Peanut Butter Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• milk, until it looks right

Stir together flour, salt, and baking powder.
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, honey, vanilla, and peanut butter.
Add the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir well. Slowly start adding milk until it looks right. Stir until smooth.
Make pancakes.

Thoughts: Rather than serving these with syrup, I recommend serving them with jam. What you can do is this: scoop out as much jam as you need, put it in a saucepan, and add a little water (a few tablespoons). Cook on medium heat until the jam starts to break down and get more liquid-y. You will need to stir constantly because it will be sticky. Once most of the lumps are out of the jam, remove it from heat and pour it over the pancakes. Nom nom nom.
I could personally use more peanut butter in these things, but Dan seems pretty happy with the flavor.

Disaster Index: 1-2/10

Bread from a Sponge

This is Alton Brown's recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 lb flour
  
• 10oz water
  
• 1tsp yeast
  
• 2tsp honey
  
• 2tsp salt
  
• 1tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1/6c water
  

Mix 5oz flour, all the water, .25tsp yeast, and all the honey in a container. This is called a sponge. Cover it and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours (or, for a stronger flavor, as far as I can tell, DON'T refrigerate for 8-12 hours). At the end of this period, mix the flour, salt, and remaining yeast in the bowl of a kitchen aid. Add the sponge and, using a dough hook, mix until combined. Cover with a towel and let it rest for 20 minutes, then start mixing the dough again with the dough hook to knead the dough, alternating between low and high speed for about 10 minutes - until you can pull the dough into a thin sheet you can almost see through without it breaking.

Now set the dough in a humid environment to rise until doubled, about an hour. I like to boil water in the microwave and then set the bowl in there. When it's doubled, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Press into a rectangle with your fingers and fold in three, like a letter. Press it out again and fold it in the other direction (again, in three parts). Now draw the corners into the middle and turn it over in your hand. Now there are four "new" corners (what were previously the middle of each edge before you drew the corners the first time). Draw each of those into your hand to tighten the smooth side of the dough. Now, on a lightly floured surface pass the ball around in a circle between your hands, keeping it upright, to tighten the top and smooth out the bottom (as far as I can tell).

Set the dough on a surface well floured with cornmeal and cover for another hour. Preheat oven for 400. After the hour, paint the dough with the corn starch mixture, and then slash the dough a couple of times using a serrated knife. Place the dough on a pizza stone (or if you don't have it, a baking dish, I guess) and bake for 50 minutes, until brown. Let sit 30 minutes before slicing.

Thoughts: This recipe is amazing. I've had some difficulty with "kneading" the bread in the kitchen aid, but this may be related to the age of my appliance. Is it from the 1970s? Appearances say yes. Anyway, next time I make it I may knead it with my hands after combined. The hardest part so far has been transferring the completed bread to the pizza stone, which needs to be hot. Not sure what to do there. Suggestions?

One of our favorite breads after making it only twice.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Crust for Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/3c flour
  
• 1 stick butter
  
• 3.5tbsp cold water
  

Cut the butter into the flour. Add the water and mix as best you can with the knife. Using your hands, work the mixture into a dough. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. When dough is done chilling, roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper and place in a pie tin or something equivalent. Patch any obvious cracks and holes.

Using a fork, poke a ton of holes in the bottom of the crust and along the edges. If you want, you can flute the edges of the crust, too. Cover the crust with tin foil, and weight the dough down with dry beans or spare change from a change jar.

Bake for 10 minutes, remove foil, and then bake for another 5-15 minutes, until somewhat dry and lightly golden. Let it cool, and it's ready.

Thoughts: I think this turned out really well. If I were to make quiche again, I would use this recipe exactly for the crust, though I might bake it a little longer.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Spinach, Shrimp, Asparagus, and Bacon Quiche

Compiled from a recipe by "Carissa Seward" found on Food Network and "Donna's Shrimp, Bacon, and Asparagus Quiche" apparently from the "Channel 3000" web page.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
  
• 1.5c skim milk
  
• 1/2tsp dill weed
  
• salt and pepper
  
• 2-3 strips of turkey bacon
  
• 2c asparagus, chopped to 1.5-2" stalks
  
• 1.5c (precooked) shrimp, tailed
  
• 10oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed out
  
• 4oz mozzarella
  
• 1 recipe quiche crust
  

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl with the dill and a pinch of salt and pepper. In a pan, crisp the bacon. Remove and crumble or chop. Add bacon to custard mixture and grate in 1/2 the cheese. In the vacant crust, distribute the asparagus, shrimp, and spinach. Pour custard mixture into crust and grate the remaining cheese over the top. Place in the oven until the cheese on top is browned and the custard is set. Took us about an hour. Let it sit 10 minutes before cutting.

Thoughts: Claire felt it needed more seasoning, and next time we should use non-skim dairy, like 2% or cream (like the original recipes called for). I suppose that I agree. I liked the flavor, though.

Disaster Index: 2-3/10 - good flavor, though the texture was SLIGHTLY off.

Basic Tomato Sauce

For serving with stuffed pasta shells.
Ingredients

• ~35oz San Marzano tomatoes
  
• 1 large or 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
  
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 1/2c fresh basil, chopped
  
• 1tbsp dried parsley
  
• olive oil, salt, pepper
  

Just sauté the onions in some olive oil. When they're translucent, add the garlic. Let it cook for 30 more seconds, and then add everything else. Let it simmer for five to ten minutes, stirring occasionally. If you used whole tomatoes (as I did), break them down a little with the edge of your spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want a smooth tomato sauce, put it in the blender.

Thoughts: You could add any number of other seasonings or ingredients. This is pretty much what it sounds like: basic. I used San Marzano because I discovered my local grocery has 35oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes for ~$1.50. So.

Disaster Index: 2/10 - Something of a workhorse, but it's nothing special.

Stuffed Pasta Shells

This is a slight variation on the shells my dad makes.

Ingredients

• 1 lb frozen spinach
• 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, grated/shredded
• 1/2 lb ricotta cheese
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp dried basil
• salt and pepper
• one egg, lightly beaten
• 20 large pasta shells
• olive oil
• 3 cups of tomato sauce
  
• grated parmesan cheese, to sprinkle on top (about 1/2 cup?)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Set a pot of water to boil.
Place frozen spinach in a large sauté pan over high heat. Cover with lid and let steam until spinach is un-frozen. You may have to add olive oil if the spinach dries out too much.
When done, remove from heat and let cool.
In the meantime, combine the cheeses, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. Mix well. Add the egg.
If the spinach is cool enough to not cook the egg, add it in. Mix well again. Set aside.
If the water is boiling by this time, add the shells. BE SURE TO STIR THEM CONSTANTLY. Otherwise they WILL stick to the bottom of the pan and you will have pieces of shells rather than whole shells. Trust me. It gets ugly. Just make sure to stir all the time.
When the shells are slightly underdone, remove them from the water and drain. Set aside.
Distribute 3 cups of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking pan (with steep sides, if you can manage). Stuff the shells with the spinach/cheese mixture and lay them in the pan (filled side up, obv.). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Eat.

Thoughts: This was reasonably easy to make and very delicious. Dan recommends seasoning the filling a little more. More pepper, perhaps. He would also suggest using a smooth pasta sauce, whereas the one we used was rougher.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Vegetable Enchiladas

There are several components to this dish. We'll start with the enchiladas themselves.

Ingredients

• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock (or veg)
  
• many cilantro leaves, chopped
• 2 small zucchinis, chopped
• small red onion, in rings/slices
  
• salt and pepper
• 6 flour tortillas (medium-large)
• 1/2 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
• salsa (storebought is fine, but if you want to go all out and make your own, go for it)
  

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and cook until caramelized. Add garlic and cumin and cook for another minute.
Add flour and mix very well. Make sure that all the pieces of flour are incorporated. Add the chicken stock right away so the flour doesn't burn. Mix well.
Turn heat down to a simmer and continue to cook the mixture until thickened.
Turn off the heat and set aside.
In another pan, cook the zucchini and onions with some olive oil. Cook until the onions are caramelized. Season with salt and pepper.
When they are done cooking, add them to the flour mixture. Stir well to combine.
Change oven temp to 350 F and begin assembling enchiladas.
Smear some salsa onto the bottom of a baking pan (enough to coat).
This is the easiest way to fill the enchiladas:
Place the 6 tortillas in the bottom of the pan and position them so that they look like hardshell tacos. Then just go down the line and place a bunch of the flour/vegetable mixture on the tortilla, followed by some shredded cheese (use all the flour veggie mixture but save about half of the cheese). Once the tortillas are full, fold them over as best as you can. I don't know how to describe this. Just do what you feel like doing.
Smear the top of the enchiladas with more salsa, then sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
Serve with refried beans, yellow rice (recipe follows), guacamole, and salsa. Or whatever.


Ingredients for Yellow Rice

• 2 cups long grain rice
• 4 cups water
  
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt

Put all the ingredients in a pot, stir, and bring to a boil over medium-high/high heat.
Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and let cook over low heat until rice has absorbed water.
Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and serve.

Thoughts: The enchiladas were pretty good. In our original foray, we made our own roasted tomatillo salsa, which was super acidic and totally not worth it. So we didn't even include that part in the recipe. Don't even bother. Just use store-bought salsa. Also, the original recipe (Tyler Florence's) called for a roasted deli-style chicken for the filling instead of just vegetables. We were going to use one but we forgot to go to the store and we were already half-way through the recipe SO we just said screw it. But we would definitely use chicken next time because it would make them so delicious. So yes.
As per the yellow rice, we would definitely use chicken stock instead of water because it would make the rice more savory. If you're a vegetarian (why??), you might try vegetable stock because it still might add some extra flavor. Also, Dan suggests that we add to the rice half a green bell pepper and then discard it when we serve the rice. Apparently it adds more flavor. So we'd do that too. Overall, very very delicious.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
  
• 3/4 stick butter, sliced into several pieces

Whisk together lemon juice, zest, sugar, and eggs into medium saucepan.
Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat (maybe halfway between medium and low), whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to show whisk marks and a few bubbles appear (this will take about 8 minutes).
Transfer lemon curd to bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Curd can be kept in the fridge for about a week.

Thoughts: This is delicious. When you first taste it it's pretty sweet, but it quickly turns to tart after a few seconds. Recipe was pretty easy too. Serve with blueberry-lemon muffins.

Disaster Index: 1/10