Silky Cauliflower Soup

I was in the mood for some healthier food when Smitten Kitchen posted a silky cauliflower soup that she likes to make. The recipe is by Dave Lieberman, and since Deb gave it an endorsement, I gave it a try.

What the recipe has going for it is that it's super easy to make, has only a few ingredients, and I thought the texture had a nice silky feel like the name describes. I also like that there isn't cream or whole milk which keeps the soup light. It's a nice option for lunch or dinner when you don't have a lot of time and you likely have most of the ingredients at home. But with the simple ingredients, the flavors are straight forward and aren't going to have a big wow factor.

(Note, I didn't make the Parmesan crisps mentioned in the recipe.)

After the cauliflower cooked through

I used Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, which has strong flavor, and regular chicken stock instead of a low-sodium version. While the cauliflower and cheese flavors come through, the soup can be one-note without other ingredients to build more flavor. Some reviews called the soup bland. But when I think of bland, I think a dish may need more seasoning with salt and pepper. This recipe doesn't specify an amount of salt and pepper so I added enough to suit my taste.

Soup blended to silky texture with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

The soup could benefit from more flavors by adding celery, using leeks, or adding cayenne. But it's not a terrible option if you need to make something in a jif.  I also made raw Brussels sprouts salad to serve with this soup which you can find out more about here.

My Rating (out of 5): 3

Healthy New Year's Smoothie by PureWow

With every new year, there's always tons of articles and recipes on how to get healthier. This PureWow recipe for a clean, green smoothie is one of them this year.

The ingredients are simple and easy to find. There's no dairy, nut butters, or other thickeners. No trendy ingredients or added sweeteners. I definitely give it points for being clean.

I thought the naval orange and banana provide enough sweetness. But if you have a sweet tooth, honey or agave can be added.

PureWow says to use a clove of ginger, but I haven't heard of the term "clove" used before in describing a measurement of ginger. So, I'd go with a 1- or 2-inch piece of peeled ginger based on your preference.

Since I used an English cucumber, I only used 1/3 or 1/2 of it since it's longer than regular cucumbers.

I made this a few more times to use up the rest of the spinach and added 1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric for added health benefits.

There's no frozen ingredients or ice, so the smoothie's consistency is not thick.

Overall, I thought it tasted good. The flavors aren't going to wow you but you most likely have all the ingredients on hand.

My Rating (out of 5): 3

Maple Candied Bacon

I decided to make some maple glazed bacon on a whim yesterday and didn't want to spend much time finding a recipe. I was hungry. This candied bacon recipe from The Chew caught my eye because it uses dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar for added flavor on top of brown sugar and maple syrup.

I only had a few slices of applewood smoked bacon (about 1/4 lb.), so I cut the ingredients down proportionately.

Ready for the oven

The bacon takes longer to cook because of the glaze. I only basted twice after 15 and 20 minutes and let them finish baking at 350° F for 30 minutes.

After 15 minutes

The bacon was cooked and crispy after 30 minutes, but still had a little bend after cooling completely. This is perfectly fine if served flat or chopped up.

After 30 minutes

But, I wanted these to be extra crispy so they can stand up in a glass or jar. I stuck them back in the oven for a few more minutes, so total cooking time ended up between 30-35 minutes.

I think this could bake at a higher temperature, like 400°, for a shorter time as long as you check them frequently to make sure the sugars and bacon aren't burning. These can go from crispy to burnt quickly.

Tip: If some bacon slices are thinner than others, take those out of the oven sooner so they don't burn before thicker slices are done.

You can make candied bacon with just brown sugar and maple syrup. But if a few more ingredients will add more flavor, why not use 'em? The dijon mustard becomes more subtle in flavor after the bacon cooks so it's like a secret ingredient. I used a tiny amount of cayenne pepper and didn't get any heat so I would definitely use more in the future.

My Rating (out of 5): 3.5

Concord Grape Muffins

Having tasted my first Concord grape in it's original form, I was so excited to make something with them. Although a web search for recipes turned out lackluster, I did find a muffin recipe from the In Jennie's Kitchen blog that was unfussy and simple enough.

I decided to prep the Concord grapes and dry ingredients the night before. Halving and deseeding 2 cups of grapes took me more than 15 minutes since I've never worked with Concords before. It's a tedious process. To use the grapes whole, you have to remove the seeds but I was a little bummed that some of their yummy juice gets lost in the process. The seeds are set in the flesh of the grape and I couldn't just flick them out with the tip of a paring knife. I found that tracing around the seeds with the knife tip removed the seeds while keeping the flesh somewhat intact. A sharp paring knife helps with cutting out the seed. And because the skins slip off easily, I had quite a few that separated from the flesh while trying to deseed them. I ended up eating those but had to deseed more grapes to replace them. In the future, I wouldn't worry about the skins coming off since they are going into a muffin batter.

One cup halved & deseeded, one to go

This morning, I combined the dry ingredients that I measured last night and mixed in the butter using my fingers. (I don't have a pastry cutter/blender.) I incorporated the whole milk using a wooden spoon as specified in the recipe. The batter at this point was thick.

