Ricey Tomatoes with Breadcrumbs

These tomatoes. Ohhh, these tomatoes. I've had them bookmarked since long before I really knew who Molly was. Now, she's one of the food writers I admire most. If you don't know her, head over to Orangette. You'll feel like you've made a new friend right away, I promise.



I keep kicking myself for waiting so long to try this recipe. I've had the best of intentions, with ingredients stocked and everything, to make this at least 3 other times. But for some reason, it's never quite happened until now. They were just as flavorful and comforting as Molly promised. I served them for company, but next time (probably not til next summer's first tomatoes) I'll make it for just us, so we can each have 2.

Ricey Tomatoes with Breadcrumbs
Adapted from Molly of Orangette, originally from Luisa Weiss
Printable Recipe

4 large, good-tasting tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
1/3 cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup water
5 fresh basil leaves
Salt
Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Cut the tops off the tomatoes. Holding them over a bowl, scoop out their insides – flesh, seeds, and juice – and let it all fall into the bowl. Set the tomatoes in a lightly oiled 9”x13” baking dish. Then fish the flesh out of the bowl, and chop it. Return it to the bowl with the juice and seeds.

3. In a medium saucepan, warm a glug of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent. Add the rice, and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Add the tomato flesh, juice, and seeds – it may look like a lot, but add it all – as well as the water. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces, and add them too. Add a generous pinch or two of salt. Reduce the heat slightly, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste, and if needed, add more salt.

4. Spoon the par-cooked rice mixture into the tomatoes. Top them with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs. Give everything a good drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The tomatoes should shrivel a bit and release some of their juices.

5. Cool for 15 minutes or so before eating, so that the tomato juices have time to settle.

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.

Soup Week: Roasted Garlic Soup with Parmesan and Lemon

Welcome to the 2nd installment of Soup Week! I'm sharing a different bowl of soup with you every day this week. Enjoy!

Have you ever heard of garlic soup? I hadn't, until very recently. It was quite the revelation.



There is a wealth of recipes out there for garlic soup, and I chose one from Bon Appetit magazine. The lemon, of course, is what sold me, and this bowl of deliciousness easily lived up to my high expectations. I'm getting better at riffing on recipes, using a well-tested, established recipe as a base to make my own modifications, and that's what I did here. It makes cooking just ever so slightly more fun.

Don't forget the lemon, okay? It adds an extra dimension to the soup that makes all the difference... trust me!

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

Roasted Garlic Soup with Parmesan and Lemon
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Printable Recipe
Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a main course

34 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions (from 1 medium/large onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
10 garlic cloves, peeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
4 lemon wedges

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 34 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.

2. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 10 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.)

3. Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

Soup Week: Creamy Broccoli Soup

Happy Soup Week, everyone! Yes, I do realize that I just made up an arbitrary week-long holiday for no good reason. I just wanted an excuse to make it easier to cope with that undeniable chill in the air, and making up a celebration seemed like the best way to do that. Every day this week, I'll be sharing a different hearty bowl of warmth with you. I'm kicking it off today with one that's all about the broccoli.



Broccoli soup and all its variations (cream of broccoli, broccoli cheese) have always been one of my favorites.

The best thing about this soup is that it's sufficiently creamy, but there's no dairy in it, other than the pinch of shredded cheese I threw on top. It's thickened with a handful of rolled oats, which freaked me out at first, but they're impossible to detect in the finished product. The original recipe called for nutmeg, but it's one of the few seasonings I can't stand, so I left it out. Feel free to throw it back in there if you're feeling nutty. I added chives because I had some, and also topped each bowl with some Mexican blend shredded cheese, which gave it a nice tang.

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

Creamy Broccoli Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast
Printable Recipe
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved and sliced
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (use veggie broth for vegetarian)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, florets separated, stems cut into 1/2-inch rounds
Coarse salt & freshly ground pepper
Chives for garnish (optional)
Shredded cheese for topping (optional)

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion; cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups water, the oats, and the broccoli. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the broccoli is tender, 5-10 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in batches, filling the blender halfway or less. Return the soup to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Top with chopped chives and sprinkle with cheese, if using. Serve immediately.

CEiMB: Linguine with Shrimp and Vegetables

It's Thursday, which means it's time for Craving Ellie in My Belly! This week's Ellie Krieger dish is Linguine with Shrimp and Vegetables, chosen by Farah at Confessions of a Novice Baker.



I'm a big fan of anything with pasta, veggies, and a lemon/white wine/garlic sauce. The addition of shrimp was a nice way to tie the dish together. I made a few slight changes to the recipe, including using only half the shrimp called for, using canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh cherry tomatoes (tomato season, come back soon please!), and omitting the parsley.

Linguine with Shrimp and Vegetables
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave
Printable Recipe

3/4 pound (12 oz.) linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (optional)
1 bunch asparagus stalks, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
15-oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and asparagus and saute for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink and opaque, and asparagus is tender and firm, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the shrimp mixture from the pan and set aside.

3. Add the lemon juice, white wine, and the reserved pasta water to the skillet, maintaining medium-high heat. Let simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half. Return the shrimp and asparagus to the pan and stir in the parsley, if using. Add the drained linguine to the shrimp mixture, tossing to combine. Add tomatoes and toss. Sprinkle with cheese, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Getting a new cookbook is always a special treat for me. Recently, my dearest Nana and her wonderful partner-in-crime, Alan, gifted me with 2 cookbooks that I had been madly coveting: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan and Gourmet Today. I'm always grateful for my wonderful family, but surprise acts of kindness like this always put a huge grin on my face. (Thanks again, you two! Love you SO!)



The first thing I chose to make from Dorie's book was her Cranberry Upside-Downer. This was my first upside-down cake, but certainly not my last. I love the concept of buttery, sugary, caramel-y fruit combined with a thin layer of moist cake... what's not to adore? I can already tell this book is going to see a lot of use from me.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours
Printable Recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups of cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup red currant jelly, for glazing the cake

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350F. Put an 8x2-inch round cake pan on a baking sheet (Amy's note: I used a 9x2 inch and reduced the baking time by 5 minutes).

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

3. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan. Sprinkle in 6 tablespoons of the sugar and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Pour the mixture evenly over the bottom of the cake pan, then scatter the nuts over the mixture and top with the cranberries, smoothing the layer and pressing it down with a rubber spatula.

4. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the remaining stick (8 tablespoons) of butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Pour in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes (35-40 for a 9-inch pan), or until the cake is golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and run a blunt knife between the sides of the pan and the cake. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving platter. If any of the berries stick to the pan, just scrape them off and return them to the cake.

6. Warm the jelly in a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave. Gently brush the glaze over the hot cake.

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Peanut Sauce, Fresh Tofu, and Chiles

I have a few cookbooks on my shelf that are completely under-appreciated. Tyler Florence's Eat This Book has been gathering dust there for years. No excuse, I just sort of forgot it was there.



Starting today, neglect no longer! This book is dynamic, colorful and approachable. It has a great variety of recipes from all over the globe, and while most of them have scarily long ingredient lists, the techniques themselves are mostly quite simple. I had almost all of the ingredients for this recipe on hand already.



This dish, Stir-Fried Green Beans with Peanut Sauce, Fresh Tofu, and Chiles, is a study in contrasts. Flavorful and mellow, hot and cold, colorful and pale, spicy and mild. Each of these contrasts complements the others. It hit the spot perfectly on a chilly fall night. I especially like that the tofu is served on the side, rather than incorporated into the stir-fry; something new that I'll try more often. To make this dish vegetarian, substitute vegetable broth or water for the chicken stock.

I prepped ahead for this dish using mise en place, and it really expedited things once I started cooking. I highly recommend this method with such a long ingredient list. Not only is it efficient, but it lowers the stress level and ups the fun level.

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Peanut Sauce, Fresh Tofu, and Chiles
Adapted from Eat This Book by Tyler Florence
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup peanut oil
1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 dried red chiles
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock, homemade or storebought (vegetarians: substitute vegetable broth or water)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 strips of orange zest
1 (15-0unce) block or firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced crosswise into rounds
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
Handful fresh cilantro leaves, optional

1. Heat the peanut oil in a wok over high heat. When the oil is smoking hot, at the beans and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Very carefully, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the hot oil into a heat-proof bowl (Amy's note for the klutzy: I drained it all into a bowl and then put 2 tablespoons back into the wok).

2. Add the ginger, garlic, green onion, and chiles to the oil remaining in the wok and stir-fry until you can smell the fragrance of the aromatics, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Return the green beans to the wok and season with salt and pepper.

3. In a small bowl, stir the chicken stock with the cornstarch to make a slurry and add that to the wok. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, peanut butter, and orange zest (Amy's note: I had these all pre-combined in one bowl). Simmer until the sauce is thickened and the beans are tender, 5-7 minutes.

4. Garnish with the tofu, sliced jalapeno, peanuts, and cilantro, if desired. Serve with steamed rice.