Vegas, Baby!

I just came home from a quick trip to Las Vegas to visit some friends. I lived there for close to four years, and feel a need to go back about every six months to get a dose of unreality, visit friends, and see the Bellagio fountains. Usually we go out to eat in some new place I haven't tried before, but this time we went to one of my husband and my favorite places on the west side, Cafe Wasabi. I have to say I was a bit disappointed, as the food was not quite as good as I remember. It's a sushi bar but also used to focus on Asian tapas. Those items are still on the menu, but relegated to the bottom and not highlighted in any way so they are kind of easy to miss now. The restaurant used to be really fun and vibrant, but it was completely empty at 8:00 on a Friday night, and the place is starting to look a bit dingy. In 2004 the lobster spring rolls and crab potstickers were to die for, but they've started using surimi instead of crab and there was no discernable lobster in the spring rolls, so they weren't anything to write home about. However, the ribs were still wonderful and nothing was really bad, just not as good as it used to be. The economic downturn has taken a toll, I guess.

The highlight of the trip was having my friend Janet, a died-in-the-wool Tar Heel, make me fried chicken. It was yummy. None of that batter dipped or buttermilk soaked stuff - just seasoned and dredged and fried. We made an awesome salad with maple syrup roasted butternut squash and dried cranberries, roasted vegetables (asparagus, haricots vert, parsnips, and fingerling potatoes), and cheese biscuits. I'm still dreaming of those biscuits. Thanks, Janet!

Paper Chef #34

I finally found time to participate in Paper Chef, which is a bit like Iron Chef but you get 4 ingredients instead of one and send entries via e-mail. Loved this month's ingredients (turkey, winter squash, Anaheim peppers, and lentils) provided by this month's judge, Magnus, and had a lot of fun coming up with this dish.

Smoked Turkey Hash with Lentil Griddle Cakes

Ingredients:

Lentils for griddle cakes (make ahead)
½ c. dry lentils
1 tsp. ground cumin (or less if preferred)
½ tsp. ground coriander
Fresh ground pepper to taste.

Cook lentils in 2 cups water seasoned with spices for approx. 30 minutes or until tender but not mushy. DO NOT SALT. Cool and drain.

Smoked Turkey Hash (may be made ahead)

1 shallot, small dice
½ Anaheim pepper, small dice
1 cup butternut squash, medium dice
Diced smoked turkey (I used pre-cooked turkey legs)
1 tsp. ground cumin
Salt/pepper to taste

Saute shallot, pepper, and squash in olive oil until squash is just tender, stir in cumin and diced smoked turkey. Salt (if needed, depending on saltiness of turkey) and pepper to taste. Keep warm while making griddle cakes or refrigerate if making ahead.

Lentil griddle cakes
1 cup Pancake batter (I made my own using 2/3 c. flour, 1 egg, 1 tsp. olive oil, and 1/2 tsp. baking powder mixed with 2% milk to a thin batter, but you can use a mix)
½ c. lightly mashed cooked lentils
Mix, let rest for 1 minute.
Cook on lightly oiled griddle until lightly browned on both sides.

Cilantro Crème Fraiche
While griddle cakes cook, mix a heaping tablespoon crème fraiche with 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice and 1 tbsp. minced cilantro.

Re-heat hash if made ahead.
To serve:
Place griddle cake on plate, spoon crème fraiche over and pile hash on top. Garnish with more crème fraiche and sprigs of cilantro.

YUMMY!

Ice Cream Adventures

I've been obsessing over homemade ice cream for a while now. I've tried a lot of experiments with different ingredients trying to get good mouth feel with less fat. I've found that maltodextrin helps, and always add it when I make a mix from just milk or milk and 1/2 and 1/2. Still, it doesn't compare to full fat. My latest two favorites are French vanilla bean and Coconut-Black Sesame.

French Vanilla Bean
1 vanilla bean (split, seeds scraped)
2 c. heavy cream
2 c. 1/2 and 1/2
1 c. granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks (antibiotic free hens, or use pasteurized egg)

Whisk together all ingredients. Taste and add more salt if needed to bring out flavor. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Strain and churn in ice cream maker.

Cocomut-Black Sesame
1 can coconut milk
2 c. 1/2 and 1/2
3/4 c. granulated sugar
pinch of salt
Black sesame seeds (I use about 1/4 cup but you may want to use less)

Whisk together all ingredients except sesame seeds. Taste and increase salt if needed to bring out flavor. Cover and refrigerate miniumum 4 hours. Churn in ice cream maker, adding sesame seeds to your preference during last few minutes.

Awesome!