After an afternoon of National and International Skyping we needed to toast to absent family. We mixed up our usual cocktails, with Jim attempting a new one - a Bourble! It turned out to be a disappointing drink and not one we would recommend (but at least we gave it a try!)
We wanted to have a Traditional Christmas Dinner, so we roasted up Turkey Breast and enjoyed it with homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans.
Homemade Stuffing
Old bread, cubed and toasted in the oven till dry
In a pan, sweat 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves of garlic with butter and a bay leaf. De-glaze with white wine and add the remainder of the stick of butter. Add 1tbs each of thyme and sage, 1/2 tbs rosemary and 3/4 of a carton of chicken stock. Pour this over the cubed bread and bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes.
Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes
Trim beans and bring to the boil in a pot of water. Prepare an ice bath, to plunge them into once boiling commences - you want the beans to still be crunchy. In a frying pan, toast slivered almonds (set aside to garnish dish). Once the almonds are toasted, toss the cherry tomatoes till they are warm. Then add the cooked green beans and toss all together. Serve on a platter with the cherry tomatoes around the outside and the toasted almonds on top.
Sweet and Russet Mashed Potatoes
No big deal here. Dad likes sweet potatoes but they're too sweet for Jim. So we compromised and added two big sweets to two or three Russets. Nice light color and moderate sweetness.
Mom's Almond Puff
We forgot to write down the recipe, but I believe that this one is the same. Jim's brother Mike and he loved it as kids and one of those recipes that doesn't seem as outdated as Betty Crocker creations.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happy Hollandaise!
I am sure we have already mentioned how much we like our eggs for breakfast - so we really wanted to share the joy with Jim and Dot on Christmas Day. We couldn't decide which to have - the Canadian bacon or the smoked salmon - so we had one of each!
Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royale
Using this helpful (step-by-step) recipe for Hollandaise sauce we made both the Benedict and the Royale. We toasted the muffins, topped with either the Candian bacon or the smoked salon, and a poached egg. The Hollandaise was refreshingly tangy and accompanied the runny eggs perfectly!
Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royale
Using this helpful (step-by-step) recipe for Hollandaise sauce we made both the Benedict and the Royale. We toasted the muffins, topped with either the Candian bacon or the smoked salon, and a poached egg. The Hollandaise was refreshingly tangy and accompanied the runny eggs perfectly!
Dot's Pecan Pie
Dot recently treated herself to a new Kitchenaid Mixer and a Cuisinart and we were all determined to get the most out of these two magnificent machines during our stay! Dot made the pie using the Kitchenaid the day we arrived, and it was so delicious we asked her make it again!
The original recipe was from 'The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library' - called "Delux Pecan Pie". You can use the recipe online (also Betty Crocker), but rather than using all that corn syrup, I would recommend swapping it out for the following:
1/2 cup of corn syrup only
extra 1/3rd of a cup of sugar (to what the online receipe states)
1/2 cup whippng cream
1stp vanilla
1/4 cup brandy
I also think the quantity of pecan nuts is too small so add an additional 1/2 cup to increase your satisfaction!
The original recipe was from 'The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library' - called "Delux Pecan Pie". You can use the recipe online (also Betty Crocker), but rather than using all that corn syrup, I would recommend swapping it out for the following:
1/2 cup of corn syrup only
extra 1/3rd of a cup of sugar (to what the online receipe states)
1/2 cup whippng cream
1stp vanilla
1/4 cup brandy
I also think the quantity of pecan nuts is too small so add an additional 1/2 cup to increase your satisfaction!
BBQ Lamb Rack with Spinach & Sweet Potato Salad
Being a beautiful sunny day in Florida - we hit the beach and sent Dot (Jim's mom) to the supermarket armed with a list of yummy ingredients that we would need for the following week! The butcher at Publix market was very helpful to Dot, as our description of meat cuts were unfamiliar to her. She ended up with some beautiful cuts that we reveled in preparing with them. We were inspired by the heat, to cook outside on the BBQ, so Peta whipped up a quick marinade for the lamb while we enjoyed a good cocktail (or two!) and had the sweet potatoes cooking.
Lamb Rack Marinade
1/3rd Balsamic vinegar
2/3rds Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Do not expose the meat to the marinade for longer than 15 minutes each side, as the vinegar will start to denature the meat.
