Jack's Birthday Profiteroles

These were a surprise for Jack's birthday dinner. A surprise for him and for me as, incredibly, they came out perfect.

(Main course - his request - was swedish meatballs. Bring on the old jokes - or maybe don't...)

The Recipe: Profiteroles

Used Alton Brown's recipe - well, half of it, and made by hand (rather than with food processor).

For the sauce used a quarter cup milk, a quarter cup bittersweet chocolate chips, and a tablespoon of honey (a combination of Mark Bittman and Ina Garten). Didn't make the ice-cream, sorry.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Can I be a little smug at the fact that Alton labels these "difficult"?  Though that probably refers to the part where you're supposed to pipe them into perfect little shapes. Which obviously didn't happen here.  These are, shall we say, artisanal?

They were a bit heart-stopping, though. They stayed tiny for several long minutes after going in the oven. Oh well, I thought, they're obviously disasters, might as well do the washing-up. Then turned round and they'd popped up beautifully.  Not so difficult after all!  And apparently they freeze well too, which is a good job, as there's no way we could eat eight of them.

Next stop - gougeres, one of my unmet goals from last year. Onwards and upwards, people!

Belated Happy New Year! And a Fantastic Soup...

Wow, I've almost forgotten how to do this! Sorry it's been so long. Happy New Year to you all!

This was supposed to be posted right after Thanksgiving, to help with using up all those turkey leftovers. Oh well - it's still the perfect winter soup. Really, truly delicious, we raved about it for days.

The Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie Soup

From Chaos in the Kitchen (great name).

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

None - this soup is a dream!  I didn't do the cute little puff pastry stars, but that's a nice finishing touch if you have the pastry and the inclination.

Saturday Spectacular: Chicken Tikka Masala & Onion Kulchas

This was so much fun!

I can't eat garlic (bummer) so Indian food in a restaurant is basically impossible, but until recently it hadn't occurred to me to try making it at home - because I didn't make anything at home, and because Indian food seems, you know, complicated.

Now, to be fair, chicken tikka masala is about as Indian as English muffins are English. In fact, it's much more English than English muffins: it's been called Britain's national dish, and apparently was (possibly) invented in Glasgow. Not that Glasgow's English, of course. OK, I'll shut up now, I've even confused myself.

Let's just get to the recipe, which I found via Chaos in the Kitchen.

This brings me to one of the best things about the world o' food blogs. You click on a link and - whoooaaaa - you fly through a portal, but instead of landing on the side of the Jersey Turnpike you find yourself in the middle of Big Sky Country, in a huge farmhouse kitchen, where a (rather cute) tatooed pastor (?!) is cooking a curry. He mentions naan, and before you know what's happening, you're deep in another site surrounded by rotis, and saags, and dals, and channas...

Anyway, back to dinner - it was really amazing. Though a lot of work for a (very slow) newbie. Started the kulcha dough at about 5:30pm, and sat down to dinner at 8pm. And that was with the help of my trusty assistant, who broiled the chicken and took care of the turmeric rice, while I did the sauce and the onion kulchas.

There was minimal bickering, even though we were tired and hungry, because we could tell that something special was coming together. It was totally worth it, and highly recommended.

The Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala
From guest poster Pastor Ryan on Pioneer Woman Cooks.

The Recipe: Onion Kulchas
From ChefInYou. These were dreamy - a must-try. Easier than naan, because they just use baking powder & soda instead of yeast. But I still want to try naan, and will come back here for a recipe - it's a great resource, stuffed with good things that seem very doable.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Chicken Tikka Masala:

• Followed Katie at Chaos's suggestion re using half-and-half instead of cream, and in future might use half a cup less (oooh, the abstemiousness!)
• Also held back on the salt, with no ill effects
• But did use the full amount of Garam Masala, even though it seemed like a lot - it was perfect
• Watch out for turmeric - it stains!!

Onion Kulchas:

• Sauteed the onion for the filling, as really hate raw onion, and wasn't confident it would cook enough otherwise, but maybe this wasn't necessary
• Cooked them on the stove-top, like the tortillas (the whole process is very similar, actually)
• Mine weren't round, but apart from that seemed good - fluffy, with a fabulous combination of tastes tucked inside. Though haven't eaten one before, so they may have been all wrong

Pix

It was dark! So just snatched a couple of the leftovers today...

Herby-Crust Pizza

This was actually my second time making pizza, and it seems that the first time wasn't a fluke. The crust was, if anything, even better - because of an added ingredient...

The Recipe: Herby-Crust Pizza
Used the same recipe as last time, but followed a tip that Bob from Cooking Stuff left in a comment: adding some dried herbs to the flour when making the dough. Genius!!!

I was making half the recipe and added probably just under a tspn of dried rosemary to the mix, and it was perfect. So would guess you'd maybe want about 1.5-2 tspns if you're making the full amount (probably that changes depending on your herb too).

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
So, the pizza base was great, but I'm still learning a couple of things about toppings, as you can see:

• How to walk the fine line with caramelized onions between caramel and burnt :\
• When to add the basil - someone said a couple of mins before the end, which is what I did, but it really dried out; someone else advised just to put it on when it comes out of the oven so it just wilts, will try that next time

But other than that it seems to get better every time! :)

FYI, toppings were: fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, "caramelized" onions, parmesan, and basil.

Pix

Cheese Souffle!!!

Last week was feeling very brave/reckless, and decided to tackle one of my goals, also one of the scariest monsters lurking in the dark kitchen cupboard of my mind: cheese souffle.

Now, most people would probably agree that souffle is a bit intimidating. But my sister and I were brought up on it; to my mum (and now my sister too) it's an easy-peasy weeknight dinner that you whip up in a few minutes. Ha.

Anyway, turns out it's sometimes best just to stare that monster right in its yellow cheesy eyes.

When we saw the souffle through the oven window, and it was puffing up and turning golden just like it was supposed to, I nearly cried.

The Recipe: Cheese Souffle
From How to Cook Everything (10th Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman

My mum gave me a lesson in souffle-making a couple of weeks ago when was in UK (see Microwave Mornay). But (being a dingbat) had lost the recipe, and it was too late to call, so used Mr. B's instead.

I made half this amount, and it was perfect for two. We even had a 1-quart souffle dish, bizarrely enough.

• 4 tbspn (0.5 stick) butter, plus butter for dish
• 0.25 cup all-purpose flour
• 1.5 cups milk, warmed until hot to the touch (about 1 min in average microwave)
• 6 eggs, separated
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• Dash cayenne or 0.5 tspn dry mustard
• 0.5 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 0.5 cup grated or crumbled Cheddar, Jack, Roquefort, Emmental, and/or other cheese [we used mature Cheddar]

Serves 4-6 [I'd say 4 for a main course]

1. About an hour before you're ready to cook, heat the oven to 375F.

2. Use a bit of the butter to grease a 2-quart souffle or other deep baking dish, or 4-6 1.5-2 cup ramekins. (Hold off on this step if you're not going to bake the souffle until later.)

3. Put the remaining butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. When the foam subsides, stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens, about 3 mins.

4. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the milk, a bit at a time, until the mixture is thick. Let cool for a few mins, then beat in the egg yolks, sprinkle with salt & pepper, cayenne or mustard, and add the cheeses. (At this point, you may cover the mixture tightly and refrigerate for a couple of hours; bring back to room temperature before continuing.)

5. Use an electric or hand mixer or whisk to beat the egg whites until fairly stiff. Stir about a third into the sauce to lighten it, then gently - and not overly thoroughly - fold in the remaining whites, using a rubber spatula or your hand.

6. Transfer to the prepared dish and bake until the top is brown, the sides are firm, and the center is still quite moist, about 30 mins. [My mum uses a bain-marie, but this recipe doesn't call for one, which gave me a nervous moment.] Use a thin skewer to check the interior; if it is still quite wet, bake for another 5 mins. If it is just a bit moist, the souffle is done. Serve immediately.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Burned the roux twice, through sheer nerves, and had to start over. But apart from that, everything went fantastically. It was done to perfection at the 30 minute mark.

Pix

Due to very high stress level, only have pix of the final product:

Light & Fluffy Pancakes, with Banana Rum Sauce

Decided to make pancakes for Jack last weekend. Had meant it to be a surprise but the weather moved our plans around, so had to tell him. It was like telling a seven-year-old boy that he was going to meet Spiderman - he really wanted to think it was true, but just couldn't believe his luck, and kept peppering me with questions of a skeptical nature. So, these pancakes, what are they going to have in them? These pancakes, have you made them before? Are you sure you're going to have time before we go out? Etc., etc.

Bananas are his favorite, so they would be banana pancakes. I never had made pancakes, not even with a mix. And, emboldened by the baking, I'd decided to make a sauce too, it being Easter and all. So I was a bit worried about timing, not having made a syrup before either.

Since I'm such a newbie, it seems unbelievably reckless to say anything that amounts to "this has to be the best recipe for x, and the only one I will use for the rest of my life." But here we go: I believe this must be the best pancake recipe in the world, and I really can't imagine using anything else. So there. Try it and let me know what you think.

The sauce was great, too, though a bit over the top for pancakes - I'd definitely make it again, but would give it the more sophisticated context it deserves.

The Recipe: Light & Fluffy Banana Pancakes
(Note to UK readers: these are American-style breakfast pancakes, not crepes)
From How to Cook Everything (10th Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman

• 1 cup milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Dash salt
• 1 tbspn sugar
• 1.5 tspn baking powder
• Butter or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, as needed
• 3 bananas, sliced

Serves 4

1. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat while you make the batter.

2. Beat together the milk and egg yolks. Mix the dry ingredients. Beat the egg whites with a whisk or electric mixer until fairly stiff but not dry.

3. Combine the dry ingredients and milk-yolk mixture, stirring to blend. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites; they should remain somewhat distinct in the batter.

4. Put about 1 tspn of the butter or oil on the griddle/skillet and, when butter melts or oil is hot, add the batter by the heaping tablespoon, making sure to include some of the egg whites in each spoonful.

5. Press banana slices into top of cooking pancakes. Cook until lightly browned on the bottom, 3-5 mins, then turn and cook until the second side is brown, a couple more minutes.

6. Serve or hold on an oven-proof plate in a 200F oven for up to 15 mins.

The Recipe: Banana-Rum Sauce

I found this via foodgawker. It's really supposed to go with a very lovely-looking pavlova.
http://greedygourmand.blogspot.com/2009/04/brown-sugar-pavlova-with-banana-rum.html

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Making the sauce was slightly nerve-wracking, as had my eye on the clock, and it seemed to take ages to get to the syrupy stage. Also was terrified of burning myself/the cats with the superheated liquid - seemed like a horrible accident waiting to happen. But it was definitely worth it - very sweet but so banana-y, rummy, and good.

Looking at the pics, my sauce came out a lot darker - guessing I used darker sugar, but maybe it was something else. Also, didn't strain it, we don't have a strainer, and the banana bits were too tasty.

Pancakes were super easy and wonderful, though we did manage to burn the first batch on the bottom. We're making them again tomorrow.

Pix

Sauce, finally syrupy









Batter ready to go




Slightly odd shaped pancakes due to miscomm-unication between chef & sous-chef


Jack flipping
On plate, pancakes slightly singed on bottom; yes, that's Reddi-wip, I have no shame

Chicken & Chickpea Tagine

And we go right into this week's posting.

This is another one from Mark Bittman at the NY Times, and it was a big hit, really gorgeous. He's right - it is much easier than it seems. Though you do have to concentrate when you're measuring out the spices as it uses so many.

Haven't made anything this exotic before, and it opens up a whole new set of possibilities - I'm pretty limited with ordering things like this in restaurants because they're always made with garlic (can't eat it). So am now thinking to try making some Indian dishes too.

Note: Some veggie people on the blog had made it using root vegetables instead of chicken, which seems like a great idea.

The Recipe

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/recipe-of-the-day-chicken-and-chickpea-tagine/

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

Was disobedient in a couple of respects:

• Added at least a cup of water at the beginning - was using a stainless steel pan which tends to stick if you're not super careful, and was sure it would be doomed if I didn't add more liquid. Anyway, it worked out fine.
• Used white meat instead of dark, because it's what we had (about 1lb, cut into small-ish chunks), though maybe should have browned it first?

But did use a real vanilla bean - though looking at the comments on the Times blog, someone raised a question: she just stuck it in there, and so did I, but should we have done something different with it? (e.g. cut it open or something?)

Almost didn't bother with the fresh cilantro, but it was worth it - gave the dish a lift, brought out the other flavors, and looked great too.

As usual, was cautious with the salt (just added a little towards the end) and substituted shallots for the garlic.

We served it with Israeli-style couscous, again because that's what we had on hand, but I think the regular kind would have been a bit nicer.

Pix

End of step 1













About half-way done













On the plate - cilantro looking pretty

Sausage, Squash & Root Vegetable Stew

So, it’s been a week, and no new recipe :(

But will make up for it in the coming days, hope that’ll be OK. And last night we had something that I first made last year – it’s from another of those Dairy cookbooks, called “Hearty & Healthy.” More comfort food, with a lovely sweet taste. You don’t need to serve it with anything except some nice crusty bread to mop up the juices.

The Recipe: Sausage, Squash & Root Vegetable Stew
(Adapted from the Hearty & Healthy Dairy Cookbook)

• 1 large onion, peeled & chopped
• 2 sticks celery, trimmed & sliced [not a cooked celery fan, so left this out]
• 1 large parsnip, peeled & cut into small chunks
• 1 large carrot, peeled & cut into small chunks
• Half a small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, & cut into small chunks
• 20 fl. oz. stock [they say beef, but I used chicken; low sodium is best (see below)]
• 1 pack pork sausages, cut into pieces [I use Italian sweet sausages]
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes [they say with garlic; again no salt is best]
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs [didn’t have mixed herbs so used qtr tsp rosemary, qtr tsp thyme, half tsp tarragon]

Serves 4; suitable for freezing

1) Heat olive oil in large saucepan and fry onion for a couple of minutes till softened.

2) Add celery, parsnip, carrot, and squash to saucepan and pour in stock. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 10 mins.

3) Meanwhile, fry the sausage pieces in frying pan until golden, then remove from pan and drain on paper towels. [They said to fry for just 3 or 4 mins, but I cooked it for the whole time the veggies were simmering, so that more fat would come out.]

4) Add the sausages to the vegetables and stir in the chopped tomatoes and herbs. Bring back to the boil and simmer for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until tender, cooked through, and thickened. [They said to simmer uncovered, but didn’t want it to get too dry, so did 10 mins covered, and 10 mins uncovered.]

5) Serve immediately while hot.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

I actually used regular stock, not reduced sodium, but even though the tomatoes were salt-free, it almost tasted a bit too salty (presumably there’s some in the sausages). So, it’s another recipe where you need to watch the salt. But I have a bee in my bonnet re sodium at the moment; it was probably fine.

Pix

The finished product.