Avocado Mayo

From The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook, tenth edition

As mayonnaise goes this was pretty good. I served it on tomato slices as a side.

Not life-changing, but a nice something to do with avocado.

A Saucy Side of Green & Gold

This was a good side dish,  but you have to like the taste of sesame (which it so happens I do). I liked the contrasting colors. Substituting the orange for the lime was done out of necessity (started cooking before I realized we'd used-up all the limes) but it worked out well. Still, I look forward to the slightly sharper bit of the lime juice the next time I make this one.

     Broccoli and Carrots with Lime Citrus Dressing
     from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

• 2 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 3 stalks broccoli, heads cut into florets, stalks (if using) peeled and sliced on the diagonal

     Dressing

• 1 Tbls dark sesame oil
• 1 Tbls soy sauce
• 2 tsp honey
• 3 Tbls fresh lime juice (I substituted freshly squeezed orange juice)
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• dash of chili oil, Tabasco, or other hot pepper sauce (optional)

1. Bring about 2 inches of water to a rapid boil in a covered pot. When the water boils, add the vegetables, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, until tender but firm.
2. While the vegetables cook, mix together all of the dressing ingredients. 
3. Drain the vegetables, plunge them into cold water, drain again, and chill until ready to serve or serve at room temperature.
4. Just before serving, toss the vegetables with the dressing.

 Counts as number 7 toward my 2012 goal of 24 sauces/dressings!

Re-trying the Refrito Spread

Another recipe from The New Laurel's Kitchen (I know, I know. I should just marry this book already), and this one is really, really good, you guys! The official attempt recorded below is technically from our second batch. The first time we mistakenly misread the part where the onion and garlic should be cooked, and so we chopped them up and added them raw; that made a passable sandwich spread, but left your breath pungent enough to strip the bark off a tree. This time, by (ahem) following the directions, we were able to more completely and less stinkily enjoy this fabulous dish as a dip.

Whip some up and serve at your next office potluck, family picnic, or just bring the entire giant bowl into bed with you and scarf down on dip and chips while watching Angel on Amazon Prime.

Refrito Spread

• 1 1/2 cup cooked, well-drained pinto, kidney, or black beans
• 1 bunch scallions or a big onion
• 1 Tbs oil
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 chopped green pepper or chopped green chili pepper
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt

   Mash the beans. You should end up with about a cup.
   Chop the onion and saute with whole garlic cloves in oil. When the onion is done, crush the garlic with a fork. Add the spices and the green pepper. (If you are a chili fan, you can use green chilies instead of the pepper.) Cook until the pepper is softened and the spices are fragrant.
   Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add beans and mix. Add cheese and salt, and check the flavor:  if the beans were unsalted you may need more salt.
   Makes about 1 3/4 cups. 

I used pinto beans and substituted tomato salsa for the green pepper (didn't have any on hand and was feeling too lazy to chop up a Jalapeno). Delicious!

Count this as "sauce" number 6 of 24. Don't call me a cheater.

Puerto Rican Vinaigrette

I have no idea if this recipe authentically represents the popular salad dressings of Puerto Rico (though who am I to disagree with Fannie), but to whomever can rightly claim this dressing I say: bravo!

Very tasty twist to your classic French vinaigrette and an excellent way to bedazzle a simple green salad.

Puerto Rico Dressing 
from The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook 

Mix in a bottle or a jar with a cover

• 1/2 cup olive or salad oil
• 1 Tbls mild vinegar
• 1 Tbls lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 clove garlic
• 2 Tbls chopped olives
• 1 Tbls tomato catsup

Cover. when ready to serve, remove the garlic and shake hard to blend. Makes 1/2 cup.

Other than substituting ketchup for the catsup (hah!) I made it according to recipe and then tossed with a green salad. It was debuted at a potluck and we watched it fly out of the bowl--a hit!

Dressing number 5 toward 24.

Charosis

Another Passover recipe from last month, because it wouldn't have been Passover without the mortar.

Charosis
from Love and Knishes

2 tart apples
1/4 cup nuts (preferably walnuts) [I used pecans]
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp honey
1 Tbls Passover wine

Pare and core apples. Chop apples and nuts together finely. Add cinnamon, honey and wine. Makes about 2 cups / Serves 10-12.

