A Full Belly

Wayne and Tracie invited us over Wednesday night for a Turkish Themed Potluck. I love potlucks, and I love Wayne and Tracie, so I immediately hit the cookbook collection to search for an appropriate recipe. I ended skimming through Mediterranean-themed Olives & Oranges by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox, and settled on a recipe for Fried Eggplant Balls. Simple and delicious, and easy to make ahead, I was sold.

They turned out to be a huge hit at the potluck, especially among those who claimed to be former eggplant haters. Success! I'll definitely be making these again.

Fried Eggplant Balls

From Olives & Oranges by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox

Ingredients

2 large eggplants (about 2 3/4 lb)

1 large egg

2 cups medium-ground fresh bread crumbs

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Extra virgin olive oil for shallow frying

Procedure

Heat oven to 375 F. Prick each eggplant several times with a fork. Roast until cooked through, about 1 hour. Let cool.

Halve eggplants lengthwise, scrape flesh from skin, and place in a fine sieve set over a mixing bowl; discard skin. Drain for 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Transfer eggplant flesh to a food processor (discard juices). Add egg, bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt; pulse to combine. Transfer to a plate or bowl. Form into forty 1-inch balls.

Fill a large skillet with 1/4 inch oil and heat to 360 F to 365 F. Using a slotted spoon add several eggplant balls into hot oil to cook until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining balls.

Serve eggplant balls hot, dusted with a little grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped parsley.

tomatoes, originally uploaded by Alaina B..

Tomatoes for Spaghetti all'Aglio e Olio.

- Makes 12 cupcakes -

Ingredients

2/3 cup (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk or 2/3 cup sour or regular milk

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, a good 5 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each, and the egg yolk.

Beat in the vanilla.

Stir in the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk, just until incorporated. Do not overmix.

Fill lined muffin tins with batter almost to the top. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until set.

Vanilla Cream Frosting

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
4 cups confectioner's sugar (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Procedure
Beat together the butter, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt until smooth.

Blend in the sugar to form a stiff paste.

Slowly beat in just enough of the heavy cream to make a spreadable frosting. If the frosting is too soft, add more sugar or chill it for a few minutes to firm up.

Homesick Texan: Austin and basic black beans.

This is my basic black bean recipe. It takes little effort and has a rich smoky flavor that comes from chipotles instead of the usual ham hocks or bacon. And, of course, if you’re bored by black beans at least now I have something to point to when I write in the future about really fun things, such as black-bean salsa, corn and black-bean salad or that Austin late-night staple, Mag mud.

....Those encounters reminded me to take a second look at a recipe that Allan shared with me a while back. It’s his take on red-eye gravy. And it’s as straightforward as the man himself, as honest as the cured pork that emerges from his smokehouse.

This recipe includes one of my favorite ingredients: "Hot biscuits, for sopping."

From the Diner's Journal Blog: The White House chef's creamless creamed spinach recipe, "one of Michelle Obama's favorite healthful foods."

This weekend I finally got around to scratching my holiday baking itch. My kitchen isn't exactly baking-friendly so that I had an itch at all was remarkable. The oven is not quite full-size, has only ever had one rack, and is prone to shut off randomly and without warning. The total counter space is the equivalent of one cookie sheet. [This is a pretty typical New York apartment kitchen set-up and those of us motivated enough usually find a way to coax deliciousness out of these tiny spaces.] I knew I'd probably only have the time and patience for one cookie recipe, so I decided to choose a cookie I love. "Crunchy," "sweet," and "spicy," are three of my favorite food attributes so of course I love gingersnaps and those are what I made. The original recipe is Nick Malgieri's Three-Way Gingersnaps. I couldn't find my stash of crystallized ginger (the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons finely chopped), so I decided to skip it and make mine Two-Way Gingersnaps. If anything, the crystallized ginger might add some more sweetness—these are still gingery enough to please any ginger lover. I also used salted butter because doesn't everything taste better with a little more salt? Feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. I brought some into the office today and they are almost all gone, so I think it's safe to say that these are also Serious Eats approved.

Two-Way Gingersnaps

- makes about 60 cookies -

Adapted from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons honey
Raw sugar for coating the cookies
2 or 3 cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans lined with parchment or foil

Procedure

1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325ºF. If you only have one oven rack like me, set it in the middle of your oven.

2. Mix the flour with the ground ginger, baking soda, and salt.

3. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until lightened, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and continue beating until smooth.

4. Decrease the mixer speed to low and beat in half the flour mixture. Stop and scrape down the bowl and paddle.

5. Beat in the grated ginger and the honey. After they are incorporated, beat in the remaining flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to give a final mixing to the dough.

6. Roll 1/2 tablespoon of the dough between the palms of your hands to make a little sphere, then roll it in a shallow bowl of raw sugar. Place it on one of the prepared pans. Continue with the remaining dough, keeping the subsequent cookies about 2 inches apart on all sides.

7. Bake the gingersnaps until they spread and become deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, place the pan from the lower rack on the upper one and vice versa, turning the pans from back to front at the same time. If you know that your oven gives off strong bottom heat, stack the pan on the lower rack on top of a second one for insulation. If you're working with only one rack, just turn your pan from back to front after the first 10 minutes.

8. Slide the papers off the pans to cool the cookies. If you have only one more pan of gingersnaps to bake, readjust one of the racks to the middle level for baking.

After Thanksgiving, I had an extra bag of cranberries in my fridge and a strong hankering for some apple pie. I've had plenty of apple cranberry crumble in my time, but it was time to bring the ingredients together in a pie. My first impulse was to just throw some cranberries in along with the apples, but I decided to do a recipe search and found Cranberry-ribbon Apple Pie which calls for cooking and cooling the cranberries before adding them to the pie. This sounded like a safe bet for my first apple cranberry pie. I've adapted the recipe below. I didn't have any cranberry juice on hand, so I just used water. I also cut back on the total sugar by 1/2 cup (reflected below). I might even cut it back more next because I appreciate a tart bite. I'd recommend adjusting the amount of sugar according to your own preference. I've yet to invest the time and energy in mastering pie crust dough, so use your favorite tried-and-true pie crust dough recipe (this one is supposed to be a dream), or cheat like me and use store-bought crusts--obviously not as delicious as homemade, but good enough.

Cranberry Apple Pie

• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup 100% cranberry juice or water
• 2 cups cranberries (about 8 ounces)

• ~ 6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pie crust dough for 2 crusts (use your favorite recipe or cheat like me and use store-bought)
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon milk
• Pinch of ground cinnamon

I made Suvir Saran's Goan-Style Shrimp for the second-time tonight. Although I've never considered myself a huge fan of coconut-based curries, this one is mighty tasty and the whole thing comes together quickly. Don't skip the fresh curry leaves!

I've had asparagus on the brain thanks to all of the delicious asparagus recipes I've read recently. Last night, I decided to improvise a bit, taking inspiration from Gina, Nick, and Charmaine to create my plate of roasted asparagus and egg.

I started a pot of brown rice in preparation for my egg "poaching." Once the rice was done and the rice cooker was in "keep warm" mode, I took 2 eggs each wrapped in a 1/2 paper towel, and placed them on top of the rice to cook. Charmaine recommends leaving the eggs in there for an hour, but on the advice of a friend who has experimented with this technique, I was aiming for 15-20 minutes. My plan was to take one egg out at 15 minutes and if it wasn't done, I still had a spare egg to cook.

Meanwhile, I started my asparagus per Gina's instructions -- I  boiled the asparagus in salted water for about 3 to 4 minutes and then drained. Next, I lined them up on a pan and drizzled with olive oil, rolling them a bit to make sure they were well covered before salting generously and sprinkling with grated Parmigiano Reggiano. (Gina also recommends topping with unsalted butter cut into tiny cubes, but I opted to skip it.) Into a preheated 400°F oven went my spears. I roasted my asparagus for about 20 minutes,  until it looked pretty close to "hammered" to me.

Now it was time to check on my egg. In case it wasn't done, I checked my egg by cracking it open into a bowl instead of directly onto my asparagus. As you can see from the photo above, it was very lightly poached and warm to the touch.  Ideally, I would have liked my egg a little more well done, but this was a fresh from the Greenmarket egg, so I  felt comfortable enough eating it in this state so onto the asparagus it went! (I left the the second egg in the rice cooker for about ~40 minutes, and by that time the yolk as no longer runny, but it was still delicious.) Added some fresh ground black pepper, and it was ready for my belly. The end product? DELICIOUS.

Gina DePalma's Hammered Spears

Nick's Asparagus with Fried Egg and Parmesan

Charmaine's Onsen Tamago