Spicy Dungeness Crab of Ridiculousness

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

Dan and I finally tried the trendy Vietnamese fusion Xanh Restaurant in downtown Mountain View this week. We always walk by and say, “One of these days we really need to go there!” but we’re usually sweaty from the walk from home or hankering for Thai instead. Well, we finally designated a date night on Monday and managed to get there in time for an hour of happy hour specials (definitely a great deal, as the cocktails and appetizers on the happy hour menu are pretty much 50% less than usual). We got Xanh’s version of a caipirinha (pretty yummy and mostly like a normal caipirinha with the addition of lychee), mojito (tasty, but not really that special—admittedly, my mojito tastes have been spoiled by Gloria’s!) and sangria/Xanhgria (quite yummy, plus a good pun on the restaurant name, which we were told is pronounced like “sun”). Our Buddha roll was tasty (though I wished the mushrooms in the description were actually in the rolls) and garlic noodles were pretty good comfort food (not garlicky enough, but I suppose we’re picky about that!).

To make up for the cheap happy hour specials, I couldn’t resist the most awesome sounding “Xanh Enlightened Crab,” which was described as “wok fired dungeness crab with roasted garlic, lemon grass, thai basil, kaffir lime leaf, green peppers, and fresh cracked pepper.” Since we have a thriving kaffir lime tree in front of our house, I was so curious to see how else to season with it other than in Thai red curry. Well, it did not disappoint, and, really, the picture does not really show how incredibly large it was (that plate took up a good third of the table!). I guess I should have known what I was in store for when the server brought out four moist towelettes before the dish came out. The seasoning was like a really complex, spicy, slightly sweet curry (the pineapple really made the sauce, and that wasn’t even in the description!), and since the crab took so much work, it canceled out the calories, right? Anyway, “ridiculous” is the word that kept popping out of my mouth—ridiculously huge, ridiculously messy, and ridiculously awesome.

Posted in Beyond the Kitchen | 1 Comment

Brown Rice Flour Mix (for Gluten-Free Baking)

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

This is the gluten-free flour mix that is highly recommended by Annalise Roberts in her Gluten-Free Baking Classics. I make it 3 cups at a time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge, but you can make a bunch at a time if you adhere to the proportions.

Brown Rice Flour Mix

  • 2 c brown rice flour, extra finely ground
  • 2/3 c potato starch (not potato flour)
  • 1/3 c tapioca flour (also known as tapioca starch)

Instructions

  1. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients (e.g., put them in an airtight container and shake it up).

Notes

Authentic Foods makes the most readily available extra finely ground brown rice flour (called “Superfine” on the package), and I found it (and all other gluten-free baking ingredients) at Whole Foods.

Posted in 15 minutes or less, gluten-free | Leave a comment

Gluten-Free Lemon Cornmeal Scones

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

Today was an “Afternoon Tea (with Legos)”—how can you go wrong with those two things?!—so I was challenged to come up with some sort of traditional afternoon tea nibbles. Since my body’s not a big fan of wheat but my husband is on a quest to become a pizza-making expert (of course, right?), I try to save up my wheat intake for insanely tasty pizza. As such, I’ve started to experiment with gluten-free baked goods when the need arises; and today, the need was for scones.

Recently I’ve spent time poring over Annalise Roberts’ Gluten-Free Baking Classics, which I have to admit is an excellently written cookbook. Once you get over the initial sticker shock of buying all of the gluten-free flours and ingredients (thankfully the most expensive ones, like xanthan gum, get used very slowly!), the gluten-free recipes are not any more difficult than “traditional” from-scratch baking. There are some different techniques (without gluten, dough is often stickier and simply handles differently), but really it’s not so hard if you actually follow the recipe. (As a matter of fact, I screwed up a couple recipe details inadvertently changed the recipe, and they still turned out great!)

These scones came out delightfully crisp on the outside, with a perfect amount of lemony goodness. They were a Lego-tea hit!