 Nothing especially fancy about the recipe, but just because it's basic doesn't mean it's flavorless. On the contrary, this was enjoyed this as much as any apple sauce the consistency of brick mortar can be enjoyed. Which = we loved it. I absconded with the leftovers of work lunches and felt guilty about it. It's that splash of wine, I think, that really kicks it up a notch. Mmmmmm.

Sauce #4 of my goal of 24.

BBQ Sauce

My husband was grilling for the first time this year and felt inspired to make homemade barbecue sauce. He kindly let me whip it together so I could claim it for this blog. Hurray! Another sauce toward this year's goal (3rd of 24)!

From the Joy of Cooking:

Barbecue Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbls dry mustard
• 4 Tbls chili powder, or to taste
• 1 Tbls grated, peeled fresh ginger, or 1 tsp ground
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbls vegetable oil
• 3 sliced lemon

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the sauce comes to a simmer.  

Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the lemon slices if desired.  

This sauce will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 2 cups.

Our verdict:  It was much thinner than what you expect from a commercially-bottled sauce, but it was tasty. I don't know if I'd rush to make this exact recipe again;  I would probably try out a few different BBQ sauce versions from my other cookbooks, to compare to this one. But certainly it was fine. Had a zest to it. Easy to make. All-in-all to be considered a successful receipe.

Yogurt Sauce

Faced with a rapidly expiring (already past date, but still good) container of plain yogurt, I turned to Laurel's Kitchen for inspiration.

from The New Laurel's Kitchen:

Yogurt Sauce

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbls oil [I used EVOO]
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds [I only had about 1/8 cup. Just fine.]
• 1 Tbls lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp salt [I used a bit more. I like my salt!]
• pepper to taste [I also like my pepper!]
• 1/2 - 1 cup plain yogurt [I used a heaping cup]

Saute the onion in the oil. In a separate pan, toast the sesame seeds [takes just a few mins, constantly sturring the seeds]. Put all ingredients into the blender [food processor] and puree. Thin if desired with additional yogurt or buttermilk [I didn't need to thin].

The recipe intro had suggested this sauce as a nice accompanyment to boiled potatoes, for a potato salad. And, whatdoyaknow but I had rapidly expiring (but still hangin' in there!) red potatoes in the cupboard. Boiled them in their jackets and sliced them up. Combined the taters and the sauce. Perfect.

An excellent way to cook with plain yogurt. And another sauce for my Twenty-Four-New-Sauces-in-2012 self-challenge!

Brown Rice & Resolutions

As part of my new year's resolutions I decided to make at least 24 new sauces (or dips or dressings) in 2012. Sometimes it's too much to make an entirely new main dish, but a new salad dressing seems doable. And I'm happy to inform you that January isn't even half over and I've already succeeded in making a new sauce! (Please, hold your applause until the end. Thank you very much, though, thank you.)

from The New Laurel's Kitchen:

     Stroganoff Sauce

1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbls cornstarch

1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 Tbls butter
1/3 - 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1/4 tsp salt or 1 Tbls shoyu
black pepper

Combine buttermilk and cornstarch and set aside. Saute onion and garlic in butter until soft. Crush the garlic with a fork. Stir in mushrooms and cook just until tender. Remove mushrooms and juices from the pan and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Stir and cook until thickened, then return the mushrooms and their juices to the pan. Season with salt (or shoyu) and pepper.

The recipe claims to taste "like a sour cream sauce," and I suppose it does. And I even cheated a bit when I made it by substituting vinegar in milk rather than using the buttermilk that was called for (tell me I'm not the only one who doesn't ever have buttermilk on hand?) I also used dried mushrooms instead of fresh (soaked in boiling water for 10 mins to reconstitute), and they worked great.

Overall, I'm happy with the sauce, but I admit that when I first tasted it I thought it was just okay. What took it from okay to happy? Putting it on the bestest, most delicous rice ever.

