Potato Gnocchi Two Ways

For February the Food Network Cooking Club Challenge gave participants three different comfort foods recipes to vote on to determine the challenge. The choices were Osso Bucco, Corn Chowder and Gnocchi. I was totally pulling for the Osso Bucco as it's forever been on my list of things to try, but alas Michael Smith's Potato Gnocchi won out. While it wasn't my first choice, I was definitely excited to try this since I do love gnocchi. The recipe as given includes Michael's recipe for a roasted tomato and olive sauce, but I decided to keep it traditional with a simple butter and sage sauce. I cut back on the gnocchi recipe by a 1/3 since I was just making this for the boy and I.

Michael Smith's Handmade Potato Gnocchi
from foodtv.ca

3 large baking potatoes (I used 2)
3 eggs, lightly whisked (I used 2)
3 cups flour (I used 2 cups)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I used a heaping 1/4 tsp)
Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
olive oil

1. Bake the potatoes until they’re tender when pierced with a fork, about an hour. Scoop the flesh out of potatoes and put into a large bowl.
2. While the potatoes are still a bit warm add the eggs, 2 cups of the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and knead until a dough forms, adding more flour if it seems too sticky. You may not need all the flour called for as potato sizes and moisture content vary. It is important not to add too much flour, or the gnocchi will be too dry. (I slowly added in flour a couple Tbsp at a time to the right consistency)
3. Divide the dough into 4 even pieces and roll each piece into a 1” wide ‘snake’. Cut the long ‘snakes’ into 1” pieces. (I rolled one side of each dumpling across a fork and made a small indentation on the back side to help each piece cling to sauce better)
4. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt it liberally. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes, until they float to the surface. Drain well and toss with a bit of olive oil.


Butter Sage Sauce

8 Tbsps unsalted butter
1/4 cup sliced fresh sage
freshly grated parmigiano
salt & pepper to taste

1. In a small sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. Once it's melted add in the sage and let cook until butter begins to brown, but not burn.
2. Toss gnocchi in butter sauce and serve topped with parmigiano.



These were so tasty! I will admit I tried the recipe twice because the first time I made the gnocchi in the late morning and cooked them in the evening. I left the finished dumplings on a baking sheet and they stuck, turning into an unattractive mass of dough when cooked. The second time was perfect though and I actually peeled, chunked and steamed the potatoes for my second go round. This was to save time, since I was trying during the week and didn't want to wait an hour for the potatoes to bake. I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever made and refrigerated or froze gnocchi before, because while not completely time intensive it's not something that will always be easy to make right before cooking.

After the success and ease of the standard potato gnocchi I decided it would be interesting to try to make them with sweet potatoes and whole wheat flour. This was initially in an attempt to make them healthier but also for a different take. I found that the sweet potatoes require alot more flour than a russet potato, but otherwise the recipe worked out almost exactly the same as with a white potato. I served them with a cinnamon butter and a dollop of mascarpone to play up the sweetness of the potato.


Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi
adapted from Michael Smith's recipe
serves 2 (as a side dish)

1 large sweet potato
2 (or more) cups whole wheat flour
1 egg - lightly whisked
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 tsp nutmeg

1. Bake potato at 400F for 1 hour, or until tender. Scoop flesh out of skins into a large bowl.
2. While the potatoes are still a bit warm add the eggs, 1 cup of the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir and knead until a dough forms, adding more flour if it seems too sticky. You may not need all the flour called for as potato sizes and moisture content vary. It is important not to add too much flour, or the gnocchi will be too dry. I ended up using 2 full cups of flour.
3. Divide the dough into 2 even pieces and roll each piece into a 1” wide ‘snake’. Cut the long ‘snakes’ into 1” pieces. Roll one side of each dumpling against a fork while gently pressing one finger into the back, making a small indentation.
4. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt it liberally. Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes, until they float to the surface. Drain well and toss with a bit of olive oil.

Cinnamon Butter

5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese - whipped (optional)
ground cinnamon (optional)

1. Place butter and cinnamon stick into a small saucepan. Melt butter over medium low heat. Let cook until just golden brown. Then remove from heat.
2. Remove cinnamon stick and toss with gnocchi. Serve topped with a dollop of whipped mascarpone and sprinkling of ground cinnamon.


The boy is not a huge fan of sweet potatoes and wasn't exactly looking forward to my take on gnocchi, but was pleasantly surprised when he tried them. The whole wheat flour adding a different texture to each dumpling which I found to be very enjoyable. They were served as a side dish to some leftover pork roast (stay tuned for a post on that this weekend) and some steamed broccoli. The sweet potato gnocchi went extremely well with the pork roast, especially when paring a bite of pork with a bite of gnocchi. I will be making both types of gnocchi again in the very near future. Check out the Food for Though blog on foodtv.ca (after February 28) to see how the other participants fared. Enjoy!

FFT: Bite Me

OK, I'm embarrassed. And surprisingly not by the title of this post. I recently joined a book club, an online food blogger book club, something I was so very excited to find because, as many of you know, I love to cook and I love to read. It's called Food For Thought and is run by Kate over at The Clean Plate Club The premise of the club is that each month we read a book and on the last day of the month post our thoughts and either cook a recipe from the book (if there are any) or inspired by the book.

For my first go we read Bite Me: Food in Popular Culture by Fabio Parasecoli. I was excited not only to participate, but the subject matter is something that's right in line with another project I'm in the process of researching. A perfect fit, right? Not exactly...we will now get to why I am embarrassed. I couldn't finish the book and embarrassingly got through very little of the book. It is written like a theoretical text, similar to the books I read in grad school, which when I was in grad school and my main objective was school and reading said books was to be expected. But after 11 hours in the office, coking dinner and walking the dog the last thing I really want to do is read a theoretical text, sorry Fabio. The times I did sit down and focus I could appreciate what Parasecoli had to say. But I just didn't have the time to devote to getting it done.

So ladies, I'm sorry. This was not a good first showing but I plan to do better with next month's Julia Child book, which I am so looking forward to reading and making something to go along with it.

Yet Another Breakfast For Dinner

If you are a regular reader you know I am a fan of eggs and an eve bigger fan of breakfast for dinner. Awhile back I read this post by one of my favorite bloggers Molly from Orangette. Now I'll state up front I'm not the best when it comes to eating my veggies. I know I should, but it's rare that I'd ever crave a big ole plate of greens, but something about this recipe sounded really tasty and it went on my list of things to try.

After a few weeks of too much baking and lots of heavy food I decided it was time to get a bit healthier and work more veggies into our meals, which brought me back to Molly's post. I have never cooked kale or any greens like it before and was excited to try. I adapted the recipe a big to include ingredients I had on hand. As I was organizing my ingredients to prep this I realized that instead of kale I had bought collard greens. At that point I decided that greens are greens and moved ahead with my dish. Which luckily worked out! After some research today I learned that kale and collared greens are actually in the same family and can be swapped out for one another (in this dish anyway) based on what's readily available.

Collard Greens on Toast
serves 4

1 bunch of collard greens - stripped from the ribs and sliced into 1/2 inch ribbons
1 leek - white and light green parts sliced
2 cloves of garlic - thinly sliced
1 pinch crushed red pepper
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
salt & pepper
bakery fresh multigrain bread
halved garlic cloves
4 eggs
olive oil
Parmigiano shavings

1. Place the chopped leeks in a bowl of cold water and toss around with your hands to get any bits of dirt off and the separate the pieces. Drain in a colander, rinse with some more water and pat dry with a paper towel. Repeat the same steps with the collard greens.
2. In a pot heat one Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Saute the leeks until translucent and tender. Add in the garlic, red pepper and greens, saute until wilted then pour in the chicken broth. Let simmer until tender, tasting to adjust seasoning as you go, approx 30 mins
3. Slice bread into thick slices and toast. While bread is toasting bread fry eggs in olive oil to desired doneness. Rub cut side of garlic on to toast. Spoon a generous helping of greens onto toast with a bit of extra chicken broth. Top with fried egg and parmigiano shavings.

This is a very basic dish that is packed with tons of flavor. While you could easily simmer the greens in water, the chicken broth really adds so much that I wouldn't recommend anything else. I was a bit nervous serving this to my meat & potatoes guy, but he enjoyed it so much and responded more enthusiastically than he has to dinner in quite awhile. I liked it so much that I reheated some of the greens for breakfast the next morning and I have to say it was one of the most satisfying starts to the day. If you've never been a huge fan of greens, make this dish. I am not sure if it is the slowly simmered greens or the warm yolk all over everything or the garlic toast sopping it all up but this is a hearty, satisfying and oh-so-healthy meal that I think everyone should try at least one. Enjoy!

Gotta love some Cajun

In honor of this this season's Top Chef finale taking place in New Orleans and Mardi Gras being yesterday I decided to make my own Cajun-inspired meal. I say Cajun-inspired because neither of these recipes are specifically labeled as Cajun, but for the soup I took into account alot of the spices that are used in Cajun cuisine and the shrimp are just something my family calls Cajun Shrimp and the first time dad made them we had them on our version of Po'Boys. Now in the event that anyone who actually know Cajun cuisine intimately reads this, please know that this is just a Northern Girl's interpretation of what I have learned are Cajun flavors.

Now that that's out of the way, onto the food. I made a slow cooker Black Bean & Corn Soup and Spicy Cajun Shrimp. Because I knew I wanted to incorporate some Cajun flavors I did some research. The most important component in Cajun & Creole cuisine is "the holy trinity" which is onions, bell pepper and celery all chopped up and sauteed in oil or fat. This is the base of many of the traditional dishes and where I decided to start my soup. I also used cayenne and bay leaf because according to the write up on Cajun cuisine on Wikipedia, they are spice commonly used as well

Black Bean & Corn soup

1 lb dry black bean
10 oz frozen corn
2 stalks celery - chopped
1 small white onion - chopped
1 green bell pepper - chopped
6 cups chicken stock - this can also be made in the slow cooker I loosely followed this recipe to make mine)
1 can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves
salt & pepper

1. Let beans sit covered in water overnight. In the morning drain beans. Put chopped vegetables at the bottom of slow cooker. Pour drained beans on top and add in frozen corn.
2. In a bowl mix together tomato sauce, salt, pepper & cayenne. Pour onto of vegetables in slow cooker. Add in chicken stock and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hrs.
3. Enjoy topped with chopped scallion and creme fraiche



This soup was one of those throw everything in the slow cooker and see what happens and what happened was very tasty. The broth was amazing! Heat with just the right amout of sweet from the corn. It's definitely a brothy soup, but if you prefer something thicker you can either mash up some of the beans in this recipe or use 1/2 lb of dried black beans and 1 can of refried black beans. You can also tailor the amount of cayenne to your liking. I like spice and this has a nice heat that comes at the end of each bite. If you are sensitive to spice I'd cut pack to 1 tsp or maybe even 1/2 tsp.

Onto a family crowd pleaser Spicy Cajun Shrimp. My dad first made these years ago and they have become a go to in our family ever since.

Spicy Cajun Shrimp

1 lb of shrimp - shelled & deveined
4 cloves garlic - finely minced
1/4 olive oil
1 tsp paprika or Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic
1 tsp crushed red pepper flake
2 Tbsp dry sherry or dry white wine (I used dry white wine)
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Place the oven rack in the top position, just a few inches from the broiler. Preheat broiler. While preheating place an oven safe skillet or a boiler pan in the oven to heat.
2. While the oven is heating mix together all ingredients. Carefully pour into heated pan and broil for 4-5 minutes until shrimp are pink and golden.
3. Serve with crusty bread and spicy mayo (I mixed some mayonnaise with chipotle puree and a few pinches of sugar)

I love these shrimp they are a great appetizer or great with a meal. Had the soup been thicker I may have even served them on top of the soup and not used the bread or spicy mayo. I did cut back a bit on the red pepper flake, simply because I knew the soup had some heat and I didn't want everything to be really spicy.

The boy gave both dishes a thumbs up which was impressive since I knew going in that he's not a huge black bean fan. It was a nice low-key Mardi Gras inspired feast. Enjoy!

Sauerbraten

Now I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess than many of my readers aren't familiar with Saurbraten. This was something my grandmother made when I was quite young and that my mother also made when i was younger. It's another of Grandma H's recipes that I wanted to try for since it's a traditional German dish but also because it's my grandmother's recipe and according to the recipe card a recipe that came right from our German ancestors.

But I'm digressing, many of you have probably never heard of Saurbraten so from our good friends at Wikipedia here's a quick definition: "German, from sauer sour + Braten roast meat, is a roast from Rhineland, Saarland, Silesia, and Swabia. While Rhineland Sauerbraten is sweetish and contains raisins and lebuchken, Swabian Sauerbraten contains neither sweetening nor raisins. Sauerbraten was originally made from horse meat or venison, but today beef is more commonly used, except by traditionalists."

OK so traditionally made from horse meat sounds a bit shady, I'll give you that, but growing up we always had it made with beef and that's what my grandmother's recipe calls for and how I made it. What's great about this is that you can take a cheaper cut of meat since it will be tenderized by the vinegar and spices and then braised til it practically falls apart. Making it a very budget friendly main course.

Sauerbraten

3 lb rump roast
1 Tbsp whole spices (I used pickling spices since it's a whole spice blend that has many of the spices found in traditional sauerbraten recipes)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 onion - sliced
1½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp butter
1 cup (or more) vinegar (I used Cider Vinegar)
1 cup water
salt & pepper

1. Mix spices, sugar, salt, pepper & onions with water and vinegar in a non-reactive container with a lid.
2.Place roast in liquid. It should be covered completely, if not pour enough vinegar into the container to cover the roast. Let sit covered in the refrigerator for 1 week
3. After 1 week take roast out, brown it and braise in 1/2 water, 1/2 marinade until tender.
4. Thicken juices for gravy (i made a quick roux with flour and butter and streamed in the warm cooking juices whisking all along to make a nice gravy.

