Guajillo Marinated Chicken with Guajillo Tamarind Glaze

| Julie Yates

In the photo above, I’m caught contemplating the pulpo (octopus) sizzling on its own little grill. Here at home, a local restaurant serves it much the same way – soaked in a delectable sauce and then grilled – but with an amazing and tangy guajillo tamarind glaze. So, I started Googling around for recipes. Since I’m not wary of eating pulpo, but not brave enough yet to go through the steps to extract all its slimy liquid before cooking it – I opted for chicken. Everything actually tastes like chicken anyway – right? Well, maybe not in this case since pulpo is very delicious, but chicken is a great substitute.

I was heavily influenced by marinade and glaze recipes I found online, but tweaked them to suit my taste. I found the guajillo chilies at Whole Foods and Walmart, but they can also be ordered from Amazon. They are so mild! Asian, Middle Eastern and Mexican groceries carry the tamarind paste, but that can be gotten online as well. 

If anyone out there has experience cooking pulpo, please email me at yatesyummies@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!

 

Guajillo Marinated Chicken with Guajillo Tamarind Glaze

Ingredients for marinated chicken:

4 to 6 chicken breasts or various pieces

5 Guajillo chilies

2 chilies and 2 tablespoons sauce from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 vegetable oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

Directions:

Place the chilies in a bowl and pour enough boiling water over them to cover. Put a plate or saucer on top of them to keep them submerged. Let them soak for 20 minutes to soften them.

Drain the chilies, take their stems off and place them in a blender with all the other ingredients. Process until all ingredients are pureed together.

Pour over chicken pieces and allow them to marinate in refrigerator for a couple hours.

Remove chicken from marinade, allowing a coating to remain on chicken. Grill over medium heat until internal temperature is 160 degrees Fahrenheit. When cut into, no pink should show and juices run clear. 

 

Guajillo Tamarind Glaze – yields around 1 1/2 cups 

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic

drizzle of vegetable oil

5 guajillio chilies

1 cup water

1/2 cup tamarind paste

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup lime juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the top of the head of garlic, drizzle it with a bit of oil and wrap it up in foil. Bake the garlic for 45 minutes.

Squeeze the garlic pulp into a pan, discarding the skin. Add all the other ingredients. Cook over medium heat while stirring often to prevent bottom of pan burning, until it comes to a boil. Take off the heat and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor and puree.

Put the mixture through a fine mess strainer to get rid of the seeds as you transfer the glaze into a squeeze bottle or container.

To serve, plate the grilled chicken and use the glaze to garnish as you wish. A “smear” is always nice!

 

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Mediterranean Meatballs with Baba Ganoush and Tomato-y Harissa Sauce

| Julie Yates

I sure wish this photo looked as good as these meatballs taste! They are delicious made with ground beef or chicken, but are fabulous if it’s possible to get a hold of some lamb. While Jenn was staying with us during the COVID shutdown, she and I had a wonderful time cooking up all kinds of fun things. She came up with the idea of combining baba ganoush and harissa sauce to complement the meatballs. Truly an inspiration!

The baba ganoush is a cheat. The eggplant is roasted in the oven, not the grill, so if you are craving more of a smoky taste – add some smoked paprika.

According to you spiciness tolerance, adjust the amounts of tomato paste and harissa in the tomato-y sauce.

This would be great as part of a small plate type of spread or individual meatball appetizers besides being a really yummy main dish.

Mediterranean-ish Meatballs – Yields about 12 Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef, chicken or lamb

2 good sized green onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely minced or put through a press

2 tablespoons green za’atar (I use Ziyad brand because I can get it at the Mediterranean grocery by my house or here on Amazon)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon cumin

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix.

Cover a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.

Shape the meat mixture into walnut sized balls.

Bake for 15 minutes. Meatballs should be lightly browned and when one is sliced in half, it should be cooked through out.

Serve with baba ganoush and tomato-y harissa sauce, recipes below.

Baba Ganoush – Makes About Two Cups

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons tahini

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced or put through a press

If desired, something to sprinkle on top such as sumac, za’atar or parsley

Since this is baked, not grilled, add 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika if a smoky taste is desired.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and spray with a little non-stick cooking oil or wipe the surface with a bit of olive oil.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the skin collapses inward when its pressed.

Let the eggplant cool for a few minutes, scrap out the flesh into a colander. Place the colander over a bowl. Smoosh it down and let it sit for 5 to 7 minutes. Discard the water in the bowl. Place the eggplant in a food processor. Add the lemon juice, tahini, salt and cumin.

