Foodie Fights - Battle Dandelion Greens/Parmesan Cheese

Alright, last Foodie Fights battle I ended up with 2nd place. This time I'm going for the win. Battle Dandelion Greens and Parmesan Cheese. Yeah, everybody knows what Parmesan is... but I had no clue (and would have continues to have no clue, if the guys over at Foodie Fights hadn't posted a picture), what in the heck Dandelion Green were or how I would even use them.

So I trekked on over to Whole Foods who aptly stock the lovely greens. I brought them home, and snagged a leave off of the bunch to have a raw taste... NOT what I expected. I had Googled them beforehand and learned that they were a bitter green, but I wasn't expecting the amount of bitterness that I did. Definitely not going a salad route, I thought.

So then I started brainstorming of things to do with the Parm and maybe that would lead me to do something with the greens. and then Eureka! I make a mean alfredo sauce. It may not be your conventional Italian mother's alfredo sauce, but it's pretty darn good.

So the alfredo idea was in place, and then it only seemed fitting that I end up with...

Dandelion Green Alfredo Phyllo Pizza
Ingredients:

1 bunch dandelion greens, stemmed and chopped
1 & 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock
3 sheets Phyllo dough, thawed
2 slices bacon, chopped
4-5 small slices of Provolone cheese
salt and pepper to taste

I needed to try to take the bitterness out of greens, so I first brought the chicken stock to a boil and added the greens to that to wilt them down. Let them simmer in the stock for a few minutes, maybe 3-5 at most. Drain and squeeze out most of the liquid. Set aside.

I figured fat would help cut down on the bitterness too, and it would end up adding a good flavor overall. In a small saucepan, brown the bacon pieces until most of the fat is rendered and bacon is starting to crisp up. Stir in garlic and saute for about 1-2 minutes. Add in dandelion greens and saute for another minute or two. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.

Slowly add in shredded Parmesan cheese, stirring constantly and not adding more until cheese is melted within sauce. Let simmer for about 8-10 minutes to develop the flavor. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and roll out Phyllo dough sheets, stacking the 3 sheets on top of eachother. You can use more sheets if you'd like, but I found 3 to be a perfect amount for a nice thin crisp crust.

Spoon about a ladle-full of the alfredo on Phyllo dough and make sure you get a good ratio of greens to sauce. Top with a few thin slices of Provolone cheese, if desired.

Bake in oven for about 7-10 minutes, depending on your oven. Cut the pizza into squares and serve!


The result is a crisp, flaky, faux-pizza that has no bitterness from the greens at all. The alfredo is rich and delicious and this is perfect for a summer appetizer! Enjoy... and don't forget to vote on Tuesday at Foodie Fights!

Foodie Fights - Battle Strawberry/Wonton Wrapper

If you haven't noticed me talk about it, Foodie Fights is an ingenius idea! It's like an Iron Chef-type battle between 6 food bloggers, chosen at random. It really lets your inner creative chef shine through and more often than not, lets you in on some really awesome recipes that you couldn't find anywhere else! So it was my turn this week, I was chosen. And I've got a rep to hold up (I was last year's champ - winning twice, but more than once, so a champ nonetheless), so I had to come up with something good. And so...
Strawberry Mascarpone Dumplings w/ Strawberry Whiskey Sabayon came to be.

The pictures don't do them justice. They're absolutely delicious by themselves, but when paired up with the sweet whiskey sabayon... we've got something there.

Ingredients for the Strawberry Mascarpone Dumpling:

12 oz. container mascarpone cheese
1 container strawberries (roughly about 15-20 big ones)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon sugar
20 wonton wrappers (I used round ones, but you could definitely get the square if you'd like)
vegetable oil, for frying
powdered sugar (optional)

In a small food processor, combine the mascarpone, 1 container strawberries, honey, and sugar. Mixture should be somewhere between thick and thin. Place mixture in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up a bit.

On a flat working surface (like a cutting board), place 1 wonton wrapper flat on board.


Spoon about a teaspoon worth of filling in the center.


Dab the edges with warm water and fold up to seal. (For a quick tutorial on how to fold your wonton into different styles, you can check this out. I did the basic Samosa style) You can pinch the edges to get an even better seal also.

User a deep fryer would be ideal for this, but considering I don't own one, we'll just have to keep it old school. Fill a deep pan about 2 inches high worth of vegetable oil. Heat under medium high to high heat. You'll know it's ready when you can throw a little piece of wonton wrapper in and see it bubble and fry nicely.


Fry about 3-5 wontons at a time, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, flipping once in between. They should be nice and golden brown. Let dry on paper towels and top with powdered sugar.


Ingredients for Strawberry Whiskey Sabayon:

about 7 strawberries, chopped
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries and orange juice. With an immersion blender, puree the strawberries until they're at your desired consistency. I left a little bit of chunks for good texture.

Mix in the whiskey, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

In a metal mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and stir until the yolks just break. Add in whiskey/strawberry mixture and mix well.

Assemble a double boiler with the metal bowl by sitting it atop a small pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the hot water or your yolks will scramble. Whisk constantly for about 10-15 minutes, or until mixture is triple in size. I sped up the process by using the whisk attachment on my immersion blender and it whipped up pretty nicely. Serve with dumplings.

Like I said, this was pretty tasty. The strawberry whiskey sabayon wasn't too overpowering and all of the ingredients played nicely with eachother. It was an elegant dessert for an elegant night (oh, by the way, I served this at my Buitoni Derby Pasta Party last night and it was a hit... more on the Buitoni Pasta Party on Wednesday's post).


So, if you dig the recipe, don't forget to go to Foodie Fights on Wednesday and rock your vote!

P.S. Thanks to Buitoni and Foodbuzz.com I was given the chance to throw a Derby-themed pasta party using Buitoni's new line of Riserva products and I'll be posting all the creative dishes and festivities on Wednesday, so stay tuned!

Foodie Fights Battle #14: Pecans & Cumin; Cumin-Carrot Cake Cupcakes w/ Cumin Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Candied Pecans

This weekend has definitely been a weekend of food. Had a blast doing an all day cook-off for a friend's birthday. We had the lunch meal and needless to say, it was amazing. The secret ingredient was pistachios and the highlight of our meal probably was our Mango-Pistachio Milkshake... that we turned into a beer float. Yes... beer float. BBC Bourbon Barrel Stout beer float I might add. Yum!

But we're not here to talk about that, we're here to talk about Cumin and Pecans. At first I was a little hesitant on what to do. I thought maybe a cumin pecan breading on some sort of protein would work out, but then I thought about it, and the past couple of challenges I used a protein and it seemed like the protein had the highlight, and not the main ingredients. So I did a little bit of research on the cumin because I thought that was the hardest ingredient to really incorporate. After looking a little bit, I saw that cumin actually brings out the sweetness in things, despite it's somewhat smoky flavor. So I wanted to play on that and do a sort of savory dessert. Then I thought of carrot cake. And carrot cake turned into cupcake. And voila, my final product... Cumin Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cumin Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Candied Pecans. That's a mouthful, eh? In more ways than one, of course...


Ingredients for Cumin Carrot Cake Cupcakes:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 cup finely grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix up first 6 ingredients.

In a separate large bowl, mix together the sugar and the canola oil. Whisk in your eggs, one at a time.

Add in the flour mixture until well blended. Then add in your carrots.

Divide batter among the cupcake molds, filling each about 1/2 way. Bake for about 20 minutes, when you can stick a toothpick in them and it comes out clean. Let cool on a baking rack before icing.

While you're waiting for the cupcakes to cool, you can whip up this amazing frosting...

Ingredients for Cumin-Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin

In a small bowl, beat all ingredients with a hand blender until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Chill for about 10 minutes so it is easier to ice cupcakes.


Now you can candy your pecans...

Ingredients for Candied Pecans:

1 package pecans
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the brown sugar and mix well until smooth. Make sure the sugar "soaks" up the butter, it should be a sort of "creamy" consistency. Add the cream and it should lighten up the color a little bit. Then toss in your pecans and coat evenly. Take off heat and let cool.


Now to put your cupcakes together...

I found that the cupcakes were really airy and almost sunk in a little bit at the top, so to fill that void, I placed some pecans on the center of each cupcake like so...


Then top each cupcake with some frosting...


The top with even more pecans...


And then you can split in half to share or just gobble them all up yourself...

I thought this was really fun. I don't do many dessert posts and I was definitely scared to try this, but it turned out really well. I know this because Andy has been religiously eating them for breakfast in the morning ever since I made them the other night. And don't forget to vote for the best recipe (hopefully you think it's mine, but my competition is stiff!) at FoodieFights on Tuesday and Wednesday!

Foodie Fights Battle #11 - Chipotle/Goat Cheese: Chicken Adobo Lettuce Wraps W/ Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa & Goat Cheese Queso

Ok. Chipotle & Goat Cheese. Two amazing ingredient on their own. But can they work together as one to be a powerhouse of flavor? The answer? Si.

This is my second battle, and after winning the first, I knew I had to bring my A plus plus game because yeah, winning one battle is pretty awesome, but what if it was just a fluke? So what if one judge gave me the win, but to get two wins in a row (and be the 1st to ever do so, I might add), now THAT would be incredible. Not to mention how huge my head would become after doing so, but I digress. Now to bring myself back to the present instead of dreamland.

Anyway, the immediate moment that I found out the ingredients, my brain was at work. Exploring flavor options and profiles. Thinking what would sound good and refreshing. And BAM! My pencil met the paper and I came up with this... Lettuce Wraps. Chicken ADOBO Lettuce Wraps. I've been looking for a reason to make chicken adobo for ages, considering my last bout pretty much sucked. A sad day for a Filipino when her adobo doesn't turn out well.

So for the adobo, I chose to do two different styles. The traditional Filipino adobo with chipotles. And then the Latin American Style adobo that chipotles are usually in when you buy them from a can. Out of them both, I don't know if it's because I'm Filipino and I'm kind of partial anyway, but I liked the flavors of that one better.

Marinated Chicken in Filipino Style Chipotle Adobo:


1/2 lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs
3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 big pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Marinated Chicken in Latin American Style Chipotle Adobo:


1/2 lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs
3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon oregano
juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup vinegar

For the marinades, combine all ingredients, except for the chicken and bay leaf from Filipino adobo, in a blender and puree until all ingredients are incorporated. Then in 2 separate plastic bags, combine chicken thighs, pureed marinades, and add bay leaf to Filipino adobo bag. Seal both bags, and make sure there is little or no air in each one. Fold bags as tightly together as possible, that way, the marinade has little surface area and can penetrate through the chicken easier. I let the marinades sit in the fridge for 2 days, mainly because I lost track of time and couldn't make time until today (Labor Day), but I'd suggest letting it marinate for AT LEAST 2 hours, but overnight is ideal.

So as I was brainstorming, I was trying to think of how I could incorporate the goat cheese in all of this. And keeping with a sort of Asian/Latin American fusion type deal, I decided to do a goat cheese queso to top the chicken. Which then led to the idea of a Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa. Cheese and salsa go together fantastically, so why not in this dish also??! The ball was rollin' and I was getting excited.

Goat Cheese Queso:


6 oz. Queso Fresco, chopped into cubes
1 Serrano Pepper, sliced
6 oz. Goat cheese, chopped into cubes
1/2 to 1 cup of heavy cream, depending on the consistency of how you like your cheese

In a small saucepan, combine cheeses and serrano peppers. Let melt, and then add cream in small batches until you get the texture of your liking.

I've never melted goat cheese before, so I didn't know how well it would interact in all of this, but it faired pretty well. It gave the cheese a texture, kind of gritty (but not like sandy, unbearable gritty, but the taste of goat cheese gritty (if that makes any sense at all?!?!)). It definitely packed a heated punch with the Serrano pepper in there though!

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa

1 lb. of tomatillos, halved and quartered
3 gloves garlic, chopped
2 canned chipotles in adobo sauce

In a large fry pan, saute garlic until just fragrant, maybe a minute.
Add tomatillos and cook until soft.

Remove from heat for a few minutes and add to blender along with chipotles.
Pulse a few times until you get a desired consistency. Some like it chunky, but mine was pretty smooth.

So now I have all of my components, and individually tasting each one, they all tasted pretty damn good. But would they work together?!?!

Grill the chicken on a medium to high heat on a charcoal grill.


Cook until white throughout.
Let chicken rest on cutting board for about 5 minutes.

Then cut chicken in strips.


Get out some lettuce leaves, I used iceberg because they're crisp and I thought they would hold well. Layer some strips of chicken on top of lettuce.

Then add salsa.

And finally, top with queso.

Fold over and stuff your face! Andy enjoyed them, and I finally took this to work shortly after I made them, and all of my coworkers seemed to enjoy them also. So I'm pretty sure this was a home run with them, and hopefully it will be for you guys too!! Good luck to the competition!!!

Foodie Fight Battle #8, Eggplant/White Wine: Double Fried Eggplant Cakes w/ White Wine "Icing"

First of all, when I found out that I was a contestant on Foodie Fights I think I almost went ballistic. It was like that feeling you get when you get that neon pink Barbie Big Wheel for your 4th birthday. Yeah... it felt THAT awesome.

Then, I go to check out the secret ingredients and I just slumped. Eggplant?! I don't ever cook with eggplant. What the heck am I going to do with that thing?

And as the day progressed, all that I kept thinking about was fritter, fritter, fritter. Everything tastes good fried. Haven't had a single thing that was fried that wasn't good. So let's give this eggplant thing a try.

Before I could even start, I had to do my research. Had to check out my opponents, all of whom look like they know their stuff. Found out that eggplant has "nicotinoid alkaloids." And you're thinking... whata whata whata-oids?? Basically, a close relative to tobacco. So light bulb! Let's do a play on that and make eggplant cigars! I had extra wonton wrappers from making some tarts a few days ago and it'd be perfect.

During my research, I learned that eggplant is a good absorber. So I cranked the oven up to 450 degrees, salted and drizzled my 1 somewhat medium, somewhat large, purple eggplant and stuck it in the oven to roast.

So while I waited for the eggplant to roast, I started making a little medley in my food processor: 1 halfway seeded jalapeno pepper, 3 garlic cloves, 1 cobb of corn (taken off the cobb, of course), and 1/2 of an onion. Pulsed it to get a little chunky chutney of sorts and set it aside.

About 20-25 minutes later, my eggplant was hissing at me so I knew it wanted to get out. I let it cool for a few minutes and then peeled the skin. Now this next part is quite important. The eggplant, being the good absorber that it is, it very much made up of water and liquid, just like it's cousin the tomato, so it's very essential that you strain the eggplant! I left mine in a strainer on top of a bowl for about 30 minutes, checking on it every 5-10 minutes to turn it over or press it down to release some juices.

When the eggplant looks like it's about through leaking, I did a rough slice and put it in the food processor. Add salt, pepper, and a swig or two of white wine. Pulse a few times until well mixed and eggplant is kind of mushy, but still somewhat chunky. Add eggplant to corn chutney mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 beaten egg, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1 tablespoon softened butter. Fold in eggplant mixture.


Fill large pot or saucepan with about 2 inches of vegetable oil and place on medium to high heat. You'll know when it's hot enough when you can flick some water on it and it sizzles. Or you can take it's temperature if you want to play on the safe side, about 350-375 degrees.

Take out your wonton wrapper and put a small spoonful of eggplant mixture in middle of wrapper. Roll up into cigars and fry until brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes. As they brown, place on paper towel lined plate to dry.


And wait, the title says DOUBLE FRIED. I had some tempura batter in the pantry so I decided to dip the fried cigars into that and fry for a second time. The tempura gives it a kind of sweet taste that makes you forget the cholesterol worries of anything deep fried.


And wait, the recipe says cakes... don't get me wrong, the cigars were divine, but I had so much eggplant mixture, I had to have a back up plan in case the wonton wrappers didn't work. So I pretty much just took the filling and pattied them out into cakes, and followed the same procedure as the cigars. Just as good, if not better! Andy was the true taste-tester and did say he liked the cake better, but it was a tough decision.


To set everything off, I made a white wine "icing." After all, you can't have cake without icing.

In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup white wine (I used a dry chardonnay), 1 cup heavy cream and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and grated aged Emmentaler cheese. I also threw in a pinch of garlic powder. Let sauce cool away from stove.


When the sauce cooled, I didn't like how thin it was, after all, it was supposed to be "icing." So I took out my electric beater and started whipping it. It got a tad bit thicker and it was perfect. The taste, the texture, and now it was time to see if it worked well with the cake.


I split one of the cakes and slowly dipped it in the "icing." My fingers trembled as I slowly brought it to my mouth to have a bite. "Please be good, please be good." I crossed my fingers, took a chomp, and O-M-G... I was in heaven. The sauce was the savory component to the sweet cake. It was perfect and I was pleased!


For my first ever Foodie Fight, if I don't impress anyone, I can still be happy to know that I greatly impressed myself. I was able to really think on the fly, with a down right challenging ingredient, and pull something out and have it taste delicious. This has been a true learning experience for me and just proved to myself more that I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to cook.

Fritter/Cigar Mixture:

1 cobb of corn, corn kernels sliced off.
1 jalapeno, halfway seeded
1/2 medium onion
1 medium to large sized eggplant
3 garlic cloves
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
salt and pepper to taste
tempura batter mix
wonton wrappers, for cigars
vegetable oil, for frying

White Wine Icing:

1/2 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dried oregano
grated aged Emmentaler cheese (no specific amount, just as much as you want)
pinch of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste