Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I didn't really grow up eating brussel sprouts, but I haven't ever heard any good things about them. My sister made these roasted brussel sprouts and I was hooked. I've been making these consistently for about 2 years for everyone, including so-called brussel sprouts haters. The outer leaves are crispy and the insides are mellow, sweet and slightly bitter. The balsamic vinegar is sort of sweet too and I love the crunchy salt. Definitely something you should try.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day and Kale Chips

I've read about this no-knead/5 minutes a day bread for a long time and I decided that I finally had to do it. I love bread- my aunt had a bread machine and I remember when we visited her one summer we had fresh bread. It was my first time eating fresh bread and I remember how it tasted just completely different from sandwich bread, which was what I thought of when I thought of bread . My dad also made mantou one summer, a lot of mantous. It's a really easy steamed bread- my next purchase will have to be a steamer so I can make a green onion twisted mantou bread and taro mantou! Ah my favorite! There's nothing like fresh bread. This recipe is from the original source, trust. I'm still working on some quirks and variations I've found online (like no-knead pizza dough!).



My first few batches were strangely undercooked on the inside, but had a great crackley crust. This was so much better than my first attempt at making baguettes and I feel more confident about my bread baking abilities. I've made probably 2 dozen small boules using this recipe. I bake at a slight lower temperature and make really small loaves, just a bit bigger than a dinner roll- it's the only way to fully cook them. It might be my wonky oven though. I'm not sure if this is better than a regular bread recipe- I haven't made enough to really know, but it's nice to have a chunk of dough in the fridge ready to be made into delicious bread.


This next recipe is for kale chips, which was also extensively covered in the blogosphere. The only other time I've had kale is in Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. This dish is easy- just wash and dry the kale, rip off the leaves, toss in olive oil and salt and then bake. They come out light and crispy.... not quite potato chips, the texture is different. But if you're trying to wean yourself off chips and onto a healthier crunchy snack, then this is perfect for you.

Zucchini Cakes and Mushrom and Herb Polenta Triangles

I had leftover zucchini from the chocolate cake in the previous post so I made some zucchini cakes. It's basically like making latkes, but with zucchini instead. The parmesan was overwhelming, so I will use less of it next time. This is a great way to use up extra zucchini.


I'm enamored by polenta. It's amazing how delicious corn meal and water can be. This time I made mushroom and herb polenta squares. So. Tasty. If you don't like mushrooms, try substituting sundried tomatoes or just using herbs. This is also a good way to use up extra polenta and to experiment with textures. I tried to get fancy with the plating, but it's just on top of arugula, my current favorite salad.

smoothing it out into a flat sheet to rest in the fridge.

By the way I used my dad's Nikon D70 for these photos.... on auto because I don't know how to use it. Can you tell the difference?

Tomato Soup and Butternut Squash soup

It's cold and rainy again in Los Angeles and it's perfect soup season. First is a Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup from America's Test Kitchen- I really need to start subscribing instead of buying issues at Whole Foods. So much research and testing goes into each recipe! This one uses a bizarre method- you use white bread to make the soup "creamy." You can easily substitute a vegetable broth to make it vegetarian. I didn't even know I liked tomato soup because the previous ones I've had tasted like Campbell's tomato soup which is disgusting.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures because this is the week that I left my camera at my parents house and no one was around with a decent camera phone. ): Instead enjoy this picture of a pesto + tomato grilled (american) cheese. Just take my word that this soup is ammaazzzinnngggg.

I've typed the recipe up below:

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup
Serves 6 to 8
Note: You can use an immersion blender to process the soup directly in the pot. For a smoother soup, pass the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh strainer before stirring in the chicken broth in step 2.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic, pepper flakes (if using), and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice. Using a potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain (avoiding the bay leaf). Stir in the sugar and bread; bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

2. Transfer half of the soup to a blender. Add 1 tablespoon more oil and process until the soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with the remaining soup and remaining 1 table spoon of oil rinse out the Dutch oven and return the soup to the pot. Stir in the chicken broth and brandy (if using). Return the soup to a boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with additional oil.



