Mole Tofu Gorditas, Butternut Squash, Rice, Sangria, Salsas, and Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Meal inspired by Diana Kennedy.

And friends brought:

Because I couldn't choose between these two photos:

Sesame Tofu with Kale and Challah

(Not eaten or photographed on the same night)

Whole Wheat Crepes With Portobellos, Caramelized Onions, Collard Greens, and Tomato Sauce

Better late than never, right?  

Brendan began the tomato sauce with onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and olive oil:

And it magically turned into this:

Meanwhile, the collard greens were washed and the portobellos marinated:

And then, I put it all together:

We also had potatoes on the side.

Enchiladas Aquascalientes and Internet Bread

Today, Brendan made some enchiladas from Diana Kennedy and I made bread from the Internet.  Brendan took many liberties with the enchilada recipe, mostly to use things we had on hand (skim milk, Wisconsin cheddar) instead of things we never buy (whole milk) or couldn't find in the grocery store (queso fresco*).

If you make this bread, you should know that although it's a good recipe, it needs more flavor.  Next time, we'll add honey.  It's a weird process, because it's a no-knead bread that's intended to be easier than other bread.  I'm not sure it's easier than making 1 loaf of yes-knead bread, but it makes 4 loaves that you can bake over the course of 2 weeks, so we may break even on the effort.

Here's how we made the enchiladas (I helped chop and grate stuff):

Why yes, this cheese wheel HAS been seen on the blog before.  It's from either Wisconsin or Pleasantville.  You decide.

It's like a seashell that makes you cry.

Easiest vegetable to cut up.

Brendan saw this picture, went "RAWR, RAWR, RAWR!", and said that this enchilada looks like Jabba the Hut.  I am pretty sure Jabba didn't go anywhere near lettuce, but okay.

Apology:  almost all of these photos are from the same angle.  That's because there isn't much light in the dining room, so I have to rest the camera on the table to avoid blurriness.  I took other photos, and they were all ruined by blurriness or flash.  I'm going to make an effort to set up the tripod more often.

*We really miss Austin grocery stores sometimes.

Lime Sugar Cookies with Blanched Almonds

I mostly followed the recipe for Lime Sugar Cookies from our new, Canadian, flexitarian Rebar cookbook.

As this blogger suggested, I doubled the recipe but only increased the flour by one-and-three-quarters.  This was a good idea- 11 cookies would definitely not have been enough.

I used blanched almonds instead of pepitas, since that's what we had on hand.  I also used 1 egg and 1 yolk instead of 2 whole eggs, per Alton Brown's suggestion for chewier cookies.  They were, if I say so myself, excellent.

Notes to self for next time:

• Make them smaller than the recipe says (2 inches wide before baking)
• Give them plenty of room to spread out on the pan
• They're ready to come out of the oven when the tops start to crack, but they still won't look very done
• Even though it didn't seem possible, the cookies actually taste better than the dough

Serving suggestions 

• Dessert to accompany Japanese and Mexican food
• Make into vanilla ice cream sandwiches in the summer
• Beer-and-cookies theme party

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

In our case, that meant Wisconsin cheese with toasted baguette, barley soup, beef stew, salad with tangerines, Gorgonzola, and Romaine, and almond-lemon cookies.  Photogenic elements featured below: