Friday, August 5, 2011

Culinary Arts: Lime Ice Cream: Makes Me Feel Fine...

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Lime Ice Cream: Makes Me Feel Fine...
Aug 5th 2011, 02:51


Lime Ice Cream
© 2011 Kevin D Weeks

When the temperature hits the 90s I turn to ice cream to cool off and one of my favorites is lime ice cream. This recipe is adapted from my recipe for Lime Icebox Pie. Sometimes I even make graham cracker crust, break it up, and stir it in at the end but when I made this batch I didn't know I'd run out of graham cracker crumbs. Recipe here...

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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Culinary Arts: Stewed Apples

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Stewed Apples
Aug 4th 2011, 10:03

Is there anything that speaks more to autumn than apples? We enjoy apple pies, crisps, and brown betties for dessert and add apples to braised cabbage. I'm particularly fond of stewed apples, an incredibly easy dish to prepare even when you get fancy as I do here. You could serve these hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert and they're great wrapped in buckwheat crepes with a dollop of mascarpone cheese, but I like them as a side dish. (Larger image.) Serves 2.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 apples; peeled, cored, and diced*
  • 2 Tbsp. molasses
  • 1 - 2 Tbsp. rum, apple brandy, or water
  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
  • 6 - 8 grates of fresh nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. allspice
  • Pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Add enough rum, apple brandy, or water to a small sauce-pan to just cover the bottom.

2. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to blend. Place over low heat, partially cover, and simmer gently until apples are tender - about 30 minutes.

*My favorite cooking apple these days is Braeburns, but in this case I used a combination of Granny Smiths and Gala.

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Culinary Arts: Smoked Salmon Bruschetta

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Smoked Salmon Bruschetta
Aug 4th 2011, 10:03

These smoked salmon bruschetta can be prepped hours in advance and refrigerated, but are quick enough to make and serve in 15 minutes. The smoked salmon brings rich deep flavor, which the brie lightens up making it suitable for an appetizer. Dill and red onion are optional, but lend a remembrance of lox. Serves 2.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • good quality baguette
  • 3 oz. packaged smoked salmon
  • 1 oz. brie
  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion (optional)
  • 6 sm. sprigs fresh dill (optional)

Preparation:

1. Turn oven on to broil.

2. Slice baquette on a diagonal into 6, 1/2-inch slices. Cut salmon on a diagonal into 6 thin, 1/8-inch slices. Cut brie into 6 slices.*

3. Brush one side of baguette slices with olive oil, arrange on a baking sheet, and toast until they just begin to brown, 3 - 5 minutes.

4. Turn slice of bread over, add a slice of salmon, a slice of cheese, and sprinkle with a bit of red onion.

5. Return to broiler and cook until cheese begins to melt, 3 - 5 minutes.

6. Add a sprig of dill and enjoy.

*Note: the salmon and brie should be cut so that they're roughly the same size as the slices of bread.

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Culinary Arts: Basic Cheese Souffle

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Basic Cheese Souffle
Aug 4th 2011, 10:03

Whether a simple cheese souffle or or something fancier involving lobster or asparagus, souffles are the pinnacle of egg dishes. Nevertheless, a lot of people are intimidated by souffles, there seems to be something arcane or magical about creating them, but in fact they're not difficult to make. This is a basic recipe that can be adapted in many ways and you can find a detailed tutorial on making souffles here. (Larger Image.) Serves 2.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • Additional butter to grease dishes
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. unbleached flour
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 2 eggs; separated
  • 1/4 â€" 1/3 cup grated cheese*
  • 2 Tbsp. finely grated parmesan
  • 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (optional)

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 2 1-cup soufflé dishes/ramekins with butter and dust with parmesan.

2.Melt 1 1/2 tablespoon butter over medium low heat, add flour, and cook for 3 minutes stirring constantly.

3.In the meantime, heat milk in the microwave at medium power for 30 seconds.

4.Whisk in milk and continue to cook, stirring, until thickened.

5.Whisk together egg yolks and spices, then add to sauce mixture, whisking steadily to avoid scrambling the eggs.

6.Stir in the cheese, melt, and mix thoroughly.

7.Mix in any additional ingredients, remove from heat, and allow to cool to room temperature.

8.Beat egg whites to medium stiff peaks. If you're not using a copper egg bowl, add cream of tartar.

9.Thoroughly fold 1/3 of whites into sauce mixture.

10.Casually fold mixture back into remaining whites.

11.Pour into soufflé dishes, place in oven, reduce heat to 375F, and bake 30 to 35 minutes depending on how well done you like your soufflés. Don’t open the oven for the first 20 minutes!

*Cheese possibilities include gruyere, emmentaler, comte, chevre, brie, cheddar, manchego, blue, in fact, almost any cheese.

Additions: Almost anything is good. Whatever you add should be finely chopped so that it is both evenly distributed throughout the dish and so that the expanding eggs can lift it â€" chunks will fall to the bottom. Don’t add more than about a half cup of the additional ingredient to the cheese mixture, and make sure whatever you add is well drained to avoid thinning the sauce. Lastly, additional ingredients should generally be cooked in advance.

  • Possibilities:
  • Crab, lobster, crayfish
  • Spinach (an old standby), sorrel, arugula (be sure to squeeze all moisture out of these before chopping)
  • Asparagus, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes
  • Ham, bacon

I've also created a detailed photo tutorial.

