Like everyone else who lives in New York knows, the City Bakery makes the best cookies. While their chocolate chips are perhaps most beloved, I happen to think their molasses cookies are even better. Soft and chewy with a nice spicy, ginger-molasses bite, they are everything I want in a cookie. Unfortunately Maury Rubin hasn't revealed his cookie secrets so I have to try every other recipe in the world and tinker with them until one day maybe I'll hit pay-dirt.
Showing posts with label Modern Spice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Modern Spice. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Tasty Treat: Molasses Cookies
Like everyone else who lives in New York knows, the City Bakery makes the best cookies. While their chocolate chips are perhaps most beloved, I happen to think their molasses cookies are even better. Soft and chewy with a nice spicy, ginger-molasses bite, they are everything I want in a cookie. Unfortunately Maury Rubin hasn't revealed his cookie secrets so I have to try every other recipe in the world and tinker with them until one day maybe I'll hit pay-dirt.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Much Ado About Chutney
Just a quick one here, but I've been receiving numerous questions about what to do with the chutney left over from Monday's virtual dinner party. I too asked myself the same question since the paneer cheese ran out way before the chutney did. Here are a couple ideas for what to do with any leftover Apricot-Orange Chutney. To read the original post, click here: A Potluck of Spice & Everything Nice.
Option 1: Tuesday night rolled around and we still had a good two cups of chutney in the fridge. I also had a head of bok choy, about a cup of snow peas, a garlic scape and a bunch of scallions all from our CSA. My husband suggested a stir fry, but I took it one step further and here's how: Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a quarter cup of chutney and a splash of chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and add the bok choy, chopped, and the snow peas. Saute for about 3 minutes and then add the garlic scapes and scallions, all chopped, to the pan. Cook for just a couple more minutes and serve over brown rice. It was amazing!
Option 2: On wednesday night, I turned on the oven to 400, salt and peppered two pork chops, smothered them in chutney and popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes. The result was caramelized and juicy goodness.
Option 3: Finally, for a snack yesterday, I took some triscuit-type organic crackers, topped them with ricotta cheese and a dab of chutney. Such easy perfection.
There you go, three totally different things to do with all that chutney. Enjoy!
Option 1: Tuesday night rolled around and we still had a good two cups of chutney in the fridge. I also had a head of bok choy, about a cup of snow peas, a garlic scape and a bunch of scallions all from our CSA. My husband suggested a stir fry, but I took it one step further and here's how: Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a quarter cup of chutney and a splash of chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and add the bok choy, chopped, and the snow peas. Saute for about 3 minutes and then add the garlic scapes and scallions, all chopped, to the pan. Cook for just a couple more minutes and serve over brown rice. It was amazing!
Option 2: On wednesday night, I turned on the oven to 400, salt and peppered two pork chops, smothered them in chutney and popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes. The result was caramelized and juicy goodness.
Option 3: Finally, for a snack yesterday, I took some triscuit-type organic crackers, topped them with ricotta cheese and a dab of chutney. Such easy perfection.
There you go, three totally different things to do with all that chutney. Enjoy!
Monday, June 22, 2009
A Potluck of Spice & Everything Nice
Today, more than 25 foodbloggers are gathering at Monica Bhide's blog, A Life of Spice, where we're testing recipes from Monica's latest (and quite possibly her greatest) cookbook, Modern Spice and bringing them to the first ever (or so we believe) virtual potluck dinner. I'm bringing hors d'oeuvres!
Monica asked me to test, taste and bring her Paneer with Apricot-Orange Chutney. I'm always looking for cocktail or dinner party treats, especially deceptively easy dishes like this one that make your friends think you killed yourself in the kitchen. I mean, homemade Paneer cheese? Seriously, who knew you could whip that up in 20 minutes! When sauteed lightly in a little vegetable oil and topped with this sweet-tart chutney, it's just about the most refreshing hors d'oeuvre I've ever had. On Friday, we hosted an impromptu get-together to find out what my friends thought about the newest, and I daresay permanent, addition to my recipe box. They liked Monica's dish so much that after a couple sips of wine and usual 'oh no, you go aheads,' all politeness flew out the window as they edged in for seconds, thirds, fourths and so on until the last bite was gone.
Try it yourself and see what other recipes are being shared today at A Life of Spice.
Monica asked me to test, taste and bring her Paneer with Apricot-Orange Chutney. I'm always looking for cocktail or dinner party treats, especially deceptively easy dishes like this one that make your friends think you killed yourself in the kitchen. I mean, homemade Paneer cheese? Seriously, who knew you could whip that up in 20 minutes! When sauteed lightly in a little vegetable oil and topped with this sweet-tart chutney, it's just about the most refreshing hors d'oeuvre I've ever had. On Friday, we hosted an impromptu get-together to find out what my friends thought about the newest, and I daresay permanent, addition to my recipe box. They liked Monica's dish so much that after a couple sips of wine and usual 'oh no, you go aheads,' all politeness flew out the window as they edged in for seconds, thirds, fourths and so on until the last bite was gone.
Try it yourself and see what other recipes are being shared today at A Life of Spice.
Paneer with Orange-Apricot Chutney
(From Monica Bhide's new and fabulous cookbook, Modern Spice)
(From Monica Bhide's new and fabulous cookbook, Modern Spice)
What you'll need:
Paneer:
Pour the entire gallon of milk into a large stockpot and set over a medium-high heat. Stir frequently to avoid scalding and bring the milk to just under a boil. Add the lemon juice and turn off the heat. Watch as the milk curdles and the curds separate from the whey.
Drape a cheese cloth over a large bowl, large enough to catch both the curds and the whey, and pour the pot contents through the cloth straining the whey and separating the curds. Pull out the cloth with the curds inside and press out as much of the whey as you can. Fold the cloth tightly around the curds and place in a very shallow dish. Set as much weight as you can on top (I used a frying pan with two bags of rice on top) and put in the fridge to cool and set.
*You can throw the whey out. Briefly, I excitedly thought I could make ricotta cheese, which is traditionally made from boiling down whey leftover from cheesemaking. However, it can't be made from acid-activated whey.
For the Chutney:
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot over a medium heat and add the mustard seeds. Cook for just a few seconds (be careful not to let them burn) and then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and bring up to a boil. Turn down the heat to a vigorous simmer and cook uncovered until the chutney has thickened and the apricots are mostly dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in salt to taste.
To Serve:
The beauty of this dish is you can make the chutney and the paneer a day or two in advance and then, just before guests come over, put it all together. When you're ready, cut the paneer into 1 inch cubes and set aside. Heat a frying pan over a medium flame and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. Once the oil starts to shimmer, toss in the paneer cubes and brown on all sides. The cheese browns very quickly so keep an eye on it.
Drain the paneer cubes on a plate covered in a couple of paper towels then move the cubes to a nice platter. Top each cube with a teaspoon or so of chutney and set a container of pretty toothpicks alongside for easy eating.
Approximate Dinner Cost
• Groceries - $18.00
• Leftovers – Expect 10 servings of about 4 pieces per person at $1.80 per guest!
Paneer:
- 1 14 oz. piece of paneer cheese
- 1 gallon of whole milk
- The juice of 4 lemons
- A piece of cheese cloth
- 1 tblsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 1/2 c. fresh diced apricots (or mango if you can't find ripe apricots)
- 1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
- 1 small green serrano chile
- 2 c. fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp red chile powder or red pepper flakes
- A pinch of saffron
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 c. chopped dates
- Salt to taste
Pour the entire gallon of milk into a large stockpot and set over a medium-high heat. Stir frequently to avoid scalding and bring the milk to just under a boil. Add the lemon juice and turn off the heat. Watch as the milk curdles and the curds separate from the whey.
Drape a cheese cloth over a large bowl, large enough to catch both the curds and the whey, and pour the pot contents through the cloth straining the whey and separating the curds. Pull out the cloth with the curds inside and press out as much of the whey as you can. Fold the cloth tightly around the curds and place in a very shallow dish. Set as much weight as you can on top (I used a frying pan with two bags of rice on top) and put in the fridge to cool and set.
*You can throw the whey out. Briefly, I excitedly thought I could make ricotta cheese, which is traditionally made from boiling down whey leftover from cheesemaking. However, it can't be made from acid-activated whey.
For the Chutney:
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot over a medium heat and add the mustard seeds. Cook for just a few seconds (be careful not to let them burn) and then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and bring up to a boil. Turn down the heat to a vigorous simmer and cook uncovered until the chutney has thickened and the apricots are mostly dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in salt to taste.
To Serve:
The beauty of this dish is you can make the chutney and the paneer a day or two in advance and then, just before guests come over, put it all together. When you're ready, cut the paneer into 1 inch cubes and set aside. Heat a frying pan over a medium flame and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. Once the oil starts to shimmer, toss in the paneer cubes and brown on all sides. The cheese browns very quickly so keep an eye on it.
Drain the paneer cubes on a plate covered in a couple of paper towels then move the cubes to a nice platter. Top each cube with a teaspoon or so of chutney and set a container of pretty toothpicks alongside for easy eating.
Approximate Dinner Cost
• Groceries - $18.00
• Leftovers – Expect 10 servings of about 4 pieces per person at $1.80 per guest!
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