Recipes

Trinidadian Macaroni Pie

Audrey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:28:00 +0000

Throughout college, I had several Trinidadian friends (including a great freshman year roommate). One of the easiest (and most delicious and most fattening) dishes we would eat was macaroni pie. I stole this recipe from CaribbeanPot.com and it was quite tasty.

14 oz "macaroni" (we used bucattini pasta - round like spaghetti but wider with a hole in the middle)
1/2 medium onion diced very small
1 habanero or scotch bonnet diced fine (optional)
2 large eggs
1 can evaporated milk (~12.5 oz)

Shakshuka - tomato/chickpea with egg

Jon — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:33:03 +0000

From Bon Appetit, halved and with some modifications:

Ingredients
3 T olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeños, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup coarsely crumbled feta
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Wheat Berry, Fennel, and Pomegranate Salad

Audrey — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:34:41 +0000

I modified a Bon Appetit recipe, and it was delicious. The original recipe called for quinoa, but only having wheat berries in the pantry, I substituted. And frankly, I think the wheat berries were better because they provided more texture and toothsome-ness that quinoa would have. The only other change I made was dropping the dill. I don't particularly like it, and even though Jon does, I made it when he wasn't home!

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side

Posole

Jon — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:51:51 +0000

We modified a recipe from Bon Appetit to spice it up and re-balance this posole. Next time, we may add a hot pepper to the posole as it cooks to add some heat.

INGREDIENTS

Pork
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Dash smoked salt
1 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced

Posole
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 plum tomatoes, diced

Martini Olives

Jon — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:31:14 +0000

I took this recipe from Bon Apetit: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/12/boozy-olives and merged it with a guideline from a bartending book - dropping the lime juice, adding some fresh rosemary twigs, slightly muddled, and some herbs de provence and some red pepper flakes for color.

A dash of olive brine, and 2 parts gin to 1 part vermouth to cover the olives.

Jose's Basque Tuna Stew

Audrey — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:05:16 +0000

WoW...

One of our favorite recipes from our signed copy of Jose Andres' Made in Spain cookbook. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients
1 pounds fresh bonito or yellowfin tuna
2 medium green bell peppers, roasted, skinned and roughly chopped
1/2 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 slices day-old bread, preferably country-style
1 pound plum tomatoes (5 to 6) or 2-3 medium tomatoes
3 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2 large onions)
2 tbs minced garlic

MV Spices Chai Recipe

Audrey — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:05:07 +0000

When we were in India, we visited MV Spices and bought a lot of Indian spices (probably at tourist prices), including a spice mix for Indian Chai (tea). The ingredients listed on the tea bag are:

Cardamom
Cinnamon
Ginger
Nutmeg
Black Pepper
Clove

The recipe, copied from the back of the bag, is as follows:

2 cups water
1 spoon tea (black tea)
Little tea spice
2 spoons sugar

Boil 5 minutes
Add hot milk (or dry milk)
Boil 3 minutes
Filter and serve.

Pumpkin Pie

Jon — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:59:22 +0000

From a whole pumpkin (we used a ____), cut into half (or a bit more for even cooking), place cut side down and bake in a 350F oven until very tender (45-90 minutes)

Drain of any water and scoop out the goop. Let cool.

Use a hand blender to puree the pumpkin until silky smooth.

Combine:
3 cups pumpkin goop
3 eggs
1 12oz can evaporated milk
3/4 cup heavy cream (or 1.5 cans evaporated milk total, if no cream)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey

Spices
1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Audrey — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:28:51 +0000

We merged a Bon Appetit recipe with a (strikingly) similar recipe from my canning book (which recommends topping the finished product with pickled red onions). We don't (yet) have a dutch oven, so we did this entirely on the stovetop. For those home chefs with a dutch oven (one day that will be us), I've left in the oven directions as optional.

Makes about 4 servings.

Ingredients

Ian's Corn Casserole

Audrey — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:37:10 +0000

This recipe, courtesy of our friend Ian (though we promised to keep it a secret...thus not publishing) is really tasty. I mean, it's made from cans (which is sort of anti our whole food philosophy), but it's good... really good. So, I collect the recipe and will one day make it on some turkey-centric holiday and take credit for making it from scratch!

Makes a 9 inch by 9 inch glass baking pan.

- 1 16oz can of corn (with liquid)
- 1 16oz can of cream corn
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup butter (melted)