BiblioFoodography

It’s been a while since my last recap, and I figured my bibliomenu needs to be in full working order for when Mom and Dad visit next week. They need to be fully aware of what cuisine Chez Autofoodie is capable of in case they’re lucky enough to get a home-cooked meal. But perhaps they’ll get something brand new instead! Either way, ALL can have fun with the nearly 100 dishes listed below in its full interactive capabilities. For all, I hope this inspires you to try some new dishes and tell me what you think of them.

*!* If I Had To Eat One From Each Category Right Now

Breakfast

Asiago & Jalapeño Scrambled Eggs

Baked Eggs

Fried Egg Sandwich

Greek Baked Eggs*!*

Over Easy Eggs

Poached Eggs

Scrambled Eggs

Sunny Side Up Eggs

Salads, Snacks, Appetizers, Sides and Bite Size Food

Apple, Citrus Green Salad with Maple Vinaigrette & Shaved Parmesan

Asiago Cheese Puffs

Baked Ziti Cups

Black Bean Crunch Salad with Garlic Olive Vinaigrette

Black Beans and Rice

Bruschetta Fresca

Cheddar, Sage & Tomato Puff Pastry Amuse-Bouche*!*

Chicken Caesar Dipping Skewers

Dijon Mustard Popcorn

Famous Crunchy Asian Salad

Famous Panzanella

Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips

Insalata Caprese Skewers

Italian Roasted Fennel

Mini Pizzas

Mini Quiches with Cheez-It Crust

Mushroom Mascarpone Naan Pizza

Panzanella

Puffed Pigs in a Blanket

Pineapple Cream Cheese Wontons

Pretzels and OJ

Roasted Tomatoes

White Wine Mushroom Medley

Whole Wheat, Oven-Baked Onion Rings

Wild Mushroom Soup

Wild Mushroom & Soy Crumble Asian Dumplings

Winter Vegetable Mash

Accoutrements

Ben’s Catsup

Fresh Salsa*!*

Greek Yogurt Cheese

Quick Trick Polenta

Tangy & Sweet Fruit Dip

Tomato Baba Ghanoush

Wonton Wrapper Chips

Wonton Wrapper Noodles

Main Dishes

Arugula, Mushroom, Cheddar and Gouda Quesadilla

Bagel Panzanella

Black Bean Sliders with Tangy Slaw

Buckwheat Noodle and Sesame Nori Pasta

Chicken Vegetable Wrap

Chili-Corona Chicken Skewer Tower*!*

Crispy Asian Empanadas

Crispy Italian Rice Patties over Salad

Eggplant Cheddarean

EVOO Polenta Salad

Faked Baked Ziti

Feta Leek Stuffed Tomatoes

Fresh Tostadas

Ginger Sticky Rice

Heirloom Tomato Pie

Homemade Pasta with Zesty Truffle Sauce

Leek Burgers

Lobster Sticky Rice

Margarita Pizza with Homemade White Crust

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Mushroom Risotto

Pork Tenderloin Sliders with Tangy Slaw

Quick Trick Ravioli with Polenta

Red Onion & Goat Cheese Tart

Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Seared New York Strip Steak

Slow-Cooked BBQ Pork Tenderloin

Slow-Cooked Indian Sweet Potato Soup

Slow-Cooked Soft Polenta with Hot and Cold Toppers

Spinach and Kalamata Cannelloni

Stuffed Avocados

Stuffed Bell Peppers (a la Jamie Oliver)

Super Spaghetti

Tangy Toastadas

Truffle Butter & Leek Linguine

Ultimate Black Bean Soup

Vegetable Wonton Wrapper Potstickers

Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Scampi

Whole Wheat Veggie Pita Pizza

Wild Mushroom and Arugula Pizza with Homemade Whole Wheat Crust

Wonton Wrapper Raviolis

Desserts

All Natural Sweet Tart

Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Milk Shakes

Chocolate Shot Trio

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

Cinnamon Toast Quesadilla*!*

Cinnamon and Powdered Sugar Homemade Doughnuts

Marzipan

Mexican Drinking Chocolate

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Mini Jelly Rolls

Nutella and Banana Paninis

Salty Fruit Salad

Drinks

Soda Lite

Strawberry Smoothie*!*

Farewell to Wheels

Today: my last ride on the bus that started autoFoodography. The Crystal City metro shuttle that added up to 20 minutes to my commute and countless characters to your cortexes. Following our move, next week my commute will be halved, but I'm hoping I still harness in enough time to haphazardly continue my culinary-literary hijinks. My culinary journey will not end but improve and invariably incite my innovation. My literary drive will never fade into melancholy malaise. And my creative wheels will continue to turn, despite never again happening atop the turning wheels of a bus. So don't fear the retirement of the bus ride lyrics upon my move, get excited for the countless dishes I'll be making in my new kitchen and the restaurants I'll be trying in my new neighborhoods. As for finding the time to construct the words on a severely shortened commute: leave that one to me. If you continue to share your time reading, I'll continue to share my time writing.

Stuffed Avocado Creations

One of the more frustrating times to cook can be when you're trying to use up a lot of different ingredients. But I particularly like these times, as I can get creative and innovate a little. This week we're going out of town and next week we're moving, so we're trying to use up perishable (for the former) and non-perishable (for the latter) like they're going out of style. This all led to an extremely tasty dish last night that I made up off the top of my head, with only some stray ingredients as muse. Stuffed avocados.

Well who's ever heard of stuffed avocados? I hadn't, but I had these two ripe avocados and not a whole lot else to base a dinner around. But then I saw we had some leftover black beans, a can of diced tomatoes, some fresh tomatoes, a little bit of red onion…and before long I had the idea in mind.

I halved my avocados as neatly as possible and removed the large pits with a knife. Then I carefully scooped all of the avocado out of each half into a bowl, such that the skins were as clean as possible. I immediately squeezed a stray half lemon over the avocado flesh so it wouldn't brown. Then I added my black beans, a diced fresh tomato and some canned tomatoes, and the remaining eighth of red onion. I also added a large dollop of some tangy salsa verde that we had in the fridge. I added a small pinch of sea salt and pepper and a few swigs of Tabasco sauce and mixed the whole concoction together.

I then sprayed each empty avocado shell with nonfat cooking spray and sprinkled with a little sea salt for flavor. Then I filled each shell very full with the mixture and placed them on a cookie sheet. Lastly I grated a small amount of cheddar cheese that we had left in the fridge over the top of each stuffed avocado. I roasted these in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. When they were done, the cheese was perfectly melted and the stuffing had warmed and cooked together quite nicely.

I used up some remaining corn chips to be the avocado “utensils”/“scoops” and some margarita mix, seltzer, tequila and limes to make some light margarita spritzers. It turned into a nice, light Tex Mex dinner that was very easy to concoct. The flavor of the stuffed avocado was a nice combination of salty, tangy and savory. Julia just loved them and said they reminded her of a fancy, individualized seven-layer dip inside each avocado half. I thought they were quite tasty as well and happy that this new idea came out so well and so smoothly. Plus, I was even happier that I used up so many remaining bits of ingredients in the process.

The 100th

100! Well I suppose I deserve to pat myself on the back a little. Or maybe not. TV shows make a big deal about their milestone episodes, but then again, it takes a show years of keeping its head above water in the cut-throat television industry to reach that magical number. A writer could write a thousand episodes of their TV show, but if it gets cancelled at episode 99, it does not matter. So it's not like anyone is stopping me from churning out 800-word pieces into the deep abyss of the Internet. I can't really get cancelled – unless Blogger or GoDaddy got really expensive, or folded themselves. In fact, this has recently become a subsistence blog, and I thank you. So click away.

But in all honesty, it is not about time or popularity and definitely not about money. It is about me wanting to impart a little of my culinary passion, creativity and anecdotes to you and hopefully getting a few impartings back my way from you in the meantime. I don't look at 100 blogs as anything to rest my, well, fingers on unless I had no more ideas, no more foods to try, restaurants to experience or dishes to create. But there are so many more. Thousands more. My passion has only been enlivened by the equally passionate reactions from readers whom I already knew and from those I've met along the way.

If you've loved my 22 restaurant review entries, expect many more. I've been double publishing many of my reviews on Menuism.com, a really neat restaurant reviewing community. I was even awarded the Menuism October Restaurant Review of the Month for my very first review I posted – on one of my favorite DC restaurants, Zaytinya. I hope to write many more reviews that instantly grab you and make you intrigued and hungry, like that one did.

If you have enjoyed my 52 personal recipe entries, I can guarantee that you will see more and more, as I love nothing more than to create dishes (and subsequently talk about them). I am even honing my cheffing skills by testing out a few local amateur culinary instruction businesses, including the newly-opened and very intriguing CulinAerie in DC. I can't wait to attend my class on crepes. I guarantee you'll see a crepe or two of my own on here after that.

And if you've enjoyed my 26 pieces on nutritional and other culinary philosophies, then you can continue to read in peace, for my soapbox is never too far away. I try to impart what I truly believe and reflect how I truly act, not how I'm supposed to. While I try to be healthy and nutritious, I'm not going to pretend that I never get a hankering for fried chicken. That is me.

So now, rather than bore you with more of my blither blather, I'll close with one of my signatures: a top ten list, of my personal favorite entries thus far. And get ready for the biggest top list of them all (so far) for Entry #101. Because as my motto has always been, when tomorrow arrives, the BeaT goes on.

My Top 10 Favorites (This was a very hard cut.)

10. Leek Burgers - One of my more innovative dishes. Also see Eggplant Cheddarean, Pie In The Sky and Vegetarian Scampi -- okay so I cheated a little.

9. Top 10(12) Olympic Cuisines - I'll always have an answer to "what is your favorite food?" after this. Sort of.

8. Olive You, Olive You Fanatically - Actually started a little food vs. wine debate.

7. Bottom Ten Trans - Contains a lot that surprises people.

6. A Word From The Pickle Snob - Purely me.

5. That Place - Even more purely me. A funny one too.

4. Julia's Dinner Party - An awesome family occasion that I'll always want to look back on through this series. Course 2 -- Course 3 -- Course 4. The supplementary comments from my Dad are fantastic.

3. Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - For my Ann Arbor culinary nostalgia.

2. Popeye's Psychodrama - This one still cracks me up (see fried chicken reference above)

1. Zay Yes - Hey, you can't mess with award-winning.

The Food I WroATE II

Every so often I recap the dishes that I have presented, so you can revisit the ones you’ve missed or the ones you still want to make, with links to the original thoughts and recipes. Have fun with the over 60 dishes listed below! If you're reading this through E-mail, you will have to type in www.autofoodography.com in order to receive the full interactive nature of this post. For all, I hope this inspires you to try some new dishes and tell me what you think of them.

Stay tuned for even more of my favorite dishes in the days and weeks to come! As always, I welcome any and all of your comments, suggestions and recipe contributions, so if you haven’t already, please let me know in a comment or direct contact what you like, what you don’t like and what you’d like to see in the near future.

*!* If I Had To Eat One From Each Category Right Now

Breakfast

Asiago & Jalapeño Scrambled Eggs

Baked Eggs

Fried Egg Sandwich

Greek Baked Eggs*!*

Over Easy Eggs

Poached Eggs

Scrambled Eggs

Sunny Side Up Eggs

Salads, Snacks, Appetizers, Sides and Bite Size Food

Asiago Cheese Puffs

Chicken Caesar Dipping Skewers

Dijon Mustard Popcorn

Insalata Caprese Skewers

Italian Roasted Fennel

Mini Pizzas

Mini Quiches with Cheez-It Crust

Mushroom Mascarpone Naan Pizza*!*

Panzanella

Pigs in a Blanket, Rethought

Pineapple Cream Cheese Wontons

Pretzels and OJ

Whole Wheat, Oven-Baked Onion Rings

Wild Mushroom Soup

Accoutrements

Ben’s Catsup

Greek Yogurt Cheese*!*

Wonton Wrapper Chips

Wonton Wrapper Noodles

Main Dishes

Arugula, Mushroom, Cheddar and Gouda Quesadilla

Buckwheat Noodle and Sesame Nori Pasta

Chicken Vegetable Wrap

Crispy Asian Empanadas

Crispy Italian Rice Patties over Salad

Eggplant Cheddarean*!*

EVOO Polenta Salad

Feta Leek Stuffed Tomatoes

Ginger Sticky Rice

Leek Burgers

Margarita Pizza with Homemade White Crust

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Mushroom Risotto

Slow-Cooked Indian Sweet Potato Soup

Spinach and Kalamata Cannelloni

Super Spaghetti

Tangy Toastadas

Truffle Butter & Leek Linguine

Ultimate Black Bean Soup

Vegetable Wonton Wrapper Potstickers

Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Scampi

Wild Mushroom and Arugula Pizza with Homemade Whole Wheat Crust

Wonton Wrapper Raviolis

Desserts

All Natural Sweet Tart

Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

Marzipan

Mexican Drinking Chocolate

Mini Cinnamon Rolls*!*

Mini Jelly Rolls

Nutella and Banana Paninis

Drinks

Soda Lite

Strawberry Smoothie*!*

The Food I WroAte

Every so often I’ll recap the dishes I have presented from the last every-so-often or so, so you can revisit the ones you’ve missed or the ones you still want to make, with links to the original thoughts and recipes. If you're reading this through E-mail or Facebook, you will have to type in www.autofoodography.com in order to receive the full interactive nature of this post. For all, I hope this inspires you to try some new dishes and tell me what you think of them.

Stay tuned for even more of my favorite dishes in the days and weeks to come! As always, I welcome any and all of your comments, suggestions and recipe contributions, so if you haven’t already, please let me know in a comment or direct contact what you like, what you don’t like and what you’d like to see in the near future.

* Healthy Choice

+ Vegetarian-friendly

! If I Had To Eat One From Each Category Right Now

Breakfast

· Over Easy Eggs*+!

· Poached Eggs*+

Salads, Snacks and Bite Size Food

· Chicken Caesar Dipping Skewers

· Insalata Caprese Skewers+

· Mini Pizzas+

· Dijon Mustard Popcorn*+

· Mini Quiches with Cheez-It Crust+

· Panzanella+!

· Pigs in a Blanket, Rethought

· Pineapple Cream Cheese Wontons+

Accoutrements

· Greek Yogurt Cheese*+!

· Wonton Wrapper Chips*+

· Wonton Wrapper Noodles*+

Main Dishes

· Buckwheat Noodle and Sesame Nori Pasta*+

· Crispy Italian Rice Patties over Salad*+

· Chicken Vegetable Wrap*

· EVOO Polenta Salad*+

· Margarita Pizza with Homemade White Crust*+

· Mediterranean Lentil Salad*+

· Tangy Toastadas*+!

· Ultimate Black Bean Soup*+

· Vegetable Wonton Wrapper Potstickers*+

· Wild Mushroom and Arugula Pizza with Homemade Whole Wheat Crust*+

· Wonton Wrapper Raviolis+

Desserts

· Birthday Cake Ice Cream+

· Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies+

· Marzipan*+!

· Nutella and Banana Paninis+

Drinks

· Soda Lite*+!

· Strawberry Smoothie*+

Frankenstein's Legume

Yes, you'd never believe it! Lentils are incredible. Not just in exotic ethnic cuisines, not just pulverized in lentil soup. But good old genuine lentils.

They come in many varieties -- green, black, red, even beluga (the tiny super black ones) -- large and small and from different origins. But they all have a few important items in common: lots of fiber, lots of protein and very little fat. An amalgamation of some of the best nutritional aspects a food can hope to have. These are some of the best calories you could possibly consume. Eating a medium sized portion of cooked lentils is the equivalent nutritionally of eating the leanest possible piece of meat without any cholesterol and the most high fiber serving of whole grains with no fat. And it's a legume! A pretty darn cheap one at that! Yes, with 8-12 grams of fiber (32-48%DV) per quarter cup and 9-13 grams of protein (18-26%DV) and no grams of fat, it is my own personal super food, my Frankenfood, the best 120 calories you'll ever eat.

So you're probably wondering what to do with this freakish combination of nutrition (a la Frankenstein). How about a simple, elegant and beautifully tasty Mediterranean lentil salad? You can use any size or color lentil here, but I think the smaller and darker the better for this salad (like the beluga or black varieties). Simply follow the package's directions for preparing the lentils. Usually it involves bringing lentils up to a boil in a pan with a little salt and then letting them simmer for another 15-20 minutes. It basically hydrates and heats them. Once done I would drain the lentils and transfer them to a large bowl. It doesn't matter how much you make, since it is salad and is even great cold as leftovers.

While your lentils are cooking, it us a good idea to finely chop at least one tomato and half of a red onion per half cup of dry lentils. You might also want a few sprigs of cilantro or basil chopped as well, depending on your tastes. Then, also chop up a hunk of feta cheese, maybe two to three ounces, or use already crumbled feta. It is also good to make a balsamic vinaigrette now too. Mix one part good balsamic vinegar (the thicker the better) with two parts extra virgin olive oil. Whisk it hard while drizzling in the olive oil. Allow it to thicken somewhat and add some salt and pepper.

Once the lentils are in the bowl, add the onions, tomatoes, herbs and cheese. Mix them together and then add the vinaigrette over the top, mixing again. You can add more pepper and a little more salt to taste. Serve over dark greens like arugula or mache. It is really delicate and delicious either warm or cold, and is just a smooth, comfortable and quite easy meal. No grains are really needed; no meat is needed. All because of our tiny, little amalgamated legume star.

Crusty Craving

You know that pizza craving you get sometimes? Almost all of us get it. Some of us every week and some only a couple times a year. I don't even get it very often at all, but when it hits me, it hits me hard. So what was I to do when it hit me right after we decided to "go healthy" for a while. Pizza often has trans fat but always has saturated fat, a ton of sodium and empty carbs. Let's just say, there are no diets that really sanction pizza, the "healthy fast food."

So what to do? Without losing all the goodness of pizza. Shouldn't we be able to make pizza that is pretty healthy at home that still has the character of pizza? I mean, truly healthy pizza would be a revelation for many. I may not have quite gotten there yet, but we got pretty creative to quell my pizza craving last week, so I thought I could at least share a few hints toward getting there.

THE CRUST. Well you could make your own, but I am not going to tell you to do that, since it's not exactly the simplest thing. Still, the fresher and more natural your dough is, the better it's going to taste and the healthier it's going to be. No additives, minimal oil and salt, and no hidden trans fat. What I will tell you to do is to buy fresh dough at the grocery store if they have it (Trader Joe's has excellent fresh dough available). Here, you can get a dough that is not processed, has less unhealthy ingredients. Plus, they have a whole wheat option as well, for added fiber and less refined carbs. Then, you can just roll them out at home, pre-bake or grill for a couple minutes, top, and finish in the oven or on the grill until brown. Of course, the thinner the crust, the way fewer the calories per slice, so keep that in mind.

THE SAUCE. I am a big proponent of putting plain tomatoes on a pizza rather than sauce, but don't be fooled into thinking that's the healthier option. I have read (and even heard on Oprah) that tomato sauce (or other cooked tomato) has over 60 times the nutrients of raw tomatoes. This is antioxidants and cancer-reducing lycopine. Good things. Cooking the tomatoes just concentrates them, so go for sauce. It's the healthiest part of the pizza! Just don't use sauce with oil or too much salt -- they are really unnecessary in a good sauce and will detract from the healthiness of your sauce.

THE CHEESE. The key is not having too much cheese. A two inch layer of cheese will send a pizza to hundreds of calories and tens of fat grams per slice, whereas a thin layer of cheese will be much more health friendly. Pretty straight forward? Yes, but sparsely sprinkling mozzarella would look weird on a pizza and be weird, you're asking me. Yes, that's why I say to use fresh mozzarella! It has a really nice, soft flavor when melted on pizza and naturally thins out when it melts. Also, it has a lot less salt and often less fat than its processed and shredded counterpart. Also, if you've ever had an authentic Italian pizza with fresh mozz, it is often a little sparse even and does not take away from the experience of the pie. So it's easiest to do a nice thin, possibly sparse layer of cheese and still have it add all the punch necessary from cheese on a pizza, with fresh mozzarela.

THE TOPPINGS. Here is where you can get creative, but also where you can lose that pizza's healthy pedigree pronto. If you're going to add meat, it is a must to use lean, fresh meat that you've prepared yourself. Try shredded white chicken or even grilled shrimp. Anything processed is going to be heavily salted and extremely fattening. But the vegetables are the keys. Fill your pie, your eyes and your stomach with lots of good low-cal veggies and it will make the pizza go a lot further, a lot healthier. Bell peppers, kalamata olives, fresh tomatoes, basil are nice simple ingredients that will add zing but not overbear your pizza. My favorite? Add a huge amount of fresh arugula over the top of the pizza when it is done. It adds a ton of volume to the entire pizza and such great flavor, temperature and texture contrast too. It is amazing and SO good for you. It is a great way to add vegetables and avoid too much fat, calories or salt on your pizza.

With your thin, whole-wheat-crusted fresh Trader Joe's dough pie with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, kalamata olives, fresh tomatoes, basil and a whole heap of arugula, you'll be in heaven. I know I was last week. It not only quelled my pizza craving, but I didn't even feel bad doing it. Plus I was full after a couple pieces, even though at that calorie level, I probably could have eaten twice as much and still not have felt bad. I highly recommend thinking outside the unhealthy pizza box next time you want pizza and try a few of my healthy pizza tips.

Julia’s Test Kitchen: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

For me (Julia), baking cookies is very relaxing. This is probably because I have a tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe that I am convinced can’t be messed up. Accidently adding an extra splash of vanilla or not quite enough salt only adds to their character, and they seem to be more delicious and to please more people every time I make them. Every once in a while, however, I like to bake with a bit more risk and a little more of a creative edge. So was the case a few nights ago when I made up a scrumptious recipe for chocolate peanut butter cookies. Working from my old standby recipe, I cut most everything in half (because the old recipe makes waaaaay too many cookies if they turn out bad) and added a few special (and healthy) touches.

The cookies turned out beautifully cakey, which I appreciate in a cookie at times, and definitely chocolaty and peanut buttery. I used natural, crunchy peanut butter, and it really added a lot to the texture as well as the taste of the cookie. If I made them again, I would definitely make them as thumbprint cookies with peanut butter Hershey’s kisses in the center, because this recipe lends itself perfectly to that kind of cookie. They are also incredible when frozen overnight and then crumbled atop vanilla ice cream with other toppings if you like. Enough hype – let’s get to the recipe!

Ingredients:

½ stick unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)

4 tablespoons Smart Balance (butter substitute made with olive oil so it’s healthier than margarine or butter!)

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

¼ cup natural crunchy peanut butter (you could use almond butter and almond Hershey kisses if peanuts are an allergy concern, and they would likely be just as divine)

1 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup + 2 tablespoons extra dark cocoa powder

powdered sugar for rolling cookies into balls

1 bag Hershey’s peanut butter kisses (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and Smart Balance Light with both sugars for 3-5 minutes with an electric mixer. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until combined. Add the peanut butter and beat until mixture is smooth and there are no lumps. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda with a whisk until well-combined. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mixing with an electric mixer to combine. Be careful not to over mix.

Dust your hands with powdered sugar to keep them from getting sticky, and roll heaping tablespoons of batter into little balls and flatten on the cookie sheet. Being on the cakier side of cookies, they will not flatten themselves in the oven, so this step is very important. Alternatively, make a thumbprint in the center of the ball and add a Hershey peanut butter kiss to the center. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Allow to cool for as long as you can keep Benjamin’s hands off of them, and serve with a glass of milk or crumbled frozen atop a vanilla ice cream sundae.

I do hope you will try this recipe (maybe with a few special touches of your own) and let me know how they turn out!