Food with Friends

We made a feast.

We invited 5 good friends over to Jamie's house and treated them to an entirely homemade dinner.  While the dishes were not particularly adventurous, the dinner reminded us that food brings people together.  No matter where the dishes come from, they can make people feel special (thanks Dr. Prinkey!) as long as they are healthy, flavorful, and fun to make.  So. Find people to cook for, invite them over, and remind them to wear their eating pants.  Without further ado, here is the colorful and summer-y collection of foodz we prepared.

 MENU:

Guacamole and blue corn chips

Gazpacho

Mixed salad with tomatoes, avocado, pecans, and raspberry vinagrette 

Grilled bell peppers

Grilled chicken

Penne with parmesan

Fruit salad

Korvapuusti

Frosty horchata (thanks Tara!)

Guacamole: Avocados, onion, tomato, lemon juice, salt, pepper

Gazpacho: (see "Dinner with Caroline's Family")

Grilled bell peppers: Cut three bell peppers (we used one yellow, orange, and red) into triangular (and mostly flat) pieces.  We made triangles because they're exciting - so don't judge.  Douse the triangles with olive oil and place them in a wire grilling basket on the grill.  Once the skin begins to blacken and peel, take the peppers off the heat and sprinkle with salt to taste.

Grilled chicken: (see "Dinner with Caroline's Family")

Penne with parmesan: I'm hoping you know how to boil water and cook pasta...but to be honest, I didn't until a week ago so I won't judge you.

Fruit salad: Clementine wedges, rasberries, blueberries, kiwi, strawberries, and a sprinkling of orange juice.


Korvapuusti: (see "Korvapuusti in the Kitchen")

What were we snacking on? tortilla chips and mango salsa

Tune of the Moment: New Shoes by Paolo Nutini

Dinner with Caroline's family

Last night, we cooked and ate dinner at Caroline's house with her family.  We wanted the meal to include family tricks and recipes as well as new, more exotic ones.  While not all dishes we made can be considered ethnic cuisine, each has its own meaning - whether it be a family standby, a friend of a friend's recommendation, or a traditional recipe.  This eclectic evening of noms began when we realized at 5:00 PM that Dominican ropa vieja (a delicious and authentic meat recipe we have yet to atempt) would take us 5 hours to make.  Bummer.  So we got creative.  What else is traditionally Dominican?  Fried plaintains!!! So we chopped up some bananas and nobody had to know the difference. ;)
Jamie has an Algerian neighbor who has a Spanish friend who has a fantastic gazpacho recipe, which of course isn't written down, so we trusted Ina Garten (a culinary genius) because her recipe is apparently very similar.  We decided to treat the fam to korvapuusti (see "Korvapuusti in the Kitchen," an earlier blog post) because it's mind-blowingly addictive.

Almost oven time!

For all those who want to re-create this around-the-world extravaganza, here's the menu...happy eating!

EPIC MENU:

Gazpacho (Italian but from Jamie's Algerian neighbor)
Salad with strawberries and pine nuts (Tasty...isn't that enough?)
Cornbread (from a family cookbook made by Caroline's cousins)
Fried bananas (...almost Dominican)
Grilled chicken with Italian marinade (a go-to recipe for Jamie's family)
Korvapuusti (Finnish)

Gazpacho ingredients:

23 oz Tomato Juice

Two red peppers

Four tomatoes

One red onion

One cucumber

3 cloves of garlic

Kosher sea salt - about 1/2 tablespoon

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 Cup White wine vinegar

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Optional: Jalapeno or red pepper flakes for that spicy flavaaah

Gazpacho instructions:

We doubled this recipe to feed the whole fam, but here's the instructions for the normal recipe which should feed 4-6 people

Chop each vegetable into 1 inch sections-make sure to keep each vegetable separate from each other.  It is important for the flavors not to combine yet!!

I kept each vegetable in a separate bowl for my own sanity, I recommend you do this too :P

Separately food process each vegetable for a very small amount of time..I used what Caroline's amily calls the NINJA so, needless to say, processed the food for about 5 seconds before it turned into juice.  Keep all the processed foods in different bowls still!

Mince the garlic and measure out the olive oil and white wine vinegar.

Here's the big moment...MIX THOSE VEGGIES!!!

I know it's scary...but you are ready! NEVER SURRENDER! This is what Caroline and I have been preparing you for.

Add the garlic/salt/pepper/olive oil/vinegar (and maybe that jalapeno/flakes if you want to live a leetle)!

Gently mix with a wooden spoon (ok any spoon will do that's just what I did)

Put it in the fridge!!! The longer the gazpacho chills, the more the flavors will come together and taste even fresher/delicious-er.

Enjoy!

Salad:

mixed greens, sliced strawberries, toasted pine nutes, and balsamic vinaigrette. Or anything you have in your kitchen, can steal from your neighbor, or can dig up outside.

Cornbread ingredients:

Cornbread instructions:  Basically, we thought this cornbread tasted real boring.  We recommend that you spice it up with honey, maple syrup, or jalapeno peppers.




Fried bananas:

I won't lie to you...we completely free-styled this recipe.  The concept of frying plaintains is traditionally Dominican, but we adapted the recipe to suit our kitchen.  I sliced ripe bananas diagonally (so that each slice was about 2 inches long), turned on the stove to medium heat, and covered the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil (1/2 centimeter).  While the oil was heating up, I mixed flour and vegetable oil in a bowl and covered the bananas in the mixture.  Once the oil was hot, I slid the banana slices into the oil to fry until they were light brown and crispy-looking.



Grilled chicken:

Marinate 6 chicken breasts in a large plastic bag with almost a full bottle of Italian dressing for at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator.  I know you're probably hungry, but try to let them marinate for longer because delicious flavor is where it's at.  Grill the chicken outside and serve with black pepper and salt.

What were we snacking on? Tortilla chips and cherries
Tune of the Moment: Time Above the Earth by the Kooks

Paella Valencia with Dr. Prinkey

Chicken and chorizo paella Valencia

Story:

Paella is a dish cooked for special (aka social) occasions such as anniversaries, dinner parties, and birthdays in the region of Valencia in eastern Spain.  The paellera is the special pan used only for cooking this dish.  The first step in cooking paella is seasoning the paellera with olive oil.  The most traditional variety uses chorizo and rabbit.  The last time Dr. Prinkey made paella was for a dinner party with friends from Oklahoma City.  Because one woman was a vegetarian, he used paprika, extra olive oil, and seafood instead of the chorizo.  Jamie and I don't eat seafood, so we're making paella with chicken and chorizo.  Dr. Prinkey says he loves to cook for people because it makes them feel special, which makes everyone happy :).

Ingredients:

Autentico chorizo picante from Spain that's seasoned with paprika (we used imported chorizo by Palacios that Dr. Prinkey bought from Chain Bridge Sellers) - 225 grams / 7.9 oz / one full link
one whole yellow onion, diced (we used one half of a red onion instead, but the recipe calls for yellow)
One red pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2/3 cup short-grain Calasparra rice that Dr. Prinkey ordered online.  It comes from a coastal region between Andalucia and Valencia in Spain. (In a pinch, you can use arborio rice)
Verdejo white wine from Galicia, Spain
1 Quart Chicken Stock
Saffron
Small bowl for water
2 lemons
Chicken
Frozen peas
Parsley (to garnish)



Instructions:

Season the paellera.  Cut the chorizo into thick rings and quarter each ring.  Dice the onion and red pepper separately and place them in two bowls.  Add the chorizo to the paellera with some olive oil and use a wooden spoon to toss.  Add the pepper, onion, and garlic once the chorizo has begun to get crispy.  Take the paellera off the heat and transfer the meat and veggies to a bowl, leaving the fat from the chorizo in the paellera.  Add the rice to the paellera and mix with a wooden spoon on low heat.  Next add white wine to the rice-we used Verdejo from Galicia.  When you put it on it will sizzle--don't be afraid!!  Continue mixing.
Add chicken stock to the rice/white wine mixture in the paellera.  Heat water (tap is ok) in a small dish, add a pinch of the saffron which should turn the water into a nice yellow color (that color that paella is so famous for).  Continue stirring that rice in the paellera!  Add saffron-water mixture to the rice.

Rice, stock, wine, and saffron

Begin cutting chicken up--you can cut it while you cut the chorizo if you want, we are doing it now :P
Saute (saltear in Spanish) the chicken in a small pan on medium to high heat after seasoning it with pepper and salt (key to a happy life says Dr Prinkey). Don't even worry about oiling the chicken pan-the fat will work just fine.
Stop stirring the rice--the more you stir the more it will want to stick together.  If you let it be, the water will work for you and keep the rice separated.  Valencian tradition says that the bottom of the rice should be a little burnt; it's said to be good luck!  Add chorizo mixture into the rice in the paellera, this is when it begins to smell DELICIOUS.

Rice, aromatics, chorizo. The color comes from saffron!

