viernes, 31 de agosto de 2012
Change of domain name for Beyond Baked Beans
If you link to the site please change your link. And if you don't, do link to it which will help students - and other first time cooks on a budget - find it more easily.
miércoles, 29 de agosto de 2012
Chile Cheddar Bacon Waffle recipe
Dining out is one of the best favorite forms of culinary inspiration. Last weekend I went out for brunch at 'Eats' on Clement Street and ordered the Waffle Bacon which was described as bacon pressed in a waffle, cheddar, Hungarian peppers and a sunny up egg. It was a wonderful combination of gooey, chewy and crisp and had many classic flavors associated with breakfast. It was definitely the sauteed peppers that tied the bacon, egg, cheese and waffle together and took the dish to the next level. I knew this was something I had to order again or better yet, try to duplicate at home.
Instead of using Hungarian peppers I took the easy route and used diced green chiles from a can. The result? Oh my. It was delicious! The truth is, a bacon waffle topped with chiles and cheese is actually quite good without the egg as well, though you can imagine how the yolk forms a lovely sauce for the bacon waffle. Sometimes more is better, and it's the excess of this recipe that makes it so satisfying. Who doesn't love bacon, cheddar or green chiles? They are my go to ingredients for making everything from eggs to soups or stews taste better.
I'm not a huge proponent of packaged foods like pancake and waffle mix, but in this case it's a good shortcut. While I often make pancakes or waffles from scratch, having a mix on hand is worthwhile. You can even make your own mix if you like. What restaurant dish will inspire my next recipe? I can't wait to find out...
Chile Cheddar Bacon Waffle
Makes one serving (multiply to serve as many as you like)
Waffle batter, homemade or from a mix
2 strips bacon, cooked and cut into 4 pieces
2 Tablespoons cheddar, shredded
2 Tablespoons fire roasted green chiles (such as Ortega brand)
Optional:
1 teaspoon butter or oil
1 egg
Heat waffle iron and grease as directed. Pour in the batter and lay a piece of bacon in each quadrant. Close cover and cook until done. Meanwhile heat a small nonstick pan. Add the butter or oil and fry the egg. Meanwhile place the chiles in a microwave safe container and gently heat in the microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Place the waffle on a plate, top with the chiles, cheese and egg, if desired.
Enjoy!
martes, 28 de agosto de 2012
Hazelnuts Basbosa Recipe
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Photo: Hazelnuts Basbosa Recipe |
The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to try Hazelnuts BasbosaRecipe. Enjoy the Arabic Cuisine and learn how to make Hazelnuts Basbosa.
Ingredients
For sugar syrup
2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
For the Basbosa
3 cup fine semolina flour
1½ cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoon ghee or melted butter
1½ cup yogurt
½ cup coconut (optional)
1 tablespoon tahini past (sesame seed past)
½ cup chopped hazelnuts (optional)
½ cup chopped almond (optional)
Method
For the syrup
- Place sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat till boiling.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (you can add vanilla or rose water optional).
- Leave it in the oven for 10 minutes or until it is ready, make sure to use it warm.
For the Basbosa
- Mix together flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl.
- Add the melted butter, rub with finger tips till crumbly.
- Add the yogurt and mix it well until you get soft dough.
- You can add coconut to the dough.
- Coat a baking pan with tahini.
- Spread dough evenly on the prepared pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven to 175˚C for 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle nuts over the soft dough while pressing on the surface.
- Place in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden.
- Pour syrup over the hot Basbosa.
- Return to the oven for 5 minutes, let cool at room temperature.
- Serve with whipped cream.
Chef Osama
More Arabic Food Recipes:
Yellow coconut dessert
Sesame Cookies (Barazek)
Coffee Butter Buns
Kunafa Nabulsiah Bil-Kishta
Knafeh
Knafeh Dough
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jueves, 23 de agosto de 2012
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SpanishRecipesinpictures/~3/XF_bl7ddp9k/blood-sausage-and-spinach-omelette.html
Get the rest in my blog! See you there!
lunes, 20 de agosto de 2012
Brussels Sprouts and Miso Dressing Recipe
Add to my list of New Year's resolutions, use more condiments and ingredients lurking in the fridge. My refrigerator is packed with Chinese sauces, jams and jellies, and various sauces and mustards. Sometimes I barely have room for anything else! So I am trying to use the things I probably used once and then forgot about.
First up, miso. I love the salty savory rich flavor of miso, which is a fermented soy bean paste that is like pure umami. You've probably had miso in soup at a Japanese restaurant. I especially like white or shiro miso which also has some sweet buttery notes. I've used it in soup and salad dressings and found that it complements many vegetables. In David Chang's cookbook Momofuku Cooking at Home is a recipe for miso butter sauce which is more like paste, that he was inspired to make after eating miso butter ramen in Japan. He adds a touch of sherry vinegar. In my recipe I make an olive oil based dressing with a touch of buttery white miso. The finished dish tastes much richer than it is.
If you are looking for more ways to use miso, this dressing is a good start. Try using it on other vegetables; I think it would be particularly good on spinach, kale, carrots or cauliflower. You could also use it on salad. Let me know if you have any other tips for using miso!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Creamy Miso Dressing
Serves 4
1 pound brussels sprouts
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons white miso
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon water
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Make dressing by whisking together the miso, olive oil, water, mustard and lemon juice. Taste for seasonings and adjust as you like. The dressing can be kept in the refrigerator for several days, just bring to room temperature and whisk again before serving.
Trim the stem ends of the Brussels sprouts, cut each in half lengthwise, then toss them in a bowl with the olive oil and salt until they are well coated. Transfer sprouts to a roasting pan or rimmed sheet pan (line with tin foil for easier cleaning) and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice so they cook evenly. Brussels sprouts should be beginning to brown on the outside and tender on the inside. Place the sprouts in a serving bowl or platter and drizzle with the dressing.
Enjoy!
jueves, 16 de agosto de 2012
I'm not including a picture because they're just that bad...
viernes, 10 de agosto de 2012
Grocery Shop, July 10
miércoles, 8 de agosto de 2012
VENDAKKAI PULI KUZHAMBU
I wanted to try vatral kuzhambu with okra for a long time. I made it for today's lunch and i loved it.
INGREDIENTS :
- Okra / lady's finger / vendakkai - 5 nos (Chop into round thin slices)
- Tamarind - small gooseberry size
- **Sambhar powder - 1 - 1.5 tsp
- Salt - as needed
- Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
- Jaggery - a small piece
To temper :
- Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
- Methi seeds / Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
- Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Jeera- 1/2 tsp
- Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
- Toor dal - 1/2 tsp
- Small onions - 2 nos (finely chopped)
- Garlic cloves - 4 nos (-do-)
- Curry leaves - few (-do-)
METHOD :
- Soak tamarind in warm water for 20 mins and take the extract. Add salt , sambhar powder and turmeric powder.set aside.
- Now in a kadai , heat oil and add the tempering items in the same order.Saute for a while.Now add the chopped lady's finger pieces and saute well.
- Now add the tamarind extract and allow it to boil till okra gets cooked. Add a small piece of jaggery.
- Switch off the flame.Transfer to a bowl and add a tsp of gingely oil .Cover it and serve after 30 mins.This gives a special flavor for the gravy.
Mix with plain rice & enjoy with sutta appalam :)
** For sambhar powder recipe, please refer the side bar. U can use ur home made or store bought powder too.There will be no change in taste i guess..
KITCHEN CLINIC:
Lady's finger /Okra : Okra, also known as Ladies Fingers, Gombo, Bendi or Gumbo, appears to have originated from the West Africa and is well known for its great health benefits. Benefits of Okra The other half is insoluble fiber which helps to keep the intestinal tract healthy, thus decreasing the risk of some forms of cancer, especially colon cancer. Colon Cancer is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world.
Ladies finger is a very useful vegetable and inexpensive medicine, as it is available practically round the year in India. Due to its sweet taste, cold potency, vata-pitta pacifier nature, strength promoting aphrodisiac qualities, it is a very useful to ladies close to menopause. It is found beneficial in leucorrhoea and dysuria also. Okra is also reported to be beneficial to those suffering from diabetes as it helps to stabilize the blood sugar. Some people have even claimed to have cured their diabetes or their condition greatly improved with the daily consumption of water that has been soaked with okra. **Take two pieces of Lady Finger (Bhindi) and remove/cut both ends of each piece. Also put a small cut in the middle and put these two pieces in glass of water. Cover the glass and keep it at room temperature during night. Early morning, before breakfast simply remove two pieces of lady finger (bhindi) from the glass and drink that water. Keep doing it on daily basis. Within two weeks, you will see remarkable results in reduction of your SUGAR. Health Benefits of Lady's Finger :
Lady finger is also known as Okra. It is a very valuable source of nutrition. It can help with the following health conditions:
Here are some nutritional facts of Lady fingers: Okra Nutrition (half-cup cooked Lady Finger) contains:
To retain the nutrients present in lady fingers, it should be cooked as little as possible, eg with low heat or lightly steamed. You can even eat it raw. |
lunes, 6 de agosto de 2012
Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is hand's down, my favorite holiday of the year. I think I even like it better than my birthday, which is really saying something. So here's why:
1. There is nothing you have to do on Thanksgiving, other than share a meal. There are no religious ceremonies or gift giving. You can say a prayer before eating or watch a parade or play football if you want, but you can also take a nap! It's all good.
2. It's inclusive. Anyone who is in America (or outside of America for that matter) can celebrate this holiday if they want to. It's not about race or religion or nationality, in fact, it's about welcoming and helping those who are newcomers and celebrating the harvest.
3. It's about comfort food. I hear a lot of people complaining about traditional Thanksgiving food, they say turkey is boring, pumpkin pie is heavy and stodgy. To them I say, it's comfort food, not fine dining. Get over it. Besides, this holiday is about sharing a meal with friends and family, what you eat is secondary. Go out for Chinese food if you prefer, that is, if you can find a Chinese restaurant that's open.
4. It's two blessed days off. For most people anyway. That is reason enough to be thankful.
5. Leftovers!
Happy Thanksgiving!
A few favorite past Thanksgiving posts from the archives:
How Thanksgiving became a national holiday
Brussels sprouts with brown butter and hazelnuts recipe
Cranberry coffeecake recipe
Curried Butternut Squash Soup recipe
Pilgrim onion marmalade recipe
Turkey drumsticks braised in cranberry sauce recipe
sábado, 4 de agosto de 2012
Cranberry Pear Tart or Gratin
Whether you make it as a tart or a gratin, the flavor is intense, but not as bitter as many cranberry desserts. It seems to be adored by both those who love cranberries and those who usually don't like them, so give it a try!
For the crust you can use either the Press-In Sablé Crust, weighted and partially baked, or you can use Sweet Pastry Crust, which is a more traditional tart crust recipe. For this crust, roll the dough into a 13-inch round, about 1/16-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the tart pan, pressing it snugly into the bottom of the pan where it meets the edges and into the flutes of the tart pan. Roll a rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off the excess dough. Press up on the edges to thin them out and to raise the edges about 1/16-inch (for a photo description, see Pies and Tarts Part 3. ) Refrigerate or freeze the crust for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 weeks (for long storage, place the tart in a jumbo zip-top bag). For either crust, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Press a piece of greased aluminum foil snugly on top of the dough. Fill the foil with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the foil and beans and bake 5 minutes more, just until the bottom crust is cooked but not brown. Set aside to cool completely.
Cranberry Pear Filling
3 cups fresh cranberries ( about 1 package)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon tapioca starch or cornstarch
2 teaspoons cold water
1/4 cup brown sugar
Wash the cranberries and remove any soft or rotten berries. Measure out 3 cups and place in a saucepan with the sugar. Place the apples in a food processor and process as finely as possible. Add to the pot. Cook over medium-low heat until the berries release their juices, about 8 minutes. Add the pears, brown sugar, orange juice, raisins and cinnamon to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and the pears are cooked, through but still firm, about 10-20 minutes, checking every 5 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot. If the mixture does not seem to be saucy enough, add water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the mixture seems thin enough for the pears to cook and for the mixture not to scorch. ( If your pears were very hard to begin with, they will take the longer amount of time to cook). During the last minute of cooking, place the starch in a small bowl and gradually add the 2 teaspoons of water to the starch. Stir this into the cranberry mixture and boil for about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl to cool, and then refrigerate until ready to use (can be made ahead).
For the Tart:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. For the streusel, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter and mix with your fingers to distribute the fat. Squeeze the mixture into crumbs. Fill the tart with the cranberry filling.
Top with the streusel, and bake at 375 degrees F. until the crumbs are browned, about 15-25 minutes. Let the tart cool at least 30 minutes before serving. The tart can be made 8 hours ahead and stored, uncovered, or loosely covered, at room temperature.
VARIATION - Cranberry Pear Gratins
For 8 gratins, you probably need half of the filling and a full recipe of the Streusel.
To make gratins, leave the thickener (tapioca or cornstarch) out of the filling. Place about 1/2 cup filling in each of 8 mini-gratin molds (you can also use ramekins, but you get more topping with the gratin molds which are shallow and long). Sprinkle the crumbs over the gratins and set in the oven for 15-25 minutes, just until the crumbs are nicely browned. Let the crisps cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
jueves, 2 de agosto de 2012
Filled Fudge Cookies Revisited
I originally published this recipe in December 2010, and recently cooked them again, with a friend. Just for experience, she made them at her house before our baking session, and found that she had some difficulties with the dough. I could tell immediately that she had overcooked the cookies, but when she described how dry her dough was, I knew that there was probably another problem. We made them again, using the ingredients she had brought and found that the dough was way too dry. The culprit seemed to be the flour. The recipe called for unbleached flour, and that is what she had brought, but it was Gold Metal - Better For Bread, unbleached, and this flour has too much protein in it for the dough to work (we know this because we made them again with Pillsbury unbleached and it worked fine). I have changed the recipe to reflect this - it now calls for all-purpose flour - either unbleached or bleached will work fine, and will be less confusing to those who can only find unbleached bread flour. The other issue was with the 1/2 can of condensed milk. I, of course, did this by weight, using 7 ounces of the condensed milk - which actually turns out to be more than half of the can - even though the can says that it is 14 ounces. The recipe now has a more precise measurement for this. Lastly, we wanted the cookies to look more elegant so we drizzled them with dark and white chocolate. I don't have a picture of the result, but they really looked wonderful.
This recipe is based upon a 1995 $50,000 Pillsbury Bake-off winner called Fudgy Bonbons. It was a really good confection, but not a great one, because the dough was kind of greasy and the filling bland. The original recipe called for using chocolate chips, which got melted together with some butter and then mixed together with condensed milk and flour. Because there was not a very large amount of butter, every time I made the cookies, the chocolate mixture seized - that is, it got stiff and grainy very quickly. The quick fix to this was to melt the chocolate and butter separately, and then to combine the chocolate with the very large quantity of condensed milk, which worked beautifully (as long as the milk is at room temperature!). I also thought that the dough would be smoother and less greasy with less butter in it. In addition to these problems, the original recipe called for using milk chocolate kisses in the center. So here you had a rather sweet wrapping around a mediocre piece of chocolate candy, rather than having a contrast between the two and a superb chocolate candy center. The last problem with the bon bons was that, although they tasted good the first day, after that the candy center hardened and then it was more like eating a wrapped candy, rather than a cookie. All of these objections were easy to fix as you'll see in the following recipe. In my opinion, I've turned a $50,000 bonbon into a $100,000 cookie! Love to have your opinions!
Filled Fudge Cookies
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped ( I used Ghirardelli)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
7 ounces (2/3cup) sweetened condensed milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour, measured by fluffing, scooping and levelling
30 Dove Promise candies, Caramel or Peanut Butter (or solid)
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, for decorating
2 ounces white chocolate, optional (to get it to melt thinly, you need white chocolate with more than 31% cocoa butter (more than 15g/40g chocolate)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. with a rack in the center of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Place the chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl, and heat it on medium power (5) for 1-1/2 minutes. If the chocolate isn't yet melting, heat it for another 30 seconds. Stir, and see if the mixture needs more heating or if it can rest and continue melting on its own. Continue, heating, stirring and resting until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool briefly.
Meanwhile, place the butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat it on 10 seconds to melt the butter. Stir the condensed milk and vanilla into the chocolate and then stir in the melted butter.
Add the flour and stir, and then knead the dough until all of the flour has been incorporated.