Recipe: Gluten-Free Lemon Cornmeal Scones

based on Annalise G. Roberts’ Gluten-Free Baking Classics

Ingredients

  • 1/2 c milk
  • 1 c golden raisins
  • 1 3/4 brown rice flour mix
  • 1 c stone-ground yellow cornmeal
  • 1/4 c granulated sugar
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6 tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp lemon extract
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in the center of the oven. Prepare heavy baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or using a silicone baking mat.
  2. Combine milk and raisins in small bowl and set aside.
  3. Combine all dry ingredients (flour mix, cornmeal, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt) in large bowl. Drop in the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles a course meal. Transfer mixture to a small bowl and set aside.
  4. In the previously used large bowl, beat the eggs until they are very light and foamy (at least two minutes). All at once without mixing, add the milk/raisins and flour mixture, lemon zest, and lemon and vanilla extracts. Mix at medium-low speed for 1 minute only.
  5. Scrape out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and, with lightly floured hands, gently pat out the dough until it is 1-inch thick and round. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter (or, in my case, a metal 1/3-cup measuring cup), cut out the scones and place onto prepared baking sheet. Press the dough scraps together and repeat. (The last one will be the tasty, runty one that you get to eat!)
  6. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Quick Notes

Leftover scones should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eaten within four days. To reheat, bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 5-10 minutes. (Do not use the microwave for these, or they’ll be gross.) You can also freeze them for up to three weeks by wrapping them in plastic wrap and foil around that.

Though the original recipe says it makes 14 scones, I only managed to get 12. I also accidentally used a whole teaspoon of lemon extract instead of half, and they didn’t seem too lemony—so the mistake stays!

Variations

If the scones come out too brown and crispy for your liking, try the original recipe’s instructions of placing the scones in the oven and reducing the heat to 375 degrees. I missed that step, but I like how they turned out!

Preparation time: 30 minute(s)

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Diet tags: Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 12

Posted in gluten-free | 2 Comments

Simple Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

I admit it. I’m pretty much addicted to fire roasted tomatoes, in particular the Muir Glen crushed ones that I can order cheaply by subscription on Amazon (since they’re always so expensive in the store, if you can even find them!). This is quite possibly one of the easiest, tastiest, and most versatile sauces I’ve found, and one of the reasons I actually have said subscription. It’s great on all types of pasta (including all gluten-free pastas I’ve tried), in lasagna, being sopped up by crusty bread, or being eaten with a spoon.

Recipe: Simple Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

Summary: mostly from Myra Kornfeld’s The Healthy Hedonist, one of my absolute favorite cookbooks

Ingredients

  1. 1 28-oz can crushed, fire-roasted tomatoes
  2. 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  3. 3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
  4. 1 tsp dried basil
  5. 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
  6. freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients except for the black pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened quite a bit.
  3. Stir in freshly ground pepper to your taste, and add salt if needed.

Quick Notes

This is one of the few recipes that I do not reduce the oil on; the olive oil really helps balance out the somewhat acidic tomatoes and meld the flavors. It seems like a lot, but since the sauce is so flavorful and thick, a little sauce goes a long way (hence, not as many calories as using a lot more sauce of a lesser quality).

I pretty much universally add about 50% more garlic to any recipe I find, and this case is no exception. Only once—when a friend added about 6X more raw garlic to an uncooked hummus recipe—have I found something too garlicky. Just a warning. ;)

Variations

I like to double this recipe, since it freezes well. When doubling, you do need to increase the simmer time as well to about 45 minutes. Just keep an eye on it, and it’s ready when you like the look of it! Extra simmering almost never hurts a tomato sauce.

If you don’t have fire-roasted tomatoes, this can still be an excellent sauce! Play around with adding extra herbs in that case, maybe throwing in a bit of rosemary and thyme in addition to the basil. I’ve made it with whatever random cans of crushed and diced tomatoes are in the cupboard, adding a bit extra of whatever herbs were put into the can, plus more garlic, of course.

Cooking time (duration): 30

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 5-6 half-cup servings

 

Posted in gluten-free, vegetarian | 5 Comments

Asian Asparagus Salad

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

Few things are tastier on a warm spring day than a dinner of tenderly cooked asparagus covered in a warm, tangy, sweet, savory sauce atop a bed of fresh spring greens. People have doubted me on this one, but this particular recipe has won over at least one of my friends who professed to not really like asparagus to begin with. In addition to this salad simply being yummy, it’s easy to prepare as well, just as long as you’re vigilant during the steaming of the asparagus. (Overcooked asparagus = ick.)Asian asparagus salad

The recipe is based on one in Rachel Ray’s Veggie Meals (one of the cookbooks she wrote before she was insanely famous, thus every recipe I’ve tried from it actually seems like it was carefully tested).

Recipe: Asian Asparagus Salad

Summary: pretty closely adapted from Rachel Ray’s Veggie Meals

Ingredients

  1. 1 lb asparagus, washed and patted dry
  2. 2 tbs soy sauce
  3. 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
  4. 1 inch (yields about a large tablespoon) freshly grated ginger root
  5. 2 tbs dark brown sugar
  6. 1 tbs canola oil
  7. 1 tbs sesame seeds
  8. zest of 1 orange
  9. 6 oz mixed spring greens
  10. 1 navel orange, sectioned
  11. 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Trim asparagus by gently snapping the more tender tops from the tougher bottoms (i.e., hold near the base and try to snap off the bottom inch or so – if it doesn’t snap off easily, try further up until it snaps off pretty easily). Steam the asparagus until bright green and just able to pierce with a fork, about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how thin the asparagus is. Plunge into cold water until the asparagus is cool, then drain and set aside.
  2. Warm a non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, brown sugar, and oil. Cook while stirring until the sauce is bubbling vigorously. Add the asparagus and toss with the sauce until the asparagus is covered and heated. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and orange zest, tossing briefly. Serve on a bed of mixed salad greens and garnish with orange sections and red onion.

Quick Notes

I cut the amount of oil from the original recipe in half, and I don’t miss it. To save time, you can prepare the sauce ingredients while the asparagus is cooking (but keep an eye on the asparagus), and then you can prepare the orange and onion while the sauce is bubbling away. I’ve found that it’s hard to overcook the sauce, as it just gets tastier if you let it cook a couple minutes.

Variations

Since I’m not always in the mood for raw onion, I sometimes toss the red onion into the bubbling sauce for about a minute before adding the asparagus to the pan. That adds the flavor of the red onion without quite as much of the raw onion harshness, if that suits your fancy.

Rachel Ray says you can use 1/2 cup of canned mandarin orange sections, but I figure that if you’ve already got to zest an orange, you might as well cut up that same orange for some nice fresh sections!

Cooking time (duration): 20

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish

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Oranges with Olive Oil and Coarse Salt

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

In honor of those of you still struggling with the Infinite Winter of 2011 (indeed, snow was coming down quite fervently yesterday as I was trying to come back from Indianapolis after a gig – isn’t it the end of March?!), here is a simple and refreshing dessert that evokes the summer that supposedly really will come eventually. I originally made this when Cara Cara navel oranges were first coming out in late January, but if you can still get your hands on some, they’re completely worth it. Cara Caras are sweet like other navels, but they have slightly pinkish flesh, low acid, and a subtle depth of flavor that some other citrus lacks. If you can’t find them, though, just go with the sweetest oranges you can find. (I hope to try this with Valencia oranges as well, which are my favorite to just cut into wedges and eat.)

I was slightly skeptical of the “Dreaming-of-Summer Oranges” recipe in Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen, because I hadn’t really ever thought of having anything other than unadulterated oranges. (I’m a Florida girl, after all.) However, Gina DePalma’s description of lounging on a beach with a handsome Italian man made it impossible not to try. I have to admit that even if all of the recipes end up horribly disastrous (which I seriously doubt!), this cookbook is worth having just for her vivid and often sensual descriptions of Italy, desserts, and ingredients.

Cara Cara oranges

Beautiful pink-orange Cara Cara oranges

Recipe: Oranges with Olive Oil and Coarse Salt

Summary: from Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Cara Cara navel oranges (or the sweetest oranges you can find)
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs very high quality extra virgin olive oil
  • Large-crystal sea salt

Instructions

  1. Wash the oranges and cut them into wedges with the skin on. In a large bowl, toss the orange wedges with the sugar and let sit for about ten minutes to let the juices release.
  2. Transfer the oranges to a large plate or serving platter, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with a large pinch of salt.

Quick Notes

I used recently pressed, local olive oil, but I would think that a high-quality Greek olive oil would be excellent, since it has a bit of a fruity flavor to it.

Cooking time (duration): 10

Number of servings (yield): 4

I loved how the subtle complexity of the Cara Caras was brought out by the combination of small amounts of sugar and salt – and the olive oil rounded out the flavors to make this healthy dessert feel quite decadent. You would have thought it was cake based on how quickly they disappeared!oranges all gobbled up

Posted in 15 minutes or less, gluten-free, vegetarian | Leave a comment

Fire Roasted Tomato Vegetable Soup

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

Having recently moved from Dallas to the San Francisco Bay Area (quite a change, I must say!), I’ve become quite enamored with my local Mountain View farmer’s market. Even though I’ve now been lucky enough to go almost every Sunday morning for the past few months (even the rain can’t keep me away), I still feel like I’m in a surreal dreamland of unimaginably large kiwi fruit and carrots, strawberries even through “winter,” more citrus varieties than I knew existed (even though I grew up in Florida!), and even fractals.Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale

This week, I was inspired by the beautiful Lacinato kale (also known as Dinosaur kale) to make a minestrone-like vegetable soup for my husband, Dan, who has a soft spot for minestrone and also happens to be getting over a cold. Armed with the kale, a bunch of fresh, organic celery, a general description of how to make a good vegetable soup from my mom, and other goodies leftover in my fridge or pantry–including half of a Chantenay carrot from last week’s market (which, I have to say, is really a caricature of a carrot, both in size and flavor – Dan says they scream Bugs Bunny at him)–I came up with the following:Fire roasted tomato vegetable soup

Recipe: Fire Roasted Tomato Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 6-7 stalks celery, including leaves, chopped
  • 6-7 carrots, sliced or chopped
  • 1 bunch kale, trimmed (center vein removed) and chopped
  • 32 oz can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2-3 inch parmesan or grana padano rind
  • 4-5 cups vegetable stock
  • parmesan or grana padano, grated (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large pot.
  2. Add onions and garlic; saute for about 2 minutes or until soft.
  3. Add the tomatoes to deglaze the pan and add remaining vegetables and spices.
  4. Pour in enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables.
  5. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about an hour or until vegetables are desired consistency and flavors have melded.
  6. Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan or grana padano. Crusty bread sops up the soup nicely.

Quick Notes

To save a little time in preparation, chop all the vegetables but the kale. Once you throw in the rest of the veggies to start cooking, take your time with the kale and throw it in whenever you’re done with it. The kale doesn’t need as much time to cook, but it also does hold up well if you cook it the whole time.

Variations

To make this more like a traditional minestrone with pasta, add 1/2 cup small pasta in the last 10-15 minutes and cook until al dente. You may want to add a cup or so more water or broth, since the pasta will absorb some of it.

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet (other): Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate, Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 6

I have to give credit to Martha Rose Shulman’s cookbook, Mediterranean Harvest, for introducing me to the idea of using a parmesan rind in soup. It adds a rich, almost meaty flavor.

I had grana padano on hand, though, and it seems to have worked pretty well. My cat also liked the idea that perhaps I might drop a few shreds.

For the thyme, I used some fresh lime thyme Dan’s mom bought me at the farmer’s market last week – I don’t know if it really made a difference in the soup, but it sure was fun to use and smell on my hands!

Posted in gluten-free, vegetarian | 3 Comments

Creamy Pasta with Grapes

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Alisa Stutzbach

Upon eating a few bites of last night’s dinner, my husband, Dan, said that this delightfully simple dish was blog-worthy. And so it begins.

pre-pasta and cheeseThere’s something about the orange zest and juice blending with the goat cheese that makes a luscious cream sauce, but without any of the fuss and added fat that a normal cream sauce requires. The shredded watercress wilts just slightly when tossed with the warm pasta and adds a nice peppery bite to the overall flavor. Each grape provides a burst of juicy sweetness to balance out the overall tangy flavor.

I’m sure the original recipe intends for wheat pasta to be used, but the recipe did not suffer by using corn pasta, even to my durum pasta-loving husband. An added bonus about this recipe is that it pretty much takes only as long as it takes to boil and cook pasta, which was exactly what we needed on our first evening after seemingly never-ending holiday travels.

This was the first recipe we tried out of my new Christmas present, The New InterCourses: an aphrodisiac cookbook. My expectations for the rest of the cookbook are now hopefully not unwittingly high.

Creamy Pasta with GrapesCreamy Pasta with Grapes
Adapted from The New InterCourses: an aphrodisiac cookbook

6 ounces corn pasta spirals
2.5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled into small pieces
4 ounces white seedless grapes
1/2 bunch watercress, trimmed and shredded (about 1/2 cup yield)
2 scallions, chopped
Juice and zest of 1/2 orange
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Drain the pasta and toss with the other ingredients. Serve warm.

The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of olive oil as well, which I didn’t notice until typing up the recipe. We did not miss its omission! I did, however, add an extra half ounce of goat cheese, because the little package of goat cheese goodness (Laura Chenel’s Chabis & Pepper goat cheese, to be exact) was 5 ounces and was easier to just split in half. Besides, who wouldn’t want more cheese?

Posted in 15 minutes or less, gluten-free, vegetarian | Tagged , , | 1 Comment