tabouleh

Posted on April 17, 2013 by lovettlovett

I love tabouleh. So much in fact that I often find myself scooping heaps of it from the Whole Foods salad bar and eating it for breakfast (they do a terrific and terribly convenient version of the traditional mezze). Yesterday was my first attempt to make it myself, and although a tabouleh purist might roll her eyes at my creative liberties (no tomatoes, no onion, no cucumbers) it’s the perfect, refreshing delight for my palette.

All you need is:

1/2 cup bulgar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

two bunches of parsley

a dozen mint leaves

salt to taste, I used ~2 tsp

This was also my first time cooking with bulgar and I use “cooking” loosely because all you really do is rehydrate it. Start by rinsing your bulgar in a fine, mesh strainer. Transfer to a large bowl and pour in half of your lemon juice. Let it sit for 30-40 minutes or until the bulgar starts to fluff and get more tender.

While your bulgar’s soaking and absorbing your lemon juice, in the bowl of a food processor place parsley & mint. Pulse to mince. Then, combine olive oil with with other half of your lemon juice and slowly pour into your parsley/mint mixture.

Once your bulgar is adequately soaked, pour in your green mixture and stir to combine.

There you go! Super simple tabouleh – no heat required. This is also a great make ahead dish, I had some for lunch today and I think it improves with age as the flavors have longer to gel.

A refreshing addition to any summer plate or breakfast of champions,

Julia

almond peach tart

Posted on April 11, 2013 by lovettlovett

Spring has finally sprung in the District! The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the Nationals’ season is off to a solid start, and thankfully (knock on wood & fingers crossed) we’ve had more sunshine than showers so far this April! This week has been unseasonably warm and visions of summer stone fruits have been dancing through this Hungry Texan’s head. Try this almond peach tart (inspired from a recipe from Peace Meals, the newest Junior League of Houston cookbook) and start and tempt your tastebuds with the summer sweets to come!

You’ll need:

almond cream

2/3 c slivered, blanched almonds

1/2 c sugar

6 tbl butter

2 eggs

2 tbl chambord (raspberry liquor, rum would also work)

2 tbl flour

tart

1 pie crust (I used frozen!)

2 bags frozen peaches or 5 ripe peaches

glaze

1/3 c peach jelly/jam

4 tsp chambord

Preheat your oven to 425.

Now, this recipe is really quite simple! To make your almond cream, start by grinding almonds and 2 tbl of sugar to a fine meal in your food processor. Remove the almond meal from the food processor and set aside briefly.

Cream your butter in the food processor until soft. Then add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar and continue creaming. Add your eggs one at a time and process until smooth. Finally, add back in your almond meal mixture, add the flour, and chambord until well mixed and creamy.

Next, assemble your tart! Pour your almond mixture into a prepared pie crust (fork-poked).

Arrange peaches in a radiating or concentric design.

Bake for 10 minutes in your preheated oven and then reduce heat to 350 baking for another 25 – 30 minutes. Remove and let your pie cool.

When the pie cools, prepare your glaze by bringing peach jam and chambord to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir continuously until the mixture is melty and wonderful.

Then strain through a fine mesh strainer. With a pastry brush, brush the glaze generously over the top of your tart.

Enjoy room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Blue Bell if you’re so lucky!).

Sweet & creamy,

Julia

orange ginger carrot cake

Posted on April 7, 2013 by lovettlovett

This post is a special one because it just so happens to be my better half’s birthday cake! That’s right, this past Thursday we had a Hungry Texans’ birthday bash for Miss Liz and it was a belly-buster on all fronts. We dined with a wonderful group of friends at one of the most unique restaurants DC has to offer, Thai X-ing, and in the spirit of Thai flavors for dessert too Liz blew out the candles on an orange ginger carrot cake. My dear friend, Jonny, introduced me to this scrumptious cake years ago and before last week I’d recreated it once on my own. Until this week, we’d both stuck to letting the cake’s deliciousness speak for itself and not fussed over presentation – opting to prepare it in the suitable and ever-practical large, rectangular, pyrex; but for such a special occasion I had to prep this cake with a little more pomp. Despite initial hesitations about layering it, it turned out scrumptious! Even the non-dessert lovers at the table sang its praise, huzzah!

Before diving into the goodies, important to note this cake was a co-production with Boston Boy. It would have taken twice as long without him, and for his very first cake he pulled out a showstopper!

the cake

2 1/2 c all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 pound medium carrots, peeled & shredded

1/2 c brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tbl orange zest

1 1/2 c vegetable oil

~20 ginger candies, crushed or 1/2 cup crystallized ginger, minced

frosting

8 ounces cream cheese

5 tbl butter

1 tbl orange juice

1 1/4 c powdered sugar

Start by whisking together your whites (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and most of your browns (all of your spices) in a large bowl.

Then, with the grater attachment of your food processor, start shredding your carrots (Be very careful handling these grating discs, Juju ended up with a little boo boo on her thumb. Don’t worry, Mom, no blood – just shaved off a layer of exterior skin). Transfer all shredded carrots into a large bowl.

Then, swap out your grating disc for your blade attachment and get to creaming your sugars. Combine brown & white sugar in a few quick pulses, then add your orange zest. Pulse to combine. Add your four eggs and run until your mixture gets a little frothy. Next, with the food processor running, drizzle in your oil until the mixture is emulsified. Scrape the mixture into the bowl topping your carrots (here’s a vine account of the above…!).

Next, stir in your candied ginger.

Then, start slowly adding and mixing in your floury, dry mixture. Stir well!

Mmmmm! Look at that batter, Boston Boy!

Pour into two parchment lined, circular baking dishes (or your baking dish of choice). I chose 2 pans (sorry, I’m not sorry).

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until your cakes pass the toothpick test. Let your cakes cool (I left mine to cool overnight), but let them cool at least an hour or until they have reached room temperature.

The frosting’s simple! In the bowl of a stand mixer with your paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese & butter, add orange juice, and then begin gradually adding powdered sugar until frosting reaches desired taste and consistency!

Frost your cake however you please!

I turned this cake from plain white drab to birthday fab with a little died yellow sugar & some food colored frosting. I piped the birthday greeting through a ziploc bag (one of these days this Hungry Texan will get a proper pastry bag).

Make a wish,

Julia

mushroom barley risotto with beans & greens

Posted on March 21, 2013 by lovettlovett

Mushrooms, and barley, and beans, oh my! The best thing about this risotto is it’s hands on, but mind off. As long as you nail the basic barley to broth ratio and are committed to stirring like crazy, it’s pretty hard to mess this up. Ease aside, don’t under-estimate this dish as a secret weapon for a weekday dinner party. Risotto screams “fancy-labor-of-love”, so any guests would be trés impressed by your rustic, rich, flavorful, faux-fancy feast.

It’s the perfect post-work dish when your brain’s drained and your tummy’s grumbling, and it messies minimal dishes.

Ingredients:

2 tbl olive oil

2 tbl + 2 tbl butter

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 quart veggie broth

1 cup pearled barley

¼ tsp dried thyme

¼ c parmesan cheese + more for garnish

4 oz mushrooms

1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed

1 bunch asparagus

arugula

salt + pepper to taste

Start by sautéing your onions in olive oil, stir for about 1 minute and then add your garlic and two tablespoons of butter. Add your thyme and continue cooking until onions become soft and fragrant (note: I love onions and was eating sans Boston Boy who does not, if your dining with folks who curl their nose at a lot of onions I recommend using half a chopped onion). While your onion and garlic are softening, pour your quart of veggie stock into a large pot and bring it to a borderline simmer. Add your barley to the pan and stir it around until all ingredients are combined, about 90 seconds. Add a sprinkle of salt to flavor your barley.

Then, start ladling in your hot broth to the barley mixture. Add broth one ladle at a time until all the broth is absorbed (this is where it’s nice to start zoning out and stirring, or in my case carrying on a great conversation with One Sock Wonder). Once you reach the point where you’re almost out of broth in your broth pot, lower the heat slightly on your risotto mixture and slow your stir. I do this mainly out of necessity to free my hands to prep my other veggies.

Sauté mushrooms (I used a mix of oyster, baby bella, and shiitake, yum!) in two tablespoons of butter and season with salt and pepper. Once browned and cooked, transfer your mushrooms into the risotto mixture (hopefully the risotto is still a little soupy and has some liquid to absorb). Stir in your white beans to the mix. Next, chop your asparagus in half (hamburger style) and then blanch it, so it maintains a nice crunch in the risotto. Continue stirring your risotto until most of the final ladle of liquid is absorbed and then add your parmesan cheese, season with salt & pepper. Stir in until the cheese melts and give it a taste. You want your risotto to be slightly al dente. Once it reaches desired consistency, remove from heat and plate with asparagus and arugula.

The beauty of this recipe is you can improvise with whatever’s on hand – innovate with your beans and greens – use the barley as the base and get weird with whatever ingredients you feel like or have on hand. With the right fixin’s, this dish will be delish with any mixin’s.

xoxo,

julia

coconut cream pie

Posted on March 14, 2013 by lovettlovett

Happy Pi Day, Hungry Texans! In celebration, I wanted to share a Lovett family favorite. We fell in love with this pie during childhood trips to Emeril’s Delmonico in New Orleans, and it wasn’t long before Big Daddy perfected it and this coconut cream pie became the dessert de résistance of every dinner party.

I took a couple creative liberties with Daddio’s classic – 3 mini pies instead of one big one (it’s the closest I could get to 3.14!) & adding coconut oil to the crust, but the core is the same and the proof is in the pudding…or in this case, the coconut custard!

Try it for yourself!

Coconut Crust

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp table salt
1 tbl sugar
6 tbl cold unsalted butter, cubed
¼ cup coconut oil
2 tbl vodka, cold
2 tbl cold water

Coconut Custard

2 ¼ cups whole milk
¾ cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the egg whites
3 egg yolks
¼ cup cornstarch
1 ½ tsp vanilla
2 cups toasted coconut
1 tbl butter

For your crust (which you can make a few days in advance if you’re feeling crafty!), start by pulsing sugar, 1/2 of your flour, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and coconut oil. Pulse, pulse, pulse and then add the rest of your flour. Remove from the food processor and transfer into a bowl. Trickle your water and vodka (vodka helps prevent pie crust from getting goopy & too sticky!) on top of your mixture and combine gently with a spatula. The coconut oil will give it a little bit of a crumblier texture, but it should get pretty smooth.

Next, press your dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes in the fridge (or a quick 15 in the freezer). When you’re ready to bake, roll your dough out on a well-floured surface. I divided and rolled my dough into thirds for three itty bitty pies. Fold your dough into your lightly greased pie pan and then mold the crust to the pan (don’t forget to poke it!). Bake at 425 until golden brown. I admittedly could have used some pie weights for these itty bitty pies (my crusts won’t win a beauty contest!), but if your crusts start to rise, I recommend smooshing them down with the back of a spoon while they’re still warm.

Now, for the custard. This custard’s super simple and quite similar to the custard we made for our Mardi Gras King Cake. Start by heating your milk and sugar in a small saucepan until it starts to simmer. While your milk is heating, whisk your egg yolks together and set aside. When your milk is the desired temp, pour a little bit into your egg mixture to temper the eggs (we want to make sure we don’t scramble our yolks!). Stir, stir, stir, and then combine the egg and milk mixture completely.

