Category Archives: October 2011

Meatless Monday: Trick-or-Treat Rice Balls

In Korean culture, you’ll often find glutinous rice cakes cooked into stews and soups, but what you really want to keep your eye out for is when they’re served up for dessert. In the next few weeks I’ll be experimenting, and concocting every type of rice cake you can think of. Here’s my starter: an easy version made with orange veggies and lentils. Seasonally appropriate, these Halloween-inspired rice balls may look a bit like bon bons, but don’t be fooled! They’re actually pretty good for you.
Trick-or-Treat Rice Balls
Yields 20 rice balls 

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ acorn squash, seeds removed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup split black and white lentils
2 cups water
salt to taste
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup shredded toasted seaweed laver, shredded
3 cups glutinous white rice, cooked

Directions
In a preheated oven at 350 degrees, place a tray lined with vegetable oil and acorn squash. Cook until very tender, about an hour. Remove from heat, and scoop out the squash with a spoon.

In a medium sauce pan, place olive oil and shallots, allowing them to cook until they are translucent without coloring them for about 3 minutes on low heat. Stir in lentils and deglaze with water. Continue cooking on medium heat for about 40 minutes until the lentils are tender but not mushy.

In a medium saute pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil and carrots. Saute for about 4-5 minutes in low heat until carrots are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, add ¾ cup of rice, and ½ an acorn squash. Mix well with a spatula. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Form into small 1 ½ inch balls.

With the remaining rice, form into 1 ½ inch balls pressing firmly to compact the rice. Gently roll in mixing bowls filled with carrots, then squeeze in your palm to set the vegetables. Repeat steps for lentils and seaweed.

And then….. Boo! Enjoy.

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Filed under Hot on the Blog, Meatless Mondays, October 2011, Rina's Food2 recipes

Meatless Monday: Pumpkin Pasta with Spaghetti Squash and Sage

I made a pumpkin soup a day before rolling up my sleeves to make pasta. Deliciously orange-colored dough with layers upon layers of flavor — it was almost too beautiful to eat. It’s a fun twist on making pasta, plus a great way to make use of leftover soup. Wait, what, you made pasta using the pumpkin soup? Allow me explain…
Hand Rolled Pumpkin Pasta with Spaghetti Squash and Sage

Ingredients
For the pumpkin soup
Yields about 6 cups
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet pumpkin
2 tablespoons butter
1 white onion, chopped
1 quart vegetable stock
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
salt

For the pumpkin pasta 
Yields 4 servings

2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup pumpkin soup
pinch of salt

For the pumpkin sage sauce 
1 spaghetti squash, split in half
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
5-6 sage leaves, sliced thinly
pinch salt
fresh ground pepper
fresh grated gruyere cheese

Directions:

For Soup:
Place pumpkin on an oiled baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from heat and scoop out pumpkin chunks with a spoon. Set aside.

In a large stockpot, melt butter and cook onions in low heat for about 5 minutes until they are translucent. Add vegetable stock, nutmeg and pumpkin. 

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about half an hour and blend in batches. Season to taste with salt. 

Place spaghetti squash on an oiled baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove and scoop out with a fork. Set aside.

For pasta:
Place flour on a cold countertop surface. Make a well in center, add beaten egg, oil, and pumpkin soup. Fold in flour and knead dough until smooth for about five minutes. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

Roll out dough, cut into 8 sections. Make long snakes, cut into small 1 inch pieces. Roll out small snakes and twist at each end. 

Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Cook pasta for 4 minutes. Remove and set aside. 

For sauce:
Melt butter in a sauce pan, add pumpkin soup, heavy cream and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in spaghetti squash and pasta. Top with shredded gruyere cheese.

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Filed under Hot on the Blog, October 2011, Rina's Food2 recipes, Uncategorized

Meatless Monday: Tri-Mushroom Four Cheese Pizza

Inspired by the recent bout of cold weather, I thought about all the preserved ingredients (namely, dried mushrooms) coming our way. With three kinds of mushrooms and four kinds cheese, I managed to bake off a little pizza I’m rather proud of.
Pair it with iced or green tea, or go with a nice cocktail instead. Here’s a great pizza recipe for those of you who love rustic, creamy and mushroomy pizza.

Tri-Mushroom and 4 Cheese Pizza
Yields one large pie

Ingredients
1 Pound Pizza dough (frozen or fresh)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms (torn into small pieces and soaked in water for 30 minutes then strained)
½ cup dried shitake mushrooms (same as above)

1 cup white button mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup of chippolini onions, sliced
¼ cup fresh ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated gruyere cheese (aged 10 months)
¼ cup grated gruyere cheese (aged over 12 months)
¼ cup fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced and torn

Directions
In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place onions, add salt and allow them to carmelize in high heat for about 3 minutes. Sitr frequently to distribute heat and ensure even cooking. Remove from heat and set aside. Use the same pan, add two more tablespoons of olive oil and place white button mushrooms. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and cook for about 2-3 minutes on high heat until mushrooms are browned. Stir in porcini and shitake mushrooms. The liquid from these two beauties should give you enough moisture to deglaze the pan. Continue cooking for about 2 more minutes, add a dash of salt, remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare pizza dough on a greased baking sheet and stretch your dough to your hearts desire. Or you can follow my simple pizza stretching dough instructions here (from Mediterrenean pizza recipe).

Assemble your toppings! Cheese first, starting with the smoothest (ricotta), add mozzarella and top with two varieties of gruyere. Add mushrooms and onions.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Remove, slice, serve.

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Filed under Hot on the Blog, October 2011, Rina's Food2 recipes, Uncategorized

Meatless Monday: Fennel Puff Pastry Bites

For this easy gourmet starter, I used the sort of store bought puff pastry dough you can easily find in the frozen food section at your local supermarket. I love cooking with puff pastry: it’s magical watching the yeast/baking powder-free creature rise and poof up in the oven.
I made some new friends this weekend at the Starchefs International Chefs Conference, including Emmi Rothkase who provided the Le Gruyere Switzerland AOC Reserve cheese for this recipe. It’s a ten-month aged, grass fed, perfect companion to this savory recipe. You can omit the cheese if you like, but know that the combo of savory and sweet pineapple paired with the buttery, flaky puff pastry is what makes this guy so irresistible.

Ingredients
Makes about 14 bite size servings in various shapes
Puff pastry (thaw out to package directions)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups fennel, shaved with a mandolin
½ cup vegetable stock
1 stem lemongrass
½ pineapple, diced
2 cups gruyere cheese
½ teaspoon kosher salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
Cooking spray

Directions
In a saute pan on the stove top, add vegetable oil and saute fennel at medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Deglaze with vegetable stock and add lemongrass and pineapples. Reduce heat to a low-simmer and continue cooking for 30-40 minutes stirring frequently until fennel is very tender. Remove from heat and cool at room temperature.

Roll out puff pastry dough and use a cookie cutter (round-shaped) to section off your puff pastry.

In a greased (cooking spray) muffin pan, place puff pastry and dock (puncture little holes with a fork). Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until puff pastry rises. Remove from oven, cool for a few minutes (5 minutes), unmold and place on a baking sheet. Place fennel with pineapples, sprinkle cheese, add more fennel and pineapples. The gruyere cheese will act as an instant adhesive and pull all your ingredients together once it hits the heat in the oven.

Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove, plate, and eat up!

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Filed under Food2, Meatless Mondays, October 2011, Rina's Food2 recipes