A Table Of "Sweet Nothings"........at kitchen! kitchen!

"Table Of Sweet Nothings"
Apple maple cake, pecan tart in a buttery crust, pumpkin cheesecake
with toasted sugared pecan topping, pretzel cookies with all the
holiday sprinkles, and some tasty Polish glazed cookies and chocolates.

WISHING YOU ALL THE SWEETEST OF HOLIDAYS!

happy thanksgiving to all!...from kitchen! kitchen!

A thanksgiving tradition in my home is a freshly baked
cornucopia for a bountiful  year of good health, peace and happiness.
So, to all my friends, readers, and bloggers, enjoy and appreciate the bounty
of life and what this mother earth has given us to nourish our soul.
For that I am humbly thankful.
Wishing you all a very happy thanksgiving!

a club chickpea crepes sandwich? why not! only .........at kitchen! kitchen!

Another idea for any leftover chickpea crepes is make a club
like sandwich out of it!! Just as I have done here, are 2 golden
breaded panko chicken breast scallopini and some steamed
chinese baby broccolini; topped with your
favorite dressing or sour cream.
Definitely to die for dish!
(For recipe on panko breaded chicken/turkey see previous postings 5/27/11)

a tower of chickpea crepes and beef stew.....at kitchen! kitchen!

Chickpea Crepes and Beef Stew With Sour Cream

A Sunday dinner beef stew transformed into another appetizing dish for a Monday dinner. Don't you sometimes find yourself drawing a blank when you think of what to make for dinner? Monday is not my favorite day of the week. It's that first work day, and after a glorious weekend - well, definitely not my fav day. Then there is that leftover from Sunday night that you don't know what to do about. I try to think beforehand what to cook, but sometimes, my mind is still on the rest mode and refuses to cooperate. So, I'm on the bus thinking, "we will just have to finish off the beef stew leftover tonight". Then my mind switches to "I need to think of something to go with one of my thanksgiving side dishes of braised pork and sauteed apples".This thought was still on my mind when an idea lit up. Well, well, well. So the rest mode is now fully awake. I now have a sprint in my steps as I got off the bus and started walking home. 
Got hold of my bag of chickpea flour and started throwing things to do a small tower of crepes and use the leftover beef stew as the filling for the crepes. Brilliant!. This will also serve as a staging for my braised pork and sauteed apples for thanksgiving. Brilliant again!!

Chickpea Crepes: Serves 6 small crepes

1/3 cup chickpea flour
2 tbsp. all purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp. salt
1 whole egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbps. of homemade pesto (only if you have it) *Otherwise substitute with finely chopped of 1 tbsp. flat leaf parsley.
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and combine until smooth - add a bit more water if necessary to get the consistency of "heavy cream".
Heat the crepe pan (or non stick pan) and brushed with olive oil.
Ladle about 2 tblsps. of the batter in the middle of the pan, lift the pan and swirl it a little to spread the batter forming a round shape about 3" diameter or so. (it does not have to be a perfect shape) When the edges start to color flip to cook the other side for about half a minute. Do this untill all the batter is done.
Fill the each crepe with any of your leftover dish of meat, chicken, or vegetables. (Shred the meat if the pieces are large - stack up about 3 crepes). Note: It's best if the leftovers have sauce or gravy.

As for my braised pork and sauteed apples for Thanksgiving?....you'll just have to wait ......!!!!

A bit of twist on the stuffed eggplant.....at kitchen! kitchen!

With a bit of tweaking  - this eggplants get a new "life". How?
By stuffing these gorgeous vegetables with ground meat
making it one delicious dish to add to your repertoire.
I was going through an "eggplant phase" in my kitchen when I could
still get those wonderful freshly picked aubergines from my
favorite farm stand (unforutnately, they are closed now
for winter---double sigh!). I have to think of several ways to
make use of these young freshly picked eggplants. Using it as
one of my ingredients for a ratatouille, an eggplant dip, to
stuffing it with  sweet onions, to salads, and to babaganoush.
With such versatility...why not stuff it with ground meat?!

So here goes!

4-6 pcs. of medium size eggplants
1/2 lb. of ground pork (ground chicken or turkey is just as good too).
1 egg
1 medium size chopped onions
3 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 tsp. of chili powder (optional)
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tbps. of paprika
Amazing dry rub seasoning
Sautee all of the above except for the eggplants, egg, and the ground meat in olive oil in a pan on a medium to high heat.
Season with salt and pepper until onions are soft and let cool. In the meantime season the ground pork with amazing dry rub,combine the sauteed onions and the beaten egg with the ground meat.
Put the eggplants on a baking pan lined with foil - make a slit in the middle and carefully scoop out some of the meat without puncturing the bottom of the eggplants (sprinkle some olive oil). Reserve the scooped out eggplants for later. Stuff each one with the ground meat mixture and sprinkle some bread crumbs on top and a sprinkling of some olive oil too. Bake at 350F preheated oven for 50-55 minutes until the eggplant is fully cooked. 
**Diced the scooped out meat of the eggplants and sautee in olive oil with chopped onions, tomatoes, roughly chopped red bell pepper, and minced garlic until fully cooked and season with salt and pepper. Put in a food processor, add some olive oil. Great for toasted bread for munching**

tilapia and "stewed" heirloom cherry tomato sauce ........at kitchen! kitchen!

Tilapia And Stewed Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes With Capers
Delightfully served with haricort vert and brussel sprouts...
an absolute delight to the palate.

For the "stewed" heirlom cherry tomatoes:
1 pint of heirloom (yellow) cherry tomatoes (or regular red cherry tomatoes )
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. of capers (rinsed in cold water and drained) or you may use black pitted olives roughly chopped.
Pinch of kosher salt/black pepper
A sprinkling of peperoncino flakes (optional)
Combine all of the ingredients except for the capers in a small non-stick -oven proof skillet - the best is a cast iron pan and roast for 20-30 minutes at 375F heated oven until the tomatoes start to pop. Broil for 5 minutes until they get that "grilled" color. Transfer to the stove top and add a teaspoon of tomato paste; a teaspoon of sugar stir and let simmer on low-medium heat to reduce the liquid. Add the capers and more olive oil if necessary.
For the brussel sprouts and haricort vert:
A pint of brussel sprouts washed and cut in halves
1/4 lb. of haricort vert or string beans cut in half
1 small onions chopped
2 cloves of garlic smashed
1/2 cup of halves cherry tomatoes
olive oil and a pat of butter
kosher salt/freshly ground black pepper
In a large heated pan with olive oil and butter sautee the garlic and onions until translucent; add the cherry tomatoes, stir and add the brussel sprouts; next add 1/4 cup of water or stock- keep the lid on to simmer for 10 minutes; add the haricort vert last and simmer to desired doneness. Taste to correct seasoning.
For the Tilapia (6 small ones in this recipe):
Season the fish with amazing dry rub or salt and pepper
Coat lightly with flour (to keep the fish intact while it sits in the pan "getting fried").
In a large heated pan with olive oil - fry the fish until done and drain on paper towel.
To Serve:
Spoon some of the "stewed tomatoes" on the serving plate - place 2-3 pieces of the tilapia and the sauteed brussel sprouts and haricort vert. Add more of the "stewed tomato" sauce on top and watch it disappear before your eyes! Guten appetit!