Persian Rice & Noodles

Reshteh Polo (Persian Rice & Noodles)
The Noodles (kinda look like pieces of wood--huh?!?)

Growing up, I always loved when my mom made her rice & noodles dish. It's a Persian style dish that she learned after escaping to Iran. Her and my father escaped to Iran after fleeing Northern Iraq when Saddam Hussein took over in the early 70s. And I have always been so appreciative of that escape because my mom has made such great Persian dishes over the years.

Persian cooking is just amazing. They often combine different styles of cooking and use some European ingredients and cooking techniques. They also use a lot of saffron, which I love! But the best part of Persian cooking is the rice. Honestly...no one makes rice like the Persians. They cook Basmati rice perfectly. It still amazes me that every time, each kernel is separate and cooked perfectly. I can always tell when someone is Persian or has lived in Iran just by how the rice looks!

In Iran this rice & noodles dish is called Reshteh Polo. I know it's a bit of a carb-overload...I mean who needs to eat both rice and noodles in one meal....well I do!!!! And you're gonna love it when you try it. Kids really love this side dish, too! I used to pick out the noodles out of the rice and eat them first when I was a kid! And the roasted noodles give the rice such a nice, toasted flavor. It's a great side dish to any meal. Of course my mother always served it with roasted chicken and a big salad....aaahhh...that so reminds me of being a kid!

2 cups Basmati Rice (washed and soaked for 15-20 minutes, drained)
3 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 finely chopped onion
salt to taste (about 1-2 teaspoons)
2 ounces (about a handful) of roasted noodles
I buy these already roasted (they've got that nice golden, toasted flavor to them) noodles from a Middle Eastern market. If you can't find these noodles, you can use Vermicelli or Fettuccine noodles.

Break up the noodles to whatever size you'd like. I like my noodles to be a bit long, but when my mom makes this dish, her noodles are broken up into really small pieces. I've had this dish when the noodles have even just been broken in half.

Saute the noodles in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1/4 cup finely diced onion. The ones I bought are already roasted so I just sauteed them to get a nice coating of butter and oil on them. If your noodles are not toasted or roasted, saute until they turn a nice golden brown. Make sure your heat is not too high so your noodles don't burn.

After you've drained your rice from soaking, add to the pan and mix the rice with the noodles, onion and butter and oil. Add the salt and water and bring to a boil. Once rice is boiling, stir and then turn down heat to low, cover and do not disturb for 20-25 minutes. After 20-25 minutes, turn heat off and use a fork to fluff the rice and noodles. Cover again and do not disturb for about 10 minutes.
In Iran, this dish is sometimes sprinkled with cinnamon and sometimes raisins are added to it. If you want to try it that way, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 raisins to the dish after it's cooked.

Mini Chocolate Tortes

Mini Chocolate Tortes

(pre-heat oven to 325 degrees)
Makes about 24 mini tortes (if you're using full size cupcake pans, it will make about 12 and you may need to adjust the cooking time)
*spray or grease your pans or use cupcake liners in the pans

3/4 cup butter (unsalted)
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (you can use chips or chop up a bar)
3/4 cup flour
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartarMelt butter and chocolate in a double broiler or use a metal bowl over a pan with barely boiling water underneath it (not touching though) and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Then whisk or beat in the sugar and egg yolks. Stir in flour and baking powder. Then in a separate large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy and add cream of tartar while beating at medium-high speed. Slowly fold in the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture until well mixed.

Fill your Cupcake pans only 2/3 full because the cakes will rise.

Bake the cakes at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in pans before removing.

Your cakes will drop back down a bit once they're completely cool.

White Chocolate Glaze:

6 ozs. white chocolate, chips or a bar chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Place chocolate and cream a double broiler or again use the bowl over the pan method to melt the chocolate and heat the cream.Stir frequently until almost melted. Remove from heat and stir until smooth.

Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat or whisk until smooth. I added white chocolate chips to my white glaze to add a rich white chocolate flavor to the cakes.
Remember, this should be a glaze not a frosting so it will be thin.
You can select your own toppings. I used pecan meal (finely ground pecans), an assortment of sprinkles and some coconut powder (I love using coconut powder bc it is so pretty on these mini cakes. I buy this at a Middle Eastern store) Just remember to add your toppings immediately when you frost with your glaze in order for the toppings to stick.
How cute are these?
And because they have a more intense chocolate flavor, they aren't like a typical cupcake. Adults love them but even the kids snatched these up, too!
And because they're "mini" you don't feel as guilty eating one or two!

