The Local Iron Chef

Happy Friday!

Grrrrrr. I uploaded many in depth picture for the poached salmon and mashed "potatoes"(cauliflower.)

But... When I went to go write the rest of the post, where were the pics? *Poof.* Gone.

I think I might actually have to talk about what happened today. Oh well.

Today, being Friday, is the last day in our cooking camp. So we had an "Iron Chef" face off. The class of nine broke into three teams of three, and we were each randomly assigned one dish made earlier in the week; Nachos w/ homemade guac and salsa, crepes w/strawberries and cream, and chicken piccata. My teammates were two boys named Dax and Jacob and we were assigned the Chicken Piccata.

Game on.

I'll share the recipe later b/c I didn't get pics of the actual process, and considering it was kinda involved, I really think visuals would help.

 We cut the chicken into sample-sized pieces, topped with our mushroom laden riff on piccata sauce, lemon slices, sauteed mushroom, parsley, and capers. Dax had a very intricate plan for the presentation.

 You gotta admit, this looks pretty good.

 These were the crepes another team made.

 They were also served with (delish!) strawberries and nectarines.

 Fresh made guac and salsa by yet another team. The chips were bagged, but hey, we weren't given three years to cook. :)

 The guac and salsa team also made the nachos.

So anyway, my teammates and I decided we were going to be really mad if they pulled an "everyone's a winner," on us.

Annie and the sous chef Aimee (we had another sous chef along with Aimee throughout the week named Emma, but we had a sub today,) promised that wouldn't happen, and they pulled out the store manager, the security guard, and some of the parents to be in the judging pool.

After some deliberation, it was decided not to count the parents' votes and a verdict was reached.

Everyone's a winner!

Sorta. They had three categories, and, you guessed, a different team won each category. Three teams, three categories, everyone's a winner!

I wasn't really complaining, though, because I think this was a nice way to make us all feel special. The three categories were Best Teamwork, Best Presentation, and (duh) Best Dish.

The nacho girls (they're all really nice, especially one girl named Jenna, my new kitchen related buddy!)   won Best Teamwork, our team won Best Presentation (rock on, Dax), and the crepes won Best Dish.

Our prizes were caramel covered marshmallows. So onto dinner...

Because of my lack of traditional chili I happened to have on hand, I kinda put a French twist on a traditional turkey chili recipe.

Lentil Turkey Chili

Adapted from Southern Living
Makes 2-3 servings

1/3 cup dried lentils
3 cups broth of choice
2t chili powder
1t cumin
1/4t salt
8 oz. extra lean ground turkey breast (Jennie o is pretty much the only way to go)
a few green onions, chopped
1t bottled minced garlic (or 2 actual garlic cloves)
about 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes (I didn't measure, I just poured)

Combine lentils and 1 cup of broth in a decent sized pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Check occasionally to see if liquid has been absorbed. If they look over done, just add more broth to rehydrate them and stir until slightly absorbed.

Spray a large saucepan with nonstick spray, and saute onions and garlic until browned. Add chili powder, cumin, salt, and ground turkey and saute until no pink is left in the ground turkey. Add cooked lentils, crushed tomatoes, and broth. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Sadly, I really don't know how long to simmer it at the end. I just covered it, went to talk to my mom, and did some dishes. By the time I got back to it, it was totally overdone, but I just re hydrated it with some more broth, stirred it around, and let it cook for a bit more. I think this is a very forgiving recipe.

But, it's packed with protein and my mom say it was the best chili she ever had!

Thanks mom!

 Bubbling.

 Chili beauty. ;)

 It speaks for itself.

Anyway, I think when it comes to the kitchen, I can be dangerous on a Friday night.

Too much time on my hands, and too many ideas. Well, you can never have too many ideas, but you get the point.

Too many fiascoes waiting to happen. I think you know what's coming.

I shouldn't have done it, but I did anyway. Coconut butter.

I got it from Heather Eats Almond Butter, and even she admitted that depending on the brand, type of processor, and even cut of coconut could determine whether or not it would work. At all.

 I even read flaked coconut tended no to work very well, but that's what I had, and I was determined at this point.

 Here we go.

 It was blending, really, it was. I had to stop a bunch of times to scrape down the bowl, though.

 The oils were releasing, but, after quite some time of scraping, turning on, watching it get stuck, and scraping again, I decided to consult my sources. (HEAB.)

I let the processor run while doing this, and I hoped that, by the time I got back, it would be buttery.

False hope. I saw that it looked drippy as I walked back into the kitchen, I got all excited, and then I got this.

 Sigh. Well, I loved that coconut, and refused to waste it. So I threw in some unsalted, dry roasted almonds and let it whirl.

 Trusty almonds, saving the day.

Sur jar and a little bit of another 5 oz. jar. As an end product, I got...

COCONUT ALMOND BUTTER W/ WHITE CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!

It was good.


Enjoy!

-Kelly M.

Julia Child, Here I Come

Evening, friends!

It was another sleep in day for yours truly, and I hope all of you got your night's worth of sleep as well. I feel so bad for the people around me right now, because my nose has been glued to the copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking I got yesterday at Barnes and Noble. I attempted to make an Omelet using the incredibly in depth description (3 whole pages!) given in the egg chapter. It didn't go well.

No, I didn't take pictures. That wouldn't really make me look idiotic. But, get this, today's theme in cooking class was... FRENCH! I had a chance to redeem myself. Let's do this.

So I think you may be disappointed in me. I didn't take pictures during the class, and I didn't dig out my camera when I lightened some of the recipes for dinner when I got home. Sorry.

But I do plan on making up for it. Video, pics, and me rambling on is coming your way. (Does anyone know how to upload videos on to here? I might need some time...) 

Prepare for the following recipes I plan to lighten up for you all (this was the menu in class today): Crepes w/ strawberries and cream, Ratatouille w/ chickpeas and couscous, French onion soup, and Salmon and vegetables en papillion (in paper.)  

So after class, I went back to Bennett's. I should be more embarrassed that I've gone to the same place for fro yo three days in a row, but I'm not. It's just so creamy, perfectly sweetened, and good.

But you'd all be really proud of me. I ordered something new. (NO, it wasn't because my beloved blueberry cheesecake was switched out with something else. OK, maybe it was. OK, it was.) I think this was called creamy orange, or orange vanilla, or something among those lines.

OK, so for dinner I went home and made a healthier version of the crepes and onion soup we made in class. Or I really should say I tried.

The crepes were good, and so was the soup. But for the soup, the onions didn't caramelize right and the finished product had burned bits of onion in it. Not quite recipe worthy, but I hope to perfect and get the recipe to you all soon. So for the crepes, I only used the actual batter and filled them with ham and cheese instead of strawberries and cream. Ready?

Ham and Swiss Crepes
Serves 2 relatively hungry people
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup liquid egg whites (or about 4 actual egg whites)
dash of salt
1/2 cup plus 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
1/4-1/2 cup of fat free Swiss cheese (lifetime is pretty much your only decent option)
about 1-2 ounces lean ham (I wouldn't know. I didn't weigh it, but I think I used about 5 thin slices.)

Put egg whites in a blender and pulse 1-2 times. Add flour, almond milk, and salt and pulse until smooth. Cover and let batter sit at least 30 minutes (do not skip this step.)

Heat a small pan over medium-high heat. Note: I wouldn't use your best pans for this job. The use of nonstick spray may ware down that fancy pot you may have, so just to be safe, you that Target pot you got for 5.99. Don't pretend you don't have it. Spritz pan with nonstick spray and, using a small ladle or medium serving spoon, pour a few tablespoons of batter into the pan and quickly tilt the pan so a thin layer of batter goes all over the surface of the skillet.

Use a rubber or offset spatula to loosen the edges of the crepes and carefully flip. (Because of its thin-ness, the crepe will cook very quickly.) Remove from pan and repeat with remaining batter. Put them between layers of parchment paper to prevent the crepes from sticking together.

For the filling, you can do this a few ways. If you want a stuffed pancake type thing, take one of your cooked crepes, put it in the pan, sprinkle some cheese on it, rip the ham slices into bite sized pieces and put that on top, cover with another crepe, and carefully flip. When the other side is slightly more brown than it was before, you're done.

If you want a quesadilla type folded over thing; when you're cooking the crepe, when you're doing the second side after you've flipped the crepe once, sprinkle some cheese and bite sized pieces of ham and fold over. Wait a moment for cheese to melt, plate, and repeat. YUM!

Maybe I'll take better pics tomorrow. ;)

Enjoy!

-Kelly M.

Edible Education

Aah, learning.

Since school if officially out for the summer (thank goodness,) naturally, I had to go off and take a class. Duh.

But... we may all be able to learn something from this class. It's a teen cooking class at Sur Le Table at The Grove. It's only a week long, but I have a feeling there is much to be learned in this week (and of course y'all will be learning too.) The course has a "Tour around the World" theme, and today was Mexican food day.

I walked there in light of a Fiasco Mission, but I ended up coming twenty minutes late. They were really nice about it, and class went on!

So apparently, the class (of about 10 people,) broke into two teams; Team Awesome vs. Team Charlie (yet nobody is named Charlie.) The teacher's name is Annie, and she's is sooooo nice. After class, she even gave me a mini tour of the store while we gushed over kitchen appliances. (I love meeting people who understand the importance of a Kitchenaid mixer.) :)

So I slept in until 11:30, and I enjoyed my bowl of stove top of oats at noon. Into the oats went:
1/4 cup oats
3T wheat bran
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup milk
1/4t cinnamon
a generous handful of stevia

After I put the oats in my mug (I love eating my oatmeal in mugs,) i stirred in some WF (Whole Foods) white chocolate chips, and topped it with some kiwi, sliced banana, and white chocolate almond butter. (I'm working on getting that recipe to you guys, honestly.)

So after class at the Sur, (that's my new abbreviation for Sur Le Table,) I poked around and found this really awesome looking ice cream/sorbet/granita/frozen yumminess cook book. Unfortunately, It was almost 20$, and I don't have an ice cream maker. (Although I certainly wouldn't mind one... ;)  )

So here are the Vita mixes. Sadly, the one on the right is 599.99, and the one on the left is 499.99. But Annie told me Vita mixes have the horse power of a motor boat. So if I ever need to pulverize a boulder, I know what appliance to go to.

I think I have this exact mixer, but in Green Apple. Another difference is that, I didn't pay the 299.99 (or is is .95?) listed here. I payed under $220 at overstock.com.

Just leave me here and pick me up next year.

This is a page inside The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. (I didn't even have a copy before today!) But, it was $40, so I decided to look elsewhere.

So I couldn't help myself. I went back to the exact same ice cream place I went yesterday.  (But they posted nutritional information AND ingredients. Does that count for something?)

My mom ordered the exact same fro yo I ordered yesterday, but dipped in chocolate.

I, being the wild person I am, ordered the exact same thing I ordered yesterday. Living in the edge, I am.

Yay, Bennett's! 

So afterwards, my mom and I used the need of a parking validation as an excuse to go to Barnes and Noble. Thanks, validation!

I heart Cooking Light. (No I didn't buy ALL the books. Yet.)

This is the book for the stand mixer. At the end of this, I'm going to have a wish list of books so long it'll fill a book itself!

I was on my way out, promise. But it looked interesting. I just had to look at it.

This is in a Brazilian cookbook. My friend Priscila, (remember?) is Brazilian and makes an amazing version of this with her grandmother. (Can I please have the recipe, Pri? Pretty, pretty please? But the people want to have the yummy cheese bread recipe share with them! Pwease?)

Being the Irish girl I am, I looked in the traditional Irish cooking book. Of course, I opened up to the recipe to Batter Pudding. I'd lighten up the recipe for you all, of course!

Another mishmash dinner. It was inspired by today's Mexican food lesson.

Deconstructed Skillet Mexican Lasagna (say that five times fast)

2 small corn tortillas

1/2 cup Boca soy crumbles (their natural version is the best!)

1/2 cup- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes (I didn't measure, I just poured)

sprinkling chili powder

1/2 -1t minced bottled garlic (or about 1-2 cloves minced)

salt, to taste

about 2T fat free/low fat cheese

Spritz corn tortillas with nonstick spray, cook in a skillet on medium high heat until crispy, about 2-3 minutes on each side. I didn't time it, so just watch. Remove tortillas from pan. Spray skillet with nonstick spray, and add soy crumbles, tomatoes, chili powder, garlic, and salt. Tear tortillas into bite- sized pieces, and add to skillet. Once mixture is thoroughly heated, sprinkle cheese on top and cover until melted. Picture note: The cheese is in their, but after I scooped it into my mug, (more mug eating!) the cheese wasn't on top anymore. It still tastes good. 

As a quick side, I snapped the ends off some green beans. I tried to do it quickly by just lining them all up and cutting all the end up at once. I also cut them in half once or twice more because I like them kinda short. It's just a personal preference, so feel free to not do that. (I would still take the ends off, though.) I just browned them up in a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray. Along with the green beans, I added a dash of salt and some bottled garlic. Play around with it if you want. Use a few cloves of garlic (more or less, whatever you like,) and put in your favorite salt substitute if you want. Yay, versatility!

Enjoy!

-Kelly M.