Deliciosa Vegetarian Paella & the Worldwide Nabisco Chocolate Wafer Shortage!!

The Picky Eater is currently ensconced at our domicile; pending her departure for the nether regions of Scotland next month; you can tell she's here from the tufts of discarded thread strewn on all the carpets. Other than desserts, cooking for her can be a tricky business, but a few nights ago we collaborated on a scrumptious casserole of paella, with shrimp on the side for the pescatarians in the family. The Picky Eater did the stirring while everything sauteed, and I took care of the peeling and dicing.

You really can use any vegetables that suit your fancy. We went with seasonal peppers from the garden, zucchini and fresh tomatoes. The trick is to saute the saffron and pimenton with the onion-garlic mixture before adding any liquid. We found that adding the garbanzos and peas just for the last ten minutes in the oven heated them nicely without overcooking the peas.

Vegetarian Paella

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced

1  1/2 tsp sweet Spanish paprika 

 5 -10 strands of saffron

3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

2 banana peppers, seeded and chopped 

or

1 red bell pepper & 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 cups paella rice

 2 medium zucchini, trimmed and cubed

 4 large ripe tomatoes, diced

 Salt and pepper to taste

 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock, boiling

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ cups frozen peas (do not defrost)

In a large ovenproof sauté pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it is translucent. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, and saffron. Cook 3-4 minutes, then add the carrots and peppers. Saute 5 minutes, until the peppers start to soften.

Add the rice, and sauté, stirring constantly,  until it starts to look translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté a minute or two, then the tomatoes for another minute. Add the stock and bring back to a boil.

Lower heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, until most of the stock is absorbed.

Strew the garbanzos and frozen peas over the top of the rice. Cover with a lid or foil, and put in 350 F oven for another 10 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.
Serves 4-6.

The Great Nabisco Chocolate Wafer Shortage

Well, it's not really a shortage, because it looks like the main ingredient in the Chocolate Icebox Cake, well-beloved dessert of generations of Baby Boomers and beyond, appears to have been discontinued by Nabisco. How dare they!! I would sell all my Nabisco stock immediately, if I owned any. We have looked in vain throughout the web, Target, Walmart, Safeway, and beyond. Our searches unearthed a pallid substitute-- "Mandy's Dark Chocolate Cookie Thins." Slightly more bittersweet and decidedly smaller in size. But they will do the job.

Or, you can bake your own chocolate wafers using this recipe adapted by Smitten Kitchen from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert, but as the Daddy says, that defeats the whole concept of the Chocolate Icebox Cake, which is as quick as the time that it takes you to whip up a bowl of cream.

Homemade Chocolate Wafers

Makes 50 to 60 1 3/4-inch wafers. 

1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (2.4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder (see Note)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

3 tablespoons whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of food processor and pulse several times to mix thoroughly. Cut the butter into about 12 chunks and add them to the bowl. Pulse several times. Combine the milk and vanilla in a small cup. With the processor running, add the milk mixture and continue to process until the mixture clumps around the blade or the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a large bowl or a cutting board and knead a few times to make sure it is evenly blended.

Form the dough into a log about 14 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour, or until needed.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the log of dough into slices a scant 1/4-inch thick (I went thinner, closer to 1/8 of inch. If you’re trying to emulate the store-bought wafers, slice as thin as you can, and watch the baking time carefully, as it might be less.) and place them one inch apart on the lined sheets (cookies will spread). Bake, rotating the baking sheet from top to bottom and back to front about halfway through baking, for a total of 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will puff up and deflate; they are done about 1 1/2 minutes after they deflate.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on racks, or slide the parchment onto racks to cool completely. These cookies may be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks or be frozen for up to two months.

Note: These cookies should crisp as they cool. If they don’t, you’re not baking them long enough.

And now that we're finished with the complaining, here's the "Famous" Chocolate Icebox Cake itself-

"Famous" Chocolate Icebox Cake

2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 (9-ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies 

Unsweetened cocoa, crumbled chocolate wafer cookies or chocolate shavings

In a large bowl, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

On a flat rectangular serving plate, run a 1" thick line of whipping cream down the center. Starting with one cookie, smear it with whipped cream and then press another against the cream. Do this until you have four cookies smushed together. Stand the stack upright at the beginning of the whipped cream strip on your plate. Do another four cookies this way, smear the end of the last one with whipped cream, and smush it against the last stood up cookie. Gently press the row of cookies from the two non-iced ends so that they are all well attached to each other. Continue spreading cream and smushing until your loaf extends the length of the plate.

Generously "ice" the sides and top of your cake with the remaining whipped cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, dust top lightly with cocoa powder, extra crumbled cookies or chocolate shavings.