High on the Hog

I am back!

2011-08-06T19:11:00.000-05:00

Well Backish.

For the 4th of July we had a bbq and a house fire (no relation). The end result is we have moved back into our own place, this time an apartment and I can begin cooking again. Sometime in the next month I should be getting my pots and pans back, then comes the fun job of stocking the pantry.

Right now we are eating alot of easy food I can make with a skillet and microwave.

It has been a LOOOOOONG time

2011-04-11T11:31:00.003-05:00

I have not posted in a long tme and I apologize for that. the economy hit and I lost my job and my house in quick succession. I have moved in with friends and after a year found a job (half the pay of the old one) but I will not be posting more here until I am back in my own place with my own kitchen.

R2R: Chicken Mole Poblano

2010-03-01T08:25:00.007-06:00

When I think of February, Valentines day, romance and chocolate springs to mind, So when looking for a recipe for this month I wanted something that shouted Valentines day at me. Mole, that fabulous savory chocolate pepper sauce, does that for me. Spicey and full of passion with the romance of chocolate and just as individual as those we love.

The origin of mole poblano, the thick, rich, chocolate-tinged sauce made so famous in the colonial mountain city of Puebla, Mexico, is still disputed, and generally involves these two versions of the legend:

The first says that 16th Century nuns from the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla de los Angeles, upon learning that the Archbishop was coming for a visit, went into a panic because they had nothing to serve him. The nuns started praying desperately and an angel came to inspire them. They began chopping and grinding and roasting, mixing different types of chiles together with spices, day-old bread, nuts, a little chocolate and approximately 20 other ingredients..

This concoction boiled for hours and was reduced to the thick, sweet, rich and fragrant mole sauce we know today. To serve in the mole, they killed the only meat they had, an old turkey, and the strange sauce was poured over it. The archbishop was more than happy with his banquet and the nuns saved face. Little did they know they were creating the Mexican National dish for holidays and feasts, and that today, millions of people worldwide have at least heard of mole poblano.

The other legend states that mole came from pre-hispanic times and that Aztec king, Moctezuma, thinking the conquistadors were gods, served mole to Cortez at a banquet to receive them. This story probably gained credibility because the word mole comes from the Nahuatl word “milli” which means sauce or “concoction”. Another connection could be that chocolate was widely used in pre-columbian mexico, so people jumped to that conclusion.

Here is the recipe I chose (mainly for its simplicity and use of fairly common ingredients) please read the notes at the end and enjoy. :)

Chicken Mole Poblano
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Mole sauce:

2 dried ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded
2 dried anaheim chilies, stemmed and seeded
2 dried chipotle chilies, stemmed and seeded
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican, broken in pieces
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 serrano peppers, stemmed and seeded
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Mexican, chopped

Chicken:

1 capon or large chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken stock

Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Cooked white rice, for serving

Directions
For the mole:
Tear the ancho, anaheim, and chipotle chiles into large pieces and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until they change color a bit, about 2 minutes.

Put them into a bowl with the raisins and cover them with hot water. Soak until softened, about 30 minutes.

In the same skillet over medium heat, add the almonds, sesame seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, oregano, and thyme. Toast for 2 minutes, grind in a spice grinder, and add the powder to a blender.

In the same skillet over medium-high heat add the olive oil, onions, garlic, and serrano. Cook until lightly browned, then add the tomatoes. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 10 to 15 minutes, then add to the blender.

Add the chocolate and the soaked chiles and raisins to the blender along with some of the chile soaking liquid.

Puree, adding more soaking liquid as needed, to make a smooth sauce. (This makes about 4 cups sauce, the recipe uses 2 cups, the extra can be frozen).

for the Chicken:
Pour the lemon juice over the chicken and season it well with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet and brown the chicken on all sides; remove the browned chicken to a plate leaving the oil in the pan.

Pour 2 cups of the mole sauce into the hot skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and return the chicken pieces to the pan.

Simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve over cooked white rice. Garnish everything with cilantro leaves.

Notes:

I realize that all palates and shopping centers are not created equal, so feel free to mix and match your peppers to suite. You can look up how hot different peppers are here (Scoville scale). I skipped the serrrano on mine and while the sauce was good it was definitely missing something, so keep in mind it is important for your sauce to have a bit of bite.

The sauce is perfectly edible before the final step of adding the chicken broth (or veggie) so give it a taste and change it up as needed for your taste buds.

This sauce is suppose to be smooth, and barring commercial equipment, we are just not going to achieve that perfectly smooth texture, so don't be afraid to blend the heck out of everything.

For those not familiar with Mexican chocolate, like Ibarra, it is grainy with cocoa nibs, sugar and cinnamon. While delicious it is not the same as your regular baking chocolate.

Don't forget when working with peppers use care, wash your hands well and frequently and wear gloves, pepper juice in your eye or up your nose is not fun.

Temper's Take:
This was really really good (even if it did need those serranos I left out). It was also alot easier than I had been led to believe by some of the recipes out there. Even Indra liked it.

It smelled so good cooking, though I will admit most things smell good when you toast them. I found my self snitching bits as I put everything together.

I used chicken quarters with the skin on, the skin turned kind of soft and icky and it was hard getting the meat off the bone with a fork (the mole made this not a finger food) so next time I would use skinless breasts (or use pork, mmmm pork) to avoid these issues.

I would have loved to pair this with an Avocado salad and jazzed the rice up with some cilantro and lime but I wanted Indra to at least try it so I am saving that for next time. The tortillas though were perfect with it. I was tempted to do a chocolate dessert with the left over Ibarra but couldn't think of anything that Indra wouldn't prefer with regular chocolate, And since it was for Valentines, she gets what she wants.

R2R: Parmigiana di Melanzane

2010-02-01T13:26:00.003-06:00

Somewhere in the world eggplant is in season. I know this because my local supermarket just got in some real beauties. So in celebration here is an Eggplant Parmesan recipe for one of my favorite Italian chefs.

Eggplant Parmesan: Parmigiana di Melanzane
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali

Ingredients•2 pounds (about 2 medium-sized) eggplant

•Salt
•4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
•1 cup fresh bread crumbs, seasoned with 1/4 chopped fresh basil leaves and 1/4 cup pecorino
•2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce, recipe follows
•1 pound ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
•1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash and towel dry the eggplant. Slice the eggplant horizontally about 1/4-inch thick. Place the slices in a large colander, sprinkle with salt and set aside to rest about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the eggplant and dry on towels.

In a sauté pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil until just smoking. Press the drained eggplant pieces into the seasoned bread crumb mixture and sauté until light golden brown on both sides. Repeat with all of the pieces. On a cookie sheet lay out the 4 largest pieces of eggplant. Place 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over each piece and place a thin slice of mozzarella on top of each. Sprinkle with Parmigiano and top each with the next smallest piece of eggplant, then sauce then mozzarella. Repeat the layering process until all the ingredients have been used, finishing again with the Parmigiano. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the top of each little stack is golden brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Basic Tomato Sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes
Salt

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve.

This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Tips:
Fresh bread crumbs are required for the coating to stick without an egg wash.
The oil must be HOT HOT HOT or the eggplant will not cook fast enough and will be a greasy soggy mess.
The Mozzarella must be very thinly sliced or the eggplant tower will slide (it will still taste great)

Temper's Take:
I am in love, it was so much easier than I expected and oh soooo good! The only down side is I eat it alone as Indra does not like stinky cheese (she claims Parmesan smells like old gym socks). But that did mean more for me so maybe that was a positive after all. FYI it is also good made with zucchini just layered in a casserole and not fried.

R2R: Old World Rye

2009-12-01T16:23:00.005-06:00

The Winner of our holiday poll for November was bread. And that makes me the host. I love bread, fresh from the oven with butter or in bread pudding once it is stale, the whole bread experience is a good one for me.

After much deliberation I decided I wanted a dark robust bread, something to go with stew and cheese or just to gobble down on its own. The kind you get at steak houses.

I looked at alot of different recipes before deciding to share my love of older cookbooks (I would say old but 1966 isn't that long ago). A World of Breads by Dolores Casella is one of those treasures you find on occasion, every recipe comes with a little story and the recipes themselves are pretty comprehensive. There are 8 rye bread recipes for example. I choose this one because of the addition of chocolate and molasses, though I will admit her story influenced me too.

This bread is moist and dark with lots of flavor. In Germany during the Second World War people were so hungry for good bread that they used to beg soldiers for what they called "soldiers' bread" -- dark, heavy, and full of flavor. I can only think that that bread was very similar to this one.

Old World Rye
A World of Breads by Dolores Casella, 1966

2 cups rye flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 T yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp salt
2 T caraway seed
2 T butter
2 1/2 cups white flour or whole wheat flour

Combine the rye flour and cocoa. do not sift.
Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
Mix molasses, 1 cup warm water, salt, and caraway seed in large mixing bowl.
Add the rye/cocoa mix, the proofed yeast, the butter and 1 cup white flour or whole wheat flour.
Beat until the dough is smooth.
Spread the remaining flour on a breadboard and kneed it into the dough
Add more flour if necessary to make a firm dough that is smooth and elastic.
Place in buttered bowl and cover. Allow to rise until double (about 2 hours).
Punch dough down, shape into a round loaf and place on a buttered cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
Let rise about 50 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Notes:
You can add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup each of raisins and walnuts.
Don't limit yourself to round loaves, have fun.

And to prove that man CAN live by bread alone....
Back in the 1930's, a Cornell University professor named Clive McCay developed a bread recipe named Cornell Bread. It makes a complete protein that rats can live on exclusively. (The only reason that humans can't live on it exclusively is that it lacks vitamin C, which rats don't need.)

The Cornell formula to enrich bread consists of 1 tablespoon each soy flour and nonfat milk powder plus 1 teaspoon wheat germ for each cup of flour used in a bread recipe. These enrichments are placed in the bottom of the measuring cup before the flour is spooned in.

Temper's Take:
This was a dense moist bread that was darn good. I forgot the caraway seeds so it wasn't very ryey but the molasses taste came thru beautifully. I was disappointed that it wasn't a really dark chocolate brown more of a milk chocolate brown, but I have been told that color requires chemical additives (shame on you steak houses).

R2R: Onion Soup

2009-11-02T20:16:00.006-06:00

Sorry I am a little late posting once again, I think my new years resolution had better be something about procrastination and better planning :). Though in My defence I did complete the challenge early I just didn't write the post.

Our host for October was Sara of imafoodblog.com, she choose Onion Soup (I am not sure how it differs from French onion soup) by Thomas Keller. The recipe is surprisingly easy but it is crucial to read it all the way thru before you start.

Onion Soup - Soupe A L'Oignon
Thomas Keller - Bouchon
makes 6 servings

Sachet:
2 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns
6 large sprigs of thyme

Soup:
8 pounds (about 8 large) yellow onions
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter
Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour
3 1/2 quarts Beef Stock (recipe below)
Freshly ground black pepper
Sherry wine vinegar

Croutons:
1 baguette (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher salt

6 to 12 slices (1/8 inch thick) aged Comte or Emmentaler cheese (at least 4 inches square)
1 1/2 cups grated aged Comte or Emmentaler cheeses, or a combination

The more basic the soup, the more critical the details: Slice the onions uniformly and brown them very slowly and evenly; slice the bread a half inch thick and dry it completely in the oven; and serve the soup in appropriately sized bowls so that the melted cheese extends over the rim. When you hit it right, there's nothing more satisfying to cook or to eat than this soup.

It's worth reiterating the importance of cooking the onions slowly so that the natural sugars caramelize rather than brown through high heating sautéing. The onions cook for about five hours and need to be stirred often, but they can be made up to two days ahead. The soup is best if refrigerated for a day or two so that the flavors of the onion and beef broth can deepen.

Comte is traditionally the cheese of choice, but Emmentaler works as well. Gruyère is a bit strong. Use an aged cheese; a younger cheese would just melt and wouldn't form a crust.

FOR THE SACHET: Cut a piece of cheesecloth about 7 inches square. Place the bay leaves, peppercorns, and thyme in the center, bring up the edges, and tie with kitchen twine to form a sachet.

FOR THE SOUP: Cut off the tops and bottoms of the onions, then cut the onions lengthwise in half. Remove the peels and tough outer layers. Cut a V wedge in each one to remove the core and pull out any solid, flat pieces of onion running up from the core.

Lay an onion half cut side down on a cutting board with the root end toward you. Note that there are lines on the outside of the onion. Cutting on the lines (with the grain) rather than against them will help the onions soften. Holding the knife on an angle, almost parallel to the board, cut the onion lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Once you've cut past the center of the onion, the knife angle will become awkward: Flip the onion onto its side, toward the knife, and finish slicing it, again along the grain. Separate the slices of onion, trimming away any root sections that are still attached and holding the slices together. Repeat with the remaining onions. (You should have about 7 quarts of onions)

Melt the butter in a large heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and 1 tablespoon salt, reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes and regulating the heat to keep the mixture bubbling gently, for about 1 hour, or until the onions have wilted and released a lot of liquid. At this point, you can turn up the heat slightly to reduce the liquid, but it is important to continue to cook the onions slowly to develop maximum flavor and keep them from scorching. Continue to stir the onions every 15 minutes, being sure to scrape the bottom and get in the corners of the pot, for about 4 hours more, or until the onions are caramelized throughout and a rich deep brown. (my note - like a super deep brown, like way browner than you think they need to be. Think poop. Yes I said it.) Keep a closer eye on the onions toward the end of the cooking when the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat. (You will need 1 1/2 cups of onions for the soup; reserve any extra for another use. The onions can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)

Transfer the caramelized onions to a 5 quart pot (if they've been refrigerated, reheat until hot.) Sift in the flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beef stock and sachet, bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the liquid is reduced to 2 1/2 quarts. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a few drops of vinegar. Remove from the heat.

FOR THE CROUTONS: Preheat the broiler. Cut twelve 3/8 inch thick slices from the baguette (reserve the remainder for another use) and place on a baking sheet. Brush the bread lightly on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place under the broiler and toast the first side until golden brown, then turn and brown the second side. Set aside and leave the broiler on.

TO COMPLETE: Return the soup to a simmer. Place six flameproof soup tureens, with about 1 1/2 cups capacity on a baking sheet to catch any spills (the soup will bubble up and over the tureens). Add the hot soup to the tureens, filling them within 1/2 inch of the tops. Top each serving with 2 croutons: Lay them on the surface - do not push them into the soup. Lay the slices of cheese over the croutons so that the cheese overlaps the edges of the tureens by about 1/2 inch, Scatter the grated cheese over the sliced cheese, filling in any areas where the sliced cheese is thinner, or it may melt into the soup rather than forming a crust.

Place the tureens under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese bubbles, browns, and forms a thick crust. Eat carefully, the soup and tureens will be very hot.

Temper's Take:
First of all this soup is fantastic! and I have plans to make it again and again. Seriously when you see instruction to cook something until it looks like poop you don't expect the exquisite goodness that is the onions for this soup. I almost stopped right there and just ate the onions with a spoon.

I learned several things when making this recipe, for example 4 onions makes between 4 and 6 coups of pure onion bliss. Also said onions can be frozen for future use (instant soup anyone?). Also a toaster works just as well as a broiler for making toast (imagine that). And lastly, I really want a flame thrower and some of the really cool onion soup bowls.

I am thinking making this with garlic and maybe shallots or leeks could be really nice, maybe in the future...

CHD: Boiled Cider Pie

2009-10-05T14:50:00.012-05:00

I have dropped Daring bakers for this. Classic Home Desserts: A Treasury of Heirloom and Contemporary Recipes from Around the World. There were just too many cakes, too much chocolate, and too expensive ingredients for me to keep doing Daring Bakers, but I like making a new dessert once a month. So I am doing a recipe a month from Richard Sax's 'Classic Home Desserts'

Here is how it works, I pick the chapter (random number) and Indra picks the recipe that sounds good to her. I then make it, but smaller (there is just two of us) and a second time with a variation. If anyone wants in on the fun email me and I will let you know what I am doing this month.

In September I did Boiled Cider Pie and Boiled Pom Pie for variation. The hardest part was making the boiled cider / pom because no where did it tell me exactly what consistency I was looking for (1/10 to 1/20 seams to be the consensus). So I settled for molasses thickness, next time I think I will go for a more syrupy product.

Boiled Cider

Take a whole bunch of pure apple cider/juice (no extra sugar, vitamins or chemicals, just apple) and simmer, do not boil!, until it is the desired consistency. Or use apple juice concentrate. Repeat for the POM Syrup.

Boiled Cider Pie
Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax
serves 8+, preheat oven to 375

1 pie crust
2/3 cup boiled cider
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch salt
2 large eggs well beaten
2 tart apples, such as granny smith, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
fresh nutmeg
whipped cream for serving

Roll out your pie dough and place in pie plate, turn edge under and make it pretty then chill in the fridge.

In bowl beat together Boiled Cider, Sugar, Melted Butter, Lemon Juice, Salt and Eggs. Add the grated apple and stir to blend well.

Pour into pie crust, sprinkle with brown sugar and nutmeg and bake until the center is just set, usually about 50 minutes.

Cool until just warm and serve.

Tempers Take:
As I was mixing this up I realized it is basically a fruit based pecan pie. which made me think. I have alot of ideas for this in the future, can you imagine a peach version?

The boiled cider was a revelation and I have plenty left and lots of ideas (including Xmas gifts) It made the house smell so good while it was cooking, but I let it boil at the end and it got a little brown taste (a good excuse to do it again).

I made little tarts instead of a pie and made half apple and half POM. The apple was good but not spectacular, The POM was interesting, it turned out pretty tart and definitely needed the whipped cream to mellow it out. Indra and I agreed while it was good the POM would have been spectacular with chocolate, oh well a project for another time.

R2R: Boeuf Bourguignon

2009-10-01T15:58:00.007-05:00

This month to celebrate Julia Child's Birthday and the release of the movie 'Julie and Julia' Recipes to Rival did Boeuf Bourguignon. Honestly the hardest part of this challenge was learning to pronounce it. I still mangle it, but I think a french person might possibly recognize what I am saying.

Boeuf Bourguignon
Yield: For 6 people

Ingredients

A 6-ounce chunk of bacon
1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil
3 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes (see Notes)
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 Tb flour
3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving, or a Chianti
2 to 3 cups brown beef stock
1 Tb tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
½ tsp thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
The blanched bacon rind
18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock
1 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter
Parsley sprigs

Directions
Remove bacon rind and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, ¼ inch thick and 1½ inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1½ quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2½ to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2½ cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

FOR IMMEDIATE SERVING: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

FOR LATER SERVING: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About I5 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Notes
Equipment: A 9- to 10-inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep and a slotted spoon

Cuts of Meat for Stewing:
The better the meat, the better the stew. While cheaper and coarser cuts may be used, the following are most recommended. Count on one pound of boneless meat, trimmed of fat, for two people; three if the rest of the menu is large.

