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Eat at Home: Make Some Pretzel Bites. It’s Not That Hard.
Feb 09 2012
Me make pretzels? What were the chances? Pretty slim, actually, but ever since I got my new stand mixer, I’ve been pretty adventurous. I mean, this recipe even required yeast! Usually, that would be a deal breaker for me, but I took a chance.
And it was a rousing success.
I found the reasonably easy recipe on a great cooking blog called Two Peas & Their Pod and followed it to a tee. The result was a whole lot of gorgeous little golden brown pretzel bites. They were quite the hit, and I’ll definitely be making them again.
Here’s what you need:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 oz. unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Here’s how you do it:
Put water, butter, sugar and yeast in the bowl of your mixer. Use the hook attachment to blend it. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
Eat at Home: Super-Healthy Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie Recipe
Jan 13 2012
Life can’t be all wet burritos and pie, but you can have a chocolate breakfast smoothie pretty much every day. At least I have ever since my new blender came into my life. It’s nothing special (the blender, I mean, not the smoothie)—just a $40 machine, but it sure does make a mean breakfast smoothie.
Thus far, I’ve experimented with a couple of different concoctions. I’ve done the yogurt-oj-banana thing and the berry-banana-milk shuffle, but the one that I keep coming back to is a powerhouse blend of antioxidants, vitamin C, protein, calcium, Omega 3s, and most importantly…chocolate.
For breakfast.
Still, it’s not too sweet, and the granola I layer in gives it an earthy quality that makes you feel like you’re some health nut living in Santa Cruz or Berkeley or whatever ultra-liberal college town you’d like to imagine yourself.
Sound good? Well, here’s what you need for one smoothie:
Eat at Home:Pomegranate Makes Guacamole Even Better
Jan 26 2011
My best guacamole experience ever (what you don’t have one?) was at the Condesa DF hotel in Mexico City. We’d just arrived, and I was as hungry as I was exhausted. It’s true that some of the best tacos I’ve ever had in my life are walking distance from Condesa DF, but all I really wanted was chilaquiles, a cuba libre and some sleep.
The mid-century modern bliss of the hotel’s restaurant was exactly what we needed. And things got even better when we caught sight of the guacamole we’d ordered. It was studded with pomegranate seeds! The sweet-tart flavor of the juicy little seeds really took a simple concept to a brilliant level. One bite and all we could do was talk about how we were going to make it all the time when we got home.
Now that pomegranates are in season, we’re making good on our promise. Aside from the actual seeding part (if you want to cheat, they sell the seeds solo at Trader Joes), it’s so easy to just throw an avocado, garlic and some pomegranate seeds together. The garlic is essential as it delivers nice contrast—I add a teaspoon.
A superfood bonanza, it’s a healthy and flavorful addition to…pretty much anything: tacos, chips, salads, sandwiches, etc. Plus, if you bring it to a party, you’ll wow your friends. Eat it up!
-Valentina
Eat at Home: Classy Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
Oct 26 2010
When I asked my brother what he was bringing to my party, and he said “beer and jalapeño poppers,” I thought he was joking around. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t like fried jalapeños stuffed with cheese, but I figured he was being ironic in an I’m-bringing-over-Bagel-Bites sort of way.
Potluck Magic: Super Easy & Impressive Summer Berry Trifle
Jul 15 2010
Summer is finally, visibly here, and the bbq invites are starting to roll in. Sure, you can promise to bring chips or beer, but that’s no fun. I prefer easy offerings that look like they took a lot of effort, like this Berry Trifle, for instance.
It looks and tastes like a masterpiece, but it only takes about 20 minutes to make. If you happen to have a trifle bowl, it will really up the wow-factor.
Here’s how to do it.
Eat at Home: Cube-Inspired Peach, Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Salad
Jul 05 2010
I recently enjoyed a delicious dinner with friends at Cube on La Brea. If you’ve never been, I really recommend it, especially if you’re a cheese lover-they feature 85 different varieties from all over the world. It’s where I first fell in love with aged gouda, so I’m forever grateful.
Cube’s always-seasonal menu is filled with plenty cheese-centric dishes, including the Heirloom Tomato and Fresh Peach Salad, which was such a standout of the wine and small plates feast we had, that I had to recreate it at home.
This is a very simple salad-peaches, heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar-but the flavors are out of hand. The salad at Cube includes buffalo mozzarella, but we went full-force with burrata, which is more decadent. When the cream spills out, it mixes so nicely with the oil and vinegar. Make sure you have some bread on hand to sop it up!
Eat at Home: Don’t-Hold-the-Anchovies Pizza
May 08 2010Anchovies get a bad rap. I’m convinced most of us have an aversion to them because, as kids, we always saw them being vilified in sitcoms and cartoons—“yuck, hold the anchovies!”
Well, I for one won’t stand for it because I know the truth about these salty little guys. Please allow me to convert you.
It never even crossed my mind to eat an anchovy until I went to Rome, where a traditional pie includes tomato, mozzarella, anchovies, oregano, and oil. Since I wholeheartedly subscribe to the “When in Rome” philosophy, it didn’t take long for me to try this combo and fall in love.
Once I got home, I started insisting on anchovies every time I went out for pizza—they do it really well at Casa Bianca in Eagle Rock and, of course, at Pizzeria Mozza. Soon, my anchovy fever became so intense that I began to wonder what they could do for our weekly homemade pizza. The answer: a lot!
Here are the goods on my “Don’t-Hold-the-Anchovies Pizza”:
Eat at Home: Elf Cafe-Inspired Shallot Yogurt with Figs
Apr 28 2010
Yogurt can change your life if you let it. I don’t mean that sugary stuff with the gelatinous “fruit” you have to unearth from the bottom of that little plastic container —I’m talking thick and creamy with live cultures.
That kind of yogurt can take a simple bowl of cereal and fruit to amazing heights. Plus, it’s a great source of calcium, and it helps digestive issues.
Lately I’ve been getting my fair share of “real yogurt” with the help of a shallot and date yogurt dip that’s inspired by two dishes—the Labneh appetizer at Elf Café in Echo Park and the Shallot Yogurt Dip from the Central Grand Market in Glendale.
