Baking With a Narwhal

A blog of baking, cooking, and general kitchen whatnots from a very picky eater.

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Haven’t been feeling well will post new stuff when I am feeling better

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This is the cake I made tonight.   Full disclosure not much of a recipe here.  I didn’t feel like baking from scratch and I have never had much luck with frosting so those two components were store bought.  The filling is a caramel cream cheese filling. It is part cream cheese, powdered sugar and some really amazing caramel topping. (Mrs. Richardson’s Fat Free Caramel.  Stuff is so good)  And then a chocolate topping made from the frosting mixed with the left over filling and drizzled with some more caramel.  I tried to make a marbled design but the colors were too similar to really tell.  I haven’t tried it yet.  My mom had a slice and said it was pretty good but that the filling somehow tastes like sweetened condensed milk instead of caramel.    

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The Most Versatile Thing I make

.When I was a kid my mom made me a dish we called very simply rice and beans and it was as simple as it sounds.  Nothing more than kidney beans, tomato and chili powder all over a big steaming bowl of white rice.     Well now that I cook the dish for myself it has changed a bit but the essence is the same.  It is simple, quick to make and delicious.

There are very few real measurements here because everything is to your taste.  So taste often and experiment.

Sauce:

~One can of Tomato soup (I actually prefer a generic brand that sells in my area called Best Yet but Campbells works great too)

~One can of light red kidney beans.  I only use Hannover brand but use whatever you want.  Really really super duper uber important.  RINSE YOUR FREAKING KIDNEY BEANS.   I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen people just dump the beans for like a chili or something right in.  The liquid they come canned in messes with the mouth feel of the dish.

~Chili Powder a mix of different brands works best.  Chili powder is ground peppers and usually other spices so each brand has a different flavor.   In a pinch if you are only going to use one I would use either McCormick or Spice Supreme.  These two brands I find have the best well rounded flavors.   You can also use ground Chile powders as well.   Which unlike chili powder with an  “i” on the end chile powders just have a ground pepper in them.  I am partial to ancho chile powder myself.  It has a nice earthy flavor I like but you can use any you like.  And the amount is up to you.   I tend to add pretty much just by virtue of the fact I am shaking in 4 or 5 different brands.

~Garlic Powder - Do not use Garlic salt.  

~Paprika - I don’t like smoked paprika myself but if you want some smokey flavor go for it.  I also use sweet paprika but hot paprika would work great too.  The brand I prefer is Pride of Szeged.  It comes in a metal tin and I find it has the best flavor but any brand you like is fine.

~Black Pepper - I have a grinder that is a mix of black, white and pink peppercorns.  I like it but just plain old black pepper will work fine too.

~ Okay here is the weird ingredient. Parmesan Cheese and in all honesty more times than not I end up using the Kraft variety right out of the fridge.  If I happen to have some of the real stuff around I use it but Kraft tastes just fine in this dish.   It adds a nice tangy note that sort of bolsters the tangy/sweet flavor of the tomato soup.

Optional Ingredients:

~ Cayenne or Habanero Pepper powder -  If you like heat add a shake.  I don’t use these as often because I’ve had pancreatitis and I was told to avoid very hot foods.  Oh and be careful if you use habanero.   The bottle I bought didn’t have a shaker top so I would use a spoon to just scoop out a tiny amount.  Well one day not thinking after I had sprinkled the carefully scooped amount of powder into my sauce I popped the spoon I had used right into my mouth.   I have no idea what I was thinking but the pain that resulted afterwards was intense.  I must have drank half a gallon of milk to get rid of that heat.

~ Goat Cheese or Cream Cheese - Adding some cheese to the sauce gives a creamy mouth feel to the sauce and again reinforces the tangy goodness of the tomatos.  I am partial to goat cheese and if I have it around the house I add it in.   Cream cheese is a bit sweeter so use it carefully.  

Basically this is a dump and cook sauce.  Mix everything together and cook until nice and warm.  I always start with the beans and soup and add the seasonings in.   I recommend tasting often as you add the seasonings.  Color is a good indication too.  It should be darker red than the plain tomato soup but if it gets looking like dark brick red it is usually a sign you’ve added too much chili powder.  I’ve done this trying to fix a problematic batch.  

Okay so you have this flavorful sauce that is sort of like chili but not exactly what do you do with it?

Well It is great over rice or you can take left over take out rice and actually reheat it in the sauce stirring pretty good so it makes almost a poridgy like consistency.   This is good on its own with some shredded cheddar or mexican cheese or rolled up into a flour tortilla as a burrito with all the fixings.   Throw some seasoned steak chunks (Like fajita meat) or seasoned chicken or pork on top.  I don’t really like chunky things but my mom likes this with salsa on it as well.

Or you can cook up some cheese ravioli or tortoli and float them in the sauce as soup.   

Or make what I call Mexican Manicotti.  Take a baking dish spray with non stick and ladle in a bit of hte sauce.  Then take flour tortillas and fill with a mix of ricotta cheese seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder, mix a bit of shredded mozzarella into the ricotta to make a firmer filling.   Place your rolled tortillas onto of the sauce.  Pour on the rest of the sauce and top with a mix of mozerella and cheddar cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven until hot and bubbly.

Or you can use it as an addition to a platter of nachos.  Just drizzle over the chips and layer with cheese and whatever fixings you usually use for nachos and enjoy. 

My mom also will take some of the sauce once it is cooled butter a piece of bread and spoon on a bit of the beans and sauce.  Fold and enjoy.  

I love this dish because it can be used as a base for a lot of different things and each one is absolutely yummy.   A batch if I am the only one eating I can usually get between 2-3 meals from.  And it keeps wonderfully in a sealed container in the fridge.

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My Thoughts on Food

It has been awhile since I posted and I’d like to start of my new posts with something I read.  An article on Yahoo.com was talking about how people are saying that cooking dishes from another culture is cultural appropriation and that it is some how racist.  

I cannot begin to say how wrong this line of thinking is.   First of all in America a lot of the dishes we think of as belonging to one culture were actually the Americanization of flavors that immigrants brought from their homeland.   For example Spaghetti and Meatballs.  Something we think of as the Italian dish is actually more American.   A variation on a rich heavy meat sauce.   It became very popular during the Great Depression due to Spaghetti houses popping up and selling a plate of pasta for a few cents.   Many of the dishes in Chinese restaurants were a created during the Gold Rush Era.  For example Chow Mein was created during this era as a way to throw together bits of vegetables left over to make a dish.

This acceptance and altering of flavors found in a culture are part of America the great Melting Pot we all are taught about.  Whether or not this is exactly accurate is a debate historians are still having.  The thing is the acceptance and enjoyment of another person’s culture is often the first step into learning about a culture.  The more we learn about a culture the better.

I have no idea if this is still the case but when I was in Elementary school when we learned about far off places and people at the end of the unit the teacher would cook up some food from that culture.  Was it entirely authentic?  Probably not.  But did it get us as kids excited to learn.  Absolutely.  

To everyone out there I encourage you do not be afraid to try to cook the food of another culture.  If someone is cooking you food from another culture don’t take it as an opportunity to lecture them about cultural appropriation.   Please don’t do this.  We may not understand a person, their language, their culture, their religion but what we can all understand is a meal.  When you share the flavors of your culture and you experience the tastes from a culture unfamiliar you create a bond.   You open the door for learning.   Please don’t close that door with judgments.

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Easy Minty Fudge

I take no credit for this recipe. I found it on the Food Network website  In fact here is the link to the recipe

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/white-chocolate-peppermint-fudge.html

I did however make an augmentation out of not having the full amount of white chocolate chips.  I substituted 1 cup of the white chocolate chips for 1 cup of Guittard mint chips.  The resulting fudge had a festive green color and a smooth mint flavor through out.    I’ve found these particular mint chips have a nice smooth texture and great mint flavor. They are really worth seeking out if you are a mint lover.  If they don’t sell them in stores around you they are available on the company’s website.

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Trouble with Biscuits

I have a tasty biscuit recipe (from the back of a baking powder tin) and I have been trying for years to augment the recipe into cheddar garlic biscuits.   So far my efforts can be described as “Meh”  The garlic flavor is muted and the cheese must get stolen by baking gremlins during their time in the oven.   

