Friday, July 10, 2009

Haitus

I'm taking a break from this blog, but am keeping it up for the archived info and photos.

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Fellow Foodie Interview Chocolatier Art Pollard

 
Interested in the world of dark, yummy, luxurious chocolate? 

Then read this fabo interview with chocolatier Art Pollard. The interview was conducted by blogger Christine Mack (AKA The "Mistress of Cakes") on her blog Maman and Gourmand: Homemade with Love.

YUM!

Friday, July 3, 2009

June Daring Bakers Challenge: Bakewell Tart...er...Pudding


The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Wow. This was a cool challenge, because there's there’s no “one" way to make a Bakewell Tart. However, Jasmine and Annemarie shared that most versions made today are either “puddings,” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry, or a “tart,” in which a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling. Read this Wikipedia article for more history on the tarts, if you like.

Our challenge was to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

NOTE: I am having technical difficulties with my camera, so my pics are not yet attached. But not to worry. Here's a lovely photo of a tart from flickr, and a link to a bunch of Google pictures so you can see the width and breath of how they might look!

You really must try making these. They're perfect for afternoon tea, or to take to your next dinner party. And if you don't care for almonds, try substituting other nuts (perhaps pistachio or hazelnut), or leave them out completely if you're a nut-free person.  ;-)


RECIPE

*This recipe makes one 9” tart or 6 4" tarts
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes (or 20 minutes for mini tarts) -- note: baking time may exceed these directions. Just bake the tart until it doesn't jiggle when you tap the pan. If the tart is getting too dark, cover it with tin foil.
Equipment needed: tart pan(s) or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges) and a rolling pin

Ingredients:
One recipe of sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Extra flour
1 cup jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One recipe of frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds (or not!)


Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Recipe

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, and cling film

note: most of the recipe ingredients below are in ounces. You really need to get yourself a digital scale, if you don't have one. Baking requires accuracy; a scale is the best way to achieve that! I used to have a scale that jumped to pounds once it got over 16 ounces. I hated that, because it messed up my thinking, when I was adding in a number of ingredients! So be sure the scale you buy fits with your brain! HA!

Ingredients:
8 oz all purpose flour
1 oz sugar
½ tsp salt
4 oz unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
½ tsp almond extract (optional) -- note: I don't really like almonds, so I left this out, substituting vanilla extract instead
1-2 Tbsp cold water

* Sift together the flour, sugar and salt.

* Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater.

* Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

* Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

* Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.


Frangipane Recipe

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, and rubber spatula

Ingredients:
4.5 oz unsalted butter, softened
4.5 oz icing (powdered) sugar
3 eggs at ROOM TEMP
½ tsp almond extract -- note: remove, if you don't like almonds
4.5 oz ground almonds -- note: remove, if you don't like almonds
1 oz all purpose flour

* Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in color (pale yellow) and very fluffy.

* Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle (kinda looks like vomit!), but it's fine. When it's baked, you'll be smacking your lips!

* After all three eggs are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds, scraping down the sides again. (Or skip this step!)

* With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.


Assembling the tart:

* Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let the dough warm up for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

* Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 1/4 inch thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the center and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll.

* When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. DO NOT SKIP THIS LAST STEP!! ;-)

* Preheat oven to 400F.

* Remove shell from freezer, and spread with an even layer jam. NOTE: Your filling ingredients should be at room temp before spreading into crust!! If they are too hot, they will start to cook the pastry shell, making it go soft before it gets in the heated oven, thus giving you a soggy crust.

* Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart (it won't overflow as it cooks, so really do place it all the way to the edges). Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brown.

* Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking. (Or skip this step!)

* Remove the tart from the oven when the crust is golden and the frangipane tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce, if you wish.

Additional Notes:

• When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

• If you choose a jam with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, sieve the seeds out.

• Use anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1 cup of jam, depending on how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are.

ENJOY!!!


Thursday, May 14, 2009

Blueberry Muffin Tops. YUM!!


These blueberry muffins, just out of the oven and slathered with a dab of butter, are so yummy that my curls nearly curl with pleasure as I'm inhaling them! HA! So it's a good thing they're kind of a pain in the butt to make (but isn't any good treat?!), or I'd be whipping up a new batch every morning for breakfast!

You can make these with or without the crumb topping, but the contrast of textures is so lovely that I suggest going all out!

Note: I make mine in mini muffin pans (in a subconscious way of giving myself permission to eat more because they're so small!), but you can make them in a regular muffin-top pan, if you like your muffins big and beautiful. The best part about muffin tops is that they're mostly crunch and less "bread." Which is why I love them soooooooo!

Batter Ingredients:
3/4 stick (6 T) unsalted butter
1/3 c. milk
1 large egg
1 large yolk
3/4 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
2 c. (12 oz) fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

Topping Ingredients:
3 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 1/2 T. sugar

Directions:
Batter
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, placing oven rack in upper third of oven. 
2. Generously butter muffin pans.
3. Melt batter butter in small saucepan over low heat, then remove from heat. 
4. Whisk the milk into the butter, followed by the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
5. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. 
6. Add the milk mixture to the dry mixture and stir JUST until combined.
7. Fold the blueberries in gently.
8. Evenly spread the batter between your muffin cups.


Topping
1. Combine the topping ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until crumbly.
3. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter.


Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. This cake take from 20 minutes on.


IF YOU HAVE THE PATIENCE (HA!), cool the muffins in their pan(s) on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of each muffin and gently remove it from the pan. 


(But if you're like me, you won't have the patience to wait...at least until you've downed one or two or three of these tasty morsels!!!)

Enjoy! This recipe is courtesy of Epicurious.com. 


Monday, April 20, 2009

Daring Bakers Do Cheesecake!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Prep note: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Plan accordingly!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake





crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese (total of 24 oz), room temperature (I used the “1/3 less fat” bars!)
1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. liqueur (I used a coffee liquor)

(note: I also topped mine with a caramel sauce. The recipe for that follows below the cake photos.)

DIRECTIONS:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan (I use a spring form pan). I suggest just pressing the crust into the bottom. Set prepared pan(s) aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and liquor and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust(s) and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan, so that you can make a water bath. TIP 1: You’ll add the water once you get the pans in the oven, to avoid your possibly splashing the boiling water on yourself. TIP 2: do the pouring quickly, or go ahead and set the oven to 375, so that the temp will only drop to 350 by the time you close the door. If you do this, however, remember to then turn the oven down. YOU MUST SET THE CRUST PAN IN TWO LAYERS OF FOIL, AS YOU DON’T WANT THE WATER TO LEAK INTO THE PAN. Pour the boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.




5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until cheesecake is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to be solid around the edge, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let the cheesecake rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill.

6. Just before serving, remove the spring form pan. Or, if adding the caramel topping as I did, leave the plan in place until after you've poured the caramel over the cheesecake and given it time to set in the fridge.





** I USED THE FOLLOWING SUGGESTED VARIATION, but also added chocolate chips, so I could create two layers (one vanilla colored, one brown):

Cafe au lait cheesecake: take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal.


**This tasty caramel sauce recipe came from Simply Recipes. Store-bought doesn't compare to homemade, as it typically lacks dairy!

caramel:
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, before you begin, make sure you have your three ingredients measured and ready to put in the pan, as making caramel is a fast process. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn.

2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on.




3. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. The caramel will foam up a bit. Whisk until the butter has melted.




4. Take the pan off the heat once the butter has melted. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. The caramel will foam up again as you add the cream, which is why you should use a much larger pan (at least 2-quarts) than you think you need, to make sure you don't accidentally burn yourself.


5. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass jar or measuring cup and let sit to cool for about five minutes. Pour over the chilled cheesecake, then return the cheesecake to the fridge for at least half an hour so the caramel gels a bit. This is a nice, thick sauce. Makes about one cup. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

These Chef Tools are So Cute!!

From sifter, to icing spreader, to pastry brush to measuring cup, these silicone chef tools are sooo cute! Why? Because they look like little people! They stand up sturdily on suction cup feet, and their arms and legs are bendable. HA!

This pastry brush is my favorite!


Thursday, March 19, 2009

I'm Addicted to Stuffed Banana Peppers!!


One foodie item I have grown to love since moving to Buffalo, NY, is stuffed banana peppers. YUM! If you've not tried them, then do so. NOW! 

Sorry I only have two photos of the finished product. (Count yourself lucky -- I nearly forgot to take even those before the hubby and I scarfed these down for dinner!)

Here's how to make these yummies. Note: you can serve them up as an appetizer, a side dish, or a main meal. For an appetizer, provide one per person. For a side dish, prepare two per person. For a main meal, you better count on three per person, if not more. Trust me, you can't make too many. They're addictive!!

