Easy and Delicious Naan

An easy and comforting dinner for a blustery evening is shrimp curry. We go on monthly Costco runs which here in New York involves renting a zip car and navigating our way out of the confusing canyons of the Financial District to Brooklyn. Frozen shrimp is one of the most useful purchases I make there. The quality is good, and if I keep cans of chopped tomatoes, coconut milk and some Indian spices in my cupboard, I can throw dinner together in a matter of minutes. Last night, I decided to try to make my own Naan. I assumed it would be time consuming and tricky, but I promise you, besides the hour and a half you wait for the dough to rise, they are painless to put together.  Oh boy, I was eating them as soon as I was taking them out of the pan.


                                                  Easy and Delicious Naan



1 package yeast

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons milk

1 beaten egg 

2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2 cups bread flour ( the high protein in this flour makes a big difference)

melted butter

1. Dissolve the yeast with the water and the sugar in a large bowl. Once you see the surface become bubbly,  add the baking soda, milk,salt and egg and mix briefly. Add flour to make a soft dough- I ended up adding 4 cups. Knead for about five minutes- you will feel the texture of the dough smooth out- if you need to keep kneading, do it.

2. Put dough in an oiled bowl and cover and put in a warm place for an hour.

3. Punch the dough down and pinch off approximately 1/4 cup pieces, roll to a ball and place on a tray , slightly floured, cover and let rise for another 1/2 hour.

4.I have an old iron pan that I used- I wiped it with a little oil, pulled the dough balls into ovals, and put them, about three at a time, in the hot pan. With the back of a spoon I dipped in the melted butter, I basted the tops of the bread. Once they blistered on the bottom and felt relatively stiffened, I flipped them over, basted them again in the butter, and let the bottoms turn nice and brown.

See? Pretty easy, and the traditional bread with your curry makes it feel like a feast.

xxx Nana

Wild Cod Taco Salad

wild cod taco salad

               When wild cod goes on sale at whole foods I begin strategizing. This time Mexican flavors
                came dancing into my mind. I usually reach for a flavor packet and add whatever protein
               I'm using, but with fish, I always find it a bit too much as though it never left the water.
               I made the fish super crispy first, and then added the layers of flavors. I gotta say, it was
               one of the most amazing things I've made and because I rarely use a recipe and always forget
               what I've done, I'm writing it down now, as I begin to pack for my trip to Los Angeles.

                Time; really fast

                                      Wild Cod Fish Taco Salad

                 1 lb. wild cod cut into bite size pieces

                 1 can chopped jalapeno peppers

                 1 red onion rough chopped

                 garlic powder and salt and pepper

                 grape tomatoes

                 baby spinach for the base
       
                 1 ripe avocado

                 1 lemon and olive oil

                 1 jar of salsa (your choice, I had medium hot)

                 1 package of Frontera Key Lime Cilantro skillet sauce

                  grated sharp cheddar cheese

                  beaten egg whites

                  rice flour

                 coconut, canola or grapeseed oil for frying

                                 Method;

            1.     dredge the fish pieces in the egg whites and then rice flour. Sprinkle the pieces with garlic

                    powder, salt and pepper. Heat a pan and AFTER it's hot add Coconut, Canola or

                    Grapeseed oil to it.

            2.     without overcrowding, fry the fish and set aside when golden and crispy.

            3.     set another small pan up to heat and add oil AFTER its hot. Add to this pan the onion

                    and jalapeno peppers. (about a heaping Tablespoon).

            4.     take out some beautiful plates or bowls and lay the spinach or any greens in them.

            5.     squeeze lemon juice and drizzle olive oil over the greens.

            6.     add the Frontera Skillet Sauce to the onion pan and combine. Take the mixture and

                    evenly distribute this over the greens.

            7.     sprinkle grape tomatoes, and avocado cubes over greens.

            8.     add fried fish pieces and top those with salsa.

            9.     let it rain cheddar cheese and resist tasting it as you walk to the table :)

                            note;     rice flour is not only gluten free but it adds a crispness that can't be beat.

                                                                                                                       Kisses, Zan
               

Finding Beta Carotene in NYC

Why does eating on the street or standing in a gourmet store scarfing delights taste so good? Is it denial that you're really eating? Is it that sneaky feeling you get when you're treating yourself to 1/4 of a pound of a $25. per pound Nova? Or is it the respite from the harsh elements that throws us into places we've never tried or places we adore. I adore Dean & Deluca. It breathes new life into me when I pass through its doors. Standing by the window in their Soho location and sipping a latte or getting my beta carotene is a pleasure that I allow myself. After treats, I love to peruse the exotic wares and delectable foods. In addition to cooking and recipes and hysterical laughter, we want to show you some fun places here in our city. The truth is that sometimes the best pleasures are the treats we allow ourselves.

                    

                                                                                                              kisses, Zan

mmmmm with a glass of wine............

This coming Friday, my friend Filip who hosted me at a Trek convention in the Czech Republic, is coming to dinner. I can still taste the pretzel bread he made sure to find me as well as dumplings in every shape and flavor you can imagine. Nothing better than doughy goodness. He did such a good job of introducing me to local cooking that I want to do the same for him. With days in New York, I know he can cover alot of foodie ground, but southern skewed fare is a bit more challenging to find.  When I know I'm having guests, the first thing I do is take out my recipe collection( in a huge binder I can barely lift anymore) and see what catches my eye.  With southern in mind, I came up with this menu: 

                                          Cheese Cream Crackers
                                          Blue Stuffed Olives

                                          All Day Baby Back Ribs
                                          Grits Casserole
                                          Lemony Chopped Raw Kale Salad


                                           Caramel Apple Pie


The cracker recipe is one I got out of the New York Times years ago, and I believe its a Mark Bittman recipe.The one change I made was to use a very sharp white cheddar instead of parmesan but they are incredibly tasty either way. They are so easy and I will give you my way of rolling out dough in case it helps! Very impressive with a glass of wine.


                                     Cheddar Cheese Cream Crackers

1 cup flour

1/2 cup grated extra sharp cheddar

4 tablespoons butter, cut up

1/4 cup heavy cream


Heat oven to 400 degrees

Pulse the flour cheese butter and salt in a Cuisinart ( you can do this by hand ,too. Using your fingertips, lightly work the flour cheese and butter into a sandy mixture. ) Add cream and pulse till mixed.

Put out a long strip of wax paper the size of your cookie sheet and throw the dough on top. Form it into a rectangle  smaller than the wax paper , and put a matching wax sheet on top. Roll the dough as thin as you can between the papers, checking to make sure you have an even thickness. Now, peel off the top piece of wax paper and replace it with the same size of tin foil, lightly sprayed with Pam For Baking. Put the sprayed side on top of the dough, and flip it onto the cookie sheet, gently using your hand and forearm to support the bottom. Now the wax paper is on top, and you can simply peel it off.Cut them with a pizza wheel or just a knife. You can put what you like on top, but I put salt and a dried garlic and  red pepper mix. Bake them about 10 minutes, but be sure to leave them longer if they aren't a satisfying brown. It really makes the taste!

xxxNana

                                                               The Best Banana Cake

Truly The Best Ever Banana Cake

Truly The Best Ever Banana Cake

Every so often, I go trolling through cookbooks and the internet for a good banana cake recipe. Yesterday, my nose led me to a bunch of bananas I thought I had found a good place for in the kitchen, and then promptly forgot about. Time to look for that elusive wet cake recipe involving bananas.
It was my lucky day. A baker named Rhonda posted this recipe I'm sharing with you, with a few adaptations of my own.




                                                         Banana Cake

2 cups mashed ripe bananas, doused with a half lemon

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup salted butter

2 cups and 2 tablespoons sugar

3 large eggs, brought to room temperature in a small bowl of hot water for 5 minutes

2 teaspoons vanilla                                                                                                                                                                           1 1/2 cups milk, acidulated with apple cider vinegar, or buttermilk

1. Heat oven to 275 ( yes, that low! do it, it works)

     2. Spray a 9 x 12 pan with Pam  

     3. I a medium bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda together

     4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together till fluffy and add the eggs , one at a time , waiting for each to be fully incorporated, then add the vanilla. Alternate adding the sour milk and the flour mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Don't overmix.

    5. Stir in banana mixture and turn the batter into the pan. Bake about an hour, or when you touch the middle of the cake lightly with your fingers, it offers a little resistance.

   6. Now Rhonda says at this point to put it directly into the freezer for 45 minutes before frosting to up the moisture factor- I didn't because we were leaving for the dog park, and the result was still incredibly moist.

Now for frosting, you can do 1/2 cup butter, 8 ounces cream cheese, some lemon rind, vanilla, and 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar. Because I had an additional cup of banana puree, I put it in a pot with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and a tablespoon of corn syrup and cooked it down for about 15 minutes till it smelled like bananas foster. To the cream cheese mixture, I added that with just a bit of confectioners sugar to taste , and beat the hell out of it.
This cake will make you very very happy- and it keeps perfectly in the refrigerater.

Dancing is part of the meal

I just had this vision of Mama dancing before and after dinner. She was, among other things, an accomplished Spanish dancer. She was very sexy and Dad made no bones about displaying his attraction for her. Always in spike heels, she would begin dinner as though it was the overture to a show. Watching her with concentrated intent,was a pass time of mine. She was, after all our mother and she was cool. Spanish Rice was a meal we were served at least twice a month and we all craved it. Laughter, boisterous laughter, seemed as prevalent as the garlic she used to flavor almost everything. Oh she was very spicy, haha! After throwing it all together she would smile and begin heel beats while raising her arms in what seemed like slow motion. The neighbors always complained because between her heel beats and our father choreographing, it was a bit loud but oh so fun for us. Later, as Nana and I grew we joined in with performances of our own. Dinner was the anchor for us and Nana and I grew as performers from those days.

                                      Spanish Rice as discovered in an old book of mine.....

                                  as dictated to me by Mama;
                     
Mama: "with peanut and olive oil cut up onion and lots of garlic, brown lightly."
Zan:     "how much onion?"
Mama:  " you know about one big one or two medium. Add 1 cup of rice and brown a little."
Zan:      " Oh, do you mean in butter?" ( I was young, give me a break)
Mama:  " of course! Separately brown meat then combine tomato paste and 1 large can of tomatoes and
                soup mix. ( she always threw in the flavor pack from Lipton soup to flavor things) and 1 cup
                of water."
Zan:      " mama, how much meat?"
Mama:   " you know, maybe a pound of ground beef." ( I suspect now that it could be any type of
                 ground meat. Buffalo, chicken, turkey or even lamb.)
Mama:   " Oh! I forgot!... add sugar to the onions when you brown them!..Oh my God!!"
Zan:       " Ok, I got it."
Mama:   " Separately brown green and red peppers, mix everything together, cover and cook slow."
Zan:       " thanks Mama. ( I could tell this was slowing her down and the wheels were turning)
Mama:    "I'll make tea and scones now."

               see?, I told you. The wheels were turning.

                                                                                      Kisses, Zan