 

The recipe specifically called for using a wooden spoon to mix in the milk, but I'm not really sure why it had to be a wooden spoon. After the milk, you fold in the Concord grapes. Because the skins come off easily and I didn't want to smash the grapes, I didn't find a wooden spoon as the best option. So I used a silicone spatula to fold in the grapes. And that left another utensil to clean up, so I'd pass on the wooden spoon altogether and just use a spatula.

I used an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter into my silicone baking cups as best as possible. I sprinkled the tops with turbinado/raw sugar and would use more next time because I want the tops to have more crunch.

It took a little more time than the recipe states for my muffins to bake until a toothpick came out clean, about 22 minutes total.

The texture of the muffin was more on the gluey side as I ate the muffins and I would have liked it to be more crumbly. But the amount of Concord grapes in this recipe ensures you get that grape flavor in every bite. These are lightly sweet, which I like, but a little more sugar in the batter would be okay if you prefer more sweetness. Be prepared for your mouth and fingers to turn purple! 

Overall, I like baking with whole Concord grapes but may try a cake or different muffin batter recipe next time. 

My Rating (out of 5): 3.5

Homemade Fritos® Bean Dip

One of my favorite party foods to make is 7-layer dip, and I like to use a recipe that calls for Fritos Bean Dip.  When I lived in suburbs, I never had issues with finding this product at the big grocery stores and made one stop at the store.  Unfortunately, it can be harder to find some big brand products like the Fritos Bean Dip because NYC grocery stores just don't carry everything.  I've probably only made 7-layer dip once since I moved back to the city, and I really wanted to make it for an upcoming party.  Surely there would be at least one store that would carry it, so I was determined to find Fritos Bean Dip, or even another brand, in a national retail store.  I checked Target (who has it online but showed out of stock in all NYC stores), Walgreens, Kmart.  I even checked Food Emporium and Pathmark, which is huge like a suburban grocery store.  When Pathmark didn't have it, I knew I wasn't going to find it in the city.

I already had the rest of the 7-layer dip ingredients, so I set out on Google to find a recipe for homemade Fritos Bean Dip.  The top search results basically had the same recipe with slight differences in measurements.  I used this copycat Frito Lay Bean Dip on Food.com as a guide.

I already had everything in my pantry except refried beans, jalapeños, and onion powder.  Since I'm using the beans in the 7-layer dip, I made some adjustments when making the bean dip and wasn't concerned about any sacrifice to flavor.  If I were having the bean dip alone (but I probably won't), I'd try to follow the recipe exactly.

My adjustments:
- Used no onion powder.  Since I didn't have this at home, I chose not to buy any because I haven't used onion powder on a regular basis.  And, I bought Ortega Refried Beans (Traditional version) which has onion powder, garlic powder, vinegar and other spices.  (Old El Paso was the other brand available at the store and doesn't include some of the spices that Ortega does.)
- 4 oz. can of diced jalapeños in water.  The store only had one large jar of jalapeños in vinegar brine that cost over $3.  I also don't cook with jalapeños often and the jar would go to waste.  So I found a small can of diced jalapeños in water (no sliced options available).  I eyeballed an amount of diced jalapeño that would equal 4-5 slices.  I barely used any of the can and have a lot left over.
- Substituted 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar for the jarred jalapeño brine.  Since I used canned jalapeños in water, I could have added more vinegar to boost flavor.  But I started with small amounts so I can add more vinegar to my taste.  Plus, the Ortega refried beans has vinegar.
- Used 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar.  I just prefer to start small and add more to taste so it doesn't become too sweet to me.

This is how it turned out.  Consistency was smooth and spreadable.  Flavor was good with mild heat.  I've only had Fritos Bean Dip when making a 7-layer dip, so I leave it to aficionados to rate how close the copycat recipe comes to the original.

Pinto beans (used in refried beans) are not the most appetizing color so I apologize if it looks unappealing.  (Please don't hate these photos like Martha Stewart's!)

I made the bean dip a day ahead so the flavors can meld before I make the 7-layer dip.  I pressed plastic wrap on the surface of the dip just to prevent any drying or a skin from forming.

My Rating (out of 5): 3

Snap Pea and Cucumber Salad

With a hot summer still going strong, I wanted a new, no-cook dish to get my veggies in.  I also like simple.  I had no particular vegetable in mind and just randomly looked online and this salad spoke to me.

Snap Pea and Cucumber Salad from Giada De Laurentis

This recipe is so easy to make and is super fresh with the sugar snap peas and dill.  The dressing is very simple and flavor really comes from the lemon juice and zest.  It brings out the brightness and fresh flavors of the vegetables rather than overwhelm.  

I've had dill in dishes, but I don't think I've ever cooked with dill before.  So this salad appealed to me as an opportunity to do so.  This recipe uses a good amount of dill with 1/4 cup.  I think dill has a lemony & mild flavor so it wasn't too much.  And most of the dill ends up sticking to the plate rather than making it to your mouth, so you want a lot to taste the dill.  

Persian cucumbers are great because they really don't have any seeds and require less chopping because of their petite size.

I wanted a little more dimension to the salad so I added cubed ricotta salata cheese.  It's similar to feta in texture but has a milder flavor and is not as salty.  I first had this cheese in a salad at an Italian restaurant and really liked finding an alternative to feta.

I never really noticed dill's flavor before, so I'm glad I tried this salad & hope to learn of more ways to use it.

My Rating (out of 5): 3