I made this rice almost as an afterthought (had to put my sauce on something) and am still amazed by how wonderful brown rice is when done right. I'm not kidding. I'm a convert. No more brown rice in the rice cooker,  not ever again. This is the way it should be:

from Nourishing Traditions:


     Basic Brown Rice I
     (unsoaked rice)
    

2 cups long-grain brown rice
2 Tbls butter
2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 cardamom pods
4 cups stock or combination of water and stock
1/2 tsp sea salt

In a heavy, flameproof casserole, melt butter and olive oil. Open cardamom pods and add seeds to the casserole. Saute rice in butter and oil, stirring constantly, until rice begins to turn milky. Pour in liquid, add salt and bring to a rolling boil. Boil, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until water has reduced to the level of the rice. Reduce flame to lowest heat, cover tightly and cook for at least 1 1/2 hours or as long as 3 hours. Do not remove lid during cooking. Serves 6-8.

My rice took exactly the 1 1/2 hours on the stovetop. And. It. Was. Wonderful. It sounds ridiculous, to say rice tasted wonderful. But I'm serious, cross my heart and everything. Wonderful.

Sauce + Rice = superb side for dinner and delectible leftovers for lunch (which I'm eating right now). Very, very pleased with this receipe attempt! (This is what I'd hoped for, starting Wellcookbooked!)

You may now applaud.

Thanksgiving Review

Hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed as mine! My husband and I and our girls celebrated at home, just the four of us this year, so we held back on creating too many dishes (okay, my husband reminded me to hold back), and it all turned out very well, over all. I'll be setting up the hyperlinks to my posts on the dishes below as I have time to write them. Stay tuned!

New dishes:
Onion-Cranberry Compote (see below)
Sweet Potato Puree
Cranberry Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

Dishes I've mentioned before:
Sandy's Gingered Squash
Cranberry Sauce


And Justin slow-roasted a turkey and we had Riesling, sparkling pear juice, and coffee.

Really very good!



As an alternate to my usual sweetened cranberry sauce I decided to try out a more savory version this year. And it was good. Very good. (Is it disturbing that so far my only greatest Thanksgiving acheivements can be categorized under "sauce, cranberry")?

From Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions:

Onion-Cranberry Compote

• 1 1/3 cup raisins [the recipe calls for both yellow & dark raisins, I just used all dark]
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 lbs small white onions, peeled [I used 1 large yellow onion]
• 3 Tbls butter
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 2/3 cups fresh cranberries

Soak raisins in water for 10 mins. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until well coated. Add raisins with soaking liquid and remaining ingredients except cranberries. Liquid should just cover the onions--if not, add a little water. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove cover, add cranberries and simmer uncovered for 15 to 30 mins until liquid has thickened. Let cool. Maybe made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature. Makes 4 cups.

What I most liked about this recipe was it blended so well with the rest of the holiday food! Truly a delicious relish. I personally plan to make this one again next year. Not to replace the sweeter version, but to complement it and give diners a more flavorful plate.

My Fannie

Alas, my heinie is getting bigger monthly even without me cooking (perhaps because I'm not cooking). But that's not the subject of this post. I'm talking about the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. What a fun book.

Its full title is The All New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook.

::talk about a mouthful!::

My tenth edition copy was purchased for $1 at St Vincent's and hails from some tidy kitchen in 1959. I fear that the previous owner cooked nary an item from the book, it's in such pristine condition. I hope to spill upon it some spaghetti sauce or some other gooey nummy substance so it at least appears to have been loved by someone.

One bit I find amusing: this edition contains the preface to the first edition (1896), a quote which reveals Fannie's hope for a near-future America that I don't believe has yet been realized:

"... the time is not far distant when a knowledge of the principles of diet will be an essential part of one's education. Then mankind will eat to live, will be able to do better mental and physical work, and disease will be less frequent." 

Can't say that America is here as she'd predicted, but still nice, no?

I am perhaps overly proud that I have actually MADE SOMETHING from this cookbook. I'd forgotten about it when I'd written my last post. I made---wait for it---French Dressing. That's right! A vinaigrette. Fancy.

French Dressing

Mix in a bottle or jar with a cover

1/2 cup olive or salad oil

2 Tbs mild vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 clove garlic

Cover. When ready to serve, remove the garlic and shake hard to blend. Makes 1/2 cup.

Here's what I don't understand. If you buy French dressing at the grocery store, it's red. It's sweet and red. But when you make it from a recipe it's your regular every-day vinaigrette like you'd imagine your store-bought Italian to be. 

I don't really understand it. I just accept it.