Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes

I had seen this recipe on Smitten Kitchen a while back and had bookmarked it, but it took us until now to find garam masala (the Engineer is the one who finally found it). We could have gone to a specialized store, of course, and I would have at some point, but this recipe was on the back burner (no pun intended). It turned out to be absolutely delicious! And it’s simple to make, too.

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 ½ tsp garam masala
1 ½ tsp curry powder
4 to 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth, as needed
2 lbs orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
1 ½ cups dried lentils
1 bay leaf
1 lb Swiss chard, center ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced
1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste
½ tsp ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
finely grated zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
¼ cup chopped scallions, for garnish.

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala and curry powder. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.



Stir in 4 cups broth, sweet potatoes, lentils and bay leaf.




Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, partially cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. (If lentils seem dry, add up to 1 cup stock, as needed.) Stir in chard and salt and pepper, and continue cooking until lentils are tender and chard is cooked, about 30 to 45 minutes total.





Just before serving, stir in cilantro, lime zest and juice. Spoon into a large, shallow serving dish. Garnish with scallions.

Fruit tidbits

Here’s a nice little side-dish that I made a while back. I figured it wasn’t worthy of a post in and of itself, but it’s certainly good enough to be shared, even if there’s no precise recipe for it. It’s a mango compte (though I don’t really stew the fruit that long). I start by browning some onions, then I add chopped mango (and sometimes tomato), then I cook the mixture just a bit and serve it with fresh cilantro (if you’re not using tomato, you could add fresh mint, too). Here, it is paired with a pork chop and some rice cooked in chicken broth.




I also got a cantaloupe and made two simple dishes with it. I started by making skewers with cantaloupe balls, mini bocconcini balls and prosciutto. Next time, though, I’ll add some fresh basil leaves – maybe even cherry tomatoes. Then, with the second half of the cantaloupe, a made a wonderful salad (though if the pieces are small enough, it’s technically more of a salsa). Just add a red bell pepper, some red onion, lime juice and cilantro. Delicious!

Saffron Cupcakes with Rosewater Frosting

I’ve got a good one for you. I actually made up a recipe, for the first time ever. Well, I based it on an existing recipe (white cupcakes and frosting from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes), but I flavoured it differently. I made saffron cupcakes, then topped them with rosewater frosting – and man, were they ever delicious! So here they are, in all their glory.

Cupcakes

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
2 pinches of saffron
½ cup milk
7 Tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
Scant 1 cup sugar
3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; mix well.

With a mortar and pestle (or equivalent), grind the saffron to make it into a powder. Put it in a small saucepan with the milk, and warm it gently over low heat, stirring. Let cool a bit.



Cream the butter until smooth, then gradually add the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk, and beating until just combined after each addition.

In a clean bowl, with an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form (do not overmix).



Fold in one third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites in two batches.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.



Bake until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 min; turn out cupcakes onto rack and let cool completely.



Frosting

¾ cup butter or margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp rosewater
a few drops of red food coloring

With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 min.

Reduce speed to medium. Add the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. After two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium.

Add rosewater, and beat until frosting is smooth. With the mixer running, add a drop of red food coloring at a time, until you get the desired shade (if you want a deep shade of pink, I recommend using food coloring gel instead of liquid).

Frost the cupcakes as you wish, and enjoy.



(Oh yes, and when the Engineer tasted the frosting, he said "That's what pink should taste like.")

Chicken Tagine

I’d been meaning for years to get a tagine (“eventually some day”), but never quite got around to it. The Engineer and I actually received one as an anniversary present – and we also got some nice placemats, which you probably saw in the previous posts. Who knew that one could get anniversary presents from people other than your spouse? This marriage thing just keeps getting better and better! :)




This recipe was originally from Oprah. We changed the quantities a bit, since we were only two for dinner (so we used 2 chicken breasts instead of the 3 pounds of chicken, and cut them into cubes). I’ll give you the recipe as it was published, though, so you can choose for yourself. Also, our tagine is not made for the stovetop, so we put it in the oven at 350 °F; I’ll write both options in the recipe.

And a word of warning about tagines, from Art Smith: Most clay pots need to be soaked and dried for several hours. This is called "seasoning" the pot. If your pot is not seasoned, plan ahead and season it. Once it is seasoned, you'll need to repeat the process about once a year.

3 lbs chicken , cut and skinned (or skinless chicken breasts, thighs, and legs)
1 medium-sized onion , chopped
4 cloves garlic , skinned and minced
2 medium-sized carrots , peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium-sized sweet potato , skinned and cut into 1-inch chunks
6 Tbsp honey
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup chicken broth
¼ cup toasted almonds
¼ cup white raisins
sprigs of fresh cilantro (chopped or not)
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add 2 Tbsp of olive oil to a skillet, brown the chicken pieces over medium heat, and set aside.

Place a heat diffuser over your burner. The heat diffuser prevents the pot from burning or getting damaged. Place the clay pot on the diffuser and turn on the burner to medium. (If your tagine is not made for stovetop use, preheat the oven to 350 °F.)

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, carrots, sweet potato, honey, allspice, cinnamon, salt, lemon juice and chicken broth. Lightly toss to coat.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the tagine. When hot, add the onion, garlic and spices. Cook until soft, around 6 minutes. (You can also do this in a pan, then transfer to the tagine before the next step.)

Add the combined ingredients to the tagine. Cover the pot and simmer (or put in the oven) for about 40 minutes, or until done. Remove from the oven and garnish the tagine with raisins, toasted almonds and fresh cilantro. Serve with couscous.

Biscuits Neiman-Marcus

Chère Sœur participe, encore cette année, au week-end pour vaincre le cancer du sein. Demain, son équipe organise une vente de pâtisseries pour lever des fonds. Je contribue en cuisinant une fournée de mes biscuits Neiman-Marcus, la recette de biscuits aux pépites de chocolat qui est devenue ma recette classique. Elle tient son nom d’une légende urbaine, mais je trouve que c’est quand même une bonne façon de les nommer – surtout qu’il faut les différencier des autres bonnes recettes du genre, comme celle de mes pizookies.

Les biscuits Neiman-Marcus sont différents de la majorité des autres biscuits aux pépites de chocolat, d’une part parce qu’ils contiennent de l’avoine et d’autre part parce qu’on y incorpore une barre de chocolat râpée. Je l’avoue, c’est un peu chiant à râper, une barre de chocolat, et ça salit le comptoir en fondant vite. Mais ne vous laissez pas intimider, ça vaut la peine! Et c’est vraiment ce chocolat râpé qui donne aux biscuits leur aspect si particulier. Ce coup-ci, j’ai utilisé une barre de Lindt 70 %, vu que c’est un très bon chocolat, mais elle n’a pas la forme idéale pour être râpée (j’ai terminé en hachant les morceaux restants sur une planche avec un gros couteau). Le mieux serait une barre épaisse, mais c’est à vôtre goût. De plus, la recette peut être doublée très facilement pour les grandes occasions (celle que je partage ici donne environ 42 biscuits).

En passant, je vous encourage à faire un don à l’Hôpital général juif de Montréal pour vaincre le cancer du sein, en suivant le lien plus haut. Si vous voulez donner directement à Chère Sœur ou à son équipe, écrivez-moi et je vous donnerai les bonnes coordonnées.

2 ½ tasses d’avoine (gruau)
2 tasses de farine
1 c. à thé de poudre à pâte
1 c. à thé de bicarbonate de soude
1 pincée de sel
1 tasse de beurre non salé ou de margarine
1 tasse de sucre granulé
1 tasse de cassonade tassée
2 œufs
1 c. à thé de vanille
12 oz (environ 1 ½ tasse) de pépites de chocolat noir
1 barre de chocolat

Mettre l’avoine dans un robot et la réduire à une poudre fine.

Râper la barre de chocolat et mettre les morceaux de côté dans un endroit à l’abri de la chaleur (donc pas à côté du four).




Préchauffer le four à 350 °F et sortir deux plaques à biscuits.

Dans un bol, mélanger l’avoine avec la farine, la poudre à pâte, le bicarbonate de soude et le sel.



Dans un grand bol, mettre le beurre en crème avec le sucre granulé et la cassonade.




Y ajouter les œufs et la vanille; bien mélanger.



Incorporer les ingrédients secs et mélanger juste assez pour homogénéiser. Ajouter au mélange les pépites de chocolat et la barre de chocolat râpée; mélanger.




Faire de petites boules avec la pâte et les disposer sur les plaques à biscuits (pour une grosseur homogène, vous pouvez utiliser une petite cuillère à crème glacée). Je mets 12 biscuits par plaque, et deux plaques à la fois dans le four.



Faire cuire la première fournée pendant environ 8 à 10 minutes, pour des biscuits moelleux (c’est normal que le dessus brille encore un peu quand vous les retirez du four). Profiter de la cuisson pour faire un peu de vaisselle!



Sortir les biscuits du four et les laisser refroidir 10 minutes, puis les transférer à une grille pour qu’ils refroidissent complètement. Former les derniers biscuits, les mettre sur les plaques et enfourner pendant 8 à 10 minutes.

Tarte au flan au lait de coco

J’ai adapté cette tarte récemment, en utilisant le lait de coco qui trônait sur mon comptoir de cuisine (vous avez dû l’apercevoir dans des billets précédents!).



J’avais converti toutes mes mesures en système nord-américain. Malheureusement, la recette d’origine n’était pas adaptée à mon moule (ou vice-versa, comme vous voulez). Donc, même si la recette d’origine demandait 1,5 L de lait de coco, je pense que 1 L, c’est largement suffisant. Je vais donc utiliser les chiffres que j’avais obtenus en convertissant, mais en les diminuant proportionnellement. J’augmente quand même un peu la farine et les œufs. Pour la cuisson, j’avais utilisé 375 °F (parce que bon, les recettes donnent des températures Fahrenheit par multiples de 25); j’ai laissé la tarte plus longtemps que ce que la recette disait, en la recouvrant finalement de papier d’aluminium, parce que j’avais l’impression qu’elle n’avait pas pris. Cependant, il n’en était rien, et j’aurais pu la sortir du fourneau avant ça.

1 abaisse de pâte brisée (avec la moitié de la recette habituelle)
1 L de lait de coco
2 œufs
2/3 tasse de sucre
1 tasse de farine
1 c. à thé de vanille
1 bonne poignée de noix de coco râpée non sucrée
1 petite poignée de raisins secs

Préchauffer le four à 375 °F. Mettre l’abaisse de pâte dans un moule à tarte.



Faire chauffer doucement le lait de coco dans une casserole.



Dans un wok, hors du feu, battre les œufs vivement avec le sucre jusqu’à blanchiment. Ajouter ensuite la farine et la vanille; battre de nouveau jusqu’à homogénéité.



Verser ensuite le lait, petit à petit, tout en fouettant pour éviter la formation de grumeaux. Ajouter la noix de coco râpée et les raisins secs; mélanger.



Mettre ce mélange sur le feu et fouetter sans cesse jusqu’à ce que le mélange bout et que la préparation ait épaissi, comme une crème pâtissière.





Mettre le mélange dans la croûte à tarte et enfourner, de 45 à 60 minutes (ou davantage, selon le four) jusqu’à ce que le mélange ait pris et que la tarte soit brune sur le dessus.

Sortir du four et laisser reposer sur une grille. Lorsque la tarte est à la température de la pièce, la mettre au réfrigérateur pendant toute une nuit avant de la déguster. Bon appétit!

Turkey and Sweet-Potato Hash

I got this recipe what seems like ages ago (April 2007, apparently!). I had printed it out after seeing it in Martha Stewart Living, and had been stalling on making it because I try to eat lactose-free whenever possible, and this recipe has cream. But now that I’m finally using lactase drops, I decided to go ahead with it, and I was quite pleased with the result. Then again, how wrong can you go with a recipe that starts with cooking an onion in butter and then adds cream? I’m discovering cream all over again! But for one thing, I will cut smaller pieces of food next time. Also, if you are using 15% cream instead of 35% cream (like me, since the thicker cream can’t mix with the lactase properly), you might need to add a little cornstarch mixed with water to the mixture toward the end of the cooking period, to make it thicken up a bit. worry about presentation too much, though – after all, this is hash.

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small wedges (no more than ½-inch thick)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into ¼-inck thick slices
2 celery stalks, cut into ¼-inck thick slices
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups cooked turkey breast, shredded
½ cup cream
½ cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp freshly-chopped sage
salt and pepper



Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until just tender, about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add apple; cook until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.



Add the remaining 2 Tbsp butter, onion and celery to the skillet; cook until slightly softened, about 10 minutes.



Add wine and cook until liquid has mostly evaporated. Add turkey, potatoes, cream and stock. Simmer until sauce is creamy and vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in sage and apple; season with salt and pepper.

To serve, you can spoon the mixture on whole-wheat toast and drizzle with sauce, or eat it as is.

Mikasa

I... don’t quite know how to write this post. I think it will be easier if I do it not by starting with the most important thing, but by doing it chronologically, because that’s how I experienced it.

