Product Review: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Raisins

(So I realize this pic is for milk chocolate covered raisins, as you eagle-eyed viewers can doubtlessly see, but I stole it from the internet and considered myself lucky that someone else thought to so perfectly illustrate the dilemma I have with this product, mainly, that I can't stop eating it and so am soon left with an empty plastic container.)

These are DELICIOUS. Like, so good. Like I can't stop eating them even though I feel sick from the sugar. I eventually had to put them in the communal candy corner so that someone besides me could devour them. I recommend only purchasing if you will be consuming them in the company of many, many others, because you won't be able to stop eating them and soon you will be bloated with dark chocolate and raisin goodness and all you'll have left is a sad plastic container.

Curry Lentil Soup: A Lunch Staple

I often make a big pot of this, then eat it every day for lunch for a week. It's really yummy and filling, and I am only kind of sick of it even though it's been a regular part of my menu for at least three years now. I have considered switching out the lentils for split peas and the potatoes for yams but I have not yet done it. ANYWAY:

Lentils, dry, 3/4 cup
Water, 4 c.
Veggie Bouillon, 2 cubes
1 potato, cubed
2-3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
curry powder, 2-3 T.
cumin, 2-3 T.
red pepper flakes, 1 t.
garlic powder, healthy dosing
salt, about 2 t. maybe more to taste
cilantro to garnish (optional)

I put the lentils, water, bouillon and spices into a pot on high heat while I chop up the veggies, then toss those in as I finish chopping. Then, once everything is in and it's gotten to a healthy boil, I put the lid on and lower the heat to about medium. Let it sit and cook, bubbling but not freaking out, for about 30-45 minutes.

I also reccomend tasting it at about 15 minutes to check the salt and spice content. I actually never measure anything and just toss a large amount of curry and cumin in, so it could be more. And I love salt, so....

mmmmm.

Salmon: Two Ways, One Sauce

I am notoriously, debilitatingly indecisive. I like tapas and ordering two appetizers instead of dinner because then I don't have to be so definitive. I torture friends and family with "What would you do in my situation?" about anything from where to eat dinner to what I should get a graduate degree in. Whenever I can soften the sharp edge of making decisions, either by having someone else do it or giving myself lots of options, I do.

Saturday I made salmon. One was "Blackened Salmon," lightly breaded and seasoned, and the other is "Salmon-baked-in-foil" which was simpler and a reliable recipe that I use to cook most meats. Then I made a simple and flavorful dijon sauce, which, of course, I left on the side (because pouring it right on the fish would be too grand a commitment.)

BLACKENED SALMON

Salmon filets
grated parmesan cheese, 1 T.
Bread crumbs, about 1/2 c.
Oregano, 1 T.
Basilm, to taste
Old Bay (crucial!), 2-3 T.
lemon (squeeze)
salt
pepper
Thyme
Olive Oil, 3 T.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Then, add the olive oil and toss in the salmon. Coat both sides in the crumby mixture.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, in a non-stick pan, add about 1 T. olive oil (and sesame chili oil if you're feeling feisty). Pan cook the breaded salmon for about 3 minutes each side. Then put on a cookie sheet (or something) and bake for another 6 to 9 minutes in the oven, depending on how rare you like it. Voila! The old bay and lemon are very crucial, so don't skimp! Go nuts! Enjoy with the dijon sauce (recipe below), or not.

FOIL SALMON

Salmon
Shallot, chopped
Olive Oil
Lemon
Salt
Pepper
Garlic, crushed, chopped, or minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Salt and pepper salmon filets on both sides. Place in center of foil and smother with olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon, and shallots. Wrap up the foil tight. Cook for about 15 minutes, then check on it.

Super easy Dijon Sauce

Equal parts good quality dijon mustard and white wine
Shallots (maybe 2 T?)
Butter, 1 T.

Put butter in non-stick pan. Saute shallots in the butter. Add the mustard and the wine and cook for about three minutes. Careful not to overcook! For the sauce the recipe says to use a pinch of paprika, but I didn't have it (not sure if it would have made a difference). Also, I used a sparkly and incredibly sweet white Israeli wine comparable to manischevitz, which was impossible to drink but made the sauce really nice. Makes me think the sauce could be good if made with champagne.

Enjoy!

Adventures in Beeramisu

So I made Beeramisu for dessert last night. I used the same recipe, made no alterations because I'm not comfortable changing dessert recipes...who knows what could happen! Explosions?! Strange growing things?! Terrible, bad-flavored things???!!!

I did halve the recipe and put it into three glasses rather than one large pan. Because of this I had to do some shoddy measuring and cutting of the lady fingers to fit into each glass, but it worked out okay. I tasted one of the glasses the night before V-Day, after it had been sitting about three hours, just to see if it was a flop or not. It wasn't -- at all! -- but it was a little runny. I worried -- maybe I hadn't whipped enough cream? Maybe I hadn't "folded" the ingredients together properly (because what the hell does "fold" mean when you're talking about whipped cream and liquid sugary marscapone)?

The next day all my fears were put to rest when Jared took his first spoonful and said "Oh my god." The ladyfingers had layered appropriately, the creamy stuff had taken an appropriate texture -- "Like fluffy pudding," I decided -- and the dusted chocolate had liquified. You couldn't really taste the beer but it definitely didn't matter. Heaven.

(A little too much Heaven. I ate only half of mine.)

Summery Scallop Salad

I bought scallops to cook for valentine's day because I know Jared likes them, but I was at a loss as to how to actually prepare them. I've only ever used them for Fra Diavolo (recipe to come later) which lends no particular focus to the craft of scalloping. I was perusing recipes and found scallops with cream sauce, breaded scallops, cheesy scallops...all of which I had no interest in. So I kept it simple and invented a dish, because I'm a culinary genius.

6 to 8 large scallops
olive oil
garlic
lemon juice
(optional) dusting of Old Bay seasoning
salt and pepper

Sautee the garlic in the olive oil, then sprinkle each side of the scallops with salt and pepper and a little bit of Old Bay. (If you're not familiar, Old Bay is sort of an Allspice-ish blend of stuff that has a slight cajun flavor. It's salty as hell and I love it.)

In the meantime, the salad:

Fresh washed spinach
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Girard's Champagne Vinaigrette
Avocado

Toss! Coat with dressing! Put cooked scallops on top! Yum!

This might have been my favorite part of the meal. It was light, healthy, and made me forget that there was about eight inches of snow outside because it was so darn summery. The lemon juice is a big part of that, so make sure to squeeze some on there while they cook!

Better-Than-Uzy's Spaghetti

I just moved into a new house. To christen the kitchen, I decided to make my favorite food: Spicy Spaghetti and meat sauce. It's pretty much the first meal that I learned how to make, and probably the dinner that I make most often. It has won its share of Spaghetti showdowns, although when it was a day old it lost a controversial split decision to Uzy's Vegetarian Spaghetti (poppycock!). I'll still take the Pepsi Challenge with it vs any other Spaghetti sauce out there. The "secret ingredient" here is Ketchup, which I think really brings it all together. Here's what you need:

1 Box Spaghetti
1 30 oz can Crushed Tomatoes
1 15 oz can Tomato Sauce
1 lb premium Ground Beef
1 Yellow Onion
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Bunch Curly Parsley
1 Bunch Italian (Flatleaf) Parsley
1 Cup Red Wine
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Worschester Sauce
Ketchup
Tabasco Sauce
1 Bay Leaf
Salt and Pepper
(makes about 8 servings)

Start out by browning the beef in one pan. In a separate pot, start by cooking some Onion and Garlic in olive oil over low heat. When the onion and Garlic are a little translucent, add about a cup of red wine to the sauce. Then dump in your cans of tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes. Turn the heat up to medium. Finely chop or put in a food processor the bunch of curly parsley. Then throw that in the pot. Put a pinch or two (or three or four if you like it extra spicy) of Red Pepper Flakes. Also put in the bay leaf, and just about half a teaspoon of salt and a little pepper. By now your meat should be browned, so throw that in the pot as well. Bring the flame down to a simmer, then cover it and let it cook for about 30 minutes at least, stirring regularly.

After about at least 30 minutes, chop the Italian parsley. Throw a handful of it into the pot. Put in a few tablespoons of Worschester sauce, and some Tabasco (again, depending on how spicy you like it: just a shake or two if you don't like it spicy). Then put a few big squeezes of ketchup in there. Let it sit simmer for about fifteen more minutes, stirring regularly, and serve over the cooked pasta.

Welcome to Sassy Molasses

Hello! Welcome to Sassy Molasses, our new blog created to celebrate, discuss, and salivate over food. We'll include restaurant reviews, our favorite recipes, new recipes, and other food related discussions. We hope you're interested, but if not, at least we'll have a place for the recipes we try and restaurants we visit recorded in the tubes and cogs of the Internets for all of time. Please enjoy!