World On A Plate

5 or < | Peanut Butter Pound Cake

            

It appears that I have a growing penchant for all things peanut butter. I knew it was there. I just didn't the degree until I offered this elegant cake up for breakfast with coffee to S&K while overnighting in Sonoma. They both asked what my thing was with peanut butter. I think it's a pretty classic, versatile and perfect food--and I'm not alone. Here in America it's considered a pantry staple as it appears in 75% of our shelves. Recent reports state that consumption of this spread has increased more than 10 per cent since 2001, with Americans eating an average of three pounds a year. It's also high in fiber, protein and low in saturated fat.

Other PB recipes on this site there's the recent award to Della Fattoria for their Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie, Gourmet Cook the Cover winner Black & Tans; the very elegant Chocolate Peanut Butter Terrine, and another 5 or <  Peanut Butter Cookies, and finally a favorite snack mentioned here is Nutella and peanut butter. I also have a Thai sesame noodle recipe that I'll need to share soon.

This is a recipe developed by teacher and columnist of the SF Chronicle's "The Baker", Flo Braker that appears in the 1997 San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook.  This collection is  a two-volume set and I really wish they would get their act together and publish a third volume as it so perfectly encapsulates San Francisco and it's food or as Publisher's Weekly so says, "ethnically influenced, well-constructed recipes from the agricultural and culinary Eden of Northern California."

Peanut Butter Pound Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

5 large eggs

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

Adjust oven rack to be in the lower third of the oven; preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until light; add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add the peanut butter and beat until fluffy.  Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the flour in 2 additions, mixing until thoroughly combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 65 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Note:  I found the flavor of the peanut butter to be more pronounced the next day.  So, plan ahead!

Pocket Citrus

            

"You'll find that one part's sweet and one part's tart: say where the sweetness or the sourness start."

Tony Harrison, 'A Kumquat for John Keats, 1981

Saturday I fought the elements (hail, downpour, sideway's rain, cold wind) working at the market. Everything's a bit out of order as the wet winter weather is holding on longer than usual. One of the items that I was helping Will to sell were kumquats. And surprisingly, many San Franciscans had never tried one before. I found endless entertainment in daring people into trying these little berry shaped citrus fruits. Inevitably, after trying one they would end up buying a handful or two. Native to Asia, the kumquat is said to take its name from the Chinese, chin kan, or golden orange. Although these citrus orbs are closely related to citrus species, kumquats belong to the genus Fortunella after a plant collector for the London Horticultural Society, Robert Fortune introduced them from Asia to Europe in 1846. Years later the small trees could be found presented to dinner guests in order that they could pick their dessert.

In contrast to citrus which has 8-15 sections, kumquats have only 3-6 sections; also the skin is thin, soft and edible. The fruit grows on an evergreen shrub or small tree with bright green pointed leaves and orange perfumed blossoms.  While there are four different kinds of kumquats, the one you see most often is the olive-shaped Nagami; it's usually 1 to 2 inches long. This varitety is excellent for cooking with particularly jams as it is bitter.  The other is the egg-shaped Meiwa which is often referred to as the sweet kumquat. They have few seeds. Since they lack the tart-like quality that is ideal in cooking Meiwas are perfect for cold salads or for snacking on. It debuted in the States from Japan around 1910.

Available from December through May when buying kumquats look for a firm skin, bright color and unblemished skin. Grown in China, Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe (Corfu, Greece), and in the U.S. Southern California and Florida they are a bit of a indulgence costwise but some of you pay as much for that morning coffee. Given its hardiness to weather conditions kumquats make for good hybirds. Mandarinquat is the marriage of mandarin orange and kumquat; it has an edible rind and a sour inside. This can be eaten as is or used as an edible garnish. And when a Mexican lime and a kumquat get together you have a limequat, often see as a a pickling or for a tasty marmalade for crumpets or grilled toast.

Aside from the simple joy you'll discover of popping the delights into your mouth there are many ways to experiment with this fruit. Candied kumquats make an great decoration and topping for cakes or as pour a kumquat-caramel syrup over fresh vanilla bean ice cream or how about as a main course as offered by Jean Georges Vongerichten in his Spice-Rubbed Chicken with Lemongrass dressing, unexpected spicy and sweet. A homemade liqueur of infused vodka from kumquats; a riff on the tomato themed Catalan toast replaces the tomato pulp with a mash of butter and kumquats or as they do in China where the fruit is preserved in salt and then the salted kumquats along with a few teaspoons of the brine and some hot water is offered as a remedy for sore throats.

The chocolate-obsessed pastry chef Marcel Desaulniers (he's sexy with his East Coast accent with a hint of Southern) features a Ginger Macadamia Nut Cake with a chocolate kumquat mousse filling in one of his many cookbooks. While the cake and the elegant filling are an inspired meeting the mousse can sing all on its own.

Chocolate Kumquat Mousse

from Death by Chocolate Cakes by Marcel Desaulniers

1/2 pound small fresh kumquats, washed and dried

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped and melted

Trim about 1/4 inch from each end of the kumquats. Cut each kumquat into 1/4 -inch-thick slices. (The 1/2 pound should yield about 1 1/2 cups sliced.) Pick out and discard the occasional seed from the kumquat slices. Set aside.

Heat 1/4 cup of the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil. Add the sliced kumquats and stir to incorporate. Bring to a boil again; then adjust the heat to allow the mixture to cook at a slow boil for 12 minutes until the kumquat slices are tender and sweet. Strain the kumquats and discard the cooking syrup. Transfer the kumquat slices to a baking sheet or large plate and spread evenly. Place, uncovered, in the refrigerator to cool.

Finely chop the remaining kumquats with a cook's knife. Set aside while preparing the mousse.

Place 1 cup heavy cream and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Whisk on medium-high for 2 minutes until firm, but not stiff, peaks form. Add about 3/4 cup of the whipped cream to the bowl of melted unsweetened chocolate, and use a rubber spatula to fold together until thoroughly combined. Add the combined whipped cream and chocolate to the remaining whipped cream, and use a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined. Transfer 1/4 cup of chocolate mousse to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Add the chopped kumquats to the remaining mousse, and use a spatula to fold them in together until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Refrigerate the mousse in the pastry bag. Pipe into serving dishes or champagne flutes and chill until ready to serve.

Image: A. Vuillon/Art.com

Lovely Leftovers - Chilaquiles

         

Since Thanksgiving I've made tukey chilaquiles, which begat sopa de tortilla with turkey, and also breakfast for the week with a pecan sweet potato cranberry quick bread.

I love chilaquiles. Primavera, at the Saturday market makes a remarkable version.  In California, the Southwest and all throughout Mexico and down into Guatemala chilaquiles, pronounced "chee-lah-KEE-lehs" is a practical and tasty way to extend the life of stale corn tortillas and now turkey.

Editor's Note: This is my entry for Slashfood's Lovely Leftovers event.

Tagged with Recipes, Lovely Leftovers

Simple Turkey Chilaquiles (adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen)

Serves 4

Combine in a large skillet a full recipe of the sauce (below) with 2 cups of broth and about 1 1/2 cups shredded leftover turkey. Turkey should be warm before beginning next step.

Add 8 cups (8oz.) of tortilla chips (preferably thick ones), a handful of epazote leaves (can sub with 1 cup or 2 sliced chard or spinach). Cover and simmer over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, until the chips are softening.  Uncover, stir well--you don't want mushy chips.  Spoon onto plates and sprinkle generously with crumbled Mexican either queso añejo, cotija or Parmesan.

Salsa de Chile Chipotle y Jitomate - Essential Quick - Cooked Tomato-Chipotle Sauce

Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen

Makes 2 cups

3-4 canned chiles chipotles en adobo

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 1/2 pounds (3 medium-large round or 9 to 12 plum) ripe tomatoes

1 tblspn rich -tasting lard, olive or vegetable oil

Salt, about 1/2 tsp

Instructions:

Remove canned chiles from the adobo.

On a heavy, ungreased skillet over medium  heat roast the unpeeled garlic, turning occasionally, until blackened in spots and soft, about 12-15 minutes.  Cool, slip off the papery skins, and roughly chop.

Lay the tomatoes on a baking sheet and place about 4" below a very hot broiler.  When they blister, blacken and soften on one side, about 6 minutes, turn them over and roast on the other side.  Cool, then peel, collecting all the juices with the tomatoes.

Scrape the tomatoes and their juices into a food processor or blender and add the chiles and garlic. Pulse the machine until the mixture is nearly a puree--it should have a little more texture than canned tomato sauce.

Heat the lard or oil in a heavy, medium-size (2-to 3-quart) saucepan over  medium-high. When hot enough to  make a drop of the puree sizzle sharply, add it all at once and stir for about 5 minutes as it sears and concentrates to an earthy, red, thickish sauce--about the consistency of a medium-thick spaghetti sauce.  Taste and season with salt.  Sauce will keep for several days, covered and refrigerated. 

