With Christmas only a couple of weeks away and Hannukah only three weeks away, we thought that you might enjoy a week of easy treats that you can make with your children. First up is this glam chocolate bark bedecked with Goji berries and Pistachios. We, fortunately, live right down the street from nut Shangri-la, Bazzini’s, where the in-house specialty is pistachios. Who could resist picking up a “colossal” sized bag to make a few treats. They also stock more the more exotic dried fruits, like goji berries, there. These Asian berries are packed with anti-oxidants, and if you believe the story on the back of the bag, will cure all sorts of ills and improve immune function and eyesight. They taste really good, too, especially alongside chocolate.
If cookie-baking makes you a wee bit nervous, then this would be the homemade treat to try your hand at first. While the technique is simple, it looks like you slaved big time and would make an impressive gift for teachers, neighbors, or grandparents from the kids. You could also, as we will, tuck it into an Advent pocket for siblings.
Chocolate Bark with Dried Goji Berries and Pistachios
*12 oz. bittersweet chocolate
*8 oz. white chocolate
*1/2 c. dried goji berries
*a couple of handfuls of pistachios, shelled and with the skin removed
Together: Put the pistachios in the food processor and let your Yummy press the pulse button for 15 seconds. Alternately, you can put the pistachios in a plastic Ziplock bag, seal the bag, and have your mini-chef roll over it and pound it with a sturdy rolling pin. (We prefer the low-tech ways for more mini-chef involvement, but if you truly are in a pinch for time or if your Yummy is very small, then go for the processor.)
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
Big Person: Melt the dark chocolate in medium saucepan over low heat, and melt the white chocolate in another small saucepan over low heat. Give each pan its own rubber spatula for stirring and stir each chocolate from time to time till it is completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
Pour the DARK chocolate out onto the prepared parchment.
Together Again: Let your mini-chef spread out the chocolate with a spatula. Now, take small spoon and spoon “polka-dots” of the white chocolate over the dark chocolate. Using toothpicks or a skewer, swirl the dark and the white chocolate together.
Sprinkle on the pistachios and then the Goji berries over the chocolate. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and let cool about 20-30 minutes. Clean up all the chocolate that you’ve bathed in while you wait..
When the bark has chilled, take the bark out of the fridge and break it up into good sized pieces.
What could possibly be better than risotto? Fresh, local mozzarella surrounded by risotto and baked until golden on the outside and gooey in the middle.
At our very last Yummy cooking class of 2008, we made these risotto cakes. The children got to scoop up the risotto, smash it into a pancake, pop the mozzarella in the middle, and then shape it into little cakes. While risotto cakes are usually fried in some oil (um, delish) we baked ours in muffin tins and served them up warm from the oven. Not only is this a more healthful way to cook them, it is a way in which the Yummies could participate in almost every aspect of the assembly. They were heavenly. Can you say, “Comfort Food Of Choice, ” Kids?
Corn Risotto Cakes
*One recipe of Horton’s Corn Risotto
*3 c. bread crumbs (anything from panko to whole wheat works well)
*1 egg + 1 egg yolk
*salt and pepper, to taste
*1 large ball of fresh, local mozzarella, chopped into pieces the size of marbles
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
With your Yummy: Line two muffins tins with papers.
Combine the risotto in a large bowl with the egg, egg yolk, and the bread crumbs.
Have your mini-chef scoop up a muffin-sized amount of the risotto and shape it into a ball first and then a pancake. Next, place one or two of the pieces of mozzarella into the center of the pancake. Shape the pancakes into balls again-this time around the mozzarella. Put each ball into a lined muffin cup, and repeat till you’ve gotten 24 risotto cakes***.
Big Person: Slide the muffins tins into the oven and bake 30-35 minutes or until the top of the cakes begin to turn golden. Cool a few minutes and serve warm and gooey.
***You can make a half-recipe by using one whole egg in place of the whole egg + egg yolk and halving all of the other ingredients.
My post-Thanksgiving adrenaline letdown resulted in a subsequent day-after laziness. Not only that, but I had no real drive to cook anything at all for a while nor to eat any of the loads of leftovers that had been filed away in the freezer and back of the fridge. Leftovers in general? Enhh.
