Back to Your Roots!

Flora and Jon were up again in April with a tasty theme of roots and heritage foods! No contest, no rules, just bring us some good home-cookin.

We're talkin' hummus and pita, matbucha, ham-wrapped dates and almonds, toasted ravioli, pierogis, chicken paprikash, sweet lemony lettuce, chilean stuffed zucchini, clapshot, rugelach and kugel! Oh and papaya piscos!

Flora's Flourless Chocolate Cake

This won top prize, good stuff, from epicurious.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup coffee liqueur
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 7 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar

• Powdered sugar

Prep:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Stir chocolate, butter, coffee liqueur, and vanilla in heavy large saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Cool to lukewarm. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 1 cup sugar in large bowl until thick and pale, and slowly dissolving ribbon forms when beaters are lifted, about 6 minutes. Fold 1/3 of egg mixture into lukewarm chocolate mixture. Fold remaining egg mixture into chocolate mixture.

Place prepared pan on baking sheet. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 55 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently press down edges of cake. Cool completely in pan. (Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)

Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Remove sides of pan; transfer cake to platter. Remove parchment paper. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar and serve.

Tasting Plate Dinner!

Noah got fancy here (via Tara), and we did tasting plates in pairs. Tips: the plate must be relatively self-sufficient and balanced. Each pair had up to 30 mins in the kitchen to prep and plate their dish. And it was a contest! Drink pairings encouraged.

We had cioppino, quiche and greens, salad with cherries and cheese, country shredded pork over polenta and greens, striped bass with rice, cookies and flourless chocolate cake. Really upped the level here. Good stuff. Flora's cake took top prize!

Becky's Shrimp and Gouda Grits

Creamy Grits with Shrimp Recipe

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup milk or 1/2 and 1/2
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups hot stock (shrimp, chicken, or vegetable)
1/4 cup butter
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup stone-ground grits**
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped green or red bell pepper
some gouda or cheddar or other tasty cheese

** If using quick-cooking grits (not instant, reduce cream to 1/2 cup and reduce stock to 1 cup.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cream water, and hot stock; bring to a gentle boil. Add butter salt, and pepper. Slowly add grits, stirring constantly (so that the grits do not settle to the bottom and scorch), until all are added; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally (be careful not to scorch mixture), or until the grits are tender.

NOTE: Grits should have absorbed all of the liquid and become soft and should have the same consistency as oatmeal (moist, not dry). If the grits become too thick, add warm stock or water to thin. remove from heat.

Sprinkle shrimp with lemon juice, salt, and pepper; set aside. In a pan, add onion, garlic, and green or red bell pepper; saute 10 minutes or until the onion is transparent. Add shrimp mixture; saute 5 to 7 minutes or until shrimp are opaque in center (cut to test). Remove from heat.

To serve, spoon hot grits onto individual serving plates and top with shrimp mixture and cheese, stir.

Makes 4 servings.

Tara's Breakfast Casserole

Paula Deen's Breakfast Casserole (I got the recipe from my friend Lesleigh, she changed it a bit)

Breakfast Casserole ingredients:

5 slices thickly sliced white bread-- crusts and all, buttered and cubed

1 lb. mild sausage, crumbled, cooked, and drained (Lesleigh likes spicy sausage... that's what I used)

3 c. grated, extra-sharp cheddar cheese

4 eggs

2 c. milk

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. hot sauce

1. Spray a 1.5 quart casserole dish with vegetable oil cooking spray (I used butter, but it obviously stuck).

2. Put bread cubes in the dish. Put sausage over the bread. Sprinkle with cheese.

3. Combine eggs, milk, mustard, salt and hot sauce (I used more than 1 tsp.). Mix well and pour over the bread.

4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

5. The next day, let the casserole sit out while preheating oven to 350°F. Uncover casserole and bake for one hour.

6. Eat and eat.

Brunch!

Fancy! Heidi and Rob mixed it up with a brunch in February. Pisco sours, bloody marys, whole wheat pancakes with fresh compote, cinnamon buns, egg casserole, shrimp and gouda grits, smoked salmon tea sandwiches, and of course more. We lounged and eventually broke out the scrabble. Good times.

I know there are pictures from these things? Anybody have some?

Becky's Beef Mole Recipe

A winner. This stuff is tasty.
Adapted from A Year of Crockpotting.

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs meat (I used frozen bottom round)
1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
1 dry red chili pod
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp anise seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes (and juice)
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
1/4 cup tequila (or white wine or apple juice or rum)
2 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used leftover bittersweet chocolate with espresso beans in it)
1 cup water
salt to taste

Prep:
Use a 5-6 quart crockpot. Toast the almonds in a pan or toaster pan and set aside.

Put the meat your going to use into the crockpot. Cover with everything else.

Add the toasted nuts and cover up. Cook on low for about 8 hours. About 6 hours in, shred meat with forks. Salt to taste. Serve with rice or tortillas.

Ivria's Momma's Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3-4 over-ripe bananas

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

2/3 cups butter or crisco

1 2/3 cup flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/4 t baking powder

Optional (but highly recommended!) - chopped walnuts/chocolate chips

Directions:

Blend ingredients together in order listed above. Bake in greased pan. Bake @ 350 for 25-45 min. (less in a ring, more in a loaf pan)

Tara's Pumpkin Mess

A cheesy pumpkin and bread fondue... Deelish. From epicurious.

Ingredients:

• 1 (15-inch) piece of baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices (7 ounces total)
• 1 (7-pound) orange pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère (6 ounces)
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Emmental (6 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Prep:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third.

Toast baguette slices in 1 layer on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale), about 7 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle (3 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; reserve seeds for another use if desired). Season inside of pumpkin with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Whisk together cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl.

Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1 cup cheese and about 1/2 cup cream mixture. Continue layering bread, cheese, and cream mixture until pumpkin is filled to about 1/2 inch from top, using all of cream mixture. (You may have some bread and cheese left over.)

Cover pumpkin with top and put in an oiled small roasting pan. Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil. Bake until pumpkin is tender and filling is puffed, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Noah's Carrot and Coriander Salad

from A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis

Carrot and Coriander Salad ingredients:

2 lbs. carrots

Salt and pepper

1 large shallot, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt

2 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted and ground

2 tsp. coriander seeds, toasted and ground

Red pepper flakes (or cayenne)

Juice of 1 or 2 lemons

Olive oil

Limes

1 bunch cilantro

(Recipe also calls for Good green olives like Picholine or Lucques, but I think Noah omitted those)

1. Julienne the carrots and put into a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss.

2. Add shallot, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper, and lemon juice. Toss well and let the carrots soften.

3. Add olive oil to coat, adjust the seasoning with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and red pepper.

4. Cover and set aside at cool room temperature for up to several hours, or refrigerate and then return to room temperature to serve.

5. Toss the salad again to distribute seasoning. Squeeze on fresh lime juice and garnish with roughly chopped cilantro and lime wedges (and olives, if you use them).

6. Eat and eat.