Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

Homemade Granola

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Why not have breakfast in your favorite dessert bowl?

I am not crazy about oatmeal. Unless it’s steel cut. That I don’t mind for a weekday breakfast. But it can be time consuming. So, the other option is to make a nice big batch of this granola on a lazy Sunday (believe me, it does not take a whole lot of effort…a little babysitting while it’s in the oven, sure, but nothing over the top). And boom, you have breakfast ready for the whole week. Over yogurt, over milk, over ice cream as a midnight snack, it’s delicious. Can you buy ready made granola from the store with about the same amount of effort? Yes. Will it make your whole house smell like maple syrup and toasted coconut? No.  Besides, like most foods when made fresh, it tastes better!IMG_1383I realize most people may not have all the necessary ingredients on hand for this, but if you make it just once, you’ll likely keep those items in stock for future cravings. It’s super customizable, too. Don’t have almonds? Use peanuts. Don’t have raisins? Use craisins. I don’t care  for dried fruit in my granola so I just leave it out entirely. Just don’t skimp on the maple syrup or coconut.IMG_1390This is Alton Brown’s recipe. When it comes to basics, this guy knows what he’s doing.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (I use light brown)
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans (I use one). Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Spinach and Tuna Sauté

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Try to do a better job than I did with the onions.

This  recipe is based off of one that my mom learned from our first hosts in American, way back in 1989 (listen up kiddos, fireside chat time). Of course, that one included all the usual spices found in Bengali curries (cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder). It was the perfect hybrid between American pantry basics and desi cooking. Props to Majumder Aunty for coming up with it! It’s great for so many reasons. Surprisingly flavorful for a straight-out-of-the-pantry dish. Really low budget. And quick. IMG_1436Frozen spinach is just such an all around winner. Always keep some in your freezer. So much easier to prepare than to rinse, cut, and cook fresh spinach, only for it to wilt down to nothing. And as per the tuna, I like the italian tuna packed in olive oil. So much more flavorful than the watered down chicken of the sea we used to have growing up. It’s amazing how much flavor tuna can impart on a dish when it’s not drowning in mayo and hiding in between slices of bread. I like to swap out the medley of spices for some freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest. “Brightens up the flavor” as Giada would say. And because I made it kid friendly, I dialed back on the amount of chili flakes. My mom tosses in whole green chilis, but I rarely have those on hand. I did keep the coriander in there because I think it complements the lemon. But if you’re truly making something from the pantry, this dish would still taste great with just the garlic, salt and pepper. IMG_1443You can serve this with rice and daal. It would also be great on some crusty bread with a little bit of grated cheese (gruyere, fontina), pressed and served as a panini. It’s super versatile. Hope you try it out soon!

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 16 oz package of frozen spinach
  • 1 7oz can of tuna
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • a pinch of red pepper flakes
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • a light squeeze of lemon (I despise too much acidity in my food, but if you don’t, then by all means, go to town on that thing!)

Directions:

  1. Dice onion. Heat up oil over medium high heat in a woke or large fry pan.
  2. Add onions to oil. While onions cook, mince garlic. Add to pan.
  3. Add frozen spinach, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add tuna, including the oil it was packed it.
  4. Season with coriander, salt, chili flakes. Stir over medium high heat until spinach and tuna are fully heated through and flavors combine (4 to 5 minutes).
  5. Off the heat, add lemon zest, juice, and extra chili flakes, if desired.

