Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's

I scream!

You scream!

We all scream for free ice cream!

Head over to Ben & Jerry's to get your free cone anytime today between noon and 8pm.  Free cones are for today only so don't miss out!  Cherry Garcia, here I come!  Or maybe I'll try one of the new spring flavors.

Today Is Free Pastry Day at Starbucks!

Today you can get your early morning pastry fix at Starbucks for free with the purchase of any handcrafted, brewed or iced beverage.  Use this coupon.  The offer is good only until 10:30 am so get out of bed sleepyhead and roll on over to your nearest Starbucks!

Kids, Don't Try This at Home

Gavin eats the world's hottest pepper, bhut jolokia, and almost cries like a baby lives to tell the tale.   He whines a lot and turns beet red with sweat pouring down his face.  Honestly, I don't understand the purpose of this video.  Why would anyone in their right mind knowingly chow down on the world's hottest pepper?  What's the point?  Bhut jolokia is really hot, as one would suspect from its designation as the world's hottest pepper, which would lead one to believe that taking a bite would be an enormously bad idea.  And bhut jolokia is not just hot, like Tabasco hot.  We're talking crazy hot, like 1,000,000 Scoville units.  By comparison, Tabasco is only 50,000 Scoville units at best.  Gavin knew that but he did it anyway.  WHY? This video must be an exercise in machoism that I don't understand because I am a woman.  Or a reasonable person.  If someone ever said to me, "Hey, do you know what would be cool?  If you ate the world's hottest pepper and we filmed it for You Tube" then I would respond, "HELL NO. Have you lost your freaking mind?"  Let us all learn from Gavin's mistake.

Read Up & Eat Up for March 14-20, 2010

Last week's best in recipes and foodie news on the web.


FOOD FASHIONISTA
Perfect for clutzes like me! OOPS! Red Wine Stain Remover is tops on my must-buy list.


WHAT WE'RE EATING
If you like it hot, try Amanda's recipe for homemade Habanero Hot Sauce.  


LOVE & OLIVE OIL
Someone please invite me over for dinner and cook this Sundried Tomato Risotto.  Pretty please with a sundried tomato on top?


FOR THE LOVE OF COOKING
Did you eat corned beef on St. Patty's Day?  


***PICK OF THE WEEK***
FOOD POLITICS
Marion Nestle wonders What Are Food Companies Doing About Childhood Obesity? 


Special thanks to Michelle Meiklejohn for the use of her gorgeous photograph! Please visit Michelle's portfolio.

Beef & Leek Turnovers

The supermarket had a buy one get one sale on 93% lean ground beef last weekend so I snapped up a couple of packages because I sure do love a bargain.  And who doesn't love ground beef?  Besides being economical, ground beef is the cornerstone of the most popular family-friendly, budget-friendly recipes. Hamburgers, meatballs, meat sauce, lasagna, salisbury steak, stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, the list goes on and on.  Whatever your favorite dish happens to be, I'm pretty sure you could find a way to work some ground beef into it.  Take a looksee at this genius creation of hamburger pizza.

As of late, pastry has been the object of my culinary obsession.  In the past week, I've baked an apple pie, some really tasty lemon cranberry scones (which I will post for you soon), and the beef and leek turnovers you see in the picture above.  The turnovers came about because I wanted to bake something savory wrapped in a flaky crust.  Because flaky crust is awesome.  And because the scene from Great Expectations where Pip steals a pork pie from his sister's pantry popped (inexplicably) into my head while I was surveying the contents of the freezer and trying to decide what to cook for dinner.   Somehow, somewhere deep in my thought process, pork pie became beef pie, which then became beef turnover.  And I had a couple of leeks leftover from an earlier meal so beef turnover became beef and leek turnover.  And with that, another great recipe was born.

All you Dickens fans, check this out.  If you know the story, you will chuckle.  If you don't know the story, then you obviously skipped a lot of ninth grade English classes.



Beef & Leek Turnovers
printer friendly recipe

For the pastry:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons ice water

Put all of the ingredients except for the ice water and the egg into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle in the ice water and pulse again until the mixture comes together as a dough. It will be wet in some places and crumbly in others.

Pour out the dough onto a floured surface. Gather all of the dough, including the crumbly pieces, into a ball. Quickly knead three or four times. Fashion into a ball and flatten out into a disk about 8 inches in diameter. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

Crack the egg into a small bowl, beat and set aside until later.

For the filling:

1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks, washed well, trimmed and chopped small
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, diced very small
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup plain tomato sauce

Heat the oil over medium in a large skillet. Add the leeks, garlic and carrot. Saute for 10 minutes, until softened but not browned.

Add the beef. Saute until fully cooked through, about 10-15 minutes, while breaking up the meat into very small pieces.

Add all of the spices and stir well.

Add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Stir well.

Simmer uncovered for 5-7 minutes then cover and simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl and allow to cool completely before filling the turnovers. This step could take a couple of hours, even in the fridge, so plan ahead accordingly when making this recipe.

To prepare the turnovers:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the pastry dough in half. Put one half back in the fridge and put the other on a floured board. Roll out to the thickness of a pie crust, about a scant quarter inch thick. Cut out circles that are 6-7" in diameter. I use a small plate as a guide and just run my knife around it. Gather up any dough scraps from around the circles, press into a ball and put back into the fridge while you work with the circles you've just cut out.

Make sure the circles aren't stuck to the board by gently lifting them up and dusting underneath with a bit of flour. Brush the reserved beaten egg around the perimeter of each circle. Place a slightly heaping 1/4 cup of the meat filling in the middle of each circle. Take care not to scoop up too much liquid with the meat. Gently fold over one half of the circle, to create a half circle shape. Firmly press together the exposed edges to seal the turnover. Crimp the edge with a fork. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Brush the tops of the turnovers with beaten egg.

Repeat with remaining pastry dough and meat filling. You should be able to create 8 turnovers.

Bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and looks flaky. If you need to use two baking sheets to bake all of the turnovers at once, then switch their positions in the oven at the 10 minute mark to ensure even baking. Use a spatula to transfer the turnovers to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 large turnovers.

One Pot Meal: Chorizo, Chickpeas & Broccoli Rabe

We just ate this for dinner, not even 20 minutes ago.  It was so good that I had to share the recipe with you right away.  The smokiness of the chorizo highlights the creamy chickpeas and pleasantly bitter broccoli rabe, with everything tied together beautifully by the sweet tomatoes.  We sopped up all that delicious broth with slices of crusty bread, baked fresh this afternoon. Tonight was the first time I tried cooking this dish and I am extremely pleased with the results.  Best of all, everything cooks in one pot, which means less clean-up later. This recipe is a keeper for sure.

Chorizo, Chickpeas & Broccoli Rabe
printer friendly recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh chorizo sausage (6 links)
1 large onion, chopped
3 big garlic cloves, chopped
28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed and washed
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup sherry
1 2/3 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon cumin seed
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper
a big pinch of kosher salt

Drain the excess juice from the can of tomatoes.  Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl.  Cut into large chunks or squish them with your hands until they break into big pieces.  A lot of juice will come out of the tomatoes into the bowl.  That's exactly how it should be.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the chorizo and brown deeply on all sides.

Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cumin seed.  Saute for one minute.

Deglaze the pan with the sherry.

Add the tomatoes and the juice that has collected in the bowl.  Mix in the smoked paprika.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chickpeas.

Spread the broccoli rabe over the top of the ingredients in the pans.  Do not stir the broccoli rabe into the pot.  Just let it sit on top.  Season with the salt and pepper.

Pour over the broth.  Cover, lower the heat a smidge and simmer until the broccoli rabe is tender and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Serve piping hot with fresh bread.

Serves 6

Stir-Fried Greens, Bangla Style & Simmered Spiced Soybeans

Cookbooks make me really excited, especially cookbooks showcasing recipes from far away places that I hope to visit one day.  In my quest to incorporate more vegetarian fare into our diets, I've been looking for inspiration in the cuisine of the India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, all places where I have never travelled but I love the food anyway.  My current favorite cookbook, Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontintent by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, celebrates the food and cultures of those countries with gorgeous photographs, charming anecdotes and authentic recipes.  You should make room for this one in your personal collection of cookbooks because you can curl up with this book in a comfy chair and be entertained for quite a while.  The food photography will whet your appetite and the portraits of the villages and their inhabitants will transport you to new and different places.  Mangoes & Curry Leaves has given me a better sense of the ancient and fascinating cultures of the subcontinent, which I really appreciate.  Every time I cook one of the recipes from the book, I want to run out to the nearest travel agent and book a flight to Mumbai.   Give a couple of these recipes a try and you'll understand exactly what I mean.  The two dishes below pair perfectly with hot, fluffy jasmine rice.

STIR-FRIED GREENS, BANGLA STYLE
printer friendly recipe

1 pound leafy greens like baby bok choi, spinach or dandelion greens
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon EACH black mustard, cumin, fennel, fenugreek and nigella seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or ref pepper flakes
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/12 cups finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar if using bitter greens like dandelion

Wash and thoroughly drain the greens.  Chop coarsely and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large wok or a large deep heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spices and cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, but not the salt.  Stir briefly, then add the garlic and stir-fry for just 10 seconds.  Add the onions and stir-fry, lowering the heat to medium after 2 minutes, until very tender and soft, about 10 minutes.  If using sugar, add now.

Raise the heat to high, add the greens and stir-fry until they are bright green, 1-5 minutes depending on the greens. Add the salt and continue to stir-fry until the greens give off their liquid, then cover and steam for 1 minutes.  Remove the lid and continue to stir-fry until tender and cooked through.  Timing will depend on the greens you use.

Transfer to a bowl and serve hot.

Serves 6.


SIMMERED SPICED SOYBEANS
printer friendly recipe

1 tablespoon mustard oil (I substitute vegetable oil)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 red cayenne chile, minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large tomato (about 1/2 pound) diced into 1/2 inch chunks
2 cupped shelled fresh or frozen soybeans (edamame)
1 cup water
1/2 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over high heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chile and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until the onion is well softened. Stir in the turmeric, cumin and salt, then toss in the tomato.  Stir-fry for 1 minutes, or until the tomato starts to soften and give off liquid.

Add the soybeans and mix well. Add the water and bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until the beans are softened but still firm to the bite. (Frozen or fresh take the same amount of time.)  Serve garnished with t he coriander leaves.

Serves 3 - 4.