Mrs. Diana Saur Chows Down on Life

Paprika Sirloin Steak Wrap

2009-08-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Does not travel well. Sorry, Miriam!

4 to 6 oz. sirloin steak
Olive oil (didn't have so used flax seed oil to toss the arugula in)
1 tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika + ground cayenne pepper works too)
Salt and pepper
A handful of arugula
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
red onion, thinly sliced
1 T lemon juice
Tortillas (TJ's handmade sundried tomato ones are excellent)
2 Tbsp hummus (TJ's eggplant hummus)
1 Tbsp sour cream (or greek yogurt)

Heat a griddle or frying pan until very hot. While heating, score each side of the steak and rub with olive oil. Season with the paprika, cayenne if using, and salt and pepper. Sear in the hot pan for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, depending on how you want the steak cooked and how thick it is.

While steak is cooking, mix the arugula with the tomatoes and dress with lemon juice and olive oil.

Remove the steak from the pan and wipe the pan with paper towels. Briefly heat the tortillas in the hot pan.

To serve, slice the steak into thin slices and serve atop tortillas with the arugula salad, hummus, and sour cream.

Serves 1-2, adapted from Jamie's Dinners

Jamie Oliver's Burgers and Chips

2009-08-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

It was really fun to grind my own meat! It turned out just like real ground beef but now I know what's in it and that little piece of peace just makes the burgers so much better. Next time, I'll add a little bit more of the spices and not so much breadcrumbs. Maybe the breadcrumbs were not dry enough. Anyway, they are normal burgers, but still one of the best I've made.

I didn't do the fancy rosemary salt, but it did sound tasty. Something to try the next time.

1kg/2lb 3oz chuck steak, or good minced steak
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
olive oil
a pinch of cumin seeds (dash of ground cumin)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (a little less than a Tbsp of ground coriander)
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 heaped tablespoon English mustard
1 large free-range egg
115g/4oz breadcrumbs (I used 3 stale slices of bread and food processed them)
8 burger buns

for the chips
2kg/4½lb large potatoes, skins left on, cut into chips 1cm/½ inch thick
olive oil, enough to coat the potatoes. I needed more than 1/4 cup
1 whole bulb of garlic
freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
zest of 1 lemon
85g/3oz sea salt

If you're using chuck steak to make your burgers, slice it up and pulse it in a food processor. Transfer the meat to a bowl. In a big frying pan, slowly cook the onion in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the onion to the meat - it will give sweetness to the burger. Using a pestle and mortar, bash up the cumin and coriander seeds with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper until fine and add to the meat. Then add the Parmesan, mustard, egg and half the breadcrumbs and mix well. If the mixture is too sticky, add a few more breadcrumbs.

Lay some greaseproof paper on a tray or large plate and sprinkle over some of the remaining breadcrumbs. Shape the meat into 8 fat burgers and place these on top of the crumbs on the tray. Sprinkle more crumbs on top and press down gently. The burgers are better if they are chilled before cooking, so put them in the fridge for an hour or so.

Half an hour before you want to cook the burgers, put a large flat baking tray in the oven and turn the heat to 230°C/450°F/gas 8 (it could have used more time, or put to hi broil). Parboil your chips (still with their skins on) for about 10 minutes in salted boiling water and drain in a colander.

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, smash the garlic bulb up and chuck in the cloves, then add the chips. Toss in the oil and season with freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the contents of the pan to the preheated tray and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until crisp and golden.

Now make your rosemary salt. Remove the leaves from the rosemary and put them in a pestle and mortar with the lemon zest and salt. Bash up to make a green paste, adding more salt if the mixture is too wet. Push this paste through a sieve, and keep to one side until you're ready to serve.

Take your burgers out of the fridge and fry them in a little oil on a medium to high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the burgers and how you like them, turning occasionally. Serve them on toasted burger buns, with tomato ketchup, and your fat chips sprinkled with the rosemary salt. Other great things to top your burger with are layers of sliced beef tomatoes, thinly sliced cheese, raw onion rings, lettuce, a grating of fresh horseradish - even a fried egg!

Makes approx. 8 burgers, from Jamie's Dinners

Lemon-Nut Torte with Summer Berries

2009-08-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

The base of this gluten free cake is almonds and is very moist and tasty. I actually didn't like the berry sauce--I thought it was a bit excessive on the vanilla so in the ingredients below, I cut it down in half for next time. Maybe next time, I would just top it with the berries and a little dollop of whipped cream. In the original recipe, the sauce called for 1/3 C honey, 2 T lemon juice, 2 tsp vanilla. Definitely tastes better the next day.

Torte
Parchment paper
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 cup granulated sugar, divided (When measuring, use a little less than 1/3 for each portion if you don't like your cakes too sweet)
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon almond flour (found at health food stores, TJ's or you can food process your own)
1/3 cup corn flour (finely ground cornmeal) Didn't have any so used oat bran which gave it more of a bite and texture. Wish I had cornmeal.
4 large eggs, yolks and whites divided
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping
Agave nectar to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or any combination, I used blueberries)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Heat oven to 350°. Line an 8" or 9" springform pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar and flours in a bowl.

Whip 1/3 cup sugar and egg yolks in another bowl with an electric mixer about 5 minutes. Beat in zest, oil, lemon juice, and orange juice. Fold in dry ingredients.

Beat egg whites and salt in a third bowl with an electric mixer until frothy. Beat in remaining 1/3 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of egg-white mixture into batter. Fold in remaining egg white mixture in two parts, mixing well.

Pour batter into pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven; cool. Invert pan, remove parchment, and turn cake right side up onto a plate. (This was weird because if you use a springform pan, once it's cooled you can just release the pan...but whatever rocks your world.)

Topping
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Spoon topping on cake, dust with sugar, and slice into eighths. (Or, I recommend, slicing the cake and plating, then spooning the sauce right before serving.)

Serves 8-12, adapted from Self, July 2009

Tender Flank Steak with Green Onions & Mushrooms

2009-07-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Soak 3-4 black mushrooms in water for 10 minutes. Slice thin. With flank steak, slice and rub with a little bit, maybe 1/2 tsp of corn starch and let it sit. Then heat the oil, add the mushrooms, soy sauce, corn syrup/sugar, black beans then the meat. Near the end, add the green onions and season with salt. If you want an extra kick of flavor, you can add a little bit of rice vinegar too.

Bell Pepper Steak with Black Beans

2009-07-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's funny, my dad doesn't cut his bell peppers, he tears them with his hands. And he uses the inner ribbing of it, which turns out to be tender and delicious. You basically heat the pan with oil, cook the garlic with the sliced flank steak until almost done, then remove from the heat onto a separate plate. Cook the bell pepper until tender and add the black beans (which, according to Chinese medicine is good for your emotional welfare. "Add more! More!") Add the beef and season with soy sauce.

Dad Knows How to Take Care of His Kids

2009-07-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

A pretty standard Dad-feast fit for a king. Or in this case, fit for his two daughters, Los Altos 7.14.2009.

Hot Grass Jelly

2009-07-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Not sure what I did to fail this thing--nothing like what they sell at Tea Station. How do they get the grass jelly to melt and be all runny? I should have cut the can of grass jelly into smaller pieces, maybe that would have helped. In any case, I boiled 1/2 C of barley and 1/2 C of dried lotus seeds in a pot until softened. Maybe 15-20 minutes. Then drained them. In another pot, I boiled the cut up grass jelly, and a can of sweet bean porridge (they sell them like a drink in the asian supermarket). This wasn't sweet enough, so I added a few cubes of that brown sugar rock (I guess you can use whatever sugar you have around the kitchen) and enough water to cover. Then when it seemed as liquidy as it could get, I added the barley and lotus seed in. Boil till heated, serve hot or chill and serve cold.

Great for hot days since the grass jelly is one of those Chinese herbs that takes heat away.

Simple White Fish

2009-07-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

I don't remember the type of fish, but I've seen my dad cook in this style for salmon and all sorts of other types. Basically, you heat the pan with oil until almost smoking, then you throw in your fish, cover and cook for a couple minutes. Uncover, and flip, then cover. When the fish meat flakes, then it's done. Drizzle with a little soy sauce and you're done.

My Favorite Veggies as a Kid

2009-07-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

I forget the name of this vegetable, but it's not bitter, the stalks are little thin straws and the top is dark and leafy...Whatever it is, you can buy it in a bunch in all the asian supermarkets. My dad and I washed the whole thing, cut it up in 2" segments. Heat a large pot with a little oil, add the smashed garlic (used 3-4 cloves) and heated until fragrant. Add the stems of the vegetable first to soften until bright green and almost ready to eat (i.e. soft yet with some crunch) and then added the rest of the vegetable. Add a little bit of water (my dad adds a lot to make a soup/sauce). Cover and allow to steam down. Season with salt.

Dad's Pickles

2009-07-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

When learning how to cook with family, there always lacks measurements. Everything is to color, to taste, to smell. I will come back to this one day and actually measure out the ingredients for the recipe.

1 cucumber, peeled and halved then sliced
salt
sugar
soy sauce
rice vinegar (optional)

With the cucumbers in a bowl, generously sprinkle salt all over and toss. After allowing it to sit for at least 10 minutes, rinse one cucumber to try. Does it give a little resistance when you bite only to release with a dense crunch? Then it's ready! Rinse the rest and add the other ingredients to taste. My dad likes it slightly sweet with very little saltiness from the soy and just a little acidity. If it's still soft like a raw cucumber, sprinkle more salt and let it set an additional 5-10 minutes.

Chicken Cacciatore

2009-07-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Wish I could cook more for my family when they visit but we always end up eating out! I had to really exert some effort to cook this dish for Vicky. Realized that the red wine really mellows out the flavor and gives it a rich sweetness. Use whole tomatoes and not chopped tomatoes to reduce the bitterness.

Active Time: 45 min
From start to finish: 1.5 hours

3.5 pounds of chicken breast
1 3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 C dry red wine
1 28oz. can of whole tomatoes in juice
1/2 C reduced sodium chicken stock

Noodles

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle on all sides with 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and pepper. Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning over once, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Reduce heat to moderate and add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any brown bits, until onion and garlic are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer, scraping up brown bits, until liquid is reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and nestle chicken pieces in sauce.

Simmer, loosely covered with foil, until chicken is cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. For a thicker sauce, transfer cooked chicken to a platter and keep warm, covered, then boil sauce until it reaches desired consistency.

Serves 6

Bran Muffins

2009-07-03T00:23:00.000-07:00

Made right after arriving in SD. Had to adjust a lot of the ingredients, but came out hearty, flavorful and not too sweet.

2 cups (3oz/86g) wheat bran
1 cup (5oz/141g) oat bran (8 oz oat bran)
1 cup (6oz/170g) whole wheat flour (1 C white flour)
2 teaspoons (12g) baking soda
1 teaspoon (6g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (4g) salt

2 large eggs
2/3 cup (5oz by weight/156g) milk (2/3 C soymilk)
2/3 cup (5-1/2oz/156g) yogurt (2/3 C vanana yogurt)
1/3 cup (2-1/4oz/65g) canola oil (olive oil)
1/3 cup (3-3/4oz/108g) molasses or cane syrup (Chinese molasses)
1/3 cup (3-3/4oz/108g) honey (brown sugar)
1 teaspoon (6g) vanilla extract (optional)

Place oven rack in middle of oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a standard size muffin pan (I use canola oil and a silicone pastry brush) or line cups with paper liners (which makes cleaning up a breeze).

Combine wheat bran, oat bran, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Combine eggs, milk, yogurt, canola oil, molasses, and honey in a small bowl and mix well. (Note: you can use all honey or all molasses instead if desired.) Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.

Generously fill muffin cups with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and serve warm, or let cool on a wire rack.

12 standard muffins

Easy Roasted Garlic

2009-07-02T01:03:00.000-07:00

Honestly, the easiest way to make roasted garlic, yet takes a lot of time. You take the whole head of garlic and place it in a small cake pan. I roasted almost 5 heads a time so if you do just one, you may not have to bake it as long. I then let it sit in a 325 degree oven for almost 2 hours, checking on it to make sure it didn't burn or get too dry. When you have an oven mitt on and squeeze it, it should give and be soft, maybe even a few cloves will fall apart a little. After you let it cool, you can peel each clove and use it in any potato dish, sandwich, salad or spread on toasted bread like above with olive oil drizzled on top. SO GOOD.

Vanilla Cupcakes

2009-06-03T00:21:00.000-07:00

These turn out really dry and fine textured. I’m not sure if I over baked them (watch to make sure the timer starts!) and I also didn’t measure out the dry ingredients. But I did like the texture and how they weren’t that sweet so that frosting was a necessary item.

Bah I blame the oven. I made it a second time but the top and center of the cake turned out gummy and the outside dry. I also increased the vanilla to 1 ½ tsp bring out the flavor but then it seemed almost too much. Rebecca Davis liked it vanilla-ey though. Tried to make a tres leches cake out of this but failed miserably—mushy and not moist and liquidy. What is the perfect balance between a cake that is fluffy yet can withstand the liquids?

In any case, the flavor (and not the texture) of the cake is good with blackberry or boysenberry jam in between and then whipped cream on top with sliced almonds on top and fresh blackberries on the side.

2 ½ C flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

½ C milk
½ C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 stick (8 Tblsp) unsalted butter, softened
1 C sugar

3 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, bp, bs and salt in a small-medium bowl. Combine milk, oil and vanilla in a 2 C measuring cup or another small bowl.

In a larger bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in batches beginning and ending with the flour and beating just until blended.

Spoon half the batter into a ziplock bag. Snip a ¼” corner from the bag and fill the liners 2/3 full. Repeat with remaining batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15-20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pan, place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Makes 24 standard cupcakes, from Hello, Cupcake!

Garden Party Cupcakes

2009-06-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes made as a goodbye for our 4th term sisters on our team. It was a super hot day when we had our YP presentations, so most of the candy melted, and the cupcake recipe ended up dry, but they still looked awesome even though they were made while I was half dying from some sickness. It was such a stress reliever though! I love doing this crazy stuff. Airheads are easy to find but really hard to work with.

Splendid church life! His green garden! He has brought us, praise the Lord!

24 standard vanilla cupcakes, baked in white paper liners
2 C chocolate frosting
2 C chocolate cookie crumbs (Oreo’s or TJ’s Joe-joes), really crush these babies to dust or spin in the food processor

Lettuce
1/4 C vanilla frosting
Green food coloring
1 C cornflakes

Peas
9 green fruit chews (jolly ranchers)
20 green m&m’s
Green licorice laces (Kellogg’s watermelon madness fruit streamers or the jolly ranchers in green and air heads in green)

Radish
1 vanilla fruit chew (tootsie roll, airhead)
4 red fruit chews (jolly ranchers, starbursts)

Carrots
8 orange fruit chews (starbursts) OR 10 mike and ike’s
1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp multicolored chocolate covered sunflower seeds or plain sunflower seeds

2 sticks mint chewing gum
3 thin pretzel sticks
1 C vanilla frosting

Cupcakes
Place the chocolate cookie crumbs in a medium bowl. Spread the remaining chocolate frosting over the tops of the cupcakes. Starting at the edge, roll the tops of the cupcakes in the crumbs to cover completely. Arrange the cupcakes in 4 rows of 6 on a serving platter.

Now work on one vegetable at a time.

Lettuce (makes 4 lettuce cupcakes)
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Place the cornflakes in a small bowl. Tint the frosting with green food coloring. About 10 drops depending on how dark green you want it. Microwave the frosting, stirring frequently, until it is smooth and liquidy 5-10 seconds then pour on top of the corn flakes, toss well to coat, and spread the cornflakes onto the cookie sheet. Refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes. Cut 2 of the green fruit chews in half and shape into balls. Place 1 green ball on top of each of the 4 cupcakes (secure with a dot of green frosting) and arrange 8-12 green frosted cornflakes around the balls to make the leaves.

Radishes (makes 4 radish cupcakes)
For each radish, cut the vanilla chew into quarters. Roll 1 red fruit chew together with 1 vanilla piece, keeping the colors separate, and shape into a ball. Pinch the white end to form the radish root. Place 1 radish on top of each of the 4 cupcakes, and add several green-frosted cornflakes for the leaves.

Carrots (makes 5 carrot cupcakes)
Cut 2 of the orange fruit chews in half and shape each piece into a small carrot. Shape the remaining 6 fruit chews into 6 large carrots. Score the side of each carrot with a knife or your nail. Rub the sides of carrots with cinnamon to look freshly pulled from the garden. Use a round toothpick to make a small hole in the large end of each carrot. Cut 2 of the green fruit chews into thin strips and roll each strip between your fingers to look like carrot tops. Press 4-5 strips into the hole in the top of each carrot. Arrange the carrots, overlapping slightly, on top of the cupcakes.

OR
Score the orange Mike and Ike’s with your nail and dip the ends in cinnamon. Follow the rest of the directions for the tops.

Peas (makes 5 pea-pod cupcakes)
Roll out each of the remaining 5 green fruit chews into a 3 by 1” oval/almond shape 1/8” thick. Press 4 green M&Ms onto one side of each oval. Fold the other side over to cover the candies slightly. Pinch the ends and place 1 pea pod on top of each of the cupcakes. Cut the green licorice laces into various lengths and arrange them around the pea pods to make the vines. You may also use some of the fruit chews and roll them between your fingers to make long thin vines and drape them over if you can’t find the candy.

Shovels
Insert the pretzel end into cupcake. Cut each stick of gum into a ¾” long triangle and pinch on one side to make the shovel blades. Insert the hovel blades (gum) into the frosting on top of 2 cupcakes, scatter a few sunflower seeds around the shovels and place in the rows with radishes and lettuce.

Makes 24 cupcakes, 1 garden. Adapted from Hello, Cupcake!

Quick Peanut Butter Candy

2009-06-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Reminds me of that milky nougat that you can buy in Taiwan. Hmm…interesting…

½ C honey
½ C non fat milk powder
½ C peanut butter
½ C roasted peanuts

Mix everything together in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Then microwave 1 minute and stir until all the milk powder disappears and the candy pulls away from the bowl and forms a ball in the center. It will be smooth like taffy. Put out onto a piece of parchment or wax paper 14-20” long and roll the outside of the parchment sheet over it to form a log. Allow to cool and cut into pieces.

Easy Healthy Apple Crumble

2009-06-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

6 medium apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
½ C unsweetened applesauce

¾ C rolled oats
3 Tbsp toasted wheat germ, or flax seeds
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Vanilla ice Cream

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9” baking dish with cooking spray. Combine the apples and applesauce directly in a 13x9” baking dish.

In a bowl, combine oats, wheat germ/flax, brown sugar, cinnamon, then add oil and butter. Mix with fingers to form crumbs, the sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over apples.

Bake at for 30 minutes until top is golden and bubbly. Serve hot with ice cream.

Serves 4-6

4.5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

2009-06-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

Tracey got this recipe from her mom and wanted to make it for her Short-termers visiting from Sacramento and her house! Really quick and tasty. Must be served immediately—once cooled it’s just spongy and a little too firm.

4 T flour
4 T sugar
2 T cocoa powder
1 egg
3 T milk
3 T oil
small splash of vanilla extract
3 T chocolate chips
Large coffee mug and a plate

Stir all together except the chocolate chips into the large mug. Sprinkle the chips on top. Place the cup on a plate or sauce and microwave on high for 2.5 minutes.

1-2 Servings

3 Cheese Pizza with Onions, Sage and Arugula

2009-06-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

“Why a trio of cheeses? Fontina for its melting quality and nutty flavor, Gorgonzola for its biting blue punch, and Parmigiano-Reggiano for its uncanny ability to amplify other cheeses.” I’m glad Gourmet wrote that little introduction for this because I wasn’t able to find Fontina at Stater Bros. or Trader Joe’s and instead used Mozzarella—which was a bland alternative, yet had the “melting quality”.

Made for a special Mentor/Mentee time with Sherri Lin! Dough was crisp and thin yet light. Not too airy, not doughy the first time. Served with sliced pears and TJ salami.

Active time: 45 minutes
Start to finish: 2 ¼ hour

For dough
1 (1/4 oz.) package active dry yeast or 2 ¼ tsp
About 2 C unbleached flour
¾ C warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 tsp salt (originally 1 1/2 tsp)
1 ½ tsp extra-virgin olive oil

For topping
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
¼ lb Italian Fontina, cut into ½ inch pieces (2/3 C) OR about 1 C shredded mozzarella
2 oz Gorgonzola dolce, crumbled
½ C thinly sliced red onion (1 medium)
6 large fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 Tbsp)
½ oz. shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano about ¼ C
¼ lb. loosely packed baby arugula (about 4 C) I used the an herb/spring mix from TJ’s but I thought a plain arugula would have been better

Make Dough
(If using a pizza stone, place it on the oven floor of a gas oven or on the lowest rack if using an electric oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees. Allow for 1 hour for the pizza stone to heat.)

Stir together yeast, 1 Tbsp flour, and ¼ C warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a creamy foam on surface, about 5 minutes. If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.

Stir together 1 ¼ C flour with salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, oil and remaining ½ C warm water and stir until smooth. Stir in enough flour (more or less about ½ C, I used less) to make dough come away from sides of bowl. Dough will be wetter than other pizza doughs you may have made.

Knead dough on lightly floured surface with lightly floured hands (reflour hands when dough becomes too sticky) until smooth, soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball, put on a lightly floured surface, and generously dust with flour. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1¼ hours. Dust a wooden peel or a large baking sheet without sides (I used a baking sheet with short sides with cornmeal or line with parchment paper.

*Really read this paragraph before starting: Do not punch down dough. Carefully dredge dough in a bowl of flour to coat and transfer to a dry work surface. Holding one edge of dough in the air with both hands and letting bottom just touch the work surface, carefully and quickly move hands around edge of dough (like turning a steering wheel), allowing weight of dough to stretch round to roughly 10”. Lay dough flat on peel or baking sheet. Continue to work edge of dough with your fingers, stretching it into a 14” round.

Make Topping
Brush dough with olive oil, leaving a 1” border, then scatter Fontina and Gorgonzola over dough (leaving a 1” border).

Scatter onion and sage leaves over cheese. Sprinkle the pizza with the Parmigiano-Reggiano, then line up far edge of peel with far edge of stone in oven and tilt peel, jerking it gently to start pizza moving. When edge of pizza touches stone, quickly pull back pizza.

Bake until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling, 10-12 minutes. Slide peel under pizza to remove from oven, then top with arugula.

Note: Dough can rise slowly, covered with plastic wrap (or it will dry out on top), in the refrigerator for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before using.

Makes 1 14” pizza, which serves 4-5 people, adapted from Gourmet January 2006

Warm Gingerbread Squares

2009-06-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Texture of the cake is light and moist, but the flavor is deep, dark molasses and spices. Great served while still warm from the oven with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

¾ C water
½ C dark molasses
1 tsp baking soda
¼ C canola oil (although the original recipe called for butter)
1 large egg yolk
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 ¼ C all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the baking pan with cooking spray.
Bring the water to a boil in the saucepan. Stir in the molasses and baking soda and remove from heat. Set aside to let cool slightly.

Combine the oil/butter and brown sugar in the work bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Add the egg yolk and process until smooth. Pour the molasses mixture through the feed tube and pulse once or twice to incorporate. Add the salt, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, and flour and pulse once or twice to incorporate.

*Alternatively, you can do the same as above with a large bowl and an electric mixer

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan with the spatula and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes if in an 8x8 pan or 25 min if in 3 5” loaf pans. Let cool in the pan about 15 minutes. Cut to serve warm.

Serves 9, adapted from Instant Gratification

Pineapple Fried Rice

2009-06-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

Quick fried rice using training cashews and sandwich meat with my own personal old, cold rice.

¼ C roasted, salted cashews
2 cloves of garlic, minced
soy sauce
dash of sesame oil

1 egg, whisked in a bowl
2 C prepared rice (I used leftover basmati), refrigerated
¼ C canned, cut pineapple
2 slices TC lunch turkey ham, diced/cut into squares
salt
cayenne pepper

Heat pan and ¼ tsp oil in a pan. When hot, add cashews and cook until lightly toasted. Set aside in a separate plate.

Add a little oil, when heated, add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add a little (about 1/8 tsp) of sesame oil, 1-2 tsp of soy sauce. Add the rice and pineapple and ham. Stir and heat until thoroughly heated. Add the nuts. Push all to a side of the pan and add a little oil to fry up the egg in that little circle of pan exposed, scrambled egg style. Stir all together and season with cayenne and salt to taste.

Honey-Ginger Pear Trifle

2009-05-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

If you follow the ingredients on the left, you’ll get 2 servings that can be made in cute little 4 oz. glass cups or dishes. If you follow the ingredients in parentheses, then you’ll get 8-10 serving that will be served in one big trifle dish. Best served the next day—when the flavors meld and the graham crackers get soft and tasty.

Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 15 min

2 tablespoons heavy cream  (1/2 container of cool whip—tastes funny but less fat, or about 1 C heavy cream)
1/4 cup plain yogurt  (1 C plain yogurt, non-fat greek yogurt from TJ)
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar  (1-2 Tbsp packed brown sugar)
1 medium Bosc pear (4 medium pears, peeled, cored and cut into a small dice)
2 tablespoons honey  (8 Tbsp, or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice  (2 tsp lemon juice)
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger  (1 tsp freshly grated ginger)
2 graham crackers, crumbled into pea-size pieces or 1/4 C (about 3 C crumbled graham crackers. I bought the cinnamon sugar ones from Trader Joe’s and used about half the container. If you buy one package of the regular grahams, then that would be more than enough.)

Place cream in a medium bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Add yogurt and brown sugar and whisk to combine; place in the refrigerator. Don’t worry if this isn’t too sweet, the pear mixture will make up for it.

In a medium (or large bowl if making more), add the pears, honey, lemon juice, and ginger and stir to combine. This should taste sweet, so start with a little bit of honey and add till your taste. Remember that the graham crackers will also add sweetness, especially if you use the cinnamon grahams from Trader Joe’s.

For Two
Spoon 2 tablespoons of the yogurt mixture into the bottom of 2 (4-ounce) glasses. Top with 1 tablespoon of the graham crackers, then 2 tablespoons of the pear mixture. Repeat to make 2 complete layers in each glass. Serve.

For the Trifle Bowl
Spread 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture on the bottom of the bowl. Clean the glass of any streaks. Top with 1/3 of the crushed graham crackers enough to add a nice layer in the bowl ¼” thick. Then add ½ of the pear mixture. Then 1/3 cream mixture. 1/3 graham crackers, ½ pear. Then finish with 1/3 cream, and graham crackers.

Serves 2 (Serves 8-10)

Shua’s Broccoli Slaw with Toasted Almonds & Cranberries

2009-05-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Simple, elegant and fresh.

Broccoli slaw (from TJ’s or Fresh & Easy)
Gala apples, chopped
Toasted almonds
Dried cranberries

She mixed together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt and pepper and then tossed in. An alternative would be a light, sweet poppy seed dressing.

Serves 5-6

Vegetarian Egg Drop Soup

2009-05-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Judy Chao’s specialty for her dad’s birthday. Reminds me of shark fin soup without the shark fin. I think it might have been the stock she used…Big asian can of something.

4 C vegetable stock
2 eggs, beaten lightly
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water
optional: ½ C canned/fresh corn

Heat stock and add soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil. Add cornstarch mixture and raise heat until soup begins to slightly boil.

Remove from heat and slowly drizzle the beaten egg over the top of the hot soup with one hand while gently stirring with the other. The egg will cook when it comes into contact with the soup. Heat a little more back on the stove.

Serves 5-6

Curried Chicken Hawaii

2009-05-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

A little like a cross between Malaysian curry and golden curry. Not that I really know what that is, but from what I've eaten of Malaysian food (...once...3 weeks ago...) it tastes a little like that.

The only thing that makes this Hawaiian is the pineapple, which I didn't think it needed. Next time, I will throw the pineapples in and cook it with the curry, which I think will draw out the juice and sweetness and add it to the flavor of the curry.

Active time: 40 minutes
Start to finish: 1 hour

3 pounds of skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
1 tsp salt

1 large onion, chopped (1 ¼ cups)
3 Tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic (4 cloves)
2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks or about ½ - 1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp curry powder (preferably Madras)
2 tsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar (optional, but I did)
1 (13.5 or 15 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk (it says to not use the low-fat, but I did)

Accompaniments
Rice
Toasted coconut
½ inch cubes fresh pineapple (I think it would taste better if cooked in the curry)
lime wedges
mango chutney
chopped salted roasted cashews or peanuts
chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with ½ tsp salt.

Heat 6-8 quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, then brown chicken (without crowding) turning over occasionally 8-10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate as cooked, reserving fat in pot.

Add onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves, stirring occasionally, until onion is browned, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the sugar, coconut milk, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot. Return chicken and any juices accumulated on plate to pot, then reduce heat and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Season with salt, then transfer to a shallow serving dish.

Serve with rice and topped with remaining accompaniments.

Serves 4-5, from Gourmet January 2006