Al Dente

What to Cook This Weekend: Totally Tofu Coconut Kareem Pie

It’s the 29th of February, one of those “out-of-time” days which demand the making of dishes that are a bit outside the ordinary, dishes with really good names, dishes like Totally Tofu Coconut Kareem Pie. I first made this for a pie-off at Amazon.com, and while it didn’t win “Best in Show,” it did win “Most Creative,” and had the judges--all carnivores--marveling at the taste. Since I have a continual craving for coconut cream pie combined with a continual amazement at the mutability of tofu, it was destiny that eventually I’d think: “Why not a tofu-based coconut cream pie?” Note that the pie filling needs to spend the night (or a comparable time) in the fridge, so plan accordingly.

Totally Tofu Coconut Kareem Pie

Ingredients:
16 ounces silken style tofu (silken is key)
1 teaspoon vanilla, divided
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sweet coconut flakes
1 pre-made and baked pie crust for 9-inch pie
Whipped cream (optional)
1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes (optional)
White chocolate flakes (optional)

Directions:
1. Drain the tofu well. Using a pastry brush, brush 1/2 of the vanilla over the blocks of tofu. Let sit for five minutes, then turn the tofu over and brush the other 1/2 of the vanilla over the tofu.

2. Place the tofu in a food processor with the blade attachment in place. Process the tofu until it has reached a very smooth consistency. Add the brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk and blend completely with the tofu.

3. Add the coconut flakes, and pulse the food processor five times.

4. Place the mix into the refrigerator overnight (this may seem excessive, but the flavors need to blend).

5. Either make crust for a 9-inch pie pan, or buy a pre-made 9-inch pie crust. Spoon the coconut “cream” mixture into the pie. Top with whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes, and white chocolate flakes, in that order. Serve.

A Note: To make this a totally vegan dessert, take out the sweetened condensed milk and up the brown sugar to 1/2 cup. Also omit the whipped cream and white chocolate.

Serves 6

--A.J. Rathbun

Ode to a Girl Scout Cookie

Every year I am driven to distraction by Girl Scout cookies. This year my obsession gave way to inspiration. And so I give you haikus celebrating some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Thin Mints
That minty freshness
Paired with chocolatey goodness
I ate the whole box

Tagalongs
Peanut and chocolate
Always the perfect combo
Tag along with me

Samoas
Coconut splendor
Chocolate-caramel heaven
Get in my belly

Have your own cookie haiku? Share it with us in the comments section.

--KitchenMaus

The Calories of March

Right around this time every year any sense of personal "New Year New You" optimism is thrown right out the door with the annual arrival of two events that get my sweet tooth aching: Girl Scout Cookies and new Ben & Jerry's flavors. While Girl Scout Cookies can be ordered in advanced, the search for the new B&J flavors presents more of a hunting-and-gathering challenge as I check the freezer aisle of the supermarkets, pharmacies, and convenience stores in my neighborhood anxious for that first sighting. This year's flavors don't seem as adventurous as year's past. That Cold Stone Creamery standby Cake Batter is the one I'm most eager to sample. What do you think of this year's lineup? Has anyone out there seen (or sampled) these out in the wild?

ONE Cheesecake Brownie: Cheesecake Ice Cream with Cheesecake Brownie Chunks

Imagine Whirled Peace: Caramel & Sweet Cream Ice Creams Swirled with Fudge Peace Signs & Toffee Cookie Pieces

Cake Batter: Yellow Cake Batter Ice Cream with a Chocolate Frosting Swirl

Strawberry Banana: Strawberry Banana Frozen Yogurt with Strawberries and a Strawberry Swirl

--BTP

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

Road Trip: New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni leaves Manhattan to explore 15 "acclaimed, ambitious, promising or intriguing new restaurants from coast to coast." [New York Times]

Can You Hear Me Now?: The LA Times looks into just how loud is loud when it comes to the noise level at restaurants. [LA Times]

The Day of Pigs: Georgeanne Brennan goes whole hog in a weekend celebration of all things porcine. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Back in the Kitchen: Nancy Leson offers a fascinating profile of the career of Seattle chef Scott Simpson, who went from rising young chef to 469-lb shut-in with Domino's on speed-dial. [Seattle Times]

