Spaetzle goes American...are you sure ??

Bob is obsessed with spaetzle ever since we discovered it. He wants me to use it in any dish that would normally use pasta.
We did try it with pesto recently, it was OK but not great. I may need to tweak either the spaetzle or the thickness of the pesto.

Mac and cheese is one of Bob's favorite comfort foods, mine too. It seemed worthwhile to replace the mac (macaroni)  with spaetzle.
While the title of this post assumes mac and cheese is an American creation, I would have guessed it probably originated somewhere in Germany.

Nope it's French !! Here's what wiki had to say:

"Pasta and cheese casseroles have been recorded in cookbooks as early as the 14th century's Liber de Coquina, one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. It is a French dish of parmesan and pasta and was brought to England in the 14th century. A cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns was recorded in the famous medieval French cookbook The Forme of Cury, which was written in the 14th century.^[7] It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese."

Now that I am thinking about it  I remember watching French chef extraordinaire, Jacques Pepin, make a version of mac and cheese using five different kinds of cheese, he just used whatever cheese "ends" he had around. They included a brie and some blue cheese !!

I did a similar thing in my version, using the last of a white cheddar and Parmesan, as well as a sharp orange cheddar.

 I decided to add roasted cauliflower too, it pairs well with cheesy sauce.

This recipe is similar to my gourmet mac and cheese.

Spaetzle cheese bake

Ingredients
 2-3 cups roasted cauliflower
1 recipe of spaetzle
1-2 cups grated cheese
1 jar Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup milk
2-3 tablespoons bread crumbs


1) Preheat oven to 350 F, grease a glass baking dish. I chose to have a thinner layer of mac and cheese so I used a 9 by 13, you could also us a square dish.

2) Roast 2-3 cups cauliflower pieces for  30 to 45 minutes at 350 F.

3) Make one recipe of spaetzle, drain and set aside.

4) In a bowl mix together the Alfredo sauce, milk and grated cheese.

5) Stir in the roasted cauliflower and the spaetzle.

6) Pour into your greased baking dish, top with bread crumb.

7) Bake for 30-40 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving, because there is nothing worse than burning the roof of you month on melting cheese !!

8) Serve with a large green salad and hope for leftovers !!

Meaty restaurant reviews...

In looking at the photos I took of two recent meals out, I realized they both were rather on the meaty side.

The first place was a new barbeque joint on Mission St. called Mission Street BBQ. I know, not much of a name and it's located in an old KFC. They have managed to make the place look clean, slightly less fast food than a KFC. I went there to lunch with a friend. We both ordered combo plates, mine had ribs, tri-tip and chicken. I was happy to see that the meat was not all smothered in barbeque sauce.

As you can see I also chose the coleslaw, which was a perfect foil for the barbeque. It was very fresh and not sweet which I appreciate. I enjoyed the tri-tip and the rib but felt the chicken fell short. The "garlic" toast was more tool than actual food, it didn't add much to the meal.

My dining companion had the pulled pork, rib and chicken. He felt the same way about the chicken. I did get to try his beans, they were more like chili beans that the sweeter barbeque beans I have had before. This was a feature for me not a bug.

The service was quick and very friendly. I would go back to try an amazing smoked chicken salad I saw go by. If you are looking for true southern barbeque you may be disappointed but for a quick lunch or relaxed dinner takeout, it's worth a try. For more information check out the reviews on Yelp.

For Valentine's Day we went to our favorite Cafe Sparrow in Aptos.
 On the drive there, the sunset was gorgeous.

We have been going to this lovely little restaurant for years. I am impressed when any small restaurant can sustain itself over time. The setting in Aptos Village is cute and quaint, the service is always personal and very good. For Valentine's Day they had a special menu. You can tell the lighting is "mood" as most of the photos came out a bit dark.

Several time the chef came out with an amuse bouche, these are little unsolicited dishes to entertain the mouth. This one was had pickled mustard seeds on cucumber slices.

I forgot to photograph the lentil salad in a Burssel sprout leaf, it was my favorite.

We decided to try the spinach cake in lemon butter appetizer. It was amazing, just the right amount of crunch to the spinach cake, the lemon sauce was light yet rich.

For the main course Bob had a filet mignon in sauce Diana which he loved.

I went with my new favorite braised short ribs. Not a great photo but the flavors were rich and the meat fell apart like it should. The grilled polenta was great too, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Yes, we had dessert, of course.
I went with the ever classic creme caramel. Just the right size and very delicate.

Bob chose the cheesecake, which he claimed was the better of the two desserts since he tasted mine but I did not taste his ;-)

We left feeling very sate but not over fed. I recommend this restaurant for a special night out or when company comes to town.

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies.

My dear sweet yoga teacher made cookies for all her classes this week in honor of Valentines Day. She loves to bake and cook and has a wonderful food blog of her own.

Monday she brought these chewy oatmeal cookies to class. If she had not told us, I would not have guessed they were vegan.


Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1/3 cup  coconut oil, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons soy or almond milk
1 tablespoon  cornstarch
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon*
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped if they are whole.
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

* The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, which contains the spices I used plus some others. If you have the pumpkin pie spice use that. You can just use cinnamon if that's all you have.

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets or cover with parchment paper.
2) In a large mixing bowl ( you can use a handmixer or strong fork) cream together the coconut oil and sugars.

3) Mix in the vanilla. Add the cornstarch and milk, and mix until the cornstarch is dissolved.

4) Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt, then add to the bowl, mix to combine.

5) My cranberries were whole.

 So I chopped them into smaller bits.

6) Add the oats, cranberries and nuts, to your mixture, mix well.

7) Scoop cookies out with a tablespoon or server, using about two tablespoons of dough per cookie.

8) Place about 2 inches apart. Flatten a little with your hand.

 
9) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.

10) Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

As you can see from this photo, or at least I can see...some of the cookies spread more than others. I think this was due to incomplete mixing of the dough, next time  ;-)

Valentine's Day = chocolate desserts !!

With Valentine's Day fast approaching my thoughts turn to chocolate.
It's the perfect dessert for a romantic dinner or as a gift for the love of your life.

I have a nice sampling of chocolate desserts on this blog, something for everyone!

Here's my favorite flourless chocolate cake, dense and rich, serve it with a nice vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream or creme fraiche. This cake can easily be made ahead of time.

This molten chocolate cake or lava cake was very popular a while back. It does need to be made right before you plan to serve it. For true decadence it is worth the work.

For your favorite vegan, how about these vegan chocolate cupcakes or some chocolate sorbet.

If you need your chocolate to be in a more portable form, I would recommend these very very chocolate cookies, or my divine brownies.

Probably my all time favorite chocolate dessert would be my chocolate ice cream.
It is so rich and creamy, and needs to be made ahead of time.

Happy Valentine's Day !!

Apple Molasses, so easy and so tasty !!

It not uncommon for people at the yoga center I attend, to stop me before and after class with food questions. About a month ago someone mentioned boiled apple cider, had I ever made it. I had never even heard of it. Of course now I needed to know...also know as apple molasses, it is simply the process of boiling apple cider down to a thick syrup.

I have made it twice so far. It has a lovely sweet, tart flavor and can be used it either sweet or savory dishes.

This is a great project for a cold or rainy day when you plan to be around your kitchen for several hours at least.

Apple Molasses

1) I advise starting with an organic, unfiltered apple juice.

This is a half gallon of juice, it will cook down to about 12 to 14 ounces.


2) Pour the juice into a large pot and use a wooden spoon to measure the depth.

3) Mark the juice level with a pen., this will help you measure your progress.

4) Bring the juice to a simmer, and allow to cook for several hours on medium low heat.

5) It will slowly reduce.  For the first couple of hours you don't need to watch it much.
The size of your pan will make a difference in how long it takes to reduce.

6) Toward the end you will need to be more attentive so it does not burn. It should turn a deep color and be a quarter or less of the original volume. The first batch I made was the consistency of thick syrup, the second batch slightly more liquid.

7) At this point you can store it in the fridge or can it in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

I love it on waffles and in my hot cereal.

I hear it is great on roasted Brussel sprouts. I'll bet it's great in marinades and salad dressings, over ice cream, with seltzer water, in hot tea or mixed drinks. Try it in apple pie, apple crisp or on a pork roast.