Chimichangas

I saw a recipe for chimichangas in Sunset magazine that sounded like a nice veggie meal. But when I started thinking about it I knew that Ilan wouldn't eat it as far as he could throw it. So, I made the nopales and poblano version for Scott and I and made a few black bean and cheese chimichangas for the boys. Ilan loved it! So, we've been on a bit of a black bean and cheese chimichanga kick lately. They're really easy to do...even moreso if you have a toaster oven! I made one today in a non-stick skillet, too. Just brushed the oil on and voila! Nice and crispy and cooked in under 5 minutes.

The Poblano and Nopales Chimichanga recipe is available from the sunset link above. To make the black bean and cheese version I just used shredded cheese, black beans, garlic powder and a touch of salt for the filling.

Queso

When we lived in Dallas we learned about Queso. I suppose queso to a Texan is like guacamole to a Californian - if you're having Mexican food, watching a game or really anywhere there is chips and dip, there is queso. There are tons of varieties, but the most basic is rotel (which I had never even heard of till I moved to Dallas, and wasn't quite sure I'd be able to find it in Los Angeles) and velveeta. Yes, I said it. Velveeta.

We gathered at my aunt's house to celebrate my uncle, cousin and Scott's birthdays and I was charged with bringing an appetizer. Scott wanted queso, so I started thinking about it. Do I go for the velveeta or should I make a cheese sauce? Well, for lack of time it turned out to be Velveeta, which is something I think I've only used once or twice in my life, and I'm not proud to admit it. Next time I'll go for the homemade sauce. Anytime something is described as cheese "product" I think you should beware. Half the stuff they sell as food is plastic anyway, so when they are basically telling you it is not real food, it's not a good idea, no matter how creamy and velvety as it may be. So, here is the method:

Brown 1 lb. of ground beef with 1 clove of garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When beef is browned, drain the juice and add the large size of velveeta. Cook on med-low until the cheese is melted.

Stir in one can of rotel (spicy, mild or original - which still has a little kick) and serve warm.

Spinach Pasta

The original recipe called for 3 less eggs, but the dough was too dry. I added the additional egg and 2 yolks and it seemed to work just fine. I tossed it with a homemade alfredo sauce and it was a nice rich meal. The boys didn't even know they were eating spinach! I made a thicker fettucine and it would have been better if I cooked it longer. I cooked 1/2 of it and froze the other half. With foods that are more labor intensive I like my effort to extend beyond one meal.

Makes about 1 3/4 pounds fresh pasta

5 ounces fresh spinach, blanched and squeezed dry
3 3/4 pound all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 large egg
8 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and blanched spinach. Process to mix well. With the machine running, add the eggs, egg yolks, and olive oil through the feed tube, and process until it resembles wet cornmeal, about 2 minutes.


Take a handful of dough at a time and form into a firm ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. Roll out each dough ball into desired shape in a pasta machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.



Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until just al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and serve with desired sauce.

Macaroni and Cheese

Okay...another M from the Barefoot Contessa. What can I say? It sure is good. Pictured here without tomatoes, but quite good with them.

Kosher Salt
Vegetable Oil
1 lb. Elbow Macaroni
1 qt. Milk
8 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, divided
1 /2 C. Flour
12 oz. Gruyere Cheese, grated
8 oz. Extra-Sharp Cheddar, grated
1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
3/4 lb Fresh Tomatoes
1 1/2 C. Fresh White Bread Crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed and processed in food processor)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but do not boil. Melt 6 Tbsp. butter in a large pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1Tbsp Kosher Salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the ooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3 qt. baking dish.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter, combine with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Marshmallows

It's M week and so we decided to whip up a homemade batch of Ilan's favorite food, courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa. I'm not generally a marshmallow fan, but these sure are good. I would imagine that you could use almond extract or even mint extract (probably in smaller quantities) to give these a different kick. Bobbi even suggested rolling them in cocoa instead of powdered sugar. I don't know if they make Kosher gelatin, but they might.

3 pkg Unflavored Gelatin
1 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar
1 C. Light Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 C. of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 C. water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Ilan had to change his shirt after licking the beater.

With a sieve, generously dust and 8x12-inch nonmetal baking dish with confectioners' sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. dust them with more confectioners' sugar.

Will enjoying a marshmallow.

New York Cheesecake

So I guess I am on a dessert streak lately. Fact is, I cook dinners all the time, but they're not always noteworthy. Anyway, some friends were in town from Israel and we all had dinner at the Davis' and I was bringing dessert. I've been poking around on Smitten Kitchen for something special to make for Scott's Birthday. He just returned from NY and didn't bring me any cheesecake (okay, it's a little hard to do) so when I saw this beauty, I couldn't resist.

This is essentially the recipe from the Smitten Kitchen website, but before I give it to you, I'll share  the changes I've made. First the recipe calls for the cheesecake to bake at 550 degrees for 12 minutes. She fudged with this and had some trouble. Unfortunately, my oven only went to 500. So, I figured I would have to try it at 500. At around 8 minutes, you could tell the outer edge was starting to set, but the top was also browning, so I turned the temperature down to 200 at that point. Luck would have it I still hadn't found a recipe for Scott's birthday and so as I was baking the cheesecake I turned upon a cheesecake recipe from Cook's Ilustrated that said the way to keep a cheesecake from cracking is to make sure the internal temperature doesn't rise above 150 degrees. So, when I checked my cake (using an instant read thermometer) at about an hour and 20, it was in the 130 degree range. I let it go for another 40 minutes or so (remember we're cooking at 200 degrees) until it was just about 150. The center was more than a little wobbly, but it set nicely when it was cooled and was very creamy. Compared to several other recipes I have found where there is a water bath and several other tricks to keep things creamy and un-cracked, this was super easy and the texture was great.
For the topping I used fresh cherries and initially it seemed like it was going to be too thick, but I cooled it with a lid on top and after some refrigeration they loosened.  I've increased the topping to a 1 1/2 recipe because the original recipe was not enough to cover the cake.


Crumb crust
8 ounces (15 4 3/4 x 2 1/2-inch sheets of graham cracker) finely ground graham crackers
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

filling:
5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cherry topping
15 ounces cherries, pitted (they’re not in season here so I used frozen; worked just fine)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar, add more to taste if using sour cherries
1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup water

Make crumb crust: Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and up the sides, stopping one inch shy of the top rim, of a buttered 9 1/2-inch (or 24 cm) springform pan. You can fill it right away but I like to pop my into the freezer so it quickly sets while I prepare the filling.

Make very tall cheesecake filling: Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour and zest with an electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, then eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated. Scrape bowl down between additions.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan (to catch drips). Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and bake in baking pan in the middle of the oven for 8-12 minutes or until puffed. Please watch your cake because some ovens will top-brown very quickly and if yours does too fast, turn the oven down as soon as you catch it. Reduce the temperature to 200 degrees and continue baking until cake is about 145 degrees (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).
Run a knife around the top edge of the cake to loosen it and cool the cake completely in springform on a rack, then chill it, loosely covered, at least 6 hours.

Make cherry topping (optional): Place all ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, cook it for an additional one to two minutes then remove from heat. Cool completely.
Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate.
Spread topping over chilled cheesecake.

This cheesecake is best if let to sit out for about an hour before serving.

Cheesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 2 weeks.

Banana Cream Pie

So here's the big confession. I can make a great pie, but it's never a pretty sight. I think I lack the quality of perfectionism that might make others agonize over a perfectly shaped pie crust. So, we don't have a picture of the pie, but if you want something super yummy, you've got to try the banana cream pie. This is a recipe my mom made while I was growing up and to me it is pure comfort food. Be sure to use ripe bananas (no green), but not over-ripe either. I actually made this one night for dessert for our picnic at Ravinia Festival and over heard a lady next to us comment to her friend "who makes pies anymore?" in disbelief. Ha ha. I do, and you would too if you knew how yummy this one is.

Banana Cream Pie

Baked pie shell 8" (see recipe below)
1/2 C. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Flour
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1/4 tsp. Salt
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/2 C. Milk
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 Bananas (I use 4 if they are small)
Whipped cream or cool whip (my family usually uses cool whip, but I know some are opposed)

Slice bananas and cover the bottom of the pie shell.

In a double boiler combine sugar flour cornstarch and salt mix with wooden spoon. Blend in milk and yolks add butter place over rapidly boiling water cook until thick and smooth stirring constantly (about 7 min.) Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Pour custard over the bananas and chill.

When ready to serve top with whipped cream or cool whip or whipped cream.


Pie Crust
So, this pie crust is the easy man's pie crust. This was given to my mom by my parent's friend's mom. It's super easy and gives great results. Forget all the complicated pie crust voodoo. This one really is fool proof and super flaky, just don't over mix it.

2 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 C. Oil
1/4 C. Cold milk

Mix dry ingredients with a fork. Fold in oil and milk until moistened but not completely mixed.

Roll between wax sheets. Turn into in pie plate and shape.

Poke generously with fork over sides and bottom and creases and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.