I also used a chocolate ganache glaze to frost my cakes. For that recipe go to:

http://checkitoutavesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/chocolate-covered-strawberry-cake_17.html

or here it is, too

Chocolate Ganache Glaze:1 bag of bittersweet chocolate chips (sweetened)
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan and remove from heat. Put a whole bag of bittersweet chocolate and half a bag of milk chocolate chips in the double broiler or bowl that is over slow boiling water. Slowly pour the warm cream in the chocolate and whisk or stir until smooth. Make sure to continue to stir until ready to use.

Asian Noodles with Shrimp & Scallops

Asian Noodles with Shrimp & Scallops

I had some of that Sweet n Spicy Asian Sauce left in my fridge from last week so I thought...STIR FRY! I decided to make my stir fry with noodles though today. I eat a lot of rice so I was kind of "riced out" shhhhhh don't tell my mom or aunts I said that! They say it's not a meal without rice! And they're serious about that!

The Veggies

(1 cup each of broccoli and sweet peppers and 1/2 cup of each of the rest)

Stir fry veggies in a large hot wok with 2-3 tablespoons oil

After stir-frying for about 2 minutes, push veggies to one side of the wok, add 1-2 tablespoons butter to the empty side of the wok and add shrimp and scallops (or chicken or beef if you prefer) and 2 tablespoons Thai sweet chile sauce (you can find this near the soy sauce in grocery stores) (if you don't like too spicy don't add this extra Thai chili sauce) and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Avesta's Sweet n Spicy Asian Dipping Sauce, for recipe:

http://checkitoutavesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/sweet-n-spicy-asian-style-meatballs.html

You can find these Asian noodles in most grocery stores in the produce aisle, usually near the wonton and eggroll wrappers. You boil them for just a few minutes before adding them to your Asian dishes.
Once the meat is almost done, stir fry all ingredients together.
Add more or less sauce according to how "saucy" you like it. You can also add some broth to make it more soupy.
I love cashews on my Asian dishes so I took a handful of cashews and pulsed them in my food processor to sprinkle on top of this Asian Noodle dish.
The salty cashews in combination with the sweet and spicy sauce was amazing!

My son didn't want cashews on his and he wanted his more "soupy" so I added a 1/4 cup of vegetable stock to his batch and served it up in a square bowl. He LOVED it!

Here's how it looked the next day. The leftovers were just as amazing. Less sauce, but still so tasty!

Mini Pecan Pies

Mini Pecan Pies

Still without my computer but I am so missing blogging that I just have to put something out! So here's the cutest pecan pies you'll ever see and let me tell you....they are not that hard and I love "mini" everything! I think that they make your spread look so good and nowadays no one sits and eats so these babies are perfect for your guests. They're a grab it and eat it in one bite kind of dessert....plus if you're trying to count the calories you don't feel as bad eating one or two of these rather than a whole piece of pecan pie that will take hours on the treadmill to burn off! I made these for a party I had on Sunday. I used frozen pre-made pie crust so they literally took no time to make!

Mini Pecan Pies
1 frozen pie crust (thawed and rolled out into as close to a square as you can get it)

Once you've rolled out your crust, cut out an even number of squares (about 1 inch squares) I got 16 squares out of my crust. Use mini muffin pans that have been sprayed and floured and form little pie crusts in each space using your pie crust squares. Bake the crusts for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pecan Pie filling:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans

While the crusts are baking, combine the butter, powdered sugar and corn syrup in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring frequently. Stir in chopped pecans, turn off heat and mix well. This recipe is good for 16-20 mini pecan pies, double the recipe for 36 or 40 mini pies.

Pour your pecan mixture in each baked crust, bake for another 5-8 minutes. Let the mini pies cool a bit before removing from the pan. I drizzled a little carmel sauce on top of each pie. They were delicious and so easy to make! This pecan pie filling however is not the recipe I use when I make whole pies. It works fine with these mini pies but when making a whole pecan pie I use a recipe that calls for eggs. You can also use those mini phyllo cups for this recipe. I love using those because most grocery stores now carry them and they're perfect for making mini desserts and then you don't have to worry about forming your own mini crusts! These are perfect for any holiday party!

Computer has crashed!

Sorry it's been a few days. My computer has crashed and I am so upset. I am trying to get it fixed so hopefully within a couple days I will be up and running. I have been cooking some good stuff so when it's back up...I will have some amazing dishes to share with you all. For now...check out my adorable son. He wanted to be a hippy for Halloween...he picked out all his stuff....I love that he thinks hippies are cool! :)

Sweet n Spicy Asian Style Meatballs

Sweet n Spicy Asian Style Meatballs with Warm Asian Slaw


This is why I love making a recipe that I can use for several different items and occasions. I gave you my simple meatball recipe yesterday and used half of the meatballs for a comforting meatball soup, the other half I saved because I have a party to go to tonight and am going to take a tray of meatballs with me for an appetizer. I skewered the meatballs with toothpicks and dipped them in this very easy Asian dipping sauce that I almost always keep in the fridge because it is so versatile. Everyone makes Swedish meatballs and BBQ meatballs so next time you want to make meatballs, try these Sweet n Spicy Asian Meatballs, your friends and family will love them! This is a good way to take a classic meatball and make it a little modern with an Asian sauce instead....trust me....everyone will love them!

For my meatball recipe go to:

http://checkitoutavesta.blogspot.com/2008/10/kurdish-meatball-potato-soup.html

Sweet n Spicy Asian Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup Thai Chili Pepper sauce (almost all grocery stores now carry this, even find this at Wal-mart in their ethnic food aisle, near rest of Asian foods/sauces)

1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons honey
pinch or dash of ground ginger
pinch or dash of garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring just to a boil. Turn off heat and continue to stir and remove from heat. This sauce can be served warm or cold. Will keep in your fridge for a couple weeks. It is so good on meatballs and chicken wings! You can sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top of meatballs or wings after you dip them in the glaze.
Use a toothpick to skewer your meatball to dip them in the sauce

Make sure to roll the meatball around the sauce to get a good coating of the sauce on it.
I love serving these meatballs with this Warm Asian Slaw.

You can drizzle a little more sauce on top once you've plated your meatballs on top of the slaw.

Warm Asian Slaw:

2-3 cups Broccoli Slaw (I love broccoli slaw because it is PACKED with vitamins and nutrients. You can find this in almost all grocery stores now too, near the salad/slaw items. If you can't find it, just use regular slaw mix)

2 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons Sweet n Spicy Asian Dipping Sauce

Saute the broccoli slaw with the butter for about 1 minute.
Add the Asian dipping sauce, mix well and cook for about another minute.
I like serving this slaw warm but it is still really good cold, too.

I like to take my meatball and pile on the Warm Asian Slaw on top and put it all in my mouth as one big bite...talk about good!!!

There are so many reasons why broccoli is good for you and I know sometimes it's hard to get kids or even grown ups to eat broccoli but it is a no-brainer...you have to find a way to eat this stuff so that's why I love products like broccoli slaw and broccoli sprouts, same health benefits of broccoli but a little easier to hide in foods and add different flavors to please those picky eaters out there. According to http://www.healthfood-guide.com/ (another of my favorite sites)...here's what you get from this magical vegetable.....

Health Benefits Of Broccoli (according to http://www.healthfoood-guide.com/)

Broccoli provides a high amount of vitamin C, which aids iron absorption in the body, prevents the development of cataracts, and also eases the symptoms of the common cold. The folic acid in broccoli helps women sustain normal tissue growth and is often used as a supplement when taking birth control pills and during pregnancies. The potassium in broccoli aids those battling high blood pressure, while a large amount of calcium helps combat osteoporosis.

The vegetable is also fiber-rich, which enhances the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as well as aims to reduce blood cholesterol levels. In recent years, broccoli has made the headlines regarding three components found in the vegetable. For instance, indole-3-carbinol has captured the attention of those looking to prevent hormone-related cancers, such as breast- and prostate cancer. I3C promotes "good" hormones, while working against destructive ones.

The sulforaphane in broccoli also helps to increase the level of enzymes that block cancer, while the beta-carotene in broccoli transforms into vitamin A within the body, providing an effective antioxidant that destroys free radicals (responsible for weakening the defense of cells).

Additionally, the health benefits of broccoli have been linked to preventing and controlling the following medical concerns: Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, calcium deficiencies, stomach and colon cancer, malignant tumors, lung cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and even the aging process.