me and matar paneer

when i moved to hannibal two years ago, my ratio of free time (none) to indian restaurants (a healthy amount) was exactly inverted. after we moved into the "new" house last winter, i finally went beyond dal and palak paneer and started making different indian dishes. a few batches of naan just left me craving the restaurant variety, but the malai kofta was amazing, though labor intensive. (you make a mash of potatoes, veggies, paneer, cream and spices, then roll them into balls that you fill with a cashew and raisin mixture. deep fry them and add them to a sauce, which has at least ten more ingredients.) we bought papadums from ethnic groceries and fried those up as appetizers, and made a couple batches of gulab jamun (those fried dough balls in sugar syrup). one of my most successful ice creams was also indian inspired - cardamom rose - yum.

out of all the new dishes i tried, the one i kept going back to is matar paneer, or peas with paneer cheese in a spiced tomato sauce. the greatest boon to this dish's success in my kitchen was when i found a new recipe for making paneer, using yogurt as a curdling agent instead of lemon. the results are a really rich, milky flavor with a denser texture that holds up to frying well, or is lovely just for nibbling. the paneer recipe comes from Neelam Batra's The Indian Vegetarian, and the matar paneer is Madhur Jaffrey's (plus a couple more spices), from World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. you can double the paneer recipe and freeze the extra cheese. the original recipe calls for low fat milk and nonfat yogurt, but we like as much fat as we can get so i use whole milk and greek yogurt. i also use a combination of yogurt and lemon juice, the ratio depending on what i've got on hand.

Paneer Cheese
makes about 8 ounces

1/2 gallon milk
2 cups plain yogurt, whisked until smooth or 1/4 cup lemon juice

rinse a heavy bottom saucepan, place the milk in, and bring to a boil, stirring, over high heat. before the milk bubbles rise and spill over, add the yogurt or lemon juice and continue to stir until the milk curdles and separates into curds and whey, 2-3 minutes. remove from the heat.

drape cheesecloth over a colander set over a large pot and pour the curdled milk in. you can save the whey to use instead of water in the matar paneer. tie the corners of the cheesecloth together and hang it from the kitchen faucet to drain further for 5-10 minutes. then twist the cheesecloth to extract as much whey as possible from the cheese. with the cloth still twisted, place the cheese between two plates and put a heavy object on the top plate for at least several minutes or even a few hours. cut into desired shapes and use as needed or freeze.

Matar Paneer
serves 4-6

1 medium onion, chopped
1 inch cube of ginger, peeled and chopped
6 T vegetable oil (i use ghee or butter)
paneer
2 cups whey or water
1 whole dried hot pepper
1 T ground coriander seeds
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t paprika
1 t cumin (you can use whole seeds for crunch!)
3 medium tomatoes peeled and minced or about 2 cups canned
1 t salt
ground pepper
3 cups fresh or frozen peas

put the onion and ginger in a blender or food processor with 1/3 cup water and blend till you have a smooth paste.

heat the butter in a heavy pan over medium heat. when hot, fry paneer in a single layer until golden brown on all (or most, if you're lazy) sides. with a slotted spoon, remove the paneer to a plate. (the hard part now is not to eat all of the fried cheese while you finish cooking the rest). put the hot pepper into the pan and add the contents of the blender. fry, stirring constantly, until the paste turns a light brown color, about 10 minutes.

add the spices and fry, stirring, another minute. add the tomatoes, stirring and frying until tomatoes turn a dark, reddish brown, about 3 minutes. pour in the whey, add the salt and pepper, mix well and bring to a simmer. cover, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. add the paneer and the peas and simmer another 10 minutes. serve over basmati rice. savor and enjoy!

simple, elegant, chocolate, tart

it takes a concerted effort on the part of the universe to get me really cranky. not just a little annoyed or peeved or frowny, but the i-don't-want-to-do-anything-and-i-better-have-something-warm-and-chocolatey-real-soon-or-i'm-gonna-break-something kinda cranky. i had one of those moments the other night. it was around 10 pm, we had just eaten dinner, and nothing was going to get me back in the studio. i needed chocolate in the form of baked goodness and didn't have the energy or emotional stability for one of my usual twenty-step endeavors. thank goodness for chocolate tart with easy shortbread crust.

if i would have been less cranky that evening, i would have made a raspberry coulis to top it off. whipped cream is also always lovely (we eat lots of whipped cream in this house), maybe with a dusting of cinnamon (preferably vietnamese)? i could also see adding nuts to the crust, substituting equivalent amounts of finely ground nuts for maybe up to 1/3 of the flour? or making an all nut crust - hazelnuts or almonds would be nice. think i'll do that next time...

i'm a believer in good chocolate (surprise, surprise). i like Green and Black's 72% for most occasions, Scharffenberger's for special occasions, and i always keep some Ghiradelli's 60% bittersweet around because it's easy for me to procure, less expensive, and still quite tasty.

this recipe comes out of the Joy of Cooking. it's relatively simple in preparation and calls for very few ingredients, but it comes off as elegant and decadent. the best of all worlds.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart
makes 8-10 servings

for the shortbread crust, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400˚. butter the bottom, of a two piece, 9-10 inch tart pan. dust the pan with flour, tilt to coat the bottom, and tap out the excess.

whisk together in a bowl or food processor:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 tsp salt
add:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened if working by hand, cut into 8 pieces
mash with the back of a fork or process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. add:
1 large egg yolk
mix with a spatula or process just until the dough comes together in a ball. if the dough is too soft and sticky to work with, refrigerate it for 30 minutes or up to 2 days. pat the dough evenly over the bottom and sides of the prepared pan (which i forgot to do with no ill effect). prick the bottom and sides with a fork and bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes.

when the crust is finished pre-baking, turn the heat down to 375˚, and position the rack in the lower third of the oven.

in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer:
1 cup heavy cream
remove from the heat and add:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (or sorta broken up if you're cranky)
whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. then whisk in:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
pour the chocolate mixture into the tart shell. bake until the center seems set but still quivery (this is a custard of sorts, after all) when the pan is nudged, 15-18 minutes. let cool on a rack and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

raspberry coulis
makes 1 cup

puree in a blender or food processor:
1 pint fresh raspberries or 12 oz. frozen dry-pack raspberries, thawed
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons strained fresh lemon juice
strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing firmly with a rubber spatula until you are left with a heaping tablespoon of stiff, clumped-together seeds. taste and add sugar or lemon juice as needed.

passion fruit!!!!!

i don't tend to organize my experiences in terms of year, but i noticed at the end of 2009, the two most memorable desserts i enjoyed in restaurants all year involved passion fruit. one was at Cafe Degas in New Orleans, the other at Lula Cafe in Chicago. passion fruit is described in the Joy of Cooking as a "mingling of strawberry, pineapple, and lemon", but it is so much more. it is complex, with a tartness that translates more as excitement than sourness. you sense it's flavors over much of your tongue, really awakening those taste buds.

i also don't tend to buy produce out of season, or from terribly far away lands if possible. but some things are so delicious i have to make an exception. atoulfo mangoes, plantains, and satsumas are a must, and now i've added passion fruit to my list of guilty pleasures.

passion fruits are delicious fresh, or you can strain the pulp from the seeds for a puree that can be added to sauces, sodas, creams, and custards. smooth skinned fruits can be ripened at room temperature until they are incredibly wrinkly but still firm. you can also freeze them whole without harming the flavor.

we enjoyed a passion fruit breakfast by splitting one lengthwise and spooning out the pulp. joachim whipped up some heavy cream with a little sugar and topped it off with his share. i added honey to greek yogurt and dotted it with fruity goodness. yum! the seeds are crunchy and give a satisfying, contrasting texture to all that creaminess.

another one of my favorite ways to enjoy passion fruit: wrapped in chocolate! maybe it's a good thing i no longer live a short bike ride to her shop, but Gail Ambrosius makes some of the best truffles i've had anywhere. i mail order them when i need my fix...

eggs benedictish

last week i made paneer and found myself with some leftover whey that i wanted to put to good use. i found a recipe for english muffins calling for whey so i thought i'd give it a try - fun! they are baked in a pan on the stove top - a bit of a slow process, waiting and flipping, flipping and waiting, for fifteen minutes per batch. but it was also a very satisfying experience when they turned out just like i remembered them, stacked two by three in those paperboard boxes.

so i woke up this morning thinking "eggs benedict"! (aah, the luxury of being self employed - waking up on a monday morning, well, afternoon, and having time to make brunch!) i was a bit too lazy for hollandaise sauce, but was ready for a first time, poached egg experiment. i decided that our benedictine stack would include creamed spinach and smoked salmon.

for the creamed spinach: saute half of a medium onion with a bit of salt in butter. add some chopped spinach and cook until wilted. add cream and cook on low till the cream thickens a bit.

to poach eggs: fill a pot with at least three inches of water, add about a tablespoon of vinegar, and bring to just a simmer. i put a thermometer in the pot to make sure the temperature didn't get over 200˚. crack each of the eggs into small bowls, and when the water is ready, slide them in gently. allow to cook for about three minutes. don't try to scrape them off the bottom of the pan until they've solidified a bit! at this point you can remove the eggs to another pot of water kept at 150˚, or in my simplified version, add cold water to the pot until it reached 150˚. keep it at this temperature for several minutes or until you are ready to serve. fish them out with a slotted spoon and drain off the water as best you can.

split, toast, and butter the english muffins. top with a bit of the spinach, the egg, and top with some smoked salmon. grind some salt and pepper to finish it off and enjoy!

(oh yes, and somehow my egg grew a horn when it landed in the simmering water. perhaps from a perfectly timed air bubble? i think i may have a future in making mock octopus out of eggs. mocktopus?)

kitchen bibles

i tend to over-research things. sometimes i worry that i spend more time researching what i'm going to do, than actually doing it. the same is true for finding cookbooks. i've had my copy of "Joy of Cooking" for several years now, and it's still one of my top references in the kitchen.

last year, i acquired Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" and it is love. a great reference, nice illustrations ala Cook's Illustrated, and flexible, easy recipes often featuring variations. he gives you the basics and reminds you that measurements can be loose, and ingredients can be exchanged. it's a great resource for non-veggies as well. if you haven't seen his cooking videos on the New York Times site, they are fun and full of great ideas for quick and easy food from scratch.

next up, from Cook's Illustrated is "Baking Illustrated". the geeks (and i say that with the utmost respect and admiration) in America's Test Kitchen have made hundreds of versions of these recipes until they were perfected. baking is tough for creative folks because the precise measurements do not leave much room for improvisation. i've always needed to know why i wasn't supposed to do something, or else i would try to do it my way. baking is more a science than a creative process, and this book explains all that clearly, and with great illustrations and photos.

these aren't recipes for people who want something fast or without a lot of cleanup. they are detailed, precise, and methodical, requiring a willingness to go through all the steps as described, and a decent selection of mixing bowls! oh, but the finished product is so worth the effort. the Pumpkin Cheesecake may not sound exciting, but was beyond heavenly, as proclaimed by several, former non-cheesecake lovers. the Thick and Chewy Double-Chocolate Cookies are the best i've ever had. and the Hearty Country Bread (which i add flax and sesame seeds to) is our everyday bread. it also doesn't hurt that the book is lovely, from the simple, illustrated whipped cream on a whisk yellow cover, to the rich color of the font and heavy paper. yum.

finally, my newest acquisition, which i first perused at my sister's house: "On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen" by Harold McGee. if you love cultural history, etymology, science, and food, you must get this book. this book includes the origins of food, how they traveled from one culture to another, and original recipes dating back hundreds of years. plus, drawings of foods on a molecular level, and the science behind the production, preparation and consumption of food. all of this information is woven together in a very readable, sometimes humorous, never dry, and completely eye-opening way. there are enough charts and diagrams to make a geeky cook's heart flutter. it is a fascinating, wonderful, fun read, and a great reference for the times you need to know how many grams of white make up a chicken egg or what the protein content of cake versus pastry flour is. my new, favorite book, and i'm recommending it to everyone.

why i never thought i'd...

maybe i just wanted to start writing. maybe i realized that i'm obsessed with food and would be completely happy cooking, baking, and gardening all the time. maybe i'm sad that i can't feed all the people i love, so this way i can share my love of food with them instead. either way, thus begins my blog.

now that i live in small town, usa, i have very few expenses and much more time to actualize my domestic side. when i first moved to hannibal, i was mildly traumatized by not having access to a co-op, fabulous restaurants, and locally made fresh mozzarella. i hadn't shopped regularly in a conventional grocery store since i was a teenager and was shocked at how little food is actually sold in one. so i armed myself with new tools and more cookbooks so i could better satisfy my most basic needs. now, my food processor is like a third, more powerful arm, and my ice cream machine is like a decadent tail. there are many days where i find myself cooking for several hours and thinking, i couldn't be happier.

everything is made from scratch in this house. all of our bread, every sauce, soup, gelato, cake, jam, soda, and sometimes even cheese. here, i'll share my favorites: books, recipes, ingredients, experiments and excitements. enjoy!