Taco Tuesday!

Sarah of the always impeccable and inspiring Pink of Perfection recently asked her readers about how they ritualize the everyday-- what is the first thing you feel like cooking in the spring, for example (asparagus) or for that first snowstorm (white bean soup and Wonderfalls on DVD), and when she asked us to leave a comment on how we ritualize the every day, I immediately shared Taco Tuesday. She kindly responded that she loved that idea and a few weeks later, I open up her site to see an entire post dedicated to Taco Tuesday. It was lovely of her.

So I thought I should reveal a little more on Taco Tuesday here and share some recent Taco Tuesday greatest hits.

We went to Maui for our honeymoon in 2008 and stayed for 10 days in a condo in Kihei, which was perfect for us. We don't always want to go out for dinner when we're travelling, sometimes we want the option to eat olives and hummus and chips on our lanai, listening to the ocean and looking at the mountains. We arrived terribly late on Monday (3 am was what our poor bodies thought it was) and spent most of Tuesday groggy (it was also the only day of our trip it rained, which was quite kind of Maui because it was also the only day we couldn't imagine being active). But come 5 pm, we wandered over to Fred's Mexican Restaurant down the street and settled in on their deck, by the beach, and partook in giant 20 ounce margaritas, chips and salsa, and a la carte tacos (mahi mahi, mmhmm).

Lee took a few pictures of me that night and they are funny to compare to the end of that trip-- I'm all dark circles and pale skin, and you can see the remnants of the stress zit on my chin that I grew the day before the wedding. It was though, the perfect first night in Maui.

One week later, Tuesday was going to be our last night in Maui. We had an overnight flight the next day, and had to be at the airport by 2 pm to catch our connection to Honolulu. So once again, we went to Taco Tuesday, and it was the perfect book end to our trip. We were there a little later that day, so we were able to catch the sunset. We made friends with our waiter, who used to live in New York (until he met a girl when they were both working at the Hooters in midtown and they moved back to Maui). I was suddenly a little tan, my skin was clear, and I was more relaxed than I had been in about a year.

So when we got home from Maui, we instituted Taco Tuesday at home. It isn't always tacos, but I think I can saw with certainty, it is always something with beans and always has a Mexican flare. And for that matter, it isn't always Tuesday (though we still call it Taco Tuesday, even if it falls on a Wednesday). Sarah was right in her post-- there is something so simple, and so fresh, about Mexican food, and the flavors are so lively that it is something you can definitely look forward to and can make a mundane Tuesday something a little more festive.

One of our standbys are these incredibly unattractive black bean quesadillas-- we cook the black beans down and let them thicken up with spices, then layer them on corn tortillas with pepperjack cheese. I learned this method of cooking quesadillas from an episode of America's Test Kitchen-- spray each side with olive oil and then add a few shakes of sea salt. The crispy, salty shell is then absolutely perfect.

This one was a bit of an oddball but it still fit the bill. This past Tuesday was 90 degrees here in New York and I couldn't handle spending much quality time with a steaming hot cast iron skillet. So instead I cooked up some quinoa, chilled it down using cold water, and then added a diced mango, rinsed black beans, and feta, all doused in a lime honey dressing. Ole was that good.

Black Bean Quesadillas

1 15 oz. can of black beans

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp oregano

hot sauce to taste

salt to taste

8 corn tortillas

pepperjack cheese, or your preferred melting cheese

Drain off most of the liquid in your can of black beans. Add to a small saucepan over medium heat. Splash in hot sauce to taste, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook until warm, and then mash some of the beans to thicken (I usually just use the back of my wooden spoon and do it directly in the pot). Remove from heat. They will continue to thicken as they cool.

Spread out four corn tortillas and sprinkle with however much pepperjack cheese you would like (I have a heavy hand). Spoon a few tablespoons of beans on the cheese. Take another tortilla and top. Repeat with the remaining three quesadillas.

Heat a non stick or cast iron skillet on medium heat. Spray the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt. Place in the skillet salt side down (I usually only make one at a time to let it get extra brown and crispy). Olive oil and salt the side that is facing up so it will be ready to be flipped.

Flip when the first side is brown and toasty and cook the other side until that one too is how you like it.

Serve with salsa and a squeeze of lime.

Quinoa Mango Black Bean Salad

1 c. uncooked quinoa (we used red because we had it, but any color)

1 medium ripe mango

1 15 oz. can black beans

4 ounces feta

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp honey

1/4 c. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the quinoa well in a fine mesh strainer to get rid of the bitter coating. Bring 2 c. of water to a boil and add quinoa. Cook until tender and the little quinoa tails come out (you'll know it when it happens), about 10 to 12 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, mix together your dressing. In a small container, add the juice of the lime, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper. Put a lid on the container and shake. Taste, and adjust seasonings as needed (we needed a smidge more honey, for example).

Peel your mango and cut pieces off of the core. I make small, 1/2 inch thick slices from the outside in until I hit the pit and that seems to work best for me. Cut in to bite size pieces.

Drain and rinse black beans. Set aside.

When the quinoa is done, drain off any excess water and put the quinoa in a large bowl. Add beans and mango and toss to combine. Add the lime dressing and stir until coated. Add feta and stir gently. Serve, with a squeeze of lime.

Maple Glazed Walnuts

Did anyone else lose their cooking mojo this month?

I did. I apologize.

I think it had to do with the lingering winter. When it snowed in early April, okay, I survived. But April never really threw us a nice day until this last week. Winter was hard this year, for everyone. The news told us it was the worst winter in decades, financially, economically, etc. And it put us all in a funk. So just as we looked to the New Year as a reprieve, the inauguration as a sign of hope (seriously, don't you just love our president?!), we were waiting for spring to bring us some sign of hope.

But, spring, you took your time. And now you are kicking ass. 86 tomorrow? I am ready to debut my bare, albeit super pale, legs.

So the last month was sparse when it came to food. We stuck to old favorites, chana punjabi, pastas with vodka sauce, tofu doused in hot sauce, pizza, take out chinese. I got adventurous on Wednesday and decided to make an ancho chili soup I had seen in the Village Voice and was so disappointed that Thursday's dinner was compiled entirely from the Whole Foods salad bar (okay, I did actually plan to cook something, but when I saw that giant vat of pepperjack mac and cheese, the game was over). But over the last month, these walnuts really got us through.

Walnuts have never been the most thrilling nut-- I always find them slightly chalky, and almost watery, and I can tolerate them in cookies and granola but I'm not eating them by the handful. But these walnuts disappear as quickly as I make them. The sweet coating, the crunch from the dry roasting, the flaky salt makes them a far more glamourous cousin to the raw walnut.

Maple Glazed Walnuts

2 cups raw walnuts

1/3 cup maple syrup

Kosher or other flake salt

In a dry skillet, pour in your walnuts. Add the maple syrup and turn on medium heat. Cook, shaking and stirring every so often, until the syrup is coating the walnuts (and you don't see any sitting in the pan) and the walnuts have darkened in color. Add salt (I prefer Kosher) to taste. Try not to eat all two cups before they have even left the pan.

Let cool before sealing in container. I'm not really sure how long these keep since there have never been any left beyond three days in my house.

Eat plain by the handful, with yogurt, with fruit, on top of a salad...

Baguettes

I've been on a bread kick.



I think it is the impending warm weather. I am desperate for spring. I can taste it in the air, but we are still struggling with frigid mornings and wool coats when all I want in the world is ballet flats and light sweaters. It is coming though; I know spring is coming and I'm ready.

But with spring comes 70, 80 degrees days right after it. And during that time, my kitchen is a freaking sauna. No matter what we do, we roast in there. On particularly hot days, we eat frozen grapes or chinese take out on our bed, which is directly in front of the air conditioning unit there. During the summer, bread baking is the last thing I want to do.

So at some point this week, I stumbled on a discussion of baking baguettes on Serious Eats. Someone linked to the King Arthur recipe for French style baguettes and I immediately bookmarked it, and immediately began racing the clock to make it. I didn't have to wait long. My working from home days are perfect for bread baking. Minimal time away from the computer required, and plenty of time for those long periods of rest.

So I began the starter last night, and found myself running the KitchenAid at 8 am this morning to bring together the dough. After a three hour rest, I began shaping the loaves and they were in the oven an hour later.

Now, I have been to Paris and I have had a good baguette, but I will admit it has been a while. So can I say these are perfect, Parisian specimens? No. But the crust crackled while I pried it off the baking sheet and as I smeared butter on a piece and ate it, still warm (and still burning my fingers a little), I was in love. This is a great recipe, so easy, but the taste is outstanding. The crust resists and then shatters as you bite down on it. It was one of those little cooking miracles-- I can make this in my tiny apartment kitchen? Isn't that kind of amazing?

And you can too!




Baguettes



Recipe here, along with step by step photos.

Starter
1/2 cup cool water
1/16 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
1 cup Unbleached Bread Flour




Dough
1 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
1 cup to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
all of the starter
3 1/2 cups Unbleached Bread Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
*Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.





1) Make the starter by mixing the yeast with the water (no need to do this if you're using instant yeast), then mixing in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours; overnight works well. The starter should have risen and become bubbly. If it hasn't, your yeast may not be working. Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in 1 tablespoon lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar, and wait 15 minutes. If nothing happens, replace your yeast, and begin the starter process again.


2) If you're using active dry yeast, mix it with the water, then combine with the starter, flour, and salt. If you're using instant yeast, there's no need to combine it with the water first. Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you've made a soft, somewhat smooth dough; it should be cohesive, but the surface may still be a bit rough. Knead for about 5 minutes on speed 2 of a stand mixer







3) Place the dough in a lightly greased medium-size bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over after 1 hour, and then again after 2 hours.







4) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into three equal pieces.







5) Shape each piece into a rough, slightly flattened oval, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.







6) Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold the dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten it slightly, and fold and seal again.







7) With the seam-side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough into a 15" log. Place the logs seam-side down onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan or pans.*







8) Cover them with a cover or lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaves to rise till they've become very puffy, about 1 1/2 hours.9) Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450°F; if you're using a baking stone, place it on the lowest rack.







10) Using a very sharp knife held at about a 45° angle, make three 8" vertical slashes in each baguette. Spritz the baguettes heavily with warm water; this will help them develop a crackly-crisp crust.







11) Bake the baguettes until they're a very deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack. Or, for the very crispiest baguettes, turn off the oven, crack it open about 2", and allow the baguettes to cool in the oven.Yield: Three 16" baguettes.

Black Eyed Peas in Goan Curry

I actually made this about a month ago and love love loved it. And then, as you guessed it, instantly forgot about it. But now that I have revisited the picture I have no idea how that happened. This was delightful. The coconut milk based curry, the creamy black eyed peas, the sharp tangy cabbage salad.

I have to say though, mostly I saw this picture and remembered how long that head of cabbage lasted. We used it as a topping for many a fish taco and many a sharp side salad before we finally finished it, and I finally understood how cabbage is always a popular pick for economical produce shopping.

I digress, but I had frozen a quart of black eyed peas from New Year's Day, when I had made the hoppin' john, and I plucked them out one week, determined to use them. I had had this recipe bookmarked from Smitten Kitchen forever, and I was thrilled to finally be able to try it. the peas were fantastic-- the sharpness of lemon cut the richness of the coconut milk and it was a perfect curry. I'm looking forward to making it again, and also maybe modifying the base curry to other vegetables, beans, lentils etc. I think this is a very versatile base--

Black-Eyed Peas in a Spicy Goan Curry

Adapted from Ruta Kahate via SFGate.com, 6/8/07

Adapted from there from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 4 to 6
1 cup dried black-eyed peas or two 15-ounce cans, drained
2 tablespoons, canola oil
1 small yellow onion, minced (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, finely ground
1/2 teaspoon finely grated garlic (about 1 large clove)
1/2 teaspoon finely grated ginger (about a 1-inch piece)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, finely ground
1/4 cup minced tomato (1 small tomato)
2 cups (or 1 cup if using canned peas) hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste if using canned peas
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup canned coconut milk
2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice

If using dried black-eyed peas, rinse and soak them in enough water to cover for 6 to 8 hours. Drain.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat and saute the onion until it turns dark brown, about 8 minutes. Add the coriander, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne and cumin, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir over low heat until it disintegrates.

Add the peas and mix well. Pour in the hot water, if using, add the salt and sugar, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are cooked through, about 20 minutes. If using canned peas, simmer for only 10 minutes (it is essential to simmer the canned peas, too, so that all the flavors blend better). Stir in the coconut milk and simmer uncovered for another 8 to 10 minutes, again allowing the flavors to come together.

Add the cilantro and lemon juice, simmer for 1 minute more, and remove from heat. Serve hot.

Mustard Potatoes

I think everyone has that item in their pantry or fridge that just seems to grow exponentially and you’re not sure how. For us, it is vinegars and mustard. The mustard situation is pretty much out of control. We have spicy brown, Dijon, whole grain, Dijon from Trader Joe’s when we heard it was the best one, and tons of mini bottles of Dijon that we seem to come home with every time Lee’s parents stay at a hotel near us. So basically, we’re stupid with mustard.

And I have never met a better partner for whole grain mustard then these salty, tangy, lemony potatoes.

I have waxed ecstatic about the poached egg before, but the poached egg over mustard potatoes is a whole new category. Mustard potatoes on the side of fish, beef. Mustard potatoes will be an impressive side dish for your holiday dinner. Mustard potatoes can be eaten cold from the fridge, dipped in more mustard if you are so inclined. Mustard potatoes think you are pretty and wrote your name in the sand. Mustard potatoes cleaned your kitchen for you.

You catch my drift, yes? Make these. Oh, and make the full amount because you will want the leftovers on the side of your lunchtime grilled cheese, and for every other occasion you can think of.



Mustard-Roasted Potatoes
From SmittenKitchen.com

Adapted from Gourmet, December 2007
Makes 10 servings


Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick or 1/2 ounce) butter, melted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

3 pounds 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter mixed unpeeled red-skinned and white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges


Position 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray.



Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, lemon peel, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add potatoes; sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat.



Divide potatoes between prepared baking sheets, leaving any excess mustard mixture behind in bowl. Spread potatoes in single layer. Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and roast until potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes longer. Transfer potatoes to serving bowl

Wheat Thins

In part two of sweep the freezer while there is a blizzard outside, aka, what can I do with half a cup of wheat bran?, I came across these crackers in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I've made crackers before, but I tend to get lazy and not roll them out thin enough, so they come out sort of dense and they seem stale very quickly. These avoided that fate pretty well.

These aren't the wheat thins you think of when you pick up the Nabisco box at the grocery store. These are similarly nutty and sweet, with salt flecks on top and are perfect with my three favorite cracker toppings: cheddar cheese, hummus, and peanut butter spooned out of the jar and smeared on crackers while standing up because you can't wait until dinner but you want to. The cutting in of the butter is a little fussy for crackers, more in line with a homemade pie crust, but if you have a food processor, I would recommend, processing all of the dry ingredients, whizzing it again to cut in the butter, and then pulsing it while adding water until a dough is formed.

Wheat Thins

Adapted from Deborah Madison

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. wheat bran

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick (1/2 c.) butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, bran, and salt. Cut the cold butter in to smaller pieces and add to the flour mixture, cutting in the butter with a pastry cutter, two butter knives, or your hands (or see above for food processor instructions) until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in 5 tablespoons of ice water until the dough clings together when combined (use your hands-- it will feel like a pie dough, a little tacky but not wet). Flour a surface, and your rolling pin, and roll out as thin as you can manage. Transfer to a cookie sheet. Prick the crackers all over with a fork, and sprinkle the surface of the crackers with salt. Cut the crackers with a pizza cutter in to any shape desired.

Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes (though it took longer in my oven). Let cool briefly and serve. Store in an airtight container or freeze.

Cranberry Shortcake

I love having a super stocked freezer, and I love daydreaming about having a box freezer one day, where I don’t need to worry about quarts of frozen soup and bags of blueberries from last June falling on to my feet. But because I live in an apartment and have the top half freezer, and I insist on keeping my ice cream maker in there in case of ice cream emergency, well, space is at a premium. On occasion, we have to do a sweep of the freezer and start eating. Like when a package arrives from my mother-in-law with fifteen boxes of girl scout cookies and some of those will have to fit in the freezer.

With yesterday’s snow day from work (I, no lie, hopped up and down when I heard the prerecorded message on my office’s weather hotline), I did some freezer sweeping and decided I would use up the 6 ounces of frozen cranberries I had in residence, along with the half a cup of bran flakes (though, not in the same recipe). I’m not a huge fan of layer cakes, I think the frosting does me in, but I am a huge fan of coffee cakes. The thick crumble on the top, the hidden layers of fruit, the moistness of the cake… so I decided to make a cranberry vanilla coffee cake I had spied on Smitten Kitchen, courtesy of Gourmet.

It was a terribly easy recipe that went incredibly wrong for me, and then did a full 360 and came out so right…

I made the vanilla sugar by processing sugar and the scrapings from half a vanilla bean, and set it aside to dish out throughout the recipe. I processed cranberries (defrosted) and vanilla sugar. I creamed butter and vanilla sugar. I went to the fridge to get eggs and returned with milk (please note: foreshadowing) and added milk and the flour mixture in alternating batches. I layered the cake batter and cranberry mixture in a 9 inch cake pan, and then read the instructions for the crumble topping: Combine the remaining ¼ c. of vanilla sugar with 1 tablespoon of butter… huh? I have way more than a quarter cup left… uh oh.

I only added half a cup of sugar to the butter instead of a full cup.

But that’s okay, I decided. I would add a little extra sugar to the crumbly topping and it will come out fine. So in the oven it went.

About halfway through the baking time, I had a sudden thought. Why weren’t there any eggs in that recipe? Then I remembered—there were two eggs. I had just completely forgotten to add them. I had gone to the fridge for them, but instead returned with the milk.

The cake came out of the oven and it looked delicious, but I figured it was bound for the trash as soon as it cooled. But at the last minute, I cut a little sliver, and know what? It was delicious. It was not a coffee cake—the texture was that of shortcake biscuits, kind of like a scone. But it worked against the vanilla sweetness of the topping and the tart sweet cranberry filling.

I would like to make this again the way the recipe intended, but my husband has already asked me to always forget the eggs and extra sugar. So, this isn’t a coffee cake recipe I’m providing, but a cranberry shortcake recipe. If you would like to make the coffee cake version, follow this recipe instead.

Cranberry Vanilla Shortcake

Adapted from Gourmet, December 2008

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (6 ounces)

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick plus 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, divided

1/2 cup whole milk

Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Generously butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan.

Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a food processor with tip of a paring knife. Add sugar and pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl.

Pulse cranberries with 1/2 cup vanilla sugar in processor until finely chopped.

Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together 1 stick butter and 1/2 cup vanilla sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour, until just combined.

Spread half of batter in pan, then spoon cranberries over it, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Spoon small bits of the remaining batter over the top of the cranberries and smooth them with as gentle of a hand as possible.

Blend remaining vanilla sugar with 2 tablespoon of butter and 1 Tbs flour using your fingertips. Crumble over top of cake.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted into cake (not into cranberry filling) comes out clean and side begins to pull away from pan (begin checking after 30 minutes). Cool in pan 30 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely, crumb side up.

This stayed fresh for about three days at room temperature, tightly wrapped. I can't vouch for anything beyond that because we ate it all in three days.