2011 | The Wannabe Chef

Yearly Archives: 2011

5-Ingredient 3-Bean Salad

Written on March 22, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

Bean salad is a great side dish for outdoor parties now that the weather is getting warmer(or so they say), or for dinner when I don’t really feel like cooking anything. Lucky for me this makes a lot so I can ~~eat a lot~~ spread it across meals! Now before you go and think I can’t count, yes, I know this has more than 5-ingredients. But only 5 of the ingredients are key players and you’ll never be a comfortable chef if you can’t get used to eyeballing olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper into every dish you make. There’s just no two ways about it with those ingredients. Oh, and the name is more appealing that “9-Ingredient 3-Bean salad”.

5-Ingredient 3-Bean Salad

Ingredients(Makes 4-6 servings):

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 large cucumber, diced
1 can of pitted olives, drained and halved
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt(omit if your beans are already salted)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Start by mixing together all of the beans. If you haven’t already, prepare the olives and cucumber.

Add in the olives, cucumber, salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar.

Toss the salad until it’s all mixed thoroughly. Serve cold or at room temperature.

I love how simple but flavorful this is. The cucumber is refreshing and the olives are deep in flavor, but the beans are the star of the show all the way through. It’s great as a side dish but also on its own from a bowl.

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Peanut Butter And Potato Chip Truffles

Written on March 21, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Things have gotten a little crazy around here. I have this week to wrap up all of my midterms while preparing to fly to DC on Friday for the National Marathon and let’s just say I’m starting to lose it. This recipe is proof of that.

Popchips asked me if I’d like to take part in their Munch Madness recipe contest and I happily agreed. I know nothing about basketball, as proved by the fact that I’m dead last in my brackets group, but I know a whole lot about cooking and eating. I’m not sure what convinced me potato chips, chocolate, and peanut butter would all go together—I guess you have to be a bit mad—but they do, and these are deliciously addicting! A perfect way to wow and alarm your guests.

Peanut Butter And Potato Chip Truffles

Ingredients(Makes 12 truffles):

6 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup crushed original popchip crumbs + more for dusting(or any other salty treat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
8oz chocolate chips

Mix together the peanut butter, butter, and confectioners sugar. Once mixed, add in the popchip crumbs and fold in until evenly distributed.

Roll the dough into 12 balls and place them on a baking tray. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips. Once ready, individually roll the peanut butter balls in the chocolate until they’re completely covered. Put them back on the baking tray and top with a little popchip crumbs.

I know these sound crazy. I know I am crazy. But my taste buds aren’t crazy, and these are gooood.

If you happen to agree, please go to the Munch Madness photo album on popchip’s fan page and “like” the photo of my recipe. That would be great! And Happy March Madness! I’m sure no matter who you chose to win you’re probably doing better than I am.

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I Cater

Written on March 19, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Recipe Round-Up

This is why you should invite me to your parties.

This is also why I will never succeed on any diet, but that’s another story.

Like any good Classicists, some friends and I got together on St. Patty’s Day to celebrate The Ides of March since green beer and jello shots clearly weren’t in our future. I offered to bring the entertainment(HBO’s Rome. Horribly inaccurate but highly entertaining) and a slew of baked goods.

Outrageous Triple Chocolate Brownies, which got a “really chocolaty” vote for itself.

Better-Than-Boxed Brownies, which got a few nibbles.

And Coconut Blondies with Lemon Drop Frosting, which definitely had the most crowd appeal.

Lucky for me it’s not hard to please people who live off cafeteria food. After the show we sat around talking, eating brownies, and translating Latin. I know—we’re a wild bunch.

My point? Invite me to your parties and I promise to bring enough food to feed an army. And if it’s a toga party, well I’m already dressed for that.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse

Written on March 18, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Chocolate + Peanut butter

Milk + Cookies

Ross + Rachel

Everyone knows these things just go together, right? Right. I’d been wanting to make a mousse with tofu since I saw a chocolate one on Jenna’s blog. When I saw a peanut butter version in this month’s Food Network magazine, I knew it was a sign.

These were shockingly easy to make and as delicious to eat as you’d imagine. Now, I’m not going to lie: These do have a slight soy flavor to them, so if you have one of those picky eaters who points out any and every funny flavor, it’s not for them. But overall I loved them and didn’t mind the taste at all. The only question was what to put on top?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

1 pack of silken tofu
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, separated

To make the chocolate layer, start by melting the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler. When the chocolate is hot, stir in 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 of the silken tofu. Continue stirring until the mousse is smooth and uniform.

To make the peanut butter layer, take the other half of the tofu and mix it with the peanut butter and remaining sugar. Continue mixing until there are no lumps.

To assemble, scoop a later of chocolate mousse in the bottom of a parfait glass. Do this for 4 glasses and evenly portion them out. Make sure the top of the layer is flat.

Next, scoop on the peanut butter mousse over the chocolate layer. Again, take care to portion them evenly and flatten out the top.

Then you just have to choose your garnish, like chocolate chips:

Or whipped non-dairy cream:

Or fudge sauce, peanuts, peanut butter chips—whatever your heart desires! Serve these at room temperature for the best flavor but store in the refrigerator if there’s any leftover(there won’t be any leftover).

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Irish Green Beans

Written on March 17, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Holiday, Side Dish

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I thought long and hard about what green recipe to make for today. By luck, I also had a bunch of green beans to cook with and this dish sort of came together itself. You may ask yourself what makes this Irish, to which I would answer the butter, potatoes, and simple seasoning. If that’s not stereotypical enough for you, I apologize that I couldn’t somehow work Baileys into the recipe; know that it’s there in spirit.

Irish Green Beans

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

2 Tablespoons butter
2 medium sized potatoes, diced and cooked
1/2lb green beans
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

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Prepare your ingredients by dicing and cooking the potatoes through. You can boil, bake, or microwave them.

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Heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat until melted.

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Add in the green beans and potatoes and sauté lightly for about 10 minutes until the butter has coated everything and starts to brown.

Season the pan with the salt and pepper and toss. Serve hot.

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Just when I thought I’ve eaten potatoes every way, there’s a new way to cook them. The butter and black pepper really help to make all the ingredients come together. It’s a hearty side dish that stacks up well against any main. So break out the lamb with steamed cabbage and start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day(or more likely just these and a beer).

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You Might Need A Brownie

Written on March 16, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

If the only wedding marked on your calendar is the royal wedding, you might need a brownie.

If your boss of 5 years called you the wrong name this week, you might need a brownie.

If the last Saturday night you spent out was under a different president, you might need a brownie.

If your goal is to make it through a St. Patrick’s day parade sober, you might need a brownie.

If you’re a warlock who just got fired from his multi-million dollar contract, you might need a brownie.

If you’re paler than a polar bear after the long cold winter, you might need a brownie.

If it’s that time of month, you definitely need a brownie.

If you’ve only got one brownie left, you might need to make more.

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Overwhelmed

Written on March 15, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I’m overwhelmed by the number of comments on this post.

I’m overwhelmed by the number of you who have tried this recipe and told me you love it.

And after not having made this recipe for 3+ months, I’m overwhelmed by how delicious it still is.

A lot of people have asked if you have to peel the chickpeas, which can feel overwhelming given how many there are to peel. The answer is no, you don’t have to peel them for this recipe any more than you do for any hummus recipe. But peeling the chickpeas will make any hummus incredibly smooth and is worth the effort in my opinion.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus(Original post)

Ingredients:

2 cups chickpeas
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Add all the ingredients into the food processor(I used some brown sugar because I was low on maple syrup).

Puree until smooth.

Add the chocolate chips and fold them in.

I’d like to be able to suggest serving this with banana chips, graham crackers, Nilla wafers, or something else fun. But really the only way I can suggest is with a spoon.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to go be overwhelmed by how much hummus I can eat in one sitting.

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Cannellini Beans With Kale And Walnuts

Written on March 14, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

I’ve been trying to eat very healthily to prepare for my marathon in a few weeks; I’d like to think that that could make up for a full season of laziness and daily desserts. And so I’ve been eating lots of beans, vegetables, and nuts. This dish has all of that. It’s a flavorful mix that’s perfect for a hearty vegan entrée or a side dish to some fish. I use walnuts in place of pine nuts for some added omega-3’s(also, if you’ve ever shopped for pine nuts you might notice that they cost more per pound than some precious metals). Beans, beans, the magical fruit; the more you eat… let’s just say you should be eating them.

Cannellini Beans With Kale And Walnuts

Ingredients(Makes 4-6 side servings or 2-3 entrees):

4 cups chopped kale
2 cans cannellini beans, drained of water
2 Tablespoons olive oil plus more for finishing
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat a large pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over a burner set to medium.

Add in the kale and sauté until it has reduced to about half of its volume.

Mix in the 2 cans of beans and leave on the heat until they’re warmed.

Turn off the heat. Add in the walnuts, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir the contents of the pan until fully mixed. Serve hot and drizzle on top some of the good extra virgin olive oil(the kind you would serve Ina Garten).

This is my idea of hearty Italian comfort food. The only thing that might make it better would be sautéing some garlic into the oil in the beginning, but my breath really doesn’t need any more garlic.

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Shockingly I’m Not Pregnant

Written on March 13, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

First of all, congratulations to bloggers Emily and Sabrina who both announced this week that they’re each pregnant with their first child.

But if this leaves you thinking that you’re the only one without a bun in the oven, don’t despair—I’m here to assure you that I’m not pregnant.

I might go to the bathroom an average of 40 times a day, but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

I might cry at awkward movie moments like Wolverine stabbing Phoenix at the end of X3, but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

I might need to let out some of my pants after the holiday season, but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

I might pop chocolate chips like they’re Tic Tacs, but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

I might wake up with sore hips and legs, but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

I might not sleep for longer than 2 hours at any time, but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

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I might only have alcohol when I cook with it as in Balsamic Brussel Sprouts with Red Wine, but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

I might constantly be eating for 2(or 3), but shockingly I’m not pregnant.

*No babies were made in the production of this post*

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Who I’d Most Like To Cook With

Written on March 12, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

Cooking doesn’t always have to be a one-person deal. What brings people closer together than food? Cooking with others can be fun, especially if you’re with the right people. I first got this idea from Jessica to think about who I’d most like to cook with. All I can say is I better start cleaning up if any of these people were coming over.

Oprah Winfrey:

Why: It’s Oprah. She owns the world along with the OWN Network and probably has every famous person in her cell phone. We have absolutely nothing in common to talk about, so I’d just ask her incessant questions about her camping trip with Gayle(remember those magical episodes?) and when she’s going to run for president.

What we’d make:

Oprah and I share a clear affection for a certain orange spud, so naturally Sweet Potato Rounds would be on the menu. She’d probably want to eat pretty healthy, so we’d also make Balsamic Brussel Sprouts with Red Wine and Maple-Soy Chicken.

Suze Orman:

Why: Suze Orman scares me to death. I’m not even kidding about that; if I saw her walking down the street I’d probably hustle over to the other sidewalk(don’t act like you don’t do that to people you don’t want to talk to). But she would get me to make that kitchen spick and span; there wouldn’t be a better organized pantry after she’s through with me.

What we’d make: I’d be terrified to serve Suze anything that costs more than $5 to make but still want to impress her with flavors so I’d focus on all-in-one dishes like Chickpeas with Sole and Spinach and Vegged-Out Quinoa.

Paula Deen:

Why: Who could say no to the butter queen, ya’ll? Paula and I share a love of all things fat and sweet, just like us. She’s also a big Kathy Griffin fan, and like Kathy Griffin has quite the potty mouth when you get her off camera. What wouldn’t be fun about that?

What we’d make: When you have Paula Deen in the kitchen, you really need to go big or go home. Fudge Pies, Microwave Fudge, Outrageous Triple Chocolate Brownies—and those would just be the appetizers.

Who would you most like to cook with?

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