The Engineer and I had a favourite sushi place, Masako (on Côte-des-Neiges, near the corner of Queen Mary). Sadly, it closed recently. We’ve been looking for a new place to call “our” sushi place, without much luck for a while. Then, last Saturday, we tried Mikasa (2049 Peel). We pretty much decided this would be it.

The décor was great, and the music wasn’t the prepackaged, stereotypical Japanese music many other places seem to be playing. We were sitting under the glass atrium window, in front. The ambiance was really nice. Price-wise, it was in the mid-range for sushi, but the quality of the food was superb. The showstoppers are really the specialty rolls (well, those are expensive, to be honest, so we limited ourselves to two). We had the Tentation, which contains tuna, avocado, mango and honey (among other things), as well as the Anaconda, which had delicious unagi. They were exquisite, and we kept thinking that we were going to have to come back regularly to sample the rest, as there is a wide variety and they all look so damn good. We also had mini maki (avocado, and a tuna tempura that was wonderful) and regular maki (vegetarian and unakyu). We ate like kings, but without feeling overstuffed. Really, it was like the perfect dinner.

Fast-forward to today, Thursday, at 6pm. A couple barely older than us is having dinner at Mikasa, in the atrium, presumably having just as good a time as we were having. Then, without any warning, a huge slab of concrete falls from the 18th storey of the Marriott Hotel – into the atrium of Mikasa. It kills the woman instantly and injures the man (I believe he lost some fingers). Just like that. And I keep thinking that we were just there. This could easily have happened to us.

There are certain times when one engages in behaviour that is known to be risky. If I decided to go run with the bulls in Pamplona, for example, I could expect a certain likelihood of injury or death. If I became a stunt-woman, it would be the same thing. But if I’m just sitting in a nice restaurant, enjoying a quiet meal with my husband... I assume I’ll be safe. One unlucky couple wasn’t. I can’t even picture what it would be like to suddenly – wham – be dead. Or to suddenly – wham – loose the man I love, and/or – wham – be permanently injured. I DON’T want to think about it. It’s absolutely horrible, what happened to these poor people.

So while I thought I would write a review to recommend the restaurant, it’s turned into something different. I don’t know when I’ll go back to Mikasa, but I know that I will (though there’s no way I’m sitting in the atrium again). In the meantime, I’ll snuggle a little closer to the Engineer and make sure he knows that I love him.

Americana Potato Salad

I based this recipe on one I found on Smitten Kitchen, namely Rosanne Cash’s potato salad (Rosanne being the daughter of the late Johnny Cash). I modified it a bit, because I don’t like pickles and I’m not crazy about dill either, but feel free to make the original if you want. I also didn’t use new potatoes this time, because our Metro grocery store has a pitiful selection and I didn’t have time to go looking elsewhere.

2-3 lbs potatoes, scrubbed, boiled until fork-tender, cooled and cut into pieces
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into pieces
mayonnaise (eyeball it, to taste; I used homemade mayonnaise leftovers)
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
minced fresh dill, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix and serve. It doesn’t get any more simple than that!

Ranch Dressing

I got this great recipe from Gluten-Free Girl, and the reason I like it so much is that it can be made lactose-free! That’s usually not an option with store-bought or restaurant dressings.

You need mayonnaise for this. I decided to make my own. Over the years, I’ve tried two methods: the food processor and the stand mixer. Purists be damned, I say the food processor is easier and more fool-proof, so that’s what I recommend. You can start either with a few egg yolks or with a whole egg, that you process to mix. Then add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and 1 tsp of salt, and process again. After that, you need to gradually incorporate 2 cups of oil: be especially careful with the first ½ cup, that you should incorporate about 1 tsp at a time with the motor running; you can add the rest in a very slow trickle, also with the motor running. I prefer canola oil, because it doesn’t have much of a taste; olive oil or sunflower seed oil would taste too strong in mayonnaise (though if you want, you can use ½ cup of either and 1 ½ cups of canola oil). Whatever you do, make sure your oil is fresh – this is the last place you want to use rancid oil. Once you use some of the mayonnaise for the dressing, you can always use the rest in potato salad, for example.

1 cup buttermilk (or lactose-free milk with lemon juice)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup plain yogurt (lactose-free, optional)
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Just mix all the ingredients and serve however you wish. The tastes really come together after a day in the fridge. Enjoy!

Penne with Five Cheeses

Note that this is the original title of the recipe, but you can pretty much adapt it to suit your taste or according to what you have on hand. This particular time, I made a Cavatappi with Four Cheeses, and it was really good.

You can make it gluten-free if you use gluten-free pasta (in any case, stick with short pasta).

You can also make it lactose-free if you choose your cheeses wisely and if you use lactase drops in the cream. In my personal experience, heavy cream (like 35%) is too thick to mix with the lactase drops, so you should stick with lighter cream (like 15%) if you want to make it lactose-free. If you want to omit the cream altogether, you can; just add a little more tomato sauce. For the cheese, I want to point out that I’ve now found lactose-free goat cheese, called Elite, made by Damafro (it is also low in fat). It’s opened up a world of possibilities for me! I just love goat cheese. With it, I used parmesan, sharp cheddar and Swiss cheese. There is also lactose-free Gouda on the market. Just know that processed cheese is usually not “real” cheese and most definitely contains lactose. The quantities below are those I have written down in my recipe binder, but I rarely follow them, they’re just guidelines.

½ lb pasta
½ cup of cream
½ cup canned crushed tomatoes
¼ cup grated parmesan or Pecorino Romano
¼ cup shredded cheddar or fontina
2 oz shredded mozzarella
2 oz shredded Gorgonzola or Gouda (if you don’t like blue)
3 oz goat cheese or ricotta
fresh basil leaves, chopped (optional, but it tastes better)

Preheat oven to 500 °F and bring two quarts of water to a boil.

Combine the cream, tomatoes, cheeses and basil leaves in a bowl.




Salt the boiling water and drop in the pasta. Boil until al dente, about 4 minutes, then drain well in a colander and add to the ingredients in the bowl, tossing to combine.



Divide the mixture in shallow ceramic gratin dishes or oven-safe bowls (mine are somewhat big, so they contain about two servings each, provided you have a salad on the side). Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until brown and bubbly on top. Serve.

Poppy Seed Cookies

This recipe is adapted from a cookbook called Second Helpings, Please!, which belonged to the Engineer’s Bubbie. There are handwritten notes in the margins of some recipes and food splatters in others; you can tell this book has been well-used (I’m now the third generation to make a recipe from it), and that makes it even more charming to me.

3 eggs, beaten
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup fresh orange juice (about half an orange)
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup poppy seeds
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven at 350 °F.

Blend eggs, oil, juice and sugar. Add poppy seeds. Sift dry ingredients together and add to batter. The dough should be fairly stiff.



Then, the original recipe calls for you to flour a work surface and roll out the dough to ¼” thickness, then use a cookie cutter to make shapes. I did one batch like that, and for the rest, I simply shaped them into discs. It’s less messy, and I think the dough could also be rolled into a log, refrigerated and then sliced into cookies. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are golden. Makes about 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

First Anniversary

The Engineer and I recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary. :)

We spent the afternoon at Ofuro Spa, a wonderful thermotherapy spa in Morin Heights. We had received gift certificates from my cousin and his lovely wife as a wedding gift, so we used them to celebrate. We really loved the place, which we found both relaxing and invigorating. We tried wet and dry saunas (the hottest I remember experiencing), followed by a dip in the river, then hot tubs and cold ones, with lots of lounging around and a couple’s massage in between. What a treat!

We then had dinner at Leméac, which I had been dying to try. I had the panko crusted goat cheese with apple and walnut salad as a starter, while the Engineer had lobster and saffron ravioli in a tarragon bisque sauce. Both were delicious. I then had the roasted duck breast with date chutney. I was a little taken aback by the duck, but I think it’s because I’m used to serving it sweet (I often season it with nutmeg as well as salt and pepper, and the last recipe I tried had pears and honey). It was still good, though, and the chutney was wonderful. Hubby had the grilled Cornish hen with black olive polenta fries. Black olives and polenta, together? Those were the magic words for him. For dessert, I knew I absolutely had to try the pain perdu, then I got distracted by the Valrhona chocolate variations... We ended up ordering both and sharing. Both were truly wonderful desserts, and just for that, it would be worth going back. I was also intrigued by the coconut-basil sorbet, and I’ll have to try a variation of it with my anniversary present – an ice-cream maker attachment for our Kitchen Aid stand mixer. You’ll hear about it here when I do!

Over the course of the weekend (why celebrate only one day when you can have two or three?), we had leftover pieces of our wedding cake, which had been kept in our freezer for this occasion. It was a red velvet cake with white buttercream and an almond paste topping – and it still tasted great! :)