Seitan Brisket with Roasted Chanterelle Gravy

Seitan Brisket with Roasted Chanterelle Gravy pg. 200 & pg. 235

The day is finally here!  My last recipe from Crazy Sexy Kitchen.  I started this project October 29th, 2012.  Truthfully, two days into this project I panicked.  I was freaked.  The thought of cooking my way through CSK was starting to set in.  My family & friends pretty much thought I had lost it, and I wasn't sure I could pull it off.  We all know how this story ends though, I did it.  I committed to finishing this cookbook.  Yes, it was totally CRAZY, but guess what I now have some awesome skills in the kitchen, and that is SEXY!  If you really want to learn how to cook, pick up a cookbook and fully immerse yourself in it.  Any type of cookbook, vegan or not, if you make it through to the end you will know how to cook!  With that being said, if you want to be better at anything you just have to dive in and do it, and do whatever it is a lot.  Writing, cooking and pictures were all skills I perfected as this project went on. 

Today was the Seitan Brisket.  This recipe terrified me.  I had no concept what Seitan Brisket even was until today.  Guess what, not as scary as I thought, and in fact it was pretty good.  Here is what you will need for the brisket and gravy.  FYI I forgot to add the maple syrup in the brisket ingredient picture, and the Tamari in the gravy picture.  Go figure my last pictures and I goofed up.

Seitan Brisket Ingredients

You will make your sauce for the brisket first, and then the dough.  Seitan is wheat gluten in case you are like me and had no idea what it was!  It literally feels like bread dough.  You will knead it like bread.  It reminded me of pizza dough as I strived to give it a nice loaf shape.

You will baste the seitan for over an hour as it cooks.   It was essentially vegan meatloaf, or that is at least what my husband thought it looked like, and it totally did.

The one issue I had while preparing this dish was when the recipe asks you to flip the seitan after 30 minutes of cooking.  I did do it, but I needed help from my husband.  The brisket was hot and still soft.  I was afraid it might tear.  It was a bit tricky, so beware.  Your house will smell divine while this cooks.

Now, did I love seitan? Truth... No.  I did like it.  I think for me it was about texture.  When you aren't used to certain textures it takes time.   The flavor was great. 

Next up is the Roasted Chanterelle Gravy.

This was the best gravy I have ever had.  It will be a staple in my house for every holiday from here on out.  I know my kids will be begging me to make it for more than just special occasions.  They love mashed potatoes and gravy.  It was absolutely delicious. 

Yum!

So I really did it.  I am not sure what I hoped would come from devoting most of my free time to cooking my way through CSK?  In the beginning I half joked Kris might come to dinner.  It would be cool to have a dinner with Kris, but now I want Chad to come as well.   I came into this deal kinda obsessed with Kris because we all know she is pretty rad.  The thing is Chef Sarno is awesome too!  I just didn't know him before CSK, but I got to know him through his great recipes.  He generously re-Tweeted me almost every time I posted something to Twitter, and liked all my pictures on Instagram.  He didn't have to do that.  I am fans of both of them now.

So I put the invitation out there to Kris and Chad - breakfast, lunch or dinner anytime! Although, Chef Sarno I think I would like you to do the cooking, and Kris you could fill my soul with all your spiritual and business smarts!  My husband and I would love to meet you both.  I will be sending my cookbook your way for you both to autograph.  I warn you it is quite stained and tattered.  It was by my side virtually everyday for about 4 1/2 months!

What's next?  Who knows!  I would love to post a follow up story with all the magical things that happened after I completed CSK.  I promise if anything interesting happens I will let you know...  Thank you for all your support.  I appreciate you stopping by everyday.

To my amazing husband, thank you for encouraging me every single day and helping me so much!  You are by far the most amazing person I know.  I love you!  My hubby gave me this American Greeting card for my birthday, and I think it pretty much sums up everything for The Crazy Sexy Kitchen Project...

Beetroot Ravioli & Zucchini Carpaccio

Beetroot Ravioli with Cashew Cream pg. 193
Zucchini Carpaccio pg. 215

As Valentine's Day fast approaches I spent part of today helping my 4 yr. old get his Star Wars Valentine's ready for his class party tomorrow. (He only has school every other day.)  Love is in the air!  Can you feel it? I totally did today when both Kris Carr and Chef Chad Sarno Tweeted me! So cool!

In honor of the day of "love" I have a couple more options for your Valentine's dinner.  I personally don't really like to go out to dinner on Valentine's Day. The service usually sucks as places are overcrowded.  So to stay in and make a yummy dinner for those you love is where it's at in my house.  Great food and good wine make me a happy girl.

The Beetroot Ravioli would be an amazing main dish to serve.  They are absolutely delish.  My family thought they were awesome.  My teen son could not stop eating them.  That is always so rewarding to see the kids eating new and healthy foods that they love. It wasn't hard to make these either.  Yeah! The hardest part for me was trying to slice the beets paper thin. 

I don't have any kitchen tools to get the beets thin enough, so I had to do my best with a knife.  I actually tried various knives as I tried to perfect the thinness.  The ravioli filling was a Cashew Cream Cheese which is scrumptious.  I have made this before, and here is a link if you want to check it out. http://crazysexykitchenproject.blogspot.com/2012/12/mediterranean-wrap-with-cashew-cream.html  I had no idea you can eat beets without cooking them.  The greens on the plate are asparagus that are peeled really thin as well. Again, all I can say is yum. This meal is totally raw!  The ravioli were so addicting, and the color just screams Valentine's Day.  Here is what you will need when you decide to make them.

I also made Zucchini Carpaccio to serve with the ravioli.

 It was a light yet flavorful dish.  The toasted pine nuts were a great compliment to the zucchini. 

Besides everything tasting so darn good, you walk away from this meal feeling totally stuffed, and not the least bit guilty.  You just gave yourself a Valentine's gift.  A healthy, flavorful and beautiful meal. Happy Valentine's Day!

Crazy Sexy Tacos

Crazy Sexy Breakfast Tacos pg. 106
Crazy Sexy Refried Beans pg. 215
Sprouted Lentil & Heirloom Salsa pg. 242

Tacos, Beans & Salsa Ole!

With meals like this everyone would be vegan and loving it!  You miss nothing from this trio of amazing dishes, and when combined together it makes some delicious tacos.

Now, if someone could tell my kids this maybe they would believe you because they are having a hard time listening to me.  I keep trying to offer them all this delicious food and they just want fried crap.  I swear, never ever cave when your kids are young and give them junk food. It is so hard to get them back from the dark side.  My son ended up liking everything tonight, but I am getting sick of the eye roll before each meal.  This is the best I have ever ever cooked and I still have to bribe my kids to eat their veggies. Not to mention, I think my husband is so over my preoccupation with everything regarding this project because we have fought 2 days in a row which totally sucks!  Frustration... 

On a positive note I  absolutely loved this combo of recipes together.  So don't let my unenthusiastic family scare you off!

First up is Sprouted Lentil & Heirloom Salsa.  I didn't use heirlooms, but it was great with vine ripened tomatoes.  I had never thought about putting lentils in my salsa before.  It seems lentils aren't just for soup anymore.  I used red lentils.  They cook up pretty fast, and have excellent flavor.  Lentils are great because they are jammed packed with fiber and protein.

Next up is Crazy Sexy Refried Pinto Beans.  It is so amazing how easily you can doctor up canned beans.  Adding a little bit of onion, jalapeno and vegetable broth and these beans were incredible.  Mash the beans a bit to get a coarse puree.

All the recipes were pretty quick to put together.  The lentils needed to be soaked for a hour or more so they become sprouted.  I am still new to this whole process of sprouting things, and  probably could use an explanation on the subject.  So if anyone knows leave me a comment.

Here is where the magic happens.  Combine all these recipes and prepare to smile!

In the past I would have thought cheese needed to be part of a meal like this, but it just isn't the case.  As I eliminate dairy from my diet I am finding I don't miss it.  Fresh ingredients fill in the gaps and leave you so fulfilled.

Now I am going to pull the covers over my head as my family rolls their eyes at me.

Horseradish Cream & Punk-Rock Potato Salad

Horseradish Cream pg. 240

Horseradish Cream

Today I was a cooking fool! I got a little overzealous at Whole Foods the other day buying ingredients.  Then I got lazy and didn't feel like cooking.  I would have been so pissed at myself if I let anything go to waste.  So today I just started making one thing after another.  I think I was in the kitchen for hours.  Just cooking not so bad, but cooking and taking pictures is a little time consuming.  So it was totally understandable that my my kids and I were still in our pj's at lunch. Right?!

The thing is I was having a great time doing it all.  The kids were in the kitchen playing with play dough.  My older son was helping me peel potatoes.  It was an awesomely productive day.  The original Julie/Julia Julie Powell may have had way more recipes to cook, but she wasn't photographing all her recipes.  I would have loved to see it if she did.  It would have been so fun.  Instead, we have the movie to help us envision all she went through.  I love that movie, but pictures of the real thing would have been cool.

I started the day making Cashew Aioli which I had made before. Check out the link:
http://crazysexykitchenproject.blogspot.com/2012/11/cashew-aioli-artichoke-aioli.html

I quickly turned that into Horseradish Cream.  I had bought a huge horseradish root recently for the Crostini's I made at New Years and wanted to use it again.  The guy at Whole Foods who helped me find the root gave me the biggest root possible. (I swear he must have laughed at me when I walked away with that big thing!) I didn't know any different because I had never seen horseradish root before. I didn't check the price, but by the size of it I think it was expensive!  So I am using it all.  Here is what you will need to make Horseradish Cream.  You only need maybe an inch of horseradish root.  Not like the foot of it I have!

Once you make this awesome recipe you can use it lots of different ways.  You can make Horseradish Cream Crostini's. Yum!

You can make my personal favorite Punk-Rock Potato Salad!  This is probably the best potato salad I have ever had.   Here is what you will need. ( I also added a white onion.)

Just remember you will need to soak cashews in preparation for this recipe.  I have made 77 recipes from Crazy Sexy Kitchen, and I can honestly say I would make almost all of them again and again.  That is pretty impressive Chef Sarno!

Truffled Edamame Dumplings

Truffled Edamame Dumplings with Shallot Broth pg. 147
Basic Asian Marinade pg. 226

Truffled Edamame Dumplings

It is the last day of 2012!  Have you made any resolutions?  Me, I always try to make a few.  Not that I always keep them. I vowed to do yoga everyday last year.  Promising myself to become limber enough to touch my toes, but I traded yoga in for running.  I decided a firm butt was more important!  Here are my 2013 resolutions:
Run 5 miles without walking.  I can do it, right!  I am only at 3 miles...
Travel some place new with my hubby. Hmmm, I can't wait to see where it will be...
Laugh until I cry. (Without being tickled!)
Take my kids on an adventure. (or 2 or 3)
Finish cooking my way through Crazy Sexy Kitchen!

Truffled Edamame Dumplings with Shallot Broth are the last in a trio of delicious appetizers to serve at your party tonight.  This one will take a bit of planning to make.  You have to soak some cashews in preparation.  Not to mention finding vegan potsticker shells proved to be a bit of a challenge.  Whole Foods didn't have them, but a local Asian supermarket did.  The broth can be made first and set aside.  It doesn't take too long to make.  Here is what you will need for the broth.

Shallot Broth Ingredients

After you make the filling you will need to set up a work station to fill the dumplings.  I found I had a tendency to overfill the dumplings at first, but once I got the hang of it they came together.  Here is what you will need for the filling, and a peak at the work station I created.

Dumpling Ingredients

Once the dumplings are browned you are to steam them.  Make sure you brown them enough, otherwise I think the dumplings taste doughy.  When Steaming the dumplings Chef Sarno suggests putting some sort of leafy vegetable down in the steamer to prevent them from sticking to the pan. I used romaine.

I also made an Asian Marinade to dip the dumplings in as well as the Shallot Broth.  This marinade is delicious. ( Not that the Shallot one isn't.)  The Asian one is spicy and really addicting.  When I make this recipe again I will probably skip the Shallot Broth and just make the Asian Marinade. The spice was just so good!  Although, my kids liked the Shallot Broth, so I guess I am stuck making both. Here is what you will need to add a little kick to your dumplings.

Asian Marinade Ingredient

This recipe was a success with the family.  I would totally recommend getting your family or friends to help you make them. Someone to stuff the dumplings, another to fry, while another is in charge of steaming.  Lastly, everyone eat them!  They are awesome!

Now tell me one of your New Year's resolutions.  Leave me a comment and tell me what you plan to on doing in 2013.  I would love to hear it!  Have a safe and Happy New Year! 

One last thing, Chef Sarno tweeted me that this was his favorite recipe in Crazy Sexy Kitchen!  So listen to the man, make these Dumplings and start 2013 with a bang.  You will love it too!


  

Mediterranean Wrap with Cashew Cream Cheese

Mediterranean Warp with Cashew Cream Cheese pg. 131 & 237

Mediterranean Wrap

It is safe to say that I am positively exhausted! Christmas is a week a way, and it is kicking my ass.  I am feeling slightly burnt out in every aspect of my day.  I am just putting one foot in front of the other in hopes that a good nights sleep gives me the energy to complete my to do lists tomorrow...

On a more positive note, I got a cool reply to my last tweet from Chef Chad Sarno last night.  It gave me a burst of energy before I totally collapsed of exhaustion.  He said that the Chickpea Crepe was one of his favorite recipes in Crazy Sexy Kitchen.  I tell ya, it is the rosemary in the crepe batter.  It pretty much makes you want to lick the bowl.  It is so fricken awesome to get a tweet,  retweet or reply on a tweet from Chef Sarno or Kris Carr.  It always feels like a virtual high five.  It never gets old or boring.  It is always a thrill! Imagine Julie Powell from Julie/Julia having gotten a tweet from Julia Childs.  She would have been so excited.  That is how I feel!

Today I made a really delicious lunch.  It was simple to make and very fulfilling.  You start by making a Cashew Cream Cheese.  The recipe makes enough cream cheese for many wraps.  The only thing you need to remember for the recipe is to soak the cashews the night before you want to prepare the cream cheese.  That way you will get a really creamy sauce.  Here is what you will need for your cream cheese and wrap.

Cashew Cream Cheese

The sun dried tomatoes and capers are so fantastic in the wrap.  Now that I have made the cream cheese, I will be able to enjoy this for lunch all week.  I heated my tortilla on the burner for a few seconds to soften it before I prepared my wrap.  You will think twice about making a boring sandwich once you make this Mediterranean Wrap. 

Quick and easy for those busy days ahead. 

Polenta. Marinara & Mushrooms

Recipe 35, 36, &37
Sage Polenta pg. 221
Nana's Marinara pg. 229
Garlicky Mushrooms pg. 207

Tonight was an Italian feast.  The house smelled amazing with the aroma of garlic and onion.  It was a trifecta of recipes.  Each deserving their own due respect.

Sage Polenta & Nana's Marinara

I have never had polenta until today.  I actually had to Google polenta while at the grocery store.  I wasn't sure if I was buying a pasta, rice or bread?  It is a type of cornmeal. It was a little grainier than the cornmeal I use in gravy.  I did a little research on it and came across an article asking, "What is Polenta?"  Check it out: http://www.thekitchn.com/good-question-what-is-polenta-88313  I tell you it is riveting stuff!! Polenta reminds me a little of couscous in flavor, but more mushy in consistency.  The fresh sage in it tastes awesome. The recipe made a ton, so plan on having leftovers.  What makes the recipe come to life is Nana's Marinara sauce poured on top.  It is such a nice change from pasta. Here are the ingredients for the polenta.

My whole family was doing cartwheels for this marinara sauce.  Funny too because it was a cinch to make.  I cheated and used canned crushed tomatoes.  So my sauce was done lickety split.  I would double what the recipe calls for because having so much polenta leftover you will want a bit more  marinara.  Before starting this challenge I would just buy a jar of Ragu when it came to making Italian.  Who knew how easy fresh homemade sauce would be to make!  The sauce calls for a red serrano chile but I could only find a green chile.  I also added a little red chile flakes.  Hopefully Nana won't be too mad that I tweaked her recipe a bit. Here is what you will need to buy to have your family doing cartwheels too. 

The recipe that makes this meal a trifecta was the Garlicky Mushrooms.  DON'T CROWD THE MUSHROOMS!  Where have you heard that before? Yep, a direct quote from Julia/Julia.  It is true though.  I had no idea how great these would be, and how well they would compliment the rest of the meal.  You put a little polenta, marinara and a mushroom on your fork and you will be saying YUM!  Make sure to keep cooking the mushrooms until the liquid is evaporated and then add chives.

This whole meal will be part of my rotation of meals I make my family from now on.  Everyone was smiling and very full at the end of dinner.  Not to mention did I say leftovers?  We get to have it again tomorrow night.  I told you, "Trifecta!"