Author Archives: tinycookba

Homemade Cheese (it’s easier than you might think)

Posted on by tinycookba
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I absolutely love the flavors of Indian food and have been wanting to unlock to mystery of cooking with Indian spices.  I took an Indian cooking class a few months ago from Chef Amanda Cushman at Surfas (an awesome restaurant supply store with an amazing cafe).  One of the dishes we made was Saag Paneer – a spinach dish with homemade cheese (called paneer).  I know this might sound daunting, but it’s easier than you might think!  (I apologize for not taking pics of the cheesemaking, but I’m new to this blogging stuff and am just getting into the habit of taking pics of my food).  The basic process of making the cheese is bringing whole milk to a boil and then adding some lemon juice and voila! – you have curds and whey.  Then you strain it through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth and in about half an hour you have fresh cheese – this process for Paneer is also similar to the mexican cheese Queso Fresco.   I took a cheesemaking class last year at Surfas and we learned to make goat cheese (which I’ve done before and is easy and delicious) and fresh mozzarella (this was a little trickier).

Back to the Saag Paneer – basically some spices and aromatics with some fresh spinach wizzed in the food processor, then cooked with the fresh cheese, and you have deliciousness that even my toddlers love to eat. It’s a great way to make spinach taste amazing.  I cannot give you the recipe as it is not mine to share, but you can find great Indian recipes from chef and author Julie Sahni and can probably find her books at the library.

Give cheesemaking and Indian cooking a try – you won’t be disappointed.

Next post: Mushroom Marsala Lasagna!

I want my Baby Back Ribs

Posted on by tinycookba
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Spring is here and to me that means grilling!  I saw some baby back ribs at costco and my mouth started watering.  I can’t remember where the original recipe was from – but this is what I do to the ribs:  Take 2 racks of baby back ribs and sprinkle them liberally with kosher salt and chili powder.  I stack them on top of each other and wrap tightly in a double layer of aluminum foil.  Put those babies on a cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 1/2 -2 hours, until tender and falling off the bone.  Then slap on whatever BBQ sauce you like and throw on the grill to get some caramelization.  Cut, eat, lick fingers, and then floss.

I make my own BBQ sauce – I tweaked a FineCooking.com recipe a little bit for that (I just add a bit more sugar and salt).  I always make a double batch and freeze some of it because it really freezes beautifully.

I also made some roasted asparagus – drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and cook in a 400 degree oven just until tender.

And some twice baked potatoes – bake potatoes, let cool a bit, cut in half and scoop out flesh.  Mix flesh with kosher salt (don’t be stingy with the salt-potatoes need a lot of salt), milk, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped scallions, until it tastes nice and yummy.  Top with some more cheese and pop back in the oven until warmed through.  These are great because you can make them ahead.  I made them for Christmas dinner and they got rave reviews.

Next post: Saag Paneer – a delicious Indian dish with spinach and homemade cheese!

Huckleberry Hash

Posted on by tinycookba
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My hubby and I were recently watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Food Network and saw a behind the scenes look of Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica.  They made their Niman Ranch Hash, which looked amazing.  We happened to be on that side of town the very next day and stopped in for some Huckleberry Hash – my husband got a cinnamon roll.  Let me first say that the place smelled great when we walked in and I loved the fact that the menu wasn’t huge (I believe that places with huge menus just cannot make everything well; small menu means there’s a good chance the food is going to be delicious) and that they use organic, sustainable ingredients.  And the food was very good.  My hash was full flavored and very meaty, the sunny side up eggs were cooked perfectly, and the arugula added the perfect amount of freshness.  That said, you can have too much of a good thing –  it was a lot of meat to eat for breakfast, so I’m glad my husband could help me finish it.  His cinnamon roll was delicious, but not the typical cinnamon roll.  I’m pretty sure it was made with puff pastry and then brushed with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar – which I much prefer to the goopy glaze – but, alas, I do not have a sweet tooth, so perhaps I am not the right person to judge.  My husband felt that it was “a fun twist on an old classic.”  We would definitely go back to try some other menu items.  Bonus: it’s a good place to bring the kids!