taste the rainbow

this rainbow layer cake is the coolest thing ever. whoever has a birthday next, you're getting this. you can find the recipe and assembly instructions here.

cheery cherry almond scones

For last month's book club we went the path of a more serious read, Set This House in Order, about two people with multiple personalities who become friends.  The rather grim nature of the book was offset by lively company and a delicious breakfast at 34th St. Bistro in Fremont.  At breakfast they served the table a basket of cherry almond scones, that we ate while we waited for the main dishes to arrive.  They were so good, that we were still thinking of them a few weeks later and decided to make a batch.

CHERRY & ALMOND SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
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• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in cherries.
• 
  
• In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth. Add in almond extract and stir until incorporated. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
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• Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

it's a street, it's a way to open stuff...

Sesame. It's also a nutty-flavored seed, an oil and apparently a plant with yellow blossoms and seed pods.  Dan and I made this sesame chicken for dinner earlier in the week, to go with the snappy fried rice.  It was pretty quick and introduced me to a new way of battering chicken. Since the batter contained cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda, it puffed up during frying and became light and airy.

Here's the recipe:

SWEET & SAVORY SESAME CHICKEN
For the chicken marinade/batter:
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. dry sherry
2 tbsp.  water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cubed

For the sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
3 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. chile paste
5 cloves of garlic, minced
3-6 hot pepper pods
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water

3 green onions, sliced for garnish
2 tsp. sesame seeds

In a medium bowl combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chile paste and chicken broth.  Set aside.  In another bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder and stir.  Pour in soy sauce, sherry, 2 tbsp. water and vegetable oil and stir until smooth.  Stir in chicken pieces until coated and marinate in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, with a splash of oil saute the pepper pods and garlic in a separate pan.  Add in combined sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chile paste and chicken broth), and bring to a boil.  Dissolve the 1/4 cup of cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water and add to the mixture.  Simmer and stir until sauce thickens and becomes clear.  Reduce heat to low.

Heat oil in a large saucepan until it reaches 375 degrees.  Drop in battered chicken pieces, a few at a time, and fry until they cook to a nice golden brown and float to the top of the oil.  About 3-4 minutes.  Drain on a paper towel lined plate.  Add chicken to the sauce mixture and stir to coat the individual pieces.  Sprinkle with
sesame seeds and green onions to serve.  Serve with fried or steamed rice.

rice 'n roll

This is a jazzy side dish to go with any Chinese meal. This rice is quick, tasty and requires pretty minimal ingredients. I made it to go along with sesame chicken, but it would nicely accompany many different dishes. 

PORK FRIED RICE

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped

1/2 cup leftover pork (I used Chinese BBQ pork)

1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed (plus any leftover vegetables you have on hand)

4 cups cooked white or brown rice

4 tablespoons soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and scallions. Cook, breaking up the eggs with a spoon until they are lightly browned. Stir in the meat, vegetables, rice, and the remaining oil. Increase heat slightly and cook until the rice is crispy, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce with 4 tablespoons of water. Pour the mixture over the rice.Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, 3 to 5 minutes.Season with the salt and pepper and serve, with extra soy sauce on the side.

quin whaaaa??

I'm always on the look out for a tasty new salad.  It's nice to have a big batch on hand for lunches and dinners throughout the week. this particular quinoa salad is filled with herbs, veggies, lemon juice and vinegar. plus it's pretty versatile in terms of herbs and veggies that can be included, and the freshness of the lemon vinaigrette makes it perfect for spring and summer. i just learned that quinoa is a close relative of beets and spinach, part of the reason why it's so healthy.  it's also extra good for you because of its high levels of protein, amino acids, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. to top it all off, it's gluten-free. go quinoa.  

Refreshing Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 cucumber, cubed

3 roma or on the vine tomatoes, cubed

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

1/3 cup italian parsely or cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Rinse quinoa in cold water in a fine mesh colander and let drain well. Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and bring to a full rolling boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let the quinoa slowly finish for another 10 minutes. Cool in the refrigerator.

Peel and dice cucumber. Dice the tomatoes. Thinly slice green onions. Chop fresh mint,  chop cilantro or parsley and basil. In a bowl mix together lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil.

When the quinoa has cooled, toss with cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, herbs and dressing.

i wouldn't really call it a flower

cauliflower or "cabbage flower" is something I ate a great deal of growing up, but never especially enjoyed.  it was usually served steamed, watery and on the bland side of things.  sometimes served with cheez whiz, which is a sauce that you can conveniently scoop out of a jar and melt, in order to easily pour over any vegetable. you can also add it to macaroni noodles for a "homemade" macaroni and cheese sauce or add salsa to it for a homemade chili con queso dip.

on a recent visit to New Orleans, we ordered a fried cauliflower appetizer served with a chile vinegar sauce.  Although everything is better fried, including the pickles, oysters, okra, chicken and dough that were also consumed on this NOLA trip, I try to steer away from the deep fried lifestyle at home. This appetizer opened my eyes to the flavor potential of cauliflower that is so often masked or subdued by steaming.  It also inspired me to pair it with something more acidic, to give it a little zing.

this is a good side dish for any meal, and is also nice served chilled in a salad.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
1 head of cauliflower, trimmed and broken into small florets
4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons of grated parmesan to finish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim cauliflower and set aside in a mixing bowl.  Mix garlic, lemon and olive oil in a small bowl.  Pour the lemon garlic mixture over the cauliflower and stir to coat the florets evenly.  Spread onto a cookie sheet or baking dish, and bake for 5-8 minutes or until tender.  The cauliflower may brown on one side, but that adds to the flavor.

Toss with parmesan before serving.

spring chicken

Calm and sunny spring days call for simple, flavorful food. Roast chicken and a salad make a tasty spring dinner. 

Every season on Top Chef a panel of celebrity judges is brought in to judge the "Last Meal" or "Last Supper" Challenge, where contestants are tasked with creating the best meal of their lives based on a celebrity judge's favorite food. On one of these episodes Thomas Keller, renowned chef and owner of The French Laundry, declared that he's spent his life perfecting his recipe and technique for a simple roasted chicken, and considers it the last meal he'd ever want to eat in this lifetime. Roast chicken has always been one of my favorites, and something my mom made a lot growing up. I figured, with such a bold declaration, it was at least worth trying once before my last meal. Because what if I want to eat it a couple more times before my last meal rolls around? I was very impressed, Thom's life's work has not gone unnoticed. This is one tasty hunk of meat.

THOMAS KELLER'S SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

(Recipe courtesy of Thomas Keller's Bouchon)

3-5 pound whole chicken

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons minced thyme

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.

Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird. Now, salt the chicken, by pouring salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan or baking dish, and when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board. Serve with a simple salad, and bread to soak up some of the juices.