituted seitan for tofu, because that's what I had on hand. The marinade was really flavorful with the addition of garlic, ginger, and chili sauce, and my only complaint was that it wasn't really enough to coat all the noodles, and it came out a little dry. Once everything was mixed together, I added a bit more soy sauce and some sesame oil, which corrected the problem. I was very impressed by how this turned out, and will definitely be making this regularly.

And as an added bonus… Sonia made these amazing cupcakes for our dessert at our DC cook club party. Even the name alone sounds delicious: almond chocolate souffle cupcakes with white chocolate ginger cream. Check them out in full at her blog.

Cook Club: Nigella's Christmas

2011-01-30T15:27:00.002-05:00

NIGELLA'S CHRISTMAS

TOTAL SCORE: 3.84

Highest Scoring Dishes: Boozy British Trifle / Poinsettia

Lowest Scoring Dishes: Roast Squash and Sweet Potato Soup / Panettone and Sausage Stuffing

For Christmas 2009, I received Nigella Lawson's "Nigella's Christmas" as a gift! Even just reading it, I LOVED this cookbook. It had Nigella's typical lovely commentary -- little bits of insight into her life as well as her own suggestions and solutions for a fun holiday season. Even better, the recipes looked applicable to all sorts of parties and even just your everyday dinner. All in all, it was a very jovial and enjoyable cookbook to read through. So when November/December cook club rolled around, I thought Nigella Christmas would be a wonderful cookbook to try out -- many of our members are quite busy around the holiday season, so I wanted a cookbook that would be applicable for all those holiday parties and gatherings that everyone would go to. So thanks to everyone for taking part! Here's how it all turned out:

APPETIZERS

Amanda's Roast Squash and Sweet Potato Soup with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Swirl

Score: 2.5

Of all the recipes I chose, I was most excited about this one, so, I was a little disappointed in how the soup turned out. Overall the dish was a bit bland, and missing some flavor...I am still unsure what. While I was preparing the soup, I liked the fact that the recipe said to leave the potatoes and squash unpeeled (much easier prep!), but disliked it when the soup was put together. The flecks of skin gave the soup an odd texture (yuck!). As a whole, the recipe was very straightforward and easy to prepare, I just wish the flavor would have been better.

Jackie's Cranberry and Soy-Glazed Cocktail Sausages

Score: 4.0

These sausages were SUPER simple to make and a big hit at the holiday party we had my house! I ended up using small cocktail sausages instead of breakfast sausages, and all it required was mixing up the marinade, letting the sausages marinate for several hours/overnight, and then baking it up. These definitely had a bit of a zing -- I love the slight heat with the tangy flavor. Definitely would make again!

ENTREES

Sonia's Butternut Orzotto
Score: 3.5

I made this dish the night before my company's Thanksgiving potluck lunch, and with a bit of extra vegetable stock, it reheated nicely. This recipe made A LOT of orzo, so I would recommend scaling it down if you're not cooking for a crowd. I interpreted the "mace" in the recipe as cayenne pepper, and halved the amount in the recipe (1 teaspoon would have been overkill), which gave the dish a substantial and unexpected kick. The combination of the mascarpone cheese and pureed squash with the cubed pieces, along with the the pine nuts, was a nice blend of textures. The taste was good, but it lacked a depth of flavor (parmesan cheese? salt? herbs?) that would have really elevated this dish to something special.

Suzie's Cornish Game Hen

Score: 4.75

As someone who had never made any type of whole poultry before, I was surprised that they are actually very simple to make (except for the fact that I forgot to defrost them). The prep is easy, and then you just have to put them in the oven while you do anything else you need to do. They take over an hour, so its not a quick meal, but certainly not difficult. They turned out super yummy and moist, and I was told they were even better than the ones we had at an actual restaurant the week before :) The flavors were nice and complemented the couscous that I will comment on later. Only problem was that my spice rack was a little lacking in the spices, so it made it a little more expensive the first time.

SIDE DISHES

Amanda's Redder than Red Cranberry Sauce
Score: 4

Cranberry sauce is one of my favorites, so when I saw this recipe, I HAD to try it! Honestly, I was expecting the recipe to have a few more ingredients or steps, but the dish did not disappoint. I chose to use Cointreau instead of cherry brandy, (mainly because I couldn't find a small bottle of cherry brandy) and was glad I did! I loved the orange flavor the Cointreau added to the dish, and the simplicity of the flavors were perfect. The entire recipe took 10 minutes, start to finish, so it's definitely an easy one to throw together when lots of other cooking is going on. I will definitely make this again!

Anjali's Beet and Ginger Chutney

Score: 3.25

This was a totally random pick. most because I love condiments and have never cooked with beets. It was fairly easy (apart from the fact that chopping beets is hard!). The end result was fine, but I had to wonder with what Nigella intended me to eat it. The British do have a somewhat odd palette...

Jackie's Panettone and Italian Sausage Stuffing

Score: 2.5

We made this dish as part of our Thanksgiving dinner with my family... I was disappointed with the dryness of the stuffing, but my husband and my dad loved the stuffing with its sausage. This makes a HUGE portion of stuffing (well, I suppose the fact that we made another stuffing along with this one made us a little ... overstuffed :)). I didn't feel like this stuffing had much more to it other than sausage, bread, and a few veggies, and that it wasn't very flavorful.

Suzie's Festive Couscous

Score: 4.75

Once again, super easy to make. I had the same problem with the spices as with the hen, but I certainly needed to expand my spice rack. Other than that, you could certainly subsitute different components for this dish. I added cranberries and pecans because I had them for the cookies, and couldn't find pomegranite seeds. But quite delicious and a nice break from the usual side dishes I make.

DESSERTS

Sonia's Gold Dust Cookies
Score: 4

This dessert wins points for its aesthetic appeal. The gold dust (I used pearl dust, not real gold powder) gives the cookies a subtle sheen, and the star shape definitely gives it a holiday feel. I served the cookies at Jackie's holiday party on a gold-colored plate, which made them look extra pretty. But, the real surprise here is the flavor. It looks innocently like a sugar cookie, but the ground ginger is a nice twist that gives a bit of warmth and spiciness. My only complaint is that they are crunchy, and I prefer a soft and chewy cookie. This did not vary despite tweaks of thickness of the dough or decreased baking time. The taste was still very good, though!

Amanda's Spruced-Up Vanilla Cake

Score: 3

I opted to make the "spiced" version of this cake, with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and I think that was a good choice. This recipe reminded me of a bread (Friendship bread) that my mom used to bake. The cake was very easy to put together, but I was a little nervous to bake it in a bundt pan. In my experience, cakes are not cooperative in these types of pans. I was correct...the cake completely fell apart when I turned it out of the bundt pan! Overall, I was not a huge fan of the flavor. I thought it needed more spice, but my parents loved it! It flew off the plate within a matter of days. I will probably try this again, but with more spice. :)

Lisa H's Boozy British Trifle

Score: 5

I should first start out by saying I like trifle. Correct that I LOVE trifle! Whenever I have a chance to have it, I will. So, when I saw this recipe I had to try it. Well it turned out GREAT! I think this recipe calls for a bit more sherry than most recipes, which is good because I think it makes the cake more moist. An additional trick that I used was to lay the pieces of pound cake on a cookie sheet when applying the sherry. It helped to spread the sherry more evenly. This made the cake layer significantly more moist. Which is always, as Martha says, “a good thing”. I’ve never used frozen berries before but they turned out surprisingly well. They held their consistency and tasted fresh even in the dead of winter. I did not use the rose petals as suggested, but if I had some I would.