Heat the BBQ on high. Sear the fat side of the rack first - in order to crispy it up (~3 minutes). The flip over the sear the meat (~ 5 minutes). Then move the rack to the top rack of the BBQ (if you have one) and turn the heat down low. Cook for about 15 minutes an the meat will come out medium rare. Jim Snr likes his more cooked, so it was really easy to slice off his cutlets and grill them individually - while we plated the rest.
Served with Spinach and Sweet Potato salad - only this time using toasted slivered almonds (as we didn't have any pinenuts (still delicious). It was great see that even though Dot was not a lamb lover - so tucked into her four cutlets in no time, giving the bones to Jim to gnaw on!
Lamb Rack Marinade
1/3rd Balsamic vinegar
2/3rds Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Do not expose the meat to the marinade for longer than 15 minutes each side, as the vinegar will start to denature the meat.
Heat the BBQ on high. Sear the fat side of the rack first - in order to crispy it up (~3 minutes). The flip over the sear the meat (~ 5 minutes). Then move the rack to the top rack of the BBQ (if you have one) and turn the heat down low. Cook for about 15 minutes an the meat will come out medium rare. Jim Snr likes his more cooked, so it was really easy to slice off his cutlets and grill them individually - while we plated the rest.
Served with Spinach and Sweet Potato salad - only this time using toasted slivered almonds (as we didn't have any pinenuts (still delicious). It was great see that even though Dot was not a lamb lover - so tucked into her four cutlets in no time, giving the bones to Jim to gnaw on!
Crepes and Fruit for Breakfast
We wanted ot start out our vacation with something lite... so we eased int breakfast with fresh fruit bowls (of strawberries and pineapple). We followed this up with crepes filled with ricotta, banana and toasted almonds.
Crepe batter (from Peta's childhood)
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
The trick to getting no lumps in your batter is to put the flour into the bowl and add the eggs to a well in the flour. Add just a dash of the milk and using a fork, turn the mixture into a thick paste. Once the paste is formed and smooth, you can then gradually add the remaining milk. Note for those who may be lactose intolerant - use cream instead of milk, but use only 2/3rd of a cup and thin it down with water, so that your batter won't be too thick. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes prior to cooking. This mixtures makes 4 decent sized crepes (about 1 ladel full each).
Fill each crepe with ricotta (note that the ricotta we used was not sweet enought - as it was a 'diet' type that was already in the frigde, so make sure you have a good kind), sliced banana and a sprinkling of toasted slivered almonds). Roll and serve warm.
Crepe batter (from Peta's childhood)
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
The trick to getting no lumps in your batter is to put the flour into the bowl and add the eggs to a well in the flour. Add just a dash of the milk and using a fork, turn the mixture into a thick paste. Once the paste is formed and smooth, you can then gradually add the remaining milk. Note for those who may be lactose intolerant - use cream instead of milk, but use only 2/3rd of a cup and thin it down with water, so that your batter won't be too thick. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes prior to cooking. This mixtures makes 4 decent sized crepes (about 1 ladel full each).
Fill each crepe with ricotta (note that the ricotta we used was not sweet enought - as it was a 'diet' type that was already in the frigde, so make sure you have a good kind), sliced banana and a sprinkling of toasted slivered almonds). Roll and serve warm.
Welcoming Crockpot Roast
After a long flight from CA to Florida we were welcomed with some good home cooking from Jim's Dad. This hearty meal served us well as our sole meal for the day. Jim Snr had timed the meal perfectly - putting it on first hing n the morning, so it was ready to eat the moment we arrived (as a late lunch).
Recipe to follow....
Recipe to follow....
Boxcars and Oysters
Boxcar (Wille)
So we decided to get out of our drink "rut" of Sidecars and go for something else with Triple Sec. The Boxcar seemed as though it do the trick. We don't know whether the name is from the freight car or from the country singer and, as you'll read, we didn't care enough to find out.
We used this recipe from the Drinks Mixer website. The pink hue of the drink and the frothy body from the egg white were spot on, but the taste was far too medicinal for both of us. Using the Esquire recipe with lime juice instead of lemon may make a better drink, but for us, it's not worth trying. Back to basics!
Oyster Stew
Our Oyster Stew was just kind of made up using an amalgam of this recipe and this recipe. The jarred oysters have been on sale lately so we've probably ingested all of the Cesium that we'd ever need. But we "needed" to use up the cream that we had gotten on sale, so there you go.
