Cous-cous masterpieces v.2

My sister just moved out of Minneapolis -- real quick too. She asked if I could go to her apartment and clean out the rest of the stuff there. I thought it would be quick and painless, but there was actually a bunch of junk there, some Haley's, some the bitchy roommate's, some old roommates'. It was an exhausting but good day of organizing and recycling and giving things away to neighbors in Uptown. One old lady was so happy to get Haley's ironing board, and some dude got a really nice desk chair.

I got a few consolation prizes: a small crockpot, a crappy blender, a metal bowl that's now Phydeaux's water dish, a maybe-working electric blanket and my black corduroy jacket that I thought had been lost forever. Maybe my favorite find was a fun kitchen toy: STACKS - the pyramid kit. If you look close, you can see that Haley bought it for $1.69, my guess is at Arc's Value Village thrift store. And I got it for free! Sucka.

The first thing I thought upon finding the box was cous-cous. They're basically metal molds in the shape of a pyramid. They also come in triangle, square, round and heart shapes -- though I've heard that surrounding yourself in pyramids helps the energy flow in your life or something. This even extends to eating your food in the shape of pyramid. Plus it looks awesome. You can read some cool stuff about the feng shui of pyramids here; note the angry tone when the author says that the awareness of the impact of geometrical shapes on human energy is disappearing thanks to modern feng shuists. I blame the fat guy on Trading Spaces.

Now the tricky part about the pyramid shape is that you have to find some way to balance them while you fill them. The tiny booklet in the box suggested bowls, but I didn't have any that were deep enough. I ended up using the steamer top of the big pot I usually cook chili in. Two of the pyramids happened to fit side-by-side, and the point of the pyramid fit perfectly into one of the holes, so they didn't slip around. Much. I won't lie and say it was perfect, but it worked.

There were a few recipes in the box, but they were gross and complicated and stupid. Apparently the "creator" of the Stacks system has a whole series of cookbooks you can buy. She posits, "Why cook a meal when you can create a sensation?" Why indeed. I say, "Why use someone else's recipe when you can use your own?"

The idea that really makes the Stacks system beautiful is that of layers. It'd still be cool to eat your cous-cous in a pyramid shape, as a quick plating gimmick, but the layers are totally where it's at. I had a few things in the fridge I wanted to use up, leftovers from a giant chili party we had for Nate's birthday. So that's where I started, but of course this meal is completely versatile, depending on what you've got on hand. Easily vegetarian, easily themed. No cous-cous? Use rice, like on the box.

I left the cous-cous (~1 cup) grossly underseasoned by my usually standards so that it could stand alone as its own flavor. The main centerpiece of these pyramids was the yellow onion (~1/2), yellow squash (~1/2) and zucchini (~1/2) medley that I sautéed with a little butter and olive oil, never forgetting my trusted Tony's.

I also had one extra chicken breast that I seasoned and cooked up on a skillet real quick. While it was sizzling, I chopped up one tomato and a bunch of walnuts into tiny little pieces. I julienned some spinach as well. Then chopped the chicken real small too.

Then all I did was stuff the pyramids. I started and ended with cous-cous, thinking that it'd definitely keep its shape best. Next layer was walnuts, then a thick squash and zucchini layer. Under that was the chicken, then the spinach and the end layer of cous-cous. Firm but gentle pressure is the key to making it stick. My honeybee spatula was just right for firm, flat, even pressure. I put the plate on top of the pyramid, flipped them together and gently removed the pyramid form. (Also, the recipes always recommend spraying the inside of the pyramid with vegetable spray or something. If I were baking, I'd do this, but I skipped this step and they came out just perfect.)

I had a little cous-cous and squash & zucchini left, so I used some tiny condiment thingies for some contrastive shapes. I made a dessert cous-cous mound with walnuts, cranberries and cous-cous. Delicious.

Here are some amazingly beautiful photos of this amazingly beautiful meal.




I thought that the once you stuck your fork in the thing, it would all be ruined, but actually, they kept their shape pretty well. It was like cous-cous pyramid Jenga. Always play with your food.

I'm most looking forward to baking with theses puppies. Stay tuned!

I love cous-cous

Seriously. I love it.

It's sort of a 'signature dish' in our house. My fiancé Nate and I have been playing with and perfecting our cous-cous for nearly three years now, and we're still not sick of it. (Nate and I noodle around in the kitchen together a lot. I'll always give him credit here if we teamwork an awesome meal together. :) Here's me stirring a big pot of cous-cous while Amanda threatens my drooling dog, Phydeaux.


The reason we can eat cous-cous for three years and not get sick of it is that it's so darn versatile. You can put whatever you want into it! It's a great vegetarian dish, and it works well as the main dish or on the side. Nate and I have come up with a pretty standard preparation that'll feed the two of us and leave leftovers:

I set the cous-cous (~2 cups uncooked) a-cooking according to the directions: 1 cup water to 1 cup cous-cous. I add butter and olive oil (~1 tblsp each for each cup of cous-cous). I buy it in a plastic container thing because we use it so much, but if you're just cooking for one, the boxes of seasoned cous-cous work well (but is only about 1 cup of cous-cous). I love the one with the little bits of dried broccoli in it.

I season my cous-cous with Tony's, which is, like, the most important thing in my kitchen. You can put in on anything and everything. I never use salt. I always use Tony's. I always keep a back-up. Get used to it!


I also am in charge of fresh herbs. Julienned basil rocks in cous-cous; when I don't have it, dried basil suffices. Fresh garlic is good, but I often forego it and cut corners by seasoned the cous-cous with garlic powder. Then I open, drain and rinse a can of kidney beans, usually dark red - or whatever's in the pantry. No need to cook them.

Nate chops the purple onion (~1/2-1), tomato (~2-3) and cucumber (~2). Nate prefers the cucumber skin on, but I prefer it off since it's sometimes too bitter, so I peel them and scrape out the seeds with a spoon - otherwise things get too soggy.

While Nate is finishing chopping, I fluff the cous-cous and start folding in the goodness. Lastly, lemon juice (~1/2 a lemon) is squeezed on it all and mixed in.

So that's the basics. But - the thing that will make your cous-cous taste the awesomest is bacon (~3 strips), cooked and crumbled into tiny tiny bits. You don't need much. It's not about the bacon; it's about the subtle taste of the bacon in your cous-cous.

Cous-cous itself has a very delicious flavor, but a simple one. I try not to junk up the cous-cous too much, preferring to add ingredients that complement the cous-cous instead of using it as a backdrop.

Other favorite ingredients include: nuts (walnuts or pine nuts especially, in small pieces), spinach (julienned), chicken (seasoned, cooked and diced), dressing (ranch and italian both work, but use sparingly). If you don't like basil, I've also used rosemary and oregano on separate occasions (but I like basil best).

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For advanced adventurers:

An extended use of cous-cous is one of my favorites: cous-cous stuffed chicken breasts. Simple, too.


I've found that there are two keys to stuffing chicken breasts with anything. Firstly, pound them out so that they're big and flat, so you have enough to work with. I try to only use free-range, antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken breasts, which tend to be larger and thicker than other yuckier, meaner chicken breasts.

Secondly, use a whole bunch of toothpicks. I take an end, make a little pouch and toothpick the crap out of it. Then you can stuff it really full -- go on, cram it in there. When your end pouch is full, I stitch the chicken into a tube with more toothpicks, then stuff some more. Just make sure you can close it off.

These are easy and great because I just put 'em right on the Foreman grill. Season the outside, pop them on for a few minutes and you're good to go. Delicious.

Here's Nate enjoying. =]


Be prepared for more awesome cous-cous posts. Seriously -- awesome.