Roasted Chickpeas with Cherry Couscous and Cucumber-Lime Raita

Nina Roux sent me this kick-ass cookbook for my birthday,The Flexitarian Table. The raita and chickpeas are the first things I have made from it, and they are both to be repeated soon. This is probably the best way I have ever eaten chickpeas - they are very nutty tasting. And the onions get nice and sweet during the roasting. I ended up altering the recipes a bit. For one thing, I didn't have some of the ingredients called for in the book (for example, I only had ground cumin - no cumin seeds.) I also have a very difficult time following recipes when I am cooking (baking is a different story), so there were no measuring spoons out when I made these.


Cucumber Lime Raita

- cucumber, seeded, peeled, and chopped
- dash of olive oil
- lime juice
- cumin
- coriander
- salt
- Greek yogurt (I had fat-free Greek yogurt, and honestly couldn't tell)
- black pepper

Combine all of the above ingredients, seasoning to taste.


Cherry Couscous

- couscous (I used Israeli-style)
- dried tart cherries
- salt
- butter

Cook couscous according to package instructions, but add cherries, salt, and butter to the water before it comes to a boil.



Roasted Chickpeas

- 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- 2 bay leaves, broken in half
- cumin
- turmeric
- sweet paprika
- cayenne pepper
- fresh flat leaf parsley

Oven to 400 degrees. In an oven-proof skillet, place chickpeas, onion, oil, lemon juice, bay leaves, cumin, turmeric, paprika, cayenne, and a dash of salt. Stir over medium heat until sizzling, then transfer to oven for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.

A Taste of Yellow - Macaroni and Cheese

I have been planning on participating in the Taste of Yellow event at winosandfoodies ever since I first read about it. (Like everyone else who commented after Barbara's announcement, cancer has made plenty of appearances within my immediate circle lately). But suddenly it was May 7th and I had not done my entry! I had pretty much given up on pulling anything together when I developed an enormous craving for mac and cheese - very convenient. So here it is.

With the exception of breadcrumbs, I followed the recipe to the letter, so I will just give an abbreviated version here.

Classic Macaroni and Cheese (only slightly modified) from The New Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

- 1 pound macaroni
- salt
- 5 Tbsp butter
- 6 Tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 5 cups milk (I used 1%)
- 8 ounces monteray jack cheese, grated
- 8 ounces extra, extra, extra sharp cheddar, grated
- panko breadcrumbs

Using a large pot, cook pasta in well-salted water until tender. Drain in collander and set aside. In the now-empty pot, heat the butter over medium-high until foaming; add flour, mustard and cayenne, and whisk for about a minute, until color deepens. Continue whisking while gradually adding the milk; whisk until mixture is brought to full boil. Turn down heat to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes, until mixture is the consistency of heavy cream. Remove from heat. Add cheese and 1 tsp salt and stir until mixed. Add back pasta and stir over med-low heat until well heated, about 6 minutes. Pour into 9x13 pan (or ramekins). Sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs and place under broiler until browned.

Go see what A Taste of Yellow is all about!

Sweet and Savory Dinner Party

I did it again. Planned a party and a menu that meant 3 days of cooking. This time though, I enjoyed every minute of it, up until the last 5 minutes before guests arrived and I was frantically working on the cream sauce, and my phone was ringing…that stressed me out a little bit, but I threw my phone at Mr. Roux, and managed to get everything ready in time, so I could enjoy myself thoroughly with my guests.

The original invitation list was for about 15 people, about 10 RSVP’d, and only 4 were able to make it in the end. But I had determined to cook enough food for any number who wanted to come by, in the spirit of sharing the food fun. There were PLENTY of left overs! My ONLY complaint: 3 of the 4 guests were girls, who eat like birds, so they didn’t eat nearly enough in my opinion…

I’ve decided to host dinner parties on a regular basis, and am using my Buddhist group as an excuse. I am a member of this great organization (www.sgi.org - watch the video on the media tab! Or www.sgi-usa.org to find a group near you), and get to practice with the COOLEST people in the world, but after our small discussion meetings, there is NEVER enough time to hang out, chat, catch up, get to know each other… so the spirit of these dinner parties will be Dinner and Dialog – sometimes there will be 2 people, maybe someday 10 – I don’t care, I like to cook and I like to run my yap. The inaugural Dinner and Dialog was fantastic – and we were all shocked to see it was 3AM when the chat fest started winding down! Sure success.

