Corn fritters with tomato salsa and a TV show you can't miss

With Hannibal still more than a month away and the ages Sony has been taking to air the last two episodes of The Blacklist I started watching another TV series, a very short one – six episodes only for the first season – but immense when it comes to quality: Rectify was a fantastic surprise, and I got to it thanks to the lovely Amanda (thanks, dear).

The show is about Daniel Holden – portrayed beautifully by Aden Young –, a man who spent 19 years on death row and is released because of DNA evidence. Definitely not an easy subject and one that could easily be treated in a foolish and/or corny way, but not here; the writing is superb and so is the cast, and the great news is that there will be a second season, with four more episodes. \0/

Some more great news is that the once picky eater Mr. Scarpin continues to gladly try new dishes (thank heavens it was not something ephemeral linked to the trips to China and NY), and he loved these corn fritters, even though corn isn’t one of this favorite veggies. The idea was to serve the fritters with an avocado salsa just like the magazine suggested but the avocado I’d bought never got ripe, so a simple tomato salsa it was – and it tasted delicious.

Corn fritters with tomato salsa
slightly adapted from the always mouthwatering Delicious Australia

Salsa:
3 ripe tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
1 large onion, finely diced
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fritters:
150g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 eggs
2 large corn cobs, kernels removed
½ small onion, finely chopped
1 red chili, deseeded if too hot, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
canola oil, for frying

Salsa: place the tomatoes and onion in a medium bowl, add the lemon juice and olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the fritters.

Fritters: sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and the eggs. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add the corn, onion, chili, parsley and cilantro, season with black pepper and fold to combine.
Heat a drizzle of canola oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add 2 tablespoonfuls of batter for each fritter and cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Flip each fritter and cook until golden on the other side and cooked through. Keep them warm while you fry the remaining batter.
Serve the fritters immediately with the salsa on the side

Serves 4

Hazelnut, almond and cranberry biscotti, and when competition is fair

I have always found the Golden Globes much more fun than the Oscars, and a lot fairer, too, since they separate comedy from drama. Fair is not a word I often associate with movie and TV awards since there are always the lobbied performances that get nominated (and win) while talented people are left behind.

However, this year, as Paula Patton and Aaron Eckhart announced the nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama, I told my husband: “this is unusual: each and every one of them deserve the award”. The Globe ended up in Bryan Cranston’s hands – much to my delight – but it would have been completely fair had Paula announced any other of the four nominees, and I would have liked it anyway. I think that deep down inside all four of them – and any other actor in a major TV drama - are celebrating the fact that, next year, Bryan Cranston is out of the competition. :D

My Bryan Cranston of biscotti recipes, Alice Medrich’s almond biscotti, has, after a good while, found some serious competition: these WS biscotti are just as delicious, and the soft, dried cranberries are a nice contrast to the crunch of the nuts. Don’t even think of omitting or replacing the orange zest: it really makes these biscotti.

Hazelnut, almond and cranberry biscotti
from the delicious Williams-Sonoma Collection: Cookies

250g all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
80g hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsely chopped
80g almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped if large
finely grated zest of 1 orange

Preheat an oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Stir in the hazelnuts, almonds, cranberries and orange zest until evenly distributed. The batter should be very soft.

Turn the batter out onto a generously floured work surface and divide in half. With well-floured hands, transfer one-half onto the prepared baking sheet and shape into a log about 30cm (12in) long and 3.75cm (1½in) in diameter. Place on one side of the sheet. Repeat with the remaining batter, leaving 10cm (4in) the logs. (They will spread as they bake.)
Bake the logs until the edges are golden, 25-30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the logs cool for 10 minutes. Slide the logs still attached to the paper from the sheet and line it again with baking paper. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into slices 1.25cm (½in) wide. Carefully place the slices on their sides on the baking sheet and return them to the oven. Bake until the edges are golden, about 10 minutes more. Let the biscotti cool completely on the sheets on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen biscotti – I got 32

Tiny cherry and almond tea cakes - another recipe with cherries

Another recipe with cherries, another cake, but this time in teeny-tiny form, and the reason why I didn’t make these adorable mini cakes years before was that I didn’t own a mini muffin pan.
I’m not really sure why it took me so long to buy a mini muffin pan – I guess that every time I saw it at the store I found something I needed more, or I wasn’t in the mood for spending money on another kitchen gadget – oh, wait, that can’t be it. :D

Months ago I finally bought the pan, but then had to wait till December for cherry season, and at the end it was worth it – the cakes turned out flavorsome, with a nice, chewy texture (think financiers), not to mention super cute. <3

Just make sure everyone eating them knows the cherries aren’t pitted, please – these delicate darlings call for delicate bites. :D


Tiny cherry and almond tea cakes
slightly adapted from Martha

110g all-purpose flour
1 cup (100g) almond meal
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
4 large egg whites
3 teaspoons Amaretto (or Kirsch)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
24 sweet (Bing) cherries

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Brush a 24-cup mini muffin pan with butter, and dust lightly with flour.
Whisk together flour, ground almonds, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add egg whites, and whisk until smooth. Stir in Amaretto and vanilla. Pour in butter and whisk to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Fill each muffin cup with about 1 tablespoon batter, filling about halfway. Push a cherry into each, keeping stem end up. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and cakes are golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then unmold and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cakes can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature overnight.

Makes 24

Banana raspberry muffins, Cate Blanchett and switching sides

The Oscar nominees were announced yesterday and several of my favorites are part of the list: Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Martin Scorsese, Judi Dench, Alfonso Cuarón, Amy Adams... I don’t trust the award but it is a joy to see talented people being recognized for their work.

After watching Gravity a couple of months ago – and being pretty much blown away by it – I wanted, with all my heart, to see Sandra Bullock walk up the Kodak Theater stairs (without tripping, of course) to receive the Best Actress in a Leading Role award: she’s amazing as Ryan Stone, a performance that to be honest I wasn’t expecting from her – I adore Sandra, but had no idea she could stretch her acting like that. It was a nice surprise and I wanted her to be recognized by it. However, I watched Blue Jasmine yesterday and Cate Blanchett accomplished what I would call sheer perfection on that film – up to this moment I cannot stop thinking about her as Jasmine, the way she builds the character and express her emotions, with no vanity whatsoever, completely available for what the script and the director wanted from her. I’ve been a fan of Cate’s for years and thought I’d seen the best of her acting in Elizabeth, but apparently I was wrong – Blue Jasmine is the peak of a career packed with amazingly crafted and portrayed characters.

I am sorry, Sandra, but I am switching sides. ;)

And since I am being very fickle today, I’ll no longer say that my favorite add in to a banana muffin are blueberries – yes, they’re great paired with banana, but the slightly sour flavor of raspberries are even better mixed in the tender, delicious muffins.

Banana raspberry muffins
slightly adapted from the wonderful Olive magazine

250g all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
50g light brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 large very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk*
75g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 heaping cup frozen raspberries, unthawed

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugars and salt. In another bowl, mix the bananas, eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Pour them over the dry ingredients and mix lightly with a fork – the batter will look lumpy and it’s OK, don’t overmix or your muffins will be tough.
Divide the batter equally among the paper cases and top with the raspberries, pressing them gently into the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold, transfer to the rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12

Indian spiced potatoes with fried egg

Those of you around here for a while now know about my love for all things sweet, but I like savory dishes, too, and I’m always searching for tasty lunch or dinner ideas.

As a kid, our family lived in a tight budget – especially after my mom got cancer – but food was always something important: she made sure we had fresh veggies and fruits every day, and fish once a week, and would always bake a cake so my father and I would have something to snack on at work and at school, respectively. Eggs were an important staple at home and mom (and years later, my grandmother) would cook them in different ways for our meals – I especially loved her omelets and fried eggs, and those are dishes I still adore eating – to be honest, except for raw I’ll eat eggs in any way possible (I bet that reminds you of something). ;)

That is why this dish, a recipe from this lovely cookbook, caught my eye: the spiced potatoes looked yummy already, but topping them with the fried egg won my heart over. After I made this dish I saw Bill Granger cooking a similar version on TV in which he chopped the potatoes in slightly larger pieces – I’ll be trying that next time.

Indian spiced potatoes with fried egg
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Bill Granger Easy (I bought mine here)

800g Desiree potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
4 tablespoons canola oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon freshly ground Sichuan pepper
25g unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful parsley leaves, chopped
4 large eggs

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, reduce to a simmer and cook for 13 minutes, or until just tender. Drain in a colander and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Place a non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the garlic, curry powder, turmeric and Sichuan pepper and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Drop the butter into the pan and as soon as it has melted, add another tablespoon of oil and the potatoes. Fry for 5 minutes, turning often. Scatter the salt and black pepper over the potatoes and toss together for a minute more. Remove from the heat, add the parsley and toss to combine. Divide the potatoes among warmed plates.

In a clean large non-stick frying pan, add another tablespoon of oil and place over medium–high heat. Once hot, fry the eggs for 2–3 minutes until cooked. Place the fried eggs on top of the potatoes and serve.

Serves 4