So anyone out there have any luck with garlic cheddar biscuits?

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Other people after baking:  Okay a bowl and a couple spoons to clean up.  And wash the flour off my hands and I’m done.

Me after baking:  Every dish in the house is dirty and how did I end up with flour down my pants?

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Chinese Five Spice

Also called just Five Spice.   This blend of spices includes things like ginger, anise and cinnamon.  It is used a lot in Chinese cooking but is typically in a savory dish.  However this fragrant powder makes some of the best spice cookies ever.  I start out with my go to sugar cooking recipe (it is one from an old Crisco Cookbook) and I add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a half teaspoon of five spice powder.   I will admit I use pre-ground five spice but it would be absolutely amazing if you made your own.  Recipes for the exact portions of spices can be found all over the internet. 

Of course the exact amount you add to your cookies depends on a lot of things.   It depends on your sugar cookie recipe, how fresh your spices are, if they are pre-ground or freshly ground.   So my teaspoon and half teaspon might not work for you.   

The five spice powder gives a well rounded spice flavor with no one spice hogging the spot light.      It is more complex than just cinnamon but it doesn’t have the candle like taste that nutmeg can give off.  I make these cookies for Christmas and they are a big hit.

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Chocolate Cream Cheese Mousse

Well I call it a Mousse but it isn’t really.  And it is so flipping simple to make.   Here is what you need.

Tools Needed

1 Medium mixing bowl

1 whisk

1 spatula

1 Food Storage container or plastic wrap

Ingredients

1 8 oz container of Philadelphia Soft Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese or Soft Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese (Room temperature cream cheese is best but it doesn’t have to be)

1 8 oz tub of Extra Creamy Cool Whip thawed

Directions

Scoop your cream cheese into a medium sized bowl and with a fork or whisk beat the cream cheese until smooth.  If you cream cheese wasn’t quite room temperature it is going to take you a little longer to get it workable.

Add approximately 1/3 of the thawed Cool Whip to the cream cheese and whisk together.  This is just to lighten up the cream cheese but you don’t want to beat it too hard or it can get kind of watery.  

Once the first 1/3 of the Cool Whip is worked in add half the remaining Cool Whip and using a spatula gently fold in.   I prefer the scoop down the middle of the ingredients and fold over while turning the bowl but fold however you like.  You don’t have to get all the white streaks folded in just mostly incorporated.  It is better to under fold it a little than over do it.

Once that addition is incorporated add the remaining Cool Whip and fold it in.   Again you don’t have to get absolutely all of the white streaks out of the mixture.    But the mousse should look fluffy and have a light chocolate color.

Either put plastic wrap over the mixing bowl or scoop mousse into a storage container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before eating.

 Serving Suggestions (aka I made it now what?)

~ This stuff is pretty good on its own.  It is creamy, fluffy, chocolaty and slightly tangy from the cream cheese.  So scoop into a bowl with a little bit of extra Cool Whip or regular whipped cream on top.

~Graham Cracker Parfait is another option. Layer graham crackers, your chocolate cream cheese mousse and more extra creamy cool whip in whatever container you like with however many layers you like.   I recommend the top layer be Cool Whip it looks neater.   To fancy it up you could top it with chocolate shavings.  Make sure to refrigerate this for at least 4 hours (overnight is better) before serving.   

~Personally I am not crazy about the whole fruit and chocolate combo but if you are into that sort of thing try dipping strawberries into this concoction.  Or stir in some fresh raspberries.    

~Waffles.   Whip up some waffles and let them cool before sandwiching a healthy portion of this creamy wonderfullness between them.  If they are too hot it will all melt the goal is to have the waffles just slightly warmed so it  melts a little and soaks into the waffle a bit but you still have a nice fluffy layer.  

This mousse has a rich flavor and nice fluffy yet slightly dense texture.   While not as airy as your traditionally made mousse, you don’t have to melt any chocolate, make a homemade whipped cream or run the risk of getting a grainy texture.  Plus it takes half the time to make as a traditional mousse.   

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Well this is Brand Spanking New

Hello Starshine.   I’m Erica your resident narwhal (in imagination anyway)  and this is where I will be putting all sorts of things related to baking, cooking and general kitchen tinkering.