Stir-Fried Asparagus with Almonds

A few weeks ago when I was leaving the public library, this book on the display, Best American Side Dishes, caught my eye. After flipping through the pages, I was instantly sold, (or rather "borrowed"). It's a great book compiled by the editors of Cook's Illustrated devoted entirely to side dishes, such as appetizers, pasta salads, and a wide variety of vegetables. I took it out primarily to find ways to make vegetables more exciting* but found that the book is full of handy tips, such as how to cut broccoli properly (I didn't even know there was a "right" way to do it!) and recommendations on the best brands of foods and cooking equipment. In fact, I am a little sad that I have to return the book today, that I may actually buy it from the bookstore one of these days.

* I never liked veggies as a kid. Mostly because my mom's idea of cooking them was as my sister called it, "boil until dead." Or in some cases, "Fry, until dead." So I am always looking for new ways to cook vegetables and would be happy to hear suggestions!

And of course, here's a recipe adapted from Best American Side Dishes:

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Almonds

½ cup low-sodium chicken broth (I dissolved 1 teaspoon of no sodium chicken bouillon in ¾ cup of boiling water)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of oil + ½ tablespoon reserved (recipe called for peanut oil, I used light olive oil)
1 ½ lbs asparagus, tough ends snapped off and cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces
3 medium minced garlic cloves, minced
Sliced almonds (optional - I threw these in at the end because I thought it would look pretty)

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil. Add the asparagus and cook until browed (about five minutes). Add seasonings.

2. This is Cook’s Illustrated method for avoiding burnt garlic: Clear a space in the center of the pan, add garlic and the remaining ½ tablespoon oil. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth mixture and toss to coat the asparagus. Cook until the sauce is syrupy, about 30 seconds. Top with almonds for garnish. Serve immediately

Tea: The Truly International Beverage

I just found this to be amusing... I know it's hard to see in the picture, but this bag of green tea has brewing instructions in FIVE languages (English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese). And if that weren't enough for you, (I mean, what if you didn't speak any of those five languages or were illiterate?), there are PICTURES demonstrating how to brew the tea. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am all for multiculturalism and equal access by use of multiple languages. But come on, do you even NEED instructions on how to brew tea, let alone in five languages (and pictures)?

"Heavenly" Pancakes

Ricotta cheese makes an encore appearance in this recipe! (Well, I had to use up the ricotta cheese from last week somehow)

The inspiration from this recipe actually came from the ricotta cheese container. It called for complete pancake mix. But since I didn't have any, I made my own pancake mix using this recipe, which has appeared before on this blog.*

At first blush, I was not impressed by these pancakes. In sampling my first "test pancake" (you know, the first one you make that never comes out right because the pan hasn't had a chance to heat completely), the pancake tasted salty and not impressive. Something was missing... it needed sweetness... CRAP! I forgot to add the sugar to the batter! Fortunately, the batter was saved and I was able to add 1 tablespoon of sugar without overmixing the batter.** The sugar makes a HUGE difference. Somehow it brings out the sweet creaminess of the ricotta, and the pancake comes together, nice and fluffy. ***

*The recipe on the ricotta cheese container called it "Heavenly Pancakes" - for some reason a lot of recipes that include ricotta are called "Heavenly" Take the ricotta cheese cake from last week for example.
** Overmixing batter tends to make pancakes tough and gluey.
***Food photography tip: Whipped cream melts VERY quickly. So be sure to have everything set up and add the cream just before taking the picture. I had to learn this the hard way.

Heavenly Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 well-beaten egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
Optional: fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup for topping

Method:
1. Combine dry ingredients and mix with a wire whisk. (Don't forget the sugar!)
2. Add wet ingredients, and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
3. Most pancakes recipes say that you should let the batter sit for a while - at least 30 minutes. I usually don't have time for this and just skip this step.
4. Preheat nonstick pan - I flick a drop of water on the pan to tell if it is hot enough. If it sizzles immediately, then it's ready.
5. Cook pancakes until golden brown on each side.
6. Garnish with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and/or syrup.

My First Cheesecake (Ricotta Cheesecake)

Last week was my week of freedom between my last final and before bar review began. So I had many ambitions to cook and bake things that I've had bookmarked such as, Paula Deen's Cheesecake cookies, and Penne with cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and goat cheese. So at the beginning of the week, I went to the supermarket, and bought, among other things, cream cheese for the cheesecake cookies, and ricotta cheese for the penne and goat cheese dish. Ricotta cheese, you ask? Well, I couldn't find goat cheese at the supermarket, so I thought ricotta cheese would be a good substitute.

