chicken curry

I enjoy Indian food and other cuisines of south central Asia. Among my favorites is chicken curry. Here's the recipe I use.

First, the curry power is important. Most commercially blended curry powders are pretty good, especially if you get one from a specialty place such as Penzey's Spices. Nonetheless, nothing beats home-blended curry. Here's a traditional Indian recipe:

curry powder
1/3 cup coriander seed
5-6 white peppercorns
2 whole cloves
2 1/2 tablespoons cumin seed
1 tablespoon fennel seed
5-6 small dried chilies
6 cardamon pods
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Toast the first three spices in a pan until aromatic. Set aside in a dish. Toast next four ingredients, again until aromatic and chilies begin to brown. Place all of these in a spice grinder (or use mortar and pestle) and grind until fine. Toast the last three ingredients quickly and add to ground mixture. Curry mixture can be stored in an airtight glass spice jar.

chicken curry
8 cloves garlic
1 3/4 cups roughly chopped shallots
1/4 cup curry powder
10 thin sliced fresh ginger

Puree the above ingredients with 3 tablespoons of water. Saute in oil or ghee (4-5 tablespoons) until fragrant. Add approximately 3/4 pound of chicken cut into 1 inch pieced. Saute until browned.

Dice 1 1/2 - 2 pounds of potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. These can be sprayed with cooking spray and browned in a 400F oven until tender.

Add 1/2 coconut milk (or plain yogurt) to chicken and curry mixture. Lower heat and simmer. Add browned potatoes. Season with sugar (no more than 2 teaspoons), salt, and additional curry to taste. Add water if necessary to make and thin sufficient sauce.

Serve over basmati rice with cilantro sprigs.

proscuitto & fontina sachetti

A local gourmet food market called "Angelo and Josephine's" sell a wide array of food items, particularly Italian ones that are otherwise tricky to find (e.g., tubes of anchony paste). They also sell a range of incredible handmade pastas that are wonderful to have in for an occasional treat and keep nicely in the freezer.

The other day I picked up some crab ravioli and some proscuitto and fontina filled sachetti, little pasta bundles shaped like drawstring sacks. We've not tried the ravioli yet, but last night for dinner I prepared the sachetti, which were wonderful.

I wasn't sure what to do for a sauce, but I wanted to keep it fairly light and not too flavorful, lest I overpower the flavor of the procsuitto and fontina filling. So I decided on a tomato-sherry cream sauce:

1 finely diced shallot
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sherry (I used a nice amontillado)
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup whole milk or light cream
1/4 - 1/3 cup crushed tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
a pinch of oregano

Saute the shallot in one tablespoon of the butter until translucent and just beginning to brown. Deglaze the pan with the sherry (which will likely catch fire, so stand clear). Melt the other tablespoon of butter in the microwave and add the flour, making a roux. Add the roux to the shallots and sherry, whisking it in. Pour in the milk or cream and heat until bubbling and slightly thickened. Add more if it seems to thick, though the tomatoes will thin it slightly. Add the crushed tomatoes and seasonings to taste and serve over the cooked pasta.

tapas

The September issue of Cooking Light has a section on Spanish tapas cuisine--small plates of savory food, usually served buffet style, along with wines and especially sherry. All of their recipes are wonderful.

Tonight I toasted up slices of leftover Italian bread and some pita and served them up with a tomato and mozzarella vinaigrette with basil, a cucumber and tomato salad with lots of flat-leaf parsley and mint, and a plate of thinly sliced proscuitto, manchego cheese, tomato, and olives. Plates of various kinds olives and toasted almonds are a good accompaniment. While low-alcohol Laurel drank a Woodchuck cider, I enjoyed a nice glass of complex amontillado.

The best thing, in my estimation, was salad of strips of red and green roasted peppers with chopped olives and minced fresh oregano, flavored wonderfully with olive oil, vinegar, anchovy paste, and garlic. Man, that was good stuff.

prize winning chocolate cake

I'm feeling in such a completely uncreative mood cooking-wise tonight. We'll probably do either take-out or something like mac and cheese.

