Roasted Garlic

My parents came to visit recently, and whenever they do, they always bring massive quantities of random things, like garlic.  They. Brought. A. Lot. Of. Garlic.  So obviously I have had to eat a lot of the stuff over the last weeks.

It's no secret that I love garlic.  We all know what raw garlic is like - nose-prickling sharp and aromatic.  When you roast garlic though, magic happens and it turns into a sweet, creamy, almost buttery thing.  It breaks down so much during the slow roasting process that you can spread over anything with a butter knife.  This is great for garlic bread, or for adding to any recipe where you would normally add garlic.  I use it in pasta frequently, smeared over good crusty bread, soups, stews, you name it.

BONUS:  Since Halloween is only 3 days away, if you eat this before then, you'll be warding off vampires.  Or will you? 

Actually, the more likely scenario is that you'll be warding off romance with your dragon breath, so maybe save eating this one by itself for a meal with friends and family :)

Carrot and Daikon Pickle (Do chua)

Ever since I worked at Lemongrass in college, I've had a love affair with this stuff.  Zesty, cool, refreshing, sweet and tangy, it goes wonderfully with a lot of things (including vermicelli noodle bowls, salads, banh mi... I'd even eat it on the side with some pho or pad thai).  It doesn't require any cooking and keeps in the fridge for probably even longer than a month, so you might as well make a big ol' batch of it.

Carrot and Daikon Pickle

adapted from Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

:: 3 small carrots

:: 1 pound daikon radish

:: 1 tsp salt

:: 2 tbsp sugar

brine

:: 1/2 cup sugar

:: 1 1/4 cup white vinegar

:: 1 cup water

Mix the carrots and radish with salt and 2 tbsp sugar.  This will draw some of the water out of the vegetables.  Stir, or get down and dirty using your hands to knead the vegetables!!  In 10-15 minutes, or after the vegetables have lost about 1/4 of their water, rinse in cold water and squeeze excess water off of the vegetables.

Meanwhile, make the brine by mixing the 3 ingredients together and letting the sugar dissolve.

Pour the brine over the carrot and radish.  Let brine for at least 1 hour.  Pickle will be good for up to 4 weeks.

Roasted Asparagus

It's in the name.  Simple, quick, healthy, with an extra bonus for those of us lucky enough to be born with a certain special autosomal recessive gene.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

(serves 4)

:: 1 bunch asparagus, fibrous ends removed**

:: 2 tbsp olive oil

:: 2 tsp salt

:: pepper to taste

optional ingredients...

:: 2 cloves garlic, minced

:: juice of 1/2 lemon or shredded cheese (I used parmesan)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place the asparagus down on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Drizzle over with olive oil.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the asparagus (and garlic, if using), roll asparagus around until coated with a thin layer of oil. 

Bake for 12-18 minutes; 12 minutes will yield a more firm, crunchy texture and 18 minutes will be much softer.

Sprinkle with cheese or lemon (if using) right before serving.

**to remove the tough woody ends of asparagus, bend the cut end of the spear towards the middle.  It will naturally snap at the spot where the spear becomes tender.

On Buttermilk

The first time I tasted buttermilk, I felt cheated.  It tasted neither like milk, nor like butter, and was really just sour and pretty gross.

These days, I like to use it a lot in cooking and baking.  It adds moisture and tanginess to whatever you're making.  I still hate to buy it though, because if I have any leftover from a recipe, chances are that I end up throwing the rest away because I don't use it every day for cooking.

Recently, I was making a recipe that called for buttermilk but had forgotten to buy it at the store.  I was really dreading to have to brave 5pm Charlottesville traffic JUST to buy 6 measly ounces of buttermilk, so I did some research.

I may never buy buttermilk again!  Well, I probably will because this doesn't exactly taste like the real thing...but it's close enough in a pinch.

Buttermilk

:: 1 cup milk
:: 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Mix the two ingredients together and let the milk sit for 5 minutes.  Now it's ready to use.  You can obviously make less or more and just maintain the rough ratio of the two liquids.

To get the right texture, some milk fat is preferred, but I've definitely used skim milk before.  I would really stick to lemon juice or white vinegar for this application - you don't want your pancakes tasting like red wine vinegar, or your buttermilk biscuits to taste like apple cider vinegar, probably!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

It's October!  Which means it's practically fall.  Which means everything I eat must involve apples, pumpkin, or anything else red/orange/brown.  I made these little guys for an annual broccoli pot luck (Broktoberfest!!) and while it doesn't technically involve broccoli, I didn't have the heart to make a broccoli dessert.. because that's gross.

Cream cheese frosting is a no brainer for pumpkin desserts.... So good!  The cake is light and fluffy, with a very delicate crumb.  I love holiday spices, so I go a little heavy when adding them.

I ended up with a little more icing than I anticipated, so I ended up stuffing these cupcakes as well instead of just icing them.**

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
(makes ~24 cupcakes)

Jerk Chicken

I'm so excited to make this recipe!  It's spicy!  And savory!  And involves citrus! 

"Jerk" is a traditional Jamaican blend of spices that is usually used as a dry rub or wet marinade on most commonly pork and chicken, but also other proteins.  It does involve a lot of ingredients, but most of them you probably have in a well-stocked pantry (and are all definitely available at your local grocery).  It's the unusual combination of these relatively plain-jane ingredients that really tingles the tastebuds.  I toned down the habaneros since it was the first time I made this recipe, but feel free to go crazy like these guys if you love spicy food.  As written, it was not nearly as spicy as the marinade originally led me to believe.  I hope you try this and love it as much as I do!

Good things happening in the blender...