Needless to say, neither of these dishes materialized between running errands, seeing friends I wouldn't get to see during the summer, and graduating from law school. Many of the other ingredients, such as the cherry tomatoes and asparagus, got eaten up by my parents, leaving me with a lot of ricotta and cream cheese. One google search later, and I had a recipe for "Heavenly Cheesecake" - which calls for both ricotta and cream cheese.

Now, this was the first cheesecake I have ever baked, so it's not so pretty. But don't be fooled by its appearance. This cake turned out to be a light and fluffy custard, like eating a cloud in a crust. The topping adds a sweet tangy flavor, but it's good even without it. I used a store-bought crust since I was pressed for time, but making your own as the recipe describes seems easy enough. Plus, it's low-fat! All in all, I would call this a success and I would make this cake again. Except next time, I will work on folding the egg whites into the batter better, which I believe is what caused the brown blotches.

For the recipe, click here.

Baked Sesame Chicken

This was one of my favorite ways to make chicken back in college. The recipe can be found here. The veggies next to it are simply red and green peppers and carrots stir-fried in garlic with sesame seeds for garnish. And of course, rice. (I did the neat bowl trick, found in the post on fried rice.)

Fried Rice

This is one of the few Asian-inspired dishes that I can make without too many mishaps. It’s also a great way to get rid of leftovers. Everyone has their own way of making it and there tons of variations.* Here are a few general tips that I picked up over the years.

- Use day-old rice. The best is to use leftover Chinese take-out rice if you have it because it tends to get dry the next day. I didn’t today so I just used the leftover rice we had in my house.** It also helps to break up the rice before you add it to the pan.

- Don’t be afraid to use a lot of oil and garlic. Start off by using enough to coat the bottom of the pan. You may need to add more oil as you go along.

- Make sure you get the pan nice and hot – I judge it by how the oil makes wavy lines when you *gently* swish it around the pan. Some people like to flick a drop of oil to the pan, and if it sizzles that means it’s ready. I find that way a little scary.

Ingredients:
Oil
1 garlic clove, smashed with the side of a knife
Leftover ham (I used Canadian bacon here), chicken, pork, beef or whatever you have lying around, chopped into bite size pieces
About 1.5 cups of cooked rice
1 well- beaten egg
Handful of frozen peas
2-3 teaspoons of soy sauce (You may need more depending on how salty you like it)

Method:
1. Heat the pan on medium-high with the garlic until the garlic starts to sizzle. (Be sure to remove the garlic when it starts to get brown or it will get bitter)

2. Add the meat and gently brown it – about 2-3 minutes. Set aside

3. Heat the pan again. Add egg and cook until solid (about a minute or two if the pan is hot enough). Break the egg up into pieces using the spatula as you are cooking. Set aside.

4 . Heat the pan again. Add rice and toss it lightly so that it browns evenly. Add cooked eggs and drizzle the soy sauce. The order here is important because you don’t want to put too much soy sauce on the meat or it will get too salty.

5. Stir in frozen peas and meat and cook until heated through. (About another minute or two).

6. To get the cool bowl shape, pack the mixture into a rice bowl, place a plate over it and flip the bowl over.

* My grandma used to make a version with ketchup. As disgusting as it sounds, it tasted pretty good and came out a cool orange color. I’ve tried to make it myself a few times, but never quite the same as Grandma’s.** I could write a whole other blog about the superiority of rice generally found in Asian households as opposed to Chinese restaurant rice. In fact, maybe one day I will. But I admit that fried rice is one thing that Chinese restaurant rice may have over the rice in my house.

Marinated Portobello Mushroom with Cheesy Orzo and Honey Glazed Carrots

It's snowing during my "spring break." Inclement weather means I have time to cook and blog about it. People have asked me if I have stopped cooking because I haven't blogged in a while. Which isn't really true - I have been cooking, but photographing in my house is a process. First, it means clearing the table. Then taking a dozen or so pictures with my amateur photography skills, while my food gets cold. And lately I've just been too hungry to do all that!

Above is a Rachael Ray inspired menu from this book:


And here is a link to the recipes!