Texas potato salad

Monday was Memorial Day in the U.S., when we remember the men and women who died serving in the US armed forces. Barbequing with family and friends is one of the big traditions. It was funny, because I stopped at a few stores (this is the U.S., so of course every store is open despite it being a federal holiday) and asked the clerks when they were getting out. All three said hopefully in time for the family barbeque! So, for my family barbeque, I volunteered to make the side dishes and dessert and found this recipe in this month's "Cook's Country." Have I mentioned how much I love this magazine? Almost as much as Justin loved this potato salad!

Ingredients

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 small red onion
2 jalapeno chiles (1 sliced into thin rings, the other stemmed, seeded, and minced)
3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
6 tbsp mayonnaise (I used low fat)
6 tbsp yellow mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 large hard-cooked eggs, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 celery ribs, minced

Directions

1) Combine vinegar, sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and mustard seeds in bowl and microwave until steaming, about 2 minutes. Whisk until sugar and salt are dissolved. Add onion and jalapenos and set aside until cool, 15-20 minutes. Strain onion and jalapenos through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl.
2) Meanwhile, combine potatoes, 8 cups water, and 1 tbsp salt in Dutch oven and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are just tender, 10-15 minutes. (This is a good time to hard boil the eggs if you haven't already.)
3) Drain potatoes thoroughly, then transfer to large bowl. Drizzle 2 tbsp reserved vinegar mixture over hot potatoes and toss gently until evenly coated. (Discard remaining vinegar mixture or keep for another recipe.) Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through chilling.
4) Whisk mayonnaise, mustard, 1/2 tsp pepper, and cayenne together in bowl until combined. Add mayonnaise mixture, pickled vegetables, eggs, and celery to potatoes and stir gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate to let flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Palak paneer

Palak paneer is perhaps the first Indian dish I ever tasted. I love creamed spinach, so pivoting to this dish was easy. After failing to find a good recipe for the past 10 years, I (finally!) stumbled across this gem. I've made it twice in the past two months, once for Easter (something for the vegetarians, you know) and again this week when I brought food over to new parents who also happen to be vegetarians. Now, don't let my seemingly one-sided use of this dish and lazy blog behavior dissuade you. It is awesome and easy to make! I might be going out on a limb here, but I even think that Jennifer's husband, who won't sit down at the dinner table unless there is some meaty thing for him to eat, might consider relaxing his dinnertime standards if this was on the menu.
Original recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/palak-paneer-indian-fresh-spinach-with-paneer-cheese-25348?oc=linkback

Ingredients

2 (5 ounce) bags baby spinach
1 large onion
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped tomato
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces paneer cheese, cut into cubes (I substituted queso blanco, since I couldn't find firm paneer)
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half and half and it tasted great)

Directions

1) Cut spinach into shreds and cook in 3 tablespoons water until tender; remove from heat and reserve water.
2) Saute onion, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger in 1-2 tablespoons ghee or oil until onion is translucent. Add garlic and chopped tomatoes, and reduce heat. Cook briefly and slowly blend in yogurt a little at a time to prevent curdling.
3) Add coriander, garam masala, paprika, and salt, mixing well. Add cooked spinach with liquid, cover and simmer on low heat for approximately 20-30 minutes.
4) Remove from heat. Take half of spinach mixture and puree in food processor or blender,  return to mixture, and stir. Slowly stir in heavy cream, and heat through on low heat. Add paneer cubes and serve.

I promise to add pictures the next time I make this!

Becky's rhubarb crisp

If you're from the Midwest like me, you've grown up on rhubarb. My Mom had some in her garden and I remember a time when I gave a bunch to a friend, but left one lone stalk for her. Man was she mad! However, in NC you're much more likely to find collard greens and okra in your local grocery store. A cousin of mine missed rhubarb so much that my great-grandmother mailed him some rhubarb from her garden. This was in the 1980's and I'm sad to say that things haven't improved a lot in the interim. In fact, a few years ago I contemplated making a rhubarb dessert for some outing since I found some in the local grocery store. I was even more motivated when I learned that Justin had never sampled rhubarb. The horror! The likelihood of him ever tasting it didn't improve much when I described the taste as "a sweet celery." (It's more like sweet and sour celery!) However, he begrudgingly sampled a taste and I swear that most of it was gone the next day.
Anyways, this is a very easy recipe from my mom's friend Becky. If you're lucky to find rhubarb in the grocery store, give it a try. You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients

1 cup flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
12 cup melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
4 cups cut rhubarb
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1) Mix flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon together and press ~75% of it in a greased 8X8 pan. Top with rhubarb.
2) Cook white sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla until thick, stirring often. Pour over rhubarb. Add remaining topping. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Fragrant chicken curry

I don't know why I choose Thai/coconut as the theme of my Mother's Day celebration with the in-laws last week, but I'm glad that I did. Justin didn't care what I made as long as  (1) the kitchen wasn't messy afterwards and (2) the menu didn't involve me staying in the kitchen for hours on end. I think he was a bit surprised that I actually found something that met both criteria!

Like most of my cookbooks, "The Cook's Encyclopedia of Thai Cooking" has sat on my shelf for years collecting dust. While I opened it occasionally to gaze at the beautiful pictures, I never got around to making any of the dishes. That was A MISTAKE. One thing I can say about Thai food is that it is delicious, very easy to make, and fast! Even my very picky father-in-law said that he couldn't imagine having a better meal at a restaurant in the area, which made my heart go pitter patter. The hardest thing about this recipe was locating some of the ingredients, although I'm always down for a trip to an international grocery store where I can relax my "Christy style" mode of shopping (i.e. getting in and out as fast as possible) and browse a bit. Anyways, enjoy! Serves four.

Ingredients 

3 tbsp oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste (I suggest doing this to taste. I used ~ 2 tbsp)
4 cups coconut milk
2 lemon grass stalks, coarsely chopped
6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 cooked chicken
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Kaffir lime leaves, shredded, toasted coconut, and fresh cilantro to garnish
Boiled rice
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until soft. Stir in the red curry paste. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, then add the lemon grass, lime leaves, yogurt, and apricot jam. Stir well. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Transfer the sauce to ta food processor or blender and process to a smooth puree, then strain it back into the rinsed-out pan, pressing as much of the pureed mixture as possible through the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside while you prepare the chicken. (I simmered the sauce a bit longer with the top off (an additional ~20 minutes) to thicken it up a bit more.
3.  Remove the skin from the chicken, slice the meat off the bones, and cut it into bitesize pieces. Add to the sauce.
4. Bring the sauce back to simmering. Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Garnish and serve with rice.

Piña Colada Cake

 It's Mother's Day tomorrow and I am running around trying to get things together for the arrival of my in-laws. When I went to the ABC store (the state-run booze vendor), I told the check out lady that I was buying a fifth of coconut rum for my mother in-law's Mother's Day cake, which *hopefully* will go well with the Thai-themed meal. She suggested that I double (or triple) the alcohol content to help me get through tomorrow, which was  an odd suggestion because (1) I'm obviously pregnant and (2) my in-laws are delightful, non-intrusive people. (Although I did consider upping the alcohol content because there are no teetotalers in our family!)

This recipe came from a really neat cookbook called "Booze Cakes" that I borrowed from Jennifer. It has lots of fun stuff, like cocktail cakes, cake shots (I am bringing these to a party after bebeh is born so I can partake too), classic booze cakes, and homemade booze recipes. If you buy it, make sure to try the Lane Cake. Jennifer made it for Easter and it was amazing.

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup coconut rum
1/2 cup sweetened cream of coconut
4 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream

Frosting

2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sweetened cream of coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut rum
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Finishing

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained well (I used the back of a spoon to squeeze out more liquid, which was a mistake. Just set in a strainer for 10 minutes.)
1 (10-oz) package sweetened flaked coconut, toasted (I only had 7 oz, which was plenty)
A few maraschino cherries

Directions

1- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans
2 - In a mixing bowl beat butter, sugar, coconut rum, and cream of coconut (for the cake) 3-5 minutes or until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and sour cream. Mix in the flour and milk mixtures in three alternating additions.
3 - Pour batter into pans and bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of each pan comes out clean. (I cooked my cakes for 10 extra minutes.) Let cool.
4 - While cakes are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, cream of coconut, vanilla, and coconut rum until light and fluffy. Beat in confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate until cakes are cooled. (If you don't refrigerate, it will be too runny to frost.)
5 - Place one cake layer on a serving plate and top with frosting. Add the crushed pineapple and half the toasted coconut. Place second cake layer on top. Spread the rest of the frosting over the cake and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Strawberry Shortcake Bars

 My poor work colleagues. They don't know how much I use them. Now, I'm just kidding about this, kind of... I often want to make something delicious, but am afraid of the ramifications of having an entire cake, batch of cookies etc. sitting around the house. My fear of sweets is further heightened by a recent visit to the doctor, where I was told that I've gained too much weight so far in my pregnancy. So disheartening! Anyways, work is the perfect antidote. People are always happy to see a sweet treat sitting in the common area. It is even better now that my new office is far away from said common area!

Anyways, I made these strawberry shortcake bars for a work party last week and they were quite the hit. Super easy and quite cute to look at. Face it, you need to go to a work party soon and these bars should be your date! Plus, strawberries are in season and they taste best now!

Original recipe found here: http://divascancook.com/2012/06/strawberry-shortcake-recipe-bars-easy-homemade.html

Ingredients

Butter-vanilla cake

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pint strawberries

Cream layer:

8 oz cream cheese, softened (I was impatient and didn't wait long enough. The results were good, but not as smooth as I would have liked.)

¼ – ½ cup powdered sugar

8 oz frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Instructions

  Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in eggs, baking powder and salt. Alternate between adding in the flour and milk, beating after each addition. Beat until all ingredients are combined. Stir in vanilla extract.
2. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Pour batter evenly into the dish. Bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not over bake. Cake will be flat and light in color. Let cool completely. Set aside.
3. Dice strawberries. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar and frozen whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top of cooled cake.
5. Top with fresh, diced strawberries.
6. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Store in the refrigerator.