Stone Fruit Crostata

I don’t know at what point I got the inspiration to make this. I’m not one of those people who go ga-ga over summer fruit. I pretty much prefer a chocolate dessert any time of the week (or year). And the work involved in making a crust, rolling it out, refrigerating – usually too much for my lazy self. But I went to the farmers market this past Sunday and OD’ed on my fruit purchases. There were just so many different kinds of plums. And nectarines, and peaches, oh my! Or maybe it was the barrage of emails I was getting about galettes (french for crostata) from other food bloggers. This may be a good time to mention what this thing is: a free form pie. A rustic dessert that can be filled with pretty much any fruit of choice. Anywho, I thought, now is the time. IMG_1358 Except making the crust wasn’t the labor intensive part…cutting all this fruit was! The peaches were fine but the plums and nectarines were impossible to pit without turning it into mush. So, you have to cut out each wedge, one by one, with an exact motion away from the pit in order to get decent slices. IMG_1361 This is an example of how not to fill the dough: on the wooden board where you roll it out as opposed to on the parchment paper itself. Transferring it to the parchment paper lined baking sheet was a nightmare. It got so wet and soggy from the fruit juices that we (my sister and I ) just barely made the transfer without turning the whole thing into a giant fruity baked donut.IMG_1365 This pastry has wonderful buttery crumb topping. And the crust is perfect in its simplicity. No vanilla, no cinnamon. Just pure butter, sugar, flour (and a bit of salt). Keeps me coming back for more! Though I did not excel at the folding over and pleating part. And given this batch of fruit, it needed a bit more sugar for our taste. So, we topped it with some powdered sugar and served with a scoop of ice cream (white chocolate raspberry truffle to be exact).IMG_1368 The day was coming to an end by the time I got around to taking these pictures, so the only sun filled surface left was the kids’ toy chest. I think that’s ok. As long as you can see the food, right?IMG_1375Recipe just barely adapted from Ina Garten. Keep in mind, this makes two crostatas so if you planning on freezing the other dough for later, make sure to cut down the prepared fruit by half. I only pictured one here since the other one came out not so pretty from the transfer.

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar (I use raw sugar, just give it a whir in the food processor beforehand)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) ice water

For the filling:

  • 1 pound firm ripe peaches, unpeeled
  • 1 pound firm ripe plums, unpeeled
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

For the pastry:

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly (and carefully!) with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. If you only need 1 disk of dough The other disk of dough can be frozen.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the baking sheet.

For the filling:

Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest, and the orange juice. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.

Combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts to hold together. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Olio, Aglio & Peperoncino

IMG_1153For most people, the holy trinity means the Catholic theological doctrine of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. For those in the culinary world, it usually means carrots, celery and onion. But for me, it really is olio, aglio & peperoncino (oil, garlic and pepper). On busy weeknights, it is your best friend. Heat up some garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in a pool of extra virgin olive oil and you have the base for a flavorful, fast meal in minutes. Throw in cooked spaghetti, spinach, green beans, or broccolini. Or use it to dress up fish or chicken breasts before grilling. Remember to filter out the pieces of garlic and pepper, of course, otherwise it burns. Once you do that, the whole thing becomes a super versatile garlic and pepper infused oil.

IMG_1143I first came across it in one of my first cookbooks, Giada’s Everyday Italian. I didn’t even take a second glance until my semester abroad in Rome. Seriously, a protein-less meal? But restaurants actually had it on their menu. And the prospect of a home cooked meal for basically the price of a box of spaghetti was more than appealing to my broke college student self.

But even after Rome, after getting married, when I found myself cooking for a guy with the overstimulated palette of a south asian, the combination of these three ingredients amped up the flavor of just about any meal.

I made this most recently the classic way. I think it’s a dish best served simply, with basil or parmigiano (though, to be honest, I haven’t tried it with the medley of herbs that Giada tops it with). Mangia bene!

IMG_4694Here it is doing its thang on some roasted shrimp.

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (1 tsp if you can’t take the heat)
  • fresh parmigiano reggiano and/or basil chiffonade to top

Directions

  1. In a large pot, bring six quarts of water to a boil. Add a handful of salt and add pasta. Cook six to eight minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over low heat. Add garlic and pepper and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Remove from heat.
  3. In a large bowl, add the pasta using a pair of tongs, keeping the cooking liquid in the pot. Add the oil, a ladle of the pasta water and toss to combine. Top with Parmigiano Reggiano, Basil, Pecorino Romano, Parsley – whatever you like!

Kitchen Sink Cookies

IMG_0734 Not the most appetizing name for a cookie, I know. But take one bite, and who? wha? What’s in a name? These are actually based off the kitchen sink cookies from a certain famous/infamous bakery that has taken Queens by storm (Martha’s, if you must). Why the duality? You either love it or you hate it. Their chocolate mousse and rainbow cookies: perfection. Their cheesecakes and gelato: leave something to be desired. Pretty much everything else is lukewarm, considering it opened shop in a city that is overrun with foodies, michelin award winning pastry chefs and french macarons that are flown in from Paris daily. Enough about their kitchen sink cookies. Mine have a tad fewer ingredients (nix the white chocolate and toffee bits) and satisfy a craving for chocolate chip cookies that have just a little extra something. The addition of coconut made them appealing even for all the South Asian mouths I have to feed around here. And obviously the oats make them a healthy and nutritious snack so when your toddler stuffs her face with them you’re not thinking “I’m a terrible parent” rather “just look at all that fiber she’s getting”. Lastly, after baking chocolate chip cookies for the past 15 years, I will leave you with some things I’ve realized:

  1. You don’t need to wait around for your eggs and butter to come to room temperature before baking. Just melt the butter in the microwave or saucepan! The cookies come out just as good. But if you insist on being old school, cube up the butter so it warms up faster.
  2. The original recipe says to use quick cooking oats but I used old fashioned and it came out just fine.
  3. Make sure your leavener isn’t too old. For years I thought baking soda was just an inferior cousin of baking powder because the first time I made CC cookies I used an out of date baking soda and my cookies just went SPLAT all over the baking sheet. So, after one year, I’d say get a new one.
  4. For a long time I under baked my cookies (325 or 350 degrees for no more than 10 minutes) but these days, I bake at a higher temp (375) for ten minutes and it just toasts up the butter in the cookies and they get that magical nuttiness to them.
  5. Finally, I’ve started using raw sugar instead of white sugar and there’s no difference in taste or texture as far as I can tell.

IMG_0738 Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened (or melted)
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsps vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 cups old fashioned or quick cooking oats
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the oats, walnuts, chocolate chips and coconut flakes. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Deb’s Favorite Brownies

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Yes, I’m referring to her by her first name because she’s a household name around here, joining the ranks of Giada and Ina. Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman is who I aspire to be. Mother, blogger, and now, cookbook author. She is a meticulous cook whose love of food and attention to detail are the biggest attributes to her success. I am a novice in many of those respects and though parenting takes up the largest percent of my time, effort and mental faculties, my hope is that in time my recipes and food photography will start to measure up to hers.

Onto the brownies. And yes, there are 1,000,001 brownie recipes out there.  Why blog about it when everyone knows that Ghirardelli’s brownies in a box is the no-fail go-to brownies to make when you’re craving some chewy, fudgy squares of chocolatey goodness? We do it because, what IF, among that pile of recipes, there exists one that is so perfect that it hits ALL THE RIGHT NOTES and you believe that you have, in that bite, found cocoa bliss? That is why we keep making these iterations. That is why Deb has 11 different brownie recipes and no doubt she will continue her brownie exploits (as we all will) until we are finally happy (which I doubt will ever happen). It’s kind of like our white whale (brown in this case)

My conclusion: excellent brownies if you happen to have unsweetened chocolate on hand. It was a rare occasion, but I did. Next time though, I might try decreasing the sugar and seeing how I like the sweetness and texture.

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Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients:

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment, extending it up two sides, or foil. Butter the parchment or foil or spray it with a nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together until only a couple unmelted bits remain. Off the heat, stir until smooth and fully melted. You can also do this in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and salt. Stir in flour with a spoon or flexible spatula and scrape batter into prepared pan, spread until even. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (I baked mine for 35 min), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free.

Let cool and cut into desired size.

Pavlova

By now, you must be thoroughly confused. Traditional Bengali food. All American desserts. Mediterranean musings. Korean restaurant review. And now an Aussie/New Zealander dessert? What kind of blog is this? In short, it’s a reflection of me. My south asian roots. My growing up in the most ethnically diverse place in the world. My brief, but glorious time in Italy. My marriage to a guy whose life is even more of a hodgepodge than mine (think, Bangladesh, Libya, New Zealand, New York).

I consider myself blessed for having the exposure I’ve had. Even if that meant that I was viewed as an outsider as much in the States as I was in Bangladesh. Because it’s led me here, to this blog, where I can share a little bit of my delicious albeit widely varied culinary experiences. Right now, it’s just a lowly food blog. But my plan for tomorrow night? TAKE OVER THE FOOD BLOGOSPHERE.

Back to the pavlova. I was intrigued when my husband first told me about it. It’s essentially a giant meringue, but coupled with the creamy, fatty goodness of whipped cream, and the freshness of fruit. Kind of like Eton Mess, but without the hassle of individual servings. Kiwi is the New Zealander’s fruit of choice, but feel free to use whatever’s in season. It’s fairly simple to make. It just requires a bit of patience as you whip the egg whites. And don’t feel badly if it cracks – I haven’t seen one that doesn’t.

