Madhu Knits and Cooks

Savory Baked Brie en Croute - Quick Crowd Pleaser

In December we decided to thrown an impromptu holiday drinks gathering, and I wanted to incorporate some new offerings beyond my standard party dips.  Seemingly the hunger induced from my increased running the past few months led my thoughts toward the fattiest  options, with one - brie en croute - occupying my mind nonstop once I thought of it.  

The only question I then had to answer (besides how to make a brie en croute) was sweet or savory?  I sought some opinions and decided to go savory, with the most compelling internet approaches involving sundried tomatoes and capers.  I ultimately improvised a "recipe" that included chopped sundried tomatoes, capers, and parsley, stuffed between a horizontally cut 8 oz. brie wheel like a sandwich filling.

The first time I made this brie (yes, I made it twice), I cut out some decorative puff pastry pieces and simply folded up one sheet of thawed frozen puff pastry on top of the brie wheel, pushing the edges into each other to hold them together.  I did not use egg wash.  This did NOT work, and the baked puff pastry slowly unraveled itself so it was a mess out of the oven.  A very, very tasty mess, but an unattractive one.

The second time I made brie en croute, I used egg wash to bind the pastry edges to each other AND flipped the pastry over, so that the edges were on the bottom of the wheel.  That meant no spillage or opening, which was great, but the doubled up pastry on the bottom of the baking sheet meant that the pastry didn't completely evenly cook and was slightly raw on the underside. 

So in the future, I may follow another approach I read online to cut the pastry sheet to cover just the top and sides of the brie wheel and not have any pastry on the bottom, where it won't cook evenly.  

But regardless of approach, stuffing fillings into a brie wheel and covering with puff pastry is delicious, incredibly fast (5 minutes of work, 25 minutes of baking in 375 degree oven, 15 minutes of cooling).  I will definitely be making this again and again for future winter parties!

A More Substantive and Comforting Vegetable Noodle Soup

I recently blanched and froze a lot of celery to use in soups, red beans and rice, and other stew-type dishes.  My first use of this frozen celery was in an updated version of the homemade vegan noodle soup that I've been perfecting over the years.  The key updates I made were adding in some Instant Pot-cooked chickpeas and a bit of turmeric, inspired by a Cookies and Kate recipe.  

This revised recipe was really fantastic - the light carrot, celery, and parsley flavors that one expects in a vegetable or chicken noodle soup, with a lot more substance from the added chickpeas.  This really was a great, comforting one-pot meal, though I couldn't help but serve it with some homemade bread as well :-)  Recipe follows the pictures of the final products.

Homemade Vegan Noodle Soup, v3

Approximately 3 - 4 main course servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 carrots, chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup chopped (frozen) celery
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/4 tsp salt, more to taste
• 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, cooked (or 1 can of cooked chickpeas)
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 6 cups water
• 4 tbsp. Better than Bouillon, any flavor you prefer
• 3 tbsp. parsley, minced
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup tiny pasta
• Fresh lemon juice, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Parmesan, grated to taste

Directions:

• Heat oil in a soup pot on medium-high heat, and when hot, add the vegetables and salt.  Cook down for approximately 10 minutes or until the vegetables just start to brown
• Add chickpeas, bay leaf, turmeric, water, and Better than Bouillon, and raise heat to high to bring contents to a boil
• When the soup is boiling, add in the pasta and cook according to package directions
• Finish by seasoning with parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Add grated parmesan cheese if desired
• Serve immediately

Corn Mini-Muffins - A Great Thanksgiving Side

For a number of years, I've been charged with made corn bread for our Thanksgiving dinner.  I've experimented with traditional versions to those studded with cheddar and jalapeno.  And for this year's corn bread, not fully content with my past efforts, I decided to try a smoother muffin variant from Cook's Illustrated.

The recipe was pretty unusual in you microwaved some of the cornmeal with milk to make a porridge prior to adding in the rest of the batter.  Per Cook's Illustrated, this approach adds more moisture to the muffins.  And it was kind of fun to see the cornmeal and milk form into a cohesive batter as the mixture continued to microwave.

I reduced the baking time to around 9 minutes to adjust to the smaller muffin size, and checked them periodically after 7 minutes with a small wood toothpick.  I really enjoyed the muffins - they were texturally smooth, not sweet, and had a great corn flavor.  And they were the perfect size for an otherwise overflowing Thanksgiving meal.  I look forward to making them again!

My First Deviled Eggs - Not a Bad Inaugural Attempt

As dedicated Madhuknitsandcooks.com readers know, I've had a slow introduction to the world of eggs.  I only just started making frittatas and hardboiled eggs a year ago, and I made my first scrambled eggs a few months ago.  But now the dam has broke, and I find myself increasing turning to eggs for more than just baking.  

My latest egg recipe was definitely the most complex - deviled eggs.  I decided to go with the pros at Cook's Illustrated for this recipe because even though their approach was the most complicated, I thought it would probably not only yield the best results, but also help inform my egg-cooking techniques moving forward.

Thankfully, I was right on the second point - their approach of boiling eggs and then letting them cool in a ice bath produced a great hard-boiled egg.  Unfortunately though, that didn't make peeling the shells off the eggs easier than the traditional, non-ice bath approach, but that's fine.

I ended up doing that under running water in the sink, and I covered the eggs by approx. 1 inch of water while bringing them to a boil.

After the eggs cooled, I sliced them in half.  As instructed, I discarded (into my mouth) the two egg white halves that didn't look the best so that the remaining 12 half-whites would be overflowing with filling.

I then mixed together the egg yolks with the remaining ingredients - cider vinegar, (vegan) Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise and mustard.  Instead of using a grainy mustard though, I used dijon mustard which I had in my fridge.

When I tasted the mixture, I thought it has too much mayonnaise flavor so moving forward I will probably reduce the mayonnaise amount by 1 tablespoon.  For this attempt though, I tried to offset that flavor by adding in more Worcestershire. 

That seemed to do the trick as the result was very good - tangy, slightly sweet, smooth, and a bit of umami flavor from the Worcestershire.  I look forward to make these eggs again!

Sautéed Squash Ribbons - a Unique and Wonderful Summer Treat

I don't remember how I found this recipe, but I am glad I did in the waning days of summer.  This Cook's Illustrated Sautéed Summer Squash with Parsley and Garlic recipe was the most unique preparation of summer squash I have seen. 

The squash is peeled into ~1 inch wide ribbons (beautiful!), flash sautéed, and then dressed with a lemon-olive oil dressing.  That's it!

At first, the squash tasted almost too lemony and tart, but as it cooled, the flavors mellowed out and were fantastic.  I omitted the parsley, which I didn't have on hand, and I think that any sort of herb would be great to add to this dish.  In the future, I can see myself doubling the recipe and serving it as a summer dinner or lunch party side dish.

Milk Street Cauliflower Dengaku - Using Up That Miso for a Sweet-Savory Dish

It's really hard to use a tub of miso.  At least for me.  And the best / worst part is that miso can stay in the fridge for a year without spoiling, so in addition to being difficult to use up, the tub constantly taunts me because there is no reason to throw it away after a few weeks (or months).  

My latest miso-based recipe was Milk Street's Cauliflower Dengaku, a sweet-savory roasted cauliflower dish that also features a nice crunch and sharpness from loads of fresh, chopped scallions and cilantro.

As I was looking at my recipe notes, one of my first entries was "probably won't make again" followed a few lines later, "actually will probably remake."  The difference was that when the cauliflower cooled, more of the flavors came out - from the grated ginger, the rice vinegar, and the honey.  The cauliflower consumed immediately post-ingredient-tossing was a bit more one-note, with the white miso and the scallions being the dominant flavors. 

I also found the recipe a bit mild, so I added some of the Japanese 7-spice chili pepper for more spice and flavor, which I think will be a must add for me moving forward.  I also slightly reduced the amount of scallions to what I perceived to be an appropriate amount, and omitted the pistachios and sake, which I didn't have on hand (instead increased the rice vinegar to make up for the sake exclusion).  I may potentially reduce the amount of sauce moving forward, because some of the sauce pooled at the bottom of the dish post-tossing as well.

The recipe felt more complicated than I would have liked while I initially made it, though in hindsight it really wasn't that bad.  I think the key moving forward is to make sure I am not hungry will preparing the dish :-)

Basically you cut and roast cauliflower in the oven, and then prepare the sauce while the cauliflower is roasting.

Also chop the scallions, cilantros and pistachios while the cauliflower is still in the oven.

Finally toss everything together, cool a bit to get the most nuanced flavors, and serve.

Summer Corn, Radish and Tomato Salad - and to Pull it All Together, Add Tortilla Chips!

While I subscribe to the online version of the Washington Post, I don't think I receive any emails from them about cooking, nor do I regularly check their lifestyle or food sections.  So I am not quite sure how I found their Corn, Radish, Tomato and Tortilla Chip Salad recipe, which looked so fantastic that I was determined to make it before summer produce past its prime. 

So in late August, I made sure to pick up the required ingredients at our local farmers market; boiled and chopped the ingredients; and then mixed everything together in heavy anticipation of what the result would be.

Thankfully the salad lived up to my high expectations - sweet from the tomatoes and corn, spicy from the scallions and radishes, and crunchy from the radishes.  And when I added the final ingredient addition to my portion - crushed tortilla chips - I got a wonderful saltiness in each bite.

I will definitely make this recipe again and again, particularly for large summertime gatherings, because even though I used fewer ingredients than called for in the original recipe, I still ended up with approx. 4 servings.  

I specifically used 3 corns of corn, which I brought to a boil before stripping off the kernels; one bunch of radishes, and one container of sunburst cherry tomatoes.

The only other ingredient modification I made was to increase the amount of apple cider vinegar to get the right level of tang I was looking for.

Summer 2020 can't come soon enough!

Easy, Different and Healthy Party Dip - Spiced Yogurt

Milk Street is quickly becoming one of my top recipe websites.  Chris Kimball has really captured lightning in a bottle the second time with this post-Cook's Illustrated venture.  My latest Milk Street recipe was their Spiced Yogurt Dip, which I made for a recent dinner party we attended.  

This healthy Greek-yogurt based dip had really interesting and unexpected spicy and sweet flavors, from a mixture of ingredients that included honey, coriander, turmeric, cumin, and red wine vinegar (I know - how did they come up with this list?!).  The recipe, somewhat unsurprisingly, was inspired by a Madhur Jaffrey Indian-dip, but the honey and vinegar definitely unique enough for repeated dips and discussion about what the underlying ingredients could be.

The dip also has the benefit of taking nearly no time to prepare, and it uses ingredients that are always in my pantry, including 2% Greek yogurt which I used in place of whole-milk yogurt.

The only downside of this dip was that its flavor profile wasn't quite to my taste.  The coriander in particular I found a bit overpowering (which I generally do with anything requiring more than a bit of this dried powder), but the others who had the dip really loved it.  And coupled with some sliced cucumbers and carrots, this really can be a fast, guilt-free addition to any gathering!

Blue Cheese Buttermilk Dressing - Heaven is a Place in My Kitchen

I've consistently only made one type of salad dressing - vinaigrette.  I've made balsamic, dijon, and various vinegar-based vinaigrettes (red wine, champagne, apple cider, etc.), usually via eyeballed ingredients, but they are generally the same.  Oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sometimes herbs or garlic.  

Feeling a bit bored by this routine, and also maybe extra hungry, I decided to try making a creamy dressing at home instead.  I mean how hard could it be?

Turns out even easier than I expected.  I very loosely followed a Cook's Illustrated recipe, modifying it so much that it became my own simple and delicious dressing.  The dressing had tang from sour cream, saltiness and creaminess from gorgonzola crumbles, and a sharp tart flavor from champagne vinegar.  Coupled with a buttermilk base, this dressing really made my otherwise simple lettuce meal incredibly satisfying and comforting.

I don't even know if I can provide a proper recipe for this dressing.  I basically used equal parts sour cream and buttermilk, added in maybe a tsp. of champagne vinegar to taste, a pinch of garlic powder and sugar, and enough gorgonzola until it looked "right."

I look forward to making this 3-minute dressing again and again!

Collard Chips are the New Kale Chips (Maybe I'm a Few Years Late to the Trend)

A few years ago, collard greens replaced kale as the hot green superfood.  This declaration may not have been from a particularly reliable source of information, but instead from places like the Food Network.  Well, whatever collards are and however popular or trendy they may be, I learned that they make an equally delicious, if not more delicious, baked chip as kale.  

I simply ripped up some heavily wilting collards from the fridge, eyeballed some olive oil and kosher salt to rub onto the leaves, and baked them.

Eighteen minutes in a preheated 300-degree oven was all it took, with a simple toss of the chips at the 12 minute mark.  

I think I liked these chips better than kale chips because the slightly bitter flavor of the collards came out more in these chips, which made them feel more hearty and interesting than kale chips, which are blander in flavor.  So I can certainly see myself making these again!