Archive for October, 2009

Daring Bakers October Challenge

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Masala Chai Macaroon

French Macaroons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

For months I have been watching Daring Baker blog posts and secretly wanted to be a part of it.  I went back and forth on whether or not I should join feeling that my baking skills were pretty beginner and many of the recipes seemed much more advanced.  After thinking it over for a bit I made the decision to apply to Daring Kitchen and become a Daring Baker.

I am happy to announce that I have completed my first daring baker challenge, Macaroons, and am very happy with the results.  Although my macaroon is not super fluffy the taste makes up for it.  I decided to go with a masala chai macaroon with a pumpkin cream cheese filling.  What an amazing taste!

It seems like I am always looking for a way to use chai in a recipe but never end up doing it because I have been unable to find a good chai powder, similar to a matcha powder.  After putting it off for far too long I ended up just taking some masala chai I got while in India last summer and put it in the spice grinder, making sure to sift it before putting it in the recipe.  It worked much better than I thought it would and the end result was a macaroon with a hint of chai.

The filling was my tried and true base of cream cheese and sugar whipped in the stand mixer with some whipping cream mixed in.  Once the stiff peaks form you fold in some pumpkin puree with spices added.  The end result is a creamy light filling that can be used in a variety of ways.

Macaroons seem like a recipe that take a bit of practice and finesse.  Making sure your egg whites are beat just right before folding in the almond flour, but then making sure you don’t over mix to lose the fluffiness.  There are many things I have learned in this first attempt at macaroons that will improve the results for my future tries.

But I have to say…

Feet on a Macaroon

Nothing is better than when you watch the feet form on your macaroon and know that atleast one part of your recipe is going according to plan.  My husband who is always supportive came over and gave me a high five when he saw how excited I was.

I have decided with baking that even if it doesn’t go according to plan there is always something great that results from your baking, who knows it may become a new favourite recipe.

Masala Chai Macaroon

2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

2 cups almond flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

5 room temperature egg whites

1 tablespoon masala chai powder

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Combine the confectioners sugar almond flour and masala chai powder in a medium bowl.

Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks.  Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine.  Sift the remaining flour in two batches.  Be gentle!  Don’t over fold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plan half inch tip, or use a ziploc bag with the corner cut off.  Pipe one inch sized mounds of batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 35 degrees.  Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pan back in the oven and bake for an additional 7-8 minutes, or lightly colored.

Cook on a rack before filling

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

2 ounces cream cheese

3 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves

With a whisk attachment, using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium high speed until fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Mix pumpkins and spices and then fold into the cream cheese mixture.

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Posted in Baking, Daring Bakers |

Chicken Tostadas with Mango Avocado Salsa

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Chicken Tostada's with Mango Avocado Salsa

Mangoes are definitely something that I have learned to love over the years.  I was never a big fan of them until I was living in Egypt and having fresh mango juice from a street vendor.  Up until recently I hadn’t even really worked with fresh mangoes,   I now see what I have been missing all these years.

The mango avocado salsa is what initially caught my attention for this recipe.  The original recipe from where else but Cooking Light, is for a chicken taco with mango avocado salsa but I thought I would mix it up a little bit and pile it high on a tostada. 

The seasoning used on the chicken had a little bit of spice that complimented the sweetness of the mango.  All of these elements played together for a really great dish.  This was a perfect meal for a weekday night when you want something different but don’t have all day to put it together.  I will definitely make this dish again.

Chicken Tostadas

Courtesy of Cooking Light

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 (6 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Combine the first 4 ingredients and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Rub over the chicken.  Add oil to the pan, swirl to coat the surface.  Add chicken and cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove chicken from the pan and let stand for 5 minutes.  Cut into 1/4 inch thick strips.

Mango Avocado Salsa

Courtesy of Cooking Light

1/2 cup diced peeled mango

1/2 cup diced peeled avocado

1/2 cup chopped tomato

1/3 cup chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I used 1/4 of a cup)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper

tostada shells

While the chicken cooks, combine mango and the next 6 ingreidents, stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Pile everything on top of the tostada and enjoy!

 

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Posted in Chicken |

Tater Tot Casserole

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Everyone has those dishes that they remember from childhood but haven’t had in years, even though it was a staple when you were little.  There is just something comforting about these dishes that just make you think of home and being a kid.

Tater Tot Casserole

Tater Tot casserole is that dish for me.

Tater tot casserole has ingredients that are just meant to be together.  Tater tot casserole at 27 is just as good as it was at 6.  Can you really go wrong with ground beef, onions, tater tots and lots of cheese?

This is a dish that can be put together in 15 minutes and then just popped in the oven until the tater tots get crispy, what could be easier in the middle of the week.

Since enjoying this dish it makes me want to start making the other dishes from childhood like tuna noodle casserole, which I am pretty sure I hated every time my mom made it but I have no idea why I felt that way.  It is fun to relive those childhood memories through food.

Tater Tot Casserole

Courtesy of my mom, Patti Steen

1 pound ground beef

onion

salt and pepper

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

cheese

tater tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground beef and the onions.  Remove from heat and add the cream of mushroom soup and the salt and pepper.  Put mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 pan.  Sprinkle grated cheese over the top and then put down a layer of tater tots.  Sprinkle the top with salt.  Place pan in the oven and cook until tater tots are crispy.

It is that easy!

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Posted in Ground Beef |

Ice Cream Adventures

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Ice Cream

While visiting friends on Vancouver Island I thought it would be a great idea to bring along my ice cream making supplies and put together a homemade ice cream with their two daughters, Amy and Lydia.

Each girl was going to be able to pick their flavour and then we would make two batches of ice cream, or atleast that was the plan.  Lydia took about 5 seconds to decide which flavour she wanted, Moosetracks Extreme, where as Amy needed more time.  Now I just had to figure out what was in moosetracks extreme and what my plan was for chocolate ice cream.

Up until this point I had only made vanilla based ice creams so although I knew it wasn’t going to be hard I still had to figure it out.  Thanks to Amanda’s Cookin I was able to find a quick and easy custard base chocolate ice cream.  All it needed at that point was some things mixed in and we had moosetracks extreme.

Saturday afternoon Lydia and I hit the kitchen to put together our custard base ice cream.  While the milk was heating up I had her start on the separating of the 5 eggs, something she had never done before, but quickly became a pro.

As a huge fan of chocolate, Lydia would much rather have eaten the chocolate shavings than put them in the ice cream but we managed to cut up enough for the recipe, with a few tastes along the way.  Once all the chocolate was added and the custard had thickened up the ice cream was ready for the fridge to later be frozen.

The ice cream bowl had been freezing since the night before so when we pulled it out that night to start freezing it was ready to go.  When I told Amy and Lydia it was time to freeze the ice cream I said “Come up and watch the ice cream freeze in an instant” which turned out to be quite the wrong statement.  After staring at the mixer for over 5 minutes I let them go back to their movie and said I would call them when it started to thicken.

After close to 30 minutes I knew there was a problem because the ice cream was still runny and not getting thick at all.  I have made numerous batches with the same equipment and this has never happened to me before.  Unfortunately the girls were not going to get their ice cream before bed and because of the delay we weren’t going to be able to make a second batch for Amy.

They headed off to bed while I mixed the ingredients for both girls ice cream and then put it in the freezer, hoping it would be frozen by morning…

Bright and early the next morning the three of us got the ice cream out of the fridge that was loaded with peanut butter cups, marshmallows and almonds and each had a bowl.  Lydia proclaimed that this was the best ice cream she had ever had, something that made me happy considering the efforts to get it to freeze the night before.

Slowly as everyone woke up that morning they were given a bowl of the ice cream all agreeing that this was a great batch.  Even though we only had a chance to make one batch it was very yummy and I think the girls had a good time trying out our homemade ice cream.

Marshmallow Madness

2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

5 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mini marshmallows

Slivered almonds

Peanut butter cups, chopped

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium sauce pan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.  Remove from the heat and add teh chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth.  Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream.  Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)  Add marshmallows, almonds and peanut butter cups and let set in the freezer

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Posted in Ice Cream |

Kale Potato Soup

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Sausage Potato Soup

On a cold and rainy night there is really nothing better than a warm bowl of soup.  And sometimes a warm bowl of soup just sounds good so who cares if it isn’t cold and rainy.

This recipe came about from being a bit lazy and not wanting to do all the steps the cooking light recipe called for.  What should have been a creamy potato soup with a kale oil on top became a hearty potato and kale soup.  I have to say the end result was quite yummy.

Kale has become a favorite ingredient for me, it just adds something to the dishes you put it in.  I credit my friend Rachel for introducing me to this wonderful ingredient.  I remember I was in her kitchen while she was visiting for Christmas last year and she was making me dinner.  Rachel is a wonderful cook and so I knew it was going to be a great vegetarian meal, little did I know she was going to introduce me to this amazing ingredient.

I have to take a minute and explain to you the friendship Rachel and I have had over the last 5 years.  Rachel described our friendship perfectly this morning in an email “I am so glad that the universe saw fit to bring us together with our matching backpacks to spend a year in Egypt where we could build a life long friendship.”

While living in Egypt Rachel was my cook, you see we had this sort of agreement, I would provide ingredients and she would make them into a meal.  It worked very well for us because I was not a fan of anything that had to do with the kitchen and she enjoyed creating things, especially some truly amazing cinnamon rolls.

Over the years she has seen me slowly change my opinions on cooking and has been there to support me as I grow in my skills.  So thank you to Rachel for showing me how amazing kale is and being such a great friend.

Kale Potato Soup

Adapted from Cooking Light

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups finely chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 pounds cubed peeled potatoes

4 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1 cup half and half

4 ounces Romano cheese

6 ounces hot italian sausage

2 cups chopped kale

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add 1 1/2 cups onion, saute 4 minutes stirring frequently.  Stir in peppers, 1/8 teaspoon salt and potato, saute 2 minutes.  Add broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender; stirring occasionally.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add remaining 1/2 cup onion; saute for 6 minutes stirring frequently.  Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt and sausage; cook 8 minutes or until browned.

Add half and half and kale to soup and cook for 4 minutes or until kale is softened.  Stir in sausage and heat soup thoroughly.

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Posted in Sausage, Soup |

Koshari

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Sean and I

Five years ago I decided to take a break from university and move half way around the world to teach english.  I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into but during my time in Egypt I not only learned a world about myself but I also met my husband while traveling in the region.

While living in Cairo I fell in love with some of the most common street foods such as ful, ta’mijja, shwarma and koshari.  These are the dishes I would pick up on the way home for a quick and easy lunch or dinner but since being home have never found a place that makes it like I remember.

Koshuri

Of these dishes my favorite by far was koshari, who wouldn’t like a dish that is heavy on carbs with a spicy tomato sauce on top.  I was beside myself when flipping through the newest edition of Cooking Light and came across a recipe for koshari.  It was instantly added to my plan for the week and I just couldn’t wait to try making it as it had been 4 year since I have had any.

Taking my first bite brought me back to the stall near the metro station in Ghamra where I enjoyed my koshari.

The end result was a great lighter recipe that still had many of the elements that I enjoyed while in Egypt.  Where the original had crispy fried onions this one was a more reasonable pan fried onions, all of the elements were there and made for a wonderful first attempt at recreating a dish I loved so much.

Koshari

Courtesy of Cooking Light

Sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add chopped onion to pan and cook for 15 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic, cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, peppers and tomatoes; cook 10 minutes or until slightly thick.  Transfer tomato mixture to a food processor; process 1 minute or until smooth.  Keep warm.

Koshari:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups thinly sliced onion

1/2 cup uncooked vermicelli, broken into 1 inch pieces

5 cups water

1 1/4 cups dried lentils or yellow split peas

2 1/2 cups hot cooked long grain rice

1 teaspoon salt

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in pan over medium heat, add sliced onion; cook 15 minutes or until deep golden brown, stirring frequently.  Remove onion with a slotted spoon to several layers of paper towels, set aside.  Return pan to medium heat and add vermicelli, saute 2 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.  Set aside.

Combine 5 cups water and lentils in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Remove from heat and add vermicelli, stirring well to combine.  Wrap a kitchen towel around the lid and cover lentil mixture; let stand for 10 minutes or until vermicelli is tender.  Add rice and 1 teaspoon salt to lentil mixture, fluff with a fork.  Serve immediately with sauce and onions.


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Posted in Pasta |

Daring Bakers

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

When I began my obsession with following food blogs back in the spring I kept noticing Daring Baker posts every month.  I always though it was something that would be fun but to be honest I was a bit intimidated by the whole idea.

I like to bake but thinking outside the box and creating my own spin on a recipe is not something I have really tried before.  After going back and forth on whether to join or not I finally took the plunge and applied last month.

I am happy to say that I am now a Daring Baker!!!!

My mind is already thinking of how I can take this months recipe and make it my own. 

Check back on the 27th for my first attempt at being a Daring Baker.

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Posted in Baking |

Jerk Chicken Pizza Pocket

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Jerk Chicken Pizza

Recently while on holiday in Jamaica we had the opportunity to try Jerk Chicken for the first time.  I was instantly a fan, you really can’t go wrong with spicy chicken dipped in even spicier jerk sauce.

One night we decided to go to a local restaurant where the owner, Cheryl, sold her own jerk sauce, I couldn’t resist buying some to bring home and incorporate into a recipe in some way.  At that point I didn’t know just how spicy the sauce was.

It wasn’t very hard to decide what the meal was going to be…

Jerk Chicken Pizza Pockets with home made pizza dough and a pizza sauce using some of Cheryl’s jerk sauce.  Since I was just making it up as I went the amount of jerk sauce was just a guess and might have been a little bit too spicy but still very good.

Jerk Chicken Pizza

Having never made pizza dough before I was excited to try it out and just hoped all the pieces came together and I ended up with pizza dough.  Since activiating the yeast is the first step you are going to know right from the start whether you are going to have the beginnings of a successful pizza dough.

My first attempt at activating the yeast was unsuccessful because my husband pointed out that the recipe I was using didn’t call for sugar with the yeast and warm water.  After my husband explained the nature of yeast and how to work sucessfully with it I now know you need sugar to get it moving.

I threw out the first batch and started over with my last package of instant yeast and some sugar.  Within  less than  minute I saw the yeast start to bubble and I was getting excited, so far so good.  After all the rising and punching down I was left with a ball of pizza dough just waiting to be made into pizza pockets.

Now it was time to cook the chicken and if you are going to have jerk chicken pizza pockets you need jerk chicken.  I put together a jerk seasoning, covered the chicken in it and then baked.

Then came assembly.

I now see that stretching out pizza dough it not an easy task although it was fun trying all kinds of different methods and seeing the funny shaped pizza’s in the end.  The more I made the better I got and by the end I had made a nice looking pizza pocket.

Jerk Chicken Pizza

It was great fun making pizza dough for the first time but also taking something that I had enjoyed while on holiday and making it my own.  The pizza pocket was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside filled with spicy jerk chicken and accompanied with jerk pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.  What a great meal and so much fun to make.

Pizza Dough

Adapted from Annie’s Eats Perfect Pizza Crust

1/2 cup warm water

1 envelope instant yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/4 cup water, room temperature

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cups bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Measure the warm water into a 2 cup liquid measuring cup and add the sugar.  Stir in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and bubbles, about 5 minutes.  Add the room temperature water and oil, stir to combine.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, briefly combine the dry ingredients at a slow speed.  Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at a low speed until a cohesive mass forms.  Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Press the dough to deflate it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into two equal pieces and start forming pizzas.

Jerk Pizza Sauce

Adapted from Life’s Ambrosia

1 (14.5) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon jerk sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon allspice

Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat until it starts to bubble slightly.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15- 20 minutes.

Jerk Seasoning

Adapted from Serious Eats

1/4 cup allspice

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon chile powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

With a mortar and pestle crush all ingredients together and place in a sealable container until ready to use.

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Posted in Chicken |