apuginthekitchen

May 18

Spaghetti With Broccoli And Garlic And Parmigiano Lemon Bread Crumbs

Pasta and broccoli

There are so many delicious sweet treats for Fiesta Friday #16 that I decided I would bring a savory dish. I make this often, practically every week, it’s one of my favorite quick and simple meals. I find that making some of the components of the dish in the morning really help this to come together quickly for dinner. I like to make the breadcrumbs and steam the broccoli in the morning. The breadcrumbs taste so good when they are made a few hours ahead of the meal. I also steam the broccoli in the morning and saute in the evening before serving. There really is no recipe per say for this dish, but here are the list of ingredients and instructions.

Fiesta Friday #16 is hosted by Elaine@foodbod and Stacey@10 legs in the kitchen and to find out more about Fiesta Fridays and hopefully join the party visit Angie’s lovely site The Novice Gardener. I must say I am having a blast participating, there are so many great cooks, we all have fun!

Broccoli- cut into bite size pieces

2 cloves garlic thinly sliced

pinch of red pepper flakes

spaghetti or pasta of your choice

approximately 1/4 cup chicken broth or pasta water

Bread crumbs (preferably fresh bread crumbs)

1 clove garlic minced

olive oil

parmigiano grated

pinch of lemon zest (zest of half a lemon)

black pepper a few turns of the pepper mill

salt if needed

Mix bread crumbs, lemon, parmigiano and black pepper. In saute pan heat some olive oil and add the minced garlic, now add the breadcrumbs and saute until toasted a golden brown. Remove the bread crumbs and set aside, don’t clean the pan use the same pan for the broccoli.

Steam broccoli to your desired doneness, for this dish I like it pretty soft, probably softer than most of you would want to cook it. I steam it for about 8-10 minutes. Put the water (be sure to add salt to the water) on for the spaghetti, when boiling vigorously cook to al dente and remove, save some of the water. To your saute pan add olive oil, garlic and pepper flakes, saute until the garlic softens and starts to turn a very light brown. Add the broccoli and stir until it’s covered with the oil and garlic, saute for a few minutes, add the chicken broth or reserved pasta water and cook for a few minutes, add the pasta and toss with the sauteed broccoli and cook for just about a minute. Remove from pan. Top the spaghetti with the bread crumbs and serve. I like to add more cheese.

Pasta Yum!

Fiesta Friday

May 15

71 Comments

Semolina Yeast Herb Pancakes With Eggplant And Garbanzo Stew

pancakes

A little different spin on the yeast and herb challenge for Fiesta Friday’s Challenge #1. These pancakes are Moroccan in origin, are so simple to make and really delicious. They are the perfect vehicle for whatever you would like to dip or scoop. I chose a roasted tomato,garbanzo and eggplant stew served with a cold yogurt, cucumber and mint salad. The pancakes only need one rise for an hour, the texture is different from your standard pancake because they are made predominantly with semolina. The basic recipe does not contain herbs but for this challenge I gathered some fresh herbs from the garden and added a little dried marjoram.

This very special edition of Fiesta Friday’s is hosted by the always wonderful Angie from The Novice Gardener and co- host Catherine@Catherine Cuisine, Angie and Catherine will not only host, they will also judge, yes, there will be a winner and a gift. So exciting.

Pancakes:

Serves 4-6depending on serving size

3 cups warm whey or water

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp instant yeast

1 3/4 cup semolina

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp honey

1 tsp salt

1 cup fresh herbs chopped (I used parsley, mint and chives) I used more parsley and chives than mint.

1 tsp dried marjoram

In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the warm whey or water with the baking powder. In a food processor, combine the semolina with the flour, yeast, honey and the remaining 2 3/4 cups of warm water; process for 30 seconds, until smooth. Add the salt and baking powder mixture and process for 30 seconds longer. Pour the batter into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. I made this in the morning and let it rise for an hour then refrigerated until ready to make. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before making the pancakes.

Heat a crepe pan or skillet coated with olive oil until its hot, a drop of water should dance on the surface. Add the chopped herbs and marjoram and stir to combine. Ladle some of the batter, it’s fairly thin,into the pan and quickly spread so it makes a thin layer. Let it cook until bubbles appear then flip and brown on the other side. Keep in the oven on warm until ready to serve.

Stew

Eggplant and garbanzo stew

1 large eggplant skin removed and cut into approximately 1 inch cubes

1 small onion or 2 shallot minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (I used canned)

2 cups tomato sauce ( I made my own from roasted cherry tomatoes pureed in the blender)

1/2 tsp turmeric

pinch saffron

juice of half a lemon or a dried lime (if using dried lime make sure to use a knife and make slits)

1 tsp harissa or add to taste and heat tolerance.

Salt and pepper to taste

A generous handful of parsley and a few mint leaves chopped

Toss the eggplant in olive oil and bake in 375 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until browned. In saucepan sweat the onion and garlic in some olive oil, add the garbanzo’s and saute briefly just to warm and coat with the oil, now add the tomato sauce, turmeric, saffron,harissa and lemon and let simmer for 30 minutes, watch carefully and add liquid if necessary, you don’t want it too dry.
Add the eggplant and simmer for another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and mint right before serving.

Yogurt,cucumber mint salad

2 cups plain greek yogurt ( I like full or reduced fat not non fat)

1 cucumber peeled and cut into small pieces

1- 1 1/2 tsp dried mint

salt and pepper to taste

Delicious meal

Fiesta Friday Challenge

May 11

59 Comments

Happy Mothers Day Blueberry Waffles

Breakfast in Bed

Mothers Day Breakfast is homemade blueberry waffles with melted butter and real maple syrup. My favorite waffle recipe is on Food52, Aretha Frankensteins Waffles of Insane Greatness. They really are wonderful, light, crispy and utterly addictive. I sometimes like to add blueberries either frozen or fresh to the batter. I always double the recipe because I freeze them and heat in the toaster or oven, they make a fantastic quick breakfast!

Serves 2 to 4
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or a combination)
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional blueberries, frozen or fresh at least a cup
Butter and pure maple syrup, for serving
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
Heat a waffle iron. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and pure maple syrup or hold in a 200 degree oven, directly on the rack (don’t stack them or they’ll get soggy). These also reheat very well in the toaster.

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Mothers Day I hope you are going to relax and spend time with loved ones. Have a wonderful day!

Ready to Freeze

Mothers Day

Mothers

May 9

102 Comments

Cherry Ginger Hand Pies

Cherry Ginger Handpie

I am so excited, this is my first submission for Fiesta Fridays, the very fun and creative brain child of Angie from The Novice Gardener. I thought it would be fun to bring dessert to the party/fiesta, who doesn’t love dessert and cherry pie is one of my favorites. I had some preserved sour cherries that I got last summer and since this is a fiesta I decided to give them a little kick by adding some spicy ginger. It’s a delicious combination. Imagine flaky buttery pie crust with tart/sweet cherries with a kick. Serve warm with some ice cream.

I used my go to pie crust recipe from Julia Child, it never fails me, I love making hand pie’s not only are they cute but there is built in portion control, So dust off your tiara and feather boa and join the party!

Julia Childs Pastry Dough

Makes enough dough for a double crust 9 inch pie

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1 tsp salt

6 oz cold unsalted butter cut into tbs size pieces

4 tbs shortening or leaf lard cold

1/2 cup ice cold water

You can make this either by hand or in the food processor. To make by hand, put flours, salt, butter, lard or shortening into mixing bowl, use pastry cutter to combine until it resembles pea size crumbs. Add water mix with fork, gather with your hands, divide dough into a 2 discs and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

In Food Processor, add the flours, salt, butter and shortening or lard into the bowl of the processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles pea size crumbs. Add the water and pulse a few times until it becomes a cohesive dough. Divide dough into two discs and wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Cherry Pie Filling

1 quart cherries (I used sour cherries)

1 – 1 1/2 cup sugar (according to taste, you determine how sweet you like it)

1 – 1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (depends on how assertive you want your ginger to be, add 1 tsp then taste)

1/4 cup water or juice

Place everything in sauce pan, bring to boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. If your cherries don’t thicken enough make a slurry with a tsp or two of corn or tapioca starch and a splash of water and add to the cherries while cooking.

Making the pies

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment.

Roll your pie dough into a thin sheet and using a biscuit cutter or glass cut out rounds, you can make them whatever shape you like of course, square, rectangular or even a triangle. Place some of the cooled filling in the middle, brush the edge of the round with egg wash and place another round on top, crimp, brush top with egg wash or cream, sprinkle with sugar and cut a vent in the middle, continue until all the dough is used and bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack, serve warm with ice cream or heavy cream.

Apr 29

85 Comments

Small Plates- Tapas

Cheese, wine,olives and bread

Tapas anyone?

I was recently inspired to make tapas after reading a post on the very beautiful blog Laura’s Mess. She and friends/fellow bloggers get together and prepare a feast frequently and it’s like a culinary tour of the world. I decided since I love the food of Spain and I am particularly fond of small portions that I would make tapas. You can eat a variety of foods and variety is the spice of life!!

