Usually not a big fan of pumpkin, but around the Fall holidays I usually make a few pumpkin treats.
Recipe acquired from:
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I will admit these were good :)
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Hawaiian Pizza
Hawaiian Pizza! My favorite kind of pizza ever!
Tried out Trader Joes Pizza Dough- pizza dough was a success!
The most essential ingredient- Pineapple! In this case I had chopped up a fresh pineapple.
For pizza sauce I used some homemade pasta sauce made from fresh vegetables from my Aunt's garden! Yum yum!
Mozzarella and Canadian bacon.
Time to assemble the pizza! First sauce...
Then toppings...
Then cheeeeese!
Bake into golden, melty goodness! :)
Monday, January 14, 2013
Middle Eastern Feast
Here's three new recipes that I had had bookmarked for a while and finally decided to make on my days off!
Lamb stuffed eggplant.
Recipe from: http://www.gnom-gnom.com/stuffed-eggplant-with-lamb-and-pine-nuts/
In this recipe I made a few changes- I substituted almonds in place of pine nuts and I left out the tamarind paste.
First roast the eggplants for a bit.
Cumin, paprika and cinnamon
Cook the onion with the spices and then add ground lamb, almonds, parsley, and tomato paste.
Pile lamb mixture on top of the eggplants. Then you mix spices with water and lemon juice and pour into the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake 1 1/2 hours. Open up to baste with the cooking liquid a few times and to add water if needed.
Blend together in a food processor until a crumbly paste is formed
The dough for the cookies is made from Semolina flour, (another new ingredient for me!) regular flour, sugar, butter, rose water and orange blossom water. After kneading the dough you let it rest for 30 minutes.
Form dough into pots and fill with a Tbsp of the nut filling and then seal, roll into ball and flatten. Place formed cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes.
Out of the three recipes that I tried I was most impressed with the cookies! A little bit of work was involved, but it was totally worth it!
Lamb stuffed eggplant.
Recipe from: http://www.gnom-gnom.com/stuffed-eggplant-with-lamb-and-pine-nuts/
In this recipe I made a few changes- I substituted almonds in place of pine nuts and I left out the tamarind paste.
First roast the eggplants for a bit.
Cumin, paprika and cinnamon
Cook the onion with the spices and then add ground lamb, almonds, parsley, and tomato paste.
Pile lamb mixture on top of the eggplants. Then you mix spices with water and lemon juice and pour into the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake 1 1/2 hours. Open up to baste with the cooking liquid a few times and to add water if needed.
The next recipe I tried was tabouli!
Basically you mix bulger, chopped onion, tomato, lots of parsley and lemon juice together.
The last recipe was for Ma'amoul, a shortbread like cookie filled with a date and nut mixture.
For this recipe I got rose water and orange blossom water, which I have always wanted to try!
Very floral!
Walnuts and dates for the filling.
For the filling I used almonds, walnuts, dates, sugar, cinnamon, rose water and orange blossom water.
The dough for the cookies is made from Semolina flour, (another new ingredient for me!) regular flour, sugar, butter, rose water and orange blossom water. After kneading the dough you let it rest for 30 minutes.
Form dough into pots and fill with a Tbsp of the nut filling and then seal, roll into ball and flatten. Place formed cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes.
Out of the three recipes that I tried I was most impressed with the cookies! A little bit of work was involved, but it was totally worth it!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Culinary adventures with Dom
Here are some long overdue pictures from the last time I visited my best bud Dominique McManus up in the Bay Area!
I have been dreaming about these pizzas we made ever since...
Pictured here is a brussel sprout, goat cheese and bacon pizza and a bacon and shrimp pizza about to go into the oven.
Yay for cute dogs!
Here are two pizzas fresh out of the oven- asparagus with thinly sliced lemon and goat cheese, and a vegetarian.
We visited The Fat Cactus Grill- which features some very unique tacos! We had kangaroo, duck, ostrich and alligator. I wanted rabbit, but they were out of that! The alligator was pretty chewy, but the rest weren't bad. My favorite was the duck taco with habanero mango salsa.
A chilly bike ride from Plesanton to Livermore yielded this pretty view!
We rode bikes to brunch where I got this delicious Blood Mary!
I have been dreaming about these pizzas we made ever since...
Pictured here is a brussel sprout, goat cheese and bacon pizza and a bacon and shrimp pizza about to go into the oven.
Here are two pizzas fresh out of the oven- asparagus with thinly sliced lemon and goat cheese, and a vegetarian.
We visited The Fat Cactus Grill- which features some very unique tacos! We had kangaroo, duck, ostrich and alligator. I wanted rabbit, but they were out of that! The alligator was pretty chewy, but the rest weren't bad. My favorite was the duck taco with habanero mango salsa.
We rode bikes to brunch where I got this delicious Blood Mary!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Chiles en nogada
A Frida Kahlo inspired birthday party!
I have a cookbook Frida's Fiestas written by Diego Rivera's daughter, Guadalupe Rivera about life with Frida and her recipes. It goes through different celebrations throughout the year and the foods that Frida would make for each occasion.
Flower headbands for the women and mini bottles of patron for the men!
Frida would have approved of the colorful paper banners and flowers! The beautiful serving dishes were a gift from my parents!
I have a cookbook Frida's Fiestas written by Diego Rivera's daughter, Guadalupe Rivera about life with Frida and her recipes. It goes through different celebrations throughout the year and the foods that Frida would make for each occasion.
Stuffed Chayotes
Green, white, and red rice- colors of the Mexican flag!
Chiles en nogada- a dish also inspired by the colors of the Mexican flag! I have eaten this dish several times in restaurants, but have always wanted to try to make the recipe myself. It is a poblano chile, roasted, and stuffed with the mixture of ground pork and fruit. It is then topped with a creamy walnut sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds.
Mason's beans- This was a recipe of pinto beans flavored with bacon and chorizo.
A plate of deliciousness (and hours of hard work!)
I went with the theme and had my sister draw a unibrow to complete the look.
Thanks to my mom and sister for all their help in making this delicious feast and also for preparing and decorating for the fiesta!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Eggplant Parmesan
This recipe was inspired by an excess of cheese acquired at a pizza making party! I decided to put the ricotta and mozzarella to good work in this easy and delicious casserole.
In my dealings with eggplant I have had both good and bad experiences trying to prepare it. I think that for success the eggplant just needs a little extra time and love to bring out its deliciousness!
In traditional Eggplant Parmesan recipes the eggplant is breaded and fried. In this easier and more healthful version the eggplant is roasted, and crunch is added by topping the dish with panko bread crumbs.
Recipe found on this blog: http://lickmyspoon.com/recipes/ridiculously-good-baked-eggplant-parm/
Eggplant is brushed with oil and salted and then baked at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Flip eggplant halfway through baking time. Be forewarned that the eggplant shrinks down a lot when you bake it.
Layer tomato sauce, eggplant, ricotta and mozzarella, more eggplant, more sauce, and more cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees covered for 25 minutes. Then uncover, add panko bread crumbs, and bake another 20 minutes.
In my dealings with eggplant I have had both good and bad experiences trying to prepare it. I think that for success the eggplant just needs a little extra time and love to bring out its deliciousness!
Recipe found on this blog: http://lickmyspoon.com/recipes/ridiculously-good-baked-eggplant-parm/
Eggplant is brushed with oil and salted and then baked at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Flip eggplant halfway through baking time. Be forewarned that the eggplant shrinks down a lot when you bake it.
This is the second time that I have made this recipe with success! The eggplant shrunk down a lot when I roasted it so I think that next time I make it I would use even more eggplant!
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