Madhu Knits and Cooks

Baked Buffalo Cauliflower - Wow, A Great Homemade Bar Snack

If you can't go to the bar or restaurant, try your favorites at home - volume 2.  This latest effort features a healthier version of one of my bar/restaurant favorites, buffalo cauliflower, which I found I couldn't order on any of our local restaurant delivery apps.  

I found a few recipes online and settled on the Frank's Red Hot version because of its glowing website reviews.  I also decided to use Food Network's blue cheese dip recipe instead of a store bought dip.

While the final result was pretty good - great Frank's spicy sauce flavor offset by the tangy dip - I learned some good lessons that will help make this good dish even better the next time.

First was that I should have used two baking sheets to allow the cauliflower to really crisp up instead of steaming from the pieces being too close to each other.  Second was that I should have used the full amount of Frank's called for in the recipe - 8 tbsp. instead of the 5 tbsp. that I used.

The third and fourth lessons are related - no need to add in panko bread crumbs, which didn't make a difference.  And I will likely retain my 50% substitute of besan or chickpea flour for the all-purpose flour as I thought it added a nice, subtle flavor to the batter.

Finally, for the dip, I will add a lot more blue cheese because that flavor was far more diluted than I would have liked from the Food Network recipe.

A Mostly Instant Pot Rasam - A MadhuKnitsandCooks.com Success!

Rasam is a simple spiced South Indian vegan soup or broth.  It's one of my favorite accompaniments to Indian meals, though I haven't made it in some time.  Emboldened by our first trip to the local Indian grocery store in 6 months, I decided to try a more substantive rasam than my previous efforts.  

I turned to Saranya Mandava's Indian Cuisine cookbook, and decided to go with her "Rasam No. 2" recipe with a few modifications from my mother and utilizing the Everest rasam powder I purchased.  

The final result was excellent - perfectly spiced from the mustard seeds and rasam powder; tangy from the tomatoes and lemon juice; and substantive from the mashed moong dal.  I will be making this rasam recipe again and again!

And the best part?  Using the Instant Pot for most of the dish, which freed up the rest of my stovetop for other dishes I was preparing at the same time. 

My main recipe modifications were to cook the moong dal for 10 minutes on low pressure in the Instant Pot before mashing; using 2 tsp. of rasam powder, which I added to the rasam with the tomatoes; and omitting the grinding of the spices that had been tempered on the stovetop.  I instead just added them directly to the pot after cooking them on the stovetop in a small pan.

I also added 5 curry leaves, which I ripped in half, to the tempering spices, and I omitted the fenugreek seeds to the tadka because I couldn't find them in my pantry (did I throw them away?).  Finally, I used approx. juice from 1/4 lemon, which seemed to be enough.

King Arthur Flour Hot Spinach Dip - An Adaptable Solo Treat or Party Snack

If you can't go to a dinner party or bar for a hot appetizer dip, try the homemade option!  While many homemade dips feature complicated  steps and/or result in too much dip for one person to eat, the King Arthur Flour Hot Spinach Dip recipe produces a great solo or a small group snack.

The recipe has three steps - pre-heat the oven, mix the ingredients together, and bake.  Couldn't be easier, and as I found through my two attempts at halved versions, very adaptable to shifting the ingredients.

Both times I made the dip I used low fat sour cream, low fat mayonnaise and fresh mozzarella.  The first time I made this recipe, I used slightly more mozzarella in the halved dip (measured ingredients with a scale), and second time, I dramatically reduced the mayonnaise and increased the sour cream a bit.  I didn't notice either time anything I disliked about the dip, which was thick, creamy and savory from the spinach and salted ingredients.

This dip will be a winter feature in my kitchen, and I hope in yours as well!  It tastes particularly good with carrots, but also works great with bread, chips, and crackers.

Sichuan Pickled Cucumbers - Gourmet Cookbook, Who Knew?

A decade ago, I found a heavily discounted version of the Gourmet Cookbook on a bookstore shelf and immediately took it to the register, figuring that I had beat the store in realizing its mistake. 

In the years since, I have made a few recipes from the cookbook, which probably ensures the cookbook was worth what I paid for it, but it's rarely my first turn for any type of recipe.  On a whim, I changed that approach when I had a bounty of delicious summer cucumbers in my fridge.  

While I have made a few Chinese cucumber recipes in the past, this recipe intrigued me because it involved cooking the marinade before  pickling the cucumbers.  

The recipe seemed pretty easy to construct, so without much thought, I started the preparation process.  First, I cut, salted, rinsed and then drained the cucumber slices.

The pickles got a light coating of sugar and vinegar after they have drained, while I then cooked the marinade.  I used slightly less sesame oil than the recipe called for because I find sesame oil has such a strong flavor, and I also used 4 broken-in-half Indian dried red chiles.

Unfortunately, following the 3-hour pickling process, I found these pickles to be "ok."  None of the flavors were that strong, and while the hot spice flavor was there, it was more of an undertone than a main feature of each bite.  As the days went on, the pickles became spicier, but remained underwhelming.  I wish I added garlic or something else that would give these cucumbers sharper flavor. 

Oh well, at least I had an excuse to reacquaint myself with this otherwise great encyclopedia of cooking!

Brined Crispy Tofu - A Laborious But Delicious Tofu Preparation Method

For several months, I've wanted to try Cook's Illustrated "Better Fried Tofu" approach.  The method calls for brining raw tofu before tossing it in cornstarch for the lower fat pan-frying approach I enjoy.  CI reported that brining takes out more moisture from the tofu blocks, resulting in a crispier crust with a softer middle.

I paired this method with another CI recipe, published under their America's Test Kitchen brand.  The Crispy Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce (Tianla Cuipi Doufu) recipe worked really well with the brining modification as it just added a bit more time to the recipe prep.  

I cut the tofu as instructed into large blocks to do the quick brining.

I then cut the pieces into smaller increments (approx. 3/4 inch cubes) before the coating in cornstarch, cornmeal, and some toasted sesame seeds that I happened to have on as well.  

I pan fried the tofu in two batches, using about 1/2 of the vegetable oil called for in the recipe.  That seemed to be enough - approx. 1/4 cup for the initial batch and then a few more tablespoons for the second batch.

And then before serving, I followed the instruction to put the tofu into a preheated, slightly warm oven on paper towels to get some of the oil out.

Finally, I made some modifications to the accompanying sauce based on personal preference and the comments section on the ATK site.  I used only 1 tbsp. of sugar and I slightly reduced the cornstarch as well.

The sauce had both a sharp vinegar flavor and a sweet undertone, making it slightly odd for dipping. 

The tofu by contrast was fantastic - crisp and slightly crunchy from the cornmeal coating, with a nice moist interior.  It was a great appetizer before our larger meal. 

I look forward to using this tofu approach again and again, and figuring out new ways to pair it with other meals!

A Modern Cook's Year Pea and Charred Scallion Fritters - Recipe Modification Mishap?

My inability to return a Modern Cook's Year to the library and the success of the carrot dhal led me to try another recipe, the pea and charred scallion fritters.  I think what particularly attracted me to this recipe was the use of cannellini beans, a can of which I have had for some time.  

As the post title indicates, the fritters didn't turn out as I desired.  They were quite bland, with none of the ingredients truly expressing themselves.  The charred scallions added only a slight caramelized flavor, the peas a tiny sweetness, the mint a faint herb flavor, and then rest was just mushy bland white beans.  

The cause was either user error - I used approx. 1/3 the amount of scallions called for in the recipe - or a combination of what I would say is user error and an annoying (to me) feature of this cookbook, that the multi-component dishes must be all completed for the recipe to shine. 

In this case, the pea and charred scallion fritters recipe not only had an accompanying spiced yogurt recipe, but also a herb salad.  And both of these sides required not-particularly-common ingredients.  As is my way, I omitted the salad and yogurt hoping that these fritters would be good (but perhaps not great) on their own.  They weren't.  When can I return this cookbook?

Now to the steps required to make the fritter portion of this dish.  Start by charring the scallions in the oven or a grill.  I roasted them in the oven for approx. 15 minutes before they started to brown.

Then prepare and pulse the remaining fritter ingredients before shaping and pan frying.

I also fried the fritters for longer than the recipe called for to get crispier edges.  While the fritters weren't great on their own for dinner, the leftovers added some easy protein to my lunch salads the rest of the week.

Dishoom's Gunpowder Potatoes - Fantastic Side for Indian Dinners

The title of my last post could also apply to this post.  My library cookbooks have become a source of unexpected recipe inspiration as I continue to hold on to them well beyond the standard 9-week checkout and renewal times.  Coupled with the accidental inclusion of frozen roasted baby potatoes in a grocery delivery order, pandemic cooking appears to well within its first wave.

The recipe I turned to for these unexpected potatoes (of which we received 2 bags) was Dishoom's Gunpowder Potatoes.  The final dish was fantastic - spicy, acidic and sharp from the green onions and lime juice, and wonderfully spiced from the toasted cumin, fennel and coriander seeds.

In addition to using frozen roasted potatoes, which sharply reduced the cooking time and complexity, I also substituted Kashmiri chile powder for homemade kabab masala to simply this recipe.  I will continue both modifications because these potatoes were wonderful.

To start, I spread the frozen potatoes on a baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven for 14 minutes.  They sat for 3 - 4 minutes before I cut them in half, per the Dishroom recipe instructions.

While the potatoes were in the oven, I toasted the whole spices until fragrant, then ground lightly them with a mortar and pestle.  While the spices were toasting, I melted the butter in the serving dish, and chopped up the green chiles, scallions, and cilantro.  Tossed all of the flavoring ingredients together in the serving dish before adding the potatoes, then sea salt, lime juice, and chile powder to taste.  So easy!

Lisa Fain's Austin Diner-Style Queso - Not My Favorite Queso, But Sometimes You've Got to Vary Your Melted Cheese Routine

Slowly, but surely, I am making my way through Lisa Fain's fantastic Queso! cookbook.  My latest attempt was Lisa Fain's Austin diner-style queso, which was also my first time cooking with American cheese.

This queso was great with the fresh pico stirred in.  The bright acidic chunks of tomato and onion balanced out the thick American cheese flavored dip quite well.  Some bites actually felt...healthy?  Such are the warped thoughts of a queso addict!

While I prefer the flavor of cheddar to American cheese, my husband - an apparent American cheese lover - loved this dip.  And a major bonus is how easy this queso is to construct.

I halved the recipe, substituted 2% milk for whole, and used 0.63 pounds of American cheese instead of 0.5 pounds.  Apart from those minor changes, I followed the recipe as is.

Like many of Fain's recipes, this recipe involved a roux, which came together pretty easily.

Super easy - cut some vegetables, make a simple roux, and melt in the cheese.  Yum!

No-Knead High-Gluten Flour Sesame Bread - Saving This Flour for Bagels

During the great (but brief) flour shortage of 2020, I ordered any flour that was available from King Arthur Flour's website.  Some of the new flour types I purchased were fantastic - the Pizza Flour Blend in particular - but others, I've struggled with.  The High-Gluten Flour falls into that category.  The pizza dough I made with it was just ok, and King Arthur's No-Knead Everything Bread, which seems adapted to this flour in particular, also was just ok.  

I initially thought the issue may be my continued use of a large Dutch oven to bake high-hydration no-knead doughs instead of a smaller bread pot which would allow the bread to rise more than spread.  This problem plagued me with Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread recipe. The fridge-rise, less-hydration Jeff Hertzberg approach and its variants generally produce must better loafs.  However, I tried this flour with the King Arthur-version of Hertzberg's approach and also ended up with a slightly (but not that much) lower rise bread.

So the issue seems to be the flour or more likely, my unfamiliarity with it.  In any case, this recipe, which I halved and used just sesame seeds instead of an everything spice blend, will probably not be a repeat. 

While the bread dough was easy to prepare, as all no-kneads are, I really don't like handling gooey, non-fridge rise doughs like this.   

These doughs are just far messier to shape and transfer to a baking pot.

The upside of this bread is that it tasted wonderful - yeasty, slightly crusty on the outside, and soft in the middle.  It was gone within the day!

Parsley, Arugula and Scallion Salad - Interesting Way to Liven Up a Salad Side Dish

Lots of arugula in the fridge with no idea what to do?  Surprisingly, my first stop wasn't CooksIllustrated.com, but instead Chris Kimball's post-CI venture, Milk Street.  I am not sure what drew me to the recipe I chose - Parsley and Arugula Salad with Lemon and Sesame - but the result was interesting enough to replicate again.

That being said, I didn't exactly follow the recipe.  I omitted the lemon zest entirely, reduced the juice to that which comes from ~2/3 of a medium lemon, and substituted cebolla for the scallions.  Finally, I didn't want a salad that was mostly parsley, so I reduced the parsley to about 1 cup from the 3 called for in the recipe.

This recipe proved itself to be a great guide though in that my improvised result was quite tasty.  A sharpness of flavors from the lemon juice; a nutty crunch from the toasted sesame seeds; and an unexpected freshness from the parsley.  The pepper flavor of the arugula was also muted nicely by the lemon juice and olive oil.  This salad would be a great, healthy summer side for a party so I can see myself improvising it again!