That's it for 2011!

Well, I'm just going to be honest with you - there won't be any more posts until the New Year. As disappointing as that is, that's just the reality of life for us as we head out to Australia in 3 days! Hoping our cat forgives us when we get back after a 2.5 week sojourn into summer time, Tim Tams, and wallabies.

I will recommend just one (okay three!) last recipes for a Christmas or New Years meal. If you're feeling adventurous and not turned off by the concept of green mashed potatoes (actually I think this recipe would still be great even without the green contribution), these are absolutely fabulous and my mom apologized profusely for ever doubting that this could be a good idea after tasting them.The bay leaf simmered in milk adds an amazing flavor to the dish, along with the tiny flecks of carrot, and pureed kale. It has a depth and richness that belies the fairly healthy milk and butter quantities.The recipe I adapted from Epicurious is below.

If you want a wonderfully seasoned vegetarian gravy recipe to go with them, I recommend using the Grit's sage-onion gravy (but leave out the 1/2 tsp of salt! it's pretty salty!)  And one more link for those veggie/vegan people out there: the Grit's tofu meatloaf! So delicious!! Just make sure you don't overprocess the ingredients in the food processor or it becomes pate textured. I wish I could go to this Athens, GA restaurant in person and order every single thing on the menu. One day!


Kale Mashed Potatoes
1 c. milk
8 Tbs butter
2 small carrots, peeled, diced
1-2 large bay leaves
1 large onion, diced
1 large bunch kale roughly chopped (about 6 cups)
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled, chopped into 2" chunks

1. Combine milk, 2 Tbs butter, carrot and bay leaf in medium saucepan; bring to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep 10 minutes while preparing kale and potatoes.(Consider simmering for 4-5 minutes to cook the carrots a bit more, before steeping).

2. Melt 4 Tbs butter in large skillet, add onion and sauté until light brown, about 8 minutes. Add kale; cover and cook until tender, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Add the kale/onion mixture to the milk mixture and puree with an immersion blender until mostly smooth. (or in a food processor)

3. While the kale cooks, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well. Return to same pot.

4. Add kale mixture to potatoes and mash to produce fluffy potatoes (alternately you're supposed to mash the potatoes before and then just stir in the kale mixture to produce fluffy potatoes, but some of us are lazy).

5. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more butter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Carrot Rosemary Parmesan Scones

Ah holiday parties - all the perks of being at work and not having to actually work along with consuming 3-4 times your normal calorie and sugar intake in a day :)  December is full of sweets: hot cocoa, hot cider, egg nog, cookies, boxes of chocolate, candy canes etc. so I decided to rebel and bring a plateful of savory scones to my work party. I saw this recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini over 3 months ago and finally took the opportunity to try  it - perfect timing as I had a carrot and the exact amount of chickpea flour on hand. I think the recipe does require some adjustments depending on whether you grate your carrot finely or coarsely, if you use fresh or pre-grated parmesan, if you have to substitute a small amount of shortening in for the butter, and so on. But the dough seems mildly forgiving, even if you have to roll it out twice because you're really bad at estimating 3/4" thickness like me, which is more than I can say for other scone recipes I've baked with! They are quite beautiful with the rosemary needles and orange carrot color, and people apparently enjoyed the bite-sized cuteness of the squares. I however am all for making less, but larger scones next time around!

I am going to be lazy and NOT include the recipe here. Just go to the link. The adjustments I made were as follows:
3/4 c. pregrated parmesan
1 2/3 c. finely grated carrot
Evaporated milk instead of cream (I did end up having to add a bit more than 7 Tbs)
I didn't have the full amount of butter so I subbed in 2 Tbs worth of shortening.
Reduce salt to 1/4-1/2 tsp. IF using SALTED butter!

Enjoy the scones!

Tamarind Chickpea Soup

I was so inspired by this recipe from Orangette's blog for a Tamarind Chickpea soup - a great combination, as she describes, of Indian and Italian flavors mingling together. I made a couple of additions and subtractions - added in some yams since I love those in curries and figured they would contribute a nice sweetness and color to the soup. I also cooked chickpeas from scratch to go in the soup and added kale instead of chard, as it tends to hold up better in leftovers. My soup became more like a stew over time - not much liquid, so it might be better to increase the amount of broth even more - to 4 cups or just enjoy it as is. It was excellent served with cumin-seed pappadums and mint-cilantro sauce; also excellent served over rice if you want to stretch the dish even farther.

Tamarind Chickpea Kale Soup (use a LARGE pot)
1 c. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked beforehand. (Alternately use 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, well-rinsed)
3 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/3-1/2" thick hemispheres
2 - 3 sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, and chopped into ~ 1/2" cubes (or something cube like)
10 large leaves kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
4-5 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3/4 c. minced cilantro leaves
2 - 4 Tbs ground cumin
2 - 4 Tbs curry powder (I used madras)  
1 - 3 Tbs ground coriander
2 Tbs sweet paprika
2 Tbs dry basil (I used Thai lemon basil)
1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes (including juice)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 c. tamarind paste  (I had dried tamarind pulp which I soaked in hot water and pressed through a strainer-- likely easier to just buy the paste)
1 - 2 Tbs packed brown sugar
3 cups vegetable broth
Water
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Red pepper flakes, optional

1. Heat the soup pot on medium heat with olive oil. Add in the onions, zucchini,  and kale and saute, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cilantro, and dried spices (including salt and pepper). Cook for another minute or two.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, vinegar, tamarind, brown sugar, and broth. (If it seems like you need more liquid to cover the veggies/chickpeas, you can add a bit more broth or water). Bring the soup just to a boil, and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for about 1 hour, adding water if necessary.
4. Adjust for seasoning. If you like, add a bit more tamarind (I definitely did this), salt, or pinches of red pepper flakes. When the veggies are tender/the flavors complete, remove and serve with pappadums, mint cilantro sauce, or rice.

Jalapeño Popper Dip

Yep, you had me at "jalapeño popper dip". Big Red Kitchen changed my life with this recipe - whether for better or worse remains to be seen as I contemplate how many other events, other than football games, I could possibly justify bringing this as an appetizer to :) There are no words to describe the richness and decadence of this dish - nor its delightfully spiciness counterbalanced by the tangy cream cheese. It tastes like a jalapeño popper without all the work of making individually filled/battered/fried jalapeños! It's genius!

Her pics are much nicer than mine and correctly show the dip as NOT being neon yellow, which it's really not so don't be scared off by the above pic! In my defense, I forgot my own camera and it was  difficult to stop eating the dip long enough to take a photo...  The one thing I did notice was that the top crust was so buttery, it seemed a bit overwhelming when paired with buttery crackers. So definitely serve with bread or crackers that don't taste quite so buttery (saltines maybe?) If possible, you could try using one package of light cream cheese to make this dip slightly healthier -- though we all know that's not what real football food is about!

Jalapeño Popper Dip
2- 8 oz packages cream cheese, room temp
1 c mayonnaise
1 c shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1- 4 oz can chopped mild green chilies
2- 4 oz can sliced jalapeños- use all the juice from one can, reserve the juice from other

1 c panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted

1. Using a food processor, blend up the chilis and jalapenos until you have fine pieces (but not until it's completely liquid).

2. In the same food processor (or if yours is too small, transfer the chilis to a bowl and use a mixer), add the cream cheese, mayo, parmesan, and mexican cheese and process until smooth. 

3. Spread the dip into a greased 2 quart casserole. 

4. Mix the panko and other 1/2 c. of Parmesan. Pour melted butter over trumb mixture and mix well. 

5. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the dip and bake in a 375° oven for about 20 minutes. The top should be nicely browned and the dip heated all the way  through. Serves 8-10. (or 3 ridiculously gluttonous people with a small amount of leftovers!)