Archive | December, 2009

Sesame Noodles

31 Dec

Small Chinese takeout boxes full of sesame noodles at the party were a great addition to the spread – and also a wonderful way to soak up all the grapefruit punch in people’s bellies. Most of the ingredients I already had on hand and I purchased the boxes at If Its Paper up the street from my house. I made 2 pounds of this recipe and only went through one pound. Another lesson learned!

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp tahini (or more- possibly much more)
    2 Tbsp vegetable oil
    2 Tbsp sesame oil
    5 Tbsp soy sauce (or less; add incrementally to taste)
    1 Tbsp rice vinegar
    1 Tbsp red pepper oil (or a smaller amount of sriracha)
    2 Tbsp chopped scallions
    1/2 Tbsp chopped ginger
    1/2 Tbsp chopped garlic
    ground pepper to taste
  • 1 pound pasta
  • black and white sesame seeds

Assembly: Whisk all the ingredients except the sesame seeds together. Taste for adjustments. I find that this can be a little salty so you may want to gradually add the soy sauce in. Meanwhile, boil 1 pound of pasta. I think thin spaghetti works well but you can use any shape you like. Mix the pasta in the sauce, allow to cool and add the sesame seeds.

Pimento Cheese in Endive

30 Dec

My friend John gave me this recipe for Pimento Cheese many moons ago. At that point there were directions for proportions. I’ve lost those since and I just mix the ingredients until they taste good and the spread is the right consistency. This recipe is a little different, as John puts both the olive and the pimento in rather than just the pimento. I think it adds an extra tasty bite! I served the pimento cheese in endive leaves for my party – but the leftovers were very good with crackers.

Ingredients:

  • very sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I use white cheddar)
  • olives, finely chopped
  • olive juice (from the same jar)
  • mayo

Country Ham Biscuits

29 Dec

It was important to me that I also enjoy my Holiday Party so I told myself that I wouldn’t make everything from scratch. I cringe imagining flour all over my kitchen an hour before guests arrive…so I skipped making biscuits and bought them frozen at the store. I fried country ham in a dry hot skillet until just crisp and then added about a cup of Coke (the real stuff) and let it simmer until mostly evaporated (to cut the salt of the pork). I served the biscuits with fig jam…which no one touched. Lessons learned!

Artichoke Dip

28 Dec

 I found this artichoke dip recipe while I was in college and I still use it as an old stand by. I would credit the source but I have no clue where it came from and it only exists on a post-it note now. Folks liked it so much that I’ve been asked to make it again on Thursday for a friend’s New Year’s Eve party.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 pound cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup parmesan
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 cups canned artichokes
  • pepper
  • cayenne pepper, to taste

Assembly: Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor. I do this in a couple steps to make sure everything is in the desired size (specifically the artichokes depending on how you buy them). Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Super easy, right?

Happy Holidays from Mod Meals on Mendenhall

24 Dec

In lieu of having a traditional office holiday celebration this year, the staff at Action Greensboro coordinated a lunch at Higher Ground, Triad Health Project’s retreat for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the area. We served some homemade treats (Judy’s delicious broccoli salad and Dabney’s decedent Coconut Cake), some picked up (chicken pot pie from Maria’s) and some holiday gifts unknowingly donated by several generous businesses that we work with (thanks to Mad Monk Interactive, Grassroots Productions, M’couls and others – the calories did much more good to their tummies than ours).

This year I bought very few Christmas gifts. I’m of the belief that most of the people in my day-to-day life buy things when they need or want them. To me, the best gifts come in experiences – meals shared around a table, trips taken near or far and words and thoughts exchanged. The biggest gifts for me this year were cooking for friends, spending time with family and sharing a simple meal today with the folks at Higher Ground. In retrospect, these experiences are really what this blog is about – experiences more than recipes – so thank you for sharing these gifts this year. I look forward to many more in 2010.

Holiday Goodness Part 2: Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt and Cocoa Nibs

23 Dec

I make homemade chocolates about every three years because it takes me about three years to forget how much I hate working with chocolate. When a recipe starts with “using a double boiler” I run away screaming. I’ve ruined a fair share of chocolate in my day and I always cringe thinking about running to the store again to get my second batch of ingredients. Luckily this year everything went smoothly – as tedious of a process the whole thing was. I used Ree Drummnd’s (The Pioneer Woman Cooks Blog) recipe for Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt. This recipe has more steps than ingredients but makes a darn good truffle in the end. I made half with Maldon Sea Salt on top and half with Cocoa Nibs. The sea salt ones were a HUGE hit at the party. I saved a stash to bring home and share with my family over Christmas.

Holiday Goodness Part 1: Marsha Cookies

22 Dec

I’m going to throw everyone a curveball this week and post the sweet stuff first. I made both Marsha Cookies aka shortbread cookies and chocolate truffles Thursday night before my party because they had the most shelf life.

I call these Marsha Cookies because my Mom’s best friend Marsha (my Aunt Marsha) used to make these cookies for my family every Christmas. She is one of those people who can make anything look good – throw together a cookie with only 4 ingredients and make them look like a work of art. Surely an inspiration! Every year she would make perfect rectangles and place a half of a red or green candied cherry in the middle. Mine didn’t come out exactly like Marsha’s - they resembled a square more than a rectangle and didn’t exactly turn out to be uniform. I also waited too long and the cherries were sold out at the store. I used pecans instead and they were actually a great compliment to the buttery cookie. Either way, whatever shape they turn out to be these cookies are so tasty no one will turn down a second or a third. A friend even mentioned the phrase “shortbread cookie coma” the day after my party. Eat with caution.

Marsha Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound butter (gasp)
  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 cup + 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Assembly: Using a stand mixer (it will be tough by hand), beat together the sugar and butter. Slowly add flour and vanilla. Divide the dough in half and roll into logs inside plastic wrap. At this point you can decide what shape you want your cookies to be. Refrigerate for several hours or over night. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice cookies into 1/4 inch slices. Add a half cherry, pecan or anything else you like. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Merriment on Mendenhall

21 Dec

Saturday night, several of my friends braved the snowy streets for some Merriment on Mendenhall (my friend Addison came up with that little term). To prepare for the night, I cooked for about three days making homemade shortbread cookies, chocolate truffles, fila, sesame noodles, artichoke dip, pimento cheese and ham biscuits (I won’t lie, I didn’t make the biscuits). All the work paid off and everyone left with plenty of calories to last on the icy drive/walk home.

I was sad not to have my Dad around to capture all the moments on film. After one glass of grapefruit punch I forgot I even owned a camera much less wrote a blog…so I have very few photos to share. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll share the recipes from the party.

Pineapple Birthday Cake

16 Dec

I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever made this cake myself. I always ask for it on my birthday so my Mom or sister end up making it for me. This year I made an extra effort to watch my Mom make it and discovered that she uses the 1234 Cake recipe from the back of the Swans Down Cake Flour box! In between layers she brushes the cakes with the juice from a large can of crushed pineapple (she keeps the strained pineapple to put on top of the cake). The most impressive part of the assembly is the Seven Minute Frosting. I asked my Mom to send her recipe for the Seven Minute Frosting Recipe she uses and she kindly submitted it! Thanks Ma!

Mom’s Seven Minute Frosting

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon white corn syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Assembly: Combine ingredients (except vanilla) in a double boiler. Beat about 1 minute
with an electric hand mixer. Cook over boiling water beating constantly
(about 7 minutes) until it forms stiff peaks. Remove from heat add vanilla
continue to mix until spreadable (about 2 minutes).

Greek Dolmas or “Fila”

15 Dec

We can't keep our paws off 'em.

I spent last night doing some research on why my family calls this dish “fila” instead of what it is traditionally called – dolmas or dolmades. I got nothing. It is close to the Greek village Filia which also means friendship in Greece but it doesn’t mean the grape leaf, lamb and rice stuffed goodness that I’m referring to. Perhaps my Dad will enlighten us all today with the reason.

In any case, a friend of mine has been recently asking me a lot of “top 5″ questions. Top five ways to die, top five jobs, top five movies, etc. And I’d have to say if I had to choose my top five meals – these would be included. I’ll admit that it might be pure nostalgia but I could literally eat these for breakfast, lunch and dinner — cold, warm or hot — for days. And that is the reason why I wanted them for this year’s birthday dinner.

“Fila”

Ingredients:

  • 1 large Spanish onion, chopped finely
  • 6 roma tomatoes, chopped finely
  • 1 large handful of fresh basil (you could use mint to be more traditional)
  • 2 cups Basmati rice
  • 2 pounds ground lamb
  • 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • 1 jar of grape leaves

Assembly: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a food processor, pulse the onion until chopped finely and add to a large bowl. Add the tomatoes and basil to the food processor, chop finely and add to the same bowl. The textures of the tomatoes and onion are different, so I recommend doing this in two steps. Add the uncooked rice, lamb and a large pinch of both salt and pepper to the bowl and combine using your hands. Unroll the grape leaves (some wash them off to remove brine) and add about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the grape leaf and roll like a burrito to close (I wrapped them too tight last time and some fell apart). Layer them into a large casserole dish. Once filled to the top (see photo) add enough water to cover them. Add the juice of one lemon, a large splash of olive oil and another pinch of salt. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake for about an hour. You’ll be able to tell they are done when the water is gone and the rice is tender.

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