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Pinkalicious Deviled Eggs

3/27/2018

You know that one person in your family that has that annoying habit that drives you and the rest of the clan batshit crazy? [Ed. note: It's a technical term.]

That person was me.

Removing the filling of a Hostess Twinkie, Suzy Q, or cupcake. Digging out the fruit at the bottom of a yogurt cup, leaving the sour plain yogurt for the next unsuspecting sibling. Sorry, Mike.

Eggs. Mom would go to Defcon 2 as I would surgically remove the yolk of a fried egg and leave behind a perfectly entact white saucer.

So it's no surprise that when the BF and I have deviled eggs, the filling gets excavated and he gets the outside white. Except...for this pinkalicious delight, where the outer egg white packs a puckering wallop of flavor (courtesy of the cardamom, anise, peppercorns, and optional jalapeno).

This is a nice addition to any Easter or Passover table. In my experience, they're always the first to disappear.

Happy Easter, Pesach Sameach.

Adapted from: Simply Recipes and The Kitchn (Brine)
Number of Servings: Makes 6 whole pickled eggs or 12 deviled egg halves

Ingredients
Hard Boiled Eggs

6 large eggs

Pickled Beet Brine

2 cups beet juice, canned
1 cup apple cider vinegar
¼ onion, sliced
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
3 cardamom pods
1 star anise
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed and discarded (optional, I happen to like the kick)

Deviled Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons finely minced scallions or chives, divided
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt

Directions
Hard Boiled Eggs

Place 6 cold eggs in a saucepan and fill with cold water, covering the eggs by an inch.
Bring water to a rolling boil, uncovered.
As soon as water comes to a boil, remove pan from heat and cover the pan.
Set timer for 10 minutes.
Fill a large bowl with ice water.
After 10 minutes, remove cooked eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and tap each gently on the counterop to crack the shell in a few places.
Immediately shock eggs in ice water bath. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Peel under cool running water.

Pickled Beet Brine

Place eggs in the bottom of a clean glass jar, quart sized.
In a medium saucepan, add vinegar, onion (and jalapeno, if using), sugar, and spices. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, until the sugar has dissolved and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Pour the cooled vinegar onion mixture over the eggs in the jar, covering the eggs completely. Be careful, that beet juice will stain!
Cover with lid and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days. The longer you leave them in the brine, the more pickled and pink they will be towards the yolk. I let mine sit about 16 hours as I like some of the outer egg to remain white.

Deviled Eggs

At desired time, remove the eggs from the brine. Cut each egg lengthwise.
Scoop out the yolks and place in a medium bowl. Add sour cream, 1 tablespoon scallions or chives, onion powder, and salt.
Mix/mash with a fork until very smooth.
Use a spatula to scoop all the filling into a resealable sandwich bag or piping bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip. Press the bag with your hands to push all the filling to one corner and press any air out of the top. If using a plastic bag, snip one corner off with a pair of scissors.
Pipe the filling into the cup of each egg white, that the filling mounds a little over the top. Squeeze the bag from the top to force the filling downward. (Alternatively, you can scoop the filling into the egg whites with a spoon.) Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon minced chives and season with salt and pepper.

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Spiced Roasted Carrots with Avocado & Yogurt

3/20/2018

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Spring is here, a-suh-puh-ring is here
Life is Skittles and life is beer
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring
I do, don't you? 'Course you do
But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me
And makes every Sunday a treat for me...
~Tom Lehrer

Today is the first day of spring. You wouldn't know it by looking out my window right now, as we're in the middle of a Pineapple Express storm, courtesy of Hawaii. Matters not, I'm breaking out some serious spring veggies.

I could certainly eat this as a main dish. My BF would not. [Ed. note: Carrots are not an entrée!] Still, you can serve this as a side dish to complement just about anything.

If you can't find rainbow carrots, you can go ahead and use regular orange carrots. They're pretty commonplace now, available in most grocery stores. We have them here at the local Trader Joe's, Safeway, Whole Foods, etc.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Spring!

All the world seems in tune
On a spring afternoon
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park...

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients
For the Carrots

¼ cup water
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, plus more to taste
Red chile flakes, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
3 pounds thin-to-medium carrots, scrubbed, peeled or unpeeled; mixed colors are prettier here but not essential. Dry thorougly.

To Finish

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice (from about ¼ orange)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)
1 large or 2 medium firm-ripe avocados, cut into thin slices
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups micro greens, radish sprouts (fresh dill was used here)
¼-½ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 tablespoons roasted hulled pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, toasted sesame seeds or a mix thereof

Directions

Heat oven to 400 °F.
Cover a large baking sheet pan with foil for easy cleanup.
In a small bowl combine spices, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar and ¼ cup olive oil. Whisk to blend.
Spread carrots out on foil-lined baking sheet. Pour spice mixture over carrots and mix with a spatula (or your hands), making sure to get the spice-oil mixture all over every carrot.
Pour ¼ cup water in bottom of pan.
Cover tightly with foil and roast for 25 minutes.
Remove foil and roast for 30 more minutes, or until carrots are lightly browned and tender, but not falling apart.
Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons (each) olive oil, orange and lemon juices into a small dish with salt and pepper. Drizzle this citrus dressing over the carrots, scatter with avocado and sprouts, dollop yogurt/sour cream over the top, and sprinkle with seeds.

[Ed. note: Tom Lehrer was a favorite musical comedian of both our Momalas. No pigeons were harmed in the creation of this blog.]

When they see us coming
The birdies all try and hide
But they still go for peanuts
When coated with cyanide

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Baileys Irish Cream Tiramisu

3/17/2018

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Espresso, check.

Baileys Irish Cream, check.

Tiramisu, check.

For me, a trifecta of favorites in one dessert. In one bite, even. Boozy and creamy, while managing to be light tasting. The BF has already had too much of it. [Ed. note: <whistling and singing> We have no heads! No we have no heads!] Don't mind him.

This takes all of 20 minutes to put together, but needs to chill overnight. Have lost count how many times I've made this for family, friends, and clients. One of my clients who never eats desserts, eats this one.

A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have.
- Irish Proverb

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Adapted from: Nigella Lawson, Nigella Express and Jenn Segal, Once Upon a Chef
Number of servings: 12

NOTES: Savoiardi cookies are also called lady fingers. But be sure to buy crisp cookies, not the soft sponge-cake lady fingers sold in the bakery section of your grocery store. Also, this recipe uses raw eggs, so use only fresh, properly refrigerated and clean grade-A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups espresso or very strong black coffee, cooled
1 cup Baileys Irish Cream, divided
14 oz (or two 7-ounce packs) Savoiardi cookies or lady fingers (see notes), although you won't use all of them
2 large eggs, room temperature
⅓ cup superfine sugar (to make your own, process regular granulated sugar in food processor for 30 seconds until fine)
1 pound mascarpone cheese, softened at room temperature
2 ½ teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

Mix the cooled espresso with ¾ cup of Baileys in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
Separate the eggs, but keep only one of the whites. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is thick, pale yellow, and forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted out of the bowl, about a minute. Add the remaining ¼ cup Baileys and mascarpone and whisk until mixture is smooth.
In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk the single egg white until soft peaks form when you lift the whisk out of the bowl (you can do this by hand with such a little amount). Fold the egg white into mascarpone mixture. It will seem thin but don't worry, it will set up in the fridge.
Dip the cookies, one at a time, into the espresso-Baileys mixture; let them soak long enough to become damp but not soggy, approximately 2 seconds. Line the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch square glass dish, or 7 x 11 rectangular dish, with a layer of soaked cookies; then spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the top. Repeat with another layer of soaked cookies, then top with the remaining mascarpone mixture. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge until the mascarpone mixture is set, 8-10 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to serve, place the cocoa powder in a small sieve and dust over the top of the tiramisu.

[Ed. note: We leave you with a little Traditional Irish Folk Song, courtesy of Denis Leary. Cheers and Happy St. Patrick's Day!]

We drink and we die and continue to drink!

6 Comments

Roasted Shrimp & Asparagus with Shallot Lemon Vinaigrette

3/13/2018

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Daylight savings time. Some people are militant about the concept of its existence, but we don't mind here in the bay area as it signifies that spring is really upon us and we can shed the "winter" wardrobe. Even our pupper Marlowe, who gained a few winter pounds [Ed. note: She is beautiful how dare you shame her!], is shedding a bit of her winter coat. Our trees are sprouting blooms, and the BF just informed me that our lovely fuchsia tree-bush has tiny little buds appearing at the end of its spindly limbs.

Still, this week's weather has screwed me up. Every other day is rain and then sun. One day I crave hot soup, and the next day, spring-time asparagus and shrimp. Is spring here to stay? Every time the coat and boots are put away in the closet, there's another rain band on the Doppler radar, and the next day the thermostat reads 70 °F.

Hopefully this one-sheet-pan shrimp and asparagus dish will serve as a worthy transitional meal.

The fact you only need to use one pan makes this incredibly fast and easy to make. I adapted the recipe to make in your oven, instead of a grill, and cut out several steps from the original, so you don't need to dirty extra bowls. [Ed. note: Insert Napoleon Dynamite, "YESS!"]

Adapted from: What's for Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life, Curtis Stone
Number of Servings: 4

NOTE: I cook the asparagus and shrimp separately to keep the asparagus from getting soggy. Roasting asparagus with shrimp will steam the asparagus as the shrimp releases water when roasting.

Ingredients

1 lemon
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound medium-thin asparagus, woody ends trimmed
1 pound large (21 to 30 count) shrimp, peeled, tails left on, and de-veined
⅓ cup shaved Pecorino Romano cheese, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 °F.
Grate zest from lemon into small bowl.
Squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice from lemon and add to bowl. Add shallots and whisk together.
Gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spread asparagus on large-rimmed baking sheet, coat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 5-6 minutes until crisp tender and bright green.
Divide asparagus among four dinner plates.
Using same baking sheet as the asparagus, spread shrimp out and coat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast 5-6 minutes until almost opaque throughout when pierced with tip of sharp knife.
Remove shrimp from oven and place over the plated asparagus.
Spoon shallot lemon vinaigrette over asparagus and shrimp.
Sprinkle Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese over shrimp, if desired, and serve hot.

6 Comments

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

3/6/2018

2 Comments

You got chocolate in my peanut butter!
You got peanut butter on my chocolate!

For those that don't know, Reese's made a thousand (it seems) variations on this theme.

Everyone from my generation has seen a version of this commercial. And they're right, some things really do pair well together. Even bring out the best in one another.

The BF and I have never been die hard peanut butter fans. I didn't grow up with PB&J sandwiches and hated all things peanuty, while he was...what's the phrase? [Ed. note: Psychotically nonplussed.]

I have since learned the error of my ways. Peanut butter and chocolate is to die for, and this tart is like a giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in pie form–only way better.

I first made this last year and was shocked at how good it turned out. Silky, creamy, decadent. The BF even loved it, which of course is something I always aim for. Now, it's a go-to for parties, celebrations, catering events, and lo and behold, I keep getting invited back whenever I bring it!

If you have a peanut butter lover in your life, make this for them (or for you). You won't be sorry.

You can even make individual parfaits out of this recipe. Place crumbled cookie crust on bottom of your chosen vessel. Spoon the peanut butter filling over the crumbled cookie. Top with ganache and chopped peanuts. See photo below.

Adapted from: Jenn Segal, Once Upon a Chef
Number of Servings: 10

Ingredients
Chocolate Tart Crust

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (use good quality, i.e., Ghirardelli)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
8 ounces Nabisco Chocolate Wafers (about 32 cookies from a 9-ounce package), finely ground in a food processor to make 2 cups of crumbs

Peanut Butter Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter (I use creamy Jif)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cold heavy cream

Chocolate Topping

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (good quality, i.e., Ghirardelli)
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions
Chocolate Tart Crust

Preheat oven to 375 °F.
In a medium glass bowl, combine the chocolate and butter and microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted. Stir well, then stir in the cookie crumbs.
Press the cookie crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the rim of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. (Be sure not to make the crust too thick in any one spot, especially around the rim. Keep it thin throughout, otherwise it will come out too hard.)
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then cool on a rack.

Peanut Butter Filling

In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract until blended.
In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the chilled cream until firm. Fold one-third of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to loosen it, then fold in the remaining whipped cream.
Spoon the filling into the crust, smoothing the surface. Refrigerate uncovered for about 1 hour.

Chocolate Topping

In a medium glass bowl, combine the chocolate with the heavy cream and microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until chocolate is just melted and cream is hot.
Stir the chocolate topping until blended, then let cool to barely warm, stirring occasionally.
Spread chocolate topping over the chilled peanut butter filling and sprinkle chopped peanuts around the edges of the pie. Chill uncovered in refrigerator for 3 more hours.

To Serve

Carefully remove the rim from the pan by gently pressing upwards on the bottom while holding the rim in place. (If using a springform pan, run a thin knife around the crust to loosen it, then remove the springform ring.)
Use a sharp knife to cut the pie into wedges. Run the knife under hot water and dry it between each cut. Serve chilled or slightly cooler than room temperature.

NOTE: This pie can be made a day ahead, then covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.

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Feast Mode

Pinkalicious Deviled Eggs

Spiced Roasted Carrots with Avocado & Yogurt

Baileys Irish Cream Tiramisu

Roasted Shrimp & Asparagus with Shallot Lemon Vinaigrette

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

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