SHF/IMBB - Cookie Swap

         

It's a party this month for the annual Cookie Swap!  IMMB and SHF are jointly  hosting the mega-event via Alberto at Il Forno and Jennifer at Domestic Goddess.  Aren't they just the sweetest?

The key to eating a black and white cookie, is to get some black and some white in each bite.  "Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate."  so says Jerry Seinfeld in a now classic episode of the show.

'Black and Whites' are the quintessential New York deli cookie.  The Upper Eastside's William Greenberg Bakery  began making these delights in the late 1940s and maintains the tradition today.  They have a cakey domed base and vanilla and chocolate frostings. Zabar's in NYC makes a killer version. There are many versions--the best I can tell you is to stay away from the plastic wrapped versions. My mother made her own version of these cookies and called them 'Half Moons' which I think is far more creative than the former name.  According to a 2001 NY Times article, Molly O'Niell explains, "Outside New York, cookies with black-and-white icing are cookies with black-and-white icing. In Boston, where they are called half-moons, and in the Midwest, where they are known as harlequins, they are considered ordinary and have been around, say most bakers, "forever."

In this spirit I have re-created the cookie and have a new name, 'Black & Tans.'  This speaks to my love of this flavor combination and my Irish heritage. Chocolate on one side and on the other, peanut butter a perfect marriage.  Sophisticated, comfort food no matter which way you decide to eat it.

BLACK & TANS

This recipe is a hodgepodge creation.  The cookie base is from the current issue of Gourmet.  I found the icings to be well, quirky.  It may be my distaste for frostings that have a heavy confectioner's sugar taste combined with the overly sweet tones of light corn syrup.  What's wrong with buttercreams?!  I say mask that confectioner's sugar and so I did.  Purists will say that this is more of a frosting and it's missing a sheen.  But it's my version and I don't think you'll complain at all.

Cookie Base

Gourmet Magazine, December, 2005

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

Prepare cookies:
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing just until smooth.

Drop rounded teaspoons of batter 1 inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed, edges are pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a rack to cool. Note:  Although not indicated in recipe these can be prepared a day ahead.  Store in tightly sealed container.

My Peanut Butter Frosting

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 1/2 tblspns unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/4 cup half and half

Mix peanut  butter and butter together with a hand mixer.  Gradually blend in the sugar and half-and half.  Blend until fluffy and light.  Can be prepared a day or two in advance, tightly wrapped, and refrigerated.  Allow to come to room temperature before using.

My Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa such as Periginotti

2 1/2 tblspns unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/4 cup half and half

Mix cocoa and butter together with a hand mixer.  Gradually blend in the sugar and half-and half.  Blend until fluffy and light.  Can be prepared a day or two in advance, tightly wrapped, and refrigerated.  Allow to come to room temperature before using.

Assemble cookies:
With offset spatula, spread peanut butter icing over half of flat side of each cookie. Starting with cookies you iced first, spread chocolate icing over other half.

Tagged with Cookie Swap, IMBB, SHF, Peanut Butter

Bowls and Bowls of Comfort

         

Although macaroni and cheese has grown to fame as an American classic dish, its origin is often debated. Some believe the dish was created by former president Thomas Jefferson who served the dish in the White House in 1802. Others like food historian Karen Hess claims Jefferson introduced the dish from a pasta mold he brought back from Paris.  The presidential legacy continued with First Lady Mrs. Harry Truman who often prepared the dish her way.  Ronald Reagan was also know to frequently request the dish for his birthday dinner.

Jefferson's original recipe of combining cooked pasta and cheese has evolved into an artwork of finding the perfect blend of  cheese, vegetables or meats to make the ultimate mac and cheese dish--chili & mac is quite satisfying!

Mac and cheese has become one of America's favorite comfort foods and is still used frequently as a side dish for holiday meals, particularly in the south. Kraft Foods, Inc. sells over one million boxes of macaroni and cheese per day, but in my book, that's not macaroni and cheese.  Over the last week I've been asked a few times for a recipe.  This is not a simple request as there are as many variations on the theme as there are cheeses.  This recipe is a great place to start instead of paprika or dry mustard powder it gets it's lift from Tabasco.  Personally the amount in this recipe is not nearly enough, so feel free to to add a dash more. 

