Thanksgiving Recap

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and while I enjoyed every last bite, I’m not enjoying the extra pound or two I’m still carrying around from it!  Oh well….such is the life of a food lover!

I made two pies for the occasion: Pear & Fig with a Hazelnut Crust and a Waiting for Wilma Pie (Chocolate Caramel Pecan Pie).  Both turned out to be very tasty, though my pear pie needed some serious decorative touches.

Here are the recipes……

Pear & Fig Pie with a Hazelnut Crust

For crust
1/2 cup hazelnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted, husked, cooled
4 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
6 tablespoons (about) ice waterFor filling
1 cup dried figs (about 7 ounces), stemmed, quartered
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 1/4 pounds pears, peeled, quartered, cored, thinly sliced

(I also added cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg)

Make crust:
Finely grind nuts, sugar and salt in processor. Blend in flour. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until butter is in rice-size pieces. Blend in 4 tablespoons ice water, adding more water by tablespoonfuls until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Divide in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
Make filling:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add pears and toss to blend.Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish; fill with pear mixture. Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round; place atop filling. Trim overhang of top and bottom crusts to 1/4 inch; press together and fold under. Crimp edge decoratively. Cut several slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake pie 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until juices bubble thickly through vents and crust is golden, about 50 minutes longer. Cool pie on rack 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

I completely forgot to cut out little leaf shapes with the extra pie crust dough.  You can buy fancy pie cutters (such as these from Williams-Sonoma) but a bay leaf shape is very simple to make with a good sharp paring knife.  The leaves can then placed on the pie and will bake up very nicely.  I would have gone all the way around the edge my pie with decorative leaves to mask my poor edging skills!  (Note, if you want to add these pretty leaves to a pie with no top crust, ie a pumpkin pie, you would bake up the leaves separately on a cookie sheet and place them on top of the pie once it is baked.  See the picture below.)

Waiting for Wilma Pie

Pastry dough for a single-crust pie
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (6 ounces), melted
1 1/4 cups pecans (5 ounces), finely chopped, plus whole pecans for garnish
1/4 cup dulce de leche (I couldn’t find this at my store, so I used a caramel sauce from the ice cream topping section as I heard that makes a decent substitute.)

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim and crimp edge.

Whisk together corn syrup, sugar, eggs, flour, butter, vanilla, and salt until combined. Stir in melted chocolate and pecans and pour into pie shell.

If dulce de leche is very thick, thin with 2 to 3 teaspoon water. Pour dulce de leche over top of pie and swirl with a fork (swirl will not be visible in baked pie). Arrange whole pecans on top.

Bake until top is puffed but slightly wobbly in center, about 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature, at least 2 hours.

My pecan pie turned out much more attractive.  I cannot believe how simple it was to make this pie.  I always imagine pecan pies to be a lot of trouble yet the most time consuming part was simply chopping the pecans – which could be done even faster in a food processor!

Below is a photo of the three pies at Thanksgiving.  Someone had also brought a lovely pumpkin pie and a very rich and delicious chocolate cake (not pictured).

And of course,  I had to take a picture of my beautiful plate of food!

That’s ham, turkey, lettuce salad, cranberries, fresh veggies, corn souffle, breaded broccoli & cauliflower, stuffing, and twice baked potato casserole.

There were also appetizers of fresh baked bread and hummus, olives, cheese and crackers, shrimp cocktail, artichoke & spinach dip, and mixed nuts.

I also tried a piece of each dessert.  (There were four!)

Oh, and I had at least two whiskey 7’s.

Is it any surprise the scale is still up a bit??????

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Squash Pasta

This past weekend I made a really interesting pasta sauce…..with buttercup squash.  Here’s the basic recipe I followed from Jamie’s Recipes.

CREAMY BUTTERCUP SQUASH PASTA

• 1 buttercup squash

• EVOO

• salt & pepper

• 2 T butter

• 2 c half & half (I used fat free)

• 1/2 tsp dried sage

• scant 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 c water

• 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese (I used an Italian 4 Cheese blend instead)

• your favorite pasta cooked to al dente

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Cut squash in half, scooping out and disguarding seeds, cut each half in half. Drizzle EVOO over squash pieces and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Place flesh side down on jelly roll pan and roast for 40-50 minutes. When you start to smell it, check on it. The squash should be very tender.

3. Peel skin off and mash squash flesh.  Stir in water -you may not need to add it all.  You want it to be wet but not soupy.

(Picture courtesy of Jamie’s Recipes)

4. Over medium heat melt butter in a large skillet. Add half & half and squash puree. Stir until combined.

5. Stir in sage and cinnamon. Heat until simmering, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. If sauce still seems thick stir in additional water or chicken stock.

6. Toss sauce with pasta.

I served my squash sauce over whole-wheat farfalle topped with a generous helping of steamed broccoli. I am always looking for different ways to eat my favorite vegetable and this is a nice change from mashed squash.  I think next time I am going to experiment with different spices.  Maybe some cumin and ground ginger?  Or maybe a little spicy heat?  I think this sauce would also work really well with chicken or bean patties/balls.

Oh my!

I’m going over to a friend’s for Thanksgiving and I’ve been put in charge of dessert!   Hmmmm…..how many hours do you think I’ll waste looking at hundreds of recipes trying to decide what to make?

I’m definitely making  pie. But fruit or non-fruit?

.

.

.

.

UPDATE: I’ve decided on the pie.

 

*Pear and Fig Pie with a Hazelnut Crust from Bon Appétit*

and I’m also making a pile of chokladbollar since I firmly believe its not really a holiday unless there’s some sort of chocolate to be eaten…

!!!!!

Cannoli

I did it!  (Well, I’ve half-ways done it….)  Last night I bit the bullet and made the cannoli shells part of the entire cannoli dessert.  My apartment still smells of oil but it was worth it.  I’m actually kind of proud I participated in this Daring Bakers Challenge!  I will hopefully be filling them tonight, but I decided I should post now since I have the time.

The process was actually not too difficult.  The recipes below were provided to us by the Daring Bakers and I have noted where I did things differently.  The end result is actually pretty looking (no matter what my poor quality picture shows) and it would be an impressive dessert to serve at a dinner party.

Will I be making it again?  Probably not.  I’m just not a big fan of frying foods.  Its smelly, messy, and about as unhealthy as it gets.  BUT, I am glad I made cannoli and would feel confident in making it again if the occasion arrises.

CANNOLI SHELLS

2 cups (250 grams/16 ounces) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar

1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt

3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil

1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar (I actually didn’t have any so I used apple cider vinegar.)

Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand  (I used a Pinot Nior I had on hand.  It flavored the dough a lot, but I didn’t notice the taste once the shells were fried.  It does produce a slightly darker cannoli than white wine would, though.)

1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)

Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)

1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish (I used melted semi-sweet chocolate and chopped mixed nuts.)

Confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.
2. Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.
3. Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.
4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.
5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.
6. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.
7. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.
8.  I then chose to garnish the ends of my cannoli shells.  Looking at pictures of beautiful cannoli, I decided I liked this look better rather than the look one gets by dipping the ends of the finished cannoli (with the filling).

CANNOLI FILLING

2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained

1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted

1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean

3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice

2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange

3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:

1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.
2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:

1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.
2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream (I will not be doing this as I chose to garnish the ends of the actual cannoli shells.)

This is a picture of the empty shells.  I choes to dip the ends in chocolate and then dip them into chopped nuts.  I think they’ll look really nice once I fill them with a nice white ricotta cream!  I’ll try to post a pic if I get a chance!

UPDATE: Pictures of filled cannoli below!

I should note that I also made squash pasta this weekend that turned out really delish!  I didn’t take a picture of it but I will post the recipe (and whatever picture I can find of the dish from someone else) soon!

Upcoming…………

Cannoli and Squash Pasta are on the menu for this weekend…………..

stay tuned!

Soup

It may have taken a while, but Fall finally came to Chicago.  *sigh*  Overcast, cold, windy….most certainly soup weather.  I will most likely be having soup from a can tonight (not enough time to properly cook between work and bikram yoga), but if I did have time I would be making cream of tomato soup with side of crusty french bread.  Here’s the recipe for a simple, old-fashioned cream of tomato soup from Marion Cunningham’s The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Pure Cream of Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups tomatoes, chopped (fresh or canned)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is softened but not browned. Sprinkle the flour over the butter mixture and continue to stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, bay leaf, sugar, and salt and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the milk, and bring just to a simmer. Remove from the heat and put through a strainer. Taste and correct seasonings. Reheat before serving.

Note: I would probably top this soup off with a healthy dollop of white bean puree and a sprinkling of sharp cheddar cheese………..

Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins (w/ an optional streusel topping)

So, what’s a girl to do on the weekend?  Bake muffins, of course.  (She also cooks lunches and dinners for the next week, reads books and newspapers, writes – which she needs to do more often, and goes for blissful runs on lovely Autumn mornings….)

I grabbed a can of pumpkin (which was on special at the grocery store – its all about being thrifty this holiday season) and looked for a good recipe.  I decided to go with pumpkin-cranberry muffins (since I’ve had a bag of frozen cranberries in my freezer for ages) and added a streusel topping to some of the muffins just to see what kind of craziness would happen.

I ended up combining a few different recipes and here’s what I came up with for a recipe.

Cranberry-Pumpkin Muffins w/ Optional Streusel Topping

Ingredients:

Muffins:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 -15 oz can of pumpkin

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Streusel Topping:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 teaspoons butter

(I also topped my muffins with a sprinkling of Swedish Pearl Sugar)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar; add the pumpkin and oil and mix well. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the cranberries.  Fill foil-or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.

2. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.

3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Verdict?

A pretty darn tasty muffin.  I would certainly make these again.  Since I was messing around with a couple of different recipes I ended up burning my first batch.  (Are we surprised?  No.)  But the second batch (of which I took the picture of) turned out really well.  Next time I would skip the streusel topping (its a sweet enough muffin without it) and add finely chopped walnuts to the batter (I think the flavor and texture would really add something).  I should also note that if you don’t like that big burst of cranberry flavor (which I really adore), you can chop up the cranberries prior to folding them into the batter.  This is make for a more mellow berry flavor throughout the entire muffin.

Long Time, No Bake (Chocolate Covered Straberries)

Well, I’ve been out and about the past couple of nights and this has meant I’ve had no time for baking.  And due to some semi-sickness, there hasn’t even been proper cooking.  (Since only one of us felt well enough to eat, I had trail mix for dinner last night.  *sigh*)

I did, however, have some particularly lovely chocolate-covered strawberries at a work function recently.  Here is a picture (poor quality from my palm pre) of the lovelies.

There was actually a lot of really beautiful looking  hor’devours at the event…  But one can only take so many pictures of food in front of those she works with before she looks like a complete nutter.

Here’s an easy recipe for Chocolate Covered Strawberries from the fine people at the Food Network’s, How to Boil Water.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Recipe courtesy Food Network Kitchens

Ingredients

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Directions

Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

Copyright 2003 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

Clementine-Salted Turkey with Redeye Gravy

I have no idea when it will be my time to make the traditional Thanksgiving turkey (hopefully, no time soon….it seems far too important to be left in my inexperienced hands), but if you’re looking for a new way to fix up the ole’ bird this November, take a look at this gorgeous Clementine-Salted Turkey with Redeye Gravy from Bon Appétit.

A little bit of clementine peel adds a citrus note to the turkey. The smoky, slightly bitter southern-style gravy is terrific drizzled over the meat or over mashed potatoes. For a pretty garnish, decorate the platter with whole clementines.