First choice: Rump Pot Roast (Pointe de Culotte or Aiguillette de Rumsteck)

Other choices: Chuck Pot Roast (Paleron or Macreuse a Pot-au-feu), Sirloin Tip (Tranche Grasse), Top Round (Tende de Tranche), or Bottom Round (Gîte a la Noix).

Vegetable and Wine Suggestions:
Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux-St. Émilion, or Burgundy.

Temper's Take:
This was a big hit at our house despite my using Indra's 'Good' wine. The sauce in particular was scrumptious! as Indra said 'Just give me a bowl of the sauce and I would be happy'. She is even coming to appreciate a good mushroom now that I am figuring out how to cook a good mushroom.

What I learned... When browning meat do a very little at a time, make sure it is very dry and the pan very hot. Wine must be a whole lot cheaper than here for them to cook with it so much. Cooking with wine tastes good! I learned to brown braise onions, and see alot more of this technique in my future.

The wine... Shooting Star Cabernet Sauvignon Lake County 2006 very full bodied, very good. Indra was not happy that I used the last of it and I predict a shopping trip in the future.

some day i swear I will learn to take good pictures. Someday

Julie and Julia

2009-09-07T19:47:00.006-05:00

Indra and I saw this movie over the Labor Day weekend. She had of course read all the reviews and what all the foodies had to say, me not so much.

To start with let me say I have never really watched any of the Julia Child cooking shows or read any of her books. This is partially due to my aversion to anything commercialized (and widely popular) and partially because her voice and over enthusiastic presentation have always grated on me. As I was explaining this to Indra and acknowledging Julia's contribution to American cooking of course, Indra described Julia in a way that gave me a whole new perspective, and appreciation for her work. Are you ready? Here it is..... Julia Child is a Muppet!

No really, think about it! Funny voice, larger than life, big sweeping gestures, boundless enthusiasm, the whole thing -- definitely Muppety. And as Indra puts it just like a Muppet she is different and people like her in the real world when you are different people don't like you. So I am all on board the Julia Child is a Muppet train, it definitely makes watching her shows more entertaining.

But I was talking about the movie, Meryl Streep great, duh, the food was mouth watering and inspiring, the company great, but what about the rest of it? Well let’s see. Plot? Well it is about a blog, and blogs don't usually have plots, but whatever. Entertaining? It was, definitely entertaining, but even so. I did not need Julia Child and sex linked in my visual memory. Would the movie have been better without Julie? No, not really, while Julie doesn't really compare to Julia, except perhaps in their love of food and their men, she bridged the gap between the goddess of French cooking and average everyday Americans like me. It is kind of ironic when you think about it. Bringing us clueless, servant less Americans to love and prepare French cuisine – well that’s what Julia was all about to start with.

You don't have to be a foodie to enjoy this, but I guarantee afterwards you will crave some good French cooking. Make a day of it and take your honey to a nice French restaurant, or if they are a foodie like me, take them to the pots and pan store and shell out some dough for some of the beautiful cookware featured in the movie, or get one of Julia's biographies and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Your reward will undoubtedly be many luscious French meals.

SORRY

2009-09-07T19:32:00.002-05:00

It has been a bit since my last post for which I apologize. It is not that I haven't been eating (or cooking) it has been I felt like crap, mostly anyway.

For those of you that don't follow Facebook and aren't members of Recipes to Rival (shame on you) I spent a week in the hospital and three weeks on either side of that feeling slightly better than crap. So I spent my whole month not eating, not cooking and not doing much of anything not required for basic survival.

I learned a couple things this month, like after a week of juice, malt-o-meal can make me cry and when you have a fever of 104 an ice bath is a lovely thing. I also learned that I have no idea how to clean and hiring a maid once in a while will make my life much much cleaner (and happier). I also learned that you can't dry heave forever, eventually you will find something to get rid of (not my most favorite discovery).

Most importantly I rediscovered how great my friends are, the one that took care of the car payment, the one that paid the electric bill and the one that got the new water heater on their Lowe's card. Not to mention the constant calls to see how I was doing and offering to drive an hour to take Indra shopping or pick up meds.

So Thanks all, and I got alot of catching up to do. :)

R2R: Bruschetta and Limoncello

2009-08-02T11:14:00.005-05:00

oops, this got saved as draft instead of published.

This month's challenge is brought to you by Lauren of Fried Pickles and Ice Cream.
A little summer taste of Italy! A delicious and simple antipasta (appetizer), Bruschetta and a digestivo (after-dinner drink), Limoncello.

Bruschetta
(4 servings)

4 slices Rustic Bread
2 cups chopped Roma Tomatoes
1 clove Garlic
4 to 8 leaves Basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt

-Heat grill or grill pan to medium high heat
-Slice THICK pieces of bread
-Place bread on grill until each side has a nice golden color
-Rub garlic on top side of each bread piece
-Pile tomatoes on
-sprinkle one big pinch of salt per piece on top of the tomatoes
-generously drizzle oilve oil on top of tomatoes (about 2 to 3 tablespoons per piece)
-add basil to the top

Limoncello

1 liter grain alcohol
5 1/2 cups water
5 large lemons (or 10 small lemons)
2 1/2 cups sugar

-Gently wash lemons in cool water to remove any dirt
-Peel away zest from lemon leaving as little pith (the white stiff) as possible.
-Put peels in a large sealed jar or container (I reused the alcohol bottle)
-Pour alcohol over peels and place container in a cool place.
-Leave the mixture for 7 days.
-Every day give the container a little swirl. You will see the alcohol become darker and darker every day.
-After 7 days, strain the alcohol by using a coffee filter.
-Prepare the simple syrup. Bring the water to a boil and add the sugar to dissolve.
-Mix the syrup with the alcohol. BE CAREFUL... DO NOT DO THIS NEAR A FLAME!!!
-Pour the limoncello into bottles or containers. Let cool completely. Store in the freezer until ready to serve!
*Date your limoncello. After a year it will no longer be delicious.

Temper's Take:
The brushetta was wonderful, like Lauren said the garlic just melted into the bread and the tomatoes and olive oil were lovely. Unfortunately it was apparently a bad week for basil and what I found i wouldn't eat, so I let a little dried sit in the olive oil for several hours and decorated the top with Kale. I am thinking this would be a good excuse to invest in some really nice olive oil and it would be a great starter for an evening of grilling. It was a hit with us.
The limoncello suffered from car troubles and a dry county, with no car I couldn't find anyone to drive me an hour to the closest liqueur store, so i tried putting my lemon peels in a simple syrup. It was pretty and turned a delicate yellow color almost immediately. It did not however darken and a week later I had lemon cleaner. So the lesson i learned was sugar does not solve everything and procrastination is bad, cause I could see how it would be a scrumptious tipple, I just never reached that point.

R2R: Beef Wellington

2009-07-01T08:06:00.003-05:00

This months host is Mz Kitchen of Madame Chow's Kitchen. She is helping us launch our new website and celebrate our 1 yr Anniversary with this great recipe! Beef Wellington! This is one of those fancy smancy dishes that was on my I'll never be able to make list. Guess what I was wrong :) Here is the official post Beef Wellington also check out the wonderful pictures here Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. If that doesn't convince you to make your own nothing will.

Beef Wellington

Ingredients
For the Duxelles:

3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Beef:

1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen (follow directions on the package)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces mousse pate, available in specialty cheese and appetizer cases of larger markets (optional)

Directions

To make the Duxelles:

Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool completely.

To prepare the beef:

Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool completely.

I made the duxelles and seared the tenderloin about 10 hours in advance, and refrigerated both of them. It is important that these items are cold because you will be working with puff pastry, and if they're warm, they may cause the dough to melt before you get it in the oven.

About an hour before you plan to serve the Beef Wellington,preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together.

Spread the duxelles mixture down in a column down the middle of the rolled out puff pastry. Thinly slice the mousse and cover the duxelles with it - every square millimeter doesn't have to be covered, but you're trying to make sure that every serving gets beef, duxelle, and mousse.

Remove beef from refrigerator. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and brush all the edges of the pastry with egg wash. Fold the longer sides over the beef, and seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.

Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F (rare) on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into 3/4-inch thick slices

Temper's Take:
Being on a budget I made my own mousse with chicken livers, bacon and butter. I would do it differently if I did it again, more bacon grease for starters and cook the liver in smaller batches for quality control, but it wasn't have bad for liver paste.

The puff pastry crust was lovely and something I will be playing with in the future. But other than that I had a few issues. The biggest issues is I did not get the duxelles dry enough and so ended up with soup on the bottom of my pan. No biggy, next time I will know better, and there will be a next time my little mushroom friends, muhahahaha. Sorry about that, it had to be said.

The last issue was the biggest for me, Dijon mustard, blech! I hated what it did to the flavor! It had worked fine with the Steak Diane but here it was a total flop! I think I need to invest in a mustard I will actually eat and leave the emiril stuff alone.

This recipe definitely needs a redo, fortunately with a slightly cheaper cut of meat, and making my own pate I can afford it.

Cookie Carnival: Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

2009-06-29T17:59:00.003-05:00

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies, by Martha Stewart
These tender cookies are made with cream and studded with sweet strawberries for a portable version of a classic dessert.
INGREDIENTS:
Makes about 3 dozen.

* 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
* 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* 2/3 cup heavy cream
* Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining
7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Temper's Take:
They pretty much live up to their description a portable version of Strawberry Shortcake. I love real strawberry shortcake. During the summer we use to pick strawberries in 5 gallon buckets. There were evening when that was supper. And none of that sponge cake stuff you get from the unenlightened. Ah those were the days.

for an on the go treat these weren't bad, they went together quick which is good considering their short life span, but really I prefer the real stuff. maybe with some other fruit...

DB: Bakewell Tart

2009-06-27T10:45:00.004-05:00

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.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding
Makes one 23cm (9” tart)

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre 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.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

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

Sweet shortcrust pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together 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 cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour 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. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. 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.

Temper's Take:
I chose to make a chocolate-cherry tart and mini-tarts with chocolate, lemon or black and blueberry jam. All were good, some were just better than others, more on that later. Would I make it again? Definitely (with some adjustments) it is pretty simple and looks and tastes fancy, whats not to like?

The best flavors where the lemon curd and the plain chocolate. I also preferred the mini-tart size, it was just so cute and bite sized! The almond flavor of the frangipane is so simple and delicate that the more complicated flavors overwhelmed it and the Morrelle Cherry jam was just to rich. The simple tartness of the lemons and the rich smoothness of the chocolate was a wonderful match. There are definitely other flavor combos out there I am going to have to play with.

I especially love the way the frangipane turned out, I was afraid it would have a puddeny texture but it was closer to a cake texture wise. The mini-tarts showed this better and I liked their color better, the tart fell a little when I removed it from the oven and got a bubbly top which wasn't as pretty. I think that is just an experience thing. I am thinking of using a pie pan instead of a tart pan next time so I can have more frangipane.

The crust had an exorbitant amount of butter in it and as I did not make a thick crust I couldn't see where it added that much to the flavor. Next time I may just go with a regular crust or try a different shortbread crust (I have one I use with cheese cake that is very nice).

4 stars and mushrooms

2009-06-08T18:10:00.018-05:00

My love affair with mushrooms started in my childhood with Morels. Every spring my father and a bunch of friends would go morel hunting. Later while they were enjoying an orgy of mutual grooming (morel season is also tick season) Mom cook up the days bounty.

I will never forget the taste of those mushrooms. They were sweet and nutty and meltingly good. I have no idea what Mom did to them (other than use butter) but it was good. Every spring I still get the craving for morels but alas they are not to be found here in Texas and dried is just not the same.

It should there for come as no surprise when the Mushroom Council invited me to attend an event at Abacus to discuss mushrooms and their changing roles in cuisine and the food industry with recipe demo and 3 course meal by chef Kent Rathburn I jumped at it. I mean 4 star restaurant, Iron chef winner (take that Flay) and mushrooms, how could it be better?

I will tell you how, I got to meet Kelly of Evil Shenanigans, she was the other blogger present. The pictures in this post are from her since my camera batteries died after 1 picture. To be honest she did a better job then I ever could have. Go see her post about the event here.

Actually this post is just a teaser, I am writing an article about the experience for Blake Makes magazine that will have actual recipes and other cool information in it (but probably not alot of me gushing about how great it was).

Chef Kent Rathburn demonstrated three techniques for cooking mushrooms in three recipes featuring 6 diffrent readily available mushrooms. He did a 'Wood Grilled Portabella and Oyster Mushroom Pizza with Gorgonzola, Rocket Greens Salad', a 'Pan Roasted Shitake and Button Mushroom Linguine with Braised Veal Shank, Port Demi' and a 'Crimini and Maitake Mushroom Ragu with Grilled Romano Cheese Polenta'. It was easy to see why Chef Rathburn beat Flay on Iron Chef, all three dishes were fantastic and show cased the mushrooms beautifully. I have made up my mind it is worth saving the money for truely fine dining as opposed to eating out more often at chain resturaunts.

I will admit that the Pizza was my favorite (and with any luck it will be the recipe in the magazine). Two things in this dish reduced me to happy sounds and silly smiles. The first was of course the mushrooms, delicately smoked and oh so tender, good lord I could have eaten them straight up and been happy. The second thing was the oven roasted cherry tomatoes. They were like little savory raisins, sweet, tangy and a hint of herbs. These are definitely going on my make them often list and Indra can just suffer in her little tomato free zone, cause they are just that good. (I will put the instructions for these at the bottom of this post). He topped the pizza with a rocket and gorganzola salad, somehow all the flavors came together to make me like gogonzola and rocket salad with a lemon vinigret (not something I thought possible). This dish has made me rethink all those fancy cookbooks I have been shunning as pretensious and overly complicated.

The second dish was very good but just did not wow me. I will admit the veal was melt in you mouth smooth and flavorful, and perhaps that was the problem I wanted more of the delicious sauteed mushrooms darn it! Now I know veal is a bad word and I can understand the objections, I just am not sure I support the cause 100%. I definitly support eating tasty food, and veal fits that catagory, but all things considered it may be one of those foods that is just not worth the price for me.

The final dish was a revelation to me, the polenta cake was light and fluffy in texture, not something I thought you could do with polenta. Add some maitake mushrooms (Kelly and I both swore they had a sweet floral / honey note to them) and I was sold.

I learned that mushrooms are the only fruit or vegetable that contains vitamin D. Mushrooms are a very eco friendly crop (lots of recycling) and wasn't the video fun as it tried to avoid saying exactly what the major component in the growth medium was. We also learned that most mushroom growers would love to give you a tour of their facility. Definitely something I am going to try.

Don't forget to check out the Mushroom Councils website and Blog for recipes, news and contests.

To make Oven roasted Cherry tomatoes heat your oven to the extreemely high temprature of 180. cut your tomatoes in half and toss them with a little roasted garlic oil and herbs. spread face up on baking sheet and roast for about 1.5 hours. Nothing should get crispy. remove and enjoy, they will stay good for a week or so with proper care put they are not like raisin that you can stuff in the cupboard and will still be good months later.

DB: Apple Strudel!

2009-05-27T16:49:00.003-05:00

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Pictures are coming this weekend, I killed my computer with all the pictures on it on Monday and won't have time to fis it until then.

Ok, this is one of those dishes I would not in a million years have guessed I could actually do. I am not known for my delicate touch or dexterity. So, if I can do it so can you!

The recipe can be found HERE. It is a long one but once you break it down really easy to do.

The dough has four ingredients (one is Water)and can be mixed by hand easily. The filling is as complicated as you make it, sliced apples cinnamon / sugar and raisins soaked in brandy is all the original recipe calls for. Or create your own goodness (I did a chocolate cherry jam one for variety). Throw in some browned bread crumbs and you are set.

The actual stretching of the dough went pretty well, there where some holes but nothing too major and I got it pretty darn thin. But I think next time I am going to play with the flour vs liquid ratios a little since my dough was stickier than I was happy with.

Temper's Take:
First of all let me say OH MY GOD chocolate cherry strudel is Luscious! This is a taste combination i will be playing with again. The apple was also good, I used dried cherries instead of raisins and it definitely worked fine. Next time I may use more.

The crust out of the oven was fine light crisp and layery, the humidity soon fixed that though and while still good it was not quite as flaky. The two issues I had was I used to many bread crumbs and for some reason my bottoms where a little overcooked making them tough.

Make again? Definitely, though I will be changing things up and maybe trying some individual sizes.

TC: Coconut Ice Cream

2009-05-24T22:00:00.005-05:00

My partner for this months Taste and Create was Nicole of For the Love of Food. I actually did three recipes from her blog and have another couple I just didn't have time for. Her recipes are just what I like simple and good.

The coconut ice cream was the first thing that got put on my list. Indra and I both love coconut and I have been playing with my new ice cream machine looking for a good recipes. Coconut Ice Cream with Toffee chips definitely fits the bill.

Coconut Ice Cream with Toffee Chips

Ingredients:
1 Cup 2% Milk
8oz unsweetened Coconut milk that is creamy (we use Aroy-D 100% Coconut Milk original)
2 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
1/8 Cup sugar
1 1/2 Cups sweetened Baker’s Coconut
1/4 Cup toffee chips
2 tablespoons alcohol(I used brandy)

Directions:
Make sure all your ingredients are extremely cold before beginning - when I made this recipe I had the chips and baker’s coconut in the freezer and the milk, coconut milk, and cream in the refrigerator.

No cooking is required, simply pour the cold liquid ingredients in your mixer with the sugar and wait until it is starting to thicken and then add the brandy, coconut and chips. Once it has finished churning put it in the freezer for at least an hour to firm up. (the alcohol should keep it soft enough to scoop.)

Temper's Take:
This was good, Indra even agreed. We liked the texture and the sweetness level was just right. It was perfect for a hot Texas Day.

We would have liked a more pronounced coconut flavor but that is something I can play with in the future.

R2R: Coq au Vin

2009-05-01T08:31:00.003-05:00

For this months Recipe to Rival challenge I choose Coq au Vin, specifically Anthony Bourdain's Coq au Vin. I discovered Anthony Bourdain a couple months ago, so far I have read one of his cookbooks and two of his other books. I loved them all. It is the first cook book I have ever had swear at me. It was great, and this recipe is great too.

Coq au vin is a peasant recipe, As Anthony Bourdain has said "Coq au vin is an old, tough bird you have to drown in wine to get it to taste good. That'll be $28.95 please."

This it one of those recipes that is deceptively hard, with a little prep work it is easy as pie, maybe even easier. The secret is the mise en place. do it all ahead stuff it in the fridge and throw it all together when you are ready.

Coq au vin
from the Les Halles Cookbook, by Anthony Bourdain, Serves 4

1 bottle plus 1 cup of red wine
1 onion, cut into a 1-inch dice
1 carrot, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 celery rib, cut into ½ inch slices
4 whole cloves
1 tbs whole black peppercorns
1 bouquet garni
1 whole chicken, “trimmed” – wing tips and neckbone removed

salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbs olive oil
6 tbs butter, softened
1 tbs flour
¼ lb lardons
½ lb small, white button mushrooms, stems removed
12 pearl onions, peeled
pinch of sugar

DAY ONE
The day before you even begin to cook, combine the bottle of red wine, the diced onion (that’s the big onion, not the pearl onions), sliced carrots, celery, cloves, peppercorns, and bouquet garni in a large deep bowl. Add the chicken and submerge it in the liquid so that all of it is covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

DAY TWO
Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry. Put it aside. Strain the marinade through the fine strainer, reserving the liquids and solids separately. Season the chicken with salt and pepper inside and out. In the large Dutch oven, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter until almost smoking, and then sear the chicken, turning it with the tongs to evenly brown it. Once browned, it should be removed from the pot and set it aside again. Add the reserved onions, celery, and carrot to the pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and golden brown. That should take about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix well with the wooden spoon so that the vegetables are coated. Now stir in the reserved strained marinade. Put the chicken back in the pot, along with the bouquet garni. Cook this for about 1 hour and 15 minutes over low heat.

While your chicken stews slowly in the pot, cook the bacon lardons in the small sauté pan over medium heat until golden brown. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain it on paper towels, making sure to keep about 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan. Saute the mushroom tops in the bacon fat until golden brown. Set them aside.

Now, in the small saucepan, combine the pearl onions, the pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add just enough water to just cover the onions; then cover the pan with the parchment paper trimmed to the same size of the pan. (I suppose you can use foil if you must.) Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the water has evaporated. Keep a close eye on it. Remove the paper cover and continue to cook until the onions are golden brown. Set the onions aside and add the remaining cup of red wine along with salt and pepper and reduce over medium-high heat until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

When the chicken is cooked through – meaning tender, the juice from the thigh running clear when pricked – carefully remove from the liquid, cut into quarters, and arrange on the deep serving platter. Strain the cooking liquid (again) into the reduced red wine. Now just add the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Now pour that sauce over the chicken and dazzle your friends with your brilliance. Serve with buttered noodles and a Bourgone Rouge.

Tips
1. An old bird is best, hard to find though. Ideally you are looking for a stew chicken or an old rooster, I recommend a Kosher or Halal meat market (remember they have no pork though).
2. Bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string, most recipes include parsley, thyme and bay leaf
3. Lardon may refer to different pork products cut from a pig's belly and used for larding in French cuisine. In this case you are looking for slab or country bacon, cut into small oblongs (lardons) about ¼ by 1 inch. I used salt pork, which did not smell like bacon cooking but tasted pretty good. Either way a good thick bacon with alot of nice fat and not alot of additives is what you are looking for.
4. the wine should be red, other than that pick what suits your pallet and wallet. But here is a helpful guide as well, Wine With...Coq au Vin

Temper's Take:
This was alot easier then I expected, it was also very good. Next time I would use chicken parts rather than the whole chicken just to make life easier. I would also make sure I had some nice crusty bread handy.

Truthfully The combination of mushrooms, pearl onions and bacon is hard to beat for me no matter what you do with it. And this was an excellent application, it was even better the second day. Definitely on my do again list, I just wish finding old chickens was easier.

DB: Cheese Cake

2009-04-27T13:29:00.001-05:00

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

I have made cheese cake in the past, from several different recipes in fact, but this one came with directions on how to prevent that dreaded crack, and a water bath for increased creaminess, very very good! I however was a rebel and tried something different, no bake cheese cake, no not that stuff from JELLO, cheese cake ice cream!

First the official instructions and then what I did.

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
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

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

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a bowl 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 heavy cream, vanilla and lemon juice and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, 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 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. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

For the ice cream I basically cut the recipe in 1/3 added a little sugar and then added enough milk to make up the difference in my machine.

Cheese Cake Ice cream

8oz of cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups milk

cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it reaches a temp of 160. Remove to the fridge to cool down for several hours. Proceed as directed by your machine.

I used a springform pan and the graham cracker crust to pour my finished Ice cream in. I then served it with some Black and Blue Jelly.

Temper's Take:
Ok I admit I also made the cheese cake and while it was good it isn't the best I have made. The tips that came with the recipe were invaluable to me though.

The ice cream turned out fabulous, Indra even asked for more :) It had a great texture and the jelly set it off to perfection! It is easy enough that I am thinking it is going to be used again next time we have company this summer.

BBD: Bunny Rolls

2009-04-12T22:29:00.006-05:00

For this months Bread Baking Day event I choose to make Easter Bunny Rolls. I found the recipe here, when looking for something that really said Easter to me. After all what says Easter like bunnies?

BBD #19 - Spring Country Bread is hosted by Cindystar. to quote her...

It will be Easter in a few days and I would like to share with you a virtual pic-nic on Easter Monday. In Italy it's a popular tradition to have an outdoor trip in the countryside, on that special festive day all families and friends gather together, lay a blanket or a tablecloth on the grass and have a sort of epicurean brunch (never missing hard boiled eggs, part of tradition!)with children enjoy playing outdoor and adults lazily enjoying the first warm spring sun.
And my theme would like to be a celebration to Spring with Spring Country Breads.

Easter Bunny Rolls
This recipe is from a 1959 vintage holiday cookbook.

1 package yeast
1/4 c water, lukewarm
1 c milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/2 c butter melted in the hot milk
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
5-5 1/2 c flour
2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
1/4 c orange juice, lukewarm
2 Tbs grated orange peel

1. Dissolve yeast in water.
2. Blend milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Make sure that the mixture is lukewarm. Stir in 2 cups of the flour.
3. Add eggs, beat well. Stir in yeast, orange juice, and peel. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a dough. Let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Knead dough 10 minutes, or until elastic, on a floured surface. Place in a greased bowl, turn to grease top, cover and allow to rise until double. About 2 hours.
5. Punch down, cover, and allow to rest 10 minutes.
6. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Cut dough in strips about 1/2 inch wide and roll between hands to smooth.
7. You can make these into two kinds of bunnies.

For twist bunnies (the one that looks like it is sitting upright):
1. For each bunny you will need a 14 inch strip of dough. On a lightly greased cookie sheet lap one end of the strip over the other to form a loop. Now, bring the end that is underneath up over the top end, letting each end extend to the sides to form ears. Pat tips of ears to make a point.
2. Roll a small ball of dough and put it on the bottom loop for a tail. Let rise until double.

For “Grazing” Bunnies:
1. For each bunny you will need a 10 inch piece of dough for the body and a 5 inch strip for the head.
2. On a lightly greased cookie sheet make a loose swirl for the body with the longer strip, and one for the head with the smaller strip. Place the head close to the body. To add the ears pinch off 1 1/2 inch strips of dough and roll to form ears. Place next to the head. Use a little bit of dough to make a small ball for the tail. Allow to double.

The second rise will take from 45-60 minutes. Bake at 375 for 12 -15 minutes. Frost while warm with sugar glaze. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Sugar Glaze (I skipped this)

To 2 1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/4 c hot water
1 tsp butter.

1. Stir until blended.
2. Use this to brush over warm rolls.

Temper's Take:
I loved the subtle orange of this bread, the bread is good, darn good. The bread is plenty sweet with out the glaze but a nice orange glaze would be great too. Heck, it would be a great sweet roll period, maybe with some dried cherries.

The bunnies turned nicely bunny shaped (which I had been worried about) and were easier to form then I thought they would be. My favorites were the standing up ones.

Spaghetti Squash ala Esther

2009-04-04T13:23:00.007-05:00

My Friend Esther is a true foodie, unfortunately she is also diabetic and managing it through diet, which means almost no carbs. I don't know about you but I don't think I could live that way. This was her suggestion of a side when we had Thanksgiving together.

Spaghetti Squash ala Esther

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half and deseeded
2 table spoons butter
Nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
Salt (kosher or sea, not table)
Pepper (fresh ground)
Dried Cranberries

Rub each half squash with a table spoon of butter, Sprinkle with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste (I like it to look freckled) and then wrap in tinfoil.

Cook at 350 degrees until soft (test with a fork through the side or by squeezing gently).

loosen the sides with a fork and 'fluff'. I then sprinkle with the dried cranberries. It sits well and reheats great in the microwave making it great for family get togethers.

Temper's Take:
This turns out surprisingly rich tasting and the dried cranberries (my addition) offsets that beautifully. I have also used this method with Italian seasoning, a couple of meatballs, garlic and a sprinkling of parmesan with great results. As an additional plus spaghetti squash is cheap and it is easy to make, just what I want in a great dish.

R2R, Steak Diane Flambé

2009-04-01T11:31:00.004-05:00

This months Recipe to Rival challenge was Steak Diane Flambé. I hosted with assistance from Shawnee of Delishes Delishes (ok, so she found the recipe and came up with the disclaimer and... well alot of other thing). As she said "I've never purposely set fire to my food before (besides marshmallows)". You know what, neither have I, about time wouldn't you say?

And here is the wonderful disclaimer:

Disclaimer: We do not require that you flambé, if you choose to flambé and burn down your kitchen, don't sue us. If you choose to flambé try and get a picture (I recommend getting someone to help). Remember when playing with fire keep a fire extinguisher close and never use water on a cooking fire.

Steak Diane Flambé
recipe by Frank Bordoni from Great Food Live.
Ingredients

For the steaks
4x85g beef medallions
1 tsp Dijon mustard
freshly ground salt and pepper

For the sauce
1 tsp Butter, clarified
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Shallots, finely chopped
50g button mushrooms, finely sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
125ml double cream
1 tbsp Chives, snipped
50ml Brandy

Method
1. Rub the medallions of beef with the mustard, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and when hot, add the clarified butter and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Add the shallots and mushrooms, and push to the centre of the pan. Arrange the medallions around the edge. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring and tossing the mushroom mixture as you go. If you prefer your steak well done, give it an extra minute or 2.
4. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
5. Turn the steaks over and pour in the cream and chives. Tilt the pan slightly (away from you) and pour in the brandy at the far end. Now turn up the heat to high so that the brandy ignites. Swirl the sauce around in the pan and turn off the heat.
6. Put the medallions on 4 plates, pour over the sauce and serve.

I served it with roasted asparagus (recipe later) and they went great with the sauce for left overs.

Temper's Take:
This was so easy, the flames where great (the pyromaniac in me is saying do it again!), and it was very nummy. The meat was a little undercooked for our pallets, and I wish I had got a nice brown coat on it like some of the others. But it is definitely something I will be doing again, maybe for company, it is fancy and easy, so perfect for entertaining.

Ricotta revisited: pancakes

2009-03-27T17:14:00.008-05:00

Since my first shot at ricotta didn't turn out quite how I wanted I went back did a little research and tried again. The great recipes my fellow Recipes to Rival members submitted had nothing to do with it, honest. As it turns out I was overcooking the stuff, apparently 185 is not boiling, it is should in fact never boil. All I can say is oops and look what I did this time.

Ricotta

8 cups whole milk
2 cups dry white wine

1. Place buttermilk and milk in a pot, heat on med-low heat until it reaches 185 degrees.
2. It will begin to separate into curds and whey. Be sure to stir occasionally to make sure no curds stick to the bottom and burn. You will see that as the temperature approaches 185, the whey becomes clearer as the curds coagulate more.
3. Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cheesecloth and place in an airtight container.

With it I made Ricotta Pancakes as featured on A Good Appetite by Kat. Also just in time for bbd #18 - Quick Breads hosted by Fun & Food Blog.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
(from Bobby Flay) Makes 10 pancakes.

3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar (we used 3)
1 c ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 lemon, zested & juiced
black and blue jelly
powdered sugar
butter for the griddle

Whisk together the cheese, eggs, lemon zest & juice. Stir in the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt & sugar just until combined. Melt a little butter on a hot griddle. Pour 1/4 c of batter on the griddle for each pancake. Cook until brown on both sides, flipping once.

Top pancakes with black and blue jelly & a little powdered sugar.

Temper's Take:
I used my thermometer and low and behold at 180 had clear whey and curds. no boiling no scorching and the end result was not dry. I still over cooked it a tad (wasn't patient enough reading the thermometer) but much better, and the wine added a nice subtle fruity element.

Which made it perfect for the pancake. the dough was thick, almost muffiny, which got me thinking and I may be experimenting in the future. I ate the first several straight and they were wonderful, tangy and light, just great. I wasn't as impressed once I added the powdered sugar and black and blue jelly. Next time I think fresh fruit is the way to go or something lighter like whipped cream. And there will definitely be a next time for these.

Cream of Mushroom soup

2009-03-18T00:03:00.004-05:00

Ever since I had this a year ago I have wanted to make it for myself. I was stopped in this pursuit because I was sure it came from Alton Brown. I still swear the recipe I printed out back then said Alton Brown on it, it certainly is Good Eats. On the other hand The Barefoot Contessa's recipe is pretty much what I remember.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients
5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms
5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 carrot, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot. (I like it with toasted bits of nice crusty bread.)

Temper's Take:
MMMMmmmm Good! I left out the flour so it was a little thinner than I preferred. Still good though. I think sourdough makes the best bread to go with it, the tang of the bread offsets the richness of the soup nicely. I used plain ol baby portabellas for the mushroom, but I think I would really like to try it with some other varieties. I also learned that homemade veggie broth is the way to go.

Birthday Pie

2009-03-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday, and as buirthdays go it wasn't half bad. A friend got me a rice cooker and I got myself an icecream maker (and recipe book). I had the day off work so I slept in and had french toast made with french bread and real maple syrup for brunch. for supper it was the freezer section, cheese enchiladas and apple pie.

I like pie, I like pie alot and since I was not going to cook on my birthday that ment no chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting or rhubarb cake, no rhubarb either :(, so my second choice is pie, I like almost all of them, but fruit pies are my favorites, berries, cherries and apples (but not blueberry) are all good.

The highlight of my day is discovering you can make a wishlist on Target.com, I spent alot of time windows shopping and marking all the things I plan on getting. Oh how I drooled over the Kitchen Aides, and I was seriously eyeing the pasta maker before I decided the ice cream maker would be a better deal.

So happy birthday to me and I hope you had a good day as well.

Ginger Pear Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

2009-03-10T13:24:00.007-05:00

I received some lovely Ginger Pear Balsamic vinegar from a friend who had purchased it at Target and then discovered it had to many carbs for her diet. So I got lucky and have a new toy to play with. My first thought was wouldn't that be good with pork (I might have been influenced by the pork loin in the freezer). So off to google to find recipes. I found alot of inspiration but one recipe really jumped out at me. So with out further ado, here it is.

Based off Raspberry Vinegar Pork Chops Recipe from Taste of Home. I had to make a few changes based on what I had available but it is basically the same recipe.

Ginger Pear Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pork tenderloins (1-inch thick)
1/4 cup Ginger Pear Balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
fresh Sage
Fresh Rosemary

Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet, add oil. Brown the pork on each side over high heat. Pour off oil; reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 tablespoons vinegar and garlic. Cover; simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove pork to heated container; cover to keep warm. Add remaining vinegar; stir up browned bits from bottom of skillet. Raise heat and boil until the vinegar is reduced to a thick glaze. Add the sage, rosemary and chicken stock. Boil until liquid is reduced to half of the original volume.
Strain sauce; season with the salt and pepper. Spoon over chops.

I paired this with roasted sweet potato fries that had been tossed in the vinegar and a little oil, then sprinkled with sea salt. I set them to roast while I did the pork (I actually gave it a 15 minute head start).

Temper's Take:
This was so good I did my happy food dance (so named by the Frogman). Who knew vinegar could be so good when reduced, and why didn't they tell me? I literally licked the pan clean (and then my fingers), so uncouth I know but it was that good.

Indra, said it was good, but she missed the Lowery's seasoning salt I usually use, and why do I have to cook so fancy. She also said the sauce tasted like a Christmas tree (the rosemary and balsamic reduction was to blame I am sure, next time I will use something besides rosemary) and the roasted sweet potato fries reminded her of apples (she was right. the vinegar and sweet potatoes combined to taste like apples). so I have permission to do it again if I do some with Lowery's first, I call that a success.

R2R, Ricotta

2009-03-01T09:55:00.006-06:00

This months Recipe to Rival challenge was Ricotta. I was very excited about it. The figuring out what to make with it was a bit of a stumper as it is not an ingredient I usually use. I have made Maybelle's Mom's Great (and I do mean great) Gnocchi and Lasagna and even Cheese cake, but that really is the extent of my experience. So this was a real learning experience for me.

Fresh Ricotta

you'll need:
5 cups 2% milk
1 tbsp vinegar

Place vinegar and milk in a pot, heat on med-low heat until it reaches 185 degrees.

It will begin to separate into curds and whey. Be sure to stir occasionally to make sure no curds stick to the bottom and burn. You will see that as the temperature approaches 185, the whey becomes clearer as the curds coagulate more.

Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Tie the ends of the chesecloth together and hang for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cheesecloth and place in an airtight container.

I paired my ricotta with cornmeal crepes and pork loin in a blackberry wine reduction. Overall a success, but there is plenty of room for improvement.

Cornmeal Crepes
5 crepes

1/2 batch cornmeal pancakes
2 well beaten eggs
milk

add the eggs to the cornmeal pancake mix.
then add milk til you reach the desired consistency
pour a portion into a hot skillet and swirl to coat.
cook on med low heat until they are done (do not turn)
gently peel from the pan and set aside to cool (they are delicate so be careful)

Ricotta Stuffing

1 cup ricotta
1 well beaten egg
1 tbsp Honey
Salt and pepper

mix well and wrap in crepes.

Pork with Wine Reduction

Salt and Pepper
Garlic Salt
1 tbsp Butter
2 Garlic cloves sliced
fresh Rosemary
fresh Thyme
Blackberry Wine
1 tbsp Plum preserves

Use salt, pepper and garlic salt on the pork loins and sear both sides
put ricotta stuffed cornmeal crepes in 350 oven while making the sauce.
melt butter and add herbs and garlic, saute gently for 3 minutes
add wine (twice as much wine as you want finished sauce) and reduce by half
add plum preserves and gently stir until it is melted.
remove chunky bits from sauce and serve.

Temper's Take:
The ricotta turned out drier then I expected and I had some problems with scorching and temperature control (next time I am going to try it in the crock pot) But it was good and it was cheese. :) I didn't use buttermilk because I made the mistake of looking at the ingredient list, tapioca starch was one of the more recognizable things on it. I think I would like to try substituting a dry white wine for the butter milk once, it has the potential to be quite good.

The crepes turned out wonderfully and were so much easier then I thought they would be. The stuffing was a good match but my proportions were off (less ricotta more crepe next time) and I really think some parmesan in the crepes and some herbs in the stuffing would be even better.

The pork was lovely and the wine reduction paired perfectly with it. Unfortunately the wine reduction didn't go as well with the crepes. It was too sweet, next time I think I want to try a sauce with a bit of bite to it.

TC: Carmalized Apples

2009-02-27T22:35:00.003-06:00

My partner for this months Taste & Create was Veronica of La Recette du Jour. Her blog is the kind I can only dream of, great recipes that Indra would never eat. I really wish this challenge had come in about 2 months when I wasn't in the middle of tax season. There are so many recipes I would have liked to have chosen. But time and stress made me choose something simple, and it doesn't get much simpler then Caramelized Apples.

Caramelized Apples
A quick dessert, based on a medieval recipe.

Apples
One-day old bread
Lemon juice
Sugar
Butter

Allow about one apple (eating for preference) per person. Peel and core them, and chop into 1/4 inch dice. Drop the pieces into a bowl as you go along, with sugar to taste, and a little lemon juice to stop them going brown. Cut a similar quantity of stale white bread (crusts removed) into dice as well.

When you are ready to eat, melt a good quantity of butter in a heavy frying pan and throw in the apples along with the sugar. Cook briskly, stirring about, until the apples are brown round the edges and the butter and sugar are starting to caramelize. Remove the apples to a plate. Put the bread cubes into the pan and cook, tossing them so they don’t burn, until they are crisp. Then return the apples to the pan, mix everything together, and serve instantly, on their own or with cream or ice cream.

If you get this right, the apples are soft and the bread is crunchy, with a lovely caramel sauce.

Temper's Take:
Well I did it right and this was a great breakfast treat. I flambe'd it for fun (and to reassure myself that it really does take two people to photograph flames) and I didn't whip any cream (I really wish I had). I considered adding some cinnamon to the bread but really it didn't need it. This is definitely going on my make it again list. Probably when I am stuck for a quick dessert for company, or a treat for us.

DB: Chocolate Valentino Cake

2009-02-27T20:38:00.006-06:00

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; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 med 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.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your 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/large bowls.
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. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
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 appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis

Ingredients
1/2 Vanilla Pod
1 1/4 cup coconut milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
1 ¼ cups Heavy Cream
A big handfull of toasted coconut

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and coconut and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Separate coconut from the milk Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy.
3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)

(I made a second one with the left over coconut milk some cinnamon and brandy with honey to sweeten)

Tempers Take:
Indra declared it a fail, She didn't like the chocolate I choose (requested a repeat with white or milk chocolate) and the texture of the ice cream didn't work for her (she is not a fan of custards).

I declared it a learning experience, I needed to whip my cream better and measure the ingredients better (my scale broke, I realized this when it told me I had 123oz of chocolate), and most importantly TRUST MY INSTINCTS.

I thought the chocolate was A. a little too bitter for Indra (ok, and me) B. to thick, it crushed my whipped cream. :( and C. the heart mold was hokey (it was valentines day, I had a good excuse). Lastly I really need an icecream maker to make good icecream.

Definitely going on my list to try again, both cake and icecream.

Corn Pancakes

2009-02-27T19:48:00.004-06:00

I have been a fan of these for a while, unfortunately I haven't found anyone to share my enthusiasm and I hate to waste so I don't make these often. I figured Pancake day was a great excuse (and I had plans for the left overs.) This recipe is straight off the side of the Jiffy box.

Corn Pancakes
10-12 pancakes

1pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Mix ingredients until moist, it will be slightly lumpy.
Preheat and lightly grease pan.
Turn when bubbles appear and edges begin to dry.

Temper's Take:
These are very very heavy, which might be part of the reason I like them. Slather some peanut butter on and you won't have to eat for the next week! Other wise a little honey is great with them. you need to have the temp a little low to give them plenty of time to cook and don't add extra milk it doesn't work well.

BBD #16 roundup 41 thru 48

2009-02-07T21:29:00.002-06:00

Susan of Wild Yeast made Gorgonzola Fougasse With Figs and Pecans. Finally someone has explained what is up with this funny looking bread, More Crust! definitly a rational I can get behind. The figs and pecans don't hurt either.

Natasha of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies made Rye Fougasse with Two Cheese Fillings. I love the laddered look of this bread.

Tanna of MyKitchenInHalfCups made Maytag Blue Buns. These pretty rose shaped buns come with a great soup recipe.

Mary of One Perfect Bite made Muenster Cheese Bread. With the pretty crust on this bread I really don't care what it tastes like I am sure I would still love it. Fortunately for me Mary says this bread is even tastier then it looks.

Lien of Notitie van Lien made Rosemary-Asiago Bread. I love the chuncks of cheese in the finished bread, The little sprigs of rosemary on top though are what really made it thogh. I only wish I could have smelled it too.

Asha of Aroma! made Spinach and Feta cheese Bread. Spinach and Feta are one of my favorite combinatioons. I am not sure I could have made my self share this with a neighbor like she did.

Dhita of Cooking Etcetera made Crusty Loaf with Gruyere Cheese. Dhita made the cheese bread that started this whole thing. With another rave review I am going to have to make these myself soon.

Temperance of High on the Hog made Crusty Cheese Bread or Gannat. This is my entry. I love the way it toasted up for my favorite grilled cheese recipe. Crisp crust and soft interior, perfect!

BBD #16 roundup 31 thru 40

2009-02-07T20:42:00.008-06:00

Glenda of Domesticated Engineer made Cottage Cheese Bread. The name is a little deceptive, while there is cottage cheese there is also cheddar in this bread. The cottage cheese makes hthis bread soft and moist, who can argue with results like that?

Gine of i dolci fanno felici made Pane alla ricotta. A little left over ricotta can do great things for bread.

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen made Cheddar Cheese and Onion Pretzel Bread. This is not your ordinary little pretzel, this is an entire loaf of bread twisted into shape.

Tommi of Brown Interior made Méteils au Bleu. Apparently Blue Cheese and Rye is a good combination. It certainly looks good.

Cristie of Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food made Cheese, beer and cranberries - 3 gourmet foods baked into 1 muffin. For a quick cheese bread this is definitly the way to go. As she says no yeast to coddle or leavening times to endure.

Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella made Maple, Walnut and Cheese bread. This bread wa so good 1/3rd of the loaf was gone before she noticed, I am not sure I could have stopped there.

Judy of Judy's Gross Eats made Casatiello. Little flecks of bacon take this bread over the top i can just imagine how good it must be toasted with eggs in the morning.

Sunita of Sunita's world made Cheesy, rye and tomato bread. An assortment of seeds and chillis sprinkled on top give this hearty bread a bit of bite.

Jude of Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté made Ensaimada - Filipino Cheese Brioche. The snail like shape of these brioche rolls hides a cheesy Edam center or as she says in her blog... queso de bola, bowling balls of cheesiness covered in a protective shell of red wax.

Priyasuresh of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes made Cheese Oatmeal Bread. Oatmeal, olive oil and egg replacer make this a heart healthy bread. Also very tasty and great with any spread according to Priya.

BBD #16 roundup 21 thru 30

2009-02-07T17:04:00.011-06:00

Mary of Delizie del palato made ciabatta con olive e formaggio. I love the way the whole olives look in this bread. I can just imagine how good a sandwich made with this would be.

Sailaja of Kids Zone made Cheesy Onion Stuffed Buns. I am a sucker for carmelized onions and these pretty little rolls look to be packed full of oniony goodness (not to mention cheese and garlic).

Sweathea of TastyCurryLeaf made Pesto Snack Rolls. Homemade pesto still amazes me, add in these pretty little rolls and I am impressed.

Zaira of La cocina de Zaira made Pan de mozzarella, orégano, perejil, cebolla y ajo ( Mozzarella, oregano, parsley, onion and garlic bread). This bread is a serious mouthful. I sat entranced by the picture for 5 mintues watching the cheese ooze thru the crust wishing I could have a piece. This is some serious cheese bread!

Our Very own Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka kochtopf
made Walnut Cheese Mini-loaves. This is a great looking loaf of bread, Zorra says even though the cheese disapears the taste remains.

Gretchen of Canela & Comino made Cheese Bread. The name does not do this bread justice! Gretchen has declared that it is a winner and I believe her, it certainly looks like one.

Astrid of Paulchen's FoodBlog made Rye bread with cheese. With a little help from Harry this rye sourdough turned out pretty tasty looking. (Of course that might just be my love of rye talking).

Cristina of La cucina di Cristina made Georgian cheese bread ( Khachapuri & Adjaruli Khachapuri ) I love the Adjaruli Khachapuri its boat shape with the egg on top is a great idea for breakfast (or a late supper).

DK of Culinary Bazaar made Wholegrain Milk and Cheese Bread. Not Vegan or particularly light, but well worth it. I wish I had nieghbors like this.

Laura of The Spiced Life made Tapatio Cheddar Bread. Appaently the First time was the charm, the second shot ended up in the trash and the third one wasn't bad, but not as good as the first. I certainly give her points for persistance!

BBD #16 roundup 11 thru 20

2009-02-07T10:01:00.012-06:00

IDania of El aroma de IDania made Cheese Espiga. I love the way this loaf looks, like it is just waiting for you to tear a chunk off.

Chaosqueen of Chaosqueen's Kitchen made Tomato and mozzarella crown loaf. This is almost pizza like, but not quite. Either way who could say no to this georgeous loaf?

Zainab of Arabic Bites made Kobzat al feta wal basal (Feta stuffed bread. Two types of cheese go into these flat breads, I love the little brown edges on these.

Siri of Siri's Corner made Cheddar Cheese Bread. This is a simple bread that is great for anytime with anything as she says in her blog. Personaly I think her suggestion of olive oil and garlic sound wonderful.

Vanesuky of Vanesuky entre Fogones made Pande queso y nueces. This is the first time she has made bread. The results look great!

Cinzia of Cindystar made Cheese and Pear Buns. She says in Italy we say: "...don't ever tell the farmer how good is cheese with pear!" I can certainly see the logic in that, I am thinking when pears come back in season i am going to have to try this.

Cinzia of i dolci di bice made bread with cheese and sour cherries. These little breakfast buns sound great! I would never have thought of combining cherries and cheese in a bread.

Dulmina of 'Dulmina tündérkonyhája' ('Dulmina's Fairy Kitchen') made Pizza with Sunchokes and Smoked Cheese. This has got to be one of the prettiest pizzas I have ever seen! I bet it tasted even better then it looks.

Madam Chow of Madam Chow's Kitchen made French Asiago Bubble Bread. A minor mishap didn't stop this bread from being delectable.

Natalia of gatti fili e farina made Pane all'aceto balsamico e parmigiano reggiano. Balsamic Vinegar makes this bread tangy and the swirl of cheese makes it even nicer.

BBD# 16 Roundup 1 thru 10

2009-02-06T17:44:00.019-06:00

Jacqueline of Toxo Bread made Ale and cheddar bread. From her entry... Bread and cheese, two simple yet fundamental foods - they are food groups, right?... I certainly agree, add some quality ale (she asked an expert for recomendations) and I don't think it can get much better.

Isis of Yambalaya made Feta bread + Feta & sundried tomato bread. She found a local supplier for fresh ground flour and used the 'farine pain 6 cereales et 5 graines' that she recieved in her bread. I think I might be jealous.

Anna of Morsels & Musings made Khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread). In her blog she says ... Khachapuri are the cheesiest breads there are... I would have to agree, I think it would settle even the most serious cheese cravings!

Shelly of Adventures with the Woods made Fugassa Bread. This is one of those breads that I wish I had made. The Maldon Sea Salt on top is just the icing on the cake for me.

Zabeena of A Lot On My Plate made Parsnip & Parmesan Bread. Parsnip is not something I would ever have thought of for bread, I am looking forward to substituting it in some of my recipes that call for mashed potatoes.

Yasmeen of Health Nut made HachaPuri. Baking soda not yeast and a solid band of cheese thru the center, sounded good to me and when Yasmeen suggested serving it with a hearty soup I was sold.

Stefan of Der Supenkasper made Gefülltes Fladenbrot mit Kartoffeln und Käse (Paratha). His results are so much prettier then when I tried to make Paratha, everytime I look at them I end up drooling and wishing I had some.

Sara of Imafoodblog made Bavarian soft pretzels. These were so good she made them twice! When I get around to Pretzels these are the ones I am going to make! I can just imagine them with Parmesian and Garlic Salt.

Mimi of Israeli Kitchen made herb/cheese bread. She didn't mention the nuts in her title so I thought I would mention them. They make a lovely addition to this great bread.

Caitlin of Engineer Baker made Old Order Amish Cheese Bread. Three cheeses, four beautiful loaves of bread and prose that will have you running to buy more cheese. This is a person after my own heart.

BBD #16 Roundup

2009-02-05T00:20:00.011-06:00

I received 47 entries for January's Bread Baking Daily challenge. I drooled for days over the entries and really wish there was a way to have people submit a sample.

This is too many for one post so I will be posting them in 4 batches. Each new batch will have a link in this post so they are easier to find. I am working 60 hour weeks currently so it may take me a couple days to get everyone up.

Host of BBD #17 will be Lien of Notitie van Lien. Her theme is Bread and Potatoes, and may I say she has a very convincing argument for why this is good.

Entries 1 thru 10

Entries 11 thru 20

Entries 21 thru 30

Entries 31 thru 40

Entries 41 thru 48.

That's all of them. I want to thank everyone for their patience, I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed seeing what everyone did. If you have the time (and an Idea) I recommend hosting a month.

R2R, Holopchi

2009-02-01T19:51:00.004-06:00

This months challenge was Beet Leaf Holopchi. Our hosts for January were KatBaro of A good Appetite and Giz & Psychgrad of Equal Opportunity Kitchen. I changed up the recipe a little, the original can be found here. I used turnip leaves instead of Beet leaves and stuck some pork chops in the bottom of the pan with the extra turnip leaves. The pork chops turned out so tender and tasty I wish I had snuck a few more in and with the extra turnip leaves it was almost a one pot meal.

I quartered the bread dough and still had enough left over to make a loaf of bread. In the end though I wish I had made more because they were good! Here are the measurements I used.

1 1/8 t instant yeast
2 T warm water
1/4 t sugar
1/2 c scalded milk
1 c warm water
1 T melted butter
2 c flour
1 beaten egg
1/2 T salt
1 t sugar
1 1/2 c flour plus more as needed

The sauce I halved, half of that went on the Holopchi as it was cooking (added after it started to brown) and the rest I added when it was done.

Temper's Take:
I learned alot from this recipe, For example, I like turnip greens, who would have guessed! Also dill, not a favorite herb of mine, was actually very good in this. And the whole pork chop thing turned out so well I am thinking of trying some other variations.

BDD: Crusty Cheese Bread

2009-01-31T12:39:00.002-06:00

The French call it Gannat, I call it darn good! It is even better made into my favorite grilled cheese sandwich (the secret is a thin smear of Hienz 57 sauce). I figured this would be the perfect entry for this months Bread Baking Daily challenge Bread with Cheese.

Crusty Cheese Bread
A World of Bread, Dolores Casella @1966

1 pkg yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
2 large eggs
1/4 cup scalded milk

Dissolve the yeast in the water
Shift the flour, sugar and salt together
Combine the butter, cheese, potatoes and eggs and beat until blended
Add the yeast mixture and the dry ingredients, mix thoroughly
Turn on to floured surface and knead for 5 minutes
Place in buttered bowl, cover and let rise
Punch down and knead for 2 minutes
Shape loaf and place in well butter pan until doubled
Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 - 45 minutes

Temper's Take:
I loved the way toasting the bread made the whole house smell cheesy. And the bread turned so soft when I made the grilled cheese sandwiches, it was just perfect. I am thinking that making cubes with the remainder and saving them for baking experiments are the way to go, an apple brown betty maybe or some really great stuffing.

Spinach with Bacon

2009-01-26T14:39:00.004-06:00

Spinach is not real high on my list of favorite vegetables. Canning and freezing are just not good for it. Fresh spinach on the other hand can be great.

Spinach with Bacon

3 pieces bacon
1/2 cup sliced Onions
1 clove chopped garlic
lots of Spinach
Parmesan
salt

Fry the bacon until crispy and then set aside to drain. Drain most of the bacon fat out of the pan(leave a table spoon or so), Turn heat to med low and add onions and garlic sauteing until the onions are translucent. Add the spinach (remember it cooks down alot)and salt to taste, continue sauteing until the spinach is wilted. top with crumbled bacon and Parmesan and serve!

Temper's Take:
Very good, though it took more salt then I expected. I think adding a splash of balsamic next time would be good too. (for a vegetarian option nuts substituted for the bacon could be quite nice)

Turkey Miso Soup

2009-01-26T14:10:00.003-06:00

I have been told that this is not soup, it is much to chunky. Well too bad, this is what I call soup! I like lots of big pieces and general numminess, perfect for pairing with some crusty bread.

This soup was inspired by the fantastic mirepoix from the November R2R challenge: Squash Soup with Vanilla Crème Fraiche.

Turkey Miso Soup

1 sliced leek bottoms (rinsed)
2 carrots (peeled and sliced)
2 shallots (peeled and sliced)
2 clove garlic
butter
honey
miso
Salt and pepper
Turkey
Broth

Sweat all of the vegetables with butter. Sweat down and deglaze with honey. Stir and add miso. Season with salt and pepper. Add honey and miso to taste I used about a tablespoon honey and 2 or 3 of the miso.

Add turkey and broth till you reach your desired proportions.

Serve with warm crusty bread and a hearty appetite!

Tempers Take:
I love Miso, it adds depth to so many things. This soup was my latest experiment and boy was it good.

I've been a very good Girl!

2009-01-26T12:53:00.002-06:00

I must a been a very very good girl last year. How else would you explain these? Homemade cutting boards!

On the other hand my computer has been very very bad, I was down for another two weeks (video card and reinstalling windows). I am back up for now, My monitor is a little funky so if the color on my images is a little off I apologize.

Tax season has also started, that means 4 months of 60 hour weeks. How this will effect my posting I have no idea, I will probably do more batch posting. Cook and take pictures and then post several things all at once.

In that spirit I have three posts today! lucky you!

Georgia Street Squares

2009-01-13T18:12:00.005-06:00

Georgia Street Squares were a treat my grandmother made for fancy get togethers. I always knew she did not invent the recipe but could find no clue as to their origins. Until I started food blogging and saw them on Food Gawker where for some reason they were called Nanaimo bars. Since the name is definitely hard to pronounce I can see why she changed it, but why Georgia Street Squares I don't have a clue.

What they are is delicious, delectable, addictive and fattening (we figured it up once, 4 pts for a 1 inch square). Any time I show up at a family gathering these are what I am expected to bring. And the best part? They aren't that hard to make.

Georgia Street Squares

BOTTOM LAYER:
1/2 cup coco powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups crushed Graham crackers
1 cup flaked coconut (the sweetened variety works best)
1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa powder and then gradually whisk in the beaten egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (1 - 2 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and chopped nuts. Press the mixture evenly into lightly buttered 9X13 pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour).

FILLING:
1/2 cup butter
3 Tblsp milk
2 tsp instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups powdered sugar

In your electric mixer cream the butter. Beat in the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too thick to spread, add a little more milk. Spread the filling over the bottom layer, cover, and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).

TOP LAYER:
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I usually use 1 cup)
1 Tblsp butter

In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Spread over the filling and refrigerate. (add milk for a better spreading consistency)

TO SERVE: To prevent the chocolate from cracking, using a sharp knife, bring the squares to room temperature before cutting.

Temper's Take:
I have tried variations, adding some amaretto to the middle layer was definitely yummy, and I like using french vanilla pudding even if it does make the layer slightly yellow. though these Raspberry Nanaimo Bars from Cake or Death.
Cakespy also has a good little article on them here and some really nice pictures.

What I did during December.

2009-01-10T12:56:00.010-06:00

I had a very busy December. I spent the first part of the month trying cookie recipes and the last half making candy and the Xmas necessities. Here is a list of my successes and failures.

I tried two cookies from the Gourmet's magazines favorite cookie list. The same two everyone appears to have done.

The first one was their Brown Butter cookies. I love brown butter cookies, taste wise, I am not however thrilled about the sandy texture they all seem to have. I am at the point now where I am going to try making my own recipe. these were easy and nice tasting but way to crumbly.

The Sugar Shuttles where a bit of a disappointment. I was promised a soft sugar cookie and what I got was a dense lump. The sugar coating was brilliant though and I will definitely keep it in mind for other projects.

Also on the fail side of the list was Twisted Yeast Cookies from one of my favorite bloggers Vera of Baking Obsession. There is nothing wrong with her recipe, it just wasn't what I expected, a little more breadsticky then 'caramelized puff pastry palmier' for my taste. They were very pretty thought and Indra especially liked the breast cancer ribbon looking ones. It was a cool idea and one I may play with to make something more to my taste.

I also tried a new sugar cookie recipe. I know I should have stuck with my old favorite, but this one was from Pillsbury. Classic Sugar Cookies (pictured above), Unfortunately while good weren't what I really wanted Land O'Lake's BEST EVER BUTTER COOKIES. Or my great aunts' recipe that I haven't managed to weedle out of them yet. they were just a little to soft and not buttery enough. Santa seemed to like them just fine though.

Now for the successes, Mandelbrodt, Jewish Biscotti, definitely the good stuff. it was easy and oh so good. Definitely better then the biscotti I made earlier, but that may just be because I am partial to cinnamon and sugar. I thought about dipping them in chocolate but decided they were perfect as is. When it comes to baking those Jewish people know what they are doing. This one is on my make again and again list. And as a bonus it was easy.

I also made the GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS from the November's Daring Bakers Challenge (recipe follows). This reaffirmed my hatred of working with hot sugar. The end results were so Luscious that Indra immediately vetoed my plan to share with friends and told me to go make some more. I think I will be making more of these in the future, next time she gets to wrap them though.

GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS
- makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels -
Ingredients
1 cup golden syrup
2 cups sugar
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure ground vanilla beans, or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened

Procedure

Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F. Meanwhile, combine the cream and ground vanilla beans (not the extract) in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.

When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using it. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm.

Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.

I also made truffles, White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie and German Chocolate balls. The pumpkin pie ones where made with a pumkin pie dip mix and rolled in gram crackers. The German Chocolate ones where inspired by the cake of the same name. I made a batch of the frosting (coconut, pecans and goey sugary goodness) that I had over cooked and after it had cooled rolled in German chocolate for a shell. they were very very nice (also on the make those again list for Indra).

What I didn't do, that I wanted to, make fudge, make date pinwheel cookies, make shortbread cookies, make chocolate truffles. still I think I managed to do pretty good. Next yr I am starting earlier though.

Bread Baking Day #16: Bread with Cheese

2009-01-06T00:01:00.006-06:00

I feel very lucky to be the first host of the new year. I wish I was as eloquent as some of the past host in expressing my gratitude to Zorra founder of Bread Baking Daily for selecting me. I grew up baking bread of all description, I even baked bread while in the dorms at college (the air conditioning made that a real challenge) once I got out into the real world I suddenly found I lacked the time to make my own bread. When I started food blogging I searched for some challenges to keep me motivated. Zorra's Bread Baking Daily challenge was perfect and I have slowly started not only baking bread again but baking new breads. Thank you Zorra and all the other hosts.

Annarasa closed out the year with festive breads, which was a perfect choice. Apparently I am not the only one to think so. Check out the roundup here, here and here.

As far as I am concerned you don't need much more for a good meal then some fresh bread good cheese and some fruit. The combination of bread and cheese is a classic, what child doesn't love grilled cheese sandwiches or pizza? I was inspired by this recipe from King Arthur Flour for Gruyere Stuffed Crusty Loaves and a picture on Food Gawker. Who could resist that lovely molten cheese oozing from a bread volcano.

Any recipe you choose is fine as long as it incorporate cheese as a major flavor. Want to bake the bread and add the cheese later? Go ahead, I have nothing against grilled cheese sandwiches or quesidillas. After you post your cheese with bread baking experience on your blog, send your entry to me, at Tblackthorne AT gmail DOT com, with the following information:
Subject line of the email should begin with BBD16.

Kindly include in English the following details:Your name, Your location, Your website’s name, your bread’s name and URL of the posting the bread(s) you chose to make

Finally, attach a photo of your creation, size does not matter I will resize as needed (bigger is better).

If your blog is not in English, then please send me a translation of your post in English or create the BBD post on your blog in English.

If you do not have a blog but would like to be a part of this event, please send me your recipe and write-up (with picture, if possible) and I will include it in the round-up.

The deadline is the 1st of Febuary and I should have the roundup posted by the 5th.

Taste and Create: Hokey Pokey

2009-01-01T12:27:00.005-06:00

For this month's Taste and Create I drew Stef at Cupcake Project, under normal circumstances this would have meant cake, or rather Cupcakes! but with everything else I was doing for the holidays that wasn't happening. What I did choose fit in perfect with the rest of my holiday baking.

Hokey Pokey is brittle, honey comb candy and about a dozen other names that spell delicious (and easy). I opted to add nuts (I had a bunch left from other projects, and hey who doesn't like nuts?) dipped a few in chocolate and then hoarded the results. Hey look! after 30 some yrs of not even making good fudge I made candy! Its a Xmas Miracle!

Hokey Pokey by Nigella Lawson

1/2 cup sugar
4 tbs golden [dark corn] syrup
1 1/2 tsp bi carb [baking] soda

Put the sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stir together to mix. You can't stir once the pan's on the heat.
Place the pan on the heat and let the mixture first melt and then turn to goo and then a bubbling mass the color of maple syrup - this will take 3 minutes or so.
Off the heat, whisk in the baking soda and watch the syrup turn into a whooshing cloud of aerated pale gold. Turn this immediately onto a piece of baking parchment or greased foil.
Leave until set and then bash at it, so that it splinters into many glinting pieces.

Temper's Take:
I know the recipe says whisk but nuts and whisk don't mix. This was my only issue, other then some minor teeth sticking and washing the darn pot. This recipe is a keeper. :)

BBD: Grandma Skinner's Bread for all Occasions

2009-01-01T11:08:00.006-06:00

Ok so I know that Bread for all occasions is not what it is really called, but that is what my Grandmother called it and I don't know the real name (if anyone does please share.)

Every year for Xmas we would get one of these frozen and wrapped in tinfoil. It was Grandma's thing and she refused to share the recipe so we couldn't make it ourselves. I managed to wrangle it out of her with a solemn promise not to share and not to make it at Xmas. She died at age 90 so I am now free to make my own holiday treats.

Grandma Skinner's Bread for all Occasions
4 loafs, servings depend on how greedy you are.

1 pkg Yeast
1/2 cup Warm Water
3 Tblsp Sugar
3 Egg Yolks
3 Egg Whites, Well Beaten
1/2 cup milk
4 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Shortening (Oleo)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 cups Chopped Dates
1 cup Chopped Nuts

Soften the yeast in the water and 3 Tblsp sugar

Stir egg yolks together and add milk

Shift flour and salt together, then cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix yeast flour and egg yolks together to form a ball. Place in lightly greased bowl, turn over once to grease top. Cover and chill overnight

Divide dough into 4 parts - roll each part into a 13X7 inch rectangle

Stir cinnamon and sugar into the egg whites

Spread 1/4 of egg white mixture on each rectangle leaving 1/2 inch around the edge.

Sprinkle with Dates and Nuts.

Roll the rectangles up and place on baking sheet. Let rise until double.

Bake at 350 until light brown. Frost while still warm. Grandma always decorated hers with cherries and nuts. Me, I am simple, I like a little glaze and some hot chocolate.

R2R, Appetizers

2009-01-01T09:31:00.005-06:00

Ok I was one of the hosts, and I was bad, I made one not two of the choices. I tried to make all three, that has to count for something right? Check out all three recipes on the Recipes to Rival Blog.

Lets start with my failures, Two pears sit in my fridge just waiting for toast and cheese, the grocery store and my procrastination did not come thru. Darn that bleu cheese! There is still hope though I have the pears after all.

I will admit I was looking forward to making the Oysters en Brochette. I wanted to, had the oysters all bought, all set to go and then I opened the package and smelled them. Couldn't touch them after that. When I was growing up I had exactly 1 oyster a yr, my father made me eat one in the oyster soup he made for Xmas, never could stand the things (loved the rest of the soup) I guess that has carried over. and I was really looking forward to them. :(

The Gruyère Cheese Gougères on the other hand were a raving success. If I had a stand mixer I would always have some of these. The Gruyère would be perfect with wine or fruit and I made a few with cheddar (Middle American here) and you know they were good too. I ate them fresh, ate them with soup, I ate them while I wrapped presents. The whole time I kept thinking these would be good stuffed with something, but they never seemed to last long enough for that to happen.

R2R:Squash Soup with Vanilla Crème Fraiche

2008-12-01T08:30:00.007-06:00

This months Recipes to Rival challenge was Squash Soup with Vanilla Crème Fraiche as seen on Bravo TV's Top Chef a season or so ago. I have never had Squash soup before but it has intrigued me so I was glad of the opportunity. This recipe was just a series of discoveries for me.

The recipe as given is huge! and I do mean huge as one person put it 40 pounds of squash is a little much. I cut mine in 1/4th and used an acorn squash and 2/3rds of a pumpkin left over from the pumpkin Rendang (one of the perks of being a founder is I knew this challenge was coming.) I cheated a bit with the veggie broth, I started with canned and then personalized it. I was tempted to throw in some apple or pear peels but resisted, looking back I wish I had gone ahead.

The Mirepoix (had to look that one up on wikipedia) was fantastic, I kept coming up with other things I could use it for and wondering if I made a really big batch if I could freeze it. And the Miso was a revelation, there are definitely some possibilities there, glazed vegetable and I was thinking chicken (or turkey). Don't think I am quite ready for miso soup though.

I thought it was really clever to use a sage leaf to add flavor to the roasted squash. When it was done it was lovely and fragrant and almost made me say to heck with the soup, almost. I did not have a ricer or a decent immersion blender so I used my food processor. It worked sorta, (there were still little carrot flecks) but definitely good enough. At this point I froze half of the 'soup'.

There was alot of variation in soup thickness. I tried to get somewhere between porridge and broth, and ended up with something that was almost to thick to really be soup. Instead of Crème Fraiche, I used Greek yogurt with honey and vanilla.

Temper's Take:
I was disappointed. I am not sure if it was the veggy broth (not a big fan) the thickness, not being hot enough or me just really not being a fan of sour milk products. The whole time it was cooking I kept thinking bacon, and maybe some bacon crumbles or spiced nuts. I am letting it sit and trying it again, maybe I will thin it down a little more and add some more miso. We will see.

BBD: Colored Breads

2008-11-29T16:44:00.007-06:00

This one was a toughy, after deciding that brown (or any of its derivatives) was probably cheating and that is white a color argument to involved, I turned to Foodgawker and found the perfect recipe, Pumpkin Sage Rolls.

Even if these hadn't turned out yellow/orange I would have claimed they had and used photoshop to prove my point.

Pumpkin Cloverleaf Rolls (Family Fun Magazine)

Ingredients:

3-3/4 cups flour, plus more for sprinkling
1 pkg or 2-1/4 tsp instant or bread machine yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup canned or frozen and thawed pureed pumpkin or squash
1 lg egg
1/2 cup water
8 fresh sage leaves, slivered (or 1-1/3 teaspoon dried leaves)
1/2 cup butter

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, and salt, and set it aside.

2. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe bowl or 4-cup glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk in the honey, squash, egg, and water. (The liquid mixture should be less than 110°; anything hotter might kill the yeast.)

3. With a fork, blend the squash mixture into the flour mixture until you have a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4. Two hours before baking, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 6 sage leaves into the dough. Melt the butter and set it aside in a small bowl. Divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 6 portions. Divide each portion into 3 pieces. With floured hands, roll each piece into a ball and dip it into the melted butter. Place 3 balls in a muffin cup. Continue until 12 muffin cups are filled.

5. Drizzle or brush each roll with 1/2 teaspoon of the leftover melted butter and then sprinkle them with the rest of the sage. Let the rolls rise in a warm spot (at least 70°) until they're double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The 3 balls of dough will rise together to form a cloverleaf shape.

6. Heat the oven to 350°. Bake the rolls until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

Temper's Take:
These were a nice surprise, I expected them to be much more sagey then they were. The pumpkin really didn't do alot other then add some color and some moistness, maybe when I toast them the pumpkin will perk back up. I suspect that part of my problem was that darn room temperature thing, I really didn't get the rise I wanted and then I got impatient and didn't let them brown as much as I should. :(

They are exceedingly excellent with a trickle of Caramel syrup though. MMmmm

Cookie Carnival: Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-11-29T02:05:00.005-06:00

After a brief hiatus I'm back with another Cookie Carnival cookie. This one is a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, from Regan Daley from her absolutely fabulous MUST-HAVE book, In The Sweet Kitchen. Not my normal fare but hey chocolate chip cookies! gotta be good right? Yep, they were good, all three batches, only one approached soft though.

My problems? Room temperature may vary greatly from the norm with no central heat and I may have a wee problem with overcooking cookies. Maybe I will give them another go this summer when no air conditioning raises the temp a bit.

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

3. Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don't get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.

Temper's Take:
Good cookies, nothing spectacular and Toll house still rocks my chocolate chip cookie boat.

DB: Bacon Caramel Cake

2008-11-28T23:07:00.008-06:00

This months Daring Baker challenge was Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting. The initial reviews came back OMG sweet but very good, and not being one to shy away from sugar I was looking forward to it. I will admit the Caramel portion of the recipe had me a bit worried me and candy just don't have a good history (I fail at no-fail fudge).

To put a spin on things work had a 'Bacon Off' where we were challenged to make a bacon flavored dessert. With a bit of help from Heather I tracked down Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Frosting and wouldn't you know it the recipe looked awfully familiar. SO for this challenge I made Bacon Caramel Cake. (my changes are in green)

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature (8 Tblsp Butter and 2 Tblsp Bacon drippings)
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup of minced bacon, cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 350F, Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients.

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds mixing in bacon bits at this time, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (8 Tblsp Butter and 2 Tblsp Bacon drippings)
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light

(recipes above courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon Also big thanks to the host this month; Dolores of Culinary Curiosity, Jenny of Foray into Food, Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go, Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo)

Temper's Take:
It may just be the sugar high talking but the bacon was pretty decent in this cake. The guys at work ate it all so they seem to have agreed (Indra didn't but I think she was still mad that I didn't let her eat more bacon before adding it to the cake). People were right this is a very sweet very rich cake. But it was surprisingly easy, despite the caramel aspect. And let me say I never knew I would find so many uses for a jar of caramel syrup, definitely good stuff! will I make this again? You know I think I might. :)

DB: Pizza!

2008-11-21T17:24:00.004-06:00

Look what I found! It was hiding on my other blog waiting to be published. See what happens when you don't read your own blogs!

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).
Ingredients:

4 1/2 Cups all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup Olive oil
1 3/4 Cups Water, ice cold
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches in diameter), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice. Remember it is Pizza, it is all about the cheese!

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Temper's Take:
I went with the classics, Hamburger for Indra and Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage for me. I had to resort to rolling the dough out because it tore and got all thin as soon as I picked it up and then had a big roll of dough on the edge. It was fun to try but I don't think I am cut out to toss pizza. When everything is all said and done I think that a Pumpkin Rendang Pizza would have been killer.

Bedino Blanc

2008-11-07T09:03:00.004-06:00

Remember this post where I speculated what a white chocolate version with coconut and pound cake would be like? Well I tried it. It was good, very good.

Bodino Blanc [my version]
Ingredients for 4 servings

3 ounce White chocolate. chopped
1 can Coconut milk
2 large eggs
3 cup cubed (1/2 inch size), toasted pound cake
Confectioners' sugar, for serving
Softly whipped cream, for serving

Recipe Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, with a rack in the center. Butter ramekins or mold well

2. Combine the chocolate and coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is partially melted. Remove from the heat and stir until completely smooth.

3. In a bowl, beat the eggs well. Whisk in the chocolate mixture; fold in the cake cubes. let the mixture stand for 15 minutes to absorb some of the liquid.

4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Cover the top with a buttered sheet of foil, buttered side down. Set the pan in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Pour in enough hot tap water to reach about halfway up the sides of the pan.

5. Bake until the pudding is nearly set, but still slightly wobbly, about 35 minutes (the timing can vary based on the size and depth of the pan; do not overbake).

6. Carefully remove the pan from the water bath and cool to lukewarm on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm, with softly whipped cream.

Tempers Take:
Not as rich as the chocolate version but darn good, the coconut flavor came thru nicely and while the Pound cake started out a little dry and crunchy it was soft and melty by the time I was done. This was even good cold the next morning for breakfast. I kept thinking I needed something a wee bit tart to set it off, maybe some lemon sauce or a little pineapple preserves. I also wish I had let it sit longer so the pound cake could have absorbed more flavors.

This recipe is definitely a keeper for stale cakes of all descriptions, flexible and simple it makes something old new again.

R2R: Beef Rendang

2008-11-01T08:07:00.005-05:00

This month challenge for Recipes to Rival was Beef Rendang. Since I have had limited exposure to curry in my life and have definitly never made it before it was a great challenge.

My first thought when seeing the recipe is that would be darn good with pumpkin, and you know it was. I made half beef and half pumpkin. I really should have done them seperately because of the diffrent cooking times but I am lazy.

The night I made it I had a couple of tortillas with beef and sour cream that was delicious. The rest I packed up and took for lunch the next day with jasmine rice. I learned two things. Rendang is even better the next day and the lights at work are great for pictures.

The pumpkin rendang was great, if I had been thinking I would have had some pepitos to sprinkle on top for crunch. Or maybe some toasted coconut.....

It took me almost 5 hours of simmering to finish this. If / when I do it again I think I am going to try the crockpot so it doesn't have to be watched as closely. I also think I need to make the pickles next time and maybe some flat bread to round it all out. I used sour cream as my condiment of choice but I am thinking a little cucumber and yogurt would be even better. There are just so many options.

R2R: Chinese Dumplings

2008-09-30T20:52:00.004-05:00

I am sick, so I will post pictures later when I am up to uploading them. Right now I just want to close my eyes and let someone else take care of everything. So check out the pictures on the official Recipe's to Rival post until I am feeling a bit better.

Dumplings
4 large shiitake mushrooms
3 scallions
1/2 garlic clove
1 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
3 dashes of hot red-pepper sauce
5 prunes (or as I like to think of them dried plumbs)

Dipping Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger or 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Coat a steamer basket with a non stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a food processor, combine the mushroom caps, scallions, prunes, and garlic and whirl until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the pork, soy sauce, oil, and red-pepper sauce.
3. Place 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture in the center of each dumpling wrapper. Dampen the edges with water, the fold up the sides around the filling, pleating the edges. Place in the steamer basket, leaving 1/2 inch of space between the dumplings for the steam to circulate. Set over boiling water, cover, and steam for 15 minutes.
4. For the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, oil, and ginger. Serve the dumplings hot with the dipping sauce.

HOT WATER DOUGH:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups boiling water

1. In a stainless steel bowl mix flour and salt. Slowly add hot water to flour in 1/4 cup increments.
2. Mix with chopsticks until a ball is formed and the dough is not too hot to handle.
3. On a floured surface, knead dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball.
4. Place back in bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rest for at least 1 hour.
5. Working on a floured surface with floured hands, roll out dough to form a long 'noodle', 1-inch in diameter. Cut 1/2-inch pieces and turn them over so the cut sides are facing up.
6. Flatten with your palm and roll out thin using a rolling pin. The dumpling wrapper should end up about 3 inches in diameter.

Temper's take:
MMM MMMM good....more to follow

DB: Lavash Crackers

2008-09-30T08:31:00.009-05:00

I am late posting this month because I had a very bad reaction to some poison ivy, I spent most of this past weekend asleep and when I wasn't asleep I was miserable, heck I was even miserable in my sleep according to Indra. Watch this space as I play catch up this week.

Pineapple Tamales

2008-09-18T10:27:00.009-05:00

Ever since we did the tamales for the August Recipes to Rival challenge I have wanted to make a sweet tamale. I had a couple ideas, other than the recipe I found for ones with raisins, I mean chocolate is always good right? What I finally settled on was pineapple and brown sugar, kind of like pineapple upside down cake in a corn husk.

Pineapple Tamales
serves 12

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 can delmonte chunk pineapple, drained
2 cups drained pineapple juice and water
2 cups masa
1/2 cup shortening
1/8 tsp Baking Powder
pinch of salt

1. Heat pineapple juice and water.
2. Combine the masa harina flour with the salt and baking powder.
3. Stir the shortening rapidly until it is creamy.
4. Pour the stock into the masa mix and stir until it is thoroughly combined. Beat the moist masa mix into the shortening until you have a paste that will spread with a knife without breaking apart. You should end up with a semi-thick paste. If you do not have this, you can add more stock in ¼ cup amounts to the mix until you have the right consistency (This recipe actually has more liquid than is usual recommended so just add it till you get the desired consistency).
5. Add drained pineapple and brown sugar to masa mixture mix together.
6. Place masa mixture in tamales and fold. If desired a table spoon of brown sugar can be added before folding.
7. Steam the tamales for 45 minutes. If you have a lot of tamales and a tall steamer, you can place the tamales vertically in the steamer. Because of the extra liquid these will appear slightly soft when they are done.

Temper's take:
These were so good fresh and hot, almost cake like in their texture and delicately sweet (which I ruined by putting Dulce de leche sauce all over it). It was good cold the next day and reheated later in the week. Over all I was very happy with the results.

Chicken Frarej

2008-09-18T10:27:00.008-05:00

I was first introduced to this by a friend, and it is only because they are my friends that I tried it. I am not a fan of lemon and meat, Lemon and potatoes was an even further stretch, and this has a heck of alot of lemon in it.

Chicken Frarej or Lebanese chicken is a recipe served at Hedary's in Fort worth TX and the recipe first appeared in the Dallas Morning News in 1988. It is a simply amazing dish, the way the flavors meld together is fantastic. I will admit this recipe has me licking my fingers and scraping the baking dish for the last bit of goodness.

Chicken Frarej
Serves 4, preheat oven to 500 degrees

4 chicken breasts, with skin and ribs
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup olive oil
3 lemons, juiced
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, sliced
4 Roma tomatoes

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Rinse the chicken in cold water. Rub each with 1/2 tsp salt. Mix lemon juice and olive oil.

Place the potatoes, garlic and onion into a 9x13 baking dish; with the lemon/olive oil mixture. Stir the ingredients to coat the potatoes. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Add the chicken breasts and Roma tomatoes to the baking dish. Generously spoon the hot lemon/oil/garlic mixture over the chicken.

Put the dish back into the oven and cook uncovered for another 20 minutes, or until the skins on the chicken turn a very dark brown and the chicken is firm and juices run clear when poked with a fork. Baste the chicken breasts two or three times in the lemon/oil mixture during cooking.

Serve with pita bread. Serve each breast with a helping of potatoes, some onions, and a tomato.

Tempers Take:
The way the potatoes get all soft and full of flavor is one of my favorite parts of this dish. Followed by the Chicken itself, the skin is so pretty when it blackens. I have had this as a whole roast chicken and let me tell you that was a presentation. Since I like mushy potatoes I actually cooked it longer then 10 minutes before adding the chicken and finishing it, but that really is a personal choice. Once it was done even Indra admitted it smelled grate and tasted good too.

BBD: 100% Whole Grains, Cornbread

2008-09-01T10:31:00.006-05:00

This months Bread Baking Daily Challenge was 100% Whole Grains. And you know due to these challenges I am learning more about the grains available for bread making then I ever knew before. This time however I decided to go simple and do Cornbread.

I had a package of Bob's Red Mill 100% Stone Ground Whole Grain Cornmeal, Coarse Grind that I have been dying to use and this was the perfect opportunity. To make matters even simpler I used the recipe on the back of the package.

Golden Cornbread
1 cup Cornmeal (any grind)
1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Sugar
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
1/4 cup Butter, softened

shift dry ingredients together
add wet ingredients
beat until smooth (do not overbeat)
bake in greased 8 inch square pan 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees

I was at a friends house who does not bake so I used one of her cast iron frying pans so the corn bread came out a little thinner than I prefer. But the coarse corn meal had a lovely taste and I enjoyed the rough chewy texture. I am thinking about toasting the corn meal next time before using it and doing it half and half with a fine cornmeal.

Temper's Take:
Not quite how I remember that long ago cornbread that turned me onto coarse ground grain, but good. And really does anything ever live up to our memories?

DB: Chocolate Éclairs by Pierre Hermé

2008-08-31T13:14:00.003-05:00

This months Daring Baker's challenge was Eclairs. As a big fan of cream puffs this challenge really excited me. We usually fill or cream puffs with pudding or whipped cream so I was unsure what pastry cream was and how I would like it. I also wanted to do something besides chocolate as amazing as it sounds I was just a little tired of chocolate at that point. Instead of chocolate I choose to use some of my Black and Blue Berry sauce for the filling, much more summery. :) Unfortunately my camera had an off week and all I have is this blurry picture, Trust me though very very nice.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup water
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.

6) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Berry Pastry Cream

• 1.5 cups whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 1/2 cup mixed berry sauce
• 2½ tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk and berry sauce to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes:
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

The berry pastry cream turned out a chalky purple color and was way to rich for my taste so I added some Black and Blue berry sauce to the eclair when assembling it and used a plain chocolate ganache on top. My eclairs ended up being about 3 bites long, but they were so rich that I really didn't want any more.

Temper's Take:
Puff pastry is always good in my book. But after this challenge I have decided that whipped cream is my filling of choice (though I haven't tried Ice Cream yet). The berry sauce made a very nice counterpoint to the richness of the cream but the cream was just way to rich for my taste.

R2R, Tamales

2008-08-26T22:45:00.005-05:00

This month Recipes to Rival challenge was Tamales hosted by Debyi of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen. Let me just say great choice! Last Xmas was the first time I was convinced that Tamales might be worth the effort. I immediately went out and looked up a recipe... and just as quickly decided I was better off buying from a professional. let me tell you there are alot of places to get tamales in Texas, but only a few worth the money. So this challenge was a welcome surprise.

The recipe from the challenge can be found here There were lots and lots of options, which is good for me. The recipe as written says it makes 24 tamales. I made half a recipe and got more then that, and my masa layer was thicker then I liked so I could probably have gotten twice what I did.

Tamale dough:

6 cups of masa harina flour
5 cups of water or veggie stock (For my stock I boiled some onion, garlic and a dried pepper in some water.)
1/2 tbsp. of salt
1.5 cups of vegetable shortening
1/2 tbsp. of baking powder
24 dried corn husks
Water to soak the husks

1. Warm the stock. Combine the masa harina flour with the salt and baking powder. Stir the vegetable shortening rapidly until it is creamy.
2. Pour the stock into the masa mix and stir until it is thoroughly combined. Beat the moist masa mix into the shortening until you have a paste that will spread with a knife without breaking apart. You should end up with a semi-thick paste. If you do not have this, you can add more stock in ¼ cup amounts to the mix until you have the right consistency.
3. To check the consistency, spread the masa on a corn husk and if it spreads easily while staying together, you have the right consistency.
4. Soak the corn husks for at least 2 minutes. (Some husks may still have the silks in them, make sure you remove them before using)
5. Spread masa paste over the top half of a corn husk (the top half is the wide half.) Spoon a line of your filling of choice in a line on one side of the masa paste. Roll the tamale from the filling side to the other side. You will end up with one half of the roll that has masa paste and one that does not. Fold the half that does not have the masa paste against the tamale, folding it in towards the flap of the roll.
6. Repeat this process with the rest of the ingredients.
7. Steam the tamales for 45 minutes. If you have a lot of tamales and a tall steamer, you can place the tamales vertically in the steamer.

I choose to do the Black Bean Chipotle filling for my official tamales and two others for some variation.

Black Bean Chipotle Tamale Filling:

16 oz. of black beans, rinsed
½ cup of shredded carrot
½ of a red onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. of chipotle powder
1 tsp. of whole cumin seeds
2 tsp. of whole coriander seeds
½ tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of olive oil

1. Shred the carrot. Mince the onion and garlic. Rinse the beans. Combine all of these together in a bowl.
2. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds on a medium heat in the 1 tsp. of oil until the coriander seeds start to pop or the cumin seeds turn a deep brown color, whichever comes first.
3. Mix the chipotle powder, New Mexico chile powder, cumin, coriander, and salt together. Toss this into the veggie mix.

Filling two was BBQ pork a friend had made that while excellent in texture was to spicy for me to enjoy, so I added some taco seasoning and it was excellent. Filling three was left over smoked sirloin and corn from the Texas Land and Cattle steak house, sauteed with a little peppers and onions, It was a little mild and I really should have used more meat.

And since tamales with out sauce is a very dry thing indeed I made a chipotle sour cream sauce to go with it.

Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce:

1 container sour cream
Chipotle Salsa to taste
stir over low heat until bubbly.

easy and good.

Temper's take:
Very very good, and much easier then I had expected. Left overs freeze well and are a cinch to heat up. I liked the fact I could make good fillings with leftovers and stuff from the freezer. Next time I need to make my masa layer much thinner and remember if I cram a bunch of tamales in one steamer it will take longer to cook. I am looking forward to doing this again, maybe next time I will make some sweet tamales I am thinking pineapple and bananas.

Indra's Take:
I told her I was making tamales, I got a ok, later she wandered by and commented that it smelled like 'real' tamales. I am not sure what she thought I was making but it apparently wasn't real tamales. The end result passed the Indra test and has been invited to make a reappearance. That and all the bragging she has been doing makes me think she liked them.

(unfortunately I was having a bad camera week and so only got the one picture.)

Structure.

2008-08-21T12:09:00.003-05:00

I really need to sit down and figure out what I want my blog to look like, right now it is sort of minimalistic (which I like) but it isn't really consistant in the posts formatting. And it just seems like a little much. So I will think about it (and browse other places) and see if I can come up with something more visualy apealing and readable.

Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Pecan Biscotti

2008-08-20T07:49:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the fuzzy picture but that is how I felt all week after making this. I started feeling bad Friday night but darn it I had plans and then I slept for a week. So by the time I figured out my pictures were fuzzy it was way past time to take another.

This months recipe from Kate at The Cookie Carnival was Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti. I have never made biscotti before, heck I have never eaten biscotti before so this was a real experiance for me.

I had some problems with the recipe. The biggest problem was heat both my internal and the external. The rest was a dough that was much softer than I think it should have been. If I had been capable of thought at all I would have chilled it so I could form it into loafs. But I didn't and it shows.

CHOCOLATE PECAN BISCOTTI
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted
3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Grind 1/2 cup toasted pecans in processor. Set aside. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and sugar in another large bowl to blend. Add eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well blended. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in 1 cup whole toasted pecans, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts.

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece on baking sheet into 2 1/2-inch-wide by 14-inch-long log. Place logs on prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart (logs will spread during baking). Bake until logs feel firm when tops are gently pressed, about 35 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Using long wide spatula, transfer baked logs to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut warm logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Arrange slices, cut side down, on 2 baking sheets. Bake biscotti until firm, about 15 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely. (Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti can be prepared ahead. Store in airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.)

Temper's take:
They were my favorite kind of cookie, one that needs a big glass of milk. It was dry and rich and dense. Unlike alot of cookies, even though it soaked up alot of liquid it did not become mush and fall apart, a definite plus in a dunking cookie. I need to learn how to make them prettier and smaller. I will definitely try these again, or something similar.

Taste and Create: Chana Dal Parantha

2008-08-18T18:47:00.006-05:00

My Partner For this month's Taste and Create is Simran of Bombay Foodie. Her blog has a wide selection of Indian food with the occasional cookie or other treat thrown in. Not surprisingly I was totally unfamiliar with alot of the dishes and ingredients. I still found plenty of things that appealed to me (and I wouldn't be to scared to make). I will admit it was a tough choice the Lemon and Mint Cooler looked like it would really hit the spot and the Biryani intrigued me. But I choose to go with the Chana Dal Parantha. I have been eyeing different versions of this ever since I started browsing food blogs. So I decided now was my chance.

I am pretty sure what I made doesn't qualify as a Roti Mela (not being real sure what that is exactly, I can't be positive) but it is close enough for me.

Here is the original recipe:

To make the parantha, boil 1/2 cup split yellow lentils until al dente. In a bowl, mix the lentils, one small onion chopped finely, a tbsp of chopped coriander, salt, garam masala, red chilli powder, cumin seeds and anardana (dried pomegranate seeds). Mix well to make your filling.

Knead one cup whole wheat flour with enough water to make a firm yet pliable dough. Let it rest for a while.

Take a small ball of dough (roughly the size of tennis ball) and roll out to a thick disc. Place 2 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of this disc. Gather the side and bring them together to form a filling-stuffed ball. Toss the ball in dry flour to prevent it sticking and roll it out to a thin parantha.

Heat a griddle and place the stuffed parantha on it. Cook for around half a minute, then flip over. Spread ghee over the parantha, flip back again and apply ghee on the other side. Cook the parantha on both sides until its golden in color. You will notice that chana dal will absorb a lot more ghee than any other parantha, making it sinfully rich yet delicious.

I of course changed it all up and had more of a southwestern parantha then an Indian one.

1 cup flour with enough water to make a firm but pliable dough (mine was a soft dough, but close enough)

For the filling I used
corn from a left over ear of corn on the cob.
chopped carrots
chopped onion
chopped garlic
left over sweet potato fries
chipotle powder
garlic salt
pepper
cumin
corriander
caraway
threw it all in the food processor to get rid of the big chunks and boy did it smell good.

I made my dough balls walnut sized and they rolled out beautifully. When I fried them up I didn't read the recipe right and used way to much butter. They were as good as I expected but something was missing.

So I sauteed up the left over filling and ate it like a taco with a little chipotle sourcream and it was devine. (chipotle sourcream is chipotle salsa and sour cream heated together until bubbly, then served right away as a sauce or cooled and used in place of sourcream.)

Would I make these again? With out a doubt. Next time there will be less butter though, and maybe some cucumbers and tomatoes in yogurt to go with them, and maybe something green.

BBD: Small Breads, Biscuits

2008-07-31T22:35:00.007-05:00

This months Bread Baking Daily Challenge was Small Breads Hosted by My Diverse Kitchen.

Biscuits are one of the quintessential American small breads. Easy to make, versatile, and presized for the individual. I started 'helping' my mother make biscuits since I was old enough to be trusted not to dump the flour everywhere, I started making biscuits on my own when I was 11. Sadly Bisquick, biscuits in a can and my hectic life has made me let my skills lapse. This is the recipe I grew up with.

Richer Biscuits
from the Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, copyright 1950
It says it makes 20 1 3/4" biscuits, I say you will be lucky to get a dozen.

Shift together
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

cut in finely
6 tblsp shortening

stir in
2/3 cup milk.

roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut. place on ungreased baking sheet and bake til golden brown (about 10 minutes) in a 450 degree oven.

You Bar, Now a Me bar!

2008-07-31T10:32:00.004-05:00

Protien suppliments and I usualy get along like oil and water only not that well. Just the smell of the protien makes my stomach roll. Which I usualy take in stride after all I am a dedicated carnivore and definitly not a muscle builder so I really don't need protien suppliments. But occasionaly when I am out and about it would be nice to have a quick snack that was more protien then sugar. Up until now that has been impossible, But the whey protien in You Bars doesn't smell funny or taste funky either. Whoo Hoo!

I signed up for Blake Makes Sooperz, periodicaly he has food items that companies want to get the word out about their products and he shares the goodies with others. This time it was You Bars, personalized protien bars. I got a sampler of 4 bars, two of their creations and two random extra's from someone elses order. All 4 were very good. They were heavy with big chunks of fruit and a rough homemade look to them. They were not to dry or greasy. infact they were so good I didn't share them as I had originaly intended. I also ate them too fast to get a good picture, darn I guess that means I need more. :)

Bedino Nero, or what to do with bad cake

2008-07-31T10:09:00.006-05:00

Remember in my last post, failure #2? This is what I did with it. Bodino Nero from Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts. With my own special touches of course.

Bodino Nero is Italian Chocolate Bread Pudding. So the first thing I did was use overcooked pecan gateau instead of bread. Then I tweaked the recipe a Little and added some blackberry / blueberry preserves to the bottom of my ramekins. The results make failed cake something to look forward to. Rich chocolate flavor an almost cheese cake like texture, a hint of nuttiness and the tart sweetness of the berries.

Bodino Nero [my version]
Ingredients for 4 servings
Fine dry bread crumbs, for coating the pan [didn't use]
3 1/2 ounce chocolate semisweet, chopped [2 oz chocolate]
1 cup Whole milk [3/4 cup heavy cream]
2 large eggs [1 large egg]
1/4 cup sugar [2 tblsp sugar]
4 cup (about 3 ounces) cubed (1/2 inch size), day-old French or Italian bread, crusts removed (semolina bread works well) [pecan gateau, 2 cups]
Confectioners' sugar, for serving
Softly whipped cream, for serving

Recipe Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, with a rack in the center. Butter an 8-inch springform pan or a 6-cup ring or other mold; coat with bread crumbs, shaking out the excess. Wrap the exterior bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil, forming a tight seal where the sides join; set aside. [ 2 ramekins, well buttered with a tablespoon berry preserves on the bottom]

2. Combine the chocolate and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is partially melted. Remove from the heat and stir until completely smooth.

3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until combined. Whisk in the chocolate mixture; fold in the bread cubes. If the bread is quite dry, let the mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes, so the bread absorbs some of the liquid.

4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Cover the top with a buttered sheet of foil, buttered side down. Set the pan in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Pour in enough hot tap water to reach about halfway up the sides of the pan.

5. Bake until the pudding is nearly set, but still slightly wobbly, about 35 minutes (the timing can vary based on the size and depth of the pan; do not overbake). [I overbaked, it was delicious]

6. Carefully remove the pan from the water bath and cool to lukewarm on a wire rack. Run the tip of a knife around the edges of the pudding; remove the sides, if you are using a springform pan. Serve on a platter - without inverting. (If using a ring mold, invert the pudding and lift off the mold.) Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm, with softly whipped cream.

The Pecan Gateau is the one from this months Daring Bakers Challenge. It was my second try and terribly over cooked, which made it tough. It was still good though, and after I ran out of pecan buttercream and ganache to make little finger sandwiches with I still had a fair amount left.

Pecan Gateau
1 ½ cups pecans, toasted
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

Tempers Notes:
This recipe is sooo good!, it was so rich the servings should be 8 instead of 4 and I needed smaller ramekins. It also cured any and all chocolate cravings I had for the day. I am thinking a white chocolate version with toasted pound cake and coconut would be wonderful too, if I ever kept pound cake around that long.

DB: Pecan Gateau with Praline Buttercream

2008-07-30T11:23:00.007-05:00

Chris of Mele Cotte chose Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Carole Walters’ Great Cakes for this months Daring Bakers challenge. I chose Pecan Gateau with Praline Buttercream because I am in Texas and what is more Texan than Pecan Pralines?

To put it bluntly I failed. I did this the same weekend as my R2R challenge with about the same amount of luck.

Try 1. I over processed the pecans and didn't add the sugar to the egg yolks slowly. This failure is in the fridge waiting to be 'rescued'

Try 2. Undercooked the gateau and then over cooked it in the microwave. It ended up tough and short and I cut it up and stuffed it in the freezer (see tomorrows post for the results of that).

Try 3. Over cooked the nuts, but hey a little smoke never hurt anyone right? and then the gateau went funky and the bottom 3/4 was inedible (I know I tried). At that point between the two challenges I was down about 2 dozen eggs. So with my 1/4th of a layer I made a mini cake.

I had originally wanted to make a mini cake, just not quite that mini (3 X 2), or at least not just one. Unlike alot of people my pralines came together beautifully and the buttercream was Divine.

This cake was alot of firsts for me, first gateau, first Swiss buttercream, first ganache, first caramelized sugar (I am from TX I am not calling what we did a praline), first mini cake.

The cake was surprisingly easy to assemble even if the instructions were a little long.
step 1, cut the cake in three layers (floss works great)
step 2, spread cut side with sugar syrup
step 3, spread praline buttercream 1/4 inch thick
step 4, spread whipped cream to 1/4 inch of edge
step 5, repeat steps 2 - 4
step 6, gently align layers and trim the sides
step 7, let sit in fridge 30 minutes
step 8, cover sides and tops with thinned Plum Jelly
step 9, let sit again
step 10, cover in ganache,
step 11, Sit again
step 12, decorate
step 13, sit again
step 14, EAT!

You can see the complete recipe on Chris's blog. It is simply too long for me to post here. I will be post select portions of the recipe as I reuse it in the future.

Tempers notes:
Every bit of this cake was good and the bite or two I managed to salvage of it all together was wonderful. I had to make a second batch of the caramelized pecans they were such a hit and keeping Indra away from the Buttercream was a loosing battle. Come fall when our pecans come in season (and it gets cooler inside) I will definitely be making this again. I am thinking for X-mas people may get a jar of ganache and some fancy nuts from me (with other homemade goodies), cause it was just that good.

here are some fellow DB bloggers I wanted to share. Evil Lemons is a riot, and it has one of the best walk thrus I have seen. I added him to my list of blogs to read regularly. PrettyTastyCakes got ambitious and made her cake a dome. And I will admit it I am a little jealous of the smooth finish and lovely circles. Ann of Redacted Recipes has my vote for best looking though. I love the organicness of the buttercream decoration, it reminds me of growing things.

PS: I am pretty sure from looking at other peoples challenges that my problem was i did not whip the eggs enough.

R2R, Thank George's Bank

2008-07-25T06:32:00.002-05:00

I was really excited when we decided to do this recipe. Thank George's Bank, it is Cod cakes with Poached eggs and Hollendaise. I love hollendaise but have never made it so I was really looking forward to making it. I was less excited by the poached egg (I like crispy greasy eggs darn it) and the fish, (despite stereotypes to the contrary not all lesbians like fish). But I figured the hollendaise would make it all good.

I have never steamed fish before so I was surprised how easy it was and it smelled pretty darn good (I will admit I also tasted it an except for being over seasoned it tastes pretty good too). One step Down, so far so good. I had mashed potatoes left over from supper and I always have eggs so once the fish was cooled the patties were ready to go. I covered them and stuck them in the fridge overnight.

The next morning bright and early I started the cod cakes cooking (like the alliteration?) I had already read about the problems other people had and armed with my potato patty experience I started Frying them up. I expected the first batch to turn out a little scrambled. But so was the second... and the third, which left me with 12 scrambled patties that taste Great, I mean really really good, but look well horrible. Not to worry cover it with Hollendaise and will all be good.

I am sorry to report that the hollendaise was a disaster. I tried again, still a disaster. It was not the recipes fault. I blame the equipment. The recipe says to use your food processor, and the blades were just not low enough to really mix the two egg yolks and after adding the butter nothing happened. I waited and waited and still no emulsification. I might have tried a third time and used the cooked version but It had been a long weekend and between this and the DB challenge (also failed) I had already gone thru 2 dozen eggs so I decided to call it quits.

I skipped poaching the egg because with out the sauce it just wasn't worth the effort. I will try again to make hollendaise, though I will not use the food processor. And I will probably even try poaching an egg just so I can say I have. But the Cod cakes really stole the show for me and as someone who is ambivalent about fish that is saying alot, I will definitely be trying those again. And maybe next time I will have some photos.

Taste and Create: Spring Ramp Gnocchi

2008-07-24T08:19:00.001-05:00

My partner for this months Taste and Create is Maybelle's Mom of Feeding Maybelle. Her blog is lovely and her food fresh and creative, a wonderful blend of her families Indian and Italian heritage. I am not vegan, and I hardly noticed that alot of her recipes were, glorious food does not need meat, there was no working around meat, there just was no meat. Someday I want a blog like hers. pictures, food, savory and sweet, you know things that make others drool.

She is yet another person who has access to an abundance of rhubarb and various other fresh ingredients (I am soo jealous of the rhubarb). It was very very hard to choose what to make and as much as I wanted to make the Rosewater Kulfi with Cherry Juice Steeped Noodles or the Strawberry Tomato Caprese Fusili, I decided to go with something Heartier and more Savory.

I had originally wanted to do the Marrow Bones she had done since they were a sure fire hit with My carnivore. But alas and alack, there were no morrow bones to be had. So I took another look and decided on the Spring Ramp Gnocchi, even though it wasn't spring and I didn't have any ramps (had to look Ramps up in Wikipedia to even know what they were).

According to Wikipedia ramps taste like a cross between onions and garlic and you can eat the whole thing. So I went with a mix of Onion, Garlic, Thyme and Italian Parsley.

Spring Ramp Gnocchi (my way)
2 servings

Combine:
8 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese (that has been drained)
1 egg
¼ C grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup finely chopped ramps (I substitute 1.5 tbls chopped garlic, 1.5 tbls chopped onion, 2 tbls fresh thyme, 3 tbls fresh Italian Parsley)

Add
¾ cup flour

Work gently until a dough is formed

Let rest, roll into long snakes and then cut into bite-sized pieces. You may roll it against a fork to get the characteristic indentations.

Boil until they come to the surface—watch not to over cook them.

Dress with bacon and sautéed ramp bulbs or if vegetarian with ramp bulbs and pecorino. (I used the bacon but felt that sauteed onions and garlic would be a little much so I went with chopped fresh tomato.)

Tempers Notes:
I discovered gnocchi after I moved to TX in the pasta aisle and was intrigued. I have played with it several times but never actually made my own. So I was very excited to try this recipe. It was so easy and soo good, a little bit of Pasta Heaven. It made two perfect portions. Indra even agreed to eat it and indicated she would be willing to have it again (and it wasn't just the bacon talking).

I need to learn the fork trick though. I also want to find out how to make them ahead and store them. I had a bit of a problem with the dough being very soft and the gnocchi sticking together, I am not sure if this is because I needed more flour or if it was their way of telling me to work faster.

Strawberries and Almond Custard.

2008-07-11T20:55:00.008-05:00

This was a learning experience, a rich, delectable, lick the bowl learning experience, but still its not quite there.

I took the Almond Custard I made for the Danish Braid and some fresh strawberries and got creative. The strawberries were past their prime for eating (they had been snacked on for the last several days and were starting to dry up) but still good.

I dumped the strawberries in a sauce pan with a half a cup sugar and 1/4 cup apple juice and simmered till the strawberries were soft. And then stuck them in the fridge to cool down while the Almond Custard cooked. They smelled heavenly.

After the custard was brown around the edges I removed them from the oven and drizzled the juice from the strawberries over the top. It soaked in right away which I was not expecting (lesson #1) and made some cool crackly sounds. I let them cool a little and served.

I had forgotten how rich the custard was and the overly sweet strawberries just upped the anti, It really needed something to offset that (lesson #2). I also forgot that just because you take it out of the oven it doesn't stop cooking (lesson #3) and therefore the texture wasn't quite what I remembered.

So for next time here are some other lessons I learned... Fresh strawberries are better than whatever it is I did. If you use a syrup wait til the custard has cooled. Liquids added while hot soak it like a sponge (alcohol might be nice). Patience is a virtue, so make sure you have a good picture before eating.

Vanilla Sugar

2008-07-07T10:59:00.005-05:00

One of the side effects of Daring Bakers is Real Vanilla to play with. So I did what any enterprising young baker would do and made Vanilla Sugar.

Let me first of talk of the Vanilla bean itself. It was leathery and oily and didn't smell as sweet / fresh / vanillaish / whatever as I had expected. But I am use to that, I learned the hard way not to taste my ingredients (this is a lesson i keep having to relearn) or judge the finished product by the raw taste.

So I followed directions and seeded the things. They were still oily and I think I ended up with almost as much on me as in the bowl. It was as bad as trying to get cling film to stop sticking to the wrong thing. I kept scraping it off one thing and trying to scrape it where I wanted it and it never quite worked right. I am sure with practice this procedure will get easier (meaning less messy) As a Bonus I smelled nummy!

The vanilla bean added pretty specks to everything and made some very nice whipped cream. I don't think however that the Danish Braid was really the best platform to showcase the vanilla bean. Which brings me to the Vanilla sugar.

The vanilla sugar certainly smells more like what I expected than the bean. But seeing the bean remnants poking up thru the pristine sugar is a little odd. And as much as I would like to tell you that the Kool-Aid I made with my vanilla sugar was raised to a whole new level of Kool-aidness, it was still just Kool Aid. It is possible I need more vanilla in my sugar and eventually as I use more vanilla beans there will be more vanilla in my sugar.

BBD: Sprouted Bread

2008-06-30T10:31:00.008-05:00

For the Bread Baking Daily challenge this month we did sprouted bread. Not something I have ever done before and honestly the few examples I have tried were heavy things that I didn't really care for. Still a challenge is a challenge.

Just like when I was a child the thrill of growing sprouts is intoxicating, No sponge was involved this time (which was probably good since mine always dried up), but as you can see my sprouts flourished (they actually did a little too well, but I am not sure if that was a problem or not.) The half a cup of wheat berries I used made enough sprouts for two and half loafs with plenty of left overs for the bird and bunnies (all of whom loved the unexpected treat).

How to Sprout:
Sprout the wheat (takes about two days). Easiest way is to put the
wheat in a container with holes in the lid. Fill it with water and let
it set for a few minutes then drain the water. Repeat this process
several times a day. When the sprouts are about 1/2 to 3/4 the length
of the grain they are ready to use. If the sprouts are ready and you
are not store them in the fridge. If you do not change the water very
often it just takes them longer to sprout.

I did two versions of sprouted bread. The first was a failure and a waste of good dates (even the bird wasn't impressed), the second was a success of a limited nature. I was not at all disappointed though, just chalked it up to a learning experience.

The first loaf was Manna Bread from Barb Beck

Manna Bread

2 Cups of wheat sprouted
1 lb dates
1 Cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
OPTIONAL: 1 T chopped filberts

Drain the sprouted wheat well.
Place in food processor with the dates and buzz until a dough ball forms. You may need to add a little water.
Stir cinnamon and cloves. Note this version is not very spicy.
Stir in raisins.
Shape into two loaves.
Sprinkle the chopped nuts on the outside.

Bake for 2 - 3 hours at 300 degrees.
Note: If you have problems getting the dough because the mixture is too
wet add a little whole wheat flour.

I love dates I just don't care for 'date loafs' like this. I resented the use of my dates on this and will not be making it again, It did smell great while it was baking though.

For the second batch I used a recipe from the Sprout People, with a name like that they have to know what they are doing, right? (and they were the first link to come up on Google for sprout bread.)

Whole Grain Sprout Bread
Makes 2 - 3 loaves

To soften yeast - combine in a large bowl:
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 scant Tbs. active dry yeast
Allow the yeast to proof (bubble) for 5 minutes

Stir in:
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbs. salt
2 Cups Sprouted Grains - whole or ground lightly
4 cups flour (any combo of wheat, rye and white you like) Beat well. Cover and let this “sponge” sit 45-60 minutes.
Stir down and gradually add:
3-4 cups flour (any combination)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Place dough into a greased bowl - turn it over and around to coat the whole of the dough.
Cover and let rise until doubled (60-90 minutes).
Knead dough down in the bowl, divide and shape into 2 - 3 oblong loaves. Place in well greased loaf pans and cover.
Let rise 60 minutes or until almost doubled.

Bake at 375º for 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove loaves from pans and cool on wire racks.

I used wheat sprouts and all purpose white flour for my loafs. The only change I made to the recipe is to assume that the 2 Tbsp of salt was a typo and use 2 tsp, cause that was a heck of alot of salt. In retrospect I may have been wrong.

My leavening action was outrageous. It may have been the salt thing, but then again it might have been me trying to do to many things giving the bread a longer time to expand. Or it could be my hot and humid kitchen making all those yeasts extra happy. Who knows.

The bread turned out beautiful, light and with the best crust I think I have ever had (I used leftover eggwash on it). The honey in the recipe really came through well and the whole loaf was very light. I liked the texture of the wheat berries and sprouts and I could definitely smell them while the bread was raising and baking.

Unfortunately I think the sprouts gave the bread a sort of raw flavor I really couldn't get over. Maybe if I didn't let the sprouts get so long in to tooth, or dried them out a little before use it would have been better. I am going to try some slices with honey and jam tonight and see if that covers the taste.

This is a bread I would make again, just not with the sprouts.

R2R, Confit Byaldi

2008-06-29T23:44:00.007-05:00

This is the first month Recipes to Rival has been around. Lori and I choose Confit Byaldi as the first challenge. Basically this is fancy Ratatouille, more specifically it is the Ratatouille from the movie of the same name. You can find the recipe we used (and assorted other information and links) on the Recipes to Rival June Challenge post.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, a first for me, and am very glad I did. The piperade was probably the most time consuming bit. Lots of chopping and peeling and then it is all sauteed in various steps. I had forgotten how much fun it can be to skin tomatoes, just dunk them in boiling water for a couple seconds and then douse them in ice water and the skin just slides off. Roasting the bell peppers did the same thing and made them much easier to chop (they smelled good too).

Fortunately for me the piperade could be made ahead and stored for a couple days. I was very tempted to make a second batch the first smelled and looked so good (ok I may have tasted it too). Everyone agreed the piperade was something we could see ourselves making for lots of other uses as well. Pizza, sandwiches and salads were just a few of the ideas, me, I thought it would make a good french type salsa dip thing (aren't I articulate?).

The actual Confit Byaldi went together easily thanks to my new slicer and dicer (it doesn't really dice but it sounded good) I got lots of extra thin veggie slices very fast. I had several problems with this step however, all of them concerning the ingredients. I could not find a Japanese eggplant and even the smallest eggplant I did find was considerably larger then the squash. One of my zucchini and two of my tomatoes went off before I could use them (I had to wait a week after buying them to use them) fortunately I had plenty left.

The balsamic vinaigrette was a great touch and allowed me to use some fresh herbs from my garden (about all that I can grow). I used thyme, bee's Balm (a mint) and oregano. I had never used balsamic vinegar before (expensive and I am not a big fan of vinegar) but boy was it good.

The end result was gorgeous and delectable. It stored well, heated up well and tastes good cold. It can be done in stages and even done ahead so it is a great dish to make for guests. Serve with some crusty bread, a salad and you have a light and satisfying meal. Unfortunately something caused Indra to have an allergic reaction so she couldn't eat any. We are not sure if it was the sausage I served with it, the Balsamic vinegar or the bee's balm. I however enjoyed it for lunch several days running.

Blackberry Danish

2008-06-29T23:02:00.001-05:00

Saturday I went to a pick your own place and got Blackberries. Not as many as I would have liked because we got there late but enough. SO this morning at the Request of my one true Love I made blackberry danish. It is just a Danish Braid with sugar and Cinnamon sprinkled down the center and fresh blackberries piled on top. I placed on top of some stirred custard (also on Indra's request) and sprinkled a little cinnamon on it.

I would have just added this to the end of my DB post but I got some great photos and they deserve a post of their own. I think I may be finally figuring this photo thing out.

DB: Danish Braid

2008-06-29T19:31:00.001-05:00

Here is the official recipe. I would have posted it here but it was way way to long. Let me start out by saying WEEEEEE I did it! The idea was lots more intimidating that reality. The recipe is actually pretty simple there is just alot of waiting for things to rechill up. I am thinking once I get a freezer I can make a batch once every several months and take it out as needed for a quick treat.

This is My first Daring Baker Challenge, I have been amazed by everyone's ideas and inspired by there results (not to mention stunning pictures). I was encouraged by what I achieved and it feels good to do this and have this experience (and goodies) to share. I grew up with everything made from scratch, we butchered our own pigs, goats, chicken, rabbits and deer. we grew our own veggies and fruits (we got a 5 gallon bucket of strawberries a day when they were in season). I had forgotten how good that was. So thanks DB for reminding me what a kitchen is for.

I actually made three braids and am making a 4th today. The top one is the Cherry Almond, in the middle is the Apple, and lastly is a savory Moroccan pork. The apple one if the first one I did and I had yet to master the braiding process but once you cut it up no one could tell.

I did the official apple one, with a honey caramel sauce and whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon (Indra Loved it, Me I loved the sauce). I used my fancy new slicer and sliced my apples extra thin. they were beautiful and when done just melted in your mouth.

A cherry almond one (My favorite). I took a bag of frozen black cherries (sugar free) and simmered them, I added almond extract, cardamon, and lemon zest. then just simmered till it was thick and very tasty (I see cherry jam in my future). I made an almond custard to go with it (also easy and oh soo good). Unfortunately this braid suffered the same fate as many other people's and leaked, it still tasted Divine though. I think in future I will A. braid better, B. not fill so full, and C. find a nice sauce to cut the richness of this combo.

The Moroccan Pork one was a failure. It was pretty enough, with salt crusting the outside of a near perfect looking braid, but taste wise it sucked. Starting from the top, To much salt on the crust, to much Moroccan Rub on the meat, The meat needed something extra to up the impact, I am thinking dates and coconut if I do it again. To be honest the real failure was me using a filling I had absolutely no experience with. It sounded good in theory but didn't work out in practice.

Today I am making a Blackberry something for Indra (I have not decided if it will be braid shaped or not). We picked a bunch this morning and it sounds scrumptious. She is angling for more whipped cream but I am thinking a sour cream sauce of some kind will balance the sweetness of the berries just right. We will just have to see what happens. I am hoping for enough dough left over that I can do something with cinnamon, sugar nuts and raisins, something more winter / fall then spring tasting. That may wait another week or two though.

Danish Braid, Recipe

2008-06-28T21:20:00.003-05:00

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough (or two braids worth)

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk (milk should be cold we do not want to activate the yeast yet. In fact chill everything, even your work surface if you can, it makes things much easier).
Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well.
Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain.
Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even.
Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain.
With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges.
When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes.
You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
Combine butter and flour in the bowl and cut together until smooth and lump free. (I used my fingers, it was a heck of alot of fun) Set aside at room temperature.

After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick.
The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour.
Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough.
Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter.
Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third.
The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally.
Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left.
Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle.
Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third.
No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough.
The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns.

Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight.
The Danish dough is now ready to be used.
If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling.
Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. (gotta love browned butter!)
Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes.
Set aside to cool before use, After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again.
Place the dough on the baking sheet. (this is important, moving an already filled Danish is messy)

Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made. (these need to be at a slight angle and should be about a third of the width of the pastry.)

Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. (do not over fill, if using a filling other then the apple one remember it needs to be fairly thick so it doesn't all leak out).
Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling.
Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together a whole egg and an egg yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown.
Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Caramel Honey Sauce

2008-06-28T20:59:00.004-05:00

Ok this was made spur of the moment and exact measurements were not foremost in my mind. So live on the edge and see what you can make with it. :)

2 Tbsp Butter, slightly browned in pot at very low heat.
add 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp Honey

stir until well mixed and thick, add a pinch of salt, a couple more Tbsp Honey and water to thin everything down, we are making a sauce here not candy.

Add a couple Tbsp of milk until you have the desired consistency.

This was truly lovely. I licked my plate and then Indra's too (you snooze, you lose). The honey really added a nice dimension to the flavor and browning the butter slightly deepened the caramel flavor wonderfully.

My first try ended up a burnt mess; I had forgotten the low heat part of working with butter and sugar and it wasn't pretty.

Almond Custard

2008-06-28T20:32:00.004-05:00

I got this recipe off the DB forums from Abba. So I have no clue as to where it originally came from. But it is good. Darn good.

Almond Custard

3 Tbsp plus 1/2 tsp Almond paste
1/4 cup plus 1.5 tsp sugar
4 Tbsp Butter, room temperature and cut into 3 pieces.
1 egg, room temperature and lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp plus 1.5 tsp all purpose flour

Whiz the almond paste and sugar together in a food processor (or do what I did and use your fingers to work it all together).
Then pulse in the butter chunks (once again I used my fingers)
Add the egg vanilla and flour and mix until smooth. (she says it makes a cream but it looked a little thinker then that to me). the almond paste will make it gritty to the touch (tastes great though).
If the eggs and butter are not room temperature they will separate.

I put some of this on top of some cherries I had played with in a ramekin and baked at 350 degrees til slightly brown on top.

Temper's Notes:
Just let me sat OH MY GOD! was it good. Quick and easy too but elegant enough to serve at a fancy shindig. This was what I was expecting the Clafouti to be like. I haven't let Indra try any, that way it is mine all mine! And for the record fingers worked every bit as good as a food processor would in this case. No pictures because I ate it to quick.

Edited for pic 7/11/08 not the best picture but I had it all gone before I realized that, maybe next time.

Rhubarb and Dates

2008-06-24T19:11:00.007-05:00

GK: Wouldn't this be a good time for a piece of Rhubarb pie? Yes, nothing gets the taste of shame and humiliation out of your mouth like Bebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.

GK: (SINGS)
One little thing can revive a guy
And that is a piece of rhubarb pie.
Serve it up, nice and hot,
Maybe things aren't as bad as you thought.

ALL:
Mama's little baby loves rhubarb, rhubarb
Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.
Mama's little baby loves rhubarb, rhubarb
Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.
Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.
~~A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

Yes I love Rhubarb in all its incarnations. And apparently so do food bloggers everywhere. My problem is they have it and I don't. It doesn't grow here in TX and the stuff you buy frozen or they ship to the stores is horrible. I once broke down and asked my family in Iowa to send me some. They laughed and told me no. Bastards.

My other favorite fruit is Dates. Now I haven't checked to see if they grow in TX but I have a feeling that we are a bit to cool and to wet. But since everyone else had to buy their dates too I don't feel so bad. I love dates but periodically I get freaked out by their resemblance to roaches, that shiny, slick surface that is brown black and oily looking. blech. When that happens I get the prechopped ones and carry on as usual.

Some where in all this is a point. I am not real sure where but I know it is there. It might be people who don't share their rhubarb are evil, or that dates are worth the squick factor. But I have a feeling that the point is my favorite fruits are alot of trouble and I am therefore deprived!

Taste and Create: Souffled Eggs

2008-06-23T21:09:00.006-05:00

This month for the Taste and Create Challenge my partner was Smita of Travelling Tummy. She has many Delicious looking dishes on her blog and it was a tough choice. I almost went for her Coconut Chicken Curry but Indra's tummy has been iffy and I figured I had better hold off for happier times in tummy land. What I did make was her Fabulous Souffled Eggs. In her words:

The eggs were soft and puffy like little clouds that would melt in your mouth.

I really couldn't say it better.

Souffled Eggs
Ingredients:

3 eggs separated
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 onion chopped fine
1/2 tomato chopped fine
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoons jalapeno finely chopped (optional)
Handful of parsley finely chopped.
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus some for greasing pie dish
Salt and freshly crushed pepper to taste.

Method:

Grease pie dish and pre heat oven to 350 degrees. For the topping, saute onions, tomatoes and jalapeno in Olive oil and season with salt and pepper and set aside. Beat egg yolks and milk, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Next using a hand mixer, whisk egg whites till frothy, then add vinegar and beat eggs till soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into yolks but do not over mix. Pour mixture into pie dish and bake for about 5 to 7 minutes or till the top is very slightly browned and firm. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Temper's Notes:
After seeing how much Smita's recipe made I decided to use only two eggs. that was definitely the right choice. I couldn't have eaten any more. I also added crumbled bacon to the egg yolk before adding it to the whites. Why? Because Bacon is always good. I topped it with sharp cheddar and sauteed peppers, onion, garlic and tomato.

I had worried about the texture due to it being called a souffle but it was really more of a meringue, this means when I had to run to stop the dog from chewing things and it got coldish it didn't collapse into a puddle of egg foam. A definite plus in our house.

I think next time if I use cheese it needs to be something alot milder. I am also intrigued by the idea of adding herbs to the actual eggs rather then just as a garnish. This is definitely going into my make again pile.

Muffindoodles

2008-06-16T18:57:00.004-05:00

First an intro. Concoctions by Peabody is the type of cook I would like to be clever and creative. As I was browsing I stumbled across her Snickerdoodle Muffin recipe, and thought wow! just Wow! the sheer genius of this left me speechless. Then Snickerdoodles turned up as The Cookie Carnival's Cookie of the month I had my burst of inspiration. I would do both and compare them! So here is the muffin recipe (I omitted the nutmeg from the original recipe).

Snickerdoodle Muffins

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp cream of tarter
1 and ¼ cup sour cream
2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar and 2 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling

1. Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.

2. In a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter.

3. Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar.. Place muffin in to muffin tin.. Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.

Temper's notes:
First of all let me say mmmmm mmmm good. I had them for breakfast the next morning and they were still moist and delicious. Definitely tasted snickerdoodly. I will Definitely make these again, and probably again.
Now for the critique, I found the characteristic tang of cream of tarter a little weak. I am not sure why she didn't use more cream of tartar and less baking powder. Also my hot kitchen made the butter melty and the batter less stiff then desired for rolling. I made it work though and my fingers were yummy.
I think next time I need more cinnamon in my sugar and I definitely will put more batter in the muffin tins so I get a muffin shape and not a hockey puck shape.

Snickerdoodles! Cookie Carnival Version

2008-06-16T18:33:00.004-05:00

Snickerdoodles from the Cookie Carnival
Makes 4 dozen.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients

* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening
* 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
* 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
* 2 large eggs

Directions

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

2. 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, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

3. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Temper's Notes:
My kitchen was to hot, so the butter was softer then I would have liked, on the other hand the dough was alot less sticky then I am use to. So I am not sure I had a problem or not. The dough tasted fine (I should know I ate enough while baking to make me sick). I was a little disappointed though that the tops of my cookies weren't as crackly as normal. They definitely tasted like Snickerdoodles but I think I prefer my no butter recipe. But since I froze about 2/3 of the recipe I can try again later and maybe change my mind. Indra's only complaint is I didn't make more.

Queen of the World

2008-06-10T16:48:00.005-05:00

As you can see from the above logos Recipes to Rival is now officially open to business. We have our first recipe posted and will spend the rest of the month ironing out the kinks. I am very lucky to have Lori to do the hard bit and write everything up for me.

I went Garage Saling the weekend and got some real prizes. Including some silicone bake ware, pots, pans, and crockery. The real prizes were a mandolin with exchangeable blades, a cutting board and basket that fits on your sink and cook books. The Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook was the best find and I expect it to come in very handy. The Complete Round the World Meat Cookbook is also a good find, though I am a little overwhelmed by all the recipes. The World of Breads on the other hand, is mouth watering and I found it enjoyable to browse thru. Of course I might just have been intimidated by all that meat in the other book. Lastly, The Green Thumb Cookbook looks to be a bit disappointing, the recipes are really not that appealing to me, but I will take a closer look later and might find some good stuff.

All in All I have been a busy person lately, hardly anytime to cook. I am planning on changing that soon.

Parmesan egg noodles

2008-06-08T09:07:00.005-05:00

Parmesan Egg Noodles

Beat until very light
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg

beat in
3 tblsp cold water
1 tsp salt (I used Garlic)

Stir in and work with hands
2 cups shifted flour
1/2 cup Parmesan
2 to 4 tblsps of your favorite Italian herbs

The dough should be moist and slightly sticky, you may need to add more egg.

divide dough into 3 parts and roll out as thin as possible. Place dough between two towels and let sit until dough is partially dry (should have texture of chamois). then cut into thin strips and allow to finish drying. They can be frozen for future use.

Once it has finished drying boil until almost done and then drain. I then took a can of stewed tomatoes with garlic and basil and dumped that in the pot with about 1/3 of the noodles and simmered it until the noodles were done. Top with more parm and you are done.

Temper's notes:
I added another whole egg and a yolk to make the dough moist enough to roll right. Also as I wanted my pasta fairly dry you can increase the amount of tomatoes you use to your liking.

As a child I loved helping my mother make egg noodles, they were simple enough I could 'help' her mix and measure and not ruin anything. I also enjoyed snitching noodles as they were sitting to dry.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-06-06T13:47:00.003-05:00

Lori of
Lip Smacking Goodness, My partner in crime in developing the new Recipes to Rival savory challenge, Tagged me! I have mixed feelings about this first of all these type of things frustrate me and second of all it means someone reads my blogs. Irritation and elation are warring with in me. I think I am going to let elation win and hope this isn't like a chain letter and as soon as I do this one three more show up.

So here goes....
What was I doing ten years ago?

1998, I was graduating college and Falling even more in love with Indra, We were handfasted in December. I also experienced my first real prejudice, One really nice apartment would rent to two girls but not two lesbians.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

1. Pick up freecycled gas grill (surprise Indra)
2. Grocery Shopping (have to figure out the list first)
3. Get rest of letters posts for the Recipes to Rival blog
4. Find chart for dwarf coat (I am remaking it to fix issues)
5. Post my K to my blog and ravelry group

5 Snacks I enjoy:

Chocolate
cheese
Apple
Celery (especially with peanut butter)
Pie (there is always room for Pie!)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I have had this planned since I was 6. Pay my bills. Fix my house (took me 30yrs but I finally figured out I don't want a huge house I want a well designed house.) Invest! Help my Family. Help others (healthcare for young and elderly, food programs, education). And I want to take all the people that have been there for me over the yrs out to a really nice restaurant and give them nice presents as a thank you. I also want to go on one shopping spree where I don't look at price tags.

Places I have lived:

Mt Ayer, IA
Nevinville, IA
Creston, IA
Shannon City, IA
Denton, TX
Indra will kill me if I give my current location so I will say Hicksville, TX just north of Dallas

Jobs I have had:

Farm Hand on a Dairy farm, College Cafeteria worker, Stocker in Grocery Store, Waitress (I wasn't very good at it), Mall Survey Taker, Home Health Care (live in caretaker for elderly), Library Aide (Special collections), MSN Phone Support, Corporate Computer Helpdesk, Best Buy Trainer, Kirby Salesman, And Currently Computer Helpdesk for Tax Software.

I tag……
Wendy of Earth Whisper Fiber Arts.
Bron of Bron's Blog II
Rachael of Yarn a Go-Go
Leslie of A Friend to Knit with (she started my interest in the food blogging world.)

Browned Sweet potatoe and honey butter.

2008-06-02T13:07:00.003-05:00

I had a sweet potato left over from supper the other night. It was still firm and since I had gorged myself the night before I was up for something a little different.

I peeled and sliced the sweet potato into slices about an inch thick. I then fried them in butter (with a little kosher salt), turning often until they had some pretty caramelized spots on them.

to serve I topped with a dollop of Honey Butter and it was nummy.

it was a fast side that was pretty and used up left overs, all good in my book. Next time maybe with some cranberry dressing for some tartness.

Clafouti

2008-05-31T13:36:00.002-05:00

I have been seeing all these pictures of Clafouti when browsing food blogs (and how unfair is that they not only create beautiful food but take gorgeous pictures of it as well?). It looked nummy and easy to make. SO i tried.

I figured you couldn't go wrong with Julia Child so that is the recipe I used. First disappointment was that it was not scaled to individual portions but for 6 to 8 people. But I can go with the flow. When I made it the batter looked a little thin but since I wasn't sure exactly what the end product was suppose to be like I decided not to worry.

I was disappointed, I had expected a texture like either a souffle or a pancake. Instead it was much closer to scrambled eggs. Another disappointment was I didn't get a pretty brown top. The taste wasn't bad though just a bit of a let down from my high expectations.

It does have promise though, maybe next time I will beat the egg whites separately to help with the texture and sprinkle sugar on top to brown.

Bananas and Carmel Sauce

2008-05-31T13:22:00.003-05:00

This is an all purpose, fancy things up sauce I make. we put it on ice cream, pancakes and really just about any thing. Depending on what I have on hand it can have many variations.

Take some bananas (usually 1 per person) and slice fairly thickly, 1/4 to 3/4 an inch.

take some butter (depends on how saucy you want the bananas) 1 tblsp or more. and melt in skillet. if the bananas are firm add now and sprinkle with sugar (about equal amounts with butter) and cinnamon to taste. If the bananas are soft add the sugar and when it is dissolved and becomes carmely add the bananas and cinnamon.

Saute the bananas and carmel til they are mushy on the edges. remove from heat and scarf down.

Because of the sugar and cooking unlike most banana dishes this refrigerates and reheats well.

I have used brown sugar or honey on the past instead of sugar, and have added nuts and coconut when I was in the mood.

Realizations

2008-05-29T10:33:00.008-05:00

I came to the realization this weekend that I don't have a blog and a place to stash recipes, I have two blogs. Let me tell you that came as a shock. I am not sure I am ready for two blogs. I have enough trouble keeping up with one. But while I don't mind talking about food and showing pictures of food on my regular blog I do object to putting recipes in my regular blog, they are too long and require to much thought, and thinking is hard! Sooo, here I am with two blogs. (And this one needs prettied up, cause if this is going to be a real blog I want it to be SPIFFY!

Now For Chocolate!

Nestle's Chunky with Peanuts and Raisins. And let me tell you when they said Chunky they meant it. It also said Milk chocolate and I am not so sure about that. I thought it had a strong coffee after taste and Indra thought it tasted like Kahlua. Don't get me wrong we both thought it was good, just not what we were expecting. Two problems the chunks were so big it took a knife to break them apart and unlike MMs they did indeed melt in your hand and yet were too big to comfortably pop in your mouth.

French Breakfast Puffs

2008-05-25T16:36:00.007-05:00

From the Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book Circa 1950.
Baked for the Bread Baking Day, Breakfast Bread Challenge.

French Breakfast Puffs
(everytime I see this I want to say French Pouf)

preheat to 350 and grease muffin pans

mix together thoroughly
1/3 cup soft shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

shift together
1 1/2 cups shifted GOLD MEDAL Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg (I omitted this)

stir shifted ingredients into shortening alternatively with 1/2 cup milk.

fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake until golden brown

When done Immediately roll in 6 tblsp melted butter and then cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon)

serve hot (also good later) makes 12 puffs.

Notes by Temper...
This recipe actually made just what it said it would 12 medium puffs. they cooked up beautifully, and where actually better then expected. the texture was similar to that of a cake donut but not as heavy. I will admit that butter and cinnamon sugar will make pretty much anything good but even the two that didn't get coated were pretty good (I ran out of butter). Indra and I were thinking that next time we might try glazing some since she isn't a big fan of the sugar coating. I didn't tell her but I think a little lemon to cut the richness would be great.

(anyone else who tries these is invited to tell me what you think)