bon appetit's rhubarb and raspberry jam

once again, it was another washed out weekend here in greensboro and once again, it was another early morning rise for delana and i. it really should be a crime to have to wake up at 3:45 in the morning on a sunday morning. sunday's are meant to sleep in right? i think so. i also think this message needs to be passed on to starbucks....wishful thinking. it's fun but that's all it is, is wishful. so what to do when life gives you rainy days and early mornings? complain? i just did that. so yes you can do that and you can also make jam. jam is what i did yesterday and boy did it turn out gooood.

my inspiration came out of Bon Appetit's March 2008 issue (pg.121?not sure but it sounds right.) i've been wanting to try it since the magazine made its way through my mail slot but have not been able to since the grocery stores around me didn't seem to realize that it was rhubarb season up until this past weekend. so behind the times. the first supermarket i came across that carried these elusive, red stalks had them at a whopping $6 a pound. my cash flow was not as great as my desire to make this jam. i continued on through the produce section, grabbing the stuff i actually needed. once done, delana and i made a stop at the Fresh Market to pick up some almonds since this location carries them in bulk at a much fairer price than the vacuum sealed packs found at our first stop. this second stop satisfied much more than our need for almonds, it also provided us with rhubarb for a $3 a pound. six dollars vs. three dollars? the latter makes for a much happier checking account balance. this along with the half jar of raspberry preserves i had in the fridge, some sugar and water and i was on way to rhubarb and raspberry jam minus the roly polys. i did make profiteroles from gourmet's march issue but i'll post about those later. i guess i too am a little behind on my recipe trials but better late than never. if you too are waiting to try this recipe out don't wait too long because it's definitely something that you're going to want ot have waiting for you in your 'fridge. i had some this morning spread over some toast with a side of oatmeal. delicious.

Bon Appetit's Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam
March 2008 issue

1/2 pound fresh rhubarb, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup raspberry jam



Combine rhubarb, sugar, and 1 tablespoon water in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Cover; cook until rhubarb softens to thick pulp, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Mix in jam; cool. do ahead Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill.

tuna + onion + pepper = yummy in my tummy tuna salad...

tuna salad: a dish that everyone knows,has his or her favorite place to get it from or a favorite family recipe. me? i never knew tuna salad as tuna salad. for me, it was just "tuna fish." see, whenever my mom would fix what everyone else called "tuna salad" she would just say we're having tuna fish. when she said this, i knew what she meant and how she'd be fixing it. tuna, diced tomatoes, onion, and mayo. i knew nothing of the added celery bits and parlsey or any of that other stuff people add and that was ok. it was good, it still is good. i just don't get to eat it because a) i live 500+ miles away and b) she doesn't ever fix it for me when i do go to visit. it would probably help if i asked her to fix it. she's not a mind reader, or so she says... silly me. maybe next trip.
due to the above mentioned circumstances, i've had to make do it making it myself. not a problem.that's part of the beauty of enjoying to cook, circumstances like this allow for me to add one more dish to my small arsenal of recipes. i, however, chose to do things a little differently from her. not alot. just a little.
Differently? How? Why?
differently because i add diced red pepper. sometimes in place of the tomato or in addition to. it's pretty and it tastes good. plus, let's face it. summer does not last all year and finding tomatos that are actually good is like trying to find osama. ok so maybe grocery store bins aren't quite desert caves but still, you never know which one, if any, is gonna have what you're looking for. so when in doubt, grab a pepper.
another thing that makes mine different is that i add spanish smoked paprika. it was an experimental addition i made one day that turned out successfully tasty. it adds a nice smokiness to pair along with the creaminess of the mayonnaise. that's pretty much it. oh wait no, sorry. i add diced celery too. delana likes it, i've come to like it and it adds crunch. that's no secret. i think my mom just never added it because we never had any. it's just not something she cooks with. no big deal. i promise that not having it will not cause you to go through celery withdrawals.

"Tuna Fish" or Tuna Sald for the Masses
serves 2

1 6 oz. can Solid, White Albacore Tuna
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 roma tomato, diced (optional)
2 celery stalks, sliced lengthwise in 1/2 then cut crosswise
4 tbs mayonnaise ( i used a ratio of 2:1 of light mayo and Fage 2% Greek yogurt. Any plain yogurt will do)
1/2 tsp of smoked, Spanish Paprika
Salt
Pepper

start by draining your tuna and then break it up right in the can with a fork till you have small, bite size chunks. in a large bowl, combine the broken up tuna with the pepper,onion, tomato, and celery and mix the 5 ingredients together.
in a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise (and yogurt?) with the paprika and salt and pepper. stir to combine. do a taste test to make sure the seasonings are to your taste before adding it to the tuna mixture. once satisfied, combine the 2 in the larger bowl and stir till the dressing is evenly distributed. serve with your choice of bread. enjoy!

does anyone have any recipes inspired by their own families that they've modified to better suit their tastes? if so, please feel free to share. any family staples that have led to new, more jazzed up creations?

Springy and Creamy Mushroom Risotto with Asparagus Tips

risotto. you've heard about it, you've seen it fixed lord knows how many times on food network, you've caught glimpses of it on the wonder that is tastespotting and if you're anything like me- you have never actually had it. well, you were like the old me because guess what? i have finally had risotto. yesterday. for dinner. let me clue you in to something: you need to fix this. doesn't have to be my recipe.it can be any recipe. have one that you've been itching to try but have just left it on the backburner? pull it out and fix it. i promise you won't be disappointed. this stuff is oh-so- good. you've got the creaminess of the rice, meatiness with the added mushrooms, sweetness from the onions and a touch of savory goodness from the stock in which it's cooked in. the asparagus just adds a touch of contrast by giving it some bite. mmm. definitely a repeat dish.

Risotto with Cremini Mushrooms, Onion and Asparagus Tips

• 6 c Stock- your choice of vegetable or chicken. ( I did a mixture of chicken stock and water since I didn't have the low sodium kind of stock)
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 c diced, cremini mushrooms
• 1 Shallot, diced
• 1/2 of a Sweet Onion, diced
• 1 Bunch of Asparagus, trimmed of hard stalks
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 c Arborio rice
• 1/3 c of white wine ( I used a Chardonnay)

heat your stock over a low simmer, no need to boil it here. you're just looking to keep it warm.

melt the two tablespoons of butter over medium heat and throw in the diced mushrooms. once they begin to brown, add the diced shallots and onion and allow to cook till softened- 2 to 3 minutes. add minced garlic and rice, give it a light stir just to coat with juices extracted from mushrooms and onion. add wine, and continuously stir till it is absorbed by the rice mixture. get ready, this is where your arm muscles are put to the test.

start adding the simmered broth, about half a cup at a time, continuously stirring it till it is completely absorded. after you've added about 4 cups of the broth, add in the trimmed asparagus spears so they can cook as you mix in the remaining 2 cups of broth. once ristto reaches desired consistency, take off heat and serve immediately. if you like, you can mix in some grated parmigiano reggiano cheese for an added level of creaminess.

spanish style white rice

white rice = comfort food at it's best. for me anyways. growing up in a part puerto-rican household meant rice was a staple that we were bound to have at least 3 times a week and i was not one to complain. i remember there were saturday's that i spent at my aunt's house waiting for my dad to get out of work mid afternoon and she would be getting an early start on dinner and if she had been fixing rice, i'd be leaving with a small bowl of it to eat on the way home. we only lived about 5 blocks away. yes, i was in love with rice. how could i not be? it's simple, easy to fix and oh so yummy. i do feel though that no one fixes white rice like my mom. whenever mondays rolled around and i knew she'd be home, that would be what i would ask her to fix for dinner. last night i decided to re-create those monday nights.

Rice:
1 tsp of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 tsp of salt
1 c of rice
1.5 c of water

1.coat the bottom of a small saucepan with 1 tsp of oil and then add the garlic and saute over medium heat until lightly browned.
2. add the 1/2 tsp of salt and rice and toast your rice, about 1 minute.
3. pour in the 1.5 c of water and bring to a bubbling boil.
4. once the rice reaches it's boiling point, give it a stir and turn your heat down to a low simmer. place a towel or sheet of foil and lid over the rice and let it do it's thing for about 15-20 minutes.
when ready to serve, fluff with a fork and dig in. when you get to the bottom of the pan there should be a thin, crispy layer called the "raspa," arguably the best part. DON'T throw it away. break it and eat it as is.

sorry there's no picture to go with this but last night delana and i were so hungry we didn't think to take any pictures. next time i fix some rice, which i'm sure will be in the near future, i'll be sure to update this with an actual snapshot.

what's your favorite comfort food?

saturday seafood soiree

this weekend went by a little faster than i had hoped for but it was definitely one filled with some tasty dinner and breakfast treats. saturday's menu was in honor of delana- she had been craving fish for quite a few weeks now and we finally decided that this weekend we were going to put an end to that. after putting in our time at the gym, we went over to The Fresh Market- a local equivalent to Whole Foods- and loaded up on all that we need for our seafood fest.

to start we grabbed a pound of some zucchini and squash, followed up with a pound of new potatoes. these 3 ingredients plus some frozen broccoli from earlier in the week as well as some carrot rounds would make up our side dish. after finishing up at the produce section, off to the fish counter. we knew we definitely wanted salmon so we went ahead and asked for half a pound of that. the next question was did we want a) tilapia b)flounder or c) cod? our answer: b) flounder. we now had our sides, and entree. we made our way past the meats section and into the bread section. though not part of our original menu, we decided some good, crusty bread was not something we could pass up on and went ahead and grabbed a "rosemary olive oil batard." i cannot lie, a good crusty bread can be quite heavenly and this one was close to it. we were set and paid our dues at the checkout line. our fish fest rounded out to about $18 dollars. not bad for dinner for 2.

once it was close to dinner time, we got started on some prep work. to start, i made a homemade tartar sauce comprised of the following:

• fat free mayo- again we are health conscious but feel free to use regular mayo
• white vinegar
• chopped dill
• minced sweet pickles
• ground mustard powder
• creamy horseradish sauce
• worcestershire sauce
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper

i wish i had an exact recipe but i just added each ingredient to taste and just neglected to write the exact measurements down. after i've played around with it some more, i'll be sure to give an updated recipe.

once that was done, i went ahead and set the oven to broil. the next step was to chop up our veggie filled side dish, which went a little like this :

• 1 zucchini and 1 squash - each halved lengthwise and cut into semi circles
• 2 medium carrot stalks - peeled and cut on a bias/angle
• 1 medium new potato- halved lengthwise and diced
• 2 cups of broccoli florets

place all your cut up vegetables in a bowl and toss with 1.5 tsp of olive oil, coarse salt and pepper. in a large skillet, add 1 cup of water to steam the vegetables, adding your potatoes first followed by the broccoli,then the carrots and lastly the zucchini and squash. all together, it should take about 15 minutes for these to cook.

you're still reading? awesome. it's now time for our entree: broiled salmon and flounder.

Once i had the veggies going, i got started on the fish. i cut the salmon in half lengthwise, to ensure that we would each get an even sized piece. i did leave the skin on just for simplicity's sake and seasoned each one with a touch of kosher salt and a mix of cracked black and white peppercorns. the flounder underwent the same procedure, except that it spent a little more time under the knife being cut into 4 equal sized fillets. since i don't own a broiler rack, i made my own using a cookie sheet and two cooling racks that i sprayed with pam to prevent the fish from sticking and just layed each filet onto the cooling racks and placed the onto the lowest rack of my preheated oven.

dinner will now be ready in about 12 more minutes. the following is the end result, plated and ready to be dug into.

if you have any recipes for tartar sauce, or cocktail sauce or any type of sauce that you think might go with this type of dish - let me know. what's your ideal seafood night? favorite fish? favorite side dish to compliment fish? not a fish fan? then let me know what your favorite weekend dish is hands down. i might want to try fixing it sometime.

opa! i made some hummus!

since delana (my girlfriend) was having to work late tonight i figured i'd take the time to try something new in the kitchen.i've been wanting to try and make some hummus but just haven't had the chance so i decided to seize the moment or in this case, the can of garbanzos that has been in my pantry ? months and go ahead and make it. my list of ingredients was short as well as the tools i would need. here's what i used:

• 1 can- 16 oz - of garbanzo beans or chick peas. you'll drain these but be sure to save the liquid - it's going to help make the hummus nice and creameee
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
• 1 Food Processor
• 1 Can opener

based on what i've seen, you can add tahini paste if you have it but it's not a must have. i didn't have any and didn't deem it worth the five dollar splurge. you can also add lemon juice but i didn't have any of that either so again,just went those few basic ingredients. once you've got your beans rinsed, just throw them into the food processor along with the garlic and pulse away, drizzle in the olive oil and some of the reserved liquid in between pulses and once it's reached your desired consistency whoila! it's done. personally, i did about a tablespoon of the liquid but once again this is something you can definitely do to taste. pour the hummus into your serving dish of choice and go ahead and season it with the salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. once it is to your liking, you can garnish it off with some pine nuts or i would say even some chopped almonds. for me, im just going to leave it as is. i'm open to suggestions though because really i haven't had to much experience with this but it just sounded good. here's a preview...

disclaimer: no plates were broken in the production of this hummus...