An Cooking: April 2014

Rabu, 30 April 2014

Cucumber Yogurt

This is simple, healthy and a great side dish for your currys!

Yogurt

Dried mint

Cubed Cucumber(skin peeled)

Half Green Pepper/Capsicum Cubed

Little Milk

Soak a teaspoon of dried mint in a little milk for 5 minutes or so then add to the yogurt with the cucumber and pepper.

Selasa, 29 April 2014

Tarte Tatin – See What the Others Aren’t Willing to Show You

When I looked at some other tarte tatin recipes on YouTube, I noticed that very few showed the “flip on to the plate” step. They would just skip from the out of the oven shot to the final beauty shot. The reason of course, is that very few tarte tatins come out of the hot pan perfectly, and if they showed that, then you may not think they are as awesome as their profile says they are.

So, it’s with much pride that I show you the whole ugly scene that is the tarte tatin dismount. The good news is, it’s very simple to slap everything back on the crust before it cools, and none will be the wiser. This is even easier if you’re doing a version with very soft and tender apples and lots of caramel, which is my preference, as you’ll see.

If you do a Google image search for a classic, old recipe like this, you usually see a lot of photos that look alike, but that’s not necessarily so with tarte tatin. You’ll see an amazingly diverse array, which is fascinating since they were all made with the same few basic ingredients. Most of this is a result of cooking time in the pan before baking.

Some feature firm, barely cooked apples, while others cook the fruit all the way down to a buttery, caramelized jam. The beauty of a recipe that uses just pastry dough, butter, apples and sugar to make the magic, is that no matter how yours comes out you’ll enjoy it. Of course, you’ll want to hedge your bets with some vanilla bean ice cream to be safe. I hope you give this classic French treat a try soon. Enjoy!

3 large apples, quartered

3 tbsp butter

3/4 cup sugar

pie dough for a single crust

View the complete recipe

Senin, 28 April 2014

Chef John is Flying High

Chef John is currently flying cross-country, back to beautiful San Francisco. In addition to typing in the third person, for no apparent reason, Chef John is plotting a whole bunch of exciting new video recipes. Stay tuned!

Minggu, 27 April 2014

Three Cheeses in Three Minutes

This "How to Make a Cheese Plate" video demo was done for About.com, and was quite a challenge to edit down to the requested three minute duration. I usually film about 10 minutes of footage and edit it down to about five, then do a voice-over. The rough cut is then edited to the three-minute final cut. Its usually a very painful process involving me deleting frames and narration that Im convinced is nothing short of brilliant.

But, as the deadline approaches, and my delusions of grandeur fade, I always manage to whittle it down somehow. This video was assigned to follow a 3-cheese selection already published on Abouts cheese site. I was excited when I saw the choices, since these were three of my all-time favorites. That was also the problem - if I had covered all the info I wanted, the video would have been 15 minutes long!

Since "bring a platter" party season is almost here, this basic how-to may come in handy. These cheeses are fairly easy to find, but if you cant, there are so many combinations that will work. Dont be afraid to ask the person in charge of the cheese department at the local high-end grocery store. The only thing that cheese-heads like better than eating cheese, its talking about it (my wife sold cheese for years, so I know this for a fact!). Enjoy!

Sabtu, 26 April 2014

CHILLIE BEEF FRY

ANGLO-INDIAN CHILLIE BEEF FRY

Serves 6 Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

1 kg good beef cut into medium size pieces

4 to 6 green chillies slit lengthwise

2 capsicums / green peppers cut into strips

3 big onions sliced

1tablespoon chopped garlic

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon turmeric

3 tablespoons oil

Boil the meat with the turmeric and salt in sufficient water till tender. Keep the remaining soup aside. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions and chopped garlic till golden brown. Add the cooked meat, green chillies and capsicum and mix well. Add the remaining soup and cook on low heat till the meat is brown and all the gravy dries up. Serve as a side dish or a starter at parties

Jumat, 25 April 2014

Train Friends Cake

In my day job, I frequently have a one hour commute to Glasgow. This journey has become a real pleasure thanks to a group of regular travellers who share gossip, laughs and communal crossword sessions.

Rachel has been looking for a job nearer home for some time, so when she was successful we were delighted for her, but sorry to lose her from our Train Friends Gang. We met up for lunch on Saturday to celebrate Rachels new job and I marked the occasion by making her this cake.

I had planned it all out in my head before I started and was pleased when it worked out. The base is a simple sponge cake based on Mary Berrys tray bake sponge recipe. I made double the mixture (6 eggs) and baked some of it in a metal pudding basin to provide the hill. The rails are made of liquorice from a liquorice catherine wheel. The Virgin train is made from a Twix Extra bar covered in fondant icing with the windows painted in. The sheep look more like West Highland Terriers, Ill have to work on that, they are made of fondant, as are the trees, lake and bushes. The only think that is not edible is the Windmill (a feature of our commute) which is made from a cake pop stick, card and a brad, from my craft supplies.

Rachel is a very good baker and cake decorator who sells wedding and birthday cakes in her spare time, so it was a double challenge to make a cake for her. However she was delighted with it and it was also a hit with our fellow travellers. We dont intend to lose touch and more lunches are planned for the future.

You can follow Rachel on Twitter @CakesRachels and Like Rachels Cakes page on Facebook

Kamis, 24 April 2014

Custom Fit Meals Review and Promo Code

As a Paleo practitioner for three-ish years, Ive come across countless rounds of people who have told me they were going to give the Paleo lifestyle a try, only to throw in the towel a few days in because they couldnt keep up in the kitchen. And also because, like Lindsay Lohan, they just couldnt turn down an opportunity to get white girl drunk. Either way, they probably would have been a lot more likely to stick with their newfound healthy lifestyle if they had a live-in chef...or maybe just Custom Fit Meals.

Custom Fit Meals is a meal-order delivery service specializing in Paleo, Primal, and otherwise "clean" eating ready-to-eat meals. Ive told you about another similar meal-order business before here, but this one is a bit different because you actually get to choose the meals you want as opposed to just getting whatever is provided from a pre-determined menu. Not only that, but they only use grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, pastured pork, and organic local produce! PLUS, they have breakfast!! Im sure a lot of you are all like "breakfast is the easiest to take care of, lazy!" but SCREW YOU! I wanted to be able to order my breakfast just as I would my lunch or dinner, and with CFM I can, so suck it!

But none of that matters if the food isnt good, so I took one for the team and tried a few dishes for you. Ive created a completely arbitrary rating system for basically no other purpose than to use my face as scale, so make of it what you will!

First up, breakfast.

This is Bacon, Eggs, and sweet muffins:

Ill say this--their presentation isnt necessarily gorgeous, but they do what they can I guess. Presentation aside though, this was DELICIOUS! The sweet muffins were more like sausage cups filled with sweet potato mash, which was great, just not what I expected. The eggs were fluffy and not the least bit overcooked or rubbery, which I was initially worried about. And even though they were covered in bell peppers (one of the only foods I truly hate), I still thought this was an excellent breakfast.

RATING:

(out of 5 Melissa faces)

The Breakfast Bowl

Another breakfast, this time, plated on a dish which made for a much prettier meal:

Again, every bite of this was fantastic--the eggs perfectly cooked, the sausage excellently seasoned and a delicious gravy, which there sadly wasnt enough of IMO since it pretty much got absorbed by the sausage after I microwaved it. The thing that really impressed me about this (and every other meal I ate) was how well seasoned, without being salty, everything was.

RATING:

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Yall, I was enjoying my meals so much that sometimes, I just forgot to take pictures with my good camera, so youll have to settle for a few iPhone pics here. This was the breakfast I was looking forward to the most (Sweet Potato Pancakes?!?!?), but it was not at all what I was expecting. Maybe they mislabeled my meal, but the only sweet potatoes were in mash form, dotted with raisins. Delicious, yes, but pancakes? No.

RATING:

Lets turn our attention to the lunches/dinners.

Chicken Pot Pie

I was highly skeptical of this before taking a bite. The chicken I was used to from the other meal delivery service was usually really dry, so I was expecting the same experience. I was happily surprised from bite one when the chicken was tender and moist and well seasoned throughout. Plus, the cinnamon sweet potato topping was a delicious accompaniment to the savory chicken filling! Winner, winner, chicken pot pie dinner!

RATING:

Mango Chicken Salad On-the-Go

This was one of my favorites of the whole week! The chicken was perfectly cooked again, but the fruity and slightly sweet dressing on the salad was exactly what I was in the mood for that day for lunch. Plus, the fact that its served chilled makes it easy to eat on-the-go. (Can you believe I only just now figured out that reference in the name...??)

RATING:

Spaghetti Bolognese

Im not a big spaghetti squash fan in general, which is why this is one of my all-time favorite recipes. But I do love a good bolognese and was eager to see how CFMs would be. Not even the spaghetti squash could slow me down eating this. Another perfectly seasoned dish and hearty portion to boot! Generally, I finish a meal with several good bites left and hand it to Kyle to eat my "trash," but there was nary a morsel left when I was finished, it was that good.

RATING:

Buffalo Chicken Salad On-the-Go

Another iPhone shot of my half-eaten meal, another cold lunch. This time, it was a buffalo chicken salad served over a carrot and jicama slaw. The spicy/sweet combination was delish. I was also impressed with how well the slaw held up--it wasnt watery at all!

RATING:

and a half

This was by far the tastiest meal-order system Ive ever tried, and given the--what I think is reasonable price because I shop almost exclusively at Whole Foods--price ($100 for 10 meals), its a total no-brainer! The only thing you have to worry about is whether they deliver to your hood, which you can check here (make sure youre not using Google Chrome. I know...the one downside of the whole thing).

When I randomly met their VP of sales Scott in my apartment building, I immediately told him I had a blog with legions of fans (so I may have embellished...) and told him that if he wanted to give me some meals Id try them and review them for all of you. He was generous enough to oblige and yall get to be on the receiving end of my good fortune, because not only were ALL the meals entirely delicious--literally dont have a single complaint about any of the meals that I tried--he has also graciously extended a 10% discount on everyones first week of orders! Use the code "CupcakesOMG" at check out. Then come back here and tell me what you ordered!!

Rabu, 23 April 2014

Gluten Free Multi Grain Sandwich Bread

A combination of gluten-free grains makes this my favorite

new gluten-free bread recipe. Hands down.

As promised I've been experimenting again with my favorite gluten-free bread recipe. This latest incarnation is my husband's new favorite. Why? It features cornmeal. I learned a long time ago that cornmeal (and polenta) warmed the cockles of his heart. So I bake with it every chance I get. This bread was tender and soft enough for sandwiches. Delicious flavor. The cornmeal gives it a mild and almost grainy texture without overpowering it. It's not heavy. And it toasts up like a crunchy golden dream.

This part- the crunchy toast part- is why I perseverate in gluten-free baking. Because no matter how old I get (and I hate to tell you, I've got a milestone number waiting for me in June that is scaring the juniper pollen infested daylights outa me!) I crave the simplest of foods.

Like toast.

It's my go-to all time favorite form of culinary bliss. I kid you not. My tastes are childhood simple. That fancy-schmancy stuff folks swoon over captures my attention for maybe a minute. Haute food is pretty and all, but. I've read Kitchen Confidential. I know what they're up to in there, behind those greasy swinging doors. I know not to order fish on a Monday. And I know that even at the famous Rainbow Room food gets dropped on the floor. And re-plated.

Not to mention, they puts gobs of butter and salt and sugar in everything. Everything. Like, crazy. And they par-cook and make stuff ahead of time- hours ahead of time- so that when you show up hungry on an early- not too busy- Sunday evening, with a simple request such as, May I have (fill-in-the-blank) prepared without butter or dairy? the waiter grimaces and spins off toward the kitchen with a wiggle of disapproval only to return and tell you, The Chef will make you a special plate. And you exhale with relief.

You think, Margarita time.

When the dinners arrive, your husband is greeted with a heaping platter of grilled shrimp and garlic on greens and savory dirty rice and your son is presented with the mouthwatering carnitas and warm tortillas and calabasitas. And you. You are given a gleaming white dinner plate with enough dry broccoli and cauliflower tops to choke a horse. A big steaming horse. Except that a horse wouldn't be interested enough to risk the whole choking thing.

Horses are pretty smart.

I think I audibly gasped in horror (you don't want to know, Darling what that much Brassicaceae would do to a girl like me). The server kept his eyes down and skulked away. The waiter ignored us the rest of the night. I suspect he knew enough to know that charging $23.95 for a plate of broccoli and cauliflower tops was a tad passive aggressive on the Chef's part. Maybe he thought I was a rich and trendy [insert fad diet of the week] kind of girl. It was Santa Monica, after all. And the saddest part of this story is the punch line. Where this took place. The Border Grill.

Yeah. Those Two Hot Tamales girls. Who are wonderful cooks. And whose gracious Chef Ishmael served up a lovely, safe dinner for me the last time we were visiting Hell-A. He must have been off that night. Watching No Reservations. Or maybe he moved on to another gig. (Hey, Chef Ishmael- where are you Bubbe? It's not the same without you.)

Good thing I have toast. It often saves my life. In body and in spirit.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Selasa, 22 April 2014

Marzipan Cake

Marzipan Cake

Ingredients:

Readymade marzipan 8 ounces

Ingredients for Vanilla Sponge

Egg 4
Flour 4 ounces
Caster sugar 4 ounces
Baking powder 1 tsp
Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Method for Vanilla Sponge
Beat 4 eggs and 4 ounces sugar till light and fluffy, add 1 tsp essence and mix well. Sieve together 4 ounces flour and 1 tsp baking powder, gently fold in the egg mixture, spread mixture in two well greased 9 inches sandwich pan, bake in a pre heated oven for 25 minutes on 180 degree C.
Ingredients for butter icing
Butter 8 ounces
Icing sugar 6 ounces
Method
Beat very well until light creamy and fluffy.
Method for assembling
Make vanilla sponge, cool cut into layers. Ice it with butter icing. Decorate with marzipan.