Indian à la mode

My Indian food suffers from a curse. Despite the best efforts of my extensive spice collection, all my dishes taste the same. Until today. Here's my latest (and most simple) renditions of aloo gobi and saag paneer served up with bulgar wheat. Tell me this isn't the shortest ingredient list you've ever seen. Maybe it would be more prudent to present these as in the style of aloo gobi and saag paneer - à la mode if you will. I'm only claiming deliciousness, not authenticity.

Aloo Gobi à la mode

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 potato, 1-in. cubes
1 24-oz. can diced tomatoes

1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander
salt to taste

Heat some oil in a pan. Cook onions for a few minutes, then add garlic, chile, ginger, and spices. Cook for another minute. Add potatoes, cauliflower, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are done, ~20 minutes. Mash up with a fork if you want it a bit thicker. Salt to taste.


Saag Paneer à la mode

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c yogurt
splash of heavy cream

paneer, cut into cubes (tofu works, but cheese is yummier)

Heat some oil in a pan. Cook the onions, garlic, and spices for a few minutes. Add the spinach, buttermilk, and yogurt. Simmer till spinach is wilted. Send some of it through a blender. Return to pan. Salt to taste. Add the paneer and heavy cream. Done-zo.

ghetto toffee

Like salted caramel heaven, but wayyy easier. This stuff is dangerous, yo.

Ghetto Toffee
Adapted from NYT

36 saltine crackers
1 c sugar
1/2 lb butter (2 sticks!)
1 tsp vanilla
2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 c pecans, toasted and chopped

Heat oven to 350 F.

Line a broiler pan or something with a lip with foil. Tile the crackers over the surface of the pan.

In a pot, melt butter and sugar over medium heat. Stir, stir, stir. When it starts to bubble, continue to cook for 2-3 minutes more.

Kill the heat, stir in the vanilla. Pour over the crackers. Bake 7 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate evenly over top. Bake 2 minutes. Smooth out chocolate with a spatula. Sprinkle pecans over the top, gently pressing into the chocolate.

Pop in the fridge for a couple hours. Cut up, then become poster child for Type II diabetes.

lemon ginger scones

Scones are low in my repertoire since they usually involve the dreaded cutting of butter into flour. My overly austere take on kitchen gadgets relegates the task to a pair of steak knives. I don’t know why this is oft suggested as an acceptable alternative, because ‘pea-sized’ chunks of butter are a pipe dream.

These scones, however, are dreamy, dreamy, dreamy. Light, buttery, bright. Three forms of ginger provide the elegant balance of spicy sweetness. And best of all, the butter incorporation is outsourced to ye olde stand mixer. Yee-haw.

My only foible was the dough was far stickier than the recipe indicated, requiring several rounds in the freezer to eek out the dough into scone form.

Lemon Ginger Scones
From Joanne Chang’s Flour cookbook
(The directions in the book are really well written, and far more detailed than the synopsis here. Check it out!)

2 3/4 c AP flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 c crystallized ginger, finely chopped
2 tbs lemon zest

1 3/4 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/2 c cold buttermilk
1/2 c cold heavy cream
1 egg
2 tbs fresh grated ginger

Heat oven 350 F.

In a stand mixer, combine all dry ingredients, ground ginger, crystallized ginger, and lemon zest. Scatter butter in, and beat on low speed for ~30 seconds, just till the dough comes together.

In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, cream, egg, and grated ginger. On low speed, pour this mixture into the flour mixture. Beat till it just comes together, ~30 seconds.

Dump dough out onto a well-floured surface. If the dough is super sticky (mine was), pop into the fridge for a few minutes, then gently roll out dough into a 1-in. thick rectangle. Cut into scone shape of your preference. I made about 10 triangles. I had to freeze my dough again to ease transfer to a baking sheet.

Bake 40-45 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool a bit then enjoy!

ginger persimmon bread

Last week I tried to ‘stump the bartender’ with some persimmons. While the bartender was only mildly puzzled, a number of onlookers mistook them for tomatoes. While not unfamiliar with this fruit, I’ve never been wild about them. My experience was limited to mom handing me a peeled one, declaring it “dessert” and that I “should eat it.” Go, Asian desserts! They’re mildly flavored, kinda pretty, and just not very exciting.

Then came along persimmon bread in all its warm, spicy, and inexplicably addicting goodness. It’s like pumpkin bread, in that you don’t taste the persimmon, exactly, but you can’t stop going back for one more, tiny slice. Go on and become a persimmon convert.

The recipe calls for the more astringent Hachiya persimmon, but I subbed with Fuyu to great effect.

Ginger Persimmon Bread
From Joy the Baker

1/2 c persimmon pulp
1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt

1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 heaping tsp finely grated fresh ginger

Heat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9x4x3-in. loaf pan.

In a large bowl whisk together flour and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together persimmon pulp and baking soda. This will cause it to gel.

In another bowl whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, spices, and fresh ginger. Whisk in the persimmon mixture. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients, one third at a time, mixing as you go along.

Pour into loaf pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the loaf comes out clean.

a lisa frank christmas

This is essentially a recipe for homemade playdough dried out in the oven. I used kosher salt, which gave the dough a grainy texture, and would use table salt in the future. Lacking a more spirited palette of food dyes, I went with what I had. Welcome to my Lisa Frank Christmas, y’all!

Cookie Dough Ornaments
Adapted from Allrecipes

4 c AP flour
1 c salt
1 1/2c warm water

Combine flour and salt. Slowly pour in water while mixing. Stir until dough is evenly hydrated. Divide dough and mix in food coloring if your heart desires.

To make stripes, roll out ¼-in. thick rectangles of different colors. Stack them, cut the stack in half along its theoretical x-axis. Stack halves, then cut in half again along the y-axis. Stack the halves, then turn dough on its side so stripes are facing you. Roll out to ¼-in. thickness, and have at it! Don’t forget to poke holes for string.

Bake cookies at 325 F for 50-60 minutes, or until dry. Think hardtack.

chubby bunnies

I guess this rules out the chubby bunny relay race... ALSO. Eating marshmallows with chocolate chips poked inside are a sad, sad substitute for s'mores. Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything.

let's make a cake!

If you think you know me at all, you know I don't do cakes. But sometimes I have this urge to spritz the kitchen with a fine mist of flour and wash lots of bowls. And that, folks, is how cake is made.

The second best part of making cake is eating the leftover lemon Mascarpone frosting over sourdough pancakes.

Cake sandwich, nom!

Cake is for victory! The best part of making cake is the birthday. Happy birthday, L!