Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Recipes and Such’ Category

How to Skin a Punk…

Posted in Recipes and Such on July 13, 2011| 2 Comments »

Today’s post is simply an answer to a question a dear and beloved friend asked me last week…

“Just how do you get the peel off those little purple onions?” she asked and then began to unfold for me the harrowing tale of a girl, a potato peeler, a bag of those little, punk onions, and an afternoon she will never get back.

Well, never fear, here is the answer:

Just toss those guys into a pot of boiling water and leave for three minutes. Then drain them and put them in some cold water. Et Viola! They should pop right out of their skins and then you will be free to turn those naked peewee’s into a delectable side for dinner. Happy skinning!

Read Full Post »

Ah, Les Crépes!

Posted in Recipes and Such on July 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

For our family, June and July mean family birthday madness. So, we are basically in BBQ’n, cake eating, white man’s overbite party mode until the second week of July. Yes, we are coming to the close of our annual family party season and though it is always a worthy opponent, I must say, this year, it really gave me a run for my money. It’s like if you’ve ever had that experience of playing in the ocean and swimming out too far and the waves keep crashing over you and for a minute you’re not quite sure which way is up, and you lose your bathing suit a little bit. It’s kinda like that only with parties instead of scary, drowning scenarios. Yeah, it’s exactly like that.

Well, making crépes on Adam’s birthday was like bobbing up and seeing some guy on a fishing boat, about to throw a doughnut and pull me to safety…it gave me the strength to make it through the last two parties of the season.

I, myself, had never ingested a crépe (or is it a crépes, I don’t speak French) so I wasn’t quite sure what all the excitement was about. Now I understand. Crépes are ridiculously delicious. With a plethora of filling choices and the flexibility of swinging both sweet and savory, crépes have become a new favorite food canvas. They can also be used to satisfy your hankering for food of an ethnic nature or fulfill you unmet daily dietary needs. In the mood for some French/Mexican cuisine? Try a Crépes Mexicani. Haven’t had your required serving of veggies (or dairy, for that matter) today? Stuff that French pancake with some cheese and broccoli. There are any number of scrumptious combinations but being of a classical nature myself, I chose to go straight up strawberries and cream and here’s how I went about it…

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Crépes Magnifique

Crépes

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
Filling
  • 8 tablespoons Ricotta cheese
  • 8 oz. cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sugar (you may need to add a tablespoon or so more, depending on how sweet you like it)
Sauce
  • 4 cups of fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup sugar
I like to begin with the sauce to give the strawberries plenty of time to release all of that delicious juice. Place berries, sugar, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and mix gently. Set aside. (By the way, this also works great with other kinds of berries and makes a mean sauce, which our family l-o-v-e-s over ice cream)
Next, grab your standing mixer and toss in your cream cheese, Ricotta, and sugar and mix until smooth. When it’s done, give it a try and add more sugar if you need to, one teaspoon at a time.
Now, Crépe Time. Beat together eggs, milk, and water and then add in flour and salt and mix until smooth (do not over mix). Lighly grease skillet or crepe pan and heat over medium heat. When pan is hot, spoon in 3 tablespoons of batter and tip pan from side to side, rotating so the batter spreads evenly. When the edges of the crépe begin to turn brown, remove from heat and place on platter.
Okay, we’ve made it to…Assembly! Scoop 3 tablespoons of the filling into each crépe and roll, placing seam side down on a plate and dress with yummy berry sauce. Serve immediately (unless you like soggy crépes). This should serve 12.
Bon Appetit!

Sacre bleu…that’s delicious! Happy Birthday, Adam!!!

Read Full Post »

The Best Fudge Brownies Ever…Nope, Not Just a Clever Name

Posted in Recipes and Such on July 1, 2011| 2 Comments »

Yahoo, it’s Fourth of July weekend and so I thought I would send you all a little chocolate love. These brownies are the best and somehow our good friends over at King Arthur Flour have managed to make them foolproof, too! I have made these brownies many a time and they have yet to fail me, always a crowd pleaser, they are perhaps the perfect date to take to your holiday BBQ. So when your gazing up into all of those colors bursting in air, shove into your gaping mouth one of these choco-explosions and double your pleasure!

Okay, time to bust out those 9 x 13’s, we got some baking to do!

Best Fudge Brownies Ever

  • 1 cup (8 ounces) butter (I use salted)
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (increase to 1 teaspoon if you use unsalted butter)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached All Purpose flour (preferably King Arthur)
  • 2 cups (12 oz- bag) chocolate chips

Preheat the over to 350 and lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.

In a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then all the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly, just until it’s hot, but not bubbling; it will become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the butter and sugar a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.

Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Add the eggs, beating until smooth, then add the flour and chips, beating until well combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the brownies for 28-30 minutes, the brownies should feel set on the edges and in the center. Remove them from the oven and after 5 minutes loosen the edges with a table knife; this helps prevent the brownies from seeking in the middle as they cool. Cool completely before cutting and serving. They say this should yield 2 dozen brownies but I’ve never been able to get more than one dozen out of one batch, I must cut some big brownies! I’ve also been known to schmear a little Cream Cheese Frosting (and maybe a few red, white, and blue stars in honor of the Fourth!) on these guys and I would encourage you to do the same!

Happy 4th of July!

Read Full Post »

Little Spheres of Goodness

Posted in Recipes and Such on June 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I do not know what I have been waiting for, maybe it was fear, or perhaps even confusion. I mean, are they garnish? Are they food? Are they meant to be planted in the garden? For years I have admired those “cute baby onions” from a distance, but only from the safety of the far end of the produce aisle where foods of my own caliber (the broccoli, the potato, and, yes, even the regular onion) dwell and warn me, as all good friends do, not to get above myself thinking I belong in that world. That world where fingerling potatoes and radicchio and mangoes belong. That world which seems meant only for friends dubbed, amazing cooks or Williams Sonoma employees or Mario Batali.

Well, last week, I had finally had enough. Those pearl onions, the vegetal version of the “cool girls” table and their reign of tyranny was going to end…now! I grabbed two bags, so smug in their purple mesh, and headed to the checkout. The girl behind the counter smiled at me as she rang them up, “What are you gonna do with these?” she asked. I peered at her from behind the People I was perusing, like so many evil masterminds before me, my passion had got the better of me. I had no idea what I was going to do with them. Her sweet smile quickly turned into a condescending smirk. She had seen the likes of me before. I could almost see the “Better men than you have tried and failed” in her eyes. For a moment my confidence wavered but I would not be deterred by a four-teen year old girl with an armful of Sillybanz, no, those onions were going down…

Oh, they still tried to intimidate, even from the counter, but they were no match for my skillet.

Tossing them in a little olive oil and butter quieted them down and the results were just as I had imagined sweet and caramelized and lightly onion-y, absolutely delicious, sort of the culinary equivalent of going to the prom with the onion’s boyfriend…Awesome.

If you would also like to give those mini onions what for here is the recipe that I used. They can also be a bit stubborn to peel, for a fast and easy way to remove the skin check this out.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts