whew.

i am still recovering from saturday. it was an extremely fierce battle and we both cooked our little hearts out. bottom line... it was fun day for all:

our panel of esteemed judges (L to R cousin aaron, brother jim, cousin scottina)

pre-battle (L to R prof. paradox, me, scottina)


post-battle


the aftermath

the menus:
steve's (from memory... i'm sure the prof. will put up something more detailed)

• deep fried spinach cheese sticks with ranch, marinara, and sweet vinegar dipping sauces

• spinach antipasto plate with salami, pepperoncini, and vinegrette

• feta and spinach stuffed burgers with hand-made onion rings and shiraz reduction

• spinach eggs benedict with a parmesan white sauce

• spinach and cheese topped polenta rounds topped with candied walnuts and maple syrup

me

• honeyed spinach sauteed in sesame oil with raisins, pine nuts, & black sesame seeds

• spinach maki rolls with pickled ginger and wasabi

• spinach feta kalamata pie with homemade tzatziki

• spinach risotto topped with roasted red pepper and shaved parmesan reggiano

• sag paneer with fork mashed purple potatoes

our takes on the secret ingredient were pretty different. this is dish is steve's feta and spinach stuffed burger topped with hand-made onion rings and a shiraz reduction.


my sag paneer with purple potatoes.

to be honest, it was really hard to get pictures taken of all the steps we took to get to end results. i will probably re-enact my menu throughout the next couple of weeks to show step by step recipes.

p.s. wii bowling is super-fun. i want a wii.

victory...

it is mine. detailed post to come...

the day has arrived

today is the day of the knittermonkey/prof. paradox spinach face off. i'm ready for battle. can the prof. say the same? i would guess so. i look forward to fun-time in the the kitchen, as i'm sure a day of hilarity will ensue. the event will indeed be well documented, so stay tuned for a super pict-o-rama of spinach!

let's get ready to rumble!

after a brief consult with my worthy opponent, it has been decided that we will begin at high noon-ish on saturday. it seems both menus are already in place. i have decided on 4 dishes that i have never attempted before. rest assured the day will be well documented, so stay tuned.

and as the chairman says:
ALLEZ CUISINE!

wow.

well. i've found out what the secret ingredient is. how, you ask? by reading my rival's blog folks. that's right.

spinach.

time to get to work.

i did it.

yep. here it is. i had a cap with a tassel, but it was itchy as hell. the day was pretty great, and the best speech of the day, hands down, was by my friend elon. she is the most eloquent public speaker i have ever heard and by the time she was done, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

here she is.

what a great day. i only wish i had more pictures, so if any of you that were there have some you can pass along i would really appreciate it.

so, cousin chef is this coming saturday and the ingredient is still unknown. that makes me a little nervous, but i am assured that we ARE going to find out what it is before saturday. this time around we will be in "stadium rockdale", which gives prof. paradox home court advantage. let me just say... he will need it.

the kitchen of DOOM

it's true...i am the embodiment of evil. i write to you from the kitchen of doom, which i have been absent from as of late (as prof. paradox has astutely pointed out). no, this is not due to an evil plot of any sort... it is only due to finals week at school and preparation for my last foray into year end exams before i go on to take my national board exams this summer.

this does not mean i haven't been cookin' up stuff.


behold: pizza!
this is no hot circle of garbage, my friends (well, mostly because it's not a circle). but indeed it was delicious. a crust made from a recipe from "the joy of cooking", a caramelized onion puree for the sauce, grilled zucchini, red pepper that i roasted myself, grilled mushrooms, and topped with a blend of 6 italian cheeses that are not pictured here because it would cover up the beauty.


the crust













the grilled veg













and the finish













i made two of them to take over to my friend monique's house for our battlestar galactica premier extravaganza on friday night. can i just mention again how much i love that show?

ingredient wish list

i haven't spoken about this to prof. paradox yet, but i'm sure the same thing is on his mind, what with our battle less than 3 weeks away... what is the ingredient going to be???
here's a wish list i have running in my mind:

ham
bacon
peanuts
legumes
spinach

really, bacon is my #1 choice. i spent so many years not eating it and then one day my friend miss missy made me some panny-cakes with bacon. mmmmm bacon. there was no turning back.

in case i haven't mentioned it, and i know i have, the last season of battlestar gallactica starts in 4 days.

ow, that hurt...and lasagna.

steve is mean. he dissed my breakfasty eggs. boo hoo. i am cracking under the pressure.

anyway... last night i made lasagna for dinner. it's a recipe i made up (sort of). it's got all the usual stuff in it: tomatoes, dried spices, cheese, fresh basil, some ground beef i had in the freezer and i needed to use up, and various vegetables.

the sauce recipe originates from a consumer reports magazine article about jarred spaghetti sauce. i got it from my dad years ago, and over the years, i have varied it a lot. one thing that hasn't changed is the ratio of tomatoes: 1 28oz can pureed and 1 28oz can crushed. things i HAVE changed include: the amount of garlic and onion i add (a WHOLE lot compared to what the recipe originally called for)and the couple spoonfuls of honey or sugar i add to cut the acidity.















i saute the onion & garlic in olive oil, add the meat, cook with the spices until it loses its pink color, dump in the tomatoes, and let it cook on low heat for a few hours. while that's cooking i make the ricotta filling with 15oz ricotta, 2 eggs, a handful of chopped fresh basil, and some salt & pepper. that goes in the fridge until i'm ready to assemble.















if i feel like i need some vegetables, i slice zucchini & eggplant & use that instead of noodles, or i just layer in whatever veg i have in the fridge. spinach, mushroom, & red pepper makes a good combo too. to assemble, i ladle some sauce into the bottom of the pan, followed by, eggplant, the ricotta mixture, shredded cheese, & more sauce. repeat for the next layer except use zucchini. (my only wish is that i had a nice deep lasagna pan. as it stands, my little pyrex 13x9 can only take about 2 or 3 layers) top it off with a cup or so of some kind of grated cheese. i used a combo of parm & romano.
















here's the finished product after cooking in the oven at 375 for 1 hour. it was really tasty with some garlic bread.

on a side note, this weekend i read a book called "i love you beth cooper" written by larry doyle and illustrated by evan dorkin. it was hilarious. go buy it, or get it from your local library like we did.

not my mother (thank god)

our friend michelle got us, among other things, a cookbook for a wedding gift. said cookbook has become an integral part of my cookbook library. why? because this past christmas i got a slow cooker and the name of the cookbook is "not your mother's slowcooker".

i pull a recipe from this cookbook at least once a week. i tell everyone about this cookbook. i love this cookbook. if i wasn't already married, i would marry this cookbook (although i do love "big love"... maybe i'll name the cookbook margene).

my current favorite recipe from this book is "yellow pea soup with cumin and spicy yogurt". this is what i made for dinner last night (in reverse order):

here is the finished product. the spicy yogurt is made with plain yogurt, coriander, smoked paprika, tobasco, lemon zest, & salt. you don't HAVE to make the yogurt to go wih the soup, but in my humble opinion, it is definitely worth the effort.


here are the ingredients for the spicy yogurt.


my beautiful slowcooker (her name is nicki).


the beginning of a 10 hour process. first you make a mirepoix and add the cumin, then you dump it in the slowcooker with water, minced ginger, and a couple bay leaves. cook it on low for 10 hours, and you have tasty hot soup when you get home in the evening.

it can't get much easier that that.

p.s. battlestar galactica starts next week.

the return of cousin chef

years ago, a tradition was started. my cousin aaron and his wife maricarmen, cousin laura, and cousin scottina had a cooking competition on one fateful new year's eve and "COUSIN CHEF" was born(modeled after "IRON CHEF AMERICA"). that first year, scott and aaron competed against each other with shrimp as the secret ingredient with only maricarmen and laura in attendance. scott was crowned "cousin chef" and aaron became "the chairman". since then it has become much more. so much more.

we hold the competitions once or twice a year. a secret ingredient is chosen by the chairman (who is the loser from the previous battle), the secret ingredient is revealed the week before the competition, judges are chosen, and a location is revealed. we've held battles at a mansion in lake forest (battle shrimp-winner scott followed by battle pineapple- again, winner scott), an awesome back yard deck (battle apple- winner laura), and an outdoor battle that involved a tricked out garage (battle mushroom- winner me, the knitter monkey). it's great fun and every battle gets slightly more elaborate.

we have had different trophies: the golden spatula, a crown of monkey nuts (don't ask), and a lovely fimo dough sculpture depicting all of the ingredients we have used.

the rules are tweaked with each competition. no recipes are allowed during the cooking, we are allowed 3 hours to complete our dishes, we are alone in creating our dishes- no sous chef allowed.3 judges vote. comments are made on ballots regarding taste, presentation, and originality.

and now it has come to this. i am pitted against a fierce challenger...scott's twin brother steve. our next challenge is on april 19. location and ingredient are still unknown. the taunting has started. for the past 2 days i have awoken to a morning email with a photo array and narrative of steve's triumphs in the kitchen. he is trying to beat me down, scare me, if you will. well, i will not have it. from now until the competition i will be recording my kitchen fun-time for steve to read and weep over. and now, for the first time ever, here is... WHAT I HAD FOR BREAKFAST!!!

ah...my trusty global knife and bamboo cutting board getting ready to dice up sweet onion, red pepper, and portabello mushrooms


a perfect julienne...


followed by the perfect dice...


melting unsalted butter and olive oil in the pan that helped me win the last cousin chef...


adding freshly ground pepper...


whisking the eggs with some milk and getting ready to add them to the vegetables...


ahhh deliciousness...


the finished product: scrambled eggs with sauteed vegetables and goat cheese, a side of sour dough toast, and sausage.

read it and weep steve...the best is yet to come!

p.s. here's a little bonus:

my holiday turkey 2007 with fresh herbed butter under the skin and stuffed with a whole grain onion bread stuffing.