Elephant Ears

I finally did some cooking and baking last night for the first time in a while. I was very proud. Since I'm still not feeling too well I kept it simple and made a simple chicken dish, mud pie, and Elephant Ears.

If you make them thin enough, these Elephant Ears are crispy and almost as comforting as cinnamon rolls (with, I'm sure, a lot less fat). They only make 4 so make a double or triple batch if it's for more than 2 people.

ELEPHANT EARS

Makes 4.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/3 cup milk
3 T. sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
sugar, for sprinkling

1.) Preheat oven to 425.

2.) Grease cookie sheet or use a silpat.

3.) Heat butter until melted; set aside. Stir flour, 2 T. sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and 3 T. of the melted butter until dough forms.

4.) Sprinkle a surface (I use my silpat) lightly with flour; turn dough onto surface. Knead 10 times. Roll dough with a rolling pin or pat with hands into a rectangle, 9X5". Brush with remaining melted butter, using a pastry brush; sprinkle with mixture of 3 T. sugar and the cinnamon.

5.) Roll dough up tightly, beginning at narrow end. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Cut into 4 equal pieces with a sharp knife. Place cut sides up on cookie sheet; pat each into a 6" circle. Sprinle liberally with more sugar.

6.) Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet with spatula. Let cool on wire rack.

Warning: While these are tasty, they are not actually Elephant Ears. They are a bit more like simple cinnamon rolls. If you make them really thin they may crisp up a bit more than mine did.

I'm still here!

For those of you who are kind enough to read my blog regularly, I have to apologize for my lack of posts. While I can't explain now, I wanted to let you know that I won't be able to post very often for the next month or so. I will do my best to post once a week. Hopefully by summer (which is coming soon!) I'll be able to post daily again.

Hope you're all well and I will continue to read your blogs as often as I can.

Sweet Potato Chips

What do you make as a side-dish for dinner when all you have is one sweet potato? Simple. Make baked sweet potato chips.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

One sweet potato, peeled and sliced paper thin
Cinnamon
Paprika
Brown Sugar
Salt

Preheat oven to 375.

Coat sweet potato slices with olive oil and place side by side on a cookie sheet. I recommend using more than one cookie sheet at a time or else you'll be making batches of chips all night.

Sprinkle chips with cinnamon, paprika, salt, and a little bit of brown sugar.

Bake for 6 minutes and then flip over chips and bake for another 5 minutes.

Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Warning: These are addictive.

Bunny Biscuits

Last night at 2am I was dying of hunger and was craving biscuits so I pulled out my Joy of Cooking to help me decide exactly what kind of biscuits to make. When I opened up to the page about biscuits I found a drawing of the perfect Easter biscuit: bunny biscuits!

These would be a huge hit with kids and were a huge hit with my husband. (chuckle)



BUNNY BISCUITS
adapted slightly from Joy of Cooking
c. 1973

1.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.) Prepare fluffy biscuits:

-Stir together: 1 3/4 cups flour, 2 1/2 t. double-acting baking powder, 1 1/4 t. salt, 1 T. sugar

-Cut in 6 T. chilled butter

-Add 3/4 cup milk

Stir lightly into the flour mixture, using a fork. Turn dough onto a floured surface (I use a silpat). Knead lightly for 1/2 minute.

3.) Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut it out with 2 sizes of cookie cutters (one 3-inch and one 1.5-inch cutter). The 3-inch cookie cutter will be used for the bottom or "rear" of the bunny. The 1.5-inch cutter will be used for the bunny's head. Then use the smaller cutter to cut out bunny ears from the sides of your rolled out dough. Roll leftover scraps of dough into balls for the tails. Overlap each part of the bunny so that it bakes together.

4.) Bake on a pizza stone or cookie sheet with a silpat for about 15 minutes or until golden.

Shrimp Banh Mi

I know I've mentioned this sandwich several times in the past and I just know that you all are dying to get the recipe.

Fortunately the recipe is online at Eating Well.com. This magazine has really surprised me. I think eating healthy is extremely important but it's not always that easy to come up with innovative cooking recipes when limiting fat, calories, etc. Eating Well does a really good job at mixing it up. Their recipes are interesting and satisfying. Their Shrimp Banh Mi is, while not authentic by any means, delicious.

A few notes:

1.) Tonight I used very large shrimp but I actually think that smaller shrimp work better for this sandwich.

2.) Personally, I wouldn't make this if you don't have plain yogurt. While an authentic banh mi has only mayo, the yogurt is healthier and makes the consistency moist and much tastier than just plain mayo.

3.) Add the 1/4 t. of cayenne. It gives it a nice kick without being spicy.

4.) I use my Kyocera slicer to slice up the carrots and cucumbers. I also add the cucumbers to the bowl of rice wine vinegar (although I've just been using rice vinegar). While it sounds like I'm being paid by Kyocera, I'm not. I truly think their mandolines and julienne slicers save LOTS of time and effort.

5.) 99 Ranch Market makes the BEST "sub" rolls for Banh Mi's. Go out and get some and put them in the freezer. If you're not in the area then try your local Asian grocery store. You can also use the rolls for the steak banh mi that I made in the past. Oh, and don't forget to toast them!

6.) The recipe says to spread the mayo mixture on the bottom of each baguette. I think the sandwich would be way too dry if you don't put it on both halves (as well as on the shrimp if you'd like). Plus, it's so tasty that you'll want to use a lot of it.

Pan Seared Sole with Potato Scales and more...

A few weeks ago I learned that my apartment complex holds cooking classes once a month for its residents. There is a nice big gourmet kitchen in the clubhouse for just this occasion.

I'll admit it, the reason I signed up for the cooking class this month was because the chef was making crispy tempura squash blossoms stuffed with herbed goat cheese. However, as I suspected, the squash blossoms weren't available in the markets (both grocery and farm) so he made a Fried Chevre with Arugula and Pea Shoot Salad instead. While I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to try squash blossoms for the first time, the fried chevre was very satisfying. The recipe is very easy. Just cut up a log of good quality goat cheese into small logs. Coat with a few herbs, flour, egg, and dried breadcrumbs. Then chill in the fridge for at least a half hour. Then fry them up until golden brown. Place on top of a salad made with arugula, pea shoots, a few cherry tomatoes, and drizzle with a scallion dressing (made with sour cream).


For the main dish our chef, Michael Hampton (from BigCityChefs), whipped up a pan seared sole with potato scales and a quick lemon-parsley sauce. The "scaly" sole is quite simple. Slice a russet potato on your nifty mandoline (I like my Kyocera slicer for anything super thin) and place on the filet of sole so that it looks a bit like fish scales. Place in the fridge for a few hours and you're ready to fry. This dish has inspired me to make a similar dish later this week or whenever I feel better. (Stay Tuned.)

The reason I went to the class today despite my nausea was that for dessert our chef was making a Ginger Peach Cobbler. Anything ginger is #1 in my book right now (to help with the nausea).

GINGER PEACH COBBLER
Presented by Chef Michael Hampton of BigCityChefs

makes 8-10 servings

8 Peaches, peeled and sliced
3 T. grated ginger
3/4 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. kosher salt
3/4 c. heavy cream (or water, if you're lactose intolerant like me)
2 sticks of cold butter

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (He set the oven to 350 tonight and it turned out fine.)

2.) In a large bowl, add the peaches, ginger, 1/4 c. sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon and mix together.

3.) For the dough: Into a bowl sift together the flour, 1/2 c. sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut 12 T. into small pieces. Add it to the flour mixture and cut it with a pastry cutter or crumble with your hands until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Pour in the cream or water and mix just until the dough comes together. Don't overwork; the dough should be slightly sticky but manageable.

4.) In a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, melt the remaining 4 T. of butter. Add the peaches and cook gently until heated through, about 5 minutes. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls over the warm peaches. There can be gaps, the dough will puff up and spread out as it bakes. Brush the top with some heavy cream and sprinkle with some sugar; put it into the oven on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is browned and the fruit is bubbling.

Simple Pasta Salad

I haven't been feeling so hot this week so I just haven't felt like cooking or eating (which is very unusual for me). That's when I turn to staple recipes like my simple pasta salad (I really should come up with a more clever name). If you can, try to use whole wheat pasta. Complex carbs are much better for you and will keep you from crashing later in the day.

SIMPLE PASTA SALAD

1 Package of cooked (al dente) pasta, such as penne (do not rinse pasta)

Dressing:

1/3 cup white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar (I used some of both)
1/4 cup of good quailty extra virgin olive oil
1-2 T. honey (I just use one big squeeze)
1 t. sweet or dijion mustard
1/8 t. salt, or to taste
1/4 t. pepper, or to taste
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried dill
1/4 t. dried oregano and tarragon (optional)
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 t. paprika

(The herb and spice measurements can be tweaked to your personal tastes. I just use whatever I have on hand).

Mix all dressing ingredients in a jar. Shake well. Dress pasta while the pasta is still warm. Add chopped vegetables and other ingredients as listed below:

celery, diced
red bell pepper, chopped
English cucumber, chopped
olives, diced
sharp cheddar, cut into small cubes
cherry tomatoes
baby carrots, chopped

The sky's the limit with this pasta salad. It's the dressing that makes it light, refreshing, and so simple to make. Kids love this salad. I used to make it as a kid all of the time and even the picky kids would eat it. It's also perfect for lunch or a picnic in the park.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

There's nothing better than a healthy dessert like chocolate covered strawberries. "Healthy?" you say. Sure. Strawberries are healthy and dark chocolate is healthy for you too. Therefore, this is a healthy dessert. No guilt for me, thank you very much.

I've made chocolate covered strawberries in the past but never used enough melted chocolate so they weren't very pretty. I find that for a couple handfuls of strawberries you should melt at least 8 ounces of high quality chocolate. While Ghirardelli isn't my favorite, I happened to have a big chunk of semisweet chocolate from Trader Joe's (less than $2 for 8 ounces). Melt the chocolate over simmering water (I use a double boiler but a metal or glass bowl would work fine). Then I dip the strawberries in the chocolate, put them on a cookie sheet with a silpat, and cool in the fridge for about a half hour (or less).

Voila. A very "healthy" dessert.

Leucadia Pizza

My husband and I are desperately trying to find a 2 bedroom apartment to move into in May or June. Yesterday we took a look at one of the last options we have and weren't impressed. So we decided to get apartment hunting off the mind and take a drive down Coast Highway and enjoy the gorgeous weather.

We decided to take a walk around the town of Encinitas and take a look at some of their vintage clothing stores. HOME had the best vintage clothing for both men and women. They have both used clothing and store-designed duds where they buy used clothing and paint on different logos. My husband ended up buying a blue buttoned-up shirt with a skull painted on the breast pocket that is really cute (I mean, bad-ass).

Since we were in Encinitas we remembered that Leucadia pizza was nearby and started craving their gourmet pizzas. We had been once before around the holidays and were very impressed with their goat cheese pizza with pineapple, peppers, bacon, etc.

Just like our previous visit, we managed to eat almost 2 baskets of their (free) garlic bread. It's totally addictive. So be warned. We were barely able to eat our salad and pizza.

I'm trying to be better about eating salads as often as possible and Leucadia pizza makes it really easy to stick by that resolution. They have many types and sizes of salads including Greek, apple and walnut, and a Green salad. We opted for the green salad with a honey mustard dressing made with grainy mustard. The half-sized salad was only 4 bucks and provided 2 servings each.

I was tempted to get the goat cheese pizza again but we decided to be a little more adventurous and ordered the Shrimp Pesto pizza with thin slices of tomatoes and sundried tomatoes. It almost tasted like a pesto pasta with shrimp. The best part about this restaurant is that they have so many sizes of all their dishes. The "small" pizza easily serves 2. We almost had to take some of it home. So we had a huge dinner with garlic bread, salad, and pizza for around $14 (plus tip, etc.). Not bad. Leucadia pizza definitely gets the gourmetish seal of approval.



Leucadia Pizza
315 S. Coast Hwy 101
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 942-2222

Also at:
7748 Carmel Mountain Rd.,La Jolla/UTC, (858) 597-2222
12075 Carmel Mountain Rd., Carmel Mt. Home Depot Center, (858) 675-2222
16085 San Dieguito, Del Rayo Village Center,Fairbanks Ranch, (858) 759-2222

Pulled BBQ Pork

I can't believe I've gone my whole life without a slow cooker. This magical piece of equipment is every busy person's miracle. It's also great for lazy people like me!

