The Daring Cooks Make Gumbo

I am interrupting the series on monthly meal planning to bring you this month's Daring Cook's challenge!  The series will resume once again next week.  Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

I can't even begin to tell you how utterly unenthusiastic I was about this month's challenge.  Really.  After reading the challenge I immediately sighed and decided that I was going to make it to bring to potluck game night at the church so that I might not be stuck with so much in the way of leftovers.  I wasn't going to shrug off the challenge just because I didn't think I'd like the food, but I didn't have to be happy about it either.  Lovely attitude, don't you agree?

Now, so far I had only seen the subject line, not the recipe or any of the example photos, and I had already done a mental shrug and eye roll over this challenge.  However, after reading some of the ingredient options and seeing the absolutely stunning pictures in the example, I was feeling a little more charitably inclined toward this Gumbo.  I can't even understand where my prejudice towards Gumbo came from since I've never actually tasted it but it was slowly starting to melt away.  Not enough, however, for me to reassign it on the menu away from the game night.  It might have seemed a little more appealing, but I still wasn't inclined to want a ton of leftovers.

Considering those things, I find it quite ironic that I fell a little more in love with this dish nearly every time I tasted it throughout the cooking process.  And I couldn't have it all to myself since I had already told people what I was bringing to the potluck.  Drat!  It serves me right after forming opinions based on absolutely nothing.  Really, nothing.  I have no idea why in my mind Gumbo = Gross.  Perhaps it was simply the name?  Or the fact that it usually (maybe always?) has Okra, which I dislike intensely.  I have no clue.

While I was making this I made quite a few changes, omissions, and alterations, both accidentally and intentionally.  I knew that I didn't want to make it too spicy, so I left out the spicy sausage called for (not realizing that smoked Andouille Sausage is also spicy!) and I didn't want to have a lot of extra seasoning bottles gathering dust in the cabinet never to be used again so I assembled my own Creole spices but it a much smaller quantity than provided in the given recipe, this also lead me to omit the File Powder.

I dislike okra (I won't even describe what it reminds me of) but I had planned on putting it in anyway because Hey, Babe likes it.  The Okra was eventually omitted when we couldn't find any after checking in three stores.  Another minor change I made was to add half chicken thighs and half boneless breasts instead a a whole cut up chicken.  After the first 45 minute simmer I took all the chicken out and de-boned and skinned it so that I could shred the meat and add it back to the pot, thus making it easier to serve at a potluck dinner.

The last two changes came about after a little...mishap, shall we say, in the kitchen.  According to the recipe you are supposed to cook the roux for 15 minutes, constantly whisking.  Due to either distractions from the kids or the fact that I chose to use some of the leftover bacon oil from breakfast, I am pretty sure that I burned my roux.  The house was slowly filling with smoke, and it was not smelling tasty at all, but the recipe said I was supposed to keep cooking.  I wanted to stop, but according to recipe I wasn't supposed to!

(grossly separating roux)

I should have gone with my gut.  I added the onions and ended up with a weird pot of separated oil and charred...stuff.  It didn't look right and it tasted even worse.  But I couldn't help but wonder if this was actually the result we were looking for?  Who knows, although if any of you think that I was actually on the right track, let me know.  Maybe I'll sacrifice a small experimental pot of it next time.  At any rate, after a little deliberation I decided to start over and cook it less along with no bacon fat this time and with a movie playing for Little Man.  The only problem with starting over was that I only had one onion left.  Oh well!

(the top spoon is the charred version, in case you couldn't tell)

It was the most exquisite form of torture.  Riding in a car for half an hour with the pot of bubbling hot Gumbo sitting in my lap was almost more than I could handle as we went on our merry way to Game Night.  If it hadn't been so very hot I'd have been even more tempted by the intoxicating fragrance to start drinking it up right there in the car.  The general consensus seemed to be that it was delicious, with a caveat from a few who thought that it was a tad too spicy for them.  Next time, and oh, there will definitely be a next time, I'm not too proud to admit when I was wrong!  Next time I will ease back on the cayenne, maybe add a little sweet sausage along with the spicy, and serve it with Tabasco Sauce at the table for anyone who wants to kick up the heat. 

Because I made many alterations to the given recipe, I will post my version below.  To use the recipe without my adaptations, or to check out the recipes for Seafood Gumbo click here.

Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo
adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Serves 10-12

Ingredients
Seasonings:
1/2 tablespoons celery seed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like spicy)
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
2 large onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) oil
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 quarts Chicken Stock
2 bay leaves
14 ounces andouille sausage, chopped
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4-6 cups cooked Rice (I used brown, but I might try mashed potatoes next time, not traditional maybe but I think it would be delicious!)

Directions:
Combine the seasonings together and sprinkle them over the chicken pieces while you prepare the vegetables.

Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.

In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes (the second time I only cooked if for about 10).

Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes (again, the second time I did this for around 7-8).

Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Add the rest of the vegetables and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.  (I got a lot of oil off of this, more than 1 cup.  Can anyone explain why we add it just to take it out?  Can't we just toast the flour without the oil?)

Remove all the pieces of chicken to a plate.  Add the chopped andouille and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Start to simmer for another 45 minutes, while you are removing the skin and bones from the chicken pieces.  Shred the meat and return it along with any accumulated juices back to the pot.  Continue to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice

Canned Salmon Burgers

Sometimes when I read the title of a recipe I kind of cringe wondering how in the world someone thought that was a good idea.  And then I look at the accompanying photo and think, "Hmm, actually that doesn't look too bad.  In fact, it looks rather tasty.  Actually, why don't I go see if we have the necessary ingredients, Hey, Babe? Dinner is going off schedule tonight."  This was one of those times.  Except, since we didn't have the ingredients, it got added to the upcoming menu instead of cutting in line.

In our house we eat Salmon Salad Sandwiches the way that most people eat Tuna.  With a little mayo, some spices, and hopefully some finely diced celery and onions all mixed together and spread on a piece of toasted rye or a nice hard roll.  In that application it is delicious, cravable even.  Unfortunately all I could picture was a scoop of that dolloped onto a hot greased skillet and fried into a gooey, gross mess.  Blech!

Upon seeing that the recipe called for a slightly different and much more effective approach than the one in my wild imagination, I decided to see if it was a satisfactory way for Hey, Babe (the fish hater) to enjoy eating a fishy-fish (his opinion) like Salmon.  Does it tell you anything if I mention that he requested it be added to next month's menu?  Delicious! 

Since we aren't eating much wheat at the moment, and the instances we are eating it are reserved for such delicacies as pizza (yum, yum, and yum!), the next time we have these Salmon Patties we will be eating them over a bed of salad instead of rolls.  But these patties?  They will still be delicious, breadless or otherwise.  Enjoy!

Salmon Patties
adapted from Dana
Ingredients
1 (14 3/4 ounce) canned salmon, drained and fluffed with a fork
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup parsley, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed/minced
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup flour (next time I'm trying Parmesan here, I'll let you know how it goes!)
1 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice

dash salt
dash pepper
dash Tabasco Sauce
Oil for frying

Instructions
To a medium bowl add all the ingredients and mix to combine well.  Divide the mixture into four even portions and then use your hands to press each portion into an even patty, around 1/2 - 1 inch thick.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high and add some oil to coat the bottom of the pan (1-2 tablespoons).  When the pan and oil are hot, fry the Salmon Patties until they are golden on each side.

Salisbury Steak and Potatoes

Growing up, every once in a while we would be allowed to have tv dinners as a special treat.  There was something special about getting to pick your own entree without a concern for who else liked it, and to have your own personal tray of perfectly portioned out dinner and your own dessert too. None of which you had to share! 

Most often the way I chose which dinner I wanted was based on the dessert included.  I remember wanting to go with Mom to the store to pick out my dinner instead of just placing my order, so to speak.  That way I could see what was available and make sure I got a good combination.  Cell phones would have come in quite useful at the time, I'm sure.

Unfortunately, sometimes the dessert I wanted was accompanying a meal I didn't.  When that happened I still got the dessert it just meant I had to eat something gross first, Salisbury Steak for example.  I never really cared for it, and since the only time I had tasted it was in a prepackaged dinner that isn't very surprising.  What is surprising is that when I saw a recipe for Salisbury Steak, I got a weird nostalgic craving for it, a food I'd never liked. 

After reading the recipe and seeing all that Salisbury Steak could have been I was tempted to try it, and eventually gave in.  The tender and moist beefy patties weren't spongy like a remembered.  The rich and hearty mushroom sauce wasn't nearly as salty and was missing a distinct chemical aftertaste.  In other words, it was delicious and beyond surpassed my childhood memories.  Enjoy!

Salisbury Steak
Ingredients
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup instant potato flakes (not granules or buds, they won't work here)
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons butter/oil
1 large onion halved and sliced thin
1 pound white mushrooms sliced thin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth

Instructions
In a large bowl combine the milk and potato flakes.  Add the beef, salt and pepper and using your hands mix it until it is thoroughly combined (you don't want pockets of mashed potatoes!).  Shape into 6 patties, about 1/2-inch-thick each.  Refrigerate for 1-4 hours to allow them to set up a bit..

In a large skillet set over medium high, heat 1 TB oil and cook the patties 5 minutes or so per side until they are well browned.  Remove the patties from the pan to a plate.  To the empty pan add the remaining oil and cook the onions for 5 minutes until they are soft.  Add mushrooms and salt and cook until their liquid is gone, about 6 minutes.

Mix in the tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer before returning the patties to the pan.  Reduce heat to medium low and cover, cooking the patties for 12 minutes or so until they are cooked through.  Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed.

Pizza Hut Style Pepperoni Pan Pizzas

Wow, that's a lot of P's.  The salad pizza I showed you last time would be considered rather healthy by most standards, make it with a whole wheat crust and low fat dressing and you'd be golden.  Especially when you look at that pizza in comparison to this pan of greasy, salty goodness.  Now, just like with my children (or my appliances) I don't love one more than the other, I just love them differently.  A nice slice of pizza is welcome any time in my book, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacktime, or even sometimes in the middle of the night.  If I am hungry I'll never turn my nose up at pizza.  To Hey, Babe's amazement I'll eat it cold from the fridge just as happily as hot from the oven.

All that being said, there is something wonderful about getting your own personal pan of pizza that you are not going to be expected to share and you can top however you wish.  Hey, Babe and I are nearly always in agreement over pizza toppings (thank goodness!) and if the topping in question is pepperoni Little Man is on board as well.  These all ended up being the same but still, we each had our own.  When we make these pizzas Little Man loves that he gets to smoosh out his own pizza dough and I just love how soft and tender the thick crust is.

We haven't reached the stage where we need two batches of this dough to feed us, so instead of just making 2 9" pizzas and splitting them up, I make the two it calls for plus a smaller third one for Little Man which results in slightly thinner (but still incredibly tasty!) pizzas.  Honestly, a whole 9" pizza is a bit much and we end up with leftovers for lunch (yay!).  This could easily serve 4-5 people, especially if accompanied by a salad.  When I am making Little Man's pizza, I use one of my Pyrex Storage Bowls in either the 7 cup or 4 cup size depending on how hungry he has been recently.  (Have I ever mentioned how much I love these bowls? They are awesome.  I had to get a second set because I am always using them and could probably use a third set. Good-bye plastic!)

This recipe was originally from a Cook's Country magazine, and in light of Hey, Babe's refusal to bring home "normal" pizza from work I tried it right away.  I had high expectations and was thrilled to have them met.  Since I don't quite have the sauce right I can only recommend that you use your favorite homemade or jarred tomato sauce, and feel free to mix up the toppings.  Keep in mind that this is a greasier pizza than one cooked on a pizza stone and so is is a bit less healthy.  Knowing that, I comfort myself with the fact that all the ingredients are relatively wholesome and that there are no chemicals or soy.  Go ahead and try it.  You know you want to.

Pan Pizzas
Ingredients
   Dough:
2 tablespoons oil, plus more for the pans
1 cup milk, warmed to 110 degrees
2 teaspoons sugar
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for counter
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

   Topping:
1 1/3 cups for favorite prepared pizza sauce
3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Toppings of your choice (pepperoni, sausage, chopped veggies, etc.)

Instructions
1. Evenly coat each of two 9-inch cake pans with a generous portion of oil, about 1-2 Tablespoons a piece.

2. In a large glass measuring cup, combine the warmed milk with the sugar and 2 TB of oil.  To the bowl of your mixer add flour, yeast, and salt, mix just to combine.  Attach your dough hook and on low speed slowly start adding the wet ingredients.  Increase the speed to medium-low and keep mixing the dough for about 5-6 minutes until is is smooth (if you are doing this by hand you will need to knead around 10 minutes or so).  Shaped the dough into a ball and leave it covered in a warm place until it has doubled.  This should take about 30 minutes depending on how warm a place you leave it.  I often allow my oven to preheat to around 100°F and then turn it off to let it rise in there, or I put it in my laundry/boiler room which is around 80°F at any given time, it takes a little longer to rise in the boiler room.

3. Lightly flour your counter and taking half of the dough, roll it into a ball.  Flatten it into a largish disk and then transfer it to the oiled pan, using your fingers to gently press it evenly to the edges.  If at any point the dough you are working with starts to get tough and uncooperative, switch to the other piece and allow the first to rest a little.  Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place about 20 minutes.  Don't use your oven this time because you are going to need to start preheating it to 400°F. 

4. After the dough has risen, start assembling.  Divide the sauce, cheese, and toppings evenly over the tops of the pizzas to within a half inch or so of the edge.  Bake until the cheese is melted and your pepperoni (if you used any) is browning around edges, about 20 minutes. Let the pizzas rest in pans for 1 minute after removing them from the oven before taking them out of the pan and serving them.

Salad Pizza

During the first few years of our marriage, Hey, Babe worked as a manager for a fast food pizzeria.  Considering that it was the same place he had worked for all through high school and had returned to it for a few years after college while we were waiting for me to graduate and get married, it is no wonder that he had long since tired of their food.   I found this rather frustrating since it would have been quite convenient if he had been able to bring dinner home on the nights I didn't feel like cooking.  Especially considering Pizza is one of the foods I love and can eat over and over again in nearly any configuration.

One of the only ways Hey, Babe was willing to accommodate me was to on rare occasions bring home a not-from-the-menu salad pizza.  He and his brother had worked at the pizzeria together through high school, and upon tiring of all the heavy, greasy, salty pizzas readily available, they began instead to create various versions of this salad pizza when hunger struck them.  The salad bar and various pizza toppings available made it quite easy both to assemble and to switch up the ingredients by making it spicy, or with chicken, or bacon, etc.  It wasn't always the same exact ingredients, but it was always good.

I know this is another pizza recipe and I have posted several already, but since pizza is so awesome can you really blame me?  It really is one of my favorite things and because you can change up the toppings so drastically you never have to eat it the same way twice.  Coming up soon...Pepperoni Personal Pan Pizzas.

Salad Pizza
Ingredients
1 lb or so of your favorite pizza dough (I've even used this No Knead Dough)
4 oz. Cheddar Cheese
4 oz. Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup Creamy Dressing (we use Ranch, but Italian or Caesar could work too)
1 Red Onion, diced
4 cups Romain Lettuce, thinly sliced (you could also do spinach, iceberg lettuce, etc.)
2 small Tomatoes, chopped
2 Carrots, thinly sliced or grated
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Cucumber, chopped

Optional Ingredients
Cooked Chicken
Bacon, Chopped
Hot Peppers
Olives
Sausage, Chopped

Instructions
Preheat oven (and pizza stone if you have one) to 450ºF.

On a piece of parchment paper, roll out your pizza dough into a circle of your desired thickness.  Sprinkle cheddar over the dough followed by mozzarella both to within an inch or so of the edge.  The mozzarella is less likely to burn and should go on top of the cheddar.  Place on preheated pizza stone and bake 12-14 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the cheeses are melty and starting to turn golden.

There are now two ways you can assemble this.  The first is to mix all the remaining ingredients, including dressing and your selection of optional ingredients into a bowl, toss them together and then spread them evenly on the pizza.  This works fine but then you get a big bowl dirty and you chance there being an uneven distribution of ingredients.  Instead, I usually spread some of the dressing on the top of the cooked pizza and then start layering the ingredients on, scattering them evenly over the top sometimes finishing with a little more derssing.  It's your choice.  Either way, slice with a pizza cutter and serve it warm.

Daring Cooks make Edible Containers

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com! 

I like it when I can kill two birds with one stone.  I selected Southwestern Egg Rolls for March's menu and then didn't get the chance to make them.  When this challenge was announced I was a bit overwhelmed with all of the possibilities, especially given the news that there were prizes to be awarded.  The pressure was on!

 

After thinking for a bit I came to the decision that this recipe would fit the requirements nicely. Now that I have completed it, I am a little less certain that I went in the right direction.  Since it is too late to do anything else I am just going to have to soldier forth with what I have regardless and simply try harder next time.

I really like being able to mix up the presentation or flavor of a standard food.  These egg rolls in no way resemble your standard takeout fare.  I love how light and crispy the wrapper becomes around the filling, much more delicate than if these had been made with tortillas.  I am sure that similar things are available, in fact I think I recall some that were served with a thin avocado and something dipping sauce, but I am thrilled with how these turned out.  Good Luck to all the Daring Cooks who have thrown their hats into the ring.  If you'd like to vote on any submissions don't forget to visit The Daring Kitchen, there were so many wonderful things made for this challenge!

Southwestern Egg Rolls
Ingredients
1 chicken breast cooked and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into matchsticks
1/4 cup green onion minced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup frozen spinach thawed and drained
1 jalapeno, minced
1/2 tablespoon parsley minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of cayenne
3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
several won ton wrappers (I think I used 6 or so but I really filled mine)
small bowl of cold water (for sealing wrappers)
sauces to serve (salsa, guacamole, sour cream, etc.)

Instructions
To a large bowl, add all the ingredients except for the won ton wrappers, mix well.

Taking one wrapper at a time and leaving the remainder of the package covered with a damp towel, arrange the wrapper so that one of the corners of the square is pointed toward you.  Put a line of about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of filling in the center of the wrapper.  The less filling you use, the more like appetizers these will be, I tend to load mine up, but that is a personal preference. 

Dip a finger in the cold water and run it around the edge of the square to moisten.  Fold first the left and then the right points toward the center, they may or may not meet.  Fold the top point down toward you carefully and begin rolling the egg roll toward you, moisten with a little more water if needed to seal.

Continue assembling until all the filling has been used.  They can be prepared through this step and held covered in the fridge for a few hours before proceeding.

In a large, deep skillet, heat about 1/2 inch of oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  Cook the egg rolls for about 2-4 minutes on each side until nice and golden and heated through.  Drain on a paper towel and serve with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.

note: I prefer my veggies to be more crisp than many people.  If you would rather, you can saute the filling first (minus the cheese) until they reach a bit more tender state.

White Bean and Ham Soup

As I was scrolling through the backlog of recipes I have that are waiting to be posted here, I came across this one. It surprised me that I had yet to share it considering the fact that I have made it several times over the past few months and so I knew it was time to pull it off the shelf.

I keep thinking that soup weather is fading and then I look out the window and realize that Spring still has no idea what it is doing yet.  Case in point, we are currently awaiting a thunderstorm and our expected high temp for the day was reached at around 9 AM.  We aren't in freezing temperatures by any stretch of the imagination, but after a dreary rainy day having a cup of this hot soup with beans that just melt in your mouth will be sure to cheer just about anyone up. 

A lot of soups take hours of simmering to reach the right flavor and consistency, the original version of this recipe was no exception.  Since I'm not always on top of things (in fact I'm not even often on top of things) I adapted this recipe to be made in a much shorter time frame.  Out went the ham bone, dried beans, and the long and low cooking time and in came a few cans of White Beans, a Ham Steak and a quart of Chicken (or Veggie) stock.  Rather than fresh warm bread (see above - not on top of things) I whipped up a quick batch of biscuits to serve with the soup.  I mention the biscuits only as a suggestion since the recipe I selected was passable but not worth repeating.  And here is the first clap of thunder, it seems the weatherman was correct after all.  Anyone else have soup on the forecast for tonight?

White Bean and Ham Soup
 Ingredients
2 cans of white beans - either Great Northern or canelli
4 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 diced ham steak
1 cup carrots chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup onion chopped
3/4 teaspoon thyme
Dash of hot sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Instructions
In a large stock pot, saute the diced ham steak in a small portion of olive oil, just until it starts to get a little color.  Add the carrots, celery and onions and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until they are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Add stock, beans and thyme and simmer until the beans are soft and the flavors have come together at least half and hour (or up to 2).  Season with salt and pepper and add vinegar and fresh parsley. If you'd like have a slightly thicker soup, mash up some of the beans a bit.

The Daring Bakers make Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Holy cow was this good!  When I realized that I was going to be making this without any extra hungry people around to help me eat it (other than Hey, Babe and Little Man) I decided that I was either going to have to cut the recipe down or make half of it a savory version.  After sitting back and thinking of all the interesting filling possibilities we had in the pantry, I knew that cutting the recipe down was no longer a viable option.

I narrowed down my choices to three.  A savory pizza-like "cake" stuffed with chopped onions, pepperoni, mozzarella and herbs, and two sweet versions.  The first sweet cake had the standard chocolate, cinnamon and nut filling provided in the original recipe and the second had blueberries with a dusting of cardamom. 

I had no trouble getting the dough to come together, the only adaptation to the given recipe that I made was to use 2 yolks instead of one of the whole eggs that were called for to eliminate the waste the meringue would otherwise have created.  I did chose to allow it to rise in the fridge overnight so that I wouldn't have to deal with it the next day, taking it out of the fridge to come to room temperature a few hours before I'd need it (we have a cold house).

When the pepperoni version was baking in the oven my mouth started watering, it smelled so tempting that I could hardly wait to try it.  It was incredibly tender and moist and I said to Hey, Babe that even if the other two version were awful I'd still make this again.  Next time I might add some more cheese, but other than that it was delicious.

After having finished dinner I was curious to see if dessert would be as good.  I tasted the chocolate version and decided it was my favorite.  Then I tasted the blueberry version and decided that it was my favorite.  But when I tasted the chocolate a second time I changed my mind again.  Can you see where this was going?  They were both so delicious I really can't say which I liked more.

This dough was so easy to work with and has so many possibilities for filling variations that I know I will have to try some more versions.  I can see cream cheese, or apples, or sausage and peppers, or broccoli and cheddar, or...I think I need to go eat something.  All those possibilities are making me hungry.

Find the challenge recipe here.

Daring Cooks Make Cold Soba Salad and Tempura

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com

I neglect you pretty much all month (or two) with sporadic postings and then I suddenly come up with three in a matter of two days?  What is the world coming to?  I know that I am a bit late posting my completed February challenge, and since it is a short month I'm really getting it up last minute, but even though I put up our meal plan earlier today I wanted to make sure I had this post in February.  It's the little things (like posting a February Challenge in March) that would keep me up at night, tormenting me.  Oddly enough, I made the challenge several days before the posting date but since I did not have the opportunity to post about it before it is still a late challenge.

Back in November I put General Tso's Chicken on the meal plan.  For various reasons, probably because of the holidays, we never made it.  General Tso's Chicken happens to be one of Hey, Babe's two favorite meals, and so instead of letting it drop out of existence, it made its way back onto the menu for January (I didn't even pretend it was going to happen in December, I knew better).  Once again, it didn't happen.  I don't really care for deep frying, and if a meal is going to get skipped it is going to be one I'm not thrilled about preparing.

February rolled around and it once again appeared on our meal plan.  In this case, however, I knew that it was not going to be skipped over.  The two strong reasons compelling me to be sure it was made were the fact that it was Hey, Babe's birthday and he was looking forward to one of his favorites for dinner, and the knowledge that I could kill two birds with one stone and use the challenge of making tempura as the base for the General Tso's chicken.

Unfortunately, the cold Soba salad was not well received.  None of us cared for it at all and I ended up just tossing it.  I hate to waste food like that but since no one was going to eat it there was no real other choice.  The tempura battered chicken, however, was excellent.  I loved how easy it was to mix it together and batter the chicken.  The sauce I used to turn it into General Tso's came together well, but I think next time I'll let it get a little thicker.  It was overall very satisfying and the tempura worked wonderfully.

For the challenge recipes, please visit the Daring Kitchen website.  To make General Tso's chicken, add the following sauce recipe to Tempura Battered Chicken:

Sauce for General Tso's Chicken
Ingredients
3/4 cup chicken broth canned
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Molasses
1/3 cup Soy Sauce or Soy substitute
1/4 cup white or apple cider Vinegar
1/4 cup dry Sherry
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1" knot fresh Ginger peeled & grated
4 scallions, chopped
4 Garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (or less if you don't like it too spicy) 

Instructions
Whisk together broth, sugar, molasses, soy sauce, vinegar, and sherry. 

Spray a wok or non-stick skillet with oil. Cook ginger, scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes for about 2-3 minutes. Add more oil if necessary.

Whisk the cornstarch into your sauce bowl to create a slurry before adding it to the skillet. Heat the sauce until boiling, add the cooked tempura chicken and then reduce to a simmer for a few minutes to coat the chicken pieces.  Serve over rice with steamed broccoli on the side.