Turn on food processor and slowly add the olive oil. Turn off processor, put the mixture in a bowl and stir in the garlic.

Garnish with smoked paprika, sumac, za’atar or parsley.

Tomato-y Harissa Sauce – Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste – adjust with regard to how spicy the harissa is, according to personal preference.

1 to 2 tablespoons harissa – according to the amount of spice desired – I love it when I can get harissa from the Middle Eastern grocery store but most of the time I use Mina brand from Whole Foods or Amazon

4 garlic cloves, finely minced or put through a press

3 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Place all ingredients in bowl and stir until well combined. Heat on stove or zap in the microwave until hot.

This is very good on roasted or grilled vegetables as well as the meatballs above.

I’d love to keep in touch – let me know if you try this!

 

                            

 

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A City Girl Makes Biscuits

| Julie Yates

I’m not a country girl and I’m not from the south either. My mom never made biscuits from scratch, so my only biscuit experience was popping the dough out of a cardboard tube. I figured it was time I jumped on the biscuit craze and learned to make my own.

After two years of experimenting, I maybe have come up with a recipe for a flaky, buttery biscuit.

I tried using biscuit cutters, rolling pins, shredding frozen butter with a cheese cutter (disaster) and different kinds of flour.  In the end, I found that keeping the ingredients very cold and handling the dough very little was the way to go. I borrowed a technique from Bon Appetit magazine that involves stacking the dough, leveling it and cutting it into squares.

These biscuits freeze well and are easy to warm up when wrapped in aluminum foil and put into a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes or so. Besides eating them with butter, jam or honey, they make a great base for strawberry short cake.

I’d love to hear your biscuit making experiences; email me at yatesyummies@gmail.com

Ingredients for 12 Biscuits:

3 1/2 cups self-rising flour (Or sub for 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon plus 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt)

1 cups salted butter (2 sticks), plus more to melt and brush on unbaked biscuits

1 cup buttermilk (sub 1 cup milk and 1 tablespoon vinegar or 1 tablespoon lemon juice)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

 

Directions:

Measure out the flour into a bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Cut the sticks of butter lengthwise and then cut each piece lengthwise again. Put butter pieces into a bowl and put in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Measure out the buttermilk and put back into the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Get the food processor ready to go, and place the self-rising flour, baking soda and salt in the food processor bowl.

Add the chilled butter pieces.

Pulse about 25 times, until the butter in the mixture looks like small peas.

Transfer flour and butter mixture into a large bowl. Add the buttermilk and gently stir it in, using a fork.

When it looks like a shaggy dog, it’s ready. Most of the flour will be incorporated into the blob or dough, but not a 100% of it.

Flour the surface that you will be working on.

Dump the dough out of the bowl and on to the surface. With cool hands, quickly mound it up and turn it over on itself a few times.

Shape it into a 1 inch high rectangle/square.

Cut the dough square into fourths.

Pile the four planks on top of one another.

Push them own to form another 1 inch high square.

Cut the dough block into 12 squares.

Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Brush the top of each unbaked biscuit with melted butter.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Both the tops and the bottoms will be golden brown.

Enjoy hot with plenty of butter, jam and honey.

And just for fun…

                            

Neapolitan-ish Pizza

| Julie Yates

This is a true story! I’ve been making Neapolitan style pizza dough in a food processor (I don’t have a Kitchenaid) and it bakes up with a puffy, crunchy crust outside and light, pillowy and chewy on the inside- everything I’ve hoped for!

Making a decent pizza crust is something I’ve struggled with for years. I followed recipes only to produce dough that sat like a rock in my stomach. For a while I went through a whole wheat period which resulted in something resembling cardboard.

Then last September, while in Syracuse, New York,  I took a pizza making class with John Vigliotti, who owns a couple of restaurants. Peppino’s on Grant Boulevard serves typical New York style pizza, but the other in Armory Square focuses on Neapolitan style pizzas.

So what’s the difference between the two types of Pizzas? According to Vigliotti, who won 2nd place at the 2016 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, Neapolitan Pizza was the original deal. Made with only low gluten European flour, yeast, salt and water, it is highly digestible and has only a few, very fresh toppings. New York style pizza has a crust that can hold up to thick, spiced tomato sauce and a lot of cheese. It was designed to be eaten by the slice and carried around.

I’m sharing Vigliotti’s recipe for the home cook below. Since regular ovens only get up to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit- not the 900 to 1000 of a wood fired pizza oven- this recipe includes oil to achieve a crispy yet soft and airy crust. However, the real keys are using Caputo 00 flour (which I ordered on Amazon), making the dough a couple days before you use it, and letting the dough and toppings come up to room temperature before you assemble a pizza and bake it.

 

Ingredients for four 10 inch pizzas:

4 1/2 cups Caputo 00 flour

1 1/4 cups of cold water (warm water if the dough will be used that day)

1/2 cup of warm water (between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 fine sea salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

 

Directions:

Place the warm water in the bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it.  Give it a whisk and set it aside.

Attach the dough blade and pour the cold water into the food processor bowl.

Mix the flour and sugar together. Add to the water.

Turn the food processor on, wait 30 seconds and then pour in the yeast-water.

After the mixture comes together, with the food processor still running, add the salt.

Then slowly pour in the olive oil.

Continue running the food processor for 2 to 3 minutes. The dough will clear the sides of the bowl and look smooth. If it doesn’t clear sides of the bowl, sprinkle just a bit of flour in until it does.

Remove dough from food processor bowl and place on floured cutting board. Divide the dough into into fourths. I actually used a serrated knife to cut the big ball into four parts.  Pull each fourth down to create a firm ball and twist it closed on the bottom. (If dough seems too sticky, dust with just a sprinkle of flour.) Place in an oiled bowl. Cover with a piece of saran wrap and tightly seal the bowl with a tightly sealed lid or wrap it twice in saran wrap.

If using that day, allow the dough to rest 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. Or it can be kept in refrigerator up to 48 hours.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator a couple hours before making the pizzas.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit or as high as it can go. (I used my convection oven and set it to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Place either a pizza stone or an upside down baking sheet in the oven while it is preheating. I used two pizza stones, one on the left side of the bottom oven rack and one on the right side of the top oven rack.

On another upside down baking sheet, place a piece of parchment paper that is slightly larger than a 10 inch pizza.

Working with one ball at a time, use hands to stretch dough into an oval shape by turning it round and round circularly until it is 1/4 inch thick. It will be thicker around the ages. Vigliotti said, “Let gravity stretch the dough as you hold it in the air and turn it around and around along the side crust. ‘Rolling’ with your fingers leaves a sort of air pocket along the sides of the resulting stretched out crust.”

Place the flattened dough on the piece of parchment paper atop the upside down baking sheet. Brush the outside edges of the dough with olive oil.

Above are some toppings and below are some suggestions.  Anything goes: figs, Italian cured meats, etc. I’ve even had Neapolitan pizza finished with honey and hot paper flakes, But remember, less is more to avoid a soggy pizza. After putting the toppings on, use the upside down baking sheet as a transportation vehicle, and slide each pizza onto the top of a pizza stone or upside down sheet pan, parchment paper and all.

Bake 5 to 6 minutes until crust begins to brown. Then switch places in the oven, pulling out the parchment paper from underneath. Continue to bake another 4 to 5 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Remove from oven, slice and enjoy.

 

Margherita Pizza:

Crush San Marzano canned whole tomatoes, add 1 teaspoon sea salt per large can and spread on pizza.

Place slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese and fresh basil on top of tomatoes.

Bake according the the directions above.

 

Mushroom and Greens Pizza:

Brush surface of pizza with a bit of olive oil.

Put two cloves of garlic through a press and spread on top.

Sprinkle enough shredded mozzarella cheese to cover.

Add a few sliced mushrooms.

Bake according to directions above.

After removing from oven, put 1/2 cup arugula over the top.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt or some good finishing salt like truffle salt.

 

The first time I tried baking this pizza dough, we had friends over for dinner. I shamelessly kept going on and on about how I loved the crust! While I was in love with the pizza, my guests raved about the salad. It was just greens dressed in a basic vinaigrette and things I got from the olive bar at our local grocery store such as marinated artichokes and roasted tomatoes.  If anyone out there tries this pizza, I’d love to hear how your experience went. Feel free to email me at yatesyummies@gmail.com .

                           

 

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Beans and Lentils over Cornbread with Spicy Gremolata Sauce

| Julie Yates

Last weekend Jennifer flew home from Southern California where it’s always in the 70s and sunny. Here in the Midwest, it had just begun to be on the cooler side of fall and the temperatures were hovering in the low 50s. She had come for a wedding but I was thrilled that her Friday was free and we could spend the whole day together. We started out by riding bikes on the Monon Trail through Carmel – in Indiana, it’s pronounced like the candy! We definitely weren’t dressed warm enough; although it was sunny, the wind tore through our sweatshirts but we enjoyed the ride anyway. Afterwards we hopped in the car with the idea of finding a place to warm up and grab lunch. We ended up at the Garden Table in Broad Ripple, an all day cafe type eatery that any Australian would be cured of homesickness in. We each ordered something with the idea of sharing and the vegan beans and cornbread was definitely the hit of the day. It was so good that I was driven to duplicate it. I’m pretty close, but while my version is vegetarian, it isn’t vegan. I imagine that the cornbread recipe could use coconut oil instead of butter as well as almond milk for the regular. At any rate, the subtle middle eastern flavors in the beans and lentils surprisingly are complimented by the rich sweetness of the cornbread. The real star is the gremolata sauce though – the hit of lemony heat really makes this dish delicious!

Sweet and Rich Skillet Cornbread – 12 Servings

Ingredients and Procedure

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup cornmeal

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 cups milk

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 stick of butter (8 oz.), divided

4 eggs

2 tablespoons honey

Place skillet in the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs until they are golden and well combined.

Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter.

Add the milk, vegetable oil, butter, eggs and honey to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Carefully take the hot skillet out of the preheated oven and melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in it. Using a spatula, coat the sides of the skillet with the melted butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and return it to the oven.

Check after 25 minutes to see if a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If not, bake for 5 more minutes and check again. It’s important not to over bake the cornbread so it won’t be dry. It will be done when the middle bounces back when tapped and the edges are just starting to pull away from the sides.

Ingredients and Procedures for Beans and Lentils – 6 to 8 Servings

1 medium yellow onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2 cups lentils

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

2 (15.8 oz.) cans of Great Northern beans

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

Rinse the lentils in a colander and check them over for any debris such as a small pebble or twig.

Dice the onion. Add the onion and oil to a large sauce pan and saute the onions over medium heat until they are tender – about 5 minutes. Put the garlic clove through a press or finely mince. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, and oregano to the onions. Saute the mixture for another 30 seconds.

Add the lentils,chicken broth and water and increase the heat so that it comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and let the lentils simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the beans, parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Taste and if needed add another 1/4 teaspoon salt. If by chance it is too salty, add additional water – 1/2 cup at a time – until the broth is adjusted. Continue to simmer the beans and lentils for another 10 minutes.

At the end of the cooking time the lentils should be tender and mixture should be thicker than soup, but still have a bit of broth left. If needed, more water could be added to thin it out. Likewise, if it”s too runny, cook it a bit longer so it gets thicker.

Spicy Gremolata Sauce – Yields 3/8 Cup

Ingredients and Procedure

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 garlic clove, put through a press or finely minced

1 Serrano pepper – seeds and membrane removed and roughly chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Add the cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, pepper and salt to a blender of food processor. Pulse to coarsely process. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times.

Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assemble Beans and Lentils over Cornbread with Spicy Gremolata Sauce

For each serving cut a square of cornbread in half lengthwise and place in a bowl or plate. Ladle roughly 1/2 cup of the beans and lentil mixture over the cornbread. Spoon a tablespoon of the gremolata sauce across the top.

And just for fun…

                           

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Northeast Coast Steamed Mussels

| Julie Yates

One of the best things about traveling is trying the food a region is known for. After spending the last two summers exploring the western U.S., where it’s all about beef and buffalo, this year Roy and I headed to the northeast. Above is Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia, Canada where fishing is still a common way of making a living. I sampled the first mussels of my trip here – they were part of a seafood chowder – and I was hooked.

Prospect, Nova Scotia where Roy’s grandma grew up is just down the road from Peggy’s Cove. Her father was a fisherman just like every other man that lived there. Today, it’s said there is only one fisherman left in the village.

Prince Edward Island, or PEI as the natives call it, is known for its blue mussels. Notice the dark colored buoys in the water? That’s a mussel farm. Baby mussels are put into a net that looks like a hanging sleeve and they happily eat and grow while being washed by the clear water. After a couple of years they are harvested. Living in their farm environment, they aren’t muddy or gritty and are very easy to cook and eat.

While in Canada, and then later in Maine and Massachusetts, we bought mussels at the grocery for two dollars and some cents a pound. Wow! Even in a motor home it was easy to cook up a mess of them. They are great as an appetizer or the main dish. The first time I made them, I used what I had on hand to add flavor to the broth. Traditionally, mussels are steamed with some white wine, but I found chicken broth was just as delicious – and I just kept making them that way! However, feel free to throw in 1/4 cup of white wine if you so desire!

Ingredients:

For every 2 pounds of mussels:

2 tablespoons butter

6 cloves garlic, finely minced or put through a press

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 cups chicken broth (additional 1/4 cup white wine optional)

Rinse each mussel and check to make sure it is closed. If it closes up after you handle it, then it’s fine to use. But if it is cracked, open, or has an unpleasant odor, throw it out! In the several times I have made this dish, I always toss several.

If the mussel has a beard (a little string hang hanging out of the shell) gently tug it back and forth and pull it off.

Melt butter over medium low heat. Add onions and parsley and sauté until onions are just about to get tender. Add garlic and sauté 30 more seconds. Gently add mussels and carefully stir to cover them with the mixture. Turn heat up to high and pour in broth. Cover the pan and continue to cook on high for 5 minutes.

Take the cover off and give the mussels a stir. They should be open and look the the photo above. If some are still closed, put the cover back on and continue to cook on high for an additional two minutes. Throw out any mussels that are still closed after that.

Ladle the mussels and broth into serving bowls. Serve with melted butter to dip mussels in (honestly this broth is so good it isn’t needed!) and crusty bread to sop up the broth. Or serve the mussels and broth over cooked pasta. I’d love to hear if any one tries this. Feel free to email me at yatesyummies@gmail.com or make a comment below!

 

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It’s All About the Spice: Peruvian Food

| Julie Yates

I spent three months this winter down in southwestern Florida and while I was there, I fell in love with Peruvian food. It’s becoming increasingly more popular and restaurants that specialize in South American cuisine were plentiful. When I got home, I spent about a month trying to duplicate some of the dishes I enjoyed. Peru is thought of as the place the potato came from, and while it’s prevalent in many recipes the real star seems to be a yellow pepper called aji amarillo. It packs a lot of heat and has a distinctive taste. I had to order it in paste form online since I’ve never seen it here up north. Another interesting thing about Peruvian cooking is the strong Asian influence from Chinese immigrants that is evident in many of the dishes. Lomo Saltado, show in the bottom left of the photo above, is essentially a stir fry – complete with soy sauce – served on top of French fries. It is super easy to make; check out my post on YatesYummies to get the recipe.  The two recipes in this post are a little more involved. For the hearty Chupe De Camarones, I offer some substitutions that can be used if you don’t want to try to track down hard to find ingredients. But in the so, so delicious huacatay salsa, only hucatay – black mint – can be used. I had a lot of fun investigating these recipes and I hope if you attempt them you’ll enjoy the process too! Let me know how it goes!

 

Chupe De Camarones – Peruvian Shrimp Chowder –  Serves Four

 

Some Lessons Learned:

  1.  To make traditional chupe de camarones, shrimp broth made from simmering the shells in water is needed. During the several times I made this recipe while trying to perfect it, I couldn’t always find fresh shrimp still in their shells. So, I tried using bottled clam juice, and I didn’t notice too much difference. It was also a time saver!
  2. To get the spicy authentic flavor I needed, I realized I had use the real deal. So I ordered aji panca chili, aji panca chili, and huacatay pastes from Amazon.com. These seemed to be the “holy trinity” in so many Peruvian dishes.
  3. In search of flavor, I tried using annatto oil to saute the onion for the chupe de camarones. I really didn’t discern any large taste boost, but I did notice the rosy glow it gave the dish.
  4. In the soup, using frozen vegetables worked just as well as fresh.
  5. I learned that at high heat, milk curdles but heavy cream doesn’t. Plus, it gave me that silky mouth feel I was looking for.
  6. I wasn’t always successful at keeping the poached egg together. If it breaks apart, no worries! The soup still tastes great!

 

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked shrimp in shells (or use precooked frozen shrimp)

4 cups water (or 16 oz. clam broth and 2 cups water if shrimp shells are not available)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon annatto seeds (optional)

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

2 cloves garlic, put through a press

1 teaspoon ground zapote (or 1 teaspoon oregano)

1 teaspoon aji amarillo chili paste (or 1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeno)

1 tablespoon aji panca chili paste (or 1 tablespoon tomato paste)

pinch ancho chili powder (optional)

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen green beans

1/4 cup long-grain white rice

1 medium white potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup cubed queso fresco

4 eggs

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions:

If you are lucky enough to have access to fresh, raw shrimp still in their shells – peel them. Set the uncooked shrimp aside in the refrigerator and rinse the skins. Place the skins in a pan with four cups of water. Bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes. (Skip this step if shells are not available and you are using clam juice.)

While the shrimp shells are simmering, heat olive oil over medium heat in soup pot. When the oil shimmers, add the annatto seeds. Let them simmer for 5 minutes, then strain the oil to remove seeds and return it to the pan. Keeping the heat at medium, add the red onion and saute until soft – about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic, aji amarillo chili paste, aji panca chili paste, zapote, and ancho chili powder and saute an additional 30 seconds.

Strain the shrimp mixture and discard the shells. Add water to the broth so the entire amount is four cups. Pour into the soup pot (or clam broth and water if that is what you are using) and add the corn, peas, beans, and rice. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes, bring the heat up to a boil again, then turn the heat down and simmer about 10 minutes more or until the potatoes and rice are tender.

Add shrimp and simmer about 5 minutes or until they are totally pink and cooked through.

Stir in the cream and queso fresco. If needed, turn up the heat so that the mixture is very hot. One at a time, crack the eggs in a small bowl and add them to the soup. Cook three more minutes.

Divide the soup between four large bowls, getting an egg in each one. Sprinkle each serving with one tablespoon of cilantro leaves to garnish.

 

Huacatay Salsa

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons huacatay paste

2 tablespoons aji amarillo

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon diced onion

2 cloves garlic, put through a press

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

 

Directions:

Put everything in a food processor and blend until well combined. This is great on vegetables and meats as well as served as a salsa with sliced bread or chips.

 

                                

 

 

Day After the Wedding Brunch

| Julie Yates

Photo courtesy of JennaStoller.com

A couple of weeks ago my daughter Caroline was a beautiful bride. The wedding weekend was a whirlwind of gatherings and activities. One of the events that I enjoyed planning for the most, was the day after the wedding brunch held at our house. Since the groom’s family was from out of town, Caroline requested that we offered them one last chance to get together before they traveled home. Everyone had a chuckle or two as they rehashed the events of the weekend; there were a few shenanigans that will be remembered for a long time!

In planning for the brunch, I knew that by the time it rolled around I would be exhausted. Leading up to it was a BBQ on Thursday night for groomsman who were staying with us as well as other people who were in town, a 9:00 rehearsal Friday morning (another wedding was going on at the venue that night so we couldn’t rehearsal then) followed by a bridesmaid luncheon, the Friday night rehearsal dinner, and then the wedding day with all the flurry of getting ready and a long night of celebrating.  So although I love to cook, I realized I was going to have to order food to be brought in.  I had attended two events at Table, a restaurant that is part of a glorified grocery store, Market District, and thought the food was delicious and reasonable. However, they offered what I really wanted: home delivery.  They have several locations in the United States – here is a link to their catering menu. The menu says “Pick Up Menu” but they do indeed deliver!

Ten days before all the crazy wedding madness began, I gathered all the containers and serving pieces I figured I would need for what I ordered. I set them aside on the floor of the dining room and no one wandered in there to notice them.  A week before, I shopped for the non-carry in items such as the granola, yogurt, and paper goods.

The morning of the eleven o’clock brunch, I put the serving pieces on the table and Beth Ann from Market District in Carmel arrived about 10:30 am. She kindly helped me set up the spread and then sped off before the guests arrived. I was going for an elegant shabby chic vibe, and I think I achieved it. Snagging five of the wedding flower arrangements from the night before definitely made it look pretty.

Unfortunately, I only took a very few photos before the guests arrived. But hopefully this small documentation of my experience might help another harried mother of the bride!

Here is what was on the menu:

Orange Juice and Mimosas

I put out a couple of carafes of OJ which I refilled several time during the brunch. (The refrigerator was just a few steps away and I had bought a couple gallon containers of orange juice.) Perhaps it would have been nice to have an alternative juice like cranberry, but I was going for ease while hostessing.  For people who wanted a bit of the hair of the dog that bit them the night before, I offered a chilled bottle of bubbly for mimosas. I had another bottle tucked away in the refrigerator as well. I used pint sized Ball jars for glasses and I found the striped straws at Party City

Tea and Coffee

A couple of weeks before, I retrieved my mom’s silver coffee & tea service that had been tucked away in a cabinet for decades. The pieces were literally as black as the label on the twine tied tag that said “coffee”. I used Wright’s Silver Cream Polish and the tarnish didn’t budge hardly at all. Tarn-X Tarnish Remover saved the day, although I used the Wright’s immediately after it to remove a yellowish cast that was remaining.  I had Market District bring boxes of regular and decafe coffee and pored the regular into the silver urn while putting the decafe in another container off to the side. Everyone wanted regular however and I ended up having to brew more. I put hot water in the tea pot and put out assorted teas but what people really went after was the regular coffee.

 

Orzo Salad, Lots of Berries and Pastries

The Market District’s orzo salad with artichoke hearts and feta among other ingredients was so, so delicious. For my copy cat recipe of their Mediterranean Orzo Salad, click here. They also brought the pastries and all the beautiful, washed berries. I covered the main table with a roll of brown paper and then put everything in my own serving pieces.

DIY Yogurt Parfaits

I poured Quaker Oats granola as well as spooned honey and cherry chocolate yogurt into large jars. I parked them close by to the fruit and placed a tin tub with 1/2 pint ball jars on the table. My Walmart purchased brown cardboard labels tied with twine around the tub made the suggestion to use the jars to hold yogurt parfaits. But – most people didn’t use the jars!

Toast Bar

Far and away the hit of the day was the toast bar. I plugged in a toaster, put artisan french and whole grain bread in a basket, and provided lots of spreads. Guests came back two or three times to toast their bread and slather it with either avocado mash, hummus, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, good olive oil, and even a honey comb. There was also peanut butter, regular butter, hot pepper flakes, lemon slices for squeezing, and sea salt. (The hummus was store bought, but if you’d like a really great hummus recipe, you’ll find it in a post link here.)

Breakfast Pizzas and Caprese Salad

Rounding it all out was a caprese salad and three different kinds of breakfast pizza all from Market District. All of the pizzas had scrambled eggs on top which sounds weird but it turned out to be really scrumptious. My favorite was one with sun fried tomatoes, basil, and feta but most people loved the one with sausage gravy as the pizza sauce. A third one with mushrooms, roasted peppers, and onions was also delicious.

After it was all over, we just melted into the couch and rehashed the whole weekend. I was glad I did the brunch; it brought a sense of closure to a year of planning and the actual big event!

                         

 

Fancy Doughnuts in a Plain World: “Amish Crack”

| Julie Yates

When Allison came home after spending a day in Northern Indiana doing research for an article she is writing about the Amish community and the RV industry, she told me she had sampled the best doughnut of her life. She said the locals call them “Amish Crack” because they are so delicious and addictive. I’m not a baker; most of my cooking involves dishes that are tasty – but fast! (Visit the Yates Yummies blog) Roy always laughs and says everything I make takes 15 minutes tops, so I’m not geared to the patient process of waiting for dough to rise. Plus I lack a basic understanding of the chemistry aspect of baking. However, after Allison found a post on Finding Harmony Blog that documented the author’s attempts at duplicating Rise’n Roll Bakery’s Cinnamon Caramel Doughnut, I had a desire to join in on the search for a recipe. What a wild ride! After several attempts I managed to cover every surface of my kitchen with a thin layer of flour and/or confectioners sugar and had some spectacular failures (think rock hard or envision a tire deflating).   I’ve documented what I learned below, along with the recipe I finally settled on. If anyone out there tries it, I would love to hear feedback! Likewise, if there is a better recipe for these delicious morsels, please share! To print out the recipe, scroll down to the bottom of this post and click on the “button”.

Just a quick aside – above and below are photos I took in 2015 while visiting Amish Acres in Nappanee , an attraction/museum dedicated to preserving historic buildings of the early Amish settlers in Indiana.

We spent three days in Nappanee while our motor home was being serviced at the Newmar Corporation. We were able to take a factory tour and experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance watching hustling Amish workers string yards and yards of electrical wires onto the RVs being built.

We also traveled to Shipshewana (above left, and right) and LaGrange (above lower photo right). Except for the slow moving vehicle sign in the back, seeing the horse and buggies is like going back in time.

The Amish try to keep their old ways while living in the modern world…

But let’s talk about the legendary doughnuts.

The Dough:

In the comments on the Finding Harmony Blog post, several people stated that they felt like potato was the secret ingredient needed to make the fluffy doughnuts. First I tried yeast-less potato dough, then potato dough with yeast. I also gleaned ideas from this recipe for Amish Doughnuts.

Here is what I learned:

  1. Resist the temptation to use a food processor to mix potato dough. The less handling the better or else the doughnuts will be dense, not fluffy. I realized that if I let the potato “melt” into the yeast water and then added it to the flour mixture, I could combine all the dough ingredients together with a fork.
  2. Grease the parchment paper that cut-out doughnuts are laid to rise on, or else they stick like crazy.
  3. Too long a second rise time made the doughnuts puff up so much the hole closed and when I tried to move them off the paper, they deflated. I fried a couple anyway and now I know why doughnuts need a hole; the middle stays raw when the outside is done.

The Caramel Glaze:

The Finding Harmony Blog post included two possible caramel glaze recipes; one used brown sugar and the other white sugar from the cook book Homemade Doughnuts: Techniques and Recipes for Making Sublime Doughnuts in Your Home Kitchen by Kamal Grant (Quarry Books, 2014). The white sugar recipe was tricky since it involved heating the sugar to caramelize it, but the flavor was truly superior.

Here is what I learned:

  1. The white sugar turns to burnt sugar very quickly once it starts to change color. Err on the side of caution and pull it off the heat sooner than later. It is tricky.
  2. When caramelizing the sugar it will turn into a hard ball when other ingredients are added to it. After searching for information on how to correct it, I found a What’s Cooking America post that advised adding a drop of lemon juice to prevent the problem.
  3. However, while the drop of lemon juice improved the situation, it didn’t entirely prevent all of the water/sugar mixture from hardening up on my stirring spoon and in the bottom of the pan. I found that heating the cream up in the microwave for 20 seconds so that it was warm, but not curdled, helped a lot.

So here’s the recipe that resulted from all my experimentation:

Amish Crack Doughnuts – Yields About 2 Dozen Doughnuts

Ingredients

For Dough:

1 (around 10 oz.) potato

4 cups water

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup shortening (such as 1/2 of a Crisco Baking Stick)

2 packages yeast

Large bottle of vegetable oil (about 24 oz.)

Extra self-rising flour for rolling out dough

Ingredients for Caramel Glaze:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 drop lemon juice

3/4 cup of butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Ingredients for Cinnamon Powdered Sugar

2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions for Doughnuts:

Add the Peel and cube potato. Place in sauce pan with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes and reserve the cooking water.

While the potato is cooking combine the all-purpose flour, self-rising flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

When it has cooled down to a warm but not hot temperature, place two cups of the potato cooking water in a medium sized bowl and pour the yeast over the top of it. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it looks smooth but foamy. Give it a stir.

Use a ricer or push the cooked potato through the holes of a colander. Don’t worry if the potato just ends up being mashed. Add the riced or mashed potato to the yeast water and give it a stir. The potato will sort of dissolve and disintegrate into the water.

Melt the shortening and allow to cool slightly. Whisk the eggs together.  Add the melted shortening, whisked eggs, and yeast/potato water to the flour mixture and store with a fork until it is combined. Don’t knead.

Grease the inside of a very large bowl with shortening or butter. Place the dough in the middle and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rise until double. This can take a couple hours, depending on how warm the room temperature is.

After the rising period, punch the dough down and place on a self-rising flour covered surface or pastry cloth. Knead just a couple times, then roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Using either a doughnut cutter or a glass turned upside down that is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out doughnuts. (If using a glass, cut holes out of the middle with an empty spice bottle or something similar.) Place the doughnuts on a baking sheet that has been covered with well greased foil or parchment paper. Cover with tea towels and let rest/rise for 1/2 hour.

Pour the vegetable oil in a large sauce pan. Heat to between 360 and 375 degrees. If working without a candy/cooking thermometer, the oil will be ready when it shimmers and a doughnut hole is surrounded by simmering bubbles when dropped in.

Fry 3 to 4 doughnuts at a time, about 2 minutes on each side. They will be lightly browned. Place cooked doughnuts on cooling racks which are on top of paper towels.

While the doughnuts are still warm, dip them into the Caramel Glaze (recipe below). Finish them off by placing the Cinnamon Confectioner’s Sugar (recipe below) in a fine mesh strainer and giving each doughnut a dusting.

Directions for Caramel Glaze

Cut the butter up into small cubes and set aside. Place the sugar and water in a small sauce pan. Stir to combine then place over medium heat and allow to simmer/boil without stirring for around 7 to 10 minutes until the mixture browns but doesn’t pass to the burning point. Do not walk away from the stove! It takes a while to get it going, but once it gets to a golden brown color, it quickly goes to burning. Once it is golden brown, remove the pan from the heat. Heat the cream in the microwave for 20 seconds so that it is warm, but doesn’t boil or curdle. Whisk the warm cream, a little at a time, into the sugar syrup. Add the butter, a little at a time, while continuing to whisk. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar, salt, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.

Direction for Cinnamon Confectioner’s Sugar

Place the confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir until blended together.