Orange-Chocolate-Bourbon Cakes with Spiced Cream and Cara Cara Oranges

We were dying for anything chocolate this cold, cold afternoon and here it was: a recipe in the new issue of InStyle for dark chocolate cake with lots of crazy flavors to complement it. 

We baked the cakes in little shallow dishes and decided to nix the spiced real cream (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, clove) in favor of spiced Fage Greek yogurt. Grab a bag of these Cara Cara navel oranges from Schnuck's before they're gone: they taste ultra-sweet and are a surprising dark pink on the inside -- perfect for supreming. 

Thanks to The Spotted Pig's chef for a recipe that reminds us of one of those chocolate oranges from the candy aisle but tastes much more interesting. 

Spicy Corn, Black Bean, and Quinoa Salad

Quinoa (keen-wa) is an ancient grain that is versatile and healthy for you. That's all fine and good, but if you've never cooked with it, then you are missing out because it also tastes amazing. It could easily play the part of rice, couscous, or pasta in any dish. Quinoa's flavor reminds me of the mildness and nuttiness of brown rice, but it is gluten-free. And it only takes about 14 minutes to cook.

This corn, black bean, and quinoa salad is fast and easy, plus it is great as a side dish or as a healthy snack. Collect these ingredients:

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

2 ears of corn (peeled, washed, kernels removed)

4 scallions (chopped)

2 cups cooked quinoa (cooled)

1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced)

1 garlic clove (minced)

1/2 lime (juiced)

salt and pepper to taste

Throw all of the ingredients into a big bowl and toss together. You can add cilantro if you'd like, or even better, dice up an avocado to put on top as a nice touch. You can serve this cold --or warm like I did -- alongside some delicious seitan and squash enchiladas with feta.

(As a side note: Is it weird that I never noticed that my dog looks like my guitar until just now?)

Black Eyed Peas, Cornbread, Mustard Greens, & Squash/ Potato Gratin

I have a vivid memory of my grandma, Biee, picking a few black eyed peas out of the heavy cast iron pot that sat simmering on her stovetop, and saying, "These have not touched the jowl; you have to eat them. It's good luck." She had no problem with me being a vegetarian, but she was concerned that if I didn't eat my black eyed peas on January 1, the whole year would be a disaster. We southerners are a superstitious bunch for sure.

I was curious about the origin of the black eyed pea tradition, so I asked around. No one seemed to know why we eat black eyed peas on New Year's Day, but at the same time no one dares to test fate by skipping them. I wanted to find out why. As usual, the internet held no complete, definitive answer, but I picked the one I liked the best to share with you here. Black eyed peas are a humble food, and eating them at the start of the new year reminds us to stay humble all year.

Here is a simple, hog-jowl-free way to make black eyed peas:

1 bag of dried black eyed peas (rinsed, quick soaked, drained)

1 white onion (diced)

1 green pepper (diced)

2 cubes of vegetable bullion (I like Not-Beef cubes)

2 tablespoons butter

3 slices veggie bacon (I like Morningstar Farms)

1/2 cup ketchup

water 

salt & pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot, and then add the onion & green pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until the onion is translucent, and then add the bullion cubes. They will melt into the veggies and impart a wonderful flavor. Add the peas, and then pour in just enough water to cover. Allow it to come to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the whole strips of veggie bacon and the ketchup. Allow this to cook for about an hour before you try them; they get better the longer they cook. 

We like to serve them over buttered cornbread and topped with sauteéd greens. The Wife made the cornbread out of one of our many Martha Stewart cookbooks; however she updated it by adding polenta to the mix instead of cornmeal since that is all we had. It gave it a nice texture. The mustard greens were sauteed in olive oil with onion slices, and then drizzled with local honey. It was humbly delicious.

Bonus recipe: Squash & potato gratin

1 egg

1/2 cup cream

1 clove of garlic (minced)

salt & pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups gruyere cheese (shredded)

1 cup bread crumbs

olive oil

These veggies thinly sliced on a mandolin:

2 starchy white potatoes

1 yellow squash

                                                                                  1 zucchini squash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In an oiled medium baking dish, begin to layer in your vegetables. Alternate between the squash and the potatoes until you've used all of them. Use a tiny bit of salt and pepper on each layer so the dish is evenly seasoned. Mix the cream, egg, and garlic together in a bowl, and then pour it evenly over the top of the veggies. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes. Uncover the dish, add the cheese to the top, then the breadcrumbs, and lastly, a drizzle of olive oil. Return the uncovered dish to the oven until the top is brown. 

