Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Snacks

  • Milk Chocolate Brownies – Another Library Cookbook Keeper!

    I recently checked out One Sweet Cookie by Tracey Zabar from the library.  I chose this book while browsing the shelves because it a) I wanted to try some new cookies and desserts not found on CooksIllustrated.com, my usual dessert go to, and b) the recipes appeared to be compiled from a number of chefs and restaurants I like, including the great Spot Dessert Bar in NYC.

    Interestingly enough, my first recipe attempt from this book was not a cookie, rather the Milk Chocolate Brownies by Nick Malgieri.  The recipe was fairly simple to construct – melting the chocolates together, and then basically whisking the rest of the ingredients together.  The result was pretty good – fairly fudgy and flavorful.  Definitely a great, quick recipe for a potluck or kid's party.  

    I hope this recipe attempt sets the stage for the rest of the book's contents, which I can't wait to check out!

    One Sweet Cookie Brownies

  • Greek Inspiration, Continued: Feta Saganaki

    Saganaki is one of my favorite meal accompaniments – who doesn't love warm, salty cheese?  I have never made this restaurant and Greek fair favorite at home, but feeling inspired by the recent Greek dinner I prepared, I decided to finally attempt this dish.

    I ultimately decided to attempt an untraditional version (or at least a version I have not encountered previously) - Feta Saganaki - mostly because I had purchased a block of feta for my Greek dinner party.  This Cook's Illustrated recipe was incredibly fast and simple to prepare and the final result was great.  Warm, slightly browned on top, and flavorful.  I still think that using the traditional cheese (halloumi I think?) may result in a more tasty saganaki because of the salt content of the cheese, but I definitely see myself making Feta Saganaki again.

    Feta Saganaki

  • Cerialic (Celery Root) Skordalia

    I held a multi-dish Greek dinner several weeks ago, and over the next few posts, you'll be able to see my full spread of dishes as well as hear more about what worked and what didn't.  

    The first dish I will post about also helped start our meal – celeriac or celery root skordalia by Hugh Acheson.  The dish was the only that I pulled from one of my cookbooks, the Food & Wine 2011 Annual Cookbook, a gift from some co-workers.  And it was a nice variation on a Greek classic which I thought might be nice to add to our vegetable-heavy meal.

    The dish was really easy to prepare as I was making the rest of the meal, and I could make it in advance which made it a great go-to appetizer.  The celery root flavor was very light, and folks generally seemed to really enjoy the dish (and the leftovers went well at another dinner party later that weekend).  For me, I thought it was a little bland and would maybe increase the garlic.  But that criticism may apply to skordalia generally, which can have a very light flavor.

    Cerialic Skordalia

  • “Quintessential” Chocolate Chip Cookies – Quick Recipe for a Weeknight Cookie Fix

    The New York Times recently featured a chocolate chip recipe from Martha Rose Shulman, a writer whose healthy recipes have inspired many of my seasonal cooking attempts.  The recipe – for Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies – seemed easy enough to make on a weeknight, and its publication coincided with my realization that I have a lot of chocolate baking bars in my cupboard.  

    As I initially thought, the dough was incredibly simple and fast to make.  The main alteration I made to the recipe was to half the amount of chocolate because I generally prefer a greater cookie to chocolate ratio in my cookies.  I also broke up the chocolate pieces into smaller than the 1-inch pieces called for in the recipe – maybe into 1/2 inch chunks?  

    The result was great – the bittersweet chocolate was actually a wonderful change to the standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I think I will bake with bittersweet chocolate more in the future.  The cookies got a bit grainy and crumbly the day after they were baked, but they still tasted pretty good.  I think I may have put in too much flour, so maybe this is my incentive to finally get a kitchen scale!

    Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Great Vegetarian Mexican Rice – Incredibly Flavorful Side Dish

    Finding a good vegetarian Mexican rice recipe has been a challenge during my eight-year serious cooking run.  Most recipes seem to result in incredibly bland or salty dishes, and none generally taste as good as one can find at a restaurant (which should lead me to doubt what exactly they put in the "vegetarian" rice when I am out…).  

    For some reason though (sadly, I don't remember why!), I decided to shelve my pessimism recently and tried the Cooks Illustrated Mexican Rice recipe.  The first time I made the recipe, I halved the amount of rice but kept a whole onion and two small tomatoes for it.  The result was amazing – flavorful and also moist and yet not mushy.  It was also very easy to make because most of the cooking occurs in a dutch oven placed in the oven instead of taking up space on the stove top.  

    The second time I made the recipe, I made the full recipe portion but ended up with slightly less than the tomato/onion liquid called for in the recipe by using one onion and two tomatoes.  The result the second time was more bland, though it was still good.  The next time I make the recipe, I will probably use 3 – 4 tomatoes and 1.5 onions because I don't think it will overpower the dish.  

    The bottom line is that this is an excellent vegetarian Mexican rice recipe that can be a quick side dish to add to any meal – particularly because while the rice cooks in the oven, one has the whole stovetop set available for preparing other meal elements (beans, tortillas, etc.).

    Mexican Rice

  • Momofuku Ginger Scallion Sauce over Noodles – Great Quick Meal

    While blog-hopping several weeks back, I found an unexpected recipe for a restaurant dish I really enjoy – the Momofuku Ginger Scallion Sauce.  I've had the sauce with noodles at the Momofuku Noodle Bar, and had no idea that a) the recipe was publicly available and b) it would be so easy to make!  

    Because it is so easy to make – and uses ingredients that I generally have on hand (or in spring, are not hard to find at all), I've already made the recipe twice.  Both times, I guestimated the ingredients and proportions and the dish has turned out really well.  I have also substituted apple cider vinegar for the sherry vinegar and used regular soy sauce in place of the usukuchi.  I probably have also made the ginger portion smaller than what the recipe calls for, but that is more of out laziness in microplaning or mincing the fresh ginger than for a specific, intended purpose.  And each time I have made the dish, I've used ramen noodles (minus the seasoning packet), mostly because I haven't had any other noodles on hand for some reason, so the dish takes at max 15 – 20 minutes to make.

    Momofuko Ginger Scallion Sauce

  • Relatively Low-Fat and Low-Calorie Chocolate Cake – and It Tastes Good!

    For Superbowl Sunday, I prepared a mix of new dishes and MadhuKnitsandCooks.com favorites.  I made the Cook's Illustrated Classic Mac and Cheese for the first time to anchor the food fest, and prepared Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa and Guacamole as appetizers.  I also made a home-made pizza with jalapenos and sliced garlic.

    Finally, for dessert, I wanted to make something simple that I could prepare early in the day and that wouldn't be too calorie-laden given the previous food offerings.  I ended up settling on the Cook's Illustrated Light Chocolate Sheet Cake because it seemed easy enough to prepare, was 270 calories a slice, and called for ingredients that I had easily at home (though I substituted regular cocoa powder for the Dutch-processed).  

    Although at first I thought I had overbaked, and thus ruined, the cake, that final product turned out wonderfully.  It was incredibly moist, tasted greater for the days that followed its preparation, and didn't need frosting for flavor – a little bit of powdered sugar was the perfect accompaniment.  I will definitely make this recipe again – it's a perfect last minute dessert to prepare for dinner or a potluck.

    Light Chocolate Sheet Cake

  • Banana Bread – Is There a Ceiling to How Great It Can Be?

    I make a lot of banana bread, mostly because I buy bananas fairly frequently and then never eat them before they turn black.  I then either make banana bread or muffins right away, or freeze the ripened bananas for future baking.  

    For the past several months, my go-to recipe has been the Martha Stewart Banana Bread recipe.  It's really, really good and I generally would not imagine deviating from it.  However, recently I had 3 frozen, ripe bananas and 3 black bananas on my countertop, so I decided to take a gamble and try the Cook's Illustrated Ultimate Banana Bread.  The Cook's Illustrated recipe calls for 6 bananas, which is generally far more than I ever have.  

    In classic Cook's Illustrated form, their recipe is more complicated than one's standard banana bread recipe (including the Martha Stewart version) and involves cooking down some banana liquid.  Despite the longer process and need for far more cooking instruments, the result is really amazing.  Incredibly rich with banana flavor (remember, 6 bananas for one loaf!), a perfect crisp exterior and good consistency within the bread.  The presentation of the bread is also much nicer than one usually finds because one banana is sliced and placed on top of the bread before baking (perfect for a brunch potluck).  

    So, all in all, I am very happy I decided to try the new recipe and will look forward to trying more because it seems like maybe banana bread can only get better and better?

    Cooks Illustrated Banana Bread

  • Spicy Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread – Probably Not a Recipe Repeat

    I have been thinking about making a cornbread for several months, yet somehow have not found the motivation to buy the one ingredient I generally don't have on hand – buttermilk.  Realizing that several months – even a year perhaps – had passed with cornbread on my mind, I finally decided to try a Cook's Illustrated recipe for Spicy Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread recently.  

    Unfortunately, the recipe did not turn out fully as hoped.  The cornbread was a little dry (perhaps due to the cornmeal I used?) and the flavor was slightly egg-y.  Sadly, in the future, I think I will look elsewhere for cornbread recipes.

    Spicy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

  • Chinese Radish Salad

    To say that I am looking forward to spring would be a complete understatement of my anxious anticipation of warmer weather and greater food variety.  I am more than eager to say goodbye to our local winter staples of butternut squash, kale, brussel sprouts, swiss chard, and even radishes, which are a relatively new vegetable variety in our kitchen.  Sadly, I have reached a mental wall with what I can do with these ingredients, so please spring – arrive soon!

    In what may be my last real attempt to try something new with these ingredients, I consulted the stand-by Madhur Jaffrey World Vegetarian cookbook several weeks back to use up some market radishes.  I settled on her Chinese Radish Salad dish, simply because I had all of the other ingredients on hand and the recipe stated that the prepared radishes would keep for two weeks in the fridge.  The only changes I made from the recipe as written were to use regular soy sauce (instead of "light soy sauce"), eyeballing the measurements of the ingredients, and having the radishes before pounding them with a plastic masher.  

    The result was surprisingly tasty – salty, crunchy and a bit of bite from the raw garlic and sauce mixture.  I mostly ate the radishes with some rice on the side, but also ate them plain as well.  If the farmers market continues to have radish bags, I may actually pick another soon despite being sick of these roots dominating our selection the past several months 🙂

    Radish Salad