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There's a Chef in My Kitchen Culinary musings of an amateur chef and home to The Virtual Supper Club. |
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January Recipes
Scroll down to find your recipe. . . Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese Ravioli. 3 medium size beets (preferably a variety: gold, chioga, white), washed well and dried Beet Sauce 2 large red beets, peeled, diced 1/4" In medium saucepot, on low flame heat olive oil. Sweat shallots, garlic and herbs for 5 minutes. Add diced beets, sugar and vinegar. Cook on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add enough water just to barely cover. Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer five minutes. Turn off, let stand. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fried Shallots 2 shallots peeled, sliced thinly (1/16") across grain, into rings Separate shallots into individual little rings. (This is tedious.) Dust with flour to coat. Shake off excess flour. Fry at 350 degrees F. til golden brown and remove to paper towel. Salt to taste. Goat Cheese Ravioli 12 ravioli -- 3 per person While raviolis are cooking in boiling salted water, heat a medium sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons butter. Heat til brown and nutty. (Optional: This step may be eliminated entirely, but the brown butter sauté lends wonderful nutty flavor, depth and great texture to the dish.) Garnish with fresh chopped chives, fried shallots and toasted pine nuts. Pan-Seared, Porcini-Dusted Sea Scallops 12 Large Sea Scallops Note: If you cannot find dried porcini powder, then simply grind your own by placing dried porcini mushrooms in a blender or food processor and pulsing until finely ground. Wild-Mushroom Sauce adapted from: Cooking Light, DECEMBER 1999 1 cup dried porcini mushrooms Combine boiling water and mushrooms in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain mushrooms through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a medium saucepan, reserving soaking liquid; coarsely chop mushrooms. Bring reserved soaking liquid to a boil, and add chopped mushrooms. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1 cup (about 12 minutes). Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and butter, stirring with a whisk until butter is melted. Master Recipe for Carrot Cake with Tangy Cream Cheese Frosting Serves 12 The carrots for this cake can be grated quickly if your food processor has a fine shredding or grating disk. Otherwise, use the fine holes on a box grater. Serve the cake the same day you make it. (Donna’s Note: Don’t worry about the texture – even with 7 cups of carrots. This recipe yields a texture that is moist and cakey. But remember, use the fine shredding disk. Delicious the day it’s made, but it is still as good several days later…) Carrot Cake 1. For the cake: Toss grated carrots with 1 cup granulated sugar in colander set over a large bowl; drain until one cup liquid has collected, 20 to 30 minutes. 2. Adjust the oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour bottom and sides of two 9 inch by 1 ½ inch or 9-inch by 2 inch round cake pans. Invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour. 3. Whisk flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in large bowl; set aside. 4. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently; cook until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl; cool for 10 minutes, then whisk in remaining granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, whisking thoroughly before adding the next; add vanilla. Add Flour mixture, stirring until almost combined, then mix in carrots. 5. Divide batter evenly between pans; smooth surfaces with spatula. Bake until cake feels firm in center when pressed lightly and toothpick inserted into cake center comes out perfectly clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack; cool for 10 minutes. Run knife around the perimeter of each pan, invert cakes onto racks. Reinvert onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting. For the Frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter in medium bowl with hand-held mixer on low speed until homogenous, 3 to 4 minutes. Add confections’ sugar and sour cream; beat until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes longer. To assemble the cake, place a dab of icing on the cake plate to secure the cake. Place the first layer bottom side up; frost top. Place second layer, bottom side up on top of the first layer. Frost sides, then top. Variation: Carrot cake with Raisins and Walnuts. Sweet Corn Fritters 1 cup all-purpose flour Place corn, red pepper, green onions and herbs in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse to coarsely combined, about 5 to 8 pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add enough batter to lightly bind them (about 3/4 cup). Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet on medium heat, then drop in about 2 tablespoons of batter per fritter and cook 4 fritters at a time. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the underside of each fritter is golden. Turn over and cook fritters on the other side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm while cookinjg the remaining fritters. Note: The fritter batter can be kept for up to 3 days, but do not mix the batter with the vegetables more than an hour before cooking, or the fritters will be soggy. Serving suggestion from Bills: Place one fritter on each plate and and top each with two halves of roast tomato, a small handful of arugula and a slice of grilled bacon. Finish witha second fritter and drizzle olive oil around the base of the stack. Serves 4 Serving suggestion from Bills: Place one fritter on each plate and and top each with two halves of roast tomato, a small handful of arugula and a slice of grilled bacon. Finish witha second fritter and drizzle olive oil around the base of the stack.
Pan Seared Foie Gras on a Bed of Walnut Oil Dressed Greens (Foie Gras sur salade a l’huile de noix)© Copyright 2003, "On Rue Tatin" with Susan Herrmann Loomis This recipe is a divine inspiration of the season, a harmonious marriage of simple, straightforward flavors held together with the melting texture of foie gras. 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 appetizer servings Honey-Sesame Seed Crusted Chicken Preheat oven to 400°. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken; set aside. Combine honey, mustard, paprika, and garlic powder in a small bowl; stir well. Combine cornflakes and toasted sesame seeds in a shallow dish; stir well. Brush both sides of chicken with honey mixture; dredge in cornflake mixture. Place an ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When oil is hot and smoking, add chicken and cook until lightly browned on the underside about 6 minutes. Turn chicken over, and transfer skillet to the oven. Bake until cooked through, about 12 minutes. Avocado and Red-Grapefruit Salad adapted from Martha Stewart Living, February 2004. © Copyright 2004 Martha Steward Living Omnimedia, Inc. 1 Red Grapefruit 3/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt 3 tablespoons red grapefruit juice 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Freshly ground pepper 1 ripe Haas avocado, pitted and peeled Mix of lettuce greens (Red Leaf lettuce, Boston lettuce, Organic Mix) Roasted Chicken cut into bite size pieces Cut peel, including pith, from grapefruit; discard. Working over a bowl to catch any juices, cut segments from membranes letting them fall into the bowl. Squeeze the remaining juice from membranes into bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together white wine vinegar, honey, sour cream, salt and 3 tablespoons of the grapefruit juice. While whisking, add oil in a slow steady stream until emulsified. Season with pepper. Cut avocado into slices. Toss lettuce, grapefruit slices and diced chicken with about 1/2 of the dressing. Arrange on chilled platters. Divide avocado between plates. Drizzle each serving with remaining dressing. Portobello Mushroom Vinaigrette Appearing in Gourmet, October 2000 – from Alred Portale’s 12 Seasons Cookbook (Broadway Books). 1 lb. Portobello mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced ½ inch thick Transfer mushrooms with a slotted spoon to a plate and keep warm, covered. Boil liquid in skillet until reduced to about 1/3 cup. Transfer to a bowl and cool. Whisk in remaining oil, remaining vinaigrette ingredients, and pepper to taste.
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