Spicy Paella with Seitan, Sausage, & Mushrooms

Sofrito, socorat, paellera...learning to make paella was like learning a whole new language. With a little help from Mark Bittman and his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, 

I was on the right track in no time. Paella, he explains, is a Spanish comfort-food dish usually consisting of sausage and seafood with rice that has been seasoned with saffron and a sofrito. After reading Mr. Bittman's entry, I was feeling better about my decision to make this for a dinner party. This was good considering that Michael and Kelly would be over for dinner in a few hours, and I had never attempted a paella of any kind before in my life. I was determined and pretty sure I could make it turn out edible.

Let's start with the pallera. It is a large, flat, metal pan with two handles traditionally used in the cooking of paella. I don't have one, and you probably don't either. So I just used my largest flat-bottom All-Clad skillet without a nonstick coating. It worked great. 

Now on to the sofrito. 'Sofrito' is a generic term for a spanish spice mixture. I looked at a ton of recipes and came up with a recipe of my very own. Collect the following ingredients and meet me at the food processor:

1/2 white onion

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 bunch of cilantro

2 tsp ground fresh chili paste

1 tbsp tomato paste

enough olive oil to get it all moving

Put all ingredients in the food processor. Turn it on, drizzle in olive oil, and leave it on until your veggies are finely chopped. Transfer this mixture to your paellera; cook over medium heat with a few more tablespoons of olive oil until most of the moisture has evaporated and it has taken on a paste-like consistency. You have done it; you have just made your first sofrito. You can use this in black bean soup or as a tofu marinade or for anything you want to be spicy and delicious.

For the next step, you will need:

3 1/2 cups vegetable stock

a few pinches of saffron threads

2 cups arborio rice

more olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat the stock and add the saffron to it. With the stovetop on medium-high heat, throw the rice into the pan with the sofrito and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Coat the rice in the sofrito and oil. Add three cups of hot stock to the rice and stir. 

Here is where you can get creative. I topped my rice with diced zucchini, tomato wedges, shelled edamame, Field Roast sausage, grilled seitan, and king oyster mushrooms. It was quite a feast, but you can make yours as simple or as elaborate as you'd like. Arrange your toppings as you would the toppings on a pizza and throw it all into the oven. After 20 minutes, add the remaining stock and then stick it back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Right before you serve the paella, put it back on the stovetop over high heat for about 4 minutes. This will 

develop the socorat, the crunchy rice at the bottom of the pan that is so wonderful. Chop some fresh herbs and sprinkle them over the top. Serve it with a nice salad. (We had spring greens with orange rounds, olives, and a sherry vinegar-olive oil dressing.)

The meal was rounded out with a wonderful syrah and a bottle of sparkling wine from Austria. Michael also brought fresh hot sauce he made from a family recipe. For dessert, The Wife served us hot tin roof sundaes made with homemade vanilla ice cream, chocolate cacao nibs, cayenne peanuts, and caramel. (She is very proud of her first attempt at homemade caramel, especially since she made it up herself as she went along. Funny what not planning ahead and not getting the proper ingredients can force you to learn!)

Vegetarian Closet of Mystery

In the back of my favorite asian market, Viet Hoa, resides one of the strangest collections in all of the world. I call the last freezer case on the left the Vegetarian Closet of Mystery. It is a freezer packed full of some of meat substitutes the likes of which you probably have never seen. Many items in the VCM look like artist renderings of actual food. To add to the mysteriousness of the experience, nothing is priced, organized, or even labeled. So you must sift through the meatless wonders like you are at some rummage sale or flea market while you decide which one, if any, of these strange things you are going to take home and try. The best thing in the case is the Happy Ham, but they have vegetarian versions of everything from shrimp to steak. I encourage you to try something from The VCM. It is not always good, but it is always interesting...and 100% vegetarian.

Classic Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Sauce

As a little gift last week, some nice person gave us cinnamon-raisin bread that kind of resembled Polynesian bread. I froze it and knew I was going to use it for bread pudding, one of my no-set-recipe-needed desserts. I have made chocolate bread pudding, apple, pineapple, you name it. Sometimes, though, the original remains the best. This is so easy to make and is great to have on a chilly January night. I was thrilled that Lindsey and Mo got to try it on their last night here in town. 

