Sesame Noodles

Tonight I got home from drum lessons, and from taking a pottery lesson from Cara Vaughn, and I was HUNGRY! I needed to make something cold and easy, so I made simple cold sesame noodles. It was very refreshing. Here is the recipe:

Simple Sesame Noodles
Serves 3 - 4

10 ounce package of somen noodles, or spaghetti
1/4 cup of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of miring (seasoned rice wine vinegar)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup of water
1 tablespoon of hot sauce
3 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
3 scallions, sliced

Cook the noodles until cooked, and drain in a bowl, and rinse in cold water. Place in a bowl.

Meanwhile, mix the soy sauce, mirin, garlic, water, hot sauce, and the sesame oil, in a small bowl.

Pour the sauce over the noodles, and toss with tongs. Add the sliced scallions, reserving a few left, toss them in and serve with the extra scallions on top.

Enjoy!

Lemon Curd, Pound Cake, Blueberry Sauce Trifle

I could not wait to get this photo out there.  This dessert weighs about 12 pounds and it is wonderful and festive!  Today we are guests at the the Lowe, Whinney, Logan family's annual Lobsterfest.  I look forward to this day all year and today I am breaking out a dessert they all will never forget! I will post the recipe later but I wanted to share this Trifle ASAP!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Stay Tuned!! 

Rachel

Blue Cheese Dressing

I have accomplished making blue cheese dressing, it is so easy, yet delicious! Here is the recipe:

Blue Cheese Dressing
Makes about 8 servings

1 cup of mayo
1/2 cup of sour cream
6 ounces of blue cheese
5-6 dashes of worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup of whole milk, or buttermilk

Combine everything in a medium bowl, stir it around, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge.

Serve with buffalo wings, endives, or anything you like.

Peach Cobbler

Yesterday we wanted to celebrate my mom mom's birthday. One day she asked me to make her peach cobbler, so I did. Here is a great recipe:

Peach Cobbler
Makes 12 servings

Fruit:
8 cups of fresh sliced unpeeled peaches, (or more- that's what I did)
1/4 cup of sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

Topping:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
2 big tablespoons of sugar, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 stick of cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of sugar


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle in the sugar, and the flour. Stir to combine.

To make the topping, combine the flour, the baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Stir it around, then add the butter, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.

In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg, and milk together.
Drizzle it into the flour mixture.
Stir it together just until it comes together, it should be lumpy.

Pour the peaches into a 2 quart baking dish.

Then, tear off pinches of the dough, and dot them all around the peaches.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.

Cover lightly with foil, and put it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Then, uncover it and bake for another 15 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

In a chilled mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with the sugar, until soft peaks form.

Serve the peach cobbler, warm or room temperature with the whipped cream, or serve with ice cream.

ENJOY!

You can substitute the peaches with blackberries, blueberries, or rhubarb.

Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce

I love pesto, and we have basil growing in our garden. So what other time can somebody make pesto pasta? When basil is fresh! Since the time is "fresh basil time", here is the recipe:

Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce
Serves 6-8 people

3/4 cup of basil leaves
3/4 cup of grated parmesan
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil, more if needed
1/2 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
12 ounces of pasta, fusilli
2 roma tomatoes, diced

Put the basil, garlic, 1/2 cup of the parmesan, and salt and pepper to a food processor. While blending it, add olive oil, until the texture is somewhat smooth.

Get a saucepan out, and heat it to medium high heat, add the butter, and the heavy cream, until the butter is melted. Pour the pesto in, and stir and simmer it for a few minutes. At the end dump in the rest of the parmesan, and stir it together.

Drain the pasta, and put it in a large bowl. Pour on the pesto sauce, and throw in the tomatoes. Stir it together, and serve! Delicious! Serve with some extra cheese on top.

Chickpea Brown Rice Burgers

My mom always loves buying veggie burgers, but my dad would not allow it anymore! He told me to make veggie burgers, so I did! Here is the great recipe!

Chickpea Brown Rice Burgers
Serves 4-5

2 cups of cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup of COOKED brown rice
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, minced
Salt and pepper
1 large egg
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 slices of queso fresco
4 lettuce leaves
Tomato slices, dijon mustard, onion
4 hamburger buns (optional)
1/4 cup of mayo
1 tablespoon of chives, minced
1 tablespoons of basil, minced

Mash the chickpeas, and brown rice with food processor, just until a thick paste forms.
Transfer to a large bowl.
Stir in the shallot, garlic, salt, pepper, and the parsley.
Whisk the egg into the mixture, and form into 1/2 inch thick patties.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the "burgers" and cook them for about 4 minutes on each side. When the first side is done add the cheese, and melt it.

Mix the mayo, chives, and basil in a small bowl. Season with pepper.

To serve, smear the buns with the mayo, add the fix ins that you would like, and put the burger on top with the top of the bun. Yum!

Serve with a salad.

NYC

Over the weekend we went to NYC for vacation, since my family and I were there, we decided to try some great restaurants such as…

Barney Greengrass - The Sturgeon King
At Barney Greengrass, we had their piping hot latkes! Anyone who goes there must try them! I also had a bagel with cream cheese, whitefish salad, and lox. Is there anything better? My mom got a tuna sandwich on rye bread which was the best tuna ever, and my dad got the scrambled eggs with a side of sturgeon, their specialty. If you ever get to Barney Greengrass, try anything on their menu, even their pickles because everything is fabulous there.

Totto Ramen -
My neighbor owns a bunch of Japanese restaurants, in NYC, that are in the top 100 restaurants in New York! That is a big deal! My family and I decided to go to Totto Ramen, one of his best restaurants in NYC.  We started off with onigiri which is a rice triangle wrapped with sea weed, and in this case stuffed with pork! Sorry it wasn't kosher. We also had spicy tuna tataki. It was the first raw fish I have ever had, and it was mind blowing, I literally couldn't put it down. For the main course my mom and I got the ramen noodles with chicken and scallions, while my dad was more brave and got the spicy ramen with pork. Both noodle dishes were just mind blowing! It felt like we were in Japan! Overall, the waiters were very accommodating, the food was great, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was definitely a modern Japanese ramen restaurant in New York.

                                   My dads shirt after ramen, luckily the waiters gave him a tide to go


Kossars Bialy Bakery -
Open since 1936, Kossars is not known to disappoint people who love bialys. As we walked in, the aroma of freshly baked goods came into my nose, and made me feel warm. The atmosphere had two guys baking bread, and emptying out big boxes, which the bread was baked in. There was flour flying every which way. My dad said that my mom and I should get a pletzel. A pletzel, is like a smooched bialy, but is tastes way better than it sounds. Go there and get bagels, bialys, and pletzels!

Dylans Candy Bar - 

A kids dream, three floors filled top to bottom with candy, candy, and more candy! Completed with a candy bar, which you can serve yourself at, to every imaginable candy in the USA, Dylans is loved by everybody in NYC. Fitted with music to the theme of candy, to personalized mints, chocolate bars, and many many more, anybody should go to Dylans to get a sweet treat. I know I did…

Overall NYC was a great experience filled with great food, and fun!