Burgers To Keep Vampires Away and Miso-Braised Bok Choy with Edamame and Carrots

The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties!

I did some learning...after having already purchased my very compacted and rather lean burger meat...so while my patties held nicely they weren't super soft.  Next time I'll go with fattier meat that isn't vacuum packed and be more aggressive with indenting the middle of the burgers to keep things light and more toward burger than meatball.

The good news is meatballs are just as tasty as burgers! Even when they have a vampire-fighting level of garlic inside. 27 minutes in the oven isn't long enough to mellow the flavor so unless you love, love, love garlic I'd reduce the tablespoon. You'll still get all the umami, especially if you plate it with the Miso-Braised Bok Choy with Edamame and Carrots.

Burgers To Keep Vampires Away

1 pound 85/15 Hamburger
1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
1 Flax Egg (Combine 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 of hot water and let it sit for 15 minutes to gel.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a pan with foil.
2. Combine the gelled flax egg, hamburger and minced garlic in a bowl. Mix with your hands, gently.
3. Once everything is mixed up, use your hands to form patties...ideally of the same size and shape... Indent the patties with your thumb.
4. Bake, turning once, for approximately 27 minutes or until their internal temperature reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Miso-Braised Bok Choy with Edamame and Carrots

1/2 cup Water
1 tablespoon Miso Paste
1.5 pounds of Bok Choy
15 Baby Carrots
1 cup frozen, shelled Edamame

1. Cut off the bottom of the bok choy, so the leaves separate. Rinse them in cold water several times until all grit is gone. Cut baby carrots into thin strips.
2. Pour water into a large saucepan with a lid. Bring to a simmer.
3. Add miso paste to the water and swirl until it dissolves. Allow it to simmer a little more to reduce the water a bit.
4. Add bok choy and carrot to the saucepan. Cover. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, once the bok choy begins to wilt add the edamame.
5. Once the bok choy is completely wilted, remove from heat and serve.

And Happy Valentine's Day! These are a work in progress... Maybe next year I'll have the perfect meringues. In the meantime my multi-year tradition of a savory Daring Cook's post on Valentine's Day continues.

Broiled Salmon with Spinach and Feta Saute

My arugula and feta were dying a slow, painful death. I felt an urge to eat fish. I have a never ending supply of pine nuts (thanks, Mom!). I wanted something nice to eat for Valentine's Day. Conveniently I had Everyday Food's March 2008 issue with the page folded down to a recipe for Broiled Salmon with Spinach and Feta Saute.

With a substitution of arugula for spinach, I was on my way. This was done in fifteen minutes, it looked classy, and while a little bitter tasted great overall. I can't even complain about the bitterness as it was likely caused by using aging arugula in place of the suggested spinach. I will definitely make this again with the proper ingredients and more greens.

Mezze with Homemade Pita, Hummus and More

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

The 2010 February Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid. You can download a PDF with the challenge details and other helpful information here. Michele really did her research and provided lots of optional recipes in addition to the required homemade pita and hummus. Thanks so much for your hard work, Michele!

This challenge was nice as you could do the minimum or get really creative and it could be done in advance for leisurely entertaining. Of course, I didn't plan correctly and there was nothing leisurely about my experience. I started at 4 p.m. Saturday before last and didn't finish until 8:30 p.m. I mean why would I want to spread the work out over several days when I could exhaust myself cramming it into one action packed night? :) Thank goodness Jeff allowed me to change plans and came to me. I'm not sure what I would have done with all the food without him. 16 pitas for one girl?! Even with his help, I was able to take leftovers to a Superbowl party Sunday, eat them all week and STILL have 3 pitas left as of tonight (2/13).

My pitas were mostly pocket-less. Those with pockets were significantly lighter and more enjoyable, even though the others still tasted good. I'm not sure why so few puffed. I used the same methodology throughout but it must be some technicality. I will definitely try pitas again with a quarter or half of the recipe. I have a feeling getting the pitas to puff takes practice. Do any other Daring Cooks have tips? If so, please share them!

As for the hummus, it was a bit raw for my taste between all the lemon juice and the garlic's bite. The hummus also needed more extra liquid than in past recipes. I love making my own hummus but I'll probably stick to the basic recipe I have scrawled in a notebook somewhere in my room or this AMAZING cilantro-lime hummus.

The provided Cucumber Raita recipe was enjoyable; I always had wondered what went into it. I'm certain I'll revisit it perhaps amping up the cumin since I love it so much. Cumin is about to be my first non-baking related spice to have ever used up, which seems like a milestone in the kitchen.

I also served cubed feta, a simple salad with roasted beets and a pearl barley salad loosely inspired by this complicated and wonderful Eggplant Barley Salad. The roasted beets were very fresh and bright with the zest of one lemon, juice of half a lemon and fresh parsley; I thought of this simple recipe when I threw them together. For the pearl barley salad, totally trying to remember now as I was lazy and didn't outline promptly, I cooked the pearl barley and set it aside to cool. While it was cooling, I sauteed ground lamb in water, then set it aside to drain. Next I added onions, cumin and coriander to the same pan and sauteed until the onions were translucent. Finally I combined everything together with some freshly chopped parsley, quartered and seeded cherry tomatoes and, when I realized I omitted salt, some crumbled feta to compensate. It could use some work but it wasn't a bad variation and it took a LOT less time.

As for the three leftover pitas? They are so going in the freezer for the moment. Don't get me wrong. It was a great, tasty challenge but I have mezze fatigue. I'm certain I'll be back to them sooner rather than later though as they are fun to put together and make a healthy, portable meal.

 

  

  

Why I felt the need to put silverware in everything is beyond me since, hello, the joy of mezze is scooping up food with the pita and eating with your hands.

Dragon Roll, Decorative Spiral Sushi and Nigiri Sushi

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you and me by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

I made sushi randomly a few times in 2003 but had not revisited it since unless I was eating out or if someone else (i.e. a Valentine one year) was making it for me. Without Audax and Rose's challenge and very impressive PDF containing detailed instructions with thorough research and visuals (it can be downloaded here) I doubt my bamboo mats and wooden spoons ever would have seen the light of day again.

Sushi is tasty but unless you are an expert it requires a bit of time. I advise dedicating several hours to this project as it isn't as short one. I started at 6 pm on Sunday and finished around 11:30 pm. I also recommend doing this as a sushi party or having friends over for dinner; I made way too much food for one person and while the leftovers are allright sushi is clearly better fresh!

It was very excited to learn how to make spiral rolls (so many possibilities here) and dragon rolls (my favorite)! The dragon roll video, which I watched after cutting my avocado length-wise rather than horizontally post-split, is very helpful. Next time I make dragon rolls, I'll cut the avocado more thinly and in the proper direction, but I made it work with the thicker cuts I had already made. It really goes to show that sushi is flexible and has lots of room for creativity.

My spiral roll used tuna, red pepper, cucumber and persimmon. In the future, I will definitely bulk up the fillings and be more experimental. I've seen some beautiful, non-fish versions from other Daring Cooks and in a few days you'll probably be able to a slideshow of everyone's work over on The Daring Kitchen website.

Hiyashi Soba and Tempura

First things first... Happy Valentine's Day! It may be manufactured holiday but I still enjoy it. There is nothing wrong with a reminder to say thank you and send "pink hearts" to those you love. Thank you to my friends, family and anyone who stumbles across this posts and reads it for your time and support. <3

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com. You can find her detailed notes on preparing the challenge foods and the provided recipes here.

Hiyashi Soba is a popular Japanese noodle salad that is served only during the summer. It is a flexible recipe - you can eat soba noodles just with dipping sauce and call it a day or serve up lots of veggies on the side to mix with the noodles and sauce. While I have made soba noodle dishes before, this was my first cold recipe and it was a pleasant change of pace that will be revisited.

I served the soba noodles with julienned cucumber, shitake mushroom slices (zapped for 30 seconds in the microwave), grated daikon and the spicy dipping sauce from the recipe Lisa provided. I especially loved the sauce's zingy flavor with the lightness of the cucumbers on the soba. As she says and, as I've learned the hard way, the most important thing with soba noodles is making sure they don't overcook and become a gelatinous clump. The big plate is snow pea shoots and mustard greens sauteed with sesame and veggie oil and some ginger. I found them a bit bitter so I'm not going to elaborate.

Instead of using the provided tempora recipe, I used the one listed on the back of my panko bread crumbs. The resulting tempora had a nice, crunchy breading that I was surprised to enjoy as I'm not a big fan of fried food, outside of corn dogs and funnel cakes. I preferred the sweet potato and broccoli to the squash and the decorative Sriracha was a fun way to spice up these bits. I don't think I will make tempora again as I find the cost of oil for deep frying somewhat prohibitive but at least I no longer feel the need to shun it. Thanks for a fun challenge, Lisa!

Panko Tempura

Vegetable Oil
1 package Panko Breadcrumbs (you won't use them all)
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Water
Pinch Salt
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/3" slices
1 small sweet potato, cut into 1/3" slices
1 cup broccoli florets, separated into small bunches if necessary

1. Heat oil in a large pan to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You should have 2 inches of oil present.
2. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet with a sheet of newspaper on top. Cover the newspaper with paper towels. 
2. Place panko breadcrumbs on a plate. Place 2 tablespoons of flour on a separate plate. Mix the egg with a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl.
3. Evenly coat each vegetable slice lightly with flour. Dip into egg mixture. Then dredge in the panko breadcrumbs.
4. Cook the breaded vegetables 4-5 at a time for about 2 minutes each until golden and crispy. Flip once or twice as they cook to get more even coloration.
5. Remove to the wire rack to let the oil drain. A long handled wire skimmer works well for this process as it lets excess oil drain off. It also is good for fishing out extra breading between batches.

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Black and White Rice Krispie Treats

Ever since spotting this recipe for Black and White Rice Krisipie Treats, I knew I had to make them. While they aren't exactly thematically correct for Valentine's Day it seemed like a good opportunity. I also am secretly celebrating my almost one-month anniversary at the new job where I have co-workers to share treats with!

I went to three CVS's to find cinnamon hearts to add in for a festive effect; unfortunately, we barely had bowls big enough to mix the marshmallows, Rice Krispies, etc. so I had to skip it. My application on top after the fact didn't stick too well either. Oh well! I've enjoyed eating them on the side. ;)

I had forgotten how easy Rice Krisipie Treats are to make. My two batches took around 45 minutes. I think I'll revisit this again when I have more than one cupcake tin... That slowed the process down as I had to be creative with the shaping of the other set. It appears that the original ones are thicker too. I'm starting to think my silicone tin is shallow and that a new tin MIGHT fix all these squat comments about muffins, cupcakes, etc. made in it.