Le Menu:
Roasted Vegetable Tapenade
Hummus
Irish Soda Bread
Parmesan Pepper Crackers

Iceberg wedges
Blue Cheese Dressing

Lemon Fusilli
Tuna Tartare served on Endive
Chicken Veronique

Lemon Yogurt Cake
Orange Chocolate Mini-Cakes
Homemade Grand Marnier Vanilla Ice Cream

I realize how ambitious this all looks. And I suppose it was. Honestly, each recipe was as simple as could be. I made the hummus, blue cheese dressing and lemon yogurt cake on Thursday evening. Friday night I made the orange chocolate cakes and the crackers. This left the roasted veg tapenade, ice cream, pasta, tuna, and chicken for Saturday. I got up pretty early to get started, and had JUST enough time.

I must officially thank Ina Garten once again for her inspiration and recipes! I took the liberty of some variations… here’s one, which is simultaneously an I Love Lucy moment; I added a cup of mayo instead of a half a cup of mayo to the Chicken Salad Veronique. I hate mayonnaise, so it was a tough 10 minutes for me scooping out un-stirred mayo from the mix. I ended up doubling the celery and grapes, and adding roasted pecans in order to bring balance back to the bowl.

Recipes/links** and commentary below! I only put pics of the most photogenic dishes below – sadly, I have neither the artistic eye nor photographic talent of Mallow who can make any dish look like a still life!

Roasted Vegetable Tapenade (variation of Roasted Eggplant Spread - see
Foodnetwork.com)

4 small zucchini
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tb. Olive oil
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 Tb. Tomato paste

Preheat oven to 400. Cut veg and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes until the veg are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.
Cool slightly.

Place the veg in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

(This was so delicious. I used the zucchini instead of eggplant, since it's the one food I hate. I would have liked it with olives and some spicy pepper as well!)

Hummus
2 cans chick peas/garbanzo beans, drained
¼ cup tahini
juice of 2 lemons
1 Tab. Pepper flakes
3-4 cloves garlic
2 Tab. Olive oil

Put everything but the olive oil in a food processor fitted with blade attachment. Blend thoroughly, adding the olive oil slowly while everything else blends.

(This makes a pretty mild hummus – you can really jazz it up with some artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, or any think you like!)

Parmesan Black Pepper Crackers (See Foodnetwork.com)

(I followed the recipe very closely, and ended up with very crumbly dough that was hard to roll into a log. It was much easier to deal with once frozen, but once cooked I found them a little too delicate to dip into either of my spreads. So we ate them for dinner on Friday.)

Irish Soda Bread (from “Barefoot Contessa At Home”)

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the currants
4 Tab. Sugar (optional)
1 tsp. baking soda
1½ tsp. kosher salt
4 Tab. (1/2 stick) Cold unsalted butter, cut into Tabs.
1¾ cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 cup dried currants

Preheat oven to 375. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.
With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 Tab. Of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound. Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temp.

(I decided to make this easy slightly sweet bread to dip into the savory spreads, as I really like the combination of sweet and savory – go figure. It was particularly good with the veg tapenade. I might leave the sugar out next time if serving with savory stuff.)

Blue Cheese Dressing (from “Barefoot Contessa At Home”)
½ lb. Roquefort cheese (I used crumbled blue cheese)
1 cup mayo
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. tarragon wine vinegar
2 Tab. Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Place half the cheese, the mayonnaise, heavy cream, vinegar, 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until combined but still chunky. The other half of the cheese should be crumbled over the top of salad, but I added it to the mix. It was too thick. If you’re using this as a dip, its fine to add all the cheese, but as a dressing, you only need half.)



Lemon Fusilli with Arugula (See Foodnetwork.com)

(This was SO delicious. The arugula wilts just so, and the tomatoes get tender and juicy! A great dish for feeding the masses.)


Tuna Tartare (See Foodnetwork.com)

(I was a little disappointed that the tuna absorbed the soy sauce enough that it turned sort of a brown/gray color, rather than a pretty pinky color. GREAT flavor, and so lovely with the avocado. The peppery endive is a great edible spoon.)


Chicken Salad Veronique (See Foodnetwork.com)

(Again, I hate mayonnaise, but if it’s a good balance and not too gooey, I can take it. This worked out perfectly. I really liked the added crunch and depth of the pecans.)

Lemon Yogurt Cake (See Foodnetwork.com)

(Once I poured the juice and sugar mixture over the warm cake, all I could think about was the fact that most of the syrup was ending up on wax paper on the tray below. Once the cake had cooled, I wrapped it in the syrupy wax paper, then wrapped the lot in plastic wrap, hoping the cake would absorb more as it rested. Success! Also, instead of the glaze, I used butter cream frosting, with added lemon zest. I probably won’t next time.)

Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake (See Foodnetwork.com)

(Um… Yum!? These almost didn’t need the chocolate syrup. I think I would have preferred them with a glaze instead, so the chocolate isn’t so overwhelming. I could eat these all day on into the night.)

Vanilla Grand Marnier Ice Cream
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup cream + ¾ cup milk, scalded
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp. Grand Marnier liqueur

Beat egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer using paddle attachment on med. For 3 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce speed to low, and add cornstarch.

Slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs, with the mixer still on low. Next, pour this mixture (now like a custard) into a sauce pan and cook over low heat until the spoon coats with cream. (Don’t allow the temp to rise above about 150-160).

Pour the sauce through a fine strainer, add vanilla and Grand Marnier. Freeze using an ice cream maker per manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze in an air-tight container until ready to eat. Serves 4-5.

**My sincerest apologies! The hyperlink function is not currently working?! I have to annoyingly direct you to www.foodnetwork.com for recipe reference.

Spicy Sautéed Collard Greens

The one vegetable I’ve always really loved is spinach. I would devour it even as a kid, and particularly loved it with red wine vinegar. To this day, I could eat huge, massive portions of this leafy green and not feel like I’m eating something good for me. My mom always gave us the frozen kind when we were kids – that came out of the package in a frozen solid, furry green block - and to this day, it’s still my favorite variety, even more so than fresh spinach.

I’ve tried to branch out a bit, and try all other types of leafy greens. I like salads, when my plate is piled with a variety of ingredients that makes the lettuce almost pointless (red peppers, apples, grape nuts, kidney and garbanzo beans, nuts, olives…). I prefer the crunch of romaine, but will tolerate a little limp red leaf thrown in. Frizee is stupid - bitter and totally unsatisfying to eat. Kale is good, when cooked to a spinach-like limpness and smothered with red wine vinegar. I’ll also eat kale when mixed in with other things – the vegan restaurant Angelica Kitchen in the East Village makes an amazing plate with seaweed, kale, steamed sweet potato, brown rice and tofu. That Wee Dragon Bowl with the Southern Style Cornbread, ginger carrot spread, and soup of the day is to die for when my body screams for fiber, nutrition, and passive aggressive thinly veiled contempt from a waiter. I also adore red Swiss chard.

But I don’t cook many of these very often. Sometimes I will buy a bunch of one green or another with the best of intentions, stuff it in the crisper drawer, and forget about it until it decomposes and is discovered as the source of that rotten smell of decay.

Like a lot of native North Westerners, collard greens were new to me when I moved to NYC. As a food popular in the southern US, rarely did its purveyors make their way to the often grey and misty upper left territories. But in the most diverse city in the world, southern delicacies are easy to come by – just like most any cuisine. My first few encounters with collards were in their usual form; long simmered with ham hock and bacon. Delicious. But I wondered about other, less meatified versions of cooking collards. While the traditional recipe is one I enjoy, I rarely have ham hock in my refrigerator, and usually my bacon is of the turkey variety.

Then came Restaurant Week in Brooklyn.

I had never taken advantage of Restaurant week – while I would LOVE to taste what the expensive, high-end restaurants have to offer on their Prix Fixe menus, usually 3 courses for a mere $20 – crowded, loud restaurants with trendy richers and poseurs slumming it with us plebeians just never held any appeal to me. But my experience last week with Tennille was enlightening. Maybe my original judgment was founded in places like Le Cirque (I say this not having the slightest idea what I’m talking about – maybe Le Cirque is a lovely place with lovely people, I’ve never been. I just know its name is usually used in a sentence following words like “Paris” and “Hilton” – two words when strung together tend to send a sliver of evil, and well, yes, envy, down my spine – but I wish her happiness and…self discovery, and a dose of unconditional love…from someone, hopefully her Daddy, who I suspect is the source of her very public attention pandering.)

So, after a day of “boutiquing”, during which I for the first time EVER bought a pair of designer jeans for more than $100, and expensive perfume oil, I was in an “I’m enjoying treating myself in a more-than-Old Navy-kind-of-way” kind of mood. We sat down for some decadent 4PM cocktails at a cute little bartique (I believe that’s two phrases I’ve coined in this paragraph) in Park Slope. I had a lychee martini. Are you kidding? It was so fruity and delicious, I had a second one. I don’t usually order the fruity drinks, but as I said, I was feeling decadent.

Leaving a bar when there's still daylight, with a buzz, tends to send the message “let’s eat!” to my feet. Knowing it was still Restaurant Week, we meandered down 5th avenue wondering if we could get into Applewood. Then we saw the mecca of untouchables in my restaurant rolodex. Blue Ribbon.

I associate Blue Ribbon with a few things: 1) After-restaurant-or-bartending-shift dinner. They’re open until like 4AM, and for people with a lot of cash in their pocket and a menu with a long list of appetizers it was always the perfect late night spot for my co-workers back in the day. 2) Bone marrow. One of my former fellow bartenders couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into their bone marrow with oxtail marmalade. I’m not kidding. 3) Best. Bread. Ever.

Blue Ribbon began in Manhattan, expanded to Blue Ribbon Sushi and Blue Ribbon Bakery, then spread its wings to the borough of Brooklyn, and landed in Park Slope – with Blue Ribbon and Blue Ribbon Sushi right next door to each other. I’ve drooled over their menu online countless times when searching for the perfect husband-Birthday dinner or Anniversary dinner meal. Since my husband’s Birthday happens to be on New Year’s Eve, I always ended up picking another more affordable option, to leave plenty of cash in the bank for presents and wine. And since we never really celebrated our “dating” anniversary formally, it was a little out of our league. But it has remained on the tip of my tasty palate of “must try for dinner sometime”.

I get a little bitter when I look at the prices, I must admit. There was one time while out with friends when we wanted dessert, and no one else was open, so we trudged into Blue Ribbon. We managed to get a table pretty quickly, and while their long list of sweets tempted me, I balked at the prices – “$11.50 for a strawberry ice cream sundae!? Call me when you’re serious!” but the phone rang and I picked it up, and it turned out they were serious. Very, very serious. If I had been allowed and not in public, and had I not been monitored by my bulimic (literally) friend, I would have licked the bowl of all its deep dark chocolate and fresh strawberry gooiness.

But dinner at Blue Ribbon eluded me, until now. We walked into a pretty packed bar, but at 5PM, still managed to get seats to perch on while we waited for our table. The bar tender was so friendly, in that “wait, is he flirting with me?” kind of way. The glass of Côtes du Rhône was very tasty, and 20 minutes later as we were escorted through the crowd of bar-stool vultures, I started hyperventilating a little bit.

We were seated on the middle banquette, packed in among other two tops, but it still felt private, and not like we were sitting on anyone’s lap. The prix fixe menu was promising; 3 courses for $21.12. We both picked the asparagus soup. Between the game hen and the sea bass, I selected the latter because it came with mashed potatoes and collard greens. Tennille was offered a grilled vegetable plate with spicy dipping sauce for a vegetarian option. The soup? Creamy and hearty at the same time. The fish? Flakey and steaky. The potatoes? Dreamy. And the collard greens? Inspiring. Hence, this post. But before I move on to my recipe, let me mention the dessert: Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding. Okay. Ummm…just like that Saturday evening a week ago, I am nearly speechless. Like no bread pudding I’ve ever tried – it was more like custard. There weren’t any strange bites with little crunchy chocolate chips like I feared. And the chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream? The perfect balance of sweet and flavor – not too sweet and sugary in that throat stinging kind of way. And the portions were so perfect, I was content but not uncomfortable after cleaning all my plates. And I cannot fail to mention the impeccable service. Friendly and available, and we were treated no differently than non-prix fixe customers.

So last night I decided to try my hand at collards. A friend once told me that “olive oil, garlic and pepper flakes make vegetables sing!” and I agree.

Spicy Sautéed Collard Greens

One bunch collard greens
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves (or 1Tb jarred minced garlic)
Salt
Vinegar (optional)

Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium high until very hot. Add garlic and pepper flakes. Wash collard greens, and tear leafs from stems. Discard stems. Chop or tear leafs into small, bite-sized pieces. When garlic and pepper flakes have softened, add greens to skillet and stir, coating the leaves. Cover, and reduce heat to medium/medium-low. Allow greens to steam/cook under lid for about 10 minutes stirring frequently, or until they have reduced significantly in size, and are a deep, dark green. Reduce heat to low. Allow to sit on low heat for another 10 or 15 minutes, or until a taste test indicates the leaves are tender and flavorful. Serve, splashed with vinegar if you desire.