My Macaroni & Cheese

Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen by Eula Mae Dore & Marcelle R. Beinvenu

6 servings

2 quarts water

1 tblspn olive oil

1 tblspn salt

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onions

3 tblspns all-purpose flour

1/4 tspn Tabasco brand pepper sauce

1 1/2 cups half and half

2 cups grated American or Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a large baking dish.

Combine the water, olive oil and salt in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the macaroni, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cold running water.  Set aside.  Dry the saucepan.

In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring until just soft, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and Tabasco sauce and whisk to blend.  Slowly add the half-and-half, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.  Add the cheese and stir until completely melted and the mixture is thick and smooth.

Add the macaroni and toss to coat evenly.  Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Cover lightly with aluminum foil and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Holy Mole!

Part II of the series that ran last year on Oaxaca and the Day of the Dead.  This post written by Chris Carter.  Who excels in this category of Mexican cooking, his cajeta is fantastico also!

Written by Chris Carter

As we stepped through the wide iron gates of the cemetery at Xoxocotlan Cemetery in Oaxaca City well into the evening on October 31st a brass band struck up a jaunty tune. The enclosed space, crowded with people and illuminated in candles, was beyond anything I had seen in magazines about Day of the Dead celebrations– in the United States you rarely see hundreds of people in a cemetery at night, let alone with a brass brand. I was here for two reasons—to witness this cultural ritual first hand and to master the preparation for the king of all moles, Mole Negro Oaxaqueno (black mole). This task would be facilitated through Susanna Trilling and her school, Seasons of My Heart.

Oaxaca, in food circles, is known as the land of Seven Moles. This Mexican sauce made of ground nuts, seeds, chocolate and spices takes its name from molli, from the language of the pre-Colombian Nahuatl Indians in Mexico, and loosely translates as mixture. The Mexican state of Oaxaca is famous for its seven moles, often called the Seven Sisters.

Mole (pronounced MO-lay) preparation and especially mole negro, is complex and a difficult sauce to make. It contrasts greatly with both our culinary practices and general way of life in America. Rachael Ray need not apply as this is no 30-minute meal. It can actually take days to make and generally contains 20 to 30 ingredients. It is also not a simmer all day and forget about it dish either, as it can require a couple hours of constant, attentive stirring. It can actually be heartbreaking to dump a batch of inedible mole down the drain after three days of hard work. In my case it took several of these down-the-drain experiences and a trip South to perfect the dish before I could produce a passable traditional black mole.

The difficulty of the dish is due in part to the fact that the sauce does not lend itself to the rote following of directions. The end goal for a great mole is a single deep rich flavor. How do you know if you are tasting a quality mole? You should not be able to individually identify any of the 20-30 single ingredients, which requires the deft hand of the mole maker to balance all the aspects of the sauce-- the sweetness from the fruit and nuts, with the heat from the chilies, and in many cases the richness of the chocolate added to the mole. Black mole requires a step where you deeply blacken the chilies followed by igniting and burning the seeds of the chilies to give the mole the classic delicate burnt undertones that add distinctiveness and complexity. After all the ingredients are prepared they are pureed together. In Oaxaca this ability and skill is acknowledged with a “buen sazon” which according to our instructor Susanna Trilling means “good taste buds or palate, combined with a good hand for seasoning.”

“Black mole always has to be the star” according to Rick Bayless in his cookbook, Mexican Kitchen. This can be generally interpreted as serving rice and fresh tortillas on the side of the dish to sop up the sauce. In America where meat is plentiful and usually the focus of a special meal, in Mexican cooking the sauce is typically the centerpiece with the meat—turkey or chicken--as a luxury. Zarela Martinez states in her book The Food and Life of Oaxaca “an understated foil to the fascinating textures and nuances of the sauces”.

If you take the time to make the black mole recipe below from Susanna Trilling you will certainly have an extravagant, richly complex, and deeply flavored dish for a special occasion. Relative to all the contrasts between Oaxaca and America listed above, it is actually harder to make Mole here than in Oaxaca where all the ingredients can be ground for you at local molino or mill. Here are a few practical tips to make preparing and serving black mole easier and more enjoyable:  continue on for mole recipe

Photo credit: J. Brophy

National Chocolate Day - Morton's

“Nine out of 10 people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies.”  John Q. Tullius

Today is, National Chocolate Day. The candy wizards over at the National Confectioners Association, celebrates it every year on October 28.  And since the most recent SHF #13 is all about chocolate, well what's one more recipe. 

Morton's , the temple to steak houses, is well know for their Godiva Hot Chocolate Cake (photo).  The cake is served 31,000 times a month in its restaurants worldwide, proving that everyone does in fact love chocolate.  This cake has 1 1/2 ounces of hot, gooey chocolate hidden in its center.  It is also served with Haagan-Daaz vanilla ice cream and raspberries.  But I promised a recipe didn't I?  This recipe was torn from a newspaper from some business trip taken long ago so I can't source it properly. 

Morton's of Chicago Godiva Hot Chocolate Cake
Source: Morton's of Chicago, Phoenix, Arizona

Seek out Godiva chocolate liqueur in the small, 3-ounce bottle, it'll be all you need.

Butter and granulated sugar to coat pan
8 ounces semisweet chocolate squares
1 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon Godiva chocolate liqueur
5 egg yolks
5 whole eggs
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and generously coat an 8-inch soufflé dish with butter, then dust with granulated sugar.

Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler. Stir in chocolate liqueur. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and whole eggs with an electric mixer set at low speed. Pour chocolate-butter mixture into bowl while beating.

In a medium bowl, sift the confectioner's sugar and flour together. Gradually add this to the chocolate mixture. Mix at high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour cake mixture into soufflé dish. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tests done with a wooden pick.

Serve hot with ice cream .

SHF #13 - Jacques Torres Mudslides

         

October's SHF, #13, hosted by Kelli over at Love's Cool, was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make, well, as it relates to baking anyway!  What chocolate-themed sugar indulgence should I share with all of you?  Well, after tossing and turning in my sleep, I decided to bake a standby in my kitchen.  Now this is no standard standard this is a brownie and a cookie all wrapped up by one of my favorite food fantasy guys--Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres.  A while ago I read that since he only bakes them on Saturdays people line up an hour or two at his Brooklyn pastry shop before they are due to come out of the oven. 

Now bear in mind that this is a rich cookie--in taste and price.  There's so much chocolate in these it will please the fussiest chocoholic out there.  I made these and shared them with my favorite office folks and now I have several orders. My time for them is I've sent them out to buy the ingredients as payment.  It's simplicity and intensity all in one--and that's heaven!

Jacques Torres' Chocolate Mudslide Cookies

This recipe originally appeared in the New York Times.

Makes 20 cookies.

1 1/2 cups unsweetened chocolate, in chips or chunks

8 cups bittersweet chocolate, in chips or chunks

3/8 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

5 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup walnuts (optional).

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Melt the unsweetened chocolate and 4 cups of the bittersweet chocolate over a double-boiler (a simple double boiler can be set up by putting a metal bowl over a simmering pot), stirring periodically.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy and add the eggs one at a time, blending until mixed.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the butter mixture and mix just until combined.

Add the melted chocolate and mix until combined and stir in the nuts and remaining chocolate pieces. Pour the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or tray. Put the mixture into a refrigerator for 5 to10 minutes until slightly, but not completely, hardened.

Reverse the sheet or tray onto another piece of parchment paper on a hard surface. Use a knife to divide the mixture into 20 squares. With your hands, roll each of the squares into a ball and evenly space them on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets (leave room for them to spread).

Bake the cookies for 15 to 25 minutes, until crusty on the outside (they should still be gooey on the inside). Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before eating.

Cooking Light-er

          

I'm not of the food blogger ilk to post on "what I ate last night."  No one's that interested, right?  BUT I need to make an exception for dinner last night.  After a two hour walk along the waterfront in what can only be described as a picture postcard afternoon I "went the extra mile" in the health department and decided to make something special but healthy for dinner. 

Best of Cooking Light, published by the magazine earlier this year, contains 500 "all-star" recipes.  This recipe serves two which is perfect as although I cook for myself more than most, a lot of recipes serve 4, 6 or 8.  (When will magazines start reflecting their demographics?  half of the US population is single!).  I am one woman who will eat leftovers for one, maybe two meals. Also, having grown up in thrifty New England, I hate wasting food.  So this recipe looked tasty (it was) and was fairly simple and needed less than 30 minutes from start to finish. 

This recipe is a keeper.  It's all in the sauce.  Scallops were a good source of protein but if you are watching your pennies you will enjoy the dish without it.  Although I'm still trying to reconcile a "healthy recipe" that contains heavy cream.

Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato-Cream Sauce
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tbsp. whipping cream
1 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 cups hot cooked linguine
Cooking spray
3/4 lb. large sea scallops
1/8 tsp. salt
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium skillet; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid; discard solids.

Return wine mixture to skillet. Add cream, and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Stir in chopped tomato, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add linguine, and toss well. Cover and keep warm.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Arrange scallops in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add scallops to pasta mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if desired.

Yield: 2 servings (about 3/4 cup pasta and 5 oz. scallops)

Note:  Cilantro was not included in my dish as it was not available at my local market, Real Foods.

IMBB #19 -Vegan Tom Yum

Sam of Becks & Posh is hosting IMBB #19 Vegan, a great event to launch World Vegetarian month (October) perfectly perfect but Sam is one smart vegan cookie.

Lately, I’ve become curious about Asia cuisine in particular Thai food.  Needless to say the intersection of this new study with that of having to cook a vegan dish presented a challenge.  Just about every dish has that essential ingredient fish sauce or nam pla.  Truly this is the single most important flavoring for authentic Thai. An adequate substitute can be found in soy sauce although not in equal parts due to its strength.

So although this soup recipe from Real Vegetarian Thai, by Nancie McDermott in her own words, veers “away from the framework of authenticity” she is a realist.  Thailand, McDermott writes, “lacks a strong indigenous vegetarian tradition.”  There are religious practices such as Terawada Buddhism and Sino-Thais (Thais of Chinese descent) that have long traditions of traditions of vegan fasts and cuisines. It’s interesting to note that the Thai concept of veganism is stricter than Western interpretations in that many stimulating spices, onions, garlic and alcohol are excluded from the vegan diet.  These items are said to inflame passions.

In Phuket there is a 9-day Vegetarian Festival in early autumn where the center of town becomes a showcase for Thai-style Chinese vegetarian cooking.

This version of a popular soup, Tom Yum is a spicy lemongrass soup with mushrooms and tofu.  More commonly found is tom yum goong, which contains shrimp. Nahm prik pao, roasted chili paste fortifies the broth. Lemongrass permeates the broth and offers a delicate and ethereal note to the taste.  A more rustic, northeastern Thai version of this soup uses pieces of fish such as catfish or salmon.  After making this soup and serving this soup and telling my dinner guests that it was vegan S and W replied with a well we thought it “rocked the house.”  So really this dish convinced me that good tasting food, regardless of a vegan classification is just that, food that rocks the house and comforts the soul.

Final Dinner Menu (Semi-Vegan

Tom Yum (V)

Organic Greens with Spicy Thai Citrus Dressing(V)

Chicken Satay (Not V)

Satay Peanut Sauce (V)

Tom Yum
Spicy Lemon Grass Soup with Mushrooms and Tofu

 

Serves 4 –6

4 Cups Vegetable Stock

3 large stalks fresh lemongrass

12 wild lime leaves (optional)

2 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

3 slender green onions, cut crosswise into 1" lengths

1 fresh green jalapeno chili

8 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1” cubes

1 cup well-drained, whole canned straw mushrooms

2 tablespoons roasted chili paste

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon salt

In a large saucepan bring the stock to a boil over medium heat.  Meanwhile, trim the lemongrass stalks.  Cut away and discard any hard, dried root portions, leaving a smooth, flat base just below the bulb.  Trim away the tops, including any dried brown leaf portions; you should have handsome stalks about 6” long, including the bulbous base.  Using the blunt edge of a clever blade or heavy knife or the side of an unopened can, bruise each stalk, whacking it firmly at 2” intervals and rolling it over to bruise on all sides.

When the stock is boiling, add the bruised lemongrass stalks and half of the lime leaves 9if using), and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.  Cook until the stock is fragrant and the lemongrass has faded from bright green to a dull khaki, about 5 minutes.

While the soup simmers, combine the lime juice, the remaining lime leaves (if using), and the green onions in a serving bowl large enough to accommodate the soup.  Remove the stem from the jalapeno and cut the chili crosswise into thick rounds; add 2 or more of the rounds to the serving bowl; the amount depends on you love of chili heat.  Reserve any leftover chili for another use and set aside.

Scoop out the lemongrass form the stock and discard it.

Raise the heat to high and add the tofu, mushrooms, chili paste, sugar, soy sauce, and salt and stir well.  When the soup boils again, remove it from the heat and quickly pour it into the serving bowl.  Stir to combine the lime juice and herbs with the soup and serve at once. 

Note:  Adjust taste with more lime juice, chili paste desired.  Serve at once.

IMBB # 19 + Vegan