DARING COOKS CHALLENGE: PORK SATAY

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppyliciousand she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

Thank you Cuppy for chose this recipe that we really have enjoied a lot !

Daring Cooks challenge: Salmon en Croute

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

I think that I will do it again Salmon en Croute but with a different crust, I did not like it.




>

Daring Cooks challenge: sushi

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

My sushi is really terrible!

You find recipes on AUDAX.

Daring Cooks’ Challenge:Vietnamese Chicken Pho

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.



I've never had Vietnamese Pho. I thought this is a good challenge to try. This is a very easy dish to prepare.
You can find the recipe here.
Try it.

Daring Cooks Challenge:

This months Daring Cooks Challenge was hosted by Debyi of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen. She chose Indian Dosas from the cookbook by Ruth Tal.




This months Daring Cooks Challenge was hosted by Debyi of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen. She chose Indian Dosas from the cookbook by Ruth Tal.
That it was my first time eating Dosas! I must admit that I was very surprised how it turned out! They were very delicious - everything! The Dosas and filling I don't prepare sauce.
The tastes were amazing. Absolutely delicious. I love making dosa! Thanks for this recipe.
I make it another time.

RECIPE
Indian DosasThis recipe comes in 3 parts, the dosas, the filling and the sauce. It does take awhile to make, but the filling and sauce can be made ahead and frozen if need be. You can serve them as a main course with rice and veggies, or as an appetizer. This does take a little planning ahead, so make sure you read the recipe through before starting (I forgot & didn't start making the rice until everything was ready, oops).
Serves 4
Equipment needed:large bowlwhiskgriddle or skilletladle (or large spoon)spatulavegetable peeler &/or knifelarge saucepanfood processor or bean masher
Dosa Pancakes1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)½ tsp (2½ gm) salt½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)¾ cup (175ml/6oz) watercooking spray, if needed
Dosa Filling1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated
Dosa Toppings1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut¼ cucumber, sliced
Dosa Pancakes1.Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.2.Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.3.Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.
Curried Garbanzo FillingThis filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don't be afraid to make a full batch.
5 cloves garlic1 onion, peeled and finely diced1 carrot, peeled and finely diced1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)2 medium hot banana chilies, minced2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground1 TBSP (8gm) oregano1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste
1.Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.2.Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.
Coconut Curry SauceThis makes a great sauce to just pour over rice as well. This does freeze well, but the texture will be a little different. The flavor is still the same though. My picture of this sauce is one that I had made, had to freeze, then thaw to use. It tastes great, but the texture is a little runnier, not quite as thick as it was before freezing.
1 onion, peeled and chopped2 cloves garlic½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk3 large tomatoes, diced
1.Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.2.Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.3.Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.4.Let it simmer for half an hour.
Happy eating!

Daring Cooks: Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes

This month’s Daring Cook’s challenge was Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish, and Artichokes.

The recipes picked by Olga of Olga’s Recipes by José Andrés, one of the most important Spanish Chefs at the moment. The recipe is from his US TV show Made in Spain.

I love paella, so I took a course with a Spanish chef to prepare the paella.

Paella is for spanish like pasta for Italians, there are many ways to prepare it.

This recipe was not very tasty. I prefer the traditional paella.

I did half the recipe, and I replaced the cuttlefish with sea bream and two meatballs. Artichokes are not in this period, I had to fall back on those frozen, and did not add any value to the dish. The only really good thing was the sofregit, I repeat only that.

Good day to all.

Daring Cooks challenge: chinese dumplings or potstickers

For the June challenge for the Daring Cooks, Jen of use real butter chose to challenge us to make chinese dumplings or potstickers. I loved the dumplings.





The recipe worked well, just as presented by Jen at userealbutter blog. I have used 120 gr water.


>



Helped my daughter Sara.I used for the filling the pork. I loved using instead ofthe shitake mushrooms carrots. The tastes were amazing. Absolutely delicious.I love making dumplings!Yesterday I made 75 dumplings!Thanks for this recipe Jen.I like Chinese food very much.





>

Daring Cooks' Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi

This is the first Daring Cooks Challenge and the recipe was chosen by our founders Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice.

The recipes was taken from the cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café Cookbook.

The sauce is with tomato, garlic and pesto.

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: From The Zuni Café CookbookYield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1hour.Note: For our members who have special dietary requirements or who have toalter the recipe for health reasons, our alternative Daring Cooks, led by Shellyof Musings From The Fishbowl, have developed an alternative version of therecipe. Please check the Alternative Daring Cooks' forums for more information.Tips:1. If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe,there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, butit's worth it.2. Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn't look very wet,it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.3. When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It's okay ifthey look a bit wrinkled or if they're not perfectly smooth.4. If you're not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. Ifyou let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.5. For the variations to the challenge recipe, please see the end of the recipe.Equipment required:• Sieve• Cheesecloth or paper towels• Large mixing bowl• Rubber spatula• Tablespoon• Baking dish or baking sheet• Wax or parchment paper• Small pot• Large skillet• Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)For the gnocchi:1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten1 tablespoon (½ ounce) unsalted butter2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a fewpinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchiFor the gnocchi sauce:8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced2 teaspoons waterStep 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook,Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, takea teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring ofdampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is toowet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towelsand place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and upto 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully incheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with abowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommendedthat you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricottain a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a largespoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash thericotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through astrainer to smooth it out as much as possible.Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not,just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’renot using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft andfluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the watergenerously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchithat you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t toodamp.In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flourthat’s ½ an inch deep.With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl andform a large mass in the centre of your bowl.Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding thespoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from thespoon into the bed of flour.At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flourcovers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour.Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an ovalas best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is anoval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to thetop. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi untilit’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probablystill too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into yourgnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy,add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi toensure success.Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at atime. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi asyou coat them.Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with waxor parchment paper and dust it with flour.You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storingthem in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in theskillet and set aside.In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quartsof water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits).You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other anddamage each other.Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook themfor 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for themto finish cooking.Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few timesas it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat.Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently dropinto the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.Variations: For the gnocchi, you can flavour them however you wish. If you wantto experiment by adding something to your gnocchi (i.e., caramelized onion,sundried tomato), feel free to do so. However, be forewarned, ricotta gnocchi aredelicate and may not take well to elaborate additions. For the sauce, this is yourchance to go nuts. Enjoy yourselves. Surprise us!!!