Flogging (aka Food Blogging)

Maple Banana Bread

2011-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Haven't been satisfied with my banana bread recipes, this one is pretty good.

http://www.fullcircleadv.com/2011/10/maple-banana-bread.html

If you aren't paying attention to your mixing and mix together cold eggs with melted butter, then your batter may curdle. Do yourself a favor and mix a little flour in, should reduce or remove the curdling effect.

Pumpkin Challah (much better version)

2011-10-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

So I've been experimenting with challah, and this pumpkin variation turned out wonderfully. Couldn't quite taste the pumpkin, but I think it made a moister, more orange-ish product. Also, love using RapidRise yeast; saves me a lot of time. It replaces the first rise by letting the dough sit for just 10 minutes after forming.

Adapted from: http://www.bojongourmet.com/2010/01/pumpkin-challah.html

Just a few slight changes.

- 1 packet rapid-rise yeast
- 1/2 cup 120-130 degree F water
- 1 tsp honey

- 8 oz. pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs, plus 1 for brushing the bread
- 4 oz. melted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 5 cups King Arthur AP unbleached flour
- Poppy/pumpkin seeds for sprinkling

First proof yeast in separate bowl, heat water in microwave for 20 seconds on high, dissolving in honey, then adding yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Mix together pumpkin puree, 3 eggs, melted butter, sugar, salt.
Add in yeast mixture.
Add flour, 1 cup at a time. At the 4th cup mark, switch to the dough hook, and knead for 5 minutes.
Remove and knead by hand a few times.
Let sit for 10 minutes in greased bowl (1st rise).
Divide into 4-6 strands (I used 4).
Braid according to your favorite youtube video instructional.
Let rise 30 minutes, lightly covering with aluminum foil.
Gently brush with egg wash.
Let rise another 30 minutes, brush again with egg wash.
Bread should now be roughly doubled in size (2nd rise).
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce the temperature to 325º and bake for another 20 minutes.
Rotate the loaf 90 degrees, and bake another 15 minutes, for a total baking time of 45 minutes.
Remove, let cool on rack.
Enjoy with cinnamon sugar or cranberry apple butter!

Sprinkled with poppy and pumpkin seeds.

The bread had lovely texture, and was quite light. Double egg wash gave it a beautiful crust.

Plating Variations on Seared Tuna

2011-09-13T12:58:00.001-07:00

ried my hand at seared tuna plating last weekend, had some ideas in my mind I had to get off my chest.

These are the ingredients I used for the very first iteration of the dish, and I think it tasted great. The sweeter balsamic vinegar reduction went nicely with the sour vinegar notes in the mustard mayo, and the avocado paired nicely with the tuna.

- 1 x wild sashimi grade yellowfin tuna steak, trimmed
- 1 x golden beet
- 1 x red beet
- 1 x organic mayonnaise
- 1 x whole mustard
- 1 x avocado
- olive oil, salt, pepper
- black sesame seeds
- balsamic vinegar reduction (make in advance)

Trim tuna into rectangular prism shape, brush with olive oil, coat two opposing sides with black sesame seeds.
Oven roast beets with skin on, about 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Peel, slice, and mix with olive oil, salt, pepper.
Cut avocado wedges, brush with lime juice.
Mix together mayonnaise, whole mustard.
Gently sear tuna, about 45 seconds for the sides with black sesame seeds, 30 seconds on bare flesh sides. Searing time will depend on tuna thickness, but you can easily determine the doneness by the color of the flesh as you're searing. I prefer rare or medium rare; any further cooking, and the flesh becomes rubbery and dry.
Let tuna rest 10 minutes after searing, cut at angle with sharp knife.
Plate!

Seared tuna plating variation #2 (I deleted #1 as it was too ugly).

I prefer my plating style in #2; however, the square bowl was slightly on the small side, will need a dish with greater flat surface area in the future. Was missing some ingredients; I didn't have my golden beets, balsamic reduction, or avocado. Made a big difference.

Beef Sliders with Sweet Potato Fries

2011-06-19T17:48:00.001-07:00

I only assembled this dish; very little cooking for me on this one. Did make sweet potato fries in the past, but too much work and I wasn't really happy with the results. These Alexia sweet potato fries tasted quite good!

I used these tasty challah hamburger buns from Whole Foods; perfect for a summer burger. Could use thicker, larger sliders and more cheese next time. I did grill them to a nice medium however.

Duo of Summer Salads

2011-06-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to make a watermelon salad for some time, here's my rendition! I was going to make a purple potato salad as well, but the potatoes lost their color, even though I steamed them with the skin on.

Grilled watermelon salad

- Watermelon, cut into 3/4" rounds
- Daikon pickled in rice vinegar, water, sugar
- Oven roasted beets (roast with skin on, about 1.5 hrs)
- Quartered yellow tomatoes
- Fresh basil
- Feta cheese
- Balsamic vinegar/red wine reduction (add balsamic vinegar, red wine, a little sugar together (can omit sugar), reduce)
- Salt/pepper; sprinkle after assembly.
- Olive oil; can brush the watermelon with some before assembly.

Overall, pleased with the plating, but could use some more improvements next time. The watermelon didn't have sufficient smoky flavor, probably because the grill wasn't hot enough (was in a bit of a rush to grill before thunderstorm struck). Also, pickling juice could use less sugar, a little more seasoning in the roasted beet, and more feta cheese for a sharper contrast.

Helps to use a squeeze bottle to drizzle the balsamic/red wine reduction.

Overhead view; I was generally pleased with the assembly and plating. Watermelon could've used a smokier flavor.

Smashed Chickpea Salad
(Modified from smitten kitchen)

- 1 x 15 oz chickpeas
- chopped cilantro
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1 x diced green onion
- 1/2 cup sour cream or light plain yogurt
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1 seedless cucumber
- 1/2 Tbsp whole seed mustard

I'm toying with the idea of adding a little mustard in next time for a little extra kick. My addition of yogurt/sour cream and cucumber almost makes it a mediterranean style tzatziki.

I plated them together, but really, I think the watermelon salad would be fine on its own. The chickpea salad is more like an afterthought.

Lemon Curd, Toasted Black Sesame Frangipane Almond Tart

2011-05-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Added zest from 2 lemons, lemon extract, lemon curd, and 2 Tbsp of ground, toasted black sesame seeds. I made my own recipe, but forgot to write it down, so quantities are approximate.

Bake at least a day in advance, and let flavors meld together in refrigerator.

Tart crust

- 1 1/3 cup AP flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 stick cold butter, diced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp sugar

Filling

- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large yolk + 1 large egg
- 1 stick softened butter
- 2 Tbsp ground toasted black sesame seeds
- zest from 2 lemons
- juice from 1 lemon
- lemon extract
- previously made lemon curd
- blanched almond slices

Make tart dough.
Mold to pan, freeze dough for 60 minutes; dough will NOT shrink in oven this way. Trim edges as needed so that tart crust edge will be flush with tart filling (want about 1 cm higher than tart filling top surface).
Spread lemon curd on bottom of tart.
Mix filling together, by first creaming butter and sugar, then adding eggs one at a time, adding almond flour last.
Pour filling into tart shell with lemon curd on bottom. Cover fully with almond slices.
Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes, then turn to 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
After warm from oven, cover with more blanched almond slices.
Brush with hot apricot preserves/water to get glossy look.
Top with raspberries and dusted sugar!

Oblique overhead view.

Here's the profile shot! I dare say it was quite tasty.

Filling

- (Version 2; basically used 1.5x quantities, made lemon curd more tart, added thicker base of lemon curd to tart before adding frangipane. Also, omitted lemon zest and extract from the frangipane and left as is to blend with the lemon curd).

- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large yolk + 2 large eggs
- 1 stick softened butter
- 2 Tbsp ground toasted black sesame seeds
- previously made lemon curd
- blanched almond slices
- blanched almond slices (with skins on)

Add the blanched almond slices to the center only, and the blanched almond slices with skins on to the outer periphery of the tart; I liked the rustic look of the almond slices with skins on.

French Meringue Macarons

2011-05-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

I literally tried dozens of batches, experimenting with different amounts of almond flour, confectioner's sugar, oven temperatures, folding techniques, etc... Finally got it! I didn't like most of the online recipes, because they used too much sugar, and the shells were too sweet.

I prefer to add in the almond flour mixture all at once. Also, being rather lazy and tired of experimenting with macaron batches, I came up with an alternative to directly sifting the almond flour mixture into the meringue. Instead, I used a whisk to finely stir the almond flour mixture.

It's critical to beat a nice, stiff egg white peaks. The granulated sugar helps to stabilize the whites. I found the folding to be easy, actually. The meringue portion turned out to be the weakness in my recipe, i.e. insufficiently stiff whites.

Finally came up with a recipe that I like that's not too sweet. Also, because the recipe uses less confectioner's sugar than others (normal recipe is about 2:1 confectioner's sugar to almond flour), the shells are slightly rough and coarse.

Makes roughly 14 1" diameter shells

- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar (using any more than 3/4 cup results in a very dry base)

- 2 large AGED egg whites
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 4 Tbsp sugar

Age egg whites on counter for at least a day. This decreases their viscosity and makes them easier to whip air into.
Add cream of tartar to egg whites. Start beating on medium-low speed.
Beat to soft peaks, then slowly add in sugar while still beating.
Turn mixer to 2nd highest setting, and keep beating until you get a bird's beak, or very stiff peaks. I had to beat for nearly 5 minutes to achieve this. Beat to glossy stiff peaks, or when egg whites does not fall out of pan when held upside down for 30 seconds.
Transfer egg whites to mixing bowl.
Whisk almond flour and confectioner's sugar together. If you're feeling energetic, sift directly into egg whites. Otherwise, just dump the whisked mixture into the egg whites.
Fold the egg white flour mixture; don't have to be too gentle. Give a quarter turn, then fold. Once you get to 50 folds, you should have roughly the desired consistency, +/- 10 folds. The often repeated metric is to fold until it looks like magma, but honestly, who has ever peered into a volcano, besides on the Nature channel? A better metric is that a peak will take roughly 30 seconds to collapse back onto itself.
Scoop into piping bag.
Pipe out 1-inch rounds; flick the wrist after piping to minimize the peak. If peak forms, use a little water to tap it down.
Let sit on parchment paper on baking tray at least 30 minutes; this will help develop the feet. I prefer parchment to the Silpat; somehow, always got soggy macarons with the Silpat.
Adjust oven rack to lower third.
Ideally, bake the macarons in two stacked baking pans to prevent the bottoms from browning. Not having a second baking pan, my bottoms were slightly browned. Oh well.
Turn oven to 300 degrees F.
Bake for about 15-16 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack.
Let cool, place at room temp in sealed container.
Freeze until later usage; I found that placing the empty shells in the refrigerator made them soggy.
Add favorite filling; jam, lemon curd, butter cream, ganache, etc...

Black sesame red bean paste macaron; red bean paste wasn't the best filling to add in the middle. Made the macaron too soggy and the shell lost its form very quickly.

Wacky Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-04-19T19:32:00.001-07:00

I used a round cutter to make a divot in the center of each cupcake, then piped lemon curd inside. Covered with the bit of removed-divot-cake, then topped with chocolate mocha cream cheese frosting.

http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2009/09/wacky-chocolate-cupcakes/

Used patisserie grade non-stick liners. They prevent the grease from soaking through.

Apple Frangipane Tart

2011-04-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Finally perfected my tart; I fanned my apple slices out at a flatter angle, though if I placed them near vertical and closer together, I think it might look better.

Also, I baked the tart in my quiche pan, which lacked a removable tart bottom. This required me to transfer between pans, and during which, I unfortunately broke off part of the tart crust. Doh.

I found I had to bake for longer, or until the apples were browned on top.

Recipe adapted from Foodrepublik.

Tart Crust

- 1 1/3 cup AP flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 stick cold butter, diced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp sugar

Frangipane Filling

- 1 stick softened butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (I always like adding more in, haha)
- 3/4 cup almond flour

Make tart shell, mold into quiche pan, trim off excess if shell sidewalls too high. Freeze for at least an hour (will prevent shell from shrinking while baking).
Make frangipane filling, adding almond flour last.
Slice apples, toss in lemon juice.
Spread frangipane inside unbaked, frozen tart shell.
Spiral overlapping apples in the shell, doing a reverse spiral in the inner circle. Sprinkle with additional sugar, since apples were just sitting in lemon juice. Additional sugar will help them brown nicely.
Bake tart at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake until apples are browned, or about 45 minutes for me. I'm not sure if the initial bake temperature at 400 degrees F made that big of a difference; alternatively, could just bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes.
Cool and glaze with apricot jelly wash.
Make at least a day in advance; let sit in refrigerator for flavors to meld together.

Had a great almond flavor!

Women's Appreciation Day Desserts

2011-03-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

This entry was delayed for a few weeks, so here are the details at last. I made a red velvet cupcake and a sourcream cake with lemon curd, mini chocolate cups with chocolate mascarpone topped with raspberries. I've made my own chocolate cups before, but for this project, I needed more professional looking chocolate cups.

I don't remember the exact recipe I used for the red velvet cupcakes, but there are two elements that are critical to the great texture.

First, add a mix of baking soda and vinegar, their mutual neutralization gives a wonderfully fluffy and light texture to the cupcake. This is the same technique used in chocolate "crazy/wacky" cakes.

Second, fill each cupcake liner to no more than 2/3 full. Any further, and you risk the cupcake collapsing on itself.

Top the cupcake with a cream cheese icing and red sprinkles/shaved chocolate.

For my sour cream cake with meyer lemon curd, I used this recipe for the sour cream cake, baking one giant sheet cake, then I stamped out shapes using cutters.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ashkenazic-Sour-Cream-Coffee-Cake-Smeteneh-Kuchen-103994

The lemon curd I made was one of the best ever; I credit that to the meyer lemons (on sale at Whole Foods) I used, which gave the curd a wonderfully bright flavor.