INGREDIENTS

*8 banana peppers (don't get really small ones; they're harder to stuff)
*4 oz. log of goat cheese
*8 oz. grated cheese (my grocery sells a delicious mix of Asiago, Fontina, Parmesan, and Provolone)

DIRECTIONS

1. On a cutting board, make a slit across the stem-end of the pepper, but don't cut so deeply through the pepper that the stem falls off.

2. From that cut, make a slit the length of the pepper. This slit will allow you to pull the front of the pepper open so that you can remove the seeds and membranes. TIP: banana peppers can run very hot. If you like things tame, you might want to remove *ALL* of the seeds and membranes. If you like things a bit spicy, try leaving the membranes intact. (There's no shame in grabbing a glass of milk, if needed!)

3. Cart your peppers over to the sink. With the tap on low, quickly rinse the inside of each pepper to remove the seeds and membranes. TIP: Don't hang your head directly over the peppers; the fumes can really get you to coughing!

4. Drain the peppers on a paper towel, cut side down, so that you don't transfer any water to your saute skillet.

5. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in your skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and saute on both sides until they soften. This takes only about five minutes on each side. They should have whitish burn marks on both sides. Gorgeous!

6. Transfer the peppers to a baking dish large enough to accommodate your peppers. I use a 9x11 glass baking dish that I use for brownies.

7. While the peppers cool enough to handle, mix your cheeses together. Mash the log of goat cheese with a fork, then mix in the shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

8. Distribute the cheese mixture evenly between your peppers. I typically use one hand to open the slit and the other to sprinkle in the cheese.

9. Finally, sprinkle a layer of your shredded cheese over the tops of the stuffed peppers. This cheese will crisp and brown. Delicious!

10. Cook the peppers at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

VOILA! ENJOY!!


Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Dishing Up Homemade Ice Cream

After two longs weeks of disgusting, painful bronchitis, I am FINALLY back to feel better. I decided I deserve a treat. 

So tonight I tried a vanilla bean ice cream recipe, to which I decided to add defrosted frozen blueberries. Alas, while the texture was extremely creamy, the taste was too eggy for me and, in general, nothing to get excited about. In one word: BLAH. So I won't share the recipe, but I will share the pics. ;-)

Below I'm slicing the vanilla bean open so that I can add it to 2% milk I will bring to a boil. I'd never cooked with a fresh vanilla bean before. I expected it to have seeds that would spill out, not a sticky inner coating that I had to scrape with a knife!


In this photo I'm whisking egg yolks, granulated sugar, and corn starch together. The finished recipe, which called for 6 tablespoons of sugar, was definitely not sweet enough. I'd have to experiment to see how much more to add to get it closer to the sweetness of commercial ice cream.


Here I'm adding the boiled milk/vanilla bean mixture to the egg yolks.


Below I've put the combined milk/heavy cream/egg yolk mixture back on the stove to thicken. Compare the thinness of the custard at this point to the thickened version in the next photo.


The mixture thickened up after only about five minutes. Tip: stir constantly, over gentle heat, until the mixture coats the back of your spoon.


After popping the mixture into the freezer so it would quickly chill, I whipped a half pint of heavy cream by hand. The recipe called for it to be thickened, yet still thin enough to drip from the whisk. Tip: cover the egg mixture with clear wrap before adding the bowl to the freezer. Press the wrap directly onto the custard so it doesn't form a rubbery skin. 


In the photo below, I'm folding the heavy cream into the cooled custard.


The rest of the work will be done by my ice cream maker. Hard to believe I'll have ice cream in just 25 minutes!


At the end of the 25 minutes, I added plump, defrosted blueberries. Next time I would coat them thinly with sugar before adding them to the frozen custard. It looks yummy, right?!


Here's the bowl my husband kindly scarfed down. Too bad it didn't taste half as good as it looked! 


Saturday, February 28, 2009

Daring Bakers February Challenge: Chocolate Valentino (Flourless Chocolate Cake)


The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan as the challenge.

This cake recipe is yummy, easy to make, and best of all requires only three ingredients!!!!

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 25-40 minutes
Pan Needed: 6-8" Springform pan
Serves 8

Ingredients:
16 ounces (1 pound) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often. (
Note: the water should never boil when you do this, or the pan becomes too hot to hold while you stir. Just bring it to a nice simmer.)





2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling, butter your springform pan and line with a parchment circle. Then butter the parchment.


3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium bowls. (Note: I always pop my bowl and mixer beaters into the freezer for a few minutes before I add egg whites.)

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).


5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.



7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.


8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F.

9. Bake 25-40 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F. Note: If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will look wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.


11. Allow the cake to cool another 20 minutes or so before you cut into it. Otherwise you'll be dishing up what looks like a Molten Lava Cake (unless a flowing chocolate center rocks your boat!).

12. Serve with fresh whipped cream, ice cream, or decorative items of your choice.




Sunday, February 22, 2009

Some Labanese Yummies

I just had to post about these Lebanese yummies!


Because tonight I enjoyed a wonderful Lebanese dinner at the home of my good friends, Leo and Amy. Two of my new favorite dishes, shown above, are Rolled Grape Leaves and Koosa Mihshee (stuffed squash). Though both dishes are made with the same beef/rice filling, they each offer up a unique finished flavor. 

Following are directions on making the filling, as well as both dishes. Leo learned the recipes from his mom (which he tweaked, as creative cooks tend to do!). He says his mom cooked up weekly Lebanese dishes for him and his gaggle of brothers and sisters. Lucky him!


MEAT/RICE FILLING

INGREDIENTS

*1 lb. raw ground round (or hamburger)
*1 c. uncooked rice. Use Uncle Ben's parboiled rice
*1 onion, chopped fine
*1 small can tomato paste
*minced garlic
*fresh parsley
*bottled or fresh lemon juice
*cinnamon

1) Soak the rice in lemon juice for about 15 minutes, until it swells. You can dilute the lemon juice with water, if you like, but the lemon juice adds a nice zing to the rice. ;-)

2) Pour off the lemon juice.

3) Combine the rice, onion, and tomato paste. Add fresh parsley, minced garlic, and cinnamon to taste.

4) Add this to the meat and mix well.

5) Refrigerate until ready to make rolled grape leaves or stuffed squash.




ROLLED GRAPE LEAVES

INGREDIENTS

*meat/rice filling above
*1 large jar grape leaves
*tomato sauce

1) Remove the grape leaves from jar.

2) Place on flat surface, with the point of the leaves facing away from you.

3) Lay a log of the meat/rice mixture across the leaf, parallel to the bottom edge. The strip should but thicker than a cigarette, but not as fat as a cigar. The rice will swell as it is cooked, which is why you don't want it too thick.

4) Roll the bottom edge of the leaf toward the tip, folding in the sides, so that the filling can't escape.

5) Find a lidded pot big enough to accommodate all of the rolled grape leaves.

6) Cover the bottom of the pot with crinkled foil, extra grape leaves, or a rack. This will keep the leaves from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

7) Stack the rolled grape leaves in the pot, crisscrossing the layers, so that air can circulate around them freely.

8) Pour fresh or canned tomato sauce over the grape leaves.

9) Place a plate, upside down, over the top layer. The pressure of the plate will keep keep the leaves from unrolling.


10) Cover the pot with the lid and simmer for about 45 minutes. To check doneness, carefully remove the plate with tongues. Remove one of the rolled grape leaves and cut off a bite. If the rice is soft, the leaves are done!



KOOSA MIHSHEE

INGREDIENTS

*meat/rice filling above
*tomato sauce
*allspice
*cinnamon
*12 fresh zucchini or summer squash, or brined koosa (found in Lebanese markets). Just know that the brining makes the koosa a bit less tender than using the fresh -- though still delicious!

1) If using fresh zucchini or summer squash: Use only small squash. Rinse squash in cold, salted water. Cut off stem tips and gently hollow out centers of squash using long corer. Leave about 1/8-inch thickness.

2) If using brined koosa: Rinse the squash thoroughly in cold water to flush out the brine. Remove stem and hollow out with a long corer, if not already prepared.

3) Stuff the meat/rice filling loosely in the squash, using your finger. Leave about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of space at top, to allow for expansion of the rice as it steams. (Note: these are brined koosa, which is why they look so wrinkly.)


4) Cover bottom of pot with a rack or crinkled foil to prevent squash from scorching. Cover the bottom inch or so with tomato sauce. Sprinkle in cinnamon, allspice, and salt to taste.


5) Stand the squash in the sauce on their ends, so that the stuffed ends are facing up.



6) Pour more tomato sauce over the squash, amply covering them.


7) Cover with lid, bring to boil, and steam for about 30 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Yes, this is a lot of effort. But it's so worth it, especially since you'll probably have leftovers!!