We made a Middle Eastern feast!

YO! SG here. It's been a while, but I'm back on the Who Cooked What scene to tell you about this Middle Eastern feast in which M, Hill, Lanez, Nat and I participated a couple weekends ago. As you can see, we enjoyed it picnic-style on a blanket on the floor. Because sometimes it's more fun to eat that way.

I made some baba ganoush:


Followed the recipe pretty exactly. I tried roasting the eggplant over an open flame on the stove, which is pretty simple. You just need some tongs to keep turning them. But I got scared and took them off too early because this skin was so charred--but I guess that's what is supposed to happen. I roasted them a little longer in the oven after that to get them soft enough.

Natalie made some delish hummus:


M was in charge of falafel (I believe we used the Moosewood recipe, right M?):


I wanted to make avgolemono, which is really Greek and not Middle Eastern, but I was getting over a cold and was really in the mood for this comforting, nourishing lemony rice soup I used to get from a local Greek restaurant back in Jersey. I found this recipe in a comment on epicurious. There were a million comments after it, all saying how much better the recipe posted by "A Cook from Boston" was than the actual epicurious recipe! We followed it pretty exactly. Thank goodness I had Martha to help me "temper" the eggs, which I had never done before.

Here it is copied and pasted:

I'm 34 and have been making this since I could stand up on the stool in my Yia Yia's kitchen (my grandmother who is now 80 yrs. old). Soupa Avgolemono: 8 c. homemade chix stock, 1 c. orzo, 4 eggs/ separated, juice of 3 lemons, fresh ground black pepper. This recipe will make a perfectly balanced salty, rich, filling, comforting soup. Boil broth, add orzo and simmer until tender 20 min. Whip whites until medium peaks, add yolks beating continuously, add juice, beating. Temper eggs with 2 c. broth, adding in constant slow stream while continuing to beat furiously so you do not curdle the eggs. Add egg mixture back to remaining broth and serve. When reheating, do not re-boil - heat slowly until very warm or you may curdle the eggs. Garnish with thinly sliced lemon. I sometimes add more than juice of 3 lemons, as the sourness is the best part of the taste! You should taste lemon, richness of eggs, salt of chicken, and starch of rice, in that order and you've made it perfectly. You can also add thin pieces of shredded chicken meat (pull off bone in strips), although classic recipes don't include chicken, vegetables, garlic or any of the ingredients many reviewers added to "fix" this recipe. Try mine and you'll be hooked for life!

And here is what the finished product looked like:

Here is us enjoying the meal by candlelight:


And this is how full we were after:


Here are two vids. The first is of us all putting Hill's pitas in the oven, and the second of us dining to some jams.

I made a rice bowl!

This recipe is based on the rice bowls at Community Food and Juice on the Upper West Side. It is a bowl of rice with lots of julienned veggies, a protein, and a cilantro-lime dressing topped with peanuts! I was there recently and greatly enjoyed my tofu rice bowl and thought it would be easy to recreate at home and it was. One caveat: we have a mandoline, which makes all the slicing superfast and easy. If you don't have one, it will take a little longer, but will still be good!

The components:

Brown Rice (I recently discovered that I really like medium grain brown rice and that is what I used)

Protein:
The restaurant offers salmon, tofu, and grilled chicken. I've used both cubes of tofu sauteed with a bit of sesame oil, and also used edamame. Baked tofu would probably be really good also. Or hard boiled eggs!

Veggies: (This is very flexible - these are some things I've used)
cucumber
red cabbage
bean sprouts
jalapeno
carrots
daikon
avocado

Dressing:
cilantro, finely chopped (a few TBS)
lime juice (I usually use two limes)
sesame oil (enough dashes to make it sesame-y)
mirin (about a half TBS)
mint (I didn't have this, but I'm sure it would be good)

Garnish:
chopped peanuts
scallions
sesame seeds

close up!

Assembly: Cook the rice and your protein. Start prepping vegetables. If any need to be cooked, do it! You can either mix all the veggies in a mixing bowl (the slightly easier way), or wait until you're plateing, then create individual vegetable piles in your bowl and mix it in the bowl as you eat (this is how the restaurant does it). Mix the dressing and chop the peanuts and scallions. When the rice is done, put it in your bowl, and either top with vegetable mix, or assemble your chosen vegetables. Top with dressing and garnish. Enjoy!

I made an Autumn Millet Bake...it's good for winter too!

With the start of the new year, I wanted to up my healthy food intake a bit. I also tend to fall into food themes (see last year's "Winter of Cabbage", and the previous year's "Experiments with root vegetables") and this year was no exception - I've suddenly become interested in whole grains. First up: Millet. Maybe you already know how good it is; I did not until just last week!

I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks which is a blog with lots of healthy recipes, but it is actually a Mark Bittman recipe and is, unsurprisingly, very simple and delicious!

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for the dish

3/4 cup millet
1 medium butternut or other winter squash or 1 small pumpkin, peeled seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used butternut squash)
1 cup fresh cranberries
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon minced sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried (I randomly had fresh in the house)
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (I used maple syrup - I'm not really a honey fan)
1 cup vegetable stock or water, warmed
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or coarsely chopped hazelnuts (I don't like pumpkin seeds and didn't have hazelnuts. I ended up adding scallions and chopped walnuts for some crunch)

Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 2-quart casserole, a large gratin dish, or a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil.

Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the millet and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes. Spread in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Scatter the squash or pumpkin cubes and the cranberries on top of the millet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the sage and drizzle with syrup. Carefully pour the warmed stock over all. Cover tightly with foil and bake without disturbing, for 45 minutes.

Carefully uncover and turn the oven to 400F. As discreetly as possible, sneak a taste and adjust the seasoning. If it looks too dry, add a spoonful or two of water or stock. (I added another quarter cup or so). Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top, and return the dish to the oven. (I skipped this part, and added my scallions and nuts after it was out of the oven) Bake until the mixture bubbles and the top is browned, another 10 minutes or so. Serve piping hot or at room temperature.

Serves 4 to 6.

We Made a Vegetarian Version of Julia Child's French Onion Soup

This post is long overdue. A few weeks ago, Alena and I were trying to think of something delicious and comforting and warming to make for dinner, and she suggested French Onion Soup. I have often wondered if it is possible to make a vegetarian version that tastes like the real thing, since it's traditionally made with beef broth. Well, it IS possible, and let me tell you: it was DELICIOUS.

The trick is to use the right kind of vegetable broth... some recipes I found on the internet suggested "No-Beef Broth", but we couldn't find it, so we used mushroom broth instead.

Here is the recipe, which is taken from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking:

5 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
3 T butter
1 T oil
1 t salt
1/4 t sugar
3 T flour
2 quarts boiling MUSHROOM BROTH
1/2 cup dry write wine or sweet vermouth (we used the former)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T cognac
Rounds of hard-toasted French bread
1 to 2 cups grated Swiss or Parmesan (I think we used greuyere)

-Cook the onions slowly with the butter and oil in the covered saucepan for 15 minutes.
-Uncover, raise heat to moderate, and sitr in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes stirring frequently, until the onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown.
-Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes.
-Off the heat, blend in the boiling broth. Add the wine, and season to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minuts or more, skimming occasionally. Correct seasoning.
-Stir in the cognac and pour into ceramic soup bowls (they need to be oven-safe).
-Float the rounds of toast on top of the soup, and spread the grated cheese over it. Sprinkle with a little oil or butter. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven, then set for a minute or two under a preheated broiler to brown the top lightly. Serve immediately.

We were nervous about putting our bowls in the oven, so Suzanne had the idea to put them in a baking dish with an inch of water to prevent cracking:

Here is the finished product. It far surpassed my expectations! The wine and cognac and long-cooked onion makes the flavor so rich and delicious. YES!