02.27.10
Posted in Cookies & Candies, Cuisines, Dairy, Dessert, Dinner, Foodblog Events, Italian at 10:54 pm by julie
The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.
When I heard that this month’s challenge was tiramisu, I was less than enthusiastic. My family doesn’t drink coffee or care for the flavor of it in desserts, and we also don’t do alcohol, so tiramisu doesn’t have much to offer us. But I’ve never made ladyfingers, zabaglione, or homemade mascarpone before, so I took on our personal flavor preferences as an additional challenge for this recipe, and made a tiramisu with no coffee, marsala or rum extract.
My family are big tea drinkers, and we have quite a collection of loose leaf tea, so I decided that I would substitute in tea for all the other liquids in my dessert. I chose black teas because they are the strongest, and I thought they would assert themselves the best. I went with a vanilla tea for the zabaglione, and a chai tea to soak the savoiardi.
First off, I had to make the mascarpone cheese, as it needed the longest time to set up in the refrigerator. Because the tiramisu only required a small amount of mascarpone, and because my strainer is not particularly large, I cut the recipe down to 1 1/2 cups of cream. I don’t have a double boiler, so I always have to scrounge for an appropriate bowl to use as a bain marie. Here I started out with a glass batter bowl, but because of the imperfect fit, the water just kept boiling away and my cream took a good half hour to heat up. Eventually I gave up the bain marie and just put it in a small saucepan. Shortly after, the cream hit 190F and I added the lemon juice. It thickened almost immediately, and I poured it off into a strainer lined with damp paper towels.
After several hours in the fridge, it had firmed up beautifully into a round of mascarpone cheese. Very easy to make, and much cheaper than the store-bought sort; I’ll be doing this again!
The next morning, I mixed up a batch of vanilla pastry cream, flavored with vanilla and orange zest. Once cooled, it was a bit thinner than I would have liked. I think I should have heated it slightly longer, but I always worry about curdling, and it did coat the back of the spoon.
Zabaglione came next, and mine was flavored with black vanilla tea rather than marsala or coffee. I always understood that zabaglione needed to be whisked vigorously over a double boiler in order to give it a light, foamy texture, but this recipe didn’t seem to require that, as it just gets whipped together with cream, mascarpone, and pastry cream later on. My zabaglione took close to half an hour of gentle heating, this time in a silicone-bottomed metal bowl, to thicken up according to the recipe’s description. It ended up reminding me very much of caramel, both in color and texture.
While the pastry cream and zabaglione chilled in the refrigerator, I made my savoiardi, which turned out to be really easy to make. Essentially a meringue with egg yolk and a bit of flour folded in, they came together quickly and I got them piped out onto two trays, each cookie about the size and length of my own fingers. They don’t call them ladyfingers for nothing.
One of the more unusual aspects of these little cookies is the fact that you dust the unbaked cookies with powdered sugar to help them bake up with a little bit of a crunch.
My cookies came out a little on the flat side, but I was pretty pleased with them overall. My son took one look at the trays cooling on the counter and started begging to taste the cookies, so we shared one. I thought they had a good texture but were pretty bland; I can see why they are traditionally dunked in coffee or wine.
At this point everything was ready to assemble. I brewed some chai tea, unsweetened, and let it cool while I whipped some cream and folded it together with my pastry cream, mascarpone and zabaglione. I used a small casserole dish as a mould, and lined it with plastic wrap on the off-chance that I would be able to unmould the tiramisu for serving. My cream mixture was pretty soupy, though, probably because of the pastry cream, so I wasn’t optimistic about my chances of that. I lined the mould with vertical ladyfingers and then started layering cookies and cream. The recipe provided exactly the right number of savoiardi for my dish (minus the two we snacked on) and filled the dish perfectly. I did have to whip a bit of extra cream to go on top of the last layer, as I didn’t quite divvy my cream filling evenly. Out of concern for the soupy texture, I decided to freeze my tiramisu overnight.
The next day, I took my tiramisu to a lunch party at my aunt’s house. Between the drive up to Portland and the lunch itself, my dessert thawed just enough to become creamy and still hold together; we didn’t attempt to unmould it. It may not have tasted quite like a traditional tiramisu, but it was still delicious and seemed well appreciated. The savoiardi soaked up the chai flavor beautifully, and the hint of spice played well with the subtly vanilla-orange cream. One of my cousins, who isn’t big on dessert, actually went back for a second piece, so that seems like a good review to me. I thought it was delicious too, but mostly I was just relieved that it didn’t disintegrate into a big sloppy mess. (That happened later, when it completely thawed on the car ride home.)
