Hummus with a twist

There are many ways to make hummus (and many places to buy it), but by far my favorite is from The New Best Recipe (one of the most amazing cookbooks ever!--Love you forever Miss Thells), page 13. I'm definitely a foodie more than a gourmet (foodie=someone who loves & adores food; gourmet=someone who only cooks with certain high end foods and can be a little snobby about their food), and The New Best Recipe caters to both.

A favorite Ru Sister Dinner menu:

• Herb-encrusted, boneless pork chops
• Hummus with roasted red peppers & feta
• Pita bread (quartered or smaller and warmed in the oven)
• Orzo pasta with some kind of sauce
• Steamed veggies

I made this the first time we ever cooked for Elder Walters. An insult to the chef, some newly named foods, and a few glares later, and we had the makings of a House Legend. Most of the food in that menu is thrown together with whatever we have in the pantry, or whatever herbs I am in the mood to add to the pork chops, but the hummus is pretty upfront--why mess with perfection?

Hummus:

• 1 (15 oz) can of garbanzos or chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (I use so much garlic that I keep a large jar of minced garlic in my fridge at all times - 1/2 tsp = 1 clove of garlic - most labels will tell you that).
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons juice from a large lemon
• 1/4 c. tahini (sesame butter - can be found in the international aisle, near the salad dressings, or near the peanut butter in multiple grocery stores)
• 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 c. water

Process all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, about 40 seconds. Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until the flavors meld, at least 30 minutes; serve cold.

Makes about 2 cups, serves around 8-10, and can be kept for up to 2 days in your fridge.

Hummus can be served with anything, but my favorite is by adding a few strips of roasted red pepper and some crumbled feta as just a light garnish. I think it adds depth to the hummus, and everything mingles together blissfully. Post your favorite hummus twist in the comments!

Guest Posts & Posting

Know someone who loves food as much as you do--or even more? Dreaming of a recipe only your mom can make? Adore listening to a friend give restaurant reviews of the best brunch places in Durham? Get her (or him) to guest post for us!

Post it yourself or email it to me, and I'll happily post it. Please add a couple lines of intro just to give us a little context. My mom is supposed to be working on one, and the Jolly Holiday was roped in after describing some mouthwatering soul food on her blog (and then gave us a perfectly luscious post!). Remember, it can be anything food related. Anything.

A couple of ideas:

• Cheese and why it is so good
• Favorite foods and how they evolved over the course of your life
• Best restaurant (and the runner-up) in all of the cities you've lived
• Canning
• Salsa
• Favorite cookbooks
• Kitchen gadgets you'd rather not live without (Conversely, gadgets you see no need for except on bridal registries--for those of us who are poor)
• Cooking for others and why you love/hate it
• Party recipes
• Favorite cakes
• First foods
• Genre, item, or ethnicity of food you cannot live without right now
• Your favorite food city

Happy Blogging!

Carrboro Farmer's Market or CFM (that's for you, B.)

Last fall I read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and I will never be the same. I'm obsessed with it. I may even succumb to stalking Barbara Kingsolver--it's that great.

Read it.


After I read this book I decided I wanted to do what I could to support local farmers and produce. Because we all know that I have ample time at work, I started googling Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). A CSA lets you purchase in advance a share of the farm's produce, eggs, meat, etc. And then every week you pick up your box filled with whatever is in season. I decided to buy a share from one of the local farms that is at the Carrboro Farmer's Market. Lots of the farmers there offer CSAs, and you can read all about them via the links provided on this website. The CSA I chose was only $106 for 13 weeks and last Saturday was my first pick-up. I scored a pound of mild country sausage, a bag of mixed greens, and bunch of green garlic.

Awesome.

Can't wait to go again this Saturday.

Guest Post: The Ups and Downs of Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Hello D3 Delish Dish readers! I'm a former D3 sister, and now I'm a Harlem sista, having moved away from Chapel Hill and into the big city about a year and a half ago. Nevertheless, I have followed your blog with interest, being a true lover of food, and I am happy to be able to contribute to the group. My passion is baking, so I will probably end up sharing mainly desserts, but you never know--I just might get inspired and start branching out. Heaven knows I need more vegetables in my life.

The past few days I have been consumed by Pineapple Upside Down Cake. A coworker hired me to bake one for her husband's birthday, and I accepted the challenge, even though I had never attempted one before. It always sounded so complicated. But it's really not. Maybe a 6.5 on the 1-10 baking scale of difficulty, and if you buy almond flour that brings it down to about 4.

Anyway, since she asked me on Saturday, I decided to make a practice cake on Sunday using a simple recipe I found online. It turned out okay, and it was a hit at the dessert party I took it to (especially with the guys! note that men seem to LOVE this type of cake) but I was not a hundred percent sold on it. It seemed kind of flat. So the next night I tried a different recipe, with more unusual ingredients, which I spent half the night running around in a rainstorm to find. You won't have a problem in Chapel Hill, but in New York, you'd be surprised at how barbaric the grocery stores are. They never have anything I need. That second cake seemed to turn out really well, and that is the cake I gave my coworker for her husband.

So, tonight I decided that after all my trouble, I should make a Pineapple Upside Down Cake for me! And I did. Here is the recipe I used, and my notes:

Ingredients:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 can (20 ounce) pineapple slices (rings)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp cake flour
6 Tbsp ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

1. Gather all your ingredients together, along with 2 mixing bowls and a big cast-iron skillet. If you don't have a skillet, you can use a 10-inch cake pan with 2-inch sides.

2. In the skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter and add the brown sugar, stirring until the sugar is liquid and bubbling. Remove from the heat and add the pineapple slices, with one in the center and the rest all around. Set aside.

3. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

4. Whisk the flours, almonds, baking powder, and salt together in one mixing bowl and set aside. (Note, you can either chop up almonds for about 45 minutes by hand or use some kind of modern kitchen appliance to grind them into powder, or you can use almond flour from Whole Foods. It's either your time or your money! I chopped, then ground with a rolling pin, then sifted until I had fine almond powder and nice arm muscles.)

5. In a separate bowl, mix the 1 cup butter and the white sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating after each one. Add the vanilla, too.

6. Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream, continuing to mix well after each, and scraping the sides of the bowl to mix thoroughly.

7. Pour the batter into the cast iron skillet, over the pineapple and brown sugar base, completely covering it.

8. Bake for about an hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. (Mmmm... lick the bowl!) When the cake is done, cool it in the pan for 10 or 15 minutes and then turn it over onto a pretty platter, revealing the sugary pineapple top.

9. Enjoy warm, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, or just a tall glass of cold milk.

10. There should be ten steps to this recipe, so I will say lastly: share a slice with your neighbor. When my cake was done baking tonight, and my sister and I were enjoying it, I noticed that my adorable neighbor-guy (our windows face each other across an alley, so yes--we are always spying on each other!) was home alone watching TV. So I took him a piece of cake. He was completely surprised and genuinely happy to receive it, and promised to cook something for me next week. See! What did I tell you? I think there is something about this cake and men... In fact, my hunt for a cast-iron skillet resulted in me making at least 3 new male friends. It might sound silly, but I think this cake is charmed with romantic powers. And even if it weren't, it's amazingly delicious!

Who Died?

I was talking with my mom recently and she said she was making chocolate cake. The first thing that came out of

my mouth was, "Who died?"

That may seem an odd and insensitive thing to say, but my mother has developed a pattern of chocolate cake baking that only occasionally breaks free. Whenever a member of her ward passes away, she is asked/volunteers to make the chocolate cake for the lunch following the services. So here's what my hometown's so excited about:

Mom's Moist Chocolate Cake:

(also known as Texas Sheet Cake)

2 Cups sugar

1 Cup liquid shortening (may use applesauce)

2 eggs

4 Tbsp cocoa

2 Cups hot water

3 Cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp vanilla

Grease and flour a 10x15 jelly roll pan. In large bowl mix all dry ingredients except soda and baking powder. Mix with 1 cup water. Add soda and baking powder and eggs with 1 cup water. Add vanilla. Combine with dry mixture. Add shortening. Makes a very runny batter. Bake at 350 for 23 minutes. Cool about 5 min before frosting. Frost. This can be left uncovered and still remain moist. (Bake for 35-40 min if using regular cake pan)

Dark Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 Cup margarine or butter

4 Tbsp cocoa (heaping)

4-4.5 Cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

milk (about 6 Tbsp)

Melt margarine in pan. Add vanilla and cocoa. Stir in half of milk and powdered sugar. Add rest of milk and more powdered sugar to make consistency you desire. Drop by spoonfuls onto warm sheet cake and let cake warm the frosting before you try to spread it. Spread frosting around carefully. May sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Dining In: Waffle Bar

Deeply pocketed squares or small-holed round waffles? That was the question of the day yesterday as a few of us met to enjoy a dining in waffle bar and plan the structure of Dining Outs to come. Marti is all for the small rounds--that way they evenly hold all of your goodies and no one divot gets too much topping--equality in bite. I normally agree, but for some reason yesterday, I was reaching for the square waffles with the deeper holes. Strange. It is the dilemma of a two waffle iron house--choices, choices.

With strawberry puree, chocolate sauce, syrup, or the funky French cookie spread (that was like 5000 calories per 1/4 cup), and a healthy dose of whipped cream, we chatted about food, farmers markets, and so much more. The end was spent lazily talking about our Saturday plans as we nibbled grapes, pineapple, and a little bacon.

All in all, I felt I learned more about the other sisters who were there--and I cannot wait for next month's. Mac & Cheese party at Marti's (we'll have a date for you shortly). Make Mac & Cheese, bring a recipe, and try some of everything (and remember, you can bring friends, even if it is just to steal their amazing mac & cheese recipe). I recently made a three-cheese, ham and asparagus, mac & cheese that was delicious; but I am going to have to really think about what I am going to bring next month. Mac & Cheese Dining In will be the stuff that dreams are made of.

No More Plain Green Beans

My family Easter gathering is quickly approaching and my Mom was making assignments. She said "why don't you bring a vegetable. Maybe green beans, you could even do the classic green bean casserole if you would like." Ever since Christmas and the unending leftovers I was not thrilled with the idea...to say the least. So here is a new twist on serving those green beans.

Roasted Green Beans with Peppers & Onion

1 lb. whole frozen or fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
1 large onion, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Toss vegetables with dressing in large roasting pan.
BAKE 30 min. or until vegetables are tender, stirring after 15 min.
SPRINKLE with cheese. Bake an additional 2 to 3 min. or until cheese is melted.

I have made this recipe several times and always enjoy the delicious taste of all the onions, peppers and cheese intertwined with the green beans. ENJOY :)

Dining Out: Nantucket

Twelve of us dined out last evening. I knew some of the people there were foodies, but I was truly pleased by those I didn't know were foodies joining the group. Reading the menu was a pleasure. There were so many choices that seemed perfect. Truly rough battles were fought between Chicken Pot Pie or Sauteed Shrimp & Scallops. Or Pine Nut Salad vs. the Cranberry Bog (Hot roasted turkey with warm stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayonnaise, served on a grilled French bread roll). The french fries were lauded, but the onion rings looked like perfection. The fry bread brought to the table melted in your mouth without being too oily. The crab dip burst in an explosion of flavor off your tongue. After having my wisdom teeth out the day before, the Lobster bisque and mashed potatoes with homemade country gravy were savory moments of tasty goodness.

Though, I expect a few entries from those who went last night, or at least critiques of your dish in the comments, I truly had a fantastic experience. As each of us bit into a final bite of Chocolate Sundae Cake, I knew that we were sisters of this perfect shared experience--chocolate and cookies, combined with white cake and a whipped cream frosting, tantalizing your taste buds in an exquisite moment of pure delight. And we were sisters of a shared gospel, coming together to enjoy good company and great food.

Food Posts enjoyed recently

A list of the posts, I've read and enjoyed this week:

• A critique of one of Sara Foster's books (she of Foster's Market fame).
• A gorgeous post that just happens to touch on a restaurant experience.
• The Feminist Mormon Housewives take on bread again.
• The Food Storage Starter kit available for members.
• Chou's Caramel Rice Pudding sounds divine.
• The Carrboro Farmer's market (as well as other local farmers markets) have CSAs. Slate goes over one way to make it work.
• The Chatham County Buy Local guide.
• General Conference Cornbread. Though I keep meaning to try making his spaghetti pie.
• Mmmm. . . Grilled Cheese.