Recipe for Steamed Eyeball

What do you do with fresh jalapeno peppers? It's surprisingly hard to come up with uses for 6 whole peppers that don't involve a giant vat of salsa. When repeatedly given peppers by my CSA I decided to try my hand at jalapeno cheddar cornbread to go with my world famous chili. Having a penchant for spicy food but no experience cooking with chili peppers, you can imagine that my first attempt was somewhat foolhardy. Everybody thinks they can handle more heat than the average person right? Especially when the recipe is from Ina Garten.

It wasn't the spice that got me. I still think I'm right in leaving some of the seeds and membranes in, otherwise what's the point? The problem arose when I attempted to put my contacts in. {Insert bloodcurdling scream here.} I immediately pried my eye open, took my contact out and put my glasses back on only to find that my glasses steamed up on that one side. You heard that right. My eyeball was literally steaming. My eye doctor thought it was hilarious. I did not.

Other than that, this is a good recipe for a beginner baker. I've actually made it twice, tweaking it to get the right texture. I really wanted a moist cornbread that didn't fall apart, so I used an additional egg. I also used less than the 2 sticks of butter suggested. Only certain southern Food Network chefs who shall remain nameless need that much butter in one batch of cornbread. I'm not sure what Ina was thinking.

Beginners French

French food is an anomaly. I think a lot of home chefs are probably inspired by French cooking, but how often does one sit down and conciously make a French meal? (Or maybe you do, what do I know?) Other ethnic cuisines are very distinct in their ingredients - throw in some cilantro and call it Mexican or add some ginger and suddenly it becomes Asian.

But I think French is more about technique, culture, subtlety and intimidation. Even though I bought a French cookbook and find that most of the recipes are surprisingly simple and use few ingredients, the thought of making a Daube de Boeuf Provencal in my tiny kitchen fills me with dread. I think I need to ease myself into it with dishes that don't require any classical training, advanced knife skills, fancy gadgets, or pricey ingredients. Pair such a recipe with local, seasonal ingredients, slap a beret on me and cue the soundtrack from Amélie.

Inspired by some giant leeks from the farmer's market, a bottle of wine, and "Drunken Angel Hair with Leeks and Cream" from Serious Eats, I got to cooking. See them for the recipe because shockingly I followed it pretty closely. Ok, I didn't use the chervil. Oh, and I added a handful of frozen peas and some sauteed mushrooms.

Here's my mise en place, which incidently is French for "putting in place." The leeks, mushrooms, and cream were local.

Washing the leeks is the most labor intensive part. Leeks, and especially ones from the farmer's market, have a ton of grit. The only way to clean them is to slice them and soak in a big pot of water. Swish thoroughly and the grit will fall to the bottom.

Here is the finished product, topped with plenty of parmesan cheese. It made for plenty of great leftovers, but it's probably not a "Single Serving" recipe unless you've got time on your hands and people to share with.

Centennial Celebration!

In honor of my 100th post, I've decided to reflect on some of my favorite recipes. If you haven't noticed by now, I like lists and I like ranking things. I'm not really sure why. But anyways here are my top 10 favorite dishes that I've cooked. I've already written about some, but others are what I call "from the archives." I'll try to provide recipes and pictures at a later date. They're chosen for ease of preparation but mostly taste. And, if I might add, they are mostly vegetarian (or pescetarian for all you sticklers out there.)

10. Shrimp Scampi

9. Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

8. Roasted Fennel with Lemon and Parmesan

7. Eggs "Mi Rancho" (My version of huevos ranchero)

6. Panzanella

5. Southwestern Rice Casserole

4. Eggplant Parm

3. "Green" Caldo

2. Vegetable Lasagna

1. Vegetarian Chili

It's All Greek to Me

Ah Greek Lady. How I miss living near you so I can savor your delicious gyros and gigantic salads whenever I want. Your veg gyro is a magic meatless combination of crispy golden fries, creamy tatziki, lettuce, tomato and onions all wrapped up in a thick but fluffy pita. My mouth waters at the mere thought of it. (Although in my thoughts I get the lamb gyro instead.)

I figured it couldn't be that hard to recreate. The only part that requires thought is the tzatziki and I've been making a ton with the plethora of cucumbers I've received. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 containter plain greek yogurt

1 cucumber, small to medium

Juice of 1 lemon

Couple cloves garlic

Dice the cucumber- seeds, skin and all. Also mince or crush the garlic. Mix everything into the yogurt with some salt and pepper. Let sit for a little in the fridge for a little before eating with pita chips or veggies.

For these gyros, all I did was buy some flatbread, frozen french fries -of course you can make your own- lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Mine was veg (I swear) but as you can see Fred added some chicken. Clearly not as good as the original. I want to know what kind of bread they use because supermarket pitas and flatbreads are dry and bland. Other than the bread, it wasn't half bad though.

At Home With the Hatrocks

Sometimes it's nice to go out, but most of the time I would rather cook and entertain at home. Alas, my apartment can barely fit 2 people and the seating option is my bed. Intimate, maybe. But not exactly the ambiance for a dinner party.

So any time someone wants to cook for me I'm there! I'm so excited to find people who appreciate home cooking as much as I do. I'm even more excited to find people who really know how to cook. When the Hatrocks invited Fred and me over for paella I knew I was in for a treat. Paella is an ambitious undertaking involving specialty ingredients like saffron and even a special type of pan. Surprisingly, the Hatrocks used brown rice. I don't eat a lot of brown rice, but I have to say it was the perfect texture and really held up to all the other ingredients in a way that more delicate types of rice might not have. It also created the desirable crust on the bottom of the pan.

Like me, the Hatrocks kind of made it up as they went using a little of this and a little of that. Maybe they don't have a recipe, but I'm hoping they will share the ingredients and maybe some tips. It was a spectuclar summer meal, and I can't wait to return the favor. Just maybe not at my place.

Guest Blogger Betty Presents:

Single Serving: Solo Suppers (Betty's Book Review)

Hello Food Fans!

My involvement in the blog has been anything but consistent this summer. I think calling it sparse is being too nice. But in any event, I am back and I thought my return post would complement Wilma's recent love of all things single by reviewing a cookbook for solo chefs.

As you may know from reading older posts, Wilma and I visited Portland, Oregon where we ate some of the best meals of our lives. Therefore, it is no surprise that while in Portland I purchased one of my favorite cook books from the world famous Powell Books. If you are not familiar with Powell, let me tell you that it is one of the coolest bookstores I have ever visited. The store encompasses an entire city block. Powell prides itself on being an independent bookstore with millions of new and used books at competitive prices. Despite its size, it was fairly easy to navigate the book categories. It was my mistake I ended up by the cookbooks. I was actually trying to find Wilma and the Great Gazoo at our meeting place when I took a wrong turn by the children’s books. And to my benefit, I found a great book by Joyce Goldstein called Solo Suppers.

Wilma is right! Singles are an overlooked market. Singles are one of the fastest growing segments, according to Joyce, representing about twenty seven percent of the U.S. population. As most of you know, cookbook recipes are designed to feed four to six servings. What about the single servings? Well here is a book that shows you how to cook, shop, and reinvent meals to eliminate throwing out food. All of her recipes begin with a personal connection to dish and a lot of them share a way to transform the dish or make substitution according to pantry. This book provides tips and advice along with over a hundred recipes that making cooking for yourself simple and inexpensive.

One of my favorite dishes is the “Spaghetti alla Carbonara,” on page 72. It could not be easier to make. All you need is pasta, an egg, parmesan cheese, pancetta or regular bacon, and your basic salt, pepper, butter, and olive oil. Now I know what you may be thinking - sounds like a heart attack – and I would not recommend that this be a staple in your diet. However, it is a great comfort food that you can make without going out to the grocery store and little prep/cooking time. What attract me to this dish, besides it’s delicious picture on the cover, was the personal connect Joyce shares in the beginning of the recipe about her first time eating spaghetti alla carbonara in Rome. That image surrounded me as I was making the dish.

So check out Solo Suppers. I hope you enjoy it like I have. Also, if you know of any other cookbook, websites, articles, etc. related to the solo chef, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Unsung Heroes

The folks over at Serious Eats posed the following challenge: highlight ingredients that usually don't get much respect in the kitchen. I just posted about my pantry staples and have been giving a lot of thought to what you can do with very little. Being on a budget means finding creative uses for inexpensive ingredients is a necessity. I recently found myself in a bind with little time to spare and was saved by my favorite underappreciated item: a humble can of beans.

When beans are on sale I have a field day, buying them in every variety and storing them away like a squirrel. Kidney beans, black beans, and cannellini beans can turn into hearty and satisfying meals for practically nothing. Besides the usual applications like chili or rice and beans, I'd like to highlight their power to stretch pricier ingredients without sacrificing flavor. I'd been dying to roast up an eggplant for some baba ghanouj, the delicious Middle Eastern eggplant dip with lemon, garlic and tahini. When dinner for one became dinner with Fred's friends, the Hatrocks, I realized that my small eggplant might not be enough to feed 4. Enter the hero of the hour, a can of cannellini beans. It also had the added value of replacing the pricey tahini in the original recipe by providing the same flavor and texture. The result is somewhat hummus-like but definitely retains the rich roasted eggplant flavor.

Ingredients

1 small or medium eggplant

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

A few cloves of garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

Splash of olive oil

Optional: paprika

Cut the top off the eggplant and wrap the whole thing in foil. Roast at 350 degrees until it's nice and soft all the way through. This might take up to an hour. Meanwhile wrap a few garlic cloves in foil and pop in alongside the eggplant for about 10 minutes until slightly soft. When the eggplant is done and cooled enough to handle, throw everything in a food processer or blender with some salt and pepper. I like it a little chunky, but it's up to you. I also like all of the eggplant skin but somepeople might not. I toasted up some pita bread which is a million times cheaper than buying pita chips at the store. I also sliced up a pepper from my CSA to serve alongside.