What's Cooking: Truffled Popcorn

The lack of posts this past week can be attributed to my Fourth of July long-weekend trip to Chicago. A lot of good eatin' was done in the Windy City, and I'll post about it all when I have more time. But for now, I'll share with you one of my favorite snacks from the weekend.

To go along with our movie-watching, we ordered some truffled popcorn from the room-service menu at The Peninsula. It was SO frickin' good. Here's how I'm guessing it was made: Heat/combine butter and truffle oil in a small saucepan. Pop the kernels (over the stove, in a pan with vegetable oil) and then pour them into a large bowl. Add the truffled butter and toss. Grate some parmigiano reggiano over the popcorn and toss again.

Enjoy!

What's Cooking: Pizza di Spaghetti

A while back, I saw Giada De Laurentis make Pizza di Spaghetti on her television show and kept thinking that I should try it some time. And that time was last night. It's the perfect meal when you don't feel like putting forth too much effort, and happen to have some leftover spaghetti sitting in the fridge.

Oddly, there are three discrepancies between the recipe that's in the book and the recipe that's on the FoodTV site:

Book = 1/2 cup milk
FoodTV = 1/4 cup milk
(I think the 1/2 cup was fine.)

Book = 1 cup parmesan
FoodTV = 1/2 cup parmesan
(There ain't nothing wrong with a little extra cheese! I also swapped the parmesan for aged provolone.)

Book = 1/2 cup olive oil
FoodTV = 1/4 cup olive oil
(I definitely side with the web site on this one. In the middle of cooking, I had to drain quite a bit of the oil out of the pan because 1/2 cup is WAY TOO MUCH!)

The dish turned out well -- love the extra-crispy edges! -- and I will definitely make it again the next time we have some extra spaghetti. But I have GOT to remember to cut down on that oil!

No-Bake, No-Fuss Pot de Crème

I do not like Rachael Ray. Her stupid little sayings. Her wild hand gestures. She just bugs me. Which is why it pains me to say it, but I must admit: I'm tempted to make those chocolate cups that she whipped up on "Oprah" yesterday.

Her take on pot de crème actually looked really good and, as with all of her recipes, they require very little time or effort. There's no baking required -- which is especially nice because with this heat wave we're experiencing, who wants to deal with a hot oven?

Chocolate Cups with Whipped Cream

2/3 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp hazelnut liqueur or dark rum*
4 demitasse cups
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp sugar
Mint springs for garnish, optional

1. Heat the milk in a small pan over moderate heat until it comes to a boil.

2. In a blender or food processor combine the egg, sugar, a pinch of salt, semi-sweet chips and liqueur. Run the processor or turn on the blender to a low setting. Pour in the boiling milk in a slow stream. The hot milk will cook the egg and melt the chocolate. Process or blend for 1 minute, until smooth. Spoon chocolate into 4 demitasse cups and chill.

3. After dinner, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add a little sugar and beat to combine. Top the chocolate cups with a dollop of cream and garnish each cup with mint sprigs. Place cups on saucers and serve with demitasse spoons. If you use teacups, this recipe will yield 2 cups, rather than 4.

* During yesterday's episode, RR said you can use the booze of your choice.

And that is IT! I love that they look much more complicated than they are... But I still hate Rachael Ray.

What's Cooking: Orecchiette with Toasted Breadcrumbs

When it comes to cooking, you know I am ALL about easy recipes. So last night, we tried Giada's Orecchiette with Toasted Breadcrumbs. The dish requires very little in the way of ingredients, tools and, most importantly, culinary skills. Making it and cleaning up afterwards were both a cinch. (On a weeknight, who has time to wash a dozen pots and pans?)

Oh, but since my husband does not like prosciutto, we swapped it out for bacon. And you just can't go wrong with bacon!

Bacon Love

Since last Friday was a work holiday for me (markets were closed, so our office was), I headed up to San Francisco. I had plans to lunch with a friend of mine who lives in the Mission, and she wisely suggested that we try Maverick.

Although I went with the Fried Oyster Po' Boy, my companion chose the English Cheddar, Apple and Bacon sandwich. Mine was good, but hers was great. So great, that I ran home that night and told Jon we HAD to try making our own for dinner.

We only had pears in the house, and figured they'd be a fine replacement for the apples. Our sandwiches weren't as greasy as Maverick's, so I actually preferred our home rendition. After Jon started grilling them, he realized that we totally should've used the panini press... Oh well. Next time!

(BTW, this is Martha's recipe for a Grilled Cheese with Apples and Bacon.)

What's Cooking: Orecchiette with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

The Giada cooking kick continues: This week, we followed her recipe for orecchiette with turkey sausage and broccoli rabe.

Since we already had plenty of penne in the pantry, we went with that instead of orecchiette. We also doubled the amount of garlic because, well, you can never have too much garlic. BTW, in her cookbook, she calls for spicy sausage; but the Food Network site's version of the recipe doesn't. I would definitely go with something spicy, as the dish really benefited from that extra flavor/heat.

The meal turned out really well. Easy to make, fantastic to eat. This one might have to go into our regular rotation.

What's Cooking: Mushroom Risotto with Peas

Okay, I admit it: Prior to last night's dinner, I had never made risotto from scratch. The Trader Joe's in-a-box variety was good enough -- why would I ever need to do all that extra work myself?

Well, I was flipping through Giada's Everyday Italian and came across her recipe for Mushroom Risotto with Peas. Of all the Food TV chefs, her dishes always seem the most within my culinary reach. So I decided to give it a go. And, although making it took twice as long as I expected, the risotto was delicious -- well worth the time and effort. I loved the slight crunch of the peas in the creamy rice and mushrooms.

No matter how well it turned out, I knew Jon and I couldn't eat six servings in one night. BUT, luckily, the cookbook also includes a couple of recipes for leftover risotto: Arancini di Riso and Risotto al Salto. Yummm.

Bacon!

I think the title of this post says it all: I have been eating bacon non-stop this week! So last night, I incorporated bacon into my dinner by making "The Elvis" sandwich.

I first had one of these years ago, at the Peanut Butter & Co. in New York City. (Apparently, it is their most popular sandwich.) While the bacon is optional, um, I don't know why you would NOT opt for it. So here's what it is: A sandwich comprised of peanut butter (chunky or creamy will work), bananas, honey and bacon. Grill it up and enjoy!

What's Cooking: Flan

I don't know why it took me three decades to make flan. Growing up, it was my absolute favorite dessert. Maybe I always equated its deliciousness with complicatedness? (Maybe I just made up some words?)

Anyway! I was craving flan the other night and, upon pulling up this recipe, realized that it: 1) requires very little culinary skill, 2) requires tools that I do indeed own, and 3) requires pantry items so basic that they could actually be found in my kitchen.

So I made me some flan (yes, just for me -- Jon is not a fan of the flan). It turned out so awesome. I quartered the recipe and ended up with three custard cups full of goodness.

I devoured them all that very night. All by myself.

Jon-Minh's House of Chicken & Waffles

I don't know how people do it. How do people come home from work and prepare full-on dinners on a regular basis?!?

We made an attempt last night (starter, entree, side, dessert), and I think that won't be happening again -- on a school night -- for a while. This was the menu:

• Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries and Balsamic Vinaigrette
  (Point Reyes blue cheese and crumbled bacon, optional)
• Finger Lickin' Chicken
• Mashed Potato Waffles
• Scharffen Berger Brownies

Here's the waffle recipe, from Dorie Greenspan's Waffles: From Morning to Midnight:

Mashed Potato Waffles

2 russet potatoes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finally chopped
⅔ cup milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

Makes about six 6½-inch waffles

1. Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut them into small, evenly sized pieces, and put them in a large pot of cold, well-salted water; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook until you can pierce the potatoes easily with a fork. Drain and reserve about ½ cup of the potato water. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl.

2. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over low heat and saute the chopped onion just until it softens a bit. Pour the oil and onion over the potatoes, then add the milk to the still-warm skillet -- just to take the chill off it. Pour the milk over the potatoes.

3. Mash the potatoes with the oil and milk. Add ¼ cup of the warm potato water, reserving the rest, and continue to mash until the mixture is smooth and looser than mashed potatoes you'd serve as a side dish. If it seems stiff, add more potato water, little by little, until you reach the desired consistency. Taste and season liberally with salt and pepper.

4. Preheat your waffle iron. If you want to hold the finished waffles until serving time, preheat your oven to 200°F.

5. Finish the batter by beating the eggs into the potatoes. Whisk together the flour and baking powder and fold them into the potatoes with a rubber spatula.

6. Lightly butter or spray the grids of your waffle iron, if needed. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsquent waffles stick.

7. Spoon out ½ cup of batter (or the amount recommended by your waffler's manufacturer) onto the hot iron. Smooth the batter evenly almost to the edge of the grids with a metal spatula or wooden spoon. Close the lid and bake until brown and crisp. Serve the waffles immediately or keep them, in a single layer, in a rack in the oven while you make the rest of the batch.

The recipe recommends a garlic-rosemary oil as a topping, but anything else that you would serve over mashed potatoes will do as well.

And in case you're interested, the Scharffen Berger Brownies recipe can be found here. Warning: They are really rich and dense!

Kitchen Gadgetry

Recently, Jon and I found ourselves in a Williams-Sonoma. Of course, we walked in thinking we would just be buying some tea, and we walked out with a couple of new gadgets that we didn't really NEED:

• Kuhn Rikon Safety Lid Lifter Deluxe - Basically, a can opener. The device actually cuts through the outside of the can -- instead of the top -- so it really does lift the lid and, as a result, you get no sharp edges. Plus, the gadget itself has no protruding blades.
• OXO Good Grips Pizza Wheel for Non-Stick Pans - Because Jon likes to eat frozen pizzas for dinner, we've accumulated several pizza wheels over the years. BUT, we still couldn't resist adding to our collection when we saw this one. The plastic wheel makes it safe for non-stick surfaces, so we've been using it for more than just pizza.

(Those folks at OXO are SO smart! The angled measuring cups are also pure genius.)

What's Cooking: fri-TAH-tuh

Despite a lack of culinary skills, every year, I have at least a few cookbooks on my holiday wishlist. I don't know if it's the beautiful food photography or wishful thinking (maybe someday I'll enjoy cooking?), but I always ask and always receive these books. This year's batch included Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian.

Last night, Jon made one of the frittata recipes in the book (this one). It was delicious! And Jon said it was super-easy to make.

(During one episode of her FoodTV show, Giada poured her frittata mixture into mini-muffin pans instead of a large skillet. An excellent idea for a dinner party!)

Living on Leftovers

This year, Jon and I spent part of the holiday season on separate coasts; after celebrating on Christmas Eve with my family, he immediately hopped on a red-eye flight bound for Hilton Head Island, SC. In his absence, I was left to forage for food all by myself. You see, between the two of us, Jon is really the chef -- the one who gets some satisfaction out of cooking and baking. Me, not so much.

Luckily, this past week, I have been blessed with lots of leftovers. One of my favorites was the Roast Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish Crust that my brother-in-law made for Christmas Eve dinner. In case any of you out there enjoy spending time in the kitchen, here's the recipe.