Month: April 2022

Simple Brown Fried Rice

asian, dinner

ingredients

  • 2 cups dry brown rice
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas and or corn
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce (careful not to overdo it, this should be enough)
  • 4 eggs, whisked
  • dash sesame oil, dash olive oil

instructions

  1. Rinse the rice thoroughly. Rinse three times, wash (soak 10 sec while agitating then drain) four times, rinse once more. Should be good.
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  2. Cook the brown rice. Place the 2 cups of rinsed rice in a small pot with 4 cups of water and 1 tsp olive oil. Bring the water to boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer about 45 minutes (until rice is tender and has absorbed all the water).
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  3. When the rice is done, cool it off. You can wait it out or place it in the freezer (but careful not to freezer burn the rice!)
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  4. Fry the rice! Fry in two batches, each time with a dash of sesame oil and a dash olive oil (or a little Pam). Fry. Patience can take the place of extra oil. It’s not fried until the rice is visibly different. Remove from the pan.
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  5. Cook the eggs, add the rice, add the corn. Finally, add the soy sauce and mix thoroughly and WAIT before you think about adding extra soy sauce. Don’t ruin it!

With some help from: https://www.loveandlemons.com/how-to-cook-brown-rice/

sloppy joe cornbread casserole

classic american, dinner


ingredients

the joes

  • 1 lb ground impossible beef
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 15oz tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp mustard

the cornbread

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 2 tsp baking power
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 cup “buttermilk” (greek yogurt mixed with milk to the consistency of heavy cream)

instructions

  1. Make the Joes and Preheat the oven to 400°F. In your cast iron skillet, cook the onions. Then addd the beef and cook until brown. Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until boiling. Remove from heat and set aside.
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  2. Start on the cornbread, browning the butter by microwaving the butter in a microwave safe bowl covered with a plate, until it browns like the below. Could take 6-12 minutes. Set aside.
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  3. Combine dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt).
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  4. Combine the wet ingredients, except for the butter (eggs and honey, then “buttermilk”).
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  5. Finish the batter. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Gently combine. Then pour browned butter into the batter and stir until just combined (don’t overmix!).
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  6. Pour evenly over joes in your cast iron skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread comes out clean. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.

From:

– https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cornbread-topped-sloppy-joe-casserole/45c44eb3-8e61-4641-91bd-11fe5d97f515
– https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cornbread-recipe
– https://www.tastesoflizzyt.com/how-to-brown-butter
– https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/comment/543801?gclid=CjwKCAjwx46TBhBhEiwArA_DjFA3lD2PBCGoI3outIChFh3GsXJ5KvlwgnkTez-jk6fPxu-weAuHCxoC708QAvD_BwE

cinnamon crumb coffee cake

dessert, holiday food


ingredients

cake

  • 12 tablespoons (170g) butter, at room temperature, at least 65°F
  • 1 teaspoon salt, (1 1/4 teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)
  • 1 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup (71g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (170g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) milk, anything from skim to whole, at room temperature
  • 3 3/4 cups (450g) unbleached all purpose flour

filling

  • 1 cup (213g) dark brown sugar or light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa

topping

  • 1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, (if you use unsalted butter)
  • 1 cup (120g) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) butter, melted

instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, or two 9″ round cake pans.
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  2. Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring until well combined. Set the topping aside.
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  3. Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.
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  4. To make the cake, in a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
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  5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
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  6. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk till well combined. You don’t need to whisk out all the lumps.
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  7. Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.
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  8. Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan(s), spreading all the way to the edges. If you’re using two 9″ round pans, spread 1 1/3 cups batter in each pan.
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  9. Sprinkle the filling evenly on the batter.
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  10. Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don’t combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.
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  11. Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.
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  12. Bake the cake until it’s a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes for the 9″ x 13″ pan, 50 to 55 minutes for the 9″ round pans. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back.
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  13. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve cake right from the pan.

Tips from our [King Arthur’s] Bakers lol

  • Dress it up for guests: Make a glaze with ½ cup confectioners’ or glazing sugar and 1 tablespoon milk; drizzle glaze over the cooled coffeecake.
  • It’s easy to spread half the batter in the pan when you know how much it weighs. If you have a kitchen scale, half the batter weighs about 28 ounces.
  • Want to prepare this coffeecake the night before, then bake in the morning? It’s easy; simply cover the unbaked cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, bake the cake as directed. Start testing for doneness at the end of the suggested baking time; you’ll probably have to add 5 minutes or so to the total time, to account for the batter being chilled.

From: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/cinnamon-streusel-coffeecake-recipe

dad’s salted caramel

dessert, holiday food

ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packet
  • 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

instructions

  1. In a large heavy bottom sauce pan/pot on medium heat- melt butter.
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  2. Combine sugar, salt, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk.
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  3. Once the butter is fully melted, combine remaining ingredients in the large pot on the stove. Turn heat up to medium-high until mixture begins to boil (10-15 minutes).
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  4. When the mixture begins to boil, turn the temperature down to medium, add the candy thermometer and set to Firm Ball Stage (248 ° F) and stir constantly. This can take 20-30 minutes.
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  5. Once the mixture has reached 245 to 248 ° F and become thick and paste like and is a deep dark caramel color, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Careful as it will bubble rapidly during this step.
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  6. Immediately pour the caramel into the prepared pan to cool. After 20-30 minutes of cooling, sprinkle the finishing sea salt all over the caramel.
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  7. Allow to cool overnight to completely firm up. (But if you’re in a rush, put it in the fridge, but don’t cut it until it’s come back down to room temperature).
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  8. Carefully pull the parchment paper with the caramels out of the pan and place on a large cutting board. Using a knife or pizza cutter (this works best), cut 1×1 inch squares and wrap in wax candy wrappers.

From https://eatmorecakebycandice.com/the-easiest-sea-salt-caramel-recipe/

broccoli cheddar soup (nytimes)

classic american, dinner

ingredients

  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 lbs broccoli, florets with stems peeled and trimmed to 3 inches
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 8oz very sharp cheddar
  • Olive oil

instructions

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes.
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  2. Add broccoli, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is bright green and slightly tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a large cooking spoon, transfer broccoli mixture to a medium bowl and set aside.
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  3. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in the same pot over medium heat (don’t worry about any remaining broccoli bits). Add flour and whisk constantly, cooking until the mixture has turned a pale golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
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  4. Gradually whisk in chicken broth until no lumps remain (it’ll thicken considerably at first), followed by milk. Bring to a simmer for a few minutes and then stir in cheese and the reserved broccoli mixture.
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  5. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has thickened and reduced by about 1/4 and the broccoli is completely tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
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  6. Using a hand blender, purée the soup to desired consistency. (Some like to leave bits of broccoli in there. It is up to you how smooth or chunky the soup is.) Alternatively, transfer to a blender and purée to desired consistency.
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  7. Season soup with salt and pepper, and divide among bowls. Top with remaining 1 cup broccoli, more Cheddar (if you like), and lots of freshly ground pepper.

Adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019106-broccoli-and-cheddar-soup