Essentially, we sweated some aromatics (shallot, celery, garlic) and added a bay leaf. Then added some Dry Vermouth (the secret ingredient in our risotti), simmer for a while and then strained. We then added the oysters and their liquor, heavy cream and a bit of parsley and thyme. We apologize for the sketchy recipe, but we are writing this from the future (whoooooo).
Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
The Spinach Salad was from our America's Test Kitchen cookbook. You've got to sign-in to the Cook's Illustrated site, but we found an almost identical recipe here. We had no red onion so subbed shallot for the red onion and garlic. And of course, we would not use Splenda or anything of the kind. As Celia Cruz would say, "Azucar!!".
So we decided to get out of our drink "rut" of Sidecars and go for something else with Triple Sec. The Boxcar seemed as though it do the trick. We don't know whether the name is from the freight car or from the country singer and, as you'll read, we didn't care enough to find out.
We used this recipe from the Drinks Mixer website. The pink hue of the drink and the frothy body from the egg white were spot on, but the taste was far too medicinal for both of us. Using the Esquire recipe with lime juice instead of lemon may make a better drink, but for us, it's not worth trying. Back to basics!
Oyster Stew
Our Oyster Stew was just kind of made up using an amalgam of this recipe and this recipe. The jarred oysters have been on sale lately so we've probably ingested all of the Cesium that we'd ever need. But we "needed" to use up the cream that we had gotten on sale, so there you go.
Essentially, we sweated some aromatics (shallot, celery, garlic) and added a bay leaf. Then added some Dry Vermouth (the secret ingredient in our risotti), simmer for a while and then strained. We then added the oysters and their liquor, heavy cream and a bit of parsley and thyme. We apologize for the sketchy recipe, but we are writing this from the future (whoooooo).
Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
The Spinach Salad was from our America's Test Kitchen cookbook. You've got to sign-in to the Cook's Illustrated site, but we found an almost identical recipe here. We had no red onion so subbed shallot for the red onion and garlic. And of course, we would not use Splenda or anything of the kind. As Celia Cruz would say, "Azucar!!".
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Shirred Eggs Redux
As we've written before, we like eggs. A lot. So we've been trying to cook "coddled" or "shirred" eggs the "right" way for a while. It's a baked egg dish with cream and cheese, pretty simply. We thought that we had blogged about it before, but apparently not. The problem that we've been having it that the mixture in the middle of the ramekin remains totally raw and the edges get way too hard. Here are two sites from which we've pulled a basic recipe. Emeril's for the basic gist of the recipe and this one for the temperature (we used cheddar cheese). The ingredients are different in each of the recipes, but the general concept is the same, so feel free to mix and match.
However, the most important thing that you must do is make a bain-manie or water bath in which the ramekins sit inside the oven. Just put the filled ramekins into a pyrex dish and fill it halfway or so up the ramekins with water. Also, if you want to broil the cheese on top of the dishes, take the broiling time into account or you'll hard cook the yolks. This advice is very much a "do as we say, not as we do", because we blew that step. So we haven't yet perfected the dish, but these instructions should work.
Jim and Peta
However, the most important thing that you must do is make a bain-manie or water bath in which the ramekins sit inside the oven. Just put the filled ramekins into a pyrex dish and fill it halfway or so up the ramekins with water. Also, if you want to broil the cheese on top of the dishes, take the broiling time into account or you'll hard cook the yolks. This advice is very much a "do as we say, not as we do", because we blew that step. So we haven't yet perfected the dish, but these instructions should work.
Jim and Peta
Homemade Holiday Gifts
We decided to continue to check out of "the system" by making most of our gifts this year. We made candied lemon peel, apple butter and lemon curd. Some successes here and some mild failures follow:
Candied Lemon Peel
This one is easy and helped us to get rid of the lemon peel leftover from Jim's Vodka and Soda with Lemon. We throw most of our vegetal matter into our worm bin, but the wormies don't much care for strong citrus. We collect our peels in a large ziplock bag in the freezer. Once the bag in getting close to full, it's time to candy your peels. The recipe is from Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander's Tuscan Cookbook. It's not online, so we present it here.
Jim scoured the interwebs for appropriate recipes for apple butter and ended up with a free-wheeling, seat-of-the-pants recipe that seemed to turn out alright.
Most recipes that "made sense" had you core and then cook the apples with the skin on and then reomove the skin with a food mill. Because we don't own a food mill, Jim peeled six Granny Smiths and six Jonathan, cored them, hit the skin with the Cuisinart and wrapped half of the chopped skin in some cheese cloth. Peta thought that adding all of the skins would add too much astringency and was probably correct. [For the second batch, we added the long peels into the crockpot and pulled them out after the cooking was done. This technique is not recommended since some peels were left behind. Bummer and sorry to all of our recipients.]
All of this went into the crockpot, filling it, on high and it cooked down for several hours. It started to break down so we added a bunch of cinnamon and lesser amounts of nutmeg, cloves and allspice (all pre-ground). Then we added a pinch of salt and sugar to taste. Sorry, but that's what we did. No measuring cups here. This mixture cooked on low all night and in the morning we'd wake up to the lovely smell of very much reduced apple butter. Slather it on the Crusty Bread that we've blogged about elsewhere and start your engines!
P.S. We got about four half-pint jars from each batch of 12 apples.
Lemon Curd
We used Alton Brown's recipe and things didn't work out as well as we had hoped. Regrettably the sauce didn't seem to thicken the way it ought to. The lemon curd ended with dense "correct curd" consistency at the bottom of the jars, whilst the top was a light 'mousse' consistency. The taste was fantastic, but the image was not. Peta is gearing up to make this recipe again in the new year, in the hopes that it can be the correct consistency throughout. She is working on the theory that the mixture did not heat correctly - so we will keep you posted!
Candied Lemon Peel
This one is easy and helped us to get rid of the lemon peel leftover from Jim's Vodka and Soda with Lemon. We throw most of our vegetal matter into our worm bin, but the wormies don't much care for strong citrus. We collect our peels in a large ziplock bag in the freezer. Once the bag in getting close to full, it's time to candy your peels. The recipe is from Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander's Tuscan Cookbook. It's not online, so we present it here.
- Using a paring knife, remove the peel from the leftover flesh.
- In our first batch, we kept the peel in quarters and cut after. Some of the peels were too rubbery to jar, so in the second batch, we pre-cut the quarters into strips and moved to the next step.
- Boil your lemon peel with two changes of water to remove the bitterness in the pith.
- Weigh the peels and add an equal amount of sugar and the lemons back into the pan.
- Cook on low heat until the sugar is dissolved
- Drain (we reserved the lemony sugar for something else) and dry for a few days out of the way of ants.
- Roll the peels in castor sugar and jar. That's it!
Jim scoured the interwebs for appropriate recipes for apple butter and ended up with a free-wheeling, seat-of-the-pants recipe that seemed to turn out alright.
Most recipes that "made sense" had you core and then cook the apples with the skin on and then reomove the skin with a food mill. Because we don't own a food mill, Jim peeled six Granny Smiths and six Jonathan, cored them, hit the skin with the Cuisinart and wrapped half of the chopped skin in some cheese cloth. Peta thought that adding all of the skins would add too much astringency and was probably correct. [For the second batch, we added the long peels into the crockpot and pulled them out after the cooking was done. This technique is not recommended since some peels were left behind. Bummer and sorry to all of our recipients.]
All of this went into the crockpot, filling it, on high and it cooked down for several hours. It started to break down so we added a bunch of cinnamon and lesser amounts of nutmeg, cloves and allspice (all pre-ground). Then we added a pinch of salt and sugar to taste. Sorry, but that's what we did. No measuring cups here. This mixture cooked on low all night and in the morning we'd wake up to the lovely smell of very much reduced apple butter. Slather it on the Crusty Bread that we've blogged about elsewhere and start your engines!
P.S. We got about four half-pint jars from each batch of 12 apples.
Lemon Curd
We used Alton Brown's recipe and things didn't work out as well as we had hoped. Regrettably the sauce didn't seem to thicken the way it ought to. The lemon curd ended with dense "correct curd" consistency at the bottom of the jars, whilst the top was a light 'mousse' consistency. The taste was fantastic, but the image was not. Peta is gearing up to make this recipe again in the new year, in the hopes that it can be the correct consistency throughout. She is working on the theory that the mixture did not heat correctly - so we will keep you posted!
Peta's Italian Chicken
So Peta is decidedly not Italian; however, the woman can cook. She and Lyndy used to cook this dish back in Adelaide when they were poor uni students. You could get the chicken for a buck a leg!!
This dish is super simple, yet flavorful, and it's great in summer and winter. Peta used whole chicken legs because we had them and they are cheap. But you could probably use any chicken parts.
She starts by stuff parmesan slices under the skin (naughty naughty!). Then she massages EVOO and salt into the skin. The chicken pieces are then placed in baking dish and a mixture of chicken stock, white wine (or verjus), bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, 2 cloves of garlic is added to the dish about an inch up the chicken. It is cooked in a moderate oven, covered, for ~30 minutes or until juices run clear and undercovered for the final 5 minutes to crisp the skin.
Easy, tasty and healthier than our usual fair. Jim saved the sauce in the freezer for something else. Ya never know...
This dish is super simple, yet flavorful, and it's great in summer and winter. Peta used whole chicken legs because we had them and they are cheap. But you could probably use any chicken parts.
She starts by stuff parmesan slices under the skin (naughty naughty!). Then she massages EVOO and salt into the skin. The chicken pieces are then placed in baking dish and a mixture of chicken stock, white wine (or verjus), bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, 2 cloves of garlic is added to the dish about an inch up the chicken. It is cooked in a moderate oven, covered, for ~30 minutes or until juices run clear and undercovered for the final 5 minutes to crisp the skin.
Easy, tasty and healthier than our usual fair. Jim saved the sauce in the freezer for something else. Ya never know...
Caesar Salad
So the next few blogs may just be placeholders until we get back home to find some of the recipes on Peta's computer. We're blogging from Florida about two weeks after we made the Caesar Salad. The recipe is here (no link yet). It produced a flavorful dressing with a great consistency and we'll probably stick with it since the one that we made later on Siesta Key was not good and needed a lot of doctoring. We'll blog that one soon.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Shirred Eggs
So, we like eggs. A lot. Perhaps too much. Don't judge us! The fact that eggs have their own carrying case never ceases to amaze. All hail the amniotic ovum!
In a seemingly never-ending quest to cook eggs in different ways, Jim came across a recipe for "Shirred Eggs" while looking for the "Sherried Eggs" that we cooked last week. The idea is to coddle the eggs in butter and cream and probably brown the cheese a bit.
Unfortunately, Jim put three eggs in each ramekin along with three tbsp of cream (so slutty!) and the timing was all messed up. We upped the time in the oven which was probably necessary, but they went from looking not at all done and totally jiggly to overdone with none of the runny yolk that the NYT Simple Crusty Bread Recipe (posted bleow because the link requires login) could sop up. We will fix the cooking times, add more cheese and hit it with the broiler and then revisit this recipe.
Simple Crusty Bread Recipe
Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)
Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours’ resting and rising
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
Cornmeal.
1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.
3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.
4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
Yield: 4 loaves.
Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.
In a seemingly never-ending quest to cook eggs in different ways, Jim came across a recipe for "Shirred Eggs" while looking for the "Sherried Eggs" that we cooked last week. The idea is to coddle the eggs in butter and cream and probably brown the cheese a bit.
Unfortunately, Jim put three eggs in each ramekin along with three tbsp of cream (so slutty!) and the timing was all messed up. We upped the time in the oven which was probably necessary, but they went from looking not at all done and totally jiggly to overdone with none of the runny yolk that the NYT Simple Crusty Bread Recipe (posted bleow because the link requires login) could sop up. We will fix the cooking times, add more cheese and hit it with the broiler and then revisit this recipe.
Simple Crusty Bread Recipe
Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)
Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours’ resting and rising
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
Cornmeal.
1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.
3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.
4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
Yield: 4 loaves.
Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.
Sweet Potato, Spinach and Pine Nut Salad
This will be a recipe for Peta's homemade Sweet Potato, Spinach and Pine Nut Salad. We brought it to Saturday brunch at Megan and Jim's. They served some really tasty food there, we both agreed and the Limoncello Sunrise cocktails were too easy to drink! Then it was on to Chris and Jason to see some Aussie folk. They had a nice Christmas punch of cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, vodka and something else. Jim was warned that it packed a punch but felt no effects, ill or otherwise. We can't say exactly what that says about Jim...
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Pine Nut Salad
This is a salad Peta's family enjoys during the hot summer months in Perth, Western Australia. It is a light accompaniment to meat and seafood dishes. Use the bright golden (orange) colored potatoes - which Peta has discovered they are called 'yams' in the supermarket here (see Wiki description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato).
Cube the sweet potato about 1cm squared, then season generously with salt and pepper and a light coating of olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and cook till softened in a moderate oven (about 25 minutes).
On a platter place baby spinach. Allow the sweet potato to cool down a little (can be served warm) then toss generously on top of the spinach. Dress the salad with lightly toasted pine nuts and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Peta likes the acidity of the Balsamic vinegar, so she is very generous in her dosing. Try this once and make your own adjustments accordingly.
50% good olive oil
50% good balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
pepper
1/4 tsp of dry mustard
shake or whisk together
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Pine Nut Salad
This is a salad Peta's family enjoys during the hot summer months in Perth, Western Australia. It is a light accompaniment to meat and seafood dishes. Use the bright golden (orange) colored potatoes - which Peta has discovered they are called 'yams' in the supermarket here (see Wiki description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato).
Cube the sweet potato about 1cm squared, then season generously with salt and pepper and a light coating of olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and cook till softened in a moderate oven (about 25 minutes).
On a platter place baby spinach. Allow the sweet potato to cool down a little (can be served warm) then toss generously on top of the spinach. Dress the salad with lightly toasted pine nuts and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Peta likes the acidity of the Balsamic vinegar, so she is very generous in her dosing. Try this once and make your own adjustments accordingly.
50% good olive oil
50% good balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
pepper
1/4 tsp of dry mustard
shake or whisk together
Bourbon Chicken Liver Paté
Jim whipped up a batch of cheap chicken liver paté on Saturday (the 12th) from a recipe on the Epicurious site. Not much to say here other than it is good and cheap and that it does get better with time. Peta liked it so much that she wants Jim to make some for her girls night party. He said that he'll think about it.
Here is the reicpe.
Here is the reicpe.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Asian style snapper and stir-fried veggies
Last night, Jim prepped the ingredients for Peta's Asian Style Snapper with Sesame Dressing. The original recipe came from the December 2008/January 2009 issue of Delicious magazine and Peta has doctored it, but since we couldn't find it online, here it is:
Sesame Dressing (make ahead):
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil (we used peanut oil)
3 coves garlic, thinly sliced
2 small Thai chilies, seeds removed, thinly sliced
4 thin slices ginger, cut into matchsticks
1/4 - 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
3 tsp caster sugar (or to taste)
3 tsp fish sauce (or to taste)
Fish:
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 lemongrass stem (pale part only) very finely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded (we used lime peel due to our kaffir supply problem)
2 small Thai chilies, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice
4 plate sized snapper cleaned and scaled (we used fillets)
1/2 cup coriander/cilantro leaves
For the sauce, add garlic, chilies and ginger into a small saucepan and heat over low heat until the garlic is fragrant but not colored. Remove from the heat and add the other ingredients.
For the fish, preheat a grill on high heat. Combine the ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves with the chili, garlic and lime juice in a small bowl and set aside.
Pat fish dry wish a paper towel and then rub the fish with the chili mixture and enclose with aluminum foil. Place on the grill and cook six minutes per side covered. Let stand for 3 minutes, transfer to plates and drizzle any cooking juices. Spoon over the dressing, scatter with cilantro and serve. (Peta cooked the fillets on the stove in a large pan)
We fired up some baby bok choy and red bell pepper in some peanut oil and drizzled soy sauce and called it a good side. Good stuff!
Sesame Dressing (make ahead):
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil (we used peanut oil)
3 coves garlic, thinly sliced
2 small Thai chilies, seeds removed, thinly sliced
4 thin slices ginger, cut into matchsticks
1/4 - 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
3 tsp caster sugar (or to taste)
3 tsp fish sauce (or to taste)
Fish:
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 lemongrass stem (pale part only) very finely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded (we used lime peel due to our kaffir supply problem)
2 small Thai chilies, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice
4 plate sized snapper cleaned and scaled (we used fillets)
1/2 cup coriander/cilantro leaves
For the sauce, add garlic, chilies and ginger into a small saucepan and heat over low heat until the garlic is fragrant but not colored. Remove from the heat and add the other ingredients.
