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Maple Turtles (without white sugar)

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Recently, I was very happy to discover that you can make caramel using maple syrup and no refined white sugar. Yippy!

I also found out that the only different between my maple turtles and my maple pralines, is in the stirring. When you stir caramel, it crystallizes and changes the texture. If you don’t stir, it remains smooth.

You’ll need a candy thermometer for this.

Ingredients
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup of pecans or walnuts
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Method

  • Combine the cream, butter and maple syrup in the saucepan. Stir until well mixed.
  • Cook over medium heat. You may gently swish sauce, but don’t stir. Heat until temperature reaches 240º F 245° F, 10 to 15 minutes.
  • While the mixture is heating, line a sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly grease it.
  • Arrange pecans or walnuts in groups of three or four on the lined sheet pan.
  • Remove saucepan from the heat.
  • Drop small spoonfuls of caramel over the pecans. It will spread, so do a little at a time. You can go back and add more caramel once the first spoonful has set. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Cool. Eat, yum!

Makes 18.

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Pan Roasted Pork Chops with Maple Orange Sauce

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

If you haven’t noticed, it’s maple syrup season around here. I am very excited about this. I am awed by the fact that you can make something so delicious from tree sap. Did you know it takes 30-40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup? Lucky for you we have lots of local farmers who take care of that part.

Ingredients
4 pork chops, 1 inch thick (I use bone-in but boneless is fine)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup orange juice
Salt, pepper

Method

  • Mix orange juice, minced garlic and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Pour over pork and marinate for at least 20 minutes.
  • Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add pork chops (reserve marinade), salt and pepper each side.
  • Cook for a minute, turn and cook other side for a minute.
  • Turn heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes a side until internal temperature reaches 140º to 150º
  • Remove from skillet and set aside.
  • Add marinade to skillet.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
  • Heat over medium-high heat until sauce reduces and starts to thicken about 3-4 minutes, stir constantly. It will be a nice dark brown color.
  • Pour sauce over pork chops. Serve with a fresh salad or roasted vegetables.

Serves Four.

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May Y’all: Chicken Gumbo

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

This is my husband’s recipe.

Ingredients
2 pounds of chicken thighs (skin on/off and boneless choices are up to you)
2 pounds andouille or hot smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup oil (either use the drippings from the sausage or add olive oil)
1 stick of butter
1 cup flour
2 large onions, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
4 quarts chicken stock
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, or cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 bunch scallions, chopped
Filé powder (dried sassafras) to taste
Cooked rice (enough for 12 servings)

Method

  • In a large heavy gauge pot, brown the sausage, drain off most of the drippings and reserve. Keep a little in the pan for the chicken. Set sausage aside.
  • In same pot, over medium-high heat, brown chicken thighs for 7 to 8 minutes each side. Set aside.
  • For your roux, heat the oil and butter until melted and then slowly add flour. Stir constantly over medium heat, until the roux reaches a dark brown color (this may take 20 to 30 minutes). If it burns even slightly, throw it out and start over again.
  • Add the vegetables and stir quickly. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.
  • Add the stock, vinegar, seasonings, chicken (you can either add the chicken thighs whole, or cut them into pieces) and sausage. Simmer for about an hour. Try not to let the gumbo boil, or the roux might break (separate) and nobody wants a broken roux.
  • Add the chopped scallions and heat for 5 minutes.
  • Serve over rice in large shallow bowls.
  • Sprinkle filé powder in each bowl.

Accompany with crusty French bread.

Serves 12.

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Preserved Lemon Mini Biscuits

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

I got the idea to add preserved lemon to biscuits from the Serious Eats blog. They did a wafer version with parm cheese. I made more of a biscuit. I made some biscuits with blue cheese and some with cheddar. I couldn’t decide which I liked better. The blue cheese ones are saltier, but also more complex. The cheddar ones are a bit lemonier. I say make a batch of each.

These make great hors d’ouves.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon (about 1/2 small preserved lemon)
2 cup grated cheddar or crumbled blue cheese
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Place the chopped preserved lemon pieces in a mesh strainer, and rinse. Be sure to remove seeds.
  • Mix together the lemon pieces, cheese, and parsley. Knead until it forms a well-mixed dough ball.
  • Break off small pieces (about a teaspoon) and roll into bite-size balls. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and press down on each ball slightly.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
  • Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 16 mini biscuits.

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Preserved Lemons

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Preserved lemons are my new favorite things. They are much lemonier than a regular lemons and have a mildly tart and lightly salty taste. They are traditionally used in Moroccan cuisine but I’ve been throwing them into about everything from soup to birthday cakes!

This recipe is modified from Epicurious.com

Ingredients
5 organic lemons (use myers lemons if you can find them)
1/4 -1/2 cup salt
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (you may need a little extra)

1-quart mason jar

Method

  • Cut 1/4 inch off the tip of each lemon. Quarter the lemons from the top to within 1/2 inch of the bottom (keep the lemon attached at the base). Sprinkle salt inside the lemon.
  • Place 1 tablespoon salt on the bottom of a 1-quart mason jar. Add a couple of lemons and pack down. Sprinkle with salt, then add more lemons. Press the lemons down to release their juices. Once all the lemons are added and pressed, if there isn’t enough lemon juice to completely cover the lemons. Add more.
  • Set the lemons in a warm place and shake the jar each day to distribute the salt and juice.
  • Let stand for 30 days, yep, one month. Remember, patience is a virtue.
  • Rinse each lemon before use.
  • Preserved lemons will keep for up to a year. I keep mine in the fridge but apparently they are fine at room temperature.
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Muffaletta

Monday, February 15th, 2010

New Orleans has a rich and diverse culinary history. Of course, we have French and Cajun influences. And with an influx of immigrants in the late 19th century, there is also an Italian influence. Enter Central Grocery, circa 1906, and the Muffaletta. Traditionally, this is made on a large round Italian bread about the size of a dinner plate. The olive mix is the best part of this sandwich, so use whatever thick-crusted bread you want.

Ingredients
1 loaf of Italian round bread
1 cup olives, pitted and chopped (I use a combo of green and black olives)
1/4 cup of capers or chopped caper berries
1/2 cup giardiniera, chopped (Italian pickled vegetables)
1 tablespoon onions, minced
1 clove garlic, large, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 to 2 pounds of a combination of sliced deli meat, such as ham, mortadella, salami (I like an assortment of Fra’Mani Salumi)
4 slices provolone
4 slices mozzarella


Method

  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix together olives, capers, caper berries, giardiniera, onions, garlic, ground pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and crushed red pepper. Cover and let sit for an hour or more.
  • Cut bread in half horizontally. Brush each half with a little of the juice from the olive mix.
  • Spread with olive mix on each half and then layer the meats and cheeses.
  • Cover with loaf top. Slice into quarters and serve.

Serves four.

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Molten Chocolate Cake in a Slow Cooker

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

chCakeCrockThis cake is very similar to a chocolate soufflé, only it’s made in a slow cooker! If your slow cooker is hard to clean, you may want to cook this in an oven-proof container (just make sure it fits before hand).

Molten Chocolate Cake is something I will make again, and again. I should just be sure to make it when we have guests over so my husband and I don’t eat the whole thing ourselves. Oops.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons butter
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (or 1/3 cup chocolate chips)
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup hot water

Method

  • Grease the inside of a 2.5- to 5-quart slow cooker with butter (or oil).
  • Mix together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
  • Melt the butter and chocolate. Using a microwave, heat for 30 seconds at a time or use a double boiler to melt chocolate. Once melted, mix well.
  • To the butter/chocolate mixture, add brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, milk and egg.
  • Add mixture to the flour and combine until well mixed.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared slow cooker. Make sure to spread it evenly.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, 1/3 cup of cocoa and hot water. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
  • Pour the mixture over the batter in the slow cooker. This is the good gooey part.
  • Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours (if you are using a smaller cooker, the time will be closer to 2 hours).
  • It will be done when the cake starts to pull away from the sides. The cake should be moist, with pockets of molten chocolate (yum).
  • When it’s done, turn off the power and remove the lid. Let it cool for 15 minutes. Scoop out and serve it in bowls.

It is best served warm. Serves six to eight.

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Whole Wheat Bread in a Slow Cooker

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

My sister gave me a slow cooker (aka crock pot) a couple of years ago. She uses hers all the time. She is a very organized person and will whip something up before she heads to work and come home to a ready-to-go one-dish dinner. I’m not that organized in the morning and since we don’t have the counter space, mine is stored in the back of a cabinet and I often forget about it. This week, I pulled it out.

I have made various soups and casserole-type dishes in mine, but I wanted something new. While searching for recipes, I came across a couple things that I would have never thought you could make in a slow cooker — bread and cakes. How cool is that?

I make bread all of the time and I was excited to see how fast and simple the slow-cooker bread was. It didn’t have the delicious crust that I get with
my standard recipe, but it is great for sandwich bread.

If you want to see all of the crazy things you can cook in your slow cooker, check out A Year of Slow Cooking. Good stuff.

The biggest challenge is finding an oven-proof dish that fits in your slow cooker.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk or buttermilk
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 whole egg
1/4 cup millet
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

Method

  • Grease a deep ovenproof dish (I used a 1.5 quart Corningware dish).
  • In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; mix and let sit for five minutes.
  • Add milk, oats, salt, oil, honey, egg and ground flax seeds. Mix well.
  • Add flour and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
  •  Turn dough into an oven-proof dish (sized to fit in your slow cooker).
  • In bottom of the slow cooker, place 1/2 cup of water and a trivet or something to elevate the dish off the bottom of the cooker.
  • Place dish on the trivet; set a piece of oiled foil over the dough. From what I can tell, the foil is to keep the condensation from making the top soggy.
  • Cover and bake on high for 3 hours.
  • Remove and let cool on a wire rack.
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Homemade Yogurt Tips

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

I came across some great tips for making homemade yogurt at The Nourished Kitchen.

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Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

cauliGarlicTrick your friends by telling them that this dish is garlic mash potatoes.

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

  • Bring water to boil in medium-large pot.
  • Wash and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Be sure to include the stem, no need to waste that.
  • Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until tender. Drain well.
  • In a food processor, add cauliflower, cream cheese, butter, Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper, pulse until mixed or puree until smooth.

Serves 4.

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