Saturday, March 27, 2010

Perfect Pita Bread


Perfect Pita Bread

Ingredients:
1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast (~2 tsp of yeast)
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

Preparation: 
1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

2. Combine flour and salt in large bowl.

3. Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.

4. Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

5. Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

6. Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.

7. Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

8. Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to preheat your baking sheet also.

9. Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

10. Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.

11. Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

12. Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Baked Falafel with Tzatziki Sauce

So there's this little restaurant I love called Baba's Mediterranean Grill that we frequent. I'm proud to say that the cultural food options have really expanded since I last lived in the area. [Although I have yet to find a decent Thai place.] When eating out, I almost always add it to the mix of options. My family even ate here for my birthday. As much as I like to try new dishes, I like to stick to what I know there-- usually a falafel platter which comes with 2 sides. Ever since, I've been curious about making my own... and for the health conscious, this is great because it is baked and NOT fried like typical falafel.

Baked Falafel

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (tightly packed)
1/4 cup parsley leaves (tightly packed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Plain, dried breadcrumbs for forming balls (optional)

Cooking:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine all of the falafel ingredients except 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the breadcrumbs in food processor.

2. Process the mixture for 10 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and process for 10 more seconds. The ingredients should be well incorporated but the mixture should still be slightly coarse; go through 1 or 2 more processing cycles to achieve this consistency, if necessary.

3. Divide the mixture into tablespoons and form into a ball. [I ended up with about 15 balls] Lightly roll the falafel balls in plain dried breadcrumbs to help hold them together during baking and placed them on a unlined baking sheet.

4. Brush the falafel balls with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and place them in a 425F oven. Bake the falafel in 4 stages. After 10 minutes, I rotated my baking sheet front to back. After 20 minutes, I used a spatula to flip the balls. After 30 minutes, I rotated my baking sheet front to back again. After 40 minutes, I removed the falafel from the oven.

I served the falafel in pita pockets with the chopped romaine, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.


Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (optional: mint)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 kirby cucumber, peeled and finely diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl; stir to incorporate. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes prior to serving. Taste after chilling and adjust seasonings if necessary.

[This was perfect, I didn't need to add any more salt or pepper.]

And of course, you need pitas... yes, this meal took awhile to make...



Spicy Basil Chicken

I just LOVE this recipe when I'm craving Thai spices. I'm a huge fan of basil, I pretty much want to put it in every dish. Ok, maybe every other. It's divine.


Spicy Basil Chicken

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons chili oil [I used fresh chilis, you can also the garlic chili sauce]
2 cloves garlic
3 hot chile peppers
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 cup fresh mushrooms
1 cup chopped onions
1 bunch fresh basil leaves

Cooking:
1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and chile peppers until golden brown. Mix in chicken and sugar, and season with garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, but not done.

2. Stir oyster sauce into the skillet. Mix in mushrooms and onions, and continue cooking until onions are tender and chicken juices run clear. Remove from heat, and mix in basil. Let sit 2 minutes before serving.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Vegetarian Pad Thai

I am guilty of making pad thai with a premade sauce. It was edible, but this recipe is so much more flavorful and worth the effort. Although I prefer my pad thai on the spicy side, this is the sweeter version, but I'm sure you can tweak the recipe to your preference. You'll notice the substitutions/omissions I made and it was still great. Enjoy!


Vegetarian Pad Thai
from Cooking Light
Ingredients:
2/3 cup chili sauce [I used leftover taco sauce]
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp chopped seeded serano pepper [I used jalapeño]
1/2 pound uncooked wide rice stick noodles (báhn pho) [I used skinny rice noodles (py mai fun)]
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes [I used soft texture I had on-hand]
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh bean sprouts [I omitted this since I didn't have any]
3/4 cup diagonally cut green onions
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro, divided
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
6 lime wedges

Cooking:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients; set aside.

2. Cook noodles in boiling water 5 minutes or until done. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tofu; cook 7 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan.

3. Combine egg whites and egg, stirring well with a whisk.

4. Heat 2 tsp oil in pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, and sauté 10 seconds. Add egg mixture, and cook 30 seconds or until soft-scrambled, stirring constantly. Stir in chili sauce mixture and noodles; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tofu, bean sprouts, onions and 1/3 cup cilantro and peanuts over noodle mixture. Serve with lime wedges.

Yield: 6 servings

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Icing


Got this recipe from one of the baking blogs I follow. This is a perfectly moist and light, but wannabe fancy little cake. Another great dessert to file away....

Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Icing

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup quick-cooking oats (see note)
3/4 cup water , room temperature
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Broiled Icing Ingredients:
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:
1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Create a foil sling for the pan: cut two 16-inch lengths of foil and fold them to widths of 5 inches each. Fit foil pieces into baking dish, one overlapping the other, pushing them into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. This creates a sling that will help you remove the cake after baking and cooling. Spray foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine oats and water in medium bowl and let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. In another medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.

3. In bowl of standing mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until combined, 2 to 4 minutes, scraping down bowl halfway through mixing. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in 2 additions and mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add soaked oats and mix until combined, about 15 seconds.

4. Transfer batter to prepared pan and lightly tap against counter 3 or 4 times to dislodge any large air bubbles; smooth surface with spatula. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool slightly in pan, at least 10 minutes.

5. FOR THE BROILED ICING: While cake cools, adjust oven rack about 9 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. In medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, melted butter, and milk together; stir in coconut and pecans. Spread mixture evenly over warm cake. Broil until topping is bubbling and golden, 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Let cake cool in pan 1 hour. Transfer cake to serving platter, then discard foil. Cut cake into squares and serve.

*ATK’s notes: Do not use old-fashioned or instant oats for this recipe. Be sure to use a metal baking dish; glass pans are not recommended when broiling. If you have a drawer-style broiler (underneath the oven), position the rack as far as possible from the broiler element and monitor the icing carefully as it cooks in step 5. A vertical sawing motion with a serrated knife works best for cutting through the crunchy icing and tender crumb.


Shrimp Saté with Pineapple Salsa


Following along with all my dog-eared pages from my newly acquired quick meal cookbook, this was up next. Also, I'm beginning to develop an obsession with fresh pineapple. Is that a problem?

Shrimp Saté with Pineapple Salsa
from Cooking Light Eat Smart Guide

Salsa:
3/4 cup finely chopped pineapple
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp cider vinegar (I used apple vinegar)
1 tsp honey (I substituted this with a dash of Splenda)

Saté:
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
24 ( about 1 1/2 lbs) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
cooking spray
4 cilantro sprigs (for garnish)

Cooking:
1. Prepare grill. (Indoor grill pan once again, today it's rainy)

2. To prepare salsa, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl.

3. To prepare saté, combine mint, juice, salt and chili powder in a large bowl; add shrimp, tossing gently to coat. Thread 3 shrimp onto each of 8 skewers. Place shrimp on grill rack coated with cooking spray (I skipped the skewers and grilled them individually); grill 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until shrimp turn pink. Serve with salsa. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (2 skewers/6 shrimp and 1/4 cup salsa)

Side dish...
Almond Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups uncooked instant rice [I used regular long grain white rice]

Cooking:
1. In a saucepan, saute onion and almonds in butter until the onion is tender and the almonds are lightly browned.

2. Add broth; bring to a boil. Stir in rice and cover. Remove from the heat. Let stand for 5-8 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Chicken Saté with Ponzu Sauce and Chinese Napa Cabbage Salad

Decided to get in touch with my Asian side. Hilariously, I mixed Japanese and Chinese influences. Get along, kids.

Chicken Saté with Ponzu Sauce
from Cooking Light Eat Smart Guide

Ingredients:
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used tenders which cuts down on cutting the breasts into smaller pieces later)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sake (rice wine)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
cooking spray

Cooking:
1. Prepare grill. (I used a grill pan which worked just fine)

2. Cut each chicken breast half lengthwise into 4 strips. Combine sugar and next 7 ingredients in a small bowl; stir until sugar dissolves. Combine chicken and half of sake mixture in a large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Reserve remaining sake mixture.

3. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Thread 1 chicken strip onto each of 16 skewers. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 2 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with remaining sake mixture.




Yield: 4 servings (4 skewers/person)


Served with a side dish of 
Chinese Napa Cabbage Salad