Booze-day Tuesday II

It's ok that I'm a day behind on this week's themes, right? If I told you I had some killer boozy food last night, would that make it all right?

Because I totally did! That right there is Penne alla Vodka, and it was fantastic! According to some, using vodka in this manner helps to release tomato flavors that are otherwise inaccessible, which sounds fascinating. Sure, using vodka may have been a marketing ploy back in the '70s, but it did result in this tasty number. Win-win!

I browsed several vegan and non-vegan recipes, looking for inspiration on how to achieve that pink creaminess of which I am so very fond (seriously, I think jarred vodka sauce is the prettiest of them all, and I get rage-y when none of them are vegan). Below you'll find my take on this classic boozy pasta sauce.

Penne all Vodka
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 28-oz can crushed or diced tomatoes (or use whole peeled tomatoes and crush them in the pan)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vodka
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup chopped parsely
cooked penne (I used 2 12-oz boxes)

Heat the olive oil in large pan. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the tomatoes, sugar, and salt. Bring to a bowl and cook for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat a little so the tomatoes aren't boiling so rapidly, but keep them simmering. Add the vodka and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the coconut milk and parsely, stir. Add your cooked pasta to the sauce, toss to coat. Garnish with more parsley and serve in big bowls with toasted baguette rounds and wine. Lots of wine.

Vegan MoFo Straggles On

While the official end of Veganmofo was this past Monday, I'm going to try and keep blogging as frequently as I can. I fell a little short last month, completing mofo with just over half of the scheduled 31 posts. Here's one named food (from my theme) that didn't make the cut, but will always hold a place in my heart.

This Reuben strays from the many vegan Reuben's popping up on every street corner. Instead of the usual plant proteins (tempeh, tofu, seitan), I've used juicy grilled portobellos sliced and seasoned with lemon pepper and nutritional yeast. Typically covered with a melted swiss, I opted for a healthier chickpea gravy to help creamify this sammy. Ruby kraut (made in my house by my hands!!) and quick-fix version of thousand island turn the taste of this Reuben around from wow to WOWOWOW! And yes, that is pumpernickel bread.

Since this sandwich was developed on the fly (once the kraut was ready, actually), I don't have a standard recipe, so feel free to go your own way (go your own waaAaay!) and dress it how ever you like! Also, can you tell I wrote this after 1.5 beers?

Vegan MoFo - Day 17

Day 17: V-Eggs Benedict

Finally, the MoFo post I've been waiting for! Actually, I've been yearning to make this next dish for months, and I can't fathom why I've waited so long!



Tofu Benny's from Vegan Brunch

Bit o' History: For the longest time, I thought eggs Benedict were named after that treasonous flip-flopper Arnold! Actually, most historians acknowledge two different versions of the original eggs Benedict, neither of which include ole Arnold. My favorite of the two involves Lemuel Benedict, a Wall street broker from the late 19th-century. Lemuel was suffering from a hangover and supposedly ordered “some buttered toast, crisp bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of hollandaise sauce” at Waldorf Hotel in New York. The chef, Oscar Tschirky, was really impressed (by the guy's ability to fabricate such a magnificent meal whilst suffering a hangover - I'd be pretty impressed, too), and decided to put the dish on his permanent menu, after subbing an English muffin and Canadian bacon. Version 2 of this story is a bit less entertaining. Some rich lady, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, was bored with her favorite restaurant's menu and demanded something new! I hope her tantrum was as wild as the one in my imagination.

For a vegan version of this breakfast classic, I looked to one of my favorite cookbooks of all time - Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Her recipe for Tofu Benny's marinates and lightly fries tofu circles (save the scraps for a scramble later on!) and she subs thick beefsteak tomato slices for the bacon. I used whole wheat English muffins and Isa's recipe for Hollandaise sauce (also from Vegan Brunch), and garnished with julienned basil. Super!!

Vegan MoFo - Day 5

Day 5 - General Tso's Tofu

I thought that might entice you! Tonight I made a dish many people are familiar with, even if the origin of it is a bit hazy and unconventional. That, up there, is some super crispy, extra yummy tofu for...General Tso's Tofu! While typically made with chicken, tofu is not an uncommon meat substitute for the sweet/tangy/spicy sauce. Speaking of sauce, most recipes consist of a varying combination of soy sauce, rice wine, rice wine vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, dried red chili peppers (whole), garlic, and MSG. I used all of these ingredients to make the following sauce, except the MSG because I didn't have any on hand. Oh! I also added some minced ginger.

Tofu crunch!

Bit o' History: While it may be the most popular item at your favorite Chinese restaurant, General Tso's chicken isn't so popular beyond western borders. It's thought to have originated in the United States after the mid-twentieth-century exodus of Chinese to the U.S., where it was first mentioned in a 1977 New York Times publication. Named after Qing dynasty general and statesman Tso Tsung-tang, or Zuo Zongtang - who was an utterly ruthless military man. This dude quelled rebellions in record time, and he quickly climbed up the political/military ladder in China, eventually being appointed to the Qing Empire's Grand Council. He's also got a pretty taste meal named after him.

No recipe this time, but a quick good search will give you plenty of hits for techniques and sauces!

Vegan MOFO - Day 4

Day 4 - Caesar Salad



I've always fantasized that the Caesar salad was originally created in Italy by some gourmet chef or restauranteur to serve wealthy patrons as a contorno (side dish) alongside their Norcia truffle-infused risotto and bubbly golden Prosecco. Turns out, I'm not entirely wrong! 

Bit o' History: The original Caesar salad is said to be the creation of Caesar Cardini, an actual Italian immigrant that relocated to San Diego in the early twentieth-century (see, I was kind of right!). He set up shop in Tijuana, Mexico, where he allegedly sold his first monikered salad. Tijuana, you say? Yes, Mexico! Cardini operated out of Mexico to avoid Prohibition! On one fateful fourth of July - after much boozing, I imagine -  Cardini's cubbards were bare and his guests were hungry...naturally, he whipped up this little number - lettuce leaves tossed with a combination of crushed garlic, olive oil,  lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, raw or coddled egg yolks, Parmesan cheese and freshly prepared croutons - and prepared it table-side. 



Caesar Salad with Sliced Almonds

Folks were lovin' it back then, and they sure are lovin' it now. The Caesar has had many faces over the decades, and it's definitely proving itself a timeless edition to the dinner table.



Caesar Salad Dressing

Though we avoid the icky eggs, cheese and Worcestershire sauce, vegans are not immune to the adulation surrounding the Caesar (and most other foods). We've spent the better part of many Sunday afternoons picking apart the tasteful elements that go into the Caesar, and successful results have been plentiful.  I've seen hundreds and tried many recipes for a delicately creamy and pungently tangy dressing, most of which are fingertips-kissing-worthy. Why not add one more potatoe to the pot? Below you'll find my go-to recipe for Caesar salad.



Pour it on meh!

Vegan Caesar Salad

makes approximately 1.5 cups

Dressing

¾ cup slivered or sliced almonds, or a combination

4 garlic cloves

¾ cup plain, unsweetened nondairy milk

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon capers + brine

1 teaspoon mustard, I used Dijon

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Croutons

4-5 slices of stale bread

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

Freshly cracked black pepper

Salad

Romaine lettuce leaves, torn into pieces

Nutritional yeast, garnish

Sliced almonds, optional, garnish

Freshly cracked black pepper

Pulse almonds in a blender into a fine meal. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, about 5 minutes. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Preheat (toaster) oven to 350 degrees F. Stack bread slices on top of one another and slice into stips, turn, and slice into cubes. Toss with olive oil, minced garlic, nooch and pepper in a bowl or directly on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, turning once or twice.

Place lettuce leaves in a large bowl, pour about half of the dressing over the leaves and toss with tongs to coat evenly. Add nutritional yeast, almonds, pepper and WARM croutons. Serve in individual bowls – or don’t share and eat the whole thing. Yum!

Vegan MOFO - Day 3

Day 3 - Fettuccine Alfredo

I love noodles! There isn't a (vegan) noodle dish on the planet that I won't knock back in a heart's beat - a big bowl of soba with miso, a baked red ziti, and especially vermicelli tossed in a piquant peanut sauce. From wheat to rice to buckwheat, I love them all. When I settled on my MOFO theme, the noodle was the first thing to pop into my noodle!

I had my heart set on some velvety fettuccine weeks prior to MOFO, but took my time getting around to whipping any up. Now that MOFO is here, I can’t think of a better time to solidify the recipe I’ve been tweaking for the last few months. My Fettuccine Alfredo strays slightly from the original Roman pasta dish, and is more analogous to the Alfredo we know and love here in the United States.



Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Bit o’ History: Fettuccine Alfredo is naturally composed of fettuccine pasta, Parmesan cheese and butter, and was named by Italian restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio. It was first served in 1914 at de Lelio’s restaurant, Alfredo, and was prepared as a doppio burro (double butter) – de Lelio added butter both before and after the fettuccine was served. De Lelio eventually altered his recipe to a triplo burro (triple butter) to help his pregnant wife keep food down. De Lelio’s restaurant exploded in popularity over the next 50+ years and was made famous by dining actors, directors, and entrepreneurs. Even with the original Alfredo retiring in 1938, Alfredo’s (under new ownership, but with the same name, menu and traditional recipes) still lives on. There’s actually a location at Rockerfeller Center in NYC and in Epcot at Walt Disney World!

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

My recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo is more a pasta in bianco (pasta in white) and starts with a roux to kick start the ultra-rich, ultra-creamy sauce. I like to combine almost-equal parts soymilk and vegetable broth because I find many soymilk (or almond, hemp, etc.) sauces have a certain overpowering taste that takes away from their use in savory dishes.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Serves 4 Entrees

1 16oz box of Fettuccine noodles

4 tablespoons vegan butter, such as Earth Balance Buttery Spread

4 tablespoons flour, such as all-purpose

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup soymilk

1 ¼ cups vegetable broth

¼ cup plain soy creamer, optional (substitute more broth if omitting)

¼ cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Fresh basil, minced, optional

Set pasta water to boil.

Begin the sauce by melting the butter on medium heat. Once butter has completely melted, add the minced garlic and let cook approximately one minute. Add the flour and whisk constantly for three minutes, until a beautiful golden paste has developed (congratulations, you’ve made a roux!).

Add pasta to boiling water.

Slowly pour in the soymilk, broth, and creamer (if using), whisking continuously until all lumps have dissolved you’re left with just liquid. Add the nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, and basil (if using). Continue to whisk frequently over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken, approximately 10 minutes. Keep the heat and whisking going until the desired thickness has been reached. At this point, the sauce is ready to serve.*



velvety vegan Alfredo sauce

Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour most of the sauce over the noodles and stir to combine (you may have a little extra sauce, I did). Serve in a shallow bowl and garnish with more fresh basil. Viola!

*If not serving immediately, turn off the heat and keep the whisk and about ¼ cup of water, broth, or milk near by. The sauce will thicken as it sits. To return the sauce it your preferred consistency, whisk in 1 tablespoon of liquid at a time, until the sauce is creamy without being too thick.