Food Lush

Chana Masala and Indian Spiced Vegetables

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

Jess M.

I have been a faithful Food Lush reader from the start, having been a Style Lush reader for a long time. So, when it comes to choosing a favorite post, it's just so hard! I love how reading Food Lush has always seemed like sitting around with friends and talking about what we're all making for dinner or what great kitchen gadget someone found. So, I have to list the two Food Lush Gift Guides, 2011 and 2012, as my favorite posts. Even today when I looked back at them I was newly interested in things on the lists. They have given me plenty of ideas for my own Christmas list and ideas for others. I also really enjoyed this post about owl-themed kitchen things. I bought the mugs right after reading that post!

As for my favorite of my own posts, it has to be the one where I talked about my cookbook collection. I am so attached to certain cookbooks and I try and give a lot of thought to which ones I buy, so it was fun to show my cookbook-nerd side and share these with my friends.

And I know that this is Food Lush, but I cannot let it go without mentioning just how many things I bought for myself after they were mentioned on Style Lush: this coat, a bunch of these shirts, and BB Cream to name a few.

***

When we try to eat healthy it always involves a lot of beans. And when we discovered Indian food from a local restaurant we were instantly in love. Beans! Vegetables! Spiciness! Many vegetarian dishes! Unforuntaly the Indian restaurant in our town isn't convenient to us at all. We almost never happen to be near it to just pop in and bring home carryout. And when we discovered that our son would eat Chana Masala, I knew I had to find a way for us to have this dish more often. I didn't have to look very far because Smitten Kitchen has a great and easy recipe.

Chana Masala and Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes from Smitten Kitchen

Both dishes use overlapping spices, so when you measure them out for one, measure out for the other. They both also start with sauteeing some onion, so I just start them at the same time. Both reheat very well and when we put away the leftovers we often just combine it all into one big delicious bowl.

(Photos: me)

Non-stick Pans

By Jess M.

I cook eggs everyday for breakfast for my husband and myself. And a few years ago we bought a "nice" nonstick frying pan, did some research, and found one that wasn't too expensive. Then I cooked eggs (and other things) on it every day for a year and by the end of that first year, the coating had worn down, started to scratch (though using only coated/plastic tools I swear!) and the pan was no longer usable. I was so mad at this one pan and that it was supposed to be a "good" one and it only lasted a year that I threw it out and swore off nonstick pans.

We bought few Lodge Logic cast iron pans and were quite happy with them for a while. But then there was some promotion through Circulon (a while ago) where if you downloaded thier iPad app, they would send you a free nonstick hard anodized frying pan. So, we did, got the pan, and went about using our cast iron for the everyday cooking.

But now with a nonstick pan in the house, I started to use it for eggs. And meat (I don't really like to cook/clean meat in my cast iron, though I do and you can- it's just that cast iron cleans best without soap:salt and hot water only. But when I cook meat in cast iron I do clean it with soap and then re-oil the heck out of it). And pretty soon, I was using this nonstick pan everyday to cook out breakfast eggs. It was so easy to clean! Nothing sticks to it! And after a couple of years of use the finish still looks great and I don't have any worries that the coating is slowly poisoning us as it flakes off into our food.

So this week, we bought an 8 and a 10 inch pair of Circulon Contempo Hard Anodized frying pans to round out the collection.

Where are you on nonstick pans? I think most of us are anti-teflon (do they still make that?), and now with the new finishes like the hard-anodized, I feel better about using them.

(Photos: Amazon)

Cooking Duck Confit for Duck Nachos

by Jess M

My husband and I had duck nachos for the first time a couple of years ago when we were out for our anniversary at Monocacy Crossing. All of our food was delicious, but the duck nachos really stuck out as over-the-top good, and also they were something we had never even thought we could make at home. 

Not too long after that, I saw that a cooking class on pub food was being offered at The Kitchen Studio, a fantastic place in Frederick, Maryland to take classes to learn new techniques or recipes. And on the menu for that class was duck nachos. Our instructor, Carla, showed us how to cook a simple duck confit and assemble some delicious (and easy!) nachos.

Since taking the class I've made the duck nachos a couple of times at home. My Wegmans grocery store carries whole ducks, as well as various duck pieces. You can buy a confit leg/thigh piece cooked and packaged, but it is pretty pricey, and is quite a small amount of meat. So if you're going to the duck section you might as well go for the whole thing. The duck that I bought was about $30, which for us, is a special occasion meal.

First, you have to cut apart the duck. It's just like cutting apart a raw chicken, it's a little bigger and the skin and fat layer is really thick. I cut the duck into the leg/thigh pieces, wings, and breasts. Duck confit seems to only consist of the legs, but I cooked the whole duck the same way.Arrange the pieces in a high-sided dish, prick the skin all over and sprinkle with salt. Then cover the duck with oil or duck fat. I really wanted to be able to save and reuse the duck fat so the first time I bought a container (about $6) so that it would be all duck fat and not a mix of duck and oil. After it was cooked I strained and saved the rendered fat in a jar.

Cook the duck in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes, then at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let the duck rest for about 15 minutes.

Cut apart and shred the meat.

Duck Nachos, This recipe from Emeril is very similar to the way that I made our nachos.

Easy Duck Confit on Simply Recipes, Great instructions with really good picutres to guide you

D'Artagnon, information on the kind of duck that I bought

(Photos: me)

Roasted Chickpeas

by Jess M

Like many people (most? it seems), now that January is here, I am trying to eat better, healthier, and exercise more. And as I've mentioned in other posts, I have a bad habit of eating terrible, convenient things during the day. It's very filling and super easy.

Roasted Chickpeas

1 can of chickpeas
1 T olive oil
1 t soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Mix olive oil, soy sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper, then toss with the chickpeas. Spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until crispy on the outside, still tender on the inside. (You may have to taste test a couple)

I first used this recipe for roasted chickpeas and here on Tasty Kitchen there are several different variations. 

You should probably share these; they make a great happy hour snack with a beer. They are also a really great alternative to plain chickpeas on top of a salad. However, I sometimes just eat them all for lunch. And if you eat a whole can of chickpeas for lunch you likely won't be hungry the rest of the afternoon.

(Photos: me)

Holiday Staple: Chex Mix

by Jess M

Every Christmas pretty much my entire life has included Chex Mix. We have always made it from a recipe my mom cut out of a magazine sometimes in the 80s. I'm pretty sure that piece of paper still exists, in the green metal recipe card tin my mom kept in the cabinet. For my bridal shower, my sister included a copy of that recipe for my own collection. Over the years the recipe on the boxes has changed but I stick very closely to my own version of the snack.

For reference: "The Original Chex Mix" recipe from Chex.com (picture those quotation marks as air quotes from me because it's not *actually* the original from the 1950s).

Also the Wikipedia article, with a link to the original ad for Chex Mix which appeared in Life Magazine in 1952.

Jess's version of Chex Mix (based on a circa 1980s magazine cutout, with my own modifications)

1/2 c melted butter

3 T Worchestershire sauce

2 t Season All seasoned salt

8 c any Chex cereal (I prefer corn and rice)

1 c pretzels

1 c peanuts

Measure out cereal, pretzels and nuts in a gallon ziploc bag. Melt butter, mix with the worchestershire and seasoned salt, and pour over the cereal mixture. Seal the bag and shake it until all the pieces are evenly coated.

Microwave: Pour contents into a large microwaveable bowl, cook on high 5-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. 

Oven: Heat oven to 250 degrees. Spread the mix onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Cook for 40-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Cool on paper towels.

It freezes well, so if you can make a whole bunch at a time, you can put it away for later, but it doesn't really last all that long in my house.

~~~

 Last year, Caitlin's dad shared their family's recipe for Cereal Mix.

Fetuccine Alfredo with Fresh Egg Pasta

by Jess M

If I were to have to pick a specialty in cooking, it would be "dough." I'm decent at following recipes, but not very creative. Give me a bread dough challenge and various cookbooks and websites to read and I'm set. I really get excited about cooking/baking anything that requires the mixing of flour and liquid into a dough, maybe kneading it with my hands, and turning it into something delicious.

When I was pregnant with my third baby, my nesting took the form of cooking, and more specifically: dough centered foods.  I spent time reading bread forums and baked all of our own bread for a while (that didn't last!). I made muffins and cakes and scones and cookies on the regular. I had to start buying flour in 10-pound bags because I was going through the 5-pound ones too quickly. And it was during this time that I decided I was going to learn to make my own noodles. After some trial and practice I decide it was worth a little investment and so for my birthday that year I got The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles and an Imperia pasta machine.

Before I decided to commit to another kitchen unitasker, I experimented making pasta by rolling it very thinly with a rolling pin and cutting it with a butter knife. I wanted to make sure that it was worth going to all this trouble for.  And yes, yes it is.

For me, making my own pasta is a weekend, special occasion kind of dish. It's a little too much effort to go to for a weeknight meal. But when you want to make especially delicious fettuccine alfredo - or really any pasta dish - then this is the way to go.

Following the instructions from Cooks Illustrated, I used my food processor to mix up the dough. The dough for egg pasta is simply 2 cups of flour and 3 eggs. Pulse in the food processor until mixed. Then dump it out onto the counter and knead it for a few minutes until it forms a nice smooth ball.  Let the dough rest for a little while (15 min to 2 hours). Then divide the dough into 6 parts and feed each piece through the rollers of the pasta machine, changing the setting so that it gets progressively thinner each time. When it gets to its thinnest, run it through the cutting attachment.

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the noodles for just a couple of minutes, they will be done very quickly.

Alfredo Sauce
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 stick of butter
Nutmeg
1 1/2 - 2 cups parmesan cheese
Combine the butter and 1 cup of the cream in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.  Simmer until the liquid is reduced a bit, about 10-15 minutes. Then add in the remaining cream and nutmeg, turn off the heat and stir in the noodles and Parmesan.

This recipe is a blend of the Cook's Illustrated cooking method and Pioneer Woman's ingredient quantities. Basically I am using the most amount recommended of each of the cream, butter and parmesan. And spring for the good kind of heavy cream, mine came from the local creamery, but even if you can just get the best one from the grocery store it will taste better.

Now.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to say that the night last week I made this it didn't go quite as smoothly as I'm describing here. I HAVE had noodles go very smoothly. Making the dough is quick! And it only takes 20ish minutes to roll and cut them! But last week, possibly because my dough was too sticky, after the first bunch went through the cutter, it got jammed. Dough backed up and the more I tried to feed through the worse it got. I had to throw out some of the more mangled pieces I pulled out. And there are STILL dried pieces of dough sitting in my pasta machine for me to go back and extract. I cursed at it, I maybe threw some dough and I was very disappointed. Dinner took way longer to make than it should have and I was really sad about it because I spent way too much time fooling with my pasta machine. I ended up cutting the last few sheets of dough on the counter with a pastry cutter just so I could be done and we could eat. AND! My kids did that awesome thing kids do when they look at something you've just spent 2 hours working on to get dinner on to the table and they turn up their noses at it and say "ew." Using the already hot pasta water I boiled them some dried spaghetti noodles which they ate with powdered kraft parmesan.

So, yes, you should make your own noodles. Yes, as with anything new or challenging  in the kitchen it sometimes can end up being a(n almost) complete flop. But when it goes well: you will have delicious, tender, silky noodles with cheesy, buttery alfredo sauce. And that is a win.

