Daring Cooks: Stuffed Grape Leaves

This month yours truly hosted the Daring Cooks challenge of stuffed grape leaves.  Because I know so many people would be unable to find grape leaves we allowed other tough greens.  If you have the chance to acquire grape leaves I highly recommend this recipe- especially with the apricots if you are not vegetarian.  If you are vegetarian, the second recipe  is really delicious as well.  Don't be afraid of rolling.  It is way easier than you think it is.  I have put it off for years and was glad that the Daring Cooks needed someone because it was a perfect excuse to take the plunge.

And a plug (not being paid to say this), these two books are excellent sources of Middle Eastern food, Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food a Borzoi Book, published by Alfred A. Knopf and Jewish Syrian food, Aromas of Aleppo by Poopa Dweck and Michael J. Cohen .  They are full of excellent recipes.  I have tried many of the recipes in this book and have not been disappointed.

Here are the checking lines for the month:  Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.


Historical Note: Stuffed grape leaves are a part of many cultures including the Syrians, the Turks, the Greeks, the Lebanese, the Albanians, the Israeli's, the Iranians, the Iraqis and the Armenians (just to name a few). Generally speaking the stuffed part could be in zucchinis/courgette, eggplant, tomato or peppers. Really it also extends to stuffing certain types of fish as well. It is suggested that the origin of stuffed grape leaves goes back to the time when Alexander the Great besieged Thebes. It has also been suggested the Byzantines refined and spiced up the recipe and used the leaves of other vines such as hazelnuts and figs.

THE CHALLENGE RECIPE
Preparation time: The recipe will take up to 2 hours, depending on how fast you roll. You can freeze them before boiling if you want to try to do half of the recipe ahead of time.
Equipment required:
Heatproof plate, lid or pie plate. Something to weight the stuffed grape leaves down in the sauce pan.
A sauce pan.

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Ground Meat and Rice with Apricot Tamarind Sauce/ Yebra
Adapted from Aromas of Aleppo by Poopa Dweck and Michael J. Cohen. Published by Harper Collins, 2007
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients for hashu/filling:
1 pound (455 gm) ground (minced) beef
1/3 cup (80 ml) (2 1/3 oz) (65 gm) short grain rice
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) all spice
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (3 gm) kosher (coarse) salt **if using regular table salt only use ½ tsp.**
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) white pepper
1 onion, chopped **optional**
1 cup (5½ oz) (150 gm) pine nuts **optional**
Directions:
1.Soak rice in water, enough to cover, for 30 minutes. Combine meat, rice, allspice, vegetable oil, cinnamon, salt, white pepper, and if desired, onion and pine nuts, in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Ingredients for assembly:
1 pound (455 gm) hashu/filling (see recipe above)
36 preserved grape leaves, stems trimmed, drained, rinsed and patted dry
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
6 dried apricots – or more if you desire
3 tablespoons (45 ml) tamarind concentrate **if you can’t find it, you can omit it**
¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (9 gm) kosher (coarse) salt **if using regular table salt only use 1.5 tsp.**
Notes:
If using grape leaves preserved in brine, to remove salt put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Make sure that the water penetrates well between the layers, and leave them soaking for about twenty minutes, then change the water a time or two using fresh cold water.
If using fresh leaves, plunge a few at a time in boiling water for a few seconds only, until they become limp, and lift them out.
Tamarind is actually fairly easy to find.  There is a paste that is in package already made up.  You can find it at Asian, Mexican or Indian grocers.  You can also find the pods (a little more difficult) and make it yourself.  It is akin to a sweet/tangy tea flavor. If you can’t find it, you can skip the sauce all togheter. The grape leaves will be just as delicious without the sauce. But we hope that those that can find it will use it.
Directions:
1.Place a grape leaf on a flat surface, vein side up. You can trim the little stem if you would like.
2.Place about two teaspoons (10 ml) of the filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge.
3.Roll the leaf end to end, starting from the stem edge. As you roll, fold the sides of the leaf in toward the center. The leaf should resemble a small cigar, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches (50 mm to 65mm) long.
4.Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
a.(You can freeze the stuffed grape leaves at this point. Just line a baking sheet with wax paper. When firmly frozen, transfer to an airtight plastic bag place back in the freezer.)
5.In a medium saucepan put in the vegetable oil and then place the filled grape leaves in the pot.
6.Place apricots in between the stuffed grape leaves. Cover and cook over low heat for 5- 8 minutes or until the grape leaves begin to sweat.
7.Using all three tablespoons, place a little of the tamarind concentrate, if using, over the rolls.
8.Combine lemon juice, salt, and water then add to pan, filling it ¾ full.
9.Weigh down the grape leaves with a heat proof plate or board to prevent them from unraveling. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes.
a.Alternatively, place the saucepan in an oven preheated to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 and cook for an hour.
10.Spoon cooking liquid over the grape leaves occasionally. You will know they are done, when the grape leaves are neither soupy nor dry.
11.Tilt pan sideways over serving platter, allowing the grape leaves to tumble out. Try not to handle them individually to reduce unraveling.
a.Alternately you can try spooning them out very gently.

Wara Einab or Dolma/Cold Stuffed Grape Leaves
Adapted from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food a Borzoi Book, published by Alfred A. Knopf
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
24 – 30 preserved or fresh grape leaves.
1¼ cups (300 ml) (9 oz) (250 gm) long grain rice
1- 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped or 4 tablespoons (60 ml) (35 gm) finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (25 gm) finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) crushed dried mint
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) ground allspice
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6½ gm) dill
Salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, sliced **optional**
3 or 4 cloves garlic
2/3 cup (160 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) sugar
Juice of 1 lemon or more
Notes:
If using grape leaves preserved in brine, to remove salt put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Make sure that the water penetrates well between the layers, and leave them soaking for about twenty minutes, then change the water a time or two using fresh cold water.
If using fresh leaves, plunge a few at a time in boiling water for a few seconds only, until they become limp, and lift them out.
Directions:
1.Pour boiling water over the rice and stir well, then rinse with cold water and let drain.
2.Mix the rice with the chopped tomatoes, onion or scallion, parsley, mint, cinnamon, allspice, dill, salt and pepper to taste.
3.Place a grape leaf on a flat surface, vein side up.

4.Place about two teaspoons (10 ml) of the filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge.

5.Roll the leaf end to end, starting from the stem edge. As you roll, fold the sides of the leaf in toward the center. The leaf should resemble a small cigar, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches (50 mm to 65mm) long.

6.Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.


a.(You can freeze the stuffed grape leaves at this point. Just line a baking sheet with wax paper. When firmly frozen, transfer to an airtight plastic bag place back in the freezer.)
7.Pack the stuffed leaves tightly in a large pan lined with tomato slices or imperfect grape leaves Place a whole garlic clove in between them for extra flavor. The tightness will help prevent the rolls from unraveling.

8.Mix together olive oil, 2/3 cup (160 ml) water, sugar and lemon juice and pour over the stuffed leaves. Put a small heat proof plate on top of the leaves to prevent them from unwinding, cover the pan and simmer very gently for about 1 hour, until the rolls are thoroughly cooked, adding water occasionally, a cup at a time, as the liquid in the pan becomes absorbed. Cool in the pan before turning out. Serve cold.
There are many variations you can use but here are just a few suggestions:
Add ¼ cup (60 ml) (1½ oz) (45 gm) raisins or currants and ¼ cup (60 ml) (1⅓ oz) (40 gm) pine nuts to the filling.
Mix a pinch or two of powdered saffron with the olive oil and water before pouring over the stuffed grape leaves.
Soak about ¼ cup (60 ml) (1½ oz) (45 gm) dried chickpeas in water overnight. Crush them using a processor or blender and add them to the filling. In this case use ¼ cup (60 ml) (1¾ oz) (50 gm) less rice. You could also use drained canned chickpeas.

Additional Information:
http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekcookinglessons/ss/foldleaves.htm
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/StuffedGrapeLeaves.htm
http://www.squidoo.com/stuffed-grape-leaves
Video:
http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Make-Stuffed-Grape-Leaves-101615656
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DlKlzltajg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSyOUhHzIoQ&feature=related

Daring Cooks: Pierogi

I am not new to pierogi.  Since my Mother is Polish, we have been celebrating the traditional Polish meal at Christmas time which you can read about here.  We rarely have it at other times of the year.  Why?  I don't know because they are pretty darn good.  The dough is so similar to a Chinese dumpling but of the filling is obviously totally different.

I ran out of time this challenge.  These are the blueberry pierogi that I have always wanted to try. Eh.  They were okay. All you do is put about five blueberries or so in the pierogi.  I prefer the potatoes or sauer kraut ones.  Tomorrow I will be doing the potato filled ones.

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

Today is the day to visit other Daring Cooks and see what their interpretations were for these pierogi wonders! I am sure you will find many interesting and delicious combinations. Click here for the blog roll.

Russian style pierogi (makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings)
The recipe for the filling is my interpretation.


Dough:
2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water
Filling:
3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too)   
1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese, drained       
1 egg yolk (from medium egg)
1 tablespoon (15 g) butter, melted       
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon salt       
pinch of pepper to taste    
1. Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it’s best to use one’s hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.
2. Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You’re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.
3. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass (personally I used 4-inch/10 cm cutter as it makes nice size pierogi - this way I got around 30 of them and 1 full, heaped teaspoon of filling is perfect for that size). Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.
 5. Serve immediately preferably with creme fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried.  Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.
*When preparing large batches of pierogi we heat the oven to the lowest setting and pile the pierogi in a large casserole pan.  Layering butter and fried onions in betweent eh layers.

I thought it was the perfect time to tell you about the Polish Festival that we went to last weekend.  It has become a tradition.  We always go with some friends of ours and the kids run wild!  Games are cheap, 25 cents for the most part.  So it is a pretty inexpensive evening but a lot of fun. 

Daring Cooks: Nut Butters and Cashew Carrot Soup

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.
There was much ado about this months challenge. A few people were in an uproar about the simplicity of this months challenge. While I understand waht they are saying, I was happy about the simplicity and used it as a challenge to try something completely different. I made cashew carrot soup.

How did it taste? Eh, it was okay. My husband went crazy over it. I will play with this recipe a little because I think it has potential. In all fairness I had omitted the onion.  What was I thinking?

What I did like was mixing the cashew butter I made with soy sauce, etc, the recipe follows. Its really a typical dish around here - mixed with soba noodles. The cashews ground down fresh were amazing and totally beat out the peanut butter that I usually use. No pictures though.


Cashew Dressing:
½ inch (1 cm) slice of fresh ginger, chopped
8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
½ cup (120 ml) cashew butter
¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) sugar
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) vinegar
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) toasted sesame oil
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (75 ml) water
Hot sauce to taste (optional)

HOMEMADE NUT BUTTERS

    * The process for making various types of nut butters is essentially the same. Pour nuts into bowl of food processor. Grind the nuts in the processor until they form a paste or butter. The nuts first turn into powdery or grainy bits, then start to clump and pull away from the side of the bowl, and finally form a paste or butter. The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes (assuming a starting volume of 1 to 2 cups [240 to 480 ml] nuts). Processing times for a variety of nuts are described below.
    * You may add oil as desired during grinding to make the nut butter smoother and creamier or to facilitate grinding. Add oil in small increments, by the teaspoon for oily nuts like cashews or by the tablespoon for dryer/harder nuts like almonds. You may use the corresponding nut oil or a neutral vegetable oil like canola.
    * The inclusion of salt in the nut butters is optional and to taste. If you make nut butters from salted nuts, peanuts or cashews for example, you will not need additional salt. We recommend making unsalted nut butters for use in the challenge recipes (and other savory recipes) since the recipes call for salt or salty ingredients. You can then adjust the salt to taste. If you are making nut butter for use as a spread, you should add salt according to your preference.
    * Roasting the nuts before making nut butters is optional according to your preference. To roast nuts in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/Gas Mark 4). Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until nuts are fragrant and a shade darker in color. Allow nuts to cool before grinding. Roasted nuts will make butter with darker color than raw nuts.
    * It’s helpful to keep in mind that the yield of nut butter is about half the original volume of nuts. If you start with 1 cup nuts, you’ll get about ½ cup nut butter.
    * The consistency of nut butters varies from thin & soft (almost pourable) to very thick and hard depending on the fat content of the nut. (See links below for nutrition info on variety of nuts.) Homemade nut butters will probably not be as smooth as commercial products.
    * Homemade nut butters are more perishable than commercial products and should be stored in the refrigerator. The nut butters harden & thicken somewhat upon chilling.
    * See links at bottom of post for additional information about making nut butters at home.

Additional Information:

    * Here are three links for additional information about making fresh nut butters at home: the Nut Butter Primer from Cooking Light online, India Curry website, and the Cook’s Thesaurus online.

    * Click here for a summary of nut nutrition from the University of Nebraska extension. Scroll down the page for a helpful chart comparing nutrition facts for both peanuts and tree nuts.
    * Click here for a detailed table of nutrition facts for a variety of tree nuts from the International Tree Nut Council. Click here for a detailed table of nutrition facts for dry roasted peanuts from The Peanut Institute.

    * Here’s a helpful video on making peanut butter at home in a food processor.
    * Here’s a helpful video on making macadamia nut butter at home in a food processor.

    * We tested this recipe for homemade toasted sesame seed butter (or Tahini) from this website featuring Middle Eastern cuisine. It was definitely not as smooth as commercial Tahini, but tasted fresh and intensely nutty. If you’re looking for a good recipe in which to use your homemade Tahini, we recommend Mollie Katzen’s recipe for Tahini Lemon Sauce.
    * Click here for a recipe for sunflower seed butter from Gourmet Sleuth online. Please note, we did not test this recipe.
    * If you are interested in fruit butters, check out the Pear Butter and Apple Butter recipes at the Simply Recipes food blog.
    * For inspiration on cooking with nut and seed butters, check out these recipes from Futters Nut Butters, a company that sells a variety of jarred nut and seed butters.

Carrot Cashew Soup
adapted from this recipe

12 ounces carrots -- sliced or diced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water -- as needed
1 ounce cashews -- dry-roasted, unsalted
salt and pepper -- to taste

Place carrots in a saucepan with broth. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, and simmer until completely tender; adding up to 1 cup of water as needed. Set aside.

Blend the cashews in a food processor with a little broth until smooth as a puree as possible. Add the carrots and blend to make a smooth and velvety soup. Pass through a fine sieve if you want the soup to be smoother. Taste and season with a little salt. Serve pepper at the table.

Daring Cooks: Vegetable Pâté

Having had pâté when I made my beef wellington, I have to say I liked it but I did not love it.  There are very few things in the food world that I dont like, liver and gamey meats are among them. So I went with the vegetable pâté .  Love beans! And I loved this.  Even the kids went crazy over this.  

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

Please visit some of the other Daring Bakers and you will find other recipes for pate and some amazingly beautiful creations. To find out where some of the Daring Bakers are, visit the blogroll.

Tricolor Vegetable Pâté
Yields one 25 by 12,5 cm (10 by 5 inch) terrine or loaf pan
Line your pan with plastic wrap, overlapping sides.

White Bean Layer
2 x 15-ounce / 900 ml cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained thoroughly
1 tbsp / 15 ml fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp / 15 ml olive oil
1 tbsp / 15 ml minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2 garlic cloves, pressed
Mash beans in large bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and garlic and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread bean mixture evenly on bottom of prepared pan.
Red Pepper Layer
7-ounce / 210 ml jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, chopped
3/4 cup / 180 ml crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)
Combine peppers and feta in processor and blend until smooth. Spread pepper mixture evenly over bean layer in prepared dish.


Pesto Layer
2 garlic cloves
1 cup / 240 ml fresh basil leaves
1 cup / 240 ml fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup / 60 ml toasted pine nuts
3 tbsp / 45 ml olive oil
1/2 cup / 120 ml low-fat ricotta cheese
Mince garlic in processor. Add basil, parsley and pine nuts and mince. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube and process until smooth. Mix in ricotta. Spread pesto evenly over red pepper layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To unmold, invert pâté onto serving platter. Peel off plastic wrap from pâté. Garnish with herb sprigs and serve with sourdough bread slices.

Daring Cooks: Enchilada Sauce and Red Mole

Salsa.  Here the accent?  Makes me want to dance!  That is why I love Zumba so much, but I digress. This is about food not exercise after all.

Sauce is really the thing that always takes a dish go from plain to dressed up.  A stir in for a soup, a dressing for a salad or a sauce for your enchiladas.  The complexity, the flavor, the BANG in your mouth! 

I have made mole before but it was the quick recipe.  I have wanted to make a-spend-the-day-in-the-kitchen kind of mole for a long time.  Make no mistake, it is a day in the kitchen.  In the end, you are rewarded with one of the best tasting sauces you ever had.  And you have a bucket of it to boot.  So you freeze a couple jars and wow your friends when they came over.

A couple pieces of equipment are truly necessary for making mole.  One is a splatter screen.  This will save you a whole lot of clean up.  Two, a slotted spoon that can withstand the temperature of hot grease.  Stainless steel, not plastic.  Chenois for straining, medium not fine.  Besides the other normal things like pots and bowls these will be the things that are indispensible.

I used Rick Bayless recipe for red mole as he is kind of the ambassador of Mexican cuisine (besides Diana Kennedy of course).

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

Please note that the Daring Cooks recipe was for enchilada sauce.  We were allowed to make a different sauce if we had made enchilada sauce before.  SInce I can enchilada sauce I decided to go with mole.  But I also made some green enchilada sauce which I have also never made adn wanted to do.  I love tomatillos so it was a welcome addition to my foodie repertoire.

Classic Red Mole
Mole Rojo Clasico

Makes a generous 3/4 gallon of mole

Recipe from Season 7 Mexico - One Plate at a Time


10 ounces (5 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 1/3 cup (about 6 1/2 ounces) sesame seeds
1 cup rich-tasting pork lard or vegetable oil, plus a little more if necessary
6 ounces (about 12 medium) dried mulato chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
3 ounces (about 6 medium) dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
3 ounces (about 10 medium) dried pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup (about 4 ounces) unskinned almonds
1 cup (about 4 ounces) raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably freshly ground Mexican canela
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon anise, preferably freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon cloves, preferably freshly ground
2 slices firm white bread, darkly toasted and broken into several pieces
2 ounces (about 2/3 of a 3.3-ounce tablet) Mexican chocolate, roughly chopped
3 quarts chicken broth
Salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
Directions

1.   Preliminaries.  On a rimmed baking sheet, roast the tomatillos 4 inches below a very hot broiler until splotchy black and thoroughly soft, about 5 minutes per side.  Scrape into a large bowl.  In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirringly nearly constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes.  Scrape half of them in with the tomatillos.  Reserve the remainder for sprinkling on the chicken.

2.   Brown other mole ingredients.  Turn on an exhaust fan or open a kitchen door or window.  In a very large soup pot (I typically use a 12-quart stainless steel stock pot or a medium-large Mexican earthenware cazuela), heat the lard or oil over medium.  When quite hot, fry the chiles, three or four pieces at a time, flipping them nearly constantly with tongs until their interior side has changed to a lighter color, about 20 or 30 seconds total frying time.  Don’t toast them so darkly that they begin to smoke—that would make the mole bitter.  As they’re done, remove them to a large bowl, being careful to drain as much fat as possible back into the pot.  Cover the toasted chiles with hot tap water and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently to insure even soaking.

Remove any stray chile seeds left in the fat.  With the pot still over medium heat, fry the garlic and almonds, stirring regularly, until browned (the garlic should be soft), about 5 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, remove to the tomatillo bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot.

Add the raisins to the hot pot.  Stir for 20 or 30 seconds, until they’ve puffed and browned slightly.  Scoop them out, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot, and add to the tomatillos. Set the pan aside off the heat.

To the tomatillo mixture, add the cinnamon, black pepper, anise, cloves, bread and chocolate.  Add 2 cups water and stir to combine.

3.   Blend, strain, cook.  Into a large measuring cup, tip off the chiles’ soaking liquid. Taste the liquid:  if it’s not bitter, discard all abut 6 cups of the liquid. (if you’re short, add water to make up the shortfall).  If bitter, pour it out and measure 6 cups water.  Scoop half of the chiles into a blender jar, pour in half of the soaking liquid (or water) and blend to a smooth puree.  Press through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the bits of skin and seeds that don’t pass through the strainer.  Repeat with the remaining chiles.

Return the soup pot or cazuela to medium heat.  When quite hot, pour in the chile puree—it should sizzle sharply and, if the pan is sufficiently hot, the mixture should never stop boiling.  Stir every couple of minutes until the chile puree has darkened and reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, about a half hour. (I find it useful to cover the pot with an inexpensive spatter screen to catch any spattering chile.)

In two batches, blend the tomatillo mixture as smoothly as possible (you may need an extra 1/2 cup water to keep everything moving through the blades), then strain it in to the large bowl that contained the chiles. When the chile paste has reduced, add the tomatillo mixture to the pot and cook, stirring every few minutes until considerably darker and thicker, 15 to 20 minutes. (Again, a spatter screen saves a lot of cleanup.)

4.   Simmer.  Add the broth to the pot and briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat for about 2 hours for all the flavors to come together and mellow. If the mole has thickened beyond the consistency of a cream soup, stir in a little water.  Taste and season with salt (usually about 4 teaspoons) and the sugar.

Lacquered Chicken
Rick Bayless

1/2 cup agave syrup (preferably organic raw) or dark corn syrup
24 portions of chicken—24 leg-and-thigh pieces, 24 bone-in chicken breast halves or a mixture of the two
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Reserved toasted sesame seeds from the Classic Red Mole recipe
Sprigs of watercress or flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small (2-quart) saucepan, mix together 1 cup of the mole with the agave nectar or corn syrup.  Simmer over medium heat until glossy and reduced to 1 cup, about a half hour.  On rimmed baking sheets, lay out the chicken in a single layer.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 45 minutes (the chicken should be tender to the bone at this point—leg-and-thigh portions should register 165 degrees at the thickest part on an instant-read thermometer).

Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Tip off the juices that have collected around the chicken, then brush the pieces liberally with the glossy mole mixture.  Sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds.  Bake for 10 minutes to set the glaze.

Remove from the oven, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, then slide into a very low oven to keep warm until serving time—preferably no longer than 30 minutes.

Serve each portion of chicken with about 1/2 cup of warm mole, decorated with watercress or flat-leaf parsley.

Green Enchilada Sauce

1 pound tomatillos (roasted)
2 medium white onions coarsely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 large roasted Anaheim chili, skin peeled as much as possible
3 cups chicken broth

Saute onions in oil and cook until soft. Add the garlic and the roasted tomatillos, pepper, chili powder, cumin and broth.  Cook until everything is tender. Cool a little and place in blender or processor to desired consistency.  You can freeze it at this point.  The flavor of the sauce will be much better the next day so if possible make this a day in advance.

I almost forgot to post this tortilla stack as that was a part of the challenge as well.  It really is a nice way of doing the tortillas.  I toasted my tortillas first before doing my stack.  I think the toasting helped bring out their "corny" flavor. This particular stack was made with my homemade, canned enchilada sauce.

Daring Cooks: Brunswick Stew

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

I wasn't really excited about this challenge.  After months worth of soup for the winter the idea of making another one just didnt thrill me.  I am so glad that we did.  This is a very flavorful soup that makes a good size pot of stew that can last for a few days.  

Unfortunately for us, my husband dropped a bowl and it smashed into shards.  They were everywhere.  And not wanting to take a chance that there was glass in our soup, we had to discard it. Luckily for us we had already eaten our meal.  We so sadly got rid of the soup. We are still sad about it when we think of it. 



BRUNSWICK STEW
liberally adapted from “The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners” by Matt Lee and Ted Lee

Serves about 12
1/4 lb slab bacon, rough diced
2 Serrano, Thai or other dried red chiles, stems trimmed, sliced, seeded, flattened
1 4-5lb chicken, quartered, skinned, and most of the fat removed
1 pork hock
1 Tablespoon sea salt for seasoning, plus extra to taste
2-3 quarts Chicken Broth (recipe below)
2 Bay leaves
2 large celery stalks
2lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, or other waxy type potatoes, peeled, rough diced
1 ½ cups carrots, chopped
3 ½ cups onions, chopped
2 cups fresh corn kernels
3 cups butterbeans, preferably fresh (1 ¼ lbs) or defrosted frozen
1 35oz can or 4 cups whole, peeled tomatoes, drained
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 2 lemons
Tabasco sauce to taste

1- Season liberally both sides chicken pieces with sea salt and pepper. Roast chicken in oven until browned.  When cooled seperate out bone and skin from chicken meat. Add chicken meat to bowl with bacon and chiles.  Make broth with the bones and skin. Add in bay leaves, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add pork hock as well. I did this step the day before.  You can skim off the excess fat the next morning after it has been chilled. Remove hock from soup and discard the skin and bone.
2-In a large stockpot or a Dutch Oven, fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it just starts to crisp. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Reserve most of the bacon fat in your pan, and with the pan on the burner, add in the chiles. Toast the chiles until they just start to smell good about a minute tops. Remove and add to bacon.
3- Add 2 cups of your chicken broth or stock, if you prefer, to the pan and basically deglaze the pan, making sure to get all the goodness cooked onto the bottom. The stock will become a nice rich dark color and start smelling good. Bring it up to a boil and let it boil away until reduced by at least half. Add your remaining stock, the bay leaves, celery, potatoes, chicken, pork hock meat, bacon, chiles and any liquid that may have gathered at the bottom of the bowl they were resting in. Bring the pot back up to a low boil/high simmer, over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover, remember to stir every 15 minutes, give or take, to thoroughly meld the flavors. Simmer, on low, for approximately 1 ½ hours.
4-   Add in your carrots, and stir gently, allowing it to come back to a slow simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for at least 25 minutes, or until the carrots have started to soften.

We had some nice crusty bread fresh out of the oven to go with the soup.  It was a winning combination.

Daring Cooks: Risotto

I love rice. I prefer rice over potatoes as my starch. I love all kinds of rice, white, brown, red and black. It is the staff of life in my opionion. Risotto is so creamy and rich. It lends itself, like other rices to many interpretations. I went really simple because my daughter hasnt been eating very well. She is babying a tooth. I sprinkled za'tar over mine with some parsley which really jazzed it up. Sometimes simple is just what you are looking for.

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of Melbourne Food Geek and Jess of Jess the Baker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

Za'tar Seasoned Risotto

Serves 4 as a starter or light lunch

Ingredients:

14 ounces arborio rice
1 onion, minced
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons butter
stock (I used turkey)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Fry for a few minutes to flavor the oil then discard. (We diced ours and left it in as we like onion).
2. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes to coat each grain of rice with oil and toast slightly.
3. Add the wine and za'tar and let it bubble away until the wine is evaporated.
4. Add enough stock to cover the rice by a finger’s width (about an inch or two).
   Place a wooden spoon down into the water and lightly touch the top of the rice. Pull the spoon out and you can see the depth by the water line.
   
5. Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, until most of the stock has been absorbed.
6. Repeat Step 5 making sure to leave aside approximately 100 ml. of stock for the final step..
7. Repeat, save 100ml for the final stage.
8. Add the final 100ml of stock and olive oil and stir until both are completely absorbed.
   

Turkey Broth

Roast a turkey carcass until it is golden all over in a 400F oven. Remove from oven and carefully break off into pieces. You can break it up before roasting as well. Place in large stock pot and add 2 celery ribs, one onion (quartered), 2 carrots cut in 2 inch dice, 1/2 head of garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt.

I wont tell you yet what this other item on my plate was but I will tell you that the risotto went really well with it. Okay, I will tell you tomorrow.

In the mean time make sure you enter for the giveaway under the Dutch Oven Bread post.

Daring Cooks: Mezze

After a rather stressful few days, I managed to totally space this months Daring Cooks. I never do that. I am so sorry.

I did do the challenge. Actually I did it twice. One where my pictures were just bleh and the other one where I had a chance to work on my pictures with more natural light. I do so much better with natural light.

We have what we call "rainbow" nights here on our family. It's really leftover cleanup night with a jazzy name to make it more appealing. Everything that needs to be used up gets put on the table. This could be a lone pickle in a jar even. It's kind of fun for the kids because they can pick and choose.

I have been making hummus for years so I wasnt exactly challenged to make hummus but certainly welcomed the opportunity. I am glad I followed this recipe to a T. It suprised me with a nice lemony flavor that I really enjoyed. It had considerably more lemon than my usual recipe. I encourage you to give it a go.

And the pita I have made on several occassions. Different recipe but similar technique. We love pita so no complaints here.

The thing that was challenging for me is having enough food leftover to take pics the next day when the light is good. I really have to work on getting some lights so I can take some pics when it is dark.

The 2010 February Daring COOKs 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.

Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook

2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)
2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita) (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)
1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)

Directions:
1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.
2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.
5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn't puff up, don't worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.

Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.

1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)
2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)
additional flavorings (optional) I would use about 1/3 cup or a few ounces to start, and add more to taste

Directions:
1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Daring Cooks: Salmon En Croute

This months Daring Cooks challenge was a choice of Beef Wellington or Salmon en Croute. So many people have been complaining that their have been a lot of fish recipes. Understandably so because there has. For us fish people that is NO problem. Besides I have already done Beef Wellington, which I am actually planning to make again on New Years Day. So for me it was an obvious choice.

My review. This is a really elegant, quick recipe that you can pull together in a short period of time to wow your dinner guests. I highly recommend this if you have company and you know they enjoy salmon. Wonderful taste.

Note:
The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

Salmon en croute
Ingredients
creamcheese 6 ounces
spinach 16 ounces
Puff Pastry 1 sheet
Salmon fillet (skinless) 16 ounces
egg - 1 medium sized

I added:
the juice of half of a lemon
1 tablespoon of dill weed
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

Directions:
1.Heat the oven to 400 F. Put the cream cheese in a food processor with the spinach and whizz the lot until you have a creamy green puree. Season well.
2. Roll the pastry out so you can wrap the salmon in it completely (approx. 2-3 mm thick) and lay it on a buttered or oiled baking sheet (it will hang over the edges). Put the salmon in the middle. If it has a thinner tail end, tuck it under. Spoon half of the spinach mixture onto the salmon. (I sliced my salmon in equal parts and put the mixture between teh two fillets, laying the thick end over the thin end and the thin end over the thick end, so the parcel ended up being a uniform thickness.) Now fold the pastry over into a neat parcel (the join will be at the top, so trim the edge neatly), making sure you don’t have any thick lumps of pastry as these won’t cook through properly. Trim off any excess as you need to. Make 3 neat cuts in the pastry to allow steam to escape and make some decorations with the off-cuts to disguise the join if you like. Brush with the egg glaze.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and browned. To test wether the salmon is cooked, push a sharp knife through one of the cuts into the flesh, wait for 3 seconds then test it against the inside of your wrist; if it is hot, the salmon is cooked. Serve with the rest of the watercress puree as a sauce.

Shortcrust pastry

Ingredients:
450 gr (15.8 ounces or 3.2 cups ) of plain all purpose flour
200 gr ( 7 ounce) cold butter
pinch of salt

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you have a food processor you can use that.
Stir in the salt, then add 2-3 tbsp of water and mix to a firm dough. Knead the dough briefly and gently on a floured surface. Wrap in cling film and chill while preparing the filling.

For best results make sure the butter is very cold.

Daring Cooks: Sushi

In 1995 I went to San Francisco and experienced my first taste of sushi. I was hooked. I have been eating it ever since. It was harder to find then it is now. Now we see California Roll in the supermarkets regularly. I love the globilization of food.

I had a friend when I was growing up who use to go to Nova Scotia and bring back dolce. She always talked about eating them with Coca Cola. I liked them and have had them a few times since. It is not the same as the roasted seaweed used to make the rolls but it is just as good.

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

Thank you so much for a great challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed. I learned more about sushi and expanded my sushi repertoire.

PART 1 : SUSHI RICE (makes about 7 cups of cooked sushi rice)

INGREDIENTS:

* 2½ cups uncooked short grain rice
* 2½ cups water
* For superior results use equal volumes of rice and water

Sushi vinegar dressing

* 5 Tablespoons (75 mls) rice vinegar
* 5 Teaspoons (25 mls or 21 grams) sugar
* 1¼ Teaspoons (6.25 mls or 4.5 grams) salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Swirl rice gently in a bowl of water, drain, repeat 3-4 times until water is nearly clear. Don't crush the rice in your hands or against the side of the bowl since dry rice is very brittle.
2. Gently place rice into a strainer and drain well for 30 minutes.

Soaking the rice

1. Gently place the rice into a heavy medium pot with a tight fitting lid (if you have a loose fitting lid use a piece of aluminium foil to make the seal tight).
2. Add 2½ cups of water and the dashi konbu.
3. Set the rice aside to soak for 30 minutes, during this time prepare the sushi rice dressing.

Preparing the Rice Vinegar Dressing

1. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl.
2. Heat on low setting.
3. Stir until the mixture goes clear and the sugar and salt have dissolved.
4. Set aside at room temperature until the rice is cooked.

Cooking the rice

1. After 30 minutes of soaking add sake (if using) to the rice.
2. Bring rinsed and soaked rice to the boil.
3. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed, 12-15 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this process. Turn off heat.
4. Let stand with the lid on, 10-15 minutes. Do not peek inside the pot or remove the lid. During this time the rice is steaming which completes the cooking process.

