beignets

beignet
Originally uploaded by immjay.

i got a craving for something sweet, so i made these one evening. it works best if you have an oil thermometer; i didn't get the right color until about the third batch b/c i didn't know the oil's temperature.

Sweet Beignets
about 2 dozen

corn oil, for frying, or another oil with high smoke point, such as safflower or peanut
3 1/2 cups sifted flour, plus extra for rolling
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar, for serving

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed, wide-mouthed pot halfway with corn oil and heat over a medium-high flame until oil reaches a temperature of 360 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl whisk together sugar and eggs. Stir canola oil and milk into sugar-egg mixture. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture until a biscuit-like dough forms.

Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour and, using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut into 2-inch squares (i used a sharp knife that i kept dipping in flour). You will have scraps leftover but do not try to remix these as that will cause tough dough; just fry as are.

Use the dough scraper to lift dough squares off the work surface. Fry the beignets in small batches about 4 minutes, or until golden, turning several times to color evenly. Using a slotted spoon gently remove the beignets and drain thoroughly on paper towels. Place powdered sugar in a sieve and shake over the beignets to cover with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

recipe courtesy of emeril

puerto rican-style black bean soup

blackbean
Originally uploaded by immjay.

i LOVE this recipe. it's so quick, easy and hella tasty! you can halve this for a hearty one serving. run the fan when browning the seasonings. it's a little pungent and makes me cough if i'm not careful.
Puerto Rican-style black bean soup
serves two

1 tablespoon caribbean jerk seasoning blend
2 15- to 16-ounce cans caribbean-style or regular black beans, drained (now, i've never seen "carribbean-style black beans" in the store. i usually get goya)
1 1/4 cups canned vegetable broth (you can also use chicken broth; i've used both)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
lime wedges

Stir 1 tablespoon seasoning blend in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darker in color, about 4 minutes. Transfer seasoning to processor. Add black beans, vegetable broth and olive oil to processor and purée until mixture is almost smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Transfer purée to same saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Mix in lime juice. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with lime wedges.

courtesy of epicurious

lemon bars

lemon
Originally uploaded by immjay.

i made these cos i got a craving one day after seeing paula deen's lemon bars on tv. these aren't paula deen's, but it's a recipe that's from the food network. my friend loved the crust so much that she wanted me to just make the crust for her!

Lemon Bars
makes 24

COOKIE BASE
1 cup unsalted butter, melted (i actually just cut my cold butter into little chunks)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups unbleached allpurpose flour

LEMON FILLING
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons unbleached allpurpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon rind

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together butter, powdered sugar and flour until well blended (since my butter was melted, i mixed it until all the ingredients were mixed well together, with the butter in little flecks through out the dough). Press mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

Sift together sugar, flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add eggs, lemon juice and lemon rind. Beat by hand or with electric mixer until well blended. Pour mixture over crust and bake for 25 minutes.

Allow bars to cool, then dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

turkey cutlets with rosemary and corn-meal-dusted ravioli

turkey
Originally uploaded by immjay.

Turkey Cutlets with Rosemary and Corn-Meal-Dusted Ravioli
serves 4

RAVIOLI
1 package (12 to 14 ounces) fresh ravioli, either filled with cheese, spinach and cheese, or mushroom and cheese (found on dairy aisle of most markets; i used spinach, artichoke and cheese ravioli)
salt, to taste
1 cup corn meal
1/4 cup parmigiano or romano grated cheese (a couple of handfuls)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

TURKEY CUTLETS
1&1/3 pounds turkey cutlets
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped, the yield of a few sprigs, stripped
salt and coarse freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of freshbay leaves, 1 for each cutlet, (available in produce herb section), or, small dried bay leaves
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
the zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
1 tablespoon butter

Place a large pot of water to boil over high heat and cover. When it comes to boil, add a healthy dose of salt and cook ravioli to package directions for al dente.

Pour corn meal onto a plate and combine with grated cheese, then mix in nutmeg and black pepper.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over moderate heat and add oil and butter. Drain ravioli. Dust hot ravioli (it is important that they are hot; the cornmeal mixture will stick better that way) in corn meal on the plate, then add to the skillet and brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Set aside.

When pasta is cooking, preheat a large skillet for turkey cutlets over medium to medium-high heat.

Season cutlets with chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Choose small fresh or dried bay leaves or halve large leaves with kitchen scissors. Press a small bay leaf or half leaf into each turkey cutlet. Add olive oil to the pan, then the cutlets, bay leaf side down. Saute in a single layer, working in 2 batched if necessary, 4 or 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a warm plate. Add the lemon zest and juice to the pan and deglaze with wine or vermouth, pulling up and pan drippings with a whisk. Add a pat of butter, whisk it in and pour the sauce down over the cutlets. Serve alongside the fried ravioli with a green tossed salad.

-- from 30-minute meals 2 by rachel ray

noodle bowls

another goodie from rachel ray. it's basically ramen, just healthier and MUCH tastier. this recipe puts chicken in it, but i decided to nix the chix and just go for a vegetarian noodle bowl (well, with chicken broth). what's great about this recipe is that it's very adaptable. there's 50 million variations you can do to this.

it's also great when for cooking for one; you can chop all the veggies, store in a plastic bag, and heat up broth and noodles, one serving at a time.

Noodle Bowls
serves 4

3 quarts vegetable stock or chicken broth
1&1/2 pounds fresh linguine (available on the dairy aisle, but i just used boxed linguine)
1&1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized chunks, or chicken breasts cut for stir-fry
8 scallions cut into bite-sized pieces on an angle
2 cups shredded carrots (available in pouches in produce section)
1 package fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 24 mushrooms) coarsely chopped (i used baby bella)
1/2 head bok choy, trimmed and shredded (i used 2 heads of baby bok choy)
1/2 pound snow peas, cut in hald on an angle (i used sugar snaps)
chopped fresh cilantro and/or chives, for garnish (optional; since this was just for me, i nixed this)

Bring 3 quarts of vegetable stock or chicken broth to a boil in a soup pot (i added some extra seasoning here -- seasoned salt and pepper).

In a large separate pot of boiling salted water, cook fresh linguine 3 minutes. Drain pasta just before it's done, as it will finish cooking while it steeps in your soup bowls. (since i used box pasta, i cooked it for 7 minutes, instead of the recommended 9. in other words, just take 2 minutes off the recommended cook time.)

Divide cooked fresh pasta into 4 equal amounts and place into 4 deep bowls.

Add chicken to boiling broth and poach chicken 5 minutes.

Add veggies to bowls of pasta. Ladle brothe and chicken equally into the four bowls to cover vegetables and noodles. Cover bowls tightly with small plates and let the soup steep 5 minutes.

Uncover your noodle bowls and serve. Garnish with cilantro and/or chives for extra zing, if you prefer.