Ginger Chicken Meatballs with Rice Vermicelli

One of the nice things about any recurring holiday (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) is that it gives you a virtual milestone at which you are able to sit and reflect on the goings-on of the past year. New Years is one of my favorites for this, and this year is no different. In fact, this year's might have been one of the best yet.

This past year included finishing a degree, climbing a volcano, getting a new job, and a cross-country move to a fun, new city. Of course, that meant leaving behind close friends who had grown into family (I DO miss you, Seattle friends!). But it also meant a return to my, ahem, biological family, best friends, and even a new and wonderful boyfriend (shout out, MM!). With all of the change and excitement this past year, I can only look forward to the upcoming year as I dream about all of the fun that the coming year will bring.

Enough about me, back to the food! This recipe was a modification, mainly because I couldn't find soba (buckwheat) noodles at the Giant, as the original recipe prescribed. According to my local Giant shelf-stocker, that "sounds like something Harris Teeter would carry." Good to know....!

The rice vermicelli tasted great and were a good substitute, but if you use them instead of soba noodles, I would highly recommend upping the amount of stock that you use because the vermicelli seem to soak up more liquid than their buckwheat counterparts. Regardless, the real stars here are the meatballs: they are moist, flavorful, and easy as could be. I might even make them as party favors to serve on their own!

Ginger Chicken Meatballs and Scallions with Rice Vermicelli
Adapted from Big Girls, Small Kitchen  

For the meatballs:
1 pound ground chicken breast 2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
One 2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 scallions, minced
3/4 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon siracha
1 teaspoon salt

For the noodles:
1 shallot, thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts divided)
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 quart chicken stock
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 pound rice vermicelli noodles
2 cups broccoli florets

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Form into small 1 inch balls (you should get 24 or so), and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Set aside.

In the meantime, heat 1 tablespoon of neutral vegetable oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over a medium-low flame. Add the shallot, white parts of the scallions, and the ginger, and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Pour in the stock and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer until they are al dente, about 12 minutes, or as specified on the package. Add the broccoli for the last 2-3 minutes, or long enough for the broccoli to soften. Add the meatballs and the remaining scallions to the pot. Taste for seasoning: if lacking in salt, add more soy; if you like spice, add some siracha. To serve, ladle the noodles, meatballs, and broth into bowls and eat immediately.

S'more Cookies

Hello, old friends. It has been far too long since I have posted any goodies. It could be because I was on a mission to Mars. Or curing cancer. Or completing an Ironman. Or maybe it's just because I've been out and about in the excitement and busy-ness that is DC living. Regardless of the reason, it's time to share a new sweet treat.

This recipe seemed like the perfect thing to bring to a "Southern BBQ" themed office holiday party. They were fun to make and ultimately turned out very well. With modification.

Here's the thing-the graham crackers on these were just all wrong. They made the cookies seem dry and a little bit like cardboard. BUT, after painstakingly removing every graham cracker from every cookie, there was quite the transformation. The cookies were chewy and flavorful, packing a perfectly balanced cinnamon punch to accompany the sweetness of the chocolate and marshmallows. The flavor of the graham cracker remained, without the overwhelming texture it made originally.

Interesting variations would be to crumble graham crackers into the dough or to substitute graham cracker crumbs for some of the flour. If you try it, let me know!

S'more Cookes
Adapted from Eat, Run, Read


Ingredients:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into square **See note in text**

Directions:
Cream together the butter and both sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla.
Gradually mix in the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda,  salt and cinnamon.
Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper or tin foil. I used one 11x17 pan and one 9x13 pan but you can really use any sized pans you want.
Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). For thicker cookies, use less graham crackers and more dough.
Place rounded tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. Use your fingertips to slightly press down.
Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top.
Bake for an additional 6-8 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. The foil should make it easy to lift the cookies out of the pan and break them apart.

Sausage and Mushroom-Stuffed Acorn Squash

In my quest to find a CSA that provided a nice variety of produce via delivery for an affordable price in the DC area, I happened upon Washington's Green Grocer. So far, my review is mixed. I like the variety and the convenience, but they are less of a CSA-style provider than I had originally thought, with some of their produce coming from as far as Chile and South Africa. Not exactly the most sustainable, local option! I feel torn - has anybody else encountered this?

Some of the goodies from my most recent box were beautiful portobello mushrooms and a precious acorn squash. Happy autumn!

Sausage and Mushroom-Stuffed Acorn Squash
1 acorn squash, halved and seeds removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 links spicy chicken sausage, sliced
3 medium portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Brush or spray squash with olive oil and bake for one hour, until meat is tender.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add sausage and cook until browned. Mix in mushrooms, and continue cooking until mushrooms have released their liquid.

Remove the mixture from heat, and add in cilantro, red pepper flakes, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper.

When squash is done cooking, fill the centers with the mixed filling, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is browned. Any extra filling that does not fit in the squash can be baked at the bottom of the dish.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting...in a jar!

This past Friday was Sister's birthday. Not just any birthday, mind you. Her very last birthday that begins with a "2." As the younger sister, I waste no opportunity to remind Sister that she is aging before I am! And since I am enjoying being back in closer proximity to the family, I had to take the opportunity to do my gloating in person.

As September shifts from summer to fall, so did our meal. Mama B and I whipped up a summery dinner of cajun-spiced red snapper tacos accompanied with balsamic-roasted squash and zucchini. Dessert, however,  ushered us right into fall with pumpkin spice cupcakes. And since I needed dessert to be easily transportable, this baking project turned into a craft project, as well!

Cupcake jars are adorable, making an easy and attractive gift when you're low on creativity. Alternate layering cupcakes with frosting inside of an 8oz. jelly jar, wrap them up with a sweet ribbon, add a pretty label, and ta-da! So cute, it's ridiculous.

Can you believe I forgot to take a picture of the finished jars?? Fail.

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Cupcakes:1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Do NOT line the cupcake pan!
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — about 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Frosting:In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. Spoon frosting into a ziploc baggie and cut off the tip of the bag to make a makeshift frosting piper. This will make the addition of the frosting to the jars infinitely easier. Trust me on this one.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Some people think about football season, and they think of sitting in stands cheering at the top of your lungs. Other people think about football season, and they think of an excuse to cook up a storm. Can you guess which type of person I am?

For the Redskins season opener, Lindsey had the perfect idea of cooking up some appetizers and having a ladies football day. This was our fearless leader for the afternoon - she makes me kvell:

In addition to a delicious corn salsa, and some, ahem, home-cooked pizzas (oops), we made these little gems. It was doubly exciting that Lindsey broke out her fancy-pants camera to photo-document. Thanks, Lindsey!

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

So simple - take dates and slice them down the middle.

Stuff them with a little bit of blue cheese love.

Cut a slice of bacon in half, and wrap the bacon around the stuffed date. Skewer with a toothpick to hold it in place.

 Bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes, flipping these little guys over after about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

I am a bit behind on my posting, but that is for one very exciting reason...I am FINALLY allowed into the building for work! No more are the days of sleeping in, sipping on coffee while doing a crossword, and having "make cookies" as a star item on the to-do list. No, now I am a productive member of society. On second thought, maybe this isn't so exciting?

This soup was my lunch for week #1. It was complex, starting with a layer of cardamom before delving into a sweetness and ending with a hint of heat. Considering how easy it was to make this soup, I can do nothing but sing its praises. And wish that there was still some leftover!

Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup with Cardamom

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 healthy pinch cayenne pepper
2.5 cups chicken broth
2.5 cups water
3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bunch carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in onions, and cook until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with cardamom, mustard, ginger, pepper flakes, cinnamon, cayenne; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Pour in chicken broth and water; add sweet potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat, add chickpeas, and use an immersion blender to puree soup until smooth. Drizzle with hot sauce, and enjoy!

Pasta with cauliflower, walnuts, and feta

This labor day post comes to you, um, a bit after labor day. Hey, after all that labor, a girl's gotta recover.

My weekend's hard work consisted of floating in a lake with five of my bestbests and one very brave bestbest's boyfriend, singlehandedly keeping Budweiser in business (ugh). This was not just any floating, mind you. It was diaper floating, to be exact. Don't know what it is?

Think of this:

Photo Credit

Now flip it over like this:

Put your legs through the holes....and ta-da! Starting to picture it now?

Luckily, you are spared from the actual photos of our diaper floating (though I hear a certain lady in Tuscaloosa has her hands on a few!). It's probably for the best. 

Between our hilarious jokes (we ARE funny--am I right, ladies?), awesome dance moves (yet another thing that we, sadly, have image proof of), and good-looking hairstyles (no showering makes for some fiiiiiine looking ladies), adding in diaper floats would be too much for any sensible person to handle.

When I came home, I needed a solid 24-hour time period to recoup. But then, it was time for cooking! Lindsey and I are now on our way to becoming home kitchen pros, and this was the recipe du jour! Smitten Kitchen raved about this recipe - Lindsey and I were skeptical at first, but with a little extra acidity from the lemons and the addition of the feta, this turned into a delicious meal! All my leftovers are already gone, and I'm excited for our next project! 

And for getting Zoe a new costume to wear, much like this one...

Photo from Party City

Our pasta!

Pasta with Cauliflower, Walnuts and Feta
Recipe Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 heads cauliflower, cut into florets
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound whole-wheat pasta
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes
White (or red) wine vinegar
1 lemon
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
4 ounces feta cheese

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Cut the cauliflower into small flowerets. Peel the onion and slice it very thin. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Put the pasta on to cook.

Saute the cauliflower in olive oil in a large saute pan. When the cauliflower begins to soften, season with salt and pepper and add the sliced onion and red pepper flakes. Saute over medium to high heat until the vegetables are brown and tender. The cauliflower should still be slightly crunchy and should not taste steamed. Add the garlic and remove from the heat, tossing and stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn; if it starts to brown, add a splash of water. Add a few drops of vinegar and the juice from the lemon, as well as the toasted walnuts. Taste and correct the seasoning. When the pasta is done, drain and add to the cauliflower, adding enough extra-virgin olive oil to coat the pasta thoroughly, toss together and serve, with the cheese crumbled over the dish.