Squid with Bacon and Garlic Oil

I'm in an end of week coma. Yesterday, I said that my dinner the night before was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be...and more. Last night's James Morrison and Adele show was also everything I hoped and dreamed it would be...and more. Seriously, they KILLED IT!! I am sending some pics to my dear friend Tony at Musicbleep so stay tuned to his blog to see the roundup. Now I am exhausted from the last couple of days, and want to laze around all weekend, but it is too beautiful out and I have a ton of stuff to get done so I will try not to be lazy all day! Do you guys have plans for the Superbowl?

As I said when I made the calamari stew, I found quite a few recipes for squid that looked interesting and this was another one. I saved some of the squid from the other day so I could make this because it sounded really, really good. I was not disappointed. There are a bunch of bacon-y, garlicky, herb-y juices at the bottom of this so once again, you should definitely serve with some nice, toasted bread to sop them all up. Oh, and one last note. Today marks day 30 in my 30 straight days of Pilates workouts. It's another goal to cross off my list and I am so happy that I was able to prove to myself that I could a regular routine. I am definitely not a swan, but I am on my way!



Squid with Bacon and Garlic Oil
(Adapted from Bobby Flay)

2 slices bacon, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
8 ounces fresh squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves

Place the bacon in a medium saute pan over medium heat and cook until lightly golden brown and the fat has been rendered. Increase the heat to high and add the garlic, olive oil, and squid, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook the squid for 2 to 3 minutes or until just cooked through. Stir in the herbs and serve.

Cold Soba, Sesame and Carrot Salad

OH THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY!! Can you tell I am happy it's finally the end of the week? Yesterday and today are the two days I have been looking forward to all month and they could not have come soon enough! Last's night's dinner at Comme Ca was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be...and more. I think I am going to be in a three day food coma. I brought my camera with me, took (dark) pictures and will hopefully be posting my thoughts before the weekend is over. I am also so incredibly excited for tonight because I get to see two of my favorite artists live! Adele is playing at the Wiltern and James Morrison is opening the show. The last time I saw Adele live I was completely blown away that her voice is just as beautiful (if not better) live than on the album. I know I go on and on about Adele, but she is just so amazingly talented, you really all should get to know this wonderful artist. I just know it's going to be an amazing night.

Ok, I am going to stop blabbing about seeing this show. Let's talk about the salad now, shall we? I found it the other day on one of my favorite websites The Kitchn. I often think they are in my head and know exactly what I am feeling like eating or what I have in my kitchen that I need to use up. Like I said, when I made the fritters the other day, I kind of went around the farmers market picking up produce without really knowing what I would be doing with it. I had a bunch of carrots left over after the fritters and used some of them up in the salad. The rest I just munched on which I love because to me carrots are quite the addictive snack. I love the simplicity of flavors in this salad and I think it is a good starting off point for a salad of this nature. I added a little bit of honey to sweeten up the dressing and I think I will definitely make this again with even more vegetables. The recipe calls for just the green parts of the scallions, but I used the whole thing. I didn't toast the sesame seeds, mostly because I was feeling lazy. As usual, I reduced the amount of ingredients in this recipe for just me. I didn't have the mugwort soba called for in the recipe, so I just used a single serving of regular soba and adjusted the other ingredients accordingly. This is definitely a recipe that is to taste so the measurements are all approximate. Feel free to add or subtract whatever you want. Ok, I know I have been going on and on about how fabulous the end of my week has been. What do you guys have planned for the weekend?

Cold Soba, Sesame, and Carrot Salad
(Adapted from The Kitchn)

1 serving soba
2 carrots
2 scallions
1 teaspoon sesame oil, or to taste
1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or to taste
2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste
1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
Sesame seeds

Cook the noodles 4-5 minutes, or according to package instructions. Drain and toss with a small amount of vegetable oil to keep them from sticking together. Put the noodles in the refrigerator to cool.

Peel the carrots and shave with a peeler (or mandoline if you have one). You should have a cup of loose carrot shavings. Thinly slice the scallions.

Whisk together the sesame oil, vinegar, and soy sauce and taste. Adjust to taste. Toss the chilled noodles together with the dressing. Add the carrots and scallions and sesame seeds and toss. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

January Daring Bakers: Tuiles (With Meyer Lemon-Rosemary Sorbet)

Even the Daring Bakers had light on the brain this month. This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. They also chose a savory Tuiles recipe from Thomas Keller.

