Muhammara- Roasted Red Bell Pepper Dip

         

Think you like hummus? Wait until you try Muhammara, a decadent dip originating from Syria that will make your world explode with creamy, comforting goodness.

Prior to the nightmare that has been Covid-19, I loved frequenting the Peacock Lounge at the Proper Hotel here in Austin, where I first discovered this outstanding treat. Served with warm pita and a zesty cocktail or shrub, this is hands down my favorite appetizer or mezze to enjoy while lounging in the colorful middle eastern inspired lounge lobby with friends. And then, just like that, the entire world was turned upside down due to a virus that literally made society come to a screeching halt, and along with it, entertaining, dining out, bountiful grocery store visits. The pandemic proved the terrifying reality that these great United States was woefully under-prepared to handle the wave of illness headed its way. And so we all did our part and took shelter for what we thought would be a fortnight and stretched in to two months. I was blessed to be able to work from home, despite my worries for my team who stayed working the front lines with the public at my office. They adapted beautifully, and I did my best to pray for them and send food to nourish them and send them my love from afar. It has been the strangest and most unsettling and surreal of times. Not a war, but in a way still a battle, only with an invisible killer.

My anxieties hit a peak when we had to take one of our beloved pugs and put him to sleep- socially distanced as I tearfully soothed him with my voice. I lost my appetite and with it, five pounds shed from worry. And then I began to learn and practice daily meditation and slowly felt my limbs and my breath relax and return to life, and with it, my love of cooking. We made some tremendous meals throughout the sheltering and I was thankful I have learned to be resourceful and stock a pantry, as supplies were at one point very limited in our formerly abundant stores. There are just the two of us, so we have no back up freezer as the majority in our area have. They were the fortunate and dare I say, greedy ones, who stockpiled all the shelves at our local store. They ate well, so did we, but with much planning and frugality. My Depression era father thankfully taught me how to stretch out a meal and get creative.

I was craving my favorite treat from the Peacock, so I googled muhammara recipes and with the staples I had on hand, made a rather good knock off which was a huge hit with my husband. He could dip handfuls of homemade pita into the creamy dip. Being gluten free, I enjoyed it with crudites or Simple Mills almond flour Rosemary and sea salt crackers. The recipe calls for Pomegranate molasses, of which I did not have, so I made due with pomegranate juice in the back of the fridge. I scored some fresh seeds from a Whole Foods delivery on the rare, and lucky day they had a slot open after weeks of none. They even had some chicken that day! I realize I still had many blessings to count as so many around the globe have lost their jobs and all sense of normality and security.

Things were looking up, until our refrigerator and freezer broke. The Russian repairman who spoke but a few words of broken English, typed in his google translator that our fridge was beyond repair. We hurriedly went to the home improvement store to find another one. A rush delivery would be six days out. I felt deflated and despaired that the small amount of food we managed to procure would all go to waste. Somehow, by a miracle, the freezer held it's temps until the new fridge came. It was quite the relief and I was so grateful my prayers were answered. This dip, while not quite as good as the one I enjoy at the Peacock, will always hold a bittersweet memory for me as we embrace the new way of life.

INGREDIENTS

1 12 oz jar of Roasted Red Bell Peppers, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup creamy almond butter

2 roasted cloves of garlic (I smoked mine in the Big Green Egg)

2 teaspoons allepo or cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt

4 tablespoons or pomegranate juice and 1 pinch of sugar

Olive oil, pistachios and pomegranate seeds to garnish

Blend all the ingredients except for the garnish until smooth and creamy. Add a little water if it is too thick.

Drizzle with olive oil, garnish and serve at room temperature with crudites, warm pita or crackers.

Stays sealed in a container in fridge for a week.

Savory Cheddar Beer Biscuits

In my previous post on fried chicken I mentioned an easy Bisquick recipe, but frankly, these are almost just as easy to make, taste way better and only takes about 10 minutes more to prepare. I adapted a recipe I found on the epicurious site. But my recipe tweaks made them better IMHO.

Here's how it all went down...

INGREDIENTS

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees.

2 1/4 cup flour (use all purpose or a flour with low protien content such as a cake flour or White Lilly brand if you can find it- makes for a fluffier biscuit).

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

3/4 stick of butter cut into cubes and pop in the freezer for 10 minutes with 2 tbs shortening

1 1/2  cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tbs garlic powder

pinch of cayenne pepper

(optional) 2 tbs chopped chives or scallions

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup beer such as a lager

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, add the chilled butter and shortening and mix between your fingers until it resembles course meal. There will be some visible chunks of butter and shortening. They key is to not soften the butter too much- so don't overwork it.

Then add the cheeses, seasonings and stir in the buttermilk and beer. Again, be sure to give it a light stir as to not overwork it or the biscuits will come out hard.

Using a tablespooon as a scoop, drop the dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet with each biscuit about two inches apart. They make about 16 biscuits, so I used two trays and placed in the upper 2/3 part of the oven. Check on them after 15 minutes. Mine are cooked in my oven in about 17 minutes. Enjoy!!

Chicken Meatballs with Truffled Fettucini

This simple, yet comforting dish is perfect because everything can be made ahead of time and all you need to do is reheat the meatballs and cook the pasta. We toss the cooked pasta in butter and this fabulous truffle oil from Bella Luna that we bought ourselves for Christmas. A little goes a long way. Sprinkle some freshly grated parmigiano and asiago cheese and there you have it.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground chicken breast

1 small yellow onion, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and oregano

2 tbs Cavendar's salt free Greek Seasoning

1 tsp sea salt

1 egg

1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese

3 tbs bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients together and fry in small batches in a large pan half filled with grapeseed oil and heated to 330 degrees. Cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Either refrigerate for later or cover and place in the oven on warm as you prepare your pasta.  These are also fun to make into miniature meatballs and serve them on skewers with olive oil and garlic marinated grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella bocconcini. Always goes fast at a party!

For the pasta I used the recipe from my Mozza cookbook. It is so eggy and has a nice chewy, silky texture. The recipe is as follows:

6 egg yolks

3 whole eggs

2 1/4 cup flour

In a bread mixer with dough hook, knead ingredients for 25 minutes, dust with flour, wrap in plastic wrap and refigerate 45 minutes to overnight. The colder the pasta the easier it is to work with. Then follow the directions for your pasta machine and make the pasta of your choice. This time we made fettucini. It was fabulous! The meatballs freeze really well as does the fresh pasta for up to four weeks.

CoCoNut Porter Pulled Pork Sliders

On a recent trip to Maui we discovered the insanely delicious CoCoNut porter at the Maui Brewing Company. It is rich, chocolatey, coconutty, toasty and makes a fabulous marinade and baste for pulled pork.

INGREDIENTS

1 Bone in Boston Butt

1 can Maui Brewing Company CoCoNut Porter

2 bottles Mexican Coke

3 cloves of peeled garlic, lightly crushed

3 tbs hoisin sauce

1 whole clove

2 whole allspice

1/2 tsp grated giner

salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a 2 gallon Ziploc Bag and marinade overnight.

We fired up the Big Green Egg to 200 degrees, placed the marinade and pork in a foil pan, covered with foil and let it cook of 8 hours, flipping the pork every hour, and basting it.

Once it was falling off the bone tender, we shredded it to make sliders with finely diced onions, shredded cheddar and our Bourbon-Hoisin Catsup.

To make the catsup, reduce 1/4 cup bourbon with 1 tsp brown sugar until thickened and syrupy. Add 4 tbs organic tomato catsup, 2 tbs hoisin and a pinch of garlic powder. Stir until thickened and warm and drizzle over sliders.

Mahalo!

Homemade Beef Ravioli

If asked what my last meal on earth would be, I'd likely choose ravioli. What's not to adore about pillows of fresh pasta stuffed with savory meats, seafood or cheese? It's the ultimate comfort food. The first time I had fresh, homemade ravioli was as a little girl living in Adelaide, South Australia. My dad's friend and fellow gardener, a gregarious Italian named Enrico invited us to his home one Sunday to enjoy his wife's insanely delicious and labor intensive Sunday meal. As I recall, they had just opened a market of some sort near their home. This was also an exciting night for me because I got to pick my first pet, a little black and white kitten from their new litter. He looked like he was wearing a tux. The day he arrived a few weeks later to my home I picked the oh so original name, "Fluffy". Fluffy and I grew up together.  I had him through a deathly bout of meningitis when I was six, (he alerted my parents when I had a seizure in the night), he endured a lengthy quarantine during our move to America, comforted me through my parent's deaths as a teen and was a close companion until he finally passed away when I was 21 years old. I am not a fan of cats in general, but Fluffy was the best one I've ever known. He was a good little man. 

I was around five years old the night I had that tremendous meal which left my slender mother riddled with guilt about the excess. I passed out during the car ride home with a shirt speckled in sauce and a smile on my face. The fact that I remember this hearty and fabulous dinner all these decades later says something. For some reason the thought of hand making pasta has always intimidated me. My Kitchen Aid has laid dormant since my wedding in 1999 until last year when I started baking breads on the Big Green Egg. It was time to bring out the pasta maker attachment. I can happily say I wish I had done this sooner!! While pasta is a guilty pleasure, I've realized making it is as much fun as eating it! I'm sad I lost touch with Enrico's family since we moved to the states, so I could get Mrs. Barone's recipe, as I've yet to have as delicious and pillowy ravioli since then. Here's a good substitute:

I found a terrific recipe for pasta from my Mozza cookbook.

MOZZA PASTA DOUGH

2 1/4 organic all purpose flour

3 whole eggs

6 egg yolks (reserve the whites for an omelette the next day)

1 pinch sea salt

In a standing mixer with the paddle, combine ingredients until they are all incorporated. If it is too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Mix about 5 minutes. Switch to a dough hook and mix until the dough is silky and smooth. About 25 minutes.

The dough should look like this after 25 minutes. Lightly dust with flour, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes to a day at most.

Meanwhile, make your filling. Today I chose to do meat and cheese. I browned .5 pounds sirloin, 1 slice diced pancetta, a small diced onion, 6 cloves minced garlic and dried oregano, basil, fresh italian parsley and a dash of red wine. Salt and pepper to taste. I wanted the filling to be smooth, so in a food processor I minced the browned meat with one egg, .5 cup fresh ricotta and .5 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese. I minced it until it looked like, well...cat food. Fluffy would have loved it. Store in a container in the fridge until you are ready to make the ravioli.

Once you are ready to make the pasta, insert the pasta sheet attachment in the Kitchen Aid mixer. Cut the dough into four pieces, flatten the first piece with your hand so it fits on the blade and run it through on level 1.

I folded the dough in half and re-inserted it with the folded ends facing up, another two times. I then switched the setting to a 2 and inserted folded dough. Dust with flour between passes. I switched to level 3, didn't fold it then ran it through 4 until I could see my hand through it when held up to the light. If it tears, just re-dust with a bit of flour, fold it and run it through a lower setting. If it gets too wide to pass through the attachment, trim the sides or they will tear and get ragged.

Now that my dough was ready, I cut it in half, placed it on floured parchment paper, scooped the meat mixture over the bottom sheet in neat little balls with a.5 teaspoon scoop.

I then lightly brushed the top pasta sheet with water and placed it, wet side down over the bottom sheet and molded it around the meat balls, being sure to flatten any air bubbles. I got out a 2 inch cutter and made little circles around the meat balls and there you have it! Perfect little raviolis!!

I "cured" them on a sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then stored them in ziploc sous vide bags. They should keep a month in the freezer. To cook, simply drop them frozen in salted, boiling water about 5 minutes until they are floating -about a minute or two. Serve with fresh marinara sauce and a grate of cheese. I made a total of 60 raviolis.

To make the sauce is super easy. In a dutch oven add 2 tbs olive oil, 4 cloves minced garlic. Turn on the heat and raise to medium. After about three-four minutes the garlic should be fragrant. Do not let it burn! Add a can of Italian Marzano tomatoes, 1 tsp sea salt, red chili flakes to taste and warm the sauce. About 15 minutes. Stir in freshly chopped basil leaves before serving. Freezes great too. Enjoy.

Tiropita - Greek Cheese Phyllo Triangles

Another fabulous Christmas in Austin, Texas!!  My mother in law is a fantastic cook and kindly shared with us her family recipe for tiropites, which are buttery, chesse filled filo triangles. You may have heard of the more popular Spanakopita, which is basically the same thing, but with chopped spinach added. But we prefer plain old cheese filling and have jazzed it up before with ground greek meatballs, lump crab meat, leeks. It's now become an annual holiday tradition for us to roll up the sleeves and make dozens of these terrific little treats. they freeze great for up to 4 months and make super holiday gifts.

Happy New Year!!

Let's start with the ingredients...
We typically prefer using only organic ingredients except for the phyllo dough. The organic dough is dry and not flaky enough. We prefer Fillo Factory brand phyllo dough or Athens brand. And always buy a few extra packs as sometimes they are dry and crackly and a nightmare to work with. Thaw them in the fridge for 24 hours before assembly.

6 eggs
1 large white onion
1 bunch green onions, ends of bulbs snipped off
1 bunch of Italian parsley (about 1.5 cups)
12 oz Cottage Cheese
12 oz crumbled Feta
8 oz whipped cream cheese (My husband Michael added this - makes it super creamy and rich)
4 sticks of clarified melted salted butter in a double boiler
4 packs phyllo dough, thawed.
pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the cheeses and blend until finely minced.

Then in a large bowl combine cheeses and crack some fresh pepper...

 

 Add the onion and egg mixture...

Since we're dealing with highly perishable ingredients here, be sure to place the filling bowl in another bowl filled with ice. And if you need to take a break or want to go to bed and continue the next day, be sure to cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

On a clean work surface, cut phyllo dough into 3 inch strips. Keep a slightly damp towel on the remainder of the phyllo pack to keep it from drying out.

Place a strip of dough on the surface and with a pastry brush dipped in butter, paint the strip. Cover it with another strip of dough and paint that with butter too.

Then place a tablespoon of filling at the bottom of the strip...

Fold the bottom corner over the filling...

 Then fold it over again, just like a flag! Man, Michael sure has some nice looking hands! He should have been a hand model like George Costanza!

And because butter is so fabulous (and makes great hand cream), butter the rolled triangle to seal the edges...

We "cure" the tiropites in a large tupperware in a single file, with layers of wax paper in between. Then once they are frozen we place them in sous vide ziploc freezer bags for later use and to keep them fresh.

To cook them, preheat an oven to 350 degrees, place the tiropites in a single layer and bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown. your house is going to smell AMAZING!!!!  These will be smoking hot, so be sure to let them have a little rest for about 10 minutes before devouring.

flaky, buttery goodness!!

We enjoyed them for Christmas dinner with some fresh Wagyu beef filet from Morgan Ranch and veal demi glace we made from our Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook. This awesome blogger shows how it's done HERE. Oh and we made sinfully delicious butter poached Australian lobster tails as an hommage to my birthplace. And then promptly passed out from gluttony (and champagne) by the fire...

The pugs also enjoyed the beef bones we roasted for them for their Christmas present :-)

Here's to a Fabulous 2012!! Happy Cooking!!

Hunter's Chicken Stew

Nothing tastes better than a hearty stew on a cold winter day and this one is a family favorite!! Sorry some of the pics aren't that great as I shot them with my Samsung Tablet camera. 

Below is my mise en place and I had to showcase my awesome new Japanese Shun knife my hubby bought me as a gift. It chops and slices like no other!!

Ingredients

2 whole chicken breasts, bone in

4 chicken thighs

2 thick slices pancetta, cut into lardons

1 large onion diced

1 carrot, diced

4 cloved garlic, chopped

5 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1 red pepper from jar, sliced into strips

1/2 bottle Chimay blue label beer or 3 cups white wine

3 cups chicken stock (Swanson cooking stock makes a good substitute for home made)

1 tbs dried oregano

1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped finely

1 bay leaf

Directions

In a large Dutch oven, saute pancetta until browned and the fat has rendered.

On medium heat, add the veggies, herbs and saute until they have softened. Add beer and reduce about three minutes. Add stock, reduce heat to low simmer.

