Escape Winter Blues With Three Lemon Cheesecake

I don’t know if its because I’ve got cabin fever in a major way, but for the past week or two, I’ve been in a cranky mood.  I’m craving a bit of sunshine.  Unfortunately I don’t have a magic weather wand to whisk this winter far away.  Instead I’m going to settle for substituting some natural light for a delicious disk of citrus sunshine in cheesecake form!  This 3 Lemon Cheesecake my sister Emily turned me onto is one of my favorite light (in texture, not fat!!) desserts.  A slice of this is a great remedy to chase away the winter blues!

3 Lemon Cheesecake
Recipe Courtesy of Group Recipes

How To Make Stuffed Grape Leaves

Stuffed grape leaves, also known as dolmades are some of my favorite finger food for parties.  Although assembling each of these tart Mediteranean treats can be time consuming, they’re really easy to do.  Once you start making them, you can get on a roll and the process can become quite meditative.  People love the salty tangy taste of the pickled grape leaves, tempered by the sticky dill and rice filling, and they’re always impressed you made them.  So let me help you impress your friends with some stuffed deliciousness.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

• 2 c. dry rice
• 4 c. vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. chopped dill
• 1-2 lemons, juiced
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1-2 Tbs pomegranate syrup**
• 1 8 oz. jar of pickled grape leaves*

* Grape leaves can easily be found at any Middle Eastern or Mediterranean market.  You can also check the ethnic isle of your local grocery store.

** Pomegranate syrup can also be found at your local Middle Eastern market as well.  If you don’t have any or can’t find it, you can substitute a fruit jam as a sweetener for your filling.

Prepare filling: Mix the dry rice with the vegetble or chicken stock and salt and cook.  Chop red onion and dill.  Once cooked, mix rice, red onion, dill, pommegranate syrup and lemon juice.  Taste and season according to taste.  If bland, add more salt, lemon and/or onion.  You can add more pomegranate syprup if it needs a bit more sweetener.

Wrap Grape Leaves:  Remove grape leaves from jar, unfold and allow to drain in a colander for 5-10 minutes. Clip any stems off grape leaves.  To assmeble the grape leaves follow these steps:

1.  Place a single grape leave on a wooden board with the veiny side face up.  Place 1 Tbs of filling onto the leaf, at the center of the base near the stems.

2.  Fold the bottom of the leaf up until it just covers the filling.

3.  Fold both sides of the leaf inward, around the filling.

4.  Roll forward over the remainder of the leaf to complete the stuffed grape leaf.

Repeat process until you run out of leaves, filling or both.

Poach Dolmades: the final step to completing your stuffed grape leaves is to poach them to soften the leaves and consolidate the filling.  Place the stuffed grape leaves in the bottom of a pan.  Add water until grape leaves are almost covered submerged in water but not covered.  Weigh down with a few heavy plates.  Over high heat, bring water to a boil and then reduce water to a simmer.  Simmer for 25 minutes.

Chill completed dolmades over night:  Remove grape leaves from the pan and place in a sealed container.  Chill overnight to allow the flavors to mature.

Serve cold.  Yum!

We Love Homemade Ravioli

Finding a reservation for a Valentines Day dinner was never as affordable or as easy as this year!  Ira and I decided to stay home and make food together.  Since we had an afternoon of quality time to fill up, we decided to pull out our new pasta maker and assemble some homemade raviolis.  Although raviolis are very easy to make, they can be a bit time consuming.  Who cares about time though, when you’re in love…with your new Kitchenaid accessory!  Here’s the result of our love making.  Ha ha.

Spinach and Pork Stuffed Raviolis

Spinach and Pork Filling

• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 2 c.  raw spinach, chopped
• 1/2 c. shredded provolone
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs yogurt
• 1/4 c. Parmesan

Assemble your egg pasta dough and let rest for 20 minutes. Here is the egg pasta dough recipe we use.

Assemble filling: Mix sage, salt and pepper into the ground pork.  Brown pork in a saute pan.  When pork is halfway cooked; a little brown and pink, add the chopped spinach and finish sauteing until pork is fully brown and spinach is wilted.  Add the rest of the ingredients, mix and set aside.

Press dough: After your dough has rested, press your sheets of pasta dough.

Cut your ravioli dough:  I don’t have a specific ravioli cutter, so I just use a drinking glass.  Make sure it will cut a large enough circle to handle being stuffed.  A large water glass or pint glass works well.

Stuff your raviolis:  Crack an egg into a bowl and mix well.  Brush each ravioli circle with your egg wash using a pastry brush.  Spoon a tsp of filling into the center of your dough circle.

Pinch edges of circles together to form half-circle.  Using a fork, press edges securely shut.  Try not to pierce through the dough with the ends of the fork tongs.

Cook raviolis:  Heat water to a rolling boil. Add a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil to water.  Place raviolis in water.  Once water comes back to a rapid boil, boil raviolis for 5-7 minutes until soft.  Strain.

Eat up! Serve raviolis with your preferred sauce.  I used our homemade roasted marinara and served our pasta with a nice side salad. This was about 2 hours of quality time in the kitchen and we definitely reaped the rewards of our labor!  I hope you all had as happy a Valentines Day!

10 Superfoods To Help You Eat Healthy Easy

I hate the idea of dieting and think most of the diet programs are utter bullshit.  I have a total aversion for trendy buzz words and stupid fads.  During the insane Atkins craze, I would laugh my ass off every time I saw a “Zero Carbs” sticker on cheese.   Diets of the moment vilianize fats, carbs and whatever just to sell products to help shed pounds quick.

However, I must admit, my sister has gotten me totally into the latest craze in food health, which are the Superfoods.    Yes, the term “superfoods” is a total buzz word however, it does not promote a useless new diet fad, but is about educating people about which foods which are actually good for you.  The superfoods represent foods which are the highest in vitamins and nutrients, so by eating more of them, you get the most bang for your buck.  I’m all for that.  The only thing previously standing between me and a more healthy diet has been ignorance of what were the right things to be eating.

Here’s my list of ten superfoods I think are the most important.

1.  Oats
2.  Spinach
3.  Yogurt
4.  Eggs
5.  Beans
6.  Broccoli
7.  Berries
8.  Sweet Potato
9.  Nuts
10. Turkey

Here’s a great vitamin and mineral guide if you have any questions about what exactly any of the vitamins and minerals listed below do for you.

1) Oats
as well as other whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and flax seed

Nutritional benefits: High in fiber, protein, magnesium, Potasium, zinc, and copper among many others.
How It Helps: Whole grains, especially oats are packed full of vitamins and minerals which help promote healthy organ function and digestion, reduce your risk for many diseases as well as helps lower your overall cholesterol.
Eat It: Try a bowl of steel cut oats everyday for breakfast

2) Spinach

Nutritional benefits: High in fiber, fatty acids, Vitamins B, C, E, and B6 as well as tons of minerals
How It Helps: Popeye was not jokin’ around.  Spinach is so packed full of nutrients, its possibly the best vegetable you can eat.  Besides the healthy organ and immune system function from all the vitamins and minerals, spinach seriously inhibits cardiovascular disease as well as various cancers, cataracts and is a good source of omega fatty acids to fight depression.
Eat It: Make a salad with leafy spinach greens for a side salad a couple days a week.

3) Yogurt

Nutritional benefits: High in calcium, protein, potassium as well as contains active live cultures.
How It Helps: Because of the active live cultures present in yougurt, it is perhaps the best thing you can eat to promote healthy digestion.  Healthy digestion is absolutely necessary to make sure your body is able to absorb the vitamins and minerals from the rest of your diet.  Yougurt  helps reduce symptoms of diarrhea, ulcers, allergies, hypertension as well as irritable bowl syndrome.  It also helps the body digest the lactose present in dairy products and is edible to those with lactose intolerance problems.
Eat It: Eat a daily snack of yougurt with fresh fruit and granola.

4) Eggs

Nutritional benefits: Excellent source of protein as well as Vitamins A, B, D, and E
How It Helps: Eggs are economical and highly versitle, so they are an excellent addition into your daily diet.  They help promote healhy bone and muscle growth and developement, are wonderful low calorie source of animal protien and have been shown to help prevent such diseases as breast cancer and various eye conditions.
Eat It: Hard boil eggs make a quick and easy snack, or try an egg salad sandwich for lunch.

5) Beans

Nutritional benefits: High in protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, folate, potassium, magnesium, and many phytonutrients
How It Helps: Beans are an excellent source of low fat protein and are an excellent substitute for the higher fat meat proteins.  They are extremely beneficial when mixed with a whole grain to provide a whole protein.  Integrating beans into your diet can help lower cholesterol, and are a very filling low fat food to help with weight loss.  Beans also help reduce the risk of diabetis, obesity and cancer.
Eat It: Brown rice and beans made an excellent side dish, or try hummus for a quick snack.

6) Broccoli

Nutritional benefits: Rich in Vitamins A, C & K, as well as the nutrients Sulforaphane, Indoles, Folate, Fiber, Calcium, and Ascorbic Acid
How It Helps: Broccoli is one of the most nutrient rich vegetables you can eat.  Its various vitamins and nutrients help promote healthy bones, organ function as well as promote normal growth and development among children.  Broccoli also helps prevent birth defects during pregnancy as well as has been shown to help prevent various cancers.
Eat It: Steamed broccoli is a quick, easy and delicious side dish.

7) Berries

Nutritional benefits: Rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients.  Good sources of polyphenols, salicylic acid, fiber, folate, ascorbic acid, vitamin E.
How It Helps: Berries are super rich in antioxidants which help the body process oxidants which get into our system through various means like ingesting fatty foods and alcohol, among others.  Phytonutrients are incredibly helpful with fighting various diseases as well as help maintain normal cell growth and inhibit cell mutation.  Berries are a natural sweetener which help control your blood sugar.
Eat It: What?  You need me to tell you how to eat berries.  You just do it, they’re tasty and awesome!

8 ) Sweet Potatoes

Nutritional benefits: High in fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, potassium and manganese.
How It Helps: Sweet potatoes are so much better for you then regular potatoes.  They are an excellent source of fiber to aid in healthy digestion, they are a natural sweetener and are good for diabetics.  They are high in beta-carotene which aid in the prevention and treatment of aging and chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Eat It: Substitute for regular potatoes for fries and chips.

9) Nuts

Nutritional benefits: Rich in protein, fiber, antioxidants, Omega fatty acids and unsaturated fats
How It Helps: Yes, nuts are high in fat, but its a good fat.  Nuts are very filling, so you can snack on a small amount and they can really fill you up.  The fatty acids can help curb depression and nuts can help lower cholesterol.
Eat It: Mix with dried fruit for a healthy snack or mix in a salad

10) Turkey Breast

Nutritional benefits: Rich in Protein, Niacin, Selenium, Vitamins B6, B12, and Zinc
How It Helps: Turkey breast is one of the most lean sources of animal protein.  Its helps promote a healthy heart, is low in fat and can help lower your risk of cancer.
Eat It: Turkey sandwiches!!!

Is that it? No, the above are just my picks.  There are tons more superfoods like apples, oranges, tomatoes, onions, garlic, green tea, and pomegranates. I didn’t pick most of these because I already ate them regularly.  I hope this helps you start making your own list. Now, I’ve just done so much healthy writing, I think I’ll reward myself with some ice cream.

Questions From the Readers: Where Do You Get Your Lamb?

Since re-posting my lamb chili recipe, a lot of readers have been asking me where I get my lamb from. Well for Chicago readers, I get my lamb from Al Khayyam, the Lebanese market on Kedzie and Lawrence. I was able to get a lamb shoulder for $2.69 a lb! Of course, this includes the bones, but you can ask the butcher to grind the meat for you fresh and cut the bones up so you can use them to make soup.

Last year, I wrote a post pimping Al Khayyam, but to reiterate, I love this store! Its a great place to get exotic spices, delicious middle eastern yogurt, fresh baked pita (daily) for only $1, homemade baklava and of course, cheap lamb.

So what if you don’t live in Chicago or don’t want to go across town to this market? Here’s some tips to help you find good quality lamb in your area.

Tips for finding good quality lamb.

• Avoid prepacked ground lamb at grocery stores. They usually sell ground lamb at most general grocery stores. However, its usually frozen, not fresh, and not of the best quality. It works for a last minute resort, but try to find something better.
• Try to find a Middle Eastern ethnic market: ethnic markets of cultures which feature lamb as part of their regular diet is a great place to find cheap fresh lamb. If its part of the cultural diet, the market’s client base will demand good quality meat and know what they’re willing to pay, so you usually get the best quality for the least amount, and its usually very fresh because of a high demand. Middle eastern, Greek, South Eastern European and Northern African markets are a great place to check.
• Ask your butcher to ground fresh meat from the bone: Leg of lamb is pretty common in general markets. Ask to find out if they can grind the meat fresh from a leg cut and how much they charge. It may be expensive, but its always good to ask and find out. Freshly ground meat will always be better quality then meat which has been ground and then frozen for a while.