The second soup recipe is for a Roasted Butternut Squash soup. This was my first time cooking a squash. I had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be really good- I would eat it plain after roasting it. It becomes really sweet and the edges are caramelized. I always thought squash were mushy and plain.

This has few ingredients so it's easy to make, just cook and blend. I added crispy slices of potatoes and some Tabasco for some extra heat!

Look how orange this is!

The Perfect Italian Dinner

...with a little dab of Asian inspiration, of course ;)

In this post, you will find: Garlic Bread, Asparagus, and Lasagna.

GARLIC BREAD

Delicious! This recipe I adapted from some trial-and-error cooking at the nice dinner party I had a few weeks ago. I added a few dashes of basil this time and I think the taste matches very well. :)

Ingredients:

• bread of your choice (I used French bread but after this experience I'd recommend going for something softer)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
  
• few dashes basil, or one fresh basil leaf
  

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F
   
2. Melt butter in microwave or over stove.
3. Add minced garlic and basil to butter
4. Spread butter-garlic mix onto sliced bread to your liking
   
5. Bake for 10 min or until bread is crispy
   

ASPARAGUS

Ingredients:

• bundle of asparagus
• kosher salt
• rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar
  
• soy sauce

Directions:

1. Boil asparagus ~5 minutes in boiling water (or until ready) [I don't know how long since I made the mistake of over-boiling mine... stupid electric stoves]
2. Drizzle soy sauce and rice vinegar (has not regular vinegar) at about a 60:40 ratio, or to your liking.
3. Sprinkle kosher salt to taste

This one was a really fun one; it's simple, light & delicious, and visually very appealing. From the ideas of other recipes and The Food Network (I really should give more credit to them for what I know!), I kind of made this one up on the fly. I chose soy sauce and rice vinegar to provide strong flavor, yet lightness to the asparagus--exactly what you want a vegetable to do to balance a carb-heavy or meat-heavy meal!

Explanation to my deliberate choice of kosher salt over sea salt and table (regular) salt: Table salt will likely dissolve and it's harder to see/less visually appealing. Generally speaking, table salt is used while cooking and not thrown on afterward as a garnish. Kosher salt worked best for the presentation because it offers large, flaky pieces of salt. Sea salt is the one I haven't quite figured out yet... in appearance it looks like large crystalline rocks, probably similar to a blown-up version of table salt. I believe (and I may be wrong here) that choosing kosher over sea salt really depends on how you want your dish to look; some dishes will be better with flakes and some will look better with a rocky-looking salt. Although all probably taste about the same, you'll get less concentration of salt in a pinch of kosher or sea salt versus a pinch of table salt. Also, based on the chef's vision, the presentation is probably the key to the decide which salt is used.

LASAGNA

I have to note that this is not the freshest picture--it's a microwaved piece of leftover lasagna, but it's the only photo I've got. =/

This recipe is adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Worlds-Best-Lasagna/Detail.aspx. I liked this recipe so much that this is the second time I'm making it. I did make a few changes though:

Ingredient differences:

• swapped the sweet Italian sausage for 1 package of Adelle's Chicken and Portobello Mushroom Sausages, chopped into bits
• added 1 tray of white button mushrooms (whatever size in those blue containers they sell at Safeway), sliced
• did not add garlic
• tomato sauce was flavored with basil
• no basil leaves (cost effective when you buy the above instead, haha)
• no parsley
  
• added slightly more beef and ricotta cheese than called for

I liked it a lot more this time when I swapped some ingredients. :D
Notes I made: Do not add too many fennel seeds. Next time will probably expand use of mushrooms to include portobello mushrooms, and will add garlic. For the future I will also try to use as many fresh ingredients as possible, including upgrading to real tomatoes and chucking that canned stuff!