Hands

BLOGGER:  TONY

Here’s a collection of a recurring theme on the blog, Katelyn’s hands:

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

BLOGGER: KATELYN

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

b sized red potatoes (as many as you like to eat)

olive oil

salt (sea salt is nice)

pepper

Boil potatoes, drain and transfer to a kitchen towel. With the corner of the towel, smash potatoes just so they break but do not fall apart.  Move potatoes to a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.  Bake at 450 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the tops are brown and crisp.

Tony made potatoes tonight and they were insanely good!  I loved the ease of the preparation and the crispy tops.  These would be great with ketchup, more salt and pepper or just plain old butter, but he jazzed them up with a little sour cream horseradish sauce that was perfect, just the right amount of kick on a cold day. 

Speaking of kicking on a cold day, “Baby B” has been moving around a lot lately. At 27 weeks I guess that is to be expected.  It has been fun for both Tony and I to feel the baby move and we even got to see a bit the other night.  We have another ultrasound appointment in a few weeks, so we are looking forward to getting another peek at baby then. 

For now, here are some photos of Tony and I in the kitchen:

Crunchy Peanut Tofu

BLOGGER: KATELYN

Crunchy Peanut Tofu

2 cups tofu, 5 tablespoons soy sauce

salt, 1 red bell pepper

1 piece cucumber (about 1/2 lb)

1 bunch scallions

2 garlic cloves

4 dried chilis

1 cup vegetable stock

3 tablespoons dark rice vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

4 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup roasted, salted peanuts

Chop the tofu into cubes about 1/3 inch in size. Combine with 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a bowl and season lightly with salt.

Wash and quarter the pepper, removing the stem and the membranes with the seeds. Cut the quarters crosswise into strips. Wash the cucumber well but do not peel. Halve it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon. Slice the cucumber across in not too thin slices. Wash the scallions, cut off the root ends and any wilted green tops. Slice the white part of the onions into pieces measuring about 1 1/2 inches and the green tops into thin rings. Reserve some of the greens for garnish. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Crush the chilis with a mortar and pestle.

To make the sauce, combine the stock with the vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil. Heat the wok on the stove and add at least half the canola oil. Cook the tofu cubes in two portions in the oil over high heat. Stir only occasionally so that the cubes develop a crunchy crust. Once the tofu is browned all over, remove from the wok either with a spatula or a slotted spoon.

Add the remaining canola oil to the wok. Add the pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic, and chili and fry for about 3 minutes, stirring all the time. pour in the sauce, add the tofu, and reheat. Meanwhile roughly chop the peanuts. Sprinkle with the nuts and the reserve scallion tops before serving.

I don’t know why people are scared of tofu, it’s a delicious and easy way to get protein into your diet, not to mention pretty inexpensive.  Cubing firm tofu and pan frying it, like we did here is quite possibly the most satisfying way to enjoy it:

It’s important to be gentle when turning the cubes in the oil because they will break easily and you might end up with something that resembles scrambled eggs.  The cucumbers in this mix I must admit was weird and hard to handle at first, but the flavor changed completely when I ate leftovers the next day.  We served the crunchy peanut tofu over rice  and used chopsticks – my skills are definetely improving!

Mushroom Kasha Burgers with Tabasco Mayonnaise

As carnivorous as I am, I really enjoy delving into the vegetarian realm.  Not only do I experience new ingredients and flavor combination but I also find creative techniques.  It is especially rewarding to find an ingenious and delicious substitute to a dish universally loved by meat eaters.  This recipe fits that description perfectly.  It gives a vegetarian a meaty and flavorful substitute to the ubiquitous hamburger.  The mushrooms and kasha give the burgers a rich, earthy flavor while the onions, garlic, bell pepper, and soy sauce give it pizazz.  And the simple sauce of mayonnaise and tabasco is surprisingly complex and compliments the dish perfectly.  And it goes great with Caramelized Broccoli with Garlic.  Here’s the recipe:

Mushroom Kasha Burgers with Tabasco Mayonnaise, based on this recipe

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup coarse kasha (whole roasted buckwheat groats)

1 pound portabella mushrooms, no stems

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped green pepper

3 T unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 T finely chopped parsley

1 tsp soy sauce

1 1/2 cups fine dry bread crumbs, divided

1 large egg, lightly beaten

olive oil, for frying

1/2 cup mayonnaise

about 1 T Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, or to taste

4 good quality hamburger buns

Bring water to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then stir in kasha.  Cover and reduce heat to low, then cook until kasha is tender and water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and cool.

Break one third of mushrooms into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, then transfer to a bowl.  Repeat with remaining 2 batches of mushrooms, transferring to bowl.

Cook onion and bell pepper in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add chopped mushrooms, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until any liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl, then stir in kasha, parsley, soy sauce, and 1/2 cup bread crumbs until combined well.  Cool 10 minutes, then stir in egg until combined well.

Spread remaining cup bread crumbs in a shallow baking dish.  Form one fourth of mushroom mixture (about 3/4 cup) into a 3/4-inch-thick patty (3 1/2 inches in diameter), then dredge in bread crumbs, knocking off excess, and transfer to a plate dusted with more bread crumbs.  Form and dredge 3 more patties, transferring to plate.   Chill patties, loosely covered with plastic wrap, 1 hour.

Heat oil in cleaned 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then fry patties, turning over once, until deep golden, about 4 minutes total.  Transfer patties to paper towels to drain (patties will be soft).

Meanwhile, whisk together mayonnaise and tabasco sauce.  Spread buns with tabasco mayonnaise and sandwich each mushroom patty between 2 slices.

Just a few notes:  1)  Kasha isn’t an everyday ingredient.  Look for it in the organic section of your supermarket or a natural food store.  2)  These burgers are rather soft so handle gently and do not skip the 1 hour chilling period.  Enjoy!

Croissants

BLOGGER:  TONY

A really good croissant needs to be a lot of things at once:  tender, flaky, crisp on the outside, buttery, light, airy, yeasty, and just a tiny bit messy.  Much like pie dough, obtaining all of these characteristics takes a bit of work and some good technique.  This is probably why a good croissant is hard to find because they are so darn labor-intensive to make.  It takes a lot of rolling to create the numerous flaky layers that are the hallmark of a top-notch croissant.  In the recipe we used, the dough was rolled out to about 15 by 24 inches no less than 6 times.  It’s also time-intensive with the extended rising and resting time.  Here’s a little photo slideshow of the process:

The dough without any butter:

The dough and butter just before they are incorporated together:

The butter is “wrapped” in the dough:

The dough is then rolled out and then folded:

The croissants are then shaped:

And then brushed with egg wash:

And finally baked: