Nigella Lawson on Self-Indulgence

Just say yes.  (Image via The Sydney Morning Herald)

Nigella Lawson argues for thoughtful self-indulgence on NPR (audio track).

Per the domestic goddess: “If you can wallow in the pleasure of every single mouthful, then you’re doing something good…”

Chili con Carne with Pan-fried Polenta

It’s official:  all this cold, dark weather has put me on a comfort food kick.  If the forecast is to be trusted, sunset hits Berlin at about 4:30pm. Honestly, I haven’t seen the sun make an appearance on any recent afternoon.  It’s just been gray, gray, gray.  Then pitch dark.

As close to a sunny day as you get in Berlin.

So how does a SAD girl beat the blues?  With vitamin D supplements, the occasional jog, and frequent carby, cheesy, meaty homecooked meals.  If I make it through winter without having to buy new jeans (or more Spanx), it will be strictly by the graces of my under-30 metabolism.

I was very pleased with myself for inventing the following recipe until a friend pointed out that it’s quite close to the Midwestern classic, tamale pie.  Whether you see this as Tex-Mex-Italian fusion or classic comfort food, see that it makes it onto your dinner table—stat!

Chili con Carne:

-1/2 lb. ground beef
-2 Tbsp. chili powder (or to taste)
-1 small onion, finely chopped
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 Tbsp. tomato paste
-dash of sugar, preferably brown
-1/2 c. red wine (optional), beer, or water
-3/4 c. tomato juice
-1 tsp. beef bullion base (optional)
-1 regular can kidney beans, drained (14.5 oz.)
-1 regular can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
-2 tsp. cumin
-1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
-cayenne pepper, to taste
-salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown the ground beef on high heat in a medium pot, breaking up into small pieces and seasoning with half the chili powder, salt, and pepper.

2. Turn the heat down a bit and push the beef to the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Fry the chopped onions in the remaining oil, sprinkling with a little sugar to aid browning.

3. Mix together the beef and onions and stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Deglaze with red wine, scraping up the brown bits into the sauce. Let the wine cook off.

4. Reduce the heat and pour in the tomato juice, bullion (if using), beans, diced tomatoes, cumin, cocoa, and remaining chili powder.

5. Simmer uncovered for 1-1.5 hrs. Add water or more tomato juice if it begins to look dry. Taste for seasoning, adjusting chili powder, sugar, salt, and pepper to your preference.

Smitten Apple Cake

This lovely cake comes from Smitten Kitchen, a very famous food blog with beautiful photos and recipes that sometimes work.  I approached this recipe with a fair dose of skepticism (not to mention, blog envy) and about 2 lbs. of apples.  And I’m so glad I did.  After a few recent baking failures (including this week’s zucchini bread with raspberries; trust me—don’t go there), my baker’s ego was a little tender.  So imagine my delight when my husband’s coworker came over for coffee and remarked, “Ach, so this is the famous apple cake your husband talks so much about!”

I could have kissed her right there. Instead, I made a mental note to add this cake to the short list of go-to recipes for dummies (i.e., me).

Chunky Potato Cream Soup

Image via The Big Blend

Cool weather just screams out for hearty, homey food, don’t you think? The weather dropped a good 15 or 20 degrees (Fahrenheit…have to specify now!) this past month in Berlin, and I’ve been craving comfort food. This chunky, creamy potato soup fits the bill without being a total fat-bomb. It’s great as is, but feel free to kick it up a notch with some grated cheddar or a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of homemade croutons and fresh snipped chives.

Don’t let the German-language label mislead you…that thar’s evaporated milk.  And there’s no celery in this photo because I spontaneously added it later.  For me, soup making is a bit of alchemy!

A little butter is key to this recipe’s success.

In a soup of so few ingredients, homemade broth is a nice touch.

Soup:

-1 3/4-2lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
-1 1/2 stalks celery, pureed in blender or very finely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 onion, finely chopped
-1 shallot, minced
-handful of parsley, chopped
-approx. 4 c. chicken or vegetable broth (depending on how thick you like your soup)
-1 c. evaporated milk (not condensed milk)
-cayenne pepper, to taste
-pinch of dried sage
-salt, pepper, and white pepper, to taste
-pinch of nutmeg
-2 bay leaves

-1 Tbsp. butter
-olive oil

To serve: fresh chives, sour cream, cheddar cheese, homemade croutons (recipe follows)

1. Melt butter and a splash of olive oil over med-low heat in a large stock pot. Add onions, shallot, and celery. Cook gently until almost translucent.

