Quick Recipes: Easy Mint and Feta Rice

Serves 6 well – halve or double as needed.

1. Using your rice cooker, make 2 cups of long-grained white rice, using your favorite chicken or vegetable stock as your cooking liquid.

2. Meanwhile, thinly slice two large onions. Caramelize onions on low heat using both butter and olive oil. Adding a pinch of sugar helps the process.

3. Stir together the following in your serving bowl: your cooked rice, the caramelized onions, an ample handful of finely chopped fresh mint leaves, and a generous amount of crumbled feta cheese. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

4. Serve warm. Great as a side dish, or top with a fried egg for a lazy leftover dinner.

To watch, to use, to make (new years edition)

1. Need some motivation to do some prep-work in your kitchen on the weekends? Watch this lovely video from Prune and Chez Panisse chef, Tamar E. Adler. I especially like the idea of storing the food in mason jars – a useful tip if your fridge, like mine, runs on the small side. Also how beautiful is her kitchen?

www.tamareadler.com

2. It’s hard to escape the crushing amount of cleanse/diet/detox plans that are advertised this time of year. But if you are cookied-out and could use some fresh ideas, this one from Bon Appetit is the best one I’ve seen in terms of web layout and content.

www.bonappetit.com

3. I made this take-out style Black Pepper Tofu (from this cookbook) recently and it’s nothing short of addicting. Highly recommend but only if you really (really) like food with a kick. A few adjustments: 1) there’s no real need to use two different types of soy sauce – 6 tsp of whatever you have on hand will work fine. b) I love spicy food to a fault but found the recommended 5 tablespoons of pepper to be a little insane.  I used 4 tablespoons of coarse black pepper, which was more than enough. I would recommend 3 if you want a somewhat normal amount of heat.  c) The recipe calls for 11 tbs of butter. This must be a typo. I used 1. d) Definitely serve with brown rice and some steamed, barely flavored greens to temper the intense flavor of the tofu. Bok choy is a good choice.

photo by yours truly, excuse the blurriness!

Happy New Years!

Eggnog Cheesecake

 

Hope all your holidays ahead are filled with indulgent food and as much good company as you can possibly handle. I’ll be making more than a few desserts this Christmas, but will be putting this beauty front and center, not least of which because this is one time of year to really justify making and eating something called Eggnog Cheesecake.

Eggnog can be a divisive item – I seem to meet an equal number of detractors as I do its fans – but you can rest assure the former that this recipe is up their alley too. This is really just a regular (delicious) cheesecake, infused with Cognac or rum. Dress it up with some whipped cream and ground nutmeg on top, and you’ll have one of the most festive desserts on the table. Happy holidays!

Eggnog Cheesecake

From Williams-Sonoma Baking

For the crust:
1 cup pecan halves, toasted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the filling:
2 lb cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons Cognac or dark rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs, at room temperature
whipped cream and nutmeg for garnish

For the whipped cream (optional)
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk (milk powder)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a chilled metal bowl, combine the cream, sugar, dry milk and vanilla and beat with chilled beaters until the cream stands in soft peaks. To pipe the cream through a pastry bag, beat it until it has stiff peaks.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the crust, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the toasted pecans, the graham cracker crumbs, and brown sugar and process to form fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs begin to stick together. With your hand draped with plastic wrap to form a glove, press the crumbs firmly onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a springform pan 9″ in diameter and 2 1/2 inches deep. Wrap aluminum foil around the outside of the pan. Bake the crust until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Leave the oven set at 350 degrees.

To make the filling, in a bowl, combine the cream cheese and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat until well blended. Beat in the Cognac, vanilla and nutmeg. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition just until combined. Pour and scrape the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top.

Bake until the edges are set but the center still quivers slightly when the pan is shaken, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days.

To serve, run a knife around the pan sides to loosen the cake. Remove the foil from the pan and release the pan sides. Place the cheesecake on a plate. Decorate with whipped cream rosettes and a dusting of nutmeg.