Decidedly un-Delicious

In an effort to find some way to feed Oliver something besides Pediasure I have sought the culinary advice of Jessica Seinfeld, wife of none other than comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and author of Deceptively Delicious, a cookbook made famous by its spinach-laden brownie recipe. The idea is that you can sneak veggies into your kids' food by pureeing it and then mixing hidden veggies into everything from brownies to mac-n-cheese (cauliflower and carrots). I have finally found a use for the Cuisinart coffee grinder dad gave me a few years ago! I have been pureeing like a mad woman.

Some of my successes involve butternut squash (pasta sauce) and sweet potatoes (waffles). But this weekend I went for the real challenge: Beets.


Man, I so want to like beets. They are SO nutritious. They are loaded with antioxidants and other disease-fighting compounds, but YUCK. They just taste so gross!! I made a lovely magenta puree. In a Mason jar it looks like a precious gem, something unearthed by one of the Seven Dwarfs. I should just leave it in the fridge to admire and call it good. On Saturday I tried to mix a little into pancake batter. Ryan encouragingly said that once you add butter and syrup you can hardly taste the beets. Hmm...not exactly a glowing review. But for my breakfast this morning I reached new depths of yuckiness. I tried to mix in some beet puree into my yogurt. It looked like borscht. The picture below gives you an idea, but mine didn't have any beet chunks (the picture below actually IS borscht. Thank you, Internet). I added maple syrup but I couldn't mask the beet-y flavor. Being my father's daughter, I DID eat it. I felt virtuous as I choked down my beet yogurt (I made a parfait with Fiber One cereal...as if it could get any worse!!! Oh, the humanity!) Anyway, this is an experiment that I will not try again.

September Daring Bakers Challenge

This month's Daring Baker's challenge was to make lavash crackers (an Armenian flatbread) and a gluten-free vegan dip. Abby opted out of this month's challenge. She claimed that since she doesn't get to cook as often as she would like, any cooking or baking she gets to this month would NOT include making anything vegan or gluten free.

So, I completed the challenge on my own. I've got to say the crackers were super easy, but kind of underwhelming. Maybe I did them wrong, since I have never tasted lavash as far as I know. Essentially, it's just a rather bland thin cracker. I'm not even going to bother posting the recipe since it was kind of blah. Here's a picture of them though:


So despite their mediocrity, these lavash crackers were just the right vehicle for the AWESOME roasted eggplant dip that I made from the Barefoot Contessa (again, a shout out to my girl Ina Garten). This is so delicious and so healthy! I made it to bring to our friend's house (HI RACHEL!!) when we had the lamb burgers. They made a great easy alternative to hummus. The recipe in the cookbook indicates that you should peel the eggplant. The second time I made this (yes, it was that good!) I left the peel on since that is where the antioxidants are. This dip is good with toasted pitas or veggies. I am partial to cucumber slices.

ROASTED EGGPLANT DIP
1 medium eggplant
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.
Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

"Home" Cooking

There is a lovely restaurant on Cornelia Street in the West Village, called "Home". It is a charming little place with a deck out back where I had my medical school graduation party.

As a graduation present, someone in my family gave me the cookbook from the restaurant. In his foreward to the book, Calvin Trilling comments on how the restaurant serves up dishes that feel home-y, but are a LITTLE more impressive than what he actually ate at home growing up.

So despite not having actually made this particular chocolate pudding at home, I will post the recipe in the spirit of 'what home might be'. Anna requested it, I think because she is going to make it for my favorite picky eater, the best 2 and a half year-old boy there ever was. I wish I could be in Cackalacky to enjoy it with them. Save some leftovers for me!

CHOCOLATE PUDDING
there's always room for chocolate

4 cups heavy cream
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granuated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Bring heavy cream to a simmer in a large saucepan, then remove from heat. Add 1 cup warm milk to chocolate in a large bowl and let stand until melted. Stir until smooth, then add remaining cream.
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt. Gradually whisk in the chocolate and cream mixture. Strain pudding through a fine mesh and skim off the froth.
Pour into 8 6-oz ramekins and place in a bain-marie (use hot water). Cover with alumnimum foil and bake for 50 minutes until edges are set and center is still soft.
Allow to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate for several hours.
Serve chilled.
I think it would be nice to put chocolate shavings on top. Mmm. Mmm.