~~~

Sometime I'm going to also try my hand at ravioli (and avoid that whole pasta cutter getting jammed up thing!). Ariel shared her adventures in making her own ravioli here. 

(Photos from: me)

Fried Egg over Quinoa

by Jess M

As a stay-at-home mom, and the one in charge of feeding 5 people three meals a day, I usually slack off when it comes to putting effort into my own lunches. With my husband at work, and my older two children at school, it’s just the toddler and me here for lunch. So I usually default to some form of melting cheese on a carb: grilled cheese, quesadilla, nachos, etc. And while tasty, this isn’t the healthiest of lunchtime habits and I’m usually sleepy and hungry again by the time the toddler settles in her room for quiet time and then I have free reign of the snack foods.

So, I’ve been trying to think of something delicious and healthy to eat for lunch. I do not want to go to any trouble. I will go so far as to dirty one plate or bowl, maybe a cooking vessel, but that’s it. 

 

I cooked up some quinoa and put it in a bowl with some soy sauce. Then I fried an egg, set it on top and drizzled some sriracha sauce over it. It was delicious and I was full all afternoon. And I’m so excited about it I can’t wait to eat it again for lunch today. 

(Photo from: me)

Fried Egg Sandwich from Smitten Kitchen

by Jess M

I like to do something special for breakfast on the weekends, and sometimes that consists of a package of bacon and cinnamon rolls out of a can. But sometimes I go to the extra trouble to make something so super delicious:

Smitten Kitchen’s Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Based off of a salad, this runny yolk and warm bacon dressing topped sandwich is nothing short of perfection. My Wegman’s usually has baby frissee and some great artisan-type rolls.

(Photo from: me)

Broccoli, Cannellini Bean & Cheddar Soup

by Jess M

This time of year I make a lot of soups for dinner. And cheesy soups always taste so good with a nice crusty roll and a salad on the side. But most cheese soups I’ve made (broccoli, cauliflower, potato) are very rich, have lots of cheese and are more suited to a special weekend meal rather than a weeknight dinner. This particular broccoli soup is lighter on the cheese, and is thickened with cannellini beans. It makes for a quick, creamy, and tasty soup that has a good dose of beans and greens.

Broccoli, Cannellini Bean & Cheddar Soup from EatingWell.com

This recipe is super simple: you basically cook the broccoli, and then puree it with the beans and melt in the cheese. I use an immersion blender so that I don’t have to transfer the hot soup to a blender and back again. I top it with some croutons and serve it along with a side salad. And for a vegan alternative, I think you could make this without the cheese and use vegetable broth.

(Photo from: me) 

Stovetop Popcorn: Simple, Easy Snack

by Jess M

Not to brag, but my children have said that I make the SECOND-best popcorn ever. First place will always go to movie theater popcorn with it’s layers and layers of drippy butter-like topping served in enormous cardboard buckets. But at home I make (almost as good) popcorn for an easy after-school or movie night snack.

And, really, popping it on the stove is not that hard. I know! I used a microwave and those folded popcorn packets for years too, but this is surprisingly easy (as our mothers and grandmothers roll their eyes at me/us).

Popcorn on the Stove

1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1⁄2 cup popcorn kernels

Use a medium to large sized pot; I use a 4 quart stainless saucepan. Add the vegetable oil, enough to thinly cover the bottom. Put a few kernels in the pot while the oil heats up over medium-high heat. Cover the pot with a piece of foil with a few vents cut into it.
When the oil heats up and those first couple of kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels and cover back up with the foil.

As it cooks, shake the pot a little bit so that the kernels and popcorn on the bottom don’t burn. After a few minutes you’ll hear the popcorn pop, and when the popping slows down you know it’s about done. Pull it off the stove quickly so you don’t burn it.

Dump the popcorn in a large bowl, drizzle with melted butter and salt and serve! 

(Photos from: me)