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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Culinary Arts: Greek Fried Cheese

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Greek Fried Cheese
Aug 3rd 2011, 10:03

When I was in college I had a Lebanese friend whose favorite breakfast was feta, fried in butter, stuffed in pita bread, and drizzled with honey. It was an insanely good breakfast and one I enjoy to this day. Years later I was introduced to saganaki, which sounds Japanese but is actually one of several Greek cheeses dredged in flour, fried in olive oil, and drizzled with lemon juice. It's a great appetizer and I often serve it at cocktail parties. (Larger image.) Makes 4 portions.

Prep Time: 1 minute

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 4 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces kasseri cheese; at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lemon - cut into quarters

Preparation:

1. Combine flour, pepper, and nutmeg in a small pie plate. Cut cheese into 2 x 1 x 1/2 inch slices and dredge in flour, shaking off excess, then lay on a sheet of wax paper.

2. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, dredge cheese in flour again, shaking off excess, and fry in batches until browned - 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side.

3. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over cheese.

Note: My favorite cheese for this is haloumi.

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Culinary Arts: Fried Okra

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Fried Okra
Aug 3rd 2011, 10:03

Fried okra is one of summer's greatest treats. I can make an entire meal of these little morsels - perhaps with a few sliced tomatoes and cukes on the side. A lot of folks object to okra because they think it's slimey, and it is slimey when stewed, but there's nothing slimey about fried okra. As you can see from the recipe, I keep it really simple with just cornmeal, salt, pepper, and buttermilk, which binds the cornmeal to the okra. (Larger image.) Serves 2.

Prep Time: 15�minutes

Cook Time: 10�minutes

Total Time: 25�minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb. okra
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 Tbsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 cup cultured buttermilk
  • vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Choose okra that is an even green color and 2" - 4" long.

2. Trim stem ends from okra and cut into 3/4" lengths.

3. Soak in buttermilk for 15 minutes.

4. Mix cornmeal, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. Add okra and toss to coat.

5. Heat 1/2-inch of oil in a 10" skillet (cast iron is traditional) over medium high heat.

6. When oil begins to shimmer, sift excess cornmeal mixture from okra and add to skillet.

7. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown. (Stir gently to avoid losing coating.)

8. Drain on paper towels and salt again if needed.

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Culinary Arts: Jerk Seasoning

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Jerk Seasoning
Aug 3rd 2011, 10:03

This jerk seasoning mix is great on fish, shrimp, pork, and chicken. It will keep in a sealed jar out of the light for six months so I always keep some on hand. I suggest making a batch with 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, cooking something with it, and then adjusting adding a bit more cayenne if you want it spicier. Makes just over 1/2 cup.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. sweet paprika
  • 3 Tbsp. garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp. ground allspice
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less, depending on preferred spice level)
  • 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
  • 3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Thoroughly mix all ingredients.

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Culinary Arts: Baking for Two

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Baking for Two
Aug 3rd 2011, 10:03

Baking for two can be difficult. Most recipes are geared toward six to eight servings, but there are options. Excellent options in fact, some of which are dead simple, while others require more planning and effort.

Fruit Desserts

I tend to avoid pies because either I need to make my own pastry to create a small pie or make a full-size pie. Instead I lean towards crisps, betties, buckles, and slumps. For example, my Apple Crisp only takes 15 minutes to make and 40 minutes to bake. These approaches offer the same satisfaction as a pie but are easier to resize and to make.

For fancier occasions, half a sheet of puff pastry, lined with sliced pears, and baked can be quite elegant and reasonably sized for two people. Just refreeze the unused portion of pastry. Another elegant trick is to macerate fruit as above and serve it in puff pastry shells.

Cakes

Cakes are a more difficult proposition. Some cakes, such as pound and bundt cakes, freeze well (so do sweet quick breads and muffins). In this case it's reasonable to make a full size-version and freeze a half or two-thirds. Just wrap whatever you're freezing in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and place in a zippered freezer bag. Be sure to label it with the date.

Traditional layer cakes don't freeze as well. If you're making the cake from scratch you can down-size the recipe and make a single layer cake. This is more difficult if you're using a mix, but it's still doable. About Guide Linda Larsen offers this way of reducing a cake made from a box.

Most cheesecake recipes are easy to reduce and cheesecake also freezes well. You can find a selection of small cheesecake pans at Kitchen Conservatory as well as other small cake pans, baking dishes, and even a 5 1/2 inch Emile Henry pie pan.

Cookies

Most cookie dough freezes well for four to six weeks (the exception being soft, meringue-style cookies). Rolls of dough can be double-wrapped in plastic, chilled in the refrigerator, and then frozen in a zippered bag. Divide the rolls into batches suitable for six to eight cookies before packaging. These will need to be defrosted in the refrigerator before being cut into cookies and baked, so plan ahead.

Drop cookies such as oatmeal, chocolate chip, and molasses can be frozen on a baking sheet, then transferred to a sealed container. Simply remove the number of cookies you want to cook, let them warm up at room temperature for 30 minutes, and bake.

Bread

Baked bread freezes beautifully and if I'm going to the trouble of baking bread I really don't see any good reason for downsizing a recipe. But you do have few options that might make baking bread easier or more convenient.

For example, you can make use a full recipe but make smaller loaves, whether free-form or in small loaf pans and freeze what you don't need immediately. Another option is to make rolls, most recipes will adapt well to this form. It's also possible with smaller breads such as rolls and baguettes to par-bake them until they just begin to brown, then cool and freeze them. You can then defrost them in the refrigerator and finish baking them when needed.

Selected Recipes

Blood Orange Pots de Crème
Frozen Maple Mousse
Baked Bananas with Brown Sugar
Raspberry Trifle for 2

Other Resources

Sallie's Place
Small-Batch Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos

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