Can I just say how happy I was to see this challenge? After the cream, sugar and egg ball that was last month's challenge I was really nervous about what I would be faced with this month. The other part of the challenge was to create something light to go with the cookies. A lot of DBers did a mousse, but I wasn't in the mood for more eggs. The farmers market has been flooded with all kinds of citrus and I found a recipe for a lemon-rosemary sorbet. I switched it up by using Meyer lemons which were really delicious. Having a light cookie like this makes me feel better about the insane dinner I am going to have tonight. More on that another day, but to you LA'ers do the words Comme Ca mean anything to you??


The tuile recipe is pretty straightforward. I didn't have any hard plastic laying around that I could cut stencil with so I used a manila folder which worked just fine. I cut out a little hearts to be cute. I also did some free form cookies in the shape of a circle and then made them into cute little cups. I baked 3 cookies at a time and kept them warm by laying the baking pan on the door of the oven. I alternated between three parchment lined baking sheets and kept the sheets I wasn't using in the fridge. Shaping them was really easy for me. I think the key is to spread the batter as thinly as possible and to work quickly once they come out of the oven.

This was a fun and pretty easy challenge and I am happy it didn't take three days to do! Visit the blogroll to see what the other Daring Bakers came up with. There are lots of really creative recipes and many people did savory tuiles so check it out!

Tuiles

Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 2 1/4 ounces sifted all purpose flour
Butter or spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed), cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter or spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.

Bake cookies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. Or: place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones…

Meyer Lemon-Rosemary Sorbet
(Adapted from Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook: More Than 1,000 Recipes * 1,800 Photographs * 500 Techniques)

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
Rosemary sprigs and Meyer lemon slices for garnish

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar, corn syrup, and 2 cups of water to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in chopped rosemary. Cover pan and let stand about 20 minutes.

Pour mixture through a sieve set over a medium bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Pour the lemon mixture into a 9x9 metal baking pan (8x8 works fine too); cover with plastic wrap or foil. Freeze, stirring occasionally, about 3 hours until partially frozen.

In a food processor with knife blade attached, blend the lemon mixture until smooth, but still frozen. Return mixture to the baking pan. Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours, or until firm.

To serve, let sorbet stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften slightly for easier scooping; garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.

Carrot, Parnsip, and Scallion Fritters over Arugula Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Oooh, that title is a mouthful, huh? Well as some of you know, I have been planning out my weekly meals for the last few months. This is one of those weeks that I was really bad at it. I went to the farmers market with a general idea of what I wanted, but once I was there I just kept picking up produce without any real idea of what I was going to do with it. Last week I saw these root vegetable pancakes on Lisa Is Cooking and I knew I wanted to try something similar and soon! Yesterday at work (oh please, we all know I don't do real work at my job), I found a couple of recipes that I knew I wanted to try. Bonus points were that I already had most of the ingredients in my kitchen. I just ran out of breadcrumbs so I just used a slice or two of bread I had baked over the weekend and ground them in my food processor. I decided not to deep fry the fritters (and save a few calories) and I served them over an arugula salad. I dressed the salad with a really simple dressing of Meyer lemon juice and olive oil. FYI, come back tomorrow to see another cool thing I did with the Meyer lemons. I also spritzed a little bit of juice over the fritters once they were done. Oh wowza! These were so delicious. It took a bit of time with the shredding of vegetables, but it is really easy. I think this can definitely be a make ahead dish by making the vegetable mix the night before.

I had an unfortunate accident with my pepper mill (eh, I don't even know if I would call it a pepper mill). It broke after I made the vinaigrette (before I made the fritters) and I didn't feel like whipping out the coffee grinder to grind peppercorns so I just used some ground cayenne. I was very sparing with it and it gave the fritters a nice background heat. The onions, carrots, and scallions all complemented each other nicely and the frying was surprisingly simple. It helps to have wet hands when forming the patties. I got five patties out of this mix, but I made mine kind of big for more of a meal. You can definitely reduce these in size and have these as a party appetizer. My only problem was that the outsides didn't get quite as crunchy as I wanted, but the flavor of these was so good, I didn't mind.