However, there are exceptions. This creamy corn risotto is the very first food that comes to mind when I think of something that our family would want to have hanging around for seconds. It’s an incredible meal the first day and transforms into a second equally delicious meal the second day-or third for that matter.
Part One of this recipe, the actual making of the risotto, will not include your mini-chef unless they are of stove age and able to stand there and stir. My own children have years before they will be ready for risotto-making even though, by now, they have quite a lot of risotto-eating under their belts.
What then, you might ask, does corn risotto have to do with Dr. Seuss’s Horton? Well, each time I make a risotto and stand there stirring constantly for the requisite half hour, even though my daughter throws a big tantrum so that I have to stir and tantrum-manage all at once and even though the phone rings in the other room and the person calls back, like, five times leading me to think that something apocalyptic must have happened, a little mantra runs through my head: “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful, one hundred percent.” Make this first part by yourself, faithfully stirring, and then tune in Thursday for Part Two, which the Yummies are set to make in class tomorrow.
Corn Risotto
*4 T. unsalted butter
*2 T. olive oil
*1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
*2 small stalks of celery, roughly chopped
*5 corn cobs, knifed off the cob and/or 12 oz. frozen corn
*2 c. Arborio rice
*8-9 c. stock, chicken or veggie
*1 c. Gruyere, Fontina, or a mix of both, grated
*2-3 T. fresh sage, finely chopped
Bring the stock to simmer in a stock pot set over a medium flame.
Puree or grate the onion and the celery. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery puree and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes till the onion barely begins to turn golden. Add the arborio, stirring and coating each grain with onion and oil.
Ladle in about a half cup of the warm stock, and stir the rice with a wooden spoon until the stock has been absorbed. Add more stock, ladleful by ladleful, stirring well and until the stock gets absorbed, until the risotto is al dente.
Stir in the corn, and take the pan off of the heat. Now, stir in the cheese and fold in the fresh sage. Serve immediately.
Now that you’ve eaten your huge feast and most of your leftovers, are you ready for a little something to make with your Yummy? Here’s a recipe for weekend brunching that is healthful, fun, and colorful. Try substitutes here as you like: carrots, zucchini, regular potatoes, parsnips, apples, pears, different spices, and any other things that you fancy. And my goodness, the shapes you could fit into that cast iron pan are endless!
But, for us, this beet and sweet potato latke was just the thing.
Peace and Love Latke
For the Red:
*1 lb beets, peeled and shredded
*1 organic egg
*1 T. flour
*1/2 t. cumin
*a 1/2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and grated
*1/2 of a large red onion, shredded
*salt and black pepper, to taste
For the Orange:
*1 large sweet potato or yam, peeled and grated
*1/2 of a yellow onion, shredded
*1 organic egg
*1 T. flour
*1/2 t. cumin
*1 t. freshly squeezed lemon juice
*salt and black pepper, to taste
*as always, but especially here, LOVE
For the pan:
*1 T. butter or grapeseed oil
For serving:
*cinnamon apple sauce
*sour cream or lowfat Greek-style yogurt
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Together: Get out a large bowl and let your mini-chef crack the egg into it. Then measure and add all of the other RED ingredients. Stir, and set that aside.
Get out a medium-sized bowl. Again, your mini-chef will practice egg cracking into the bowl. Then he will help measure out the other ORANGE ingredients, give everything a stir, and set aside.
Big Person Time: Melt the butter or warm the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat and coat the entire bottom and sides of the pan. Start with the RED bowl, spooning the ingredients out to make a circle around the edge of the pan, a line down the center, and the two peace spokes on the sides. Fill in the negative space with the ORANGE ingredients.
Take the pan off of the heat and place it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn on the broiler on and broil till the ORANGE bits are starting to brown.
Serve warm, with the applesauce, sour cream, and/or yogurt as an accompaniment.
Just coming up for air to say how thankful I feel today for all the people in my life. Give your mini-chefs an extra squeeze from Mama Cate, and have a wonderful feast… can’t wait to hear all about it.