Easy Dark Chocolate Pudding From Scratch

This is my favorite pudding to make. It's very rich and almost mousse like in texture. Plus it's fairly quick and easy, so it makes a great dessert when you have unexpected guests.

*Use good quality chocolate and thank me later! 

Easy Dark Chocolate Pudding
original recipe at Epicurious

Serves 4

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (I like 70%)
1 1/3 cups whole milk
1 large egg yolk
vanilla

Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch salt, in a medium saucepan. Chop the chocolate (it's super easy to do in a food processor) and add to sugar mixture. Whisk together the milk and egg yolk (make sure not to add the icky, rubbery white thing that likes to stick to the yolk) and gradually stir it into chocolate mixture. Bring mixture just to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, and bring it to a boil. Continue mixing for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in a small splash of vanilla (1/4-1/2 teaspoon).
Spoon the pudding into small ramekins (teacups also work, in a pinch). Eat it warm or chill puddings in the refrigerator. In a pinch, you can pop them in the freezer, surfaces covered with plastic wrap, until cooled, about 30 minutes.

For a yummy variation, add a pinch of cinnamon to the dry ingredients!

Dried Tomatoes

Because we were moving, I decided not to try to grow anything this past summer. It was kind of a sad decision for me to make, but it didn't make sense to put a lot of time into a garden that we would leave just before harvest. So I was happily surprised when a volunteer tomato plant popped up in the garden at our new house.

This little plant has been awesome! On Sunday, I picked over 2 pounds of grape tomatoes and today I picked another pound.

I'm not a huge fan of raw tomatoes, though my husband can eat them by the handful. So I decided to dry them. It concentrates the flavors and you can use them like sun dried tomatoes. I like to chop them up and sprinkle them on macaroni and cheese.

I used the dehydrator this time, but you can also make them in the oven.

It's so stupid easy that you don't even need a recipe. Just wash your tomatoes, cut them (little ones like grape and cherry can just be cut in half), and then space them with some room in between on the racks of a dehydrator, set it for vegetables (about 135 degrees Fahrenheit) and wait until they're dried out and leathery. This batch took about 18 hours. Store them in a freezer bag in the freezer, and you'll have them through the winter, if you can avoid eating them all at once!

ps. Don't forget to enter my mug giveaway! It's ending in 5 days!

2013 Photo Journal: January 18-25

Snow From the Day Before

Making Blueberry Crisp

Chicken Noodle Soup

The Ice Thief

Making Coffee Liqueur

Before the Ice Storm

New Piece - Unfired

Margaritas and Shredded Chicken Taquitos with Salsa and Guacamole

Today I'd like to share with you my recipe for shredded chicken. I originally modeled it after the delicious shredded chicken you can find in burritos from taquerias all over southern California. But over the years it has kind of evolved into my own thing. I like to use it in burritos, enchiladas, tacos and, as you can see, taquitos. I've also included directions for taquitos, pico de gallo salsa, guacamole and margaritas.

Shredded Chicken:

 

• olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 spicy chile, seeded and minced (I've used dried pasillas, fresh seranos and fresh jalapenos. They're all good.)
• 1-1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 small can El Pato tomato sauce - the green one (optional but delicious)
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• a big pinch of salt
• 12 oz of the cheapest beer you have on hand (you can also use chicken broth if beer isn't your thing)

*This chicken freezes nicely, so I often make a double batch and freeze half for later use. That's what I did this time around. Hence the 2 cans of beer, packages of chicken, etc. Next time I think I'll just use one can of beer. It took a long time for the liquid to boil off and my chicken got a little over done and mushy.

In a medium/small pot, pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom and heat it over medium low heat.

Add the onions, spicy chilies, and garlic. Saute them until the onions soften.

Toss the chicken into the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Give it a stir then bring it to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally until the chicken falls apart. If it starts to dry out and stick to the bottom of the pan, add some water or chicken broth. 

 

While the chicken is doing it's thing, work on your toppings and maybe a margarita to reward yourself for all your hard work.

Pico de Gallo:

• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• 2 large green onions or 6 skinny ones, white parts only, minced
• lime juice
• salt

Combine the tomato, jalapeno, cilantro and green onions in a bowl. Add a squeeze of lime juice and a large pinch of salt. Stir it all up. And you're done! Easy peasy!

Guacamole:
When it comes to guacamole, I'm a purist. No tomato. No onion. Just some avocado, a little lime or lemon juice, and salt to bring out the flavor. Toss it all into a bowl and mash it with a fork. Give it a taste and add more salt or juice as needed. If you're eating it with salty chips, go easy on the salt.

Margaritas:
There are two main things that make this margarita recipe awesome. First, the tequila. Use good quality tequila that tastes good all on it's own. Secondly, I believe that by letting the lime juice and agaves syrup marinate with the lime zest, you get a deeper more complex flavor.

• lime zest from 2 limes
• lime juice from 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 3 shots tequila (about 4-5 ounces)
• 1 shot triple sec (about 1.5 ounces)
• salt

Put the lime zest, lime juice and agave syrup into a bowl. Let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Rub the edges of two glasses with the leftover lime and dip into a saucer of salt. Add 4-6 ice cubes to each glass.

Strain the juice mixture into a cocktail shaker. Add the tequila and triple sec and several ice cubes. Shake until it gets cold. Pour into the salt rimmed glasses.

Taquitos:

• corn tortillas
• canola oil (about 1 cup)
• shredded chicken

plus

• toothpicks
• paper towels
• kitchen thermometer

Lay out your tortillas on the paper towels in a single layer. You want them to dry out so they'll fry up better. Stale tortillas work beautifully here. Flip them once or twice over the course of 10-20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 350˚F.

Fry the tortillas one at a time, for about 5 seconds on each side. You want them soft and flexible, not crispy.  As you finish each tortilla, transfer it to a paper towel.

Take the pan off the heat. Once the tortillas are cool, place a small amount of shredded chicken in the tortilla, roll it up and secure with toothpicks.

Put the oil back on the heat and bring it back up to temperature. Place the taquitos into the hot oil and fry 8 minutes total turning a quarter turn every 2 minutes (or until crispy and golden brown).

Put it all together!
Place 2 or 3 taquitos on a plate. Top with guacamole and salsa. To turn it into a full dinner, add a nice big green salad on the side or some beans and rice.
Enjoy!

My Garden and a Recipe for Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Did you know that I have a vegetable garden? I think I've mentioned it before. It's about 8 feet wide by 16 feet long. I'm really lucky that someone who lived here before had their garden in the same spot. It's sunny most of the time and the soil is richer than anywhere else in our yard. Matt and I spent several afternoons working the soil in the spring to make it hospitable to the plants we wanted to grow. And then we planted a slew of veggies, crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

We've had some very mixed success. We harvested a couple handfuls of peas and several pounds of potatoes but our lettuce, kale, carrots, melons and a few other things I'm sure I'm forgetting became casualties of the bugs, birds squirrels and bunnies. I can't complain too much. We really don't know what the heck we were doing and Tennessee is pretty different from California and even in CA, we only really grew a few tomatoes some peppers. So I'm chalking it up to a learning experience and celebrating the victories.

Yay for the potatoes! These are yukon golds. They're super versatile and yummy too. And here's one of my favorite potato recipes.

Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

This is an easy potato dish that you can pop in the oven to roast while you make the rest of your dinner.

1.5 – 2 lbs roasting potatoes (I like reds, fingerlings and yukon golds)
olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt
pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Toss them into a glass baking dish. Strip the leaves off the rosemary stems, mince the leaves, and discard the stems. Add the rosemary and garlic to the potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and dot with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and give the whole thing a good stir. Pop it in the oven to roast. Turn over potatoes every 20 minutes or so to ensure even cooking. The potatoes will be done when they are tender on the inside and a little bit crispy on the outside. Approx 45 min.

Fish in a Packet for Two

Did you know that I love cooking? I do! I really love cooking. (Now cleaning up is a whole 'nother story!) I don't know why I haven't blogged about cooking more, but I intend to start.

Here's a quick and easy recipe I made for dinner last night. It's strongly based on Asian Fish in a Packet from Moosewood's Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day. Which, incidentally is a great starting point for vegetarian and pescatarian dishes - most are little bland and need of some tweaking but delicious when you add some extra seasonings.

So. Fish in a Packet. Let's do this!

First up, undercook some brown rice. You want it pretty al dente because you're going to cook it a second time with the fish. I used a cup of short grain brown rice and 1 1/4 cups water.

Next, preheat the oven to 450 F.

While the rice is cooking and the oven is heating, prep your veggies and stuff. You're going to want:

1 baby bok choy, sliced.
2 carrots, sliced
2 handfuls of mushrooms, sliced (I like cremini mushrooms, but you could also use shitakes or plain old white mushrooms)
2-4 fresno chilies sliced into rings (Taste for spiciness! These little suckers are hard to predict. Bell peppers or jalapenos can be substituted, if you like.)
4-5 green onions, sliced
4-5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
fresh ginger, finely chopped (about the same amount as the garlic)

In a small jar or bowl or heck, even a teacup, mix together:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Wash 2 tilapia fillets and pat them dry. Set aside for now.

Next, and this is very important, take the ends of your carrots and balance them on your dogs nose. Like so:

When your rice is done and your oven is hot it's time to assemble your fish packets. Get out a cookie sheet - the kind with the rim around the edge, not the kind things slide off of. Then get out some aluminum foil. Cut off 4 big pieces - each around 2 feet long. Place them on the cookie sheet like so, with one on top of the other so it's doubled up.

In the center of each foil, layer half of your ingredients in the following order so that the ones that need to most moisture are on the bottom and the ones that need less are on the top.
1. rice - (I only used about 2/3 of the rice I cooked)
2. carrots
3. mushrooms
4. bok choy
5. fish fillets
6. sauce (mix it up really well before spooning it on)
7. top with garlic, ginger, peppers and green onions

Fold it up starting with the long ends and then rolling up the short sides. Pop it in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

While you're waiting, pour yourself a beer and watch an episode of Samantha Who on Netflix. Because Christina Applegate is hilarious.

After 20 minutes, check for doneness. I totally recommend a handy dandy kitchen thermometer. Your fish should be at least 145 F. Mine usually reads much higher than that, but the packet keeps it nice and moist so don't worry about it drying out. If you don't have a thermometer, your veggies should be tender and the fish shouldn't be translucent any more.

You can eat it out of the foil if you like or you can (carefully!) transfer it to a plate.