Bread Pudding:

Cut or rip the bread into 2-inch cubes and set aside in a bowl. Whisk 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup half and half, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup raw sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add 1 tbsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and a generous pinch of salt. Heat 1/2 cup dark rum with 1/2 cup golden raisins. Pour milk mixture and softened raisins onto the bread. Mix gently. Pour into buttered pan and sprinkle with a mix of raw sugar and brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm. 

Vanilla Bean Sauce:

Whisk 1 cup confectioners sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla paste, 1-2 tbsps. milk, and 1 tbsp. whiskey. Refrigerate and then drizzle sauce across warm bread pudding. 

(Also, don't forget to register for TCV's upcoming Vegetarian Cooking Class. I will be his dutiful little helper, and I know you don't want to miss out on that dynamic!)

Canning a Cinnamon-Persimmon Sauce

When Justin and Andria recently worked on an article about canning, they made a peach-coriander chutney that honestly was just about the best thing ever as a Christmas gift. Because of that memory, I myself have been wanting to learn how to can for a while now, and with the persimmon overload that we wrote about here last week, it was the perfect time to see how it's done. So I enlisted the help of my mom, who basically knows how to do anything and everything and acts like nothing is ever a big deal. We chose some squat, modern-looking Ball jars with silver lids, and I spent a few days gathering up ripe persimmons from the bench outside and peeling and chopping up the fruit every night. We adapted a plum jam recipe from the pectin insert since we figured plums and persimmons have about the same texture. Here is how we did it:

Persimmon Sauce

First, run all jars and lids through the dishwasher. Set them in a pan of hot tap water in the sink. You have to keep everything sterile in order to do this right. 

Boil 4 cups of chopped and slightly mashed persimmons. Add 2 cups of raw, organic sugar. Stir it up. Squeeze in one pack of pectin. Keep stirring. Add 1 tbsp. or so of cinnamon and the juice of one lemon. The persimmon sauce should be at a boil; ladle it into a jar, and wipe off any that gets on the mouth of the jar with a paper towel that's been dipped in hot water. Screw on the seal and the lid tightly and put aside to cool. It made 8 jars of sauce with a little left over for tasting. 

(Funny thing is, we were really trying to make jam, but this turned out to be a smooth, thick sauce that is perfect with banana pancakes or french toast. J. said earlier that he is sick of persimmons, but you know, this sauce is so good that it made me like them even more. I always want to make things that people request, so maybe this will end up being a go-to, memory-making Christmas gift of my own each year.)

Chanterelle & Spinach Souffle with Goat Cheese

I make all kinds of souffles, but they all come from one basic recipe by Alton Brown. In an episode of his show called "The Egg Files," Mr. Brown explains the mechanics of building a successful souffle, and then sends you on your way with his simple recipe for one made with sharp cheddar. On the show he is very detailed in his explanation, but you can find a written version of the recipe on the Food Network site by clicking HERE. Once you have mastered the cheese souffle, you can shake things up a bit. In this version I subbed creamy goat cheese for the sharp cheddar, and then folded in some chopped spinach and a sauteed chanterelle mushroom. 

Though this dish is simple to make, it is sure to impress the hell out of people. Get creative by trying out a few of your own combos. Let the old TCV know what ideas you came up with. I'd love to know. Go ahead, try it. Go on. You can do it. You'll see.

Persimmon Gelato

Up until a month ago I had never even tasted a persimmon, and now if I never saw another I might just be o.k. with that. You see, my older brother and his wife have a persimmon tree in the back yard of their new house. At harvest time everyone hauled away as many persimmons as they could. The Wife and I easily had 60 or 70. The great persimmon experiment of '08 had begun.

The flavor, for those of you who have not had one, is not unlike a dried apricot...rolled in dirt. I'd call it earthy and sweet. We had them every way you could imagine. We had persimmon salad, chutney, syrup, syrup again, and gelato. We had them sliced, peeled, plain, sweet, and savory. At the end of it all, I can honestly say that I'm not sure if I even like them that much, or possibly I'm just sick of them. Here is my recipe for persimmon gelato:

6 fresh persimmons (peeled, pureed, and strained)

3/4 cup half & half

1/2 cup raw sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste

scant pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture into your ice cream mixer. We have the kind with the freezer bowl, and it is brilliant. It is so easy. Let that sucker run for about 20 minutes and you will be up to your ears in persimmon gelato. It makes a nice presentation to serve it inside of a hollowed out fruit.

