Pre-Summer BBQ Party

My friend decided to have a pre-summer BBQ at her place. She was telling me about the food she wanted to make. She had hot dogs, Kelbasa, pesto shrimp skewers, mushroom skewers, sausage and peppers, grilled pizza, and cranberry-white chocolate oatmeal cookies. For dinner we made hamburgers with cheese and roasted pepper mayo and for dessert we had dark and white chocolate and peanut butter drizzled bananna slices. All the food was delicious. I especially liked making the grilled pizzas with pita bread and tortillas. The torillas gave a nicer crispier crust. There were toppings---tomato sauce, fresh mozarella, cheddar cheese, basil, caramelized onions, tomatoes, feta cheese, artichokes, and olives. I think the grilled pizzas is going to become a staple food we do at BBQs. So easy to make and people can put what they like. I made a tortilla like calzone to hold my toppings of mozarella, tomatoes, olives, and basil.

It was a nice day--a little cold but glad no rain. There were about 12 people that came. A good way to bring people together to just hang out, eat great food, and enjoy the beginning of summer to come. Hopefully more BBQs and delicious food to come.

Dark and white chocolate and peanut butter drizzled sliced bananas

Homemade Pizza Party

This party all came about when a few friends were talking about anchovies and liking them on pizza. I was saying we should hang out and how I like making homemade pizza. So, we decided to make a homemade pizza party. We all brought toppings that we liked on our pizza. This is a great way to have a party and something very simple your friends can make. We had Anchovies (of course, this started the whole idea of the party), spinach, onions, sausage, shredded and fresh mozzarella, and portobello mushrooms. I made the sauce from scratch (recipe below, you can also buy store bought but when you see how easy it is to make you will never buy again!). I did not make the pizza dough since it takes a while to let it sit and proof up. I bought the dough (will try next time to make dough).
Took the dough and cut into 4 equal size portions. I taught them to stretch the dough with your hands by pulling and rotating the dough. You can make it as thick or thin of a crust you like. I like making thin crust. Another way to help stretch the dough is to use a rolling pin and roll out and rotate the dough after each rolling to even out the crust. (You do not want certain parts of the dough to be thicker than the rest because it will not cook properly). Then you put the tomato sauce, toppings, and cook in oven or about 10-15 min. until crust is golden brown and cheese has melted. Then cut the pizza and enjoy!

Pizza with chunky tomato sauce (top left); Pizza with toppings (top right);
first pizza made with veggies, anchovies, cheese, and spinach on one side and sausage, spinach, anchovies and cheese on other side (bottom left);
second pizza made where I got better at making the pizza dough round with added topping of portabelllo mushrooms ( bottom right).

Simple Homemade Pizza recipe:
(makes 4 personal size pizzas)
One store bought dough
Homemade tomato sauce, recipe below
any toppings you like (basil, sausage, spinach, anchovies, etc.)
Fresh and shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. divide the pizza dough into 4 equal pieces and roll it out to a thickness of your liking by taking the dough and stretching it between your hands pulling and rotating as you stretch to get an even crust. You can use a rolling pin if needed to roll the dough out.
3. Once pizza dough is shaped into desired thickness, take tomato sauce and spread it on the dough leaving a 1/4 inch border so the sauce does not leak.
4. Add the cheese, your toppings you like and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Tomato sauce:
one 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1-2 tablespoons of dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1-2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped finely
salt to taste

1. On the stove top, put the tomato sauce, oregano, garlic, basil and salt in a saucepan on medium heat.
2. Let sauce simmer for 30 minutes to get maximum flavor, stirring occasionally.
3. add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste to help thicken the sauce. Sauce will also thicken once cooled.
4. Add more salt to taste if necessary. If sauce is too chunky for your taste, strain sauce using a sieve.
5. cool completely and if not using immediately put in refrigerator.

Fry night

Some of you might think why fried food night? Isn't that unhealthy? but we were just trying it for one night, plus we had plenty of tea to help with the oily foods we were going to eat. The idea of fry night came about when a friend of mine wanted to make samosas that she learned from her cooking class. Since her kitchen was in a small NYC apartment with no windows, I offered up my apartment in Brooklyn with a windowed kitchen and big living space. Also, another friend was talking about frying up some other things, such as pickles, cake wrapped in wonton skins, and corn dogs. So we decided to pick some things we would like to have fried. We came up with the list below of things to fry.

Things we fried:
pickles
oreos
cake wontons
snicker wontons
bananna spring rolls
bananna fritters
samosas (vegeterian and meat)
vegetable tempura
cornflake crusted fried chicken
corn dogs

I made a simple fry batter (recipe below) that was very versatile (batter can be used for many different foods you want to fry) and a cornmeal batter (used for the corn dogs). My friend made the samosas while others made the other foods. I was frying most of the food. below is pictures of the food before and after fried.

