kbecker57

Lemon berry ricotta cake

Getting ingredients ready

I have been trying to catch up on some magazine-reading, including the March issue of Bon Appetit. While there are several recipes I’d like to eventually try, I could not stop thinking about this raspberry-ricotta cake. And since I’m just a little obsessed with lemon ricotta anything, I decided to add lemon, both juice and zest. I had some frozen mixed berries in my freezer, so I used a mix of raspberries and blueberries (the original recipe called for raspberries or blackberries).

The recipe says the cake can be made 2 days ahead and stored at room temperature, tightly wrapped. That is, if you can make it last that long!

Lemon berry ricotta cake
Serves: 8

Mixin’ batter

Source: Bon Appetit, March 2015

Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups ricotta
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Outta the oven and ready to eat!

1 cup frozen berries, divided

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9″-diameter cake pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice until smooth; fold into dry ingredients just until blended, then fold in butter. Gently mix in 3/4 cup berries.

4. Scrape batter into prepared pan and top with remaining 1/4 cup berries. Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before unmolding.

March RC – Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar

A little crazy is a good thing. This is the motto for this month’s first RC pick by one of our newest members. I figured our group would fit in well and so we took a little trip to Southie, to Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar. Loco calls itself “a funky neighborhood joint…that specializes in tacos, raw bar, and tequila.” A true triple threat!

Duck taquitos

The restaurant is in former space of a Chinese and sushi restaurant on Broadway, and does not take reservations. But since we know Gina Colombo, we were lucky enough to score one for our party of eight. We also truly received the red carpet in terms of service, especially from our fabulous server Sarah.
The menu focuses more on small plates (ceviches, tacos, guacamole, apps) with a few main dishes, and this was perfect for our group who loves to try ALL the things!

Chicken wings

The first round of appetizers (yes there was more than one) was the spicy duck taquitos with plum sauce and two off-menu specials: chicken wings and Sunkist glazed pork tacos with a habanero reduction. The chicken wings are new to their late night menu and apparently they sold out in an hour on the first night. They were a perfect mix of textures and kick…and even a non-wing person at the table really liked them. The pork tacos were also delicious with the orange soda glaze (Sunkist, not sun-kissed).

Queso

Oysters!

The theme of the next course was chips…and the chips are soooo good. We ate chips with the sea bass ceviche (with amarillo leche de tigre, green mango, and Thai basil ice) and the tuna ceviche (with charred blackberry leche de tigre, pomegranate seeds, cucumber, pickled pineapple, and radish). The sea bass could have used a little more salt and someone thought that tuna tasted like watermelon. And then we ate chips with the queso dip (with Monterey Jack cheese and crumbled chorizo) and the guacamole. The guacamole was nicely acidic and had really good flavor, and the queso “ain’t no Velveeta.” We also tried the pork carnitas tamale with roasted poblano salsa, morita crema, and cotija cheese.

Then we tried some oysters, and finally we moved on to the tacos. Our taco order truly represents a situation where our eyes were much bigger than our stomachs. I think we made some great choices, but if I’m being honest I only tried the fish, the pork, and the carne asada. Everyone raved about the pork, which definitely had some kick, but I’d say my favorite was the carne asada.

Table full o’ tacos

Fried zucchini with smoked tomatillo salsa, curtido, manchego, morita crema, and pickled serrano peppers
Fried oysters with charred green onions, curtido, siracha lime aioli, and cucumber pickles
Baja style fried fish with with charred jalapeno, siracha lime aioli, pickled cabbage, and avocado
Cola pork carnitas with griddled onions, charred cara cara orange and pineapple salsa, pickled serrano peppers, and crispy tortilla chips
Carne asada with chimichurri marinated skirt steak, charred green onions, romesco, pico de gallo, avocado, and cotija

Churros with a side of Jesus candle

If I had to pick a favorite of the meal, the duck taquitos were my winner. Though I admit it’s a bit of an unfair competition since I didn’t have room to try a couple of the tacos we ordered. By consensus, our least favorite dish was the tamales…they just weren’t quite what we expected. Add in some delicious margaritas and it was a winning meal, and an excellent first RC pick for Gina!

The damage
$65 per person

The rundown
Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar
412 West Broadway, South Boston
@locosouthbos

Asparagus soup

Spring has sprung (supposedly)! And with spring comes a craving for asparagus, and this lovely and delicious, though not very photogenic, soup.

Asparagus soup

Serves: 4-6

Source: adapted from Once Upon a Chef

Asparagus!

Ingredients

2 bunches asparagus (about 2 pounds)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Juice from 1 lemon

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 8-10 minutes.

Soup!

2. Cut the tips off of the asparagus spears and set aside. Cut the remaining spears into 1/2-inch pieces.

3. To the onions and garlic, add the chopped asparagus (except the tips), chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat down to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes until asparagus is very tender.

4. Meanwhile, cook the reserved asparagus tips for a few minutes, either by boiling, steaming, or two minutes in the microwave. Set aside.

5. In batches, purée the soup in a blender until completely smooth. Return the soup to the pot and bring back to a simmer. Stir in the lemon juice, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and asparagus tips. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Slow-cooker corned beef and cabbage

I had very good intentions to make this last weekend, but then somehow the timing just didn’t work out as I attempted to calculate what time I would need to start and what time I would need to be home to eat or prep it for storage. Life is all about timing sometimes, isn’t it?

Add veggies

So save (or pin) this recipe for next St. Patty’s Day when you’re craving a good old fashioned boiled meal. Although I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this article says that corned beef and cabbage is “as Irish as spaghetti and meatballs,” and of course we all know that spaghetti and meatballs is Italian. Or not…I think both of those dishes can only be considered American. It doesn’t stop me from liking them though!

Then corned beef

Slow-cooker corned beef and cabbage

Serves: 6

Source: Everyday Food, March 2012

Ingredients

4 celery stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces

3 carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces

1 small yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges (leave root end intact)

2 medium red skin potatoes, cut into chunks

6 sprigs thyme

1 corned beef brisket (about 3 pounds), plus pickling spice packet or 1 Tablespoon pickling spice

1/2 head green cabbage, cut into wedges

Grainy mustard, for serving

Directions

Dinner!

1. In a 5-to-6 quart slow cooker, place celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, and thyme. Place corned beef, fat side up, on top of vegetables and sprinkle with pickling spice. Add enough water to almost cover the meat (4-6 cups).

2. Cover and cook on high for 4 1/4 hours until corned beef is tender (or 8 1/2 hours on low). Arrange cabbage over corned beef, cover, and continue cooking for 45 minutes on high, until cabbage is tender (or 1 1/2 hours on low).

3. Thinly slice corned beef against the grain and serve with vegetables, cooking liquid, and grainy mustard.

Carrot apple oat muffins

Sometimes I just feel like baking! And I love it when that urge arises and I actually have ingredients on hand to make something, aka no trip to the grocery store required. This happened recently when I decided I wanted to make muffins that would incorporate a few leftover carrots and a Granny smith apple. A quick search on Pinterest led me to this recipe, which also included oats.

Dry ingredients + carrot and apple

I also inadvertently tested out the new battery in my smoke alarm (and learned that my smoke alarm has a “snooze” function). Since I typically make muffins on the smaller side, I decided to test out a silicone muffin pan with the extra batter. Both pans went into the oven at the same time, and the muffins baked in silicone burned…thus triggering the smoke alarm. I think I’ll be sticking to my regular ol’ metal muffin pans from now on.

Adding the wet ingredients

Except for the four burned-on-the-bottom ones, these were pretty tasty and were great for breakfast during the week.

Carrot apple oat muffins
Makes: 12-16 muffins
Source: Annie’s Noms via Pinterest

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup light brown sugar

Ready for the oven

1 cup grated Granny Smith apple, grated (about 1 apple)
1 cup grated carrot (about 2-3 medium carrots)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup canola oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-hold muffin pan, or use paper liners; may need more than one pan, depending on how big you like your muffins.

Ready to eat!

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and brown sugar. Add the grated carrots and apple and stir until they are coated in flour.

3. In a medium bowl, lightly beat together eggs, vanilla extract, milk, and canola oil. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix just until combined (do not beat or overmix).

4. Spoon batter into muffin pan(s). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Chicken with artichokes and linguine

I really liked the idea of attempting to combine two recipes for chicken cutlets, both from March issues of Everyday Food magazine. I wanted to use the artichokes, capers, and pasta from the “Chicken with artichokes and angel hair” recipe…and from the “Chicken cutlets with white wine and garlic” recipe, I liked the idea of prepping and freezing the chicken ahead of time in white wine, garlic, and melted butter.

The original recipe states that if you are not freezing the chicken, then you can just marinate the chicken in the white wine mixture for 30 minutes.

The only thing I would really change for next time would be to try to get a better sear on the chicken, either through a hotter pan and/or incorporating some butter into the cooking step. I think it’s a delicate balance with chicken cutlets because they are thin and I didn’t want to overcook them.

Chicken with artichokes and linguine
Serves: 4
Source: adapted from Everyday Food, March 2009 and Everyday Food, March 2010

Chicken cutlet freezer prep

Ingredients
8 chicken cutlets (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 jar (12 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, reserving 1/4 cup liquid
2 Tablespoons rinsed and drained capers
8 ounces linguine
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano

Chicken with artichokes and capers

Directions
1. Place chicken cutlets in a 1-gallon freezer bag. In a small bowl, combine 1 Tablespoon melted butter, wine, garlic, and thyme, and whisk to combine. Season with pepper. Pour marinade into bag with cutlets and marinate in refrigerator for about 30 minutes (or you can freeze this and thaw it in the refrigerator the night before).

2. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente and drain, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking liquid for use as needed.

Dinner is served!

3. After marinating (or thawing), remove cutlets from bag and discard marinade. Gently shake chicken to remove liquid and season with salt. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken cutlets and cook until browned and cooked through, flipping halfway through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to a dish and set aside.

4. Add broth and reserved marinated artichoke liquid to skillet and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by about half. Add artichokes, capers, and the chicken with any juices. Gently stir to combine and bring just to a boil. Remove skillet from heat and cover to keep warm.

5. In a large bowl or the pot used to cook the pasta, add the cooked linguine, a couple of ladle-fuls of sauce from the chicken and artichoke mixture, and the Pecorino Romano. Mix well and if needed, add some of the cooking liquid to adequately coat the pasta. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.

Thai shrimp soup

Hello March, it is nice to see you! It was also nice to enjoy this warm, flavorful Thai-style soup last week, which helped me get through the end of February. I am ready for spring, so wasn’t sad to say good-bye to February. Though now I kind of hope we get enough snow to break all the records…at least then we would be truly justified in saying that this was “the worst winter evah.”

As I embarked on making this recipe, I should have paid a little more attention to the quantities *before* I got started. I am a leftover-lover but this recipe made so much! I decided to share some with a friend because I wasn’t sure how well coconut milk would freeze. Next time, I will probably just halve the recipe…or perhaps another friend will get lucky with a free meal.

I found that I needed (wanted) to add quite a bit of salt to coax out the flavors, perhaps because I used low-sodium broth. If using low-sodium broth, I’d probably add 1/2 teaspoon of salt at the time of adding the coconut milk and the broth, and then to taste. I would also have added some heat in the form of diced jalapeno or red pepper flakes. Lemongrass would be a nice addition as well.

Step 1: cook shrimp

Thai shrimp soup
Serves: 6
Source: Damn Delicious via Pinterest

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon butter
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 Tablespoons red curry paste

Big pot o’ steamy soup

2 cans unsweetened light coconut milk
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or stock
2 packages ramen noodles, spice packet discarded
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions
1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add shrimp, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until pink, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally; set aside.

Big bowl o’ soup

2. Add garlic, onion, and bell pepper to the pot. Cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in curry paste until well combined, about 1 minute. Gradually stir in coconut milk and vegetable stock, and cook, whisking constantly until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

4. Stir in shrimp, ramen, and lime juice, and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until noodles are cooked.

5. Top with cilantro for serving and enjoy!

Slow cooker beef and broccoli

This month has been perfect slow cooker weather, so I decided to give this beef and broccoli recipe a try. I ended up making this in two stages, because I didn’t start cooking until dinner time one evening. So I cooked the beef for four hours (step one) and then put the whole ceramic dish in the refrigerator overnight. This worked well because I was able to remove a lot of the fat that had solidified overnight before reheating the beef and adding the broccoli. Unfortunately going from fridge to table took longer than the additional 30 minutes in step three. I cooked it for about another hour and unfortunately the broccoli was still pretty frozen.

I used stew meat for the beef, and since I like my dishes veg-heavy I used the whole bag of broccoli, This may have thinned the sauce a bit more than would be desired, so I probably would decrease the broth a bit for next time.

Dinner is served!