I was looking through a folder of recipes, however, and ran across a cake recipe that I developed a number of years ago. I've entered the finished cake into two separate contests (neither of which was terribly large) and managed win first prize with it on both occasions. Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together:

1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar

Beat in:

2 egg yolks
4 squares of melted baking chocolate

Whisk together:

1 7/8 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt

Add these to the creamed sugar mixture, in four additions, alternating with a combination of:

1 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip the 2 leftover egg whites into peaks and then whip in 1/2 cup sugar to make a stiff meringue. Fold into the batter in two or three additions.

Pour into two 8 inch cake pans (that have been greased and lightly floured) and bake for 30-40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool and remove from pans.

Make chocolate-mocha frosting:

1/3 cup shortening (part butter)
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cream
1 1/2 tablespoons cold strong black coffee (or espresso)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 squares melted baking chocolate

Mix the shortening and sugar at low speed until fluffy, then add the liquid flavorings. Finish by adding the chocolate until blended.

Slice each cake layer in half, across the layer so that you have 4 round layers. Spread two cake layers with raspberry jam that has been melted with a bit of rum. Top each with another layer. Use frosting between the two pairs of layers and frost outside of cake.

Decorate with fresh raspberries, piped chocolate frosting, semisweet chips, and dark chocolate savings.

gyoza

I enjoy a variety of cuisines, especially those of Asia. Cooking Thai or Cantonese or Indian can be a lot of fun as well, with their regionally unique combinations of ingredients and flavors.

Since we had ground pork in, I decided tonight to make gyoza, otherwise known as Chinese dumplings or pot-stickers. Here's the recipe:

Filling
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely shredded Chinese cabbage/napa
1-2 green onions in thin slices
1 clove crushed garlic
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon soy sauce
pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Unless you're feeling adventuresome, buy frozen pre-made gyoza wrappers. Thaw. Place a teaspoon or so of filling in the center of each wrapper, wet edges, and then fold over, pressing the one edge to the other in a series of 5-6 pleats in the upper half of wrapper. It should make about 30 gyoza.

Fry the gyoza on fairly high heat, seam side up, in a pan slicked with hot oil until the bottoms brown. Add enough water to the pan to reach partway up the gyoza and steam until the meat is cooked through and the wrappers are tender.

Serve with dipping sauce made with soy sauce and rice vinegar. Mirin can also be added to the dipping sauce for a bit of sweetness and red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick.

I served the gyoza with fresh fruit (mangoes, kiwi fruit, banana, melon) and "kyuri no sunome," a Japanese cucumber salad.

roast zucchini with garlic & dill

We had dinner guests over last night for whom I prepared lamb kebabs, bulgur pilaf, and a cucumber salad. I also made a roasted zucchini dish that was new to me, but turned out really nicely, I think.

1 large or 2 medium zucchini
salt, as needed (I used sea salt)
3/4 cup olive oil (approximately)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon dried dill (or 2 tablespoons minced fresh)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

This is one of those recipes where the flavor of the oil and vinegar come through clearly, so be sure to use good quality.

Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch thick sliced. Do not peel. Cutting on the bias gives you attractive slices. Spread in a single layer cooling or drying racks set on a cookie sheet or a towel.

Sprinkle with salt, turn slices over and sprinkle the other side with salt. Let stand for 30-40 minutes or so. The salt will draw some moisture out of the zucchini so that when it is roasted, it will remain firm. Liquid should bead on top of the sliced and drip from them. Place slices in a colander and rinse off well with cold water and shake off excess water.

Heat oven to 400F. Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil (or use two smaller sheets). Place zucchini slices on sheet in a single layer. Slice garlic cloves very thinly and scatter over zucchini, making sure they are fairly evenly distributed. Sprinkle zucchini with dill and drizzle with olive oil.

Place baking sheet(s) in the top third of the oven. Let bake 15-20 minutes, until the slices begin to shrivel a bit, but not dry out (drizzle with more oil if drying out too quickly). Scatter pine nuts over eggplant and all to bake for 5-10 minutes longer, until nuts, garlic, and edges of zucchini just begin to brown.