2. Stir in garlic, being careful not to burn. Next, add broth, evaporated milk, bay leaf, sage, and parsley.

3. Add peeled, chopped potatoes to pot. Simmer uncovered until tender. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

4. Thicken the soup. Either 1) use a potato masher to break down some of the potatoes and thicken the soup or 2) remove the bay leaves and about 3 cups of cooked potatoes to a bowl and puree the remaining contents of the pot with an immersion blender. Return the reserved potatoes to the soup.

5. Heat through and serve with your choice of toppings.   Enjoy with a chunk of crusty bread!

Homemade Croutons:

-2 slices thick cut bread of your choice (whole wheat is good)
-1 tsp. butter
-salt

1. Cut bread into bite-sized cubes.

2. Melt butter in a skillet.

3. Add bread cubes. Fry until golden. Sprinkle with salt and serve atop your favorite soup.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I had a chocolate craving the other night, but since there was only hot chocolate mix in the house (pursuant to the theory: if you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it), I made cookies instead.  Oatmeal raisin cookies, in fact.  I’m more of a chocolate chip girl, but that wasn’t possible, given the current Schoko-drought.

I have freely admitted that baking is not my forte.  As per usual, I didn’t have all the ingredients the recipe called for.  Brown sugar (the soft, molasses-enriched stuff) just doesn’t exist in Germany.  I was also thinking about tweaking a recipe I’d never made, which doesn’t usually bode well.

Fortunately, the cookie gods smiled upon me, and the cookies came out great—chewy, soft, and delicious—despite my meddling and substituting.  Even without chocolate, they were satisfying.  (Especially for breakfast the following morning.)

625 commenters can’t be wrong—this is a great recipe.  I’m even tempted to call it foolproof.  Here’s my take on the classic:

Foolproof Plum Cake

For most of August and September, Germany was awash in adorable Italian prune plums, known to Brits as “damsons” and to Germans as Zwetschke (or Zwetschge, depending).  Don’t you just want to pinch their chubby cheeks?

Roughly half to two-thirds the size of regular red plums, these purple beaut’s were selling for 1.99/kilo (2.2 lbs.) at the height of summer.  And the bakeries in Berlin were going wild with plum Kuchen, plum tarts, plum pockets, and plum strudel.  Not to be outdone, I bought a kilo of my own and began scheming.

An admittedly novice baker (and by “novice” I mean: stubborn, refuses to measure things properly, substitutes ingredients at will), I didn’t get much further than my old standby—plum cake.  This cake never fails me, and it looks much more impressive than it has any right to.  Ina Garten calls this “Plum Cake Tatin”; I call it perfect.  (And by “perfect” I mean:  despite my best efforts, I never manage to burn it, cause it to fall, or leave half of it clinging to the pan.  Oh, and it tastes terrific, too.)

Japanese Curry with Crispy Tofu Cutlets (Tofu Katsu Kare)

Rumor has it that curry made its way from India to Japan during the colonial period via the British navy. There it morphed into a mild, savory-sweet roux-based sauce that’s the perfect counterpoint to a crispy piece of pork or tofu.  If you’re used to eating coconut-milk laden or incredibly spicy curries, Japanese curry is a refreshing change of pace.

Intrigued?

It’s dead easy to make, armed with a box of Japanese curry roux.

1.  Drain, slice, and season firm tofu with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne. Put a pot of rice on to simmer.

2.  Coarsely chop and saute together carrots, potatos, onions, sweet potato, red bell pepper, and a bit of eggplant.*

3.  Dredge seasoned tofu in flour.  Dip in beaten egg, then coat with panko (Japanese bread crumbs).  Season with salt.

4. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with oil. Arrange cutlets evenly on sheet and begin baking. Occasionally rotate the pan, but do not flip the cutlets.

To Try: Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Icing

Today I found a great food blog while surfing the internets and using the google.  This easy recipe for banana bars especially caught my eye—probably because living abroad makes me homesick for good, simple American cooking.  Don’t these sound devilish?

I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ll have to break it out when I have a couple overripe bananas to part with.  Thanks to Kristen of Dine & Dish for sharing.

Bars:

-1/2 c. butter
-2 c. sugar
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 c. mashed, ripe bananas (approx. 2 large)
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-2 c. flour
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1 pinch salt

Frosting:

-1/2 c. butter
-8 oz. cream cheese
-4 c. confectioners’ sugar
-2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Beat together wet ingredients.
2. Combine dry ingredients and stire into creamed mixture.
3. Spread in a greased 15×10×1-in. pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

For frosting: cream together butter and cream cheese, gradually stirring in sugar and vanilla. Spread over cooled bars.

Image via Dried Fruit Guy

Postcard from Berlin: Turkey Cutlets with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Surprise! I’ve changed continents. Here’s hoping you’ll enjoy my dispatches from my new home, Berlin—where every trip to the grocery store is an adventure, the produce is fresh and cheap, and the cashiers are surly but move at the speed of light.

Like so many others, today’s recipe started with one irresistible seasonal ingredient:

It’s mushroom season in Germany, and these beauties (chanterelles, or Pfifferlinge) have been cropping up all over menus in Berlin.

I stumbled upon a brimming basketful in the market this week and began plotting ways to highlight their deliciousness.

In a nod to my new surroundings, I settled on German cutlet (Schnitzel) marinated in tangy lemon juice, gently pan-fried, and swathed in a creamy mushroom-herb sauce.

This dish is a fantastic study in contrasts: the crisp coating against the sultry sauce; the bright lemon against the rich, mellow mushrooms.  In short, delicious.  Guten Appetit!

Inspired Idea: Pay-it-Forward Meal

Photo via Only Eat…

Washingtonian’s Best Bites blog has the story on an awesome D.C. dining concept: FREE.

That’s right:

“Instead of a bill, diners receive a note explaining that their meal is a gift from a previous patron. The only request: Leave what you will to cover the next person’s meal.”

What to do with Your Farmer’s Market Tomatoes

Are those shiny red orbs taunting you from the windowsill?   (I know you’d never put them in then  fridge, right)?  Well, you’re in luck.  Here’s the perfect snack to enjoy them at the height of their summer sweetness.

Please, go eat this.

Now.

Cake, Raised, Custard, or Glazed?

Photo via Talk with the Preacher

Today is National Donut Day! Admittedly, I’ve never been a huge fan (except for Entenmann’s cake and Boston Creme donuts). But if you like the confections, today’s your day. You can get a free donut at many of the national chains.

Washingtonian Magazine has all the details.

Shortcut Jambalaya

You know those nights when you stumble home after a long day’s work, wearily open the fridge, and nearly cry from exhaustion and lack of inspiration? The nights you’d call for takeout, but feel embarassed because the person taking orders can recognize your voice? Those cereal-for-dinner nights?

Me?

I’ve had a few of those lately.  My husband and I pulled off our DIY wedding a couple weeks ago and have been slowly recovering.  Mostly by refusing to do much of anything aside from gorge ourselves on wedding cake (more on that later).  Apologies for the blogging hiatus.

I’m not entirely back up to speed, but tonight I dipped a toe back in the cooking water with a one-pot dish that was on the table in under 40 minutes.  It’s amazing how a few fresh ingredients can transform ho hum packaged rice mix into a savory, delicious meal. The results are worth the little bit of effort.  No claims as to the authenticity of this jambalaya, but it sure beats General Tso’s when you’re worn out.

 

Term of the Day: “Food Desert”

Image credit: theworld.org

That’s desert, not dessert.  Click here (audio) to find out what a “food desert” is. Full transcript here.

Food deserts are something you definitely notice in certain neighborhoods in Washington, DC.  In the past few years, gentrification in Columbia Heights has radically changed the selection in grocery stores and even takeout food.

To (Maybe Not) Try: Heinz Ketchup Cake

Credit: Canadian Family

This is just the weirdest thing ever.  I found this recipe for ketchup cake via a friend of a friend’s twitter (how web 2.0 am I?).  The whole concept borderline grosses me out,  but it’s also intriguing.  Red velvet cake with a Great Northern makeover.  Maybe ketchup is to spice cake what mayonnaise is to chocolate cake—a strange bedfellow, but surprisingly delicious.  Just imagine if Americans were to take a tip from the Canucks and embrace ketchup cake—and universal health care!  For anyone who wants to give it a try, here’s the recipe reprinted from Heinz:

-2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

-2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder

-1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) cinnamon

-1 tsp (5 mL)baking soda

-1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg

-1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger

-1/2 cup (125 mL) Heinz Tomato Ketchup

-1/2 cup (125 mL) water

-2 tbsp (30 mL) red food colouring

-3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, softened

-1 1/2 cups (375 mL) packed dark brown sugar

-2 eggs