Carrot, Parsnip, and Scallion Fritters over Arugula Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
(Fritters adapted from Epicurious)

3/4 cup grated carrot and parsnip (for me this was 2 carrots and 1 parsnip)
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
Canola oil for frying

In a bowl combine well the carrot, parsnip, scallion, egg, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet heat some canola oil (about enough to cover the bottom of the pan) over medium heat. Form the carrot mixture into patties about 1/4 inch thick and carefully fry for about 5-7 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on towels and serve on top of arugula salad with lemon wedges for spritzing.

Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Juice from 1/2 a Meyer lemon
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk all of the ingredients together. Toss with a few large handfuls of arugula. Serve topped with vegetable fritters and lemon wedges on the side.

Quinoa Porridge

This was one of the first recipes I wanted to try back when I first thought of making a food blog and I am just now getting to it. I love this alternative to a typical breakfast oatmeal. It has a lot of the same ingredients, but instead of the oatmeal, you're just using quinoa. For the toppings I decided to go with some dried cranberries and raw pistachios which I buy quite frequently from the farmers market. Not only did they provide a great sweetness and crunch, but they look very pretty too. Per the recipe, I sweetened this with agave nectar, but honey would work out just as well. This was a nice departure from my typical egg, toast, and fruit brekkie. What do you guys like to have for weekday breakfasts?


Quinoa Porridge
(Adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

1/2 cup milk (I used non-fat)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup organic quinoa, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 splash vanilla extract
1 tablespoon raw pistachios, chopped
1 tablespoon dried cranberries, chopped
2 teaspoons agave nectar

Combine milk, water, cinnamon, vanilla, and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in pistachios and cranberries. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.

Calamari Stew with Garlic Toast

One of the things on my 101 list was to cook with other seafoods besides shrimp. I really like a lot of different kinds of seafood, but shrimp is so accessible and relatively affordable for me which is why I use it so much. However, the last few weeks, I noticed the seafood vendor at the farmers market has been carrying cleaned calamari for about 5 bucks a pound. I couldn't pass it up. When I was young, the thought of eating calamari really grossed me out. I think it's because we had to dissect them in biology class. Luckily, I grew out of that and now I really enjoy it. Of course, I love the fried appetizer, but in the interest of keeping things lighter, I wanted to go with a recipe where the calamari wasn't fried. I found a few recipes that looked interesting, but as I was watching Food Network on Saturday (which is becoming increasingly infuriating with all the lame new hosts), I saw this recipe on a repeat of Giada that I knew I wanted to try first. This is a very simple recipe and really fast. It's actually probably a good idea to make the toasts first so that they are ready by the time the stew is done which is less than 10 minutes. I used a jarred roasted garlic tomato sauce which I had leftover from the turkey meatballs, so I didn't spend too much time trying to infuse garlic into the oil because there was already so much garlic flavor in the sauce. As I said, this is really delicious, but I am glad I am not eating it today. I just learned from Jaden that it's bad luck to eat squid on the Chinese New Year. Wait until tomorrow to try this!

Calamari Stew with Garlic Toast
(Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

For the stew:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, cut in 1/2
3/4 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Small pinch salt
Small pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound calamari (squid), bodies thinly sliced and tentacles whole

For the toast:

2 slices of bread
Olive oil, for brushing
1 clove garlic

For the Calamari Stew: Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Add the garlic and let cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic. Add the tomato sauce, white wine, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the calamari and stir to combine. Continue to cook until the mixture comes back up to a simmer, about 2 more minutes. Serve immediately with the Garlic Toasts.

For the Garlic Toast: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (I used the toaster oven).

Meanwhile, brush the bread slices with olive oil. Toast until the bread is crisp and turning golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the top of the toasts with whole garlic cloves. Serve immediately with the Calamari Stew.

Mini Burgers

Finally, last weekend, the stars aligned and I was able to purchase some beef from the guy who sells grass fed beef at the farmers market. Raulito picked up some fillet mignon and I got some ground chuck. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, but as we were walking home, I got the idea to do mini burgers. Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows that I am completely in love with Chaya Brasserie which is just down the street from my apartment and my go-to spot for drinks. I am actually going this afternoon for happy hour. My favorite thing to order from Chaya's happy hour menu is the mini burgers, but their regular sized burger is a site to behold. I have only had it twice, but each time it leaves me with fond memories and a strong desire to create something similar on my own so that I don't have to pay Chaya's prices. Here are the basics of a Chaya burger: beef (duh), caramelized onions, spicy mayo, and a nice cheddar. I decided to make something comparable to Chaya's full size burger, but in miniature form. I wasn't really in the mood to purchase a bunch of mini buns since I found a recipe that was quite simple. I mixed everything together in my handy dandy mixer, but it is a recipe that can be done just as easily by hand. I went with Martha's recipe for the "best beef burger" and I must say, it was really good. The burger part actually reminded me more of the burger from the Village Idiot (another favorite burger of mine), and it went really well with all of the other ingredients. I used some nice aged Vermont cheddar and caramelized some onions in the pan for about 40 minutes. I was actually interested in trying the recent LA Times recipe for caramelized onions, but I went to a movie in the afternoon so I really didn't have four hours to spend caramelizing onions. I'll save that for another day. For the spicy mayo, I just added some cayenne to some mayonnaise. After the work of making my own buns and burgers, I decided to save some time (and calories) so instead of serving these with homemade french fries, I went with some popped potato chips. Although, I must admit, that by the time the burgers were ready, I was so starving that I scarfed down a couple of burgers and completely skipped the chips. Good thing they are just as good on their own. These are really, insanely good burgers that despite the time, are easy to prepare. The recipes below are just more of a method than recipes because the toppings are completely up to you depending on your preferences, but wow these sure went well with the toppings I picked. Happy Sunday! Don't you wish every weekend was a three day weekend?


*UPDATE* I have changed the title of this post because according to A Hamurger Today, these are mini burgers and not the "appropriate" definition of a slider :)

Mini Burgers

For the buns:
(Adapted from King Arthur)

3-4 ounces lukewarm water
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 egg
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a soft, smooth dough. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round about 1 1/2-inches across and 3/4-inch tall (more or less). Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.

If desired, brush buns lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake the buns in a preheated 375 F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.



For the burgers
(Adapted from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast)

1 pound ground chuck
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Toppings:
Cheese slices
Tomato slices
Lettuce
Caramelized onions
Mayonnaise
Ketchup

Heat the grill to high. In a medium bowl, use a fork to gently combine the meat, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Gently form the mixture into balls about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Pat down until 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.

Place the patties on the grill and sear until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Split the buns and toast of the grill if you like; place a burger on each bun and serve with the desired accompaniments.

Braised Butternut Squash with Garlic

As I a couple of days ago, most of this week's recipes seemed to be almost entirely garlic oriented. Here is another one, some of which I added to the third helping of turkey meatballs over greens since I was running low on the greens and I added a few of the leftover sizzling shrimp too. I have a feeling that this coming week I am going to undo a lot of the good work that I have been doing lately in terms of eating better and exercising, but hopefully it will be worth it. For the most part though, I am going to try and stay on track with tasty recipes like this. This was a new cooking technique for me which was fun to try. I was a little doubtful about "browning" the squash after steaming it, but it worked really well. Besides peeling and cutting up the squash, this is a fast and flavorful side dish and it can work with many meals since none of the flavors are too overpowering. If you're in LA, did you feel the earthquake last night? I haven't felt any of the earthquakes this week, but I did have a dream a few days ago about "the big one". Guess I should put my preparedness kit together. Hope you are all having a great weekend, I am off to the pictures!


Braised Butternut Squash with Garlic
(Adapted from How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition): 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food
via Serious Eats)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pound butternut or other winter squash, peeled and cut into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup stock or water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, then add the oil and garlic and cook until the garlic softens and begins to color, 2-3 minutes. Add the squash pieces and stock or water, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. When the liquid comes to a boil, turn the heat to low, cover, and cook until the squash is nearing tender but still quite firm, 5 to 15 minutes depending on piece size.

Uncover the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir occasionally as the liquid cooks away and the squash begins to brown, an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cook until the pieces are well-caramelized, even beginning to crisp.

Adjust for seasoning, and toss with parsley off the heat.

Nanaimo Bars

Do you remember this post on Kevin's delectable Closet Cooking? I remember seeing this and thinking. Holy crap, I must have one of these immediately if not sooner. Well, this post comes to us courtesy of my dear friend Liz from Montreal who made these wonderful treats for our New Year's Eve celebration. What?! Yes, I am still talking about NYE because we had THAT much food. Seriously, you guys would have been in awe of the spread we had. Anyway, after I saw Kevin's post I knew I wanted to try these, but I wasn't sure about the effort for just me. Then Liz took care of that for me and oh wow, YUM!! I usually limit myself in the number of sweets I eat, but these were amazing. There are so many flavors going on, but rather than compete with each other, they compliment each other and make one delicious treat. Bonus, these bars freeze really well. If you can't eat the whole thing, just pop em in the freezer for later. I had never heard of Nanaimo or it's bars until last month, and now I am completely obsessed. Try them and you will see. The recipe and Liz's thoughts are below.

Nanaimo Bars
(From The Joy of Baking)

Bottom Layer:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup coconut (either sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup (50 grams) walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (Liz note: I went somewhere between coarse & fine).

FILLING:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 - 3 tablespoons milk or cream
2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder (Bird's) or vanilla pudding powder (Liz note: I used Jell-O vanilla pudding powder)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups powdered confectioners or icing sugar

TOPPING:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (Liz note: I used 1/4 cup of chips)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Butter (or use a cooking spray) a 9 x 9 inch or 8x8 pan (Liz note: I used an 8x8)

To make the bottom layer:

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa powder and then gradually whisk in the beaten egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (1 - 2 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and chopped nuts. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour).

To make the filling:

In your electric mixer cream the butter. Beat in the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too thick to spread, add a little more milk. Spread the filling over the bottom layer, cover, and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes). (Liz note: I added more of the vanilla custard & extract since it tasted too “sugary” and not “vanilla-y” enough...).

To make the top layer:

In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Spread over the filling and refrigerate. (Liz note: I loathe double-boiling, but it was necessary for this since in the microwave the mix has a tendency to burn and that makes for an ugly top layer)

TO SERVE: To prevent the chocolate from cracking, using a sharp knife, bring the squares to room temperature before cutting.

Sizzling Shrimp

Apparently most of my recipes this week will be garlic-oriented. What can I say? I love the stuff! My fingers and apartment have acquired a permanent garlic smell. Originally I was going to bring you a garlic soup, but that will have to wait until a later time. I am only just now getting in the mood for soup, but I made this the night of the inauguration when it was still 80+ degrees outside. The original recipe calls for serving this in the pan, but I transferred it to a dish for presentation purposes. However, the one requirement that you should absolutely follow is to serve this with some nice bread to sop up the juices. I used two cloves of garlic, because as I said earlier I love the stuff, and I can tell you, by the time I was done eating this dish, there were only 3 small slices of garlic left. It was heavenly with the bread and the juices! This was a wonderfully fast meal that let me get to cooking and then enjoy the festivities almost right away. The key is to have all of your ingredients ready, because once you start, it goes pretty quickly.


The other day I got a wonderful email from the Foodie Blogroll, I was selected to win a year's subscription to a food magazine!! I didn't have to do anything at all except be a member and have the widget displayed on my site. I am pretty excited to start receiving Saveur and I am sure I will have fun recipes from there to bring you. If you aren't a member of the foodie blogroll, click here to find out how to sign up!


Sizzling Shrimp with Garlic
(From Serves One: Simple Meals to Savor When You're on Your Own)

2 pinches salt (preferably sea salt)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4-5 ounces large shrimp, peeled
Bread, toasted (for serving)

Combine the salt and 2 tablespoon of water in a small dish.

Combine the olive oil and garlic in a small saute pan, and heat over medium-high heat just until the garlic begins to sizzle and turn golden; don't let it burn. Holding the lid in one hand, add the salted water with the other, and immediately clap the lid on to minimize the splattering.

After letting the liquid sizzle for 20 seconds or so, lift the lid, add the shrimp, and quickly over again. Cook just until the shrimp turns pink and the liquid reduces, 30 seconds to 1 minute, lifting the lid once more to stir.

Take the saute pan directly to the table. Use the chunks of bread to scoop up the shrimp and juices. Or, with a fork, spear each bread chunk with a shrimp and dunk in the pan juices. Repeat until the shrimp are gone and the pan is wiped clean.