Sunday 14 February 2016

Fried Cake Doughnuts

Doughnuts

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Allspice
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/4 Cup Butter, melted, and cooled slightly

Topping:

  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together the milk and egg.
  3. Create a well in the center of the flour bowl, add the milk and egg mixture and the melted butter. Mix until just combined, and there is no more dry flour unincorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least one hour.
  4. Preheat a deep fryer to 375°F.
  5. Liberally flour a work surface. using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough to the work surface, turning the dough over to dust with flour. Keep the work surface well floured.
  6. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 1 inch rounds to make round doughnuts, or use a doughnut cutter to make traditional ring doughnuts. Transfer cut doughnuts to large lightly floured tray while you finish cutting all the dough. Roll the scraps up together, knead once or twice and roll/cut again.
  7. Fry doughnuts for about 2 minutes a side, until golden brown and puffy and bobbing at the surface.
  8. Remove from deep fryer and transfer to a cooling rack with paper towels underneath to catch any fat. Continue to fry in batches until done.
  9. Allow doughnuts to cool for several minutes, meanwhile in a small bowl sift together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the doughnut topping. Gently toss each doughnut in the sugar to coat.

Enjoy!


Sunday 7 February 2016

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

  • Roughly 2 pounds fresh Roma Tomatoes
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 1 Tablespoon Sugar
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • 10 Basil Leaves (Optional)

Instructions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  2. Wash the basil leaves and tomatoes.
  3. Slice the root and top off the onion, and peel the papery outer layer off the onion. Slice an X shape into the top and bottom of the onion about 1/2 inch deep, into the ends that are now flat from having the roots and tip sliced off. Set aside.
  4. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  5. Remove the eye from each tomato, and slice and X into the end opposite the eye of each tomato.
  6. Once the pot of water is boiling, add the tomatoes and blanch for 3-5 minutes, until the skins just start to peel away. Remove from water with a slotted spoon, to a colander and allow to cool several minutes.
  7. Drain water from the large pot.
  8. Once tomatoes are cool enough to touch, peel the skin from each tomato, slice each tomato into quarters, scraping away the seeds and pulpy watery middles and discarding.
  9. Return the large pot to the stove and heat for 5 minutes over medium heat.
  10. Roughly chop the cleaned tomato quarters into smaller bits.
  11. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the large pot. Add the onion we prepared earlier, as well as the chopped tomatoes.
  12. Cover and cook the tomatoes and onion for 10 minutes.
  13. Uncover, stir in sugar. Stir and mash the tomatoes well, cover and cook an additional 15 minutes.
  14. After 15 minutes, taste the sauce, adjust salt as needed. Season well with pepper. Cook an additional 5 minutes uncovered.
  15. Finely chop the basil leaves and stir into the sauce.
  16. If desired the sauce can be made really smooth by removing the onion, transferring cooked tomatoes to a blender and pulsing several times.
  17. The sauce is now ready to be used.
  18. Can be used as is for pasta, seasoned for pizza sauce. used in recipes calling for a tin of tomato sauce etc.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Other places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Steamed Pork Buns

What was cooking two years ago?

Parsnip Chips



Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush
A simple Dip made from eggplant

Ingredients:

  • 1 Eggplant
  • 1 Lemon, Juiced, or about 2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2-3 Tablespoons Tahini
  • salt
  • 2-3 Cloves Garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley

Instructions:

  1. Slice the top leaf and very bottom bit off the eggplant, then slice the remaining eggplant into 1/2inch thick rounds. Arrange the rounds on a piece of kitchen paper towels, lightly dust each side of the rounds with salt and cover with another layer of kitchen paper towels. Allow to sit 10 minutes.
  2. After 10 minutes, heat oven to broil high. Gently blot any excess water from the eggplant rounds.
  3. Broil the eggplant rounds on a thick baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, until dark, slightly charred spot start to form. Turn eggplant over and broil the other side.
  4. Remove eggplant from oven and allow to cool about 10-15 minutes.
  5. In a large bowl food processor with a blade attachment, add the lemon juice, Tahini, garlic cloves and parsley.
  6. Peel the dark rind from the eggplant rounds, and add the flesh to the food processor bowl.
  7. Pulse the mixture several times in the food processor several times until dip is creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning and salt as needed.
  8. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
  9. Goes great a dip with veggies, or chips, toasted pita etc. Or with falafel.

Enjoy!

Notes:

you can also roast the eggplant whole, but just cutting a few steam vents in the side, and roasting int he oven. then you need to split it and spoon out the cooked eggplant at the end. As the flesh doesn't actually come in direct contact with the heat in the oven you get a whiter looking baba at the end.

Other Places:

Great with falafel

What was cooking one year ago?

Apple pie filling

What was cooking two years ago?

Chicken Wings

Sourdough Biscuits

Sourdough Biscuits

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups flour
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 2/3 Cups Butter, cubed, and at room temperature at least 30 minutes
  • 2 Cups Sourdough starter

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture is sandy and crumbly and butter is evenly distributed. If the butter is not mixed in well enough it may seep out of the biscuits while they bake and that is no good at all.
  3. Measure out the sourdough starter, it doesn't need to be exact. Fold together the flour/butter mixture with the sourdough starter until just combined .
  4. Divide dough into 16 portions and shape each into a little puck like shape and place on prepared baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.
  5. Let biscuits rest and rise for about 20 minutes in a warm draft free place.
  6. Bake biscuits in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until bottoms are browned and tops are golden.
  7. Allow to cool on wire racks for at least 5 minutes before serving. Any leftover biscuits should be allowed to cool completely and then stored in small airtight containers. If stored properly and quickly after cooling they can keep for several days.

Enjoy!

Notes:
I just love sourdough. In all forms, in all ways.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Slow Cooker Ginger Beef

What was cooking two years ago?

Spicy Taco Mac and Cheese


Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Literally always a hit with a crowd

Ingredients:

  • 1 Can Artichoke Hearts
  • Roughly 3-4 Chopped Wilted Spinach
  • 1/4 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
  • 1 Cup Cream Cheese(at room temperature for 30 minutes)
  • 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • 2-3 Cloves minced Garlic

Instructions:

  1. If using fresh spinach, heat a skillet to medium heat. Chop the spinach roughly.
  2. Add the spinach and about 1/4 cup of water, cover and steam the spinach until soft and wilted. Drain and excess water and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, add the Parmesan cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, mozzarella and minced garlic.
  4. Drain the artichoke hearts from the liquid in the can. Roughly chop the artichoke hearts into smaller pieces. Add the diced artichoke hearts to the bowl with the other ingredients.
  5. Using a large spoon stir and fold all ingredients until smooth, evenly blended and creamy.
  6. You can now cover and set aside the dip until ready to serve. Or freeze in small containers to use at a later time.

To serve:

Oven

  1. Pour the desired amount of dip into a small oven safe dish. Heat oven to 400°F. Bake for 30-40 minutes until hot, bubbly, and top might be slightly toasty in color.
Microwave

  1. Pour desired amount of dip into a microwave safe dish, heat in microwave at normal settings 2 minutes at a time, stirring well after each round in the microwave. Once dip is hot and bubbling it is ready to serve.

Serve the dip hot with crackers, toast, pita chips, corn chips, veggies, just about anything really.
Enjoy!

Notes:
You can also cut a bowl shape into a large round loaf of bread and bake the dip inside the bread bowl to make it extra fancy. Just make sure to place the bread bowl on a baking sheet while it bakes in case some seeps out the bottom.

I often make a double batch of this dip, and portion it out into tupperware and freeze it so I always have a party snack on hand if guests drop in, and since it is tasty on everything from toast, to chips to crackers, I almost always have something in the pantry to serve it with.

Other Places:
What was cooking one year ago?

Sourdough Bread

What was cooking two years ago?

Butter Roasted Asparagus 

Overnight French Toast Bread Pudding

French Toast Bread Pudding
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Loaf day old bread
  • 2-3 Eggs
  • 1/2 Cup Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup
  • 1-2 Teaspoons Vanilla
  • Optional, 1/2 Teaspoon each of nutmeg and/or cinnamon

Instructions:

Night Before

  1. Slice the bread into small cubes. In a large bowl add the bread cubes.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, sugar, vanilla and optional spices.
  3. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes. Using a large spoon gently toss the bread with the eggy mixture to coat. Cover the bowl and chill over night.

Morning

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F
  2. Lightly mist a bread pan with cooking spray. 
  3. Uncover the bowl of cubed bread and gently toss and turn the bread over. Pour the bread cubes into the prepared pan into an even layer.
  4. Bake the bread pudding for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown and toasty.
  5. Serve hot, with maple syrup if you like it extra sweet, or powdered sugar dusted over top.

Enjoy!

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

What was cooking two years ago?

