Granola

In the immediate wake of the holidays I was feeling a bit...well I guess whiped out. It happens every year, the excitement, food, family, presents etc. dies down and it's all I can do to drag my butt into work for the first week back to real life. Each year I sludge through that week after the new year like some sort of zombie and hope that enough sleep, relaxation, exercise and normal food will coax my usual self out of hibernation.




This Monday I woke up and decided out of nowhere that I HAD to make granola before work. I am going to go out on a limb and assume that a sudden urge to make granola is a sign that the undeadness that had taken up residence in my body has moved on and made room once again for my usual self. Thank god, because the lethargy was getting old. And the really good news is that the granola is amazing, REALY amazing.



I have a strange relationship with granola. I love it but I have a hard time swallowing the cost, and frankly the sugar/fat content, of commercial granola. So I try to make my own but I have not always had the best luck in the past. It's always just ok and most of it ends up going stale. Inevitably I end up living, yet again, a granolaless life. Boo. I decided that this time I would sort of fly by the seat of my pants and make granola with the things I want in it instead of following a recipie. I consulted Alton Brown to get the general rules for making granola. His recipes generally included 3 cups of oats, and a total of about 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup oil, and because he is almost always right about everything I stuck to these proportions (with a bit less sugar) and cooked the granola for 1 hour and 15 minutes as he suggested.

Looks Good right?!?!



You could use just about any add in, nuts, dried fruit. I bet it would be really good with chocolate chips mixed in after everything is cooled. Be creative and make it the way you like, but his is what I ended up coming up with:

Breakfast Granola
Loosely adapted from Alton Brown

• 3 cups Rolled Oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/8 cup honey (you could use 1/4 if you like a slightly sweeter granola)
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup pepitas
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup raisins

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon and nuts.

In a smaller bowl wisk together the oil, honey, salt, and vanilla. Add to the oats mixture and stir to combine. Spread the mixture out evenly on the lined baking sheets and place them in the oven.

Bake the granola for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the oats are golden brown. I stirred my oats and rotated the pans in the oven (and switching racks, moving the one that was on the top rack to the bottom rack and placing the one on the bottom on top) every fifteen minutes to be sure that nothing was burning and that everything was cooking evenly.

Once the granola is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow to cool a bit on the baking sheets. When it has cooled transfer it into a large bowl and add the dried fruit. Stir the mixture until everything is evenly distributed. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Barefoot Lentils

I'm watching "The Hangover" right now. Those of you who have seen it, you know there is a part where Alan, the sad and deeply pathetic lone wolf comes through and his awesome card counting talent appears to have saved the day. Triumphant right? These lentils remind me of that moment. Yes, they are THAT triumphant. For those of you that have not seen the movie, which you should do immediately, what I am basically trying to say is that these lentils, though they seem rather drab or weird as a dinner dish, actually totally rule. The lentils are firm and nutty, the carrots are rendered sweet after the long simmering, the thyme infuses the pot with its wintry influence, and the curry lends it's exotic taste to an otherwise simple dish.

I want to go ahead and put my future nurse hat on for a moment and point out that this dish is as healthy as it is delicious. Protein, veggies, and very little added fat. Keeping this in mind, the dish is filling and satisfying, especially with some thick Greek yogurt on top and cornbread (recipe to come) on the side. I have to admit I never participate in the whole new years weight loss resulution madness, but I do ALWAYS try to eat healthy and nutritiuous food. So, for those of you that are trying to eat healthier in the coming year, this is a great choice.

Ohh, veggies, and lentils and curry and other awesome delicious goodness. MMM.....

It's the single best dinner that anyone could have, oh its the single best dinner that anyone could have.

Kudos to those of you that catch that one.

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes

Recipe by Ina Garten, featured in "Barefoot Contessa at Home"

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups large diced onion
• 2 cups large diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves
• 1 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, chopped either by hand or in a food processor
• 1 cup green lentils
• 2 cups chicken stock (chose no added salt for a healthier dish)
• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan or soup pan. Make sure that the pan you are using has a lid. Once the oil is hot add the onions an carrots and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and allow to cook for one more minute.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, broth, curry, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and cover the pan. Allow the mixture to simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils are to your liking.

Once the lentils are finished cooking, remove from heat and let sit for about 10 minutes, and then add the vinegar, stir, and season to taste.

Chicken, Chicken Soup with Noodles

I think it is safe to say that most of us spent a large portion of our formative years being lulled to sleep by the words of Maruice Sendak. Where the Wild Things are is of course his most popular I suppose, but as a kid I would read, while at my grandparents house, a collection of his books that included Pierre (a cautionary tale), Aligators all around, and Chicken Soup With Rice. These books were the most honest children s books and I was absolutely obsessed with them. Poor Pierre gets eaten by a lion or something like that, I can't remember for sure but it was scary as hell and totally exciting. While Pierre introduced us to the excitement of fear among other things, Chicken Soup with Rice was my introduction to one of lifes most important lessions. Chicken Soup is not only food, but it posses magical powers. It is a dish that is to be treated with reverence, and deserves to have entire books written in its honor.





And it's true isn't is? When you are really tired, or stressed, or simply have had way to many Christmas cookies and need something restorative, chicken soup is without a doubt the way to go. Alex and I have eaten enough Christmas cookies and heavy food in the last week to last us the rest of the year. So this past Sunday we decided that chicken soup would be the way to go. We decided however to go with chicken noodle, not chicken soup with rice, but I think that the general principals of awesomeness apply to all chicken soups regardless of starch.





I got Alice Waters "The Art of Simple Food" for Christmas this year and we decided to follow her recipe for chicken noodle soup pretty closely. The only change we actually made was to the noodles, the recipe originally called for fettuccine and we used Egg noodles because I think that chicken noodles with Egg noodle is without a doubt the best way to go. Also, we added a lot of extra broth at the end because we love broth.







Chicken Noodle Soup
Adapted from Alice Walter, The art of Simple Food

• 1 Chicken Breast half-bone in with skin
• 1 Quart Chicken Broth- we actually ended up using an extra 2 cups after the soup was completely cooked to make it a bit more bothy. If you like a soup with a lot of broth have some extra broth on hand.
• 1/2 medium onion peeled and sliced + 3 tbl diced onions
• 1/2 carrot, peeled and sliced + 3 tbl diced carrots
• 1/4 parsni, peeled and sliced + 2 tbl diced parsnip
• 1 parsley sprig
• 1 oz noodles-we used Egg, but you can use Fettuccini if you want as well
• Salt
• Chopped fresh Dill for garnish

In a large pot place the chicken Brest and 1 quart of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. If any fat comes to top skim it off.

Once the pot has come to a boil add the 1/2 onion, 1/2 carrot, 1/2 celery and 1/4 parsnip along with the parsley sprig. Allow the pot to simmer for 40 minutes.

Turn of the broth and remove the chicken from the pan, place it on a plate or in a bowl and let cool.

Strain out the broth with a fine strainer, discard the veggies and parsley.

Once the brest has cooled remove the skin and the bone, and cut the meat into small pieces and place them in a bowl. Cover the meat with a few spoonfuls of broth.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles. Drain them and rinse with cold water and set aside.

In a heavy pot add the diced onions, carrots, celeary, parsnips and salt. Covere the veggies with 2 cups of the chicken broth, and cook at a gentel simmer for about 15 minutes. When the veggies are cooked add the remaining broth, cooked noodles, and chicken meat. If you feel the need, add stock until the soup is the ratio of chunks to broth that you prefer.

Serve the soup in warmed bowl with chopped dill on top.

Merry Merry Apple Onion Tart

It's been a bit of a crazy/awesome holiday season for us. There were finals, which of course sucked hard but then they ended life went from being sad and pathetic to being filled with friends family, food, drinks, vacations, and festivities.

First, my birthday which we rang in with family and then friends in the city at The Velvet Catina in the Mission (San Francisco) and I have to say, seriously people you need to eat there, the food is out of control. There are cactus enchiladas. Be very weary of the margaritas, they will knock you on your ass if you are not careful. Or if that's your sort of thing than its just a happy bonus to go along with the food.

Then Hawaii. Eighty degree weather, rum filled pineapples, beaches, volcano's, cool and scary fish sightings, and of course the graduation ceremony of Alex's rather mischievous yet eternally cool younger brother. Need I say more? An eight our stint in the SF airport didn't even manage to put a damper on the trip.

Oh yah, and X-mas of course. Obviously that was fun. It was also I must add full of food consumption. There was a late night cookie baking extravaganza that produced rather sub par specimens. I'll spare you the details, but lets just say that there is nothing more depressing than a "mehh" cookie, especially when it is Dec. 23 at 2am and you have no time to make replacement cookies and are forced to offer up the lamo cookies at a x-mas eve party. Along with the disapointments there were also triumphs. One of which was this caramelized onion tart. The thing is, this tart is sort of mind bogglingly easy to make. There is a huge short cut, pre-made puff pastry which I am sure some would scoff at, but seriously people, really? The pre-made stuff is delicious.

We made the tart as an appetizer for Christmas dinner because my Mom had pulled it out of Real Simple a while ago and was hoping that the opportunity to make it would arise. I know most people love Christmas for the gifts, but for me, the chance to make a recipe that has been waiting in the wings is really better than presents. Or at least it ranks up there. I get a lot of cool shit over the holidays. So ladies and gents, here it is, the tart that stole Christmas dinner...

Before I go on I would like to urge you all to experiment here, as I plan on doing as soon as I can find an excuse to do so. Goat cheese would be amazing in place of the sour cream, and I have a vision of puff pastry slathered with tomato sauce and parm, baked for 30 min, then cracking eggs on top and baking until the eggs are set. Oh sweet lord that would be sooo tasty.

Also, do yourself a favor and go download the new Norah Jones album. I was no fan of her before (except in the Little Willies) but "The Fall" is not annoying at all I swear, it is GOOD and it will make you hungry for onion apple tart.

Caramelized Onion Tarts with Apples
Real Simple, December 2009

• 2 tbl. Olive Oil
• 2 medium Onions sliced
• 2 red apples cut into small pieces
• 2 sheets of puff pastry thawed
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream (we used sour cream because it was the holidays and we were too busy for creme fraiche. I bet creme fraiche is EVEN more delicious)
• Salt and Pepper
  

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees

In a large skilled heat the oil over medium heat, and add the onions. Cook until the onions become soft and golden brown. This should take about 15 minutes.





Once the onions are done stir in the apples along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Allow everything to cook for roughtly 2 minutes.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and roll out the puff pastry onto the parchment, and then with a fork prick the pastry all over.





Spread the creme fraiche or sour cream on top on the puff pastry's leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Top with the onion's and apples. Put everything into the oven and allow to bake for 30-35 minutes.




Cut it up and eat it. I promise you won't be sorry.

Peruvian Roast Chicken (aka, tasty chickeny goodness)

It's been a while since I have spent any time in the kitchen. What little time I have has been hurried, and generally involved a whole lot of reciting various body systems under my breath while frantically packing a lunch for the next day. Finals have for the most part consumed my life. Today at noon I finished. I had this monster Physiology final, it was nasty but it marked the end of a years worth of Anatomy and Physiology. Thank god for winter break.

Next up Hawaii. Alex and I leave in the morning on Friday, were going to soak up the sun and watch his brother graduate from University of Hawaii. The last time I was in Hawaii I was in my early teens, had bright pink hair, and I remember that I had to finish "A Tale of Two Cities" while I was there in preparation for my first high school English class. So I am assuming that my frame of reference for Hawaii trips is a bit outdated. I am expecting that it will be awesome, and of course will include a great deal of delicious food and fruity drinks served up in the ever pineapple cup.

By the time we return I will have a good deal of Christmas cookie baking to undertake, and I am assuming that my kitchen will be rather annoyed at having been so long abandoned. I am going to have to buy it something pretty while we are away to butter her up a bit. She will forgive, and it will be a joyous reunion I am sure.

OHH, and lastly, before I delve into the chicken recipe, I am proud to report that I had Alligator strips (like chicken strips, made with Alligator) at dinner tonight. They were odd and chewy but I'll eat just about anything for bragging rights. And though in some parts of the country eating alligator may not be so strange but here in California its as novelty.

On to the chicken. This chicken is the best roasted chicken that has ever been produced in our kitchen. It is tender and juicy, and the skin is salty and with just a little bit of crunch. Generally I can't eat chicken skin, but this stuff is an exception. I realize that chicken may not sound very exciting but this chicken is something to get excited about. We served it up with roasted root vegetables and Kale sauteed with garlic and onions. Not to toot my own horn or anything but this meal pretty much kicked ass.

Peruvian Roast Chicken
Recipe from Everyday With Rachel Ray, By Daisy Martinez

• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 11/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• One 4 lb. chicken, rinsed and patted dry
• Salt and pepper
  

Smear together the garlic and salt on a cutting board so that it forms a paste. Put this into a small bowl and stir the oregano, gingere, cumin, and one tsp. of pepper and the paprika. Stir in the vinegar.




Using your fingers loosen the skin from the chicken, beginning at the neck and working down towards the legs.

Once the skin is separated, spread the marinade beneath the skin, and also into the cavity. Place the chicken into a freezer bag and place it in the refrigerator. Allow the chicken to marinade at least four hours, or overnight.






Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and place the chicken breast side up on a a rimmed baking sheet.

Allow the chicken to roast until the juices run clear. The meat shoud be 160 degrees when a thermometer is inserted into the breast. It should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Let the chicken stand for 10 minutes before carving.

The first of many, many cookie recipies

In a perfect world I would be eating a cookie a day, especially since our day's here on this earth are numbered, and by virtue of that fact, so are our opportunities to eat cookies. Cookies have this strange ability to be so simple, just little round unassuming treats, and at the same time they manage to make everything better. Seriously everything. I had a roommate once that had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. If I knew she was running late I would pop into the room and try to get her up and it was almost impossible. That is unless there were cookies in the apartment. If there were all I had to do was remind her of that fact and she would get up, shuffle to the kitchen, grab a cookie and then sit and chew in silence. Somehow, the fact that cookies were in the world, and specifically in our apartment, made life worth getting up for. I can relate to that feeling.

Because I attribute cookies with a sort of mystical power to right all wrongs and fix all problems, it is surprising to me that I have yet to feature a recipe here. If there was ever one worth being the first, it is this double chocolate cookie that my Mom found in the most recent Everyday Food magazine. We stuck fairly close to the recipe on this one, but substituted white chocolate chips for the 6 oz of chopped bittersweet chocolate. We thought that the white chocolate would be Christmasy with the cranberries, and it turned out really well. I am sure that the bittersweet would be good also.





A note of caution: These cookies are a rare breed. They are not very good straight out of the oven. If you have the willpower let them cool down, or even (I know, this is a lot to ask) wait for the next day to eat them. They don't come into thier full chewy, brownie like glory until they have had time to rest a bit. If need be, go ahead and eat one right away, just know that it is only a mere glimpse at how good they will be later.

Double-Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from Everyday Cooking

• 10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped


• 1 cup all-purpose flour


• 3 tbl. unsweetened cocoa powder


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt


• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened


• 3/4 cup granulated sugar


• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar


• 2 large eggs


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 6 oz white chocolate chips (or really any kind of chocolate you want)


• 1/2 cup dried cranberries


• 1/2 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate in either a double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Make sure to stir the chocolate regularly. Once the chocolate is melted set it aside.

In another bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Whisk them together.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugars together, then add the eggs and vanilla. Once everything is combined beat in the melted chocolate.

Slowly add the flour mixture, beating as you go.

Fold in the chocolate, cranberries and walnuts.

Drop the dough onto the parchment lined baking sheets, a heaping tablespoon full for each cookie. Bake the cookies until they are dry around the edges and have cracks on the top. It should be about 13 minutes per batch.

Remove from the oven, allowing to cool for three minutes on the cookie sheet and then transferring them to cooling racks.

Believe it or not I didn't spring forth fully formed as a foodie. I actually kind of hate that word. Foodie. It sounds pretentious and snobby, which I'm not. I do like all of the fancy food, but I also enjoy a good pop tart...I just like food. Anyway, I digress, my point was that I come from a long proud lineage of people that are into food, my Mom being one of them. Seeing as I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my Mom it seems only appropriate that she make an appearance on the blog. Last Monday I went over to her house to trim the tree, and we made dinner. My youngest brother Aidan was there too, an let me tell you, he hates everything we make. He subsists entirely on cottage cheese, potato chips, Turkey sandwiches, cereal and plain Frenches mustard. I kid you not, this little boy goes through a whole bottle by himself in 2 weeks. He LOVES mustard. Though his tastes are limited, his passion for the things he does like leads me to believe that sometime in the future, he too will be quite the little cook.

My family is Italian, if not so much by blood, but in heart. My Mom is 1/2 Italian, 1/2 Scottish, or something along those lines, were not talking exact science here. Her mother was Italian, and her father Scottish. But my Grandpa LOVES Italian culture, speaks the language, and for an extended period of time cooked almost exclusively Italian food. So for all practical purposes the family may as well be 100% Italian. And though we have been known to cook just about anything, we do have a bit of a soft spot for all things pasta, Parmesan, and saucy. A long standing family favorite has been a Fennel Pasta dish that has been in rotation for years now, and it is incredible. We made a dish that is a variation of that dish this week. Traditionally we have used only olive oil, chicken broth, Salt, Pepper and Parmesan, and that is amazing . But variety is the spice of life so my Mom decided it was time to do something a bit different. The result was so good I could have cried. Smoky, spicy, salty, and with just a hint of the fresh fennel. Seriously people, make this dish, it is the ultimate cold weather food.

The recipe we used was a variation on a recipe from Seriouseats.com.

Roasted Fennel Tomato Sauce

Adapted from Blake Royer's recipe.

• 2 fennel blubs, cored and sliced


• 2 large onions, sliced


• 8 garlic cloves chopped


• 1/3 c. Olive Oil


• 1/2 tsp chili flakes


• 2 tbl whole fennel seeds


• 1 can whole tomatoes (you are going to need to crush these)


• 1 lb Fusili pasta


• 1/2 cup lightly sauteed panchetta


• Salt and pepper to taste-Remember that panchetta is VERY salty. Use a bit less than you might expect that you need.
  

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Mix together the onion, oil, chili flakes, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Place them in a Pyrex and toss them into the oven. Allow time to roast for 15 minutes, and toss them at least once.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet, add garlic and suttee until soft, about 3 minutes

In a sauce pan heat the crushed tomatoes, and add the garlic

Boil a pot of water with a bit of salt. Add the pasta and allow to cook for as long as the box directs, or to your preference.

After fifteen minutes of roasting the fennel, add the tomatoes, mixing a bit in the dish. Sprinkle the panchetta on top. Put the dish back into the oven and allow to roast for about 5-10 minutes more. The fennel is done when it is browning and very soft.

Drain the pasta and be sure to save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in the tomato and fennel sauce. Add pasta water until the sauce is the consistency you would like it to be. If it looks fine with no pasta water, leave it, if it is too thick or not distributing well, add the water.

Serve the pasta on warm plates with generous amounts of Parmesan on top.

Mmmmmm.......