Finishing the rice

* Turning out the rice

1. Moisten lightly a flat thin wooden spatula or spoon and a large shallow flat-bottomed non-metallic (plastic, glass or wood) bowl. Do not use metallic objects since the vinegar will react with it and produce sour and bitter sushi rice.
2. Remove the dashi konbu (kelp) from the cooked rice.
3. Use the spatula to loosen gently the rice and invert the rice pot over the bowl, gently causing the cooked rice to fall into the bowl in one central heap. Do this gently so as not to cause the rice grains to become damaged.

* Dressing the rice with vinegar

1. Slowly pour the cooled sushi vinegar over the spatula onto the hot rice.
2. Using the spatula gently spread the rice into a thin, even layer using a 45° cutting action to break up any lumps and to separate the rice. Don't stir or mash rice.
3. After the rice is spread out, start turning it over gently, in small portions, using a cutting action, allowing steam to escape, for about a minute.

* Fanning & Tossing the rice

1. Continue turning over the rice, but now start fanning (using a piece of stiff cardboard) the rice vigorously as you do so. Don't flip the rice into the air but continue to gently slice, lift and turn the rice occasionally, for 10 minutes. Cooling the rice using a fan gives good flavour, texture and a high-gloss sheen to the rice. The vinegar dressing will be absorbed by the hot rice. Using a small electric fan on the lowest speed setting is highly recommended.
2. Stop fanning when there's no more visible steam, and all the vinegar dressing has been adsorbed and the rice is shiny. Your sushi rice is ready to be used.

* Keeping the rice moist

1. Cover with a damp, lint free cloth to prevent the rice from drying out while preparing your sushi meal. Do not store sushi rice in the refrigerator leave on the counter covered at room temperature. Sushi rice is best used when it is at room temperature.

* Tip: To make sushi rice: for each cup of rice use 1 cup of water, 2 Tbs rice vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp sake. For superior results use equal volumes of rice and water when cooking the sushi rice since the weight of rice can vary. Weight of 2½ cups of uncooked rice is about 525 grams or 18½ ounces.


PART 2 : Dragon Rolls (also called Caterpillar Rolls)

Yield: 2 inside-out (uramaki) sushi rolls

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 sheet 7”x8” (17.5cmx20cm) of toasted nori (dried seaweed sheets), cut into halves
* 1/2 Japanese cucumber
* 2 cups of prepared sushi rice
* Glazed Barbecued Eel (ungai) (about 3½ ounces or 100 grams)
* 1 Avocado
* Vinegared Water – ½ cup of water combined with a dash of rice vinegar
* Various small amounts of sauces to use as the flames of the dragon (or legs of a caterpillar)

Optional

* 2 tablespoons (25 grams or 1 oz) Fish Roe (Fish eggs)

DIRECTIONS:
1.Cut cucumber into strips ¼ inch (6mm) x 7” (175mm) long, then salt, rinse & dry the strips.
2.Grill (broil) the eel for about 2-5 minutes until bubbling. Cut into two lengthwise strips.
3.Halve, pit and peel the avocado. Cut the avocado halves into thin even 1/8 inch (3 mm) slices. Fan out the cut avocado into a 7 inch (175 mm) overlapping pattern.
4.Cover bamboo mat with plastic wrap. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down, lengthwise, on the edge the mat.


5.Moisten lightly your hands in the bowl of vinegared water.
6.Place one cup of rice on the nori and gently rake your fingertips across grains to spread rice evenly. Do not mash or squash the rice onto the nori, the rice should appear loosely packed and be evenly distributed over the entire sheet, you should be able to see the nori sheet in a few places.
7.Flip the rice-covered nori over (so the bare nori is now on top) and place on the edge of the mat closest to you.
8.Arrange one of the eel strips across the length of the nori, not quite centred on it but a little closer to you. Place half the cucumber sticks next to the eel.
9.Lift the edge of the mat closest to you with both hands, keeping your fingertips over the fillings, and roll the mat and its contents until the edge of the mat touches straight down on the nori, enclosing the fillings completely. Lift up the edge of the mat you're holding, and continue rolling the inside-out roll away from you until it's sealed. Tug at the mat to tighten the seal. If the rice doesn't quite close the roll add more rice in the gap and re-roll using the mat to completely cover the inside-out roll. Place the roll on a damp, clean smooth surface.
10.Spread about 1 tablespoon of the optional fish roe along the entire top of the rice-covered roll. Using the plastic covered mat gently press the fish roe so it adheres to the rice.
11.Slide a knife under one fan of avocado and transfer it onto the top of an inside-out roll. Gently spread out the avocado layer to cover the entire roll. Lay the plastic wrapped mat over the avocado-covered roll. Squeeze very gently to shape the roll.
12. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the roll. Slice the roll into 6-8 equal, bite-sized pieces, wiping your knife with a damp towel before each slice. Discard the plastic wrap. Repeat the above to make one more roll.
13.Arrange the cut pieces on a serving plate with the sauces so the finished dish appears as a dragon breathing fire and flames (or a caterpillar with many legs).

* Tip: The most common mistake is having too much filling the golden rule is less is more when it comes to making sushi it is easier to roll an under-filled roll than an over-filled roll.

* Tip: Dampen your knife with a moist lint-free towel before every cut – this prevents the sushi rice from sticking to your knife. I used a serrated knife which works very well.


PART 3 : Spiral Sushi Roll
This is easiest 'decorative' sushi roll.
Preparation time: 15 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice
Yield: One Roll, cut into 8 pieces

INGREDIENTS:

* 2½ cups prepared sushi rice
* 2 sheets of toasted nori, each sized 7”x8” (17.5cmx20cm)
* Six assorted fillings, each filling should be the size of a pencil (see note below)

DIRECTIONS:
1.Join 2 sheets of nori by moistening the adjacent edges and overlapping them about ½ inch (12mm).
2.Place this double sheet shiny side down on a rolling mat, part of the nori will extend beyond the mat.
3.Using moist fingers place 2½ cups of rice on the nori and gently rake your fingertips across grains to spread rice evenly, leaving ¼ inch (6mm) nori showing on the both ends of the sheet. Do not mash or squash the rice onto the nori, the rice should appear loosely packed and be evenly distributed over the entire sheet, you should be able to see the nori sheet in a few places.
4.Using your fingers form six grooves (in the same direction that you will be rolling the mat) at even intervals across the bed of rice. Make the first groove about 2 inches (50 mm) from the edge of the nori sheet. Form the grooves by pushing the rice away, do not mash or squash the rice, leave a loose one grain layer of rice in the bottom of the grooves. Level the areas between the grooves where you have pushed the rice.
5.Place your fillings in the grooves. Fill the grooves a little higher than the surrounding rice bed.
6.Then roll the sushi up from the edge closest to you, this will form a spiral pattern of nori, rice and fillings inside the roll.
7.Slice into 8 pieces with a very sharp wet knife, wiping the blade with a damp cloth after each cut.
8.Place the pieces on a platter and garnish.


PART 4 : Nigiri Sushi
Nigiri sushi is the type of sushi most often made in sushi bars. In Japanese, nigiri means “squeeze”.
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1¾ hours to make the sushi rice
Yield: 14-16 pieces of sushi

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups prepared sushi rice
* 8 pairs of assorted toppings, 200 gms/7 ozs total of fish, meat or vegetables (see note below)
* 1 tablespoon Wasabi (paste, reconstituted powder) or any other paste to adhere topping to rice

Optional

* Garnishes such as Ginger (pickled), chilli strips, vegetables flowers etc
* Thin strips of nori or vegetables (for tying topping on)



DIRECTIONS:
1.When handling sushi rice, make certain your hands are very clean. To keep the rice from sticking to our hands moisten your hands with vinegared water.
2.Form nigiri sushi by scooping up a small amount (about 2 tablespoons) of rice with your forefinger and second finger of your right hand and placing it in your cupped left palm.
3.Use the fingers and thumb of your right hand to form it into a long, narrow mound (about 2 inches x 1 inch wide or 50mm x 25mm) in your cupped palm.
4.Press enough to make the rice hold firmly together. Place the nigiri on a damp cutting board flat side down. Don't let sushi touch or they'll stick to each other. At this point, you can cover the sushi with plastic wrap, and they'll keep at room temperature (not the refrigerator) for several hours.
5.Smear a thin line of wasabi on top of the rice and place the topping piece on it. You may need to press the topping down lightly with your fingers and adjust the shape of the rice accordingly to form an attractive piece of nigiri sushi. If your topping is very loose like fish roe you can place a strip of nori (higher than the rice) around the nigiri and form 'battleship' sushi. The cavity that the nori forms holds the topping so it does not fall off.
6.Garnish as desired and use strips of nori (or vegetable) to tie the topping to the nigiri if needed.
7.It is customary to make nigiri sushi in pairs, so make two of each variety.
*MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE YOU MUST READ THIS* – If you are using raw fish or raw meat it must be 'sushi' grade (sashimi grade) ask your fishmonger or butcher for advice and if in doubt don't use. Find your local Japanese market and ask them where the best sushi (sashimi) fish is. Maybe you can buy sushi grade fish at your local sushi bar. Purchase flash-frozen sashimi grade fish which is guaranteed to be free of all parasites. Only salt-water fish and shellfish should be consumed raw. Crab and prawn (shrimp) should always be cooked. Sashimi grade fish should have a clean cool smell if it smells fishy it is a sign that the fish is old and cannot be used. If you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system only use cooked ingredients. There is no need to use raw fish or raw meat in sushi.

Daring Cooks: Chicken Pho

I have decided that I need to make the Daring Cooks challenge immediately after it is posted because other wise I forget and time jsut gets away from me. This time I actually finished my challenge. Wahoo.

This soup is right up my alley because the more I know any type of Asian food the more I love it.

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

Chicken Pho

For my Pho I wanted to make my own broth. You of course can use store bought if you would like but I felt it was worth the extra steps. I did take the easier route with my broth. Here is what I did the day before I made my pho:

2 pounds chicken thighs
2 pounds chicken legs

Lightly spray a roasting pan or cookie sheet with oil. Place chicken pieces around, leaving some space between each. Salt the chicken. Roast in a 425F oven until the skins are brown. DO NOT REMOVE THE SKINS- lots o flavor there. Don't worry you will get your chance to defat later. Once you are done roasting let cool. Pick of all the usable meat and set aside for soup or you can also use it for some other use because you will probably have quite a bit of meat. Place all those skins, bones, cartilage and juice into a deep soup pot. Add any aromatics that will lend itself to whatever you are making or you can leave it plain. For this challenge I only added pepper. Cover all those browned bits of goodness with water, just covering. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and let it go for at least an hour, maybe even two. Let cool a little. Pour the soup through a strainer, reserving all that amazing broth, fat and all. Discard solid and refrigerate broth. Leave overnight. The next morning your broth will have worked very hard forcing those fatty solids to the top. Skim off the fat. Your broth will be very clean after that and you are ready to use it for whatever your pea pickin' heart desires. In my case, pho.
All that gelatin means lots of calcium!

CHICKEN PHO ( pronounced fuh )

Preparation Time: 45 cooking time + 15 minutes to cook noodles based on package directions Servings: Makes 4 servings Ingredients:

2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (you can skip this if you made your own, see above)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce
1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

Accompaniments:
2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched offFresh
1 cup pea pods
cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

Directions:

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.

In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.

In the oven roast onion and ginger until browned. Add to soup. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add fish sauce and sugar.
Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed.

Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.

Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.