14-16 servings

Ingredients

turkey

• 1/3 cup coarse kosher salt
• 12 small clementines or tangerines (about); peel finely grated (3 tablespoons); fruit wrapped, chilled
• 1 20- to 22-pound turkey, rinsed, patted dry; neck, heart, and gizzard reserved for Turkey Stock (click for recipe)
• 2 large onions, quartered
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth, divided

gravy

• Turkey Stock (click for recipe)
• 4 ounces country ham, Serrano ham, or thick-cut smoked bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 6 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 cups freshly brewed coffee

Preparation

turkey

• Rub salt and clementine peel together in small bowl. Sprinkle some seasoned salt in main and neck cavities of turkey. Place turkey in large roasting pan. Reserve 2 teaspoons clementine salt for roasting; sprinkle remaining salt all over turkey. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate turkey overnight.
• Rinse turkey thoroughly inside and out; pat dry. Rinse large roasting pan and wipe dry. Place rack in pan; place turkey on rack and let stand uncovered at room temperature 1 hour.
• Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 375°F. Tuck turkey wing tips under. Cut 6 clementines into quarters (reserve remaining clementines for another use). Stuff cut clementines and onions into main cavity. Tie legs together loosely. Spread butter all over turkey. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon pepper and reserved 2 teaspoons clementine salt. Pour 3 cups chicken broth into pan.
• Roast turkey 45 minutes; baste with pan juices. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Roast turkey until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, basting occasionally with pan juices, adding more broth to maintain liquid level, and covering loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 3 3/4 hours. Transfer turkey to platter; tent with foil and let rest 30 to 45 minutes (internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees).

gravy

• Pour juices from roasting pan into large measuring cup. Spoon off fat that rises to surface into 1-cup measuring cup. Add enough Turkey Stock to degreased pan juices to measure 5 cups. If necessary, add enough fat reserved from Turkey Stock to fat from pan juices to measure 1/2 cup.
• Heat 1/2 cup fat in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ham and sauté 3 minutes. Whisk in flour; cook 1 minute. Whisk in 5 cups broth mixture and coffee. Boil until gravy is reduced to 6 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with pepper.
• Serve turkey with gravy.

*Drool…………………………………..*

I may not be doing the bird anytime soon, but I do have some favorite Thanksgiving side dishes that I’ll be sure to post about!  Minnesota Wild Rice Hotdish, anyone?????  And goodness gracious, please don’t forgot about the pies for dessert!!       mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Braised Lentils, Tara Style

Okay, so while my Walnut Pillows did not turn out very well, my Braised Lentils turned out tastey like usual.

The recipe is from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  If you do not own either this book or his original, How to Cook Everything, go to Amazon and buy at least one of them right now.  I have several cookbooks, but I almost never open any besides Bittman’s.  Both these big beautiful cookbooks sit right next to my oven.  Many of his recipes are followed by 4-8 variations on it which means I can make Braised Lentils – Spanish Style, Moroccan Style, Ethiopian Style, with Winter Squash, with Celery, with….and well, you get the picture.  I love knowing that if I just make sure I have the staples: dried beans and lentils, onions, carrots, potatoes, a variety of spices, etc….I can open up his book and find a healthy and unique recipe to cook up.  Bittman’s all about eating natural and limiting our animal consumption.  He often gives vegan variations of recipes and will open your eyes to many different vegetables.  Though, please note that he is not a vegetarian himself and his How to Cook Everything book includes many delish meat recipes!

 

Braised Lentils, Tara Style is a mix of his Spanish Style and Moroccan Style.  It really depends on what I’m in the mood for and what I have on hand.  Today I knew I wanted to taste cumin but I also didn’t have any red wine or tomatoes….so here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder (I like my lentils on the hot side)

1/2-1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika

1 bay leaf

1 cup vegetable stock

1.5 cups chicken stock (I just used up what I had on hand…you can also water and substitute a 1/2 cup of the stock/water with red wine….which I highly recommend as its even better that way.)

1 cup dried brown lentils

Cooking Instructions:

1 – Put the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.  About 5-7 minutes.

2 – Add the bay leaf, liquid (stock, wine, water) and lentils.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium-low so that the mixture bubbles gently, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally and adding stock or water if necessary to keep the lentils from sticking and burning, until the lentils are tender.  About 25-30 minutes.

3 – The lentils should be saucy but not soupy.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with parsley if desired, and serve or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I love these lentils on their own as a side dish, but I especially adore them on top of a bean burger……which I’m hoping I’ll have time to whip up today. 

They may not be pretty, but they are delicious!