A few tips:

1. Dust the parchment paper with cornstarch to avoid sticking.

2. Top with whipped cream and fresh fruit JUST before serving.

3. Leave it in the oven (heat turned off, overnight if possible) to minimize cracking.

 

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 6 kiwi, peeled and diced

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment paper with pencil.
  2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy. Overbeaten egg whites lose volume and deflate when folded into other ingredients. Be absolutely sure not a particle of grease or egg yolk gets into the whites. Gently fold in vanilla extract, lemon juice and cornstarch.
  3. (Flip the parchment paper over so you don’t get any of the graphite on your pavlova!) Spoon mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper. Working from the center, spread mixture toward the outside edge, building edge slightly. This should leave a slight depression in the center.
  4. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.
  5. In a small bowl beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. Remove the paper, and place meringue on a flat serving plate. Fill the center of the meringue with whipped cream, sweetened if desired. Top whipped cream with kiwifruit slices.

Mushroom and Carrot Salad

My best friend Moury and I are total health nuts…NOT!

She has sworn off salad greens and fruit. I am a dessert fiend and thanks to my husband, no stranger to midnight snacks (though not nearly as bad as he is…ahem empty pint of green tea ice cream sitting in recycling bin). But now, as I’m trying to lose the remaining baby weight, I’m trying to take baby steps towards better health (pun!).

Step 1: cut back on dessert!

Step 2: reduce carbs

Step 3: make the move to whole grains (I’m at multigrain bread for now, but still haven’t hopped on the brown rice bandwagon)

SInce, like Moury, am not crazy about salad greens (arugula being an exception) I try to come up with salads that I can really enjoy. And trust me, this is GOOD!

Adapted from Giada’s Fresh Mushroom and Parsley Salad.

Ingredients:

  • 2 carrots
  • 1/2 package mushrooms
  • handfull of chopped parsley
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Peel and thinly slice the carrots (at an angle for aesthetics). Thinly slice mushrooms. Combine with parsley in a bowl. Drizzle over the lemon juice and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Let stand for 10 minutes to let all the flavors infuse the mushroom and carrots (since they are raw).

Mint syrup

First post post-baby! That excuses a 3 month hiatus, right?

Anyway, my in laws have been blessed with abundant crops this year. Zucchini twice the size of butternut squash (pictures to come). A never ending supply of mixed greens. Cucumbers to rival the zucchini. All of these things make their way into my fridge. Part of their generosity included a giant bag of mint leaves (peppermint I believe). Now, you can only have so much mint tea before you realize you haven’t even made a dent and the leaves are starting to go. Hence, this simple recipe.

It can be used in a variety of ways:

  1. To sweeten your warm or iced tea
  2. Mojitos (ours are virgin of course)
  3. Vinaigrettes (particularly on a fruit salad)

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups water
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 6 sprigs of mint

Directions

Combine all three ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil then lower the heat until the sugar dissolves and the mint leaves wilt. Let it cool then pour through a sieve into sterilized jars. It will keep in the fridge for about 2 to 3 weeks.

Spaghettini with Cherry Tomatoes

By now you all know that consistency is NOT my middle name. I offer, not as an excuse, but as a simple explanation for my long absence the fact that I am just about to pop this baby out (of course that means posts will become even more intermittent once I am a fully sleep deprived zombie/mother of two). I have been relying on a combo take-out, mom’s cooking and trader joe’s prepared meals to get by.

Nowadays, when I do find pockets of time when the stars align (I’ve got energy, the grandparents have taken the little one out), I look for recipes that are less involved, requiring fewer dishes to clean. I’ve seen many permutations of the thin-pasta-with-cherry-tomato-based sauce, including some from my favs (Giada’s linguine with shrimp, cherry tomatoes and asparagus or Ina’s summer garden pasta). I try not to be as pour-happy with the olive oil as Ina, and compensate the sparseness of the ingredients with the slow, careful nurturing of the complimenting flavors: garlic and red pepper flakes. Come to think of it, it is really a twist on the italian classic spaghetti con aglio, olio e peperoncino (spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes).

Whatever it resembles, wherever it came from – it’s good. Try it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound spaghettini (or any other long, thin pasta)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
  • 1 lb cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • handful of basil

Directions

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Set aside in a big bowl while reserving some pasta water.

In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil over low heat. Slice the garlic and add to the oil, letting it infuse. Discard when the garlic becomes fragrant, but not brown. Increase the heat to medium and add the cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes and salt to the garlic infused oil. Cook until the tomatoes are just bursting (about 5-7 minutes). Add in the cooked pasta, parmesan and julienned (rolled up like a cigar and sliced thinly) basil all into the skillet. Give it a big toss. Add a ladle or two of the pasta water to help bring everything together.