Remove slices onto a serving plate and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Allow to cool for several minutes before serving.

dog biscuits

Funny you should ask, but I actually do have a dog biscuit recipe that I've tried and the pooch seems to love. Here goes:

Gourmet Doggie Treats
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1 powdered beef boullion
6 tablespoons bacon grease (or meat drippings)
1 egg
1/2 cup ice water

Preheat over to 350F.

Combine all the dry ingredients. Cut in the drippings and then add egg. Add enough water to mixture to form a ball. Press or roll to about 1/2" thick. Cut into doggie biscuits (we have a bone shaped cookie cutter we use).

Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool and give to your favorite Fido as a treat!

peach streusel muffins

Annie asked about what recipe I used to make peach muffins. I'd never made them before, so I adapted a recipe out of a Southern Living: 2003 Annual Recipes cookbook that my mother-in-law gave me as a gift a couple years ago.

Since I did a sort of riff on what they wrote, I'll post it (otherwise, there are copyright issues). Also, note that this is a double recipe (24 muffins), so can be easily halved.

Muffin Batter
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (I used half shortening)
2/3 cup sugar
two large eggs, yolks and whites separated
4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
3 cups chopped fresh, peeled peaches

Whip egg whites into stiff peaks and set aside.

Beat the butter/margarine/shortening until creamy. Then gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, beating until blended.

Whisk together the lower flour amounts, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating with milk, until it becomes a slightly too-thick consistency for muffin batter. Add a bit of extra flour if necessary, especially if the weather is humid. Stir in vanilla and peaches (the peaches will thin the batter with their moisture). Fold in egg whites in two or three additions (which will thin and lighten the batter further).

Spoon batter evenly into 24 muffin pans (use papers if not using non-stick or silicone). They should be around two-thirds full.

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons chilled butter or margarine

Combine ingredients with a pastry blender or fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle crumbled chunks over muffin batter.

Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pans and cool.

on not following recipes

With the exception of cakes and some kinds of breads, most recipes are pretty flexible. I drive Laurel nuts with the fact that I seldom follow recipes to the letter and often don't measure some of the ingredients. But I think that most people who spend a lot of time in the kitchen do begin to get a "feel" for things and just "know" what will work and what won't and where a recipe might be improved upon or varied.

Sometimes following a recipe to the letter is, in fact, the wrong thing to do.

If, for instance, one always finds that by following a recipe exactly, cookies come out too hard and a bit overbaked, then either the oven tends to run a bit hot or the cookie sheets are too dark (and perhaps one might consider replacing part of the butter with shortening, which gives a softer texture).

I know that when baking most items, I need to run our oven 5-10 degrees below what the recipe calls for and be vigilant about the baking time. The exception is pizza where I ignore recipes altogether and get the oven at hot as it will go - around 550F - and use a baking stone for a crust that, even if thicker, is very crispy on the outside and a slight bit burnt in spots on the bottom. But that's exactly what one wants with pizza.

In any case, I'm hardly a fountain of advice on this sort of thing, but as things seem to work for me, I'll note them here.

peach tart

Last week when we went up to Knoebel's, we stopped by a farm stand on the way home and picked up a half-bushel of peaches. Laurel made a batch of jam and canned a number of the peaches, but that still left quite a few to be used. I made a double batch of peach muffins, but also a yummy peach tart.

Sweet Pastry
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or butter-flavored shortening
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of salt

Make a well in the center of the flour and add the rest of the ingredients. Give them a little stir and then cut them in with a pastry blender until a dough forms. Add a tiny bit of ice water if necessary. Chill dough and then press into a 9 inch fluted quiche pan (tinned steel with a removeable bottom).

Brush the bottom of the tart shell with part of a tablespoon of peach or apricot jam heated to melting in the microwave with a teaspoon of water.

Filling
4 cups thinly sliced pitted, peeled fresh peaches
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Mix the ingredients together gently, so as not to rip apart the peaches. Arrange a layer of peach slices in the bottom of the shell and then top with a layer of peaches arranged in two concentric circles of slices.