Return your milky-egg mixture to the heat and bring to a boil. Once it boils, add in your corn starch. Stir completely and then remove from heat. Allow mixture to cool slightly and then stir in vanilla & coconut! Let your custard cool completely before even thinking about filling your crusts (no one wants a soggy crust!). Once your custard has cooled, fill your crusts and refrigerate until ready to serve. Right before you’re ready to serve, top with whipped cream (or a meringue if you’re into that…these Hungry Texans prefer heavy whipping cream over egg whites, thank you very much!). Slice and enjoy, or if if you’re making the personal size – grab a fork and forget about swimsuit season!

You’d be (coco)nuts not to love this pie!

xoxo,

HungryTexans

chocolate chip cookies

Posted on March 1, 2013 by lovettlovett

You know those weeks where everything goes more wrong than right? Maybe some boo boos happened at work, or you had to walk home in the rain without an umbrella, or you got a flat tire, or you’re running on relatively little sleep, or you flaunted bare legs expecting 60 degree temps when it dropped to the 30s, or you witnessed a borderline-fist-fight on your bus, or left your shampoo and conditioner at the gym and it’s taken you 4 days to replenish so you’ve been washing your hair with hotel samples – just to name a few things that might sour this Hungry Texans’ week. What better way to turn a sour week sweet than a comforting batch of chocolate chip cookies?

I made these cookies attempting to emulate Levain Bakery’s quarter pound cookies (out of this world!). Mine were far shy of a quarter pound (although 2 cookies deep & plenty of cookie dough later, I might be close to a quarter pound consumed). The beauty of these cookies is they combine the best of both worlds – crispy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. Yum! Yum!

Whip up a batch (this is a half batch) and watch all your sorrows melt away.

1 stick butter
½ c brown sugar
¼ c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
¼ + ⅛ tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp baking soda
¼ + ⅛ tsp sea salt
¼ + ⅛ tsp cornstarch
1 ¾ c flour
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup dark chocolate chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer start by creaming together your butter and both sugars. Add your vanilla. Add an egg. Add your dry ingredients. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, remove the paddle attachment, and fold in your chocolate chips.

Start balling your dough (think golf ball size or bigger)– don’t pack them too tight & your dough balls can be a little sloppy — and place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Put your balled dough in the freezer to chill for 10-15 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Don’t be scared to take these guys out while they’re still a little soft. They’ll harden as they cool and taking them out early will help ensure a nice rare center.

Beware of belly aches!

xoxo,

a sugar-rushed Hungry Texan

red beans & rice

Posted on February 9, 2013 by lovettlovett

Nothing says NOLA like red beans and rice. I know it’s sacrilege, but believe it or not these red beans and rice have no bacon, sausage or any hints of meat. They’re slow cooking, flavor-packed, and will make your kitchen smell like a French Quarter cafe. The real secret to these is time (you’ll also need a little thyme).

You’ll need:

Kosher salt
1 pound small red beans, rinsed and picked over
3 tbl butter
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 small bell pepper (I used orange), seeded and chopped fine
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Ground black pepper
3 cups veggie broth
6 cups water
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning
Basic White Rice

Your beans: Start by soaking & brining them — combine 3 tablespoons of salt with 4 quarts of water. If you’re a planner, you can soak your beans for 8-12 hours over night the night before. I am not that on top of things, so I erred on the side of the quick soak. To prep your beans with the quick method, rinse your beans then combine them with salt & water in a large, covered dutch oven. Bring the water to a boil and then remove from the heat and let them rest for 1 hour. Drain your beans and then start making them tasty!

Melt your butter in a large dutch oven & add your onion, celery, and peppers. Cook until your vegetables are soft (~4-5 minutes) and then add your garlic.

Add your spices (thyme, paprika, bay leaves, cayenne, and pepper) & let the flavors start to meld for a few minutes.

Add your beans, broth & water, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once your mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for an hour. Stir in your vinegar and continue cooking for at least 30 more minutes. Honestly, I kept the beans on low heat for at least two additional hours. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

xoxo,

HungryTexans

pineapple salsa

Posted on January 22, 2013 by lovettlovett

The Baltimore Ravens & San Francisco 49ers have two weeks to prepare for the big game in the Big Easy. While the teams practice kicking, throwing, and clobbering, these Hungry Texans will be hard at work prepping a Super Bowl menu full of culinary “touchdowns”. This pineapple salsa will brighten any Super Bowl spread, and it’d also make a killer topping for fish tacos!

Start with:

1 whole pineapple, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
½ red onion, diced
¼ cup cilantro, diced
juice of one lime

Chopping and a little time are the only tricks to this recipe. Finely dice all of your ingredients and then combine. With a juicy pineapple the flavors meld quickly, but give your ingredients at least 30 minutes to marinate together before diving in & starting scoop with your favorite chips!

cupcakes we can believe in

Posted on January 16, 2013 by lovettlovett

Even though Obama ate more custards than cupcakes during his first term in office, there are few desserts more “DC” right now than cupcakes. We took a tropical, Hawaiian twist on the DC favorite with these Pineapple-Coconut Cupcakes. What makes these cupcakes extra-special is they use crushed cookies instead of flour. You read right…cookies! One bite of these coconutty, cookie cupcakes & you’ll want to forget flour all together!

For the cupcakes: (makes about 22)
1 stick unsalted butter
½ c coconut oil
2 c sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla
6 eggs
1 c sweetened coconut flakes
¼ c crushed pineapple
1 box of crushed vanilla wafers, crushed into a fine crumb
½ cup of pecans, crushed into a pecan meal

For the icing:
8 oz cream cheese
4 tbl butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 c powdered sugar (or until reaches desired thickness)
2 tbl pineapple

Start by creaming your coconut oil & butter together with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Once your fats are combined and a nice pale yellow, add your sugar & continue creaming.

Splash in your vanilla & then start adding eggs. Add eggs one at a time allowing enough time for each egg to integrate (scraping the side of the bowl as necessary). Once you’ve added all six eggs, your mixture should look almost custardy.

At a slow speed fold your coconut and pineapple into the batter. Once combined, add your vanilla wafer & pecan meals to the mix thickening it all up. Scrape the sides of your bowl and give your mixture a final few paddle rotations.

Prep your favorite cupcake pan with liners.

Fill close to the top. These cupcakes will rise a little bit, but not too much, so be generous with your fill!

Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes or until they’re golden and pass a toothpick test.

For your pineapple cream cheese frosting, start by creaming softened butter & cream cheese together. Add vanilla & pineapple. Begin gradually adding powdered sugar until your frosting reaches your desired thickness (we erred on the thinner side). Once your cupcakes have cooled, frost ’em up!

Excellent room temperature or chilled, we dare you to eat just one!

xoxo,

Hungry Texans

Chicago-Style Half Smokes

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Liz Eggleston

In honor of Obama’s re-inauguration, we set out to create a Barack-inspired dish that highlighted his ties to both Chicago and our lovely DC. This Chicago-Style Half Smoke combines the prez’s roots in Chi-City with his new home in DC.

The half smoke is an interesting sausage, popularized by DC’s Ben’s Chili Bowl and named aptly because it is usually half pork, half beef. We found a half smoke that was produced in the DMV, and the nutrition facts are kindly out of focus, just like my mind treats all sausage.

So what happens when you load a DC-native half smoke onto a poppy seed bun and heap on Chicagoan toppings? A culinary mixture fit for the President himself!

You’ll need:

8 Poppy Seed buns (make your own with our recipe here!)
8 half smoke sausages
Tomatoes
Atomic relish
Dill pickle spears
Chopped onion
Yellow mustard

Once your poppy seed buns are out of the oven, this recipe is really all about assembly. Heat the half smokes on a grill or on the stovetop, just until they have a bit of color and are heated through. Then pile your Chi-Town toppings- tomatoes, relish, yellow mustard, a dill pickle spear, and chopped onion.

Since we couldn’t decide between a 312 and a DC Brau, we treated ourselves to both!

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