Food Friday: Granola

One of the blogs I read posted a link to a granola recipe last week. I had tried making granola a few time before, but never with results that I really loved. Somehow I felt like it was time to give it another try and it looked like a fun project to do during the winter weather.
I think it was a giant success, after this past weekend's attempt I think I finally got it right.
I changed it up a bit, so I'm posting the recipe with my changes below.

Nutty Cranberry Apricot Granola

(recipe adapted from shutterbean who adapted from the Baked:New Frontiers in Baking cookbook)

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup whole almonds
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them. Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture. Chop up apricots into a small dice or thin strips and set aside.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and lift and flip the granola with a metal spatula. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use the metal spatula to lift and flip the granola again. Sprinkle the walnuts over the granola and return to the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely. Sprinkle the chopped apricots and raisins over the granola and transfer it to a airtight container. The granola will keep for 1 week.

Food Friday: Soup weather

It is definitely soup weather right now and after all the holiday eating, soup tastes really good and somehow feels healthier.

This minestrone was super easy and tasted good. I cut the recipe in half and still have enough siup to feed ten more people, but I guess that's what the freezer is for.

I'm having trouble getting started today after a late night last night made later thanks to the F train. But really, how can it take me half an hour to get somewhere and then almost two hours to get home?

Food Friday: Black Bean Cakes

Damn, putting those Black Bean Cakes together was much harder than I originally thought. Specifically mushing up the beans with a fork required a great deal of strength. If I had a hand blender or food processor I would have used that. Instead I baked them in a dish while they were half-mushed. They turned ok as a side dish to the marinated fish from Trader Joe's.The next day they were more solid, so I tried to mold them into "cakes" and baked them at 400 degrees for about half an hour. That worked much better. Though now I am soooo sick of black beans. I never thought I'd see the day. This is definitely a recipe I won't be trying again. Well at least until I get something to blend the beans.

Food Friday: Another Fall Dish

I haven't gotten a chance to make the black bean cakes yet, but will probably get a chance to do it this weekend. Another recipe I have my eye on is one for Pasta with Butternut Parmesan Sauce. I will probably cut back on the Parmesan Cheese a little, but I'm sure it will still taste great.

Food Friday: Thanksgiving

I've been in and out of town the past couple weeks, first two trips to Philadelphia and now I'm in West Virginia for Thanksgiving. In all this time the most ambitious thing I've made has been a simple pasta with onion, garlic and mushrooms with a little balsamic vinegar.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, but there was no room for me in the kitchen. There are a few things I am planning to make when I get back home. One of these recipes is one I received as an email from the Splendid Table back in October. I can find it online, so I've posted it below.

EMERIL'S BLACK BEAN CAKES (From Splendid Table's Weeknight Kitchen)

Recipe from Emeril 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast, by Emeril Lagasse, HarperStudio, New York, 2009. Courtesy Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.

4 servings

Prep Time: 16 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total: 24 minutes

Talk about "knock your socks off!" These bean cakes end up crispy and crusty on the outside, but oh so tender and creamy on the inside. A true study in contrasts, this dish is elevated to notches unknown when served garnished with your favorite guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.

• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion (5 to 6 ounces), cut into small dice
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons Emeril's Original Essence or Creole Seasoning (recipe follows)
• Two 15.5-ounce cans black beans, drained and quickly rinsed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce

Garnishes:
• Guacamole
• Salsa
• Sour cream

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. When it is hot, add the onion and cook until soft and lightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

2. Place the flour in a shallow bowl or plate, and stir in the Essence (or Creole seasoning). Set aside.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, mash the black beans well with the back of a fork – the mixture should be relatively smooth, with no whole beans remaining. Stir in the cooled onion mixture, cilantro, egg, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, and hot sauce and mix well. Divide the mixture into 8 evenly sized patties (about 1/3 cup each).

4. Heat the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, dust the patties in the seasoned flour mixture and carefully transfer them to the hot skillet (the cakes will be delicate). Cook the cakes until golden brown on both sides and heated through, about 2 minutes per side.

5. If necessary, season with more salt. Garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve immediately.

Food Friday: Pumpkin Bread with Apples

I've been trying different pumpkin bread recipes because I haven't been able to find one I like the best. The other night I tried this one from an old Gourmet magazine. I took out the cranberries and added peeled, chopped up apple. I also added more cinnamon and probably could have added even more. Well there always is next time.Yum!

Food Friday: Fall Dinner

In the fall I crave heartier meals and I got a craving for meatloaf a few weeks ago. I wanted to keep it a bit healthier so I made a turkey meatloaf. I added some cajun seasoning for extra flavor and roasted some fall vegetables in olive oil (sweet potato, parsnip, carrots and brussels sprouts) at the same time the meatloaf was cooking. It was a great filling meal and it will make for a few easy meals this week.

Out of the oven!

Quick picture of my plate, it was soon gone!

Food Friday: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

I recently picked up a copy of a new cooking memoir titled I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci. It is an engaging look at the ways that Melucci's romantic life has overlapped with her love of food and cooking. And it has recipes! I've even made a few and enjoyed the results. My favorite so far is the recipe for pastina. It is one of the simplest recipes, but most satisfying. I have had pastina in my cupboard for years, after putting it in a vegetable soup, and never knew how else to use it. I would have never thought of boiling it until it is cooked and the water is almost gone and then adding a beaten egg and some parmesan cheese to it. It's so simple and delicious and I may even make it for dinner and add some of the roasted eggplant and zucchini leftover from last night.

Food Friday: Bread

I'm eating some reheated pizza that I made last night to celebrate the coming of Friday. And later today I will be mixing up some no knead bread. This bread is so wonderfully easy, I'll mix it together tonight and then tomorrow afternoon I'll put it in a bread pan to rise for another two hours and then pop it in the oven. And then more of the best bread I've ever made.

I may also be making some more applesauce tonight - yum.

food friday: Gourmet

I realized calling this foodie Friday was a bit silly, mostly because I'm not so fond of the word foodie. Hate is too strong a word, but in reality it is not my favorite word to associate with myself.

Last week the food world receive the news that Gourmet magazine was ending, news that I am still heartbroken about. I obviously never thought I would see this day, as my subscription was renewed days before and I threw out a collection of magazines before moving because magazines are just too heavy and there will be future issues of Gourmet. I am always right about magazines being heavy, but I was not right about the fate of Gourmet. I haven't gotten the last November issue yet, hopefully after several months of moving around it will find the right address. Either way I can't imagine a holiday season without the December issue and the inevitable cookie recipes. Now, many people have said the downfall of Gourmet is because of our access to recipes on TV and the internet. But Gourmet was much more than that, it was writing about the world of food and our interactions with it. It was travel and culture through food traditions and it was an endlessly inspiring magazine.

I realized that it is the magazine I had subscribed to the longest and I have a spotty memory of being a poor student in New York and buying the November 2002 issue just because it made me feel less homesick.

The other ironic twist to this news is that Ruth Reichl, Gourmet's Editor in Chief, is doing publicity for a new Gourmet cookbook and show on PBS. She was on Fresh Air on Wednesday taking about her new book, fall foods and the close of Gourmet magazine.