Fudgy Chocolate Yogurt Brownies

Today I had my first Parent/Teacher Conference.  I'm new to this, but the correct protocol is to show up with brownies, right?  To bribe them to say nice things about your kid?  Cool, then I either did this right or embarrassed myself tremendously by acting like Reese Witherspoon in Election.  Listen, people always ask me, what do you do with all of those baked goods, Siri??  And this is the answer.  I give them away, all of the time.  I find any reason to bake.  Teacher conference, cable guy coming, mailman's birthday.  (JK I don't know my mailman's birthday LOL.)  (Totally going to ask him.)

On this particular morning I was inspired by an entire tub of vanilla yogurt I bought and haven't touched.  I hate for things to go bad, so I googled "vanilla yogurt bake" and I found this recipe for Fudgy Chocolate Yogurt Brownies.  I had never heard of adding flavored yogurt to a baked good and I was intrigued.  The result?  A brownie that needs a serious glass of milk and one that I CANNOT stop eating.  So moist, so chocolaty, a slight tang from the yogurt - they are absurdly good.

p.s. If you're an iPhone user, I recently jumped on the bandwagon and joined Vine.  It's a video site, and I'm going to use it strictly for food.  Follow me on this culinary journey, why don't you.
(Search for "Siri Pinter" because that's my name.)      

Puffed Caramel Rice

For this easy candy, you need puffed rice. In Sweden, this is sold as "vårgårdaris", but I'm sure puffed rice is available in other places too. It's not toasted, or anything like rice crispies, just puffed.

Puffed Caramel Rice
about 20 servings

6 tbsp cream
50 g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
75 g sugar
600 ml puffed rice
100 g melted chocolate

Melt together cream, butter, syrup and sugar. Cook for about three minutes. Stir in the rice, and make sure to coat all of it evenly.

On waxed paper, shape little mounds of rice. Let them cool completely, and then drizzle with chocolate.

Duck Fat Roasted Brussels Sprouts – P.H.A.T. with an “F”

With all the rich and decadent football party food I’ve been sharing lately, I’d thought I’d take a little break, and post a nice, simple green vegetable side dish. Of course, these beautiful roasted Brussels sprouts were just a prop so I could demonstrate using leftover duck fat, but still.

If you watch any amount of celebrity chef TV, you’ve undoubtedly heard them going off on the virtues of duck fat. They mostly pontificate on its deep, palate-coating richness, which is true; but they also like to point out the health benefits. That part is a little cloudy…you know, like saturated fat when it cools down.

Duck fat does have much less saturated fat than butter, and is higher in oleic acid, the stuff that makes olive oil so popular with the healthy eating gurus, but make no mistake, this is still an animal fat, and should be used in moderation. The good news: “in moderation” totally works!

A few tablespoons and a very hot oven is all you need to turn some sleepy vegetables into something much more special. As I mention in the video, bacon grease will make a fine (and even more flavorful) substitute, but if you do cook duck, saving the leftover fat is nothing short of mandatory. I hope you give this technique a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Brussels sprouts (about 4-6 per person)

salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

enough melted duck fat to coat vegetables generously (about 2-3 tablespoons per pound of sprouts)

fresh squeezed lemon to finish

*Roast at 450 degrees F. until tender but still a little firm, about 15-20 minutes

View the complete recipe

Five Spice Chicken with Jade Rice

 

It's been a very good week for our family.  After the disappointment of not getting accepted in a surgical residency last year, Glenn got in for this year!  We're heading to Loma Linda California this summer!  It's quite the move, going from New Jersey to California, but we're so relieved and excited about the adventure. 

But now we talk about food, which today is this wonderful Five Spice Chicken that I found on Rebecca's blog a few months ago.  I adore dinners like this, rich in flavor, nutritious, but also quick and easy to make, perfect for the weeknights.  I think the five spice powder is completely underused, it's such a gorgeous aromatic spice, which is perfect for chicken.   


Five Spice Chicken with Jade Rice
From Chow and Chatter

Ingredients

Chicken

1/2 teaspoon 5 spice powder

1/2 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste

one tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoon soy sauce 

dash of sesame oil 

6 bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks

Rice
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup spinach
2 cloves of chopped garlic
2 eggs whisked a little with a pinch of salt and pepper
dash of soy sauce
1/4 an onion chopped

Directions 

Combine the ingredients for the chicken marinade and marinate the chicken in it for 2-3 hours.

Roast in oven, covered, at 350 for 20 minutes and then another 15- 20 minutes uncovered.

