Armenian Beef Kebabs

OK, I know, kebabs aren't the most "pretty" foods in town, they don't photograph well, and my blog is starting to feature more and more recipes for clumps of meat. However, summer is upon us, and boy are kebabs a quick treat to whip up for dinner when you can't bear to slave over a cook top. Just marinate some protein (most of the time, you don't even have to wait for the marinade to absorb), throw it on the grill, whip up a cool side and you're done in 15 minutes!
Except in our case, where it has been so unbearably hot outside, that you have to practically wait for nightfall before you can fire up the grill outdoors. So, in this case, I made these in the oven on broil.

Lesson #1 - I have just now realised that my broiler has two heat settings - Zero and Gates of Hell. So I ended up overcooking these kebabs a tad. Keep an eye on them, and occasionally turn them over to get all sides evenly cooked.

This recipe came from Woman's Day magazine, and I served the kebabs with a side of curried couscous, which ended up (ironically) being the star of the evening, and a nice dollop of tzatziki. More on that recipe later...;-)

Armenian Beef Kebabs (adapted from Woman's Day Magazine)

1lb ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
a handful of fresh mint leaves - finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp grated garlic

1. If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for a few hours before use in grill or broiler.
2. Mix ALL the ingredients until just combined (Cooks note - over mixing causes the kebabs to become tough).
3. Form patties or long cylindrical kebabs, skewer and place on grill or Broil on a foil lined baking tray.
3. Cook for about 7 -10 minutes, turning the kebabs over occasionally .

Spicy Southwest Cucumber Salad

Here is a peppy little salad to counter the sweltering heat we have been enduring for a while. Not only that, with such a myriad of colors and vegetables, it's GOT to be good for you!
I reserved the dressing until it was time to serve the salad, the dressing is slightly acidic and so might make the veggies wilt if added way too long beforehand. This salad was crisp and delicious and served chilled it was a lovely little treat alongside BBQ.

Spicy Summery Southwest Cucumber Salad
(reproduced almost entirely from Houston Chronicle - FLAVOR supplement July 2009)
1 large cucumber - diced (leave skin on)
2 Roma tomatoes - diced
1/2 cup green onions - chopped (green and white parts)
1 medium jalapeno pepper - deseeded and diced
1 (15 oz) can black beans - rinsed and drained
1 (11 oz) can Mexicorn - found in grocery store - mix of corn and bell pepper

Optional - 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced (I omitted, avocado becomes mushy and I wanted CRISP ;-))

Dressing
3 Tbsp cider vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic grated
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Combine all vegetables for the salad and toss to combine. If using avocado, add last.Chill.
2. Whisk together ingredients for dressing. Pour over vegetables before serving and toss to combine.

Bobby Flay's Balsamic Glazed (Veggie-filled) Meatloaf

Meatloaf and I. Me and meatloaf. Whichever way, I haven't had much luck with this ubiquitous Americana staple. If it wasn't rubbery, it was greasy goopy mush. If it wasn't flavorful, it was dry with the charm of an old leather shoe. Every recipe and store bought package (*shudder*) elicited the same lacklustre verdict.

And then I met Bobby. (OK, fine - I met him on my TV screen).
Bobby is sassy. Bobby is from NY (HOMEBOY Alert!), Bobby exudes the suave of a know-it-all chef coupled with the boyish charm of a guy-next-door-who-just-happens-to-grill-really-really-good. OK, before this turns into a Bobby love fest - try this for din din one night, the secret is in the balsamic vinegar glaze which REALLY kicks things up a notch. I was a disbeliever (What!! Ketchup and Vinegar in my meatloaf?? EGAD!). Trust me on this one....

I also took the opportunity to sneak in a host of veggies into these meatloaves - and turned a blind eye when my kids eyed me suspiciously. They still wolfed it down....Score 1 for the sneaky mom....
Cook's Note - Bobby Flay's original recipe calls for ground turkey - so his version has much less calories and fat than my adaptation because I used 90% lean ground beef.

Recipe - adapted from Food Network Magazine (Feb/March 2009)

2 Tbsp EVOO
1 small zucchini - finely diced
1 red bell pepper - finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper - finely diced
2 small stalks celery, finely diced
1 large carrot - finely diced
1 small onion - finely diced
5 cloves garlic - mashed with a little salt
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp fresh thyme - chopped (I used store bought Greek seasoning)
1/4 cup fresh parsley - chopped
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup tomato ketchup
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat oil in a large saute pan. Add all the vegetables, garlic paste and half of the red chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook till almost soft (about 5 min).I added a dash of Greek seasoning. Set aside to cool.
2. Whisk egg and herb/seasonings in a large bowl. add meat,panko, cheese, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and the cooled vegetable mix. Mix until just combined.
3. Press mixture into a baking loaf tin, or form individual mini loaves and place on a lined baking sheet. Whisk the remaining ketchup, chili flakes and balsamic vinegar and brush this mixture over the entire loaf. Bake for 1 - 1.5 hours. Let rest before slicing.

Orange Flavoured Olive Oil Cake

There's just something about citrus flavoured cakes that does it for me. Ahhh, a slice of an orangey-lemoney-tangeriney cake and a cup of tea....bliss. Here's a moist and dense cake with lovely orange tones.

Add to that, if the cake doesn't call for butter , then I'm all for it in leaps and bounds. Disregard the fact that I can subsist on junk like hot dogs and Doritos alone for an entire day, but remove butter from my baking and sub with olive oil and I'm suddenly Ms.Healthy -"It's made with EVOO, you know" - I condescendingly snark to others, as I fit (read CRAM) another slice into my mouth.

I found this recipe on a happy blog hopping day on more than burnt toast, and is originally from Anna Olson who hosts her own show on Food Network Canada. I didn't have enough oranges as the original recipe called for, so I substituted fresh orange juice instead.

You will want to break out the good stuff for the oil, the taste of the EVOO is quite prominent in the cake.

Recipe - adapted from Food Network Cananda - (Anna Olson's Orange Olive Oil Cake)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup 2 %milk
zest of 2 oranges or tangerines (I used zest of 1 orange + 3 Tbsp fresh orange juice)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt
icing sugar for dusting

1.Preheat oven to 350 °F and butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
2.In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add olive oil, milk and orange zest (and juice, if using) and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to olive oil batter and stir just until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
3.Let cake cool completely, then turn out onto a plate and dust with icing sugar.

Veggie Bread Baskets

Bread baskets have probably been done to death across the blogosphere, but this was the first time I tried them, and I found them to be a cute albeit sassy way to serve up a nibble or two before a party. The basic premise is to line the cups of a muffin baking tray with slightly damp bread, bake the blitz out of them, and then lo and behold - you get a crispy little edible cup within which you can serve up some more goodness.

Think of it as a healthy and tinier version of the taco salad shell.

I served up my bread baskets with a crisp medley of corn and green bell pepper with a little bit of red chilli flakes for heat and melted cheese, but the possibilities for fillings are truly endless. Think bacon, mini broiled shrimp, personal salsa holders, crab dip....

The only caveat is that I found the baskets were best consumed right after they are baked, they got a little limp and tended to fall apart over time, so this may be a little impractical for a large crowd.

Unless, you have the help make them for you. Tut tut....

Veggie Bread Baskets (adapted from www.tarladalal.com)

8 slices white bread with crusts removed (as many slices as you have muffin cups - I used a large 8 cup muffin tray)
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp oil
1 clove garlic - minced
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 green capsicum/bell pepper - seeded and diced finely
1/2 cup onion - diced finely
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
salt and pepper to taste
red chilli flakes - a pinch
2 Tbsp chopped green onion - for garnishing
Grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese - for garnishing

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.Slightly dampen the bread slices by sprinkling a little water on them, flatten with a rolling pin.(This step can get a little messy, the trick is not to dampen the bread too much)
3.Oil or coat the muffin pan cups with non-stick spray
4.Place each bread slice in a muffin cup, you will need to "coax" the bread slices to form a circular rim.
5.Brush the bread with melted butter
5.Bake in oven till bread is crisp and golden-brown.(My oven took less than 5 minutes at 400 degrees). Do not over brown the bread.
6. In a saucepan, heat oil and add onion and garlic. Saute till golden brown.
7. Add the corn and bell pepper, season to taste with salt and pepper and chilli flakes.
8.Saute the vegetables till they are still crisp to the taste but heated through.
9.Add the milk and cornflour, adjust seasoning and cook till you have a fairly thick mixture ( you do not want a runny consistency- it will ooze through the bread).
10.Add the veggie mix to the prepared bread baskets. Top with cheese and chopped green onions. Broil the filled baskets for a minute or place back in hot oven till cheese melts.
11.Serve immediately.

Tamra Davis' Apple Cake a.k.a. The GOOP Cake

A while ago, Gwyneth Paltrow (of Oscar worthy performances, Coldplay love and Madonna's BFF fame) launched a blog which I outrightedly pooh-poohed and never checked back on again. Because seriously folks, I really didn't need Gwyneth to tell me how to best launder my $4000 designer duds or whether to wear Givenchy or Hermes for a playdate.

Cut to almost a year later, and a relative of mine asked me if I knew of said blog, to which I harshly retorted my above sentiments. Nevertheless, I still took a peek, and I was surprised to see a fairly interesting set of recipes, surprisingly do-able and without $100 ingredients.
Example being this apple and walnut cake - this comes from Tamra Davis, who I think is some kind of celebrity chef (on closer Google inspection, she's the wife of a former Beastie Boy) and it is so simple to put together, my 5 year old could do it. Which she did, and then I proceeded to eat half the cake in one sitting.
Then I stepped out onto the red carpet for my movie premiere without my pants on.
Which is exactly what Gwynnie must be doing every day. Have a slice on me, Gwyneth dear....
(Pic courtesy : metro.co.uk)
Tamra Davis Apple Cake a.k.a The GOOP Cake (reproduced entirely from GOOP newsletter "Make" # 26)

1 cup sugar
½ stick or 2 ounces butter, melted
½ cup applesauce
1 egg
1¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2½ cups chopped apples (or two large apples)
¾ to 1 cup chopped walnuts

1.Preheat oven to 350°F.
2.Grease baking dish
3.Mix the sugar, butter, applesauce and egg together with a hand mixer.
4.Whisk the dry ingredients together.
5.Blend the wet and dry ingredients and then add the apples and walnuts.
6.Pour into baking dish and bake for 30 to 50 minutes (depending on your pan and oven temp) or until knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

I am sending this simple little cake to Sugar High Fridays June 2009 event - Fruit and Nut hosted by Mansi of Fun and Food. This is my first participation in an event! Woo hoo!!!!!!

How To...Make Indian Cheese - Paneer

Paneer is an un-aged cheese made by curdling hot milk with some sort of acidic agent. It's a drier version of cottage cheese and a close cousin to queso blanco. The reason I started getting fascinated with paneer is that it is typically the only type of cheese that is used in a lot of Indian recipes, and then I found out that its fairly easy to make at home which can give one a lot of boasting rights.
I make my own cheese.

Pretty impressive. Loser.

However, I do have a lot of conviction to make this at home now, because store bought paneer, usually frozen and chock-full of preservatives and well past their prime, tastes absolutely, well, tasteless. It would be the equivalent of grating chalk into your curry.
Soul Food is a hip blog run by an equally hip and talented and cheery web friend of mine, and her exacting post on how to make your own paneer sealed the deal for me. Do check out her post for some awesome tips on how to flavor the paneer as well. What??! You can flavor the cheese too???
Cardamom paneer.
Sweet paneer.
Chilli paneeerr...
Oooohhhh, my head is spinning.

I'm just documenting the method below with some super cheesy pictures (he he), but it was sourced completely from Soul Food.
Method:
1. You need full cream or full fat milk. The less percentage fat in the milk, the less cheese you will be able to strip out. In terms of quantity yielded, I used about a litre of milk, and ended up with a a little less than a cup of paneer. Pour your milk into a heavy based pot or stainless steel utensil.

2. Boil up your milk to a roaring boil.

3. Add your curdling agent and take the milk off the heat. Vinegar is the most preferred based on what I've read, but lemon juice comes in a close second. For 1L of milk, I used 100 ml vinegar.

4. As seen above, the cheese curdles from the milk and separates to form a soft grainy mass and a clear liquid (whey). If the whey is yellowish, add a little more vinegar till the whey becomes a light green color. BE CAREFUL, adding too much vinegar at this point will end up affecting the taste of the cheese!! When everything cools down, drain the cheese using a muslin cloth in a colander.

5. After all the whey has drained, gather up the corners of the muslin cloth, and transfer the cheese to a flat surface (that can get wet). Cover the cheese with more muslin cloth. Place a heavy object on top of the cheese (to flatten and drain out the remaining mositure. When sufficiently dry (a few hours to overnight), cube or crumble the cheese and freeze or use right away.

Malai Kofta - Cheese/Paneer Dumplings in Gravy

On one of my daily travails around the internet, I discovered Maria's blog which is a delightful collection of recipes and South Asian delicacies. There was an interesting 2-in-1 recipe she had for paneer balls, which could be served up as an appetizer, and then an elegant creamy curry that then utilized said dumplings again. This I had to try, especially since I was giddy from having some freshly made paneer ready to go.

Ooops, Paneer. Gots to have some to make this recipe.

But before you all get your bloomers in a twist and blow off this recipe, the Indian version of cottage cheese is surpisingly easy to make at home - and so now that I have mastered the feat of making my own paneer, I don't recommend using the store bought paneer cubes that you see languishing in Asian grocery store freezers. Unless there is someone (emphasis on the ONE in someone) out there who can prove me otherwise, store bought paneer has always tasted like a subtle mixture of chalk and cardboard. And since I have eaten both earnestly in my heady youth, I can attest to that review strongly.


Step 1 - Paneer Dumplings (adapted from Maria's Menu blog)

Ingredients
1 cup crumbled Paneer (cottage cheese)
2 medium Potatoes (boiled & mashed)
Crushed pepper - 1 heaped tsp
Red Chilli flakes - 1 heaped tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon
Cornflour - 1-2 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying

1. Mix potatoes and paneer together in a bowl. I like to do this when the potatoes are still warm so that the paneer cheese gets to melt slightly
2. Add all the seasonings and salt - adjust to taste.
3. Add cornflour and mix thoroughly - this is to help bind the mixture.
4. Form small balls or patties.
5. Fry lightly in hot oil. I chose not to deep fry, but ended up browning the dumplings a little.


At this stage, you may end up scoffing up the paneer balls as they are tasty little treats in of themsleves. Try them with a chilli sauce or dip.


Step 2. Gravy for the Malai Kofta Curry (reproduced entirely from Marias Menu blog)


2 medium onions - sliced
Tomato puree - made from 2,3 tomatoes
Gingergarlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Chilli powder - 1 tablespoon
Garam masala - 2 teaspoon
Cream - 1 cup


1.Cook sliced onions in 2 cups water. Make sure you have the vent fan going, this is going to "smell" a little...
2.Once the onions have cooked (they will look blanched and lighter in color), drain the water completely and grind the onions into a smooth paste.
3.Heat oil in a pan and saute onion paste.
4.After 5 minutes add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2,3 minutes.
5.Add all the spice powders and stir for 5 minutes or until the oil starts forming a layer on top.
6.Add tomato puree and once the puree is mixed well in the gravy add the cream.
7.After 5 minutes, remove from heat. Spread prepared koftas in a plate and pour the gravy over it.

This is best served with a mixed fried rice or Indian bread like Naan or Paratha.

Ginger Honey Hoisin Chicken

This recipe appeared in our local newspaper's Foodie section which highlighted recent winners in this year's National Chicken Cooking Contest, held at the Culinary Institute of America - San Antonio. This little gem was submitted by Ruth Kendrick from Ogden, Utah and what drew me to trying it out myself was
a) it used thigh meat, I really don't have much passion for chicken breast meat
b) it had ingredients that were all on hand and I didn't have to do the mad dash to the grocery store
c) well, it just darn looked good.

Loved it! I like the sauce that it results in, so its a perfect pairing with white rice or noodles. I served mine up with plain rice stick noodles and blanched broccoli. The kids had seconds. C'mon now - that should be testament enough.

Ginger Scented Honey Hoisin Chicken Thighs - Ruth Kendrick - (as appeared in Houston Chronicle Flavor section)
1 Tbsp cooking oil
8 boneless,skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (I omitted, purely because I forgot)
1/4 cup sliced green onions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2.Add oil to a skillet big enough to hold allthe chicken. Over medium heat, add chicken and lightly brown on all sides.
3.In a small saucepan, mix soy sauce, honey, hoisin, chicken broth, ginger and pepper. Bring mixture to boil and simmer to reduce sauce (I preferred to have a little sauce to accompany the chicken, so I did not reduce much). Pour sauce over chicken to coat, and add to a baking dish.
4. Bake in oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until internal temperature is > 165 degrees.
5. Stir in sesame seeds and green onions, serve with plain white rice or noodles.(Because of the variety of sauces used, there wasn't a need to add salt, but add to taste if required...)

Summer Fruit Kuchen

With grocery stores now brimming with summer produce, it was a no-brainer for me to try this recipe that caught my eye in Woman's Day magazine. A Kuchen is a buttery cake with a crumb topping, usually chock full of fruit, and it hails from Germany, though some Romanians also lay claim to its ancestry.
This cake is super easy to whip up, and it was devoured in my household the day it was made. It was so good, I made it for the better half's birthday, and stuck a candle it. Yes, I'm manipulative.
Lots of butter, but maybe the hint of fruit makes this somewhat healthy? But coming back to reality, I used peach, plum and blueberries as the recipe originally calls for, but this cake would be versatile with almost anything. Apples would be a great substitute.

Summer Fruit Kuchen - Source - Woman's Day Magazine - July 2009
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk

Fruit:
1 1/2 cup blueberries
1 ripe peach, pitted and cut in wedges
1 ripe plum, pitted and cut in wedges

Crumb Topping:
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

Optional: Confectioners sugar for dusting (I omitted)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 in. square baking pan with non-stick foil (or spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray).
2.Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar till smooth.
4. Beat in eggs and vanilla to butter mixture until just combined.
5. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture and milk until blended.
6. Fold in 1/2 of the blueberries into the batter.
7. Pour batter into prepared cake pan.
8. Scatter remaining blueberries onto batter, and arrange plum and peach slices on top.
9. Prepare Topping -
In a small bowl, rub all ingredients for topping with fingers till it resembles clumps and the butter has been distributed evenly.
10.Bake 55 - 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (The cake will rise slightly during baking).
11. Cool cake, lift out of pan by holding the ends of the foil.
12. Nom, nom, nom :-)