How Low Can You Go?: In preparation for her upcoming appearance at the Charleston Food + Wine Festival, Ruth Reichl offers some thoughts on Lowcountry cuisine. [Charleston City Paper]

The "Just-Kidding" Defense: Jerry Seinfeld on calling Sneaky Chef author Missy Chase Lapine a "wacko" and mentioning that "many of the three-named people become assassins" during the controversy surrounding his wife's cookbook: I was joking! [New Jersey Star Ledger]

Bruni Beat: It's two stars ("very good") for the West Village's Bar Blanc, "which belongs to a growing brood of establishments whose names suggest scruffier atmospheres and more modest menus than the places actually present." [New York Times]

--BTP

Texas Barbeque and Monster Potatoes

A few weeks ago, I was in Dallas and since I am always on the lookout for new barbecue joints, I took the recommendation of a friend and went to visit Mike Anderson’s. I wasn’t familiar with this Dallas institution and so when I arrived at 2 p.m., they had just shut their doors. The restaurant serves lunch every day and that’s it.  We were out of luck, but Mike and his wife were nice enough to open the doors, offer us a beer and talk about their ‘Que. 

The restaurant has been in operation more than 20 years and serves all kinds of barbecue and home-style sides.  But the thing that I was most curious about was their "Monster Potatoes." Mike told me that they had served 500 potatoes on this regular Friday—in addition to all the other barbecue offerings.  That blew me away…and started my craving for a Texas Monster Potato. 

The stuffed baked potatoes are made using 2-pound potatoes that are about 7-8 inches long and about 4-inches wide. At Mike Anderson’s they are split and stuffed with every imaginable combination of cheese and sour cream, bacon, onions, jalapenos, olives etc. and then topped with chopped beef, pork, chicken, ham, sausage, etc. and a healthy dose of barbecue sauce. I couldn’t decide if I thought that sounded heavenly or a little too much, but I was intrigued.

Fast forward to this week. I went to Austin to speak (and visit my buddies) at the National Barbecue Conference. We took a tour of some of Austin’s finest BBQ restaurants and low and behold, Smokey Mo’s Bar B Que had a big ole stuffed baked potato! I couldn’t wait to try it. The counter person suggested I try the potato with their chopped smoked turkey. In a blink of an eye, they presented me with a steaming baked potato, split and stuffed with a tower of butter, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped scallions and the silkiest, moistest, smoked turkey that I have ever eaten. The trick is to put enough of each topping on the potato so that you can taste everything with each bite, but not so much that you drown out the potato. I am sure there is a fine line here, but Smokey Mo’s hit it with perfection. The heat of the hot potato melts the butter and cheese and warms the meat. The fluffy potato takes the place of bread and when you get a bite with a little bit of everything, the raw crunch of the scallion mixed with the richness of the potato, cheese, butter and sour cream make a perfect bed for the smoky toothsome meat. I shared this potato with my table and we still couldn’t eat all of it. I used to dream of brisket and sausage when I went to Texas, but now it is the Monster Potato that is at the head of my list!

The (Parmesan) Cheese Stands Alone

If you're a regular Al Dente reader, you already know Parmesan cheese is something close to our hearts. So I was happy to hear via a recent BBC News article, that the European Commission is keeping the cheese's best interests in mind. They recently argued that Germany had not been acting against producers who did not meet Italy's stringent rules and that the German government claimed the word "Parmesan" merely referred to a variety of hard cheeses. The Court of Justice said only the authentic product bearing the name "Parmigiano Reggiano" could be sold under the name of Parmesan.

Leo Bertozzi, director of the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano (that's the Consortium of Parmesan Cheese--talk about a dream job!), told the BBC News that the ruling was completely positive. "The Court of Justice has stated that Parmesan can be used only to identify Parmigiano-Reggiano. The name is protected and even its translations are protected." Parmesan was among dozens of foods and drinks awarded the status of "protected designation of origin." Others include Champagne and Parma ham as well as Gorgonzola and Feta cheese.

--AndreaLeigh

Magazine Makeover: Bon Appétit

Last month when my copy of Bon Appétit arrived in the mail, I hardly recognized it. The whole look and feel of the magazine has gone through a major redesign. The new masthead is now in a lowercased font (shocking!), and this crosses over into the inside too, where titles of articles and recipes are also lowercased. The inside of the magazine also seems to have a bit of a personality disorder, with different fonts employed in different areas. Also, the editors use backslashes in quite a number of places, including at the end of section headers (example: "MAIN & SIDES/"). And I'm seeing more abbreviations, such as "apps" instead of "appetizers."

Overall, the look is much more playful than the classically styled old look. It also seems to be borrowing a lot from the internet world, with its crazy fonting (yes, I like that as a verb today) and backslashing. I dunno, maybe it will grow on me, but right now, I'm having a little trouble with it all. If I wanted to read recipes and food articles on the web (and I do), then I would read Epicurious (and I do). It feels almost like they've taken the pearls off a classy magazine, and replaced them with some fashion jewelry from the mall. Luckily, you and I both know not to judge a book by its cover, right?

Is it just me? Am I too much of an editor? Does the general public care about fonts and lowercasing? Did you even notice? Add a comment and let me know what you think about the redesign.

--KitchenMaus

Last Day to Sign Up for the Al Dente Sweepstakes: February 26

To be eligible to win the oil-less turkey fryer, you must sign up for the Al Dente E-mail Digest by tomorrow before Midnight (PST). If you are not yet receiving a daily e-mail digest of our posts at the address you signed up with, you're probably not officially signed up to win. So, take this opportunity to sign up correctly:

1. Enter your e-mail address in the upper right corner of our blog page and click 'subscribe'. A pop-up will appear.

2. In the pop-up box, type the text you see. Then, sign into the e-mail account which you provided to us and look for an e-mail from confirmations@emailenfuego.net.

3. In that e-mail, you must click on the link provided to complete the activation process for your subscription.

For more information, check out the official rules here. Haven't heard of the oil-less turkey fryer? Check out the video. And, get your questions answered about how it works.

Good luck!

--Sous-Chef on the Run

Weird Food Cravings

MSNBC.com recently posted some of the weird food cravings their readers have. Apparently craving peanut butter burgers or banana bacon sandwiches doesn't mean you're missing something from your diet. "Scientists haven't been able to link cravings in humans to specific nutritional deficiencies, says Joy Bauer, TODAY's nutrition expert and author of "Food Cures" (Rodale, 2007)."

Around the Al Dente office, cravings include pickles and cheese with smoked salmon, bacon with chocolate, Lay's sour cream and onion chips with M&M's, and Pringles dipped in coffee yogurt.

So, Al Dente readers, what are your weird food cravings? Maybe ice cream and ramen?

--Spanno

What Color Is Your Fiesta?

Now that I know all about your KitchenAid color horoscope, what I want to know next is: What color is your Fiesta? Here's the all-telling questionnaire:

1. I own no Fiesta tableware, and am not interested in owning any
2. I own no Fiesta tableware, but wish I owned X color(s) (Please comment on desired colors)
3. I own no Fiesta tableware, but I would if it came in X color(s) (Please comment on color(s) you wish they manufactured)
4. I own one color (Please comment on color choice)
5. I own 2+ colors and like to mix and match (Please comment on color combos)
6. I own 2+ colors and like variety--a different color each day (Please comment on color selection)

Fiesta is somewhat of a cult fan club, and with good reason. The look is classic Art Deco and the current color lineup includes 14 shades. More than 30 have been produced over the years. And, did you know they are currently celebrating their 75th anniversary? Congratulations Fiesta!

As part of their year of celebration, they recently announced that they'll be offering a limited-edition anniversary product. They will unveil it at the International Home & Housewares Show in March. In addition to this special item, at the show they will also showcase a new color for their full dinnerware line.

Look for more news on the Fiesta anniversary products right here on Al Dente as our editors travel to the International Home & Housewares Show March 16 to 18 and report back. And, stop by the Amazon Fiesta Store to enjoy the rainbow, whether you're a #2, a #5, or just want to check out the latest pieces when they're released.

Don't forget to add a comment about your Fiesta passions/desires/habits/needs/dreams. I'm ready to analyze!

--KitchenMaus