Spring Mix with Pears and Walnuts

Monday, July 27, 2009

I decided to include this recipe because of my disappointing salad experience from a few days ago. If you are interested in that story, you can read about it here under "Disneyland Economics"

Ingredients:

Mixture of salad greens
2 red or green pears, cored and thinly sliced
1/3 cup of toasted, chopped walnuts
1/3 cup shaved Parmesiano -Reggiano (or regular parmesan)

Vinaigrette:
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tb lemon juiice
1/2 cup vegetable oil (walnut oil also works nicely)

Combine vinegar with lemon juice, then quickly whisk in oil. Set aside.
Combine salad ingredients by tossing. Drizzle with vinaigrette just before serving.


Serves 4








Buckwheat Pancakes

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I used this recipe for breakfast today because we had some buckwheat flour leftover and wanted to use it. I was cautious about how much I put in so they would not become too heavy. They came out great. Eventually I will play with the recipe some more to see how much more buckwheat flour I can use and still get good results.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs. butter


In large bowl combine dry ingredients. Whisk together remaining ingredients except butter, in a separate bowl then add to dry mixture. Whisk until just combined. Do not over mix. Heat a pan, cast iron works best. Add butter. Once butter has melted pour approximately 1/4 of batter for each pancake. Flip once top is covered in bubbles. Only flip once.

Miso Soup

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Serves 6
Ingredients:

Dashi
6 cups of water
1 5 to 6 inch piece of kombu
Approximately 2 oz. of bonito flakes
or you can buy powdered dashi.

1/4 cup white, yellow, or red miso paste
Dashi from above recipe
1 pkg. of firm tofu
Finely sliced green onions, or mushrooms (your choice), or whatever you would like to try.

Place kombu in cold water then bring to a boil on medium heat. Remove kombu and turn off heat. Sprinkle bonito flakes into liquid and let set for 2 or minutes. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain liquid. Place pot back on burner. Whisk in 1/4 cup of miso paste and heat gently. Add tofu and warm slightly. At this point, you can add green onions, chopped mushrooms, or anything you would like to experiment with. Serve immediately.




Picture FAIL

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

It is hard to believe that a cinnamon roll would photograph so badly. Trust me it tasted great! Now that's what really matters, right? I used the recipe from this site: www.epicurious.com

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze Bon Appétit | March 2008

Molly Wizenberg
Yield: Makes 18 servings
ingredients
Dough:
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
preparation
For dough:

Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

For glaze:

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Epicurious.com © Condé Nast Digital, Inc. All rights reserved

Goat Cheese Souffle


Such a bad picture for something so tasty! The recipe can be found on this site: www.epicurious.com

The only changes I made were to substitute goat cheese for the classic gruyere and omit the wine.


Goat Cheese and Parmesan Cheese Soufflé

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
ingredients
Grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (packed) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (I used goat cheese instead.)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

8 large egg whites
preparation

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Generously butter one 10-cup soufflé dish or six 1 1/4-cup soufflé dishes; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to coat. (If using 1 1/4-cup dishes, place all 6 on rimmed baking sheet.) Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Cook without browning until mixture begins to bubble, whisking constantly, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, then wine. Cook until smooth, thick and beginning to boil, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix yolks, salt and pepper in small bowl. Add yolk mixture all at once to sauce and whisk quickly to blend. Fold in 1 1/4 cups Gruyère cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (cheeses do not need to melt). Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into lukewarm soufflé base to lighten. Fold in remaining whites. Transfer soufflé mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Gruyère cheese.

Place soufflé in oven; reduce heat to 375°F. Bake soufflé until puffed, golden and gently set in center, about 40 minutes for large soufflé (or 25 minutes for small soufflés). Using oven mitts, transfer soufflé to platter and serve immediately.

Just in Case Anyone Was Wondering....


We try to use the freshest ingredients possible. That's why we roast our own coffee.

Creme Brulee

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Multicolor Beet Salad



Ingredients

3 Red beets
3 Yellow or orange beets
Olive oil
1 Tbs Italian parsley, roughly chopped

Wash and trim beets then place in a pot of boiling water. Cook until a knife blade can easily be inserted in the center of each beet. Drain. Allow to cool until skin can be easily rubbed off. This is a messy process so be sure to do this over the sink or a bowl. Rinse beets to make sure there is no residual skin on them. Slice each beet then arrange on a platter. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil then sprinkle with parsley.

Chocolate Cake

Strawberries in Sauternes



Wash, hull, and halve strawberries then marinate in Sauternes for at least two hours in the refrigerator.

Puffed Pancake











I made this for Father's Day this year. It is basically a German pancake drizzled with Nutella.

Pasta with Summer Vegetables

Here is an easy recipe for a quick dinner.

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine, or penne
2 medium zucchini, peeled and sliced
2 yellow squash, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
Salt and pepper

Cook 1 lb of your favorite shape pasta in salted boiling water according to directions. Saute zucchini and yellow squash in olive oil. Once Zucchini starts to soften add minced garlic. Remove from heat then sprinkle lemon zest over vegetables. Drain pasta then add to zucchini and garlic mixture. Stir in 1 cup of sour cream or creme fraiche. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Flowers

Quick idea for a light summer meal. Follow the directions on the box for couscous then add 1 can of garbanzo beans, a handful of black olives, cherry tomatoes, & feta. Finally drizzle with a little olive oil.

 
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