Poached to Perfection

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie Num Num.

Poaching eggs in free-boiling liquid was something that I had done in the past, but not something I enjoyed. Both Mike and I LOVE a good poached egg with the yolk running all over our plate and needing to be mopped up with a good crunchy piece of toast. Because of that, my mother-in-law gave us a wonderful poaching pan similar to this one. It is wonderful and really eliminates all of the mess you sometimes get in your pan if your eggs aren't as fresh as ideal.

But for this challenge, I went back to the pan of boiling water. Of the recipes listed by The Daring Cook, I chose to do Eggs Benedict. So breakfast for dinner it was. I looked in my fridge and saw some cilantro, avocado, asparagus and bacon. Perfect!!

I did use the Alton Brown recipe and technique for poaching, but I used the Hollandaise Sauce recipe from Tyler Florence. The eggs turned out wonderfully.

With a garnish of cilantro, dinner was served!

The dinner was delicious, enough so that it made our list of things to make for breakfast this Christmas. Mike's parents are coming out and so we decided that along with the traditional Cinnamon Rolls, we will be serving our "California" version of Eggs Benedict.

Crostatas

The 2010 November Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Simona of Briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi's Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

I have always loved a good pie! Apple, peach, cherry, pumpkin, banana cream... you name it, I will try it! So when crostatas came up as this month's Daring Baker Challenge, I was so excited to get started. As I do not yet have a tart pan, I decided to try two different free-form crostatas. I used a recipe that I found on Food Network from Ina. It became my base for both an Apple & a Peach Crostata.

The dough was a fairly basic dough. I am not sure if it is the amount of moisture in the air in Coronado, but I have found out that with most things, I have to add extra flour when I roll them out in order to get a workable consistency & not too sticky.

They both came out beautifully! I decided not to peel the apples, as usually in my pies I don't either. I like the texture they add to the dessert.

The peach was also delicious. I added a hint of rosemary to it, just to mix it up a bit. You couldn't really taste it. I think that next time I will try this again, but add a bit more.

The warm, buttery crust was amazing! Along with the sweet crumble topping... both were a big hit at the dinner party that I took them too that night.

Rosemary Parmesan Shortbread

Continuing on my list of things that I have never cooked or baked... I decided to make shortbread. We had just found an old food processor that Mike had from a long time ago & I was excited to get started. I had seen a really easy recipe on 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson. The great thing about her show is that all of her recipes are made with 5 ingredients or less. 


Now, my favorite cookie of all time are Pecan Sandies, so I was a little hesitant to try this savory & sweet cookie. But, in the end, my curiosity won over, plus we had some leftover rosemary from our little garden.   
Rosemary Parmesan Shortbread 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemaryleaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon water, if needed

Put the flour, sugar, rosemary, salt, and Parmesan into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse just until a soft dough forms; the dough should hold together when squeezed with your hands. If not, add the water and pulse until combined.

Spread a large sheet of plastic wrap on a work surface and transfer the dough onto it. Using the plastic wrap as a guide, form the dough into a loose log along 1 edge of the long side of the sheet. Roll the dough log, twisting the plastic gathered at the ends in opposite directions until the log is tight and compact, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Slice the dough log into 1/3-inch thick slices and arrange on the lined sheets, about 1-inch apart. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

Cool the shortbread on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store the shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve.

So they were a BIG success! We loved them... all buttery & sweet, but with the nice, salty bite from the Parmesan cheese. These will be added into the regular cookie rotation!

Sushi & Souffles

Last Friday night, Mike & I decided to each make something new that we hadn't ever made before. The result? A truly wonderful & fun date night in! The food was fantastic & we had fun making it together in our small little kitchen & dining room.

The Sushi came first. We made Sushi Rice per Alton Brown's recipe.

 It was perfectly sticky & tasted great just by itself.

We decided to make simple sushi for our first try. 

Our rolls consisted of ahi tuna, cucumber, avocado & toasted sesame seeds. Of course nori & sushi rice too. 

Mike did a great job rolling each one!

He even tried an inside-out roll! Fancy, fancy!

Here is our finished product. Just add soy sauce & wasabi! So yummy.

Next up... Chocolate Souffles!

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Souffles as our November 2010 Daring Cooks' Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate souffle recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsey's recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

I have never made a souffle and frankly, I was QUITE nervous about it. I know how sensitive they are and how quickly they can go terribly wrong! I was so focused that I had Mike take pictures as I went because I didn't want to stop for one moment in case the whites fell, or the yolks scrambled. I used a Chocolate Souffle recipe from the Food Network Kitchen. Since I had never made one before, I wanted to go with the most basic and well-known souffle.

I was most nervous about tempering the egg yolks, but they actually came out perfectly.

Next came the whipping of the egg whites until stiff peaks formed. I then added the chocolate that I had melted over a double broiler as well as the whipped egg yolks. I had to be very careful folding in the chocolate mixture as I didn't want the egg whites to fall.

I filled ramekins that I had previously buttered, sugared and frozen for an hour. The recipe said to fill them to the brim, then scrap off the excess.

After 18 minutes in the oven, with ABSOLUTELY NO PEEKING, I removed what I have to say was a pretty good first attempt at a souffle. I dusted the finished product with powdered sugar and we dug in! They were delicious!!! Thank you Daring Kitchen for challenging me to create something that scared me to even think about attempting.

Pumpkin Season... Let's Make Doughnuts!!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

In true fall fashion, I HAD to do Pumpkin doughnuts. If you were to take a peek into my pantry or kitchen on any given day over that last month or so, you would inevitably see something pumpkin... bread, cookies, pasta, & now doughnuts. I used the following recipe that was posted within the challenge & man-oh-man... they were delectable!

Pumpkin Doughnuts:

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 15 minutes
Chilling time - 3 hours
Cooking time - 10 minutes

Yield: About 24 doughnuts & 24 doughnut holes

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour 3.5 cup
Baking Powder 4 teaspoon
Table Salt 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon, ground 1 teaspoon
Ginger, ground ½ teaspoon
Baking Soda ½ teaspoon
Nutmeg, ground ¼ teaspoon
Cloves, ground 1/8 teaspoon
White Granulated Sugar 1 cup
Butter, Unsalted 3 Tablespoon
Egg, Large 1
Egg Yolk, Large 2
Pure Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon
Buttermilk ½ cup + 1 Tablespoon
Pumpkin 1 cup  (Canned pure pumpkin or fresh cooked and pureed pumpkin – DON’T use pumpkin pie mix!)
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

1. Powdered Sugar 2 cup
2. Whipping Cream 4Tbls

Directions:

Whisk together the first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (the mixture will be grainy and not smooth). Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin. Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hours.

Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch (12 mm to 15 mm) thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) -diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.

Using 1-inch (25 mm) diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches (40 mm). Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F (185°C to 188°C). 

Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool completely.

Glaze Directions:

1. Whisk powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons whipping cream to blend. Whisk in additional cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form medium thick glaze.
2. Can be made up to 3 hours ahead.
3. Add doughnut holes to bowl of spiced sugar and toss to coat.
4. Spread doughnuts on 1 side with powdered sugar glaze.
5. Arrange doughnuts, glazed side up, on racks. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes.

I used the powdered sugar glaze on the whole donuts, then made a chocolate ganache on the doughnut holes. Both were awesome, but I think the chocolate won out with most of my "taste-testers."

Apple Butter - Freezer Style

It seems like Fall came upon us really quickly this year. I think that part of it was the lack of true warm summer here in San Diego. I am such a sun/beach baby that it made for kind of a depressing summer, but at the same time, how can I truly complain living here in Coronado. Ok... on to cooking.


I talked with my mom the other day and she was busy in the kitchen canning away. My parents have always had an abundance of fruit (nectarines, peaches, plums) and veges (tomatos, peppers, beans) growing on their property. I remember growing up learning how to can tomato sauce, oven-roasted tomatoes, peaches, peach jam, nectarines, and a lot of other stuff. I currently don't have the room or resources to do full batches of canned goods, but a wonderful alternative is finding recipes that are "Freezer Ready" vs. canned the old-fashioned way.


I started with Apple Butter...
The September 2010 Daring Cooks' challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John's source of food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation. 


Recipe
5lbs Apples - I used Golden Delicious
1 cups water or apple cider
1/2 cup sugar
1tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp  ground cloves

  

1. Wash apples & peel them. Core them & then cut into eighths. 
2. Combine apples & 1 cup of liquid into 8-quart saucepan. Cook slowly & stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook until apples are very soft & falling apart.

3. Once apples are done, remove from heat & mash using a potato masher. 

4. Add sugar & spices into pulp. Simmer slowly over low heat, stirring frequently. 

Note: When cooking down apples, you want to leave the lid ajar or use a splatter screen. This will allow for evaporation. Another trick is to lay 2 wooden spoons across the top of the pan and balance the lid on top leaving a small gap.

5. To test for doneness, spoon a small quantity onto a small plate. When the butter mounds on the plate without liquid separating from it, it is ready for processing.

6. Pour apple butter into desired containers. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to a year. 

Apple Butter is often used as a spread on toast, but is also used as a condiment (with pork chops or in marinades) and can be used as an ingredient for quick apple bread.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

As I came out of my first trimester, I was SO excited to have the extra energy that I went a little crazy in the kitchen. I started in the morning with a double batch of fresh strawberry freezer jam, then onto pound cake with homemade whipped cream to go with it, a baked brie with the strawberry jam inside, and finally a peach crostata & an apple crostata. I know, I know, went a little crazy with the baked goods. And I wonder sometimes why I am gaining weight. HA!

Let's start with the Strawberry Freezer Jam. My grandma Matthews made the BEST Strawberry Freezer Jam. I literally looked forward to that & her homemade chocolate pudding every time we visited. There is nothing better than a piece of sourdough toast with real butter & strawberry jam... or a fresh-off-the-griddle pancake topped with jam & whipped cream. I used a simple recipe off the back of the pectin packet that I bought.
Recipe
4 cups diced strawberries
1 packet Ball pectin (I used the "No Cook" version)
1 1/2 cup sugar

The fresh strawberries at Costco were so bright & sweet. I was really excited to use them. I diced the strawberries & put them all in a bowl & used my potato masher to mash them. When you mash them, the juice is released.

It truly looks Halloween worthy!

Combine pectin & sugar in a small bowl. Slowly stir into the strawberries. Pour into your containers & let sit for 30 minutes. This will allow the pectin to dissolve into the jam before freezing.

                                      

Hope you enjoy this one. I know that I am going to!