Good Noms Valentine's 2: Soup

Part 1
Part 2 of the great Valentine's meal posts (but really part 1 of the meal itself) is wonton soup.
Wonton Soup

• Chicken broth - 2 cups
• Ground beef - 1/2 lb
• Green onions - 1/2 stalk
• Onion - 1/2
• Leek - 1/2 stalk
• Ginger - 2 tbsp
• Wonton wrappers
• Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
  
• Rice Vinegar - 1 tbsp
  
• Brown sugar - 1 tbsp
• Sesame oil
  

Cut the leek to separate the white part of the stalk from the leafy part. Dice the white part. Mince ginger. Chop up half the amount of each type of onion. Add brown sugar, a little bit of salt and pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar. Mix all these with the meat in a bowl.
Chop up the green part of the leek. Thinly slice the rest of the onion. Set that, the second half of the green onion (chopped) and the leek aside.

Dollop out the meat mixture into the wrappers. Dip your fingers in water to seal up the edges as you pinch them together. Don't overstuff or they'll explode.

Heat up the chicken broth (or vegetable or beef) to near boiling, then pop in the wontons. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add in all your set-aside veggies. Cook for another 10 minutes, until the wontons get floaty and soft looking. Right before serving add a tiny dash of sesame oil for an awesome smell.

Good Noms Valentine's 1: Risotto

This is part one of a three part series that encompasses the meal that Tu made for me on Valentine's day. This meal has rekindled in me a fiery burning passion ... for beets. I seriously love beets. I guess Tu isn't bad, either.

So, Risotto.

• 2 cups arborio rice
• 8 oz mushrooms of your choice (shiitake)
• 3-4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 oz grated parmesan
• dried parsley
  
• 1 oz Grey Goose*

Clean and cut the mushrooms. Sautee them in a small amount of the oil. Set aside. In a thick bottomed (heh) pot, put the rice into the oil on medium heat. Give a stir to coat. When it becomes glossy and transparent and you start to hear sizzle, you will first add the vodka**, then begin adding the broth. You will add half a cup at a time and wait until mostly absorbed to add the next half cup, stirring constantly. This will take about a half hour. Have fun.

When you are on your last half-cup of broth, throw in your sauteed mushrooms and parsley. When the last half cup is absorbed, add the cream and turn off the heat. Stir in the grated cheese. Let rest a bit to thicken. You now might be as good a risotto maker as old Italian ladies. For everyone's best, though, don't challenge them. Feel free to speak with an appropriate accent for the rest of the day.

For complete meal ideas, tune in next week.

*Typically you should use white wine. Tu thinks that since the dish is grains, and the grape (wine) is a berry, it doesn't go well together. Vodka, however, is made from grains/root vegetables, so makes more sense. If you'd rather use wine, it's about 4 oz.

**If you are using wine, add it in-between your stock portions in increments

Good Noms spinach dip

Ingredients:

• Spinach - 1 bunch - 2 frozen packages (thawed and drained)
• Bacon - 4 slices
• Cream cheese - 6 oz
• Heavy cream - 1 cup
• Cheese of your choice - 1 cup
• 1/2 stick of butter
  
• Garlic powder, salt

Cook the bacon and place on paper towel to drain.
Rinse and chop up the spinach.
Melt some butter in a pot, add the cream. When the mixture begins to bubble, turn off the heat and add the shredded cheese, stirring vigorously.
Preheat the oven to 350. Once the mixture begins to thicken slightly, add the spinach and leave on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the cream cheese and the garlic powder and a tiny bit of grated Parmesan cheese (optional) and salt. Place into a baking dish, chop up the bacon, sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. It will thicken as it cools. Enjoy warm. I recommend these chips. Delicious and nutritious.

Good Noms gingersnaps.

I was craving cookies and seeing as we were snowed in completely (everything was closed), I just made my own. Thank goodness for a stocked baking cabinet. I will never stop recommending buying 2-3 different types of flour, sugar, and all your spices at once, even if you don't need them (provided you bake on some sort of regular basis).

Gingersnaps:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

I skipped the sugar dip on some of the cookies (because honestly, the thought of so much sugar scares me). I even reduced the white sugar from 3/4 cup called for in the original recipe. These cookies were great starting with the dough. It was the perfect moist, but not sticky consistency. The King Arthur whole wheat flour hides perfectly in the rich brown color, so you can even sneak these to your less health conscious friends - they won't be able to tell! I didn't use proper measurements for the spices, my teaspoons came out heaping, and the smell of the baking/done cookies was insanely tantalizing. Not for those of us that don't like spice, though. If you want less fat, you can substitute apple sauce for half the butter. They are super soft and chewy when done. Mmm.

Good Noms gets cheesy

It's my birthday this week, and I made myself a cake. It's a really simple recipe.
Cheesecake:
Crust-

• Graham crackers (one of the three individually wrapped packages in a box)
• Butter - 1/2 stick

Cake-

• Cream cheese - 3 packages
• Egg - 1
• Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can
• Vanilla

Blend the graham crackers in a blender or a food processor. Alternately, crush them in a plastic bag. Melt half the stick of butter and mix it with the graham crumbs. Press into the bottom of a round springform or pie pan.

Blend the softened cream cheese with the can of milk. Do this before you add the egg, otherwise the cream cheese will clump and become coated in the egg and you will have trouble blending a homogeneous mixture. Add the egg and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, checking after about 40. The cake will become firm, the center will be almost set. Let cool almost completely, then refrigerate for several hours, for best results overnight.

Good Noms makes curry

Anyone that knows me well, will tell you that there are few things I love as much as a bowl of hot, yellow curry over rice. Very few things, indeed.

Yellow curry:

• Carrots - 2 large
• Red potatoes - 3
• Sweet potato - 1 (Not a yam)
• Onion - 1
• Lemongrass - 1 stalk
• Green onion - 1
• Chicken thighs, or any other chicken with bones in it (4 thighs - 1 1/2 pounds)
• Coconut milk - 150mL (a little over 1/2 cup)
• Yellow curry powder - 1/4 cup
• Curry paste - 1 tbsp
• Basil
• Rice

Cook the amount of rice you want according to instructions. Rip the skin off the chicken thighs with your best "Hulk smash" impression. Cut the meat parallel to the bone, set aside. Cut the meat around the bone perpendicular to it, but not through the bone. Take the bones with the meat still on it, put it in the pot on medium high. This is the braising process. If the meat begins to stick to the bottom, do not worry. It will detach with the addition of water, later.

MEANWHILE...
Wash, cut your potatoes, carrots, onions. With the onions, it is easiest to cut them into slivers, as shown below.

By this point, check on the chicken bones. They should be cooked enough to cut through. Take them out (carefully, hot) and cut them up. Put them back into the pot with the rest of the uncooked chicken meat. When it browns on the outside, add in all the vegetables, give it a stir. Once the vegetables begin to look coated with the fats and the onions begin to caramelize, add in all the spices, and it will look like a hot mess. Once the spices are absorbed, add about 4 cups of water, or enough to almost cover the vegetables. Let cook for about 40 on med-hi. Once the veggies get close to fork tender, give it a taste to see if any more spices are needed, turn down to low, then in goes the coconut milk. Give it a good stir.

Stand back and ponder Life, the Universe, and Everything. Turn off the heat and serve over rice.

Good noms reminisces about Soviet Russia

It snowed again in our not-so-wintry land of Mary, and Tu and I made soup. What sort of soup, you ask? Why the sort of soup I grew up eating as a wee lass. It's called borscht, or any number of alternate spellings, and can be (and has been) made vegetarian by omission of meat and substitution of vegetable broth/bouillon.

Ingredients:

• MARROW BONES (I yelled it because this is the basis of delicious soup. If you don't want to eat meat in your soup but don't want to make it vegetarian, you must use bones. Trust me.)
• Beets. 2 large or 3 small.
• Potatoes. 3 medium.
• Cabbage. 1/4 to 1/3 head, depending on size.
• Onion. 1 whole.
• Carrots. 2-3.
• Meat (optional) (stew beef or chuck) 1/2 lb - cut into stew-pieces.
• Olive oil for cooking.
• Peppercorns.
• Bay leaves. (3)
  
• Salt/peppers.

Toppings/serving suggestion.

• Sour cream.
• Clove of garlic.
• Really heavy and dark rye bread.

Bring a large pot of water with the bones in it to a boil (here you may notice I'm using my lovely Christmas LeCreuset, affectionately dubbed as LePot, 5 qt). Peel and halve the beets.

When the pot comes to a boil, you will see white foam come to the surface. Scoop it off. It is bad. It will make your soup taste bitter. Commit the look/consistency to memory, for the next time you decide to call someone a scumbag. After a few minutes (10-15) the scum production will slow down, add the beets. Chop up carrots and onions (I also like to leave the skins on on the carrots, not the onions though). Arrange in clever shape on your plate (optional).
When the beets are soft, take them out, add the potatoes that have been quartered (with skin on), meat, peppercorns and bay leaf. Sautee the onions and carrots in a bit of olive oil. You may season it with salt/pepper. Process the beets (basically shred them by hand or in food processor). Slice the cabbage really thin (think cole slaw/sauerkraut). Put all of above mentioned ingredients back into the pot. Turn to medium low, cover, do as you please for about a half hour.

This is important so pay attention. To serve - get out your fur hat (optional, but recommended). Pour hot soup into the bowl (add salt/pepper to taste), top with a dollop of sour cream. Eat with a clove of garlic, and a slice of dense, dark rye, taking alternating bites. Feel Russki.

Good Noms bakes chicken

Today the Maryland chapter of Good Noms decided to fix a favorite for dinner.
Chicken Cordon Bleu (for 4)

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 thick slice of ham
• 4 oz swiss cheese
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• flour (1/2 cup)
  
  
• 3-4 medium potatoes
• 1/2 butternut squash
• 1 cup cream
• 4 oz cheddar or other cheese that you prefer
• 1/4 cup milk
• butter

Slice each of your chicken in half completely into two equal portions. It helps if it's still partially frozen as you do this, lay it flat on the cutting board and pretend you are filleting a fish. Cut a piece of ham that's a bit smaller than each chicken half. Cut a piece of cheese that's about the same size of the ham, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. With a thin sharp knife, cut a pocket into the chicken breast halves, being careful not to cut through either of the sides, the back, or your hand. Go slow.

Stuff it with the ham and cheese. Don't force it in, or you might rip your chicken pita.

Put some flour in a dish and roll the stuffed chicken in it. Wash/dry your hands. Arrange the following things in order: floured chicken; a bowl with two eggs, beaten; a bowl of bread crumbs; pan in which you will bake your chicken (we used a cookie sheet, but a pyrex dish or even a bread pan will work.)
Your right hand is now the wet hand, the left hand is the dry hand. Dip your chicken into the egg and coat it, with your wet hand. Place it in the bowl of crumbs. With your dry hand, help coat it with the crumbs, then place it in the baking dish. You will not accumulate an excess of egg/crumb conglomerate on your fingers, and you should start feeling pretty clever about now (I did.)

If you have some leftover crumbs, sprinkle some into your baking pan to prevent sticking/grossness. Bake at 350 40min to an hour, or until you start seeing melted cheese seep out. You can also use your meat thermometer here. If, by the time the chicken is done, the top is not golden brown enough to your liking, turn on your broiler for a couple minutes.

Peel the potatoes. Slice them horizontally into 8th inch thick "chips". Pop them into a pot of water set to boil.

While that's happening prepare (peel, de-seed, etc.) the squash. Chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Put into another pot of water. When the potatoes become translucent, drain and set aside. Using the same pot, melt 1/3 stick of butter and the cream. Once the butter melts, add the cheese in small chunks. When the cheese melts, add the potatoes and cook on med-low heat, stirring occasionally (and carefully, you want your potatoes to look good instead of crumbly) until potatoes are cooked all the way.
If, by this point in time, the squash is fork tender, drain it. Take out your potato masher and go to town. Add the 1/4 milk (little by little, you might need less) and 1/2 tbsp butter, salt and pepper to taste.


Serve. Bring to work if you want to impress your lunch-mates with your skill and make them salivate at your creations.

P.S. Consider yourself lucky if you have some old bread (not the mushy white kind you get for 99 cents, but the firm kind you get at the bakery or bake yourself). Get out your largest cheese grater and grate your hardened bread on it (or put it into the food processor, but I found this doesn't work as well as the other method). Spread the crumbs out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with seasonings (parsley, oregano, garlic powder, I stay away from salt because don't want the chance that my dishes will end up super salty). Bake at 350 for literally a couple minutes, until crispy. Put into an airtight container. Pat self on back.

Good Noms celebrates Christmas... with crab ravioli

Since other blog members have brought up the idea of writing about Christmas traditions, Tu and I decided to spontaneously start some.
Crab Ravioli

• 1 packages wonton wrappers

Stuffing:

• 1/2 lb crab meat (finally acting like real Maryland-ers)
• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 1 green onion, chopped
  
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 large onion, chopped
  
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp garlic powder
  
• red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper

Sauce:

• 1 pint heavy cream or whipping cream
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 4 oz cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan/romano cheese
• garlic powder
  

The party-crasher in this picture is the egg. We didn't end up using it for anything. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients for the stuffing. Mix.
One by one, stuff the stuffing into the wonton shells. Involve the whole family. Begin by using a teaspoon-sized dollop in the center of the rectangle. You can fold in half diagonally as pictured below, or in half to make another smaller rectangle (the half-circle looks fancier, but the rectangle is less labor intensive).

Dip your fingers in water to help seal the edges, press in with a fork. If you like, you may use your favorite dough recipe (we don't have one) and a ravioli press to speed up this process.

For sauce, put cream in a saucepan on medium heat, then melt butter into it. Throw in cheddar little at a time once the mixture begins to bubble. Once the cheese is dissolved, add the parmesan/romano, lastly followed by the spices. It's perfectly acceptable to have a bland filling, because the sauce will be salty because of the cheese.

Lightly pan fry the ravioli until the outside becomes crispy and golden brown. Top with the sauce. Share at your your own discretion.

Good Noms bakes bread

The recipe I am using today is brought to you by Bob's Red Mill. On one hand, I like Bob's Red Mill because they produce a huge variety of whole grain and minimally processed and organic foods that are commonly available in most grocery stores, on the other hand most of it costs so much that you will look at a 5 pound bag of store brand enriched bleached cocaine-white flour that's on sale for like 2 bucks and say to yourself "How bad can it be?"
But all that aside - here is Wheat Bran Cranberry Quick Bread
Ignore the butter, it snuck in there somehow without me knowing.

• 2/3 cups flour (I used the all purpose store brand kind)
• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cups wheat bran
• 2/3 cups brown sugar
• 2/3 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cups chopped nuts (I used some pecans I had left over and a bit of walnuts)
• 2/3 cups chopped dried cranberries (if you buy a 6oz package of Craisins, then about half)
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cups milk
• 2/3 cups orange juice
• 2/3 cups melted margarine or vegetable oil (I used apple sauce)

By the way, these are the best way to spend $10 at Target (or what have you).

I find them a bit awkward for everyday things, but for things like brown sugar these little canisters are the best. They are airtight and the sugar never hardens.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients and nuts. Stir cranberries, egg, milk, oj, apple sauce (or oil) into flour mixture, stir until just combined. Pour into greased 9x5x3 pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until center is firm.
Alternately, place all ingredients into the bread machine that you tried to get your mother to give you for about a year and she refused with the excuse that she might use it (before that it sat unused for maybe another 3 years) until she finally gave it up in the order specified by the manufacturer. Select "quick bread" setting (this just means that there is no extra rise time because we aren't using yeast.)
The bread turned out well. It's sweet, with a great shot of sour when you bite into one of those cranberry bits. It was still a bit too sweet for me (unless I'm baking cookies, cake, or something else that is deliberately supposed to be sweet I like no more than a hint of sweetness). I'd cut the sugar down to 1/2 a cup next time, maybe even less.
Overall it's moist, dense, with a nice grainy texture (the nuts and the bran probably help with this). PS - I imagine this bread would be as delicious vegan with the omission or substitution of the egg.

Good Noms bakes

I've been craving chocolatey minty cookies ever since Tu and I finished our Thin Mints. My search for recipes proved difficult, as there are practically zero recipes not involving Andes mints or not being a regular cookie with mint chips.
So I present to you - Chocolate Mint Snow-top cookies.
I found this recipe online and thought I'd give it a try
it calls for:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 package (10 oz) mint flavored chocolate morsels. They didn't have these at any of the stores I normally shop, so I used Nestle dark chocolate and mint morsels. Set 1 cup of these aside from the rest.
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• I also added 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (not pictured). The chips didn't smell/taste that minty, and I wanted to feel the coolness. Keep in mind though that the extract is pretty strong, so don't overdo it.
• Confectioner's sugar (optional)

Combine the dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar. Melt 1 cup of chocolate pieces. The best way to do this is over a double boiler, or whatever it's called when you put a smaller pot into a pot of boiling water. This minimizes your chances of burning. If you are feeling ballsy (or are thinking to yourself that you'll just take your chances since these are going to be baked into a cookie anyway), pile them into a microwave safe container and after the initial 30 seconds, microwave at 10-15 second intervals, testing after each one. Once I made the mistake of thinking that since the pieces were still keeping shape they weren't melted enough. I want you to know that through the pure magical power of deliciousness chocolate and candy will keep shape even if it's all liquid inside. So poke it before to make sure, or else you'll burn it.
Now you'll want to break out your Kitchenaid (remember me singing its praise a few posts ago?) Beat in melted chocolate, vanilla, peppermint, eggs, flour mixture (in increments). Or you can do it by hand. I did this time (my mixer is indisposed). Stir in the remaining chocolate chips.
Cover and pop in the freezer for the duration of time it takes to watch an episode of cheesy anime on Hulu. Preheat the oven to 350. Then roll your dough into 1 inch balls. The recipe says to then roll them in powdered sugar. I did this for the first batch (I only own one cookie sheet, shameful, I know). I found that it did absolutely nothing, because by the time the cookies are done baking, the sugar (assuming you got a nice, even coat) will completely dissolve and become invisible.I got sort of a clumpy coat' so you can see some sugar on them, but I skipped the sugar bath for the two subsequent batches. The cookies bake for about 12 minutes, or until cracks appear in the top. I undercooked the second batch a little, they are flatter and darker than the first batch.Yes, I have eaten nothing but cookies today, and yes I did get sugar on my lens taking this last photo. I like these cookies a lot, they have an excellent minty flavor, nice round shape (if you bake them long enough) and a delicious crispy yet soft on the inside texture.