Overconfident cook!

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post "Stuffed Banana Peppers - Italian Style".  Now that I have become quite the over-confident cook, I posted the recipe here while the peppers were in the oven without quite waiting for the final outcome.  (Notice the picture in the original post is raw stuffed peppers waiting for the oven to heat up.)  Here is the little story of the aftermath.  Needless to say, Salil teased me to no end calling them "Pooping Peppers" and even made my failure public via facebook.  But, I am an honest cook and for the scores of friends and family who follow our blog and depend on us for the next big idea., I had to come out clean ;).

After spending so much time to carefully pipe the filling in the peppers through the small hole on the top, we baked them.  The stuffing swelled and out it came through the same little hole.

Well, I saw the recipe on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and decided  to make my own version.  After stuffing, they battered the peppers and deep fried them.  I guess the batter and an appropriate oil temperture held the stuffing inside.

I needed to skip the frying part and decided to bake them instead and found these delicate little stuffable peppers.  Lesson learnt - slit them lengthwise and stuff.  Apart from the accident, the whole thing was quite yummy :).

Thats what I love about failed experiments in the kitchen over failed experiments at my lab bench.....I can still eat them!!

Turkey Chilli

Its a 105F outside and I decided to make a bowl of chilli.  Have a bad bout of cold and desperately need some comfort food.  If it gets too hot, may be I will go get an ice cream to balace it all!

1/2 pound ground white turkey
3 large cloves of garlic
2 serrano peppers
1 medium onion
4 medium tomatoes
kernels from 1 fresh corn
1 8oz can of black beans
1/2 bottle dark beer
2 cups vegetable/ chicken stock
1 cup 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
shredded cheese
olive oil
Salt

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a deep pan and add ground turkey to it.  Break up the meat stirring constantly untill it becomes opaque white and turns slightly brown at the edges.  Add finely chopped garlic and serrano peppers.  I de-seeded one of twon peppers to control the heat.  Saute for 2 minutes and add finely chopped onion.  Saute on medium low heat for 15 minutes till the onions become translucent and then become pinkish-brown. 
Meanwhile, quarter the tomatoes, sprinkle salt, peppers and olive oil and slow roast them in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes.  It will concentrate the tomato flavor without drying them out completely.  I used fresh tomato from the farmers market but canned crushed tomatoes will also work. Once the onions start to turn brown, add the chopped roasted tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes till the tomatoes cook completely.
Add corn, black beans and beer and let it come to a boil for another 10 minutes.  Now, add stock and milk and let it come to a final bubble.
For a thicker chilli, add a small can of tomato sauce with the chopped tomatoes.  I prefer a subtle tomato flavor but this recipe makes a rather soupy chilli.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Banana Peppers - Italian style

For 2 portions

4 small banana peppers (choose small, straight for ease of filling)
2 tablespoons ricota cheese
2 teaspoons pesto (I used home made frozen pesto, store bought will do)
Zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup ground roasted cashewnuts (or whichever nut you like)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 finely chopped de-seeded serrano peppe
olive oil to make a tooth past consistency stuffing

Cut the top off from the pepper and patiently de-seed it through the small opening at the top.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients to make the stuffing.  Using a piping bag (small plastic bag with a corner cut), fill the peppers with the stuffing.  It takes some patience to push it all the way to the end.  I used the blunt end of a skewer to push the stuffing deeper.

Brush some oil and bake in an oven at 350C for 10-15 minutes.

Caviar and Salmon-dill dip

A great side dish.  All the ingredients can be found at the international isle local grocery store.
Nice Italian round bread (buttery and dense). Layer the bread with a thick spread of butter and top with salmon caviar.  Or top with smoked salmon, dill dip.

Beef with Plum Stew and Oven-roasted Rosemary Potatoes

The star of the meal at the dinner at our friend Svetlana's house.  Too complicated to guess the recipe but too good to not share and remember!

Mmmm. Sundae

A Sundae from Maple View Dairy ice cream store in Carrboro downtown.
Had the roasted almond ice cream, with dark chocolate fudge, strawberries, and pecans.  Offcourse topped with whipped cream and a cherry :)

A Georgian Dinner Night

Due to my ignorance about Georgian food, I have no idea what the name of this dish is. So, I am going to call it Spinach-Walnut Balls. We had this at my friend Svetalana's house when we went over for dinner. Guys, this is Georgia ex-USSR not the south of USA! The meal was excellent and this was a first opportunity for Salil and I to sample authentic Russain food. When we go to Genya's house, its all about Halwa and Tea. His mom and aunts need to visit more often :). Svetlana had prepared quite a spread but for me, this dish was the star for the surprise quotient. I approched it gingerly....big green balls! But I took a bite and was blown away. Below is the recipe which Svetalana told me and I guessed from the taste and flavors.

Fresh Spinach - washed and boiled
Garlic
Walnuts
Pomagranate seeds
Salt and Pepper
Sauted finely chopped onions

I eyeball everything and the quantities below are my educated guesses. So, am hopping that some of you are like me and will figure out a way to make it.

Boil the fresh spinach leaves, squeez the water out and put in a blender. For about 2 cups of processed spinach, add one big clove of garlic. Process it in a blender. To the spinach mixture, add half a cup of onions sauted - just transparent and soft, dont let them turn brown. Add about a cup of ground walnuts and  a tablespoon of pomogranate seeds. Season with salt and pepper and make into balls. Svetlana served them in a lettuce cup. I think it made a great side dish with our meal of beef and plum stew, salmon, bread with caviar and salmon-dill dip, russian salad with beets, carrots, potatoes and pickles and oven roasted rosemary potatoes. End of the meal was a mild green tea in Royal Albert tea-cups with a slice of a berry-torte.

