Archives for February 2009

Mmm… Adobo

February 24, 2009 By Lorraine

adobo, originally uploaded by spo0on.

Got some chicken or pork? Some garlic? Vinegar? Then you can make adobo. Yes, that’s all you need.

Adobo is the Philippines’ national dish. Nearly anything can be “adobo-ed”- from chicken to pork (or, in most cases, chicken and pork), to squid, to spinach leaves.

The beauty of adobo is that you can go completely minimalist (as I described above), or add a lot of things to it, and still have a hearty, hot, absolutely awesome meal. Got a few peppers left from last week’s chili? Chop them up, add them in, and your adobo becomes spicy (and, dareisay, even better with rice). Have an open can of coconut milk in your fridge? Make it adobo sa gata, creamy and delicious. Or splash about a half-cup of light soy sauce (Chinese or Japanese- they’ll both be delicious) in, and make a darker adobo.

I’m not just saying that, either: this is how we eat in our house. Sure, we’ll have pasta or steaks or stir-fries, but at least once a week, probably twice or more, we have adobo. It’s just the easiest thing: put your meats, vinegar, garlic (lots of garlic, don’t be shy here), salt and pepper in a large pot, bring it to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer it until you can’t smell the sharpness of the vinegar. Serve with plain rice.

Thank God for Eggs

February 17, 2009 By Lorraine

My husband and I run two businesses from home, which means that we’re crazy busy almost all of the time. So busy, that sometimes we forget to stock the fridge, and suddenly it’s dinnertime, and we have almost nothing to cook.

I say almost nothing because there’s something we always have around here (necessary, when you run a baking business): eggs. Ah, eggs- they’ve been called nature’s most perfect food, and I know why. I mean, can you say versatile? Hard-boil them, slice them, season and mix in some mayonnaise, and you’ve got an awesome egg salad (or, as my French aunt likes to say, oeufs a la mayonnaise). Soft-boil them, slice off their tops, and serve with fleur de sel, and you’ve got a gourmet breakfast right there.

But tonight, I’m going even lazier, perhaps because I’ve got deadlines looming, an early-morning conference call, and not enough coffee in the house, and making some very simple, very awesome, scrambled eggs.

Now there’s a secret to making perfect scrambled eggs: be gentle with them. Stir them gently around the pan, don’t give them too much heat, and most importantly: never ever leave them alone.

For perfect Scrambled Eggs, all you need are:

4 Eggs, lightly whisked
4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (use salted if it’s all you’ve got. I’m a bit of a control freak about salt, is all)
Salt & Pepper

Melt the butter over low-medium heat (you do not want it to brown). Add whisked eggs, and start mixing it around the pan, slowly, gently. Once it looks a little set- still creamy and moist- take it off the heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Served on toasted bread, this is a delicious meal for two that takes all of five minutes to make.

How do you like your eggs?

Cookbook Review: Back of the Box Gourmet

February 9, 2009 By Lorraine

Nostalgia never goes out of style- especially in the kitchen. Who of us doesn’t crave the food we were brought up with- whether we got it from our moms, our grandmothers, or our family cooks?

And that’s the “why” behind the cookbook Back of the Box Gourmet, an absolute gem of a book I was lucky enough to pick up at a used books sale recently. “Back of the box” refers, of course, to the recipes that “have appeared on the backs of boxes, bottles, and packages”- yes, the very same recipes our moms and grandmothers and family cooks reached for when wondering what to make for dinner. From original Toll House Cookies, to Fluffer-Nutter Sandwiches, to Lipton Onion Burgers- these are American “classics” that don’t pretend to be fancy, and frankly don’t need to be.

On a particularly lazy afternoon last week, I tried out one of the recipes in the book: the Original Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake, which was first created by the wife of a Hellmann’s Mayonnaise sales distributor in 1937. Not quite as exotic as it sounds, the mayonnaise here replaces any eggs, oil and salt one would usually use in a chocolate cake recipe. The lemon juice in mayonnaise also adds tenderness to the cake- much as buttermilk (or the old buttermilk-replacement standby of milk and lemon juice!) would. The resulting cake? Deliciously moist, and extremely pleasing- especially because of the added dates and walnuts. I share the recipe with you here:

Original Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup boiling water

1 cup coarsely chopped dates

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 cup sugar

1 cup real mayonnaise (please use Hellmann’s or Best Foods)

6 tablespoons grated unsweetened chocolate (I used regular baking chocolate, but you could use a bittersweet bar and remove part of the sugar)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups unsifted cake flour

Grease and flour a 9x9x2-inch baking pan. In a small bowl, stir baking soda and boiling water together until dissolved. Stir in dates and nuts. In a large bowl with mixer on low speed, beat sugar and mayonnaise together until well mixed. Add grated chocolate and vanilla; beat until blended. Add date mixture; beat. Gradually beat in flour until smooth. Turn into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this cookbook, though, is author Michael McLaughlin’s “Gilding the Lily” notes at the end of each recipe. In them, he suggests additions or changes to the recipes. For the HERSHEY’S Hot Fudge Sauce, for example, he suggests stirring in 2 or 3 tablespoons of Grand Marnier, dark rum, or Kahlua, into the finished sauce. Yum.

Back of the Box Gourmet is available at Amazon.

Super Bowls of Awesomeness

February 2, 2009 By Lorraine

Superbowl Sunday is over! Do you know where your chicken wings are?

Chances are, the answer is in your tummy- along with other traditional Superbowl goodies. Every year, American food bloggers start posting some of the most sinfully delicious recipes in the days leading up to the Superbowl. This year was no different- from spicy Buffalo wings to pico de gallo, from jazzed up onion dips to cheese balls that make you go weak at the knees, the best thing about Superbowl recipes is that they’re actually great all year round. Here, a round-up of my favorites this year:

Chicken Wings
Can you have Superbowl without wings? Ree Drummond over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks posted a link to her classic Wings recipe, which I’ve made several times and love fiercely. For something a little different, check out Priscilla’s Tempura Chicken Wings, which use a sweet soy marinade instead of the usual hot sauce.

Chili
A bowl of Chili is, for me, one of the greatest comfort foods around. This year, Style Slacker’s Chipotle Chocolate Gourmet Chili had my mouth watering just reading the recipe. And because I’m trying to cut down on my meat consumption, I’m loving the Adventurous Vegan’s recipe for Big Paul’s Chili – because yes, Vegans can have fun in the kitchen too.

More Finger Food
Forget the forks and knives, and grab these:
Ed Levine’s Bacon-Cheddar Popcorn – truly inspired. Must. eat. this.
Simply Recipes’ Chicharrones de Pollo – yes, chicken again, but little fried bits of heaven? Yes, please.
And again from the Pioneer Woman, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies – made with just three ingredients, and seriously addictive.

Sweet Stuff
Slashfood linked to Nigella’s (yes, there’s only one Nigella) Peanut Butter Squares as a Superbowl treat, but really- couldn’t you eat these every day? The same could be said of The Bumbling Baker’s Guinness Cupcakes, which she initially made for St. Patrick’s Day, but are perfect for Superbowl (hello, they’ve got beer in them!) or, like I said, any day.

So there you have it: my favorite Superbowl recipes, to be enjoyed after the Superbowl- because they’re that awesome.