This was an interesting challenge, and I think I successfully made not only a tiramisu, but one that avoided both coffee and alcohol. I doubt that I would make it again unless specifically requested to do so, but it was fun to try, and I will use the mascarpone and possibly the savoiardi recipes again in the future. Ladyfingers can be hard to find, so it is good to have that recipe up my sleeve. I should note that I greatly preferred this tiramisu half-frozen, which kept the ladyfingers from being unappetizingly soggy and gave the cream filling a texture akin to ice cream. Thanks so much to Aparna and Deeba for the challenge selection, and be sure to check out all the amazing tiramisu creations at the Daring Bakers Blogroll.
I am a member of the Theta Class of Daring Bakers, inducted in July 2007. Below is a list of previous challenges:
Strawberry Mirror Cake – July 2007
Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart – August 2007
Cinnamon Rolls and Sticky Buns – September 2007
Bostini Cream Pies – October 2007
Tender Potato Bread – November 2007
Traditional Buche de Noel – December 2007
Lemon Meringue Pie – January 2008
French Bread – February 2008
Perfect Party Cake – March 2008
Opéra Cake – May 2008
Danish Braid – June 2008
Filbert Gateau – July 2008
Chocolate Éclairs – August 2008
Lavash Crackers and Dip – September 2008
French Yule Log – December 2008
Tuiles – January 2009
Chocolate Valentino and Ice Cream – February 2009
Lasagne of Emilia-Romana – March 2009
Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake – April 2009
Apple Strudel – May 2009
Bakewell Tart and Homemade Jam – June 2009
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies – July 2009
Dobos Torte – August 2009
Vols-au-Vent – September 2009
Macarons – October 2009
Cannoli – November 2009
Nanaimo Bars and Homemade Graham Crackers – January 2010
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02.09.10
Posted in Cuisines, Dinner, Indian, Soups at 12:18 pm by julie
One of my goals this year is to use my pantry more creatively. Thanks to Penzey’s and my little grinder, I’m getting to be pretty well stocked up in the spice drawer, so I hope to work on my tolerance in that department by making more ethnic cuisine. Combine those with the big tub of plain yogurt that’s now always in the fridge for morning smoothies, and you get…my nemesis, Indian food.
I’m starting small. This is a simple red lentil soup scented with garam masala, which I made because Jeremy had just baked two beautiful loaves of Vienna bread that were crying out for soup. Still not sure how I got from Vienna to dal, but oh well. I used Penzey’s garam masala blend in place of the long list in the recipe, which simplified my prep. The soup is essentially just a spiced lentil puree, so I attempted to make it a bit more interesting and visually appealing with some garnishes: a mound of rice still warming in the cooker from lunch, and some dollops of yogurt seasoned with minced garlic and some smoked paprika.
The soup was surprisingly subtle and tasty with these adjustments; if I make it again, I’ll use brown rice to complete the protein and add yet more flavor. Our little guy mostly ate rice and bread; every time I gave him a piece of bread, I dragged it through the soup and yogurt first, so he ate a little of it, but he also tried his darnedest to pull the “contaminated” bits off first.
Red Lentil Soup with Garam Masala
This soup turned out less red than I was anticipating, given the vibrant color of the uncooked lentils—I’m guessing the turmeric and other spices modified the color. My lentils only got to soak for about half an hour, but they cooked up fine all the same. I added some diced carrot, and also used a higher percentage of chicken broth to use up what was left of a box. I used Penzey’s garam masala blend in place of most of the spices in the original recipe.
2 1/2 C dried red lentils (about 1 pound), picked over
2 medium onions, diced
1 C carrot, diced
2 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
6 C water
2 C chicken broth
In a bowl, soak lentils in water to cover by 2 inches for 1 hour, then drain in a fine sieve.
In a 4-quart heavy saucepan, cook onions in oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden. Stir in salt and spices and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in lentils, water and broth and simmer until lentils fall apart, about 25 minutes. (Old lentils may take longer to cook.) Let soup cool slightly.
Transfer soup to a blender in batches and purée (or use a stick blender; use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to pan, and heat soup over moderate heat, stirring, until hot; season with salt if necessary. Garnish if desired with white or brown rice, and dollops of plain yogurt (I stirred some garlic and smoked paprika into mine), or serve with bread or naan.
Source: Adapted from Epicurious.
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02.08.10
Posted in Chinese, Cuisines, Dinner, Meats, Poultry, Sides, Veggies at 10:17 pm by julie
This was a good use for boneless chicken and some basic pantry ingredients. It is a riff off of traditional Chinese red cooking, which takes its name—and its color—from gentle braising in soy sauce and brown sugar; afterwards, the braising liquid is reduced almost to a syrup that gets tossed back together with the meat. This recipe calls for red wine in place of the traditional shaoxing, which helps to underline the color. The recipe calls for thigh meat, but I used breasts because that was what I had, and it worked out fine; I also used shallot in place of the green onion. The sauce, once reduced, packs a big punch; it was a little salty for our taste due to the soy, so I think we might tone that down a touch next time. I served my chicken with rice and some mildly Asian roasted carrots.
Double Red-Cooked Chicken
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp five-spice powder
2 1/2 C dry red wine
6 large scallions—white and light green parts cut into 2-inch lengths, dark green tops finely chopped
1/2 C soy sauce
1/3 C light brown sugar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 dried red chile (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)
1 T sesame seeds
In a large bowl, toss the chicken with the five-spice powder.
In a large, nonreactive saucepan, combine the wine with the scallion pieces, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and chile and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to moderately low and add the chicken. Simmer until the chicken is just cooked, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and scallions to a plate.
Boil the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 1 cup and glossy, about 12 minutes. Return the chicken and scallions to the saucepan and stir to coat with the sauce. Transfer to a bowl. Garnish with the chopped scallion tops and sesame seeds and serve.
Source: Food and Wine.
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02.05.10
Posted in Cuisines, Dinner, Fish, French, Leftovers, Seafood at 9:48 am by julie
When we buy a salmon fillet from Costco, I can usually spread it out for about 4 meals. I cook two-thirds of it fairly simply like that above, roasted in foil packet at 500F with some caper-anchovy butter for about 15 minutes, or just until cooked through. The inevitable leftovers from these simple recipes then go into salmon salads, croquettes, and chowders, and et cetera.
But it can be pretty boring working primarily with leftover cooked salmon, so I always try to save at least a little of the fillet to try out a new technique. So here are two slightly more interesting salmon recipes, both incorporating herbes de provence as a flavoring agent. The first is seared salmon with a beurre rouge sauce. I’ve made beurre blanc before; this is essentially the same thing using red wine. I served mine with muffin cup gratins.
Salmon with Beurre Rouge
2 T minced shallots
1 tsp herbes de provence
2 C fruity, not-too-tannic red wine
2 T balsamic or red wine vinegar
1½ to 2 lb salmon fillet
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stick butter, cut into 6 or 8 pieces
Combine shallots, herbes de provence, wine and vinegar in a small saucepan and turn heat to high. Cook until it is reduced to about ¼ cup, 10 minutes or so. Strain if desired.
Meanwhile, put a nonstick skillet over medium heat; no fat is needed in pan. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper and place it, skin side up, in skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until nicely browned, about 5 minutes, then turn.
When red wine mixture has reduced, turn heat to very low. Add butter a piece at a time, stirring after each addition until it is incorporated. When all butter has been added, taste and adjust seasoning.
Use a sharp knife to peek inside thickest part of fish to judge doneness. When done to your liking, about 3 to 5 minutes after you turn, remove it to a platter or serving plates. Spoon sauce over fish, garnish if you like, and serve.
Source: Slightly adapted from Mark Bittman, NY Times.
For the other recipe, I took inspiration from having randomly watched an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in which a gentleman cooked salmon encrusted with hash browns. I’ve used a similar technique on halibut, which relied on a mayonnaise mixture and the starch from the potatoes to stick them onto the fish. This guy used what he called “salmon glue” to attach the potatoes, essentially a simple salmon mousse made with trimmings, seasonings, and cream. As I was trimming away the thin parts of my fish, I flashed back to this episode and decided at the spur of the moment to give it a shot, and it worked beautifully. I served my crusted salmon with a grainy mustard vinaigrette and a quick salad garnished with disks of fried goat cheese. The recipe is more of a method than anything, as I don’t include amounts.
Potato-Crusted Salmon
I think this method would also work with halibut or other fish; possibly even chicken cutlets, though I’ve not yet confirmed this with testing. If you don’t have scraps from trimming because you used steaks or already uniform fillets, you might be able to use raw shrimp or bay scallops as the base of your glue. It would work with shredded russet potatoes, zucchini ribbons, or virtually any thin layer you want to stick onto the fish. If I try out any of these variations, I’ll make a note of it here.
Boneless skinless salmon fillet, trimmed into rectangles of even thickness and scraps reserved
Red potatoes, thinly sliced (about 1/8″—I used a mandoline)
Cream
Herbes de provence (or other herbs, such as dill, that compliment the fish)
Shallot, diced
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Place the salmon scraps in a food processor with some shallot, herbs and cream. For our two portions (plus a baby piece for Nolan), I had enough scraps to use 2-3 T cream, 1-2 T shallot, about 1/2 tsp herbes de provence, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Run the processor; you want to end up with a light, fluffy, spreadable, but not runny consistency, so add a bit more cream if necessary. Season the salmon fillets with salt, pepper and another sprinkle of your herbs, then smear on one side with about a 1/4″ of your glue; layer with potato slices, making sure each one has some contact with the glue. Flip fillets over carefully and repeat on the other side.
Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Carefully lower in the salmon, ensuring that the potatoes stay in place, and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown. Flip gently and cook on the other side until the potatoes are again golden and the salmon is cooked through to your liking; if you, like us, don’t care for medium salmon, you may need to turn the heat down at the end and lid the pan for a few minutes to finish cooking through. Serve with the sides and/or sauces of your choice.
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02.04.10
Posted in Cuisines, Dinner, Leftovers, Meats, Mexican, Pork and Ham, Sides at 7:42 pm by julie
You know, I’ve never been able to buy pork shoulder from my regular grocery store, which is such a shame because there is such a proliferation of braising recipes I want to try that call for it. Costco carries whole ones, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to purchase quite such a large chunk of meat for our little family, considering our limited freezer space, and the same goes for many of their enormous cuts of beef. However, we’ve had pretty good luck cooking their boneless country rib options in both the pork and beef. I seem to be accumulating quite a few recipes for dealing with these cuts, so look for quite a few posts discussing them in days to come.
My go-to recipe for dealing with these pork ribs in the past few years has been braising it Hawaiian style. But I think one of my new favorite applications is making carnitas. The recipe couldn’t be simpler. Essentially you braise the meat until it is meltingly tender and all the liquid has evaporated, then you sear it a little bit in the fat that is left behind, to give it even more flavor and texture. I served with homemade flour tortillas, jack cheese and a simple rice salad with corn and black beans, but you could take the toppings in any direction you like, or use the meat for quesadillas, burritos or what you will. Frankly, thinking back on this pork is making me hungry, so I won’t drag out the post any longer… dinner time!
Pork Carnitas
3 lb boneless pork shoulder or country ribs, lightly trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes (leave some fat on)
Olive oil
Water
1 T salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium white onion, diced
2 tsp ancho chile powder
Salt and pepper
Drizzle a heavy wide pan (I used my big red Le Creuset) with olive oil, season the pork with salt, pepper and ancho, and sear on all sides. Pour in just enough water to cover the meat, add the garlic and onion, and bring to a boil, uncovered. When the liquid reaches a boil, lower the heat, and continue to cook at a gentle simmer until all the liquid has evaporated, about two hours. At this point, the meat should be cooked through but not falling apart. Lower the heat a little more and continue cooking the meat until all the fat has rendered out of it. Keep turning the meat until it is lightly browned all over, about 15 more minutes. Makes a lot, but the leftovers are possibly even tastier than the first day.
Source: Slightly adapted from Food Network.
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02.03.10
Posted in American, Cuisines, Fish, Leftovers, Seafood at 11:33 am by julie
In case anyone wants to know, leftover fried fish can be acceptable, and even pretty tasty, fishcakes. When we were on our way to the airport with my folks after Christmas, we stopped at a McCormick and Schmick’s for lunch, where my mother and I both ended up ordering the cod fish and chips. Nolan threw a teething fit and refused to even sit in proximity to solid food, and we were concerned about getting to the airport on time, so I came home with most of the fish and chips in a doggie bag—probably about 3/4 lb of flaky cod. There was no way the batter was ever going to recrisp, so I just broke up the fish, batter and all, and made it into codcakes. For bulk, I steamed and riced 5 red potatoes, and added two crumbled up slices of white sandwich bread; I seasoned it with some grated onion, salt and pepper, and bound the whole lot together with two eggs.
This constitutes my basic fishcake recipe, and I use it frequently with all manner of leftover fish, particularly cod, halibut, and salmon. Sometimes I’ll dip the patties in a dusting of flour or panko crumbs, but I skipped that this time because of the extra starch from the batter. I served the codcakes with some arugula I sauteed with olive oil and garlic, and a quick dipping sauce that contained, I believe, mayo, Dijon, and some dill (the salmon variation above had a sauce of plain yogurt with mayo, lemon, and smoked paprika). Usually Nolan likes these a lot, because they are crunchy and starchy and contain fish, but the dreaded molars were still keeping him from eating; in fact, only one has fully erupted so far, so this is an ongoing problem that I will be very glad to see the end of.
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