Feel free to email me with any food related questions, and it may even be featured in an upcoming post!

Fight World Hunger and Eat Forkable For Free

Lamb and Black Bean Chili stewed in red wine can help warm you up on a cold winter night!

Hey guys, lets help world hunger with Chili!  This wednesday night, we’ll be supplying our favorite lamb and black bean chili for the Hideout’s weekly Soup and Bread Night.  This savory chili has just enough spice to warm up a cold winter night, lamb to keep it healthy and its all stewed in wine to warm up the senses!  In addition to ours, the menu includes a total of six different soups and the best part is THE SOUP IS FREE! Here’s the line up:

• Winter Vegetable
• Smokey Red Lentil (vegetarian)
• Chipotle Black Bean (vegan)
• Butternut Squash & Pear with Pumpernickle Croutons
• Potato, Butternut Squash and Leek (vegan)
• Lamb and Black Bean Chili

Although we definitely support the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle, we’re proud to be offering the only meaty option, because, hey, its cool to be an omnivore too!  So come out to the Hideout on Wednesday night between 5:30 – 8:00 for some delicious and free soup, and bring some dollar bills to donate to the Franciscan Outreach shelter in Wicker Park.

Warmin’ It Up Across The World Wide Web

Although we can be relatively solitary creatures here on Forkable, sometimes, someone comes along and invites us to crawl out from under our virtual rock. When Claire, of the awesome blog Life In Chicago, asked if we had any recipes to share with her readers, we jumped at the chance. So check it out; here’s one of our favorite recipes from the archives to help you warm it up in these cold, cold times, as well as give you some exclusive behind-the-scenes back story for a little personal interest. I’d like to take this moment to reach across the large expanses of the world wide web to give Claire a virtual high five!

Tender Meat For Tender Moments: Pork Tenderloin

Last winter, while grocery shopping, I found this pork tenderloin on super sale and it called out to me saying “Take me home!  I would make for the perfect candle lit romantic meal.”  (I never get freaked out by talking meat).  So I did, but I never got around to actually making it.  I’m still working on cleaning out my freezer and this pork tenderloin was at the top of this list.  After 12 months in the deep freeze, I finally hauled this little guy out and got to business.  Although, I’m sure it wasn’t as great as it would have been if I hadn’t neglected the poor thing for so long, but it did turn out very well and it was a very special meal full of special tender moments.

I’d never made a tenderloin before, so it was a bit of an adventure.  Although, I went maverick on it quite a bit, I based my recipe on this food network recipe with a few ingredient additions and substitutions. I used hard apple cider as the marinade and gravy base, since the apple flavor is such a traditional pork side-kick, although you can beer as the original food network recipe uses.

Tenderloin ready to be roasted

Roasted Pork Loin with Apple Cider Gravy

• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 22 oz. bottle Hard Apple Cider
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 (3 1/2) pound boneless pork loin, tied
• 1 Tbs butter, sliced into tsp slices
• 1 large garlic clove sliced
• sage leaves
• 1-2 Tbs butter for roue
• 1-2 Tbs flour for roue

Evening before or morning of meal, prepare your marinade: In a sauce pan, melt butter.  Saute onions and garlic in butter until nicely browned, about 5 minutes or so.  Stir in dried spices and allow to saute and toast for about 1 minute.  Add apple cider and mustard and bring to a boil.  Allow to cool.

Marinate your pork loin: Place your raw pork loin in a container.  Pour the prepared marinade over the pork and cover.  Refrigerate 8-24 hours.

Prepare your tenderloin for roasting: Remove loin for the marinade and set marinade aside.  Using a meat tenderizer or the flat side of a cooking handle of a random tool.  Hit the tenderloin a bit to make it flatten out a bit and to tenderize the meat.  Season the tenderloin on all sides with sea salt or kosher salt and pepper.  Place the butter and garlic slices along with some sage leaves, dried or fresh, along the center of the meat.

Truss your tenderloin:  Using string, tie your tenderloin up into a circular log.  I’ve never done this before, so I sort of just winged it.  I started wraping the string around one end, and then tied it off on the bottom of the log, or the opposite side of where the meat overlaps.  I tied a knot and then bring the sting forward, holding it in place.

Wrapping the string around the meat, I pulled the string behind where I was originally holding the string forward and pulled it around, securing the string in place.  I repeated this until I got to the end of the roast.

If you didn’t get that, which I can understand, check out this video demonstrating a slip knot method, skip to 54 seconds to see the process.  My garlic, butter and sage, did squeeze out a bit when tying up, but I just slipped as much of the filling under the string again as I could.

Brown Tenderloin: Using a skillet over medium-high heat, brown all sides of the tenderloin to prepare it for roasting.  This helps trap the juices inside the meat and keep your roast nice and juicy.

Roast Tenderloin: On a baking sheet, roast tenderloin at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads about 155-160.  Remove from oven and tent with aluminum foil until ready to serve.

Make Apple Cider Gravy: While the tenderloin roasts, prepare gravy.  Take half of your marinade and place in a sauce pan.  Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat.  Meanwhile, mix together your roue paste by forking together an equal amount of butter and flour until it forms a paste.  When sauce is boiling, add the roue paste and stir occasionally until your sauce thickens to a gravy.  You can start out with just 1 Tbs of roue paste and add the second if the sauce is not thickening quickly enough.

Get Ready For Romance: Slice your tenderloin.  Serve your tenderloin with mashed potatoes and a salad or vegetable side.  Spoon your apple cider gravy over the tenderloin and your potatoes.  Get plates on table, Barry White on the stereo, light the candles and step into something a little more comfortable! This meal is definitely going to spice up your life.  Have fun!

Red Currant Gingersnappers

Gingersnaps are my favorite cookie.  No contest.  A classic; tried and true.  I also love red currants.  Luckily this small tart berry is very popular with Eastern Eurpoeans.  I say “luckily” because I happen to live in an Eastern European neighborhood, and I was feeling quite lucky when I found some dried currants at my local Polish market.

Because currants are so small, tart and tasty, I thought a marriage between them and my favorite gingersnap cookie recipe couldn’t go wrong.  I’m glad to say I was right.  Here it is:

Gingersnaps with Red Currants
makes about 5-6 dozen

• 3/4 c. butter
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 well-beaten eggs
• 1/2 c. molasses
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 3 3/4 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2-3 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 – 1 c. dried currants**

**If you can’t find currants, you can use raisins or whatever other small dried fruit, chopped if it comes in large pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together.

Add beaten eggs, molasses and vinegar and mix well.  Mix in currants.

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Mix into your batter until well blended.

Spoon dough into 1″ balls and hand roll to be round.  Roll balls in a bowl of sugar until outside is coated.  Place 1-2″ apart on a lined or greased baking sheet.

Bake cookies for 12 minutes or so.

Store in sealed containers for multiple weeks, or until they’re all eaten, which probably will only be a few days.  Enjoy!

-Original Gingersnap recipe from The Joy Of Cooking.

Delicate and Divine: Lavender Wafers

The delicate and subtle flavor of lavender always conjures up ethereal images of dreamlike romance. Incorporating this flavor into food guarantees a nosh for the most sophisticated pallets. When paired with the delicate cakey-ness of this cookie, you’ve got a recipe which simply cannot be beat!

Although dried lavender is not easily found at a general grocery store, you can find pretty inexpensively at specialty spice shops as well as growing in your neighbor’s summer flower bed. The lavender I used was given to me frozen from my parent’s summer stash.

Lavender Wafers
makes 6 dozen

• 3/4 c. butter
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 3 well beaten eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 tsp dried lavender
• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• additional dried lavender for topping (1-2 Tbs)

Glaze

• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbs light corn syrup
• 1/4 c. water
• couple drops of lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add beaten eggs, vanilla and lavender, and mix.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.  Add dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well blended.

Spoon 1 tsp batter onto lined or greased baking sheets 1-2″ apart from each other.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are brownish yellow.

Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, mix up your glaze.  Add sugar and corn syrup into bowl.  Gradually add water until you get the consistency you like.  I like to add a few drops of lemon juice to give it just a light hint of citrus.

Spread glaze over cookies.  While glaze is wet, sprinkle with dried lavender.  Let sit for an hour or two for glaze to dry.

Store in air tight containers.