Daring Kitchen Challenge: Tamales

Maranda of Jolts & Jollies was our January 2012 Daring Cooks hostess with the mostess! Maranda challenged us to make traditional Mexican Tamales as our first challenge of the year! 

Vegan Black Bean and Green Chile Tamales

Servings: About 12 tamales

Ingredients1 – 8 ounce (225 grams) bag dried corn husks

For the filling:
1 – 15.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 – 14 ounce can diced tomato with green chiles, drained
1 – 10 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin

For the masa dough:
4 cups masa harina (corn tortilla mix), I used instant masa mix
2 ½-3 cups vegetable broth
½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Follow the directions from the below recipe for soaking the corn husks.
2. Make the filling. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Make the masa dough. Combine the olive oil, salt and masa mix in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until combined.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add 2 cups (480 ml) of vegetable broth. If the mixture seems to dry (you can taste it for moistness at this point) add more broth 2 tablespoons (30 ml) at a time.
5. Follow the directions in the below recipe for filling and cooking instructions.

Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:

The fillings can be made a day in advance and kept in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

The tamales can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Tamales can be made 2 days in advance. Let cool one hour, place in refrigerator in an air tight container.

IMAGES FROM THE DARING KITCHEN "OFFICIAL" DIRECTIONS

 Take 3 large corn husks and tear them into ¼ inch (6 mm) strips. (I would suggest you put these back in the water until use because they dry out and start breaking when you try to work with them.

 Take a large pot with a steamer attachment. Pour about 2 inches (5 cm) of water into the bottom of the pot, or enough to touch the bottom of the steamer. Line the bottom of the steamer with corn husks.

 Unfold 2 corn husks onto a work surface. Take ¼ cup (60 ml) of dough and, starting near the top of the husk, press it out into a 4 inch (10 cm) square, leaving 2-3 inches (5 -7½ cm) at the bottom of the husk. Place a heaping tablespoon (15 ml) of the filling in a line down the center of the dough square.

 Fold the dough into the corn husk.

 And wrap the husk around the dough.

Fold up the skinny bottom part of the husk.

And secure it with one of the corn husk ties.

Stand them up in the steamer. If there aren’t enough tamales to tightly pack the steamer, place crumpled aluminum foil in the excess space.

 Steam the tamales for about 40 minutes or until the dough deepens in color and easily pulls away from the husk.

Daring Kitchen Challenge: Cooking with Tea!

Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

CHINESE TEA EGGS

6 eggs 
2 tablespoons black tea leaves, or 4 tea bags
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
1 tablespoon coarse grain salt
toasted sesame seeds, to garnish [I didn't]

Directions:

1. In a large enough pot to avoid overcrowding, cover the eggs with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for twelve minutes.
2. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and keep the cooking water.
3. With a spoon, tap the eggs all over until they are covered with small cracks. This can also be done by tapping and rolling the eggs very gently on the counter.
4. Return the eggs to the pan and add the tea leaves or bags, Chinese five spice powder, and salt. Cover the pan.
5. Heat gently and simmer, covered, for one hour.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs cool down in the liquid for 30 minutes.
7. Remove the eggs from the liquid. Peel one egg to check how dark it is; the others can be returned to the liquid if you wish to have the web-like pattern darker. Allow the eggs to cool fully.
8. To serve, peel and slice the eggs in halves or quarters. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

These we so freakin good. I mean, good. If they didn't take so long, I'd make them more often. But even then, totally worth it. My kids even chowed down on them! haha!

Daring Kitchen Challenge: Bacon & Sage Sweet Potato Gnocchi

We hit 300 followers yesterday! THANK YOU!! I'm setting up a great giveaway for this milestone, so stay tuned! =D
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Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks' July hostess.  Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine.  She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

BACON & FRESH SAGE SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI

2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups flour, plus additional for dusting
6 slices bacon, cut into thin strips
1 tblsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coursely ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock
1 tblsp fresh sage, chopped
1 tblsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tblsp cold water

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine potatoes, ricotta and egg in large mixing bowl.

Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing with your hands until a soft dough forms.

Transfer dough to well floured surface and knead 6 to 8 times until it becomes firm, sprinkling with flour as needed. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 20 inch logs. Cut each log into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces.

Bring 5 qts or water to a boil in a large (8-qt) stockpot over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in skillet over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. remove from skillet and drain on paper towel.

Add gnocchi to stockpot and immediately stir gently one time. Cook 4 to 6 minutes, or until gnocchi float to the top. Transfer gnocchi from pot to sheet pan [you your "spider" tool or large slotted spoon].

Melt butter in skillet [12-in] over medium heat. Add gnocchi; sprinkle with s&p. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until browned, turning occasionally. Transfer gnocchi to same sheet pan and keep warm.

Add stock, sage and bacon to skillet you just used. Bring to a simmer and whisk in cornstarch mixture. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

Serve gnocchi with sauce and fresh garden salad.

This salad is fresh from my garden! Delicious!

Daring Kitchen Challenge: Potato Salad

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

LOADED BAKED POTATO SALAD

7 to 8 whole medium sized red potatoes
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup real bacon bits
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (shred from a block for best results)

Clean and cut red potatoes into quarters, and boil for 15 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain. Place in large bowl and toss with melted butter and S&P. Place in the fridge, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise and milk. Stir the sour cream mixture, bacon and cheese with the potatoes.

Serve immediately or cover a refrigerate until serving.

Sprinkle shredded cheese and bacon bits over top for garnish and even more flavoring! =)

Serves 6 to 8 (or 4 if you're my family)

DK Challenge: Chicken & Sausage GUMBO

Oh yes, you read that right. GUMBO! This was hard for me to get started. My husband was raised in the south, and on Gumbo, the real stuff. He's made it several times, and it was never "my cup of tea." He did his with shrimp (and I'm allergic to iodine) and okra that was super slimy. I was thrilled to see the "Chicken & Smoked Sausage" recipe. But still, I have some big boots to fill! So here it is my friends! **drum roll please!**
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Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

DARING KITCHEN MAY's CHALLENGE

CHICKEN & SMOKED SAUSAGE GUMBO

~I've added my thoughts in [ ] and bold and blue~

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) rendered chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil [I used the oil]
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
2 large onions, diced
1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) Basic Creole Spices, or store-bought Creole spice blend [I made mine--come back Monday to see how]
2 pounds (2 kilograms) spicy smoked sausage, sliced ½ inch (15mm) thick
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green bell peppers (capsicum), seeded and diced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme [yeah! from my garden!]
3 quarts (3 liters) Basic Chicken Stock (recipe follows), or canned chicken stock [canned taste great too!]
2 bay leaves
6 ounces (175 gm) andouille sausage, chopped [this CAN be found! I found it with the other sausage/hot dog section at grocery store]
2 cups (480 ml) (320 gm) (11 oz) sliced fresh okra, ½ -inch (15mm) thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available) [I used frozen, taste just like fresh to me!]
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Filé powder, to taste [couldn't find it, so left it out]
Tabasco, to taste [no thank you! it has enough "kick" already]
4-6 cups (1 – 1½ liters) (650 gm – 950 gm) cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice [check back Monday!]
Directions:
1. Prepare homemade chicken stock, if using (recipe below). [I just used store-bough stuff]
2. Prepare homemade Basic Creole Spices, if using.
3. Season the chicken pieces with about 2 tablespoons of the Creole Spices while you prepare the vegetables.
4. Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning. [do not mix the onions with the other veggies--they go in at different times]
5. In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes. [mine turned out to look like refried beans at about 7 minutes, so I added chicken stock to try to fix it and continued to next step]
6. Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes. [again, mine didn't...so just kept going...]
7. Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
8. Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir for about a minute.
9. Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.
10. Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.
11. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.
12. Add the chopped andouille, okra, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper, several dashes of filé powder, and Tabasco, all to taste. [I also took out the big chunks of the chicken and shredded them up with forks and then put them back in--I like the idea of eating gumbo with big chunks of chicken instead of bones]
13. Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice. Pass more filé powder at the table if desired.

DK Challenge: Edible Bowls

THE DARING COOKS APRIL CHALLENGE

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

What a fun challenge this was! And I've found more examples all month long of other things in edible bowls, and I've put them on the bottom of this post.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SOUP 

SS Soup in the SS shell bowl, lined with the SS strings

Here is the soup recipe I used:

1/2 spaghetti squash baked in an oven
Butter or olive oil
1 large chopped onion
4 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
1 teaspoon of curry powder
6 cups of either vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and ground pepper

Bake the spaghetti squash in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F for almost 40 minutes and scoop it out once it has cooled.

In a sauce pan add some butter or olive oil on medium flame and add the onions. Cook the onions till they soften, then add the ginger, garlic, and curry powder. Stir it for about 2 minutes.

Puree the squash in a blender and add it to the sauce pan along with the vegetable or chicken stock. Stir it continuously for about 10 minutes.

Season the soup with salt and ground pepper, serve it with some grated spaghetti squash.

OTHER EDIBLE BOWLS

Tuna in Celery Boats

Daring Kitchen: Ceviche and Papas Rellenas

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenges us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

The Daring Cooks March 2011Challenge: ¡Me Encanta Perú! - Ceviche and Papas Rellenas

Ok, well to start....I'm sorry but I have to say EW. I knew immediately that I couldn't do the Ceviche. Me and raw fish don't work--plus I'm allergic to iodine in the fish. So that was out. But I still wanted to try the papas rellenas. So, I had planned on doing it one day, but things got crazy--so the mashed potatoes got stored in the fridge, and a few other things got stored back away. So when I finally got to cooking--it just all messed up. My time line, my ingredients...just all of it. I didn't even bother taking pictures. It was a mess. The End.

Sorry DK gals! I'll keep on trekking though....bring on the next challenge!!

DARING COOKS CHALLENGE: SOBA NOODLES & TEMPURA

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com

HIYASHI SOBA

Soba noodles:
2 quarts water + 1 cup cold water (2 times), separate 
12 oz dried soba (buckwheat) noodles (or any Asian thin noodle)

Cooking the noodles:
1. Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them.

2. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Mentsuyu - Traditional dipping sauce:

2 cups Kombu and Katsuobushi dashi (This can be bought in many forms from most Asian stores) Or a basic vegetable stock. [I used veg stock]
1/3 cup soy sauce or a low sodium soy sauce [Tamari is the best]
1/3 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)

Put mirin in a sauce pan and heat gently. Add soy sauce and dashi soup stock in the pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.


Soba Noodles Topping:
[I used Cucumber, tomatoes and baby corn]
All toppings should be julienne, finely diced or grated. Prepare and refrigerate covered until needed.
Respect Japanese culture and keep topping very simple.

TEMPURA

1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 cup iced water
½ cup plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dredging
½ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
oil, for deep frying preferably vegetable
ice water bath, for the tempura batter (a larger bowl than what will be used for the tempura should be used. Fill the large bowl with ice and some water, set aside)

Vegtables used: [I bolded what I used]
Sweet potato, peeled, thinly sliced, blanched
Carrot, peeled, thinly sliced diagonally
Pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed, thinly sliced blanched
Green beans, trimmed
Green bell pepper/capsicum, seeds removed, cut into 2cm (¾ inch)-wide strips
Assorted fresh mushrooms [shitaki]
Eggplant cut into strips (traditionally it’s fanned)
Onions sliced

Vegetables prepared for dredging and frying
  Tomatoesand Cucumbers were for the soba noodles

Place the iced water into a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk and gradually pour into the iced water, stirring (preferably with chopsticks) and blending well. Add flours and baking powder all at once, stroke a few times with chopsticks until the ingredients are loosely combined. The batter should be runny and lumpy. Place the bowl of batter in an ice water bath to keep it cold while you are frying the tempura. The batter as well as the vegetables and seafood have to be very cold. The temperature shock between the hot oil and the cold veggies help create a crispy tempura.

Vegetables dredged in flour, preparing for tempura batter and deep frying.

Heat the oil in a large pan or a wok. For vegetables, the oil should be 320°F; for seafood it should be 340°F. It is more difficult to maintain a steady temperature and produce consistent tempura if you don’t have a thermometer, but it can be done. You can test the oil by dropping a piece of batter into the hot oil. If it sinks a little bit and then immediately rises to the top, the oil is ready.

Start with the vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, that won’t leave a strong odor in the oil. Dip them in a shallow bowl of flour to lightly coat them and then dip them into the batter. Slide them into the hot oil, deep frying only a couple of pieces at a time so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.

Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.

Serve immediately for the best flavor, but they can also be eaten cold.

I'm working on the tempura, using what little counter space military housing gives us.
I'm a very mess cook.