Cheese Crackers

A stack of crackers

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at crackers for a while now and I finally got around to making some yesterday. I had some Gouda cheese left over from a recipe that I’d tried a few days back. I decided to make some cheese crackers. All I needed was a good recipe. As always, I turned to the Internet for help and was inspired by what I saw in a couple of places.

Ingredients:
(For 20 small and 10 medium crackers)
2 tightly packed cups of freshly grated Gouda cheese (I used this)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp unsalted butter (cold), cut up into small pieces
Salt
Pepper
Approximately 3 Tbsp cold buttermilk

Method:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. (I started out using parchment paper for baking the crackers, but halfway through the process, it started to smell like something was starting to burn inside the oven, so I replaced the parchment paper with aluminium foil. I don’t know if the parchment paper that I used was of poor quality.)

Put flour, salt, pepper, shredded cheese and butter in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour, butter, and cheese are combined. Add buttermilk and continue to pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Keep adding buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the mixture comes together to form a dough.

Divide the dough into as many balls as you want to make crackers (many small ones or a few bigger ones), place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake till golden brown.

I was making the crackers in 2 batches, so I divided the dough into 2 portions: I used one portion to make small crackers (I got 20 crackers from this) and the other to make bigger, slightly chewier ones (the yield here was 10 crackers).

For the first batch, I rolled out the dough between sheets of parchment paper and then poked the surface several times with a fork. I then used a drinking glass with a small diameter (since I do not have cookie cutters) to make about two dozen small discs.
For the second batch of crackers, I made small 1-inch balls of the dough, placed them on parchment paper, and then flattened the balls with my hand (you could use the bottom of a drinking glass instead to get uniform thickness). I then pricked each circle several times with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-20 minutes (depending on size and thickness of cracker) until very lightly browned around the edges. Remove to a wire rack and cool.



Cheese crackers for My Favorite Things: Cheese.

Strawberry and Apricot Shake

Blend together strawberries, a handful of apricots, honey, milk, yogurt, and a splash of vanilla extract for flavor. Chill. Serve.

I'm sending this across to the Happy Cook for her event, Strawberry Feast.

Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta

I made a caponata of sorts a few weeks back using the small purple brinjals (Indian eggplants) that I’d purchased from the store.

Caponata is a Sicilian dish made from eggplants, tomatoes, olives, celery and capers, cooked in olive oil and flavored with vinegar and sugar. It is basically a sweet and sour cooked vegetable stew that is traditionally served as an appetizer with crackers or is accompanied by fresh crusty Italian bread.

Having made these bruschettas just the day before, I had Italian bread and mozzarella cheese left over. I decided to go for eggplant caponata bruschettas this time. I just toasted a few slices of the Italian bread and topped it with some mozzarella cheese and the caponata mixture.
Here are my ingredients for this recipe, listed in the order in which they’ve been used.

For the caponata:
(Adapted from Giada DiLaurentiis’ recipe)
Ingredients:
2 –3 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ large onion, sliced
5-7 yellow peppers, chopped (I used Vlasic pepper rings along with a little bit of the liquid that the peppers came in)
5-6 small Indian brinjals or 1 large eggplant, cubed
1 tsp oregano
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp sugar
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Method:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, sliced onions and sauté. Add the chopped pepper rings followed by the eggplant cubes and cook until they soften. Add oregano and season with salt and pepper. Add the vinegar and sugar. Mix well. Simmer over medium-low heat until the flavors blend and the mixture thickens, stirring often.

For the bruschetta:
Ingredients:
A loaf of Italian bread, sliced 1-inch thick
Fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 garlic clove
Salt

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
On a baking sheet lined with foil, line up the bread slices. Toast in oven for about 5 minutes or until light golden brown. Working quickly, rub the garlic clove on each slice and then place a piece of mozzarella cheese on top. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Place bread back in oven and melt cheese slightly. Remove from oven and spread one tablespoon of eggplant caponata on each piece. Serve warm.

Lemon Cupcakes With A Greek Yogurt Topping

I made these cupcakes last night as an after-dinner treat. I’d made a dozen of these yesterday but I only have four left now, less than a day later!
The cupcakes have a wonderful flavor and a fresh, tart taste that comes from adding both lemon zest and lemon juice to the batter.

(For 12 cupcakes)
Dry Ingredients:
1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup oil
¼ cup buttermilk
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 2 lemons)
Grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

For the topping:
Greek Yogurt (I used this)
Honey
Lemon juice
Lemon zest

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, make sure it's all incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tray, filling each paper-lined cup till it is three-fourths full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or so till the tops of the cakes are nice and golden brown or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool a bit before topping.
For the topping, combine Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a bowl. Mix well till smooth. Spread over the tops of the cupcakes.

Mushroom And Spinach Quiche With Potato Crust

I recently watched an episode of Cook Yourself Thin where a quiche was made using a potato crust. It seemed like a great idea and one that I couldn’t wait to try out.

