Tostada Night - Dont fear the Chile!

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

January 10, 2010

Wrapped in celo, or packaged proper, they proudly display their rusty colors. No two are alike, every shape is unique. Come on, admit it. How many times have you walked passed dried chiles and said to yourself, “Man! I wish I knew how to use those”, or “I love to cook Mexican food, but those chiles must be so hard to cook with. And spicy hot, too”.

Well, folks, I hope this blog posting helps all those curious cooks. Please don’t be afraid of chiles. Honestly, it couldn’t be easier. And I hope that anyone reading this that has been curious on using dried chiles will pick some up today.

I’ve had this salsa roja recipe stored up for a while. It was a brisk 16 degrees last night in Manhattan, and if there EVER was a time to be transported to Oaxaca, that was the night. I finally had the courage to made my first red enchilada sauce, and I bought those darn chiles.

For those with families, or those cooking in a time-crunch, this sauce takes just a bit more than 30 minutes. And that time is spent just waiting, actually. NO effort at all except waiting for the timer. I have never had such stellar results come from something so easy. (Well, other than my roasting addiction, but again, those results come from waiting too!)

1. Buy 21 chiles guajillos.

2. Cut off the top stem and pour out the seeds. (They will just slide right out. And don’t worry if you can’t get them all out - they are not firey hot)

3. Place all your chiles in a bowl and pour 4 cups of boiling water on them.

4. Press them down with a plate (I used the weight of a can of frijoles on top of the plate) and let them soak for 30 minutes. (The “hard part” is done. That’s right. Give yourself a pat on the back.)

5. Drain the soaking liquid, reserving 1 - 1 1/2 cups. Use this to puree the chilies into a thick sauce. (I used my stick blender.)

6. Add 1 Tsp. of each: Sugar, Dried Oregano, Garlic, Salt.

7. Add 1/4 Tsp of Ground Cloves.

8. Pour sauce into a saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil.

9. Let rest for 5 mins. You are DONE!

I really hope that this posting breaks the fear of dried chiles for anyone that has been nervous or curious. We put this sauce on home-made torillas with black beans, queso fresco, and had ourselves a fiesta. Break out those blenders and make some salsa, people! Have fun.

Less is More

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

December 28, 2009

In the wonderful world of “saving money” and living on a budget, there are times when you just want to scream at the top of your lungs “FUGGEDABOUDIT”!!!!!

(Channeling my inner Bronx-native)

I went in the supermarket on FULL intentions with making $5 lunches when BAM! The discounted produce box was E-M-P-T-Y. What’s a budget vegetarian to do? I looked around ... I saw goat cheese. I saw feta cheese. I saw grape tomatoes. And I rolled up my sleeves and said to myself firmly: NO budget this week. This week you are TREATING YOURSELF. And I did. Happily.

I made 3 meals for $30, which still is not that bad! My new goal was that I was to make more things with quality ingredients: Less is more.

There is no doubt that I am a roasting addict. (repeat) A-D-D-I-C-T. I’m sorry, but roasting vegetables just brings out the BEST flavor! AND I can do a load of laundry while I roast! UM, hello convenience! I read a recipe somewhere that included roasted green beans and I knew that THAT is what I wanted to try to make.

Here were my meal combos:
roasted grape tomatoes and green beans with garlic, feta, and walnuts
...and...
roasted pears and butternut squash with garbanzo beans, goat cheese, rosemary, and ginger

As I ate leftovers today for lunch, an enormous smile filled my face. It feels SO GOOD breaking the rules sometimes.

Ladyfingers

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

December 20, 2009

Julia Child calls them “Biscuits a la Cuiller”. Americans call them “ladyfingers”. My abuela ate these almost everyday with her cafe con leche - they were her absolute favorite. Everytime I see ladyfingers, I think of my grandmother.

(Esto es para ti, abelita! Te extrano...)

My last blog was the first dive into the pool of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. (Splash!) This post is the second attempt, was quite fun to make, and (I’m whispering now) dare I say “easy”?

You separate 3 egg yolks from the whites. In the yolks you add a 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla. To the whites, you add a pinch of salt, and wisk till peaks are formed. Fold the two together with 1/2 cup of flour and that is it! As long as you blend all three working in thirds (fold 1/3 of the yolk, 1/3 of the whites, 1/3 of the flour) until everything is encorporated, Julia Child would be approve. I used a ziplock bag and cut one of the ends to make a “pastry bag”. (Would Julia approve with THAT?) Pipe them out on a cookie sheet and you are good to go.

I am embarrased to admit this, but the first words to escape my mouth after tasting them were “Oh my goodness - it tastes JUST LIKE the store-bought ones”! Obviously homemade is always better, but the flavor was lovely. They were flatter, less uniform than the store bought, but airy, and light as a feather. Next time I am making a huge batch for homemade tiramisu! A snowy day has never made my kitchen smell so good...

I love you, Julia!

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

December 13, 2009

Like many, I fell in love with the film “Julie & Julia” this past summer. After leaving the theatre (almost immediately) I bought Julia Child’s memoir, “My Life In France”. It finally reached the top of my ‘books-to-read’ queue, and I eagerly devoured it. It was charming in every way possible. My boyfriend, in turn, bought the celebrated “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. Upon finishing the memoir this week, my curiosity peaked about what this food actually TASTES like.

As a vegetarian, the French repertoire makes a rare appearance in my diet (apart from sneaking an occasional madeline from Bouchon Bakery). I don’t think I’ve attempted to make anything French except for the toast. (Wow. Bad joke.) However, my newly-formed love for Julia Child has grown to such leaps and bounds that I had to finally plunge into trying out a recipe.

I, at first, wanted to attempt Gateau de Crepes a la Florentine, an enormous pile of savory crepes layered with Spinach and Mushrooms. (Yum, right?) Reality checked in, and she said maybe something a little less ambitious would be better for the first dive into “Mastering”. So, I settled for Soupe A L’Oignon, or French Onion Soup. Now I know this sounds B-O-R-I-N-G in comparison to the wealth of other items in such a vast cookbook but I have my reasons:
1. It’s pouring outside
2. Rain storms always call for a bowl of soup
3. It has been 15 years since I converted to vegetarianism thus...
4. It has been 15 years sans French Onion Soup

Julia, like every one else, does not have a “vegetarian” substitute for stocks made from veal and poultry carcasses. At the supermarket, I had a box of pre-made Vegetable Stock and my brain zapped me and said “NO!! Julia Child would never buy stock. She would make it herself”. So I did. And I used “The Joy of Cooking” for help. An hour later, I had made my stock, and made Julia’s recipe word-for-word. It was lovely. I’m sure a meat stock would have been far richer in flavor, but the tastes were so light, so delicate, it never occured to me how heavily seasoned American food really is.

So, that was attempt number 1. Watch out for many more attempts to come. And as Julia would say, “Bon Appetit”!

Chocolate Chip Pancake Cookies

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

November 17, 2009

Let’s be real, folks. When one is moving, do you pack your pantry items or donate? Perhaps both? However, when one has an abnormal amount of Aunt Jemima pancake mix ... what to do?

I had an apartment sale in an effort to sell as many of my non-packed items as possible. To “lure” people up to my place on that oh-so rainy Saturday, I altered my sign in the lobby: Apartment and BAKE SALE. Everyone loves a homemade cookie. I could charge 2-for$1 and make a fair amount of dough (pun intended).

That said, I said to myself, ‘Why not make cookies with Pancake Mix”. I had almost an entire box and it’s almost like flour, right? Here’s what I did:

2 cups of Pancake Mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
left over chocolate chips from my previous blog
1/2 cup of Terbinado (also an abnormal amount in the pantry)

1. I creamed the Terbinado with the eggs
2. Add a touch of maple syrup for that “pancake” effect
3. Stirred in the oil. (The box suggested adding oil for actual pancakes so I said “Eh, why not?”)
4. Slowly add the pancake mix till a nice consistency is formed (about 2 cups.)
5. Spoon out little drop cookies 2 in. apart on a cookie sheet and sprinkle the chips on top.
6. Bake for 10 mins.

I sold only about a half dozen (Boo! The “luring people with sugar” plan did not work) but they turned out pretty tasty. I brought the leftovers into the office and got positive feedback overall. Nobody would ever guess I used Aunt Jemima mix, bit one person said they taste “kinda pancake-y”. Cool, huh?

Chocolate - Ancho Chili cookies

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

November 4, 2009

Apart from Halloween, we also have our neighbors south of the border who celebrate La Dia de los Muertos! I am Mexican at heart, so here is my attempt to celebrate their chocolate, my favorite chocolate from anywhere in the world. Sorry, Belgium. Don’t get me wrong, I love your stuff, but Mexico is on totally different caliber.

People, my measurements (dough-wise) were totally off for this experiment. I would not horrify you in what I tried to use as my dough ... I’m sure a lot of you have a “go to” recipe for chocolate cookies. I’d use that base, as the base almost doesn’t matter. (My dough was a wee dense but the flavor was great!)

However, the changes you want to make to make your chocolate cookies “Mexican” would be to use Mexican chocolate. Chop coarsely and melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Taza brand discs are the best - you want to use 1 pack of two disks. Pick which ever flavor you wish. My favorite is cinnamon for this recipe (but for eating, I love their chili flavored disk). Also, throw in an additional 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to whatever dough-base you are using.

Also, throw in 1/2 to 1 tsp of dried Ancho chili powder depending on how “hot” you want your cookies. And up that cinnamon! Add an extra 1/2 tsp as these will be a spicier cookie.

I throw all my dough in a Ziplock bag and cut off one of the ends to make a “pastry bag”. I wanted to pipe all these cookies so they bake even and look super cute. (On a side-note: I am reading “My Life In France” by Julia Child, and Julia never used a madeline tin. She piped them herself! Who knew? So here’s to you, Julia. As ghetto as a cut Ziplock bag might be, you were in my thoughts!). I put a chocolate chip in the center of each for added appeal.

Even if some readers add just the chili powder and extra cinnamon, I think you will enjoy a different shade of chocolate, and a different type of cookie. Happy baking!

Little Effort, Big Results

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

October 25, 2009

Brunch. Does that word scare you? I hope it does not.

Different. Is that what you want your presentation to be? It can happen!

I don’t know about you, but I am frittata’d out. I love frittatas, don’t get me wrong. They DO serve groups egg-cellently, (pardon the pun) but something in me wants to surprise my friends. “Wow” them, per se. Brunch is fun, just like the friends you invited, so stop scrambling (pardon the second pun) for new menu options and start baking.

Baking? Not breakfast baked goods, but eggs. Spanish inspired eggs.
We made a sauce:
2 red bell peppers peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced
Several dashes of sherry (to deglaze the pan)
1 can of diced tomatoes (or 3 fresh on-the-vine, diced)
1 Tsp. of tomato paste
Some chopped fresh parsley

We put this sauteed mixture on the bottom of 6 ramekins, or one for each person. On top, we placed 1 egg in each ramekin (don’t forget to spray cooking spray or brush some oil in the ramekins to prevent the egg/sauce from sticking). Throw in a pitted olive. On top of the yolk, (as garnish and flavor,) we crushed some saffron threads and sprinkled some minced garlic on the top of each.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 mins. until the eggs, especially the yolks, are set. I like mine well done, so I kept them in the oven for 30-35 mins.

Not only are these little guys cute, but they are special, delicious, and definetly not your every-day brunch fare. Well, at least for a group of 4-6 people. How easy is it to sautee some goodies in a pan and crack an egg on top? Super simple, and you’ll probably get an “Ooooo” from your friends. Little effort, big results. While the eggs are in the oven, toss a green salad to accompany your Spanish eggs. Slice a baguette. Kick back, relax, and enjoy a virtual stress-free brunch.

To see a couple of shots from this cooking adventure, see this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37131131@N03/

Budget Lunches!

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

October 2, 2009

I love pumpkin. repeat L-O-V-E pumpkin and anything pumpkin/squash related. Sweet, savory, whatever! What can I say? As much as I adore summer, squashes are (to me) one of the best parts of Fall. I was reading Bon Appétit magazine, and they had a great looking salad recipe that I HAD to try. Now I know I’m not alone when I admit this: I’ll read a culinary-type magazine, “Oooo” and “Ahhh” over certain recipes, then upon completing the magazine, I close it, store it, and sadly forget all about those recipes I was so eager to try. Well, this salad was the one to break that bad habit. I ripped it out and stuck it on the fridge. It couldn’t be easier: Roast pumpkin cubes (I cubed up some butternut squash) with olive oil, cumin, hot Spanish paprika (my addiction), and sea salt. Toss these with some pre-cooked lentils and put the mixture on top of rocket lettuce, oil, vinegar, and some goat cheese. It’s seasonal, healthy, and budget friendly. And don’t skimp on the goat cheese. It’s what makes that salad sing and right now, for some reason, I can’t ever get enough of the stuff.

I also saw cello carrots were on SUPER sale in my supermarket, so I opted to make some carrot/red pepper soup. Using similar spices as the pumpkin, I cooked carrots and chopped red bell pepper with cumin, hot paprika, some fresh thyme I had in the fridge, and salt `n pepper. Add some vegetable broth and puree. Cozy and vegan. You do a fair amount of prep work for both dishes, but it’s not every week you do it, and the “from scratch” results are worth the effort. Who doesn’t love healthy food that actually gasp! tastes good?

$2.80 2 cans vegetable broth
$0.50 1 yellow onion
$3.70 1 butternut squash
$2.00 2 red bell peppers
$0. 50 1 bag of Dole carrots (on super sale)
$4.00 1 8 oz. bag of rocket (divide this in half for two 4 oz. salads)
(I already had lentils in the pantry and Chevre in the fridge)

So for $13.50 (or thereabouts) you can have 4 lunches that put a smile on your face. Just like my tummy, the wallet is (as Emeril would say) “Happy Happy”.

Wine Pairings

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

September 21, 2009

This past weekend was one of my best friend’s birthdays. We decided to have a wine tasting party instead of going to the vineyards on Long Island purely out of budget. Check out the pairings we made:

Rose (One from France, the other from Portugal) - Fresh Figs with Chevre

Riesling (Two German ones) - Roasted Bosc Pears with Manchego on Baguette Slices

We had three reds (Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, and Syrah) to go with a batch of Mojete (A Spanish dish of roasted tomatoes and peppers with black olives braised in Sherry and Molasses).

Oh! And who could forget the Port! We paired that with Ghiradelli Chocolate, but as the one bar we bought slowly diminished, I had to run to the Bodega for some Hershey’s bars. I know, I know, it’s kind of trashy, but hey! Hershey’s never tasted so good!!

I would have taken more photos of the prep and cooking, but sadly, my camera died while roasting the Mojete. We will miss you, dear camera... but ...

Happy Birthday, Rob!!

Will Travel For Food

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

August 29, 2009

Of constant debate among New Yorkers is where to find “the best” New York pizza. I want to say I read this in ‘New York Magazine’, but my saved clipping leaves no clue ... it is simply a cut-out list of the top 10 pizza joints in the city. Two of these restaurants are shockingly on (gulp) Staten Island.

Ah, Staten Island. The far-away, head-scratching, mysterious borough of New York City. Tourists love riding the Ferry. Obviously people live there, but what goes ON there? What is up with Staten Island?

I went with several stops in mind so that I might explore this curious borough. One of these stops, you might guess, was to try one of the two “top pizza places” from my list. To pick which to go to was easy, as there is only one now, sadly due to a fire. However, with list in hand, and grumbles in my tummy, I marched into JOE AND PAT’S to see what this talk is all about.

Now people, normally one would seem completely insane to travel 90 mins. for pizza. If any New Yorkers are reading this, run, do not walk, to that Staten Island Ferry. NOW. Oh. My. Word. My tastebuds have never experienced such bliss. Repeat: Bliss. It was one of those meals where, after every bite, you close your eyes, shake your head, and almost cry because what you are eating is almost too delicious for words.

I have an enormous space in my heart for Vodka sauce. Never seeing this used in pizza-making, I naturally ordered the “Vodka Pie”. Picture this: Home-made thin crust (complete with those perfect, toasted specks on the top and underside) SMOTHERED in melted, FRESH mozzarella. (Shut up, right? Shut up!) On top of this treasure (as if it needed anything else) was a heaping spoonful of creamy Vodka sauce.

No words, folks, no words.

Thank you, JOE AND PAT’S, for making this New Yorker experience pizza enlightenment. The next time someone asks me “What is on Staten Island?”, my response will proudly be: “The BEST pizza in the city. (And the ferry ride is fun too!)”