For the Jade fried rice, saute the garlic and onion until soft. Add the spinach until cooked down.   Add rice, cook to combine, about 3 minutes.  Add egg and stir until egg is completely cooked.

Healthy Spaghetti Carbonara

If I see Spaghetti Carbonara on a menu, I'm probably going to order it.  Is it even possible to say no to pasta, eggs, bacon and cheese all wrapped up into one absurdly tasty dish?!  Nope, not if your name is Siri (insert stupid 'iPhone robot-eating pasta' joke here).  However.  Ugh, I hate 'howevers'.  HOWEVER, it's not very figure friendly.  Which has never stopped me in the past, however, I thought I would try making a healthier version at home.  Whole wheat spaghetti, one egg, milk instead of cream, pancetta instead of bacon and the addition of peas or edamame beans.  It worked!  It tricked me!  It was a friend to my figure!  Best part, my son gobbled it up.  "Bacon pasta" we called it, because why not.  And here's a picture of said "bacon" because, why not?    

Healthy Spaghetti Carbonara

(Serves 2-4)

Printable Recipe

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

1 T olive oil

4 oz. finely diced pancetta (some markets sell it like this)

1 egg

1/4 cup lowfat milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup frozen peas or soy beans

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add pancetta.  Cook until crisp.  Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel-lined plate.  Clean out oil from skillet, but you will use the same skillet later so do not put away.  

Bring large pot of water to boil for pasta.  Once boiling, add a generous amount of salt and pasta.  Cook until al dente.  

While pasta is boiling, combine egg, milk and Parmesan in a bowl.  Whisk to combine, then place in skillet.  

Once pasta is cooked, drain and add immediately to egg mixture in skillet.  Toss to combine over low heat.  Add peas or soy beans, and toss until warmed.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot, with more Parmesan cheese, of course.  

A must-read!

Oh, I have to point you to this excellent food review by famous A A Gill, who recently visited Stockholm. I don't agree with his review of Flippin Burgers, but it's pretty funny.

Strawberry Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Confession: Katy Perry gave me a box of cake mix.

Another confession: That's not true at all.

One more confession: It's sort of true.  The radio station Carson works at got a bag of Katy Perry promotional stuff, like pink glittery beach balls and strawberry cake mix.  Get it?  Pink stuff.  She's girly.  (I don't know.)  And one day I was at the station and I took it, because it was just sitting there, and cake mix shouldn't sit at radio stations.  So you see?  Katy Perry gave me a box of cake mix.

This was a loooooooong time ago, and the cake mix just sat in my pantry.  Because what does one do with strawberry cake mix?  And then I saw these cookies.  Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies?!  WTF?!  Yes.  Yes, they needed to be made.  Made them, I did (said Yoda).  And you know what made them outstanding?  Strawberry cake mix.  Thanks Katy Perry, you're a firework.      

Baked Crab and Artichoke Dip – A Snack So Nice, You Finish it Twice

Nothing says, “this party rocks” like a creamy, cheesy, baked dip, and when you’re talking about a hot crab and artichoke dip, people have been known to put an extra choice word or two before “rocks.” If only there were a big event coming up soon to test this theory.

Not only is this additive dip easy to make, it works with any budget. You can load it up with the finest fresh crab, use frozen or pasteurized lump crab meat, or even canned in a pinch. By the way, (and off the record) I’ve had these made with fake crab, and it wasn’t bad at all.

While the loaf of bread base does make for a nice presentation, not to mention recycled after party snack food, you can simply bake this in a casserole dish as well. As I mentioned in the video, I had a little extra leftover, and if this happens to you, give it a try as a stuffing for ravioli, wontons, or other dumpling-like delivery systems.

No matter which team they’re rooting for, all your guests will be cheering for more of this delicious baked dip. By the way, nothing beats watching your friends play tug-o-war with the crust once the dip is gone. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 portions of Baked Crab and Artichoke Dip:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped green onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh chopped tarragon leaves

zest and juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

1 pound lump crab meat, drained

1 (14-oz) can artichoke bottoms

6 oz white Cheddar cheese, divided

1 large round or oval loaf sourdough bread

About 30 min at 375 degrees F.

Soft Boiled Egg

Let's talk about the movie Silver Linings Playbook for a second.  Have you seen it?  It's great, with really incredible characters.  One of my favorites is the mom, this sweet lady surrounded by neurotic men.  Every Sunday she makes something called "Crabby Snacks and Homemades."  Crabby Snacks I can sort of envision but what the heck is a "Homemade"??  I don't think I even want to know, I love it. I want to be that mom.  I want my kids to RUN home for Homemades, at any age.  I want to be famous for them.  I want their spouses one day to feel inferior because they can't make them quite like me.  

Ok that might be a little evil.  I swear I'll make a nice mother-in-law.  But it would bring me pure (evil) joy to be able to pass down certain tricks, like Homemades, or like this perfectly soft-boiled egg.  I can't take credit for figuring it out, this blog can.  I'm telling you, it's easy.  And once you've finished, if you don't immediately break it apart over avocado toast, you're a mental person.  Just like in the movie.

(Also, remember Avocado and Egg Pizza?)     

Fizzy Cassis drink

I rarely post about drinks. or alcohol at all. Heck, I rarely drink any. Almost never, in fact. Even less since having kids. I actually get a lot of e-mail from PR companies about wine but, well... I don't get around to drinking it, so I can't very well blog about it either.

Anyway. I made these drinks for our annual twelfth night dinner, and it was a pretty unusual combination! If you want to keep them non-alcoholic, just omit the gin.

One glass:
2 tbsp black currant cordial, concentrated (in Swedish - svartvinbärssaft.)
2 tbsp gin
1 lime slice
ice
150 ml sparkling apple cider (as dry as you can find, definitely not too sweet)

Frenetic versus Tranquil...

Things have completely settled down from the holiday-ness of the holidays and with the work rush that also comes with the holidays. Mom has arrived safe and sound back in Richmond, and is getting herself all settled there. I’ve been waiting for this. At least I’ve said that I have been waiting for this. But it’s so quiet. It’s so calm. It’s so rarely so, that I always forget that I’m not all that great with calm and quiet. I’m not a very still person. Frenetic might be a better word to describe me. I generally like to keep moving and doing. I always have lists and projects. I’m lost without them.

Now, I do realize that this is not exactly a good thing. I also realize it drives Fred crazy.
I’ve never claimed to be a walk in the park.

So imagine my delight when I received a project in the mail last week - my pals up at Columbus Salame sent me a sample of their Finocchiona, which had just won big at the 2013 Good Food Awards for best charcuterie! What to do, what to do...

At first I thought maybe a mac ‘n cheese carbonara of sorts, substituting the salumi for the bacon. But I’m (lamentably) really, really trying not to eat that kind of food right this minute. Sad, but true. Then, after a couple more days of research, I discovered an Italian bread called Casatiello, which is stuffed with salami, provolone, olives and what not. Fred and I tried twice and failed miserably. Miserably. I emailed the recipe to Mom to see if she could impart some sage advice, some help, from across the country. She basically told me this was clearly a varsity level baking recipe and to consider something else.

Gee, thanks, Mom.

This brings us to last night. I was planning on cooking a brick chicken and using up as much produce as possible from last Sunday’s farmers’ market haul. When I unearthed the tiny, purple Brussels sprouts that I had almost forgotten about, I knew something was stirring. And then Fred figured it all out.

So because of this one, little package that fortuitously arrived in the mail, I suddenly had an entire week of a mission, a project, and with it I had fun, research, frustration, failure and finally, success. And all in the kitchen. Just like I like it.

The meal that we had last night was a brick chicken with a chervil-parsley pan sauce, smashed & crisped baby potato medley with garlic & rosemary and roasted purple Brussels sprouts with salami and pine nuts. And it was all very, very good.

So, now what...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Salami

serves 2 as a side dish

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
5 slices salami, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp bacon drippings (or butter)Coarse salt & pepper
¼ cup pine nuts
grated Parmesan cheese


Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place cast iron, or oven safe dish on middle rack in oven until hot, hot, hot.

Combine the Brussels sprouts, salami, bacon drippings (or butter), salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.

When oven is preheated and cast iron is hot, hot, hot, add mixture Brussels sprouts mixture. 

Place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until  Brussels sprouts are slightly browned and cooked through.

Garnish with Parmesan and pine nuts.


Printable recipe.


One year ago: Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Two years ago: Mercantile
Three years ago: Swiss Fondue with Truffle Essence
Five years ago: The Hungry Cay - Santa Barbara

Apple crumble

We had a nice Saturday. Ran some errands, made a chicken salad for lunch, prepared an apple crumble, and then went out to play in the snow for a while.

When we came back inside, cheeks red and fingers frozen, the crumble had cooled down enough to eat but was warm enough to provide the perfect contrast to a billowing cloud of vanilla cream.

Apple crumble
Serves 4
3 apples (I used a mixture of red delicious and honeycrunch)
1 tbsp sugar (I use homemade vanilla sugar)
2 tsp cinnamon
120 g flour
70 g butter
2 tbsp sugar (again, homemade vanilla sugar is highly recommended)

Peel and core the apples. Cut into four wedges, then into 2 mm slices. Toss with the cinnamon and sugar, in a baking dish.

Place the flour, butter and sugar in a bowl - for me, the bowl of my kitchen-aid - and pinch together until you have a nice crumbly texture. (Or just run your K-A for a minute or two.)

Sprinkle the dough on top of the apples, and bake at 200 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Let it cool a little, and eat with vanilla cream.

Good morning Singapore! Breakfast in the Lion City

Image credit: Jonathan Harford

People I used to know when I lived in London actually ate this.  They actually did!  It's a full English fry up in a can, including "chopped egg nuggets".

NO.  JUST NO.

Thankfully, breakfast in Singapore is vastly more interesting, different and delicious.  The quintessential Singaporean breakfast is kaya toast - thick-cut toast spread with chartreuse coconut jam and obscenely large pats of butter, served with dangerously wobbly soft-boiled eggs.  Sprinkle some white pepper and squirt on some dark soy for a sweet/savoury breakfast treat.  Actually, these just-cooked eggs, boiled in metal mugs by stern-faced workers, are suspiciously like the fancy 65-degree poached eggs sweeping Melbourne's trendoid brunch scene.

Just across from my hotel in Chinatown was Tong Ah Eating House, an open-air kopitiam or coffee shop that has been run by the same family for four generations.  Kopitiams were established in the early 1900s to provide cheap sustenance to a growing working class.  Because the cooks could only afford cheap coffee beans, they perked them up by frying them with butter, lard and sugar.

The resulting kopi is strained through a long "sock" to create a sweet, powerful brew that is utterly delicious.  On the bottom is a layer of sweetened condensed milk that billows up as you stir with your plastic Chinese soup spoon.  And if you want to be a real ah chek (old uncle), tip the kopi into your saucer and slurp away.  A "set" with coffee, eggs and toast costs around AUD $2.65.

Another much-loved Singapore breakfast is roti prata.  Arriving in the Lion City via south India, the roti begin as small balls of dough before being twirled and twisted into impossibly thin sheets of pastry.  A few quick folds later, they're thrown on the hotplate to become crispy roti bread.

You know how I said anything with a skull floating in it has to be good?  Well, I reckon anything served next to a freeway on-ramp has to be good.  In spite of less then scenic location, people flock to this roti stall for this winning breakfast - crispy roti dunked in lip-smacking mutton curry.

Skulls.  Freeway on-ramps.  Another clue to good food is if you see a granny queueing to buy it.

And indeed, this chee cheong fun or filled rice noodle roll at Chinatown Complex hawker centre was worth waiting for.  Filled with minced pork and mushrooms and topped with smoky dark sauce, these tender, floppy noodle rolls were miles away from the claggy prawn-filled versions often seen at yum cha.

I'm telling you, if you're one of those people who doesn't eat breakfast, you'll seriously miss out in Singapore.  If you can only manage a small bite, make it steamed rice cakes from Jian Bo Shui Kueh at Tiong Bahru Market.

Upon ordering, silky steamed rice cakes are popped from silver moulds with lightning speed before being showered in a moist, crumbly topping of fried preserved radish and friends.  The topping is so umami, almost Marmite-like in flavour, and married with the warm, cloud-like rice cakes underneath, these breakfast kueh are simply divine.

But the pièce de résistance at Tiong Bahru was congee with raw fish.  Between spoonfuls of delicate, soothing rice porridge, spiked with shredded chicken and cuttlefish pieces, we nibbled on exquisite Chinese-style sashimi, dressed with sesame and julienned ginger.

...and here's where to get your ticket to Cloud 9.

Just a couple of cookies.

I have been known to bake an entire batch of cookies from scratch at 8pm (midnight in my world) just because I want one cookie.  That's clinically insane behavior.  But, as you should know, when you get a craving for a freshly baked cookie, you have to do something about it.  Otherwise you'll go to bed and have dreams about drowning in a pool of chocolate chips which seems heavenly only you're not allowed to eat even one instead you inhale them through your nose so you can't breath and also there are worms and also you're wearing a scrunchy.  

Nightmare stuff.  

This is why I was so excited to find a recipe via A Cup of Jo for just TWO chocolate chip cookies.  Just TWO!  I actually stretched it and made three, but you get the idea.  The batter comes together in minutes, one bowl, one spoon.  Easy enough for your almost-four-year-old to help with.  Almost 4!  

Travels in Malaysia

Let's fast forward a little.  After four days exploring Singapore's hawker centres and back-alley cafes, I dragged my bag to the MRT and set off for Johor Bahru, Malaysia.  This coastal city is just over the causeway from Singapore and is where my friend Mrs Hand has taken up residence.

Why Mrs Hand, you say?  When I asked her if I could include her in photos, "No way man!" came the reply in her thick Aussie accent.  "Come on, what about if your hand's in the way?" I pressed.  "Fine, whatever," she smiled.  So Mrs Hand it is.

She knew I was on an eating pilgrimage, so first stop, a nasi campur stall in a local wet market.  You load up your plate with rice from the rice cooker and then just start piling on the goods.  Chilli beef jerky, fried tempeh, emerald green water spinach and more.  The beef rendang was out of control good.  I stopped at the sea snail shells though!

 

There are loads of roadside stalls selling everything from kueh (steamed cakes) to fresh fruit.  This is Mrs Hand's regular stop for after-school snacks - freshly made fruit and vegie fritters.  I loved the cassava sticks and two types of fried banana, pisang rajah (small and sweet) and pisang besar (like plantain slices).

That night it was time for the best roasted quail, marinated in sweet soy and chilli and roasted over flames (fanned by, well, a fan!)

Alongside were delicate chicken satay served with wickedly good, rich satay sauce, full of many layers of flavour including lemongrass, chilli and just a little peanut.  Hmm - my go-to satay sauce of coconut milk, sweet chilli sauce and Kraft peanut butter isn't seeming all that appetising now!

Breakfast was at a Mamak eatery, which serves food from the Tamil Muslim community of Malaysia, including roti, dosa, curries and more.

Tissue-thin, light and puffy roti bread dipped in classic South Indian dal.  Two roti with dal cost the equivalent of 55 Australian cents.  YES - 55 cents.  That's it...  I'm moving to Malaysia.

Medical specimen or freshly squeezed OJ to go?

With the promise of home cooking, we bundled into the car for an epic journey up the coast to Mrs Hand's auntie's house, where a goat had been killed that morning for the aqiqah, a celebration of a new baby's birth.

Anything with a skull floating in it has to be good.  Believe me, this curry was insanely delicious.  The bones gave it such turbo-charged, deep meaty flavour (by which I don't mean gamey), and all the stringy bits had melted down to create a rich, silky gravy, loaded with cinnamon and cardamom pods.

More beautiful Malay home cooking - thin, mild coconut curry loaded with carrot, tofu and jackfruit, perfect for pouring over homemade sticky rice cakes...plus achar, a simple but addictive cucumber and long red chilli pickle, and more crack-tastic satay sauce.  One of the family's kids apparently eats bowl after bowl of this peanut sauce and little else.  I can relate.

Now, I could tell you the story of how Mrs Hand crashed us into a police roadblock, or how we got attacked by monkeys and had to drive off in a panic in our bathers through the conservative Malay countryside.  But I'll leave you with the South China Sea, warm as bathwater, where I floated weightlessly on my back for the longest time, buffeted by gentle swells, and stared at the blue sky above.

Cauliflower Feta Fritters

This is a really yummy little vegetarian dish that serves well as a starter, or as part of a buffet. I've made it three times in a short while, one of those our big 13-course dinner, since discovering them on one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen. It's been really well received each time, and my baby loves it too. (The toddler, not so much.) Keeping the baby in mind, I haven't added any extra salt to these. You can, of course, but the feta is so salty you really don't need to. I also add a little pinch of ancho chili - not enough to add any real heat, but a slight smokiness.

A little cumin yogurt and pomegranate seeds are perfect with these! (Never mind the unripe ones in the awful photo above...)

And everything can be prepared well in advance. The fritters heat up well in the oven, so you can make them ahead of time, if you want to.

Cauliflower Feta Fritters
makes 12

1 head of cauliflower
100 g feta cheese
zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove
1 egg
125 ml all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder

To serve:
100 ml thick yogurt (greek or turkish style)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 pomegranate

Cut the cauliflower into large florets, and cook in lightly salted water (or just water, if you're worried about salt) until soft - about 6-7 minutes. (It will depend on how large you cut your cauliflower.)

In a large bowl, grate the lemon zest and the garlic - a Microplane comes in handy here. Add the egg and whisk.

When the cauliflower is cooked, rinse it with cold water and let it dry on a towel, then add to the bowl. Mash with a potato masher until it's all well-mixed. Crumble in the feta. Add flour, baking soda and chili, and mix into a uniform batter.

Fry in a little bit of olive oil until lightly golden on both sides.

To serve, stir together yogurt and cumin, and pick the seeds from the pomegranate. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of pomegranate.