The batter, cut up veggies, and hot dogs (top left); vegetable tempura before fried (center);
cake and snickers wonton (top right); cornflake rusted fried chicken (bottom left);
fried wontons, banana fritters and egg rolls, and fried oreos (center);
fried cake and snickers wontons, samosas (bottom right)

The pickles were a suprise hit. They were better than I thought. It was a good balance of soft batter, crunchy sour pickle taste. Some of you might have had fried oreos at a street fair before. After you use the batter recipe below you will never pay those high prices at those fairs again. It is so easy to make and they come out soft and cake like. Very tasty. The cake wontons were also another suprise hit. The cake tasted like soft pound cake and the outside wonton skin gave a contrasting crunch. The snickers on the otherhand melted in the wontons so not much taste, just sweet and crunchy.

Fry batter:
(adapted from the recipe Fried Chocolate Sandwich Cookie by Emeril Lagasse)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the milk. Combine the milk mixture with the flour mixture, stirring just until well blended.

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, add enough oil to come 1/3 of the way up the sides of the pan, or about 1 1/2 inches deep. Heat oil to 360 degrees F. Take whatever ingredient you want to fry and dip in the batter. Carefully place in the hot oil. Fry until golden brown about 2 minutes. Place on a paper towel lined plate and serve immedietely.

If you are planning a party or need any catering, you can email me at fancindy888@yahoo.com. I can cater any type of party.

Quick French Onion Soup

I made french onion soup the other day and it was so easy to make. No more going out to the Deli or restaurants to get this soup. You can make it at a fraction of the cost and also taste yummier. This is a great way to utilize all the onions you have sitting on your counter. All the main ingredients are only caramelized onions, beef stock, and cheese. This is yummy goodness and you can cut the sodium by using low sodium beef broth or making your own. I like to add some kick to the recipe and put in some roast poblano peppers diced up. This recipe takes like only 30-40 min. to make.

Quick French Onion Soup:
1-2 medium sized onions
2 cups low sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup swiss cheese
half a loaf of french bread cut into 1/2 in. slices
half of a roasted poblano pepper, diced (use more or less depending on how spicy you want)

1. In a medium saucepan melt butter on medium heat. Add onions. Cook the onions on medium heat for 15 minutes until they are caramelized. Stir in the flour.


2. Add the beef broth and and simmer until onions are soft and tender. Add the roasted poblano peppers. Simmer for 1-2 minutes so peppers can blend into the soup.


3. Preheat the broiler.
3. Ladle soup in a bowl. Top with the sliced bread then add the swiss cheese. Put in oven and broil until the cheese is melted.
4. Serve.

Finished Quick Onion Soup

If you would like for me to cater a party or any event, just reply to this post or email me at fancindy888@yahoo.com. Happy cooking.

Homemade Moussaka

Since I got a good deal at my local market for eggplants, I wanted to make something new I have not tried to make before. I found a recipe for Eggplant Moussaka. Moussaka is a Greek style dish using eggplants—you can compare it to the Italian dish lasagna. Moussaka uses eggplants instead of Lasagna Noodles and a bechemel sauce instead of the ricotta filling and it can be made with ground beef (cheaper) or ground lamb. The version I did was an easier way of making moussaka and uses ground beef instead of ground lamb. It consist of a ground beef/eggplant filling on the bottom and a bechemel sauce on the top instead of layering the ground beef and eggplant slices. This recipe is easy to make for a potluck, a crowd, or to make and freeze so you have food for the week.

Finished eggplant moussaka dish

Side view of the eggplant moussaka
Bottom layer: ground beef/eggplant mixture; top layer: bechemel sauce

Eggplant Moussaka Recipe:
for the ground beef—
1 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. olive oil
1-2 lbs. eggplant cubed
1 cup diced onions
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
kosher salt and black pepper

Bechemel sauce—
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
pinch nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tbsp. parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. coat a casserole dish with oil.
2. cook ground beef in oil in skillet over medium high heat. break up big chunks. Drain fat, add eggplants, onions, garlic, oregano and cinnamon; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; season with salt and pepper.
3. make bechemel sauce

Bechemel sauce—
1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. whisk in flour; cook for 1 minute. add milk and bring to a boil. whisk until thickened.
2. remove from heat, add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and nutmeg.
3. whisk eggs in a bowl and add some of the hot milk mixture to the eggs; whisk egg/milk mix into the rest of the milk mixture.

Assemble—
1. layer the ground beef mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish; top with the bechemel sauce. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tbsp. of parmesan cheese. Bake until top is golden brown, 45-55 minutes.
2. cool Moussaka for 20 minutes before serving.

Roommate Dinner

I live with 2 other girls in an apartment. Since, we all have busy lives, we get together sometimes and have roommate dinner to catch up and just see how everyone is doing. So, as I was looking in the local supermarket papers one week, I saw a sale on bone-in ribeye. I got a great deal on 4 steaks. I decided to use some of the steaks for a roommate dinner.

So, I decided to make my favorite style of steaks. The French style called Steak Au Poivre. I love the use of cracked peppercorns with a nice creamy sauce. Yes, this recipe is suppose to use filet mignons but any good quality meat can be used. I am not a vegetable type of gal so I had my roommate make those. I made mashed potatoes to accompany the steak. When searching for a steak au poivre recipe, I saw so many possibilities, from adding herbs, using cream in the sauce, to using raisins. I remembered a few years ago I got a Wolfgang Puck cookbook and in it had a version of Steak Au Poivre which used raisins and no heavy cream. Since I knew my roommate did not like heavy cream and lactose, I decided to use his recipe. I also did like the non use of heavy cream which can add many more calories to a already heavy dish. Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional recipe with the use of heavy cream in the sauce, it makes it richer and a little tastier but it is always nice to try a new spin on an old tradition. That is what cooking is all about.

I started by preparing the ingredients for the steak. I crush the whole peppercorns by placing them in a plastic bag and used a meat mallet to just coarsely crush. I spread kosher salt all on the steak and then push the steak into the crushed peppercorns to get a nice coating (you can put as much as you like of the peppercorns to your taste). Then I let it rest for a few minutes. I heat a saute pan until just near smoking and add olive oil. Lay one steak in pan and do not touch for 4 min. for medium rare, then flip and another 4 minutes. Check steaks before taking out of pan, depending on size of steaks the time may vary.

Steak with the peppercorn and salt seasoning cooking in a sauté pan

Next I make the sauce, do not wipe the pan, this is what gives the sauce its nice flavors and taste. You will be using the sherry to deglaze the pan deposits. Pour dry sherry in the pan and using a wooden spoon, scrape up the little bits that have been left in the pan. Cook this until reduced by half. Then, add raisins and chicken stock. Cook this until reduced by half. Add some butter to get a nice thick glossy sauce.

This is the sauce reducing in pan

Finally, plate the steak and pour a few tablespoons of the sauce you just made on the steak. Add any sides, such as mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Finished plate with the Steak au poivre with sauce and side of mashed potatoes

Recipe I used, Peppered steak with Sherry and Rasins (steak au poivre):

2 tablespoons of whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons whole white peppercorns
6 steaks (Use whatever cut of beef you like)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup dry sherry
1 cup beef stock or chicken stock or 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup golden or brown raisins
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method

1. To crack the peppercorns, put them in a resealable heavy plastic food-storage bag. Place the bag on a flat work surface and, with the bottom of a heavy saucepan or skillet, tap them lightly to crack them into large pieces. Put the cracked peppercorns on a plate. One by one, sprinkle both sides of each filet evenly with salt to taste, and then press each side into the peppercorns to coat it.

2. Over high heat, heat a heavy skillet or sauté pan large enough to hold the steaks comfortably (cook the steaks in batches if your pan is not big enough). Add the oil and as soon as you see the slightest wisps of smoke, carefully add the steaks. Cook the steaks undisturbed for 4 minutes, then carefully turn them over and cook 4 minutes more for medium-rare. For well-done steams, reduce the heat to medium low and cook a few more minutes on both sides. Transfer the steaks to a heated platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep them warm while you make the sauce.

3. Pour off the excess fat from the skillet and return it to high heat. Add the sherry, stir and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits, and boil until it reduces to about half its original volume, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock and raisins and continue boiling until the liquid reduces by half again, 4 to 5 minutes more (if using hoisin sauce, simply stir it in). A piece at a time, whisk in the butter to form a thick, glossy sauce. Adjust the seasoning to taste with a little salt.

4. Transfer the steaks to individual serving plates. Stir the juices that have collected on the platter into the sauce. Spoon the sauce over and around the steaks and serve with a side of mashed potatoes or any sides you like.

Wine and Cheese in park

 Caption (left to right, top to bottom): cheese platter of blue cheese, machengo, swiss, smoked cheese, Bourisin cheese spread, duck paté, and water crackers. The whole spread  with appetizers and grapes, appetizer plate of bacon, mushroom, and leek quiches, smoked salmon, and pain au chocolat (puff pastry with chocolate), Pear wine

I had a wine and cheese event in the park. It was a great way to utilize the park and the last days of summer. The weather was just nice, not hot or too cold. I made Mini leek, bacon, and mushroom quiches and homemade pain au chocolat (little puff pastries filled with chocolate). They were very tasty. I also brought smooked salmon and 4 types of cheeses---machengo, blue stilton cheese, a smoked cheese from Poland, and Bourisin cheese spread. I like cheese that smells stinky but taste good but my friends and to avoid people asking what smells I just stuck to the usual blue cheese (one that is less pungent). The Machengo cheese was a nice hard cheese not too strong and not too light on taste. The smoked cheese was great with the smoked salmon.

My friends brought olives, salami, wines, and some crackers. We had a pear wine, strawberry riesling (my Favorite), and a rosé wine. 

Such a great way to spend a saturday afternoon with friends, talking, eating, drinking, playing games, and enjoying the huge park NYC has to offer. I will plan many more events like these. 

If you would like for me to plan an event like this you can comment or contact me at fancindy888@yahoo.com. I would be more than happy to accomidate your needs no matter how small or big.