Turmeric is typically used in a lot of curries, can be used as a substitute for saffron and apparently has great health benefits. It is very vibrant, adding color to any bland-looking recipe and it even has anti-inflammatory properties, helps detoxify the liver, and is a natural pain killer. As I was doing research about this interesting spice, I was reading that many people put it into capsules and ingest it daily. This might be something worth looking into further! I do have to say though, when I heard that Turmeric was the theme of the month I panicked a little. I had no idea what kind of recipe to make. I knew that it is used in many curry recipes but I wanted to do something different. As I was browsing some vegetarian recipes, I came across one for hummus. It didn’t have turmeric in it but I improvised a little and came up with something that I think is pretty damn creative.

Ingredients for the hummus:

• 2 (15 oz) cans of chickpeas (or garbanzo beans)
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup olive oil

Ingredients for the pita chips:

• 1 pkg of pita pockets
• Garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

You will need:

• A food processor or blender!
• An oven or toaster oven

To start, strain the chickpeas and rinse them with water. This will take off any liquids that are still clinging to the chickpeas from the cans.

Measure out all of your ingredients and toss everything into the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. You may want to open the food processer intermittently and see how your hummus tastes. I found as I was making this that it was very experimental. In order to get the creamy texture I wanted I had to add just a little bit more olive oil. Feel free to be liberal with your measurements – you can’t really mess this up!

After you’ve finished with your hummus, place it into a bowl. I prefer my hummus at room temperature but if you like it cooler, throw it in the fridge! To start on the pita chips, first preheat your oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Cut one pita pocket into 4 even triangles and peel apart each side. Lay them flat on tin foil on a baking sheet. You should then brush one side only with olive oil, and sprinkle garlic powder and salt over the pita. Toss them in the oven for approximately 5 minutes (maybe even less). I wouldn’t walk away from the oven because you want to take them out as soon as the edges turn golden brown. I burned the first batch!

When they look about ready, take them out and let them cool. Then get ready to enjoy. You’ve just made homemade hummus and homemade pita chips! CONGRATS!!

*** serve with veggies or save for later to use as a spread for sandwiches!***

From Dish Nicole:

Endive is a curious veggie.  One would think that is a lettuce when in fact it is part of the chicory family which includes bitter leafed vegetables such as radicchio or escarole.  Endive, not just for salads, takes on various forms of deliciousness and can be prepared in a multitude of ways.  I have had Belgian endive au gratin, in salads, soups and even stir-fry’s, all delicious.  Perhaps one of the best characteristics of endive is the way the leaves, when separated, create perfect cups for stuffing.  Stuffed endive seems to be a staple passed hors d’oeuvres at events.  Recently my pals were hosting a house warming party and I decided to stuff some endive and bring it over to share.  They were mess free and tasty if I do say so myself.

Ingredients:

4 Belgian Endive Heads (there are about 8-10 leaves per head)

½ cup of gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

½ cup of dried cranberries chopped

½ cup chopped chives

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Wash and dry your endive and set aside.  Next you will want to dice up all of your other ingredients and mix in a large bowl adding the olive oil a little at a time while mixing.

Taste and add the salt and pepper as needed.  You can prepare this mixture several hours before serving.  When you are ready to serve, separate the endive leaves and place on a platter, stuff and devour.

While being an extremely easy recipe to make, the presentation is beautiful with all colors and textures and your friends will LOVE it!  At least mine did.

When I came home for Passover this past week, my mom and I got so wrapped up in cooking for the holiday, we forgot that at some point we needed to take a break and eat. In the midst of making the matzo ball soup, brisket, fish, and other yummy Passover dishes, we had to figure out something that would be tasty for us to munch on, but easy enough to make so that our main focus could be on the other dishes.

It is truly amazing what your mind can think up when you’re feeling creative. We looked in the fridge and had crabmeat and endive. That seemed workable for us. We decided to make little endive boats, filled with crabmeat, red cabbage, and a special sauce we whipped up on the spot!

Ingredients:

Crabmeat

1 endive: 6 small endive leaves, peeled off

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon of ketchup

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ cup chopped red cabbage

In a small bowl, mix the mayo, ketchup, and Dijon. Feel free to play around with the ingredients depending on which flavors you like best. I happen to enjoy Dijon mustard so I may have added a little more than I listed here. Next chop the red cabbage. At this time you can lay your leaves out for stuffing!

This recipe is really all about preference. Some may prefer to toss the crabmeat in the sauce, whereas I drizzled it on top and then sprinkled some red cabbage over it to layer. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, and quadrupled depending on how many leaves you want to make! It makes for a great appetizer or even a healthy main. So one night when you’re feeling adventurous, play around with the proportions and find what you like best!

In addition to our new theme months, SLD would like to introduce our newest dish, Beth Harrell.  Beth is originally from Florida and we met this saucy thing in Williamburg, Brooklyn and she now lives in Chicago.  Not only has she lived in all sorts of culinary hubs, she studied the art of baking and pastry at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.  I don’t know about you, but I know we are excited to see what Beth whips up!

From Dish Beth:

(inspired by El Almacen’s Ensalada de Palmito) Yields 6 servings

I’ve always thought of endive as the stuck up, snooty little finger food of fancy pants ladies luncheons. Other than an elegant vehicle for stuffing cheesy, mayonnaisey dips down my gullet, I didn’t really know what else it was good for. That is, until, I had this delightful truffled endive and heart of palm salad at El Almacen, an awesome Argentinian restaurant in my old neighborhood, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  Since I live in Chicago now, I decided I’d try and make this thing at home.

Slightly bitter endive, its chicory sister radicchio, and tangy heart of palm, are tossed with large flakes of buttery, salty parmesan and a simple truffle vinaigrette. Since it’s spring, I’ve also added some white asparagus to the mix. Earthy and decadent, this would be a perfect start to a romantic dinner with your hunny bunny. But I wouldn’t know anything about that. Guh.

Here goes…

2 endives (the whiter the leaf, the less bitter the taste)

White asparagus (about 6-8 stalks)

Small head of radicchio

8 oz jar of heart of palm, drained

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Big handful of salt

Truffle Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Parmesan cheese (not the powdery pizza kind. Get a wedge and shave flakes off with a vegetable peeler. This is a CLASSY salad, dammit!)

Slice the endive, radicchio, asparagus and heart of palm into long, thin strips. Make sure to cut the top and base off of the endive and asparagus. Place all but the heart of palm into large bowl with the apple cider vinegar and salt. Toss to coat and let sit for 30 minutes or so (you want to slightly pickle them). Place in colander to drain. Rinse with cold water (don’t have to totally wash all vinegar away, just give it a quick rinse), return to bowl

Add heart of palm. Toss with Truffle Vinaigrette and sprinkle with parmesan before serving.

Truffle Vinaigrette

Shallot (or small onion, shallots are just expensive onions anyway)

2-3 T white truffle oil (If you’re on a specialty oil budget, you can sometimes find this shit for cheap at TJ Maxx)

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1-2 T champagne vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Grate the onion/shallot right into the bowl and then pour/sprinkle in remaining ingredients. Whisk and taste and  whisk and taste, adding more as needed until it’s to your liking.

Oh yeah! And for the record, it’s pronounced on-DEEV, not N-dive. Enjoy lovers!

I was casting about for what I would post this month for my SLD, and the topic ended up finding me in the most natural and planetary of ways. There were so many signs in fact, that I had to list the indicators just to look at because everything seemed so connected and clear. (Cycle, Spring, oval, egg, Easter eggs, Easter…)

I decided to try making the kolache. The kolache are a Czech pastry, but it is so much more. I know what these are because both of my parents are from Texas and we would visit sometimes when I was growing up. There is a solid old Czech community near my dad’s hometown, and he impressed on me the importance and specialness of getting the good kolaches in the tiny town of Snook when passing through. (Mom, Dad, kolaches, fruit, wildflowers, jewel tone colors…) It happened that my mom just went on a little road trip to see the wildflowers, and she sent a few pics. And, I just happened to work a catering job at Lincoln Center for the new play “Ann”, abut Ann Richards, the former governor of Texas. To add to the Texan reminders, large swaths of Brooklyn were just looking towards or went to Austin for the South by Southwest music festival. (Ann Richards gig, SXSW, Texas, New York, Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Poland, Eastern Europe, Czech Republic…)

I figured that the Tall Pole might have some awareness of this pastry, because many eastern European traditions carry a level of crossover, like poppy seeds. (Traditions, poppy seeds…) The Pole was not really sure, but was not opposed to my investigation, sweet-toothed as he is. I turned to the Eastern European Food section of About.com, an excellent resource, and found the related Polish kolaczki, which was interesting. But this was not the type I was going for, which led me to the obvious next stop: awesome food blog Homesick Texan written by Lisa Fain (who also has a great cookbook). Of course she did a post on kolaches. And weirdly enough she had posted in March of 2007, leading me to wonder about kolaches and springtime. (…food blogs, springtime, traditions, New York…) Her post is wonderful, and I can only add a slightly different angle, and also a bit more sugar, as the kolaches I remember are a bit sweeter than her recipe. I also left off the sprinkled topping. (Hers is adapted from Texas Monthly and the Houston Chronicle, mine is adapted from hers.)

1 packet active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

1.2 cup sugar

3 cups AP flour

2 large eggs

3/4 cups melted butter

1 tsp salt

fillings at your discretion

Photo from mom.

Prepare your starter. Combine sugar, yeast, 1 cup of flour (whisk) and then milk

Cover and let it double in size and get foamy.

Mix together melted butter, salt and eggs

The starter has become foamy! Mix the butter/egg mixture into this.

Then mix in flour, a 1/2 cup at a time.

Knead ten minutes. So fun. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise one hour.

Look at that! I’m always impressed by yeast.

Pull off pieces and roll into egg-sized balls…

Flatten into disks and brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise another half hour.

Prepare your fillings. I chose mine based on tradition and color variety. There are several Polish pastries I’ve seen in Greenpoint that utilize this chocolaty looking (not chocolate) paste. With some investigation and many questions directed at the Tall Pole (who probably never imagined he would field so many) I found that this ingredient in Polish is called masa makowa, or poppy seed butter, and usually contains almonds and sugar. One can make this easily, but to save time, and invest in some authenticity, I braved the crazy Easter line of the Polish deli to grab some. It’s quite good. I also got some crumbly farmer’s cheese

The fillings: strawberry, sour cherry, orange ginger, farmer’s cheese (with maple syrup drizzle, my one liberty), and poppy seed paste. Obviously you could (should?) make these too, but for maximum variety I used high quality, few ingredient jams. In the future I think I would just make my favorite or be more experimental, but I wanted to tap into tradition, not expand on it just yet.

Make a decent indentation with your fingers and spoon in the filling.

Bake at 375 for 13 minutes. Brush them with melted butter (why not?) when they come out. Let them cool a bit and savor this new rite of spring.

The Boy and I recently joined a CSF (Community Supported Fishery), on the recommendation of former Dish Jess who, with her husband, runs Fair Share CSF in San Francisco.  I’m bummed we can’t support her business but we’ve fallen in love with the Village Fishmonger! Once a week we get a small bundle of fish, anything from Yellowfin tuna, to monkfish, to trout, to clams.  As adventurous eaters and pretty capable cooks, we love the challenge of working with a surprise ingredient every Monday.  It’s like our very own episode of Chopped.

I like ceviche but this is my first time making it at home, in part because I’ve never before had access to a seafood source that I trusted enough to go raw.  But week-after-week of beautiful fish convinced us to take the leap – and I’m still very much alive to tell the tale.

This simple recipe is pretty free form, and you can substitute any of the ingredients for others, if you prefer – lemons for lime, cilantro for parsley, etc.  However, if you’re going to use another fish, do a little research.  Fluke can (and should) be tossed in the marinade and then served almost immediately; if you let it soak in acids too long, it will get tough.  However, if you use raw shrimp, for instance, you’ll need to let it sit overnight before serving to get the texture right.

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

2 medium fluke filets, sushi grade

½ ripe avocado, diced

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 2 blood oranges

Salt

Oregano

Fresh jalapeno slices

Chopped scallion

Sliced radish

Chopped parsley

Olive oil

Sea salt

Make your marinade.  In a large bowl, combine juices, salt, a pinch or two of oregano, some jalapeno slices (to taste), some scallion – and anything else your heart desires.  Taste it to make sure the salt levels are right and it’s something you want to eat.

Let stand for about 15 minutes so that flavors combine.

Just before you’re ready to serve, slice your fluke into bite-sized pieces.  If there’s a little lag time between slicing and serving, put it back in the fridge – you want the fish as cold as possible.

When you’re ready to eat, toss the fish and avocado in the marinade, stirring to combine.  Let stand for 3-4 minutes so the flavors soak in, then plate, garnishing with scallion, radish, parsley, a sprinkle of olive oil and some sea salt.

Pinch a Pisces!
…Or maybe make them some ice cream instead?

March marks my birthday month and to celebrate like any sweet-toothed Pisces should, I gathered my nearest & dearest round for some cones & cocktails.  I’d tried my hand at this recipe the weekend prior, but on my 31^st, I wondered if the wisdom of this new prime number might perhaps enable me to make a more sophisticated batch…?

I was absolutely spot on, and my second try absolutely bested my first.

Did you know Pisces are apparently very intuitive?

Ingredients:

2c whole milk

2c heavy cream

6 blood oranges: 4tbs zest & 1c juice

6 large egg yolks

¾ c sugar

In a small pot, place milk & cream over low heat.  Add 3tbs zest, whisking to incorporate. Allow liquid to come to temp slowly, letting the zest impart its delicious flavor.

Put yolks in a small bowl next to the pot on the stove. When milk/cream is hot enough, (just before boiling), add juice & sugar to yolks.

Whisk vigorously to incorporate. Use a spouted receptacle and scoop up approx. 1c of hot liquid. Pour liquid in a slow and steady stream into the yolk mixture while SIMULTANEOUSLY whisking like hell. Once the yolks have been tempered, (that’s what that last move is called), dump that mixture back into the pot. Using a wooden spoon, stir slowly while custard continues to cook over low heat. Prepare an ice bath with a glass or metal bowl nested on top. The custard will eventually begin to thicken considerably, which means the yolks have been cooked properly (don’t raise the heat much—that could result in an overly eggy-flavored ice cream. Patience is a virtue that this Piscean dish barely has. If I can wait it out, you can too!).

Once the custard has thickened, immediately pour it through a fine strainer and into the bowl in the ice bath. This will strain out the zest—we’ll add a bit of fresh stuff later. Stir gently to cool. Once the custard has come down in temp, place it in the fridge for a good 5-6 hours, or overnight.

Once you’re ready to churn, get your ice cream making apparatus ready. Before pouring the custard in, buzz the liquid with an immersion blender if you have one, (if not, pour it into a well sealed container and shake it like mad). After 20-25 mins of churning, your ice cream should be close to ready. At this point, with the machine still running, sprinkle in the remaining 1tbsp of fresh zest for a pop of color and an added zip of flavor. Store in a freezer friendly container once it’s finished. I usually allow the ice cream to sit in the freezer for another few hours before serving.

Scoop into sugar cones and dole out to your guests during your next social gathering!

It sometimes works out in the land of Saucy Little Dish that we dishes have the same thing in mind.  Last week Deanna posted her quinoa recipe and simultaneously I had quinoa on the brain when I came across this recipe for a quinoa bake in the New york Times.  Quinoa is classified as a pseudo-cereal rather than a true cereal, or grain so I decided to make it pseudo-healthy and bake it into a gratin.  Who doesn’t love a delicious cheesy gratin anyway??  Plus I was just bringing the side dish; my good friend was making us the healthy main dish of fish and asparagus to accompany my quinoa creation.

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 plump garlic cloves, minced

4 cups cooked quinoa, (1 cup uncooked)

2 large eggs

3 ounces Sharp white cheddar cheese, grated (3/4 cup)

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and start out making your quinoa as instructed (1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water).  I added chicken broth instead of water for added flavor.  While the quinoa is cooking, prep your ingredients and wash the spinach.  Leave a little of the moisture on the spinach and heat in batches in a large skillet over medium heat.  Once the spinach is wilted let it cool or rinse with cold water, squeeze out the excess water, chop and set side.

Next you will want to heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add in your onion and cook until soft.  Add in the garlic and cook for approximately 1 minute before adding in the chopped spinach.  Add salt and pepper and set aside.

Next beat the eggs in a large bowl and add in the sage, spinach mixture and the cheddar cheese and mix well.  Pour into your gratin dish (aka baking dish) and smooth out.  Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top, drizzle a little olive oil and bake until golden brown.  Approximately 30 minutes.  I prefer the top a little crunchy so I left it in a little longer.

End result: crunchy, cheesy, yummy.

*The original recipe called for Gruyère, I chose to use sharp white cheddar instead.

I’ve never actually made quinoa before this recipe. I’ve always been a rice and couscous kind of girl but something about quinoa really intrigues me. Quinoa is appreciated for its nutritional value (14% protein!) and considered easy to digest. Those two things are very important to me in my diet so I decided to give it a try. If you don’t season it well it could be very bland, much like couscous. I find this grain so interesting because it can be made for so many different things. Plenty can be put into it and made as a whole meal, or it can be enjoyed as a side dish. For this recipe, I made a sweet quinoa side dish!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

½ cup sliced or chopped almonds

1 cup chicken broth

1 and ½ hot water

½ tsp salt

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

½ cup dried cranberries

First, over medium heat, I toasted the almonds. Make sure that you stir continuously or they’re likely to burn. When the almonds turn golden brown add the quinoa into the pan. Stir for a few more minutes until the quinoa begins to darken.

Transfer the toasted quinoa and almonds into a saucepan and add the water, chicken broth, salt, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and cranberries. Bring to a boil, simmer, and then cover for the next 20-25 minutes. When the quinoa has consumed all the liquids, fluff it with a fork. Don’t forget to take out the cinnamon stick and bay leaf! No one wants to chew on those…

Let the quinoa sit for 5 minutes before serving and then ENJOY!

Nalewka (Pronounced Nah-Lef-Kah) is a Polish cordial or aged homemade alcoholic tincture. This variety happens to be lemon and honey but you could make it with nearly anything. It is meant to be sipped and is even regarded as having a medicinal purpose; whether to calm the stomach or make you sleep soundly (heh). I got curious about this concoction when my favorite tall Pole described it to me as a popular traditional project. Then messages had to be sent, many questions asked, and a loose recipe transcribed and then tested. Looking through a variety of recipes, I would say this is a Polish version of Limoncello, perhaps. I now want to make a cherry and a ginger one. You know, for medicinal purposes.

1 bottle Spirytus (This is grain alcohol which is scary stuff. One reason this is so easy to make is that you can dilute the alcohol as much as you choose, and a bit at a time) Start with this amount and it will go quite far.

10 lemons, juiced. (The Pole noted to keep at least a seed or two, and as much pulp as possible, as this is a homemade product and this helps to signify this.)

water (You must do this to taste. We started with 1:1, but this was too strong, so we added 200 more ml. (When you make this drink you have to use the metric system.)

a bit more than 1/2 cup honey. (Also to taste)

Pour the honey and a bit of water into a saucepan and heat, so the honey dissolves into the water. Let this cool a bit or put it in an ice bath. Mix all of the ingredients, pour into bottles, shake, and store in the freezer. Serve in tiny glasses and sip.