What came out of this was a deliciously tender just sour enough roast that even the boy, who doesn't like vinegar all that much, really enjoyed. Sauerbraten is traditionally served with spaetzle which would be very tasty, although I made pierogi as well braised red cabbage with apples, the sweetness of which really balanced out the sourness of the meat. It was a really hearty meal with some great well-balanced flavors, perfect for a Sunday night comfort meal. Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

Root vegetables are just about the only thing you can get fresh and locally-grown in Ontario in the winter. Aside from the obvious carrots and potatoes I haven't really done much with root vegetables. Sure I've had parsnips (Dad makes and amazing parsnip puree) and beets (since they are all the rage in salads these days) but have never felt compelled to cook them. A few weeks ago the boy and I went to dinner at a friends house where they served a nice roast with some delicious oven roasted vegetables, among the veg were beets which the boy made clear that he loved and that my cooking them was the true way to his heart. Now, let me tell you these were not comments I took lightly, not that I felt the need to feed my way to the boys heart, but I'm pro any vegetable that he's excited about plus I really enjoyed the oven roasted beets and this is coming from someone who's never been a big fan of this brightly colored root vegetable.

I try to roast a chicken every other week mainly because it's so easy and it gives us leftovers for a day or so but also because it's just such a great Sunday night meal and perfect in the winter. I took my last roasted chicken as an opportunity to do a real one pot/pan meal, something my dishwasher (the boy) was all for, and just threw in a ton of vegetables. See below for how I did it:

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

2-4 parsnips - peeled and chopped into approx 2 inch pieces (make each piece about the same size)
4 beets - peeled and quartered
4 red potatoes - quartered
2 small onions - quartered
5 cloves of garlic - smashed and peeled
8 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of rosemary
1 lemon cut into wedges
1/4 olive oil
3 Tbsps unsalted butter
salt & pepper

1. Spread vegetables and garlic in the bottom of the roasting pan, toss with oil, salt & pepper.
2. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemons over the vegetables and toss all wedges into the pan. Dot with butter and toss fresh herbs on top.
3. Place prepared whole chicken on top (I used this roast chicken) and cook according to the chicken (or other roast) directions.


Next time you make any kind of roast you have to throw some root vegetables in with them. Whatever you have on hand, it doesn't matter. This simple recipe at the bottom of my roasting pan turned my roast chicken into a full meal. While there are no green vegetables going on here but you've got a ton of vitamin C in the parsnips and potatoes as well as antioxidants and potassium in the beets. Overall it was an easy, tasty and completely satisfying meal and one you should make for someone you love sometime soon. Enjoy!

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

This is a dish I've been wanting to try for quite some time and Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect day since we had no set plans and the boy loves just about anything with beef and finally I got a fabulous Le Creuset Dutch Oven for Christmas that I had used a bunch on the stove top but had yet to use in the oven. I knew it would be the perfect for browning the ribs and then an oven braise. Check it out:

Raspberry Mascarpone French Toast Strata

This was the perfect breakfast for those weekend mornings when you just want to have a lie-in and relax, but still want a tasty breakfast. It's also good for a crowd. We had this for breakfast on Valentine's morning, the red of the raspberry's made it in the spirit of the holiday and it was something super easy for me to throw together the night before and just pop in the oven Saturday morning.

This recipe was inspired by a Cranberry Lemon French Toast Strata that the fabulous mom of my "adopted" little sister made for the fam when we were all in VT skiing over the Christmas holidays. I don't have the actual recipe but loved the dish so much I decided to create on of my own and I think it was quite successful

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy February 14th! Whatever you do today take some time to tell those you love how much they mean to you. Whether it's a phone call, a text, an old-fashioned Valentine or a fabulous meal, find a way to show you care. And make sure to have some yummy Valentine's Day candy along the way. I love conversation hearts, mostly because of the cute messages and fun colors. They remind of elementary school when you wrote fun Valentine's to the whole class and got to eat candy and treats at school.

Stay tuned this week posts on some of the tasty treats I'm making today for the boy. Have a great day!

Valentine's Day Ideas

This is for any of you last minute planners out there or those of you who may not have plans but are now scrambling to do something special for you loved one(s). The following are some of my favorite dishes to make for that someone special. They all taste special, but they also all don't require a ton of cooking time, leaving you more time to spend with your loved ones on the day and less time in the kitchen. Since Valentines Day is on a Saturday I'm going to include my favorite breakfast idea too.

BRUNCH
Pain Perdu with Berry Compote - This is one of our favorite breakfasts, but because of how sweet it is, not something I make too often. It's for those special mornings when I want to do something extra special, perfect for Valentine's Day. I usually serve these with sausage patties, but recommend using this more recent recipe instead. For the berry compote you can use frozen or fresh berries.


MUNCHIES
Pomodori al Forno - These take a couple hours to make, but they are largely unattended hours, just turning the tomatoes occasionally. And they are full of flavor, plus the nice red color is always good for Valentine's day. Since plum tomatoes aren't really in seaons you can easily use canned whole San Marzano tomatoes and it's just as tasty.

Baked Brie with Caramelized Pear - This is another super easy afternoon munchie, that looks oh-so-special. If you are able to have a lazy Saturday afternoon, this is the perfect thing to kill any afternoon cravings before dinner.


DINNER
Blueberry Steak - I know blueberries aren't in season, at least not in Canada and the US. They have been on sale at the grocery store lately but if you don't want to buy from Chile or Mexico or wherever the blueberries are coming from these days, I'd check out the frozen berries for this. You should be able to just throw the frozen berries in the pot and season according to the recipe, being mindful that the sauce may need a bit more reducing due to the frozen berries. This is great with some oven roasted potatoes.

Roast Chicken - Now I know this isn't the most romantic entree on the surface, but if you rarely make a roast chicken it's actually quite a nice thing to make for someone you love. It's homey and comforting and if you are having a nice night in with your sweetie it's the perfect way on a cold night to show someone you care.

Vegetable Tian - I love this side dish. It's another super easy one one with tons of flavor. I've never made it with the blueberry steak, but it's perfect with a lemon and herb roasted chicken.


DESSERTS
White Chocolate Berry Cake - I just posted this earlier this week and it's a nice special treat to make for a loved one.

"Hostess" Cupcakes - These are special because they take a bit more effort than a standard cupcake and they are rich and chocolatey making them perfect for Valentine's Day. To make the cupcakes pictured above you can use the chocolate cake and fluff icing recipes from this post and use the icing to just frost the cupcakes rather than fill them. You could even throw some red hot hearts on top to make them extra special.


Hope these help you come up with some last minute ideas for your special day. Enjoy!

Chocolate Fix

I had the most insane chocolate craving the other day and in jonesing for something rich and chocolatey I realized that I have yet to post a brownie recipe. This may not seem like a big deal to many of you but after pie, brownies are probably one of my favorite desserts. So of course my blog needs a brownie recipe. While the mixes serve a purpose and are often quite tasty (especially the Ghirardelli mixes) I prefer brownies made from scratch. Brownies were one of the first desserts I made from scratch when I was 12 years old. I used the basic recipe from the Fannie Farmer cookbook and it's still one of my faves, I promise to bake and post it sometime soon. But for this week's chocolate craving, I knew I didn't want just any brownie, it was actually a cheesecake brownie that would make me happy. I didn't have a specific recipe in mind but after the past few weeks of baking heavy German dishes, I'm now on a mission to find a happy medium with tasty comforting food that's made with better ingredients. Which is why I used cauliflower, whole wheat flour and olive oil in my Mac & Cheese. I want to make the foods I love and I want them to taste good without leaving me guilt-ridden. So I went to an old faithful Eating Well in search of a recipe. I am quite pleased with the one I found. Is it the healthiest brownie ever? No, but it's a step and tasty to boot.

Swirled Cheesecake Brownies
from Eating Well

CHEESECAKE TOPPING
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

BROWNIE LAYER
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 large egg whites or 4 teaspoons dried egg whites (see Ingredient note), reconstituted according to package directions
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup strong brewed (or prepared instant) coffee or black tea
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat a 7-by-11-inch brownie pan or baking pan with cooking spray.
2. To prepare topping: Place cream cheese in a small mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg, flour, yogurt and vanilla; beat until well blended.
3. To prepare brownie layer: Whisk whole-wheat flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Place egg, egg whites and brown sugar in a large bowl and beat with the electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add oil, coffee (or tea) and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until well blended, stopping once to scrape down the sides.
4. Scrape about half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Slowly pour the topping evenly on top. Drop the remaining brownie batter in large dollops over the topping. Draw the tip of a sharp knife or skewer through the two batters to create a swirled effect.
5. Bake the brownies until the top is just firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Coat a knife with cooking spray and cut into 24 bars.


These brownies were fudgy and extremely satisfying. I cut them into the recommended 24 squares, but have to be honest I ate 3 the night I made them. I think if you cut 16-18 slightly bigger squares you'd be more satisfied with just one because they would be a bit bigger but not the equivalent of 3 squares! The coffee adds richness which lets you use less cocoa powder and I always feel better using whole wheat flour over white. Next time I may try to use my Sunsweet Lighter bake or apple sauce in place of the oil and either Splenda Baking Blend Brown Sugar or maybe even Agave Syrup to cut back on the sugar. Now either of those substitutions could ruin what is a pretty tasty brownie but when I try I'll let you know the results.

Oh and the boy's review was a thumbs up, which is impressive as he is not a fan of cream cheese in sweets. There was just enough for me and not too much for him. Talk about a lucky happy medium. Enjoy!

Mac & Cheese with Cauliflower

Most of you dear readers are aware of my obsession with Mac & Cheese, especially if you happened upon this site by way of Food Buzz, where on my flavor page I say that I'm always craving Mac & Cheese. I think it's the most perfect food, easy to make, homey and comforting and conducive to all different types of cheeses and other additions. I almost always have all the necessary ingredients on hand to throw together some form mac & cheese (and not the Kraft kind). I once made it with spaghetti because it was the only pasta in the house. While it wasn't perfect it certainly cured the hungover craving my sis, her friend and I had on that Sunday.

I've now completely digressed. Today's mac & cheese creation was made in an attempt to make this delightfully gooey dish a bit more healthy. While it's still full of cheese, by making a few substitutions I think this is a little more guilt free than how I normally make it.

A Sweet for My Sweetie

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching I thought it was time to make something inspired by the day to help give you, my dear readers, some inspiration for your own Valentine's Day treats. For me Valentine's Day is about making or doing something for my sweetie that I wouldn't normally. Now if we are talking about food and all things culinary, that translates to a cake. I like cake, but don't LOVE it the way I do other sweets, most specifically pies, thus I rarely make cake. Sure, I make cupcakes occasionally but usually for work or some event I'm hosting or attending, but not much besides that. This past weekend I decided to make a two-layer cake. I figured if I was going to tackle this, I might as well do it right. And so my White Chocolate Berry Cake was born.



White Chocolate Berry Cake

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
5 oz good quality white chocolate
1 Tbsp butter (this is the amount I used, on the recipe card it says butter the size of the walnut)
2 tsps salt
2 tsps vanilla
2 cups boiling water
2 cups sliced strawberries (or berry of your choosing)
1/2 cup Forest Berry jam (or any type of mixed berry jam)
Meringue icing (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Over a double boiler melt the white chocolate and butter. Once melted remove from heat and add in all other ingredients. Mix until just combined.

2. Butter and flour 2 round 8 inch cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

3. Let cool completely before icing. Even out the tops of each cake so they will rest flat on either side. Be sure to eat what you cut off just to make sure the cake is tasty :).

4. Place bottom layer on serving plate. Spread the jam on the bottom layer. On top of the jam, place a nice layer of strawberries. Then carefully spread a generous layer of icing. Carefully place the second layer on top and ice the entire cake. Decorating the tops and sided with sliced strawberries.

Meringue Icing

1 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites
½ cup boiling water
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Beat first 4 ingredients together in a small mixing bowl for 5-8 minutes. Add vanilla when mixture begins to thicken. Beat until stiff peaks form.

First off I am so happy with how this turned out. For my first multilayer cake I think it's quite pretty and with the red and white it's the perfect Valentine. We sampled it soon after it was assembled and the flavors worked really well together too. Overall it was a winner, which is good since the boy claimed he wasn't a fan of white chocolate. Now to be honest I'm not either. But rather than do a dark chocolate Valentine's Day treat I wanted to a try something different with the white. Boy was it worth it! You got the nice buttery flavor of white chocolate without it being sicky sweet. This is a dense cake that was offset nicely by the light and fluffy icing and fresh berries. The berry jam upped the tasty berry flavor and was a last minute addition as I was assembling the cake.

My only complaint is that the icing doesn't hold up for a long period of time. I assembled and tasted it in the afternoon and after dinner it just didn't look as good. So be sure to assemble this close to when you plan on serving. I think fresh whipped cream would also go very well and may hold up a bit better. Enjoy!

Grandma's Rolladen

To go along with Grandma's pierogi, I made her Rolladen, a tasty German meat dish that both my brothers love. For those of us unfamiliar with Rolladen (or Rouladen as it's traditionally spelled) here's what wikipedia has to say:

"Rouladen (or Rinderroulade) is a German meat roulade consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced beef and then cooked. The dish has sometimes minced meat or only bacon and onion filling. Rouladen is traditionally served for dinner. Red wine is served with this dish."

Now I know the post is titled Rolladen, and that's because it's my grandmother's recipe and how she spelled it on the recipe card. I know, I know it's not the "correct" spelling, but it's hers so I'm going with it. Also, the wikipedia definition includes a few more ingredients in the beef roll that my recipe does, but I wanted to try Grandma's recipe as written before I started messing around with it.

I apologize to not starting the post with a photo but while it's a tasty dish, it's not the most photogenic. But since I took a photo and there may be some of you who haven't heard of rolladen here you go anyway, a beef roll that I cut into to show the tasty onions in the middle.


Grandma's Rolladen
serves 4-6

3-4 lbs round steak
4-5 large onions
salt & pepper
butter

1. Cut meat into slices, approximately ½ inch thick. Place onion slices, salt, pepper and a small tab of butter on each piece. Roll up and tie with heavy string.
2. Brown beef rolls in olive oil (or hot shortening). When all sides are brown, pour water over to cover and Simmer 2½ to 3 hours or until tender. Adding more water if necessary.
3. Remove meat rolls and unwind thread. Thicken the cooking juices for gravy and serve.
I'm quite happy with how this turned out, although the "thicken the cooking juices for gravy" directions didn't work out so well for me. We went without gravy, but I think next time I'll make a roux with some butter and flour and whisk in the cooking juices for gravy. The onions really help keep the beef really moist and add tons of flavor. It smells delicious while cooking and went really well with the pierogi or would also be great with spaetzle.

For my next go I think I will play around with some of the other filling ingredients, especially some nice grainy mustard and maybe try pickles too. I've really been enjoying making these recipes of my grandmother's it makes me feel as though I'm carrying on some of our family traditions that I will be able to pass along to my own kids and grandkids someday. Enjoy!

Pierogi

This recipe is another of my Grandma H's. If you aren't familiar with pierogi, you have no idea what you are missing. They are a tasty dumpling often filled with potato and/or cheese. According to wikipedia:

"Pierogi (also perogi, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, pierogy, pirohy, or pyrohy), from the Proto-Slavic 'pir' (festivity), is the name most commonly used in English speaking areas to refer to a variety of Slavic semicircular (or, in some cuisines, square) boiled dumplings of unleavened dough stuffed with varying ingredients. In English, the word pierogi and its variants are pronounced with a stress on the letter 'o'."

We have been eating pierogi for as long as I can remember, although I can't say I ever remember my grandmother making them from scratch. I'm still honing my skills with making doughs, learning how elastic a particular dough should be, when to add more flour or more water. So going into this one I was a bit nervous. But was surprised at how well it came together. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, while my grandmother made everything from scratch I don't think she ever had a ton of time to do things. Thus it would have to be easy. There was no recipe included for the filling, so I made up my own based on some web research and what I remembered liking in the pierogi we would eat growing up.

Pierogi
makes about 20

FOR DOUGH
2 eggs
½ cup water
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt

FOR FILLING
1 large potato
up to ¼ cup buttermilk
up to ¼ cup extra sharp cheddar - shredded (I actually used MacLaren's Imperial Sharp Cheddar which looks like a shady cheddar spread but was actually perfect and really tasty on it's own too)
salt & pepper

TO FINISH
1 Tbsp butter
½ small onion - roughly chopped

FOR DOUGH:
1. Mound the flour on a kneading board and make a hole in the center. Drop eggs into the hole and cut into flour with a knife.
2. Add salt & water and knead until firm. Let rest for 10 minutes, covered with a warm towel.
3. Divide dough in half and roll thin, using flour as needed. Cut circles with a large biscuit cutter.

FOR FILLING:
4. Peel and dice potato and boil until tender. Drain water and put potatoes in food processor. Pulse potatoes in food processor and stream in buttermilk a Tbsp at a time until smooth (how much cheese and buttermilk you need depends on the size of potato, taste it as you go). Fold in cheddar cheese.

TO ASSEMBLE:
5. Place a small spoonful of filling a little to one side of each round dough. Moisten edge with water and press edges firmly together. Be sure they are sealed to prevent filling from running out.
6. Drop pierogi into salted boiling water. Cook gently for 3 to 5 minutes. They are done when they begin to float, remove from water with a slotted spoon.
7. In a large skillet brown butter over medium heat. When browned add onions and pierogi. Sauteing until each side of the pierogies is golden and the onions have just begun to brown.

These were a winner with the boy. The dough was a bit tough to roll out and I think I could've gotten it thinner and they would have been even better, but overall I'm happy with my first attempt. It's not necessary to do the final step with the onions and butter, but it makes them taste oh so good with the soft onions and the browned bits that it's worth the extra effort and extra pan. I really like that the recipe is part my grandmother's and part mine. I can't wait to try them again with different fillings. Enjoy!

YWPWT: Literary Pie

This month's You Want Pies with That Challenge was chosen by Mary the Food Librarian and is exactly what you would expect from The Food Librarian:

"Literary Pie (really, what did you expect from the Food Librarian?) Libraries have a wide range of books and materials...and "literary" simply means the written word. Your pie can be inspired by Shakespeare, John Grisham, the latest Chick Lit, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or anything else that came from the fabulous imagination of your favorite author. The Food Librarian says: "Bonus points from me if you've visited your local library in the past year!" :) Have fun, and eat your words!"

I was really excited by this challenge as I have always loved books and have been recently thinking alot about food inspired in books. My first idea and attempt was inspired by A.A. Milne's Winne the Pooh and was a honey-custard pie in a whole grain crust. Let's just say it was a complete and utter failure. Me and custard/creme pies just aren't friends yet and it will take more time than I had this past weekend to work it out. Not being one to take failure lightly I decided to regroup and re-concept and came upon a book that was a childhood favorite of mine, The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.


The Velvet Room is the story of Robin, a young girl who is one of many children of a family of migrant workers. He father finally gets a permanent job on the McCurdy ranch in California. It is on the ranch that Robin finds the old and abandoned Las Palmeras house and what becomes her beloved hideaway, the Velvet Room. It is a grand old library full of books with lovely velvet drapes and benches (which why Robin named it as such) where she is able to escape from her everyday life and get lost in a book.

The inspiration from the pie came from the day Robin and her siblings were all sent to work pitting apricots. The following quote was so visual to me and provided exactly the inspiration I needed for my pie:

"When Robin picked up the first apricot, her mouth watered. It was always like that at the first of the season. They tasted wonderful for the first day or two, but after that you were sick of the very smell of them. The apricot was still warm from the sun and so ripe that the juice ran down Robin's chin as she bit into it. She wiped her chin on her skirt and started to work." (p. 120 iUniverse edition)

I knew I had to do something with apricots and decided I wanted something very rustic and simple, since Robin and her family would not be eating fancy-schmancy sweets, if any at all. It was with this thinking that I decided to make an Apricot Crostata.

Robin's Apricot Crostata

PATE SUCREE - (Sweet Pastry Dough) from Clemence Gosset at Gourmandise Desserts

350g butter
150g sugar
1 egg
500g flour
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
¼ tsp assorted spices (optional- cinnamon, ginger, etc)

FILLING
1 cup good quality apricot jam
zest from 1 lemon
1 blood orange - peeled and sliced into rounds, make sure pith is removed

1. In a mixer, beat butter and sugar with the paddle attachment (I used the dough blade on my food processor).
2. Add the egg and beat well. Add flour, spices (I used ginger) and vanilla (again this was all done in my food processor).
3. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hr. Roll out your dough (you'll need about 2/3 - 3/4 of the dough you made) to an 11" circle and carefully transfer to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix jam with lemon zest and spread onto crust, leaving a 1 1/2" border. Gently fold the border over the jam to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle. Evenly space the orange rounds just around the inside of the crust.
5. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for 1 hour before serving.


I added the blood oranges slices because they were on sale this week at my grocery store and I thought it would be nice color and the acid from the lemon zest and the oranges balanced out the sweetness of the pastry and jam. Plus since the book takes place in California, I figured I could take the liberty of using oranges.

I learned how to make this pastry a few years ago when I took a baking class with Clemence Gossett of Gourmandise Desserts. She had just started giving classes and was working out of a small kitchen in Venice, CA. He business has grown since then and I have regretted not getting to any of her new classes in her new space as it was this class that gave me, a self-proclaimed non-baker, the confidence to bake more. She swears by using a scale in baking and since I've gotten one I have to agree. It allows for more precise measurements and is much less messy that using measuring cups and spoons. But onto the pastry, it is perfect and so easy. We learned to make this for use in lemon curd tarts and chocolate tarts, but it can also be used for delicious butter cookies or as I found for a crostata. If you are in the LA area take one of Clemence's classes they are great!

The boy loved this as the crust tastes alot like shortbread. I loved the flavor and the ease of this. I think this is a great dessert to throw together for a dinner party as it's easy and can be made in advance. I'm actually grateful my first attempt didn't work out because it allowed me to make this delicious treat. Enjoy!