Yemisir wat (a.k.a., misir we’t, mesir wot, and so on, because I’m poorly transliterating it from another alphabet) is my go-to dish at any Ethiopian restaurant I visit. I’ve always wanted to make it at home, mainly to control the amount of fat that goes in, but most importantly, to consume it without having to drive far each time. 🙂
I’m still trying to find the Best Spice Proportions, so if you have a favorite recipe for this dish, I’d love to hear about it. But I think this one is a good start.
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I love many mustard greens and other cruciferous vegetables, but have had a tricky time with kale. No matter how much we sautéed it, with lots of oil and garlic, it remained a bit too tough and a bit too bitter for me. The trick, I found, is to slowly cook it in a soup, where it becomes tender, but not mushy, and tastes more mellow.
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Wednesday, 16 February 2011
The inspiration for these nutty-dusty-tender cookies come from Russian tea cakes I used to get many years ago in cafés. There are also called Mexican wedding cookies (or cakes). My version has a faintly Middle Eastern flavor, just to throw in another regional description.
Though less sweet, uncoated cookies are still yummy.
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I had a bread disaster, using a starved sourdough starter for a Sally Lunn. The bread came out rubbery. In spite of that texture, it was filled with bubbles, so not a complete brick. Bread pudding ended up a great way to repurpose the failed Sally Lunn. I’ve always enjoyed the pudding from the Station House Café in Point Reyes, but this one has no raisins and more apples.
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Thus a round-up of books read in 2009. Late in coming, I know; I blame the remodeling. O:-)
Once again, I’ve marked recommended titles with the lightbulb icon, 💡 .
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Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Hellllooo, Winter! Brussels sprouts and cauliflower star in this cheesy, creamy seasonal dish. Mine is a somewhat lighter version of the Epicurious recipe, taking copious hints from comments mentioning how heavy the original felt. Already crisp panko breadcrumbs gave me a head-start, so I didn’t need to fry the topping. I also added cornstarch to the cheese for additional binding power.
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[Yipes, nearly three months since I’ve posted an entry! I’ve been busy with cooking and whatnot, just haven’t gotten to the writing bit for some time. Thank you for your patience.]
Okay, so maybe not quite a tarte Tatin, since we serve these tarts with the crust topside, to reduce the sogginess factor. These are more like a pandowdy topped with a flaky tart crust.
Plums being cooked on stovetop
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Monday, 20 September 2010
I’ve always approached making tart crusts with some amount of trepidation. What are the right amounts of ingredients? How do I avoid overworking the dough so it doesn’t turn out like cardboard?
I’m still a wimp about how to roll out and shape the dough. Simon has that skill down pat. But I have figured out how to make the dough itself, thanks to Sonya and Robert, who pointed out that using chilled vodka greatly reduces the gluten development.
Update (19 December 2010): Simon found the dough a bit too crumbly without any water added: it does help the dough stick together better while rolling out. We now incorporate a little bit of ice-cold water at the end of step 4.
Update (19 July 2012): I wrote up tips on how to more easily roll out and store crusts.
Update (9 October 2012): More simplification, by adding dry ingredients all together, and processing shortening all at once.
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Saturday, 11 September 2010
I kept forgetting that we were running out of mayonnaise, until I was reminded by Sonya S. how easy it is make at home. It ended up taking me about five minutes to make this mayonnaise, but more time to clean up!
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Unsurprisingly, I’ve been wanting to make more eggplant dishes, not to mention more lentil dishes. Elise Bauer’s Eggplant Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses became a great inspiration for this rich (and vegetarian) stew. However, my rendition uses already cooked eggplants and onion, as well as additional Middle Eastern spices. Another bit of rationalizing: if I do this during the off season, I could use frozen roasted eggplants!
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