Recently I acquired a slow cooker of my very own and gave it a try the other night for dinner. Since dinner is anywhere between 9pm and 5am at my house due to my husband's schedule, I thought the slow cooker would work perfectly for a late night snack. I popped a pork shoulder roast into the cooker around 5pm and it was ready by midnight. Then it took about a half hour to shred and I cooked it for the next three hours until my hubby got home.

Sprout's (otherwise known as Henry's or Boney's in San Diego) carries a really good mini sourdough roll that is perfect for mini burgers or mini pulled pork sandwiches. If you want to have a truly authentic Southern BBQ sandwich you should put some creamy coleslaw on top of the pork.



Notes on this Pulled BBQ Pork recipe:

• I cooked the roast on medium-low for 8 hours but could have left it in for several more hours to make it even more tender.
• Honestly, I'm not sure if the whole cloves made a difference. They smelled great when I pulled the pork out of the pot but I can't really tell the difference in flavor. If you don't have whole cloves, don't worry about it.
• I didn't include the chopped onions because I only had one onion for the whole recipe. I put a half of each onion (sliced) on the top and bottom of the roast.
  
  
  

Cara Cara

Next time you're at the grocery store and you see some Cara Cara Navel Oranges for sale: buy some! I just recently tried these mild mannered oranges and was quite pleased. They're sweet and subtle and oh-so-pretty.

Avacado Pate

My favorite go-to appetizer for last minute guests is Avacado pate. I got the recipe from an old Australian Women's Weekly Entertaining Cookbook but I lost it a while ago so I've just been making my own version.

This dip is fantastic served with pita chips. When I make pita chips for myself I just cut pita into triangles, peel apart the layers, and toast. However, if I'm serving this to guests I place the triangles on a big cookie sheet, brush them with melted butter, and sprinkle them with Italian seasoning before toasting in the oven.

Avacado Pate
based on a recipe from a vintage Australian Women's Weekly Entertaining cookbook

3 medium avacados, pitted, peeled and chopped
4 oz. cream cheese
1 medium garlic clove and 1 small shallot (or another medium garlic clove), diced
Juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

1.) Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

2.) Strain in a fine-mesh sieve to remove white pieces of cream cheese.

3.) Scoop into serving dish and chill for several hours before serving so that the flavors can meld and the dip can stiffen.

Optional: For an even better presentation place whole or halved pistachios (shelled) on top of the dip before chilling.

More Food Festivals

My last post inspired me to research more food festivals in Southern CA in case the book was missing some important ones. I love an excuse to travel and what better reason to travel then a festival for FOOD?

Note: some festivals listed below are not entirely devoted to food but I listed them because there is a specific genre of food served at the festival.

April:

5th Annual “Taste for the Cure” (Newport Beach)

Taste of Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach)
714-842-4481

Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade (San Diego)
www.lindavistafair.org


May:

State Chili Cook-off (Newport Beach)
714/729-1234

Fiesta Hermosa (Hermosa Beach)
http://www.fiestahermosa.com/about_the_festival.htm
Beer and Wine garden.

Pasadena Summer Fest (Pasadena)
http://www.delmanoprod.com/smfst06temp/index.html
featuring A Taste of Summer.

Taste of Fullerton (Fullerton)
714/871.3100

8th Annual Doheny Blues Festival (Dana Point)
International Foods.

International Festival (Aliso Viejo)
www.soka.edu

San Bernadino California State Annual Chili CookOff
www.chilicookoff.com


June:

Irish Faire and Music Festival (Orange County)
818-901-0230
http://www.irishfair.org/

Gourd Festival (Fallbrook)
http://www.welburngourdfarm.com/

Mariachi USA (Hollywood Bowl, LA)
http://www.mariachiusa.com/

Lions Club Fish Fry (Costa Mesa)

South Coast Plaza Summer Food & Wine Festival (Costa Mesa)

Manhattan Wine Auction (Manhattan Beach)
http://www.mbef.org/MBWA/

Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off (Ocean Beach)
619-224-4906


July:

Latin American Festival (Old Town, San Diego)
619/296-3266

Salsa Festival (Oxnard)
http://www.oxnardtourism.com/salsafestival.html
800/269-6273

Lotus Festival (LA)
http://www.laparks.org/grifmet/lotus.htm


August:

Taste of Main Street (Encinitas):
760/943-1950

Tofu Fest (LA)
http://www.tofufest.org/

Nisei Week Japanese Festival (LA)
http://www.niseiweek.org/

La Habra Corn Festival (La Habra)

San Clemente Street Faire and Fiesta (San Clemente)

Chinese Food Festival (LA)
http://www.chinesefoodfestivalla.com/

September:

Taste of Newport (Newport Beach)
http://www.tasteofnewport.com/

Brazilian Street Carnaval (Long Beach)
http://www.carnaval.org/main/

Tofu Fest (LA)
http://www.tofufest.org/

International Street Fair (Orange County)
http://www.orangestreetfair.com/

J.F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center Annual County BBQ (San Juan Capistrano)

A Taste of Old Pasadena (Pasadena)
www.pfar.org

American Wine and Food Festival (LA)
http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/awff/indexa.htm

October:

Pumpkin Festival (Calabasas)
Mid month.
818/ 224-3671

Celebrate the Craft (La Jolla)

11th annual Persian Festival of Autumn (Mehregan) (Costa Mesa)

Food, Wine & Micro-Brew Fest (Costa Mesa)

Japanese Food Festival (Los Angeles)
http://www.jrasc.com/jrasc_eng/foodFestival.htm

November:

Tamale Festival (Los Angeles)
http://www.eastlosangeles.net/tamalefestival/

January:

Holtville Carrot Festival
http://www.holtvillechamber.ca.gov/


Let me know if I'm missing any Southern CA food events/festivals and if you attend any of the events I've posted. Thanks!

Food Festivals in Southern CA

Everytime I go to the food section of the library I take a look at the book Food Festivals of Southern California to see what food events are happening this month but I always forget what I read by the time I get home. When I went to the library last week I checked out the book so that I could post events for San Diego and surrounding counties on my blog.

February:

National Date Festival (Indio)
Mid-February
619/863-8247

April:

Orange Blossom Festival (Riverside)
Spring date/month varies.
800/382-8202

Renaissance Pleasure Faire (San Bernadino County)
April-June; 9 weekends.
800/52-FAIRE

Scandinavian Festival (Thousand Oaks)
Third Saturday.
805/493-3151

Avacado Festival (Fallbrook)
619/728-5845
Food, entertainment, contests

Balloon & Wine Festival (Temecula)
909/676-4713

Grapefruit Festival (Borrego Springs)
Third weekend in April
619/767-5555

May:

Summer Farmer's Market (Coronado)
May-October. One Weekend a month.
619/424-4000

Cinco de Mayo Celebration (Oceanside)
619/722-1534
Food, entertainment

Chili Cook-off (Apple Valley)
619/247-3521.
Food, contests.

Strawberry Festival (Oxnard)
Third weekend.
800/2-OXNARD

June:

Hollywood Bowl Summer Festiaval (LA)
June-Sept.
213/972-7300

September:

Grecian Festival By-the-Sea (Long Beach)
Labor Day Weekend
562/494-8929

Newport Seafest (Newport Beach)
714/729-4400
Food, entertainment, arts and crafts, games, boat show.

Oktoberfest (Huntington Beach)
714/895-8020
Food, brew, entertainment.

Oktoberfest (Torrance)
310/327-4384
Food, entertainment, games, yodeling.

Apple Blossom Festival (Oak Glen)
Third weekend.
909/790-9470

Apple Days Festival (Julian)
Mid-Sept. to Mid-November
619/765-1857

October:

Pie Festival (Malibu)
First Saturday.
310/457-7505

Lobster Festival (Redondo Beach)
Third weekend.
310/374-2171

Harvest Hoedown Festival (Fallbrook)
619/728-4031
Food, entertainment, contests.

Oktoberfest (Carlsbad)
619/434-6093
Food, entertainment.

Oktoberfest (Huntington Beach)
714/895-8020
Food, brew, entertainment.

December:

International Tamale Festival (Indio)
First weekend.
800-44-INDIO

Christmas on the Prado (San Diego)
619/239-2001
Food, entertainment, arts and crafts, Santa Lucia Procession.

Winterfest (Lake Elsinore)
909/674-3124
Food, parade, entertainment, arts and crafts, horse-drawn carriage rides.

For more events north of Los Angeles County, for recipes from these events, and more contact information, please check out the book: Food Festivals of Southern California by Bob Carter.