I was inspired to create this recipe when I read about Chef Binkley’s Pastrami Carrot Corn Dog on his menu this week……I know my creations can’t compare to the Great Chef’s Masterpieces …..but this one here is might be considered to be Forking Great! I had a pound  of beets and a pound of carrots in my refrigerator. I was thinking that beets might be great also to pastramize…So I did two pans, one with carrots and one with beets.Then I figure I have to make something to go the beets and carrots….I first thought of Russian Dressing….Of course a simple basic Russian Dressing is delicious with these carrots and beets…….Then I thought a better idea was my Kraut Style Spaghetti Squash but I didn’t think squash and root vegetables are very appetizing together so Chickpeas was it because they go great with Carrots and Beets……I did the quick soak method for beans but you are welcome to do the over night soak….I think the two methods produce different textures to the beans……The overnight soak makes the beans super creamy and sweeter….I wasn’t sure if I wanted super creamy beans so I did the quick soak for more texture. I think I would have been happiest with 1/2 and 1/2 but I didn’t think of that at the time.

Ingredients for about 6 servings

1 lb. carrots – peeled (needs to be peeled so the flavorings get in)

1 lb. beets – peeled and sliced in thick slices (needs to be peeled so flavorings get in)

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon juniper berries

2 teaspoons allspice berries

2 bay leaves

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

2 Tablespoons black peppercorns

1 teaspoon ground ginger

8 garlic cloves – smashed

1 hot dried pepper – torn in half

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

4 cups water

coriander to taste (to top carrots and beets)

fresh ground black pepper to taste (to top carrots and beets)

1/2 lb dried garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas)

3 cups water (keep the leftover bean water)

1/2 sweet onion – very thinly sliced and rough chopped

2 cloves garlic – ground to a paste

4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or a little more to taste)

4 splashes sherry vinegar

2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon course sea salt

8 juniper berries – fresh ground in spice grinder

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seed

Directions

set oven to 350 degrees F

Get two baking dishes or two 1/2 pans.

Put all the carrots in one pan.

Put all the beets in the other pan.

Get out a medium sized mixing bowl.

add the salt, sugar, juniper berries, allspice berries, cloves, mustard, peppercorns, ginger and mix well. Put 1/2 the mixture in each pan.

Put one bay leaf, 1/4 cinnamon stick, 1/2 dried pepper and 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke in each pan.

Add 2 cups of water to each pan and cover tightly and lace in 350 degree oven.

Cook till fork tender. About one hour.

When ready to use drain.

Rinse and sort beans.

Put pot of 3 cups water to boil. When boiling add beans and boil the beans for two minutes. Then shut the heat off cover the pot and leave it alone for an hour. After an hour drain and rinse the beans. Put them back in the pot with three cups of water. Bring the pot to boil and then reduce to a low simmer covered. These beans should be done in about 90….. minutes….maybe 2 hours. (******make sure that any bean you prepare is fully cooked because undercooked beans can cause illness or be toxic!)

While the beans are cooking get a small mixing bowl and add the onion, garlic, sherry vinegar, sugar, 1 teaspoon course sea salt, ground juniper, caraway and mustard seeds. Cover and put in the refrigerator while the beans are cooking. This mixture will cook itself.

When the beans are done drain them. Add the small bowl of onion mixture to your pot. Add the drained beans and about 1/2 cup of reserved bean water and bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 15 – 25 minutes…..you want things to get absorbed. Wa la Kraut Style Beans.

Plate it up! (make sure you sprinkle the beets and carrots with fresh ground black pepper and coriander.

WOW! I feel like I could stuff the beets in with rye bread and Swiss cheese! This is a FORKING Special vegetable plate. Ummmm I’m thinking of quick rye bread waffles and drizzling  everything with a Swiss Cheese Sauce….

 

 

 

 

 

 

These Spicy Thai Basil Potatoes taste like the Thai Dish Pad Gra Pow. These potatoes are delicious and very easy to prepare and are low in fat too. You can serve them cold as a salad or hot as a side dish.

This recipe makes about 12 servings

3 pounds small red potatoes

1/4 cup vegetable soup base (or chicken)

1 cup Thai Basil – chopped

4 Thai red chili peppers – chopped fine

4 large garlic cloves – chopped fine

1/4 cup golden mountain seasoning sauce also called tuong gia vi (it’s a soy sauce but with more flavors)

1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

2 Tablespoons fish sauce

1 shallot – sliced very thin on a mandolin

1 Tablespoon canola oil

Directions

Put the cleaned potatoes in a pot. Add the soup base and cover potatoes with water. Bring pot to a medium boil and let the potatoes cook till fork tender. (they boil about 15 minutes)

Drain the potatoes when done.

While they are hot slice the potatoes in half and put them in a large bowl. Sprinkle the golden mountain seasoning sauce over the potatoes and let them absorb for about 5 minutes. Shake the potatoes around so the sauce is distributed. Add Thai basil, chili peppers, garlic, sugar, fish sauce, shallot and oil. Gently stir.

Enjoy!

Delicious!

 

I was watching Andrew Zimmern’s TV Show “Delicious Destinations” in Sicily. What interested me the most were the unusual Cannoli he enjoyed in Sicily. They didn’t look anything like any other cannoli I’ve come across anywhere. They looked almost like Chocolate Tacos filled with the usual cream filling studded with chocolate chips and topped with candied orange peel. I remembered he said the secret to these cannoli was vinegar in the recipe. So here is my attempt to create something similar to what I saw on TV. I used my normal cannoli recipe ……that took a while to develop….and swapped out the water and wine for vinegar. I added 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa and an extra Tablespoon of sugar (because of the vinegar). The mixture got very dry so I then added just one teaspoon of water. As the mixture sat it got too wet……so I pinched off a dough ball and just dipped each dough ball in flour and kneaded like bread. If you make the candied orange peels you have to make them two days in advance because they take two days to dry. In my area they don’t sell good tasting ricotta cheese for the filling so I make a rich ricotta cheese. It takes about an hour to make. It’s simply a gallon of milk, a quart of heavy cream (this is a creamier version of what I normally do…usually I use a pint of heavy cream), a teaspoon of course sea salt. You SLOWLY bring to a slow boil. Into the boiling parts SLOWLY add the juice of two lemons till curds form and let it slowly boil a few minutes. I drain the cheese well with either paper towels lining a colander or if I’m in a big hurry I use a mesh strainer. I add 10x sugar and vanilla to taste for the filling. For regular cannoli I dust with 10x sugar. For Delicious Destinations Style Cannoli I used a mixture of unsweetened cocoa mixed with 10x sugar. It’s best to make the cannoli filling the day before because the sugar makes the vanilla filling wet and you will need to drain it.

Ingredients for about 13 servings

1 cup flour – plus extra for kneading and rolling

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter – room temperature

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 pinch course sea salt

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 egg white and 1/2 yolk separated (use yolk to seal cannoli)

1/4 cup cocoa

Optional 1 teaspoon water if dough seems too dry

oil to deep fry with – I used vegetable oil

2 oranges – for candied orange peels

2 cups sugar – for candied orange peels – plus extra to roll peels in

1 cup water – for candied orange peels

Directions

Add Oil to electric fryer and set it to 350 degrees F.

In a medium size bowl add flour, butter, sugar, salt, vinegar, 1/2 egg white, cocoa and mix well with a fork. If the mixture is too dry add up to a teaspoon of water. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for about a half hour.

If you’re making the candied orange peels use either a knife or a vegetable peeler and peel off the orange zest. Try not to get much of the white part because that white part is bitter. Boil the orange peels and you will see the water turn orange. Drain the water and REPEAT TWO MORE TIMES. After you boil the peels THREE TIMES. Simmer the peels again with one cup water and two cups sugar. Keep it simmering till the liquid looks slightly thicker. Pull the peels out and roll each peel in sugar and place on a pan covered with plastic wrap. Peels need two days to dry.

Either pinch off a marble size piece of dough or divide the dough into about 13 pieces. If the dough feels sticky dip the dough into flour and knead. Lightly flour your rolling pin and rolling mat or whatever you usually roll dough on. Roll it as thin as you can. Place in your taco frying holder and place in oil till it looks cooked. Remove cannoli shell on to a paper towel lined pan. Repeat till all the shells are done.

I like to powder the shells. The powder also helps to keep the shells crisp. For plain shells I powder with 10x sugar. These D.D. Sicily Inspired Chocolate Shells I powdered with a mix of Unsweetened Cocoa and 10x sugar. The shells get filled with a fresh made rich ricotta cheese. I added a splash of pure vanilla maybe two drops of natural anise extract and 10x sugar till it’s slightly sweet. The sugar will make the mixture turn wet so I put the mixture in a paper towel lined colander in the morning and changed the paper towel twice. Just before filling the shells I added slightly chopped chocolate chips. Each D.D. Sicily Inspired Cannoli gets topped with a candied orange peel.

Different! More flavors, notes and textures than my regular cannoli. I like the usual different look but they are a little harder to eat because of the unusual shape. If I make them next year I’d just try to make the taco shape smaller.

Your Place can be a DELICIOUS DESTINATION if you prepare these Forking Delicious Cannoli!