Daring Cooks October Challenge: Quick Chicken Pho and Chocolate Wontons

I absolutely loved this month's challenge: Pho. It's something delicious I never would have thought to make myself, but once I did, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was! I especially loved having the big assortment of toppings, allowing everyone to make their pho as wild or tame as they like.

To accompany the pho, I made a simply crunchy salad with red & green cabbage, shredded carrots, and shredded broccoli stalks, topped with toasted almonds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds.

For our dessert, we were encouraged to venture outside the box and get crazy with our fillings. Jaden's original recipe calls for nuggets of chocolate. I considered filling them with chocolate that was spiced with cinnamon and chilies, but all the chocolate bars I found were too expensive to be worth it. I decided on a filling I've used many times for dessert wontons: NUTELLA! These bad boys were (of course) delicious. I probably polished off at least 5 myself and was sorely disappointed when they were finished.

Chicken Pho
From Jaden's Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Makes 4 servings

For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce
1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

As Accompaniments:
2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.

In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.

Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.

Chocolate Wontons
Jaden's Steamy Kitchen Cookbook
Makes 12 wontons

1 large egg
1 tbsp. water
12 wonton wrappers, defrosted (keep wrappers covered with damp towel)
Nutella
High-heat oil for frying (i.e., vegetable oil, corn oil)

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.

On a clean, dry surface lay 1 wonton wrapper down with a point toward you, like a diamond. Place about a teaspoon of Nutella near the top end of the wrapper. Brush a very thin layer of the egg wash on the edges of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper up to create a triangle and gently press to remove all air from the middle. Press the edges to adhere the sides. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely.

Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate pieces. Keep the folded chocolate wontons covered under plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying.

In a wok or medium pot, pour in 2 inches (5 cm.) of high-heat oil. Heat the oil to 350º F (180º C) and gently slide a few of the chocolate wontons into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t crowd the chocolate wontons. Fry the wontons for 1 ½ minutes, then flip over and fry another minute until both sides are golden brown and crisp.

Pitango: Organic Gelato in Dupont Circle

A few weeks ago, after a visit to the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see their Frida Kahlo, the lovely Dora and I finally checked out Pitango. After lamenting the dearth of good gelato in our area (Dolcezza excluded), we were desperate for something good. I'm happy to report that Pitango did not disappoint. Unfortunately for me, the two flavors I was looking forward to, Creme Fraiche and Cinnamon, were not offered that day. I have since called, and they told me I can look forward to them in a few weeks (apparently they are seasonal, autumn-only flavors). Another downside to Pitango is the gelato is in these metal tins so you can't see the flavor before you taste it. This doesn't matter for most flavors, but for some it's crucial (mango for example, should be a deep orange color, not pale yellow). I decided on Almond and Mango Sorbet. The almond was fantastic! I normally don't like Almond-y flavors because they taste too much like marzipan (ew!), but this one tasted like pure delicious almonds. I was less wild about the mango. The flavor was pretty subtle and I definitely would have preferred a mango punch in the face.

Dora chose Dark Chocolate Orange and Concord Grape Sorbet. The Dark Chocolate Orange was sublime. The grape was fairly good, in that it tasted like real grapes, but it was nothing to write home about (especially when compared with the Raisin Framboise at Arlequin in Nice). Ultimately we concluded that their creamy flavors are infinitely better than their fruity ones. However, more tests will have to be conducted in order to validate this hypothesis. As always faithful readers, I will keep you posted!

Pitango Gelato

1451 P Street NW
Washington DC
202-332-8877

Other locations in Baltimore & Reston

Welcome to the US Chocolate Cake

Today something pretty exciting is happening: my cousin from Iran arrives! Considering the last time I saw him was four years ago, I felt pretty compelled to do something special. After skimming my cookbooks for something yummy (and easy) I decided on this chocolate cake recipe from Food to Live By, the Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook I received last year for my birthday from a very darling friend. This cookbook is really comprehensive, it doesn't limit itself in any form or fashion. Its recipes come from a variety of culinary standpoints and their unifying feature is the emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables (I would hope so, considering this cookbook comes from people living on an organic farm and all...). Anyway, I made this cake, opting (out of laziness) not to make it a layer cake, and topped it with homemade whipped cream and berries. I didn't realize until I was photographing it that it's red, white, and blue, but I suppose that's fitting for the whole "Welcome to America" occasion.

Chocolate Layer Cake

from Food to Live By

serves 8-10

1 1/3 cups flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch into a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a medium-size bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture to the four mixture and mix well.

Divide the cake batter evenly into 2 9-inch cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean (about 20-30 minutes).

Saturday Night with Sadiqeh: Avocado Grapefruit Salad, Zucchini Vichyssoise and Mango Frozen Yogurt

There are few things I love more than making a meal for someone I love, especially when I know that person will appreciate a little extra attention to detail. My friend Sadiqeh is one of my favorite people to cook for because she loves finding new ways to enjoy simple, fresh flavors. Last Saturday night, I had her over for dinner. Because I knew she was arriving after 8pm, I wanted to make something light. Sadiqeh and I share a certain fascination for all things French and love to fantasize about abandoning our mundane lives to go live in Paris. In the spirit of this, I turned to Barefoot in Paris for inspiration.

I settled on Ina's Avocado Grapefruit Salad and Zucchini Vichyssoise. Ina mentions that she had this salad at "a very elegant restaurant in Paris," by which I think she means Le Voltaire (Gwyneth also mentions this salad on GOOP--don't mock me!). In any case, the salad was super simple and absolutely delicious. I love grapefruit only when they are well-salted and they work beautifully in this really simple salad. If I were to make this again, I would use red grapefruit, purely for aesthetic value.

For our soup, I chose the Zucchini Vichyssoise, partially because I had never heard of Vichyssoise and it sounded divine, but also because my sister's garden has left our home with an abundance of summer squash. With my handy dandy immersion blender, this soup was super easy to make. I especially love the immersion blender because it means LESS DISHES TO CLEAN! Anyway, the soup was delicious. The recipe calls for adding two tablespoons of heavy cream which was great, but I think next time I will try sour cream for a little extra substance.

For dessert, I wanted to attempt to make mango frozen yogurt. In case I have forgotten to mention it here, I have an obsession with frozen yogurt. And I'm not talking about that crappy kind that is so sweet it tastes like ice cream, I'm talking about the tart, tangy stuff. Not being a huge dessert person in general, I don't like super sweet desserts, so tart frozen yogurt (covered in fresh fruits and almonds preferably) is the perfect treat for me. Also, I recently decided that mangoes are definitely my favorite fruit...oh the possibilities!

I blended 2 (overly) ripe mangoes, 2 cups of plain yogurt, and a splash of lemon juice until smooth. Then, I transferred the mixture to our ice cream maker for about 45 minutes. It was fantastic! My only complaint is that it melted very quickly, making it difficult to photograph and consume without shoveling it into my mouth at lightening speed. Maybe I needed to leave it in the ice cream maker longer? Hmmm...I will continue to experiment with homemade frozen yogurt and get back you on it...

Avocado Grapefruit Salad

from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris

serves 4-6

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil
4 ripe Hass avocados
2 large red grapefruits
Directions
Place the mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified.

Before serving, cut the avocados in 1/2, remove the seeds, and carefully peel off the skin. Cut each half into 4 thick slices. Toss the avocado slices in the vinaigrette to prevent them from turning brown. Use a large, sharp knife to slice the peel off the grapefruits (be sure to remove all the white pith), then cut between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments.

Arrange the avocado slices around the edge of a large platter. Arrange the grapefruit segments in the center. Spoon the vinaigrette on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.

Zucchini Vichyssoise
from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris
serves 6

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
5 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (4 to 8 leeks)
4 cups chopped unpeeled white boiling potatoes (8 small)
3 cups chopped zucchini (2 zucchini)
1 1/2 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock, recipe follows, or canned broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Fresh chives or julienned zucchini, for garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a large stockpot, add the leeks, and saute over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, zucchini, chicken stock, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and then process through a food mill fitted with the medium disc. Add the cream and season to taste. Serve either cold or hot, garnished with chopped chives and/or zucchini.

Alton Brown's Chocolate Chip Cookies

On Thursday night, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies for our students' last day on Friday. I had planned to make Ina Garten's chocolate chunk cookies, but had the most miserable experience trying to find the recipe. If anyone has it, can you please link me??? I settled with Alton Brown's recipe because...well, he's Alton Brown. If you've ever seen Good Eats, you know he's just brilliant on all things food. These cookies were no exception, and Alton claims his technique for changing the cooking temperature during baking is imperative to make the best cookies possible. They were quite yummy. The recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter, but I found that just a bit much, so I used about 1.25 sticks. The cookies, consequently, were a little dry and more scone-like in consistency, but they were delicious none-the-less. These cookies were a great way to kick off the end of my summer job and the beginning of three weeks of minimal responsibility.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food Cookbook
makes about 24 cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees*.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the melted and cooled butter, sugars, egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour in the butter mixture and fold the ingredients together just until combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold to combine. Do not overmix.

For individual cookies, use a spoon or a disher and dish out your cookies, 2 inches apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. *

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined counter top.
*As soon as you put the cookies or cookie cake into the oven, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Alton Brown swears by this initial temperature boost.

Gelato at Dolcezza

In my last month in Nice, I was terribly distressed about the possibility of not having delicious gelato nearby. Thankfully, I came across a slew of good reviews for gelaterias popping up in DC, including Pitango (in the Washington Post) and Dolcezza (in the New York Times). Even though I have been excited about their existence, fear of disappointment has kept me away since I've been back. Dolcezza for example: their site immediately made me think that they take themselves too seriously. Look at the fancy schmancy photo in the "Gelato" section! In case I'm not being clear, I'm not interested in some trendy, bougie gelato shop with mediocre product. I want the real deal, with exciting flavors and reasonable prices. Last weekend my craving for cinnamon gelato became so intense that I told myself to suck it up and headed to the Dolcezza in Bethesda. They ended up not having cinnamon that day (yeap, they make new flavors every morning), but I was quickly consoled with the plethora of other flavor options. Dear readers, I was wrong about Dolcezza. Oh so very wrong. The gelato was magnificent--the type of thing that's so good it makes you want to throw down your spoon and belt out some opera. I had the Thai Coconut Milk and the Yellow Peaches & Cream and both were phenomenal. If you're on the look out for delicious gelato in DC, allow me to recommend to you Dolcezza. I'm hoping to try Pitango soon and when I do (never fear faithful readers), I'll keep you posted.

Saturday's flavors, including Blueberry Lemon Thyme and Blackberries & Cream.

Dolcezza also makes their own churros. These are stuffed with dulce de leche. Avec plaisir!

My flavor choices: Thai Coconut Milk and Yellow Peaches & Cream.

What could be more straightforward?