Simple Squash

I love summer time for many different reasons; the warm sunny days, fun on the lake and in the pool, and the fresh garden vegetables along with other things.  The taste of flavor of fresh vegetables is absolutely amazing, it’s  a taste that just can’t be beat.  I love having the fresh vegetables on hand; sometimes I’ll just snack on them raw but they are also good to use in cooking because they add some extra flavor. 

Squash is one of my favorite vegetables.  It’s so easy to prepare and it can be prepapred in many different ways.  Squash also goes with a lot of different types and flavors of food. 

I wanted to make some lighter sides to go with my chicken fried chicken and I had some squash on hand and thought that would go well.  This recipe is so simple and quick to put together, it’s definitely one of our favorites.  My mom has been making this recipe since I can remember and I’ve always loved it.  The first time I made it for Spencer he loved it, so it’s been a staple in our recipes ever since.

Squash and Onions

Ingredients:

1 Large squash or 2 medium squash

1/2 Large onion

3-4 Tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Slice squash and onions into thin slices.

Place in a microwave safe dish and add the butter and salt and pepper. 

Place lid on the dish and place in the microwave for 6 minutes.  After the 6 minutes stir and heat up for another 6 minutes.  After the microwave goes off leave the dish sitting in the microwave, undisturbed for about 5 minutes. 

The squash should be tender and the onions should be transparent.  If everything is not tender put in the microwave for a few more minutes. 

***This recipe can also be made on the stove top.  Just place all ingredients in a pan and place over low-medium heat.  Cover the pan and stir occassionally until the veggies are tender.

Recipe source: My mom

 

Oatmeal Pancakes

 I have always loved breakfast foods of all kinds.  I love the classics but I also like to try new and different twists on recipes as well.  I’m always looking for new ways to prepare breakfast foods and when I saw this recipe for oatmeal pancakes I knew I had to try them.

Pancakes are one of the classics that have been around for a long time and there’s nothing wrong with them in their original form but it’s always fun to try new things.  They are also very versatile; I’ve seen them served for breakfast but I’ve also seen them made with more of a savory taste and served as some other type of meal.  No matter how they are served and no matter what they are served with they are always a hit.

This recipe for oatmeal pancakes was no exception, it was wonderful too.  Having the oatmeal in the mix really made the pancakes a little more hearty and filling.  The texture was a little different than regular pancakes, so if you have a picky eater on your hands you may want to try these first before setting a plate in front of them.  One other plus about this recipe is the mix can be made in advance and then just scoop out the amount needed to make a batch, that really makes for a quick meal no matter what you have going on.  We thoroughly enjoyed these pancakes and we’ll be making these many more times.   

 

Oatmeal Pancakes

 Ingredients:

2 Cups oatmeal pancake mix

2 Eggs

1/3 Cup canola oil

1 Cup water

Directions:

Mix the pancake mix, eggs, canola oil and water in a bowl. 

Ladle onto a lightly greased nonstick griddle and cook until light brown on both sides. 

Serve with applesace topping. (recipe below)

 

Applesauce Topping

Ingredients:

1/2 Pound apples, peeled and chopped

1/4-1/2 packed brown sugar

3/4 Teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon cloves

1/4 Teaspoon allspice

Directions:

Cook apples in saucepan over medium heat for 30 minutes or until tender. 

Add brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and allspice and mash until desired consistency is reached. 

Serve over pancakes while both are still warm. 

 

Recipe Source: “Big Taste of Little Rock” by Junior League of Little Rock

 

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

The concept of dry mixes have been around for a long time and they have also become a very popular gift around the holidays.  There are many recipes for cakes, cookies and many other thing “in a jar” but I have never made any of them.  I’ve never made a mix for something to keep around the house so when I came across this pancake mix I wanted to try it.

I know there’s not much too it but I think it’s a neat concept and it’s a way to see what exactly goes into a dry mix like you would buy at the store.  There really isn’t a whole lot to putting a mix like this together; which I didn’t think there was but I wasn’t sure since I had never made one.  It also saves quite a bit of preparation time when it’s time to make the product.  

I really enjoyed putting this mix together.  Another plus to making your own mixes is that you can control the quality of the ingredients that go into the food.  You can also add your own touch of flavor as well; that way it’s not the same old recipe all the time.  I hope you enjoy this mix as much as I do and it’s even better with the warm, homemade applesauce topping.   

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

Ingredients:

4 Cups rolled oats

2 Cups all-purpose flour

2 Cups whole wheat flour

1 Cup packed brown sugar

1 Cup instant nonfat dry milk powder

3 Tablespoons baking powder

2 Teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon cream of tartar

5 Teaspoons salt

Directions:

Combine the oats, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, dry milk powder, baking powder, cinnamon, cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl and mix well.  Store in airtight container.

Recipe source: “Big Taste of Little Rock” by Junior League of Little Rock

Vanilla Ice Cream

 I’m finally using my ice cream maker attachment!  I got the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas and I finally decided to break it out and give it a try.  I know I’ve only had the attachment for almost 9 months but I’ve just had so much going on that I haven’t really had the chance to use it. 

I’m usually a big ice cream eater no matter what season, but for some reason I didn’t eat a lot of ice cream during the winter so I never got it out.  Now that we’re in the dead of summer, it’s definitely time for some ice cream.  I was so excited when I got the ice cream attachment and I was just as excited to get it out and use it yesterday. 

I have seen tons of different ice cream recipes that I want to try, so now that I’ve finally gotten it out I’m sure I’ll be making quite a bit of ice cream.  Since this was my first time making homemade ice cream, I decided to keep it simple.  The first kind of ice cream I made was vanilla, you just really can’t go wrong with homemade vanilla ice cream! 

I have heard tons of wonderful things about the recipes from David Lebovitz.  When I started broke out my ice cream maker I knew that I wanted to use one of his recipes so it was a no-fail first attempt.  His directions were so easy to follow.  I’m so happy that I went with this recipe because it was definitely everything I expected and then some.   

 Vanilla Ice Cream

 

About 1 quart (1l)
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)
 

1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

 
2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

 
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

 
4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

 
5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Recipe by: David Lebovitz

Chicken Fried Chicken

 My poor blog has been so neglected the past few months and I feel terrible about that.  We’ve had quite a bit going on around our house lately so my blog has been on the back burner for a bit. The biggest piece of news is that I’m pregnant!  We’re so excited and can hardly wait to meet our little guy, that’s right, we’re having a boy.  I haven’t had a lot of energy lately so in turn I haven’t been in the kitchen hardly any over the past few months.  I’ve finally gotten through the rough part of the pregnancy and I’m getting my energy back so I’m finally back in the kitchen.  I’ve got quite a few things to put on the blog, so over the next few days there will hopefully be quite a few entries. 

Southerners have perfected the art of frying foods of all kinds, being from the south I’ve been around southern foods pretty much all my life.  There are many different types of southern food but I believe any time anyone thinks of southern food the first thing that pops into their head is some type of fried food.  You just can’t beat some of the classic fried foods that southerners have to offer.

The other day I was looking around trying to find what I wanted to cook for supper; the first thing that popped into my head was a classic cheeseburger but then as I looked at a few other websites and I saw where someone had made a chicken fried steak and that looked awesome.  I thought about it for a mintue, just to make sure that’s what I wanted, and then I decided that’s what we would have for supper.  Nothing like the changing cravings of a pregnant women! 

This recipe was so easy to put together and it tasted awesome.  There aren’t that many ingredients in this recipe but all the ingredients combined tasted wonderful.  This recipe had a little kick to it, so if you’re not a fan of spicey foods then you can omit or cut back on some of the cayenne pepper.  The combination of the spicey chicken with the creamy pepper gravy was incredible.  This is definitely what I wanted and it really hit the spot.

Since we had a pretty heavy side dish I decided to try to make the sides a little lighter and healthier.  So I guess you can say this wasn’t a truly traditional southern meal; otherwise we would have had a couple of fried sides to go with our fried chicken.  The sides I made were steamed asparagus and then some squash.  The sides were simple and quick but they paired well with the fried chicken.

Chicken Fried Chicken

 

Ingredients:

2 Medium chicken breast

1 Cup flour

1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Cup milk

Oil for frying

Directions:

Pour milk in a shallow bowl.  Mix flour, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper together on a plate.  Preheat oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat.  (I used enough oil to where I had the bottom of the pan coated nicely)

Place chicken between two pieces of wax paper and pound them out with a meat tenderizer (rolling pin or whatever else you have) until they are about half and inch thick or a little less. 

Once the chicken is flattened out place it in the milk and make sure it gets fully covered, then place in flour mixture and coat evenly. 

Place the chicken back in the milk and then roll in flour mixture again. 

Repeat process with the rest of the chicken and then place in the frying pan. 

Fry chicken about 4 minutes on each side (until thoroughly cooked) and then remove to a plate that is covered with a paper towel.

For the gravy:

5-6 Tablespoons of reserved frying oil

3 Tablespoons flour

2 Cups milk

Salt and pepper

Once the chicken has finished cooking remove some of the oil from the pan, reserving about 5 tablespoons.  Add the flour to the oil and mix together, be sure to stir up all the brown bits in the bottom of the pan.

Once the roux is formed slowly add the milk, stirring constantly.  Continue to stir until desired thickness is reached, remove from heat. 

Season with salt and pepper.

Top chicken with gravy.

 

Recipe by: Lynsey 

Risotto with Chicken and Caramelized Onions

Risotto is a dish that has become very popular in the recent years and it’s popularity has come from nowhere.  As I’ve seen more and more recipes for risotto I’ve become fascinated with it and have been dying to try it.  It just seems to be such a versatile dish and it’s one of those that can go so many different ways and there can be so many flavor variations. 

I have seen many recipes for risotto and there are many that I want to make but I came across one that jumped out at me from Williams-Sonoma and I knew I had to try it.  I liked this recipe because it had the meat in the risotto so it could be served as the main course and a side at one time.  Another reason I liked this recipe to start with is because there wasn’t a whole lot to it, it seemed to have the basic ingredients and that was it.  This was the perfect starter recipe. 

This risotto turned out so good.  I wasn’t really sure how it was going to turn out, especially with it being my first time to make it but I was really happy with the outcome.  I did make a couple of changes to the recipe, but nothing that was too drastic.  All the flavors blended together perfectly.  I will definitely be making this recipe again as well as trying other risotto recipes.

Risotto with Chicken and Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 sweet white onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 leek, white portion only, cut into 1-inch pieces (I omitted the leeks simply because I didn’t have any on hand)

1 cup Madeira wine, at room temperature (instead of white wine I used apple juice)

9 to 10 cups chicken stock

3 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (see Note)

*** I boiled chicken and then added onion powder, pepper and a little salt and then cubed it.

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, warm 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Add the onions and leek and sauté until the onions turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the Madeira and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the stock to a gentle simmer and maintain over low heat. Add 1 cup of the simmering stock to the onion mixture and continue to cook over medium-high heat until the liquid has reduced and the mixture is quite thick, about 15 minutes more. Set aside.

While the onions simmer, in another large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Add the rice and stir until each grain is well coated with oil and translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes.

Add the simmering stock a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed (but the rice is never dry on top) before adding the next ladleful. Reserve 1/4 cup stock to add at the end.

When the rice is tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, after about 20 minutes, stir in the chicken. Cook to heat through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, caramelized onion mixture and reserved 1/4 cup stock. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Serves 6.

 

Note: Use leftover roasted chicken (see related recipes at right) or poached chicken breasts. To poach chicken breasts, put 2 to 3 bone-in breast halves in a large saucepan and add lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

 

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Risotto, by Pamela Sheldon Johns (Simon & Schuster, 2002 ).

Recipe source: Williams-Sonoma

Daring Bakers July Challenge

 

It took me a little longer to get this posted than usual, but better late than never.  For July challenge for the daring bakers we were supposed to make a couple of classic cookies that have been in grocery isles for quite some time; Mallows and Milan Cookies.  I was so excited when I found out what the challenge was for this month.  It’s so exciting to find out how to make a version of a cookie that has been so popular and been on store isles for such a long time. 

 The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at sweet tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the food network.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Daring Bakers June Challenge

I know I’m a little late posting for the June challenge of the daring bakers, but better late than never…right?  I was very excited about this challenge because I’ve never made a tart before and I’ve been wanting to make one for the longest time.  Since the challenge was to make a tart it gave me the perfect opportunity to get my tart pan out and break it in.  Although I did try this challenge I didn’t complete it successfully.  I don’t know what went wrong but all the elements just didn’t go together for me.  I will try this again and hopefully I will succeed and be able to post pictures.  To see some completed challenges please visit the sites of the two hosts listed below. 

 

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Annemarie’s notes:
• Add another five minutes or more if you’re grinding your own almonds or if you’re mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

Daring Bakers

This month the daring bakers were challenged to take on cheesecake.  As much as I love trying the savory side of baking, I love attempting recipes on the sweet side.  I love sweets so anything that gives me a reason to make something sweet…I’m all for it. 

This was not my first time to attempt a cheesecake, I’ve actually made quite a few (pre-blogging days), but I was very excited to see a cheesecake recipe for this challenge.  I’m always looking for new recipes and pointers to make my attempts that much better.  I think this recipe and challenge helped me to improve some of my cheesecake baking skills.

In this challenge we were given the freedom come up with our own flavors for the cheesecake.  We were given a basic recipe and then it was up to us to come up with the rest.  They did give us some tips and ideas for different things that we could do with this recipe.  One of the ideas that they gave us really stuck out to me; it was a Mexican Turtle Cheesecake.  I knew I wanted to do something with chocolate and when I saw this spin on it I knew I had to attempt it.  I know I didn’t necassarily come up with my own flavor combination but I just couldn’t pass it up.  How could you not like chocolate, cheesecake and caramel???

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too – baker’s choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil “casserole” shaped pans from the grocery store. They’re 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator (“Infamous” Abbey):

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries – heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon – cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel – take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website – just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle – add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of “coins” of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime – add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets – put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

Sausage and Pepper Quiche

Quiche is one of those meals that can be made for pretty much any meal, it’s not one of those that can only be a breakfast food.  I also love it because it’s so versatile and there are tons of flavors that can be combined in a quiche.  There are also many types of dishes it can accompany.

For supper I decided that I wanted to have a quiche.  I had made a pie for something and so I had some leftover crust that I needed to use before it went bad, I thought quiche was the perfect thing to use it up on.  I already had enough sweets around my house so I decided I didn’t need to make another pie at the time so quiche was the next thing that came to mind. 

Thise quiche was very hearty by itself and could be served alone.  I deicded I wanted to make something to accompany it so we would have more than one item for our meal.  Since we were having it for supper I decided to make some balsamic roasted asparagus to go with it; they went together wonderfully. 

I know there are tons of quiche recipes floating around but I got this one from “Big Taste of Little Rock”, it’s the Junior League of Little Rock’s newest cookbook.  Spencer got this for me for a Christmas present.  There are so many things I want to make out of here, but this was the first recipe I’ve made from it and it didn’t let me down. 

Sausage and Pepper Quiche

Ingredients:

1 pound hot sausage

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 unbaked (9-inch) pie shell

2 eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown the sausage with the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and onion in a skillet, stirring until the sausage is crumbly; drain.  Spoon into the pie shell.

Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, cheese, cornstarch and milk in a bowl and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the sausage mixture in the pie shell. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until set and golden brown.