Cut two lemons (you will use these to drizzle over the paella for a tasty surprise)
Add chicken into the paellera!  Everything is beginning to come together now.
Those peas are next!!! Put the frozen peas directly into the paellera.
Add a little more chicken stock.
Smell for the soccarrat (that rice at the bottom!) that should be bubbling.
Chop up some parsley to garnish the dish with.  Turn the burner(s) off, move the paellera off the heat, and cover with a hand towel.  This technique seems REALLY bizarre but it'll keep the moisture and flavor in the rice. Serve with a nice, crusty bread.


Tune of the Moment: anything by Andres Segovia because he's brilliant and makes you feel like you're in eastern Spain.  Our favorite song is Recuerdos de la Alhambra

What were we snacking on? Spanish lomo serrano (dry cured Serrano pork loin) and paleta serrana (dry cured Serrano pork shoulder) as well as olives.  And sparkling grape juice!  We classy (...and underage).

Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips

Hayat's family is Jordanian and her mom shared their traditional hummus recipe with us.  The ingredients are fairly standard, but the exact amounts of salt, garlic, and lemon juice you add are up to you!

Basic Hummus

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
4 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on personal preference)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed (depending on personal preference)
1/2 teaspoon salt (depending on personal preference)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Hayat's mom likes to add up to 1 tsp of cumin and a pinch of sumac to spice up the recipe :)

Instructions:

(You're going to need a food processor for this!)
Separate the chickpeas from the liquid using a colander.  Save 1/4 cup of liquid and discard the rest.  Blend all ingredients in a food processor for around 4 minutes.  When serving the hummus, make a small well in the center and fill it with olive oil for a fun, tasty look :)

Pita Chips

Ingredients:

Pita sliced into 8 wedges  (16oz)
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 Teaspoon seasoning of your choice (ras el hanout is more traditional, a Northern African spice blend)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Instructions:

Heat oven to 400 F.  Combine salt and other spices in a small bowl.  Place pita wedges on baking sheet and brush the tops of them with the olive oil.  Sprinkle the tops with half of the salt mixture.  Flip the wedges and repeat with the rest of the olive oil and salt mixture.  Bake until the chips are golden and crispy--12 to 15 minutes depending on your oven.  Once done baking, remove from baking sheet and automatically transfer onto a wire rack.

Enjoy!!! :)

We loved this recipe because it is absolutely delicious and such an easy make--but noboday has to know that!  Eat up, readers!  And thanks for checking in with us today.

-Caroline and Jamie

Tune of the Moment: Sweater Weather by the Neighborhood

What were we snacking on? Homemade almond butter and orange blossom honey (creds to culinary master/Caroline's sister Emma)

Ready to go!

Triangles of yum

Cuban Vanilla Flan

Story:
We got this recipe from our friend Nick whose family is from Cuba.  He and his mom sat down and wrote down this delicious recipe for us--we are so grateful!!

Ingredients:
2   1/2 cups of regular granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 can sweet condensed milk - we used 14 oz
1 can evaporated milk - we used 12 oz
3 teaspoons  of vanilla extract

Instructions:

1.  Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Prepare the caramel for the mold - put the sugar in a saucepan at medium heat until the sugar becomes a liquid caramel. Don't let it boil. Stir occasionally as the caramel is forming. When the caramel is fully liquid and thin and without sugar lumps, pour it into a metal baking mold. I like to use a round bundt mold, but any round or square mid size mold with high walls should work. The key is that you will need to place this mold inside another mold with water so make sure you have a larger mold to put it in.  Back to the caramel, coat the walls and bottom of the mold you are using for the flan with the liquid caramel, making sure you spread it quickly since the caramel will start thickening and hardening. Put the mold coated with the  caramel aside.

3. Prepare the flan mixture - in a large bowl, mix the six eggs (yolks and whites), the condensed milk and the evaporated milk. Make sure they are well mixed. A wire whisk works well for this. Once the mixture is ready, add the vanilla extract and mix it in.

4. Prepare to bake - Pour the flan mixture into the mold that has been coated with the caramel. Put a larger pan with about two or three inches of water in the oven. Then put the mold with the flan mixture inside the larger pan with the water.  The water should not get into the mold that has your flan mixture. The purpose of cooking the flan inside a mold with water is to prevent burning and overcooking of the flan.

5. Cooking the flan - cook the flan at 375 degrees for about an hour. At an hour, check to see if the flan is fully cooked. You do this by inserting a knife, toothpick or a chopstick into the flan and if the item comes out clean, without flan mixture stuck to it,the flan will be done.  If it comes out with uncooked flan mixture on it, continue baking it another ten minutes and check it again. The flan should not take more than 85 minutes total.

