Daring Bakers: Cannoli

Welcome to the November edition of the Daring Bakers! This month's challenge was hosted by the hilarious and talented Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts, and Line Drives.



Lisa Michele took us outside the box (or should I say the oven?!) this month by asking the Daring Bakers not to bake! Instead, she had us face our deep-frying fears to make cannoli, a technique that was certainly new to me.

Since I had some technical difficulties with the cannoli forms (pretty sure my dough wasn't rolled quite thin enough, it unfolded off the forms in the oil), I made a few different versions: some traditionally-shaped cannoli, plus a few open faced ones (below), and a bunch of "canapes": cannoli chips with a dollop of filling on top.



I thought long and hard about a fun twist or flavor inspiration in the true Daring Baker spirit, but wound up choosing to do the simplest, plainest preparation possible. I even omitted the chocolate chunks and pistachios that the filling recipe called for. In the end, I'm really happy with that choice. The filling was melt-in-your-mouth flavorful on its own, and I brightened the pastries up with some fun colored sprinkles and a dusting of powdered sugar.

I loved these (as did all the friends and family who happily taste-tested them for me). I had a lot of fun making them and conquering my fear of hot oil, but I don't know if I see a lot of deep frying in my future. It's one of those techniques that, on the rare occasion I want to treat myself with something fried, I think I'll leave to the pros.



Thanks to Lisa Michele for introducing us to something totally new and different this month, and being a patient and generous hostess. For the cannoli recipe, tips, and to see what my fellow Daring Bakers came up with this month, please pop over to The Daring Kitchen!

Blog-checking fine print: The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

CEiMB: Veggie Fried Rice

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans! In case I don't tell you all enough, I'm so grateful that you're here.

It's Thursday, which means it's time for Craving Ellie in My Belly! As a special Thanksgiving treat, Sara gifted us with free rein to pick any Ellie Krieger recipe we wanted this week. Since I'm traveling to my home-away-from-home for a dose of holiday sunshine, palm trees, mountains, and family, I prepared my pick far ahead of time. That's my excuse for why it's not too Thanksgiving-y, despite the many fall-inspired recipes in Ellie's books.



I was so excited to finally have a chance to make this dish; I've been wanting to make it since I bought the book, but our group already chose it (before I joined), so I hadn't gotten the chance. Ellie calls this dish Fried Rice with Edamame, Scallions, and Tofu, but I'm a veggie egalitarian and didn't think it was fair to leave out the equally important corn and peppers in the name. So I'm calling it plain old Veggie Fried Rice. As I usually do with Ellie's recipes, I made a few changes: fried the tofu first (Ellie would not approve) and used white rice instead of brown (again, not the most Ellie-ish choice).

This one was a huge hit. I've written many times about how rice is one of my all-time favorite foods, and I'm always looking for ways to sneak it into main courses. One of the best things about this recipe: I adore fried rice but don't love cooked peas or carrots, which are pretty unavoidable in most fried rice dishes. The addition of edamame and corn was a perfect textural substitute for the peas and carrots, and added great flavor as well.

Make sure to use cold, leftover refrigerated rice straight out of the fridge and into the wok to avoid a mushy mess.

Veggie Fried Rice
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon canola oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
4 cups cooked, cooled, and chilled (preferably overnight) jasmine rice
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes (optional: pan-fried until golden brown)
2 large eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, scallions, and ginger and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic (but being careful not to burn), 1-2 minutes.

2. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn, and tofu and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

3. Make a 3-inch well in the center of the rice mixture. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil, then add the eggs and cook until nearly fully scrambled. Stir the eggs into the rice mixture, then add the soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot.

Nanaimo Bars

Other than my short stint as a resident of New York City, I've never lived in a city with a "signature" food. I'm talking about claim-to-fame level: cheese steaks from Philadelphia, coffee from Seattle, Hatch chiles from New Mexico. These Nanaimo Bars are the ultimate signature food, from beautiful Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island in Canada.



Nanaimo bars are a rich, decadent, 3-layer, no-bake treat. The bottom crust layer is chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, almonds, and coconut. I'm not sure if this is heresy (Canadian friends? Thoughts?), but I added 1/2 cup of Heath toffee bits to the bottom layer too. Next time I'd add even more, I'm crazy about the stuff. The middle layer is a creamy vanilla custard, and the top is a thin layer of solid chocolate.

These bars are ubiquitous in Canada. It's unfathomable that anyone might not have heard of them. Here in the U.S., it's a completely different story. I had to sheepishly ask how to pronounce the name (Nah-Nye-Moh), and of the dozens of people I served these to, almost none had heard of them either. I'm puzzled by this disparity, and it's now my official mission to let every American I know in on one of Canada's best-kept secrets!

Nanaimo Bars
Adapted from The City of Nanaimo
Printable Recipe
Makes ~50 bars

Bottom Layer
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 egg, beaten
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ c. finely chopped almonds
1 cup coconut
½ c. Heath toffee bits (optional)

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, nuts, and toffee if using. Press firmly into an ungreased 8" x 8" pan.

Middle Layer
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. half-and-half
2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder or powdered vanilla pudding mix
2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Top Layer
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer. Chill in refrigerator for several hours before cutting and serving. Cut into small pieces, they're rich!

Chicken Piccata

Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything big and important in your life, both fun and stressful, comes to a head all at once? And you feel like your head might explode from the chaos? For me, that was last week.



Luckily, most of it was fun: a concert, a wedding, a visiting uncle, lots of great restaurants, trips to Portland and Seattle. But there was definite sleep deprivation involved. One of my favorite feelings in life is the calm after the storm; reflecting back on everything that just happened, and entering a relative vegetative state for a day or 2. Those days are often when greatness happens in my kitchen, and that's how this Chicken Piccata was born.

It felt like such a luxury to take a whole afternoon and evening earlier this week to pore through cookbooks, plan a meal (this chicken, served on a bed of sauteed spinach, and pasta with my go-to marinara sauce from scratch). Before I got into cooking last year, I used to consider playing in the kitchen a chore, something that took time and energy that I didn't want to "waste." I love that now, I feel the complete opposite. At the end of a long day, all I want to do is get into the kitchen and create something.

Oh, maybe I should say something about the chicken, eh? Rave reviews all around. It's supposed to serve 4, but the 2 of us took it down easily, it was that good. My first time serving anything on a "bed" of spinach. Watch out world, I'm getting all fancy-pants!

Chicken Piccata
Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Printable Recipe
Serves 4

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
8 boneless chicken breast cutlets (4 ounces each), pounded thin with a meat tenderizer
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 large lemon, sliced into thin half-moons and end discarded
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 1/2 lemons)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces and chilled
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200F. Spread the flour in a shallow dish.

2. Pat the cutlets dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge through the flour to coat and shake off any excess.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the cutlets and cook until light golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to an oven-safe plate and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets.

4. Add the shallot and garlic to the oil still left in the skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the broth and lemon slices, scraping up any brown bits, and simmer until reduced and slightly syrupy, about 8 minutes.

5. Stir in the lemon juice and capers if using. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken before serving.

Garlicky Baked Rice

Every now and then, I'll see a recipe on a food blog and just know that I need to have it in my belly ASAP. This garlicky baked rice from Annie's Eats was one of those recipes.



Annie's version calls for a covered casserole dish, which I don't have, so I adapted the recipe for use in my Dutch oven. Baking in the Dutch oven resulted in a great crispy brown layer at the bottom, which I love. I served this with my Spanakopita Vols-au-Vents and a salad, but it's a versatile side that could go with pretty much anything.

Garlicky Baked Rice
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Printable Recipe

2 tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup long-grain white rice
2½ cups chicken broth, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Add the garlic and rice and cook until both are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Stir in the remaining chicken broth and bake, covered, for 30 more minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and serve warm.

Baked French Toast with Praline Topping

Allow me to introduce you to my first foray into the wonderful world of Paula Deen. Baked French Toast with Praline Topping. I could probably say this about all of her recipes, but I can't imagine a richer, more decadent, and more delicious way to start my day than with a hunk of this stuff.



Making this recipe was an interesting exercise in editing. I found it on the Food Network website, where, last time I checked, the recipe had 1,277 comments. While the overall rating of the recipe was 5 stars out of a possible 5, fans had lots to say about how to improve or tweak this dish for the best possible results. I actually really enjoyed the process of whittling through just a few pages of those 1,277 comments and trying to decide which tips and modifications I was going to follow (the recipe below reflects my changes).



My gut was pretty spot on, because this came out as nothing short of divine. I served it with a strawberry sauce made from throwing thawed frozen strawberries (I used the ones we picked in June), their juices, and sugar into the blender; adding sugar until I got just the right balance of sweet and tart. I was worried that the sauce was going to be completely unnecessary or too over-the-top with the rest of the bread-y goodness, but it wound up being the ideal complement.



I think Paula and I are friends now. Maybe in a year or so my body will have recovered from the lethal amounts of cream, butter, and sugar that I fed myself today, and I'll be ready to tackle another one of her sinfully delicious creations!

Baked French Toast with Praline Topping
Adapted from Paula Deen
Printable Recipe

For Casserole:
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Dash salt

For Praline Topping:
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice


1. Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered (or sprayed with non-stick baking spray) 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

2. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Bake for 25 minutes. While baking, prepare Praline Topping (combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well). Remove baking dish from oven and spread topping evenly over the bread. Return to oven and bake for 15-20 more minutes, or until custard is absorbed and casserole is puffed and golden. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Serve with maple syrup or strawberry sauce.

Daring Cooks: Sushi

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

This challenge was the most fun I've had in a Daring challenge since I've joined either group. We had some friends over, and all made the sushi as quite the team effort. After making the required dragon roll, spiral roll, and 4 pairs of nigiri, we had fun going a little nutty and getting creative with the wide variety of ingredients I had prepared.

Nigiri: tamago (sweet egg, I used this recipe), tuna, salmon, and red bell pepper, and the spiral roll


Dragon Roll, with tuna, crab, and cucumber inside and avocado with homemade eel sauce (made with this recipe) on top


Cross-section of the spiral roll


Assorted sushi rolls, including salmon/avocado and shrimp tempura topped with tuna


A big thank you to Rose and Audax for being such gracious hosts this month. I love knowing how cheap and easy it is to make one of my favorite indulgences at home any time I want! I especially enjoyed learning how to make rice authentically. Who wants to join me for my next sushi party?

Head over to The Daring Kitchen for completely foolproof instructions!

Soup Week: A Retrospective

Welcome to the 5th and final day of Soup Week!

I hope you've enjoyed this week's steamy bowls of deliciousness (or in one case, a lesson learned from not-so-deliciousness). To wrap up the week, I'm sharing some soups I've made and loved prior to soup week, and also a few soups on my to-do list that I can't wait to try this winter.

Past faves:
Pho Ga


Curried Cauliflower Soup


White Gazpacho with Grapes and Toasted Almonds


On my to-do list:
Avgolemono
Deconstructed Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Hot and Sour Soup
Pappa Al Pomodoro
Tortilla Soup
.
.
.
Do tell! What's your favorite kind of soup?

Soup Week: Coconut Shrimp Soup

Welcome to Day 4 of Soup Week! I'm sharing a different bowl of soup with you every day this week. Enjoy!

I had mixed feelings about whether to share this soup with you because, honestly, I wasn't a huge fan. But I do learn just as much about cooking and my palate when I don't like a recipe as when I feel that a dish is a success, so here it is. Martha Stewart's Coconut Shrimp Soup.



There's a good chance that I didn't like this because I'm such a huge fan of authentic Tom Kha, Thai Coconut Soup. It's one of my favorite comfort foods. In retrospect, it was silly of me to expect this soup, found in a cookbook designed for quick and easy weeknight meals, to even slightly resemble the real thing. My main issues with the soup were that it tasted like watered down coconut milk and that the carrots took up far too much of my time. In all fairness, though, I do need to work on my knife skills!

When you think of this soup doing its own thing, instead of trying to pass itself off as Tom Kha, it might not be so bad.

Coconut Shrimp Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound carrots (6-8 medium) peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 ounces angel hair pasta
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Coarse salt
4 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the ginger, garlic, and the pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the carrots, coconut milk, and 3 cups of water. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth; add to the pot. Bring to a boil.

2. Break the pasta in half; add to the pot. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the pasta is al dente and the carrots are just tender, 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the shrimp; stir until opaque, about 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lime juice; season with salt. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with the scallions. Serve immediately.

Soup Week: Curried Potato Leek Soup with Spinach

Welcome to Day 3 of Soup Week! I'm sharing a different bowl of soup with you every day this week. Enjoy!

This soup, a brilliantly creative twist on a classic, was the first recipe that caught my eye from my new Gourmet Today cookbook.



The texture of this soup was perfect. I followed the instructions to puree only a cup of the soup, stir it back in, and leave the rest chunky. The curry flavor didn't come across quite as strongly as I'd like; next time I'll add a bit more. The other flavors played well together to make up for the lack of curry, though, and I loved, loved, loved the spinach. This soup was a big win, and I'll definitely be making it again this winter.



Please see this post for some tips about safely pureeing extra-hot things in blenders.

Curried Potato Leek Soup with Spinach
Adapted from Gourmet Today
Printable Recipe
Serves 4

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; from 4-6 medium leeks), washed well
1 pound boiling potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 2/3 cups water
1 3/4 cups chicken stock or store-bought reduced-sodium broth (substitute vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
1 cup whole milk
5 ounces fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1. Heat butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add leeks, potatoes, curry powder, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in water and stock, bring to a simmer, and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are very tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer 1 cup of soup to a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids) and puree until smooth. Return puree to the pan, stir in milk, and bring to a simmer. Stir in spinach and simmer until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute more.

Note: The soup, without the spinach, can be made up to 2 days ahead. Cool, uncovered, then refrigerate, covered. To serve, bring to a simmer, stir in spinach, and simmer until wilted, about 1 minute.