Sunday, December 13, 2009

Creme de Menthe Frosting

Yield: Makes 3 cups
Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
* 3 to 4 tablespoons half-and-half
* 3 tablespoons green crème de menthe

Preparation

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add powdered sugar, half-and-half, and crème de menthe beating until frosting is smooth.

Vietnamese Pickled Vegetables

Do Chua (Vietnamese Pickled Stuff ie. Carrots and Daikon)

For a 12 oz jar, you'll need:
1 medium-sized carrot, julienned
1 small daikon, julienned
1 tblsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup white vinegar

Those measurements are just guidelines. What I usually do is after julienning the vegetables, I spread them out in a shallow bowl. Then I sprinkle just enough sugar for a light coating. Add a smidgen of salt. Then pour enough vinegar to submerge about half the vegetables.

If I'm eating this right away, I like to use rice vinegar for the lighter taste. If you intend to store these as pickles, then ordinary white vinegar is fine.

After about 15 minutes or so, stir the vegetables so the vinegar is mixed. The carrots and daikon should be lightly pickled after about half an hour.

Store extra pickles in a glass jar and pour the extra vinegar in the jar. Add enough vinegar to fill the jar halfway and fill up the rest with water. Screw the lid on tightly. Store in fridge.

And you've got do chua handy for whenever you want to add pickles to any kind of sandwich.

Read more: http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2007/10/do-chua-vietnamese-pickled-stuff-ie.html#ixzz0Zbt0a9Dp

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Fava Bean Recipes

Fava Bean Salad

Ingredients

* 1 (19 ounce) can fava beans, drained
* 2 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 cucumber, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1 lemon, juiced
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine fava beans, tomatoes, onion, and cucumber in a salad bowl. Toss with garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.


Ful Medames (Fava Bean Dip)


1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cans (3 cups) fava beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne or red chili pepper
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup parsley

Sauté the onion and garlic in a large, non-stick skillet for about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes. Stir in the fava beans, cumin, and red pepper, and cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and mash the fava beans lightly, right in the skillet, until most of the beans are mashed. Scoop into a serving bowl, and mix in the lemon juice and parsley. Serve with warm pita bread.

Hint: Look for canned fava beans in Middle Eastern grocery stores. Some common spellings are ful medames, foul moudammes, foul mudammes, and foul moudammas.

Makes 5 servings. Per serving: 174 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (5% calories from fat); 10 g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 587 mg Sodium; 7 g Fiber.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Pumpkin Gratin (Jacques Pepin)

(from Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/PUMPKIN-GRATIN-BY-JACQUES-PEPIN-50055890)

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 can (15.5 ounces) 100% pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spoon the pumpkin puree into a food processor and add the eggs, cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Process for 10 to 15 seconds to combine.
Coat a 6-cup gratin dish with the butter. Fill the dish with the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top. Serve.