6. Ready to eat - when cooked, take  the flan out of the oven and let it rest at room temperature until it cools off. That is at least 60 minutes. When cool, pass a knife on the edges of the mold to detach the flan from the mold.  Tap the sides of the mold to make sure the flan is loose and will come out of the mold when you turn it.  This is the scary part - cover the mold with a plate and turn the mold around so the flan descends into the serving plate. The flan and the caramel should come unto the plate without breaking apart. Make sure you get all the liquid caramel on top of the flan.  After the flan cools off, store it covered with aluminum foil  in the refrigerator and it is ready to eat. Flan is best when cold.

Tune of the Moment: Get Lucky by Daft Punk

What were we snacking on? blueberry muffins, chai tea, and a Malibu Melt breakfast sandwich from Sweetleaf

Flan mixture from step 2

sugar --> caramel  ??!?!?!?!?!

pretending it's christmas

Ms. Yeh's Fried Rice

Ms. Yeh says that Chinese food is "a lot of prep work because everything needs to be cut."  She serves her fried rice with broccoli on the side.  Fried rice is a very versatile dish - Ms. Yeh says that as long as you include egg and some kind of meat, you can throw in anything else you want.

Ingredients:
Extra fancy premium medium grain rice (we used short grain rice, which makes fried rice stickier than long grain rice.  When making long grain rice, you must add more water.) - 4 cups
Eggs, beaten
Cooking wine (we used "Shao Xing Cooking Wine")
Salt
Ginger w/o skin
Red onion
Broccoli (separate from fried rice - veggie side dish)
Yellow corn - 1 small bowl
Barbecued pork, cubed
Green onion, chopped

Instructions:
Cook rice in rice cooker. Mix eggs (with chopsticks), cooking wine, and salt in a small bowl.  Pour mixture into a large pot (this will be your  and cook over high heat, mixing with a spoon.  While eggs are cooking, remove (and discard) the skin from the ginger and chop finely.  Once eggs are completely cooked and scrambled, pour them back into the small bowl and take the pot off the burner.  Move the minced ginger to the cooking pot and begin to chop the red onion into slightly bigger pieces than the ginger.  Chop the broccoli and steam in a medium pot over medium heat with a tablespoon of oil and a sprinkling of salt, mixing occasionally with chopsticks.  Bring the large pot with the ginger back to the stove, turn heat on high, and add oil to the pot.  Cook ginger until it simmers and turns light brown; then, add the red onion and start to stir with chopsticks.  Next, add approximately half of the rice, all of the corn, and all of the pork.  After stirring, add the egg mixture and green onions.  Continue stirring.  Taste and decide whether or not you want to add more salt.

Tune of the Moment: Stacey's Mom by Fountains of Wayne

What were we snacking on? Chocolate wafer-y yums that taste like air

Cooking wine yum

Mixing everything together

Sticky rice and red bean paste dessert that Ms. Yeh made for us!

Korvapuusti in the Kitchen

Today we are making Korvapuusti, a Finnish recipe our friend gave us.

Ingredients:
1 box Puff Pastry Sheets (2 per package) - we used Pepperidge Farm
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 heaping Tbsp. cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
White sugar for extra sprinkling

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Let the puff pastry dough thaw for about 30 minutes at room temperature.  Roll out the two halves separately and brush each with melted butter.  In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Then sprinkle (or dump) a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon onto the dough.  You don't need to use all of the mixture, but there is no such thing as too much sugar so yes, we are peer pressuring you.  Starting with the long end of one of the pieces of dough, roll the piece up into a cylinder.  Repeat with the second piece.  Using a very sharp knife, cut each cylinder diagonally into pieces that are 2 inches across.  Transfer the pastries onto a greased cookie sheet, brush them with the egg, and sprinkle white sugar on top.  Finally, cut 2 small slits on the top of each pastry.  Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown.  We baked the pastries for 11 minutes.  The recipe makes approximately 14 pastries depending on how many times you cut each of the two cylinders of dough.

Tune of the moment: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke

What were we snacking on?  Chai tea and bananas

Rolled-up deliciousness

Straight outta the oven 

Baba and Gigi's Kugel with Davidow BBQ and Flourless Cake for Passover (Eastern Europe)

Story:
Harry and Elizabeth Davidovski are Jamie's great-great-grandparents on her dad's side of the family.  They grew up in Elizabethgrad, Ukraine (now called Kirovograd) and their children emigrated to the United States after a violent pogrom. They passed through Ellis Island and settled in Philadelphia.  Even though Jamie's family changed locations often, they brought their traditions with them wherever they went.  One of the family's favorite dishes is a casserole called kugel, which is a traditional Eastern European/Jewish recipe that has been passed down through the family orally for six generations.  Nowadays, Jamie's dad's family still lives in Cincinnati, where the extended family gathers twice a year.  No family gathering is complete without Harry and Elizabeth's kugel.

When the Davidow family is at home in McLean, they celebrate Passover with kugel, BBQ chicken, and flourless cake.  Nobody knows why, but barbecue chicken tastes delicious with kugel.  The cake must be flourless on Passover in keeping with the Torah's commandments.


Ingredients for Kugel (serves 6 people with leftovers of course):
Egg noodles (20 oz)
Cottage cheese (1 small container - about8 oz)
Sour cream (1 small container - about 8 oz)
Melted butter (2 tbsp)
One egg
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions for Kugel:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil water and cook the egg noodles in a large pot.  Strain and pour pasta into a large Pyrex glass or ceramic bowl, then add cottage cheese and sour cream while mixing continuously.  Add one egg.  Finally, drizzle the butter over the top of the pasta and place the bowl (uncovered) in the oven.  Leave the bowl in the oven and check after 30 minutes - the pasta might need a few more minutes, so check and decide whether or not it needs more time.  Sprinkle pepper on the top of the pasta once it has come out of the oven, and then add more pepper to taste when serving.

Ingredients for flourless cake:
Melted butter (2 sticks)
Semisweet chocolate chips (1 lb)
Milk (1 cup)
7 large egg yolks
Heavy whipping cream (for whipped cream), powdered sugar, and berries

Instructions for flourless cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch circular cake pan with butter, PAM, or a combination of butter and parchment paper - then put the pan aside.  Melt the butter and let it cool.  Using a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and pour in the milk gradually.  Stir constantly to avoid having the chocolate burn.  Next, pour the chocolate and milk combo into a large bowl or an electric mixing bowl (the egg and butter can be incorporated using an electric mixer or a spatula).  Alternate between adding 1/7 fractions of your melted butter and adding 1 egg yolk.  Make sure to stir the butter in before adding more egg.  Continue adding butter, egg, butter, egg until all of the  butter and yolks are incorporated.  Finally, pour the batter (which should be thin) into the greased pan and bake for 25 minutes.  The batter will look very undercooked when it comes out of the oven, but let it cool until the pan returns to room temperature and then stick the whole pan in the fridge.  Let the cake set for 1 hour in the fridge, and then cut and serve with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and fresh berries.

Instructions for barbecue chicken:
Buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts and BBQ marinade.  Let the chicken marinate with the sauce in (a) gallon-sized plastic bag(s) - the number of bags will depend on how many people you are serving.  Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for up to 2 hours before grilling.

Tune of the moment: Say Hey (I Love You) by Michael Franti & Spearhead

What were we snacking on? Sparkling lemonade, cheddar bunnies, and toasted pecans....yum :)

Kugel yums

your beloved bloggers

Nana's Krumkakes (Norway)

Story:
Jamie's great-grandmother, Nana, was born and raised in Wisconsin but her parents had emigrated from Norway shortly before she was born.  Krumkakes are traditional Norwegian cookies that Jamie's family makes together for Christmas, which they celebrate on the 24th according to Norwegian custom.

Ingredients:
2 eggs lightly beaten
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
In one medium sized bowl, combine the eggs and sugar.  Next, add butter (make sure it's at room temperature) and vanilla.  Finally, mix in the flour.  Heat up the Krumkake iron and mix the batter.  Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter onto the center of each print on the iron, close the lid and press down firmly for 5-10 seconds.  Lift the lid and remove the cookie (which is very hot) using a knife.  Slide the cookie onto wax paper and roll it around the white cone using your fingers.  Hold the cookie around the cone as it cools so that it can hold its cone shape.  Krumkakes are delicious plain, but you can spice them up by filling them with chocolate and topping them with whipped cream or berries.

Tune of the moment: Love Shack by the B-52's

What were we snacking on? Vietnamese beef and rice, of course.

Batter ready for smushing

Caroline rolling krumkakes!

Hi world!

We are Jamie and Caroline, two high school seniors and beginner cooks who want to share traditions and stories, build relationships, and celebrate family - all through food.
Stay tuned for recipes, cooking tips, our epic failures, food porn-esque pictures, and tunes to match every dish.  Throughout this cooking experience we are looking forward to working at a local food kitchen.
Your suggestions are welcome and we hope you're as excited for this extravaganza as we are!

Love from the kitchen,

Jamie and Caroline

tune of the moment: Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson