Jalapeno Cream Sauce? Yes, Please!

For those of you who blog about food, are you ever hesitant to share a recipe because it just isn't photogenic? This recipe nearly didn't make the cut because I just haven't taken a decent picture of it to save my life.  But, honestly, I don't care.  The dish is just that freaking good- who cares what it looks like?

Truthfully, I have never been tempted by any spaghetti squash recipe.  I think when my dad was going through a low-fat kick sometime several years ago, my mom heard about spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta with marinara sauce.  So she made it.  I hated it (I assume my other family members did as well, since I don't remember her ever making it again). It just didn't work for me as a stand-in for pasta.  Then I saw a discussion on the CLBB about Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeno Cream Sauce.  Esqueeze me? Jalapenos? Cream? Cheese? Yes, yes, yes! I decided I needed to get over my bias against spaghetti squash and give it another try.  I am very happy that I did (as are my dad and boyfriend, both of whom have eaten this dish and thoroughly enjoyed it).

The spaghetti squash is microwaved or baked to release the flesh into short strands that will make up the bulk of this recipe.  The squash is tossed in a creamy, cheesy, spicy sauce, thickened with a blonde roux and flavored with jalapenos. A dusting of panko breadcrumbs provides a contrasting crunchy bite to the creamy, rich squash baked in the cream sauce (think macaroni and cheese).  I have made this dish several times, adjusting it to suit my tastes in a variety of ways.  It is nice with some red bell pepper and mushrooms mixed in, or maybe a little zucchini and lots of extra jalapenos.  I will never ignore spaghetti squash again unless you try to serve it to me with marinara sauce.

Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeno Cream Sauce
adapted from Sunset, October 2008

1 spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs.)
2 cups milk
4-5 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 small-medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for pans
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded jalapeno jack cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 small zucchini, quartered and chopped (optional)*
1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)*
1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)*
additional cheese for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Cut squash in half lengthwise (can microwave squash for several minutes to soften slightly to make it easier to cut in half) and use a spoon or melon baller to remove seeds and surrounding fiber. Put squash, cut side down, on a lightly buttered baking sheet and bake until tender when flesh is pierced with a fork, 30 to 40 minutes. Or poke several holes in skin of squash with a fork and microwave it on high 10 minutes. Squash should be tender when pierced with a fork; if it isn't, microwave on high in 1-minute intervals until tender. Let sit until cool.

2. When squash is cool enough to handle, use a large spoon to scrape the strands out of the skin and into a large bowl.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp. butter. Add chopped jalapenos and onions and saute for 3-5 minutes.   Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, until flour smells cooked (like piecrust), about 3 minutes. Slowly pour in milk while whisking. Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking until mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add cheese to cream sauce and turn off heat, stirring to melt cheese. Taste and adjust salt.  Pour mixture over squash and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a buttered 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with additional jack cheese and panko crumbs and bake until bubbling and brown on top, about 30 minutes.
*Optional - Saute any optional vegetables in about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter over medium-high heat to caramelize slightly, 4-7 minutes.  Stir in to squash and cheese sauce mixture before baking. 

Heavenly Cranberry Butter

So this post is a little late in the game, but I still think it is something worth sharing, especially since I just mentioned it in my oat cookie post. A couple autumns ago, my friend and I were confronted with baskets and baskets of apples.  She wanted to learn to make apple sauce, and I figured I could teach her.  So what did we do?  We made Cranberry Butter!

Doesn't make much sense, does it?  Oh well, I never promised to be logical.  We did make apple sauce that day, as well as some caramel apple butter (revolting!), cranberry butter and crapple* sauce.  It was a productive day in the kitchen, and it was fun to share whatever canning knowledge I have with my friend.  So what is Cranberry Butter?  First of all, get any notions of dairy out of your head.  Think apple butter - a thick, luscious concoction of sun-ripened fruit at its peak, cooked down into a soft, buttery pulp, perfect for spreading on toast.  Now replace those apples with cranberries, add a bit of sugar and some ginger, and you have a meltingly soft, buttery, tart, cranberry spread perfect for toast or oatmeal cookies (for breakfast, of course). 

This autumn, I realized I had to make some Cranberry Butter- STAT! I was all out, and the previous Christmas, I decided that Cranberry Butter made the most divine filling to a layered Hungarian Shortbread.  I absolutely had to have that filling for this year's Christmas cookies. So I bought some cranberries and got my butt in gear.  A few hours later, I had a dozen or so beautiful, ruby-red half pint jars filled with the delectable fruit butter.

I know we often speak in hyperbole about food, but trust me when I tell you that if you are going to can just one jam/jelly/fruit butter this year, it needs to be Cranberry Butter.  The best part is that cranberries aren't readily available until autumn which means you are canning when it is no longer 95 degrees outside. 

So if you have a bag or two of cranberries in your freezer that you were hoarding from this autumn's haul, pull them out and make something truly special.  You can use this in place of cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, as a unique spread on a turkey sandwich, or for toast and cookies.  It makes a beautiful and unusual gift since most people have never heard of Cranberry Butter.


*Crapple Sauce: The little-known concoction of cranberry butter mixed with apple sauce and canned to create a delightful pink sauce with a sweet-tart edge.

Cranberry Butter
adapted from Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt

Yield: about 4 half-pint jars

2 12-oz packages cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup water
zested peel of 1 lemon
zested peel of 1 orange
3 cups sugar (can adjust slightly to taste)
1-2 teaspoons powdered ginger

In an 8-qt pan, combine cranberries, water, orange zest, and lemon zest.

Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all the berries have popped and are soft, 15-20 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove pan from heat. Skim foam.

Press mixture (berries and juice) through a food mill or fine-mesh sieve. Discard skins and seeds. Rinse and dry pan. Return cranberry pulp to pan. Stir in sugar.

Over med-low heat, heat the mixture, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Increase heat to medium and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until thick, 10-15 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent sticking or scorching. Remove pan from heat, skim foam.

Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process half-pint jars for 10 minutes, pint jars for 15 minutes.

Comforting Oat Cookie (Perfect for Breakfast)

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the assortment of random cookbooks I acquire from friends and family.  Since my loved ones know I adore all things cooking-related, I am often on the receiving end of a spur-of-the-moment purchase, great sale purchase or it-has-food-on-the-cover-so-I-knew-you'd-love-it purchase.  I am always entertained by these gifts because I always discover something I might have otherwise missed.  I received a few cookbooks that fall into this category this year.  One of which I had never heard of, but I have loved looking through is Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros.

Homemade Cranberry Butter made a delightful filling to the cookies.

Apples for Jam is one of the most visually appealing books I have ever perused. There are beautiful doodles and family snapshots, lots of personal writing in adorable fonts, and of course, tons of eye-catching photographs.  Did I forget to mention the colors?  Well the colors used in this book are incredibly important - the entire cookbook is organized around color!  With sections such as Orange, Gold, Monochrome, White and Brown, you realize how important color is to food.  Personally, I would have thought the first thing I wanted to cook from this book would have come from the Orange or Yellow or Stripes (!!!) sections, but surprisingly, the first recipe I tried is from the Monochrome section.

It is a very simple recipe for Oat Cookies.  Tessa Kiros writes, "These are plain, healthy, and good.  You could serve them for breakfast instead of oatmeal sometimes, with a mug of warm milk."  I couldn't agree with Tessa more.  The cookies are very simple, with a clean oatmeal flavor shining through in every bite.  I threw them together in a snap with pantry ingredients.  I think the only change I would make in the future would be to allow the dough to sit for a couple hours or overnight before baking - the oatmeal and whole wheat flour have a slightly raw flavor that would be reduced with a rest period. I liked these cookies best with a tart schmear of homemade Cranberry Butter (I promise to post the recipe soon!).  I also think using this recipe as a basic oat cookie to add dried fruit or chocolate chips to would be great.  My last kudos to Tessa on this recipe? It only makes 25 cookies (I think I got more like 18-20 out of the recipe)!  As a single gal, I really appreciate a small baking recipe.  I do not need 5 dozen warm cookies taunting my from their cooling racks.

If you enjoy the visual aspect and design layout of books, I highly recommend picking Apples for Jam up to browse.  It is a very unique, pretty cookbook with lovely writing.  Thanks to my parents for randomly giving me this book for Christmas!

I was inspired to play with Monochrome - 
cookie dough in black and white looks interesting!

Oat Cookies
from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros

1 egg
2/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
5 1/2 T butter, softened
1/2 cup AP flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
salt
1 cup quick cooking oats (I used old-fashioned)
1 1/2 T milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whip the egg, sugar, and vanilla together until the sugar has dissolved.  Beat in the butter and then sift in the all-purpose and whole wheat flours and baking powder.  Add a pinch of salt and the oats, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in the milk.  With lightly moistened hands, shape the dough into walnut-sized balls and put them, well spaced, on the baking sheet. Flatten them a bit so they look like mini-hamburger patties.  Bake for about 15 minutes until they are golden around the edges (they might still be a little soft on top).  Cool on a wire rack and then keep in your cookie jar for up to 5 days.

Warm and Hearty Almost White Chili

While recently browsing the internet, reading blogs and bookmarking recipes, I noticed the Pioneer Woman's recipe for White Chili. Now for those of you who live under an internet rock and don't know, Pioneer Woman is one of the rock stars of blogging.  Her entire site is homemade and incredible.  I am so impressed by her willingness to learn and adapt to create such a popular site.  Why don't I have her drive to learn photography?? Anyhoo, before I turn into a total fan-girl here, I just have to say that you should visit her blog and at least read Black Heels to Tractor Wheels (her love story) if nothing else.

Back to that chili- PW's recipe appealed to me because it was simple and looked like it would be the perfect meal for a frigid night. We had plenty of frigid in early January, so the time to make this meal came sooner rather than later.  I ran into a bit of a hiccup with this chili, but it was not due to the recipe.  My crappy marrow beans would not cook through!  Literally I left this pot on the stove for a solid 9 hours, hoping that the beans would be as luscious and creamy as I imagined they should be. They never quite made it.  My dried beans must have been old. It happens.  Next time I will use canned beans or fresher dried beans.

 The god-forsaken beans that wouldn't cook!

Since the beans never cooked as quickly or nicely as they should have, some steps were skipped and some modifications were made.  I was so pissed off at the chili by 10:00 PM that I completely forgot to add the thickening milk and masa (one of the parts of this recipe I was most excited to try!).  Of course, my chili was quite thick from cooking for so long, so I am not sure if it needed the thickener.  Also, since I didn't eat the chili for dinner on the night I had originally intended, I never bothered to add the chicken in to the beans.  So it turned into a vegetarian meal, which I was completely happy to eat.  I would definitely make this recipe again, but I would first offer up to the Bean Gods that my beans actually cook!

I happened to enjoy this chili most with a big spoonful of homemade guacamole on top.  The creamy, spicy avocado really melted into and complemented the chili.  Here is my recipe for guacamole, which I make almost weekly.

Simple Hearty White Chili
adapted from Ree Drummond/The Pioneer Woman


Ingredients
1 whole large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 27 oz can Hatch green chiles, drained and chopped
8 oz dried marrow beans (any white bean should work, could used canned)
8 cups chicken stock
2 jalapenos, chopped
1 1/2 T ground cumin
1 t smoked Spanish Paprika
1/2 t cayenne pepper
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Optional Garnishes: Sour Cream, Cilantro, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, Tortillas


In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, saute onions, jalapenos and garlic for 2 minutes. Add chopped green chilies, then rinsed beans. Pour chicken broth into the pan. Add all the spices except salt. Place lid on pot and reduce heat to low.
Cook for 2 hours or until beans are done.(or 9 hours!)
Check seasoning and adjust, adding salt and cayenne to taste.
Garnish as desired.

Indian Comfort Food: Parsi Spicy Squash and Legume Stew

The love affair with Indian food continues...

I originally had this dish way back in June, when my sister prepared it as part of our vegetarian Indian feast.  I was hooked.  I remember telling her that I didn't want any rice on my plate because it used up valuable stomach space that could be used on this stew (and the delicious cauliflower and potatoes).  My feelings for this stew are no different today after making this dish for myself.  I ate it for dinner, and I immediately knew I would be eating it again the following night for dinner.  In fact, it was so delicious that I invited friends over to dine on my leftovers!  I feel quite confident that they loved this stew as much as I did the first time I had it.

The stew is full of nutritious vegetables.  Feeling more and more confident with Indian food, I did make some changes to the vegetable ingredients based on what I had on hand.  I really think you can adapt the vegetables to anything you have available, as long as they can stand up to some simmering.  Lucky for me, Laura had given me some of the spice mixture she ground for this stew back in June.  It was quite convenient having the pre-made spice mixture in my cupboard from her.  But I know that it really isn't all that hard to grind and blend your own spices if you have a spice/coffee grinder.

I am submitting this post to Shelby over at the Life and Love of Grumpy's Honeybunch who is hosting January's round-up of Family Recipes.  Since Laura originally made this dish for me, and I think I owe most of my knowledge of Indian cooking to her, it seems like an appropriate entry.  I hope to continue cooking and loving vegetarian Indian food with Laura only a phone call away for assistance as needed.  Be sure to check out Shelby's blog for the round-up and details on future Family Recipes events.

Sabzi Dhan Shak (Parsi Spicy Squash & Legume Stew)
Adapted from Julie Sahni, Classic Indian Vegetarian And Grain Cooking and The Spiced Life Blog

This is not at all a complex recipe, although it does take about 1 1/2 hours (including cooking time) to prepare. However, unlike Western soups and stews, it is built by adding layers--first the legumes are cooked, then the veggies are added, and then last the flavoring ghee is added. So while the directions may look complex, as though you are making 3 different dishes, you really are not.

For the legumes:

3/4 cup yellow split peas
1/4 cup split and skinned yellow mung beans (moong dal)
3/4 cup pink or red lentils
4 1/2 cups water (you could add more if you like stews thinner)
2 T minced ginger
1 T minced garlic
2 t Parsi dhanajeera powder (see below; you could sub garam masala)
1/4 t ground cloves
1 1/2 t turmeric
1 t paprika or cayenne, to heat preference
2 bay leaves (I forgot these to no detriment)
2-8 fresh, hot green chilies, minced (I seeded because of kids)
pinch of salt

For the vegetables

3/4 lb chopped tomatoes (I used ~1 cup halved grape tomatoes)
3/4 lb winter squash or sweet potato (I used 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" chunks)
2 zucchini (grocery store size), cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes (I omitted)
1 yellow squash (grocery store size), cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes (I omitted)
1 large red onion, cut into thick slices
1 sweet bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks (I used 2- 1 red and 1 yellow)
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernals
I added about 1 cup frozen peas
2 cups water

For Flavoring Ghee

5 T ghee
1 1/2 t black/brown mustard seeds
2 t cumin seeds
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 T minced garlic
juice of half lemon
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Start the legumes: Put all of the legume ingredients into a large (at least 5 qt, I used 6 qt) pot and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and briskly simmer, partially covered, until the split peas are fully cooked but not mush. This will take about 35-40 minutes.

Add the vegetables: Add all of the prepped vegetables along with 2 cups of water to the boiling legumes (I missed that at first and thought they cooked separately). Continue to briskly simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes until, until the veggies are fully cooked but still hold their shape (Josie requested softer veggies, so we cooked ours longer). When they are done, turn off the heat and add the flavoring ghee (see next).

Meanwhile, make the flavoring ghee: Measure out the all of the ghee ingredients and have them ready by your cooktop (in separate piles). Heat the ghee in a small frying pan over high heat. When it is very hot, add the mustard seeds and cover with a lid. Let them pop for about 30 seconds or until they slow their popping and then add the cumin seeds. When the cumin begins to darken, add the chopped onion and cook it, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until it turns brown (mine took longer as I was working from too small of a burner). Add the garlic and let it cook an additional 20 seconds. Add the lemon juice and coriander and immediately pour the contents of the pan into the finished stew. Mix gently to distribute the seasoning. Salt to taste.

Parsi Dhanajeera Masala
Julie Sahni, Classic Indian Vegetarian And Grain Cooking

3/4 cup coriander seeds
2 T cumin seeds
1 1/2 t black/brown mustard seeds
1/2 t fennel seeds
1 T white poppy seeds
1 T black peppercorns
1/2 t whole cloves
3 inch cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 T whole green cardamom pods
5 bay leaves
1/4 t saffron threads
1 t freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 225 F. Put everything except the saffron and nutmeg in a large roasting pan and spread them out to make a single layer. Place the pan on the bottom shelf of the oven and roast for 30 minutes or until the spices are lightly browned. Mix and turn occasionally to prevent burning. During the last 5 minutes, add the saffron and nutmeg.

Remove the spices to cool. When they are cool, grind the spices in a spice mill, mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Store in a cool, dry space up to 3 months.  (Obviously I kept the spices longer than 3 months, and it tasted fine.)

Moist and Fluffy Spiced Banana Muffins (for my horse)

I think when bad stuff happens in my family, the women bake.  I know for certain that this is true for me.  I am fairly certain it is true for my mom and sister.  I am sure my mom's inability to bake right now is making our current bad stuff extra bad for her.  My parents are having their kitchen remodeled.  It is something my mom has fantasized about for years, and she is finally getting exactly what she wanted.  However, she is also suffering the side effects of no kitchen.  How does one properly prepare for the reality of having your kitchen completely gutted for over 6 weeks?  And then how do you cope with the bad stuff when you can't bake?

When I learned that our family horse of over 28 years had to be euthanized this past Wednesday, I was devastated.  I spent the morning visiting Peanut Butter, feeding him apples, rubbing his neck and trying to make him comfortable.  While I was with him, we didn't have the final word from the veterinarian yet, but it was apparent to me that he was too sick to live comfortably.  Peanut Butter had a disease which made his feet sore at the best of times and abscesses grow at the worst of times.  This was the worst of times, and the infection spread to his leg bone.  He lost the use of one of his front legs, and when you hear that a horse cannot survive with 3 legs, it is true.  I have never seen something as upsetting as Peanut Butter trying to move without the use of his front leg.

Peanut Butter wants you to know that he usually takes better pictures than this,

but this is the picture I took of him on Wednesday morning.  Old, bedraggled, covered

in straw and dirt from laying too much but still so sweet and lovable.

I was very close to Peanut Butter.  When I was very young, my siblings and I played for hours in his field.  He never cared which kids were out with him as long as no intimidating men were around (he strongly preferred females).  He was very gentle with children.  As I grew into an angsty teenager, Peanut Butter was my best friend.  I spent countless hours with him, hugging him when I was sad and having my hug returned in a particularly wonderfully horse-y way.  He would wrap his head and neck around my shoulders and lean on me in the most comforting way.  He would nuzzle and nibble along my back, and basically just offered me the silent understanding I really needed during those tumultuous teenage days.  We remained close friends, and I would be sure to visit him like he was a part of the family when I came home from college.  In the spring, I looked forward to grooming him, as there is something intensely satisfying about pulling clumps of hair off of a horse.  Maybe it was because I knew Peanut Butter was just so grateful for the assistance.  You could almost hear him groan in pleasure like a dog being rubbed.  Honestly, Peanut Butter's place in our family was more like a dog than a horse.  He would beg for food with a plaintive whinny or, on occasion, escape his field and come onto the back porch to beg.  I don't know how you could ever say no to his sweet, liquid horse eyes.  What is it about horse eyes anyway?  He loved cookies, bread, apples, beer and sugar cubes.  He was gentle and beautiful, and I will miss him.

I am grateful that I could bake to help me deal with this particular bad stuff.  I don't like to talk when I am upset, and I need to do something to help me deal- these muffins helped me deal (as well as several other meals I have since prepared for my parents - cooking provides a serious distraction when I am upset).  The spice mixture in these muffins makes them really unique.  I never would have thought to add coriander to a spice muffin or quick bread.  It is a lovely, floral addition. I don't really notice it individually, but it blends nicely with the other spices so these aren't your average banana muffins. I think I like this muffin best at breakfast with a schmear of cream cheese.  My parents have enjoyed them as well for more of a light dessert. Peanut Butter would have loved them any which way he could get them as long as they came with an affectionate rub.

Going Bananas Morning Muffins
According to Eugenia Hall, "With these around, there's no such thing as no time for breakfast."  This recipe was featured in Penzeys One, Volume 2, Issue 6.

1 2/3 cups mashed fully ripe bananas (4 or so medium)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
1/2 cup white sugar
3 T butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup milk (I used half and half)
6 T vanilla yogurt (I used 0% vanilla Greek yogurt)
1 T pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups unbleached flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground coriander
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground mace
1/4 t ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 12 regular sized muffin tins.  In a medium bowl, blend the brown and white sugar together with a spoon.  Add the cooled melted butter and stir into the sugar mix until fully absorbed.  Add the milk, yogurt, eggs and vanilla to the bowl and stir until combined.  Add the mashed bananas and stir well.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices and stir to combine.  Add half of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and fold it in until it is just barely combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture, again  stirring it in by hand until it is just barely combined; do not over-beat.  Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan; the tins will be almost completely full- do not panic.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until done.  Allow muffins to cool for a few minutes, run a knife or spatula around the edges gently and remove from pan. Let cool fully on a wire rack.