Thanks Svetlana!

Fifteen minute, kicked-up Pasta

(Post by Avani)

Although I love Italian food, it has taken me some time to warm up to anchovies and more so to start cooking with them. Decided to brave it and developed this simple recipe inspired from Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals show.

A small can of Anchovies fillet (6-7 small fillets), chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups store bought marinara sauce
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 pound pasta (spaghetti/penne whatever you like)
10 small meatballs (I used sun-dried tomato and basil chicken meatballs from Trader Joes. Guys, dont frown...its a fifteen minute, kicked-up pasta!!)
Parsley
Shredded Jarlsburg cheese
Chopped black olives (optional)

Heat olive oil in a shallow, wide pan. Once the oil starts to ripple (dont let it smoke though), add chopped anchovy fillets, garlic and chilli flakes. Its important to add the fish before the garlic...we are not going for the burnt garlic flavor here! Feel free to change the amount of anchovies/chiili flakes and garlic to suit your palate. Whisk the mixture with a fork gently and reduce the heat to low.

The anchovies will almost melt in the oil and aroma will fill up your kitchen. At this stage, add the sliced mushrooms, chopped olives and the pasta sauce. If you have some extra time on hand, use grilled mushrooms (400C for 15 minutes in a thin layer with a splash of olive oil). Once the sauce heats through, add the de-frosted chicken meatballs and pasta. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Remember, the pasta sauce is already well seasoned. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and grated cheese. I chose jarlsburg for its creamy, milky, neutral taste to cut through the strong anchovy flavor.

I have to admit that I am a convert now. Anchovies are yummy and if used in the right proportion, they will give a lot of depth to your sauce.

Summer Sling

1/4 teasp tamarind concentrate (tamicon) with water - stir into a 1 ounce shot glass. Toss into a shaker.
Add 2 ounces frooti drink
4 ounces Ceres Lychee juice
Shake with ice in a shaker
pour into two glasses with ice
Top each glass with 4 ounces of Hansens cane sugar Giner Ale
to make it alcoholic - add 1 ounce of Vodka or Gin (both work great).

Great drink - tropical flavours without the sugary sweetness.

Super Spud

Went to a deli on Franklin Street this friday and got a spud...was a little disappointed with the hugh amount of cheese but lack of other interesting toppings. So, Salil and I decided to come up with our own recipe for an overflowing potato!  You can get as creative with the toppings, but here is what we had last night.

The POTATO:  2 good, uniformly cylinder shaped russet potatoes about half pound each.  Clean the potatoes under running water to get rid of all the dirt. Dry them well, and poke deeply with a fork about 5-6 places so the steam can escape. Coat them with oil and sprinkle salt liberally all over. Pre heat the oven at 350C and set the potatoes in the top rack for 60 minutes. Keep a tray in the bottom rack to collect the drippings if any.
At the end of baking, the skin should be crispy but the flesh inside should remain soft. Cut the potato in half and you can mash/ slash it a little with a dab of butter. Its ready for the toppings now.

TOPPINGS:

Mashed gruyere cheese: This was the first layer and it melted instantly on th soft hot potato. Gruyere has a bold taste - slightly bitter. But I put very little cheese, just enough to make a thin layer on the potato and the bitter taste paired perfectly with the starchy sweetness of the potato.

Sausage: I used 2 chicken andouille sausages but any spicy sausage will work here. Take the sausage out of its casing and chop up real fine. Put a teaspoon of olive oil in a saute pan and once the oil heats up, add the sausage. Let it cook on medium heat untill the sausage browns and you see some oil/fat separateing out into the pan. Should take about 15 minutes.

Mushrooms: I used regular white mushrooms, chopped finely about 2 cups raw. Sauted them in the same pan after the sausage was done to get the yummy flavor of the pan drippings. Seasoned lightly with salt and pepper. Mushrooms will shrink conbsiderably after cooking but the flavor will concentrate, so a little goes a long way.

Chick-peas: This was mainly to bump up the protein content of the meal, but potatoes and chick-peas are a classic combination in the Indian Street food scene (paani-puri), cant go wrong with that! Heat a teaspoon of oil and saute a finely chopped shallot or a very small onion. Once it starts to turn brown, add finely chopped fat big clove of garlic. Let the garlic cook for about 30 seconds (dont let it turn brown, completely changes the flavor profile) and add 1 cup chicke peas (soaked overnight if using fresh or use a can). Once the chickpeas are coated with the onion garlic mixture, add a tablespoon of water and cook for 10 minutes till the water evaporates. For a dash of color, add a small pinch of turmeric to the onion. Season with salt.

Finely chopped jalapeno peppers, deseeded: Dont take off the seeds, if you are brave. Want more heat, use the small and thin Indian chillis or the thai chillis. Want a milder flavor, skip this topping.

Finely chopped green onion.

Assembly: Once the potao comes out of the oven, add a layer of cheese that will melt on the potato and hold all the toppings like a glue. After this, go nuts! Dont forget to add a dollop of sour cream or whipped curds, especially if you have the chillies.

I figure that this is a great dish for entertaining. As long as you have an oven, you can bake any number of potatoes at the same time. Get creative with the toppings and the guests can build their own! Other topping ideas - chopped olives, salsa, italian pickeled vegetables...

Pick a theme and run with it :).