For this meal I made some of my favorite Spanish dishes, they are simple and very tasty and I find that when you set out platters of a variety of food for friends it’s fun, add some good wine to the mix and it’s a great party. You can also make some of the food in advance. The meatballs and tomato sauce and the polenta keep very well for a day or two, I also boiled the potatoes for the patatas bravas a day ahead and fried them the day of, you can also make that yummy sauce ahead.

I am not going to post recipes for all,most of the recipes are not mine, but I will provide the link to the recipe if you want to make. I served the polenta with the meatballs and tomato sauce, the grilled merguez goes beautifully with the patatas bravas. The shrimp, well they are great on their own and don’t forget the cheese and olives and bread with some good olive oil for dipping. Wash it all down with wine I chose Rioja. Sangria would also be lovely with this!!

Here is the menu:

Patatas Bravas

Albondigas- Spanish meatballs (Recipe calls for pork, I used pork and beef)

Merguez (grilled)

Roasted Tomato Sauce (No recipe needed see below for instructions)

Gambas Al Ajillo- Spanish Garlic Shrimp

Cheesy Manchego Polenta

Assorted cheese. bread, olives

Lots of wine

Oven roasted tomatoes and garlic

Sauce-fresh tomato, garlic,thyme and olive oil

The tomato sauce is very simple, pre heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread cherry tomatoes and at least 3 cloves garlic on sheet pan, I used assorted heirloom, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and sprinkle generously with thyme. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes and garlic are softened and caramelized. Crush with fork or masher and add the meatballs, simmer on low heat for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Serve with polenta.

Manchego Polenta

Polenta ( You can easily half the recipe if doing tapas)

Serves 4-6 depending on serving size

4 cups whey or water

1 cup polenta (corn meal) I used stone ground

pinch of salt

1 cup grated manchego cheese

2 tbs butter

2 tbs heavy cream, creme fraiche or mascarpone

black pepper (2 or 3 turns of the pepper mill)

In saucepan add the whey or water and pinch of salt, bring to a rolling boil. Whisk in the polenta, don’t dump it all in add slowly while you are whisking it thickens very quickly. Lower heat to low and continue whisking until its done. It takes approximately 3-5 minutes for regular cornmeal and 7-10 minutes for stoneground. Remove from heat add the butter, cheese and heavy cream. Stir until its all incorporated. Cover pan and set aside.

Meatballs

I baked the meatballs at 375 degree’s for 30 minutes then finished on stove top simmering in fresh tomato sauce.

Apr 26

24 Comments

Bloggers Bake Sale For No Kid Hungry-One Week From Today!!

No Kid Hungry

Lets face it, as food bloggers a good part of our day is spent thinking about food, I constantly think about what new recipe I can conjure up with the beautiful and seemingly unlimited supply of food available to us. How is it then in this vast country with so much food, that children can go to bed with an empty stomach? It’s a very sad thought and because of this I am participating with other food bloggers in a Bake Sale to benefit “No Kid Hungry“, 100% of the proceeds go to this amazing charity. In America, one of the wealthiest countries in the world 1 in 5 children go to bed hungry, thats a staggering statistic and this has to end. Local food bloggers are all donating baked goods and we are selling them here in Brooklyn at “The Flea” in an effort to raise money and awareness.

We all love our children and knowing that we are doing something to help is the best feeling in the world. If you don’t live in NYC, no problem, make a donation. Think about it, ending childhood hunger in the USA is within our reach and a donation no matter how small brings us one step closer.

If any of you live in Brooklyn or NYC or any of the boroughs please stop by the Brooklyn Flea and buy some delicious baked goods all for a very good cause. I am making brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars and one more item yet to be determined for the bake sale. Visit the website, take the pledge, make a donation, stop by the flea and show your support for this great cause.

Apr 25

58 Comments

How My Garden Grows, Hopefully…..

Farmers market finds

I am a notoriously bad gardener, I admit my limitations and unfortunately I am the kiss of death for plants. I don’t know why or what I do wrong. I can over and under water, put way too much compost and burn the roots, have too much or too little sun, not feed or prune because I am afraid of over pruning and feeding, The only plants that thrive for me are weeds. Despite my limitations and lack of ability every year I plant something, it will be good for a while and some years I get lucky and something actually works for me. Pictured above is my recent plant purchases, we’ll see how these do. I have some flowers, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, lime and Italian basil, rosemary, sage, creeping and regular thyme and spearmint.

One of the farmers at the market told me to come back in two weeks for a much better selection. I hope to get a few tomato plants, some thai basil and maybe a few other things that catch my eye.

The very handsome kitty in the photo’s is Justin, he was thrown out I believe, he is not feral but now he lives in my backyard, We have a kitty condo on my covered terrace for him and I have fed him every day for the last 3 1/2 years. We take him for checkups and vaccinations and he gets lots of attention from me and my friends. I cannot have him in the house because of my pugs and also severe allergies. He needs a home and is such a sweet cat, how can people just throw an animal away. It makes me so angry.

herbs and a Justin photobomb

So 2 weeks later I still had not put my plants in soil, very bad I know. I lost the 3 basil plants, they were seedlings and I think the snow we had a week ago killed them, or maybe it was me. Today I planted what was left. We’ll see how they do. I may re plant them in larger containers later on but at least I got them out of their little plastic containers and in pots with soil, they are happy now I think, well watered and in direct sunlight.

Herbs, cilanto, parsley, rosemary and sage

More herbs, chives, mint, thyme

flowers

Apr 20

61 Comments

Happy Easter

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter and to all who celebrated Passover a slightly belated wish for a wonderful Holiday! I am not cooking or really doing anything today but I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Holiday!! It has been a hectic and crazy week and I hope to be back cooking very, very soon.

Photo’s courtesy of google

Apr 7

104 Comments

Coconut Pineapple Layer Cake

Coconut on the cake

I guess you could call this a pina colada cake or a pineapple coconut layer cake, yellow cake, pineapple filling and a coconut whipped cream frosting generously covered in flaked coconut. I use my Tender Yellow Cake recipe, adapted James McNair’s whipped cream frosting and made a simple pineapple filling using crushed pineapple. I have been making this cake for years and it’s requested all the time.

The Yellow cake is a very old recipe penned by my Mom after years of research and IMHO it’s the best yellow cake ever. Tender, fine crumb and very moist. It contains vegetable oil, not butter and the egg whites are separated and whipped making this cake light and it has a great rise. Click here for the recipe, I have published it several times.

Unflrosted

Pineapple filling

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, unsweetened in it’s own juice (or use fresh pineapple if you prefer)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1 tsp lemon zest

pinch of salt

1 tbs butter

Place contents of the can of pineapple in a medium saucepan, add the sugar, cornstarch,lemon zest and salt and whisk or mix to combine making sure there are no lumps.

Turn heat to medium high and cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, add the butter and stir until it’s melted. Spoon into heat proof bowl, cover with plastic wrap that sits directly on the mixture. Let come to room temperature and then refrigerate until completely cooled or over night.

Coconut Whipped Cream Frosting

adapted from James McNair’s whipped cream frosting

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

3 tsp corn starch

1/4 cup + 1 tbs powdered sugar

1 1/2 cup heavy cream very cold

1 tsp vanilla

Place coconut milk, cornstarch and powdered sugar in small saucepan, whisk to remove any lumps. Turn heat to medium high and cook until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and spoon into a bowl, let come to room temperature stirring frequently to keep skin from forming or cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the mixture and let sit until cool.

Coconut milk stabiizer

Chill the whisk attachment or beaters of your mixer along with the bowl. Add the heavy cream, beat until it begins to hold shape, now add the coconut milk mixture and vanilla extract and continue beating until it becomes thick and is a spreading consistency. Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.

Just whipped

To assemble:

Frost the cake with the whipped cream frosting, I start from the center and work the frosting down the sides of the cake doing a crumb layer first then finishing if off nice and smooth.

Frosting in the center

I like to mix sweetened regular flaked coconut with unsweetened large flakes, it looks nice but it also is a bit less sweet. using all one kind is either too sweet or not sweet enough and a mix I find to be perfect.

Mixed flakes of coconut

Apr 5

75 Comments

Springtime In Brooklyn

I am so excited to finally have some warmer weather, everywhere I walk I see buds and little bits of green popping up and the crocus are in bloom. When it’s Spring I can’t wait to get some herbs and veggies in the pots, I thought I would check out today what kind of plants they had at the Farmers Market and on the way back stop off at the Brooklyn Flea, today is the first day they are back after the winter hiatus. It was a little early for the plants but I managed to come back with a few, in 2 weeks I’ll go back for more. I got some thyme, Italian flat leaf parsley, lime and sweet basil, pansies, begonia, mint, sage, rosemary. Can’t wait to plant them this week. I decided to try tomatoes this year too!! I am lucky enough to live and work in this wonderful community with it’s graceful architecture, century old homes, friendly neighbors, great shopping and food. Here are some photo’s of what I saw on my way around my neighborhood today.

Graham Home For Old Ladies now condo’s

Graham Home for Old Ladies- I kid you not thats what the placard on the building really say’s, it used to be a brothel, and when the ladies aged it became a home for elderly ladies (of the night). They serviced the community many years and were frequented often by the sailors who came into the Brooklyn Navy Yard.