john cabrera

Malai Kofta

Smoky Shrimp-Stuffed Baby Eggplant

Also try substituting (or supplementing with) lump crab meat or fresh chopped scallops.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 baby eggplants, halved lengthwise
• 1/3 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled & chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 1/4 c. fresh, roughly-chopped basil
• 1/2 c. good-quality smoked gouda cheese, shredded
• 1/4 c. plain breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• garnish: extra slices of gouda, whole basil leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a medium-sized casserole dish with non-stick spray.
2. Remove flesh from eggplant with a spoon. Chop flesh into small cubes and reserve. Rub the inside and outside of the cleaned eggplant halves with a light coat of olive oil and place in the casserole dish for filling later.
3. Heat 1/4 c. olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is thoroughly heated, add the onion. Saute until slightly translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Add shrimp & salt to skillet and cook until slightly pink, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add eggplant, garlic, and white wine to the shrimp, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until eggplant begins to get tender. Add breadcrumbs and stir for about 45 seconds, then remove from heat. (If mixture appears too dry, add more white wine before removing from heat. If too wet, add more breadcrumbs.)
6. Add the shredded gouda, fresh basil, and pepper to the shrimp mixture. Fill eggplant shells evenly with this mixture.
7. Bake at 350º for 20-25 minutes, or until the eggplants are tender. Serve with a fresh basil leaf and gouda slices on top for a polished (and delicious!) appearance.

via chow.

spicy sweets and beets

Hey John! I just won best side dish with this recipe I half made up at a friends Thanksgiving dinner/contest party. Good luck!

6 medium sized beets (peeled and chopped into 1” chunks)

3-4 sweet potatoes (also peeled and cut into 1” chunks)

2 large yellow onions ( chopped into half rings)

2Tbsp salt (sea salt if you have it)

2Tbsp pepper

2Tbsp cayenne (I actually used 3T, but it was SO hot!)

2Tbsp cumin

Olive oil

Sugar to taste (I used light brown, but that may not be necessary)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put chopped beets in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Put in a baking dish (with sides and enough room for the other stuff) Bake for 15 minutes.

Add chopped sweet potatoes and chopped onions and all the spices except the sugar. Toss to coat. Bake for 45 minutes. Toss every now and then. Take out and test for spiciness. Add as much sugar as you need to (this definitely takes the edge off the spice, so don’t worry!). Bake for 15 minutes more, or until beets and sweet potatoes are soft - NOT crunchy! Make sure everyone knows there is a serious kick! I was worried it was too spicy, but there was not a crumb left at the end of the night. Enjoy!

[UPDATE BY JOHN: This submission is not technically a recipe, but the link is a good resource. And it’s close enough for me to post.]

Go to www.thepioneerwoman.com, a food blog site.  She has her whole Thanksgiving menu in the cooking section.  You are bound to find something.

Hippie Gruel (Vegan African Peanut Stew)

lizzwestman:

I used to make this in college. My friends called it hippie gruel. It’s super easy and super tasty.

Get a giant pot and fill it with water. Throw in a few large tablespoons of chunky peanut butter.  Add salt. Add a few cloves of garlic, a large white onion, a few tomatoes, celery and about 3 or 4 potatoes (cut into medium sized cubes). Then add in all the “c” spices — cardamom, cumin, cayanne pepper, cloves, cinnamon (just a tiny bit), curry, etc.  Let it cook until the potatoes get pretty soft.  Add more peanut butter if you want a thicker sauce.  Play with the spices and garlic to taste. Cubes of hard tofu work well in it too, but that’s if you want more stuff in the stew. Lemon can be nice too.

Serve it in a bowl with some kind of tasty bread. Or use a bread bowl. It goes well with sourdough, though I personally hate sourdough.  It serves a lot, based on how much of each ingredient you use.

(Sorry I don’t have a real recipe, but I don’t cook that way, I think a variation on this may exist in the Moosewood Cookbook — like I said, my friends called it hippie gruel. They also ate it in droves.)

Here’s how Moosewood makes it, I don’t think you need the honey or the buttermilk. Also, all the vegetables make it way better. But this might help with proportions.

1 cup good plain peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
4 cups boiling water
1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 cups minced onion
10 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt (Use less, if peanut butter is salted)
2 to 3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (maybe more—to taste)
2 cups buttermilk (at room temperature)

1. Place the peanut butter and honey in a medium-sized bowl. Add about half the boiling water, and mash with a spoon until it becomes smooth. Whisk in the remaining hot water and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a soup pot or a Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, salt, and ginger. Saute over low heat for about 10 minutes, then add the spices. Continue to cook and stir for about 5 minutes longer.
3. Stir in the peanut butter mixture and cover. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat way down and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Just before serving, heat the soup again (if necessary) and whisk in the room temperature buttermilk. Serve right away, with a small spoonful of Banana Topping in each bowl.

Beer Ice Cream with Pretzel Crust and Dipping Sauces (via wired.com)

vetovictory:

Ingredients: 460 grams 35% cream • 165 grams sugar • 6 egg yolks • 400 mL beer • 100 grams honey • 100ml beer • 100 grams pretzels

Directions: Place sugar and yolks in bowl and 35% cream in pot.
Bring cream to a boil and slowly temper yolk mixture. Place back on heat and cook to anglaise stage, coating back of spatula. Cool down immediately in ice bath. Place ice cream mix and beer in a mixer with paddle attachment (a whisk and bowl works, too.) On low speed, gradually add
liquid nitrogen ½ cup at a time until mixture is frozen and becomes thick enough to pipe. (Note: If you can’t get liquid nitrogen, an ice cream maker will do.)

With a plain round piping tip, pipe lines on frozen steel tray. Leave there until ready to bread ice cream.

For breading, take some honey and small amount of beer and mix until smooth and slightly thicker than water. Place pretzels in blender and blend until fine, sifting out powder. Place pretzels in bowl.

Take frozen beer ice cream off the tray, one at a time, and dip into honey•beer mixture completely coating it, then placing into bowl of crushed pretzels. Using your hands, squeeze crushed pretzels into ice cream tightly to ensure it sticks. Place immediately into freezer for 6
hours.

by VetovsVicory

EAST END BIG HOP BRATWURST PUREE (via wired.com)

vetovictory:

EAST END BIG HOP BRATWURST PUREE

Ingredients: 230 grams bratwurst (removed from casing)
• 200 grams caramelized red onion, cooled • 1 liter plus East End Big
Hop beer (substitute brew of your choice) • 3 sheets gelatin (bloomed in cold water) • 3 grams agar agar • Salt and black pepper to taste

Procedure: In medium saucepan, bring half of beer to a boil, add bratwurst and reduce heat, reduce liquid by half, add caramelized red onion and cook for an additional five minutes. Transfer to blender and blend on high until smooth adjusting consistency with more beer if necessary, reserve.

Place other half liter of beer in a small saucepan and add agar agar, puree with immersion blender and place over medium heat while constantly whisking, bring to a simmer and add bloomed gelatin
(squeezed of excess water). Return to a simmer and turn off heat.
Combine bratwurst mixture and agar mixture in high speed blender and puree until smooth and creamy, push through a tamis or fine mesh screen, season and cool.
Pipe mixture into a squeeze bottle with a pastry bag.

by VetovsVictory

Peach and Lemon Myrtle cheesecake (via justaustralia.org)

vetovictory:

Ingredients:
75g/3oz Butter
225g/8oz Digestive Biscuits, crushed
1 teasp Ground Cinnamon
200g/7oz Cream Cheese
50g/2oz Caster Sugar
4 Large ripe Peaches
1 teasp Ground Lemon Myrtle
1 x 11g/0.4oz packet Gelatine
300ml/10fl.oz. Double Cream
Instructions:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the digestive biscuits and cinnamon and mix well. Press into the base of a 20cm/8 inch loose-bottomed cake tin. Chill until firm.

2. Place the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat together. In another bowl whip the cream

3. Peel, stone and puree 3 of the peaches then add to the cheese and sugar together with the ground lemon myrtle and mix well.

4. Dissolve the gelatine in 3 tablespoons boiling water, add to the mango mixture with two thirds of the cream. Mix well then spoon into the biscuit case and smooth the surface. Place in a refrigerator until set.

5. To serve – peel and stone the remaining peach and cut into slices then use to decorate the top of the cheesecake together with the remaining whipped cream.