Tofu Red Curry

There is no worse feeling that trying a recipe for the first time to find out it stinks! Wasted time, excitement, effort and ingredients! Everytime I find a recipe on cooksillustrated.com, I know it will be a hit! This one was no different- recipe calls for flank steak (3/4 lb), but I had tofu so I used that! Would work with chicken, steak or shrimp too!

Thanks to Talia for reminding me about the red curry in my fridge!

Red Curry Stir Fry

Serves 2

This meal was so flavorful! Another hit from cooksillustrated.com.

They called for flank steak, but I had tofu in the fridge. You can buy coconut milk and red curry paste in the Asian aisle of your grocery store- no special trip necessary!

1.5 tsp canola oil

1 package of firm tofu (or use flank steak, chicken, whatever!)

2 tsp red curry paste (use a bit less if you don't like the kick!)

3/4 cup light coconut milk (or regular coconut milk if you want a thicker sauce)

1 Tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp light brown sugar

1 small red pepper

1/4 lb snow peas

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

3 tsp fresh lime juice

Remove tofu from package and wrap in paper towels, put some weight on top of the tofu and leave there for 15-20 minutes to drain water out of tofu so it absorbs the curry better....

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add curry paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in coconut milk, fish sauce, and brown sugar and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Add tofu and cook until pieces separate and turn firm, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and peas and cook until peas are crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and lime juice. Season with salt to taste. Served with brown rice or a flat noodle.

tangy edamame

I found a recipe to lemon edamame on a blog I really like called 101 cookbooks.

It's not Braude's Bites, the woman is out of San Francisco and has a zillion readers and is actually a photographer (needless to say her food looks more appealing than mine on the canon elph). She is always in the epicurean magazines.

I've made it twice already and Lee & I both love it. The salmon next to it was phenomenal as well...I will blog it next time, it's from Nigella Express, the cookbook I bought last week and had Nigella sign.

It is so easy and quick to make, you can make it last minute and the ingredients don't go bad in the fridge, this edamame is made with stuff you already have in your fridge. It tastes better the day after you make it and is a great protein filled snack for work.

Funny enough, this week, Harley Pasternak, a Canadian nutritionist & trainer who trains celebs in LA, was our guest speaker at a Coca-Cola women's conference. He was a great speaker and has a very sensible approach to eating well and exercising.

He did a cooking demo of healthy recipes like apple smoothies & whole wheat pizza & oatmeal frtittata that you can make quickly with 5 or less ingredients. This recipe is fabulous and is the same deal as the recipes he made: it is quick, uses easy ingredients and is super healthy. I edited a bit, she calls for shiso leaf that's only in asian grocery stores- who has time for that mid week?

Edamame with Lemon Vinaigrette
Serves 4
adapted from 101cookbooks.com

3 cups shelled edamame (about 12 ounces)
2 Meyer lemons or regular lemons
2 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup (i left it out this time cause i can't find it and it tasted the same!)
Kosher salt & pepper

Buy a bag of frozen shelled edamame in the freezer section. Cook the edamame according to the package's instructions. Drain, place in a serving bowl, and let cool to room temperature.
Zest one lemon and set aside. Squeeze the juice from the lemon (about 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon). In a blender, add the lemon juice and zest, the olive oil, vinegar, and maple syrup. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Blend well and gently mix the dressing with the edamame.

If you want, zest the other lemon and sprinkle the zest on top.
Enjoy! I gotta go, Barefoot Contessa is premiering now! Woohoo!

My first brisket

So I finally did it! I made my first roast! Something about it scared the hell out of me so I kept making a safe choice to make my meatballs. I chose a Barefoot recipe to conquer my fear because you can't go wrong.

Served it the night before Yom Kippur and it seemed to be received well (they could have been lying). The taste was great, but next time, I am going to cook lower and slower. I found that it didn't fall off the fork, so I am going to keep trying to perfect it! Today, I met Nigella Lawson at a New York Times Talk and asked her for her advice- she agreed with some dude on chowhound.com, lower and slower....300... So I will adapt the recipe below to reflect the advice I got!

Ina's Brisket with carrots & onions

Serves 10-12 people

*Note: I adapted for 8 people with a 5 lb brisket and reduced ingredients accordingly..

6 to 7 pounds beef brisket

1 tablespoon kosher salt (less than she recommends cause everyone said too salty in the reviews)

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)

2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks

8 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch chunks

6 yellow onions, peeled and sliced

6 fresh or dried bay leaves

1 (46-ounce) can tomato juice (I used low sodium V8)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (I am changing- 350 is too high!)

Place the brisket in a heavy roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano. Rub the mixture on the brisket. Pile the carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves on the brisket and pour in enough tomato juice to come about 3/4 of the way up the meat and vegetables. Cover the top of the pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper, then with aluminum foil. (The tomato juice will react unpleasantly with the aluminum foil if they touch.)

Bake for 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the pan and keep it warm.

Place the pan on 2 burners and boil the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for another 30 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened.

When it was done, I refrigerated over night and then sliced against the grain and froze....Reheat at 300 for an hour.

I am no longer scared to make brisket! If anyone has any ideas, send them my way.

Mom's Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

This past week we were in Montreal for the holidays. My mom made a beautiful Asian themed dinner for our family friends for Rosh Hashanah! I wonder if Chinese folks make gefilte fish on their new year? Anyway, I digress..

She finished off the dinner with a FIRST TIME dessert that warranted applause.

It looked spectacular and was so amazing it made you second guess Rockaberry's!

Heaven: peanut butter mousse, graham crumble, chocolate topping with peanuts....

Generally, family rule is not to try a virgin dessert for company! She did and it ROCKED the house! She inspired me to make the Barefoot Contessa's brisket for Yom Kippur in NYC this week. I have never made brisket before and am hoping I can pull it off for company! Truth is my mom's meatballs are amazing, but I have become too dependent on them for Jewish holidays, I have to branch out and expand my beef horizons.

It came from a book called "Gatherings: Creative Kosher Cooking From Our Family to Yours" that she bought in the Maimonides gift shop where she volunteers.

For those that love to bake, trust me: do it.

Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

Serves: 16

Prep Time, 20 minutes plus

Freezes Well

Crust

2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs

1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp margarine, melted

Mousse

1 3/4 cups pareve whipping cream

2 cups creamy peanut butter

2 (8 oz) tubs tofutti cream cheese, softened

2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar

2 Tbsp vanilla

Topping

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup parve whipping cream

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanuts, chopped, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350.

Crust: in a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients. Press into a 10 inch springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool. Set aside.

Mousse: Using an electric or hand held mixer, beat whipping cream until stiff. Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, beat together peanut butter and tofutti cream cheese until smooth. Stir in icing (confectioner's) sugar and vanilla, mixing well. Gently fold in beaten whipping cream, a quarter at a time. Pour into baked crust. Refrigerate until set, approx 2 hrs.

Topping: In a medium sized sauce pan, combine sugar and whipping cream, Stir over medium hear until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove cake from fridge and spread topping evenly over filling. Garnish with peanuts.

Refrigerate until cold. Serve chilled. Watch guests as they ooh and awww!