Coconut Plantains and a Question

This week hasn't been much for cooking--we've been pretty busy, so our meals have been kind of piece-meal. Nothing much worth writing about. Of most recent interest, behold my attempt at Coconut Plantains.

The first time I had plantains, they were fried and delicious. This time, I didn't want to mess with getting out oil and the inevitable oil splash mess that comes with frying, so I came up with this creation. I had some leftover coconut milk from making coconut-ginger rice a few nights before, so I grabbed that, some cinnamon, and a bit of salt and tossed them all together in a saute pan. While I made the rest of the dinner, the plantains simmered away in the coconut milk mixture. I turned them several times as they were cooking. I decided they were done when they reached the above consistency--all the milk had thickened into a gooey paste. They were very sweet, maybe a bit too much cinnamon, but a fair effort nonetheless. I'd like to go with more of a savory flavor next time--these reminded me of a dessert.

And now I present: cake failure. Below is a picture of the most recent cake I baked. This is the 4th time this particular failure has happened to me, and I am at a loss of how to fix it. The resulting cake is very very dense, with a high center, and a rim around the edge. Based on internet research I have attempted the following remedies: adjust the oven temperature (check, bought an oven thermometer), avoid over mixing (check), use fresh eggs and baking soda/powder (check and check), and make sure the pan is the right size for the recipe (check). None have helped at all. Now, I thought about switching to an aluminum pan versus the non-stick metal pans I have been using for 4.5 years, but if it was the pan, why wouldn't this have happened for the past 4.5 years? Why is it just starting to happen now? Can anyone shed some light on this? I am guessing it has to do with the oven (I don't know what though). Please help! It is hard to even out these cakes, and I much prefer a light, airy cake over such denseness.


Thanks in advance.

F5: Pan-seared Tilapia with Edamame and Mango

I have decided to start a new feature on my blog after a bit of inspiration from my brother, Jeff. Last week he sent me a recipe idea, which I then made, and which is now the first "Featured Flavors of Friends, Family, and Fstrangers" (the "F5") recipe. (yes, that says fstrangers. It is a bit hokey to add an "f" to the word strangers just to make it work for me, but at the time when I thought of it, it seemed hilarious. Now, it seems mildly annoying, but we're gonna stick with it anyway...) The rules of this contest are simple--you submit a recipe (you can e-mail it, mail it, hand it to me...), then if I make it and love it, I will share it on the blog as the monthly winner of the F5 award.

The recipient of the F5 award for the month of April: Jeffrey.
(I don't have a physical prize to award you...maybe that will come someday if this blog ever starts producing an income...)

Pan-seared Tilapia with Edamame and Mango


Ingredients:
Tilapia fillets
Frozen edamame, out of the pod*
Mangoes, cut into small pieces
Low-sodium soy sauce

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the fish and cook 3-4 minutes each side, until flaky.
2. Meanwhile, boil some water and add the edamame. Boil about 5 minutes, then drain and add to the tilapia pan when the fish is done cooking.
3. Add the mango to the pan as well and cover with the soy sauce. Reduce the heat, stir, and cover pan. Let the soy sauce get soaked into the mango and boil the excess off a bit, but not too much cause it might burn. *I could only find edamame in the pod--if that is all you can find, just thaw and remove from pod before cooking.

Increase proportions of fish, mango, and edamame according to the size crowd you are feeding. When Jeff makes this for himself, he recommends 1/2 cup edamame, and 1 mango. It is delicious, fast, and healthy. Thanks for sharing!!


So, send in some recipes for the next F5 award! I have set no deadlines, other than I will post the next winner sometime in May. You can enter multiple times, too, in multiple months. I may need you to, because I'm not sure I'm quite up to 12 readers yet...although, apparently I do have some global readers--I've had visitors from a total of 10 different countries thus far--with 3 from Turkey! So, welcome to everyone and thanks for reading! Enjoy the food!

Short and Sweet

It is late, and I am just waiting for some icing to thicken so I can frost a cake, but I thought I'd make use of these 10 minutes and post a short blog. This is an easy dinner, or a semi-dressed-up lunch that takes all of 5 minutes to prepare. We have had it a couple times for dinner in the past few weeks when we have been busy at night and didn't want to cook. I've made minor variations on the original recipe, but it doesn't stray too far (there aren't that many things you could change before it becomes a whole new dish...).

I give you--Ham Sandwich on Pumpernickel.


Ham Sandwich on Pumpernickel
adapted from Food and Wine (March 2008)

1. Toast 2 slices of pumpernickel bread.
2. On one slice, spread a layer of mango chutney.
3. On the other slice, layer the following: thinly sliced Virginia Ham, 4-5 thin slices of apple (we used Fuji, but use whatever you have at home...), sliced medium-sharp cheddar cheese.

That's it! Easy, and tasty. The actual recipe called for grilling it in a panini press, but since we don't have one, we just toasted the bread first. If you have a press, go for it.

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

I've previously mentioned that I received Food & Wine magazine as a gift for my birthday. Well, for Christmas, my brother sent me a subscription to bon appetit!, so I should have no excuse for not eating well, right? This month, bon appetit! featured a lemon-raspberry cupcake as their cover shot. This gave me a perfect excuse to use one of the last remaining lemons from our lemon tree, as well as breakout the cupcake pan, which hadn't been used in awhile.

The texture of the cupcakes is more dense than a typical light cupcake--more like a pound cake. I think the recipe could easily be adapted for lemon poppyseed muffins or bread, with a lemon glaze instead of icing. As is, though, they were quite delicious. I say were, because they are already gone--since Lucas is out of town, I didn't want to be stuck home with a tray of cupcakes for only myself to devour, so I doled some out to our neighbors and coworkers. After saving a few for me, of course =]

The recipe had 2 versions of the icing (lemon and raspberry), and I made both. It would be a tough call to pick a favorite of the 2, but if there are raspberries involved, that is where my vote will always tend to go. The lemon icing would be good to use on sugar cookies, though. Very summer like.


lemon-raspberry cupcakes
from bon appetit!, April 2008

Ingredients:
3/4 c. unsalted butter at room temp.
3 c. powdered sugar, divided
4.5 tsp. grated lemon peel, divided
2 large eggs
1.25 c. self-rising flour
1/4 c. buttermilk
4 T. fresh lemon juice, divided
12 tsp. plus 1 T. seedless raspberry jam, divided
fresh raspberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with liners.
2. Beat butter, 1.5 c. powdered sugar, and 3 tsp. lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy.
3. Add in eggs, one at a time, until blended.
4. Beat in 1/2 of flour. Add buttermilk and 2 T. lemon juice, beat to blend. Add the rest of the flour and blend.
5. Drop about 1 T. of batter into each muffin liner. Spoon about 1 tsp. jam over the top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter.
6. Bake until tester inserted 1/2 into cupcake (to avoid jam) comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack (I removed them from pan after 5 minutes for faster cooling).
7. Whisk remaining powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel in small bowl. (note--I had to use more lemon juice, because 2 T. just produced a big pasty glob. Make sure you have extra in case you need more, too. Also--this makes waaay more icing than needed. You might start off with less powdered sugar, or find something else to ice, like cookies).
8. Spoon icing over 6 cupcakes. To the rest of icing, whisk in 1 T. jam. Spoon over remaining 6 cupcakes. Let stand until icing sets. Garnish with fresh raspberries (note--it is best to place the raspberries on the cupcakes before the icing sets, otherwise, they tend to fall off).

Delicious!

How to Post a Comment

(For you, mom)
If you are trying to post a comment and don't have a google account, you can still post! After you type your comment in the box, you will see a series of circles/choices you can click for your identity. If you have a google account, keep the top circle clicked. If not, your best choices are either the 3rd circle (Name/URL) or the 4th circle (anonymous). If you click Name/URL, just type your name in the name box, then if you have a website to link to, type that in the URL box. If not, leave it blank. If you choose anonymous, just type your name in the comment text box so I know who you are =]

Hope that helps!

Chocolate Brownies

When we first moved to Texas, Lucas started his job right away but I had the summer free until school started up in August (a benefit of working for the schools...). When not house hunting with Maria (our Realtor), I spent a lot of time baking. Back in Colorado, I attended a cooking workshop on holiday baking and the chef recommended a cookbook called A Passion for Chocolate by Maurice and Jean-Jacques Bernachon, translated by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The book is out of print, but I was able to find one at a used bookstore in Denver. I have tried many of the recipes in the book (repeatedly), and one of my favorites is the Chocolate Brownies. The recipe forward says they are the best brownies you'll ever eat, and I would have to agree with that with one addendum: provided you use a good quality butter. I tried using a cheap, no-brand butter once when I was in a hurry, and the quality was noticeably different. So, go for the good stuff!

These brownies are moist and thick. I have tried doubling the recipe and baking it in a 9x13 pan. They are slightly thicker this way, because of the way the volume difference is between the 8x8 and 9x13 pans, but still delicious.

Chocolate Brownies
from A Passion for Chocolate (1989)

Ingredients:
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate
6 T. unsalted butter
1.25 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. plus 2 T. superfine sugar
2 extra-large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper (if you intend to remove the brownies to cool), then grease and flour it.
2. Break chocolate into squares and place in the top of a double boiler with the butter over hot water. Stir until it starts to melt and remove from heat before completely melted. Continue to stir off the heat until completely melted, then allow to cook to lukewarm.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
4. Add the sugar, eggs, and then the flour mixture to the lukewarm chocolate, mixing well until combined.
5. Scrape batter into pan and bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean (still slightly moist).
6. Remove to a cooling rack, if desired, or allow to cool in pan.
(optional: add 1 scant cup walnuts to batter. I never do.)
Yields about 16 brownies.

Ireland Cusine

Lucas and I have been a little preoccupied updating our other blog with our Ireland pictures and stories, so this blog got put on the back burner for a little bit. Now that we are on the last Ireland post there, I thought I would post some of the Irish food we tried while visiting. Our biggest meal of the day, everyday, was breakfast. Each of the Bed and Breakfasts gave us a choice of a full Irish breakfast or a continental breakfast. We went with the full Irish spread everyday and thus saved ourselves from having to stop for lunch because the breakfast kept us full until (at least) dinner.

Each morning, the table was set with fine china, delicious raisin scones, fresh orange juice, and tea or coffee. And this was before we placed our order (note: all breakfast costs were included in the Bed and Breakfast room rate. Really, staying at Bed and Breakfast vs. a hotel is the way to go in Ireland)! While we sipped our tea and orange juice, our full Irish meal was being prepared just steps away in the home kitchen.


A typical full Irish breakfast contained poached eggs, sausage, bacon/ham, tomato, black and white pudding, and some form of potato. On the side, bread and toast were served, plus cereals, yogurts, and plenty of Irish Kerry Gold butter (which you can buy here in the states--and it is good!). Fresh fruit was also a common start to the meal as the hot portion was cooking.



At Petra House, we could order variations on the full breakfast, such as the combination of scrambled eggs, potato waffles, and tomato below:


One of my favorite parts of the meal was the Irish soda (brown) bread. At Petra House, we could smell Joan baking it at night and it was always so good with the Irish butter. I plan to try and make some Irish soda bread of my own sometime soon, and will post the results here. Joan's recipe is actually published on the web, so I think I'll give that a try first--that way I can see if it tastes the way it is supposed to!

Since breakfast was always so filling, our next meal of the day wasn't until dinner. For dinner, we had a mixed bag of cultural tastes--from Indian to hamburgers to Irish traditional fare. It seemed to us that the main places you could get the traditional Irish dinners were aimed directly at tourists. While we did eat at one of those places once (because we were in Ireland and were determined to have and Irish dinner, darn it!), the other nights we ate at places recommend by others or that happened to catch our eye. The first night in Ireland, in fact, we ate at a little Indian restaurant called Agni, in Swords (near Dublin). It was excellent. I had the aloo tikka for an appetizer and when they brought it out I had to take a picture because I was not used to having a dish that fancy brought to my table! Aloo means potatoes, and these were seasoned and fried, then served with a mustard and oil sauce. They were quite tasty. I've looked up recipes to try myself, but the process seems a bit daunting. We'll see if I can motivate myself to try them this summer...


As for the traditional Irish meal, Lucas selected Irish stew and I had Shepherd's Pie. As I mentioned, they were from a bit of a tourist trap restaurant, so while we were feeling authentic, the quality itself wasn't the best...

Irish Stew

Shepherd's Pie

Overall, we enjoyed the food. By far, breakfast was our favorite meal, but even if the food hadn't been so good, the atmosphere and genial owner's at the B&B's would have made up for it. Now that we're back, I need to start cooking again...