For the fish, preheat a grill on high heat. Combine the ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves with the chili, garlic and lime juice in a small bowl and set aside.
Pat fish dry wish a paper towel and then rub the fish with the chili mixture and enclose with aluminum foil. Place on the grill and cook six minutes per side covered. Let stand for 3 minutes, transfer to plates and drizzle any cooking juices. Spoon over the dressing, scatter with cilantro and serve. (Peta cooked the fillets on the stove in a large pan)
We fired up some baby bok choy and red bell pepper in some peanut oil and drizzled soy sauce and called it a good side. Good stuff!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Watch it, Jerk!
For last night's main course, we cooked Jamaican Jerk Pork with Tropical Mash. The jerk sauce/rub recipe was found here. We halved the recipe but only used one habanero pepper when it should have been two or three. Upon tasting the sauce, Jim was glad that he only put one in, but after Peta took the double thick boneless pork chops off the "barbie", we missed the heat. So be sure to add the right number of peppers if you are going to grill (and lose some of the sauce to the flames). Additionally, we wished that we had butterflied the pork and put in the sauce or just cut the chops in half because the surface area to volume ratio was too low to allow the jerk flavor to be the star. Jim wished that he had remembered to brine the chops as well. They were a bit dry for our liking. Bummer.
For the side, we made Alton Brown's Tropical Mash, which Jim got from Alton's "I'm Just Here For The Food" book, but that we also found here. It was really good as is and would have worked to cool down the jerk pork had we used the correct amount of habaneros. It's shown here on a bed of spinach.
For the side, we made Alton Brown's Tropical Mash, which Jim got from Alton's "I'm Just Here For The Food" book, but that we also found here. It was really good as is and would have worked to cool down the jerk pork had we used the correct amount of habaneros. It's shown here on a bed of spinach.
To build a better bread
We have been unhappy with the bread recipe that we've been using. And the bread at the store either has mono or diglycerides or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils which we don't want. So Jim stumbled across this recipe a few days ago and we made it last night.
It had a very short igredient list (flour, yeast, water, salt), came out with a pretty good crumb and it matched pretty well with the Soupe Au Pistou that we cooked for an appetizer. It's from a blog called Recession Recipes and it appealled to us in that it lists the price per serving for each meal. Sweet!
We'll put the main course on another post so that we don't clutter the board.
PS: We cooked Sherried Eggs from the same blog for breakfast and it was pretty tasty. Perhaps a bit more sherry would have made it even better.
It had a very short igredient list (flour, yeast, water, salt), came out with a pretty good crumb and it matched pretty well with the Soupe Au Pistou that we cooked for an appetizer. It's from a blog called Recession Recipes and it appealled to us in that it lists the price per serving for each meal. Sweet!
We'll put the main course on another post so that we don't clutter the board.
PS: We cooked Sherried Eggs from the same blog for breakfast and it was pretty tasty. Perhaps a bit more sherry would have made it even better.
Stone's (Dive Bar)
On Sunday morning, Jim got on the world web interweb and searched for places in Napa other than Downtown Joe's that have the NFL ticket. We found Stone's and watched the Patriots get beaten by the Dolphins with a couple Greyhounds and Bloody Mary's.
The Greyhounds were poured with a heavy hand (nice) but the grapefruit juice was the Sunnyfarms brand, which is pretty awful. Then again, the price was right at $3.
The Bloody's were OK and featured a splash of sweet and sour mix that worked, were also poured with a heavy hand, were larger than the Greyhounds and were $4.
Bartenders were friendly and the crowd were locals. Didn't sample any of the free hot dogs, but they were probably like, well, hot dogs.
The Greyhounds were poured with a heavy hand (nice) but the grapefruit juice was the Sunnyfarms brand, which is pretty awful. Then again, the price was right at $3.
The Bloody's were OK and featured a splash of sweet and sour mix that worked, were also poured with a heavy hand, were larger than the Greyhounds and were $4.
Bartenders were friendly and the crowd were locals. Didn't sample any of the free hot dogs, but they were probably like, well, hot dogs.
Festivus (for the restivus)
On Saturday we headed to our second Festivus Party at Mary's house. The combination of good friends, food and wine inspired Peta to bring a little of her 'homeland' to the party - "Aussie sausage rolls"
Having never made them before, she had to look to the internet for some recipes... there are two (see below) - but neither seemed quite right from a flavor perspective - so they were melded together and the result was really good.
Aussie rolls
New Zealand rolls
Peta's version (made 80, 1" rolls):
2 lbs ground beef
2 lbs ground pork
1 medium onion (finely diced)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp Sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 cup of cream
2 packets of frozen Puff Pastry (17.3 oz each)
1 egg white
* Place the meat and herbs together in a large bowl
* Immediately prior to mixing, coat the bread crumbs with cream (to moisten them), then add to the meat - warning here do not let the crumb/cream mixture stand as it forms a really hard mass!
* Fold the ingredients together with your hands - don't over mix, as it will make the meat tough
* Roll out a sheet of pastry onto a floured surface till it is approximately 11 - 12" lengthwise, then cut in half
* Place an 8th of the mixture per half sheet of pastry. Wet the edges of the pastry prior to rolling.
* Brush the pastry with the egg white.
* Your choice: cut now or keep whole. Cut up - it took 40 minutes to cook at 350F. Warning if you space them out too much on the tray they can fall over and fry in the fat (which doesn't make them look too good!). Perhaps space them only slightly apart, so that the fat can still come out, but they don't fall over) or try them whole.
Grade: A-
Having never made them before, she had to look to the internet for some recipes... there are two (see below) - but neither seemed quite right from a flavor perspective - so they were melded together and the result was really good.
Aussie rolls
New Zealand rolls
Peta's version (made 80, 1" rolls):
2 lbs ground beef
2 lbs ground pork
1 medium onion (finely diced)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp Sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 cup of cream
2 packets of frozen Puff Pastry (17.3 oz each)
1 egg white
* Place the meat and herbs together in a large bowl
* Immediately prior to mixing, coat the bread crumbs with cream (to moisten them), then add to the meat - warning here do not let the crumb/cream mixture stand as it forms a really hard mass!
* Fold the ingredients together with your hands - don't over mix, as it will make the meat tough
* Roll out a sheet of pastry onto a floured surface till it is approximately 11 - 12" lengthwise, then cut in half
* Place an 8th of the mixture per half sheet of pastry. Wet the edges of the pastry prior to rolling.
* Brush the pastry with the egg white.
* Your choice: cut now or keep whole. Cut up - it took 40 minutes to cook at 350F. Warning if you space them out too much on the tray they can fall over and fry in the fat (which doesn't make them look too good!). Perhaps space them only slightly apart, so that the fat can still come out, but they don't fall over) or try them whole.
Grade: A-
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Turkey Day Redux
This past Saturday, Peta and I rolled on down to Menlo Park in Lucy, her cherry red Mini Cooper, for a second Thanksgiving with some of my old college friends and their families. We picked up Cliff in SF and kept trucking South.
We brought a chess pie made from the recipe on the epicurious site. The filling was from that recipe sans the compote, but the crust was made by Peta from a Marie Claire cookbook. I highly recommend this Southern dessert, and I am not a dessert person. It won't keep the pounds off, but it's not too sweet either.
Everything was tasty: Angela's salad (with cilantro!), Leah's sweet potatoes (we burned the marshmallows on the top, but she fixed it) and mashed, Michael's turkey and stuffing, my gravy (Peta helped make it better with vinegar because I over did it on the schmaltz manié) and Pam's wonderful chocolate tart.
We brought a magnum of wine from Domaine Carneros, but I can't remember what kind.
Happy Belated Thanksgiving.
We brought a chess pie made from the recipe on the epicurious site. The filling was from that recipe sans the compote, but the crust was made by Peta from a Marie Claire cookbook. I highly recommend this Southern dessert, and I am not a dessert person. It won't keep the pounds off, but it's not too sweet either.
Everything was tasty: Angela's salad (with cilantro!), Leah's sweet potatoes (we burned the marshmallows on the top, but she fixed it) and mashed, Michael's turkey and stuffing, my gravy (Peta helped make it better with vinegar because I over did it on the schmaltz manié) and Pam's wonderful chocolate tart.
We brought a magnum of wine from Domaine Carneros, but I can't remember what kind.
Happy Belated Thanksgiving.
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