Monday, November 9, 2009

Indoor Gardening - Week Six


Six weeks have passed since I "planted" the herbs in my AeroGarden. The garden is really starting to take shape.

I am seeing the same pattern with the chives and mint. The chives are very slow in growing and aren't as I would like. The mint leaves are really small. Hopefully they will grow larger as the garden continues to grow.

As with my last herb garden, the basil is the star! I am looking forward to using experimenting with the lemon basil. And of course, there's nothing better than fresh basil when it's cold outside.

Hopefully within the next couple of weeks, I can begin to harvest some of the herbs.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Pear and Cranberry Muffins with Gingersnap Crumble - SMS

This recipe couldn't have come at a better time. A co-worker gave me several pears from their backyard tree. They remind me of our backyard apples, lots of spots but beautiful, juicy fruit on the inside.

The Pear and Cranberry Muffins are the same base recipe as the Peach Muffins we made in August. This recipe makes a lovely, moist muffin. I decided to make 6 large muffins instead of the 12 small ones. They took about five minutes longer to bake. I used lemon zest instead of orange zest and rehydrated craisins for the cranberries.

Not being a big gingersnap fan, I was a little concerned about the flavor of the topping. Boy was I wrong, the topping ended up being one of my favorite things about these muffins. I used store bought gingersnaps. Next time I make these, I will use more pears.


Thanks to Jennifer of Maple N' Cornbread for choosing this week's recipe. The recipe can be found on her blog. You can find the links to all of the other Sweet Melissa Sunday's bakers he For links to all of the Sweet Melissa Sunday's bakers here.

Next week's Sweet Melissa Sunday's is Butter Toffee Crunch, a perfect recipe for holiday giving.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Culinary Boot Camp Week 5

Tuesday night was my last Culinary Boot Camp class. It was hands down my favorite class of the series. The chef asked us last week what we wanted to do for tonight's class. We all wanted to make pasta and some type of bread.

We made pasta dough, focaccia bread, alfredo sauce and marinara sauce. We made ravioli's with the pasta dough. The fillings for the pasta were ricotta cheese with basil or chives or butternut squash. (Oh and I did remember the camera BUT the batteries were dead.)

The bread used a Poolish starter. This enababled us to make our focaccia bread during our two hour class time. The alfredo sauce was quick and easy but tasted like you worked on it for hours.
I was sad to see my classes come to an end. After the holidays, I plan to take a few more. The Classy Gourmet offers a wide variety of classes and I would also like to take a Wilton Cake Decorating Class.

In the meantime, you can bet I will be making these recipes. Look for them to be blog topics in the weeks to come.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Smoked Gouda Mac n Cheese

One of our new favorite restaurants in town is Ryan's Bistro. It's a warm, intimate bistro not far from our house. Ryan's serves a Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese as a side dish. It is so good. I've been wanting to make homemade mac & cheese and decided to try making it Smoked Gouda.

I was a little nervous since the base for any homemade mac & cheese is a bechamel sauce and I am sometimes sauce challenged! I was pleased with how this mac & cheese turned out. It wasn't quite as flavorful as Ryan's but very good nonetheless.



Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese
Recipe from Emeril Lagasse

6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 pound ditalini or small elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 pound smoked Gouda cheese, grated
Parsley
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the water, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. In a small, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the white pepper and continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 8 minutes. Remove the white sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese. Continue stirring until the cheese melts. Lightly grease a 6 1/2 by 10-inch casserole dish with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon butter. Combine the cheese sauce and macaroni in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Pour into the prepared casserole and bake until lightly golden on top, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve hot. Garnish with parsley.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Indoor Gardening - Week Five


My AeroGarden is really beginning to grow. The herbs are taking shape and starting to be recognizable.

At week five, the garden still does not require much water or care. As the garden starts to grow more, it will require pruning and more frequent watering.

I am beginning to start accumulating recipes using my fresh herbs!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

White Chocolate & Orange Cookies - Sweet & Simple Bakes

I have been looking forward to making these cookies all month. I was going to make them last week but ended up with a busier week than I'd anticipated. I did print the recipe and using the internet convert grams to cups. Or so I thought...the site I looked at showed 200 grams as 7/8 cup. As the first cookie sheet was baking, I knew the conversion was oh so wrong!!! My cookies were running all over the cookie sheet. I looked on line again and found another site that said 200 grams is 1 3/4 cup. At the end of the baking time, I let them cook and scraped them off the sheet and into a baggie. I think they'll make a great topping for ice cream. I added more flour and baked the second sheet...better but still runny. On my third attempt, I think I was able to add enough flour but sadly only had enough dough for 6 cookies.

The theme of my last two Sweet & Simple Bakes has been the same, I need to get a scale. I've been looking at them and need to make the purchase, SOON!!! If anyone can recommend a good scale, please let me know!



The flavor of these cookies is amazing! The orange and chocolate are wonderful together! I didn't have any white chocolate and am not a white chocolate fan, so I substituted milk chocolate.

You can find all of the other Sweet & Simple bakers and the recipe here!

French Onion Soup - Recipes to Rival (RTR)

I am thrilled to be joining a savory blogging group, Recipes to Rival. Recipes to Rival is going to help motivate me to achieve one of my goals in blogging, to create recipes I wouldn't normally make or recipes that challenge my cooking abilitites. This month's Recipe to Rival was chosen by Sara at http://www.imafoodblog.com/. Thanks Sara for choosing such a great recipe!

I have never made French Onion Soup. I was excited to make this recipe, especially when I read the recipe is Thomas Keller's. French Onion Soup is one of those soups that just says comfort and warmth. The creamy cheese on the top adds that distinctive onion soup texture.

Because it's just the two of us, I decided to make a half recipe. I have always cooked on an electric stove. This recipe is a recipe made for a gas stove. I had trouble getting the temperature just right for browning the onions. In between medium low and low seemed to give it the right sizzling temperature. My onions browned beautifully, although they only took about 2 1/2 hours. They cooked down quite a bit. When they were done, I wondered if I would have enough onions. As it turned out, I had the perfect amount. I didn't make the homemade beef stock, I used store bought stock and water.



I don't own soup crocks, so I used the only dishes I could find that were suitable and oven safe. Although my picture doesn't look it, this soup was delicious. I made the soup on Sunday and finished it for a simple Thursday night supper. I used Conte cheese which was a wonderful compliment to the onion flavor of this soup. I didn't find this recipe particularly difficult, you just have to make sure you have the time and the patience to stir the onions. We both thought the soup was delicious. I will make this soup again (after I get some soup tureens).

Onion Soup - Soupe A L'Oignon
Thomas Keller - Bouchon
makes 6 servings

Sachet:
2 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns
6 large sprigs of thyme

Soup:
8 pounds (about 8 large) yellow onions
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter
Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour
3 1/2 quarts Beef Stock (recipe below)
Freshly ground black pepper
Sherry wine vinegar

Croutons:
1 baguette (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher salt

6 to 12 slices (1/8 inch thick) aged Comte or Emmentaler cheese (at least 4 inches square)
1 1/2 cups grated aged Comte or Emmentaler cheeses, or a combination

The more basic the soup, the more critical the details: Slice the onions uniformly and brown them very slowly and evenly; slice the bread a half inch thick and dry it completely in the oven; and serve the soup in appropriately sized bowls so that the melted cheese extends over the rim. When you hit it right, there's nothing more satisfying to cook or to eat than this soup.

It's worth reiterating the importance of cooking the onions slowly so that the natural sugars caramelize rather than brown through high heating sautéing. The onions cook for about five hours and need to be stirred often, but they can be made up to two days ahead. The soup is best if refrigerated for a day or two so that the flavors of the onion and beef broth can deepen.

Comte is traditionally the cheese of choice, but Emmentaler works as well. Gruyère is a bit strong. Use an aged cheese; a younger cheese would just melt and wouldn't form a crust.

FOR THE SACHET: Cut a piece of cheesecloth about 7 inches square. Place the bay leaves, peppercorns, and thyme in the center, bring up the edges, and tie with kitchen twine to form a sachet.

FOR THE SOUP: Cut off the tops and bottoms of the onions, then cut the onions lengthwise in half. Remove the peels and tough outer layers. Cut a V wedge in each one to remove the core and pull out any solid, flat pieces of onion running up from the core.

Lay an onion half cut side down on a cutting board with the root end toward you. Note that there are lines on the outside of the onion. Cutting on the lines (with the grain) rather than against them will help the onions soften. Holding the knife on an angle, almost parallel to the board, cut the onion lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Once you've cut past the center of the onion, the knife angle will become awkward: Flip the onion onto its side, toward the knife, and finish slicing it, again along the grain. Separate the slices of onion, trimming away any root sections that are still attached and holding the slices together. Repeat with the remaining onions. (You should have about 7 quarts of onions)

Melt the butter in a large heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and 1 tablespoon salt, reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes and regulating the heat to keep the mixture bubbling gently, for about 1 hour, or until the onions have wilted and released a lot of liquid. At this point, you can turn up the heat slightly to reduce the liquid, but it is important to continue to cook the onions slowly to develop maximum flavor and keep them from scorching. Continue to stir the onions every 15 minutes, being sure to scrape the bottom and get in the corners of the pot, for about 4 hours more, or until the onions are caramelized throughout and a rich deep brown. Keep a closer eye on the onions toward the end of the cooking when the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat. (You will need 1 1/2 cups of onions for the soup; reserve any extra for another use. The onions can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)

Transfer the caramelized onions to a 5 quart pot (if they've been refrigerated, reheat until hot.) Sift in the flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beef stock and sachet, bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the liquid is reduced to 2 1/2 quarts. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a few drops of vinegar. Remove from the heat.

FOR THE CROUTONS: Preheat the broiler. Cut twelve 3/8 inch thick slices from the baguette (reserve the remainder for another use) and place on a baking sheet. Brush the bread lightly on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place under the broiler and toast the first side until golden brown, then turn and brown the second side. Set aside and leave the broiler on.

TO COMPLETE: Return the soup to a simmer. Place six flameproof soup tureens, with about 1 1/2 cups capacity on a baking sheet to catch any spills (the soup will bubble up and over the tureens). Add the hot soup to the tureens, filling them within 1/2 inch of the tops. Top each serving with 2 croutons: Lay them on the surface - do not push them into the soup. Lay the slices of cheese over the croutons so that the cheese overlaps the edges of the tureens by about 1/2 inch, Scatter the grated cheese over the sliced cheese, filling in any areas where the sliced cheese is thiner, or it may melt into the soup rather than forming a crust.

Place the tureens under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese bubbles, browns, and forms a thick crust. Eat carefully, the soup and tureens will be very hot.