Jacob’s Ukrainian Borscht

May 16, 2009

Ukrainian Borscht, a.k.a. beet soup. Doesn’t sound too enticing, does it? My brother recently returned from Ukraine, excited to teach me this authentic recipe. I have to say I am impressed at what living in a foreign country will do to a teenage boy. He now loves vegetables! And I paraphrase: “I’ll eat any vegetable, they’re soooo good!” I think he actually mentioned that he’d eat anything. It’s shocking.
Since I’m the adventurous “foodie” of the family, I couldn’t be outdone by my little brother’s no-longer-picky palate. If he wanted to cook beet soup (he actually missed it!), I would oblige. He came to stay with us for a few days and that’s when our borscht making began. He guided me through the grocery store, picking out the perfect beets and cabbage. Then, following his careful instructions, I scrubbed and chopped, stirred and sauteed, boiled and simmered this bright concoction.
And you know what? It’s down right delicious. And extremely healthy. Who knew. I was even coerced into trying some shredded raw beets. Not bad at all. Tasted like a carrot to me. I liked it. Further proof that pickyness stems partly from ignorance and mostly from fear.
There are NO tomatoes in this soup. The beets turn everything a brilliant red. The potatoes, the chicken, the cabbage, all take on their vibrant hue. My brother insisted that it be served with a large dollop of creamy-as-you-can-get sour cream. Stir it in and your borscht turns a lovely pink color. But I thought it was plenty good without.
This recipe is not exact. Really you just throw odd amounts of your ingredients together in a pot (a very large one) and cook it till it’s done (or leave it on the stove all day). I estimated the amounts we used for ease of repeating the procedure. I think using skin and bone-on chicken (which you would remove and shred later) would impart even more flavor to the broth (especially if you don’t have a rich stock). Serve it with a crusty loaf of bread for soaking up the tidbits.
INGREDIENTS
1-2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
8 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup butter
2 large beets, shredded
4 carrots, shredded
1/2-1 head of green cabbage, shredded
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 lbs. potatoes, cubed
large handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/2-1 tsp. dried dill, to taste
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
sour cream
DIRECTIONS
1. In a very large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and saute for several minutes. Add garlic, beets, carrots, and cabbage. Cook until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Bring chicken stock to a boil, adding the bay leaf. Add potatoes and chicken and reduce to a simmer. Partway through cooking add the cooked vegetables. Continue to simmer on low for 20-30 minutes (until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is done) or up to several hours. Stir in dill and fresh parsley (saving a small amount for garnish). Season with salt and pepper.
3. Serve with a large dollop of sour cream and garnish with fresh parsley.
Makes a very large pot.
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Nanaimo Bars

May 15, 2009

Nanaimo Bars are a Canadian dessert. My mom comes from Alberta, Canada and that makes me half Canadian (well 1/4 if you want to get technical- she has dual citizenship)! My husband likes to poke fun at the strange phrases my north-of-the-border relatives say and blames all my quirks on my Canadian roots. Being from different coasts (Dustin is an Oregon native and I was raised mostly East), we sometimes see each other as foreigners. Now he’s living on the East Coast and learning where my “weirdness” really comes from.

My mom has been living in the United States since college and misses some of the foods she grew up with. Whenever she visits home she returns with suitcases full of Canadian food treasures: DARE cookies, black licorice pipes and cigars, Smarties, and Shreddies (best cereal EVER!). I wanted to bake her a Mother’s Day dessert that would take her home. She was thrilled when she found out I was making nanaimo bars, and now I know why- they are divine!

Why hasn’t our country adopted this delish dessert? It’s a shame. We’re missing out. Be aware that custard powder is hard to find in the states. I bought an imported jar at World Market. (None of the local grocers carry it.) Custard powder is essential for the authentic flavor of these bars. As you can see, they are dense, thick, and extremely rich. I’ll have another!

INGREDIENTS
Base:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Filling:
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
3 Tbsp. custard powder
1/4 cup milk
3 cups powdered sugar

Topping:
4 z. semisweet chocolate
1Tbsp. butter

DIRECTIONS
Base:
1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan.

2. Stir in the sugar and cocoa powder until smooth.

3. Whisk in the egg and vanilla extract and remove from heat.

4. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, coconut and walnuts.

5. Press into a greased 8 inch square pan and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Filling:
1. Cream the butter.

2. Beat in the custard powder and milk.

3. Beat in the sugar slowly.

4. Spread over the the base layer and chill in the fridge until it sets.

Topping:
1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a pan and stir until smooth.

