Red Wine Chocolate Cake

While making this, I tasted the batter and was surprised how good it was - the best batter I've ever tasted. So it seemed a good sign that the cake in baked form would be just as tasty. I didn't cook it quite long enough, so it ended up being a little gloppy in the middle. But despite the lack of perfect texture, the taste was phenomenal! A 5 star recipe, easily. This was shared among 7 and finished in one night. Will definitely make this again for any adult occasion. The original recipe is from smittenkitchen.

• 6 T butter, room temperature
• 3/4 c brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 3/4 c red wine (I used Bin 555 wyndham estate shiraz)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 c + 1 T flour
• 1/2 c Dutch cocoa
• 1/8 t soda
• 1/2 t powder
• 1/4 t table salt
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• Decoration: confectioner's sugar

1. Line the bottom of a 9" cake pan with parchment butter. Lightly butter the paper and the sides of the pan. It's a shallow cake, so no need to go very high.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter on medium speed, until smooth.
3. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy (3 min).
4. Add the eggs and beat well.
5. Beat in the wine and vanilla.
6. Sift the flour, cocoa, soda, powder, cinnamon and salt right over the batter. Beat lightly until 3/4 combined. Then use spatula to fold the rest of the batter. 
7. Spread evenly in pan.
8. Bake at 325F for 25 to 30 minutes. 
• Note: The original recipe says "The top of the cake should be shiny and smooth, like a puddle of chocolate." At 25 minutes, it looked like a puddle, but I believe it still could have used the extra 5 minutes - maybe then it would have still looked puddle like. 
9. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.
10. Flip onto plate and continue to cool.
11. Just before serving, sift some confectioner's sugar decoratively over top. Serve with remaining wine.

Notes

11/26/11 Made this again with another Shiraz (McGuigan Black Label). Not as good as the first time in terms of flavor, but I did bake it the full 30 minutes and it rose more and was fully cooked in the center.

Tomatillo Sauce

Got a container of organic tomatillos and made this tasty sauce for chicken. Turned out very limey -- maybe a little less next time. Increase jalapenos or add some seeds for more heat.

• 10 tomatillos, husks removed, halved
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• salt

1. Pulse until chunky. Serve fresh or cook with chicken (see below).

• oil
• 3 lbs chicken (next time just 1.5 lbs)
• 1.5 T oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 onion
• Monterey jack cheese

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add chicken with oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. 
3. Stir until chicken is lightly browned.
4. Stir in the onion. Cover and reduce heat to low.
5. Prepare tomatillo salsa. Add half. Simmer for 30-40 min.
6. Serve over rice with remaining fresh salsa and shredded cheese.

Zucchini Cookie Sandwiches

everybody enjoyed these at a potluck today (along with a chicken salad). I cut the filling down to be less sweet and also only enough to sandwich some of the cookies. Inspired by marthastewart, but adjusted to reduce the amount of filling and sugar/butter ratio to cream cheese in said filling.

• 1 c flour
• 1 1/4 t cinnamon
• dash of cloves
• dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 t soda
• 1/2 t powder
• 1/4 t coarse salt
• 1 1/4 sticks butter, room temp; divided
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 c finely grated zucchini (1 zuc)
• 1 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 c confectioners sugar, sifted

1. Combine flour, spices, rising agents and salt into a small bowl.
2. Mix 1 stick of butter and the sugars.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Combine in flour mixture.
5. Mix in zucchini, oats and walnuts.
6. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. 
7. Drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes.
8. Let cool on wire rack.
9. For sandwich filling, combine 1/4 stick butter, cream cheese and the sifted icing sugar. Spread filling on a cookie and sandwich with another. Repeat. Refrigerate cookies.

Spinach side dish

Whipped this up in no time.

• 1 package frozen spinach, nuked for 2 min to defrost a bit
• 2 T chopped garlic
• 1 inch ginger, chopped
• 1 t cumin (ran out of whole cumin)
• canola oil
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t ground coriander
• 2 t tomato sauce (original: puree)
• 2 T slow-cooker-dahl

1. Heat garlic, ginger and cumin in oil over medium heat.
2. Add spinach and turmeric. Stir for 5 minutes.
3. Add coriander, tomato sauce and slow-cooker-dahl. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Salt to taste.

Slow Cooker Dal

Inspired by a post on saltandpaprika I gave a crack at dal in the slow cooker. Next time I wouldn't mix in the two types of dal - they cooked at different rates - one became mush and the other needed more cooking. Or maybe my yellow dal was too old. It was beautiful in color though, especially with a side of spinach. Used madras curry powder from kensington market.
12/19/12 Made this with 2 c red lentils and a can of whole tomatoes (that I diced myself, and then strained the seeds out of the juice). Used crushed red pepper in place of chili flakes.  Turned out delicious! Used the east indian curry powder from kensington market. Ate with mixed rice and roasted pumpkin.

• 1.5 c red lentils
• 3/4 c yellow dal
• 2 1/4 c water (equal to cups of dal)
• 2 T minced garlic
• thumb size of fresh ginger, grated or chopped
• 2 T canola
• 1/2 t chili powder
• 1/4 t chili flakes
• 1 t powdered cumin
• 1 t dried cilantro
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1 t curry powder
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carrot, chopped

1. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, ginger, oil and spices. Microwave 30-40 seconds.
2. Place mixture in bottom of slow cooker. Add lentils, water, coconut milk, tomatoes, cinnamon, bay leaf, and carrots.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (longer for yellow dahl, shorter for red dahl). [Or high for 2.5-3 hours.]
4. Serve with basmati rice (and a spinach dish for additional color).

Feb 2013: Tried a variation on the recipe, using a very rich can of coconut milk (55% fat) and curry powder and more carrots. Liked this one better.

• 2 cl garlic, minced
• 1 T ginger, diced
• 2 t curry powder (east indian from Kensington spice shop)
• 1/2 t chili flakes
• 2 T canola oil
• 2 c red lentils, rinsed
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 1 can coconut milk, creamiest you can find
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 t salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 c water

1. Mix the curry powder, chili flakes, garlic and ginger with the oil. Microwave for about 30 seconds (or until fragrant). 
2. In the slow cooker, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour the oil mixture over the top and mix well.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 2.5-3 hours.
4. Serve with rice. Leftovers keep well in fridge or freezer.

Weekend Chicken

made the house smell wonderful all day. this one's from thetastetraveller. the meat just fell off the bone.

• 10 pack of chicken drumsticks
• 1 bulb of garlic, peeled
• 1 T dried basil
• 1 T dried oregano
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• pepper
• 1/2 c water + 1/3 t Better Than Bouillon

1. Place chicken in slow cooker with garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and pepper. 
2. Stir to coat.
3. Pour in broth.
4. Cook on low for 8 hours (up to 10).
5. Serve with rice and veges.

Notes

• breasts cook faster
• fry drumsticks/thighs in oil before placing in slow cooker.
• made with frozen drumsticks and cooked for 9 hours.

Mushroom Risotto

My first attempt at risotto and it was delicious! Used the recipe from allrecipes.com. The creaminess comes mostly from the starch in the rice (the cheese adds a little more).

Original *****

• 1 lb white mushrooms
• 3 portobello mushrooms (1 lb)
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1.5 c arborio rice
• 1/2 c dry white wine (like sauvignon blanc)
• 6 c chicken broth (Better than Bouillon + water), divided
• 3 T butter
• 1/3 c fresh parmesan, grated
• pepper

1. Thinly slice the mushrooms. Dice the shallots. [Optional: garlic]
2. In a saucepan, heat the broth over low heat (heat 5 on electric stove). [This should be hot but not boiling.]
3. In a large saucepan, heat 2 T oil over medium-high heat (heat 7 on electric stove). Add mushrooms. Stir until soft (3-6 minutes). Set aside mushrooms with liquid.
4. Heat 1 T oil. Add the shallots. Cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the rice. Stir to coat with oil.
6. After the rice turns a pale golden color (2 minutes), pour in wine, stirring CONSTANTLY until fully absorbed.
7. Add 1/2 c of broth and stir CONSTANTLY until absorbed (~ 2 min and mixture will be boiling). Repeat. This will take about 20 minutes...rice should be al dente.
8. Remove from heat and stir in mushrooms, butter, parmesan and pepper.
9. Ready to eat immediately. Serves 6.

Notes

• stir constantly to keep from sticking to pan
• many people like to add garlic with the shallots.
• This is a super mushroom dish - you can use just half a pound of each and still enjoy it.
• can double the wine (and reduce the broth)
• Add 3 T chopped chives in with the parmesan.
• Add lime juice at the end.
• For vegetarian, use vegetable stock.

2/14/15 Used 4 portabellos, 9 oz white mushrooms, low sodium chicken broth, freshly grated baby parmesan and served with peas. Was super-mushroomy.

Slow Cooker Risotto ***

September 2012 Tried the slow cooker version, in the hopes of it being easier. Since still had to precook and turned out a bit mushy, don't think it went by any easier. Though the timing could be more convenient since you can step away for 1.5 hour while it's cooking. 

1 t olive oil
1/2 c diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 portobello mushrooms (or other variety of mushroom)
2 c chicken broth
2 c Arborio rice
2 c water (I had to add more)
1/2 c white wine
1/2 t sea salt

1 c frozen peas
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 T butter

1. Saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms in oil until soft (4-5 min).
2. Stir in 1/2 c broth and the rice and cook until liquid is fully absorbed (~5 min).
3. Transfer to 4 qt slow cooker. Add the water, wine, salt and remaining broth. 
4. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1.5-2 hours, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. If the rice is dry, add more water.
5. Add the peas and cook until heated through. (Note: at this point I stirred it which may have been a mistake - it went to mush). 
6. Stir in the parmesan and butter.