Giddy Gastronome

How to make food soar!

On the agenda today:

napkin folds, bonda ( baked recipe), pesto recipe & a giveaway!

May 13th: We shuffled all the names and Teresa was the lucky winner of this giveaway. Congrats to Teresa!

A huge giveaway from Bob’s Red Mill!

Bob’s Red mill is giving away a box containing several packs of different kinds of their stone ground flour to a lucky person out there. Yes, not just one but several! In order to win this awesome gift, just leave me a comment and voila this box will find its way to your door! Imagine all the nutritious and fun things you can bake and use in your stove top dishes with these superior products! For me there can be no other, so get with the “grind” you’ll, get with Bob’s Red Mill!

See also other recipes in previous posts using Bob’ Red Mill!

Thank you Bob’s Red Mill!

BTW, the winner of  the spa soap basket giveaway  was Jo, of Literally in the moment, as mentioned at the end of my previous post! I am working on another basket for yet another lucky person, so check back with me! Also there will be another giveaway from Bob’s Red Mill but you will have to come up with a simple recipe using their flour.  I shall let you know more about this later!

Is this not a cute napkin?  See the super easy “how-to” below! I swear your little child will be able to make this napkin fold!!! Guests will really find them amusing! Now, even the guests at the B&B are learning the whole’ napkin folding thing” and they often e-mail me, saying that they get rave reviews from friends and family when they put it into practice back home.

Baked potato bonda with chili & pistachio pesto. Typically, this hors d’ oeuvre is fried but here I put my own spin on it by rolling the potato dough into balls, poking a hole in it with the back of a wooden spoon & baking it.  I did not mix the garbanzo flour with water like in the traditional recipe.

This crispy potato had a  golden brown “skin” and a silky soft interior. The little hole was a perfect place to hide my tasty chili pesto. Yeah, potatoes are real peasant food, but when presented and baked in this chic way, will make even those food snobs stop looking down their snotty noses!

Made with Bob’s Red Mill stone ground  Garbanzo bean flour!

Chili & pistachio pesto, (creamy, slightly spicy and a nutty accompaniment), I have coated shrimp, smeared under the skin of whole chicken and prepared several other meats & seafood with this  pesto and then grilled or baked! Just thin out just a touch with water for this purpose! Use your culinary realm of imagination!

How to fold the napkin

• Iron the napkin
• Bring the upper & lower edges horizontally together to meet in the center
• Put finger on the center and open out each of the four corners diagonally from that center point like in the picture below

• Roll the left side of the napkin vertically toward the center point and place something on this fold, while you roll up the right side toward the left to meet in the center.
• Fold back the upper section to form the arms of the person.
• Turn the napkin over and gently pull the arms apart.
• Slide the handle of the spoon in the folds in the back of the little person like in the presentation above.

Please use organic ingredients when possible

How to make the baked potato bonda:

• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill stone ground garbanzo bean flour

• 1 t pure pickle masala or Hungarian sweet paprika ( I always put about 2 teaspoons just because I am crazy for spice that way!)
• 1 t baking powder
• 2 lbs potatoes
• Kosher salt
• 3 T ” Tofutti” brand cream cheese( a soy product & available at Whole Foods and Sunflower Market) or you can use regular
• 2 T Tofutti sour cream
• 1/4 cup Silk soy milk or regular dairy
• 1 T unsalted butter (optional)
• 3 T chopped cilantro
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 2 teaspoons bell pepper seeds ( optional)

Do not overwork the dough!!! Just incorporate and be done with it! Do you want stiff balls , then practice being light-handed!

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Peel and boil the potatoes in salted water, until soft, drain the water, and put back on a low heat so that the potatoes are dry. Add the butter, cream cheese and milk and mash. Take off the heat and mix in the garlic,bell pepper seeds and cilantro and check your seasoning. Roll the mashed potato into little balls and poke with the back of a wooden spoon and place on a cookie sheet, see below.

Chill in  the refrigerator for half an hour. Brush with egg wash and lightly sprinkle with the garbanzo mixture. I put the garbanzo bean mixture in a sifter and sifted over the potatoes. This will ensure a lighter coating. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 45 mins until golden brown. Immediately fill the little cavities with chili pesto and serve

For the green chili and pistachio pesto:

• 1 x 7oz can green chilies
• 1 t pure pickle masala
• 1 jalapeno
• 3/4 cup Parmesan
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 c pistachios plus 1/4 c pine nuts
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 2 t basil
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 3 T salad oil
• a little kosher salt to taste.

Blend everything in a blender and refrigerate the leftovers!

Are these really pears?? See recipe on my old blog! You will be surprised to see what they really are!

Thanks for your visit! Don’t forget to leave the comment for the giveaway!

Much love,

Nazarina.

Click on the tab above “HOME” to see latest recipes!

Question: Do you believe that spices can save you from the debilitating Alzheimer’s disease? I happen to concur the notion that it does!!!!

Old blog (www.giddygastronome.blogspot.com)

Granted, soup is a pretty easy dish to make. C’mon nobody can mess it up and at the end of a very cold day, everyone will  love you for  making it.

I am a voracious advocate for this  “feel good” food and the cozy ambiance it creates. As you well know, soup is an ubiquitous fare in cold climates and it is  this welcoming  simplicity, that makes for it’s broad appeal! For me, a steaming bowl of soup and a chalet in the mountains, are the perfect pair for an idyllic love affair!

Here I have prepared a roast chicken noodle soup with an Asian twist ( a full-blown party in a pot)  and a crunchy kick-a..  cracker on the side. Let me warn you though, make plenty for all your ski buddies because table-side brawls and senseless  butchery could very well be the climax of an enjoyable day of skiing……  all for some maddeningly good crispy cheesy straws! These rugged  guys, I tell ya! They love it when I cook though!

Crispy & flaky, cheese straws ( golden , gooeey & garnished with carrot & daikon “knots” )

My addition of green chillies, seeds removed, and chopped cilantro in the dough makes for a very good flavor and very flaky to boot. The acoustic elements, while munching on these savory snacks, were like music to the ear!

Roast chicken noodle soup with a magical broth and a distinct  Asian twist, was a welcome reprieve for  everyone’s frozen extremities!

Thanks Jo for the beautiful colorful plate!

Made with Sambal Oelek,  edamame, daikon, carrots and spices for flavor

I consider myself extremely lucky living here in Colorado. Colorado with it’s wide open spaces and majestic Rocky Mountains will make you say ” wow!” every time you see it.

……then in a flash, the weather changes and you will freeze your a…..   off!

…the sun is trying it’s utmost to peek through this ominous cloud

I am this crazy about skiing! This is where you will find me most week-ends, braving the I70 en route to Breckenridge, Vail or Beaver Creek….depending  on where this snow storm blows me!

I prepared everything the night before , so that when we came from skiing, I  baked  the straws,  roasted  the chicken in the same oven and finally  warmed the soup.

My entourage of  winter Olympic hopefuls are numerous in number so this here mama has  to be prepared for their ravenous  hunger!

Recipes (Please use organic ingredients when possible)

For the flaky cheese straws

• 1/4 c 100% stone ground-whole grain corn flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1/4 c cornstarch Bob’s of course!
• 1 3/4 c A/p flour
• 2 green chillies finely minced, seeds and veins removed
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, stems included
• 2 t peri-peri spice ( I used South African)
• 1 t granulated garlic powder
• 2 big pinches of Kosher salt
• 6 oz cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 to 5 T of cold  H2O ( depending on aridity, Colorado is extremely dry).  I used 5T but if you live at sea level, add 2 first and pulse.
• 5 oz freshly  grated Gouda cheese, plus 2 oz grated sharp cheddar
• 6 oz freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 egg yolk, whisked,  for brushing

Method:

Sift all the dry ingredients and the salt in a food processor and add the spices, cilantro and chillies, and pulse twice. Scatter the butter into the flour & pulse once again. Whisk the egg yolk into the water and then add to the processor. Pulse again 7  short times ( emphasis on short). Knead gently into a smooth ball on the table being careful not to overwork the dough. Place in refrigerator for an hour.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle ( about 10 x20 inches). Brush one half ( measure 10 inches across) with egg yolk and sprinkle with the mixture of Gouda & Cheddar. Now brush the other half and fold this half over the cheesy half. Brush the top with egg  and sprinkle the Parmesan on top. Using a pastry wheel cut the straws 1/2 inch x 3 inches long like in the picture below. Refrigerate for 15 mins. and then bake 400 degrees for 15 mins. until golden and gooeey!

For the roast chicken noodle soup: (organic ingredients please!)

• 12 chicken drumsticks, skinless, rinsed and dried. Bake about 8
• some panko
• lemon pepper
  
• sweet pickle masala or sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 t pounded  fresh garlic
• 1 t  toasted cumin
• 1/2 t  turmeric
• 1-2  t Sambal Oelek
• 1 bunch of carrots, cleaned and cut, I used a cookie cutter or cut into small lengths
• 3 daikon radish, do the same here
• 5 cups homemade chicken stock/ or 2  cartons  organic, low sodium plus 3 cups of water
• 2 oz of egg noodles ( has to be added at the end)
• half pound edamame (frozen)
• 2 T chopped cilantro

Method:

While you are baking the cheese straws, you can bake 8 of the drumsticks in the same oven for 35 mins. Sprinkle the drumsticks with lemon pepper (I make the lemon part fresh and then dry it) and sweet pickle masala or Hungarian paprika if you do not have sweet pickle, drizzle with very little  extra virgin and bake in the oven. The last 10 mins of baking time, sprinkle some panko on the chicken and place back in the oven to crisp up.

Saute the onion in a tablespoon of  extra virgin until transparent, 5 mins. Add the garlic and Sambal Oelek,  saute for another 5 mins. Now add the remaining 4 drumsticks and add kosher salt to taste and braise for 15 mins  Add all the carrots and the daikon and saute in the chicken juices until fairly tender about 20 mins. Now add the cumin & turmeric and saute for 5 mins until spices are cooked. Add the edamame and  all the chicken stock and cook for 15  mins and check your seasoning. Add the cilantro and cook for another 5 mins. Last but not least add the egg noodles and cook for another 5 mins.

Dish the soup in the bowls and make sure that you put a few roasted drumsticks in the bowl as well. I always use the pepper mill when I serve the soup and Oh, do not forget the cheese straws!

Much love from my kitchen,

Nazarina,

Click here for Recent creations!