Slow cooker beef and broccoli
Serves: 4-6
Source: adapted from Table for Two via Pinterest

Ingredients
1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, cut into thin strips
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup tamari
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sauce (from the crockpot after step 1)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 pound frozen broccoli florets (or about 4 cups fresh)
White or brown rice, cooked, for serving

Directions
1. In the insert of a crockpot, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. Add slices of beef and toss to coat. Cook on low for 4 hours.

2. When done, remove 4 Tablespoons of sauce from the crockpot and, in a small bowl, whisk sauce together with cornstarch. Pour mixture back into crockpot and stir to mix well.

3. Add broccoli florets and cook on low for additional 30 minutes to cook/heat broccoli and thicken the sauce.

February RC – KOY

Carnitas dumplings

I am back after a little hiatus in January…I was so bummed to miss last month as we planned a “reunion” month in honor of RC’s tenth year. The votes came in and they went back to Oleana, which was our very first RC back in January 2006 (and my first pick)! I heard it was delicious.

This month we ventured (in the snow, per the yuge this month) to KOY Boston, a new Korean fusion restaurant near Faneuil Hall. I can recall the space being a Naked Fish restaurant, Red Sky (a restaurant/bar), and most recently (according to Google) a UBurger. Also a disclaimer, I did not get very good photos of all of our dishes.

Cheese steak dumplings

The restaurant was not very full when we arrived for our 7 PM reservation, perhaps because of the weather. We had a very nice (and large) table in the center of the dining room. The staff was friendly, though it was a little difficult getting our server’s attention long enough to place an initial drink order.

Octopus…the winner!

From the “Tastes” menu, we started with the carnitas dumplings, cheese steak dumplings, and chili shrimp. The carnitas dumplings were a bit underwhelming (pan-fried dumplings stuffed with braised pork shoulder carnitas, torn cilantro, and lightly dressed in black vinegar and queso fresco). I enjoyed both the chili shrimp and the cheese steak dumplings (fried dumplings stuffed with pastrami, Swiss cheese, house-made Kimchi, served with Korean pepper flake mayonnaise sauce and diced scallions). But the winner of the appetizer round was actually not an appetizer…we ordered the pepper octopus leg from the “Twist” menu for the table to share. The crispy braised octopus was perfectly cooked and accompanied by red pepper salad, Korean pepper powder, and chili mayonnaise. Actually, the octopus was declared the winning dish overall. It was even tasty the next day as leftovers. We also ordered the scallion pancakes but they never made it to the table (and we’re not actually sure if we paid for them or not).

Korean hot pot

For my entree, I had to go with the hot stone bibimbap (seasonal vegetables, fried egg, chili paste, marinated beef bulgogi), and I ate the whole thing. I love when the rice starts to get crispy from the stone bowl. I also tasted the tofu stew (soondubu), the Korean hot pot, and the jjajangmyun. The jjajangmyun was an udon noodle dish that came with black bean sauce, roasted pork, diced vegetables, and fresh cucumber. It was difficult to find the pork, and the dish really wasn’t what Tracy expected so we encouraged her to send it back (which we rarely do). She ordered another round of octopus instead, which was just as yummy as the first order. The only other thing we tried from the “Twist” menu was the bulgogi sandwich, which was seared ribeye steak with torched mozzarella, Korean pear, green onion, and carrot on hot-buttered brioche.

Jjajangmyun

Perhaps the Korean fusion concept will work well in this Faneuil Hall spot that seems to have a difficult time keeping a long-term tenant. But next time I’m in the mood for Korean food, several people have told me I need to try Kaju Tofu House or Buk Kyung.

The damage
$46 per person

The rundown
KOY
16 North Street, Boston

Neptune brownies

View from my front door

This weekend brought another 16-plus inches of snow to the Boston area and So. Much. Shoveling. I thought brownies would be a slightly different twist on my tradition of baking during storms that start with “N” in February…see my recipes for Nika cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip pecan) and Nemo cookies (chocolate chip pecan). I mean, how can you resist a recipe that calls itself “the best brownies in the world.” After these, I’m not sure I will ever be able to go back to brownie mixes!

Neptune brownies

Ingredient prep

Serves: about 16
Source: Tasty Eats at Home and Cravings of a Lunatic via Pinterest

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper.

Delish!

3. In a medium saucepan melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly.

4. Remove from heat and add the sugar. Stir well. Add eggs and vanilla, and stir until smooth.

5. Add chocolate chips, flour, and salt. Stir until well blended.

6. Pour into pan and place in oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes until done (when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).

7. Remove pan from oven and cool on a wire rack before cutting.