Meanwhile in a separate pan with about 4 tbs olive oil, sear chicken pieces in small batches until they are golden brown. Be sure to salt and pepper them before. Add them to the Dutch oven...

Cover and place in an oven at 220 degrees for 4 hours. The meat will be meltingly tender and delicious. Serve with truffled mashed potatoes or creamy polenta and a fresh crack of course sea salt.

Creamy Polenta

In a sauce pot, bring 2.5 cups chicken stock to a boil, slowly stir in half a box of Dellalo brand instant polenta. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs fresh grated parmesan or gruyere cheese. I also like to drizzle a little white truffle oil in it for taste***. I order it from Olivier Napa Valley. I also just ordered some from Dean and Deluca as a Christmas gift to me :-)Want to make something really yummy?? Cool the polenta and pour it on a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll it into a tube shape and refrigerate. Once completely cooled (about 2 hours), unwrap it, slice into 2 inch thick discs and fry it in some grapeseed oil until crispy.

*** Let's discuss truffle oil shall we? Be sure to use an oil infused with REAL truffles, not fake truffle flavoring. I know, truffle oil is sooooo 2008, but I love the stuff. Not sure why Gordon Ramsey had a melt down on master chef when a contestant used it in a recipe. Here he is using it Here!! Truffle cream cheese spread looks pretty tasty doesn't it??

Roasted Pancetta and Patate Arrosto

My gorgeous and smart friend Michelle suggested we attend a Tuscan cooking class at our local Central Market taught by renowned chef Gina Stipo and of course I had to make this dish as soon as possible. We were also served an insanely delicious chesnut soup and calamari braised in marinara, which I will soon cook and post here.

But really, what's not to love about pork cooked in BACON?? Since uncured pancetta is impossible to find here in austin, I substituted uncured Applegate Farms Sunday Bacon. My husband devoured half of the 2 pound roast if that tells you anything...

Ingredients

Raw pancetta or 1 package uncured bacon (I use Applegate Farms or Niman Ranch)

1 pork loin

fresh rosemary from two sprigs

4 leaves fresh sage

1 tsp ground fennel seeds, or fennel pollen

3 garlic cloves

salt to taste

2 cups dry white wine

Directions

In a food processor, make a paste of 1 tbs olive oil, sage, fennel, rosemary and garlic.

Salt both sides of pork loin and rub paste on top of the loin. Layer the loin with bacon strips and tie it with string to secure.

Place in a roasting pan and add about 2 cups of white wine to generously coat the bottom. Place it in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for about an hour until the middle reads 150 degrees. Let it rest 15 minutes before thinly slicing. Reduce pan juices on stove top with a bit more wine, strain fat and drizzle. garnish with parsley and serve with Roasted potatoes (Patate Arrosto).

Patate Arrosto

4 large Yukon potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks about an inch cubed.

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbs chopped fresh sage

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp sea salt

Mix ingredients together and line in a large baking dish and cook along side the pork about 45 minutes to one hour so they are golden brown and cooked through. Finish with a little more salt if needed.

Fantastico!!!!!!

Lettuce Eat Wraps!!

Who needs salty PF Changs wraps??? We serve these with hoisin cashew sauce and a dash of schirracha, diced pineapple and toasted almonds.

How to make the filling:

1.5 pounds ground chicken breast

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbs hoisin sauce

1 tbs minced scallion

In a wok or frying pan, add some peanut oil until it shimmers and then brown meat about 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and constantly stir so to not burn the garlic -  about 5 minutes, add soy sauce, hoisin & toss in scallions.

Cashew Sauce:

1 tbs peanut or canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tbs hoisin sauce

1/2 cup cashew butter

1/2 cup water

1 tbs Shiracha Chili sauce

Over medium heat, warm oil, add garlic and ginger and stir for about half a minute. Add the cashew butter, hoisin, water and Shiracha sauce and stri until smooth. If it is too thick a little bit more water.

Rinse and dry some fresh Butter Lettuce leaves. Serve with chopped toasted almonds and pineapple chunks with the meat. The sauce goes great with spring rolls, celery, carrot sticks, sliced red peppers. Well, just about anything really!!