A crust made up of shredded potatoes is definitely a healthy alternative to the usual fat-laden pastry crusts I’ve seen used in most quiche recipes. I followed the recipe very closely and did not make too many changes. I had a crisper full of vegetables in the refrigerator, and so I used a little bit of everything for this quiche.
Here’s what I did…

Ingredients:
For the crust:
3 potatoes peeled and grated (I used Russet)
2 tsp oil
Salt
Pepper

For cooking in a pan:
2 Tbsp oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
½ onion, diced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
¼- ½ tsp dried thyme (optional)
4 cups sliced mushrooms,
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup chopped asparagus
2 cups baby spinach

For the custard:
3 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
Salt
Pepper
3 Tbsp freshly grated Gouda cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie dish/plate (I used glass) with some oil. Squeeze all the excess water out of the grated potatoes. Toss grated potatoes with oil, salt, and pepper. Press into an even layer in pie dish, up the sides like a crust. Bake until golden brown at the edges and dry, about 20-22 minutes. Then broil for 2 minutes or so. Watch the crust carefully here so that it does not burn. Let cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their liquid and most of the liquid evaporates. Stir in the chopped asparagus and red bell pepper pieces. Cook till the vegetables soften. Add spinach and cook, stirring, just until spinach wilts, let cool slightly.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Spread the vegetable mixture in an even layer in the pie dish. I used all but one cup of the cooked vegetable mixture here since I thought it would be a little too much for the quiche. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the vegetable mixture. Carefully pour in egg mixture.

Bake until golden brown and set in the center, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Cucumber Pancakes

I tend to gravitate towards simple recipes with minimal ingredients and minimal steps. So, when I saw these soft and melt-in-your-mouth pancakes on Nupur’s blog, I knew I would be making them soon.
I understand this is a common preparation in many Konkani homes but using cucumber in a dosa was a first for me.

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, peeled and grated
1 cup rice flour
½ cup rava/semolina/sooji (cream of wheat)
1/2 - 3/4 cup buttermilk
4-5 green chillies, chopped finely
A handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
2-3 tsp sesame seeds
Oil

Method:
Peel and grate the cucumber into a large bowl. Throw in the rest of the ingredients (except the sesame seeds) listed above, and mix well to prepare a relatively thick batter. A little bit of water may be used to bring the batter together.

Grease a hot skillet with oil; pour a ladleful or two of the batter. Tilt and move the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little and then use the back of the ladle to do the rest. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the pancake.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is cooked and turns brown. Flip over and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney. I think this batter gave me around 7-8 pancakes.

Asparagus Soup

With asparagus being in season now, I’ve been trying to use it in different ways. I used it to make a soup recently.

(For 3-4 servings)
Ingredients:
A bunch of asparagus spears (20-25 medium sized stalks), trimmed
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
½ onion, finely chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup milk
1 ½ - 2 cups water
Salt
Pepper

Method:
Snap the tough ends off the asparagus spears. Chop the stalks coarsely into small rounds (for faster cooking).

Heat oil in saucepan on medium heat; add garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. Sauté.

Add chopped asparagus, salt and pepper, and cook till the rounds are very tender. Add 2 cups of water (or more depending on consistency desired) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.

Puree until smooth. I use an immersion blender and blended it right in the saucepan itself.

Add a cup of milk and continue to cook till the soup thickens. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.

Baked Potato Wedges

I like potatoes in all forms, but if I had to pick a favorite, this baked version would easily be it by far.
Potatoes have been getting a bad rap in "healthy-eating" circles these days, and rather unfairly so. Potatoes are good for you as long as they're cooked in a healthy manner. For those of you who are interested in learning more, do check this out.

I made some baked fries the other day. I usually season it in one of two ways: either using a lemon pepper blend , or using whatever fresh herbs and spices I have on hand.

This is what I did recently.

Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes, peeled and washed
3 Tbsp olive oil
Garlic powder
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
A sprig of rosemary, chopped finely

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the potatoes into even wedges and place in a large bowl with all the other ingredients. Toss well to coat the potatoes with the herb-spice mix.

Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet (I line mine with some foil and grease it for easy clean-up later) and bake at 375 degrees F until lightly browned on the bottom and tender, about 35-40 minutes. Serve hot.

Potato And Onion Frittata

Flipping through the pages of Everyday Food: Great Food Fast on a weekend morning trying to decide what to make, I came across this recipe. I only had potatoes and onions; so this was perfect for me. But this is one recipe where you can be really creative and use whatever ingredients you want depending on what's in season or what you have on hand. I tweaked the original recipe a bit to suit my taste.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped up
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 potato, peeled, thinly sliced and chopped
½ cup of scallions (I only had the green parts so that’s what I used)
A small sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

Method:
In a medium nonstick broiler-proof skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and rosemary followed by the onions, salt and pepper. Cook till the onions soften. Add the potato pieces and cook, mixing everything occasionally, until the potatoes are done.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.

Pour the egg mixture into the cooked vegetables (spread it as evenly as possible first) in the skillet. Cook on low heat until the frittata is almost set but the top is still slightly runny. Then place the skillet under the broiler; broil until the frittata is set and the top is lightly golden.

Run a rubber spatula around the edges to loosen the frittata from the skillet, and then slide it out onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.