feta & raisin dip

That George Michael song: "Too Funky" is playing in my head as I write this. How ironic is that? OK, so this is a funky dish, but it's good-- I mean really good. The feta cheese melded great with the sweetness of the raisins and sun dried tomatoes. Kevin and Peter keep making these wonderful feta dips & salads, so naturally I had to follow with my own take. Plus I'm a huge fan of feta cheese, so salty and rich. Those chips you see in the photo are from Whole Foods, it's deep fried tortillas. You can make them at home if you want, I was lazy and picked up a bag. They go wonderfully with this dip. I think corn chips might work with this or even Ritz cracker, or nothing.
Thank you my sweet friends for all the birthday wishes. My b-day was good, I got spoiled, ate way too much cake(s) <---see the plural oh yeah.

feta & raisin dip
print recipe

6 ounces kalamata olives, pitted & diced
Sun dried tomatoes in oil; drained & diced (about 3 ounces +/-)
2 green onions (tops only), thinly sliced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Handful of raisins (golden is best)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 TB +/-
Salt & pepper

Combine the olives, sun dried tomatoes, onions, lemon juice, olive oil, raisin, black pepper, except feta. Check, taste, and see if you need more lemon juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper. Then gently stir in the crumbled feta cheese.

Note: you can mold it into a ceramic dish, chill for a bit, then place onto dip plate. Serve with crackers (not too salty) or serve with fried tortilla chips.

bucatini all’amatriciana

One of my favorite pasta dishes of all. I've seen this made several ways in food blogger-land and in restaurants, and I even have my own take on it. I use a basic recipe from mario batali at babbo. Mario has some of the most perfect Italian dishes ever; yes I know he's Italian, but he truly has the perfect touch on Italian cuisine. Have you ever been to babbo in nyc? You must go, if you are an avid Italian-foodie. They have this dish called " sweet potato lune with sage and amaretti" that is, the oh, how do I describe it in words for you? Heaven, heavenly, perfect pairing of pasta, sweet potato and a touch of amaretti? And before I forget, this is important, mario batali has the best basic tomato sauce I've ever come across. I make it all the time when I want a fresh tasting tomato sauce. That same sauce is used in this recipe and is a perfect sauce for making large batches and freezing and/or canning; you can use it on almost all of your Italian red sauce recipes. Something about his tomato sauce is just right: the right balance in acidity with sweet. Try it sometime, I think you might grow to like it as I have done over the decade, plus it's very easy for anyone just starting out in cooking Italian cuisine.

What I do to this recipe, which can be found here, I add chopped roasted red peppers to this right after I sauteed the red onions. I've always like the extra taste of the roasted peppers. If you can find guanciale please use it; if not then pancetta will do. Please note my changes.

Bucatini all’amatriciana
From babbo

¾ pound guanciale, or pancetta, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves
1 red onion medium size, halved & sliced ½-inch thick
1 roasted red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 ½ teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 ½ cups basic tomato sauce (I used 1 cup, see below for recipe)
1 pound bucatini
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
Pecorino Romano, for grating

Being 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
Place the guanciale slices in a 12- to 14-inch sauté pan in a single layer and cook over medium-low heat until most of the fat has been rendered from the meat, turning occasionally.
Remove the meat to a plate lined with paper towels and discard half the fat (I never discard the fat, only a 1/4 of it; you need some of the fat for flavor), leaving enough to coat the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes.
Return the guanciale to the pan with the vegetables, and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until the onions, garlic and guanciale are light golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, add the tomato sauce, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Cook the bucatini in the boiling water according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the simmering sauce. Add the parsley leaves, increase the heat to high and toss to coat. Divide the pasta among four warmed pasta bowls. Top with freshly grated Pecorino cheese and serve immediately.

Basic Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot (I use one large carrot), finely shredded
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand & juices reserved
Salt, to taste

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Should make 4 cups.

devil's food cake w/ chunky pb-cream cheese filling topped w/ ganache & salty peanuts

I'm not going to write out a post with these photo's....no one's going to read it.









devil's food cake w/ chunky pb-cream cheese filling topped w/ ganache
print recipe

I used the devil's food cake recipe from here--david lebovitz. Then I made the chunky pb filling (below). Then I used a ganache topping over the cake (below) and topped the cake with salty cocktails peanuts, chopped.

chunky peanut butter-cream cheese filling
8 oz cream cheese, very soft/room temp
½ stick salted butter, at room temp
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
A good pinch of sea salt
a dash of good quality vanilla extract
½ cup smooth peanut butter (not all natural)
handful of salty peanuts, rough chop

In a large bowl use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together. The slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar—don’t forget to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl during mixing. Continue to beat till nice and fluffy, then add in the salt, vanilla extract, and peanut butter. I prefer to fold the peanut butter in by hand then added in the peanuts in.

ganache (so many ways to make this, here's my way)
12 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 TB unsalted butter

For the ganache, melt the chopped chocolate with the heavy cream in a double-boiler. Make sure to stir occasionally until fully melted. Once melted, take off the heat and add in the butter. Make sure to whisk this up good. The better you whisk the glossier and smoother the ganache. I waited about an hour and a half for it to cool to pour onto cake.
And just so you know, ganache keeps very well in the fridge overnight if covered very well. You must let it come to room temp before using and whisk it, A LOT.

assemble:
Bake the cake using the recipe link above. Let cakes cool in pans. Then once cooled use pb filling and spread on one layer of cake, be sure not to let the filling get too close to the edges. Once done filling, place the other cake on top. Pour on the ganache, then sprinkle with roughly chopped salty peanuts (optional but wonderful) or sprinkle whatever you wish on top.

**Note: I did a double layer of ganache; did one layer, let it cooled/harden then another layer to kick it up another notch.

sweet potato fries w/ caramelized onion-horsey dip

Are you tired of the sweet potato and carmelized onion themes? No? Cool. Seriously, ask any foodie out there, isn't it always all about the sauce, the dip, marinade, the drippings, etc..? Truth be told I am one of those people that when in a restaurant or in my own home I always want extra sauce; have no problem asking for extra sauce on the side. And you know it's nice to meet other foodies out there that share my same affinity for 'extra sauce'. Since I've started blogging, I've noticed and adore how many foodies out there that love extra sauce. In my last post, banana custard tarlettes, I talked about how as a young child I loved my extra sauce--I still do. A good sauce that has depth of flavor, as well as many flavors mingling inside, not just one or two, but many flavors in the beginning of the bite and at the end of the bite. This dip is one I created from my deep love for truly good caramelized onions. You know the kind of caramelized onions that take hours to caramelize and develop? I wanted to try and incorporate these caramelized onions into a spicy horsey creamy dip. I mean come on, caramelized onions and horsey sauce--Onwards I say! This also has fire/heat to it and it has that horsey heat to it as well (double the fun). Of course I need a vehicle to eat this dip, I mean you could use your fingers, but the sweetness of the sweet potato fries does add a really nice contrast to the two types of heat in the dip. I would imagine this dip would taste good with potato chips (might be kind of salty and hide the deep heat), but I prefer the sweetness of the sweet potato fries. Carrots or cukes would go very well with this.

Oh BACON, baaaaaconnn should be added to this! Quick write that down!

caramelized onion & horsey dip
print recipe

¼ cup mayo (Hellmans)
¼ cup sour cream
Couple pinches of cayenne pepper
Couple pinches of chili powder
3 TB or more of horsey sauce
3-4 dashes of hot sauce
2 TB of catsup
3 TB caramelized onions

Mix all together. You might want to puree the caramelized onions if you don't want chunks in the sauce--up to you. Please let this chill at least 3 hours before serving so all the flavors meld nicely together and get all nice and happy.
And add some real, crisp bacon chunks to this; I must try that next time.

hamburg-cheddar-onion pizza w/ fig jam

I seriously need to open my own pizza shop. :::ring ring::: "Hello Vanilla Sugar Pizza House may I take your order?" That doesn't have a pizza ring to it does it?


But seriously my constant craving for strange and unusual pizza is never ending.
I would love a big old kitchen with massive brick pizza ovens to test my funky recipes.
Would you all come? Would you even go so far to try the funkiest of funkiest that I create?
Give me your funkiest pizza that you would love to try?
What toppings? What sauce? What kind of dough?
You need to try that multi-grain pizza dough from Whole Foods. It's so chewy, bakes up nice and crisp on the edges, with a hint of chewy in the middle.
But the key is to have a scorching hot oven to bake.  The faster you bake the multi-grain dough the better it tastes and the better the texture too.

cheddar-hamburg-onion pizza w/ fig jam
print recipe

your favorite pizza dough recipe or use this
sharpcheddar cheese, shredded (don't know if mozza would work here)
3/4 cup +/- caramlized sweet Vidalia onions
cooked hamburg (1 lb. pre-cooked), optional but wonderful
fig jam (see below)
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450/500 degrees. If you have a pizza stone use it, they make all the difference in the world when making a thick hearty pizza like this one.
Top the pizza with a nice layer of the fig jam- get those edges! The jam makes a killer crust.. Not too thick nor too thin. Sprinkle on the shredded aged cheddar cheese, then the hamburg (if using), then the caramelized onions.
Bake till nice and crispy! About 12 +/- minutes. I know it's hard, but let this bad boy rest before cutting into it. Serve with a side of the fig jam for dipping.
Here is my fig jam recipe (below). It's funky, but good. The next time I make this I want to add in some mustard seed--I felt it was missing it.

Fig Jam

1 cup of pureed figs (sweet mission figs-the insides only, not the skins, only puree for a couple pulses)
¾ cup of good balsamic vinegar
1 heaping TB of dark brown sugar
3 TB orange juice
Salt & pepper
1 TB pure vanilla extract
Couple dashes of curry powder
¼ cup caramelized onions

Combine the pureed figs, dark brown sugar, 3 TB of orange juice, and vinegar in a saucepan and simmer over low heat, not boiling, but a tiny bit of bubbling. Simmer until mixture reduces down about halfway of its original mixture--maybe 40 minutes? Keep an eye on this, you don’t want this to burn. At the last 5 minutes of simmering add in the curry, salt & pepper (to taste), caramelized onions, and the pure vanilla extract.
Once it’s reduced down let it cool. When cooled, place in blender and puree. Pour through a sieve/chinois to get out the little funky bits and seeds.