Jackie's Sticky Gingerbread Cake

Score: 4.25

I made this for a holiday party at my work. The cake was moist and had a wonderful light ginger taste -- it smelled and tasted just like the holidays. I definitely recommend taking Nigella's suggestion in frosting the cake with a cream cheese frosting or a lemon frosting or dusting it with powdered sugar (I didn't do either due to transporting issues and figuring that people dressed in dark colors wouldn't want powdered sugar all over themselves!) -- without, it looked a little bit plain, which may have explained why those cupcakes covered in icing flew off the dessert table faster than the gingerbread cake! No worries though, I took the leftovers home to my parents' house and my dad devoured the cake. (...and then I powdered sugar on it for the photo ;)) So, I think it was a success :)

Suzie's Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Score: 4

Basic cookie from scratch as far as technical difficulty. Uses pecans and oatmeal, so makes for a nice grainy, healthier feel for it :-P. They came out a little crunchier than I prefer for cookies (I like mine super soft), but I found even when I cooked them less, they didn't have the chewiness that I like. But I certainly liked the flavors of the cranberry and white chocolate.

BREAKFAST

Amanda's Triple Cheese and Onion Strata

Score: 4

Typically, I am not a huge fan of stratas because of their soggy nature, but this recipe caught my eye. The recipe said to let the bread stale throughout the day, but I decided to leave it out for a good part of the day and overnight to see if that would help some of the sogginess. It turned out to be a good decision. The strata was flavorful, and not at all soggy. Yay! The recipe was very easy to put together. The only problem was that I used the tops of green onions to garnish, instead of chives, which made the onion flavor a little too strong. I will definitely make this again!

Anjali's Pumpkin Pancakes

Score 3

I chose these because I love both pumpkins and pancakes! I also thought this would be a good breakfast dish for the holidays. It was very straightforward, sadly, when I see the words baking soda and baking powder, my "non-baker" self starts getting scared! Additionally, my mother does not own measuring spoons. Indian food doesn't require them. ;) Therefore, I had to approximate...which I knew would alter the final product. And it did; the batter was a bit thick. Nevertheless, we happily ate our pumpkin pancakes

BEVERAGES

Sonia's Poinsettia
Score: 5

Party punch is an irresistible delight for me, and this recipe did not disappoint as the signature cocktail for our Christmas party. I used a cranberry-pomegranate juice blend, the tartness of which was sweetened with the orange flavor of the triple sec. I loved the bubbles of the sparking wine--it made the drink feel fun and fancy. The color was also quite stunning, so don't even think about serving this in Solo cups! I garnished each glass with a few pomegranate seeds, and it was perfect.

And as a bonus... the recipe to one of the top scoring recipes:

BOOZY BRITISH TRIFLE

INGREDIENTS
For the custard:

4 cups heavy cream
8 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the base:
2 plain pound cakes (12 ounces each)
One 12-ounce jar strawberry or blackberry preserve
2 cups cream sherry or sweet sherry
Two 12-ounce bags frozen mixed berries, thawed zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons superfine sugar (not needed if using fresh fruits)

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup shelled pistachios
1 tablespoon crystallized rose petals (or crystallized violet petals)

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the custard, heat the cream in a large, wide, heavy-based pan and while it's heating, whisk the egg yolks, whole eggs and superfine sugar in a bowl.

2. When the cream's at boiling point--though, do not let it actually boil--take it off the heat and pour it over the eggs and sugar, whisking as you go.

3. Wash out the pan (boring, but it does have to be done!), then pour the uncooked custard back into it and return to the heat.

4. Cook over a medium heat (people will tell you it should be low heat but that is just too tedious for words!), stirring all the time, until it has thickened. It must never boil!

5. After 10-15 minutes, it should be thick enough, so straightaway pour it into a cold, clean bowl, add the vanilla extract, and whisk a bit to help bring the temperature down.

6. Cover the very top of the custard, as well as the bowl, with plastic wrap and leave to cool, while you start assembling your trifle.

7. Cut each pound cake into 16 slices and make into sandwiches with the preserve. Squidge these into the base of your trifle bowl. A trifle bowl should, I feel, be glass so you can see the layers from the outside. The proportions vary and, since the point of the trifle is the layers, the dimensions of your bowl will determine how these build up and the amount of cake etc. you will need.

8. Pour the sherry over the cake sandwiches and let it soak in.

9. Now tumble in the thawed berries, with a little of their liquid. (It might seem unseasonal to use "summer" fruits, but I love their tartness against the sweetness of the custard that will drape over them.) Then grate the zest of the orange over the fruit and sprinkle with the superfine sugar; if you're not using frozen fruit (which tends to be sour), don't bother with the sugar.

10. When the custard's cool, remove the plastic wrap. Pour and scrape the custard on top of the berries. It will be soft-set: thickened but far from solid. Cover the bowl (not the custard this time) with some fresh plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half a day or up to 2 days--it's this standing time that makes the difference.

11. When you are ready to serve, take the trifle out of the refrigerator to stand for about 1 hour. Whisk the cream until softly whipped. You don't want it to merge with the custard, but nor do you want it stiffly peaking.

12. Remove the plastic wrap from the trifle bowl and spread the whipped cream on top of the custard with a rubber spatula.

13. Finely chop the pistachios, sprinkle over the top of the trifle and adorn with a few, beautiful crystallized rose petals (or crystallized violet petals, if you prefer).

Cook Club: Bon Appetit, Y'all

2010-11-12T20:49:00.002-05:00

BON APPETIT, Y'ALL BY VIRGINIA WILLIS

FINAL SCORE: 4.25

HIGHEST SCORING DISHES: Amanda's Vidalia Onion Confit with Garlic Toasts and Jackie B's Green Beans

For September/October Cook Club, the lovely Amanda picked out Bon Appetit, Y'all by Virginia Willis. Here's a little bit about why Amanda picked this cookbook: "The book I chose for this month's cook club is Bon Appetit, Y'all by Virginia Willis. Virginia Willis is a native Southerner who was French trained as a chef, and all of her recipes have heavy influences of both cultures. I adore Southern culture and cooking, so this book seemed like an obvious choice! :) My parents introduced me to this cook book over a year ago, and they love it!" The list of dishes looked AMAZING to me -- it was so hard to pick out dishes to make. And I was very happy with my selections! Thanks Amanda for leading us this round!

STARTERS AND NIBBLERS

Amanda's Vidalia Onion Confit with Garlic Toasts

Score: 5

This recipe was super easy to put together and very straightforward. I actually made it the night before to allow the flavors to develop,and was so glad I did! The only problem I ran into was the availability of vidalia onions...they were nowhere to be found! After a call to my mother, the gardening guru, I learned that vidalia onions are more of a "summer onion"(who knew?), so I had to settle for yellow onions. My mom swore that these were acceptable substitute, and she was right! The dish was flavorful, and was only enhanced by blue cheese--per the author's suggestion. I will definitely make this again, either as a starter, or as a condiment with pork or chicken. (Anjali's thoughts: 4.75! So yummy, loved the blue cheese with the onions. Simple!).

Anjali's Mama's Sausage Pecan Balls

Score: 4.0

So this was actually Stephen's recipe, but Amanda accidentally sent it to me and I TOTALLY stole it. ;) Again, another simple appetizer recipe for all the fabulous parties I attend. (in my dreams) One tip for the recipe. I attempted to make the batter without the food processor and failed, but once I did put it in the food processor, it came together beautifully. Use your tools! Otherwise, it was simple and yummy! I felt they were a little dry but the other guests did not feel that way. You know me, I like hot sauce with everything. ;)

(Jackie's note: I was jealous that someone grabbed this before I could! I definitely will want to make this too...)

Anjali's Heirloom Tomato and Olive Tartines

Score: 4.5

Thought this would be a good, easy appetizer recipe to have under my belt. It was so simple! I was really surprised to see the addition of thyme and rosemary, but I LOVED them in the tapenade! They really cut the strong flavor of the olives, which I feel often scares people away from anything olive-related. This had a really mild, rich flavor and was so simple to make. Will definitely make this again!

Amanda's Thyme Toasted Pecans

Score: 3.5

Virginia Willlis was correct about this recipe...the fragrance is amazing when all of the ingredients are combined with the warm toasted pecans. Unfortunately, they were not very flavorful. I still love this recipe, and will make it again, just with more pepper, salt, and thyme!

Lisa H.'s Pimento Cheese

Score: (by Anjali) 4.5

MAIN COURSES

Jackie's Coca-Cola Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Score: 3.75

I've always wanted to make my own ribs and what is more perfect than a Southern cookbook to try out a ribs recipe? This dish was actually a lot of fun to make... and the smell of the ribs was AMAZING while they were cooking. The ribs were sweet (use lots of napkins!), but lacked depth in flavor. Still tasty though. I think next time I would maybe add a bit more salt or maybe hot sauce?

Jackie's Country Captain Chicken

Score: 4.5

I hadn't realized how prevalent curry flavors were in the South until I did some research on Country Captain chicken! And this does not disappoint. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts here -- Ms. Willis suggests cooking the chicken for a shorter period of time if using boneless skinless breasts... which I tried, but the chicken was still not cooked enough. I think next time I would cut the breasts down in a size so they are all the same size and would cook quicker! The chicken is coated in flour with a bit of a paprika kick and the coating gets browned a bit at first to give the chicken a nice taste. Then the chicken is piled into a pot with tomatoes, golden raisins, peppers... yum. Mr. J LOVED this dish and happily ate it for dinner for days to come. Definitely will make again!

SIDE DISHES

Jackie's $20,000 Rice Pilaf

Score: 4.5

Amanda sent this recipe to me to go with my Country Captain Chicken and I am sure glad she did! When I was growing up, I always loved when my parents made for me rice with "vegetable sauce"... or rice with some chicken broth that had vegetable cooked in it. And this reminded me of that. Unlike other rice recipes I've tried, this one was cooked in the oven. After toasting the rice a bit on the stove, the pot goes into the oven for the rice to cook up in chicken broth. Yesss, yummy chicken broth. It takes no time at all, the rice was super fluffy and very flavorful. I could have actually just eaten the rice by itself.

Jackie B.'s Green Beans

Score: (by Anjali) 5

Anjali's thoughts: this was possibly the biggest hit at the party. FIVE POINT OHHHHH :)

BREADS

Amanda's Cheddar Cornbread

Score: 4

In my opinion, cornbread is generally pretty amazing. Cornbread with cheese? Even better! The recipe was very easy to throw together, and had a great flavor. I liked that the recipe used buttermilk instead of milk, which makes the flavor a little richer. I usually make cornbread with shortening, and this recipe recommended butter, which was equally yummy! This definitely isn't a substitute for regular cornbread, but it will be nice to have something different every once in awhile.

DESSERT

Lisa H.'s Pecan Brownies

Score: (by Anjali) 3.5

Thanks so much to Amanda for heading up this round!!

Cook Club: Lost Recipes: Kitchen-Tested Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget

2010-09-15T11:50:00.002-04:00

LOST RECIPES:

KITCHEN-TESTED HEIRLOOM RECIPES TOO GOOD TO FORGET

TOTAL SCORE: 3.63

Highest Scoring Dishes: Sunday Sago and Salted Butter Cookies

Lowest Scoring Dish: Brown Sugar Fudge

Rachel headed up our July/August Cook Club and picked out the recipe-filled Lost Recipes: Kitchen-Tested Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget. In Rach's words: "I think I found something that will be fun for everyone. The July/August cookbook is actually a hefty magazine from Cook's Country - Lost Recipes: Kitchen-Tested Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget. I love to read old cookbooks - the older the better - but I rarely cook out of them because the recipes seem so weird or the ingredients are too hard to find in a modern store. The promise of this collection of recipes is that they are original recipes that let you "taste our culinary past" without the risk - they have passed the Cook's Country test and each one should be worth making. You can find the ingredients without a time machine, and the techniques have been updated where necessary to fit the modern kitchen."

I was excited to try this cookbook (I quite heart Cook's Country and its sister company, America's Test Kitchen). I decided to check out the cookbook for myself at my local Barnes & Noble, and as it turns out, this cookbook has expanded into not one, but two cookbooks: America's Best Lost Recipes: 121 Kitchen-Tested Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget and Cook's Country Best Lost Suppers. The recipes we sampled span these two cookbooks . . . and the cookbooks offer many more recipes (with loads of helpful tips and hints). The first cookbook tends more towards desserts and baked goods, and the second cookbook, as its title implies, more entrees and savory dishes.

Thanks Rach for introducing us to this cookbook!

APPETIZERS

Lisa W's Brooklyn Cheese Puffs
Score: 4.0

I chose this recipe because I am always looking for fun appetizers for entertaining. Other cheese puffs/ball that I have made in the past have been fried. Needless to say, I was very excited when this recipe required baking of the puffs. This is a very simple and tasty recipe. My only suggestion is that if you make puffs that are ping pong ball size (as I did), I would bake them for 20 minutes , instead of 10 minutes. I will definitely make these again!

Amanda's Corn Oysters
Score: Corn Oysters Alone = 2, With Remoulade = 4. Score = 3.0

I was both intimidated and excited to make this recipe. Intimidated, because it involved deep frying, and excited, because I like fried food. :) The corn was very fresh and sweet, which gave the "oysters" an interesting flavor. The recipe was fairly quick and easy to assemble, and I managed to live through my first deep frying experience without any major disasters. Once cooked, the oysters were kind of...bland. They needed salt, at a minimum, and lots of other spice intervention. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to make remoulade sauce in advance, which helped quite a bit! I think this recipe is great, but I will definitely add spices to the batter next time...or make remoulade again. :) (Anjali scored this dish as 3.25)

MAIN DISHES

Anjali's International Date Line Chicken
Score: 4.25

I picked this dish because I feel like I always make the same old chicken dishes. The recipe was straightforward, as was the prep. It is the first time I have worked with bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, but I didn't find them to be difficult. The end result smelled so good and it tasted yummy. It is relatively healthy, too! (The recipe calls for removal of the skin after cooking) I will definitely keep this in my arsenal.

Jackie's Oh My God Chicken
Score: 4.4

I was in search of recipes that I could make and enjoy the leftovers for days to come... I admit I was intrigued by the name of this dish and thought that I had vaguely heard of "Oh My God Chicken" before. And really, how could "Oh My God Chicken" not be good? Happy to say, it was delicious. The mixture of slow cooked onions and peppers with the chicken broth and white wine made the chicken thighs deliciously flavorful (boned-in, skin-on ... how rarely I used chicken thighs these days, but didn't want the chicken to dry out! So chicken thighs was the cut of choice! Not til after I already bought the chicken thighs did I notice that the recipe also provided times for chicken breasts... note to self!). Our house smelled amazing. A note that I should have heeded better -- the recipe warns to be careful with your salt seasoning...and I should have followed this because I was a bit heavy handed on the salt, which was perhaps the only downside to this dish. Definitely will make again!

Stephen's Sunday Sago
Score: 4.5

I tackled the Sunday Sago and the Salted Butter Cookies. Overall both were excellent, I'd give each a 4.5. A few modifications were made to the sago, sorry, but it was totally necessary. I grew up with a family who literally made this every Sunday. Old Italian tradition, and a damn good one! The original sauce had almost no flavor. So to help it out, I doubled the oregano, added an equal amount of thyme, and 2 bay leaves. That still wasn't enough so I then added 2 teapsoons vegetable base, a bottle of pinot noir, and let it simmer an extra 2 hours. That did the trick :) So I mighta went a little overboard, but I can't help it, this is one dish I have high standards for, and will always be the one that only mom could make. (Anjali scored this dish as well with 4.25 and YUM!)

Amanda's Galveston Shrimp Creole
Score: 3.5

This recipe was fun to make...mostly because it involved making a roux, and I am always interested in learning new and different techniques to make one.(Before making this recipe, I wasn't aware that different techniques existed...thanks for the tip, Dad!) The recipe was fairly involved in the begininng, but was very easy towards the end (simmer for 2 hours, add shrimp, serve). Overall, I thought the finished product was lacking quite a bit in flavor-it needed more salt, and Tabasco! :)

SIDE DISHES

Anjali's Maryland Caramel Tomatoes
Score: 3.5

I like Maryland, caramel, and tomatoes, so this seemed like a good option for me. Again, incredibly straightforward, which I always appreciate. Not that it wasn't disconcerting to put brown sugar on tomatoes! Nevertheless, they turned out well and all of us enjoyed them. An easy side dish.

Lisa W's Great-Grandma's Corn Fritters
Score: 3.0

Great-Grandma needs some spice in her life! These corn fritters were very simple to make, but the flavor was greatly enhanced by the addition of red chili pepper. I made two batches, one following granny’s recipe and one adding some spice. My husband definitely preferred the batch with the chili pepper. Since the batter required tartar sauce, I served them with the tartar sauce. The tartar sauce was a nice complement to the fritters.

DESSERTS

Stephen's Salted Butter Cookies
Score: 4.5

As for the cookies, I was surprised. Didn't know what to expect, but I liked them a lot. I didn't change anything in the recipe. I was really nervous about the chocolate filling. I've never heard of mixing it in that fashion, but it worked for the most part. It would have been much better to use heavy cream. The cookies had a nice crunchy/chewy texture, the salt flavor stood out just a bit more than a usual cookie and I liked it. The leftover cookies were taken care of that night with a big glass of milk. This was followed by the next night where I demolished the rest of cookies from the leftover dough that I saved. (Anjali scored this dish with a 4.5 and "I jokingly called these Pepperidge Farm Cookies - SO GOOD")

Jackie's Sugar Cookies
Score: 4.25

These cookies were pretty fantastic! I originally picked these a dish I could make with my niece, but ended up baking these for my office instead... These cookies don't actually contain much sugar -- just a 1/2 cup -- and they were just sweet enough. Even better, they were wonderfully fluffy, soft, and cakey. If you like crisp cookies, this isn't the recipe for you. Lucky for me, my go-to cookies are soft... I think that I rolled my dough out a bit too thick, but I didn't mind having thicker cookies! The recipe was a multi-step process that included at least a 2 hour chilling period, so plan accordingly :) I think next time I might try these as snickerdoodles with sugar AND cinnamon. Yum.

Rachel's Brown Sugar Fudge
Score: 2

I don't like fudge, but I love brown sugar, and since I don't make candy very often I thought I'd give it a try. I don't have a candy thermometer, and I don't recommend trying to make this recipe without one. It never really lightened or got matte the way it was supposed to when I was stirring it after cooling, which probably means I did not cook it for long enough, or maybe didn't get it hot enough. After an hour in the pan, it thickened but never set up and it was clear I wasn't going to be able to cut it into pieces.

The flavor is very good - butter and molasses notes, mostly - but not very interesting at all. I think it would make a good frosting for a not-very-sweet spice cake, so I scraped it all into a tub and stuck it in the freezer to use sometime this fall. I'll just thaw it and thin with a bit of whole milk.

Not recommended. You can make normal brown sugar frosting with a lot less work (this recipe requires 10 minutes of vigorous beating by hand!).

Amanda's Peach Puzzle
Score: 3.0

I found this recipe to be a little frustrating. The directions were a bit unclear-it said to peel the peaches, but I wasn't sure what to do after (half, slice, leave whole), because the recipe didn't mention it. I finally decided to halve them, for the sake of time, which worked out pretty well. The crust completely confused me, simply because I don't have tons of experience with making my own crust (pillsbury makes great ones, just saying :)), but I pressed on, and ended up with a lumpy, cobblerlike crust. The flavor was fine, but it definitely did not match the description in the recipe! Ha. I would have added a little cinnamon to the sauce before drizzling it over the peaches, had it occurred to me to taste it beforehand. Inverting the dessert made for a nice presentation, but overall it was not one of my favorites. (Anjali scored this dish with 3.5 - "always love peach desserts!")

BREAKFAST

Jackie's Fluffies
Score: 3.3

I originally picked this recipe based on its name (I had no idea what "fluffies" would be) and it made perfect sense when I found out they were pancakes. I made these small pancakes for my pancake-loving parents-in-law one weekend while we were at the beach. Although I loved just how fluffy the pancakes were (the secret is in the whipped egg whites!), I wasn't as big of a fan of the sour cream flavor. My parents-in-law were very kind, and said they enjoyed their "fresh" flavor (from the sour cream), but that flavor wasn't for me. Still though, a good recipe, although I don't know if I'll be making these for myself again.

Cook Club: Jamie's Food Revolution

2010-07-06T08:05:00.002-04:00

May/June Cook Club: Jamie's Food Revolution

Final Score: 3.78

Most Favorite Dishes: Chicken Korma, Pork Kabobs, Evolution Tomato Salad

Least Favorite Dishes: Everyday Green Chopped Salad, Quick Steamed Microwave Pudding Cakes

I headed up May/June Cook Club and couldn't resist picking Jamie Oliver's new-ish cookbook -- Jamie's Food Revolution. I received this cookbook for Christmas last year. After trying a few recipes out of it, I knew I was in love, and wanted to share this love with our Cook Club and see how the recipes would turn out on a broader scale! I even enjoyed just reading through the cookbook. Well, perhaps I should back up a little bit. I loved this cookbook not just because of Jamie Oliver (who admittedly is cute as a button), but because of his mission behind the book -- to get people to cook more, to show people that cooking doesn't have to be a struggle, and to show what a difference passing on a few recipes can make in people's lives. There is even a pledge in the book where the owner of the book promises to pass on multiple recipes to people (ok, so technically Jamie's asking us to teach the recipes to others, but I think we are doing this in our own way!). The cookbook is filled with stories of people that he met and "passed" recipes on to and, well, it definitely inspires me to avoid ordering delivery and, instead, cook up one of these dishes. I hope that you enjoy them as well!

And some feedback from the Cook Club about the cookbook in general!

Amanda: Can I start by saying how much I LOVE Jamie Oliver. The way his recipes were written were so laid back and user-friendly, I would definitely recommend this cookbook to anyone, no matter what their level of cooking experience. I'm thinking about buying this book for myself!

Michelle: I love this cookbook! It's the first one that we've cooked from that I'm absolutely going to go out and buy because I found the recipes to be not only delicious, but easy to make! And I had two more "complicated" items to make! Also, as an aside, I was recently at Rancho La Puerta (a spa just across the border from San Diego) and the nutritionist recommended this cookbook for everyone! I was so excited that we were cooking out of it!

And on to the dishes...

ENTREES

Silvia's Shrimp and Avocado with an Old-School Marie Rose Sauce
Score: 4.0

I love shrimp and am always looking for new ways to use them in dishes, so I was really excited when I saw this recipe in Jamie Oliver's cook club. The recipe was very easy to follow yet it was still creative with bringing different ingredients together. I really didn't know what to expect from the sauce before I made it--the recipe called for mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and whiskey! But it turned out to be very unique and delicious. The shrimp smelled superb as it was cooking in the olive oil and garlic. I loved how flouring the shrimp gave it a bit of a crisp texture. The paprika added both a beautiful coloring and lots of flavor. The fresh avocado and sprouts made for a great addition to the shrimp + sauce. We first ate the avocado and sprouts as kind of a mini salad and then had the shrimp dipped in the sauce separately... but then we went all out and made little stacked combos of the shrimp plus the garnishes--it came together very nicely and was very yummy!

Rachel's Bolognese Sauce
Score: 3.75 (Jen = 3.5, Rachel = 4)

Looking at the ingredient list, I expected this to be super-flavorful. Bacon, onions, garlic, herbs, cheese - sounds delicious! I was surprised to find it a bit dull as I tasted it through the cooking process though, and ended up adding more sea salt and a mix of dried Italian herbs. About halfway through the meal I realized how much I was enjoying it - it really is a great combination, after adjusting for taste. Very much looking forward to eating the leftovers!

I used lean ground beef, and unfortunately had to omit the fresh basil as my grocery store was out. This recipe isn't difficult at all, but it does require a lot of time since it has to simmer for an hour. I couldn't make it on a normal weeknight, when I typically work a bit late, hit the gym and walk the dog before making dinner. It would be great for a Saturday afternoon when you're puttering around the house doing other things, enjoying the yummy smells.

One tip: definitely do not add the amount of water recommended (28 oz!). I don't know a lot about authentic Bolognese, but halfway through the cooking process it was obvious that I was going to have soup, not sauce, if I didn't do something drastic. I took the lid off and turned the heat all the way up for the last half hour. I would say add a cup of water and just keep an eye on it - if it seems like things are getting too dry or sticking together, throw in a bit more as needed.

Rachel's Hardly-Any-Prep Shrimp Stir-Fry
Score: 4

I had to make some adjustments to this one since I didn't have five-spice powder, fresh red chile, or cornstarch. I subbed in cinnamon, allspice and extra garlic for the five-spice and just went without the chile and cornstarch. My review is simple: this is a great recipe! The flavors are wonderful - I typically just use soy sauce and seasoned rice wine vinegar when I make stir-fry, and this is much fuller and richer. I've also never used rice sticks before, and they were a great alternative to rice. We both give this a 4.

Jackie's Mini Shell Pasta with Creamy Bacon and Pea Sauce Score: 3.8

I had been eyeing this particular dish for weeks now and we had contemplated cooking it while visiting with our little nieces (who are 4 and 5) because Jamie commented on how he loves to make it for his girls (and that him and Jools eat it up as well). We ended up making the bolognese that weekend instead (Rachel made the bolognese for our Cook Club, see her review above! I definitely agreed with Rachel's thoughts that this recipe called for much too much water and I would suggest not using diced tomatoes, but perhaps a mix of diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Our 5 year old niece LOVED the bolognese -- she ate almost her entire bowl of pasta), but I cooked up this mini shell recipe last night for dinner. It took a bit longer than the recipe called for (Jamie's 5.5 minutes compared to my approx 30 minutes) because the water took awhile to boil and then the pasta needed about 10-11 minutes to cook. But the actual sauce was super simple and very quick. I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon and threw in four more slices (love bacon!). Also, instead of mint, I used fresh basil. The sauce didn't come out nearly as smooth or creamy as Jamie suggested it would in his recipe, but the pasta was still quite good and surprisingly light, so great for even a hot summer day (which we were most certainly having yesterday).

Jackie's Chicken Vindaloo (with Cilantro/Lime Rice)
Score: 4.2

Much to my delight, Jamie offers a whole chapter of different curries (mostly Indian, but also a Thai green curry) in his cookbook. J and I love Indian food, and J particularly loves the spicier curries so we decided to make the vindaloo. The recipe calls for pork shoulder, but we had boneless skinless chicken breast in our freezer so we used that. (On an aside, I accidentally defrosted way too many chicken breasts, so I put in three rather sizeable chicken breasts in, more than the recipe called for -- as a result, I just topped it off with more water than was required, so that most of the mixture was covered). The recipe itself was straightforward -- in most of Jamie's curry recipes, he suggests using the Patak brand of jarred curry pastes and he also provides recipes for each of the different curry pastes if you want to make it yourself. We went for the jarred curry paste to save time. The rest of the recipe really called of just some chopping (which took no time at all with my new mini cleaver!) and then occasionally stirring the pot while the vindaloo is cooking up (the worst part of that is smelling the wonderful aroma and getting hungry!). We piled the vindaloo on top of cilantro/lime rice (kind of based on Jamie's recipe) and then a dollop of plain yogurt. Very tasty and not toooo spicy, just how I like it. Will definitely make again (and will try other of the curry recipes).

Lisa W's British Beef and Onion Pie
Score: 3.0

I chose this dish because I had never made a “British dish.” Interestingly, I spoke to someone from England who laughed when I told her I made it. She said that British pie is a “very old-fashioned dish that only people in poverty consumed.” Very interesting prospective from a 60 year old native! Making this dish was quite the adventure as I used an unfamiliar ingredient – Marmite. Marmite is made from yeast extract and according to my husband is not palatable when eaten alone! The dish took 3+ hours to create, which I believe is too long for the end result. The day my husband and I made the dish, we rated it 2.5. However, the next day, we rated the dish 3.0 as the flavors combined very well the next day!

Lisa W's Quick Salmon Tikka with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Score: Lisa's husband = 3, Lisa = 4; Average = 3.5

If you want a simple, quick, tasty recipe (prepped, cooked, and eating in 20 minutes), this is it! I did not have the tikka paste, so I combined the dry tikka spice with water to create my own paste. The salmon was also a little too “fishy.” Next time, I would drizzle lemon juice on it prior to cooking vs after cooking (as the recipe indicated).

Stephen's Salmon En Croute
Score: 4.0
I made the Salmon en Croute. I used fresh King Salmon. I did make a substitution. I used green olive tapenade instead of black. Overall, the dish was good. The puff pastry crust is what set it apart. Crusty outside with a meaty inside, mmm. Good saltiness from the tapenade. My only hesitation is the tomato. I've personally never been a fan of a wedge of tomato in a hot, savory dish. If it were up to me, I'd switch to leeks next time. Also, crab was on sale :) so I bought some and made one with salmon plus crab. The crab gave it a really rich seafoody flavor along with a little sweetness. That one was my fav. (Anjali scored this dish a 4.25)

Michelle's Chicken Korma
Score: 4.5

First, let me say, this is my FAVORITE curry. I've tried millions of different store bought korma curries, and they never live up to the flavors of what you get at a good indian restaurant. This came shockingly close! It absolutely satisfied my craving for korma and it smelled AMAZING in my apartment. That being said, it is a bit of work (especially if you make the curry paste out of scratch like I did), but it's completely worth it. The textures are great and the flavors blend amazingly. I would add slightly less water to the curry the next time I make it (because it tells you to add water as you go to keep it moist), but that's because I like my curry a little bit thicker. I also added some sliced red bell peppers to mine, because I think all korma should have bell pepper. I would saute them first next time, because I think that is where a good part of the water came from. I will definitely make this dish again and again.

Michelle's Sizzling Beef with Scallions and Black Bean Sauce
Score: 4.0

This was quite a tasty little treat! I definitely recommend the trick of using the chilled rice, don't use hot rice, because it won't work properly. I would use a little bit less soy sauce than I did, but I'm not sure if that's because I used more than the recipe calls for or not (because you're told to just keep adding "a little more" throughout the recipe). Everything is to taste, but with soy sauce, the liquid reduces and leaves behind a lot of salt, so be sure that you use a light touch with the soy sauce. It takes a lot of arm strength to make this dish, because you have to keep stirring to prevent anything from burning. I will make this again when I'm not too tired and when I'm looking for something with a little kick. The flavors were great and, for a beef dish, it felt very healthy.

Amanda's Cherry Tomato Sauce with Cheat's Fresh Pasta
Score: 4.5

When I was a kid, the joke in my family was that I would eat anything that had tomato sauce on it, which still pretty much holds true today, hence my recipe choice. The sauce for this recipe was very easy (like all of the others) and had only a few ingredients, but big flavor. I loved the combination of balsamic, fresh tomatoes, and basil! I will add more tomatoes next time (or use less pasta), simply because I love tomato sauce. Needless to say, this dish will make another appearance in my kitchen soon. (Anjali's score = 3.0)

Amanda's Broccoli and Pesto Tagliatelle
Score: 3.5

No cook club session is complete in my apartment without some type of mishap or grocery store search. This recipe presented a small challenge of locating tagliatelle. My usual store didn't have it, nor did whole foods. So, I consulted Wikipedia (don't tell my students ;)) and Epicurious and learned that tagliatelle is closely related to fettuccine. (This is what I love about cook club, besides the yummy food...I generally learn something new every time! :)) Anyhow, after solving my pasta problem, I got cooking. Again the recipe was super easy to follow, and took relatively little time. I liked the combo of broccoli and pesto, and the broccoli gave the pasta a nice texture. Overall, I thought the pasta was a bit lacking in the flavor department, and needed more salt, pepper, and pesto (I added lots of extra) than the recipe called for. This recipe is still a keeper, and I'm glad I have a new pasta dish.

Tracy's Moroccan Stewed Fish with Couscous
Score: 4.0

This was very tasty and not hard to make at all. I had to adjust the cooking time because I used frozen seafood instead of fresh. The flavors were well balanced and the fish was just toothsome enough to place itself squarely in the star position of the dish. Great as leftovers, which is rare for a seafood dish!

Becca's Pork Kabobs
Score: 4.5

I made the pork kabobs and the mexican style corn. The kabobs were very easy to make and I appreciated that the seasoning was more of a rub than a marinade, so it's the kind of thing you could make any day of the week and still get good flavor. The cooking times were a bit unpredictable, but I think that's because I didn't cut the onions right so it was hard to get the kabobs down on my grill pan uniformly. If I ever figured out how to use my grill it would probably be much easier to get the cooking times down. I should have been more careful to avoid putting small pieces on the ends of the kabobs, those were harder to cook. Overall though I thought the kabobs were delicious and enjoyed them for dinner and for lunch the next day. The pork was very tender and it was fun to learn a good recipe for pork since I get a little burned out on chicken now and again. That said, I think the same recipe would work well for chicken as well.

SIDE DISHES

Jackie's Evolution Tomato Salad
Score: 4.7

This salad was simply fantastic. Perhaps it is because it is the perfect season for tomatoes, but I loved how all the elements of this salad came together. I picked this recipe for a family barbecue we were having -- our barbecues are filled with grilled proteins (chicken wings, pork chops, hot dogs, etc), so I wanted something light to accompany everything. This recipe was very simple to make and took no time at all. The recipe called for a mix of tomatoes -- I used vine-ripened tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and grape tomatoes -- and basically a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil, sea salt, and black pepper (note: I did cut back a little bit on the olive oil because it seemed like a bit too much for the amount of tomatoes I had). The olives added just a bit of saltiness and the cannelini beans gave a touch of creaminess and a different texture. This recipe came from the cookbook's series of "evolution salads" -- basically, Jamie gives you the recipe for the basic salad (here, the tomato salad, but he also does a green salad, carrot salad, cucumber salad...) and then the salad "evolves" through three additional steps. I incorporated all but the last step -- which was to add tuna in because we were certainly protein filled already! I'm quite excited about all the leftover tomato salad I have (brought it for lunch today!) and definitely would make this salad again! (Addendum: So, I slightly downgraded this recipe from a 5 to a 4.7... this salad really doesn't hold up as a leftover -- and I'm all about having leftovers to bring with me for lunch! The tomatoes become mushy, the beans become too creamy, and all in all, it starts to not look very appetizing. Still a fantastic recipe though for a fresh salad to be eaten THAT DAY.)

Rachel's Everyday Green Chopped Salad
Score: 2

Chopped salad is my favorite kind of salad - I just love all the flavors mixed together and all the nicely uniform pieces are so pretty. The veggie mix here - butter lettuce, scallions, sprouts, cucumber - is really nice. But once you add in everything else (oil! cheese! mustard! vinegar!), this seems like a salad for people who don't like vegetables. It's so creamy and over the top that all you can taste is the dressing, and that's even after I cut the dressing ingredients down from 2 avocados to 1, and from 6 tablespoons of oil to 1.5. This salad was a great reminder that butter lettuce and avocados should be getting in my cart a lot more often, but I can't say I will be making this one again. I give this a 2 - great ingredients, but proportions are all wrong for me.

Anjali's Minted Peas
Score: 4.25

I really do love Cook Club, but some months just get too busy! So this time I picked a side that looked simple and sounded yummy. And it was! I was taken aback by the addition of lettuce to the peas, but the end result was great. The mint is the perfect complement to the buttery flavor of the peas.

Amanda's Dressed Asparagus
Score: 4

I LOVE asparagus, so when I saw this recipe, I had to try it! The recipe was so very simple and easy; it took twenty minutes start to finish. The "dressed" portion of the recipe included balsamic and dijion mustard, both of which added a nice flavor to the asparagus, but wasn't too overpowering either. Overall I thought this was a fantastic recipe and will definitely use it again! Next time, I would like to try grilling the asparagus (my parents do this quite a bit and it's amazing), then drizzling the dressing over it-I think it would make the flavor a little different. (Anjali's score = 3.75)

Becca's Mexican-Style Corn
Score: 4.0

The corn was also really yummy. I forgot to pick up fresh parmesan so I just used grated. It didn't look as pretty but it tasted good. The pepper bits added some nice heat which was a good contrast with the sweetness of the corn.

DESSERT

Tracy's Quick Steamed Microwave Pudding Cakes
Score: 1.0

The texture of this cake was terribly heavy. The batter was gummy. The flavor was dull. All in all, a poor dish. I won’t be trying it again.

Silvia's Cheat’s Sponge Cake with Summer Berries and Cream
Score: 4.25

I am not the most skilled when it comes to making desserts. This recipe was the perfect answer to my quest to be a dessert diva! It could not have been easier. I got a plain cake and added delicious berries and cream to it, sprinkled some chocolate on top, and VOILA--a delicious dessert for me and my guy. I did have to improvise a bit, as I couldn't find panettone cakes at the store, which the recipe called for. But the lady at the bakery was very helpful--she suggested that I tried using a pound cake instead. It turned out wonderfully. Since Luke doesn't eat nuts, I skipped the sliced almonds and instead just used chocolate morsels. Before dinner, we had told ourselves we would only each have one slice, but the cake was so delicious we kept going back to the kitchen for more!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Jamie's Food Revolution Cook Club!! Can't wait to see how everyone's dishes turn out for the next round...

And for those of you keeping track, here is the rankings for our cookbooks so far:

Barefoot Contessa Parties: 4.175
Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen: 3.975
Giada's Kitchen: 3.87
Jamie's Food Revolution: 3.78
Cooking Up a Storm: 3.717
Cooking the Austrian Way: 3.09

GREECE: Hot dogging in Crete

2010-06-21T08:16:00.000-04:00

Despite the nationwide, planned strike in Greece, many of the government ran sites in Crete were up and running -- including the ancient Minoan palace, Knossos, our main destination that day. We drove about 1.5 hours to the capital of Crete, Iraklio (also spelled: Heraklion), a sprawling metropolis and the largest city on Crete (and the fifth largest city in Greece) -- we were going to venture back to Iraklio later in the day, but had to drive through Iraklio to reach Knossos. The ruins of Knossos, surrounded by green hills and dusty roads, was uncovered in 1900 by British archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans. According to our tour guide, the excavators were stunned by what they found -- a sophisticated civilization from four thousand years ago that had running water (that they brought in from a mountain, miles away, through a complex piping system), flushing toilets, beautiful frescoes, and such. Unlike the other archaeological sites / palace ruins around Crete, Knossos was "reconstructed" in part to give visitors an idea of what the palace would have looked like when ruled by the Minoans. The day we visited, the weather was brilliant... literally. Not a cloud in the sky, the sun was beaming down on Knossos. And it was quite warm. I loved exploring Knossos and learning about the myths that interweave with the actual "history" of Knossos ... as the legend goes, King Minos hid the mythological beast, the Minotaur, down underneath Knossos in the Labyrinth. Although it is unlikely that a Minotaur was actual hidden in a Labyrinth, our tour guide explained to us that some believe that the word "labyrinth" comes from the Minoans -- one of the symbols of the Minoans was the double axe. The word for the double axe was "labrys"... leading to the word, labyrinth... This was just one of many fun facts that we learned as part of our tour! (On a sidenote, if you do visit Knossos, you can find a tour guide once you enter the palace area. There is a booth where you can hire a guide -- either as part of a small group or for a higher fee, for a one-on-one tour ... often, the tour guides will approach you before you even get to the booth.)

After we visited Knossos, we were starving and drove into Iraklio for a later lunch. We had a few spots in mind, some that overlooked the water... but after 45 minutes of navigating through the very narrow streets of downtown Iraklio and attempting to find parking, we decided to forego lunch and just go to the Archaeological Museum. On our walk to the Archaeological Museum, we came across a hot dog/sandwich food stop... we were going to just purchase a water or two, but well, could not resist getting something to eat. So we shared the "double hot dog" and also had the good fortune to meet some very nice locals, who we chatted with a bit to find out more about the layout of the city and the culture of the city. Again, we were struck by the generosity and friendliness of the Greeks. And we were very happy with our tasty grilled hot dog...(Oh and we did make it to the Archaeological Museum...covered in sweat...the original Arch Museum was undergoing renovations, so all the "highlights" of the Arch Museum had been moved to a rather small one story rectangular building. They sure jammed quite a few artifacts into this small room. It is wonderful to see after visiting Knossos, because many of the items at the Museum are from Knossos, and include several beautiful frescoes. But I don't necessarily think this Museum is worth a side visit to Iraklio unless you are already there.)

GREECE: Dining in Old Town Chania

2010-05-26T09:29:00.001-04:00

My family and I traveled to Greece a few weeks ago visiting Crete and Athens... On our first full day in Greece, we bravely ventured out on the roads of Crete in our rental car that had in some previous life lost its hubcaps and must have become very close with a few walls. No worries, after driving to the hotel from the airport the night before, we were ready for the roads. We knew the rules now. Straddle the line between the actual lane and the shoulder, blind turns mean nothing, a "two-lane" road is in fact a four-ish lane road, and keep your eyes on the road -- not on all the pretty scenery that surrounds us! Once we hit the road, it was clear that my dad was instantly a pro as that he was very quickly zipping past cars, passing them with oncoming traffic, and shifting gears with ease.

We made it to Chania in about an hour -- we vaguely knew our way to the old part of Chania after accidentally driving through town from the airport to the hotel. Chania, the second largest city on Crete, is now a fairly sprawling city, but is also one of the prettiest cities on Crete. That is the old part of Chania. In Chania, you see the distinct influences of both the Venetian and Turkish empires, with remnants of the Venetian walls, a picturesque harbour, restored Venetian townhouses, and Ottoman-style timber buildings. Before locating our lunch destination, we walked along the path to the lighthouse and by chance I think got the best view of the town. From the lighthouse path, you can see all the colorful buildings lining the harbor as well as a well-preserved mosque and the Venetian fortress. The day was absolutely gorgeous (as it was most of the days we were in Greece) -- blue skies, bright sun, no clouds, and a comfortable 70 - 75 degrees during the day. The water is amazingly clear and blue, in sharp contrast to the bright white boats that sit in the Chania harbor.

We were warned by many a travel guidebook to avoid most of the restaurants that line the Chania harbor. They do all have lovely views of the harbor, but we were in search of good food. My dad had one place in particular in mind (well, possibly two places), so we began the search down the narrow, winding roads. There were tons of little shops to see along the way, perfect for peeking into while my dad and J attempted to decipher the street signs. As it turns out, we happened to stumble across one of the restaurants my dad wanted to try -- Ela. Ela is famous for being housed in a roofless 14-century Venetian building and serves a variety of Cretan specialties. Sadly, the inside of the restaurant was fully booked by a group of local Cretans (although I suppose that was a good sign!), but they had a smattering of tables along the stone pathway. Because it was so beautiful out, we decided why not (plus we were starving). The waiter appeared with an umbrella for our table (much needed as it turned out under the sun!).

The meal turned out to be quite good. We tried out some Greek beer -- Mythos -- which quickly became a favorite (I liked it better than one of the other Greek beers, Alfa). Mythos is a light colored lager, perfect for the warm weather days. Ela serves up a lot of different grilled meats - yum - I was tempted by the chicken souvlaki, but (perhaps mistakenly) opted for the grilled chicken. The chicken was very tasty but a bit on the dry side. The best dish to me was my dad's dish -- the pork souvlaki. Succulent, moist, and flavorful, it was excellent. J had the lamb chops and my mom had I think grilled livers. Best yet, at the end came a panna cotta like dessert with blueberries on top. We were happy with our choice of lunch spots -- and also happy about wandering into the store next door where they offered us free tastings of different kinds of raki. Little shot glasses of a non-sweet, anise flavored liquor -- they had different "flavors" (so not just the plain raki), but lemon (like limoncello almost), orange, honey (supposed to be the perfect remedy for a cold), and cinnamon (or as they called it, the "Christmas" flavor). My favorites were the orange and the cinnamon.

After wandering around a bit more as well as popping into the archeological museum (as it turned out, free on Sundays!) that had some lovely well preserved mosiacs, we journeyed back to our hotel, tummies full, but ready for a little beach time...

Oyamel -- Mexican goodness, twice in two weeks

2010-05-24T13:00:00.003-04:00

(The first dinner's desserts including the pastel de tres leches con pina)

In the past two weeks, I found myself at Oyamel... twice. I had been to Oyamel a few times before over the years -- how could I not have wanted to go, after all I love Mexican food and Jose Andres -- but in general, I often forgot about Oyamel when thinking about restaurants to go to. So when some friends from out of town were visiting and a mutual friend suggested Oyamel, I thought to myself ooh, I haven't been there in ages. And this time, it all clicked. Perhaps it was the margherita at the bar with the salt foam (the salt foam is a must, even for me, as someone who doesn't like salt with her margheritas). Perhaps it was the spicy guacamole. Or perhaps it was just the alive atmosphere Oyamel had that night and the fun company. Whatever it was, I found myself the next morning craving Oyamel again and, oddly, in particular the queso fundido.

Which brought me back to Oyamel last week for a pre-show dinner. Mr. J and I were going to go see Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert (yay!!) at the Warner. Oyamel is only several blocks from Warner and I don't recall ever taking Mr. J there -- with our mutual love for Mexican food (our first date actually was at a Mexican restaurant...), it seemed like the perfect option. Even though we were eating on the earlier side, the restaurant was packed (good thing we made a reservation!). The restaurant seems to have a very active bar scene despite the small(er) size of their bar -- the hora feliz (happy hour) deal is a good one ($4 class margs, ponche, and selected draft beer, 2 for $4 tacos, halff off all wines by the glass). The festive atmosphere is punctuated with bright colors and a friendly staff.

Our server recommended that we have three dishes per person -- although this proved to be a bit too much for us! The menu offers an extensive list of small dishes (like Jose Andres' other restaurants). The dishes run the gamut from various salsas/guacamoles (made tableside -- mild, medium, or spicy), a bevy of ceviches chopped up at the ceviche bar, various meats and fishes (on this occasion, quite a few pork belly dishes), a wide selection of tacos (served one per order), and so forth. A number of new dishes have just recently been added to the menu -- in fact, in between my two meals there (so in about a week), the server informed us that they added a bunch of their specials to be official dishes on the menu. One of those was the deliciously buttery black cod....mmmm. It's not a bad idea to save some room for dessert (see above for the only pictures I remembered to take at the first dinner!) -- these were quite delicious and the perfect way to end the meal.

Below are some of my favorite dishes from these two meals:

- Guacamole (of course) made to order with your level of spicyness!
- Ceviche de huachinango (red snapper ceviche with avocado, tomato, sweet onion, cilantro, and lime juice)
- Coctel de camaron y jaiba (shrimp & crab ceviche served with tomato sauce, avocado, and red onions)
- Cayo de hacha con pipian de chile pasilla (seared scallops with a pasilla chile and pumpkin seed sauce, orange segments, pumpkin seed oil and toasted pumpkin seeds)
- Albondigas enchipotladas con queso doble crema (meatballs in chipotle sauce with crumbled 'double cream' cheese and cilantro)
- Papas al mole (really, this is like crispy french fries with mole on top, but so good!)
- Queso fundido con tequila (with chorizo...mmmm)
- Carnitas tacos con salsa de tomatillo (confit of baby pig with green tomatillo sauce, pork rinds, onions, and cilantro)

Will I be back? For sure. Now that Oyamel is back on my radar, I don't think I can resist going back, especially for a refreshing margherita and spicy fresh guac during the hot DC summer months.

Oyamel Cocina Mexicana
401 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 628-1005