2. Spread over the filling layer and chill in a fridge until the chocolate begins to harden.

3. Score the chocolate where you will cut it into bars and chill in the fridge.

4. Before the chocolate hardens, cut into bars. (Use an hot knife and wipe clean after each cut.)

Makes 1 8×8 pan.

(Adapted from Closet Cooking)

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Potato Crescent Rolls

May 14, 2009

This was one of the first recipes I discovered when I began cooking. It is probably my favorite find on All Recipes. I’ve made these rolls countless times- for my family, for guests, and sometimes all for myself. I’ll never tire of sinking my teeth into their smooth pillow-like curves, and I love unraveling their layers till I reach the soft, moist center.

They also travel well through open car windows at high speeds. Let’s just say I got hungry on the road and the other car (big family) had the stash of potato rolls. One cell phone call later Dad was maneuvering through freeway traffic in a Bond-like manner to toss a bun through my window. Thank goodness we didn’t lose any to the pavement, although our cars came dangerously close to colliding. But oh, it was worth it!

When I make these potato rolls I always use at least half whole wheat flour, which I like to pretend offsets some of the richness of the butter. They might not be super low-cal, but they are everything a tempting dinner roll should be.

INGREDIENTS
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups mashed)
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1 1/2 cups warm water (leftover cooking water from boiling the potatoes works best)
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup butter

2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups white whole wheat flour
3 -3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
1. Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain (reserving the cooking water), cool, and mash.


2. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cups of the warm potato cooking water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

3. When yeast is ready, mix in 2 cups mashed potatoes, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and 3 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough has become stiff but still pliable.


4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for several hours until doubled, or refrigerate for 8 hours and up to several days.

5. Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and form into rounds. Roll out each round to a large circle. Brush generously with melted butter, and cut each circle into 12-16 wedges. Roll wedges up tightly, starting with the large end. Place on lightly greased baking sheets with the points underneath, and the ends bent to form a crescent shape. Cover, and let rise for 1 hour.

6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 2-3 dozen rolls.

(Adapted from All Recipes)

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Spinach, Pear, and Walnut Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

March 21, 2009

I’ve been eyeing the bottles of POM juice at the grocery for some time now, trying to figure out what use I could put that much pomegranate juice to (besides just drinking it of course). Pure pomegranate juice is expensive and I didn’t want to have any excuse to waste it. On our trip to the Outer Banks last week we had lunch at a little gourmet deli where I ordered a spinach salad and pomegranate blueberry vinaigrette. After one bite I knew I had to create my own! While I found the vinaigrette recipe on a web search (at Oprah.com of all places), I put together my own ingredients for the salad base. Baby spinach, semi-firm pears, tart dried cranberries, crumbled feta cheese, and crunchy walnuts combine beautifully together. The bright ruby pomegranate vinaigrette is aromatic, sweet, and my favorite dressing yet! I’ve had this salad every day now since I first made it. I can’t stop eating it. I can’t stop thinking about eating it. Thank goodness there is some left from dinner last night…lunch can’t come soon enough! Because I’ve still barely made a dent in the bottle of POM sitting cheerily on the top shelf of my fridge, there will be more pomegranate recipes to come. I’ll probably experiment with a few more dressings as well. Until then, happy POM dreams!

INGREDIENTS
6 oz. baby spinach
2 ripe (but still firm) Bartlett pears, thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. pomegranate juice
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Divide spinach among 4 serving bowls. Top with pears, walnuts, feta, and cranberries.

2. To make the vinaigrette combine pomegranate juice, vinegar, honey in a small bowl. While whisking, drizzle in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTE: DO NOT use a food processor to make this dressing. It will completely change the color and texture of the dressing- it just doesn’t work!

3. Serve salad drizzled with vinaigrette, or on the side.

Serves 4.

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White Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Cookies

March 20, 2009

These cookies hit the spot when you’re craving something sweet but are bored of plain chocolate chip. They are notoriously soft and chewy and chocolaty! I’ve haven’t tried this yet, but I often read about bakers who freeze cookie dough in little balls and then pop them onto the pan and into the oven when they are wanting homemade cookies. (Because they are frozen, you will have to increase the baking time.) I think next time I make a batch (should work for just about any cookie) I’ll freeze half of it for future use. Talk about convenience! You’ll want to flash freeze them separately on a sheet pan for an hour or so before throwing them in a bag together. This prevents them from sticking to each other and becoming one frozen solid mass. If anyone tries this let us know how it goes.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups white chocolate chunks

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Add the vanilla. Combine the cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt and gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in white chocolate chunks. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffy but still soft. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

(Adapted from All Recipes)
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