Basic lemon curd recipe (I think I decreased the amount of butter):

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Meyer-Lemon-Curd-102744

For the picture, I stenciled a cocoa powder line to subdivide the plate in half. I made a three-layer petit four from the sour cream cake, then I topped the petit four with a bit of cardamom vanilla bean whipped cream, and a strawberry slice. On the other side are two raspberry chocolate mascarpone cups.

Moo Shi Chicken with Chinese Pancakes

2011-03-06T16:04:00.001-08:00

Growing up, we used to make moo shi/moo shu pork as a special family project, and I would always help my dad with the pancake making. Well, mainly the pancake pan frying.

So I thought it would be a fun project if I tried making moo shi by myself from start to finish; making the filling and pancakes myself. For the filling, I didn't have any pork on hand, so I used chicken breast seasoned with soy sauce and oyster sauce. I also added shiitake mushrooms, shredded carrots, cabbage, and scrambled eggs. Other proteins may also be used, such as turkey breast or pork.

For the pancakes, I made a hot water dough, brushed two circular halves with sesame oil, lightly pan frying them, then peeling apart.

Served with some fresh cut scallions, and the awesome hoisin sauce!

Slightly malformed pancake, haha.

How do you eat moo shi you ask? First, start with a big stack of pancakes/Chinese "tortillas", and a nice jar of hoisin sauce.

Next, get your pot of filling ready.

Add a little fresh scallion to the pancakes.

Then add a bit of the filling to the middle.

Voila!

Now roll it up for eating! Also, the pancake plain with just hoisin sauce is delicious!

Tang Yuan with Black Sesame Paste

2010-12-27T14:44:00.001-08:00

It was harder than I thought to make good tang yuan. The dough is not as forgiving as wheat-based jiao zi dough, and was often in danger of cracking. There's a delicate balance between over-filling the rounds with black sesame paste and maintaining adequate skin thickness so as to prevent cracking/bursting during boiling.

Black Sesame Paste

- 1 cup black sesame seeds
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter

Toasted black sesame seeds in oven at 300 degrees F for a few minutes, or until they emit a fragrant odor.
Finely grind sesame seeds in food processor.
Add 2/3 cup white granulated sugar.
Melt butter in microwave, add to mixture.
Set aside for tang yuan wrapping!

Tang Yuan Dough

- 16 oz glutinous rice flour
- 1.75 to 2 cups cold water

Mix together rice flour and water, adjusting water accordingly to get a soft, pliable dough.
Make small rounds, fill with black sesame paste, pinch shut, and spheridize between hands.
Dab dough with water as needed.
To eat, boil for several minutes in hot water, or until tang yuan float in the pot.

A couple tang yuan after wrapping.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

2010-12-14T19:16:00.001-08:00

The buttermilk helps make the banana bread super moist and delicious. After making a dozen loaves, I'm pretty happy with the recipe.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

Makes 2 loaves.

- 4 eggs beaten
- 2/3 cup buttemilk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 6 banana mashed (use the blackest bananas you can find, it's ok if they've liquified)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (I prefer my banana bread less sweet)
- 3.5 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips
- quick oats for topping (though old-fashioned look better)
- flax seed for topping
- sunflower seeds for topping
- cinnamon
- granulated sugar

Mix together eggs, buttemilk, oil, bananas.
Add brown sugar.
Sift, then mix together in separate bowl, flour, baking soda, salt.
Add flour mixture in thirds to bananas. Do NOT overmix, or resulting bread will be too dry.
Add chocolate chips last.
Grease loaf-pans.
Mix together cinnamon and sugar.
Fill two loaf-pans halfway.
Sprinkle tops of batter with oats, cinnamon-sugar mixture, and/or flax/sunflower seeds.
Bake at 325 degrees F for about 70-80 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let loaves sit in pan for ~ 5-10 minutes before attempting to remove.
Remove and let cool overnight on wire rack.
Enjoy!

The oats add a nice "rustic" look to the banana bread.

They were quite tasty if I say so myself.

Duo of Fall Soups

2010-10-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

I made a duo of soups, one roasted parsnip white chocolate and the other an apple carrot ginger soup.

For the apple carrot ginger soup, I wanted to make a thick, heartier soup. So instead of straining the pureed soup, I instead first coarsely pureed the apple carrot ginger mixture, then I used an immersion blender to get a silky smooth texture.

The roasted parsnip white chocolate soup had too much white chocolate in it, and ended up tasting like a dessert soup. It was strange, since I tasted it the night before, and I thought the amount of white chocolate was perfect. Something happened overnight.

Apple Carrot Ginger Soup

- 1 apple, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup diced fresh ginger
- 3-4 lbs coarsely chopped carrots
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 quart chicken broth
- evaporated milk for thinning

Sautee onion and ginger, until onion is translucent.
Add chicken broth.
Add carrots, and bring mixture to boil, then reduce slightly.
Add to food processor, and blend.
Thin with evaporated milk.
Use immersion blender to further liquify.

Roasted Parsnip Soup

- Roasted parsnips
- White chocolate
- Vanilla bean
- 1 onion
- chicken broth

Wasn't really happy with the parsnip soup, so not listed out the recipe until I fix it.

Served with some crostinis.

Many plates!

Olive Oil Poached Arctic Char with Squash/Parsnip "noodles"

2010-10-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

I love this poaching method; it's incredibly easy, and the fish does not absorb the oil. Moreover, the oil helps keep the fish nice and moist.

Olive Oil Poached Arctic Char

- Arctic char fillet, with pin bones removed
- salt/pepper
- olive oil
- 2 lemons (sliced)
- cilantro (leaves only)

Cut fillet into portions, salt and pepper. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Slice one lemon, and layer on bottom of oven safe pan.
Place fillet portions on top of lemon slices.
Cover with coarsely chopped cilantro, remaining sliced lemon.
Cover with olive oil.
Bake in oven at 250 degrees F for at least 1 hour, or until fish meat is tender.
Remove, and serve with accompaniments.

Squash/Parsnip "Noodles"

- 2-3 squash
- 2 parnips (peeled)

Using a channel knife, cut "noodles" from squash (with skin on) and parsnips (peeled).
Blanch for 1 minute in boiling water, then remove and rinse under cold water.
Quickly sautee for 30 seconds over high heat.
Serve with arctic char from above.

Brown Butter

- 1-2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Heat butter until milk solids brown.
Strain using cheesecloth.
Drizzle over fish.

Ensemble product served with some previously made pea puree, and a medley of tomatoes .

Beet Macarons and Avocado Lime Gelato

2010-10-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

Just combined some components I've made previously. For the beet macaron, I added a few drops of the beet coulis from below, and 4 drops of red food coloring. Originally planned to serve the macaron with a parsnip buttercream, but didn't have time to make the buttercream.

Beet Coulis/"Paint"

- 1 small beet
- water
- 1 small tangerine

Peel beet.
Cook until softened in water.
Puree beet mixture; add water from beet pot as needed to change consistency.
Scrape beet mixture through tamis or strainer.
Re-heat strained beet coulis, add juice from 1 small tangerine.
Reduce, and store for future use.

Served with a few pomegranate seeds for added tartness. I'm having a persistent problem with forming macarons which have rough caps. I think it's a folding problem; probably need to subdivide my almond meal/sugar mixture into more portions and fold better in between.

Avocado-Lime Gelato Part II

2010-10-27T19:41:00.001-07:00

Playing around with my recipe.

- 1.5 ripe avocados
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 12 oz light sour cream
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- juice from 3 limes
- pinch of salt
- 2 oz silken tofu (optional)
- green food coloring (optional)

Add all ingredients together, blend.
I didn't add the tofu this time, because the consistency seemed pretty thick. I also didn't add the green food coloring, because the color was already a pretty light green.

Green Onion Scones with Smoked Salmon

2010-10-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Made these miniature scones to go with some smoked salmon I had on hand. Makes about 20 x 1/2" thick scones.

Green Onion Scones
- 3/4 cup AP flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- dash of salt
- green parts from 3-4 green onion stalks, diced
- 3 Tbsp chilled butter, chopped
- 1 large egg, beaten
- a few teaspoons of cold cream

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt.
Then add in green onions.
Add in butter, and mix until it has a coarse crumb mixture.
Stir in beaten egg.
Add cold cream as needed so that dough comes together.
Using a 1"-1.5" diameter round cutter, stamp out scones.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 9-10 minutes.
Let cool on wire rack.
Cut off tops of scones.
Dab with sour cream, add rolled smoked salmon, garnish with chive sprigs, and sprinkle with black pepper.

Here I am punching out scone rounds; admittedly, I should've made the scones thicker and larger in diameter.

The plating was a bit sloppy, but I finished early in the morning and was rather tired. Neighboring row has cocoa dusted fig meringues.

Lime and Lavender Tea Cakes

2010-10-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

I made two variations; one with peach slices fanned on the top surface and dusted with confectioner's sugar, the other one with poppy/sesame seeds.

Makes at least 48 small tarts.

- 2 sticks unsalted butter (I used one tub of Land O'Lakes Butter with Olive Oil spread)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- zest from 2 limes
- 1.5-2 Tbsp edible lavender
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1.5 cups AP flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup milk (I omitted the milk, and thought the texture was fine)

Cream butter and sugar together.
Add eggs one at a time.
Then add zest, lavender.
Next add vanilla and almond extracts.
Sift together both flours, baking soda.
Add flours mixture to rest of ingredients.
Add milk last.
Pour about halfway into mini-tart containers, bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes.
Let cool on wire rack.

They were pretty tasty.

Chinese chive boxes

2010-10-15T21:45:00.001-07:00

Making an old family favorite, chive boxes!

Chive boxes

- chives
- eggs
- rice vermicelli
- warm water dough

Make warm water dough by mixing boiling water, whole wheat flour, and unbleached flour together.
Let dough rest a few hours under cover of a lid or foil.
Finely dice chives.
Scramble eggs, cut into small pieces with knife.
Cook rice vermicelli, dice into small pieces.
Mix together diced chives, eggs, vermicelli.
Make chive boxes with dough.
Lightly pan fry.
Enjoy!

The light pan fry gives the dough a slightly sweet taste. Delicious!

Macaron Experiments

2010-10-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

I stole this from Tartlette (internet's premiere macaron blogger). Using a digital scale is critical; I previously tried using volumetric measurements, and was wholly unsuccessful.

A few thoughts on the recipe; baking on a silpat seemed to require a longer baking time, and macarons came out slightly soggy.

The oven temperature of 280 degrees F didn't work too well for me; 300 degrees F seemed to work better.

Others suggested aging the egg whites at room temperature for 24-48 hours. The aging process decreases egg white viscosity, and helps them whip better.

Some helpful macaron websites I referenced during my experimentation:

http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/04/macarons-101-french-meringue.html

http://joepastry.com/index.php?cat=171

http://www.mytartelette.com/2009/08/recipe-coffee-chicory-macarons.html

And this website has an excellent step by step tutorial on making Italian meringue (cooked) macarons:

http://dessertfirst.typepad.com/

For macaron shells;

- 90 gr egg whites (about 2.5 large eggs)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 30 gr granulated sugar
- 200 gr confectioner's sugar
- 110 gr ground almonds
- 1 tsp espresso powder

Age egg whites for 48 hours at room temperature; let sit in bowl and cover with plastic film.
Add cream of tartar to egg whites.
Using whisk attachment, beat egg whites until soft peaks on highest speed.
Add in granulated sugar slowly, and beat until glossy meringue is formed and peaks are stiff (formation of "bird's beak").
Mix together confectioner's sugar, ground almonds, and espresso powder in separate bowl.
Add almond mixture to meringue. Stir in, don't be afraid to mix, scraping the sides.
Fold in with spatula; should take no more than 50 folds altogether according to Tartlette.
Pipe small rounds, ~ 1.5" in diameter, either on a parchment paper cum baking sheet, or silpat. I prefer parchment paper on baking sheet. Use just a piping bag and coupler.
After folding, mixture should appear smooth and shiny.
Let rest 45min - 1 hr before baking in order to form a skin.
Bake in preheated oven @ 300 degrees F on lower middle rack for ~16 minutes.
Let macarons cool 1/2 hour on wire rack before removing from parchment paper.
If you have trouble removing the macarons, remove parchment paper with macarons formed thereon, take a spray bottle and spray the cookie sheet with water, then replace parchment paper. Water will slightly steam, making macarons easy to remove.
Store in air-tight container.

For coffee paint;

- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 1 Tbsp hot water

For the buttercream:

- 1 Tbsp water
- 1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Black sesame macarons; feet slightly decreased in size since removing from oven.

3rd batch of espresso flavored macarons slightly improved over the 2nd batch; chiefly, they aren't as flat. I believe I addressed the flatness issue by piping smaller diameter, thicker rounds, as well as baking for a longer period of time (16 min. vs 13 min.).

I think they were quite successful! I tried the unfilled shells and thought they were ok, but somehow the composite of shells + nutella buttercream was perfect. The shells had a nicely crisp exterior and slightly gooey interior, and the nutella buttercream was a nice filling. I used a fake buttercream comprising some butter, cream cheese, and nutella.

Avocado Lime/Lemon Gelato

2010-10-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Modified from David Lebovitz's recipe in "The Perfect Scoop". I did away with the heavy cream and replaced it with evaporated milk and silken tofu; next time I might use regular milk or even almond milk instead. The silken tofu thickens the gelato base wonderfully, without any aftertaste, and gives the same texture (without the calories) that heavy cream would normally add.

Also used two less avocados; wanted just a hit of avocado.

- 1 Hass avocado
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk/milk/almond milk
- ~ 4-5 oz silken tofu
- juice from 1 lime or lemon
- pinch of salt

Blend together until smooth.
Add to gelato maker.
Enjoy!

Picture doesn't show it, but color-wise, it came out quite green!

Jewish Apple Cake

2010-10-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

I just borrowed this from smittenkitchen, so see her website. I'd recommend baking for a slightly shorter amount of time, since 1 hr 15 minutes or less. Definitely check consistency around the 1 hr mark with knife/toothpick. Might go great with chantilly cream as well.

Also, in the future, I may cut sugar down to 1.5 cups, and perhaps add in some apple sauce instead.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/

Pulled Pork with Molasses Beer Sauce

2010-10-01T20:55:00.001-07:00

This is a braised pulled pork method (minus the pre-braising brining) that is first seared on the stove top, then finished in the oven. It's paired with a molasses beer sauce, both components giving a wonderfully dark flavor to the sauce.

Pulled Pork

- 2 x 3lb or 1 x 7 lbs of pork shoulder/pork butt with bone-in (don't trim fat off)
- spice rub (comprising paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon, ground mustard, ground ginger)
- 1 quart organic chicken stock
- 12 oz dark ale

Molasses-Beer Sauce

- 1 cup molasses
- 12 oz dark ale (anything but light beer)
- 2 cups roasting jus from pork above
- hoisin sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- ketchup
- sweet chili sauce (Rooster/siracha sauce)
- brown sugar
- mustard

Lightly score pork shoulders with knife.
Add spice rub generously to pork shoulders.
Sear on all sides (except for fatty side) for a few minutes, let rest.
Add in chicken stock and ale to searing pan.
Let reduce slightly.
Transfer pork to roasting pan, add stock+ale mixture, cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Roast at 325 degrees F for at least 3 hours, turning over once mid-way through.
Make molasses-beer sauce by adding ingredients, mixing to taste. Add in 2 cups of the wonderful roasting liquid jus. Let reduce to about 1.5 to 2 cups. Set aside to serve with pork.
Meanwhile, remove fat from pulled pork. Using 2 forks, dissect the pork into shreds. The meat at this point will very easily come off the bone.
Serve with the molasses-beer sauce.
Alternatively, serve in sandwich with pickled daikon/carrot strips.

Some leftover pulled pork in roasting pan.

Orange Maple Dark Chocolate Granola

2010-09-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Saw some granola at Whole Foods, and decided to make my own. I think that baking on a Silpat seemed to decrease the crispiness of the granola. Perhaps not letting them cool overnight would work better too, e.g. only letting them cool to room temp, then immediately putting into an airtight container.

- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups puffed rice cereal
- 1/2 cup silvered almonds
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped dates
- zest from 1 orange

- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1/4 brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger

- coarsely chopped Hachez "Cocoa d'arriba" blackberry dark chocolate bar with bits of blackberries

Mix together dry ingredients.
Zest 1 orange directly into bowl.
Stir together liquid ingredients over low heat, until dissolved.
Pour liquid into dry ingredients, contents should clump together.
Spread on Silpat, bake ~ 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Remove from Silpat, stir granola around, transfer to cookie sheet, bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until slightly crisp.
Let cool
Add coarsely chopped dark chocolate.
Enjoy with yogurt or milk.

The addition of orange zest really brightened the flavor.

Thomas Keller's Braised Boneless Short Rib with Picked Vegetables, Persillade

2010-09-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

I served the short rib with oven roasted cherry tomatoes, rice wine vinegar pickled baby whole carrots, and potatoes. Also topped with a persillade. Thomas Keller's boeuf bourguignon comprises 2 components; a red wine reduction, and the meat itself. The red wine reduction is prepared semi-independently of the meat, so as not to sully the meat with bits and pieces of dross vegetables. The actual vegetables to be served with the meat are prepared separately. The red wine reduction makes a beautiful sauce.

Momofuku Pickled Vegetables

- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- 2-3 tsp salt
- vegetable/fruit of choice

Mix all ingredients together. Make sure sugar dissolves.
Add to glass jar.
Add vegetable of choice; I used baby whole carrots with stems still attached.
Let sit for 1 week for best results.

Persillade

- 4 cloves garlic
- Parsley (leaves only)

Finely mince garlic and parsley.
Mix together, add to boneless ribs.

Potatoes

- Potatoes, quartered
- water
- Salt/pepper/bay leaf/basil

Wash and quarter potatoes (depending on size).
Add to pot of water (with salt added into water).
Also sprinkle pot with pepper, bay leaf, basil.
Bring to a boil, then let simmer 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are softened.
Serve with protein.

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

- Cherry tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt/pepper

Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
Lay on silpat; brush with olive oil, sprinkled with salt/pepper.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, or until slightly charred.
Serve with meat.

Braised Boneless Short Rib

- Boneless short ribs (why pay extra for the bones, haha?)
- 2 lbs Yellow onions (leave skin on)
- 1 leek
- 1 lb mushrooms
- 8 cloves smashed whole garlic (leave skin on)
- Turkey bacon (less fat)
- 1 bottle red wine
- cheesecloth
- parchment paper

Using turkey bacon, render out fat in 8 qt. pot.
Reserve bacon and save for other uses (see if anyone else wants it).
Salt and pepper sides of short ribs.
Sear all sides in bacon fat.
Remove.
Add diced leeks, onions (coarsely cut with skin on), garlic (smashed), carrots into pot, which now has bacon fat and short rib drippings.
Add basil, thyme, salt, pepper.
Add 1 bottle red wine.
Cook together for 45 minutes.
Create a cheesecloth nest over red wine reduction, lay short ribs on top.
Add beef stock until top of beef is covered.
Cover with parchment paper lid having circular hole cut out of center.
Put into oven at 325 degrees F, bake 2 hours.
Remove short ribs from cheesecloth nest.
Strain the braising liquid and discard used vegetables.
Reduce braising liquid by about 3/4.
Cook side vegetables separately (keeps their colors nice and bright, preserves their flavors).
Serve short ribs with braising liquid reduction, vegetables.

The reduced sauce turned out pretty well.

Chilled Corn Soup with Mint Chiffonade, Served with a Black Pepper Parmesan Crisp; Minted Pea Puree and Seared Sea Scallop

2010-09-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Adding the juice from one lime really helped to brighten the flavor of the soup. Best served chilled, with a parmesan crisp.

Chilled Corn Soup

- 5 ears of yellow corn
- Several stalks of green onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 x 15 oz. can light coconut milk
- 1 lime
- salt/pepper
- light cream

Shuck ears of corn. Microwave (which I find helps to bring out the sweetness) on high for ~ 2.333 minutes/ear. So if you have 3 ears in a pot, microwave for 7 minutes total.
Slice kernels off microwaved corn with knife.
In separate pot, add butter, and sautee diced garlic cloves and green onions.
Then add corn kernels; cook until tender.
Then add coconut milk; bring to a boil, then let simmer 5-10 minutes.
Blend in food processor, add water as needed to slightly liquefy.
Scrape through a fine mesh strainer/tamis/chinois, in order to get a silky smooth texture.
Add juice from 1 lime.
Add salt/pepper to taste.
Refrigerate; mixture will thicken. Add light cream as needed before serving to achieve desired consistency.
Serve with mint chiffonade and parmesan crisp.

Black Pepper Parmesan Crisp

- Grated parmesan-reggiano
- 1/4 Tbsp flour
- pepper

Taking several small handfuls of grated parmesan, add flour and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Go easy on the pepper; a little pepper goes a long way here.
Form flat mounds on silpat, bake at 375 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until browned.
Let cool on silpat for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Mint Pea Puree

- 1 bag frozen English peas
- Mint leaves
- Light cream
- Salt/pepper

In a pot of water, add in peas and mint leaves. Bring to a boil, then let simmer 10-15 minutes.
Blend in food processor. Add water as needed to achieve a slightly liquid consistency.
Scrape through a fine mesh strainer/tamis/chinois, in order to get a silky smooth texture.
Add salt/pepper.
Add light cream as needed.

Seared Scallop

- Ideally, purchase dry scallops from Whole Foods (which don't have the milky white liquid)
- Olive oil

Add olive oil to pan.
Salt/pepper scallops (omitting salt/pepper doesn't hurt either; I found the scallops to be perfectly tasty even without the salt/pepper).
Let oil get hot enough so that wisps of smoke emanate from the pan.
Sear scallops for 2 minutes on the first side, about 1.5 minutes on the second side. My scallops were about an inch thick; don't crowd the pan (avoid steaming), and do not move the scallops while searing.
After searing both sides, let rest a few minutes. Middle should ideally be translucent.

Assemble ensemble dish with all parts. I thought the scallop was seared very well.

This picture shows the parmesan crips a little better.

White Wine Poached Pear Frangipane Tartlette with Lemon Sour-Cream Ice Cream

2010-09-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Great flavor, and tangy richness from the sour cream.

Lemon Sour-Cream Ice Cream

- 8 oz sour cream
- 8 fl oz heavy cream
- 1 lemon
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- honey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and sugar.
Zest lemon directly into cream mixture.
In separate bowl, squeeze juice from 1 lemon. Mix to taste with honey.
Add to cream mixture.
Chill.
Add to gelato machine/ice cream maker.

Pate Sucree "Unshrinkable Tart Dough"

- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 1 stick + 1 Tbsp cold butter

1. Using a stand mixer (or food processor), mix dry ingredients together.
2. Then add in butter, cut into small chunks. Mix until it resembles coarse meal.
3. Add in egg, slightly beaten. Dough will come together.
4. Chill in refrigerator for 1/2 hour before using.
5. Place into tart pan; pierce with fork.
6. Freeze for 1 hour (this is the unshrinkable part). Don't need pie weights!
7. Cover with buttered aluminum foil, pressing against the crust. (optional)
8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Frangipane

- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 stick softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp AP Flour
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 large eggs

Mix together, adding in almond extract and eggs last.
Add into tart shell.

White Wine Poached Pears

- Pears of choice; I use miniature Forelle Pears when making tartlettes.
- White wine
- Lemon juice from 2 lemons
- Sugar/honey

Make poaching liquid by adding white wine, lemon juice, sugar/honey.
Halve the pears, remove stems and cores.
Add to poaching liquid, and cook until soft.
Remove, dry pears.
Slice, and lay on frangipane filling in tart/tartlette.

Serve with lemon sour cream ice cream! Unfortunately, I zested the limes and lemons too early for the picture, and they dried out somewhat. Otherwise, everything was quite tasty.

Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon

2010-09-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

I used this handy guide for determining the amount of time to grill.

http://howtocookasteak.com/forums/index.php?topic=9

For best results, I wrapped each piece of filet with a strip of bacon, then tied the bacon with butcher's twine. Then salt/pepper before grilling, and I grilled to a fine medium. Delicious!

I used turkey bacon, for slightly healthier results.

Silver Dollar Sourdough Pancakes

2010-09-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

Made these mini pancakes with mousse rings, and of course, my ubiquitous blueberry maple sauce.

Hoisin BBQ Chicken Thighs, Asian Slaw, Grilled Peaches, Green Onion (Scallion) Pancakes

2010-08-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hoisin Marinade

- Chicken thighs, trimmed
- Hoisin sauce
- Orange juice
- Brown sugar
- Blueberry puree
- Soy sauce
- Shaoxing rice wine
- Balsamic vinegar
- Molasses

Trim chicken thighs, removing excess fat and skin.
Mix together marinade, hoisin should be about 1 cup, cover with orange juice. Add rest of the ingredients; I had some blueberry puree leftover from my gelato making, so I added that in as well.
Cook marinade until slightly reduced.
Reserve a cup of marinade for brushing on thighs later.
Marinate thighs overnight.

Asian Spice Rub

- Salt
- Pepper
- Chinese 5-spice powder
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Cayenne powder
- Ground ginger
- Cinnamon

Mix together spices.
Remove chicken from marinade, sprinkle with spices.
Grill 5 minutes each side, at about 375-400 degrees F, or until juices run clear from the bone.
Remove from grill, transfer to another grill at a lower temp of about 200 degrees F.
Brush on marinade, grill each side for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Enjoy prodigious lip smacking!

Slightly burned, but no less delicious!

Asian Slaw

- White radish
- Carrots
- Purple cabbage
- Fresh ginger
- Peanut sauce
- Sesame oil

Finely julienne radish, carrots, cabbage.
Finely grate ginger, and add to radish mix.
Toss with peanut sauce and sesame oil.

Best served chilled.

Grilled Peaches with Mango Sherbert

- Yellow peaches
- Olive oil
- Honey
- Basil
- Rosemary
- Mango concentrate
- Light cream
- Whole milk

De-pit peaches, cut in half.
Mix together olive oil and honey, brush lightly onto both sides of peach.
Sprinkle with dried basil and rosemary.
Grill gently.
Serve with mango sherbert

I think it was a nice, light summer dessert.

Scallion Pancakes

- 1 cup unbleached AP flour
- 1 cup bleached AP flour
- 1 cup King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour
- boiling water
- green onions
- sesame oil
- salt

Make hot water dough from flour and boiling water.
Let dough rest for a few hours.
Roll out into rounds, brush with sesame oil, sprinkle with diced green onions, and salt.
Roll into a spiral, then flatten.
Pan fry.

Nothing beats a nice stack of Chinese green onion pancakes.

Jap Chae

2010-08-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Made my version of the Korean dish jap chae, basically chopped vegetables and sweet potato cellophane noodles tossed with sesame oil and soy sauce.

Jap Chae

- 1 big carrot
- 1-2 squash
- 1 red pepper
- snow peas
- sweet potato cellophane noodles
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- salt
- pepper
- sugar
- sesame seeds

Cut carrots into matchsticks- looks better than using the Microplane.
Cut squash and red peppers similarly, but try to vary the widths slightly.
Peel and wash snow peas.
Sautee carrots, squash, red peppers, snow peas on high heat until softened. Set aside.
Boil sweet potato noodles in hot water about 10 minutes, or until softened.
Rinse under cold water; use kitchen shears to cut noodles apart into smaller sections.
Add sesame oil to new pan, and cook sweet potato noodles.
Add 1-2 Tbsp of sesame oil to cooked noodles to prevent sticking.
Also add in soy sauce, sugar, mix to taste.
Re-add cooked vegetables.
Salt/pepper to taste.
Serve with sesame seeds, toasted or un-toasted.
Tastes great chilled!

Used untoasted sesame seeds.

