When I sat down to write this post I was in a bad mood.  Bad moods tend to give me writer’s block, except for the negative things, which seem to get through just fine.  This was my original draft of this post:

“I hate food.  I don’t like chiles.  I quit this contest.  Corn sucks.  Also stop reading food blogs it’s making you fat.  It’s making me fat too.  This is my last blog post ever.  Peace.  If you ever ate meat you are basically responsible for killing bambi’s mom.  Traffic sucks.  Trains suck.  Goodbye.  Blog blog blog blah blah blog blog. [This is what Trevor says when I’m writing blog posts.]”

None of these things are actually true, except that writing a food blog actually does make you a little bit fatter than you’d like to be, unless you have the self-control of some animal that seems strong-willed and regal that is not a human.  Like a cougar, or an iguana.  And anyway, the reason that I was in a foul mood while writing is that I was sitting on a train for an hour immediately after sitting in a car for five and a half hours in Labor Day traffic immediately before riding the subway for 45 minutes.  So really, I just don’t like traveling, people who wave at you when you’re stuck in traffic, and sticky train seats.  I actually like chiles and contests and corn quite a bit, which is why I signed up for this contest in the first place.  Also, because when I saw the announcement for this contest I was basically only cooking things that contained various ratios of fruit, sugar, and butter, and I thought chiles would provide a little bit of inspiration.

At this point I am going to back up to the point at which I would have started had I been in a good mood while writing this, and inform you that I am participating in a contest hosted by Marx Foods to develop an original recipe using a sample of their dried chiles.  I really like participating in their contests because a. they have great products that I get to use in the recipe development process, b. they have great prizes even though I don’t usually win, and c. the contests push me to think outside of the box.  Also, they come up with really original, delicious sounding recipes on their blog, which you should check out if you haven’t.

Anyways, they sent a sample of six types of dried chiles – aji amarillo, mulatto, habanero, puya, cascabel, and japones.  We were required to use at least one of the chiles in an original recipe, and after reading the descriptions on the chile samples, I decided that I had to use the mulatto chiles, as they were described as having mild heat, with a hint of molasses and chocolate.  Um, yum.  By far the best dish I made this summer was the “market corn” from Antojitos (which I described here,) so I decided to use that recipe as my inspiration for this contest.  The Flavor Bible informed me that eggs and dried chiles were a good match, and there was my spark – a sweet corn and adobo frittata.  I started by making an adobo sauce from the mulatto and puya chiles, sweetened with a bit of brown sugar and a tablespoon of molasses.  Then I mixed it into some eggs with some cheddar cheese (although I think I’d prefer something sharper, like parmesan) and fresh sweet corn, fried then broiled it, and topped with diced avocado.  I had mixed expectations for this creation – would it really go together as well as I hoped it would? – which were actually far exceeded by the result.  It was scrumptious.  And easy.  And the adobo sauce itself was super flavorful, and I had it the next day on top of a hamburger and that was almost more delicious.  Almost.

So, if you think this sounds good, or you like these lovely pictures, or you think it’s funny when I’m grouchy, or you feel bad for killing bambi’s mom, or you are enjoying this picture of Trevor using the cascabel chiles as maracas, or think that winning a sausage medley would cheer me up, keep your eye out for me to post the link to Marx Foods to vote for me to win this contest.  Cool?  Cool.

Adobo and Sweet Corn Frittata

Serves 3.  Adobo sauce recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse.

Adobo Sauce – Makes 1 1/2 cups.

• 3 mulato chiles
• 4 puya or guajillo chiles
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 1 TBS brown sugar
• 1 TBS molasses
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• dash allspice
• dash cloves
• 3 TBS cider vinegar
• salt to taste

1. Toast the chiles in a dry pan over medium-high heat, turning every 30 seconds or so and pressing down with tongs until chiles begin to soften.  Do not allow to char.  Remove chiles from heat with tongs, and remove stem and seeds from chiles.  Discard stem and seeds and place chile flesh in a small saucepan.  Cover chiles with just enough hot water to submerge, then bring to a boil.  Remove from heat, cover pan, and allow chiles to steep for 20 minutes.  Remove chiles from pot and add to blender, reserving soaking water separately.
2. Add vinegar, onion, garlic, sugar, molasses, and spices, and pulse to blend fully.  Add salt, and taste for seasoning, adjusting as necessary.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

For the frittata:

• 4 eggs
• 2 TBS adobo sauce
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 ear corn, boiled briefly and kernels removed
• 1/3 c. parmesan or cheddar cheese
• 1 avocado, diced, for topping

1. Beat together eggs, cheese, adobo sauce, salt, and thyme.  Over medium heat in an oven-safe pan, melt butter and saute corn for a minute or two.  Add eggs and allow to sit undisturbed for 1 minute, then pull edges gently from side of pan to let uncooked egg fall through.  Allow to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes, until mostly set, and then transfer to the oven and broil on high for 2 minutes, until top is cooked through.  Top with avocado, and serve warm.

The post Chile Contest – Adobo and Sweet Corn Frittata appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

In the fourth and final round of Marx Food’s Ridiculously Delicious challenge, the Marx dudes sent each of the ten remaining competitors something pricey, perishable, and totally foreign to me – fresh wasabi root.   I was immediately excited about working with a completely new ingredient (I don’t even eat sushi so I’m really a wasabi newb) because it’s much easier to be creative when you don’t already have strong associations with an ingredient.  So, wasabi safely wrapped in a damp paper towel and stored in the fridge,  I began learning, using the collective experience of the food-loving internet as my guide.

In the end, I had a lengthy list of flavor combinations and recipe ideas, ranging from dark chocolate, candied ginger, and wasabi cupcakes to a garlic and wasabi crusted Ahi tuna.  For the past two weeks I have been entirely bogged down with work and major deadlines, so I haven’t had any time to think creatively or cook or read or do much of anything that wasn’t directly related to engineering.  With this wave of deadlines finishing up this weekend, I decided to get all of my pent up creative cooking energy out there at once, and create a wasabi trio.

I wanted my wasabi trio to consist of three distinct elements, all with wasabi as a primary flavor, that complemented and enhanced one another.  They would be served together, so that a bite of one could be followed by a bite of another to a positive effect.  Running down my list of ingredients, I chose several that seemed to all work together: wasabi (duh), avocado, grapefruit, ginger, and apple.  Beyond the flavors needing to combine well, I wanted the three dishes to vary in temperature and texture, as well as in visual presentation.  My original menu?  Chilled avocado-wasabi soup with caramelized grapefruit, wasabi-potato latkes with fuji-ginger sour cream, and wasabi cupcakes with a grapefruit buttercream. Since the challenge only called for one recipe, however, I decided to make all three and only submit the one that turned out the best.

Clearly, my visions for these ugly little roots were grand.  My successes?  More moderate.  All three dishes were good, but only the soup really allowed the wasabi to shine through, which, after all, was the point of the challenge.  The latkes were delicious but didn’t have any wasabi taste at all, and the cupcakes were great but with only a mild hint of spice (which, to be fair, is probably how you would want a wasabi cupcake to taste).  The soup however, had a pleasing hit of wasabi at the first bite, followed by the scent of lime and the smooth, mild avocado taste.  So the avocado-wasabi soup it is!  Which is kind of exciting because it’s also the recipe that was the most original, i.e. I didn’t just add wasabi to someone else’s recipe.  Minus the caramelized grapefruit, which could easily be replaced by a few chunks of fresh grapefruit, this soup is super quick to throw together and full of delicate flavors.  Salt very gently, as even a little bit too much salt will overwhelm the flavor of the avocado and lime.  It could be served with the grapefruit still warm to contrast the smooth, cool avocado, or with a few sesame seeds or tortilla chip pieces on top for a contrasting texture.

For those of you eyeing the cupcakes or craving latkes, I’ll be posting the wasabi-free versions of those recipes soon!  Although, you could always throw a little fresh wasabi in there for good measure…

Chilled Avocado-Wasabi Soup with Caramelized Grapefruit

Serves 1-2.

• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
• ½ c. buttermilk
• ½ c. water
• 1 tsp. fresh Daruma wasabi, finely grated
• 2 tsp. lime juice
• Pinch of sea salt
• ¼ grapefruit, cut into ½ in. chunks
• ¼ c. sugar

1. In a food processor or blender, blend the avocado, buttermilk, water, wasabi, and lime juice until smooth.  Add more water if consistency is too thick.  Pour into a bowl, and season very gently with sea salt.  Store in fridge until ready to eat.
2. Add sugar to a frying pan on medium-high heat.  Stir sugar gently as it melts.  When all sugar is liquid, add grapefruit segments, and allow to cook in sugar for 2 minutes, then gently flip and caramelize the other side.  Grapefruit will take on a light, golden tinge.  Caramelize in batches if necessary – overcrowding the pan will not allow the grapefruit to caramelize properly.
3. Top chilled soup with warm caramelized grapefruit.  Other possible toppings include avocado chunks, sesame seeds, and crushed tortilla chips.

The post Wasabi Trio appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

First and foremost,  a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for my entry in round 2!  And a special shout out to my dad and all his soccer buddies, who showed tremendous and immediate support when called upon.  With 94 wonderful people voting for me, I came in 3rd place, solidly placing me in the top 15, meaning that I get to continue with the Ridiculously Delicious competition by re-making one of the other competitor’s dishes using 3 of my previously unused ingredients: grains of paradise, dried tepin peppers, juniper berries, coconut sugar, dried cherries, and saffron threads.

Many of the round 2 recipes looked delicious, with desserts making up about half of the entries.  Since I went savory in round 2, I decided to go sweet with my round 3 entry.  From the sweet recipes, Big Apple Nosh’s spicy cherry truffles really jumped out at me.  The most important part to me in the reinterpretation of the dish was to keep the same flavor profile and idea – rich, dense chocolate; tart, bright cherry, and spicy peppercorns.  The integrity and combination of the flavors should stay the same.  The form, however, was up for consideration.  I decided to invert the truffle so that the chocolate was on the inside and the cherry was on the outside – to be more specific, a rich chocolate souffle with a spicy cherry sauce on top.

I was surprised by how well this came together.  Usually, the recipes I create myself are good, edible, but lacking finesse, and I’ve only created a handful of dishes that caused me to reach for the leftovers with enthusiasm.  This sauce, however, was complex, flavorful, and much better balanced than most sauces I throw together.  I had decided to replace the Szechuan peppercorns in the original truffle recipe with grains of paradise to give the spicy component an earthy, herbal note, and they complemented the tart cherries and the slightly coconuty rum quite well.  My only complaint was that the sauce wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked it to be, but I think this is mostly the result of having dull blender blades.  This souffle recipe – my go-to for a quick, intensely chocolatey dessert – is fast to throw together and difficult to mess up.  I replaced the granulated sugar with coconut sugar to increase the flavor depth and cut the sweetness, as well as to complement the coconut rum in the cherry sauce.  All in all, a success.  Hopefully the folks over at Marx Foods think so too!

A last note: in order for the contest to work, we were all asked to pick a second choice makeover recipe.  Mine is Cookistry’s shallow braised lamb steaks with red wine reduction – I’ve already imagined a wonderful warm red-wine braised lamb salad with saffron and cherry couscous!

Spicy Cherry-Chocolate Souffles

Makes 4 souffles.  Souffle recipe adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet via Fresh Tart.

• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 tsp. salted butter
• 3 TBS whole milk
• 2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 TBS coconut sugar
• extra butter and sugar for ramekins

• 3/4 c. dried tart cherries
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 3/4 tsp. freshly ground grains of paradise
• 2 TBS coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 TBS coconut rum or regular rum

1. In a small saucepan, bring the dried cherries and the water to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until cherries are falling apart.  Blend until smooth in a blender and return to low heat.  Stir in coconut sugar, grains of paradise, and rum, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.  Lightly butter four 6-oz. ramekins.  Tap a small amount of granulated sugar into each ramekin, and gently shake so that the sugar coats all edges.  Tap out extra sugar.
3. In a double boiler, melt chocolate, butter, and milk over gently simmering water, stirring constantly.  When smooth, remove from heat and quickly whisk in 2 egg yolks.  Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Slowly add the coconut sugar, beating all the while.  Beat until stiff but not dry.
5. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture in two batches.  Gently spoon batter into each of the ramekins, filling about 3/4 of the way full.  Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 16 minutes.  When they are done they will have risen to the edge of the ramekin or above it, the tops will be beginning to crack, and the centers will still be very moist.  Serve warm with cooled cherry sauce and fresh whipped cream.

The post RD #3 – Spicy Cherry-Chocolate Souffles appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.