Bake in a 400-425F oven for 25-30 minutes, until the peaches are tender, their juices thickened, and the crust browned. After removing from the over, gently brush the top with the remainder of the melted jam.

Cool and remove from the pan onto a cake plate or serving dish.

isabelle posey's cucumber pickle

Isabelle Posey was a distant cousin on my mother's side of our family, related to us through the McWilliamses who moved out to Wyoming in the early 20th century. My grandmother used cousin Isabelle's recipe for bread and butter pickles, which, though a pretty standard recipe, was nonetheless passed along to me as follows:

6 quarts sliced cucumbers (do not peel)
1 quart sliced onion (or less, for flavoring)
4 sliced green or red peppers (or less, likewise for flavoring)

Soak overnight in a brine using 1 cup salt to 9 cups water. If in a hurry it can be used after soaking for 5 hours. Drain.

Mix:
6 cups sugar
6 cups vinegar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon white mustard seed
1 heaping teaspoon tumeric

Add cucumbers and bring to a boil. Do not boil.

Pack in jars. You can make a smaller quantity and it works.

garbanzos a la catalana

We had a lot of fresh garden tomatoes and a few peppers, as well as some nice Italian sweet sausage, and some canned garbanzo beans. In the process of trying to figure out what to make for dinner I ran across a Spanish dish in Mediterranean Cooking by Paula Wolfert (New York: Harper Perennial, 1994), pages 126-7.

It's a kind of soup/stew from the area of Barcelona and calls for Catalonian sausage, though Italian sweet seems like a reasonable substitute given the ingredients for Catalonian. Other than using Italian sausage and substituting canned garbanzos for dried, I followed the recipe, though reducing the cooking time considerably.

pasta alla bolognese

Monday I made an adaptation of a bolognese sauce in a great pasta sauce cook book I've got. It was so good I made it again for a meal today we were taking to a couple who recently had a baby.

The recipe came from The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces by Diane Seed, illustrated by Robert Budwig (London: Seed Press, 1987), page 105. It's an authentic bolognese sauce in the Emilian style, rather than the marinara with meat that sometimes tries to pass for bolognese, which means bacon, sausage, ground meat(s), butter, cream, etc., all making for a rich, elegant sauce, even if not low-fat.

While the recipe calls for part ground pork and part ground beef, I used all beef the first time and it was fine. Also whole milk or half-and-half substitute adequately for heavy cream. I also cooked and drained the fat from the meats before adding the wine, rather than retaining all the meat fat for the sauce, as is traditional. It still tasted fabulous.

delilah cocktail

Very simple but surprisingly good, though with a nice kick.

Delilah
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce Cointreau
3/4 ounce lemon juice

Shake with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass.

firestone gewürztraminer

I opened a 2003 Gewürztraminer today from Firestone Vineyard (California, Santa Ynez Valley). It's pretty good, though I prefer Alsace-style ones and some of the Aussie versions. The not-quite dry spiciness was distinct, but not over-bearing, with some melon flavors.

Update: As with many whites, the quality of this wine degrades quickly after opening, even using a vacuum pump to seal the bottle. Drink immediately.

why cooking?

Since Laurel and I got married, I've done most of the cooking. This began in part because I enjoy cooking, but also because when we were first married, Laurel was working a nine-to-five job, while I often got home around 3pm. Thus I was in a position to have dinner ready by the time she'd get home around 6pm. Now I keep cooking for the fun of it and as a creative outlet.

Over the years I've tried a lot of different recipes from a variety of different kinds of cuisine: Greek, Indian, Thai, Chinese, French, and so on. Several friends have encouraged me to keep some kind of log, mostly as a way of recording what I've tried, what worked and what didn't work, changes and variations I've made to recipes, recipes I've been handed down, and so on. For some reason, the idea of blogging all of this never occurred to me and the idea of writing it down by hand seemed tedious.

But now I'd decided to blog it. This is primarily for my own personal use and record-keeping, but there's nothing particularly private about it, so committing the information to a public blog seems worthwhile and might be of some use to someone else on occasion.

Thus: cooking log.