Pan Fried Jiao Zi

2010-08-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

Jiao zi made with 2:1 ratio of (AP Flour: King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour). My dough has a higher moisture content than those of store-bought wrappers, so it's not possible to make true guo tie (they stick to the pan). Instead, boil the jiao zi on the first day, then pan fry the day-olds on the second day. Works perfectly.

Dipping Sauce

- minced garlic, ginger, green onions
- brown sugar
- salt
- pepper
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- oyster sauce
- apple cider vinegar
- rice wine vinegar

Mix to taste.

Jiao Zi Filling

- Ground turkey/ground pork
- Shredded white radish/daikon
- Minced mushrooms
- Green onions

Borrowed a flat bottomed spoon from a friend for the perfect sauce plating! Julienned some fresh ginger for the middle of the plate.

View from a different angle

Pan roasted leek canapes

2010-08-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

Had some extra puff pastry, so I made some canapes. Easiest thing to make for a party, and they look lovely and taste delicious.

Pan roasted leek canapes

- Puff pastry, cut into rectangles.
- Leeks, sliced
- Feta cheese
- Tomato sauce (store bought or homemade)

Cut puff pastry into rectangles. Prick centers with a fork, creating a smaller rectangle of fork pricks on the interior.
Sautee leeks in pan. Don't add salt, because the feta is sufficiently salty.
Brush each puff pastry rectangle with a bit of tomato sauce, then add leeks and feta. Add basil and thyme as needed.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes, or until puff pastry is browned on edges.

These were delicious!

Dulce de Leche Gelato and Caramel Banana Bread "Brioche"

2010-07-27T18:11:00.001-07:00

I saw this recipe on making your own dulce de leche- it's like magic! You start out with a can of sweetened condensed milk, and voila, after 3 hours, it's can of heavenly dulce de leche.

So, Dulce de leche = milk caramel. The slow simmering of sugar and milk causes caramelization, evaporation of excess water, and the Maillard reaction. What this all means is one delicious can of goodness. I made my dulce de leche the old fashioned way, by cooking it in the can directly. To lessen the chance of an explosion, I used my can opener to puncture 2 small holes in the can.

Make-your-own-Dulce de Leche

- 1 x 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (larger sized can may require longer cooking time)
- 1 pot of hot water

Using a can opener, make 2 small holes in the top of the can. No need to pull the lid back.
Place in pot of simmering water on medium, maintain water level at 3/4 height of can. Check periodically to refill water as needed.
Simmer for 3 hours.
Open can, marvel in amazement at deliciousness, and lick fingers. Don't burn your tongue.

Dulce de Leche Gelato

- 1 x can of Dulce de leche from above (reserve small amount for creating ribbons)
- 2 cups whole milk (reserve small amount for dissolving corn starch)
- 1/2 cup cream
- vanilla bean from 1 pod
- 1.5 Tbsp corn starch

Add milk, cream and vanilla bean together.
Bring to a boil.
Dissolve corn starch in reserve amount of milk, and add to milk mixture.
Remove from heat, whisk in dulce de leche. Reserve some of the dulce de leche for creating "ribbons" in the gelato.
Chill overnight in refrigerator.
Add into gelato machine in the morning.
Add reserved dulce de leche while making gelato to create ribbons therein.

Banana Bread "Brioche"

This isn't really a brioche; rather, it's a standard banana bread recipe, but baked in brioche tins. I liked the shape and size of the brioche tins, and thought a hearty banana bread would go well with caramel flavors.

Recipe adapted from "Aunt Holly's" Banana Bread on Epicurious:

- 7-8 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tsp baking soda

Mash bananas.
Add remaining ingredients.
Bake in brioche tins and/or loaf pans.
Serve banana bread "brioche" with quenelle of dulce de leche gelato, and drizzle ensemble with caramel.
Add toasted walnuts.

Not my best plating, the quenelle of gelato looks like a fat slug, haha.

Blueberry and Vanilla Gelato with Chocolate Tuile Two Ways

2010-07-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

Gelato turned out superb in my Delonghi GM6000 Gelato machine; as good as, if not better than Ciao Bella. This gelato used heavy cream and whole milk; expect future variations to be on the healthier side.

Blueberry Gelato

- ~ 2 pints blueberries
- orange juice
This makes about 2 cups of blueberry reduction

- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch
- dash of salt
- 1.5 cups of above blueberry reduction

First, wash blueberries, and add to pan. Add orange juice until tops of blueberries are covered. Add in sugar, and cook until blueberries are opened and softened, and liquid is reduced by about 1/3 to 1/2.
Puree in food processor, strain. Should produce about 2 cups of blueberry reduction, depending on how much orange juice was added.
Next, add the heavy cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch (dissolve cornstarch in a little bit of milk before adding in) and a dash of salt.
Bring to a light boil, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat, and add in blueberry reduction.
Let chill overnight in refrigerator.
Mix in gelato machine, ~ 30-40 minutes.

Vanilla Custard Gelato

- 2 1/4 cups whole milk
- 2/3 cups heavy cream
- dash of salt
- 1-2 vanilla beans split lengthwise, seeds scooped out and added in
- 6 egg yolks (save egg whites for tuiles!)
- 3/4 cup sugar

In a saucepan, heat milk, cream, salt, vanilla beans together until bubbles form on the surface. Remove from heat, but keep hot.
Whisk together yolks and sugar.
Gradually add the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly, tempering the yolks.
Return to saucepan, and continue heating on low-medium heat.
Heat until egg mixture thickens, coating the back of a spoon.
Remove immediately, let cool in ice water bath.
Refrigerate overnight.
Add to gelato machine.

Chocolate Tuiles

- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- pinch salt
- 3-4 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 egg whites (use leftover whites from the vanilla bean custard gelato recipe above)
- 2.5 Tbsp melted butter

Add flour, sugar, salt, cocoa powder to bowl.
Add egg whites, then melted butter, and whisk together.
Let rest for 30 minutes before using.
Cut stencils.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes, or until edges are golden and centers are beginning to color.
Remove from oven.
Let cool slightly, then drape around cylinder of choice (wine bottles, rolling pins, etc..)
If cookies cool/harden too much to prevent forming, heat in microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften.
Pour excess tuile batter into pan, and bake like a cake. Stamp out mini-rounds.

Blueberry gelato sitting on a bed of french vanilla bean gelato base, spiked with a chocolate tuile.
Served with a blueberry syrup reduction, and mini chocolate tuile cake rounds at the end of the plate.

Also liked this second picture, which shows all the elements of the dessert more distinctly. Actually, it's almost like a deconstructed ice cream cake, due to the chocolate tuile cake portion prepared the second way.

Zha Jiang Mian

2010-07-21T03:51:00.000-07:00

Trying to make an old Chinese staple/favorite here. I used ground beef, but I'd probably use ground turkey or ground pork in the future. Also, instead of sweet bean paste I used hoisin, which was slightly overpowering. In the future, I'd stick to the sweet bean paste, and perhaps also add a little heat from some chili sauce. Also, I was lazy and cooked everything in the same pot; for best results, the meat should be cooked first, then removed. Then the garlic/green onions sauteed, then the meat added back in, then the sauces mixed separately then added into the meat.

Quantities aren't listed here; mix to taste.

Zha Jiang Mian

- Ground beef
- Scallions (use more scallions + green onions for a fresher taste)
- Garlic
- Shaoxin rice wine
- Hoisin sauce or sweet bean sauce
- Fermented black bean sauce
- Pepper (skip the salt since the black bean sauce is very salty)
- Sugar
- Julienned carrots and cucumbers for garnish

Sautee green onions and minced garlic together.
Add in ground meat.
Add Shaoxin rice wine.
Add in hoisin sauce, black bean sauce, pepper, sugar. Mix to taste. Alternatively, dissolve the hoisin, black bean sauce, and other flavorings in 1/2 cup water first, add to meat, then reduce.
Serve with thicker style noodles, and top with julienned carrots and cucumbers.

Crispy Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2010-07-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

Since sweet potatoes have a high moisture/starch ratio, they will not crisp in the oven if these critical steps are not followed; ice water soaking and egg wash.

Sweet Potato Fries

- Sweet potatoes
- 2 egg whites beaten until foamy
- olive oil
- salt or sea salt
- garlic powder
- paprika
- cayenne pepper
- cinnamon
- black pepper
- ice water bath

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into thick matchsticks.
Soak in ice waterbath for at least 30 minutes (IMPORTANT).
Remove from waterbath, and carefully dry sweet potatoes.
Whisk together egg whites and 1-2 Tbsp olive oil.
Brush all the sweet potatoes with egg white wash. Don't worry if there's excess egg white wash.
Sprinkle dry spice mix over sweet potatoes.
When arranging fries on parchment paper covered baking sheet, make sure NOT to crowd the fries, otherwise they will steam and create soggy fries.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes, or until fries are slightly blackened towards the tips. Remove from oven halfway through and flip fries over.

They were quite tasty.

Brioche Hamburger Buns

2010-07-04T18:58:00.001-07:00

Decided to make my own hamburger buns; had a problem with the buns cracking along the top, but otherwise, it was quite successful. I think the texture was pretty good, actually.

Makes about 7-8 buns.

Brioche Hamburger Buns

- 3/4 cup milk (needs to be slightly warmer, 120-130 degrees F for quick yeast)
- 1 packet quick yeast (didn't have time that day for active dry)
- salt
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1.5 sticks melted butter
- 3 cups unbleached AP flour
- 1 cup bleached AP flour
- 2-3 additional Tbsp flour
- egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 Tbsp water)
- poppy and sesame seeds

Mix dry ingredients together (quick years, flours, sugar, salt).
Add butter; other recipes suggested using softened, not melted butter, and mixing with the flour to achieve a crumbly consistency.
Add butter, eggs, warm milk.
Add additional 2-3 Tbsp flour as needed, but no more! Dough will be very moist.
Knead with dough hook for 15 minutes. When done, the dough will slap the sides of the mixer container, and will look, as some have said, like a "fat, napping caterpillar".
Remove dough, cover with plastic wrap, let it sit for the first rise.
Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight (makes it easier to work with).
Remove from refrigerator, shape into balls, then flatten with palm of hand.
Paint once with egg wash, sprinkle sesame and poppy seeds on top, then paint with egg wash again.
Let sit on baking sheet covered with parchment paper for about 1 hr+.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove, and place on cooling rack.
Enjoy with favorite hamburger!

Shaped brioche buns undergoing their 2nd rise.

Fresh out of the oven.

Served with a burger!

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake, 2.0

2010-06-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

Here's my 2nd stab at an old recipe. I used Organic Valley Cream Cheese instead of Philadelphia, and I found that the OVCC tended not to mix as well as the Philadelphia, leaving small chunks of cream cheese interspersed in the batter. The OVCC seemed to have a firmer texture as well. This proved deleterious, as the final product also had these specks of cream cheese floating around. Next time, heat the cream cheese bain marie?

I like to add sour cream to my cheesecake, because I find that it helps to produce a lighter, but still velvety smooth and rich texture.

It's called a Triple Chocolate Cheesecake because of the chocolate crust, chocolate cheesecake filling, and chocolate ganache topping.

Chocolate Crust

- chocolate animal crackers
- butter

Use food processor to finely grind animal crackers.
Mix with melted butter.
Bake in bottom of pan; ~ 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly dried and set.

Chocolate Cheesecake Filling

Note, these quantities are adapted for my smaller 8" diameter springform pan.

- 1.5 bricks cream cheese at room temperature
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/8 (or more) cup instant espresso powder
- liberal application of Kahlua
- 3 x bars of Scharffen Berger 70% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate

Melt chocolate in water bath/double boiler on range.
Simultaneously, mix together cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar.
Add cocoa powder, espresso powder, Kahlua.
Add melted chocolate.
Add eggs one at a time.
Bake bain marie, about 1 hour at 350 degrees, or until slightly set.
Let cool to room temperature overnight! This is important; if you refrigerate it without letting it cool to RT, the thermal stresses will induce cracking.
Refrigerate for 2+ days.

Chocolate Ganache

- 3-4 oz finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
- 1 cup cream (I use evaporated milk)

Place chocolate in pan.
Heat cream in separate pan, or until steam starts to rise.
Add heated cream to chocolate, let sit for ~ 2 minutes.
Stir mixture together.
Let cool slightly, then pour over cheesecake.

Blueberry Coulis

- blueberries
- 1-2 cups orange juice
- a few Tbsp of sugar
- balsamic vinegar

Cook all ingredients together.
Reduce.
Blend in food processor.
Strain.

Avocado Mousse

- 1/2 fresh avocado
- lime juice
- honey
- cream/evaporated milk

Blend together avocado, lime juice, honey.
Add cream/evaporated milk slowly, and blend, repeating until desired consistency reached.

Now, assemble all the components. I used a pastry brush to "paint" the blueberry coulis onto the plate. I also added a triangular nib of Hachez 77% orange flavored dark chocolate, to mimic the larger slice of cheesecake. The Hachez adds additional floral notes, and the avocado mousse accentuates the smoothness of the cheesecake. I thought the blueberry coulis had just the right amount of tartness from the balsamic vinegar.

Final ensemble product

An old favorite

2010-06-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

Thomas Keller's Simple Roast Chicken

Great recipe, although I skipped the brining. Roasted breast side down. Seasoned with just salt and pepper.

The long cut along the breast bone was my initial attempt to remove the meat, until I burned my fingers and abandoned deboning for a few minutes.

Wonton Soup

2010-06-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Wontons are delicious with homemade chicken stock.

Wonton Soup

- 1 pot of chicken stock (I use leftover breast-bone, drumsticks, etc..)
- Squash
- Carrots
- Thin Asian noodles
- Spinach leaves (washed)
- Dried seaweed

- Wonton wrappers
- Ground pork
- Scallions

Remove meat from bones; discard bones after boiling the seasoning out of them.
Strain soup to remove flotsam.
Mix wonton filling together; ground pork, diced scallions, salt, pepper.
Wrap "nurse's cap" style. Use water to seal; remove any bubbles in wrapping.
Add carrots to boiling soup.
Then cook wontons.
Add squash and spinach last, as they cook the quickest.
Add separately cooked noodles.

"Nurse's cap" style. Put a small bit of filling in the upper half of the wrapper with a teaspoon. Then add water to upper half edges of wrapper. Fold lower half over, seal tightly, pinching with fingers. Add more water to the two lower corners of the folded wonton, and pinch together.

More wontons...

Final soup! Tada.

Watermelon Basket Carving

2010-06-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

More watermelon basket carving, now perfecting my craft. The key is 2 sharp knives; one medium Chef's knife, and a paring knife.

Watermelon Basket

- 1 x watermelon, preferably more oval shaped

Observe how the watermelon sits naturally. Cut a horizontal (or slanted if you prefer) slice from the bottom to ensure that your future basket sits flat.
Using the chef's knife, remove two lobes from the sides of the upper half of the watermelon, leaving a handle portion.
Using the paring knife, remove the flesh under the handle portion to better define the handle.
Either with a melon baller or spoon, remove the remaining flesh on the interior of the watermelon.
Cut decorative designs with paring knife (using optional stencils) into the watermelon.
Fill interior of watermelon with fruits of choice.

Parmesan Herb Roasted Potatoes

2010-06-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

A slight variation on my usual roasted potatoes. First, I boiled the potatoes before baking, in order to give them a wonderfully tender inside. That tenderness contrasted well with the crust that developed while in the oven. Second, instead of tossing the potatoes in oil, I took a pastry brush and swabbed each potato individually with olive oil. This ensured better coverage, and also guaranteed a crust on every piece.

Parmesan Herb Roasted Potatoes

- 1 x 5lb bag of small organic Yukon Gold Potatoes
- olive oil
- parmesan cheese
- dried spices & herbs (rosemary, thyme, garlic powder; fresh herbs work even better)
- salt
- pepper

Wash potatoes; cut each into 16 pieces.
Boil until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Drain, spread on foil covered cookie-sheet.
Using a pastry brush, "paint" all the potato pieces with olive oil.
Then cover with salt, pepper, herbs of choice, garlic powder, parmesan.
Bake at 450 degrees F for about 40-50 minutes, or until you see a formed crust.
Serve hot!

Watermelon Feta Salad

2010-06-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take advantage of the watermelon itself as a holding vessel for the feta salad. This was a nice combination of salty and sweet; perfect summer salad.

Watermelon Feta Salad

- 1 x watermelon
- Feta cheese crumbles (either regular or flavored)
- Arugula leaves
- 1 x small purple onion
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive Oil

Cut 1-2" thick whole cross-sectional slices from the watermelon.
Using a round cutter, stamp out cylinders.
Take a paring knife or melon baller, and remove flesh from a concentric inner circle of the watermelon cylinder.
Separately, dice the arugula and purple onion. Mix with feta.
Using a small teaspoon, scoop the feta mix into each watermelon "cup".
Make a balsamic vinegar and olive oil emulsion. Either with an eye-dropper or another teaspoon, drizzle a little of the emulsion onto each watermelon cup and feta mixture therein.
Enjoy!

Baked Nian Gao 2.0

2010-03-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

I found this improved recipe online at Triolus Cooks; I used about 1.5 times the amount of cake base, while keeping the same amount of red bean paste (although I substituted black bean paste instead). Keep the amount of sugar low since the bean paste is already sweetened.

Baked Nian Gao

- 16 oz. Glutinous Rice Flour
- 1 stick butter, melted or 1/2 to 3/4 cup oil
- 3 eggs
- 2.5 cups whole milk (I used evaporated milk)
- 1 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 12 oz can of sweet bean paste

First mix dry ingredients together.
Then add eggs, butter, and milk. Batter should be liquid-y.
Add about 60% of batter to greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
Remove pan from oven, spread sweet bean paste over the top surface.
Pour remaining batter on top.
Bake 40 more minutes, or until top is browned and slightly crusty.
Alternatively, just drop spoonfuls of red bean paste onto the wet batter without baking the lower section first, and bake everything together for 40-50 minutes.
Let cool, enjoy!

Feta Leek Mini-Quiches with Slow Roasted Baby Tomatoes

2010-03-20T22:14:00.000-07:00

The usual leek quiche, but with feta cheese instead. Also topped with slow roasted baby tomatoes.

Slow roasted tomatoes

- Baby tomatoes of choice
- olive oil
- minced garlic

Cut tomatoes in half.
Brush with olive oil, sprinkle halves with minced garlic.
Bake at 300 F for about 1 to 1.5 hours, or until tomatoes are slightly charred.
Top quiches with tomatoes.

Filling the quiches with sauteed leeks and feta cheese.

Topped with slow roasted tomatoes.

Lemon Curd 2.0

2010-03-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

- 8 oz lemon juice, dash of lime juice (fresh lemons/limes are even better)
- 4 large eggs
- sugar to taste
- 2 to 3 Tbsp butter

Whisk together lemon juice, lime juice, eggs, sugar over low heat. You can heat over a double boiler, but I'm lazy, and just carefully whisked over low heat directly in a pan.
Whisk constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat, add in butter, whisk to combine.
Refrigerate overnight.

For example, lemon curd in a yogurt berry parfait.

Oven Fried Chicken

2010-02-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

Had a hankering for fried chicken, but didn't want the calories of the fried coating, so I made some oven fried chicken. First, I marinated overnight with a sour cream mixture, then I coated the chicken with a Panko crumb mixture, before baking. The sour cream, ideally in combination with buttermilk, makes the chicken more tender thanks to the bacterial cultures present.

I made some tasty sandwiches with my leftover oven fried chicken; added some cheese, bacon, tomatoes, and slapped into some fresh French bread for a great lunch.

Sour Cream Marinade

- 8 oz. sour cream
- a couple spoons of dijon mustard
- salt
- garlic powder
- paprika
- pepper
- buttermilk (other milk is fine if no buttermilk available)
- fresh herbs which you might have

First grab your chicken of choice. I used pre-cut chicken breast to save some prep time, but of course you can trim your own chicken breasts, or other cut of meat such as chicken thighs/drumsticks/etc.. If using breasts, slice thinly.
Mix all above ingredients together to taste, and add a touch of buttermilk as needed to give the marinade better consistency (i.e. more liquid). Feel free to add other ingredients, e.g. freshly diced herbs, other spices. I only added what I had on hand.
Marinate overnight, letting the sour cream and buttermilk cultures tenderize the meat.

Oven-Frying

- Marinaded chicken from previous night
- flour
- 2 beaten eggs with a tsp of water
- Panko crumbs (mix with salt, pepper, cheese, etc..)

Using the marinaded chicken made previously, remove excess marinade with paper towels.
Dredge lightly in flour.
Dredge lightly in beaten egg mixture.
Roll in Panko crumbs. Other variations include mixing grated parmesan cheese and herbs into the Panko.
Place onto lightly oiled baking sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes, or until center is cooked and juices emanating from the center run clear.
Enjoy!

For service, I cut my oven fried chicken into slices, and served with a blackberry mustard sauce. Also, shredded carrots, diced cucumbers, sliced purple cabbage, and tossed them in fresh lime juice, sesame oil, and honey.

The ensemble piece.

Improved pizza dough, 2.0

2010-01-24T18:05:00.000-08:00

Using this simple pizza dough, plus leaving my pizza crust thin with a light layer of toppings proved to be a real winner. Much better than any store bought pizza. Made one pizza with lightly sauteed leeks/onions/mozzarella, and a second with more traditional American/mozzarella/pepperoni.

I didn't have any olive oil on hand, just used sesame oil, which gave the dough tremendous fragrance.

Pizza Dough

- 1.5 cups flour (I used unbleached)
- dash of salt
- 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp oil (your choice)
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water (more as needed)

Mix dry ingredients together.
Then add oil, and lukewarm water.
Mix together to form a wet dough.
Cover with plastic wrap, let sit in oiled container for 2-3 hours or until doubled in size. Alternatively, do the first rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Punch down, roll out into thin flat circle.
In the meantime, prepare your toppings.
Lightly coat pizza with toppings.
Dust sheet pan with corn meal.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 12 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned.
Enjoy!

Leek and onion pizza, with a few green peppers thrown in.

Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding with Orange-Vodka Raisins

2010-01-03T18:33:00.001-08:00

I cooked a huge pot of white rice (Comet: long grain rice, 28 oz) which completely filled my 4.5 quart pot. I was looking for a method of disposal. Aha, rice pudding of course. This is the fatty version; I'll make future healthier version with brown rice and milk/soy milk.

I also prefer my rice pudding with more rice in it, so the numbers below are approximate. I basically added in rice until I liked the consistency. Keep in mind though that the rice does absorb a bit of liquid, so don't add in too much, or else the pudding will be too dry.

Rice Pudding

- 2 cups evaporated milk
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 vanilla beans, split, beans scooped out
- 2-3 cups cooked rice
- 1/3 cup sugar
- orange juice
- vodka
- raisins
- cinnamon

Mix together the evaporated milk, whole milk, and heavy cream. Add the vanilla beans, and bring to a slight boil; then reduce heat and simmer.
Add in cooked rice.
Simmer for 30-40 minutes; stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and add in sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix together vodka and orange juice, then soak raisins for several hours, preferably overnight.
Let rice pudding sit for 2 hours in refrigerator; touch surface of pudding with aluminum foil to prevent a skin from forming.
Serve at room temperature with raisins, dash of cinnamon.

Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cakes

2010-01-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

Probably not the most healthy dessert thanks to all that butter, but they are delicious!

Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cakes

- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
- dash of salt
- vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pecans/walnuts/hazelnuts lightly toasted, ground
- 1 cup AP flour
- confectioner's sugar for rolling

Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.
Lightly toast the nuts, the grind them in a food processor. Add the nut flour, then AP flour, until well mixed.
Mold into shape of choice.
Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees F or until lightly browned.
Let cool on wire rack; roll cooled cookies in confectioner's sugar before serving.

Amish Sour Cream Corn Bread

2009-12-21T14:14:00.001-08:00

The sour cream makes the recipe very forgiving. The corn bread is very light and fluffy.

Dry ingredients

- 1.5 cups corn meal
- 2 cups flour
- dash of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp cream of tartar

Wet ingredients

- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk (I used evaporated milk)

Combine dry ingredients.
Then add wet ingredients.
Pour into greased pan.
Bake 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

2009-11-30T10:41:00.000-08:00

Kicking my cranberry sauce up a notch.

Cranberry Sauce

- 16 - 32 oz cranberries, washed
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1-2 cups filtered water (as needed)
- fresh skinned, sliced ginger
- dash of salt
- 3/4 to 1 cup sugar (as needed)
- vanilla bean, scraped from pods
- empty vanilla bean pods
- fresh cinnamon sticks
- Triple-Sec (optional)

Add all ingredients together, scraping the fresh vanilla bean from the pod.
Add the now-empty vanilla bean pods back into the mixture.
Simmer together, until liquid is reduced, and cranberries are softened.
Add in Triple-Sec (if using for sweet application).
Remove and discard ginger, vanilla bean pods, and cinnamon sticks (or dry them and add to sugar for a nice aromatic scent).
Enjoy!

I added vanilla beans from 5 pods, as well as 5 whole cinnamon sticks, although 2 and 2 is more than sufficient.

Sweet potato chocolate chip chai bread

2009-11-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

An original recipe! To save some time, I used a 40 oz. container of Bruce's cut yams. The yams are stored in a light syrup, so I drained the syrup, and removed some of the more fibrous pieces. I'd estimate I used between 20-30 oz. of yams. Save a little bit of the syrup in order to lighten the batter.

The melted butter for the crumble forms much larger crumbs than you would get if you used chilled cubed butter.

I also used a silicone mold with space for 6 mini loaves; since silicone is not a thermal conductor, I baked at 375 for the first 30 minutes, then 350 for the last 30, until a toothpick came out clean. YMMV, depends on the strength of your oven, mine is on the weak side.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Chai Bread

For the cake:

~ 1 x 40 oz. container of yams, drained (save a little syrup in order to lighten the batter)
- 1.5 cups white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1.5 cups vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 3 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp all spice
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- about 3 cups flour (more as necessary)
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Crumble topping:

- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 to 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 stick melted butter

Mix together yams, sugars, and oil.
Add in eggs, one at a time.
Add in spices, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
Add in flour last, more as needed.
Make the crumble before adding in chocolate chips. Use a whisk to stir in the melted butter to the flour/sugar base, in order to form larger crumble sizes.
Add in chocolate chips.
Pour into loaf pans, cover with crumble topping.
Bake at 375 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes, then turn down to 350 degrees F. The cake is fairly moist, so you might have to bake a bit longer. Test with toothpick for doneness, cover with aluminum foil if top starts to burn.
Let cool on wire rack, serve with dusted confectioner's sugar.

I deem this bread most tasty!

Simple Roast Chicken

2009-11-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

Adapted from Thomas Keller's Bouchon, except I omitted the extra slab of butter when serving and the pre-brining. Trussing is important, to ensure even cooking and shape retention.

Simple Roast Chicken

- 1 x vegetarian fed, free-range anti-biotic free chicken
- salt/pepper

Wash chicken, thoroughly dry exterior and interior with paper towels.
Truss with butcher's twine, let dry overnight.
Salt and pepper both sides
Bake at 450 degrees F for about 60-70 min.
Enjoy!

Raw chicken, washed, dried, and trussed.

Fresh out of the oven, the skin remains crisp for a few minutes.

Butternut Squash Dinner Rolls

2009-11-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

I used a recipe for Sweet Potato Sandwich Rolls of King Arthur Flour's website; I had to double the baking time to about 40 minutes. The butternut squash puree added a bit too much 'heaviness' to the roll, and also somewhat stifled the rise, so here's my modified recipe. I also added a bit of sugar to the recipe.

Dough

- 1/4 cup dry milk
- 1 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 cups unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Fleischmann's Rapid Rise yeast (might want to use whole packet, ~ 2.5 tsp)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar

- 1/2 cup Butternut squash puree
- 2 Tbsp soft butter
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water

First mix dry ingredients together with paddle attachment.
Then add in wet ingredients.
Mix with dough hook.
Remove and knead by hand.
Add to greased pan, cover and let sit ~ 1 hour.
Shape into spherical rolls, brush with milk, sprinkle with pumpkin and sesame seeds.
Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes.

More banana bread (but with brandy)

2009-11-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Makes one large 5" x 10" loaf, or 2 smaller 5" x 10" loaves. The smaller loaves taste better in my opinion.

Banana Bread

- 8 ripe bananas
- about 1-1.25 cups vegetable oil, more doesn't hurt
- 1.5 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3 Tbsp brandy
- 2 Tbsp all spice
- a bit of salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3 cups flour

Mix ingredients in order, with flour added last.
Add batter into greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour, or until knife comes out clean.

Awesome brown, over-ripe bananas in background.

Cinnamon Rolls 2.0

2009-11-01T10:41:00.001-08:00

As adapted from King Arthur Flour, they turned out very well. I added some salty almond slices on top of the glaze for a textural contrast.

Dough

- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1 cup milk, more as needed (lukewarm, proof yeast)
- 3 cups AP Flour
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp room temperature butter

Cinnamon Filling

- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- All spice
- 2 tsp flour
- milk, soy milk, cream, etc.. to brush on dough

Cream Cheese Icing

- 4 oz. room temperature cream cheese
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar

Mix dough together.
Let rise for 2 hours, punch down.
Roll flat, brush entire surface with milk, soymilk, cream, or whatever is on hand. This will help the cinnamon filling stick to the dough.
Add cinnamon filling.
Roll into a log shape.
Using a serrated knife, cut slices from the log.
Arrange on baking sheet, let sit overnight for 2nd cool rise.
Remove from refrigerator, let warm to room temperature, about 10-15 minutes.
Bake at 375 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let cool 10 minutes.
Brush with icing.
Sprinkle with almond slices.

A batch of chocolate chip cinnamon rolls just before going into the oven.

Apple Ginger Chutney

2009-10-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

Apple Ginger Chutney

- 4 Granny Smith Apples
- 1 onion
- 1.5 cups apple vinegar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup soaked raisins
- 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt

Brunoise the apples and onion.
Add all ingredients together, and bring to a boil.
Cook over high heat for 40 minutes, or until thickened.
Serve with dish of choice.

Caramelized Leek & Fennel Tart with Red Onion Confit, Purple Potato Vichyssoise

2009-09-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

First, caramelize the leeks and fennel.
Then, after making pate brisee dough, make tart rounds. Don't blind bake the tart rounds.
Freeze about 1/2 an hour, then add a bit of cheddar, leeks, fennel to each frozen tart shell. Next, mix together 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup evaporated milk in lieu of heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Spoon egg mixture into each tart shell.
Bake 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Make the purple potato vichyssoise; about 2 cups purple potatoes, 3 leeks, 3 cups chicken stock, salt, pepper, evaporated milk.
First sweat leeks, then add chicken stock, and purple potatoes. Boil, then turn down heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are soft.
Blend down, thin with evaporated milk. Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with chive stem.
Serve with previously made tarts, red onion confit, and micro-greens or similar substitute.

A duo of amuse bouches, to be eaten together like wine and cheese.

On the left; a caramelized fennel and leek tart with red onion confit, topped with broccoli sprouts.

On the right; a purple potato vichyssoise with chive garnish.

The vichyssoise is served in a small shot glass, both are together on a serving tray.

Pate Brisee Dough

2009-09-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Works great for quiches

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, diced
- 1/2 cup ice water
- salt/pepper

Makes enough for about 24 mini-tartlets, or 2 x 9-inch tart crusts.

Red Onion Confit

2009-09-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Adapted from Bon Appetit 1991.

- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 diced red onion
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp chicken broth
- 2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- salt/pepper

Melt butter in olive oil.
Sautee diced red onions until tender.
Add in balsamic vinegar (which adds a nice tangy touch) and chicken broth.
Reduce until mixture is a thick jam-like consistency.
Add in basil, sugar, salt/pepper to taste.
Let cool to room temperature. Serve warm or at RT.

Coconut Curry Chicken with Lemongrass Sauce

2009-09-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

Coconut Marinade

- 1 can light coconut milk
- zest from 2 limes
- juice from 2 limes
- creamy peanut butter
- apple vinegar
- sugar
- salt
- pepper
- ginger
- honey

Add ingredients to taste. Marinate trimmed chicken thighs for 4 hours; it's said not to leave the chicken marinading overnight (vinegar and other acidic components denaturing proteins), but I did, and the chicken was fine. Texture was not too soft.

Make a dry rub with the following; curry, salt, pepper, cardamom, a little cayenne pepper. Rub onto chicken about 30 minutes prior to grilling.

Lemongrass Sauce

- 3 stalks lemongrass (use the more tender part of the lemongrass)
- Use cheesecloth to make a bouquet garni of cilantro
- 2 TBsp butter
- 4 cipollini onions diced (or shallots)
- 2 pieces diced ginger
- 2 cloves diced garlic
- zest from 1 lime
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 3 cups chicken stock
- dash of curry

Melt butter in saucepan.
Add in onions, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and sweat.
Then add in coconut milk, chicken stock, lime zest, dash of curry, cilantro bouquet garni.
Bring to a boil, then let simmer ~ 20 minutes.
Remove bouquet garni.
Blend with immersion blender.
Strain through chinoise.
Put back onto stove top, cook off excess liquid, and let thicken.
Spoon liberally over chicken.

Fennel Roasted Root Vegetables Garnished with Fennel Frond

2009-09-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

Dice the following vegetables; sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions (I used cipollinis instead of shallots), fennel, parsnips.

Toss in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Oven roast at 425 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes.

Garnish with fennel frond.

Roasted Artichoke Sauce

2009-08-20T18:38:00.001-07:00

One component of my steak dish.

Roasted Artichoke Sauce

- 2 artichokes, peeled, de-choked
- 1 small Russet potato
- cream
- salt/pepper
- olive oil

Peel and de-choke 2 artichokes.
Sprinkle with olive oil, salt/pepper. Oven roast.
Remove from oven, simmer in cream with chopped potato.
Add in alcohol of choice, e.g. nice brandy.
Puree in blender.

Pear Frangipane Tart

2009-08-19T20:40:00.001-07:00

I still haven't been able to make a truly nice 9" pear tart to date, so here's my next attempt.

Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Dough

- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 1 stick + 1 Tbsp cold butter

Using a stand mixer (or food processor), mix dry ingredients together.
Then add in butter, cut into small chunks. Mix until it resembles coarse meal.
Add in egg, slightly beaten. Dough will come together.
Chill in refrigerator for 1/2 before using.
Place into tart pan; pierce with fork.
Freeze for 1 hour (this is the unshrinkable part). Don't need pie weights!
Cover with buttered aluminum foil, pressing against the crust.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Frangipane

- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 stick softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp AP Flour
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 large eggs

Mix together, adding in almond extract and eggs last.
Add into tart shell.

Pear Poaching

- 6 ripe (but still firm) Bartlett pears
- red/white wine
- fresh lemon juice
- a little sugar

Peel pears, remove stems, de-pit. Slice in half.
Poach pears for 10-15 minutes, or soft all the way through (test with toothpick).
Save poaching liquid.

Tart Assembly

Slice poached pears and lay them carefully in a symmetrical pattern. I over-poached my pears, so I first moved the entire half-pear into the tart dish, then sliced them in the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50 minutes.
Make a glaze using the poaching liquid, instead of with apricot preserves. Add a little cornstarch to the poaching liquid, bring to a rolling boil, bring down to low, then turn off. Liquid should have thickened sufficiently into a jam like state.

With a piece eaten from it...

I'm reasonably happy with the way the tart turned out.

Mini-Lattice Top Blueberry Pies

2009-08-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Filling

- 2 pints blueberries
- flour, cornstarch, confectioner's sugar
- lemon zest, 1 tsp lemon juice

Toss blueberries in other ingredients.
Fill mini-pie shells with blueberries; should fill at least 16 mini-pies.
Cover with lattice top.
Brush with a wash of egg, heavy cream, sugar.
Bake 15-20 min. at 375 degrees F.

Posed with dish towels.

Pita Bread with Lamb Burgers, Tzatziki

2009-08-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

Pita Bread

- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 2.5 tsp yeast proofed in 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

Mix dough together, let sit overnight in fridge.
Remove from refrigerator, let sit 10 minutes at room temperature.
Roll into small pancake sizes.
Bake at 475 degrees F until browned and puffy, about 5-10 minutes. Note, the pitas will not puff up if the dough is not sufficiently moist.

Tzatziki

- 1 mini-cup plain yogurt (Greek yogurt works)
- I also used some of my left over creme fraiche
- 2 small diced garlic cloves
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 shredded cucumber (with seeds removed)
- 2 tsp diced mint

Mix together, let sit overnight.

Lamb Burgers

- 1.5 lbs ground lamb (I used a mixture of veal, pork, and beef)
- 1 diced onion
- diced parsley
- salt, pepper

Mix all ingredients together.
Shape into small patties, pan sear.
Serve with pita bread, tzatziki, fresh sliced tomatoes.

Green Tea Shortbread

2009-08-02T20:39:00.001-07:00

Use the basic shortbread recipe, but add in some high quality green tea (macha) powder into the flour.

All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cupcakes

2009-08-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

I swear by Rose Levy Berenbaum's recipes, after her recipe helped me out of my genoise mess a few months ago. Her all-occasion yellow cake is delicious, fluffy, and like its name, works for all situations, like these cupcakes for example. Be sure to follow her exact recipe and instructions.

Yellow Cake

- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 cup milk
- 2.25 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 sticks softened butter

Combine egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/4 cup milk together in separate bowl.
Mix dry ingredients (flour + sugar + baking powder + salt) in stand mixer on low for 30 sec.
Add butter and remaining 3/4 cup milk. First mix on low, then turn to medium high to aerate and develop the cake structure.
Add the egg mixture in third, beating 20 seconds after each addition. This will help strengthen the cake strcuture.
Bake in cupcake liners- only fill 1/2 way, otherwise middle will rise too quickly then subsequently collapse.
Bake about 18 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Top with your favorite buttercream.
Makes about 30 cupcakes.

Fresh out of the oven.

Final product; topped with piped lemon buttercream, candied ginger. I think the candied ginger turned out beautifully.

2.5 Layer Chocolate Espresso Buttercream Petit Fours

2009-08-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

I call these 2.5 layer cakes, the reason being that the top layer is not a full layer. I was making tuiles, and used the remaining tuile batter to make a thin flat sheet cake on my Silpat. I found that the resulting cake had a delicious fluffy consistency, and resolved to make petit fours from them. Thus, stamped out rounds from the thin cake layer, with the thin layer resulting in my top 1/2 layer.

Used swiss meringue espresso buttercream between layers, then partially covered in a bit of chocolate ganache, then topped with oven roasted almond pieces. To be served with a port wine reduction.

Here are the rounds which will form the top 1/2 layer.

Assembled version.

Mini Peach & Creme Fraiche Pies

2009-08-02T10:25:00.001-07:00

Using the homemade creme fraiche made previously, you can make these tasty, whole skin peach pies.

Pie Ingredients

- Pre-baked Keebler graham cracker mini pie shells
- Creme Fraiche
- Ginger-cardamom streusel (butter, flour, confectioner's sugar, ginger, cardamom,
salt)
- Peaches sliced (keep skin on), tossed in confectioner's sugar

Assembled by first putting down a layer of creme fraiche, then a layer of streusel, then two slices of peaches.
Top with more creme fraiche, streusel.
Bake about 350-375 degrees F for 20 min.
I cheated by using store-bought pie shells; saves a lot of time though.

Assembling the pies.

Chocolate Tuile

2009-07-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Tuile Batter

- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1/4 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
- Dash of vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites, slightly whisked
- 1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Cream butter and sugar together.
Add vanilla extract.
Mix flour and cocoa powder together, then add in thirds to butter mixture.
Add egg whites last.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 7-8 minutes; remove, mold around object of choice.
Store at room temp. in airtight container.

I found that the tuile batter actually made an excellent cake as well; the egg whites, though only slightly whisked, gave a very fluffy and light texture. Almost like a genoise; much easier prep too.

Make your own creme fraiche

2009-07-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Creme fraiche is like the ultra-luxurious version of sour cream, and also much more utilitarian. Unlike sour cream, it can be baked or cooked without separating, as well as whipped. However, it's also more expensive. The vermont farms? brand at Whole Foods is about $5 for a little 8 oz tub.

Here's how to make your own.

DIY Creme Fraiche

- 1 glass jar with lid
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 cup cultured sour cream (I used Daisy sour cream)

Combine ingredients into glass jar. Shake until well mixed.
Close the lid, and let sit out in a warm environment for 24 hours, stirring every 6-8 hours. Don't worry, the cultures in the sour cream will protect the really nasty critters from getting in; besides, the cream and sour cream are likely to be pasteurized.
After 24 hours, the creme fraiche should be have thickened. Refrigerate another 24 hours to finish the thickening.
Creme fraiche is ready to use! Lasts about 2 additional weeks in the refrigerator.

I found this link to be helpful (note: they use buttermilk instead).

http://video.about.com/gourmetfood/How-to-Make-Creme-Fraiche.htm

Alternatively, you could put sour cream in a cheesecloth (or 3 wet paper towels) to drain off the excess liquid, or possibly even just Greek yogurt instead. However, the aforementioned method should give you the richest creme fraiche.

Candied Ginger and Ginger Ale

2009-07-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Candied Ginger

- peeled, sliced ginger
- water
- sugar

Simmer ginger and ~2-4 cups water in bowl. Drain liquid, but save the ginger water for ginger ale.
Add ~2 cups sugar to ginger slices, pinch of salt, and 2-4 more cups of water.
Boil for half an hour, turn off heat, and let sit overnight.
Dry ginger slices on a rack, while again saving ginger water for ginger ale.
Toss ginger slices in sugar.
Refrigerate until use.
Remove and let dry for a few hours before using.
After sufficiently dry, roll in granulated sugar to get a thin coating.

Ginger Ale

- ~ 4 cups ginger water from making candied ginger
- honey to taste
- 5 limes
- club soda

Mix ginger water, honey, and juice from 5 limes.
Before serving, combine with club soda.
Serve in shot glasses with wedge of lime for garnish.
Or serve as a "Presbyterian" mixed drink, with 1:1 of ginger ale:alcohol of choice (scotch/bourbon/whiskey). Although I think a truly authentic Presbyterian is blended scotch-whiskey, coke, and ginger ale.
I used about 2:1 of ginger ale : Calvados apple brandy.
Add in seltzer water about 1/2 an hour before serving.

1 oz. shot glasses filled with "The Presbyterian" and a lime wedge.

Dorie Greenspan's Blueberry Streusel Cake

2009-07-19T16:09:00.001-07:00

I changed the recipe slightly- less sugar, more blueberries; added the blueberries last, on top, instead of folding them into the batter. I've folded the berries directly into the batter on prior versions, but found that they always sank to the bottom.

I also ended up using a bit more flour for my streusel, because the butter started to melt in between my warm paws.

Streusel Topping

- 3/4 stick butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup AP flour (or more, as needed)

Mix together streusel topping with fingers, add over blueberries.

Cake part

- 1.5 pints blueberries, washed, dried
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- (optional) lemon/orange zest
- 3/4 stick butter
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream or buttermilk or milk

Cream sugar and butter together. In separate container, mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt).
Add zest to sugar/butter mixture. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract.
Alternating, add 1/3 of flour mixture, then 1/2 yogurt/sour cream/buttermilk/milk, then 1/3 flour, then 1/2, then final 1/3.
Pour into cake pan.
Sprinkle blueberries over top of batter.
Cover with streusel topping.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

Herb and Cheddar Savory Scones

2009-07-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

I think my savory scones turned out better than my sweet ones; they also look better in the smaller 1.5" diameter hors d'oeuvres size.

Herb & Cheddar Scones

- 1.5 cups AP Flour
- 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
- 2-3 tsp salt
- 2-3 tsp pepper
- 1/2 stick butter
- 5 oz. shredded cheddar
- 1/8 cup minced parsley
- 1/8 cup minced basil
- 1/8 cup minced chives
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk (in lieu of heavy cream)

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper.
Cut butter into small pieces, mix into flour with hands into resembling a coarse meal.
Next add cheddar, parsley, and basil.
Add in condensed milk, about 1/3 cup, or as much as is needed for the dough to come together. Don't want the dough to be too sticky and wet.
While minimizing handling of the dough, stamp out 1.5" diameter rounds. The dough should make 15 such rounds.
Brush top of each scone with milk wash.
Sprinkle with more salt and pepper.
Top with a small apple slice or wrap with bacon for that extra savory touch.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 12 minutes.
Enjoy fresh, or the day after.

Scones about to go into the oven; they have just been brushed with a milk wash, and topped with an apple slice.

Fake clotted cream

2009-07-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Clotted cream, the quintessential accompaniment for scones, can be faked with an easier process.

Fake clotted cream

- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat together ingredients, refrigerate before spreading on scones.

Or for a slightly more authentic touch, heat 2 cups of heavy cream in a double boiler until the volume has been reduced by half, or until it develops the consistency of butter with a golden crust. Let sit a few hours, then refrigerate overnight before use.

Blueberry Girl Bait

2009-07-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Actually, it's known officially as Blueberry Boy Bait, but I've chosen to modify my title due to the different sex of the chef (moi). In 1954, a 15-year-old girl won second prize in the junior division of a Pillsbury baking contest with a moist and tender blueberry cake that was named after the effect it had on teenage boys--one bite and they were hooked. The BGB (or BBB) straddles the line between a Blueberry Buckle (streusel topping) and a Blueberry Muffin. The BG/BB is especially moist and tender due to the two sticks of butter, hehe.

B(G/B)B

- 2 sticks butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups + 1 tsp flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 - 1.5 cups blueberries

B(G/B)B Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/8 cup cinnamon
- 1/2 cup blueberries

Cream the butter and two sugars together.
Add in eggs, one at a time.
Mix together flour, baking powder, salt. Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture into the butter/sugar/eggs.
Add in half of the cup of milk.
Add in remaining flour mixture, remaining milk.
Fold in blueberries.
Bake ~ 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Remove from oven, add in 1/2 cup of blueberries on top (cake should be slightly set since it's half-baked and blueberries won't sink as much) and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Finish baking until toothpick comes out clean, or about 40-50 minutes total.
Let cool 20 minutes in pan.
Enjoy!

Sour Cream Cornbread

2009-06-10T18:20:00.001-07:00

Lifted this one from the land o' lakes website, and surprisingly, it works quite well. Very fluffy, very light. The final cornbread is also not very sweet, just the way I like it.

Sour Cream Cornbread

- 2 sticks softened butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk

- 2 cups AP flour
- 1.5 cups cornmeal
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda

First cream butter and sugar together.
Then add eggs one at a time.
Then add remainder of wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients to wet in halves, mix well.
Bake at 425 degrees F in a greased baking pan for about 23-24 minutes.
Makes 1 shallow 9 x 13" corn bread.

Lemon Bars

2009-06-06T23:05:00.001-07:00

Lemon bars, as adapted from Barefoot Contessa. The shortbread crust is delicious. The recipe features a very high flour content, and it gives the bars a bit of a crust. When baking, constantly check the status to make sure the lemon filling doesn't overbake.

I have to say that I didn't like this recipe; the high flour content resulted in the lemon bars developing a crusty top layer, that was almost cake-like. So I cut off the top layer to yield the underlying middle layer, which had the consistency of lemon curd. The top layer was just "chewy", and not really ideal, IMO.

I guess it depends on personal opinion- if you like lemon bars with a chewy top crust and a gooey middle, then this is for you. I prefer the gooey curd-like middle all the way.

**I was able to salvage the recipe; after removing the top chewy crust, and exposing the gooey lemon-curd like middle, I refrigerated it. The curd hardened slightly, so that it was still curd-ish, while also being slightly chewy. Sweetness is just right, and borders on the sour and tangy.

Sauce was a blueberry reduction with Grand Marnier.

Shortbread Crust

- 2.5 sticks butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2.5 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp salt

Lemon layer

- 9 extra large eggs at room temperature
- 1.5 cups lemon juice (Use juice from 6-8 freshly squeezed lemons)
- 1.25 cups flour
- 3 Tbsp grated lemon zest, from 4-6 lemons

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting.

Combine ingredients for crust. Add into 9x13" pan, chill. Then bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees F until lightly golden. Let crust cool to room temperature, or overnight.
Combine lemon layer ingredients. Pour over crust, and bake ~15 minutes more, or until the filling is set. Check the status constantly.
Let cool to room temperature, refrigerate overnight before cutting.
Serve with dusted confectioner's sugar.
Cut into triangles.

The confectioner's sugar gets absorbed really quickly. It was mostly gone by the time (30 seconds later) I repositioned the plate for the picture.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

2009-06-06T22:58:00.001-07:00

Makes about 4 dozen 2-Tbsp size cookies. I wasn't able to add in the orange zest, but I'm sure it would complement the chocolate well.

- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp all-spice
- 2 cups quick oats
- 4 cups chopped, toasted walnuts
- 24 oz. chocolate chips
- 4 tsp grated orange zest

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add both sugars, vanilla, mix some more.
Add in eggs, one at a time.
Sift together flour, baking soda, all-spice. Add in half of flour mixture into butter, mix well. Then add the remaining half of flour.
Next, add in oats, walnuts, zest, chocolate chips.
Remove dough, form into 2 Tbsp-size spheres on Silpat or parchment lined pan. Refrigerate for half an hour, to enable them to remain nice and thick during the baking.
Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Let cool on wire rack.

They turned out very well. Better than my other cookie recipes.

White Chocolate Whiskey Espresso Blondies

2009-06-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Blondies

- 16 Tbsp butter (2 sticks) very softened
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups + 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1/2 whiskey
- espresso powder

Mix together butter, brown sugar. Add in egg, vanilla.
Then add salt, flour, chocolate chips, whiskey, and espresso powder.
Bake 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.
Cool on rack before cutting.

I omitted baking powder, which tends to make the blondies more cake-like. They aren't supposed to be like brownies, they're supposed to be more like cookies or bars. However, if you prefer, you may add baking powder.

I'd probably make them slightly thicker next time.

Sangria

2009-05-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

Perfect drink on a hot summer's day. Makes enough for 6-8. I like mine a little frizzy, so I included club soda/ginger ale.

Sangria

- 1.5L White Zinfandel
- 1 orange, cut into slices
- 2 peaches, cut into slices
- 1 cup raspberries
- 8 oz. club soda or ginger ale

Add first 4 ingredients together.
Let sit overnight in refrigerator.
Add club soda/ginger ale before serving.

Ready for consumption.

Watermelon Basket Carving

2009-05-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

It would have been terribly pedestrian if I brought a regular fruit salad to a picnic, no? Well, why not make a watermelon basket instead.

Here are my step by step pictures. It really helps if you have a small paring knife and a flexible boning knife. Also, a melon baller would be ideal; not having one, I used my measuring teaspoons, which are fortunately hemispherical. Additionally, if you have a channel knife, you can engrave more ornate designs into the sides and handle.

First, pick a medium sized melon. Then cut a small flat slice from the bottom of the watermelon so that it can sit upright without tipping over. Then, cut off two quarters from the upper portion of the melon, while leaving the handle.

Now, remove the meat from underneath the handle.

Next, scoop out all the flesh from the interior of the watermelon, reserving it for later.

Cut whatever patterns you want into the rim of the "basket". I chose to make easier V-shaped cuts. Alternatively, you could cut around a stencil with more ornate designs.

Lastly, I thinned the handle and cut block patterns from the skin. Remember, resist the urge to pick up your basket from the handle!

Refrigerate until further use (but no more than a few hours); mix fruits in another bowl, and refill watermelon basket. Unfortunately, due to logistical reasons, I had to make the basket in advance. It was frozen in my refrigerator, and upon presentation, didn't look as good as when it was fresh. Oh well.

Honey Oatmeal Whole Wheat Bread + Sunflower Seeds

2009-05-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Honey Oatmeal Whole Wheat Bread + Sunflower Seeds

- 1 1/8 cups lukewarm water
- 2 1/4 cups quick oats
- 1.5 Tbsp ~ 1.5 packets Active Dry Yeast
- 4 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 stick softened butter
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 3.5 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 Tbsp regular oats

Add quick oats to lukewarm water, let soften.
Dissolve yeast in a couple tbsp of lukewarm water.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the oats. I used about 1.5 cups White Whole wheat flour and 2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose flour.
Knead in stand mixer; sprinkle sunflower seeds into dough while mixing.
Place dough in lightly greased bowl, let stand 2 hours.
Gently deflate dough, divide into 2-3 loaves.
Do the second rise in the refrigerator overnight.
Brush top with milk, sprinkle with regular oats.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes; loosely tent with aluminum foil for 10 more minutes.
Cool on wire rack.

Fresh from the oven, cooling on my wire rack.

The recipe will yield 3 small boules.

Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Starter, Sourdough Pancakes

2009-05-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

The sourdough pancakes which you make using the unfed starter are delicious and heavenly. They're so light, and have fantastic flavor. You can eat a whole stack of them (which I did) without feeling bloated.

For best "sour" results, try to retard the fermentation. The best way to do this is to make a good starter by leaving it outside for 3+ days, and by having a nice slow cool rise in the refrigerator.

The bread turned out very well; a slight mild sour tang with a light texture and superb crust.

Sourdough Starter

- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 2 cups Unbleached AP Flour

Mix together water, sugar, and yeast.
Stir in flour gradually, cover with a dishtowel.
Leave out on the counter-top for 3-4 days. Yes, you read that right. Don't worry though, the yeast is very hardy, and we want to incorporate wild yeast cultures into the starter to give the dough its special flavor. It will be a tasty science experiment!
After 3 days, refrigerate.
12 hours before starting the recipe, "feed" your starter. Ideally, you should feed your yeasts once a week, but once a month is fine too.
Remove 1 cup of starter (reserve for pancakes), and add in 1/2 cup lukewarm water + 1 cup flour.
Leave now-fed starter back in refrigerator until you need to use it.

Sourdough Pancakes

- 1 cup starter (overnight starter works fine as well)
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp water

Mix together egg, sugar, salt, and oil.
Fold egg mixture into starter. I was lazy and didn't bother to fold it, and the pancakes still turned out great.
Add dissolved baking soda to mixture. Pancake batter will foam up, as the baking soda reacts with the acid in the starter.
Pancake away- the batter will look slightly liquidy, but it's fine.

Sourdough Bread

- 2 cups FED sourdough starter
- ~ 1 cup lukewarm water (more, if needed)
- 4 cups Unbleached AP-Flour
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2.24 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sour salt (optional)

Combine starter, water, and 3 cups of flour. Mix well.
Cover, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight, up to 12 hours.
Add remaining ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.
Divide into loaves (do this step first, don't want to risk deflating the dough later). Cut diagonal slashes into top of loaf with serrated knife.
Let rise for 1 hour. Put in container, cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate 12-24 hours.
If baking cold dough right out of the refrigerator, then adjust oven 50 degrees higher during the pre-heating stage to 475 degrees F. ***Be careful, the max temp the Silpat can withstand is 482; best bake it straight on a sheet pan.
Once the bread has been in the oven for a few minutes, turn down heat to 425 degrees F, and bake 25-30 minutes.
Let cool on rack 10 minutes before cutting.
Enjoy!

Sourdough bread version 2.0; still not sour enough.

But it was still tasty enough to eat most of the bread within a few minutes of cooling it. Texture was very good.

Vanilla Biscotti

2009-05-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

Recipe from King Arthur Flour's website. Tastes about the same as my prior biscotti recipes, though the edition of butter makes it a bit richer, more cookie like.

Biscotti
- 6 Tbsp room temperature butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 liberal tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups KA Unbleached AP-Flour

Beat butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until mixture is smooth and creamy.
Beat in eggs, batter may look curdled.
Add low speed, beat in flour.
Shape dough into bottom portions of two loaf pans. Or, shape into any flat 3/4" thick flat log.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes.
Remove, let cool 10-25 minutes.
Slice at angles into biscotti shapes.
Bake at 325 degrees F for another 30 minutes. Let cool overnight on cooling rack.

Cinnamon-Raisin Whole Wheat Bagels

2009-05-09T05:40:00.001-07:00

I didn't have any bread flour on hand, so I used a mix of KA light whole wheat and unbleached AP. I made the second rise overnight in the refrigerator, to better develop the yeast flavors, and to adjust to my busy schedule.

Using a pre-ferment (aka sponge/poolish/starter) gives greater complexity of flavor. Combined with the long second rise in the refrigerator, the flavor was hearty.

The malt (or brown sugar if you have none) gives extra flavor and sweetness to the bagels. Adding malt to the water bath (supposedly) gives the bagels their shiny crust.

Some thoughts about the final product.

Texture: I think the texture turned out wonderfully, not too chewy. When the bagels were fresh from the oven, it had a crisp crust which was delicious.

Taste: A very subtle yeast aftertaste, although with cream cheese, I'd say this bagel tastes like Breugger's. The raisins were juicy and plump, although the dough needs more cinnamon.

Sponge/Starter

- 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
~ 3/4 lukewarm water
- 1 cup high gluten/bread flour

Mix together until liquidy.
Let sit about 14 hours.

Dough

- All of above starter
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tsp salt
- 3.5 cups high-gluten/bread flour
- 1 Tbsp non-diastatic malt powder or brown sugar
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup raisins, soaked in warm water, dried
- cinnamon/sugar

Mix together ingredients. Use stand mixer with dough hook to knead the dough and develop the gluten. Knead roughly 7 minutes.
Knead in raisins towards the end.
Sprinkle work surface with cinnamon/sugar; knead dough to incorporate in.
Let sit 1 to 1.5 hours, then punch down.
Shape into mini-rounds. Then poke hole through the middle, and swing around finger.
Do the second rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Remove from fridge, let warm to room temperature, about 10-15 minutes.
Prepare a water bath, add 1 Tbsp of malt powder or brown sugar to the bath.
Boil each side, ~ 1 minute.
Bake at 425 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes, flipping them over at the 15 minute mark.

Could use more cinnamon, but texture and crust were very good.

Pecan-Cinnamon Buns

2009-04-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

I thought these turned out great. Dough was light and moist, pecan quantity was sufficient, filling not too sweet. However, the cream cheese icing was cloyingly sweet; I'll cut down on the sugar next time.

The dough can be made the night before to spread out the work.

Dough

- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 1.5 cups lukewarm milk
- 1/2 melted butter (melt the butter into the milk)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ~5-6 cups flour, as needed

Filling

- 2.5 cups brown sugar
- 2 cups pecans, chopped
- 8 Tbsp all spice
- 3/4 cup melted butter

Cream-Cheese Icing

- 8 oz. room temperature cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup room temperature butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine milk and butter together; microwave for 30-45 seconds. Proof yeast in lukewarm water.
Pour into stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add sugar, eggs, salt. Add 1 cup of flour. Mix.
Add additional cups of flour one cup at a time.
Switch to the dough hook, knead until dough starts to pull away from sides of bowl. Dough consistency will be very sticky.
Add dough to lightly oiled bowl; let refrigerate overnight for a slow rise.
Remove dough in the morning, let warm up slightly, knead, then flatten to form a large rectangular jelly roll shape.
Mix filling ingredients, add to dough center.
Roll up the dough, use sharp serrated knife to cut out rounds.
Let all rounds sit in baking pan for about 45 minutes, until the volume has increased.
Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Make cream cheese icing- slather on top.

Best when eaten fresh.

Maple-Cranberry Grilled Pork Chops

2009-04-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Just a few thoughts; my thinner cuts of pork loin chops came out better than the center cut thick pork chops. It's probably because I estimated the cooking time more precisely on the thinner cuts.

First, made a dry rub of salt, pepper, all-spice, curry, and cayenne pepper.

Then, made a marinade of freshly squeezed lime juice + orange juice, cranberry jelly, pomegranate juice, salt/pepper, maple syrup, honey, Grand Marnier. After cooking both side of the pork for about 3-4 minutes on medium-high (or above 160 degrees F on the meat thermometer), turn heat to low, and brush both sides of pork with marinade. Grill a few minutes longer. I maintain the internal grill temperature (check the mounted thermometer if you have one) around the 240-260 degrees F range.

Shiny new American Outdoor Grills installed at my apartment.

Pork chops sitting on the grill.

Checking the internal meat temperature.

Ta-da!

This is one application of the pork- beautiful sandwiches. Fresh ciabatta bread, apple smoked cheddar, sun dried tomatoes, purple onions, live lettuce, blackberry honey mustard.

Lemon Curd Fondant Cake Part II

2009-04-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

Cake wasn't entirely flat, so a few ripples in the fondant. Next time, I'm just going to bake a sheet of cake, and cut cake rounds out, and make mini-fondant cakes. That way I can have more uniform cake pieces with no fondant ripples.

Here it is boxed up. I was too tired to add any coloring or fondant flowers or icing. Oh well, the inside of the cake is yellow.

The cake itself was delicious, moist, and yummy. Not a particularly big fan of fondant's taste however; other than for presentation, I'd prefer a buttecream topping.

Lemon Curd Fondant Cake Part I

2009-04-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm working off my previous genoise to make a more ambitious 3-layer cake covered with rolled fondant and fondant flowers. I'm going to retain the lemon curd and swiss meringue lemon buttercream (omit zest in buttercream however).

Instead of using a genoise base, I'm going with an easier All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake, adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum's "Cake Bible".

Yellow Butter Cake

- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla

- 3 cups flour
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt

- 12 Tbsp softened unsalted butter

Mix 6 large egg yolks, 2 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 cup milk together. Reserve the remaining 3/4 cup milk for later.
Add sugar to mixing bowl. Sift flour and baking powder, add to sugar, mix together. Add a dash of salt. Turn mixer to low to mix dry ingredients together.
Add soft butter, and mix until incorporated. Then add in remainder of the milk.
Add yolk mixture in thirds, intermittently carefully scraping the mixing bowl.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

By first adding the softened butter to the flour, the butter coats the flour, and prevents the gluten from being developed when the liquid ingredients are added. This results in a smooth, light, cake.

Turned out great, ended up baking about 40 minutes.

Edges are trimmed, ready for the simple syrup, lemon butter cream, and lemon curd.

Corn Soup

2009-04-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

The usual soup base- celery, russet potatoes, leeks, couple cloves of garlic, 1 yellow onion, vegetable stock with a bit of corn (cut from the cob). Puree, served with a mint chiffonade. Originally was going to make a mint oil, but my "oil" had a pesto-like consistency, so I ditched it and went with a chiffonade instead.

The soup may be eaten warm or cold, but I think it's best at room temperature, just slightly chilled. Enhances the sweetness of the corn.

Used these great plastic square cups.

Lemon Curd Genoise Part IV

2009-04-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

The last step of Part III was to apply the crumb coat, refrigerate for an hour or more, then apply the final thick layer of buttercream. Refrigerate overnight to let the buttercream harden, and for the flavors to meld together.

I plated my cake with more lemon curd, it was delish!

I was inspired to make this cake after trying a version from Whole Foods, which I thought was terrible. Their buttercream was completely unflavored, and tasted too much like butter. I think mine is far superior; the genoise is perfectly moist, and the buttercream has a touch of lemon juice and zest to it. Perfect! However, my cake decorating was rather sloppy, and I'll be improving that in my next iteration.

Tada, perfect for a sunny spring day.

Reader slu wanted to see pictures of the entire cake, so here they are, of the partially eaten cake.

Overhead 3/4 shot. Note, the yellow flecks in the buttercream are lemon zest.

Lemon Curd Genoise Part III

2009-04-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

The cake assembly part.

First, remove your buttercream from the refrigerator, reconstitute by letting warm to room temperature, then beating with stand mixer to regain the fluffy consistency.

Next, brush the cake faces that will be facing each other with your previously made simple syrup. This will keep the cake layers moist, while adding some sweetness to the genoise.

Then, add a thin layer of buttercream on each cake face.

Next, add a generous dollop of lemon curd in the middle, and spread around. Hmm, looks like a sunny side up egg.

Next, invert the cake layers to stack them.

Then, apply a buttercream crumb coat (like a paint primer), which will enable forming of the final thick coat of buttercream thereon. Refrigerate for an hour or more. Here is the cake with the initial layer of crumb coat before refrigeration.

Lemon Curd Genoise Part II

2009-04-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

I chose a Swiss Meringue Buttercream (a bit "healthier" than a French Buttercream) to top my cake with. Also made a vanilla simple syrup for cake glazing.

Followed Joe Pastry's instructions here: http://joepastry.web.aplus.net/index.php?cat=93

Vanilla Simple Syrup

- 2 parts water to 1 part sugar (by weight)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring water and sugar to a low boil, until sugar is completely dissolved.
Upon cooling, add in vanilla extract, or other flavorings (e.g. liqueurs).
Set aside for later use in glazing cake.

Swiss Meringue Lemon Buttercream

- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 sticks butter (they recommend 4 sticks, but 1 less stick might be slightly healthier)
- zest from 3 lemons
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice from 1/2 lemon

Heat egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar in double boiler to about 160 degrees F, to kill off any potential Salmonella. The sugar will prevent the egg whites from denaturing and cooking.
Transfer to stand mixer (with whisk attachment), beat on high to form stiff peaks.
Remove whisk attachment, add paddle attachment.
Add in butter, one slice at a time, beat on medium high.
After buttercream is finished, add in flavorings. I added lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Set aside for cake assembling.
Buttercream can be stored in an air-tight container and refrigerated; to use, let it come to room temperature, then re-beat using paddle attachment on stand mixer.

Lemon Curd Genoise Part I

2009-04-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Trying my hand at making and assembling a layer cake. For the base, I decided to go with a genoise, which is the perfect embodiment of spring. It's light, delicate, with a touch of sweetness. A French sponge cake with added fat/butter/oil (as opposed to an American angel food cake).

Most recipes call for clarified butter (heat butter to form a beurre noisette, then use a coffee filter or cheesecloth to get clarified butter), but I elected an easier alternative, almond/hazelnut oil. The effect is the same, providing the cake with moisture and a distinct flavor.

It took me three tries to make a successful genoise; the first trial was completely experimental, where I gleaned several important observations. The second trial was semi-successful, but I wasn't very happy with the recipe- too spongy. The third trial was made with Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe from her "Cake Bible", and this recipe was the most succesful. I should warn you that if you have a cholesterol problem, you should not attempt her recipe.

Genoise

- 12 yolks separated
- ~1/2 cup almond/hazelnut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 175 g sugar (~190 g sugar to 1 cup)
- 100 g flour (~120 g flour to 1 cup)
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt

**I made a few adjustments: used slightly less flour, and substituted wheat starch for cornstarch. Used about 0.5-0.66 cups flour and 3 Tbsp cornstarch.

Whisk the yolks and sugar together.
Whisk over simmering water bath for up to 3 minutes; temperature should not exceed 120 degrees F. You don't want the egg mixture to curdle, but heat just long enough until the mixture turns a pale yellow and ever-so-slightly thickens. Whisk until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat, and transfer immediately to stand mixer.
Beat on HIGH for about 5 minutes (with the paddle attachment), or until the mixture doubles-triples in volume. Add in vanilla extract, beat for 30 seconds more on high. Then switch to medium high and beat another minute. The egg foam at this stage should come off the paddle in thick ribbons.
Add several spoonfuls of the now egg foam to the almond/hazelnut oil (in a separate container), and gently fold in until well mixed.
Add the mixture of flour+salt+starch (which you mixed beforehand), but sift the flour mixture (in thirds) into the egg foam. The sifting allows the flour mixture to be more easily combined.
Working quickly without breaking the foam, fold the flour mixture into the egg foam, until there are no more flour streaks.
Add the clarified butter/oil/batter mixture to the egg foam/flour mixture. Carefully fold in.
Transfer to greased baking pan of your choice.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes. Do NOT open the oven, or the cake may collapse.
Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, remove, and cool on wire rack.

In my first two trials, I utilized a recipe which called for 6 whole eggs, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar. I found these quantities caused several errors. The cake was much too sweet, there was too much flour, and with 6 entire eggs, the volume was too large to effectively fold the flour in.

The biggest advantage to Rose's recipe is that it only uses yolks. The yolks add more substance to the cake (without sacrificing the airy spongy texture of a genoise), and are forgiving enough to let you completely fold the flour in without deflating the egg foam.

Fresh from the oven.

The next step is to assemble the cake.

Mint-Infused Green Pea Vichyssoise

2009-03-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Brown Butter Part

- 3 Tbsp butter
- mint leaves

Heat butter over low/medium, until it reaches the light brown stage.
Remove pan from heat, add mint leaves.

Green Pea Vichyssoise

- 4 Russet potatoes
- Garlic
- 1 Leek
- 16 oz frozen green peas
- Evaporated milk
- 1.5 quarts chicken stock
- Evaporated milk

Remove the mint leaves from the brown butter, reheat butter, being careful not to over-brown.
Add in chopped garlic (adds a nice kick), leeks.
Then add in potatoes, chicken stock.
Simmer until potatoes are softened.
Add in peas last, cook for 5 minutes, then turn off heat.
Puree in food processor, follow up with immersion blender.
Adjust consistency with extra stock, evaporated milk (healthier than cream).
Serve with a touch of heavy cream garnish.

The soup can be eaten warm or chilled. I think a chilled soup is perfect for a spring day.