Self Doubt in Recipe Development: Or the story of how I won an iPad

A really beautiful thing happened to me at the end of September. I won second place in a recipe contest. But, wow - it was a big surprise. Especially since it happened right as I thought I was losing my "touch" with regard to recipe development.

The contest was sponsored by Hodgson Mill. It was called "Summer Pastabilities," and it was a project I took on because I was going through a pretty fallow period in the kitchen and I needed something to get my creative juices flowing again.

I can't say the process was easy. In fact, I had a number of moments when I wondered what right I had to be entering any sort of recipe contest. I felt like I'd lost every modicum of inspiration I'd ever had.

All told, the original recipe I created was alright -- though better in theory than in practice. It incorporated myriad end-of-summer ingredients like cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, fresh basil, bacon, and feta cheese. And it was dressed with a lovely lemony dressing. But, there was something about it that just didn't feel right.

It wasn't great. And no matter how many times I went over the recipe in my head, I couldn't think of a way to make it better.

So -- despite the fact that I didn't really have the time or energy to put toward a new recipe --at the very last minute I changed my mind and decided to go with a completely different concept, a Thai-styleshrimp salad with fresh cucumbers, red and yellow sweet peppers, cilantro and a coconut-lime dressing augmented with fish sauce for a bit of umami and a bit of kick from Thai red curry paste.

The recipe took a bit of finessing. But, I finally got it to a stage where I felt like it was "good enough."

So, we got the pasta salad together, shot the photos, and then enjoyed the salad for dinner.

But, by the next day, I was having misgivings about the recipe. Maybe it was too spicy... too limey... not flavorful enough... maybe the slices of cucumber were too big... But, there was no time to give the recipe another round of tweaking, so I sent it off to the judges.

When I received an email that I'd been chosen as a winner, I think I just about fell out of my chair. I was stunned. And thrilled. And really honored. But, despite the awesome news, the self-doubt started to creep back in.

I started to wonder what all the other recipes were like. Maybe they just weren't very good -- or maybe mine just happened to get lucky. That had to be it -- right?

But, as I perused the recipes that had been submitted for the contest, I found myself in a place I've not been for quite a while -- a good place. It was a spot where I really felt honored to be doing something that I really loved and that... maybe... I was even good at. After all, there were a lot of really creative recipes out there. And most of them sounded like they would have been more-than-worthy of placing in the contest.

The moment wasn't about ego. But, it was an affirming moment -- one of those times when you become acutely aware that you are in the right place at the right time... doing the right thing.  I'm sure many of you can relate! Such a great feeling.

The iPad I won came in the mail last week... and every time I look at it, I think about how blessed I am. And how awesome it is to be in the kitchen, doing what I love.

Check out the entire list of entries, including my Bow-Thai Pasta HERE.

©BURP!

Cinco de Mayo: Celebrate with Enchiladas

Cinco de Mayo... it's not Mexican Independence Day (which is September 16).  In fact, it's actually the celebration of an underdog victory against the French at the Battle of Puebla.

Did you know that the holiday isn't even celebrated widely in Mexico?

Nonetheless, we do love a good excuse to celebrate with food.  And so we're hauling out our bottle of tequila and getting ready for a celebration of sorts.   Think of it as a tribute to all the great cuisines of Mexico -- and the cultures and influences that have changed our way of eating here in the U.S. forever.

It seems fitting to offer up a variety of Burp! fare for this event.  So, since enchiladas originated in Mexico, we thought we'd share a round-up of our favorites.  Maybe they'll serve as inspiration for you as you contemplate your own Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Caramelized Onion & Poblano Enchiladas

Goat Cheese Enchiladas with Red Mole

Seafood Enchiladas

King Ranch Casserole ("stacked" enchiladas)

 

©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Adobo Tuna Steaks with WI Cranberry Salsa

Winter meals in Wisconsin often conjure up a particular heaviness.  They're usually rich, calorie-laden dishes that rely on long, slow cooking and plenty of winter-hearty vegetables.  And trust me when I say I don't find anything wrong with that.

But, sometimes I crave something a bit lighter and less laborious.  And, on those evenings, I'm likely to look to frozen fish filets for a quick dinner that's both fast and delicious.  Not local, necessarily -- but definitely nutritious.

Of course, I'm also always on the look-out for seasonings and condiments that really kick up the flavor quotient.  And I get doubly excited when I'm able to source the majority of the ingredients locally.  Case-in-point:  my new-found love for winter salsa.

Now, this is no time to talk about your typical tomato based salsa.  Nope, nope.  Winter tomatoes are decidedly mealy, watery, and not really worth seeking out. But, cranberries!  Now you're talking.

If you thought cranberries were only useful as a sauce or relish served at Thanksgiving time, I'm going to ask you to think again.  These tart little numbers freeze impeccably for up to two years without losing flavor or texture.  So, I always stock up on them while they're on sale and in season during the autumn months.


As one of only three commercially cultivated fruits native to North America, the cranberry has a long history in Wisconsin.  In addition to using cranberries as a food preservative and fabric dye, many Native American tribes believed cranberries were healing agents that could calm the nerves and draw poison from arrow wounds.  By the 1800’s settlers in Berlin, Wisconsin capitalized on the fruits versatility by planting the first commercial cranberry marshes.  Today, Wisconsin alone produces over 60% of the nation’s cranberry crop, with a large emphasis on sustainable growing practices. More info here.

This particular salsa recipe, which makes use of Wisconsin cranberries and winter oranges, was inspired by Peef's Dad, who makes a cranberry orange relish for Thanksgiving that everyone loves.  I decided to take the idea behind his recipe and create a savory salsa that capitalizes on the tartness of the cranberries & the freshness of citrus, while incorporating the decidedly savory flavors of freshly chopped scallions, jalapenos, and cilantro.  Interestingly enough, it turned out to make one of the most flavorful winter salsas I've ever eaten.  In addition to being delicious eaten on a tortilla chip, this salsa is also excellent served alongside pork roast, salmon, or even grilled tofu steaks.

For this particular evening's dinner, we decided to go with a couple of sustainably raised tuna steaks for our meal.  Asimple sprinkling of adobo seasoning is all these lovely steaks needed to give them a ton of flavor before grilling on our trust Calphalon grill pan.

The finished steaks were perfectly grill marked and heated through, yet with a slightly pink center that belies that bit of juicy, tender rareness that really makes them shine.

A dollop of cranberry salsa is all that's needed to pull the flavors in this dish together.  Served with a side of deliciously creamy kefir-mashed potatoes and blasted broccoli, this is the perfect sort of winter meal -- one that makes you pretty confident that spring is just right around the corner.

Wisconsin Cranberry Salsa


©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Mustard + Beer = Spicy Beer Mustard = YUM

My mustard obsession, I will confess, began with a yellow barrel shaped bottle. I squeezed a bit on a brat with some sauteed onions and all at once, my condiment-schmeared face broke into a grin.  I'd caught it.

The mustard bug.
It bit me hard.

Eventually, I graduated to Dijon. A hint spicier, but sweet and seductive. This stuff was just as sophisticated as the commercials made it out to be. From there, no mustard was left behind. The more unusual flavor the better.

Why this obsession with mustard? Dunno. But I'm not the only one. After all, there is a National Mustard Day (August 6, 2011) so there have got to be other mustard-obsessors out there. I'm pretty sure there was never a mustard shortage in my house when I was growing up. Thinking about it, my dad probably was the one that got me hooked. Next to me, he's probably the second most mustard-obsessed person I know.  Who knows, maybe it's genetic!?

But, I digress.  A while back, our good friend Rebecca at Cakewalk made some Spicy Guinness Mustard. She was characteristically generous and shared a jar with us at one of last year's soup nights.  It was so delicious that we got hooked on the idea of making some mustard of our own and experimenting with the flavors a little bit.  More specifically, we wondered what would happen if we kicked up the spice quotient a notch by using one of the wonderful local pumpkin brews in place of the Guinness.

Now, history tells us that, even way back when, wealthy Romans would make mustard at home by grinding up the seeds and mixing it with wine. So, mixing it with beer really isn't such a stretch. And really, living in Milwaukee, it seems only fitting to use what's local. Right?

The beer we used for this particular batch was Tyranena's Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice Ale. This is their fall seasonal brew and one of our favorite pumpkin brews.  The mellow pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices balances out the sharpness of the crushed mustard.  We also used unfiltered raw apple-cider vinegar, which gave the mustard a unique fruity flavor that really paired well with the pumpkin.

Now for a little lesson in nutrition.  Not only is it tasty, but the mustard plant also has some significant health benefits. The seeds contain nutrients called isothiocyanates (We have the interwebs at our house, so don't look so amazed). These isothio things have been shown to prevent the growth of cancer cells, specifically to stomach and colon cancer. The seed also contains selenium which is good for reducing the intensity of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. And if you have high blood pressure or frequent migraines, the seeds have magnesium which may reduce both of these things. Typically mustard is fat free and has very few calories.

So go ahead, double dip!

Of course, before I finish up this post, I also need to mention that the National Mustard Museum is right here in Wisconsin and all of an hour and half away from Milwaukee. We need to make another trek over there because they recently relocated to a bigger facility in Middleton. They have over 5200 different types of mustard on display. Road Trip!

Spicy Pumpkin Mustard


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Making the Most of the Local Harvest: Bourbon Caramel Peach Cobbler

I'm not usually a person who plans too far ahead.  After all, I like a bit of uncertainty in my life. And, although I can appreciate good planning as much as the next guy, I'm well aware that not every aspect of life can be perfectly orchestrated.

However, there are some areas in life which require me to exercise foresight.

When the dog days of summer have come to an end, and crisp autumnal breezes have blown their last... when the snow sits idly on the ground and the February wind whips through our hair, there's one thing for which I long: FRUIT.

We get spoiled during the summer months when sweet, ripe, locally grown fruit is at the ready just about any time we have a craving.  But, by the time January rolls around in this Wisconsin climate, I'm hard-pressed to find much beyond a few storage apples in the back of my refrigerator and insanely priced packages of frozen berries at my local coop.

So this year, we're preparing for the winter by putting up as much fruit as possible.  So far, we've managed to sock away 5 lbs of strawberries, 6 lbs of raspberries, 10 lbs of sour cherries, and (just this weekend) almost 50 lbs of Door County peaches.  I'm freezing the fruit -- in great part so that I can reduce the amount of added sugar as much as possible. But, I may also try my hand at canning a few jars of apple or pear butter by the time the season ends.

Of course, when there's this much delicious fruit lying around, it's also difficult not to enjoy a bit of it while it's at its peak.  In addition to eating dozens of these lovely peaches out of hand, we also managed to enjoy a few of them in one of our favorite sweet treats.

Rather than make our usual batch of peach ice cream, we decided to go with something warm and comforting -- a peach cobbler.  But, this particular cobbler has a twist. Its peaches are cooked in a caramel sauce that's accented by a bit of Kentucky Bourbon. And the best part is - it can be made in September with the best, fresh peaches of the season.  But, it also turns out great when made in mid-February with fresh frozen peaches -- you know, the ones you stockpiled during the height of the season.

If you're using fresh peaches, you'll want to sprinkle them with a bit of sugar and allow them to sit for about 1/2 hour so that the sugar can draw out their juices.  However, if you're making it with frozen peaches, you may find that the thawed peaches produce enough juice on their own.

 Meanwhile, you mix together a sugar syrup, place it into a cast iron (or other heavy-bottomed) pan, and allow it to caramelize.

To the caramel, you'll add the juices from the peaches, a bit of butter, and a splash of bourbon.  Toss the caramel with the peaches, and top the fruit with a classic crumble mixture (made from butter, flour, brown sugar, another splash of bourbon, some oatmeal, and a pinch of salt) and a few chopped pecans.

 Bake until caramel is bubbly and topping is crisp and browned.  And serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I could begin to tell you all about how delicious this cobbler is -- how the bourbon flavor cuts the sweetness of the caramel and enhances the fruitiness of the peaches.  I could describe the buttery topping -- which is crusty and light and nutty all at the same time.   Or I could just stand by and let you make your own -- which is probably the smart thing to do.


Bourbon Caramel Peach Cobbler


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Greens, They're What's for Dinner: Saag Tofu

Gosh, where do I begin in telling you of my love for Indian cuisine?

It seems almost an injustice to put it into words.  I love the the aromas, the textures, the spices, and widely varied ingredients.  There's an incredible diversity in the food culture of India -- and so much fascinating history behind the cuisine, which has benefited from the influences of numerous peoples and traditions.

On top of everything, Indian food is easily adaptable for strict vegetarians, for the gluten-free crowd, and it is extremely budget-friendly (for all you frugal gourmets out there).  It's also one of the best ways I know to use those couple of pounds of stray greens you have lying around. You know, the ones you bought (even though you didn't know what you were going to do with them) because they looked SO AMAZING at the farmer's market.

Saag paneer (or similarly, palak paneer), is a smooth, spiced Indian dish, the best versions of which are sprinkled liberally with sizable chunks of a cheese called paneer. The dish hails from the northern portion of India, where flat bread (puris, chapatis, or na'an) is generally served in lieu of rice.  The food is typically eaten by hand using the bread to scoop up the accompanying dishes.

The purists are going to hunt me down one of these days for making this dish with tofu, rather than paneer. But, I'm going to stand behind my ways. The fact is, I've been making this substitution for years -- to the extent that it has become the rule, rather than the exception.

I'm also going to stand behind Tina from Choosy Beggars, who does exactly the same thing.  We use different recipes -- but our philosophies are very much the same.  In fact, I'm even going to use a quote from her to explain the difference between tofu and paneer:

Tofu and paneer have a couple of similarities.  They’re both white.  They’re both moderately firm.  They both enjoy getting simmered on a flavorful bed of spiced creamed spinach, and they both willingly take on whatever flavors they are offered.  Where the similarity ends is in terms of texture and flavor.  Paneer is thick, slightly chewy but rich and dense.  The flavor is creamy and just barely sweet, like fresh milk.  Tofu, on the other hand, is a spongy and occasionally slightly bitter vehicle for whatever it happens to run into.  Oddly, I’m okay with that.  -- Tina

Yeah, we're OK with that too.  If you're not, we can respect that. But, please don't be a troll and leave nasty comments about our ignorance.  We KNOW they're not the same.

But, I digress.  The fact of the matter is, paneer isn't all that hard to find, and it's not even terribly difficult to make (or so we hear). In fact, we might even decide to tackle a paneer-making project one of these days.  But, in the meantime, tofu is a lovely substitute.

Saag tofu takes a bit of prep work to get things going, but the dish actually comes together quite quickly -- so this is more than appropriate for a weeknight meal.  You'll even have enough time to whip up a side of red lentil daal to accompany it, if you feel like going the extra mile.  But, it makes a perfectly respectable meal in and of itself.

This dish is wonderful made with all spinach. But, you can also do as we do and make it with a mixture of greens (please note that you may want to pre-cook tougher greens like kale and collards).  I particularly like the subtle bite that mustard greens offer up, and so we almost always use a combination of spinach and mustard greens.

Flavorful, fresh, and beautifully green, this saag is redolent with spices and garlic. The texture is velvety and slightly tangy from the yogurt, and the mustard greens add a little bit of bite. Freshly ground garam masala elevates the spice quotient to new heights.

Just perfect scooped onto a warmed piece of garlicky na'an.

Saag Tofu (or Paneer)


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Braciola di Pollo: Stuffed Boneless Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes & Summer Herbs

It's going back quite a ways, but I can still remember the first "fancy" dinner party dish I ever made pretty vividly. It was a recipe for chicken breasts that were pounded flat, stuffed with cheese, fastened with toothpicks, and baked in the oven.

The first lesson I learned was that you should always COVER your chicken breast with something before whacking away at it with a meat mallet. That was followed shortly by the realization that over-stuffing the chicken breasts probably wasn't the best idea.  And then I rounded the experience out by nearly impaling myself with the dullest toothpick I've ever encountered.

My oh my, how things change.

I haven't stuffed a chicken breast with anything in a very long time, though I've actually developed some pretty mad skillz for using toothpicks. And I've gotten pretty good with a meat mallet.

But, stuffed chicken (albeit not breasts) really IS the point of this post. So, I'd better get on with that.

The inspiration for this dish hearkens back to a chicken roll recipe from Mario Batali that we came across online a few months back. It was a boned chicken, stuffed with veal, pork, and ham and roasted in the oven until it was crisped and browned.  I liked the idea of a "boneless chicken roll," so I decided to play with the flavors.

We actually learned to debone poultry when we tackled Julia Child's Pate de Canard en croute for a cooking challenge last summer. It was a skill I was pretty proud to have developed (especially since a number of chickens were sacrificed along the way in order for me to gain confidence with the process).  But, I hadn't put it to good use in quite a while.  So, I figured a little bit of experimenting would get me back into practice.

Inspired by the summer weather, I decided to go with a stuffing that was lighter and far less meat heavy.  I happened to have a few dehydrated Principe Borghese tomatoes leftover from last summer's harvest on hand.

I also realized that it was the perfect opportunity to capitalize on all the summer herbs we had in the back yard.  Peef clipped some basil, parsley, and rosemary. And we got started.  I mixed the herbs with re-hydrated tomatoes, fresh bread crumbs, blue cheese, and a couple of eggs.

We de-boned and stuffed the chicken, and then threw everything into a hot oven for about 40 minutes.

The fact is, this is a relatively simple dish once you've got the pesky de-boning out of the way.  These days I almost always de-bone more than one chicken at a time and I always roll up one or two to sock away in the freezer for later. Makes for pretty slick entertaining when the time comes -- and honestly, it shaves off enough time that we can even throw together a delicious meal like this one on a regular old weeknight.

And, honestly, who can argue with that?

Braciola di Pollo: Stuffed Boneless Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes & Herbs

This post is part of our Summer 2010 Herb Series: Using and Preserving Herbs. Stay tuned every Friday for more hints, tips and tricks on how to use summer's bounty!  

We're also excited to announce that, starting next Friday, we'll be featuring guest posts from some of our favorite food blogger friends as part of the herb series.  First up on July 9th -- Amy from Very Culinary!


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Make Ahead Meal: King Ranch Chicken Kickasserole

 
This is not the blog post where I tell you all the secrets to successful meal planning.  I won't tout the benefits of "once a month" cooking or give you a slew of time-saving tips to use on your everyday weeknight meals.  Because, generally, that's not the way I operate.

I am NOT a domestic goddess. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kindofa girl when it comes to weeknight cooking.

It's not that I haven't tried.  I've given meal planning a whirl. Made the list. Clipped the recipes. And meticulously shopped for all the grocery items that I need to create exactly seven home cooked meals in a week. I've witnessed the money it saves, and the headaches it prevents. But, honestly -- when the rubber hits the road -- planning ahead to that extent simply doesn't work for me.  In fact, some of you will be surprised to hear that that level of planning actually starts to stress me out.  I like a little bit of flexibility in my evening plans... maybe even a bit of uncertainty when it comes to what I'll whip up for dinner.

So, I was a little bit surprised when I discovered the brilliance that is the King Ranch Casserole.

YES -- this is a bit like the Tex-Mex casserole dish that shows up in all the ghastly women's magazines.  And YES -- it's a throw-back from post-World War II cooking, when casseroles made with canned soups were the space-age cuisine (because they could be made quickly and kept for later use, casseroles liberated the modern woman from the slavery of cooking).

But, NO -- this is NOT the version that uses cream of *whatever* soup.  And I promise you, this isn't a trap.  But, it will give you at least a night off from cooking... if you do a bit of prep work ahead of time.

This dish does require you to think ahead -- because the flavor of the dish improves pretty dramatically over the course of a day... or three.  The flavors meld. The textures improve. And, although it will still take you an hour or so to bake it up for dinner on the night you serve it, it gives you what might be exactly the right amount of respite from actual cooking duties to renew your strength and energy.

The best part of it is, it doesn't even require a REAL recipe -- though I'm going to give you a bit of a cheat sheet you can use if you'd like to recreate this dish at  home.

Here's what you'll need (more or less)

• a package of corn tortillas (A pack of 12 works great. We like sprouted corn... )
• 2-3 cups tomatillo sauce (it helps to have a bit of this in the freezer, but you can make your own)
• 3 cups cooked chicken (again, nice to have this in the freezer)
• An onion 
• a few cloves of garlic
• a teaspoon or so of cumin and smoked paprika
• salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 cup or so of chopped cilantro
• 8 oz sour cream
• 2-3 cups of grated cheese (Chihuahua, Monterey Jack, or whatever you have on hand)

Dice your onion and saute it with the garlic until everything is tender. Mix in the cumin, paprika, cilantro, pepper, salt, and chicken.   Provided you have your sauce and chicken together, this is all the cooking you'll need to do.

Put a bit of tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish, and start layering your ingredients:

1. 4 tortillas
2. a bit of sour cream (spread this over the top of the tortillas)
3. 1/3 of the chicken mixture
4. 1/3 of the tomatillo sauce
5. cheese

Keep layering until you've used up all of your ingredients -- ending with a nice layer of cheese on the very top. Cover the pan, and place it into the fridge.  Leave it there for 1-3 days. I promise you, it's worth the wait.

While you're waiting for your casserole to "age"  you can do all sorts of fun things -- go out, make a new friend, write a blog post or two, read other peoples' blogs and get new ideas for what to make for dinner NEXT week.

When it's time to bake the casserole, put the dish into a cold oven.  Set the oven to 375ºF and allow the casserole to bake for 50 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, whip off your apron and mix yourself up a nice stiff brandy old fashioned. You deserve it.  Make it a double.  After all, you'll have to wait almost an hour for the casserole to come out of the oven. Might as well make it worth your while.

When the casserole is all brown and bubbling, it's going to smell seriously good and you'll be tempted to slice right into it.  But, you should refrain for about 10 minutes just to let everything set up a bit.

One bite of this and the children will rejoice. Your significant other will sing your praises. And the dog will beg to lick your plate when you're done eating.

You'll feel liberated.
And modern.
And oh-so-very-savvy.

But you can thank me later.  In the meantime, take a bite of your casserole.

Quick Roasted Tomatillo Sauce


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Learning to Lurve Liver: Three Spice Liver Pate

And it's time again for the Daring Cooks Challenge. Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

My first inclination when I read about this challenge was to suggest we create something completely decadent -- a country duck pate with port wine, maybe? or something with beef and wild mushrooms?

But, the more I thought about it, the more I decided that we really needed to be a little bit more daring.  We knew some DC cooks, like Audax Artifex would shock us with delicacies like head cheese and chicken feet pate -- and both of those things would be awesome to tackle.  But, we knew we didn't have time for that.   What we did have time to do, however, was to confront one of Peef's most long-standing aversions:  liver.

I won't lie.  Liver has never been a particular favorite of mine either. But, I never had quite the aversion to it that Peef does. His lack of affection for beef liver goes way back -- to one evening when his mother decided to make up a batch of something that she called "little meats" (i.e. pieces of fried beef liver sliced up into tiny little steaks). According to the story Peef has told, everyone was tentatively eating their little meats ... when all of a sudden his sister stopped dead, dropped her fork, and said: "Ew. This is liver, isn't it?"  The meal was ruined from that point forward.  Needless to say, Paul has been hesitant about eating liver ever since.

So, after discussing the matter for a bit, we decided that liver pate might be an interesting way to reintroduce the concept.  We also decided to make the King Arthur French bread recipe that was included as part of the challenge, since I've been looking for a tried and true batard recipe.

The process for the bread went swimmingly -- from the poolish (starter), through two full risings, to the baking.

The bread didn't brown up quite as well as we'd hoped, but the loaves were pleasantly hollow sounding when tapped, and the crust was exquisite.

It wasn't until we bit into our first bite of freshly baked bread that we realized I forgot to add the salt!  The bread had a pleasantly wheaty and yeasty flavor... but bread without salt is a bit of a disappointment. 

Considering the bread didn't turn out quite as expected, we had high hopes for the liver pate. We decided to try the three spiced liver pate, a tried and true recipe Evelyn and Valerie had suggested. For the recipe, we were required us to purchase beef liver, pork belly, and ground pork.  The meats were chopped and pureed with cinnamon, cumin, coriander, garlic, and shallots. 

The puree was then mixed with egg and cognac and layered in a baking dish with bay leaves and bacon. Then, the pate was baked in a water bath for an hour and a half.

The pate smelled amazing when it came out of the oven -- spicy and smoky and somewhat complex. But, we managed to wait until it was cooled to enjoy it spread atop of some of our freshly baked (albeit salt-less) French bread.

Sadly, for as great as it smelled, the pate was a bit disappointing.  I thought the recipe was a bit heavy on the side of the cinnamon, and I felt I'd probably like the pate a bit better if it was made with a different combination of spices. Peef thought the flavors were interesting together, but not something that he'd necessarily seek out again.

On the bright side of things, the pate did make Peef think twice about his initial impressions of liver.  In fact,  he declared after eating his fill of the pate that I could make him liver and onions any time I wanted to!

So, the verdict?

We'll definitely be making French bread again (and adding salt next time).  And we'd love to try a different variation on the liver pate concept.  So, if you have any suggestions, feel free to send them our way!

RECIPES - June Daring Cooks Challenge
And don't forget to check out the submissions from other Daring Cooks!



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Never the Same Dish Twice: Caramelized Onion & Poblano Enchiladas

There's just something about a cheese enchilada.

It's not complicated. Or fancy. If you're honest, you'll probably even admit that it's really not even all that interesting.  But, there's something about a deliciously soft tortilla that's filled with cheese and covered in sauce that seems to capture the imagination. 

Of course, if you're like me, you're always trying to play with perfection... tweaking a little bit here, adjusting there. Making things better (hopefully)... or at least different.  Keeping the spirit of the experimentation alive.

This dish has been a perennial favorite in the Burp! kitchen. In fact, the recipe goes way back -- to the beginnings of the blog.

It was one of our very first blog posts -- published toward the end of June in 2007.  At the point it was written, we weren't cognizant that we had an audience.  In fact, we were pretty sure that we didn't. You'll notice there's no pretty photo of our meal. No story about where we got the idea for the recipe. In fact, there's not much of anything interesting about the post at all, except maybe the recipe itself (and that's probably somewhat debatable).

The fact of the matter is, the idea stemmed from a recipe for cheese and caramelized onion enchiladas that we found in Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen.   We loved the concept of using sweet caramelized onions in an enchilada, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the recipe on its own.  So, we started tweaking.

Rather than using pickled jalapeno peppers, I decided to sub in slices of roasted poblano chiles. To add a bit of delightful creaminess, we added a few ounces of cream cheese to the filling. We neglected to use Bishop's sauce.  And suddenly, we had a brand new dish.

Years later, I'd venture a guess that we've made this dish at least 10-15 times. And it's likely to have been different every go-round. We've used various sauces (a mole, a red chile sauce, and a roasted tomatillo sauce). We've substituted roasted red peppers and fresh jalapenos for the poblanos. We've added goat cheese to the mix, rather than cream cheese.  And every time, it's been a completely new kind of fabulous.

But, that's exactly what I love about cooking. And blogging.  It's never the same twice. Ingredients change. Trends come and go. We approach the same dishes with different perspectives. And recipes have this miraculous way of morphing into new experiences right before our very eyes.

Every single time we step into the kitchen, we learn something new. And we find something unexpected.

So, go ahead -- tweak that recipe. See what it becomes for you.
Caramelized Onion & Poblano Enchiladas


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