The New & Improved Portobello Mushroom

The grilled portobello is a staple on vegetarian menus everywhere. The problem is not the taste, it is a hearty stand in for nearly any meat. The problem is simply how it looks on the plate. When grilled, the mushroom is dark and flat. You can cover it up, but that defeats the purpose of presenting it as the main course. So, I decided to try to figure out a way to bring out the mushroom's inherent beauty. This may sound silly, but we do eat with our eyes. It has to look good people.

I simply took my knife and scored the top of the mushroom before I grilled it. Using my sharpest blade, I drug the knife across the face of the mushroom only allowing it to sink about 1/4 of the way through. I made a "tic-tac-toe" pattern using this method. Then grill as you normally would. I like to put mine on a hot grill for about 5 minutes per side, then move it to indirect heat until I'm ready to serve. To plate the mushroom, fold two ends under towards the center. This will open up the grid and make for a beautiful presentation. Here it is served with cauliflower risotto and little leek onion rings. 

That's Professor Chubby Vegetarian to You!

The University of Memphis, of which I am an alum, has asked me to teach a continuing education class on vegetarian cooking for the "Living Well: Cooking in the Garden" series at the Memphis Botanic Garden. It is a one day class, and the cost is $49 bucks. I will do my best to make it worthwhile and fun. Click HERE for registration details and a course description.

If you plan to attend, then please let me know. Also tell me your favorite recipes from the blog as well as what you'd like to get out of a class like this. I will tailor this class to fit you perfectly. We'll eat, make stuff, eat, and talk about food for a few hours. It'll be a blast.

While you are on the U of M page take a moment to look around. Ken Lumpkin, chef/owner of Umai is teaching a sushi class, and Melissa Peterson, editor of Edible Memphis, is teaching both a  knife skills and cheese making classes. That makes me in pretty good company.

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Chanterelles and Black Truffle Oil

For some inexplicable reason, I have been receiving the magazine Family Circle in the mail. You know, the one with some buttery, crazy dessert pictured on the cover along with a "LOSE 20 POUNDS IN A WEEK!" headline? I love that. But I wouldn't really subscribe to this publication on purpose. It's a good thing some little Santa had me in mind for this children-and-marriage, cleaning-and-cooking magazine for the modern mom/housewife because some great, very simple recipes are featured this month. Last Friday, I showed TCV the tempting picture of a bowl of cheese macaroni and said, 'I want this for dinner.' We were out of time that night, but this week, he gave it a shot and as a bonus, made it extra-fancy. 

Now, TCV's family doesn't call him 'high-minded' for nothing. How it usually goes is when I want something like plain old mac and cheese, he takes it up at least ten notches. Sometimes this push-and-pull over food preference can cause the need for a dinnertime detenté. I like simple food; he likes it pretty complicated. I want the same old thing made the usual way; every time he makes a dish, it results in something new. This time, I admit that he was right to monkey with the traditional recipe. Fresh bread crumbs made from a bunch of bread leftover from a recent family lunch in Southaven + some Cabot white cheddar + our ubiquitous black truffle oil + sliced, sauteéd chanterelles + elbows = the best dinner I have had in quite a while. I think Greek yogurt was an excellent sub for milk, too. What a great possible-ice-storm dinner. 

Here's how to make it:

1 small shallot, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

6 oz. sharp white cheddar, shredded

1/2 c water

1/2 pd. dry elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

3 1/2 oz Greek yogurt (we like Fage)

5 medium chanterelle mushrooms, sliced and sauteéd

salt and pepper

drizzle of black truffle oil

1/2 c breadcrumbs

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots. Once it stops bubbling, add the flour and whisk it all up. Cook 2-3 minutes 'til it just starts to change color. Add water and yogurt and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Add cheese, pinches of salt, pepper; stir until cheese is melted. Fold in cooked macaroni. Put it in a small, buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs evenly and drizzle with the truffle oil. Bake for 20 min. at 350. Place under broiler until top is golden brown. Take it out and place the chanterelles all across it. Looks very twee served in small bowls, and tastes best when eaten while you stand around in the kitchen.

Taco Salad with Black Beans, Toasted Pepitas, & Corn Succotash

Taco salad night was quite an event at ye olde childhood Germatown home. My mom would get out the biggest pot we had, fill it full of vegetable oil, and put in on the stove. Once the oil was boiling hot, she'd float a flour tortilla in the oil. With a small metal bowl and a pair of tongs, she would press the center of the tortilla so it formed around the bowl as it crisped. Each one was a sculpture in oil and flour. It is a feat that I have never attempted. Never mind the fact that I avoid deep frying anything; I'm pretty sure I'd have one less house than I have now if I attempted such a thing. 

So I developed a less-dangerous method of attaining a crispy bowl for my taco salads. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees on convection if you have it. Take a flour tortilla, brush each side lightly with olive oil, and then drape the tortilla over a small oven-safe bowl. Place it on cookie sheet, and pop it in the oven. It will stay in the oven for 7-10 minutes until it is golden brown. Keep a close eye on these because they can burn quickly. Take them out and let them cool. 

For the corn succotash:

1/2 pint grape tomatoes (quartered)

1 ear of corn (kernels cut off)

1 jalapeno (seeded and chopped)

1/2 small white onion (fine dice)

1 clove of garlic (minced)

juice of one lime

a few dashes of hot sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Let this stand until you're ready to assemble the salad. Pour the mixture into a mesh strainer and reserve the liquid. This is what you will use to dress the lettuce. Now it is time to build your masterpiece. Start with a tortilla bowl, and then add some black beans in the bottom. Next up is the lettuce you tossed with the dressing, and then some cheese, followed by the spicy corn succotash, toasted pepitas, and sour cream. It's great with a slice of avocado or some guacamole and green onion. There are no rules here, people. Have fun with your own taco salad night this week. 

Come See My Band at the Hi-tone Tonight

O.K. today is the big day. We, The Perfect Vessels, are playing our very 1st show at the Hi-Tone tonight. I'd love for ya'll to come out and watch us play. We will be playing a short set of original music. Click HERE to get a preview of what you are likely to hear. The music will start at 10:00 or 10:30, and TPV play 1st. 

Food note: The Hi-Tone serves some of the best pizza in town. If you have not tried it, then you should. i know what I'm having for dinner tonight.

Crispy Eggplant Sandwich with Roasted-Garlic Ricotta Spread

I love sandwiches.  They are nearly the perfect food. Many days I eat them for breakfast and lunch, but rarely do I eat a sandwich for dinner. This sandwich counts as dinner. The key to this particular sandwich is to get a good eggplant. The fresher the better. Look for a smooth skin and no soft spots. Here I pair the crispy eggplant with arugula, tomato sauce, and roasted garlic ricotta spread. You will need:

1 medium eggplant

1 cup of flour

2 1/2 cups of bread crumbs (throw in some herbs if you have 'em)

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cups of parmesan cheese

2 cloves of roasted garlic

1/2 cup  of ricotta

a couple of handfuls of arugula or spinach

Good quality tomato sauce (homemade is best)

good bread

Eggplant:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Slice the eggplant about 1/4 to a 1/2 inch thick. Dredge eggplant slices in the flour, the egg, and then roll them in the herbed bread crumbs. Arrange the Eggplant on an indoor griddle or large flat-bottomed pan over medium heat. Drizzle with olive oil, and allow the eggplant to brown on both sides. You are not cooking it through, just browning the bread crumbs. Work in batches if you need to. Transfer the slices to a large baking sheet and put them into the oven. The low heat will cook them through and retain the crispiness. 

Roasted garlic ricotta spread:

The fast way to roast garlic is to put the garlic cloves skin-on into a dry, hot skillet. Allow it to cook until the skin is black. Let it cool, and inside the burnt skin you'll find a soft smoky, sweet clove of garlic. Mix the ricotta, roasted garlic cloves, and parmesan together using a fork.

Assembly:

Throw your bread into the warm oven, and then toss the arugula with a tiny bit of oil and vinegar. Once the bread is warm assemble the sandwich like this: arugula, eggplant, tomato sauce, sprinkle of parm. Spread some RGRS on the underside of the top bun and you are in for a treat. 

I accidentally caused some confusion over the eggplant that I'd like to clear up. I'd hate for anyone to eat raw eggplant. I begin cooking the eggplant by pan frying it. This serves to brown the breadcrumbs, and cooks the eggplant somewhat. Do not burn the bread crumbs on the outside just to be certain that the inside is cooked, because the eggplant will continue to cook in the oven. 

Redemption Stew Served in a Kombucha Squash Bowl

Here is a fun idea for you. Next time you make stew for dinner make it special with squash. After a post-marathon fried food bender, I began looking in the fridge for fresh food with bright colors. I piled my cutting board full of carrots, mushrooms, parsnips, fingerling potatoes, celery, fresh herbs, tomatoes, beans, red onions, and kombucha squash. I began chopping vegetables, and throwing them into my new cast iron pot. I browned up some seitan and threw it in for good measure. I added enough broth to cover, secured the lid, set it to simmer, and watched The Simpsons. When my show was over, I noticed that I had left the squash out of the stew, so I cut it in half, seeded it, and roasted it in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes. In the meantime, I siphoned off the broth from the stew to make some rice in a different pot. This makes the stew extra thick and the rice rich and flavorful. 

To serve I placed a roasted squash bowl in the center of a plate, then spooned in some of my rice. I topped that with a heaping helping of my redemption stew and some aged parm. 

I ran the St. Jude 1/2 Marathon

I'm not joking. Today The Chubby Vegetarian ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 22 minutes. "Team Suzanne," started by my brother in honor of my mother, raised $1,775.00 for the kids at St. Jude. A big thank you to all of you who dished out some dough for this great cause. Also a big, big thanks to all of you who stood in the freezing cold and cheered on me, Kelly, Graham, Mo, and Lindsay. 

Mock Duck Cassoulet

This year, like the past 3 years, we had Thanksgiving dinner at my house. This year we had eleven people over for the big meal because we were lucky enough to have The Wife's sister and her family in town from Austin, TX, and my brother and his wife who moved back to Memphis this year from Seattle, WA, and her dad as well. Add my own dad, little brother, and mother-in-law, our Thanksgiving mainstays, to the mix, and we had ourselves one large, hungry crowd.

The first hurdle was to find a table long enough to fit everyone. We thought about building one, then buying one, and finally ended up renting one. It was the best option. The second hurdle was to find a room in our modest house where such a giant table could fit. There was only one option: my office. With a little help from our family, we moved years worth of stuff out of my office. We cleared it completely to make room for the table and all those who would sit around it to eat.

Why, you ask? Why would we go through so much trouble just to have everyone sit together? It is important to us, now more than ever. Besides, Thanksgiving is The Wife's favorite holiday of all time. There are no presents to buy. There are no eggs to hide. No staying up 'til midnight. I think she loves Thanksgiving so much because the main goal of the day is to sit and eat great food with people you love, and who wouldn't love that?

This brings me to the food. I know that the vegetarian main dish at Thanksgiving has some pretty stiff competition. It has to be something spectacular...something hearty and warm. So I decided to make a cassoulet. I have been a vegetarian since I was 12, so I had never tasted a "real" cassoulet, but Chef John Bragg served one at Circa during his totally vegetarian dinner this fall. His was delicious, and it inspired my version of this classic dish.

Here's how it went:

16 oz dried navy beans (soaked)

4 cans vegetarian mock duck (find this at the Asian market)

2 field roast sausages (crumbled)

1 large onion (large dice)

2 large carrots (diced)

1 parsnip (diced)

1 green & 1 red pepper (diced)

large can of diced tomatoes (with juice)

3 cups white wine

2 cubes of un-chicken bullion

6 cups bread crumbs

fresh parsley, oregano, bay leaf, sage

butter (yeah, lots of butter)

On medium-high heat, melt a quarter stick of butter (or more) in a enameled cast-iron pot. Brown the rinsed and dried mock duck in the butter, and then remove from the pot. Add the sausage to the pot and brown it up as well, and then remove it from the pot, too. Now layer in the onions, peppers, carrots, and parsnip in that order. Allow this to cook without stirring for about 4-5 minutes. Add the white wine and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the pot. Add the beans, tomatoes, bullion, duck, and the sausage to the pot. Stir. Make a bouquet garni by tying together a few stems of each fresh herb and then drop it into the pot. Cover and bring it up to a simmer; next, stick it in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours. Check it after 45 minutes and add some water if it looks dry. At this point remove the lid, remove bouquet, and add 1/2 the bread crumbs to the top. Cover and return the cassoulet to the oven for thirty minutes. These bread crumbs should get pretty wet. Cut two tablespoons of butter into the remaining bread crumbs, and them mix them with a handful of chopped parsley. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the cassoulet, and then return it uncovered to the oven for another 30 minutes or the top is nice and brown.

Wow. People honestly couldn't believe it was vegetarian. My dad teased me by saying that they call it mock duck because it is from the town of Mock, and not because it was fake. I know better. 

Everyone did their part. We had Lindsey's spicy cornbread stuffing, Bianca's butternut squash, Diane's sweet potatoes, The Wife's cranberry sauce, yeast rolls, baked apples, and pumpkin pie, Hunter's spinach, and my green beans. I think there was a turkey there, but I couldn't point him out.

Duck Egg & Frisee Salad with Capers, White Asparagus, & Fresh Thyme

The Duck egg was wonderful . The yolk was much larger than the egg of a chicken, and the taste was far richer. Since it was my first time to taste duck egg I wanted to keep it simple and not hide the taste under ingredients that would compete too much with their mild, rich flavor. The dressing is simply equal parts olive oil and white balsamic vinegar mixed with some chopped fresh thyme.

The soup is what made it a meal. I simply roasted two large carrots, one kabocha squash, and one large shallot in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. Peel the shallot and remove the stems from the squash. The peel of the kabosha is thin and can be eaten. Throw the roasted veggies in a blender with 1/2 up of cream and about a cup of water. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a pot and simmer on the stove. Stir in a pat of butter, lemon zest, and season with salt & pepper. I crumbled a bit of goat cheese on top before serving.

I Have a Duck Egg

What do I do with it? What would you do with it? Please leave me some suggestions in the comments section. TCV needs your help... before it is too late.

Indian inspired Vegetable Stew and Homemade Naan

Check out our updated (11/29/12) recipe  for Vegetarian Mulligatawny HERE.


Last week our friends Kelly and Michael (of Midtown Stomp) invited us over for dinner. It is an invitation that we never turn down. They are our very good friends, and Michael can cook up a storm. He told me that he was going to try his hand at mulligatawny, a dish I had made for them some time back. I have to admit, his was way better. For the most part his recipe is typical of most that you will find. The really different and delicious part is the addition of dried cherries instead of currants, and tons of cinnamon. It was awesome, and It went perfectly with the homemade naan bread that I brought over. I begged him to share the recipe and some leftovers.

Cooking implement needed: one large cast iron pot or dutch oven.

Saute one medium red onion in olive oil until tender, meanwhile start a pot of water to boil.
Add 4 cloves of chopped fresh garlic & saute until aromatic, approximately 30 seconds
Add 1 1/2 cups of white wine & cook for approximately 1-2 minutes. Add one cup of french lentils to the pot of boiling water.  Boil until tender, approximately 5-7 minutes.
Add 1 32oz can of organic crushed tomatoes to the onions, garlic & wine.  Fill that empty can with water & add to the pot.
Add 1 16 oz can of organic vegetable broth.
Add 3 medium carrots, diced.
Add one head of cauliflower cut into florets.
Drain the cooked lentils & add to vegetables.
Add approximately 4 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 3 tablespoons toasted & ground cumin seeds & salt & pepper to taste. 
Simmer for 30-45 minutes.  Add one can of drained organic garbanzo beans & one can of drained organic sweet peas. 
Dice one small hot chili (or half a super hot one, like a bolivian which is off the skovil(sp?) scale) & add that to the pot. 
Add one can of coconut milk (liquid & solid).  Simmer until the milk is all incorporated. 
Add one large handful of dried cherries & one large handful of whole cashews, taste & adjust for seasoning. 

Serve with plain white rice & a chilled bottle of dry or off dry riesling.  If you would rather red wine, I would recommend a dolcetto.  

Rustic Parmesan Fries with Black Truffle Oil (100th Post!)

Save for puppies and long stretches of time with nothing to do, french fries may be my favorite thing in the whole world. Since I try to keep a healthy diet, I deprive myself of that type of fried goodness on a daily basis. However, every once in a while I give in to their salty siren song. This usually occurs around the intersection of Cooper and Young, ground zero for great fries in this town. The Young Ave. Deli deep fries freshly cut, skin-on potatoes in hot peanut oil, and then sprinkles them with seasoned salt. They are rustic and wonderful.  The Beauty Shop takes a more sophisticated approach to their potato preparation. Their long, thin, crispy potatoes come out sprinkled with parmesan cheese, drizzled in truffle oil, and served in a wax paper cone inside of a silver cup. The Wife and I nearly lose our cool making sure that we get our fair share of this indulgence. 

My version combines the best of both worlds, but instead of frying them, I bake them in my convection oven. You'll need:

2 baking potatoes (washed and cut into long, thin strips)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

black truffle oil

parmesan cheese

salt

Preheat your convection oven to 500 degrees. Toss the potatoes in vegetable oil, and then arrange them in a single layer on a silpat-lined baking sheet. Stick them in the oven until they are brown. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer potatoes to a plate. Sprinkle with salt, parmesan, and then drizzle with truffle oil. The minute the truffle oil hits the hot potatoes, you will find yourself mesmerized by the intoxicating aroma. 

Grown-up Push-up

A little visit to the Wolfchase Orange Julius stand this past Sunday at noon when I was trying to turn my mind so completely off that all I would hear was an empty buzz (having no table or decent dining room for Thanksgiving, hearing about the fam's newly-hatched plan to celebrate Christmas at 5:00 on Thanksgiving-- yeah, I've been a little preoccupied...) made me remember how well oranges and vanilla match. Tonight I thought I would recreate that lovely drink with a Monday-night twist: Absolut Vanilla. Here's what you do:

Squeeze 4 oranges and one red grapefruit

2 shots Absolut Vanilla

1 c Stonybrook Farms fat-free vanilla fro-yo

vanilla bean or orange slice garnish

Mix it all up in a silver cup with a whisk and garnish. Serves 2. Tastes exactly like a push-up pop!

Apple-Ginger Cake

101 Cookbooks is really, really great. I, The Wife, have been dying to make some apple bread or apple muffins and have been acting like this is actually a possibility on weekday mornings when I have to be at work at 7:45 at the latest. And isn't it always the breakfast we can't ever seem to have that seems like the only one that would ever be ideal? I always imagine myself making things like this apple cake and getting to linger over the op-eds and a couple of warm pieces of fruit-and-nut bread straight out of the oven, or picking up some dark chocolate croissants at La Baguette, or getting to have two cups of cafe au lait instead of one gulped down while finding something, anything appropriate to wear to my job... 

So Saturday rolls around, and I finally have some time to make Heidi's Unfussy Apple Cake. (I think poring over her pictures of this on 101 Cookbooks this week is why I began to have this craving in the first place!) As usual, I did change a couple of things for taste as well as necessity. I added in the sugar from a bag of crystallized ginger and minced five pieces of it to include in the flour mix. I also sprinkled cinnamon and ground ginger on top of the cake along with turbinado sugar. We have not been to the grocery as often as usual lately because it has been enough at this point just to make it through the day and semi-enjoy a few things about it, so we've gotten pretty lax about having a stocked fridge and a neat house and really have had to focus on the basics. We also did not have buttermilk, so I used that trick of adding vinegar to milk and waiting a few minutes to simulate it. 

I love that you are supposed to leave the peels on the apples for this recipe: tres cute. The true test of whether a dessert is any good is if it is gone in a day, and this one passed that test. I felt like a circa-1954 housewife fetching water and coffee for Kelly and TCV once they came back from their 8-miler today as they commented upon how good the kitchen smelled. It was a great breakfast with them. 

Oddly enough, I remembered this morning that I was getting pumpkin bread out of the oven 3 weeks ago when I got the news about Suzanne. I just really haven't been in a dessert-making mood, I suppose, and haven't baked or cooked or put together a thing since then. Suzanne absolutely loved every dessert I created and made a point to ask me to be responsible for dessert when we did our family stuff. I think this, one of my only talents in the kitchen, reminded her of her mom, Juanita, who made the best checkerboard cakes and fried pies in the South. 

The Perfect Vessels

Check out my new band, The Perfect Vessels. Look to your right in "my other sites" box and click the link. It will take you to our my space page. We have three songs up on the page for you to hear. Let us know what you think. If you like it, make plans to come out to see us play on December 11th at the Hi-Tone.

Bhindi Masala, Tandoori-Marinated Skewers, & Naan Bread with Homemade Raita

 I will freely and openly admit it: I cheated on this one. I had help from three different sources: The seitan and tofu skewers were made with a bottle of a tandoori marinade from World Market, the spices for the bhindi masala came from Fresh Market, and the frozennaan came from Whole Foods. This is really out of the ordinary for me, but with all that has been going on in my life lately, I needed a quick path to a good meal. So I followed the package instructions and then added a few tomatoes, some chopped spring onions, a couple of lime wedges, and fresh cilantro to finish things off. I served it all with my simple version of raita. You know what? It was great.

Simple Homemade Raita

Mix together:

juice from 1/2 lime

1/4 cup english cucumber diced

8 oz of 2% geek yogurt