Brunch Skillet

Real Parfait

Parfait

I had no idea parfait was a real dessert and not just a mess with yogurt. This is more like an icecream dessert, which makes it pretty great in my books.

Ingredients:

  • 175g Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons warm Water
  • 285ml Whipping Cream
  • 3 Egg Yolks
  • 1 Egg White
  • 1 tsp Vanilla

Ingredients:

  1. In a small sauce pan heat the sugar with the water until a smooth, not grainy syrup forms. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and whisk gently. Add a small amount of the sugar syrup and whisk well. Slowly pour and whisk in the remaining syrup. Do not allow the egg yolk to scramble at this point. Set this bowl aside for now.
  3. Whip the egg white until a stiff peak forms.
  4. Whip the whipping cream until peaks appear and stay standing.
  5. Fold the whipping cream and egg white into the egg yolk mixture, followed by the vanilla.
  6. Pour the parfait into small dessert cups or something to freeze it in. Transfer to freezer and chill at least 3 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I love this almost as much as ice cream, husband does not as much.

What was cooking one year ago?

Traditional Crepe Batter

What was cooking two years ago?

Asian BBQ Pork


Green Onion Asian Pancakes

Green Onion Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 8 Green Onion stalks, thinly sliced
  • Salt
  • Sesame Oil

Dip:

  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp powdered garlic

Instructions:

  1. In a medium sized bowl using a fork mix together 1 cup of water with 1 cup of flour, slowly adding in as much flour as possible. Knead in more flour until dough is firm and not sticky. Oil the outside of the dough with a sesame oil, cover and let rest 30 minutes.
  2. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
  3. Working with one portion at a time and keeping the remaining dough covered, roll a dough portion into a large rectangle roughly 1/8 of an inch thick or thinner if possible. 
  4. Oil the top of the rectangle with sesame oil, season lightly with salt and sprinkle one of the sliced green onion stalks over the entire rectangle. 
  5. Starting at the long end of the rectangle carefully and tightly roll the rectangle into a snake-rope shape. 
  6. Cut the long rope in two, and coil each half up into a flat circle, like a snail shell. Use a rolling pin to flatten the circle and help it keep the round shape. 
  7. Repeat with the other dough rope.
  8. Repeat above process with all dough portions.
  9. Heat a skillet to medium heat and lightly oil the pan.
  10. Cook each pancake for about 2 minutes a side until golden brown.
  11. Serve warm, with the dip recipe listed above if desired.
  12. Makes 8 pancakes, great as a snack or as a side.

Enjoy!

Notes:

These were so tasty, I made them quite a while ago and might have forgotten about them a bit. I think I will try these again sometime real soon.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Steak au Poivre

What was cooking two years ago?

Sundried Tomato Sausages

Three Meat Ravioli Filling

Three Meat Ravioli Filling

Ingredients:

  • 1 Pound Ground Beef/ Pork (2/3 lb Beef 1/3 lb Pork or Sausage)
  • 6-8 Slices Bacon
  • 2/3 Cup Ricotta Cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chopped Basil
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Dried Thyme
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Pasta Dough, rolled into thin sheets

Special Tools:

Ravioli Press, or cutter.

Instructions:

  1. In a  large skillet scramble cook the ground meat until cooked through, drain fat and set aside. Cook the bacon slices crisp and finely crumble.
  2. In a large bowl mix together the cooked meat, crumbled bacon, ricotta cheese (or cream cheese, or any soft cheese of your choice really) and the herbs and spices. Taste the mixture when everything is fully combined. Remember the meats are all cooked through so this is totally safe at this point. Adjust the seasonings as needed.
  3. To assemble ravioli, have an egg white, or water wash ready on the side and a pastry brush. 
  4. Lay the rolled pasta dough on the ravioli press, and brush the whole surface with the egg or water wash. 
  5. Fill the small pockets in the ravioli press, lay a second sheet of rolled pasta dough on top and roll over the whole press firmly with a rolling pin to set the dough. 
  6. Repeat until all the pasta sheets have been used, or you run out of filling. This is a general guideline your ravioli press/ cutter might have different instructions for preparing the ravioli.
  7. To serve, cook prepared ravioli in boiling salted water until the float, about 2-3 minutes. Drain from water and toss lightly with a sauce of your choice.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Miss Busy Bee became Mrs. Busy Bee, bought a house, got a dog, a job promotion and purchased her very first car in the past year. Times are good but busy!

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?


Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

What was cooking two years ago?

Korean BBQ Sauce