Feed me!

Bagels!

There is nothing I love more than a crusty, chewy bagel- preferably sesame seed- with creamy,salty butter. Recently, I have been on a bagel binge- eating 1-2 bagels per day. Instead of having an intervention with myself- I decided to continue with my binge and see if I could create a garlic and sesame seed bagel. I love the combo of the salty garlic with nutty, sweet sesame seeds. You hardly ever find the combo so I decided I shall do it on my own! The recipe is on the low to medium side for ease but definitely a high on outcome. It is a two day recipe so make sure you plan ahead! 

Serves- 12 medium sized bagels      Cook time- Day 1= 3-4 hours   Day 2- 1 hour

For the Starter

2 1/2 cups of warm water

4 cups of unbleached bread fliur

1 tsp of instant yeast

For the dough

1/2 tsp instant yeast

3 3/4 cups unbleached bread flor

2 3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp brown sugar

Finishing

1 tbsp baking soda

semolina flour or cornmeal ( I used semolina)

toppings- sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried minced onion or garlic, grated cheeses, kosher salt

Day 1

1. In a large bowl- stir the yeast and flour together. Add the water and stir until it gets nice and thick. It’ll create a thick- sticky batter. 

2. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and leave at room temperature for 2 hours. The starter will expand and get all bubbly. 

3. Add the additional yeast,salt and brown sugar to the bowl of starter and stir. 

4. Now add 3 cups of flour and mix in the flour into the starter- forming  stiff dough.

5. Add the additional 3/4 cups of flour and continue kneading. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough passes a windowpane test. You can find out to to do the windowpane test here. If it doesn’t pass the test- just continue kneading- work out your arms! I had to knead for almost 20-25 minutes to get to this point. I have awesome biceps :-)  The dough should be fully hydrated- if its flaky- just add a few drops of water and continue kneading. The final dough should be satiny soft.

6.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray them lightly with oil. Break the dough into 12 equal pieces and create little balls/rolls and place them on the lined baking sheets. Cover with a damp towel.- Let them rest for 20 minutes at room temperature. 

7. Next- using your fingers, poke a hole in the middle of each roll and stretch to 2-2.5 inches wide to get your pretty little bagel shape. Place each bagel back onto the lined baking sheet and spray lightly with oil once all the rolls have been hole-ified. Cover with saran wrap and let them rest for 20 minutes at room temperature. 

8. Now its time for the awesome float test. Fill a small saucepan 3/4 way up with water. Now place one of the bagels into the water- it should come up and float under 10 seconds. If the bagels doesn’t float under 10 seconds then take the tester bagel and pat it dry and return it to the saran wrap covered baking sheet. Let it rest for 10-20 more minutes and try again. Once the tester bagel floats - put the bagels into the refrigerator overnight. You can keep them in there for up to 2 days. 

Day 2

1. Pre heat your oven to 500 F. 

2. Boil large wide mouthed pot of water and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda.

3. Take the bagels out of the fridge and drop 1-3 bagels ( or however many can fit into your pot without overcrowding) into the boiling water. Boil for 1 minutes on each side-  I boiled them for 2 minutes on each side because I like my bagels chewy. 

4.On the baking sheets - add new parchment paper and lightly spray them with oil and sprinkle with semolina flour. This prevents the bagels from sticking. 

5. Use a slotted spoon and remove the bagels once they are done and lay them onto the floured baking sheet. At this moment add your toppings while the bagels are still wet. Continue with steps 3-5 until all the bagels are topped and ready to go. 

6. Place your oven racks in the middle two slots of your oven- place one baking sheet on each rack and bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes switch the two sheets and rotate 180 degrees. Now lower your oven temperature to 450 F. Bake for 5 minutes or until your bagels are the right golden color you want them to be.

7. Cool your bagels on a rack for 15-20 minutes before enjoying! 

Chocolate Dipped Pistachio Cookies

For my baby cousin’s birthday I experimented a little with chewy cookies. These cookies are eggless and amazingly delicious. The nutty pistachios and the sweetness of the chocolate make this cookie one of best cookies I have ever made. 

Cook time- 1 hour     Makes- 3 dozen, 2 cookies/person = 18 people

2 sticks of butter- diced

1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/3 cup of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1/2 cup of applesauce

3 cups of flour

3/4 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda

3/4 cups of crushed pistachios

melted chocolate- about 4 oz 

Preheat oven at 350 degrees

1. Take the 2 sticks of butter and cream it, mixing very well. (dicing the butter helps it cream quickly- especially if the butter isn’t room temperature) I did this in a Kithen Aide mixer on low for about 3 minutes.

2. Add the white sugar to the butter and mix for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar to the butter and mix for an additional 2 minutes. Make sure everything is well incorporated and creamed!

3. Add the applesauce and vanilla and mix for 1 minute.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix with a spoon.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture 3 spoonfuls at a time while the mixer is on low. You don’t want a cloud of flour over everything so take it slow. Once all the flour is incorporated mix on medium high for 2 minutes. 

6. Roll the dough into small 1 inch balls and press down. Bake on parchment paper over a cookie sheet. It should take 10-12 minutes for a nice brown color. 

7. Let the cookie cool for 10 minutes. While the cookies cool- chop up the pistachios if you haven’t already done so.  

8. Melt the chocolate in the microwave- mixing every 15 seconds. I used almond bark- which has the same instructions as chocolate for melting.

9. Roll the edges of the cookies in the chocolate- using a spoon to wipe off excess…or your finger- whatever works best. Next roll the edges in crushed pistachios and set onto a foil covered plate. Once the plate is full- chuck it in the freezer for 1 minute to let the chocolate set. Repeat until all the cookies are covered. Enjoy!

Vegetable Manchurian!

My boyfriend came over to visit this weekend and we decided to make something that I never ever attempted before. I have never made vegetable manchurian, I love it, but I never attempted to make it myself. So after hunting down various recipes, I decided the best thing was to mix up 4 different recipes I found into something I felt I would like. It turned out really good! My bf ended up eating about 6 Manchurian balls in one sitting and then had 2 more the next day for breakfast. It’s actually quite easy and has simple ingredients. Enjoy!

Cook time -1 hour Serves: 3-4 people

Veggie Balls

1/2 cabbage grated

1/2 onion grated

4 carrots grated

1 green chile pepper, grated/minced

3 teaspoons of salt

2 teaspoons of pepper

6 tablespoons of all purpose flour

2 tablespoons of corn starch

oil for frying

1. Mix the grated cabbage, onion,green chile pepper and carrots in the bowl.

2. Add the salt, pepper, flour, and cornstarch and mix well. 

3. Make 1 1/2 - 2 inch balls with the cabbage mixture using you hands. Make sure not to totally squeeze out all the water, otherwise it’ll be a really dense. 

4. Deep fry the balls until golden brown. ( I heated oil in a frying pan (1/2 inch of oil) and just stirred them around when the bottom side was done) 

Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

sri racha to taste

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon of sugar

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons grated ginger

1/4 onion minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

3 tablespoons of oil

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

1. In a bowl mix the ketchup, Sri racha, soy sauce, sugar, and water.

2. In a saucepan, heat the oil until hot and add the onions. After about 1 minute add the ginger and garlic. Mix for another minute.

3. Add the ketchup mixture to the pot and simmer for 2 minutes. 

4. In a separate cup mix about 2 tablespoons of water with the cornstarch and add to the sauce pan. Make sure you stir fast and quickly so that the cornstarch doesn’t turn into one giant lump! This will make the sauce thicker and into a glaze.

5. Now just serve the fired Manchurian balls with the sauce on top and enjoy! FYI it’s even better the next day! 

PIZZZAAAA!

My mom is famous for her pizza. I have family member who come over specifically asking her to make pizza for dinner. In my kitchen I always end up being the prep chef, so I have seen her little secrets to a perfect crust. My parents actually had some of my pizza when they came over and loved it, so I know this recipe is a keeper for sure!

Pizza under an hour- it can be done! with the right ingredients that is :-) I use Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast . Just follow the directions on the back of the packet and you’re set. 

Cook time- 1 hour           Serves- 4 people ( makes one 12 inch thin crust pizza or one 9 inch thick crust pizza)

CRUST

1 packet Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast

1 3/4 c - 2 1/4 c of all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar

3/4 teaspoon of salt

2/3 cup of very warm tap water

3 tablespoons of oil ( I did 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of garlic oil)

1 tablespoon of dried oregano

Pizza Sauce

1 can of diced tomatoes

1/4 tablespoon of dried oregano

3 teaspoons of garlic powder

1/4 tablespoon of dried basil

1/4 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F

2. In a bowl mix 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, oregano and salt. 

3. Add water and oil and mix for 1 minute.

4. Add 1/2 cup of flour or more slowly to the mixture and knead until a smooth dough ball is formed. 

5. Knead for 4 minutes with floured hands. You know the dough is done when the sides of the bowl are clean because the dough has picked up all the flour. 

6. Grease a pizza pan or baking sheet with oil. I pour about 2 teaspoons onto the sheet and then spread it around with my fingers. Then i ball up a napkins and wipe the board with it so that there isn’t an excess of oil and that it is coated evenly. 

7. Using your hands press the dough into a 12 inch circle (thin crust) or 9 inch circle (thick crust). Make sure the dough is level and even.

8. In a blender add all of the pizza sauce ingredients and blend for 30 seconds. Pour the sauce onto the crust.

9. Add your toppings. I did the following:

a. sauce, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, bell peppers and onions

b. sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, onions, spinach, and tomato slices. * my favorite one so far

10. Once you have added the toppings,brush olive oil along the edge of the pizza to get a nice crust. 

11. Bake in the oven on the bottom rack for 25-30 minutes. You can see it is done when you lift the pizza you have a even browning of the crust and all the cheese is nice and melty. 

ENJOY! Seriously so good, I am never ordering delivery again. 

Gnocchi (eggless)

My mother came to visit this weekend. That means an absurd amount of food has been given to me. I am now left with enough groceries to feed a family of four for 2 weeks. I received 15 potatoes…..I know….

As I am a huge fan of the starchy tuber, I figured I should probably try something new. I have had fried, baked,sauteed, boiled, mashed potatoes, which is pretty boring. Then I realized I have never made gnocchi. It seems like a pretty simple recipe, and it is. Once again minimal ingredients make the best food, at least in my opinion. 

Cook time- 2 hour Serves- 4 people

2 large potatoes

all purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon of flavored or herbed olive oil (optional)

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the potatoes and let them cool. 

3. Once they are cool, peel the potato skin off and then mash in a bowl with a fork. Make sure you “fluff” them with a fork after you are done mashing them. 

4. Add the salt and a little bit of flour (~ 1/4 cup) and start mixing with your hands. Add the flour little by little until you form a smooth un-sticky ball of dough. ( I added a tablespoon of garlic EVO to my mix to give it more flavor, you can do the same with other flavored oils or herbs. 

5. Drape a clean cloth over the dough and let it sit for 20 minutes. 

6. Roll portions of the the dough in to a 1/2 inch thick ropes. Lay the ropes down on a flour-dusted board. Cut each rope in to 1 inch nuggets of potato-y goodness :-) 

7. I rolled each gnocchi down a fork and curled them in half. To do this- gently push the gnocchi against the back of a fork and then curl the gnocchi over so that both ends meet. 

*****If you have more than you need, you can freeze them at this point for later like I did. IF you do decide to freeze the gnocchi, put them in an airtight container. When you recook them just boil until they float to the surface. 

7. Cook the gnocchi in boiling water until the float to the surface and remove them with a slotted spoon. (this takes less than a minutes so be quick) You will see the gnocchi puff up and it’ll be a little soft when you take it out. The gnocchi with firm more as it cools. 

I had some leftover homemade marinara sauce which I ate with the gnocchi, but you can do pesto, alfredo, or my favorite, Gorgonzola sauce. 

Enjoy!