Valentine's Day Deserts

Your challenge this month is to CREATE a Valentine's Day desert. You can interpret the word 'create' however you wish. Good luck and may your cooking contain lots of love.

Winter Delights!

Venezuelan Christmas Bread
The bread that you see on the left is a traditional Venezuelan Christmas food called "pan de jamon" or "bread of ham." Gustavo's mother, Glenis, prepares this dish every year, and it is eaten at all times of the day. The bread includes raisins, olives, and prosciutto. It is delicioso!


Mussels in a Lemongrass-Ginger Tea Broth
When Jason and Katie were in Beantown visiting us, they cooked New England mussels for dinner. They prepared the mussels in a broth of lemongrass-ginger tea and served them with a baguette and a carrot, broccoli, fennel salad with a soy dressing. Super tasty!

Spaghetti Squash Calzone

This recipe was inspired by two recipes in the Moosewood Cookbook that happened to be on adjacent pages.

For the dough: Soften 1.5t dry yeast, 1T honey and 1 C warm water. In a separate bowl combine 1.5t salt, 2.5-3C flour (I used 1.5C whole-wheat and 1C bread flour). Add the water mixture to the flour along with 1/2t olive oil and knead for 10-15min. Cover, and place in a warm place until double in size (1hr). This makes 4 large/6 small calzones.

For the filling: Microwave 1 small spaghetti squash until soft, ~6min. Once cooled, scoop out squash and puree in food processor. Place in colander to drain. Gently press to push out excess water. Saute 1 small onion chopped, 1-2 cloves garlic, and mushrooms until nearly cooked. Add fresh spinach until just welted. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2C ricotta, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and any combination of (oregano, basil, thyme and parsley). Add the squash and stir.

Preparing the calzones: Roll dough into rounds 1/4in thick on a surface lightly floured with cornmeal. Fill one half of the center with filling leaving a 1/2in rim. Moisten rim with water and fold the empty side over. Crimp the edges with a fork and prick the calzone a few times. Bake at 450 on an oiled pan for 15 min.

Serve with warm marinara sauce and sprinkle with parmesan. Make the dough in the morning or the night before and refrigerate it during the day. The filling and baking only takes about 30min! Provecho!

Spaghetti Squash Delight!

This was a yummy side dish. We had goat cheese and used it instead of the feta, but it could have used the saltiness so we would suggest no substitutes for the cheese. Jason found the recipe on allrecipes.com. We served it with a delicious maple syrup pork chops (recipe follows the squash) which we found on simplyrecipes.com.

Spaghetti Squash Mediterranean Style

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons sliced black olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven, and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
4. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm.

Vermont Maple Syrup Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 6 pork chops (we used only 2 but kept most of the flavorings the same quantity and they were juicy!)
  
• Oil as needed for browning
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 Tbsp apple cider or white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt to taste
• Flour as needed to thicken the gravy

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly brown the pork chops in a small amount of oil, then place them in a flat baking dish with sides.

2 Combine the other ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until warm; pour over chops. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, basting occasionally.

3 Place the pork chops on a warming platter and pour the sauce into a saucepan. Thicken it slightly with flour to make a gravy, salt to taste, and serve it over the chops.

Spaghetti Squash it is...

Hey guys,

Since Jason came to visit this weekend, we jumped on the opportunity to pick the ingredient of the month and cook it....so here it is...
Spaghetti Squash!

Stringy and yummy...can't beat it.

Katie

Lemon Lemon

Sachin and I invented two and a half recipes for this month...inspired by lemons and available produce at our Farmer's Market. We went to the market with a recipe for Soba noodles with pea shoots, lemon, shitake and etc, but they didn't have all the needed ingredients, so we invented this instead.

Lemon Hibiscus Herbal Tea & two variations on Asparagus, Pea Shoot, and Lemon Papardelle












Lemon Hibiscus Herbal Tea

This is a serious recommendation to try out and enjoy. Barefoot Contessa has a similar recipe that we used for inspiration. The tea will replace soda and canned beverages in our house for the summer and has inspired us to try variations on the herbal tea/fruit/sparkling water beverage. It is low cost, low packaging, low calorie, and no caffeine. I take it to work in old glass bottles from Tazo tea or nantucket nectar that I reuse.

Ingredients:
Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger (so fun to say) and Red Zinger
Boiling Water
Lemons and or Limes, 2 to 4
Sparkling Water, cold
Sweetener to Taste--we used Agave Nectar on one batch which was unbelievably sweet and quick dissolving. honey for the other. superfine sugar would probably work fine too.

Directions:
Boil water, brew a strong tea with half lemon and half red zinger tea bags. Let cool.
Add juice of 2-4 lemons/limes to taste and throw in the peels.
Fill glasses with ice and then add tea until 1/2 full.
Top off with sparkling water, sweetener to taste, and slice of lemon to garnish. and maybe some mint if its in season!


Papardelle Pasta with Pea Shoots, Asparagus, Lemon and _______ (you choose--Parmesan or ricotta)
This is simple and fresh for an easy but elegant and healthy dinner.

Ingredients
Pasta--your pick. we got fresh papardelle pasta, it was unreal.
Pea Shoots--I think any delicate flavored green leaf would work here.
Asparagus, a handful per person
Lemon Zest, to taste its a small amount, but in this delicate dish it really stands out!
Shallot, minced--about 1 shallot or 1-2 Tbsp. per 2 servings
Olive oil, Salt, Pepper, reserved pasta water.
and
Parmesan, grated
OR
Ricotta, whole milk, 2 TBSP per person.

Directions
Boil salted water for pasta. Cook pasta to al dente with an attempt to have it ready just as the veggies will finish. Reserve at least 1/4 cup of pasta water per person when you strain it.
Wash and trim asparagus ends. The chop roughly into 1-2" pieces. Blanch for a few minutes in boiling water until bright green and not yet completely cooked. Rinse in ice cold water to stop cooking.
Mince shallots and cook till over medium low heat in skillet with a swirl of olive oil until translucent. Don't brown.
Add washed and trimmed, roughly chopped pea shoots to skillet and cook until leaves are wilting. Add asparagus back to skillet for the last few minutes. Take off heat.
Ricotta option: Add 2 TBSP of ricotta to a small cup with lemon zest and 1-2 Tbsp of hot pasta water. Mix to form thinner paste. Mix into a pasta bowl with pasta and vegetables. Garnish with zest and black pepper.
Parmesan option: Pour pasta and vegetables into pasta bowls for serving. Cover with Parmesan cheese. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper.



Can't wait to see everybody in Atlanta!!!

Lemon Lemon Lemon!

Katie and I made some wonderful lemon treats a few weeks back when I was visiting her in Reno. First, we made an Asian fish recipe cooked in fish sauce with plenty of lemon added to it. We served it on a bed of jasmine rice with some vegetables.


Then we made some incredible lemon curd, using this recipe: http://video.about.com/americanfood/Lemon-Curd.htm A very helpful video from Chef John Mitzewich.

Then we used the lemon curd in a lemon mousse recipe from the Barefoot Contessa's book: Back to Basics.

Ingredients

3 extra-large whole eggs
3 extra-large eggs, separated
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
Kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup good bottled lemon curd, at room temperature
Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipe follows)
Sliced lemon, for garnish

Procedure

1. In a large heat-proof bowl, whisk together the 3 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, the lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

2. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 10-12 minutes, until the mixture is thick like pudding. (I whisk when the mixture starts to get thick.) Take off the heat and set aside for 15 minutes.

3.Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until completely chilled.

4. Place half the egg whites and a pinch of salt in the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed.

5. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat until the whites are stiff and shiny.

6. Carefully fold whites into the cold lemon mixture with a rubber spatula.

7. Place the cream in the same bowl of the electric mixer fitted whisk attachment (no need to clean the bowl) and beat on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.

8. Carefully fold whipped cream into the lemon mixture.

9. Fold in the lemon curd and pour into a 7-inch-diameter, 3-inch-deep souffle dish. Decorate with sweetened whipped cream and lemon slices that have been cut into quarters. Chill and serve cold.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
Ingredients

1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Procedure

1. Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium and then high speed until the cream just forms stiff peaks.

2. Spoon the whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.

Plan on the whole thing taking about 1.5 days. It wasn't a lot of work, but it takes some time for the various stages to set/harden up in the fridge. We found the lemon mousse and lemon curd recipes to be absolutely fabulous. I'll add some pictures shortly.


It was great seeing everyone in Boston!