Double the Garlic

Double Take: Snickerdoodles from Featured Blog Smitten Kitchen

2012-02-10T21:08:00.002-05:00

It's all Mary's fault. No really, I mean it. If she hadn't bought a tub of cookies from April's son's band cookie drive, we wouldn't be walking down this cookie road today. She just HAD to buy the snickerdoodle dough and bake some in the break room toaster oven. She just HAD to practically force me to try one since they smelled soooo delicious. Obviously, I wouldn't have been compelled to think about cookies ALL WEEK after trying them if it hadn't been for her...Right?!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ...(Um incidentally, if anyone else wants to force me to try some other cookies, I'm probably mostly a cookie pushover. Unless they're store bought..or sugar cookies...A girl has to draw the line somewhere.)

I'll admit it. I'm like the story if you give a mouse a cookie. If you give a Tabs a cookie, she's going to want some milk, maybe a spoonful of peppermint chocolate chunk ice cream, maybe a cone while you're at it....you know it goes. I do have pretty good willpower. However, after trying one cookie, it was in my head ALL WEEK. When Mel asked me what I wanted to make off our list, my response was um, nothing interests me. She was like, c'mon something must be in your head. Isn't there ANYTHING you have had a taste for this week? After a bit of poking and prodding, I admitted I really only wanted cookies. I know.... VERY health conscious of me. Its ok to have cookies sometimes though. While I had more than one kind of cookie in my head (and plenty of ways to change them) I wound up landing on this snickerdoodle recipe. I promised Mel I would really try to kind of stick with the recipe. I know she won't be surprised to read that I mostly stuck with it but was unable to resist at least a little bit of change. I also tried some variations but did stick with the general recipe (for the most part).

I found I wanted a good excuse to bring them somewhere to share. I wasn't planning to super bowl party and honestly my weekend was planned as being pretty unplanned (a rarity). I decided to bake some before Hapkido (a super fun martial art, try it) class Saturday morning. Its tough for people to resist hot cookies, especially after you've gotten some good exercise. I also returned the favor to Mary by baking a few in the break room toaster oven. I'll go ahead and share the recipe and then let you know what people thought.

Snickerdoodles
(Cinnamon sugar (front), cocoa/cinnamon (right), cocoa/hazelnut/cinnamon (left))

Snickerdoodles
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Martha Stewart)

Yield: 36-48, 3 to 4-inch cookies.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups + 1/4 c. sugar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
2 large eggs

How To:

Preheat the oven to 400°, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 3/4 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

Smitten Kitchen needed to chill hers for an hour. I had no trouble scooping with a melon baller or even my hands. I think this may vary with flour type used. If you're in a hurry, you can always add a little extra flour (2- 4 Tbsp) to be able to scoop. I used White Lily flour and the indicated measurements and had no trouble or need for extra flour.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small ice-cream scoop or melon baller to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will brown but only if you have overcooked them), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after five minutes.

Note: IF you want some alternate flavors, try mixing instant coffee or cocoa with your cookie coating mixture. If you dislike cinnamon, substitute cardamom. Cardamom is quite a treat in cookies.

Also, this recipe is easily halved. It produces a lot of cookies even with a half batch.

Snickerdoodles for Hapkido class.

Cocoa and Cinnamon sugar coated cookie front and center. Hazelnut, cocoa, and cinnamon sugar cookies to back and right. Cinnamon sugar to left.

Reaction:

These were great. I was less of a fan of the chocolate and coffee coatings than I expected to be. This could be in part due to my rolling the cookies in cinnamon sugar mixture and then rolling the other ingredients of days later. I've tried the cardamom substitution for cinnamon before and it was tasty. I'd highly recommend it. The cookies I made for hapkido quickly disappeared. The ones in the toaster oven were also ahem...taken care of quickly. Mary and I preferred the cinnamon the best. The ones taken to hapkido were all cinnamon/sugar...and devoured quickly.

These remind me of a cookie I used to get at Halloween. I know, Halloween might not make most people think of cookies. One lady on our trick or treating route always passed out some candy and 2 gingerbread men. They weren't heavily nutmeg flavored and I really liked them. Eating these reminded me of the same flavor in her little men and made me think of Mrs. Wiles and smile. I'd recommend these for good memories and they're great with milk, hot cocoa and um, well they're good with peppermint chocolate ice cream too. :)

Mel's not a cinnamon fan so hop over to her blog to see which cookie she picked from Smitten Kitchen and what she thought of it.

Chinese New Year Cooking Night: Char Siu (Barbeque Pork or Chicken) Dumplings

2012-02-03T21:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Year of the Dragon!

The Chinese year of the Dragon began Jan. 23, 2012. While that's the first day, its not the only day of celebration for the New Year. In fact, the festival lasts 15 days! At my house, we started a little early with a cooking night on the 21st. As a southern girl from Tennessee, I grew up around a few Chinese people but was unfamiliar with customs. Over time, I've learned more and since I enjoy learning about other cultures and especially how their culture ties to food, it seemed critical not to pass up celebrating the New Year this year. I've been learning a few Mandarin phrases from a co-worker in our lab. Mostly basic things like Hi, My name is Tabitha. What's your name? My favorite "phrase" is the Chinese word for awesome/excellent. I have no idea how to spell it but I can sound it out for you Tie (stretch this out ) Bong (emphasize and say quickly) La (don't use strong emphasis and say quickly). Confused yet?

Short version: The celebration started January 23rd and ends with the Lantern Festival on February 26th. Throughout the festival, many favorite dishes are enjoyed. The most important dish to the New Year celebration in northern China is the dumpling. Why? The dumpling's folded semi circle shape is a symbol of wealth because it is similar in appearance to the tael (its about halfway down the web page). The tael was the standard Chinese weight of high value currency. The tael were used in a similar fashion as gold bricks were used in the United States until the U.S. left the gold standard.

There are probably as many ways to fill dumplings as there are Chinese families. A common filling is a shrimp, ground pork, ginger, scallion and soy sauce mixture. There are variances on this. Some are tasty and some are less palatable for me. When working on my master's degree, my advisor was from a special region in China that made the yeasted dumplings (Bao). He stuck with vegetarian filling but I've made some tasty ones since then that you can check out here. Today's dumpling filling is a spin off of my previous bao recipe. Note: These take a little time to prepare and are best prepared with two people working together. (It's faster and more fun to work on these with at least one other person.) You may feel that you're looking at a ton of filling but you'll be glad. For the effort involved, its worth it to make several at a time. You can freeze them for a short time or freeze the filling......if you don't eat them all first!

Char Siu Dumplings

Char Siu (BBQ Chicken or Pork) Dumplings

Filling Time: 1 hour if you're pushed for time. I like to let it go 3 hours in a crockpot on low though.
Dumpling Preparation time: 2 hours with one person, 1 hour if you recruit a helper. (Its more fun with 2 people.)
Steaming Time: 10 minutes per batch. This will vary based on the size of your steamer and if you're running multiple steamers at a time. I ran 2 steamers at a time holding 7 each and it took me about 40 - 45 minutes.
Yield: 60-82 dumplings

Step 1: Prepare the Chinese BBQ (Char Siu)

3 c. water

1 lb boneless skinless chicken or deboned pork.*

4 cloves of garlic (minced, I used a microplane to speed up the process)

1 tsp. fresh ginger (minced)

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce (international section or Asian grocery)

2 Tbsp. sherry, mirin, chinese wine, rice wine vinegar, or sake (international section or Asian grocery)

1 tsp. chinese five spice powder (international section or Asian grocery)

*If you are a vegetarian, a sub of tempeh for the meat and should give you a similar texture.

How to:

1) Combine all ingredients (except the meat and water) together.

2) Add the water and meat and marinate for at least two hours. If your meat isn't covered in sauce, flip it every 30 minutes if you're doing a short marination. If you're marinating overnight, don't worry about flipping the meat.

a) Place in a crockpot with 3 c. water. Cook in the crockpot on high for ONE hour, followed by 3-5 hours on low. You want the meat to be done and flake away when you touch it with a fork.

b) Cook the meat on medium in a covered pot on the stove. Then either turn it down to low for at least an hour OR dump the mixture into a crockpot and set it on low until you're nearly ready to prepare the dumplings. *I've done this both ways. Its faster doing step b but its all about the amount of time you have.

STEP 2: Filling

(At this point, your meat is done and you're ready to finish the filling and fill the dumplings.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. of meat (char siu chicken or pork)

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 tablespoon ginger, minced (I recommend using a microplane.)

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon sweet chili paste (or garlic chili paste) (I use the garlic chili paste with the rooster on it)

4 scallions, chopped finely

How To:

1) Chop the meat finely.

2) Saute the ginger in the peanut oil for four minutes, stirring constantly.

3) Transfer the ginger to a bowl and add all the rest of the ingredients, including the meat. Stir together well and let cool a little (maybe 5 minutes).

Step 3: Prepare the Dumplings

Ingredients:

2 packs of dumpling wrappers (They contain about 50 wrappers each and are circular.)

Filling from above

A medium bowl of warm water

1 head of napa cabbage (Peel leaves off and rinse before you start if you don't have a friend to help)

How To:

1) Lay a dumpling wrapper on the counter in front of you. Place 1-2 tsp of filling in the center of the wrapper. (Do not add more than 1 Tbsp but less works a bit better.)

2) Dip your finger in the water and trace the entire edge of the dumpling wrapper with the water (like the ring of glue on an envelope). If you make homemade dumpling wrappers, you may not need water but for store bought, use water.

3) Fold the wrapper in half and starting from the fold line, flute the edges by folding the open edge in 1 cm sections. Moving along the edge, continue folding/pinching over 1 cm sections to seal the edges of the dumpling together.

Here's a video example of Andrea Nguyen folding dumplings in a slightly different way but they come out quite similarly and very pretty. I was taught by a Chinese lady at work and I think at least seeing a video would help most anyone folding them for the first time if they don't have someone there to teach them.

4) Once you have about 12 dumplings made, go ahead and start boiling water in your steamer pot or wok. Place your steamer above the wok or steamer pot as normal. Then line it with cabbage leaves. If using a wok, leave some spaces. If using a steamer, no spaces are needed.

5) When the cabbage looks transparent, place the dumplings in the steamer. You can place as many as will fit without touching one another into the steamer.

Kevin confirmed the cabbage was transparent while Worth mixed up the dipping sauce.

6) Cover the steamer and wait 7-10 minutes. (If the wrapper still looks "dry/floury" wait til 10 minutes. I found that my steamer took about 7 minutes but the wok and bamboo steamer took about 10 minutes.)

7) When done place on a plate lined with cabbage leaves. Layer cabbage leaves as you stack them higher to prevent them from sticking together.

8) Continue wrapping and steaming until you run out of filling. Any remaining wrappers may be frozen in a freezer bag for later use.

9) Serve with dipping sauce, see below.

Becky and Ellen did a great job filling and folding the dumplings!

Here's the present version of my dumpling dipping sauce. Anyone that knows me well, knows that I'm constantly changing my recipes but this one does change less than most.

Tab's Dumpling Dipping Sauce

Time: 3-5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: Enough to dip 60-80 dumplings (perfect for the recipe above)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp dry sherry, mirin, or rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil (Don't use the toasted sesame oil for this. Its flavor is too strong.)
1 Tbsp garlic, minced or microplaned
1 tsp chili flakes

How To:

Combine and stir together. Enjoy!

Reaction:

There were about 81 or 82 dumplings made at cooking night. Twelve of us were eating those along with the rest of the meal. There were 2 dumplings left and about 1 tsp of dumpling sauce. These were a huge hit and five people requested the recipe before leaving. I promised to post it and since I was reminded earlier today (thanks, Ellen!), its up for anyone else who wants to enjoy them!

Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Chinese Cooking Night Menu

Links for recipes posted already are provided. Others are coming soon.

Main Meal:

Char Siu Dumplings (BBQ Chicken or Pork Dumplings) (today's post)
Fresh Spring Rolls
Fried Rice
Beef with Broccoli and Sugar Snap Peas I doubled this recipe to serve 12 and used half sugar snap peas and half broccoli to vary the texture.

Dessert:

Meyer Lemon Ice cream (The texture didn't come out right so I'll spare you.)
Blueberry Pie version 2 (This is our friend Jon's favorite since it was also his birthday!)

Double Take: Bread and Cheese, Black "Steakhouse" Bread

2012-02-03T19:16:00.001-05:00

Deliberation, n.: The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is buttered on.
Ambrose Bierce

It's week one of February. That means this week double take is bread or cheese or something made with bread or cheese. Around here, we know which side our bread is buttered on....

the one the cat didn't lick...

Just kidding.

The bread is a mixture of rye, bread, and whole wheat flour resulting in a dense, flavorful bread somewhat reminescent of what you'd find at certain steakhouses. You know what I'm talking about. The bread that begs to be generously covered on at least one side with sweet butter and smells so awesome its hard to wait for it to leave the oven. Anyway, talking about it makes me want another piece. You go ahead and read the recipe, I need to go get some butter out of the fridge.

Black "Steakhouse" Bread (aka Russian Black Bread)

Black Bread ( slightly adapted from In Katrina's Kitchen and Chef Dennis who invited her as a guest blogger) http://www.askchefdennis.com/2011/05/its-guest-post-friday-with-in-katrinas-kitchen/

Prep Time: 30 min
Rise time: 2-8 hours (more on this in a moment)
Bake time: 35-45 min
Yield: 1 large loaf

Ingredients

1 ½ cups warm strong brewed coffee, separated (I made 2 c. of dark roast coffee and boiled them down to 1 1/2 c. on the stove top)
2 ½ teaspoons dry active yeast (one packet)
¼ cup canola oil or vegetable oil
¼ cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
2 cups bread flour (or self-rising flour)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt

How To:

1. Dissolve yeast in ½ cup warm coffee until foamy, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl mix flours, cocoa, and salt (and fennel/caraway if using). Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your mixer combine 1 cup warm coffee, oil, molasses, and brown sugar. Switch to the dough hook attachment on your mixer.
(I mixed by hand for all steps. A mixer isn't needed and stirring bread can be good therapy. It doesn't take long to stir.)
4. At a low speed add the yeast mixture. Slowly add about half of your flour mixture until you can turn it out onto your floured countertop.
5. Knead in the remaining flour mixture by hand. It will be a sticky, firm dough.
6. Form into a ball a place in a well-greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. (This took 6 hours on a dry day for me. Be aware that this may take a long time or that you should run your oven or something and still expect it to not be risen in 2 hours. It will get there.)
7. Gently deflate dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Form into 4 greased loaf pans, or 1 regular loaf pan. These could also just be free form on a baking stone. Let rise again until doubled and puffy, about 45 minutes to an hour. Using a sharp knife slash across top of the loaves. (This took 2 hours for me)
8. Preheat oven to 350. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack while heating. Just before baking the bread add about 2 cups of hot water to the sheet to create steam in the oven. (I skipped this but you can do it if you want. It results in a crustier bread. I like my crust a bit softer.)
9. Bake at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes. Bake time will vary depending on your loaf size or if you used a loaf pan at all.
10. Slice and slather with butter. Go ahead, there's no need to wait.

If this bread could talk it would say "Go ahead, slather me with butter. The wait is making me anxious!"
See? The bread knows you're going to eat it so go ahead...Enjoy!

Reaction:

I liked it!...Its not the same as some I've had at some steakhouses but it quite similar. Its delicious with butter and you could easily vary types of coffee to change the flavor. I brought some to work and shared with a couple people. They liked it a lot and one said it reminded her of Russian Black Bread. After looking at the recipes, it appears to be the same thing. Don't count on a quick rise time but this is great for days when you have other things to do. There's no need to rush back home. It'll be a while...Grab a snickers, watch a movie, go play frisbee, or whatever you like but don't count on it to be done quickly. Your reward for patience will be an incredible smelling kitchen and some tasty bread.

What are you waiting for...a second opinion? Go over to Mel's blog and see what she thought.

Double Take: Crockpot BBQ Ribs

2012-01-27T18:28:00.002-05:00

I love ribs. I love to bite them off the bone savoring each delicious bite. I love a rib sauce that has a blend of mustard's tang and molasses'/brown sugar's sweetness combined with rich tomato flavor. I also like it when supper doesn't take hours to prepare though. With the time of the busy grad student and busy people in mind, its useful to have a selection of tasty meals on hand for meals that are nearly ready to eat upon return from a long day. I hope you enjoy the crockpot recipes Mel and I will be sharing once per month. If there's something you'd like to see done more easily in a crockpot than over the stove for a while, leave one of us a note.

Without further ado, here's my crockpot ribs recipe. Note: The last steps include baking the rib meat in the oven and boiling down the sauce. I find this unnecessary so if you're starving and want to go ahead and eat, do so. If you have extra time or want to make a couple sides, go for broiling the ribs. They'll be done when your sides are complete.

Crockpot BBQ, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and homemade Macaroni and cheese.
Mmm..This is comfort food.

Crockpot BBQ Ribs (adapted from m is for mommy)

Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp sweet paprika (the regular kind from the store is fine)

1 tbsp light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt (about 1 tsp)

pepper (I used 1 tsp freshly ground but I think 1/2 tsp freshly ground would be better)

2 lbs pork or beef (baby) back ribs (6 lbs) - leave the membrane on the ribs to help hold them together

barbecue sauce (1-3 cups or just use the recipe I used below)

Vegetable oil spray

How To:

In a small bowl, mix together paprika, brown sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Rub this mixture all over both sides of your ribs well.

Arrange ribs in the slow cooker by standing them up against the wall of the stoneware pot, thicker side down and meaty side against the pot.

Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs, cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low. (This depends on your crockpot setting. My settings have 8 and 10 hours of low but 6 is on high. Choose the shortest low time your cooker has.)

----Tick tock, you're at work...finally home again---

Make sure your crockpot is on a surface that you can easily look and reach down into the bowl. Using a large spoon, scoop the fat off the top of the mixture.

Using tongs, remove the meat to an aluminum foil lined pan. Place the BBQ sauce in a sauce pot, bring to a simmer and cook down until it thickens.

Baste the meat with part of the BBQ sauce. (If you like it saucy, go heavy. If you're a light sauce person, go light.)

Set the meat into the oven on broil. Wait 3-5 minutes. Flip the meat, baste again and broil again for 3-5 minutes. Serve.

BBQ Sauce (Adapted from Neely's BBQ Sauce)

Ingredients

2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 c. microplaned onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or microplaned
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

How To:

I combined all together into the crockpot and gave it a stir. I made sure to pour it over the ribs.

This can be concentrated by simmering in a sauce pot for 45 min - 1 hour if you want to use as traditional BBQ sauce.

Response:

Pretty good but a bit sweet for me. In the future, I'd use less sauce for basting and I'd probably cut the sugar in the BBQ sauce to 3 Tbsp. I used the full sauce recipe but half would have been sufficient. The meat is not the chewy biting off the ribs sort but rather the melty, tender falling completely off the bone type BBQ. Becky loved it. I used beef ribs but would go with pork in the future. (They're my favorite and beef is a bit sweet with this bbq sauce.)

2 forks up! Definitely one to repeat!

Hop, skip, or jump over to Mel's blog and check out her take on these crockpot ribs. ...Tell her Happy Birthday while you're at it.

Double Takes: Item of the Month GRAPEFRUIT!

2012-01-20T19:23:00.003-05:00

Double Takes is back!

This time we're changing things up again. Its a new year and I'll be honest ....I don't do the same thing for very long without needing to mix things up a bit. We've decided to have sort of a weekly plan that mixes up our double takes. We've enjoyed featuring other blogger's recipes and will continue to do that once per month. In addition, we'll be showcasing an Item of the Month (random item that each of us incorporate into a recipe we develop separately), a crockpot recipe (b/c everyone needs meal shortcuts...especially grad students that spend too much time in the lab and too little time petting kitties), and a bread/cheese/or something that uses or goes with bread and cheese. Sound fun? I hope so. If you have other things you'd like to see us test, let us know. We like comments.

This month's item of the month is.......GRAPEFRUIT! This turned out to be more of a puzzle than I expected. I like the tartness of this citrus. However, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I like baking though so I had a couple ideas and settled on a crostata. This is the second crostata I've made now. The first, cranberry apple crostata with tangerine crema, was a major hit with my family the past Thanksgiving. This time I wanted to find something to pair with grapefruit. Yeah, what goes with grapefruit anyway?! I looked to see what other people paired and didn't really find much. I decided to think about appearance...color contrast, flavor contrast, and shape variation. I landed on raspberry. Weird, right? Tart with tart? Stick with me here. Since the fruit gets combined with brown sugar and then baked, its surprisingly sweet ...especially hot out of the oven or even reheated. If eaten chilled, the sugars can recrystallize and you'll definitely be hit with some tartness.

Grapefruit Raspberry Crostata with Meyer Lemon Crema

Reaction: I was quite pleased. This is especially good warm and even better with a scoop of ice cream. My coworkers (even the ones that don't like grapefruit) enjoyed it. There were a couple holdouts who don't like the texture of crema. I get it. It wasn't that long ago that I couldn't swallow custard. Its funny how far you can come when people keep pushing you to try things. The crema is like a custard. If you hate custard, double the fruit topping and skip the crema. Those without texture issues liked it a lot. Those eating it warmed with a side of ice cream liked it best.

Enjoy!

Have a bite!

Raspberry Grapefruit Crostata with Meyer Lemon Crema

Step 1: Crust

Since the challenge requirements were to use Simona's recipes for the pasta frolla, I chose the first one she listed mainly because it only used wheat flour (standard all purpose). I did make a slight varation on this as I had no lemon available. I did have an orange so I used orange peel instead.

Simona's Pasta Frolla #1

a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar

1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour

a pinch of salt

1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

grated zest of half a meyer lemon

1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Making pasta frolla by hand:

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.

2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.

3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).

4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.

5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.

6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.

7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Step 2: Crema Pasticcera (Pastry Cream)

For this recipe, I used http://briciole.typepad.com/blog/2007/11/crema-pasticcer.html Simona's aunt's recipe with a slight adaptations. I didn't have extra large eggs so I used what I had (which were either medium or large, they were farm raised locally so they weren't graded. I'd say you could use medium or large and it wouldn't make a ton of difference based on previous experience.) Since she said her recipe was notably not sweet, I sweetened it just a little. This was especially important since I was adding the tart cranberry apple element as a fruit topping. Finally, due to the lack of lemon, I used orange. Note, this will yield about enough crema for two tarts with half fruit, half crema or one tart filled entirely with crema. Here's my version:

Ingredients:

1 large egg and 1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sugar (65 g)

250 ml milk (slightly more than 1 cup)

Zest of ½ of a meyer lemon

1.5 Tbsp all purpose flour (I use White Lily. A harder flour such as Pillsbury will make a stiffer curd.)

How To:

Pour the milk into a pan, add the citrus peel and warm up to to just below boiling point. To describe this state, I'd say, pull the milk off the stove when you first start to see bubbles form. I'd class this as barely simmering.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is bubbly. Basically you'll see some bubble formation in the top of the solution. Its not going to be like a bottle of bubbles. Just expect to see some small bubbles in the top.

Sift the flour over the egg mixture and beat briefly until it is incorporated.

Temper the egg mixture with a small quantity of milk, then slowly add the rest of the milk, mixing with a wooden spoon. I alternated adding first maybe 1/4 to 1/2 c. of milk solution and then mixed the egg and milk solution together using a wire whisk.

Pour the mixture into the pan and set it to between low to medium heat, stirring at least every couple of minutes. When the froth on the

surface disappears completely, the crema starts to feel slightly thicker.

From then on stir almost continuously. When the crema reaches boiling temperature and thickens, cook briefly (1-2 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat. Then remove

the citrus peel. Place the saucepan in a cold water bath, and stir the crema to bring down its temperature. To prevent making a mess, choose a bowl for the water bath that is slightly larger in diameter than your crema sauce pot. Fill the bowl 1/4 to 1/2 way full with cold water and ice. Plan to have at least 30-45 minutes to cool your crema.

While the crema cools down, stir it every now and then to prevent the formation of a film over it. Since everything is cooked, feel free to have a taste.

Step 3: Fruit Filling

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. of grapefruit (remove the peel and pull the pith (white parts) away from each segment

1 c. raspberries

1/3 c. brown sugar (I tend to prefer dark brown sugar but dark or light will work.)

How To:

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir them together. Yes that's really it.

Step 4: Assembly and Completion

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Pull your pasta frolla (crust) out of the refrigerator. Unwrap the plastic partially from around it so that you have plastic on the counter top and the dough atop the plastic.

Cut away 1/4 of the dough and reserve it for making a top crust.

Place another piece of plastic wrap on top. Using a rolling pin or a sturdy plastic cup, roll the dough to 1/8 " thickness.

Remove the top layer of plastic wrap. Using the lower layer of plastic wrap, lift and flip your pastry dough on top of your tart pan. If you are using mini tart pans, cut away a section that's about the right size and then move the section rather than the full sheet of dough. Shape your dough into the tart pan to cover the surface.

Add the crema. I filled the crema to about halfway up the tart.

Sprinkle the fruit mixture on top of the crema to fill the rest of the tart pan.

Roll out the reserved portion of dough to 1/8" thickness. Cut out strips to form a lattice or use cookie cutters to create a seasonal decoration. I used maple leaves and served this for Thanksgiving.

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. The crust should be lightly browned.

Fresh from the oven, this smelled incredible!

Hungry for more? Hit the jump to check out what Mel created with grapefruit!

By the way, if you've done something interesting with grapefruit, feel free to comment and even leave your link in the comment. I'd love to check it out!

Double Take: Super Tomato Risotto

2011-10-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

I'm the sort of person whose tongue gets bored. Does this happen to you? I eat leftovers and make an effort not to waste food but I often have to look for ways to transform the leftovers a bit so they become more exciting. To prevent tongue boredoem, a dish has to have a mixture of flavors, textures, and colors.

Today's dish lacked flavor by itself BUT its flavor was better the next day and it had lots of options for flexibility. On day one, the flavor reminded me of the base fo a dish my family from the low country of South Carolina prepares--perloe. There are a variety of spellings and methods for making perloe (see also pirlo, purlo, and perlo) but it often starts with a rice and tomato base. It has lots of flavor, texture and color. I couldn't help but imagine other components of perloe that would make this dish pop. Mind you, this won't make purlo but it will transform the recipe to something that can give your tongue a little party. Common ingredients in our family's purlo include: kielbasa, tomato, onion, bacon, chicken, shrimp. Its a kitchen sink sort of dish. As usual, the link to the original is below. You'll find my suggestions for add ins in my listing though. Give it a whirl and let me know if it cures your tongue boredom.

Tomato Risotto

Transformed Tomato Risotto (Adapted from Macheesemo)

Prep Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: 6-8

1 1/2 c. Arborio (or Risotto) Rice
1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped finely
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved and chopped OR 1 c. fresh tomatoes, diced
1 medium white onion, chopped (about 3/4 c.)
1 bulb garlic, roasted
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (or bacon grease)
2 Tbsp olive oil
8 c. chicken stock, hot (I used better than buillion so no further salt was desired)
2/3 c. dry white wine
2 Tbsp heavy cream (optional)
1/2 c. Parmesan Cheese, grated
Pepper (to taste)
*1 c. leftover cooked chicken (spicy roast chicken is good here)
*1-2 links of kielbasa (cooked)
*3-4 pieces of cooked bacon, chopped
*15-20 baby shrimp, may want to use more if only adding shrimp
*1-2 green onions or chives, diced

*All starred items are options for making the dish more interesting and tasty. I added roast chicken but any and all of these combinations would be great.

How To:

Do Ahead!!!

1a. Save some leftover chicken.

1b. Slice tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt. (The salt helps draw out the water.)

Place a bulb of garlic on the baking sheet too.

Roast at 325 for 45 min to an hour. Expect their edges to be wrinkled but don't blacken them.

When ready to Cook the Risotto

2. If you desire bacon and/or kielbasa, cook them in a LARGE POT and remove. Leave the grease in the pan and skip the butter. (Why a large pot? You'll need it for the risotto. There's no point in making extra dishes or having to transfer bacon grease from one container to another unnecessarily.)

3. Chop your onion while the bacon and/or kielbasa cook. After removing the cooked meat, toss the onion in the grease to cook for about 5 minutes on medium. You can add oil here if you don't think there's enough bacon grease of just skip butter and oil and use only bacon grease.

4. Squoosh the roasted garlic out of its cloves and into the pot too.

5. While the onion cooks, pour all your chicken stock in a large pot and get it simmering. It has to be hot when you add it to your risotto later.

6. Now is a good time to chop your sun dried tomatoes. If they give you trouble, toss them in the food processor for a few pulses. You just want them coarsely chopped.

7. Add the risotto rice to the pot and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.

8. Add the sun dried tomatoes and the white wine. Continue stirring to prevent anything from sticking to the pot.

9. When the white wine is almost evaporated, add a ladle full of chicken stock. If you don't have a ladle, a half coffee cup or 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of chicken stock is the target quantity. This isn't an exact science but it doesn't have to be.

10. After adding chicken stock to the rice, stir slowly. As the rice starts to get dry, add more chicken stock and stir.

11. Repeat step ten until you've got nearly all the stock in the rice. The rice will slowly expand, absorbing the stock. As you add stock, it will take increasingly longer to absorb. You want to slowly stir the rice. You can walk away from it for a minute or two but in general, this dish needs to be kept moving. If you can rig up a hand mixer to slowly do this task for you, more power to you. However, it will need to be monitored for absorption of stock so you're probably best off doing it yourself. This stirring is a great task for a kitchen helper.

12. The total time will be about 40-45 minutes. After about 35 minutes, start taste testing for doneness. You don't want it mushy but you only want a bit of bite to it. You definitely don't want it to be crunchy. Mel likes hers with more bite than I do so taste for yourself and see what you like.

13. While you wait, you can dice up your kielbasa, chop your chicken, crumble your bacon, or just relax and stir.

13. When the risotto consistency is right, stir in a bit of cream, the parmesan cheese, roasted tomatoes, and meat add ins.

14. Add salt and pepper to taste. Its unlikely you'll need salt though.

15. Toss on some green onions if desired and enjoy!

Reaction:

I liked the base flavor (without the add ins) but it wasn't very interesting to help me keep eating. After adding in some roast chicken, it was much improved. I wouldn't serve it again without tossing in some add ins to make it more interesting. Its a good base flavor though and doesn't take much to make it delicious. It reheated with better flavor than it had the first night. I was surprised by this but pleased since there were definitely plenty of leftovers.

Swing by Fabulously Fun Food to see what Mel thought of this recipe!

Double Take: Vidalia Onion Tart

2011-09-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, Mel introduced me to a vidalia onion casserole that is awesome. You'll really have to get her to share it with you sometime. This recipe reminds me of it in its caramelized onion and cheese but the two are quite different. This one is a tart and the other is a casserole. This one is herbed and takes on a different flavor from the tangy and mild cheeses but the other recipe has the yummy cheddary goodness. Both are tasty.

Vidalia Onion Tart slice at right. Pecan rosemary crusted chicken at 7 o'clock. Asparagus at 12 o'clock.
Let's eat!

While the recipe says Vidalia onion, any sweet onion will do nicely. Sweet onions have a short season that is about to end so get this one in the oven while you have the chance!

Vidalia Onion Tart
(Inspired Pink Parsley and Southern Living, May 2009)

Prep Time: 20 minutes (assumes you make your own dough and are a fairly fast onion chopper)
Cook Time: 30 min for onions, 20 minutes for baking
Total time: 75 - 90 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter
3 to 4 medium-sized Vidalia onions, halved and thinly sliced (about 6 1/2 cups) (I only needed 3)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (other herbs can be subbed)
1-2 cloves garlic, diced * optional
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 recipe pie dough (see below for a simple recipe I use regularly), or 1 refrigerated pie crust
1/2 c. swiss, shredded
1/4 c. asiago, shredded (can sub Parmesan but Asiago will give more of a flavor kick)

How To:

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, and pepper (and sugar, 1 - 2 Tbsp can speed up the onion cooking, if necessary). Stirring occasionally, cook 15 - 20 minutes, or until tender. Reduce heat to low, add rosemary and cover; cook an additional 5-10 minutes, or until onions are browned and caramelized. Stir occasionally while cooking.

Place the dough into a tart or pie pan. I really like my tart pan and enjoy looking for ways to use it.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over dough.

Cheese....Level 1

Top with onions. Sprinkle remaining cheese.

Sprinkling with more cheese.

Bake at 425 F on the bottom rack 17-19 minutes, or until crust is golden-brown and cheese has melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Finally Done! Let's eat!

I started by making the one crust pie crust I posted previously. For convenience sake, I'm reposting it here too.

Pie Crust (1 crust):

Ingredients:

1 c. flour
½ tsp salt
3 rounded Tbsp Crisco (shortening)
3 Tbsp ice water

How To:

Measure flour and salt into a large bowl. Blend shortening into flour and salt with a pastry blender or fork until it reaches the consistency of heavy cornmeal. Add water 1 tablespoonful at a time, tossing wet and dry ingredients together with blender until all the flour is moistened. Turn out on floured board. Roll into a circle 1/8 to ¼ inch thick and large enough to allow 1 to 1 ½ inches hanging over the edge of the pie tin. Fold up and back to make an upright rim and flute with fingers. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Place another tin the same size over the crust. Bake 12 minutes at 450 F until browned at the bottom. Remove upper tin and allow inside of crust to brown.

This crust can be rolled thinly and make enough for 2 crusts. Some days, though, I'm better off making a double recipe. This was a double recipe sort of day. (Actually, it was more than that but for this pie, it was a double recipe.)

I rolled out the main dough and laid it in the bottom of the pie crust. Then I pinched small bits and made a ring of triangular nubs all around the top of the pie.

Response:

Food is about taste and smell. I like the taste of gruyere but the smell is tough for me to handle. We made and ate the gruyere version (3/4 c. gruyere) but I'm posting the recipe as I'd make it in the future: 1/2 c. swiss and 1/4 c. asiago. If you're a gruyere lover though, go for the gruyere. I found the flavor to be really tasty but the recipe was a bit peppery for my taste so I adapted that to a more reasonable level for future use too. The original recipe called for 4 Vidalia onions but I only needed about 2.5 but chopped 3 b/c I didn't want to have a random bit left over. I like the sweet onions but this is not a dish that I can eat all week. Its a once or twice and I'm done. The leftovers heated well.

Hop, skip, or jump over to Fabulously Fun Food to see what Mel thought of this recipe! (Don't skip at work though, people might look at you funny. Ahem...Not that I would know.)

Double Take: Chorizo, Poblano, and Beef Soft Tacos with Homemade Cheese Sauce

2011-09-19T09:33:00.001-04:00

September 16th, 1810....The beginning of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.
September 16th, 1910....The beginning of the Mexican Revolution that removed Dictator Diaz from power.

2011 marked the year long celebration of Mexico's bicentennial. With that in mind, I realized I knew very little of Mexico's history. I knew that the Spanish went there and that's why most people there speak Spanish. Our church from back home did annual shoe donations to indigenous Indians in Mexico or I probably wouldn't have even known they existed.

I knew the Spanish conquered the Aztecs...but I didn't know the Aztecs were ruling over other tribes and that the other tribes banded with the Spanish to defeat one conqueror only to be conquered by the Spanish.

I knew the Spanish ruled Mexico as a colony but I didn't know their rule lasted for 3 centuries!

I had no idea that Mexico used to be called New Spain or that it operated with a cast system with 5 classes of people!

The Mexican Revolution (from Spain) was aided by Napolean and was started by a man named Father Hildago ringing a bell to call people together. The same bell that was originally rung in 1810 is rung every year on September 16th. It's amazing to me that the bell is still in good enough shape to ring. Wow.

In honor of Mexico's Independence, we wanted to share a Mexican dish with you today. The key thing here is that its a lot like your basic taco but includes the Spanish sausage, chorizo, and the poblano pepper native to Mexico. Fun foodie fact: Ancho chili is simply dried poblano. The chorizo brings an interesting flavor to the dish that I liked a lot. For those of you who've struggled with making a good Mexican cheese dip...look no further. This one is tasty but in the future I'd encourage those with tongues who can't take tons of heat to dial down the cayenne in the cheese dip.

Chorizo, Poblano, and Beef Soft Taco with Cheese Sauce.

Chorizo, Poblano and Beef Soft Tacos with Pepper Jack Cheese Sauce (adapted from Savour the Senses)

Time: 30 min
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

5 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
1.5 - 2 cups milk
2 tsp salt
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 3/4 cups grated pepper jack
1/2 lb chorizo
1/2 lb ground beef
1 tspp parsley
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 yellow onion (minced)
1/2 poblano chile (diced)
2 green onions (sliced)
1 small tomato (diced)
3 cups romaine lettuce (chopped)
6 soft taco tortillas

How To:

To make the cheese sauce:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Whisk the flour into the mixture, stirring constantly until it begins to turn golden (about 3 minutes).
Add the milk into the mixture and continue to whisk until clumps have broken up and sauce begins to thicken (about 10 minutes).

Add the next 7 ingredients, salt through the pepper jack cheese, to the sauce and continue to stir until all of the cheese is melted and the consistency is smooth. Turn to simmer, cover and keep warm for the tacos.

To make the meat mixture:

In a large skillet, cook the chorizo and ground beef, making sure to break up any large clumps (about 5 minutes).

Add the onion, seasonings and poblanos and continue to sauté until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes).

Add the meat mixture to each taco, drizzle with cheese sauce, top with green onion and lettuce, then serve.

Chorizo, Poblano, and Beef Soft Taco with Cheese Sauce....ready to serve!

Reaction:

I really liked the flavor the chorizo brought to the tacos. I love beef but the the chorizo brought a depth of flavor of its own to the tacos that I really appreciated. The cheese sauce was great! Its easy to modify so if it becomes a little stiff to your liking, simply add a little more milk or water and stir it in to get your desired consistency. If you want, toss in some fresh tomatoes too!

Looking for a second opinion on this dish? Hop over to Mel's blog, Fabulously Fun Food.

Happy Mexican Independence Day!

Double Take: Zucchini, Ham, Basil, and Ricotta Fritters

2011-09-08T19:04:00.005-04:00

(To the tune of 'The Song that Never Ends')

*We made these fritters on a whim,
Chopped, stirred, and cooked and only then,
Realized we started making them not knowing what they'd be.
And we'll continue thinking how to change them for you see...*

What do you get when you cross a pancake with a quiche?

Answer: A veggie fritter.

When I think of a fritter I think of those fried fruit pies. This is not what is meant here. Its more like a stuffed pancake. You can stuff it with whatever you like but I'd recommend adding more flavor. In fact, I added more flavor to half the batter but it needs further amplification. Zucchini is good but it doesn't have a ton of flavor on its own. If you put zucchini and a mild flavored cheese into flour, you still don't have a ton of flavor. I'd rate this recipe as ok but I wouldn't repeat it without modification. To be honest, I was initially disappointed in the base flavors of it. I was expecting more somehow. I tried it again today at lunch though and it was great. Perhaps I was too tired to enjoy it last night. This recipe is crazy easy to modify and has a lot of potential for incorporating zucchini and other vegetables into your life. I pumped one half up with some roasted garlic but don't stop there. I'll list what we did and include suggestions as well.

Huge zucchini fritter. Its the size of a plate!

Zucchini, Ham, Basil and Ricotta Fritters (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Prep Time: 10 minutes (longer if you roast the garlic and include that)
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes (add extra time if roasting the garlic)

Serves: 4-6 as a side

Ingredients:

1 cup self-raising (self-rising) flour, sifted
2 eggs
20 grams (3/4 ounces) butter, melted [I translated this as 1 1/2 tablespoons]
1/3 cup (2 1/2 fluid ounces) milk
Sea salt and cracked black pepper (I sprinkled ~ 1/4 tsp of each)
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
*1/2 c. diced onion (I suggest cooking this in a pan before adding it to the mixture)
1 c. ham, torn (I suggest cooking this in a pan before adding it to the mixture.)
1 bulb of roasted garlic (Roast for 1 hr at 350 F)
1 zucchini (courgette), cut into long, thin strips (2 c. grated or finely diced zucchini)
*1/2 - 1 tsp fresh rosemary or curry powder or other spices you enjoy

4 Tbsp Vegetable oil for shallow frying (You could use bacon grease here for more flavor.)

How To:

Place the flour eggs, butter, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Fold through the ricotta, basil, ham and zucchini, squished out cloves of garlic, onions, and any other desired spices. Place two tablespoon of the oil in a small frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add half of the mixture to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes each side or until bubbles appear on the surface. Set aside. (To flip, I recommend setting a large plate over the skillet, then rotating the skillet. Slide the inverted fritter back onto the pan (uncooked side down) and cook to finish.)

Add another two tablespoons of the oil and repeat with the remaining batter. Cut into wedges to serve.

Garlic on the left, no garlic on the right, tomato risotto in the back seat.

Reaction:

I liked it better today at lunch than last night but I think I was just tired. I think it would be better with the starred adjustments but its good as is. I was really shocked that they were like a doughy filled crepe or pancake. I hope I've explained this factor well enough that no one else would be shocked by it. Its ok once you wrap your head around what it is though.

Don't forget to see what Mel thought at Fabulously Fun Food!

Double Take: Spicy Roast Chicken

2011-09-01T18:40:00.001-04:00

(For all those people concerned about heat: this recipe isn't hot spicy, but herbed spicy. If concerned, ditch the red pepper. For those who like heat, you can add that element here by amping up the red pepper.)

Sometimes less is more. Today's recipe doesn't brag major craziness. Instead it asks you to accept it as it is (more or less) and enjoy a meal that has really great flavor. We've had some very good chicken recipes in our Double Takes recipes over the last few months. Mel has been very excited about chicken dishes and especially enthusiastic about roasted chicken. This is only the second roasted chicken dish I've made but both I've had were great. I'd have to say this one wins due to its simplicity and abundant flavor. It might roll over my favorite of the past year ...Morroccan Chicken. Yeah, I'm going to post that eventually. Lab work is eating my life right now so you'll need to be satisfied with this for now.

Reasons to be satisfied with this recipe:

It is...

Simple
Quick
Minimal Hands on Time
Both Mel and I liked it and so does Mel's if-you-have-a-recipe-I-like-why-change-it Husband, Bender (It is not that common for all of us to love something.)

On the theme of less is more, that's all I have to say about that.

Spicy Roast Chicken served with steamed green beans, broccoli, and potatoes

Spicy Roast Chicken (adapted from The Wednesday Chef )

This recipe was originally from Barbara Fairchild's list of favorite dishes from 50 years of Bon Appetit.

Serves 2-4 (It served me 4 times.)
Total Time: 45 minutes

1 1/2 c. whole cherry tomatoes stemmed
1/8 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, pressed
3/4 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano (divided in half)
1 Tbsp dried rosemary (divided in half)
4 boneless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper and 1 tablespoon marjoram in a large bowl to combine.

2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet, an 8x8 glass dish or a dutch oven. (I used the 8x8 baking dish so I wouldn't have to worry about spilling. I hate cleaning the oven.) Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken, arranging the tomatoes in a single layer on the sheet around the chicken. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes are blistered, about 35 minutes.

Spicy Roast Chicken with Blistered Tomatoes? Check! Time to eat!

3. Transfer the chicken to plates. Spoon the tomatoes and juices over the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 tablespoon oregano and 1/2 Tbsp rosemary. Sniff deeply with pleasure, then serve.

Reaction:

As a graduate student, time in the evening can be scarce, if existent. This recipe takes about 45 minutes and its delicious. I'm not talking about 45 minutes of prep work either. It takes less time to prep this than it does to heat my oven. Once in the oven, I diced some potatoes and steamed them for 10 minutes. Fresh from my garden, I added strung green beans (half runners) and broccoli. I sprinkled the veggies with rosemary, oregano, 2 garlic cloves, kosher salt, and ground pepper and let them steam another 7 minutes.

The taste had a balance of herbs that made me want a second piece even though I was already full. (I stopped at one though.) This was so flavorful I ate all 4 servings without getting bored of having the same leftovers. This is no small feat for me.

Eager for a second opinion? Check out Mel's post at Fabulously Fun Food.

Daring Baker's Challenge: Candylicious!

2011-08-27T23:53:00.000-04:00

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks athttp://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

This month's daring challenge was a challenge in a number of ways.

1) make 2 candies
2) I felt I ought to make 2 candies I hadn't made before so I didn't go for fudge or truffles
3) temper the chocolate
4) make creative fillings
5) remove lovely filled chocolate from a mold

As it turned out, I had loads of ideas for creative fillings and finally settled on 1) chocolate dipped caramel apple pie: caramel ganache with cinnamon brown sugar coated diced apples 2) berries and cream : diced blueberries and strawberries mixed into sweetened cream cheese filling. I also made some "plain" ones with just the caramel ganache.

Also, it turned out that tempering chocolate wasn't all that tough but OY was it messy (for me anyway)!

My fillings turned out to be somewhat firm (so no running out of the chocolate) but not stiff enough to be rolled in a ball and dipped so that led to making a filled chocolate (bonbon). Yay for attempting something previously untried.

The toughest part of this challenge (for me) was getting the chocolates out of the "mold" without shattering them. Ugh what a delicious (but ugly) mess. I finally got some to come out by lining my "mold" (a silicone mini muffin pan) with parchment paper. The candies didn't have the same sheen as they got from setting against the silicone but they were at least not shattered.

Left: Caramel Apple Bon Bon, Right: Berries and Cream Bon Bon

While I could write up the whole post from the Daring Kitchen, its much simpler to direct you to the .pdf with all their lovely candies. http://thedaringkitchen.com/sites/default/files/u11/58_Chocolate_and_Candy_-_DB_August_2011.pdf

Choose for yourself what diabolical tastiness you'd like to attempt.

If you want, you're welcome to try the fillings I made:

Caramel Ganache

1/2 recipe of caramel sauce

3/4 c. heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp sugar

First prepare caramel sauce. (See below.) Then whip cream to soft peaks. Add sugar, one Tbsp at a time while you continue whipping to form stiffer peaks. After caramel has had 5 minutes to cool, add whipped cream 1/4 c. at a time and fold into the caramel sauce. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. I refrigerated overnight.

Caramel Sauce (1/2 recipe)

1/4 c. unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

1.5 Tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 c. brown sugar (yes I know this makes it technically a butterscotch but most ppl don't know the difference and cringe when they hear butterscotch b/c of the gross store version)

1/4 c. water

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in flour to make a paste. Add brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Be careful if you go over 5 minutes. This sauce will harden into a brick of sugar when cooled if overcooked. NEVER FEAR! Should you overcook (but not burn) the sauce, add it back into the sauce pot with 1/4 c. of water. Using medium heat, the "sugar brick" will dissolve in the water and form a lovely sauce again. Remember to stir.

Caramel Apple Pie Chocolate

1 apple

1 recipe of above caramel ganache, chilled

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp of brown sugar

tempered chocolate, molten

Peel and dice the apple. Stir in cinnamon and brown sugar. Let sit 3-5 minutes for flavors to mingle. Stir in part of the caramel ganache to reach desired apple to caramel ratio. I used maybe 1/3 of the caramel ganache. Its tough to make less than the above recipe though. Pace yourself when devouring the remaining caramel ganache.

Paint the mold with tempered chocolate. Place in fridge to chill for 5-10 minutes. When firm, add filling (~1/2 tsp. in my case) and cover with tempered chocolate. Place back in fridge to chill for 5-10 minutes. Share with friends or use it to make new ones. ;)

Berries and Cream Filling

1/3 c. strawberries

1/3 c. blueberries

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Dice blueberries and stawberries and cover with sugar. Stir sugar around to distribute. Beat cream cheese until soft and fluffly. Add sweetened fruit and vanilla. Stir well and refrigerate at least 2 hours. I made this a day in advance.

As with the previous caramel apple pie bon bon, I painted chocolate onto the mold, chilled, filled, painted chocolate again, and chilled again to set them up before serving.

Reaction:

I liked all three. My favorite was the berries and cream. Mmm, I can eat the filling straight from the bowl. Yum.

Rebecca and Becky both preferred the Caramel Apple Pie Bon Bon but like the others.

Mike preferred the Caramel (even though he typically dislikes both caramel and butterscotch) but liked all three. He rated Berries and Cream in second.

I also liked finally getting the chocolates to not crack when removing from the mold when using parchment paper as a liner. Future preparations will result in me acquiring a mold intended for preparing chocolates.

Thanks for a great challenge!

What's your favorite chocolate filling?

Double Take: Rosemary Onion Bread

2011-08-25T12:30:00.003-04:00

Recently, I told you all about my plant, Miss Rosemary. She’s a major kitchen contributor and I try to find new ways to use her more in cooking. Today’s recipe is an example of that. It’s also an example of merging ideas. For one of the Daring Baking Challenges this spring, we made filled yeasted coffee cakes. Before I cause confusion, this isn’t a coffee cake but it has the same filled swirl technique that we used for the coffee cake.

This is a light, soft bread with a savory filling. If you’re a light lover of rosemary, take it down to ½ to 1 tsp rather than Tbsp. This would be easy to mix and match herbs to serve in a sheet form for garlic bread to serve with salad. It’s a pretty flexible bread. Be cautious with the amounts of herbs depending on how you want to use it. 1 Tbsp of rosemary packs a huge amount of flavor.

Slice of Rosemary-Caramlized Onion Bread

Rosemary-Caramelized Onion Bread (inspired by Foy Update)

Prep Time: 30-45 min

Inactive Time: 1-1.5 hours

Bake Time: 30-45 min

Total Time: 2-3 hours

Yield: 1 large loaf of bread (standard loaf pan, not a store sized loaf)

1 cup warm water

2.5 teaspoons yeast

1.5 tablespoons brown sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter or oil of your choice

½ to 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1 small onion, diced or sliced

(optional) 1/3 c. grated mozzarella or cheddar

(optional) 2 cloves of garlic, minced

3- 3.5 cups flour

Pour the cup of warm water into a large bowl. The water should be about 110 degrees F, about the temperature of a nice bath. (I typically cut the hot water tap on and wait until the water is as warm as my fingers tolerate, though everyone’s tolerance and water heater can be set a little differently.)

Add the brown sugar or honey and stir to dissolve. Then sprinkle the yeast on top. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the yeast to bloom for about five minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the onion and mince the rosemary. Heat 2 Tbsp of your preferred oil in a pan on medium to medium low heat. Cook the onions 10-15 minutes until translucent or browning. Remove the onions from the pan and let cool.

While the onions cook, check on your yeast to make sure it has bloomed. The water should now be covered in a thin layer of frothy foam. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the salt and one cup of flour.

Continue stirring in the flour a half cup at a time until the dough is really hard to mix. Then use your clean hands to knead the dough. I like to knead right in the bowl or you can turn it out on to a lightly floured surface.

Knead for about five minutes until the dough is elastic and still a little sticky.

Pour a little oil into a large clean bowl, place the ball of dough into the bowl and turn it to grease all sides. Then cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place until double. Depending on how warm your place is this could take thirty minutes to an hour.

While the dough rises, prep your onions and rosemary. If your onions were sliced, dice them. If they were diced, pile them on a cutting board with the rosemary. Using a cup, spoon, or whatever is most handy to you. (If you like a mallet, go for the mallet. In this case, I think a mallet might be excessive though and not as useful for crushing. If using a mallet put your onions and rosemary in a ziploc bag or cover with plastic wrap.) Alternately, a mortar and pestle is ideal for this job but I don’t have one. Anyway, crush the onion and rosemary together. If you like, add some minced garlic and cheese to your mixture. Crush the garlic in and once finished crushing, add the cheese.

Punch the dough down and turn it out on to a clean work surface. Roll out the dough into a 10 inch by 20 inch rectangle. It doesn't have to be exact.

Sprinkle the onion and rosemary (optional: garlic and cheese) mixture over the surface of the dough rectangle. Roll the short end of the dough up to form a log.

Now there are 2 options: Flatten the bread out again and reroll it into a log for better distribution of the add ins. (This is what I did and I still got a lovely swirl.) Or continue to the next step.

Tuck the two ends of the dough to the bottom of the lump and lay the dough into a well greased loaf pan.

Allow the dough to rise for second time until double. This rise will go quicker, fifteen minutes to a half hour.

Dough Rising...Is it ready to bake yet?

When the dough gets halfway through the second rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously grease the bread pan. I use a standard loaf pan, but you could use a 9" round or even a cookie sheet if you want a more free-form loaf.

Bake your loaf for 30-45 minutes or until the top starts to brown. When you turn your loaf out the sides and bottom should be a rich golden color, if they aren't put your loaf back in the oven for another five minutes or so. It's very disappointing to cut into a loaf only to find the middle is still doughy.

Once you've achieved the lovely golden brown, turn the finished loaf out on to a cooling rack. This keeps moisture from condensing in the pan and making the crust soggy. Allow the rosemary onion bread to cool at least five minutes before you slice into it.

Reaction:

It is good hot out of the oven (very good). It’s also good the next day if you let it cool completely before wrapping it up. After cooling, wrap it in aluminum foil and enjoy it with a salad, butter, plain, toasted with cheese or whatever. I’d reduce the rosemary to ½ Tbsp (as noted above) for next time but it was tasty. As far as other notes, if you want to use this for bread sticks, you could also add a little oregano, basil and thyme. Be sure to reduce the rosemary if adding other herbs so you can let the flavors meld together rather than letting the rosemary overpower them. As I think about this, roasted garlic would be awfully incredible in here. Mmm...fresh bread.

Update: This bread was tried today by people I worked with in the lab. They loved the flavors! They were surprised there weren't any special ingredients in there b/c to them it tasted like there was something there I wasn't telling them about. For this bread loaf, I only used fresh rosemary and caramelized onion. One wondered "How could it be so simple? Really, what's the special ingredient?" Some expressed it would be served well with good olive oil or warm butter. I can't argue with that. They also thought it was great all by itself. Winner!

Looking for another taste? Check out Mel's viewpoint at Fabulously Fun Food.

Double Take: Mandu (Korean Dumplings)

2011-08-18T12:04:00.001-04:00

Doooooo Doo DooDoo Do Doo Dooo Dooooooo. (It’s tough to type the sound starting the CBS evening news.)

Good evening (its evening somewhere) and welcome to the 6 o’clock news. Last week we brought you a taste of Korea with Korean Fried Chicken. Today, the story continues with Korean dumplings.

What are dumplings, you ask? Well, they’re not your Southern style dumplings folks! (Although those are completely unbeatable, this is the continued Korean story.) These dumplings are along the line of Chinese/Japanese potstickers, Eastern European pierogies, and could be considered a cousin to tortellini. What do all these have in common? They’re dough with a filling inside that is boiled and eaten. All are typically dipped in or served with a sauce.

Tortellini are distinctly Italian. The tortellini dough is really more of a pasta. Tortellini are typically filled with cheese and either a meat or vegetable. Its also served with marinara, white sauce, or in a broth as a soup component.

Pierogi vary across Eastern Europe but are commonly stuffed with potatoes, cabbage, meat, cheese, and sometimes other veggies or fruit. Pierogi can be boiled, baked, fried or even a combination of boiling and frying. They are served with sour cream, butter, or occasionally fried onions and bacon.

Chinese/Japanese pot stickers take us quite a bit closer to the Korean dumplings. They use the same rice based wrappers, are boiled, steamed or boiled/steamed, then fried. Pot stickers are dipped into a soy sauce mixture. The big difference is how they’re filled. Its rather regional but common ingredients in pot stickers include green onions, pork, and shrimp. As an added note, in Boston they call pot stickers Peking Ravioli. That’s funny since ravioli and tortellini are quite similar other than shape and city of origin.

What makes Mandu special? Well, it’s a hybrid. It looks like the potstickers but is flavored with fillings that are common to Korea such as sesame salt for seasoning and is lighter on meat since Koreans originally discouraged eating meat due to their Buddhist practices. According to one legend, the Mongolians brought the mandu when they invaded and relaxed meat restrictions in Korea. Mandu can be served in a broth like tortellini or with a soy sauce mixture after boiling, frying, steaming or a combination of boiling and frying. This recipe calls for the mandu to be boiled but I prefer them boiled then pan fried.

Mandu: The two up close are boiled. At the back, one has been boiled, then dry fried.

Mandu (Korean Dumplings) Recipe

(Adapted from AlmostBourdain and the Gourmet Traveller Magazine September 2010 issue)

Serves 6 (Makes about 35 dumplings)

Time: 1.5 hours

GT - "These dumplings are similar to the Japanese gyoza – you could even fry them after steaming if you wanted the extra crunch. Sesame salt is a common seasoning in Korean cooking – make extra to have on hand for seasoning other dishes too."

Ingredients

½ lb (200 gm) finely minced pork

½ pkg (5 oz) (150 gm) firm tofu, coarsely mashed with a fork

½ c. (100 gm) drained cabbage kimchi, finely chopped, plus extra to serve

2 tbsp finely chopped garlic chives

1 spring onion, finely chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

35 round gow gee wrappers

Sesame salt:

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tsp fine salt

Dipping sauce:

¼ c. (60 mL) soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

How To:

For sesame salt, dry-roast sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium-high heat until roasted (2-3 minutes). Cool slightly, set aside 1 tsp for dipping sauce, then pound remainder with salt in a mortar and pestle until finely ground. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, don’t fret. Grab a hammer or rubber mallet and put your sesame seeds in a ziploc bag. Give the seeds a light beating. You’ll feel better after whatever happened at work or the lab and you’ll be doing something productive at the same time.)

Combine pork, tofu, kimchi, chives, spring onion, sesame oil and a large pinch of freshly ground pepper in a bowl and season to taste with sesame salt (about 1 tsp). Set aside. Be sure to mix these very well together. If not, you’ll have some with too much tofu.

Lay a few wrappers on a work surface, place a teaspoonful of pork mixture in centre of each, then brush edges with a little water. Fold in half to form a semicircle. Then trim edges with a 7cm-diameter cutter. Pleat edges and set aside on a lightly floured tray.

Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Cook mandu in batches in boiling water over medium-high heat until cooked through (2-4 minutes). Drain and keep warm.

Meanwhile, for dipping sauce, combine ingredients and reserved roasted sesame seeds in a bowl. Serve with mandu, kimchi and extra sesame salt.

Reaction

As written, this is not a weeknight meal. This could be a weeknight meal if you have the filling prepped the day before though. Becky and I made these with the Korean fried chicken and it was a long evening. By the end, we were so hungry and tired we weren’t too picky about what we ate.

They tasted great fresh out of the steamer but were slightly less awesome when reheated the next day. Mixing the filling very well is key to having similar flavors for all the dumplings. I think I prefer more meat though. In the future, I’d increase the meat to tofu ratio or skip the tofu altogether. I distinctly liked the flavor of the kimchi in the dumplings and would encourage increasing the kimchi in the filling ratio in the future. I thought the sesame seeds tasted good in the dumplings but I preferred the dipping sauce without sesame seeds. I dry fried a couple dumplings that were trying to fall apart and they were very tasty. I’d definitely recommend frying them in the future.

Summary: more pork, more kimchi (special cabbage…kind of like a pickled cabbage), less tofu, and NO sesame seeds in the dipping sauce.

This is starting to sound like pierogi meeting a German. It’s fun to try food from unfamiliar places. In the end, most foods have a similar dish somewhere else in the world. It’s funny to me that foods and places that can seem so different can have so much in common.

Are you hungry for a second opinion? See what Mel thought at Fabulously Fun Food!

Double Take: Korean Fried Chicken

2011-08-14T20:45:00.003-04:00

Everybody needs a little KFC! Oh wait, this is KOREAN fried chicken, not Kentucky Fried. No matter, the jingle still applies.

If you're like me, you might balk a little when someone mentions Korean food. Why is that? Why do I think mmmm Japanese food, mmmm Thai food, ...Korean food ...ehhhh?!

If I think back, there was certainly a time when I would've hesitated at Japanese food. Five years ago, I tried Thai food and wasn't sure I could be talked into trying it again. Sometimes its about finding something you like within a cuisine. I'm not interested in Japanese food with mushrooms (which make me a very sick girl...stop me if I think that a small amount won't hurt.) I'm also not interested in Pad Thai. I love spicy noodles though and Thai curries are great! I'm glad Mel got me to try Thai a second time. ...and helped me find some things I really like.

Anywho, Korean food. I kept seeing Korean Fried Chicken pop up on blogs. Multiple recipes of people going on about how awesome it was. I figured, hey its fried chicken..surely this many people can't be wrong. If you're concerned about picky eaters and this dish, let me assure you that its really fried chicken that you roll in a sauce. The sauce is tasty and can easily be tailored for the I'm-not-into-spicy-food-AT-ALL- people. My friend Becky isn't into spicy food so we were especially careful with the spicy heat. She loved this though. If you're dealing with I'm-not-eating-Korean-NAH-NAH-you-can't-make-me....serve them the fried chicken without the sauce. Problem solved.

Korean Fried Chicken (Fried Chicken with Korean BBQ Sauce)

Korean Fried Chicken (KFC Recipe)
(Adapted from Almost Bourdain and Gourmet Traveller Magazine September 2010 issue)

Time: at least 1 hour (depends on size of deep fryer or pot)

Servings: 4-6 as an entree

Gourmet Traveller - "This chicken is fried twice (or if you like, thrice) to become extra crisp. Toss it through the sauce after it's fried - thoroughly messy, but seriously good.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
4 lbs chicken pieces (drumsticks and thighs)
Thinly sliced spring onion, to serve (optional)

Batter:
1 c. plain flour, sifted
2 Tbsp cornflour
1 eggwhite, lightly beaten
salt and pepper

Chilli sauce:

2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
10 g ginger (about 2 cm) piece, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 Tbsp gochujang (hot chili pepper sauce) for light spice eaters, 2-3 Tbsp for those wanting some kick, 4 Tbsp for people who don't mind numbing their mouth

How To

For chilli sauce, combine ingredients in a large bowl, season to taste with freshly ground pepper and set aside.

For batter, whisk flours, eggwhite and 3/4 c. (170 ml) cold water in bowl. Season to taste and set aside.
Preheat oil in a deep-sided saucepan to 180C. Dip chicken pieces in batter and deep-fry in batches, turning occasionally until light golden (8-10 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper until cooled slightly (10-15 minutes).
Deep-fry chicken again, in batches, until crisp and deep golden (8-10 minutes), drain on absorbent paper, then add to sauce, toss to coat and serve hot topped with spring onion.

Reaction:

Hey, this isn't hot. Its tasty! I wouldn't have minded another Tbsp of hot chili pepper sauce in the mix but it was nice to have lots of flavor without heat. I'd rate this as a make again but it takes a long time to fry so much chicken. I'm thinking Korean Baked chicken or maybe even Korean Grilled Chicken. You could definitely get the crunch in the oven but I'm not sure about the grill. The grill would just be the fastest method to chicken on the table. Either way, Korean Fried Chicken is nothing to fear....its Tasty!

Hungry for more? Head to Mel's blog for her take on Korean Fried Chicken.

Double Take: Summer Vegetable Gratin

2011-08-04T12:00:00.007-04:00

Today, I realized that my last post (Risotto Primavera) was the 100th post on my blog. That seems rather momentous to me. If I glance back at the past 100 posts, I see a lot of double takes posts, a smattering of some of the cooking nights I've hosted, and several daring challenges. I also see that my writing and photography skills have changed (for the better, I think). Looking forward, I hope to get you all updated with all the crazy cooking nights we've done. Further, I'd like to start giving you more of a taste of the sweet treats I make for people's birthdays. I'll also be adding a recipe index soon and I have a new food interest that I can hopefully start sharing in the next few months. I'll let it be a surprise but the only hint I have is that it takes more time than a standard recipe takes to produce. It promises to be really fun.

Is there anything special you'd like to see getting posted here? Is there anything that is a missing feature on the blog page that drives you crazy? Let me know! This is a work in progress.

Today's recipe is a shout out to all those summer vegetables you've been gathering from your garden, local farmer's market, neighbor who can't handle anymore, or grocery. I know, everyone didn't grow up eating loads of vegetables. I'm always impressed with all the veggies that Laura @ Hey what's for dinner mom? is able to get her kids to not only eat but also enjoy! Sometimes in the daily and weekly routine, its easy to fall into a steam it and get tired of it rut with vegetables. While this is healthy, it can get dull. I don't know about you but if I get bored of food, I have trouble making myself eat it. One way to break up the rut is by combining vegetables together to compliment one another. That's exactly what the summer vegetable gratin does. It combines complimenting vegetables (in a combination that comes as somewhat of a surprise) with common spices and CHEESE!

Summer Vegetable Gratin

Say Cheese! See its got you smiling already! :)

Summer Vegetable Gratin (Adapted from Pink Parsley and Cook's Illustrated)

Prep Time: 45-50 minutes
Bake Time: 40-45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hr 30 minutes.

Servings: 4-6 (as a side), 2-4 (as a main)

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (approximately 1 medium zucchini), (can sub yellow squash or eggplant easily)
1 teaspoons salt
3/4 pounds ripe tomatoes (2 large), sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thin (about 1.5 cups)
3/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced dried thyme leaves
1 large slice good-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
(optional) 1 Tbsp Asiago or Romano cheese, grated (for a little added flavor)
2 Tbsp chives, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves (1 Tbsp dried basil leaves)
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

How To:

Adjust the oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 8x8 inch baking dish and set aside.

Toss zucchini slices with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large colander, and allow to drain about 45 minutes, or until they release 3 Tablespoons of liquid. Arrange slices on a triple layer of paper towels or a dish towel, cover with a clean dish towel, and press firmly to remove as much moisture as possible.

As the zucchini drains, line another dish towel with the tomatoes, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Allow to stand 30 minutes, then using a clean dish towel or paper towels, press firmly to dry the tomatoes.

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 Tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and dark golden brown, about 20 minutes. Set aside.

Combine the garlic, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of oil, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, thyme, and rosemary in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini with half the garlic-oil mixture. Arrange in the baking dish, then top with an even layer of the onions. Slightly overlap the tomato slices in a single layer over the onions, and drizzle with the remaining oil mixture. Bake until the vegetables are softened and tomatoes are starting to brown around the edges, 40-45 minutes.

As the vegetables cook, pulse the bread in a food processor until finely ground (You should have about 1/2 cup of crumbs). Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, Asiago or Romano (if desired), 1/2 Tablespoon oil, and chives in a medium bowl.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and increase the heat to 450. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the vegetables, and bake gratin until bubbling and lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with basil. Allow to sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Ready to eat....finally!

My Reaction:

Holy cow that took an hour and a half! Holy cow its tasty. Maybe there's a way to prep the veggies ahead of time to make this go more quickly. Perhaps slice and salt in the morning before work so the veggies lose their water while I'm not around and waiting on them? You could also pre cook the onions too but to be honest, its just being done ahead and not really saving time other than having a shorter time to wait between arriving home from work and eating supper. This could be an advantage but then again, this could be a Saturday or Sunday meal rather than a weeknight wonder. Its different, easily adaptable and quite tasty. I'd definitely make it again!

Be sure to see what Mel thought by jumping over to Fabulously Fun Food.

Today's recipe is going to be linked to Laura's Meatless Monday and I'd encourage you to check it out for some more great ideas for changing up your vegetable routine. To find lists of her meatless dishes and other folks who've linked up, head over to Hey What's for Dinner Mom? and search her google box for Meatless Monday.

Double Take: Risotto Primavera

2011-07-29T12:00:00.009-04:00

Risotto Primavera

I'm somewhat of a newbie to risotto. I'd never had it before last spring. Rebecca, Ruthann and I made one with zucchini, another with green beans and a third with butternut squash. We didn't do this all in one night but we were really enjoying risotto. The zucchini from Bon Appetite: Fast, Easy, Fresh was our favorite. Its a great dish if you have a few people to feed and can send leftovers home with them.

The various vegetable combinations can really transform the veggies from the norm of steaming or sauteing. As an added bonus, I've heard that non-meatitarian families eat risotto as an meatless main for supper. If you want to go completely vegetarian you can use vegetable broth (slight shudder). I'm not a big veggie broth gal but I know there are people who are. To you I say, awesome and if you have a veggie broth you love, let me know. I'd be willing to try it.

It does take a little longer to prepare but most of the time isn't hands on time. You can walk away for a couple minutes to tend another dish and then return to stir and add a little more broth. For people who love to stir a pot, this is your dish! For people who like to walk away for a minute or two and come back, this dish works for you too! How often does that happen?

There are a few things you should know before attempting a risotto recipe.

1. What's Risotto? - a dish prepared with short to medium grained rice cooked with a broth (vegetable or meat) and finished with Parmesan cheese

2. What's Primavera? - served with a variety of fresh vegetables (This can include an oil sauce or white sauce but the only key ingredient is fresh vegetables.)

3. What's Arborio rice? - common rice for making risotto but any short to medium grain rice will do. This rice absorbs lots of fluid without becoming mushy. Look for Arborio rice at Whole Foods and you'll typically get a better price than at a supermarket. Its also available by the scoop at Whole Foods.

4. If you live by yourself, DO NOT MAKE A WHOLE RECIPE. It grows.

5. If using a stock/broth that has salt in it, don't add any extra salt until you've tasted it. It is likely that the stock will have more than enough salt.

6. Are you wondering why the recipe would call for both olive oil and butter? The olive oil can take more heat but the butter gives more flavor. Using them together allows maximum heat and flavor at once!

Reaction:

I loved this risotto but after eating it four times, I started getting tired of it. See #5. I tried adding other herbs and even made risotto cakes to help finish it off. Risotto cakes are made by simply making a ball of risotto in your hands (1-2" diameter) and flattening it into a thick patty. Roll the patty in panko or Italian breadcrumbs. (I tried and liked both.) Pan fry in 1 Tbsp oil until crumbs are browned. Try them alone or with a dollop of salsa! I encourage you to halve the risotto recipe if you only have 1-2 people eating it. I served this recipe with Garlic Rosemary Chicken.

Risotto Cakes from Leftover Risotto.
Add a dollop of salsa for some extra zing!

Risotto Primavera (adapted from Pioneer Woman)

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes.
Total Time: ~ 1 hour

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

5 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 whole Large Yellow Onion Finely Diced
3 whole Carrots, Peeled And Finely Diced
1 cup Broccoli Pieces
1 whole Zucchini, Peeled and Finely Diced
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (additional)
1 Tablespoon Butter (additional)
1-1/2 cup Arborio Rice
1-1/2 cup Dry White Wine, can sub white grape juice
4 whole Green Onions, Thinly Sliced
1/2 cup Frozen or Fresh Peas
1/2 c. Feta cheese
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Optional Vegetables To Substitute For Any Of The Above: Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Squash, Asparagus Pieces, Cauliflower

How To:

Pour chicken broth into a small saucepan. Heat to a simmer.

In a large Dutch oven or saucepot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter. Add diced onions and diced carrots. Stir and cook for a minute or two. . Add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds. Add zucchini and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from pan and put on a plate. Set aside.

Add 1 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the same pan. Heat over medium-low heat. Add rice and stir, cooking for 1 minute. Add half the wine.

Stir and cook until liquid is absorbed. Over the next 30 to 45 minutes, add 1 cup of simmering broth at a time, stirring and cooking until each addition of broth has absorbed. Add other half of wine and cook until absorbed. Add green onions and peas, stirring to combine.

Taste to make sure rice is the right texture (not chewy or crunchy but soft and moist); add another helping of broth if rice has too much crunchy/chewy texture to it. Check salt content and add salt if necessary.

Once rice is cooked, remove from heat. Stir in Feta, Parmesan, and vegetables until all Feta is combined.

Feel free to toss on a little rosemary or fresh basil at the end to change up the flavor.

I served the risotto primavera with garlic rosemary chicken. Yum!

Be sure to stop by Fabulously Fun Food to see what Mel thought of Risotto Primavera!

Daring Baker's Challenge: Peach-Blueberry Fraisier

2011-07-29T08:13:00.001-04:00

Peach-Blueberry Fraisier

This challenge makes me think of two old sayings...1) Bad things come in threes. 2) When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. To be honest, I've had a number of caketastrophies lately. Allow me to suffice it to the fact that gravity appeared to greater than normal for the cakes I've made lately. No, they weren't falling in the sense that you think of a fallen cake or fallen bread. Instead the cakes or their elements made extreme attempts at not staying contained as desired. Please note: the cakes survived all their literal falls. Cakes were not damaged but it sure was stressful. For one cake, the pan fell from my hands to the floor. The bottom of the pan hit the floor, the cake was so shaken in the process that it broke into 15 pieces but stayed in the cake pan. I pulled the pieces out, cooled them and then reassembled them atop a piece of parchment paper in the cake pan. After chilling together in the form in the fridge, they came out as what looked like a normal cake. I set it on the bottom and no one could even tell.

This cake happened to be the three in my set of 3's. It was a doozy. First, the curd tried to stick in the pot the first time. I saved it but made the fatal error of later underwhipping my whipped cream. (I've whipped a lot of cream at this point so this was very rare.) I didn't realize it was because the cream had gotten warm while waiting on me to do other things and warming cream loses its stifness. As I added the curd I panicked about the cream and stuck the beaters in there. The pastry cream broke (formed tons of tiny ugly curds) and was no longer usable.

Continuing on I worked on the cake. Five egg whites...no problem. I had some in the freezer for just such an occasion. I beat my eggs whites to the point of being perfect. As I cut off the hand mixer, it unexpectedly jolted and shot the beaten egg whites' bowl off the counter and upside down on the floor. I was upset. I hate wasting food, especially egg whites for some reason. However, when I flipped the bowl, I discovered that it wasn't as big a problem as I'd thought. The whites were so stiff that they remained firmly stuck in the bowl. Whew!

I baked the cake and it looked soooo tall. Yay!

Mmmm Lemon Chiffon Cake.
The lemon flavor was stronger before the simple syrup was added during assembly.

I made the pastry cream a second time and it looked fine! Yay!

No curds here! This pastry cream was delicious.

I realized that somehow after making the simple syrup that it had been confused for water and tossed. Arg. No problem, its just sugar and water. I remade it quickly and went to bed.

The next morning, assembly was a cinch. I realized partway through that I really would've preferred to have a double batch of pastry cream. The broken one didn't look gorgeous but it tasted fine so I subbed just enough in to take care of the problem.

(My apologies, I really thought I took some assembly photos. Apparently, I didn't. Imagine slicing the cake in half, sticking half in the bottom of a spring form pan, and pouring simple syrup (sugar water) over it. Then lining the wall of the pan with plastic wrap and arranging fruit on the outer border, securing the fruits' positions with pastry cream and filling the middle with pastry cream and fruit once the border was complete. Follow that up with the other cake half on top with more simple syrup. Top it all off with a layer of rolled out almond paste and chill 4 hours. The final product was decorated with powdered sugar and more fresh peach slices and blueberries.)

Top view. The yellowish/beige colored material is almond paste.
It can come in a tube or a can and you roll it out into a shape.

If I reattempted this in the future, I'd double the pastry cream.

I assembled everything and got to the almond paste...I wondered how it would taste. I'm not typically an almond flavoring fan. With this cake, it worked but I wouldn't mind having a different flavored paste on top. For those who haven't worked with almond paste before its like a stiff modeling clay. Honestly, its not unlike the feel of the chocolate dough I made for the May challenge to create a tree. I think you could probably use "white chocolate" and add lemon flavor and zest to get a lemon flavored topping for the lemon lover's. Perhaps if making chocolate a semi sweet chocolate dough would be in order. Flavors could be bumped around by adding raspberry juice to the chocolate mixture, if desired.

I think the recipe has a lot of potential but its tough to take somewhere in heat. Mike, Rebecca, and I enjoyed it after watching Harry Potter. I shared some with other friends throughout the week and it was enjoyed by all. The pastry cream filling was a crowd favorite. I found myself wanting more bold lemon flavor but Mike and Rebecca preferred the light lemon flavor and really enjoyed the taste of the almond paste on top. I rather liked the almond there too. Thanks for a unique challenge!

Tada! Isn't it pretty?

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

Peach Blueberry Fraisier

Prep Time: At least 4 hours for all the components
Refrigeration time: 4 hours
Total Time: At least 8 hours.

Preparation time: The traditional recipe I am providing can be made in stages. As a whole the recipe requires at least 4 hours of time, and 4 hours of refrigeration, BUT the cake, pastry cream and syrup can be made days ahead of assembly to help ease the time burden. Once these three are made, the cake will take about half an hour to assemble followed by 4 hours of refrigeration.

Suggested Equipment:

measuring cups and spoons for liquid and dry ingredients
cutting board & knife to prepare the fruit
electric mixer or stand mixer
wooden spoon
rolling pin
plastic wrap
parchment paper
cooling rack
serving platter of your choice
8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan
2 large mixing bowls
small mixing bowl
whisk
rubber spatula
toothpick
butter knife
heavy sauce pan
fine mesh sieve
small dish
2 small sauce pans
small stainless steel bowl or double boiler
pastry bag

Lemon Chiffon Cake:

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (270 ml) (5½ oz/155 gm) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) baking powder
3/4 cups (180 ml) (6 oz /170 gm) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (1½ gm) salt, preferably kosher
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (3.17 fl oz/95 ml) water
1 Tbsp (15 ml) (12 gm) lemon zest, grated (really just the zest from one lemon)
5 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1 gm) cream of tartar
Add 1/8 cup (30 ml) lemon juice
Increase lemon zest to 1½ teaspoon (7½ ml) (5 gm)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3).
Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.
In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly.
Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.
Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.
Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Removed the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.
To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Pastry Cream Filling: (double this to have enough)

Ingredients:
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) whole milk
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon (1/2 ml) (¼ gm) salt, preferably kosher
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (10 gm)cornstarch
1/4 cup (60 ml) (2 oz/55 gm) sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz/30 gm) unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (4 gm) gelatin
1/2 tablespoon (7½ ml) water
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) heavy cream

Directions:

Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Stir occasionally. Pay close attention to the temp here. If it gives you peace of mind, take care of the cornstarch, sugar and egg mixture before dealing with scalding the milk. This may cost short term time BUT it will save you from repeating the process.
Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine.
Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
When the milk is ready, gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture.
Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally.
Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth.
Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days.
In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften.
Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
Measure 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 ml) of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water.
Heat the cream until it is 120 F (48.8 C). Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches.
In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula. Whatever you do, do not whisk this mixture together or it will break into tiny curds rather than maintaining smooth creaminess.

Simple Syrup:

You may choose to flavor the syrup. One way is to use flavored sugar (for example: apple cider sugar, orange sugar, or vanilla sugar) or to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of flavored extract. You may also infuse with herbs or spices, if desired or add four tablespoons (60 ml) of fruit juice or liqueur while the syrup is cooling.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) (2⅔ oz/75 gm) of sugar, flavored or white
1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) of water

Directions:

Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup.
Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly.
Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator. Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month.

Fraisier Assembly:

Components:
1 baked 8 inch (20 cm) chiffon cake
1 or 2 recipes pastry cream filling (I think 2 works out a bit better.)
⅓ cup (80 ml) simple syrup or flavored syrup
2 lbs (900 g) strawberries (or 2 peaches and half a cup of blueberries.)
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
½ cup (120 ml) (5 oz/140 gm) almond paste (optional but tasty)

Directions:

Line the sides of a 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan.
Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers.
Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough.
Hull and slice in half enough strawberries to arrange around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side of the strawberry against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring.
Pipe cream in-between strawberries and a thin layer across the top of the cake.
Hull and quarter your remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake. Cover the strawberries and entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of the pastry cream.
Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup.
Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 10-inch (25 cm) round 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) thick. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of pastry cream on the top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap.
Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Double Take: Chicken Cacciatore

2011-07-21T12:01:00.003-04:00

Top 3 Reasons to make this dish:

1. You like it when your tastebuds sing.
2. You like it when your coworkers sniff your lunch jealously.
3. You like it when a meal doesn't require a lot of effort on your part.

Chicken Cacciatore (Catch'-a-toor-ee) is a tasty treat for those who like peppers and onions. Don't think fajita though. Instead, think southern style pan potatoes with peppers and onions. Mmm. In this case the peppers and onions meet up with some tomatoes and a chicken is roasted with spices balanced so well your tongue will be delighted. Mine sure was.

From first glance, the recipe below might look intimidating. The ingredients list looks long but it was all pretty normal stuff. You can sub things out but its so simple there's not much need. You make pasta, brown chicken, cook peppers and onions, add spices and bake covered in the oven for a bit. Its pretty straightforward. Did I mention it was really tasty? What are you waiting for? Go grab your dutch oven (or a baking pan with an aluminum tent) and let's get started.

Chicken Cacciatore (adapted from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

1/4 pound Pasta Or Egg Noodles
3 Chicken Quarters, separated, Skin On (can Use Any Whole Piece Chicken),
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 whole Medium Onion, Halved And Sliced
1 whole (huge) or 2 medium sized Red Bell Peppers, Cored And Sliced (not Too Thin)
5 cloves Garlic, Diced
1/4 teaspoon Ground Thyme
1/8 teaspoon Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Red Pepper Flakes, Crushed, To Taste (optional)
3/8 cups Dry White Wine
1 can (14 Ounce) Whole Or Diced Tomatoes (with Their Juice)
Parmesan Cheese, For Sprinkling

How To:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

Cook pasta according to package directions. Do not overcook! Drain and set aside.

Salt and pepper both sides of the pieces of chicken. Dredge chicken in flour. Heat olive oil and butter in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin down in pan, four pieces at a time. Brown chicken on both sides, then remove to a clean plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Pour off half the fat in the pan and discard. At this point, there should be no chicken in the pan and a little fat.

Add sliced onions and peppers, as well as the garlic. Stir around for 1 minute.Add thyme, turmeric, and salt. (And crushed red pepper flakes if you like things a little spicy.) Add extra black pepper to taste. Stir, then pour in wine. Allow to bubble.

Pour in canned tomatoes and stir to combine.

Add chicken back into the pan, skin side up, without totally submerging the chicken. Place lid on the pot and put it into the oven for 45 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to 375 degrees. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven. Remove chicken from the pot and place it on a plate. Remove vegetables from pot and place them on a plate. Return pot to burner and turn heat to medium high. Cook and reduce sauce for a couple of minutes.

Pour cooked, drained noodles on a large platter or in a big serving bowl. Add vegetables all over the top, then place chicken pieces on top of the vegetables. Spoon juices from the pot over the chicken and pasta (amount to taste.)

Before serving, sprinkle on grated Parmesan.

Reaction:

This was very tasty. I halved the recipe so I would be able to eat it within a week. The recipe gave me four or five servings but if you're used to eating 2 chicken thighs for a meal, plan to only have 2 servings and maybe a snack from the above proportions. I admit, I got rather nervous before trying it but I would class this as a definite repeat. My coworkers were crazy jealous....and I learned how to say the dish name right. That's why I listed it for you. You may have already known but this way it prevents any embarrassment from knowing how to cook a dish but not knowing how to say its name.

Curious to see what Mel thought of this dish? Pop over to Fabulously Fun Food!

Beef With Spicy Cocoa Gravy, Double Take

2011-07-14T12:00:00.004-04:00

When Mel added this recipe to her pick list, I was skeptical. Mel loves mole (the spicy cocoa Mexican dish) but after trying it and another dish with a similar ingredient, I learned I don't like adobo peppers. They tend to bring along with them a heavy smoky flavor (cuminesque) and I'm not a heavy cumin kind of gal so at least my taste buds are consistent. Mel knows that I don't love cumin. I'll use a little but I often reduce it in recipes. As it turns out, her husband, Bender, doesn't care much for cumin either. I scanned the recipe and was relieved to see no adobo peppers. It did call for cumin but I could always adjust that. I decided, sure, I could try this.

I noticed that the cook time is a bit lengthy compared to a 30 minute wonder. It takes over an hour and a half. Since we had another dish selected that took about the same time, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I'll show you the other dish in a week or so on a future double take but you'll get a sneak peak in the photos.

Having made it, I would give you a couple words of caution about the beef with spicy cocoa gravy:

1) DO NOT DOUBLE the sauce. Holy cow, I might have accidentally doubled an ingredient and decided to solve the problem by doubling the rest of the sauce. Don't do this unless you have a gravy-loving cat. It turns out Sookie (my female cat) snubbed the gravy but Jack (male cat who has very different food preferences from Sookie) loved the gravy. He refused to eat the tomatoes and the bell pepper and onion (oops, I didn't think about the bell pepper and onion, that shouldn't be offered to a cat). Lucky for me Jack was smart enough to leave that in a pile to the side and enjoyed lapping up the gravy from his bowl.

2) I would encourage you to reduce the cumin and possibly add some cocoa to the gravy mixture if you want to have even a hint of chocolate taste.

3) Don't expect this to taste like chocolatey beef (unless you do some serious cocoa increases). It really will taste more like a chunks of roast beef in a gravy which has a Mexican influence.

4) A little goes a long way with this recipe. Their suggested portion size is apparently double mine. I apparently ate about 1/2 c at a time while the original called for 1 c. servings. Judge how much to make based on how much your family eats. I didn't notice the portion size was so large. It would've been pretty near impossible to cut this recipe into 1/4 though.

Beef with Spicy Cocoa Gravy

Beef with Spicy Cocoa Gravy (Adapted from Culinary in the Country)

Total Time: 1 hr 30 min.

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoons ancho chile powder
3/4 teaspoons cumin (I'd use 1/4 tsp in the future..I just don't enjoy much smoky flavor)
3/4 teaspoons granulated garlic
3/4 teaspoons oregano
3/4 teaspoons paprika
1/16 teaspoon cinnamon (or you can just use a pinch)
3/4 pounds trimmed top round steak, cut into 1" cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup dry red wine (or red grape juice or cherry grape juice, whatever's handy)
1/2 of a 14.5 ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How To:

In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, coriander, ancho powder, cumin, garlic, oregano, paprika and cinnamon. Add beef and toss to coat. Remove beef and set aside. Stir in flour to the remaining spices and return beef - toss well to evenly coat the pieces.

In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef mixture to pan and sauté until brown on all sides - about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove beef from pan and add remaining oil. Repeat browning with the remaining beef mixture - remove when browned.

Add onions and bell pepper into the Dutch oven and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes tender. Pour in wine and tomatoes - cook 3 minutes. Mix in beef broth, salt and black pepper. Add the browned beef back into the pan - cover, reduce heat and simmer until the beef is tender - about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Makes 6 - 1/2 c. servings

Reaction:

I liked it pretty well the first serving. I was shocked that it didn't taste like I expected though. I was expecting a melding of the cocoa into the gravy to give a slight chocolate taste...but no. It tasted like roast beef with peppers and cumin. It reheated well and I enjoyed it for lunch the next day. I'm generally good about eating leftovers til they're gone but if the leftovers become overwhelming, I get sick of them. I eat them but don't enjoy it. I tried changing the flavor by adding some soy sauce and steamed broccoli. That helped. I wouldn't rate this as my favorite recipe on earth but it was something different. I did wind up eating this 6 times in one week though and I feel like that's a bit much for a half recipe.

I'd have to rate this as I'd-make-it-by-request-but-not-without-having-at-least-4-people-to-help-eat-it. I'd still stick with half a recipe for four people.

Pop over to Mel's to see what she thought of this dish at Fabulously Fun Food.

Sookie snubbed the gravy. She also decided to increase the cushiness of her cat bed by knocking over a package of Charmin. Cats have their own way of doing things.

Double Take: Carnitas

2011-07-07T12:01:00.002-04:00

I'm very excited to share today's post with you. In fact, I've been excited about it since Cinco de Mayo but we had this one scheduled a little later than then on our calendar. Lucky for you, it'll be time for the Mexican Independence Day celebration on September 16th. Just pocket this recipe away til then and you'll be ready to party like its 1810...or celebrate the victory in 1821..however it works out for you. (In case you're wondering, 1810 is when the Mexicans declared Independence from Spain. They didn't gain independence until 1821 but they celebrate September 16 (the day they declared independence) as their Independence Day.)

I saw the carnitas episode on America's Test Kitchen earlier this year and was impressed but not yet won over. I'd never eaten carnitas. I wasn't sure what to expect. The next thing I knew, a friend came in from out of town and I wound up at a Mexican restaurant. Across the seat from me, Ruthann ordered carnitas. She wasn't overwhelming pleased with the ones there but said they were usually awesome. No joke, within the next two weeks, Melanie picks out not one but TWO carnitas recipes. At this point, I was like wow, apparently I'm going to be trying carnitas. I suggested the recipe from America's Test Kitchen. Their rigorous testing pleases the scientist in me but its typically more work than I'd want to go to on my own on a per recipe basis. Since they'd done the work, it seemed logical to me to try it their way. Mel was game so I was off on my journey to try carnitas.

The next thing I needed was a taste tester. It looked like carnitas could feed a small crowd. Heads up...it really can. Be prepared to have a crowd handy or eat them for a week. This would not be one person eating them for a week either. Seriously 2-3 people could eat these for a week. But I digress, Becky was totally up for a little food themed celebration of Cinco de Mayo.

As I looked over the recipe, I realized it could use a little modification for your average joe grad student who stays at the lab way too many hours in a day. In fact, the same modification would work well for your average Joe or Jill who works a long day on the job but wants a tasty dinner. Got a crockpot? You're in for a tasty treat.

Carnita ready to eat!

Crockpot Carnitas (adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

Prep Time: 45 min to 1 hr
Cook Time: 6-8 hours in the crockpot, 30 min in oven (optional)

INGREDIENTS

PORK

1 (3 1/2-to 4-pound) boneless pork butt , fat cap trimmed to 1/8 inch thick, cut into 2-inch chunks (Pretty much leave the fat on there or it'll be dry meat.)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small onion , peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime
2 cups water
1 medium orange, halved
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

TORTILLAS AND GARNISHES

18 (6-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
Lime wedges
Minced white or red onion, can saute if desired
Fresh cilantro leaves
Sour cream
peach and pineapple salsa
grated sharp cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine pork, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cumin, onion, bay leaves, oregano, lime juice, and water in large crock pot (liquid should just barely cover meat). Juice orange into medium bowl and remove any seeds (you should have about 1/3 cup juice). Add juice and spent orange halves to pot. Set crockpot to either 6 or 8 hours and head off to work.

2. Pour juices into a pot on the oven. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl; remove orange halves, onion, and bay leaves from cooking liquid and discard (do not skim fat from liquid). Place pot over high heat (use caution, as handles will be very hot) and simmer liquid, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy (heatsafe spatula should leave wide trail when dragged through glaze), 8 to 12 minutes. You should have about 1 cup reduced liquid.

3. Using 2 forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Fold in reduced liquid; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread pork in even layer on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet or on broiler pan (meat should cover almost entire surface of rack or broiler pan). Place baking sheet on lower-middle rack and broil until top of meat is well browned (but not charred) and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, flip pieces of meat and continue to broil until top is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Serve immediately with warm tortillas and garnishes.

Crunchy flavorful Carnita meat from the oven

Reaction:

Tasty. I prefer my meat to be less crunchy. In the future, I'll just do the crockpot part and quit. Its an easy recipe to throw together and allow to cook for you while you work during the day. Simple is good in my book. Becky liked them too. Warning: This makes a ton of meat so having more than two people eating it will help a ton. I'd suggest 4-6 people could be fed easily. I think you could feed 8-10 with a side of gazpacho. The carnitas were a fun way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Check out how Mel reacted to the carnitas at Fabulously Fun Food.

Fourth of July, Blue and White: Blueberry Pie

2011-07-04T12:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday's post was all about the U.S. flag with special emphasis on the red and white. I mentioned that the white stars on the blue background were meant to represent a constellation. The early leaders meant this to symbolize our country's place as a sovereign power. Today's blueberry pie is constellation-esque with its white pastry stars in the blueberry "sky".

I actually made this pie for a friend's bday party. Her birthday falls in December around Christmas when no one is around so we celebrated her birthday early as a surprise in July! I wasn't quite sure how it would come out but I was thrilled with the result.

Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie

I started with making a double recipe of the one crust pie crust I posted previously. For convenience sake, I'm reposting it here too.

Pie Crust (1 crust): DOUBLE THIS RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 c. flour
½ tsp salt
3 rounded Tbsp Crisco (shortening)
3 Tbsp ice water

How To:

Measure flour and salt into a large bowl. Blend shortening into flour and salt with a pastry blender or fork until it reaches the consistency of heavy cornmeal. Add water 1 tablespoonful at a time, tossing wet and dry ingredients together with blender until all the flour is moistened. Turn out on floured board. Roll into a circle 1/8 to ¼ inch thick and large enough to allow 1 to 1 ½ inches hanging over the edge of the pie tin. Fold up and back to make an upright rim and flute with fingers. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Place another tin the same size over the crust. Bake 12 minutes at 450 F until browned at the bottom. Remove upper tin and allow inside of crust to brown.

This crust can be rolled thinly and make enough for 2 crusts. Some days, though, I'm better off making a double recipe. This was a double recipe sort of day. (Actually, it was more than that but for this pie, it was a double recipe.)

I rolled out the main dough and laid it in the bottom of the pie crust. Then I pinched small bits and made a ring of triangular nubs all around the top of the pie.

Blueberry Pie Filling (adapted from Williams and Sonoma Baking)

Ingredients

4 c. blueberries
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (this should be the amount from an average lemon)
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. corn starch
1 Tbsp lemon zest (the zest from an average lemon)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

For topping the crust:
1 Tbsp butter, cut into small bits

How To:

1. Place the blueberries in a medium bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss gently to cover all.

2. In a small bowl, combine sugar, corn starch, lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon.

3. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the blueberries and toss gently to distribute well.

4. Pour into the dough prepared pan.

Assembly of Top

Roll out the other half of the dough.

Using a cookie cutter, cut out as many of the shapes as you can and begin placing them on top of the filling. Start with the outside border. If you can connect them to the edge of the crust, it'll stay connected better for you after baking. Overlap each star a little but be sure to leave holes for 1) the blueberries to peak through 2) the functional purpose of releasing steam from the pie.

Wad up the remaining dough and roll it out again until you've cut out as many stars as possible. Continue covering the filling until you've worked your way to the center. Place one star (or shape of your choice) in the center.

Top the crust with the small bits of butter. I used one blob per star.

Bake at 375 F for 50 - 60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool completely (1-2 hours) to serve.

It will slice more easily if cooled. If you don't care about the slices, serve it hot. I'd recommend this pie warm with your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Reaction:

I loved it. My friend enjoyed it too. Another friend said it reminded him of the blueberry pie his grandma used to make and it was his favorite pie ever. His only complaint was the lack of notice so that he could've brought vanilla ice cream to go on it. (I had no idea it was so essential...but he was right. Most fruit pie is even better with a scoop of vanilla. I made sure to add that to the serving notes.) This pie had a taste of the tang from the lemon. My friend Lauren would've preferred less tang. The best way to reduce the lemon tang is to only zest half the lemon. Some prefer tang, some don't. To each her own. If your friends or family like blueberry, I'd encourage you to try this pie. Adjust the tang to suit your group.

Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth of July, Red and White: Cherry Pie

2011-07-03T19:47:00.002-04:00

When I think about the Fourth of July, I can't help but reflect on the U.S. flag and the soldiers who have died to keep our nation free and united. Its common for red, white and blue decorations and foods to pop up during Independence Day picnics. Its less common to consider why those colors were chosen to represent our nation. While a lot of rumors roll about our flag, the official decisions about the U.S. flag were that it have 13 stripes. (One stripe for each of the colonies which joined the union to fight in the Revolutionary War.) Further the original flag was to have a union of all the colonies in the form of white stars in a blue field symbolizing a new constellation. As the Great Seal of the U.S. was designed they tied flag themes into the seal, including the red and white stripes of the colonies and the union of the white stars on a blue field. White was stated to represent purity and innocence; blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice; and red represents hardiness and valor.

That's a lot to ask of three colors. Its a lot to consider that these patriots had such high ideals of what they wanted our nation to become. I wonder what they would think to see some of the trifles we quarrel over and if there would be issues we take as "normal" that they would find a higher priority in changing. Thinking about it all doesn't make me want to make some huge promise to myself that I could never complete. It doesn't make me say...Let's all stop poverty, injustice, etc...I can't do that. Its a bigger issue than me. We don't live in a perfect world but we can all help in some form of service to our neighborhood, community, local schools, etc. Seeing their high ideals makes me feel more driven to find ways to help in my community in a more focused way. Maybe that seems small...but its something. I've actually spent some time looking into ways to help out in my surrounding community over the last few weeks. Thinking about these things reminds me that there's an area garden that supports a children's home in my area that needs people to just come and pick vegetables. I can go and pick vegetables. Its not an every day thing, but its a need that happens to be something I can do. I love gardening. If you're in Winston-Salem and want to go picking veggies at the Children's Home, let me know.

Red and white: hardiness and valor, purity and innocence.

Red and white: cherry pie.

Yes, this is the same train of thought. After all, working hard and helping out other people produces an appetite. Also, we're in the midst of celebrating our country's birthday. Its a happy thing! I don't know about you but for me, most truly celebratory occasions call for some sort of dessert...and I love pie.

I'd be torn to say what my favorite pie is. Of the fruit pies though, cherry is a hands down favorite. One great thing about this cherry pie is that its simple! A second great thing is that it doesn't call for pie filling...ugh. Instead you make your own filling with cherries, sugar, and flour! Its truly excellent and the first pie I ever made, starting sometime in late middle or early high school.

After the issues I had making the peach pie (mainly falling face forward into concrete and scraping one arm and beating up my right hand), I felt really strongly that I wanted the top of my pie crust to look good. No excuses, just pretty lattice. I looked over some tips that smitten kitchen had referenced in a recent post. I liked the idea of laying the strips down and folding them back to weave. After all, my process was just self taught weaving so it was worth a shot. As an added bonus for the Fourth of July, the weave reminds me a bit of the stripes on our flag. Its not the same but there's something classic about it that I really like.

I started with making a double recipe of the one crust pie crust I posted previously. For convenience sake, I'm reposting it here too.

Pie Crust (1 crust)

Ingredients:

1 c. flour
½ tsp salt
3 rounded Tbsp Crisco (shortening)
3 Tbsp ice water

How To:

Measure flour and salt into a large bowl. Blend shortening into flour and salt with a pastry blender or fork until it reaches the consistency of heavy cornmeal. Add water 1 tablespoonful at a time, tossing wet and dry ingredients together with blender until all the flour is moistened. Turn out on floured board. Roll into a circle 1/8 to ¼ inch thick and large enough to allow 1 to 1 ½ inches hanging over the edge of the pie tin. Fold up and back to make an upright rim and flute with fingers. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Place another tin the same size over the crust. Bake 12 minutes at 450 F until browned at the bottom. Remove upper tin and allow inside of crust to brown.

This crust can be rolled thinly and make enough for 2 crusts. Some days, though, I'm better off making a double recipe. This was a double recipe sort of day. (Actually, it was more than that but for this pie, it was a double recipe.)

I rolled out the main dough and laid it in the bottom of the pie crust. Then I pinched small bits and made a ring of triangular nubs all around the top of the pie.

Next I added the filling!

Cherry Pie Filling ( adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook...relatively old edition)

(Note: Over time, Better Homes and Gardens has modified the recipe to even include tapioca! No thanks! This oldie is great and requires nothing odd.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. plain flour
3 c. pitted sour cherries
dash of salt

How To:

Combine all together in a bowl. Pour into prepared crust. (Yes, that's it.)

Finally, I rolled the rest of the dough out and began the lattice. I laid the longest strips first and folded them back against themselves so that only about a quarter of each strip was touching the pie topping. Then I filled in the rest of the space with shorter and shorter strips. Each time, I folded the end of the strip back and connected it to the main crust. Then I folded the strip against itself such that only about a quarter of the strip touched the pie. I alternated over, under for the strips, working from my left to right with braiding the lattice.

As I did a row, I extended the strips until gradually, none of the strips were folded back. I did a small fold at the end of each strip to connect it to the rest of the pie!

Once done, I dotted the pie with a couple tablespoons of butter.

The pie was baked at 400 F for 55 minutes. By this point it looked and smelled fabulous...but there's one final step. Waiting. I know. How can you wait when this aroma of amazing pie sits before you? I must insist though, if you wait an hour, the pie will have time to set up and will be much easier to serve. Plus, you'll avoid the burnt tongue!

Result:

The best cherry pie. Seriously. The crust was tasty and the cherries to sugar ratio made it sweet and tart and juicy...Hang on. I gotta wipe up the drool from the keyboard....Just kidding. This is definitely my favorite rendition of cherry pie. Be sure to let it cool at least an hour before serving to give the insides time to set up. Its good either way but much easier to serve when its not fresh from the oven.

Double Take: Whole Lemon Bars

2011-06-30T17:00:00.001-04:00

I love lemons! I don't like to eat them alone but if you put together a dessert with some lemony goodness, I'm most likely going to like it. Apparently, I'm not alone. This is evidenced by the variety of lemon recipes that exist: lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, chess squares...few of which are the same. Some recipes have sweetened condensed milk, while others include fruits that bring it more sweet and sometimes more tart flavors. I've seen lemon cheesecake on a brownie crust. (I really want to try it.) Its evident that people also have difference preferences on the extent of lemon flavor in their treats. Most chess squares are light on the lemon and heavy on the creamy factors. Lemon bars come in a range of tartness but often can become less exciting after a few bites. For those seeking more excitement, I'd recommend the whole lemon bars recipe below. It uses one whole lemon and packs a ton of flavor. I liked having a few small bits of lemon within the filling to give surprise added punches of flavor. Taste tester responses follow the recipe.

Whole Lemon Bars (adapted from David Lebovitz)

Equipment

8x8 baking pan
aluminum foil
2 medium bowls
microplane
food processor

Ingredients

Crust

1 c. (140 g) plain flour
1/4 c. (50 g) sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 Tbsp (115 g) (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla

Lemon Topping

1 lemon, medium sized, wash with soap and water before use
1 c. (200 g) sugar
3 Tbsp (45 mL) lemon juice
3 large eggs, room temperature
4 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp (45 g) unsalted butter, melted
*1/4-1/2 c. powdered sugar for serving

How To:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C)

2. Flip your 8x8 baking pan upside down on the counter and wrap the outside with foil. Remove the foil, turn the pan right side up and fit the foil into the pan as smoothly as possible. Alternately, you can just fit the foil smoothly into the pan inside in the first place. (Use whichever way is easier for you).

3. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the crust and stir until it is smooth.

4. Place the batter in the bottom of the pan and smooth it out to create a level surface. I like to drop 4-6 blobs of the dough into the pan in different spots to help balance the dough distribution. Then I flatten the dough with my fingertips.

5. Bake the crust for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

6. While the crust bakes, begin the topping preparation. First, use a microplane (or tool of choice) to zest the lemon into a medium bowl.

7. Next, cut the lemon in half and remove the seeds. Cut the lemon up a bit more and toss it in the food processor. Process it with the sugar and the added lemon juice until the lemon is completely broken up. (You may be wondering why I had you zest the lemon before hand if you were going to food process it. This is a legitimate thing to wonder. The way the food processor slices the lemon does not release oils from the skin the way that the microplane does. Its worth the extra 1 - 2 minutes to zest the lemon to capture the full flavor.)

8. Add eggs, corn starch, 1/4 tsp salt and 3 Tbsp (45 g) melted butter and blend until almost smooth. (A few bits can add some fun texture. If you hate chunks of fruit, go ahead and pulverize it.)

9. When the crust is done, reduce the oven temperature to 300 F( 150 C). Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 25 minutes or until the filling stops jiggling and is barely set.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. (Yes, completely. If you add powdered sugar while its still warm, the bars will absorb it and it won't look pretty. It'll taste great though.)

11. Once cool, lift the bars out of the pan using the foil. Cut into squares, rectangles, diamonds, or whatever makes you happy. Sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving, if desired.

Reaction:

I really liked it. This is now my favorite version of lemon bars. I took it to a picnic and 5 of us nearly wiped out the pan. There were a couple left so I shared them at work. Everyone enjoyed them. One person at work said she liked the sweetned condensed milk version a little better b/c its not got as much lemon flavor. She still enjoyed them though. I had a request from the host of the picnic for this recipe before we were done eating them. My mamaw has requested these for the family reunion this weekend! She likes her pound cake with extra lemon extract so I think she'll love these!

Daring Baker's Challenge: Baklava

2011-06-27T23:07:00.004-04:00

Its riddle time!

What's crunchy, flaky, nutty, salty and sweet...all at once? (Hint: The post title is a dead giveaway.) Yeah, that's right...Baklava!

Honey Roasted Almond, Honey Roasted Cashew, and Pistachio Baklava (Flavor 1 of 2)

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

I was nothing short of ecstatic when I saw this month's challenge. At my friend Rebecca's request, I had planned to make baklava this month as a test run for an upcoming Greek Cooking Night. In preparation, I had saved Alton Brown's recipe and planned to watch his Good Eats Episode "Switched on Baklava" before getting started. The positive online reviews followed by his recipe being chosen as part of the challenge this month made me very encouraged and excited to begin.

I paused a moment when I saw MAKE YOUR OWN PHYLLO. The nearly transparent, notoriously finicky pastry makes a lot of people nervous. I'd used phyllo once before (Moroccan Cooking Night..to be posted at a future date) and using Alton Brown's tips, the recipe went well. I thought, why not make phyllo. This is a challenge after all. Since I had a busy month, I made this the first weekend in June and brought it in to work for taste testing. I couldn't resist changing it though.

Key changes:

1/2 filling: honey roasted almonds, honey roasted cashews, pistachios
1/2 filling dried cranberries, dark chocolate, honey roasted almonds, coconut
syrup: 1/2 honey, 1/2 maple syrup (to make it a little less sweet)

Baklava (adapted from original post from The June 2011 Daring Baker's Challenge)

Prep Time:
Phyllo Dough: Allow 5 hours total. 30 minutes to make and knead the dough, 2 hours to rest, and about 2.5 hours to roll the sheets.
Baklava Assembly and Baking: 2 hours
Soaking: Overnight

Note that you will want to plan to eat this the day after you make it but its good for several days as long as it gets to continue to sit in the syrup. Outside the syrup, it dries out and is disappointing. Eating it after just removing from the syrup is nothing short of amazing.

Step 1 : Make your own Phyllo (This is enough for a 9x9 pan of baklava)

(Note: This was a part of the challenge that I'm glad I did but if you don't have 7 hours, get some phyllo at the store and skip down to baklava assembly. )

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups (6400 ml) (260 gm) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour
1/4 teaspoon (1 1/3 ml) (1.5 gm) salt
1 cup (210 ml) water, plus more if needed
1/4 c. (60 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1 teaspoon (5 ml) cider vinegar, (could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but
could affect the taste)

(Note: This was a part of the challenge that I'm glad I did but if you don't have 7 hours, get some phyllo at the store and skip down to baklava assembly. )

HOW TO:

1. Combine flour and salt.

2. Mix

3. Combine water, oil and vinegar.

4. Add water and oil w/ mixer on low speed. Mix until you get a soft dough. If it appears dry, add more water. (I definitely added more water. Approximately 1/4 c. of water was added but I added by Tbsp and mixed to prevent it from being too wet. The type of flour you use will cause the amount of water needed to vary. I recommend only adding 1 Tbsp at a time.)

5. Knead 20 minutes by hand. (Your arms won't fall off. Play a movie or an audiobook and the time will fly.)

6. Knead 2 more minutes. (You CAN DO IT!) Pick up the dough and throw it down hard on the counter a few times while kneading.(It feels good.)

7. Shape dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil.

8. Wrap tightly in plastic and let it rest 2 hours.

8.5. Now could be a good time to prepare your baklava fillings. Chopping nuts takes a few minutes. Alternately, you could go mow the yard, nap with your cat, whatever. Its your time. The dough is going to rest after all that kneading.

9. Now that you and the dough have rested, cut off a golf ball sized wad of dough. Keep the rest of the dough covered with the plastic wrap.

10. Flour the counter. Flour your hands. Flour the rolling pin, cup or your rolling item of choice and keep the flour handy.

11. Roll the dough to extend it vertically. Sprinkle with flour, rotate 90 degrees, repeat. Repeat this cycle over and over until you have a sheet that's roughly 10 x 10 " and it will be nearly transparent. There's a fabulous video online that helped me get some confidence before trying this step. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvNzAi9w6TU&feature=related

12. Once the sheet is rolled out, flour it at the top and bottom and sit it on a well floured surface. I chose a floured silicone baking mat but it really doesn't matter as long as its floured. (Somehow I got so busy rolling and later layering that I never took a picture of the sheets. You can see they were nice and thin from the slices of baklava though.)

13. Continue on with the next sheet and remember you have 18 sheets to make! I chose to mark my dough into 18 equally sized blobs so I would have enough to make all the sheets without panicking near the end or feeling the need to recount the sheets. I'd highly recommend using a knife to mark out blobs. Continue rolling out one sheet at a time and flouring until you've rolled out all the sheets.

STEP 2: Syrup and Filling Preparation

Syrup Ingredients:

5/8 c. honey
5/8 c. maple syrup
1 c. water
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon juice
a pinch of clove powder (I'm not a big fan of heavy cloves)

How To:

1. Combine all ingredients in a pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.

2. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat and allow to cool as you prepare and cook the baklava.

Filling Ingredients:

(I decided to make 2 fillings. If you only want one, choose one of these and double it.)

Filling 1:
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch all spice
3/8 c. honey roasted almonds, chopped finely
3/8 c. honey roasted cashews, chopped finely
3/8 c. pistachios, chopped finely
2/3 c. sugar

Filling 2:
1 tsp cinnamon
3/8 c. honey roasted almonds, chopped finely
1/4 c. coconut
3/8 c. chocolate chips
3/8 c. dried cranberries, chopped
2/3 c. sugar

How To:

For either filling, chop up the nuts and toss all together in a bowl until well mixed.

Step 3: ASSEMBLY

Ingredients:

I know, what? Now you need all the items you've prepared plus one more thing... butter.

1 stick of melted butter should be enough. (1/2 c.) You may find you need a couple of extra Tbsp so be prepared with an extra stick should you need to melt a little extra.

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Trim the phyllo sheets to fit your pan. I trimmed them one at a time. That way if there was a small tear, I could work around it.

3. Butter the bottom of the pan. Then place the first sheet of phyllo in the pan. Brush with butter again and add another layer of phyllo. Repeat until you have 5 layers of phyllo down.

4. Sprinkle 1/3 of your filling over the phyllo layers. (I sprinkled 1/3 of each filling over each half of the phyllo sheet.

5. Layer phyllo and butter again until you have 4 more layers of phyllo added.

6. Repeat applying 1/3 of the filling over the phyllo layers.

7. Layer phyllo and butter again until you have 4 more layers of phyllo added.

8. Repeat applying 1/3 of the filling over the phyllo layers.

9. Layer phyllo and butter again until you have 5 more layers of phyllo added.

10. You can tuck in the top layer to smooth out the top of the surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the baklava into the desired pattern. To make diamonds cut straight lines down the baklava. Then slice across the baklava at an angle.

11. Brush again with butter to coat all surfaces.

12. Bake 30 minutes. Remove and cut all the way through again. Bake another 30 minutes. You are looking for the top to be golden brown.

13. When baklava is cooked, remove from the oven and pour the cooled syrup over the top. At first it seemed like there was a bit of extra syrup but the baklava slurped it up and I poured the rest over.

14. By the next morning all the syrup should be absorbed.

15. Allow to cool completely and store at room temperature.

Honey Roasted Almond, Honey Roasted Cashew, and Pistachio

Chocolate, Dried Cranberry, and Honey Roasted Almond

Reaction:

As a graduate student, I love it when outcomes are quantifiable. Everyone in the lab wanted to try both flavors so it was easy to get votes. The nutty version (more traditional) was the favorite with 9 votes. The chocolate cranberry version was well liked and was the preference of 6 of the voters. I think the dividing factor came from the balance of salty and sweet that was evident in the traditional version, whereas the chocolate had more of a bitter and sweet. I preferred the original but kept thinking...what if I reduced the chocolate to decrease the bitter and increased the nuts and coconut to enhance the salty. I'll get back to you on this. My boss come from a Greek background and loved both! He preferred the traditional but insisted that both were delicious.

This was a success all around! My favorite parts of this challenge were gaining confidence that I could make phyllo, learning that making baklava wasn't THAT hard, and wow was it ever delicious! A number of my taste testers said it was the best they'd ever eaten. Since we live in an area with a dense Greek population and many Greek restaurants, this was a high compliment.

Thanks Erica for a great, confidence building challenge!

To see more daring challengers, visit the daring kitchen or search daring bakers in my google search box to the right of the text!

By the way, what's your pick? How would you like to see baklava flavored?

Double Take: Rosemary Grilled Chicken Thighs, sortof

2011-06-23T12:00:00.002-04:00

I've been holding out on you. Its probably not tough to tell that I love garlic. However, what most readers would have no idea about is that I feel rosemary is a close second.

While not as ubiquitously used in most recipes, rosemary offers a burst of flavor that sets off fireworks in my mouth! In addition to cooking and being a crazy busy graduate student, I'm also an avid gardener. I'm slowly converting more of the suburban backyard into assorted garden spots. Among my plants is my dear Miss Rosemary. Yes, that sounds strange but that is what I call her.

Rosemary likes water but doesn't tolerate harsh winters or extreme heat well. I thoughtfully planted her beneath some pine trees in the backyard to increase her daily shade time. I learned this past winter resulted in many people in the general area losing their rosemary bushes so I was glad mine not only survived but is flourishing. Rosemary stays green all year long and you pick the little green "leaves" for use in recipes. I rinse them and chop them finely, just as you would chop up any other herb. In addition to being tasty, rosemary has been touted to contain many antioxidants and has historically been believed to improve memory. From the gardening side, rosemary expands as a bush every year and is a very fragrant addition to an herb garden. I saw one persons' rosemary bush that was 6 feet WIDE! Crazy. I had no idea how big they could get. I'm going to start experimenting with mine to see if I can break off a section and get it to grow roots. If anyone has great experience with this, fill me in!

Today's recipe is brought to you by Miss Rosemary. Indeed it wouldn't have been possible without her. It was inspired by two people: 1) my friend Crystal who made an excellent rosemary chicken dish in undergrad 2) Pink Parsley, whose post made Mel interested in making the dish. I can't just follow a recipe so I'm thankful for the inspiration and excited to give you my version.

Garlic Rosemary Grilled Chicken

Garlic Rosemary Grilled Chicken Thighs (inspired by Pink Parsley's Rosemary Grilled Chicken Thighs)

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, minced (You know I doubled it from the original. This is the amount I used. Perfecto.)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I prefer Greek EVOO)
2 Tbsp spicy mustard
2 Tbsp honey (If you use local honey, it helps reduce the effects of allergens)
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp of fresh rosemary, minced (This takes about 1 1/2 , 1 foot long sections of rosemary stem.)
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (About 8 thighs)
1/2 lemon (or 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice)

How To:

1. Combine all ingredients except chicken and lemon juice in a shallow dish or large ziploc bag. I would encourage you to choose glassware for marination b/c it will not absorb the essences and is easy to clean. I found all the chicken fit well in an 8x8 Pyrex dish.

2. Add the chicken as a flat piece to the marinade. Roll it around in the marinade and then roll it back up with marinade inside. This allows it to take up less room but still saturates the chicken with the flavor of the marinade.

3. Marinate chilled for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

4. Prepare grill. (Preheat 10 minutes and make sure to scrape off any residual bits from previous grilling if you haven't attended to it when you finished grilling last time.)

5. Unroll the chicken thighs and grill them laying flat for 5-7 minutes per side. If using a meat thermometer, the goal temp is 165 internal).

6. While grilling, wash up the dish you used for marinating. If you used a plastic bag, find a dish for the finished chicken.

7. Place the finished chicken in your dish and either cover with aluminum foil or (if your Pyrex came with a handy lid) sit the lid over the dish cocksided (45 degrees off from being able to sit on and close). This way you can tent your chicken.

8. Let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes. (I know its hard. It smells so good but it will be more moist if you wait.) Drizzle the lemon juice on top and serve.

Garlic Rosemary Grilled Chicken with Risotto Primavera

Reaction:

Its so good I'm not sharing it. Even though I am one person and that's a lot of chicken. I've been eating it all week for lunch and having it integrated with future supper options. I made a tasty vegetable risotto to go with it. (Look out for that in a future post.) However, this chicken is good on a biscuit for breakfast. Its also very tasty in a salad...using Watch out...lettuce and broccoli from my garden. (Not that I'm excited about being able to eat lunch straight from my garden or anything...C'mon cucumbers, grow. This salad needs you.) Seriously, this is a very tasty, low effort chicken recipe with great flavor. If you don't have a rosemary plant in the backyard, you can get fresh rosemary at the grocery near the vegetables. If you must sub dried, use half the amount listed above. Dried herbs are rather potent. I'd encourage you to find a spot to plant a rosemary bush though.

Enjoy!

Also be sure to see what Mel thought over at Fabulously Fun Food!

Double Take: Beef with Sugar Snap Peas

2011-06-16T14:00:00.005-04:00

In the process of preparing this post, I started paying more attention to peas. I know, who needs to pay attention to peas. Many people won't eat them. I grew up loving peas though. We grew them and enjoyed them fresh or frozen. At our house, peas were always served with pork tenderloin and macaroni and cheese. If you say out it loud it really rolls off your tongue, "macaroni and cheese and peas". We also liked to stir peas into our mashed potatoes. Nearly everyone in our family eats them this way. If you haven't tried it, I'd encourage you to do so. That's a different kind of pea though. Its a pea that you shell to eat.

In addition to shell peas, there are two other varieties: sugar snap peas and snow peas. The latter two pea types are eaten whole (pod and all). I was shocked the first time I saw someone eat the whole pea. They were dipping them in ranch dressing and I thought I'd give it a go. It was good. Now, some may contend that most anything dipped in ranch dressing is good but these were good without the ranch too. I know, shocking. I liked the crunch of the pod and the bonus popping of the peas in my mouth. What's the difference between snow peas and sugar snap peas though? Snow peas are really more of the pod with what seems like underdeveloped peas inside. Its a very flat edible pod. Snow peas are a great option for people who don't like the added pop of the peas in their mouth.

If I'm planning to eat the whole pea (pod and all), I prefer the snow pea. I love the mixed crunching textures! When I saw Pioneer Woman's post on Beef with Snow Peas, I was intrigued. She has this recipe selected as one of her all time favorites. I figured, if this was one of her favorite dishes...and it was this simple, why not try it. Most of the time, someone's favorite dish is well done, has been prepared many times, and is really worth testing. This is no exception. My words to you are to DEFINITELY TRY THIS. In fact, just thinking about it makes me want some for lunch. MMMmm. With this in mind, I rarely make a recipe without changing something. In this case, I'm a sugar snap pea kind of gal. I'm also a big fan of veggies so there are some small changes in amounts but these are just personal preferences.

Beef and Sugar Snap Peas (adapted from the awesome Pioneer Woman)

Serves: 4 (full meals aka one pot wonders) If serving with something else it would go further.
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced thinly against the grain (ask your butcher to do this for you to save time)
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp. sherry, white wine, or white grape juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp (about 1") peeled, freshly minced ginger (I suggest using a microplane for this job)
1 lb sugar snap peas (This doubles the amount in the original recipe)
5 scallions (green onions) sliced on the diagonal or straight into 1/4 inch pieces
3 Tbsp peanut or olive oil
crushed red pepper, for sprinkling to heat it up a notch
jasmine or long grain rice (I use 3 c. water to 1 c. rice.)

How To:

1. Start your rice. Prepare it however you prefer. My favorite way is 3 c. water to 1 c. rice. Place in a microwaveable bowl and cover it with a lid. Run the microwave 12 minutes and it should be done. Check at the end of the cycle. If you still see water, run 2 more minutes and check. If too dry, add a few Tbsp of water and run 2 more minutes and check. Usually 12 minutes is perfect for my microwave but they all vary a little.

2. Mix together the soy sauce, white wine (or grape juice), brown sugar, corn starch, and ginger in a medium sized bowl. Add your meat and toss around to coat.

3. Heat peanut or olive oil in a large skillet. Add sugar snap peas and stir for 45 seconds. Remove sugar snap peas to a separate plate.

4. Add half the meat and half the scallions to the hot pan. Spread the meat out across the surface of the pan and do not stir for one minute. Turn the meat over and cook another 30 seconds. Remove the meat to a clean plate.

5. Add the other half of the meat and do the same thing you did in step 4 except, when done, leave the meat in the pan.

6. Add the sugar snap peas and the rest of the meat. Stir on high for 30 s. Turn off the heat. Wait 2-3 minutes for the sauce to thicken as it cools and serve over hot rice. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper if you'd like a little spicy heat.

Reaction:

Voila. That was quick and easy. It was also DELICIOUS! No exaggeration there at all. Shockingly its a full meal in under 30 minutes. If you can't find flank steak on sale, substitute another type of steak that might be on sale. This is a pleasing, flavorful meal that I plan to repeat soon.

Update: 2/02/12: This has been made at least 4 times since the first time with great results. It goes nicely with fried rice as well. My friends and I made this as a main dish for Chinese New Year Cooking Night and it was a hit. The picture may not be that convincing but the flavor is great. My younger sister also did a Chinese New Year party using this recipe and her friends loved it! They were also pleased that it was such a quick dish to prepare.

For a second set of thoughts on this recipe, check out Mel's take at Fabulously Fun Food.

Ethiopian Cooking Night: Appetizer, Ayib Be Gomen

2011-06-14T12:30:00.001-04:00

Ayib Be Gomen is a form of cheese dip served as an appetizer or as a side in Ethiopian cooking. I try to keep in mind while saying this that Ethiopia is such a poor country that the bulk of the population would not be so blessed as to have appetizers and might make an entire meal of what we would consider a side. Its a sobering thought. We are so blessed to have food at ready access. Further, we have enough to pick and choose and make our meals interesting. I'm thankful to get to experience the food from the many diverse cultures but its food for thought to consider that I can try some of their most amazing dishes all in one meal while the people of the country may only taste each dish on a few occasions in their entire life.

My Aunt B. and Uncle A. recently adopted two children from Ethiopia. While I live some distance away, I've enjoyed seeing posts and getting to visit with them during recent family gatherings. Its hard for me to picture the world from which they've come. Indeed the world they have expressed they don't want to return to due to the hunger and extreme poverty of the situation. Of course at 5 and 7 years old, this expression looks much more like extreme worry. When taken to the store for school supplies, there was a small freak out because the oldest was afraid they were buying him things to send him back. He didn't want to go back and neither of them want to eat the food from their native country...yet. Hopefully one day they'll be ready to embrace their culture, enjoying its good parts and trying to help those in situations similar to what they were in prior to adoption. I'm glad they're part of our family.

I guess you could say they served as part of the inspiration for the Ethiopian Cooking Night. Prior to that, Charles had requested an Ethiopian cooking night but I was very hesitant. Lets me be honest, I had no idea what Ethiopians ate and was a little afraid that my friends might not like it. How could I choose dishes from titles that looked so foreign? What was Doro Wat? The names for other dishes appeared even more foreign. While not typically intimidated by trying out unfamiliar dishes on my friends, the Ethiopian dishes remained untested until I had the opportunity to try them first hand. It would have been different, I think, had there been posts with pictures or descriptions of the foods available. Either way, I had Ethiopian food in Boston at Addis Red Sea this past fall and was convinced that it would make a fun addition to cooking night!

The first item on the menu was the appetizer. Oddly, when N. and I were in Boston, she selected Ayib Be Gomen as part of her meal while I made a face thinking it sounded quite unappetizing. How would you react to the idea of cottage cheese and collard greens. YUCK! I was WRONG. She talked me into trying it and I found it to be delicious. The combination of a few spices with the humble core ingredients of cottage cheese and collards created quite the transformation. This isn't scientific but they went from YUCK to YUM!

Yum, however, is not very descriptive. Combined with the spices, the cottage cheese and collards reminded me of a spinach and artichoke dip. This makes sense given the cheesy nature combined with a green leafy vegetable. The spices brought in nutty, sweet, and savory flavors at once to create a fairly quick appetizer that was nearly devoured while we prepared the main dishes. The yield for this recipe was close to 6 cups but that didn't stop it from disappearing at an amazing rate. Yay for a new, unique appetizer!

Ayib Be Gomen is not a very photogenic appetizer but quite tasty.

Ayib Be Gomen (Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens) (adapted from Saveur)

Serves: 8 people as an appetizer, 6 - 8 as a side dish
Prep time: 10 min.
Cook time: 30 minutes (This includes the time to prep the butter)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Ethiopian Spiced Butter (Nit'r Qibe) or unsalted butter * recipe below, I wouldn't skip it.
1 1/2 lbs collard greens, remove stems and chop coarsely
1 lb cottage cheese
1" of ginger, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped

How To:

1. Prepare a steamer or boil water in a double boiler with steamer to steam the greens for 20-25 minutes. Drain in a colander to remove all liquid and chop finely. Set aside.

2. While the greens steam, prepare the butter. This will be enough butter for more than this single dish but if you're making multiple Ethiopian dishes its no problem. If not, you could simply season unsalted butter with the seasonings listed without clarifying the butter for a quick solution. Ethiopian spice butter directions follow at the end of this recipe.

3. Strain cottage cheese in a strainer over a bowl to remove excess liquid.

4. Puree ginger and garlic in a small food processor with 3 Tbsp water.

5. Heat the spiced butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (6-8 minutes. Add the paste made of ginger and garlic and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.

6. Add greens to the frying pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, while stirring, until all ingredients are hot. Transfer to a bowl or dish and stir in the cottage cheese.

7. Serve with crackers or Injera (Ethiopian crepelike bread).

Injera

Ethiopian Spiced Butter (Nit'r Qibe) (adapted from Saveur)

Makes ~3/4 c.
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1/2 lb) of unsalted butter
1/4 tsp ground black cardamom seeds (at the regular grocery store)
1/4 tsp. fenugreek powder (Available via Indian grocery, Whole Foods, and some groceries. Its inexpensive.)
1/4 tsp. ground black caraway seeds (I bought whole caraway seeds and crushed them)

How To:

1. In a small saucepan, heat butter over medium-low heat. Foam will form. Skim the foam off the surface. The butter should come to a gentle simmer (small bubbles that do not populate the entire pot but occur in perhaps 30% of the surface area). Continue removing foam until the butter is clear. This takes me about 15 minutes. Saveur suggested 30 minutes. I think 30 minutes is more than enough time but 15 should be plenty.

2. When the butter is clear, strain it through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl. You don't want the solids from the bottom of the pan to be in your final solution.

3. Stir in cardamom seeds, fenugreek powder (crumbled fenugreek), and caraway seeds and mix well.

4. You can cool and transfer this to an airtight container and use up to 3 months. Alternately, you can go ahead and use it as we did in our cooking night recipes.

Reaction: DEVOURED. It was safe to conclude (based on the empty bowl) that this dish well well liked. Note: For those with lactose issues, some of the seasoned collards can be reserved separately without combining with cottage cheese. This was also enjoyed.

Hungry for more? See the rest of the Ethiopian Night Menu in upcoming posts.

Appetizer: Ayib Be Gomen (Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens) [today's post]
Bread: Injera (spongy crepe like bread)
Entree: Doro Wat (Flavorful chicken dish)
Side (very mildly spiced): Fosoleay (carrots and green beans)
Side (spicy) : Yemisir Alicha wet ("mild" lentil stew)
Dessert: Tiramisu (sweet dish natively from Italy but used as a dessert for guests in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has no
culturally native desserts.)

Double Take: Peri Peri Chicken

2011-06-09T12:01:00.002-04:00

Today I am pleased to share a taste with Portuguese and African origins. Spoiler alert: Get ready for a ride through Ethiopian foods in some upcoming posts on Double the Garlic!

Ok, back to today's recipe. I first tried Peri Peri Chicken at Nando's Peri Peri in Washington D.C. In truth, I was looking for African food. I was initially rather disappointed to land at what appeared to be some sort of chain Portuguese restaurant.

What on earth? Who ever heard of a Portuguese chain? At least it would be interesting and I'd never had Portuguese food. It was pretty tasty. They had options for varying heat levels suited to satisfy any temperature of palate. Imagine my surprise when I found their sides included Portuguese spiced french fries, spicy rice and hold it...macho peas? I'd never seen peas on any restaurant menu. I made sure to try them and they were great. If more places served peas that well, there wouldn't be adults making faces over other people eating peas. Instead, they'd all be smiling and asking for a few. Imagine that world.

This post is all about the chicken! I found this recipe on Sortachef's blog. There are more good recipes where this one came from so check it out! Meanwhile, ditch your fork for my adapted version of Peri Peri Chicken!

Peri Peri Chicken

Peri Peri Chicken (adapted from Sortachef)

Ingredients:

5 lbs of chicken legs
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. New Mexico chili powder (for mild taste buds, for more heat double)
2 lemons, cut into 8 pieces each
1/4 vegetable oil
2 tsp American chili powder, divided in half

optional: Want to really crank up the heat? Add up to 6 of your favorite hot chili peppers.

How To:

Step 1: Marinate those chicken legs!

           Place chicken legs in a dish.

           Stuff the lemon wedges into the chicken legs between the skin and the muscle. If you have a couple lemon wedges extra after stuffing one into each leg, set them beside the chicken in the dish.

            Pour on the vinegar, all the seasonings with the exception of reserving 1 tsp of American chili powder, and the vegetable oil.

            Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.

Step 2: Cook those bird legs!

            Preheat an oven to 350 F.

            Place the chicken legs in a single layer in a 9x13 pan.

            Squeeze the lemon wedges over the chicken legs and sit the wedges in the edges of the pan.

            Bake the chicken for 1 hour.

            Basting the chicken with its juices every 20 minutes will add flavor but if you forget because you're watching the Season Finale of Bones on Tivo, it'll be tasty anyway.

Step 3: Cook the chicken legs again!

         *By now you may be saying,"WHAAAAT?". Seriously, stick with me here for crispy goodness on the outside and wonderfully succulent chicken on the inside.


            Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining 1 tsp of American chili powder.

            Next, finish the chicken. You have options here:


            a) Grill the chicken legs for 10-15 minutes on medium heat.

            b) Bake the chicken at 425 F for another 25 minutes

            c) Cook the whole mixture in a pan over a campfire for 25 minutes.

             Either way you cook it, you should get a nicely browned, crispy skin.

Response:

Wow, it reminds me of a really flavorful fried chicken ...only it isn't fried. This baked or grilled chicken is packed with flavors that are well balanced (given plenty of time to marinate). I put the marinade together the evening before we planned to cook the meal. The marination time was about 20 hours. Becky and I cooked it while watching Bones the next evening. It had minimal work and minimal cleanup. BONUS! We boiled some fresh corn on the cob while the chicken finished baking and it complimented the chicken well. In terms of ease and flavor, I thought this chicken was great! Becky liked the mild heat but if you want to amp it up, turn up the New Mexico chili powder or add some of your favorite chilis to the marinade. Here's to a low maintenance weeknight dinner!

Hungry for second and third opinions? Hit up Mel's blog or check out responses to the original recipe here.

A Taste of Bavaria

2011-06-04T14:22:00.007-04:00

If I've seemed a bit absent lately, there's a perfectly logical explanation for it...I was absent. In fact, I was across the ocean absent. That may not seem like a big deal to some travelers but it was my first time outside of the U.S. altogether. Traveling across the pond by myself was pretty stressful for me but definitely worth it. After all, the purpose of the trip was to get to see Melanie...and Bavaria. In truth, I was primarily excited about spending time with Melanie but the more I planned for the trip, the more excited I became about Bavaria. Some things are pretty tough to capture in a picture, to be honest. They're the sort of thing you have to experience to get the full magical effect.

We didn't climb every mountain....

but we did take a cable car to the top of one part of the Alps.

Yes, these clouds really were at eye level.

I enjoyed the half timbered houses,

the beautiful gardening,

the attention to detail,

tracking down 1000+ year old gates,

and being awestruck by a fortress clearly visible from over 50 miles away.

On occasion we just stumbled upon random spots that had their own unique beauty.

I love the U.S. but there are definitely some things you just can't see until you get to part of the world that was settled by people so much longer ago. There are some parts you can bring back with you though. Aside from ~~a ton of~~ (ahem) a few pictures, I brought back some great memories and some new food inspirations. This is a food blog after all.

Starting with a little breakfast, I really came to love these pretzel croissants...

and the cherry jam served with them...and the cherry juice available on almost every drink menu.

Did you all know I LOVE tart cherries? Now you do....or you are least starting to get the idea.

Other breakfast options were also tasty, such as, this muesli mixed with chocolate shavings, whole hazelnuts, fresh homemade yogurt and fruit. If you're wondering about the weird orange fruit in the middle, its called a physalis, a.k.a. cape gooseberry, ground cherry, or golden berry in the U.S. I'd never heard of them or seen them prior to this particular morning's breakfast. It was tart with a sweetness that made me want another. The juiciness and texture was like that of a cherry but the flavor was unlike anything I'd eaten.

Did I mention I liked cherries? Then you won't be surprised that I was unable to pass up this cherry strudel.

There were other tasty treats for breakfast. Not to go unmentioned is the hazelnut croissant horn I had one morning but sadly devoured before taking a picture. I looked online and have failed to find it....I'm going to start checking around for someone with a recipe. If you have one, let me know!!!!

Alright, time to get past breakfast and move on to lunch and supper. These contain pretty much the same options regardless so they're all together here. We found Indian, Thai, Italian, French, and (of course) German food. The Italian was disappointing to me. The pizza was thin crusted...covered with crazy toppings but I guess I just love Americanized pizza. I prefer a bready crust with a touch of sweetness and salt covered with plenty of sauce and cheese. I like a mix of toppings but I prefer salad separate from my pizza.

All the French food we had was fabulous. However, the restaurants didn't seem the sort that it would be ok to pull out your camera. The food honestly wasn't totally photogenic but it was flavorful and tasty. It reminded me that I really need to get rolling through some French recipes.

How about what you can see? First up is fresh spaetzle. Spaetzle is a traditional German pasta. Yes, German's have their own pasta. Cute isn't it? It was thinner than gnocchi so I liked that. Spaetzle is often served with meat and a meat sauce or gravy. Watch out if you have a mushroom allergy though as they occasionally slip them in the meat sauce!

I took a picture of Mel's white asparagus with Hollandaise sauce. It was so odd to see thick white asparagus. The Germans were thrilled with it and were actually celebrating asparagus week since it was just coming into season.

Meanwhile, I was trying out the Nuremburg sausages and Bavarian style potato salad. I learned that potato salad varies by state or region in Germany. Since we were in Bavarian the whole time, the potato salad there was all the same. It was rather like semi mashed potatoes with mustard and vinegar. Not bad but not my favorite variant of potato salad. The Nuremburg sausages were small and very flavorful. One of my favorite sausages of the trip.

Unfortunately, my other favorite sausage of the trip didn't get a photo taken. Wikipedia has one for you though. Saving my favorite for last, I'll spare you the drumroll. I really enjoyed stuffed schnitzel. This is otherwise called cordon blue. In normal terms, its a southern fried pork chop stuffed with ham and cheese. They kinds of ham and cheese varied, for example, I think this one had swiss and maybe pancetta. It was served with Johannisberry sauce. (This is similar to cranberry sauce but a bit sweeter.) In addition, there were potato cakes on the side. It seemed like a dressed up version of food my mom or grandma make. The dress up was pretty simple though and one I plan to repeat in the future.

Last but not least, Germans love ice cream. What a coincidence, me too! Here's an example of some ice cream treats we enjoyed one day to beat the heat. Mine is at the back and has caramel sauce and some hazelnut bits. Yum!

In case you can't tell, it was a great trip. Don't take my word alone though. Pop over to Mel's blog to see her thoughts on the food during the trip.

Oh yeah, new posts are coming!

Double Take: Lime Square with Pistachio Pecan Graham Cracker Crust

2011-05-06T18:08:00.002-04:00

Lime Square with Pistachio-Pecan-Graham Cracker Crust

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May). I thought it was just a spring celebration held by Mexicans but its a bit more than that. Its actually a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture AND the date commemorates the unlikely victory Mexico had over the French on May 5, 1862. It wasn't the day they won their independence but marked the first time the well equipped French army had been beaten by a smaller force and the last time a country in the Americas was invaded by a European force. I had no idea Mexico was fighting for independence while in the U.S. a Civil War was raging. Wow. I realize I don't have an incredible amount of knowledge about the history of Canada or Mexico.

In case you were dying to know, Mexico celebrates its Independence Day on September 16th based on the day their war for independence from Spain began in 1810. They officially became independent from Spain in 1821 only to be taken over later by the French. After the U.S. Civil War ended, the U.S. military joined Mexico to help them defeat the French. Craziness. Well, that's your history nugget of the day.

Becky and I decided that to celebrate Cinco de Mayo our weekly night of cooking should involve Mexican dishes. We started with Carnitas (future post) and I wanted a vegetable for the menu. No, I do not count beans. After looking around for a few minutes, an idea that my friend Mao had mentioned months ago came to my mind: What about gazpacho? (More on gazpacho later too.) To complete the meal, I suggested lime bars.

Mel had picked the lime bars out several weeks ago and they were intriguing for two reasons:

1) The filling was pretty much the same as the one she'd introduced me to for lime/lemon meringue pie
2) The crust had pistachios in it. (The crust for the other pie was a no-frills graham cracker crust.)

As I tend to do though, I had to change it a bit. Nothing major, really. I did a 50/50 blend of pistachios and pecans. Pistachios are slow to shell and pecans are tasty. Next time, I'd do all pecans. Also, I used two limes and put part of the zest in the crust and part in the filling. I love amping the flavor!

Tab's tip:

There are many ways that people line pans to make desserts easier to remove and (maybe just as importantly) dishes easier to clean. Today's tip for this recipe is one I learned from David Lebovitz.

To prepare your pan, take a piece of foil and wrap it around the outside of your 8x8 (or 9x9) inch baking dish. Remove and sit the pre-shaped foil inside of your pan leaving a little hanging off the edges. When your dessert is cooled, you can lift it out of the pan and slide away the foil. This enables quick and effortless serving on the platter of your choice. Bonus: The pan has no stuck-on bits so its a cinch to clean.

Lime Bars with Pistachio-Pecan-Graham Cracker Crust (inspired by Culinary in the Desert)

Ingredients:

Crust:

1/3 c. shelled pistachios*
1/3 c. pecan halves*
1 sleeve of graham crackers (minus two of the cracker sheets, so minus 8 mini graham crackers), ground to
make 1 c. of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. granulated sugar (This is just regular sugar.)
1 lime, freshly zested
1/8 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

*optional, can use one type of nut, mixed nuts, or no nuts at all. If no nuts, use a full sleeve of graham crackers.

Filling:

2 large egg yolks
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 lime, freshly zested
juice from the 2 limes you have zested
2 Tbsp lime juice

Meringue: **optional, I hate wasting eggs whites

2 large egg whites
3 tsp. of sugar (There's a reason for this notation, trust me.)

How To:

Step 1: Crust

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Prepare an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan by lining it with foil and letting a bit overhang on the sides.

In a food processor, crush the pistachios, pecans, and graham crackers. Pulse until all form a fine flour.
(No food processor? No problem. If you have a hammer/rubber mallet and a plastic ziplock bag, beat the nuts and grahams to a fine powder. The hammer/mallet method will take longer but you might find it relieves some tension that the food processor can't.)

Add the sugar, zest, and salt. Blend well. Add the butter and stir or pulse to combine, depending on your method. You can easily stir this mixture in a bowl.

Press the mixture into a baking pan either only the bottom only or up to 1" of the sides of the pan. I'm a bottom only kind of gal but suit yourself.

Bake 8-12 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside crust to cool for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Filling

Whisk together egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Add lime juice (~ 1/2 c.) and zest from one lime. Whisk together until smooth and combined.

Pour filling into prepared, cooled crust. If making a meringue, go to step 3. If not, skip to step 4.

Step 3: Meringue

In a small bowl with deep sides, beat the egg whites until peaks form.

Add 1 tsp of sugar at a time, and mix well after each addition.

Pipe or spoon your meringue on top of your filling.

Step 4: Bake

Bake 13-15 minutes at 350 F. The filling should be set as a gel to the touch or the meringue should be browned.

Allow to cool on a counter completely. This will take 30-90 minutes.

Chill in a refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.

Step 5: Serving

If you want to serve these and make them look nice, you may want to skip the meringue.

Remove the foil from the pan and scoot the whole square onto a serving platter. They'll slice nicely.

Enjoy!

Reaction:

These are good. They're like a pie I already knew I enjoyed so that was no great surprise. I did find I particularly liked the flavor of the pecan in the crust but that the pistachio wasn't that noticeable above the stronger flavors of graham and pecan. In the future, I'd skip the pistachios and use pecans only. Its tasty any way you go about it though. If you have a nut allergy, use a full sleeve of graham crackers and skip the nuts.

Don't miss Mel's post! Head over to Fabulously Fun Food.

Double Take: Gnocchi

2011-05-02T22:45:00.001-04:00

Homemade pasta is a challenge that I've wanted to attempt for a while now. I've watched Lydia Bastianovich make many pastas on PBS, envisioned unique ravioli fillings, etc. but had yet to venture into the great pasta unknown. Reality, it looks time consuming. Reality, some of it is time consuming but I think as you practice you get fast at it. I can live with that.

When Mel added gnocchi to the list of want to makes, I was excited and surprised. As I read the recipe, I continued to be surprised but with less enthusiasm. In the past, I've been notorious for not reading a recipe until starting it. In the last year, I've corrected that. Since Mel tends to be more of a stickler for details than myself, I was surprised at the vagueness of the recipe. I decided to give it a whirl. I'd watched Lydia make other pastas, how tough could it be.

Three things should now be noted:

1) Never underestimate the mad skills of a professional.
2) Watching a professional make pasta will be a huge asset the first time you try on your own.
3) If the recipe causes panic, remember ingredients in different countries and different regions of countries
vary greatly. Modification may be necessary and should not be a source of panic. Go based on what
you know a recipe or dough should look like, not strictly on what is written.

Gnocchi (majorly adapted from One Hungry Chef)

Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 2 hrs 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Suggested Equipment:

foil
a medium sized pot
sieve or potato ricer
a pair of nitrile gloves or at least a kitchen towel
a medium sized bowl

Ingredients

2 large baking potatoes (This means a starchy potato. An Idaho or Russet is ok. I prefer Yukon Gold. ~1lb)
3 eggs, yolks only
3 cups water
1/4 c. salt
2 - 3 1/2 c. all purpose flour (this will depend on many factors)
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
a pinch of salt (1/8 tsp if you like measuring)
3 cups of ice water

How To:

Heat oven to 375 F and bake potatoes for 1 hour. (I like to foil wrap potatoes to bake them. This is up to you. One Hungry Chef placed his on a baking sheet with rock salt. I say, bake them however suits you.)

When potatoes are nearly done (at about 50 minutes), place the water and salt on the stove and bring to a boil.

When potatoes are done, slit them open. Hold them with a towel or nitrile gloves or both and scrape the insides of them into your sieve. Throw the skin in your compost.

Sieve the potatoes as quickly as possible into a medium bowl. I suggest mushing them through using a large spoon. You should have about 2 cups of sieved potatoes but if you must measure them, be quick and very gentle so as not to compress them back together.

Quickly add 3 egg yolks, 2 cups of flour, a pinch of salt, and parmesan. Work this mixture together to form a dough that is soft and slightly sticky. If it is extemely sticky, add more flour a little at a time. Its important for the potatoes to stay out but also not to be too packy. Also, flour types vary. If you're using White Lily, you'll need more flour than someone using Pillsbury. Pillsbury is a more dense flour. Similarly, European flours are more dense than many American flours. These are important tidbits to keep in mind as you're using a recipe.

Knead the dough a few times and it should form a soft ball. If its doesn't and its a sticky mess, you'll need a little more flour. The dough should be just firm enough to hold its shape, but not dense like pie dough.

Prepare your ice water bath.

Divide the dough into 3 sections. Roll it out into a thin snake. I like small pasta but some people like larger pasta. Normal for gnocchi is apparently about 1/2" - 3/4". Make it the size you'd prefer.

After creating a pasta snake, chop it into little squares using a knife. After chopping each snake, drop the pasta into the boiling water. The gnocchi will rise to the top. After they rise, let them cook for 1 minute 30 seconds. Remove the gnocchi and place it in the ice bath.

Continue rolling, boiling, and cooling gnocchi until all the dough is used.

Drain the gnocchi. Sprinkle with olive oil and refrigerate until ready to use or serve immediately with your favorite pasta sauce.

Response:

I think this was my first time eating gnocchi. I had no idea what to expect other than pasta. They didn't taste like potato to me though. Becky had eaten gnocchi before and really liked them. I thought they were a little large for my taste in pasta but that is easily modified. This recipe will work but I think next time I want to try gnocchi making, I will attempt Lydia Bastianovich's rendition and see if it makes a difference.

Pop over to Mel's to see her gnocchi creation.

Daring Baker's Challenge: Edible Containers for Maple Mousse

2011-04-28T16:15:00.005-04:00

A.K.A. In which I made a hollow maple tree and filled it with mousse. Then I laughed at myself and made a moose filled with mousse.

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blogCheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

When I saw this month's challenge, I was determined to at least do something different. Very different from the standard cup/bowl traditional containment for food. While thinking about maple mousse, many themes came to mind: maple, maple leaves, maple trees, maple trees being tapped for maple mousse, chocolate buckets to hold maple mousse, waffles cones full of maple mousse, cream puffs full of maple mousse,and maple leaf shaped pancakes topped with maple mousse (tasty but not really a container).

After a list like that I had to think. Then I saw a few people starting to post in the forums. I felt torn, do I rush or wait? I decided I really really wanted to make a hollow tree full of maple mousse and maybe something else different. What to make the tree from?

Idea #1: The bacon tree.

It seemed like a brilliant idea. Imagine the striations of bacon forming the tree bark. How? Well, I'll try to show you. I made a tree out of foil and chopsticks. Yes, chopsticks. I broke the chopsticks into sections, so that I could taper the trunk and have thin branches. Seven chopsticks formed the base of the tree with 3 at the upper truck. Each limb was made of a single chopstick and all were wrapped in aluminum foil. All the sections were connected by foil to form a nonstick surface on which to place the bacon. The end of the foil tree was left temporarily open to allow the tree to be removed from the template with the plan to attach a bacon base for structural support and standing upright with bacony roots. Sounds great right?

Here's goes,

Chopsticks, ready!

Bind the chopsticks with foil, connect and we have a tree. Prop it so it can go in the oven!

I wrapped the bacon on one side. Then baked and put bacon on the other side.

It looked good. It looked fine. I started pulling it off and nearly lost my mind! The bacon wouldn't hold the form. Instead it wanted to flex free. After trying twice, it was back to the drawing board.

Idea #2: Cookie Tree.

I decided why not use a malleable cookie. I tried Florentines and Tuilles but when you try to make a tree from them...well, when the bough breaks, then everything falls. It just wouldn't stick together. Now what? As a side note: the cookies were still tasty.

Idea #3: Pie Crust Tree

I pulled out my old faithful pie crust and rescued my aluminum foil template for another attempt. I formed the pie crust all around the template. I even added little tiny branches.

I baked at 350 for 25 minutes. Then I removed the tree. I started by pulling out the chopsticks. All was looking good. I pulled the foil (which only comprised the stem this time. Some branches held firm, but others failed me and fell off. I tried a couple times but had the same result. This oddly, encouraged me. This tree thing could work and it could stand, I just needed the right material.

---

At this point, I felt also at a loss. I really didn't know what else to try so I spent a few days, racking my brain. I thought about the cream puffs. Then I saw the amazing swan cream puff and lost my courage. What amazing piping skills! I couldn't compete with that, could I?

Then I recalled an amazing ribbon cake that Bon Appetit had relisted this December. I was traveling to a materials research conference and had time to read all about the technique while on the plane. The ingredients were simple: chocolate and corn syrup. However, they used a fancy pasta machine. I'm a grad student. I don't have that kind of toy or the space for it. But wait--before there were pasta makers there were rolling pins. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Idea #4 - Hollow Chocolate Tree

7 oz chocolate (white, semi sweet, whatever)
1/4 c. corn syrup (yep, that's it)

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Add the corn syrup and stir until well mixed. Pour onto a baking sheet. (I used a jellyroll pan 17x13 roughly.) Freeze for 30-40 minutes. Pull it back out of the freezer and sit it on the counter. Wait 5 minutes. Then start moving the chocolate around to knead it into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Shape as desired. I shape mine into a trunk and branches and attached the branches. Then I froze it for 20 minutes. Voila! It worked! I had a tree that could stand and hold mousse b/c I cut a hole out of the trunk for the mousse hole after freezing! Then you can make a base of chocolate to fully contain your tree's mousse. A small circle will do.

No lie, I had a small party to myself in the kitchen when I got the tree to work. It took me 2 weeks to get it to the point of a standing hollow tree. I felt silly for spending the time on it but glad that I hadn't let it defeat me. Let's call it determined, rather than crazy, shall we? Thanks. I knew you'd understand.

Left, standing mousseless hollow tree. Right, Maple Mousse Tree

Ok, so I know the contrast is limited. I didn't realize the maple mousse would be so light in color. I didn't want to make another tree though. I had it in white. It looked good. I couldn't make myself create another mass of chocolate just for contrast. However, I did realize that I needed something else to put all the mousse into. I'd made a half recipe of mousse but still had 3 cups of it.

At this point, I was getting crazy. I know, I said I wouldn't use that word but I was at least getting punchy from working on this project and having the tree work. I laughed to myself. Mousse, Mousse, Mousse. Wouldn't it be funny to have a moose full of mousse? It even rhymes! POW! The liightbulb was on!

Idea #5 Moose filled with Mousse, cream puff style

I was amazed by the swan but decided, hey I could still pipe a moose and enjoy mousse in it. After a few sketches, I decided a moose head was the most distinctive feature and inclusion of the body didn't do anything for it. Moose head it was! Using last year's daring baker's piece montee recipe, I piped my mousse. When I finished, I was pleased. Wouldn't you be?

A couple of the moose. They made me so happy!

Tasty moose filled with maple mousse!

I think the ones most pleased by the mousse filled moose were my co-workers. The smiles these moose brought were worth all the efforts. This challenge proved to be tough creatively but the results were great. I enjoyed looking at everyone's as they finished.

Oh, I almost forgot to give you the recipe for maple mousse!

Check it out over at the Daring Kitchen!

Thanks for a great challenge!

Irish Cooking Night: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Icing

2011-04-26T12:30:00.004-04:00

Can a celebration of Irish food be complete without including something green? I think not.

Solution: Cupcakes! Before you freak, I'm not loading cupcakes up with enough green dye to color a desert. That's gross. There's also no way that is good for your body. A little bit of green goes a long way. I figured a few green sugar crystals on top would do nicely. While I was at it, why not make a four leaf clover out of sugar crystals on top of the cupcake?

Frosting: I've had both chocolate and cream cheese varieties. Both are tasty. Since I wanted the clovers to be apparent, I decided to stick with a cream cheese/whipped cream frosting.

Cake: I've had Mel's chocolate stout cake and Bon Appetit's too. I like them both. For this recipe, I adapted Bon Appetit's cake recipe.

Four-Leaf Clover: I initially thought I'd try to make a design using aluminum foil. In my weekly talk with my mamaw, I shared my plan to put a clover on top of the cupcake. She replied that she used to do designs on cupcakes for us kids using wax paper and asked if I was planning to use wax paper. Cue a head slap moment. Wax paper would be much more flexible and slightly translucent. I thanked her and admitted all I'd thought about was aluminum foil. She was pleased to help and I was pleased to have the benefit of her experience.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes (inspired by Bon Appetit and Mel)

Servings: 10-12 cupcakes

Equipment:

electric mixer
double boiler (optional: can substitute a small pot and a medium sized heat resistant bowl)
2 mixing bowls (3 mixing bowls will make your life easier.)
wax paper
pencil
scissors

Cake Ingredients

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 c. + 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbsp unsalted butter (If you use salted, cut the salt in half.)
3/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 c. chocolate stout, regular stout, porter, or even chocolate soda
1/3 c. freshly brewed strong coffee

Frosting Ingredients

1/2 c. whipping cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (Can use salted, I just prefer less salt in my life.)
2 oz (1/4 bar) of cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
green sugar crystals

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin tin. (To make this easy on yourself, I suggest Baker's Joy cooking spray.)

2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Melt chocolate in a bowl over the hot water or in a double boiler. After 1 minute, start stirring the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside.

3. Stir or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

4. In a separate bowl, add butter and the sugar (minus 2 Tbsp of sugar) to the bowl and beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Add eggs yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add chocolate, then stout and coffee.

5. Add chocolate mixture to the flour mixture and beat for about 30-45 seconds until just mixed together.

6. Clean and dry the beaters. Beat egg whites and remaining 2 Tbsp sugar in a small bowl until stiff peaks are achieved. Fold the eggs whites into the cake batter, 1/3 at a time. Divide the batter into the muffins pan filling each muffin container about 2/3 full.

7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tester comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack. Then remove them from the pan and cool completely.

8. Frosting: In a small to medium bowl, beat the whipping cream until it has stiff peaks.

9. In a separate medium sized bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat slowly at first, then increase speed gradually. Beat until well incorporated.

10. While the cake cools, trace the border of the muffin pan multiple times onto a piece of wax paper. If you can draw well, free hand four leaf clover onto the wax paper. If drawing isn't your gig, print a small four leaf clover from the internet or download my design here. (This is soon to be added. I misplaced the one I used but will find it in the next couple of days.)

11. Cut out the clover carefully. Then cut out the circle from the rest of the wax paper

12. Frost the cupcakes with the frosting you prepared. Then gently sit the wax paper cut out on the iced cupcake. Sprinkle the green sugar crystals into the clover hole. Lift the wax paper off the cupcake carefully and repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

13. Enjoy!

Reaction:

Some people couldn't tell the difference between these and typical chocolate cake. I could taste the difference but I'm not the biggest chocolate cake girl and the change in flavor made the cupcakes more appealing to me. I know, blasphemy. For chocoholics, you could add 1/3 c. of semi sweet chips to the cake mixture. Further, you can substitute milk or chocolate milk for the stout component. The flavor will not be same but they will still be tasty. We had some leftover that were quickly devoured by a few coworkers the next day.

Timing Note: If you choose to make these as part of a cooking night, prepare the cupcakes as you are starting the vegetables. Have someone beat up the frosting while they bake. Let the cupcakes cool while you eat the main meal. As food digests, you'll have plenty of time to ice the cupcakes.

Hungry for more? Stay tuned for our Irish dessert next week.

Our Irish Night Menu:

Bread: Cranberry Tangelo Irish Soda Bread
Entree: Corned Beef
Vegetable Side #1: Haggerty (Potatoes with onions and cheese)
Vegetable Side #2: Baby Carrots and Onions in Cream
Dessert: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Icing (today's post)

Double Take: Hoisin Pork Tenderloin

2011-04-21T12:00:00.007-04:00

It seems we're on an Asian kick lately with some of our double take posts. Never fear, the fortune cookie from this meal predicts big changes coming in the future.

For those wondering what Hoisin (hoy-sin) is imagine the sweet sauce you've had in an asian dish. Its commonly used in sweet dipping sauces and has a reddish brown color. The consistency is like thickened ketchup. In general, I really enjoy it but its always possible to have too much of a good thing....well I guess that depends on your persuasion. I know some folks that can't have too much chocolate. However, in general, balance is a good thing.

Mel picked this recipe knowing how much I've enjoyed hoisin sauce in the past. In fact, it was a big deal for me to learn what sauce was being used to create the sweet flavor. Initially, I was so excited about it, we prepared a number of dishes using hoisin sauce. The dipping sauce I used to agedashi tofu last week included a little bit of hoisin in balance with other ingredients. This week's recipe features it as a major flavor. Originally from Cooking Light, the recipe is basically a marinade that is later concentrated into a sauce.

While preparing the marinade, I made sure it taste it. The balance seemed good to me. After cooking though, the sauce was a bit too sweet. I suggest tempering it with soy sauce and/or rice wine vinegar until you hit a flavor that you prefer.

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin with Steamed Broccoli

Hoisin Pork Tenderloin (adapted from Noble Pig )

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 2 hrs, 10 min (includes 2 hour marination)
Note on Prep Time: I would suggest making the sauce the night before you plan to cook the dish. Why? The sauce sweetness changed dramatically in flavor. It was too sweet when I made it the day of cooking.

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 c. hoisin sauce (feel free to halve this amount, if you prefer a less sweet sauce)
3-4 sliced green onions
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
4 cloves of garlic (feel free to double here)
1 pound pork tenderloin
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

How To:

(Make the sauce the day before you plan to cook the meat!)

Mix together the hoisin sauce, green onions, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and garlic. You can either a) heat it for one minute to a simmer in a sauce pot and allow it to cool for 5 minutes or b) directly proceed with the recipe without heating the sauce. I'd heat the sauce but its up to you.

Pour into a plastic bag or a glass or plastic marinating dish. I prefer glass b/c it doesn't absorb the flavors, has easy cleanup, and is reusable. If you use a plastic ziploc bag, be sure to throw it away after using it with chicken or pork.

Add the pork to the bag and marinate 1-2 hours or overnight. I marinated for 1.5 hours. (Hunger overtook me and preparedness did not.)

(The day of cooking)

Preheat your oven to 425 F. *

Place your pork in a baking pan and set into the oven, reserving the marinade.

Heat the marinade in a pan or small pot on the stove top. Boil it for two minutes. Then remove from heat until ready to serve. As it cools, taste it. If its too sweet, now is a good time to modify it to your taste.

Bake the pork for 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place back in the oven for 3-5 minutes.

Serve immediately if your tenderloin was already sliced. If your tenderloin is whole, allow it to sit at least 5 minutes before slicing so that you retain the flavor of the juices in the meat.

*As an alternative to the warming days ahead, you could heat up the grill instead of the oven. Cook these 5-7 minutes each per side at medium heat. Then serve with sauce.

Reaction:

Wow, this sauce is way too sweet. In the future, I'd halve the hoisin. Alternately, you can compensate for the hoisin by adding more soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Add a little and then taste so that you don't overshoot.
Honestly, there are a lot of other ways I prefer pork. To be perfectly honest, I didn't find the pork without the sauce to be a mind blowing awesome taste. It was just ok. With the sauce, the sweetness was overpowering until the sauce was readjusted. Be sure to keep some soy sauce and rice wine vinegar handy so folks can adjust to their taste.

Update: When I tried this dish the next day, it was EXCELLENT. Not too sweet, not too salty, but just right. Yes, I know I sound like Goldilocks. Seriously, I tasted the sauce cold and hot reheated and both ways it was tasty. Maybe my taste buds were off the night I made it. I have reheated leftovers of it twice now and been pleased both times. Coworkers were even tasting the sauce and enjoying it. One guy said he'd could eat a bowl of the sauce alone. Wow. Either way, this would now be a repeat for me but I would make the sauce the night before and possibly even heat it before using it as a marinade. I'm making the notes in the recipe above for your convenience.

Don't take my word alone on this recipe. See what Mel thought over at Fabulously Fun Food.

Irish Cooking Night: Baby Carrots and Pearl Onions in Cream

2011-04-20T17:00:00.002-04:00

Aside from potatoes, the first Irish themed vegetable that comes to mind is cabbage.

What?

No! This post is not about cabbage.

Why?

Lots of people really don't enjoy cabbage. I only enjoy it very selectively. I started looking for other vegetables that the Irish enjoy.

They eat something besides potatoes and cabbage? What? Why have I never heard of this?

There are lots of things we never hear or learn about other countries. Honestly, that's part of the fun of cooking night: learning something new or trying something new in the kitchen about a culture often far from our own. As I dug around in the depths of googleness, I learned that the Irish eat a lot of root vegetables and vegetables grown only in cool weather in the southern U.S., such as: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage (not a surprise to most of us), kale, mushrooms, celery, and parsnips.

Carrots jumped out at me. What did they do differently with carrots? My mom puts them in roast beef. Japanese cook them with a little sugar and they're so good. What do the Irish do?

There are actually a couple recipes that I found with carrots that were considered traditional. One was called Slieve Na Mbam Carrots. The other was Baby Carrots and Onions in Cream. They're not so different from one another. The former uses cream, milk, eggs yolks and parsley. Its basically a cream sauce of sorts with parsley. The latter uses cream, pearl onions, and nutmeg. Often I dislike nutmeg but lately I've found I rather enjoy it with savory dishes. It is especially good with root vegetables. They were pretty similar and I like onions but I couldn't force myself to choose so I passed it off to Ruthann. She made an instant decision (which I appreciated) for Baby Carrots and Onions in Cream.

The recipe is super simple. It only uses five ingredients. The prepwork was minimal (peel the onions). The cook time was only about 15 minutes tops. I wondered if it would be good. I wondered if the cooking night crew would enjoy it. Lots of people don't like cooked carrots. I hoped that this might be case of some folks learning that they liked cooked carrots.

Reaction:

Most people got a couple carrots to try. A few folks got a spoonful. One thing was common though. They all CAME BACK FOR MORE! The pot of carrots were empty very quickly after people started trying them. A couple people asked about the recipe and wanted to make sure they either got it soon or it got posted soon. This recipe got 12 thumbs up!

Baby Carrots and Pearl Onions in Cream

Baby Carrots and Pearl Onions in Cream (adapted from Master Cook)

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

2 c. water
1 Tbsp salt
1 lb baby carrots
1 lb pearl onions (~1 1/2 bags worth, since they're usually sold in 10 oz bags)
2/3 c. heavy cream
1/8 tsp nutmeg (I know, I don't usually like nutmeg. Its good here though.)
1/4 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/8 tsp pepper (adjust to taste)

How To:

1. Start by setting 2 c. of water and 1 Tbsp salt to boil in a small pot. You want to have about 1/2" of salted boiling water. Adjust water according to your pot size.

2. Rinse carrots thoroughly.

2. Peel the pearl onions

3. Place carrots and onions in the pot and reduce heat to simmer (a few small bubbles forming slowly) for 10 minutes.

4. Increase heat to boiling. Shake the pot around to prevent burning carrots and onions. Boil until all water is removed.

5. Add cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Allow to come to a simmer in the pot so that all is warmed.

6. Serve immediately.

Note: If you the carrots need to hold for longer, you may add a little more cream and set the temperature to low. As the fluid boils off the mixture will thicken but won't burn.

Hungry for more? Stay tuned for our Irish dessert next week.

Our Irish Night Menu:

Bread: Cranberry Tangelo Irish Soda Bread
Entree: Corned Beef
Vegetable Side #1: Haggerty (Potatoes with onions and cheese)
Vegetable Side #2: Baby Carrots and Onions in Cream (today's post)
Dessert: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Icing