D.I.Y. Delicious: Recipes and Ideas for Simple Food From Scratch (8 page)

When all the cookies are baked and cooled, assemble the sandwiches by placing 2 teaspoons of pear filling atop the unsugared cookies. Top each with a sugared cookie and serve. You can also make the cookies and pear filling up to 1 day in advance and assemble just before serving. Unfilled cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Filled cookies should be kept covered and eaten the day they are made, or frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Create a mind-blowing peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the
Plum-Verbena Jam
and the
Sourdough Cornmeal-Pumpkin Seed Bread
. Or make a Spicy Southeast Asian Peanut Sauce with it
.

TIME REQUIRED:
about 30 minutes active

YIELD:
1 cup

2 cups (about 10 ounces) unsalted, raw shelled peanuts

1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)

Salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the peanuts on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast until light brown and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Transfer the peanuts to the bowl of a food processor and process until the butter is the desired consistency, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the oil (if needed) and season with salt (if necessary). Watch the butter closely. Over time, it will progress from barely chopped peanuts to tiny, dry pieces of peanut to a cohesive ball of creamy, spreadable softness. Transfer to a jar and seal. The butter will keep, refrigerated, for up to 6 weeks.

Make this with your homemade Roasted Peanut Butter or any other peanut butter. It’s good to have on hand to turn simple food into exciting quick meals. Wrap leftover meat and vegetables in lettuce and use this as a dipping sauce. Toss rice noodles in it or drizzle it over steamed vegetables. I like to serve this sauce with baked or grilled chicken dunked in a quick marinade of pounded garlic, fish sauce, lime juice, water, and lots of black pepper
.

TIME REQUIRED:
about 10 minutes active (excluding peanut butter preparation)

YIELD:
1 cup

1 or 2 serrano chiles, seeded and minced

1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole

Salt

½ cup Roasted Peanut Butter

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 lime)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (peanut oil is a good choice)

2 teaspoons sugar Cayenne pepper (optional)

¼ cup chopped unsalted peanuts

With a mortar and pestle, pound the chile(s) and garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt. Transfer to a small bowl. Add the peanut butter, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, sugar, and cayenne to taste. Whisk until smooth. Check for a sweet, salty, spicy balance. Adjust seasonings by adding more lime juice, sugar, or cayenne as desired. Stir in the peanuts and add about
cup water to reach the desired consistency. The sauce will keep, refrigerated, for about 2 weeks.

This sauce is a great staple to have around. It’s so easy to make and is a huge improvement over canned or jarred enchilada sauces. I use it in the
Pinto Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
, but there are plenty of other ways to make it work for you in the kitchen. Add it to Mexican-inspired soup broths, pots of beans, egg dishes, or
Chilaquiles
, or make up a tamale pie with cornmeal dough and leftover
Mustard and Bourbon-Glazed Pork Roast
, using this as the sauce. It freezes well, too
.

TIME REQUIRED:
about 30 minutes active

YIELD:
about 2 cups

5 or 6 dried ancho and/or New Mexico chiles

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Salt

½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crumbled

With scissors, slit the chiles up the sides and remove the stems and seeds.

Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Heat a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Open the chiles up flat and lay them down in the skillet in a single layer. You may need to work in batches. Toast them for about 30 seconds per side, holding them flat and turning with tongs, until fragrant. Don’t let them smoke or they’ll turn bitter. Transfer the chiles to a small bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Push down to submerge them. Soak until soft, at least 15 minutes.

In the same skillet, warm the oil over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, 2 pinches of salt, and the oregano. Cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave undisturbed.

When the chiles are soft, transfer them to a blender and add the sautéed onion and garlic. Blend until smooth. Wipe the skillet to remove any onion or garlic pieces and pour the sauce from the blender into the skillet. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thick and smooth, 10 to 15 minutes. This will help tame the natural bitterness of the chiles and blend the flavors. Season with salt. Use immediately, or let the sauce cool. Transfer to a nonplastic container, cover, and refrigerate for up to 7 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

If I had to live out life on a desert island and could take only one food item, avocado would be it. I love the smooth creaminess it lends to this salsa. Tuck this into the
Zucchini and Mushroom Quesadillas
or use it to make
Chilaquiles
. It’s also wonderful as a sauce on grilled chicken or beef
.

TIME REQUIRED:
about 30 minutes active

YIELD:
makes about 2½ cups

1 pound fresh tomatillos

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ medium red onion, cut into ½-inch slices

2 or 3 serrano chiles, left whole

3 garlic cloves, unpeeled and left whole

1 medium avocado

3 green onions, chopped (green and white parts)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro Juice of 1 lime (about 1 tablespoon)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil, peel the papery husks from the tomatillos, rinse, and drop the fruits into the pot. Boil until they are soft and turn dull green, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While waiting for the water to boil, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat in a dry skillet until brown and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pan, let cool, and finely grind them in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

In a medium, dry skillet over medium heat, toast the red onion, chiles, and garlic, turning occasionally, until browned, fragrant, and soft, about 10 minutes. Remove them to a plate as they finish cooking.

When the garlic is cool enough to handle, peel it. Remove the stems from the chiles and some, none, or all of the seeds, depending on how hot you want your salsa.

Transfer the tomatillos, garlic, chiles, toasted onion, cumin, and the flesh of the avocado to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, pour into a serving bowl, and stir in the green onions, cilantro, and lime juice and season with salt and pepper. You can make this salsa several hours or up to 1 day ahead. Extra salsa will keep for 3 or 4 days, covered well and refrigerated, but will discolor slightly.

Here’s a simple, smooth, all-purpose salsa that is great for both cooking and dipping chips into. Enjoy this with
Zucchini and Mushroom Quesadillas
or use it to make
Chilaquiles
. It’s easy to adjust the heat to your liking by adding additional dried chiles or more or less cayenne. The classic Mexican technique of roasting the salsa ingredients in a hot, dry pan gives this salsa its authentic, smoky flavor. A well-seasoned cast-iron pan is best for this job, unless you happen to own a traditional Mexican clay comal
.

TIME REQUIRED:
about 40 minutes active

YIELD:
about 2 cups

1 dried New Mexico or ancho chile

¼ teaspoon ground cumin seeds

½ yellow or white onion, cut into ½-inch slices

3 garlic cloves, unpeeled and left whole

1 pound fresh whole Roma tomatoes

1 small handful fresh cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, or more to taste

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper Cayenne pepper (optional)

Using scissors, slit the chile up the side and remove the stem and seeds.

Bring a small pan of water to a boil. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over mediumhigh heat. Open the chile up flat and lay it down in the skillet. Toast it about 30 seconds per side until fragrant, turning with tongs. Don’t let it smoke, or it will turn bitter. Transfer the chile to a small bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Soak until soft, at least 15 minutes.

In the same skillet, dry-toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until brown and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pan, let cool, and finely grind in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle.

In the same dry skillet, over medium-high heat, toast the onion and garlic until soft and brown, turning occasionally with tongs, about 10 minutes. Remove each one to a plate as it finishes cooking. Peel the garlic when it is cool enough to handle.

Put half of the tomatoes in the skillet and roast, turning often with tongs, until charred on the outside and beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. While they roast, peel the remaining tomatoes with a sharp knife and set them aside.

When all of the vegetables are roasted, and the soaked chile is pliable, remove the chile from the water, reserving the water to thin the salsa if needed. Put the chile, onion, garlic, and both the roasted and fresh tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Add the cilantro, cumin, and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Blend until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne (if using), and more lime juice to taste. Add the chile-soaking liquid if you desire a thinner salsa. Refrigerate, well covered, for up to 10 days.

Ajvar is a wonderfully versatile eggplant spread for sandwiches and impromptu appetizers, and a handy cooking ingredient. It’s often found in specialty stores and I have always loved it. For years I assumed it was Middle Eastern, but I recently found out it’s Serbian. Since I’m Serbian on my mother’s side, and many of the recipes in this book originated in the house where she grew up, I love ajvar even more. Still, its unmistakable Middle Eastern character has me convinced that it came to the Balkans with the Turks. I don’t remember eating this as a child, so I’m happy to bring it back into the fold. See the tips for using
ajvar
.

TIME REQUIRED:
30 minutes active; 30 minutes passive

YIELD:
about 2 cups

1 globe eggplant, about 1 pound

2 red bell peppers

2 garlic cloves, peeled

Salt

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper see
headnote
or paprika

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash the eggplant and poke it with the tines of a fork in several places. If you have a gas burner, lay it right on top of the grate, turn the burner to high, and roast until blackened all over, turning often with tongs, about 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can do this step under the broiler in your oven, but it won’t yield quite the same charred character. Transfer the eggplant to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Roast the bell peppers the same way and transfer them to the sheet as well.

Put the charred peppers and eggplant in the oven and roast until completely soft, about 10 minutes for the peppers and 20 to 30 minutes for the eggplant. Remove the peppers to a bowl, and cover with a plate so they can steam. Leave the eggplant in the oven until it is very soft all the way to the center. Test it with a fork to be sure.

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them, and remove the seeds and stems. Transfer the flesh to a food processor. In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic with a pinch of salt until you have a smooth paste. Add it to the food processor with the peppers and pulse until chunky smooth.