Spinach, Zucchini, and Chick pea Stuffed Crepes

It's late and I actually still have some work I need to do for my first day of rotations. Will revisit tomorrow. Simple dish. Tasty.

Ok...2 days later. Loving the rotation. Spending a crapload of time at the hospital. Do you care? No. Want to know how to make a very simple and unique dish with great, light flavor? Here we go.
So it is sauteed onions, wilted spinach, raw zucchini and chick peas wrapped in a very thin pancake (or crepe) and drizzled with some white sauce made from butter, milk, flour, s/p. I know. It actually sounds weird as hell. But it's good. Surprisingly good.
First make the crepes.
You need:
1 1/4 cup AP flour
1 egg
1.5 cups milk
~ 5 tbsp water
1 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
pinch o' salt
butter/oil for greasing

Wisk together ingredients to make a very thin batter. It needs to be way thinner than you think. You're going for very thin pancakes. THe thinner the better for this dish. It always takes me til about the 4th or 5th crepe before I've actually gotten by batter as thin as I want it. A really flat, large pan also helps greatly. All I have is my warped cookware which ends up making them not quite so pretty crepes.
Heat a pan, grease with butter, fry crepes on one side only to make ~8 large crepes.
Set aside while preparing the filling.

For the filling you need:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
fresh spinach, washed and shredded
1 to 2 zucchinis depending on size, grated
1 onion, small diced
cilantro
s/p

Put the chick peas in a bowl of water and rub to remove the skins. They will float to the top. Place chick peas in a bowl and roughly mash them.
Grate the zucchini into the bowl with the chickpeas
Fry the onion in oil til translucent. Add the spinach and cook til wilted.
Transfer the mix to the bowl. Add chopped cilantro, s/p, and mix well.
Place the pancakes, cooked side up (like this matters), and line the stuffing down the center. Wrap 'em up and place them in a baking pan.

Now the sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp ap flour
1 1/4 cup milk
Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the flour, and gradually add milk. Heat gently, stirring continuously, til thickened and smooth. Season with salt and pepper and pour over pancakes.

Now Bake the pancakes at 350 F for about 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Serve.

Chicken Chow-Mein

Two for two, baby!! That's right, I'm cooking it up. And don't be surprised to see another post tomorrow. And yes, I got on a 2 day Asian kick. Although to be precise, yesterday was Thai and today was Chinese. Yes, both "Asian", but still different styles.

So, Chicken Chow Mein. Who doesn't like it? Did you know it's ridiculously easy to make? And even taking my sweet time it was done in less than an hour, prep time included. And hence, according to our new rating system it gets:

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 45 minutes (prep time included)

You need:

~ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small strips

noodles

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 carrots, thin sliced

mung bean sprouts

snow peas

green onions, chopped

6 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp rice vinegar

s/p to taste (I personally don't use salt since I'm using soy sauce)

Marinate the chicken strips in 2 tbsp of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar while preparing everything else.

Boil the noodles, drain, and run cold water over them to cool.

Heat a wok, or large pot if you don't have one, to med-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken mixture and stir fry for a couple minutes.

Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside. Wipe the wok clean and add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil.

Add the carrots and stir fry for a minute or two.

Add the snow peas and bean sprouts and stir fry for another minute or two.

Add the noodles and stir fry til heated through.

Add soy sauce and pepper to taste. I didn't this time, but I would normally throw some red pepper flake in there, too, cause I'm all about the spice.

Return the chicken with any juices to the mix and heat through.

Stir in chopped green onions.

You are ready to eat.

The World's Best Brownies

History:
This is it. The best brownies. Clark made these for his family over Thanksgiving last year.... twice. Adapted from a Tyler Florence into this amazing work.... we have tried others, but nothing comes close. I think it comes from melting the chocolate instead of using cocoa powder. And thanks for sticking with us during our down time.... apparently APPE time = cooking time.

Recipe:
2 sticks butter
112 grams of milk chocolate [again I like to stick to the Ghirardelli]
112 grams of 60% dark chocolate
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt
4 large eggs
424 grams of sugar
169 grams bread flour
2 tbs of amaretto

Preheat the oven to 350. Double boil the chocolate and butter until melted and smooth. Beat the eggs, amaretto and sugar until fully mixed. Slowly add the chocolate mixed. Fold in the dry goods. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Red Coconut-Milk Curry w/ Chicken and Veggies: Thai-Style

Ok, I'm back! I know, I know. It has been a looooong time since I posted anything. It's been a long time since I've cooked anything. Well, anything new. Sorry. I've been busy and, for the last month apparently, really unmotivated. I broke up with my girlfriend of almost 5 yrs. Then I got back together with her. Then I got a third job. I've been distracted. But hey, you don't read this to hear about me. You want food. Well here 'tis.

I've been meaning to do this for a while so I shall go ahead and, as unofficially as possible, start rating the difficulty and giving a prep/cook time for the recipes. Maybe we (yes, we, because I'm sick of reading emails and hearing people talk about Jake's blog. It's OUR blog damnit. And I started it. Can you have an entire paragraph in parentheses?) will make it more standardized and pretty later but for now, here goes.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~ 1 hr 15 min

Background:

Coconut milk curry dishes are a Thai staple. They are also one of my favorite dishes ever. There is a spot in downtown Decatur that serves make-your-own bowls of the stuff and I get it every single time I go. Very rarely do I get the same dish at restaurants. I like to try different things and explore, but their red coconut milk curry dishes are amazing and I just can't break away from it. I was very happy when I came across this recipe.

The fundamentals of making the dish are very basic. As far as ingredients, you can put in whatever you want; chicken, shrimp, fish, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, whatever. Just make sure and put the things that need longer to cook in first and then add the quick-cook items later. You can also use green curry paste if you prefer.

For today's recipe you need:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

1 onion, cut into wedges

1 tbsp. groundnut oil (or whatever)

1 or 2 14 oz cans of coconut milk (depends on how much you're making. I actually only used 1 but I used almost 2 lbs of chicken and a lot of veggies so I wished I had used 2)

2 tbsp red curry paste (the faint of heart might want to start with half or less and work their way up)

1 pack of udon noodles (I actually prefer the flat noodles, but udon noodles work. Or you could nix the noodles and serve it over rice. Or just eat as is.)

2 tbsp thai fish sauce

1 tbsp light brown sugar

carrots, sliced

broccoli flowers

spinach, shredded

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

s/p

Heat a wok (or pot) til hot and add in the oil. Swirl and add the onion. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a boil while stirring. Stir in the curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, and s/p.

Add in the noodles and carrots. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 min.

Add the broccoli and continue simmering for ~5 min.

Add the chicken and simmer for about 15-20 min til done.

About 5 min before the chicken is done add in the shredded spinach.

Once everything is done, add the lime juice, chopped mint and basil, and serve.

Sausage Biscuits [JG]

History:
Yes we have not been cooking. Clark is actually going to make something tonight... I think. It has been finals and then our "Summer Break"... so we both have been meh. I had sausage going bad.... had to use it. Thought this would be fun.

Biscuits [I tried whole wheat.... I'll put up a recipe later.... ended up having to use a TON of AP flour to balance it out.... so I need to rewrite it for you].
Eggs
Sausage

Beat the eggs like an omelet. Add cooked sausage and then pour into a pan. Make like an omelet. Divide on top of the biscuits. Make into sandwiches. Freeze and enjoy for later.

Pumpkin Bread [JG]

History:
Yes, it is that time of year. That's right, moving... so you start to find random things in the cabinets and decide to make things. So I have attempted this a few times, and never have I gotten close to Mrs. Lee's [and that's not Sarah]. But, this version just got the Clark stamp of approval.

Recipe:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
100 grams whole wheat flour
135 grams bread flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t clove
3/4 cups of pumpkin from a can

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Mix all the dry together [and yes I did more spices then the recipe above says... except I didn't measure]. Alternate add pumpkin [wet] and dry ingredients. Pour in a bed pan and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Enjoy.

Spinach Quesadilla with Salsa [Grit]

History:
This is one of those veggie grit recipes. Everyone enjoyed...

What you need:
Garlic
Onions
Corn
Carrots
Spinach
cumin
coriander
parsley
oregano
basil
cayenne pepper
butter/oil
tortillas
cheese

Saute onions and garlic. Add in corn and shredded carrots. Go until bright colors. Add herbs/spices. Put in spinach in batches. Cook the spinach until slightly wilted. Get your tortillas ready. Heat a pan with a bit on butter/oil. Place one tortilla down. Then in order cheese, spinach, more cheese. Fold and flip once bottom cheese is melted. Melt top layer of cheese. Serve with fresh salsa.