
A late New Year's Eve dinner of other people's homemade pizza. (Claudia Li photo)
And a late late extremely bad New Year's Eve choice of congee at a Chinese restaurant.
Zucchini Vermicelli
4 zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Grate zucchini into long strands. Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Let the bowl sit out for 1 hour to temper the noodles, tossing once or twice. Because they are so thin, the noodles don't require cooking.
Julie's Meatballs
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
1 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, combine the meat, sautéed onion and garlic, crushed crackers, yogurt, tomato sauce, egg, cilantro, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Mix everything together with your hands until it's well blended. Shape into walnut-sized balls.
3. Cook as many as you like in a skillet with a little olive oil, rolling them around until they brown on all sides. Pour spaghetti sauce over the meatballs, and simmer them in the sauce until they've cooked through (If cooking without sauce, they should take about 15 minutes).
Raw meatballs can be frozen on a cookie sheet, then transferred to freezer bags to store for up to 4 months. Cook as directed straight from the freezer -- there's no need to thaw them first.
Dahaiwale Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and Potato Curry)
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 medium cauliflower, trimmed
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1-inch piece cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp chopped chives
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
3/4 plain yogurt, lightly whisked
1 Tbsp cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
Directions
1. Cut the potatoes into wedges. Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Heat the oil in a sauté pan and lightly fry the potato wedges and cauliflower, turning, for 3–5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Add the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon and bay leaf to the oil remaining in the pan, and sauté for a minute or two until the spices crackle.
3. Return the potatoes and cauliflower to the pan and add the turmeric, chili powder, salt and sugar. Mix well and add 1 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are just cooked.
4. Add the chives, tomatoes and yogurt, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and sprinkle with garam masala to serve.
Chocolava Cookies
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
icing sugar for rolling
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in margarine until the mixture is well combined and crumbly. Add egg whites and vanilla and stir by hand just until the dough comes together.
3. Place a few heaping spoonfuls of icing sugar into a shallow dish. Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls and roll the balls in icing sugar to coat. Place 2" apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for ten minutes, until just set around the edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Lentil-Stuffed Peppers
6 medium red bell peppers (one of them chopped)
2 cups cooked cous cous
1 cup mushrooms, sliced thick (about 9 mushrooms)
1/2 bunch chives, chopped
1 bundle broccoli florets, chopped
1 can lentil soup
1 cup old cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 300° F.
2. Remove the core and seeds of whole peppers and place into a saucepan containing 1/2 cup boiling water. Cover and allow to steam for 5 minutes. Remove and drain.
3. Cook broccoli, chopped pepper, mushrooms and chives.
4. Stir in lentil soup and drain off excess liquid.
5. Stir in cous cous and cheese.
6. Stuff the peppers and stand them up in a casserole dish. Bake for 15 minutes.