Yummy Tastings

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This past Friday, Walker, Corby and I rode our bicycles over to Carolinas, a local restaurant that has been around forever.  My father’s office building is right across the street, and literally, he goes there every day for lunch.  And much to their enjoyment/chagrin, he has the same thing every day.  He orders a chopped Caesar salad and a small scoop of ice cream.  Chef Jill Mathias has tried desperately to get him to change things up a bit- maybe try kale instead of his usual romaine lettuce.   But he will not waiver because if you find something good, stick with it.  I think the whole thing is pretty funny, especially when Walker’s favorite dish there is salmon and risotto.  But, back to Friday- we went there for a tasting as Carolinas is doing some of the food for our wedding, and we pick some of the appetizers that will be served.  We ended up with a lamb medallion with a little creme fresh and capers, and a trout salad on brown bread.  They were both delicious- well I didn’t actually try the trout because I don’t like fish, but Corby said it was great as did Walker.  However, one of the things that we tried was goat cheese on their house baked ciabatta bread drizzled with honey and topped with a green.  It was really wonderful, and if we hadn’t already chosen a brie and fig appetizer, that definitely would have made the list.  It seems like such a simple concept which in fact it is, but I would not have thought to put it together.  I am going to try it for my next book club meeting.  I will obviously have to buy the bread instead of their house made stuff- but other than that, I think recreating it will be pretty simple. Here is a version of the recipe I found on www.sarcasticcooking.com.

Goat Cheese and Honey Appetizer

Ingredients:

1 French Baguette- sliced

1/3 cup of goat cheese

Honey

Fresh mint or basil

Directions:

Set the broiler on low to toast the slices of the baguette for just a few minutes until crisp.  Top each piece with desired amount of goat cheese and drizzle with honey.  Top with fresh herbs.

 

A Fresh Twist on Salsa

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I was at the grocery store yesterday with Walker, and he was lamenting the fact that they never have his favorite fruit- Saturn peaches of course.  I told him that they were not in season to which he responded, “Well let’s just go get ice cream then.”  Which actually made perfect sense to me, so that is what we did.  It got me thinking about what fruits are in season, and I had actually been over to my brother and sister-in-law’s house for dinner last weekend, and they served an amazing lemon pound cake with fresh strawberries they had picked that day out at Ambrose Farm.  The strawberries were delicious, and while you can get strawberries year round at the grocery store, they are always so much better when they are in season.  I started googling strawberry recipes and found this one for fruit salsa and cinnamon chips.  It looks like the perfect addition to spice up brunch, and you can change it up for whatever fruit is in season.

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients:

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples – peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

The Lee Brothers New Cookbook- Charleston Kitchen

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About a year and a half ago, I had the immense pleasure of working with the Lee Brothers for a week while they did the food photography for their new cookbook- Charleston Kitchen.  Well, the book has finally come out, and we went to a small launch party last night where I got to see it for the first time.  It is spectacular!  I think I am probably the reason behind the amazingness of it, what with my excellent dish washing skills and being a superb errand girl.   But really, the book is beautiful, the recipes are amazing, and the history and storytelling make it wonderful even if you don’t like to cook.  Here is a sample recipe for an amazing salad.  This is a must-have for all kitchens!

A New Ambrosia

Ambrosia is the name of a cold, sweet, chunky salad found in most southern cafeterias. We’ve reinvented it from top to bottom.

The original ambrosia calls for canned tangerine segments, canned pineapple chunks, mini-marshmallows, shredded coconut, and mayonnaise. It is bracingly sweet, but we often find it served, bizarrely enough, as a side dish with the main course, which seems out of whack – a salad created for someone who’d rather eat dessert first. But the idea of “a food for the gods” – a cool, creamy salad that isn’t coleslaw – appeals greatly to us, so we fiddled with the elements and came up with something new.

Here we substitute fresh grapefruit and orange for the canned tangerines and crisp cucumber and celery for the pineapple. Chopped avocado provides the soft creaminess of the marshmallows in the original. There is no mayo here, but instead a brisk dressing of buttermilk, lime juice, tarragon, and garlic, with the gentle sweetness of shredded coconut (a direct carryover from the original). It’s a salad with beautiful contrasting textures, pretty colors, and bright flavors. This ambrosia is as crunchy and cool as coleslaw but with herbal notes instead of vinegary ones. Like coleslaw, it’s brilliant paired with anything fried or spicy. Sometimes we serve a scoop of New Ambrosia over a small bed of arugula as the salad course in a larger meal.

Ingredients:

For the Salad

1 large grapefruit, supremed
1 large navel orange, supremed
3/4 chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
1 1/4 cups finely dices Haas avocado (about 1 avocado)
1 1/2 cups seeded and chopped cucumber (about 1 large cucumber)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

For the Dressing

2/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, mashed to a puree
1 Tablespoon plus 1 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
2 Tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut (or 1 Tablespoon plus 1 tsp sweetened shredded coconut)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all the salad ingredients.

In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, lime juice, and olive oil until blended.  Whisk in the garlic puree, tarragon, coconut, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.

If you wish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 hour to cool the salad and allow the flavors to meld.  Toss again before serving, and serve with a slotted spoon.

 

The Oscars and Brownies

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I did not stay up to watch the Oscars.  I wanted to, and I planned to, but I fell asleep putting Walker to bed.  To be honest, I really haven’t seen many of the movies that were nominated, so I wasn’t totally invested.  But I really do love watching the Red Carpet and all of the glamor that goes along with it.  My favorite part usually is when they do a montage of all the past Oscar winners and movies, there are just so many great ones.  I came across a blog this morning called The History Kitchen– it is fantastic.  There is a post about Katherine Hepburn and her favorite brownie recipe.  Here is a link to the post http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/katharine-hepburn-brownie-recipe/.  She was such an amazing woman- outspoken, beautiful, intelligent, and witty, and I am thrilled to have found this blog and this recipe.  So, in honor of last night’s Oscars, here is Katherine Hepburn’s favorite brownie recipe.

Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

½ cup cocoa or 2 squares (2 oz.) unsweetened baker’s chocolate
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Melt butter with the cocoa or chocolate together in a heavy saucepan over medium low, whisking constantly till blended. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and walnuts. Mix well. Pour into a well buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and cut into squares. These brownies are very fudgy and may be somewhat difficult to slice cleanly; use a sharp knife and a spatula to help them loosen from the baking dish.

Red Hot Baked Apples

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Valentine’s Day is almost here, which of course means I can eat red hots all day long.  It doesn’t really, but I am using it as an excuse.  I love red hots.  They are in my top five favorite candies, and sometimes they are really hard to find.  Fortunately, they are always in the baking aisle at the grocery store to be used as decorations.  I can eat the whole container in a matter of minutes.  Here is a fantastic recipe from allrecipes.com using red hots, and it is super fun for Valentine’s Day.  There really are enough red-hot recipes out there.  Please share if you have some more!!

Red Hot Baked Apples

Ingredients:

6 apples
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cinnamon red hot candies
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8×8-inch square pan.
Remove and reserve the tops of apples. Core the apples, leaving approximately 1/2 inch at the bottom. Arrange in the baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and red hot candies. Fill each apple with the mixture. Replace apple tops. Sprinkle the remaining mixture over the apples.
Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until apples are tender.

 

My New Favorite Appetizer

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For those of you who watched the Super Bowl last night- what did you think? For those of you who didn’t- it was a pretty interesting game- complete with a 35-minute delay because half of the stadium lights went out, which caused quite a momentum shift. Anyway- Ravens won- football is over til September.  I am ok with all of that.  What was really exciting about the weekend was that I found my new favorite appetizer.  Super easy, super delicious, and looks like you spent a lot of time slaving away in the kitchen.  Of course, it involves cheese because how could it be my favorite if it didn’t?  All you need is a little puff pastry cups- you can buy them frozen at the grocery store, some brie cheese, and some fig preserve.  Cut up the brie into little pieces small enough to fit into the pastry cups, and then add a dab of the fig preserve on top.  Then bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  So amazing!

Superbowl- Super Guacamole!

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I love the Super Bowl- not because I love football, because I really don’t care about NFL football- college football is a slightly different story (I care a little bit), but I love the Super Bowl for the food.  It is such a great excuse to eat a lot of cheesy, meaty, greasy, bready foods and drink a lot of beer on a Sunday night.  Pretty good way to end a week if you ask me.  What I love even more about the Super Bowl is that it is almost required that the only green things in sight are the celery with the wings and guacamole.  Veggies do not play a big part in evening activities.   No one ever won friends by bringing a salad to a Super Bowl party.  Here is my favorite guacamole recipe from Food & Wine.  It is fantastic.  Since my sister-in-law is from Baltimore- GO RAVENS!

Guacamole

Ingredients:

3 medium scallions, white and tender green parts only
2 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 jalapeño, seeded and quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 Hass avocados, halved and pitted
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat a grill pan. In a small bowl, toss the scallions, garlic and jalapeño with the vegetable oil. Grill over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until charred all over, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a work surface and let cool.
Finely chop the scallions and jalapeño and transfer to a medium bowl. Peel the garlic cloves, mash them to a paste and add them to the bowl. Scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl and coarsely mash with a fork. Fold the cilantro and lime juice into the guacamole, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Notes Variation: For a brighter, crunchier guacamole, finely chop the scallions, garlic and jalapeño and stir them in raw.

Mocha Chiffon Cake

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I was flipping through the channels on Saturday morning and stopped at a cooking show where two women were making a chiffon cake.  Of course I was inspired immediately, so instead of watching the rest of the show or even figuring out what show it was, I started googling chiffon cake recipes.  There are quite a few ways to make a chiffon cake, but the mocha chiffon cake caught my eye.  My mother makes the best chocolate mocha torte (which I will have to put up at some point because it is so good), and the mocha taste is just heavenly.  I love this lighter version where the cake is not as heavy, and the frosting is optional but who opts for no frosting?

Mocha Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup cooking oil
8 egg yolks
8 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the coffee, oil, and egg yolks into the well; beat well by hand until the batter is smooth with no lumps.
Beat egg whites with the cream of tartar in a large bowl until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites should form a sharp peak that holds its shape. Fold the batter into the egg whites; pour into a non-stick Bundt® fluted tube pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Loosen the sides with a knife and release the cake onto a serving platter.
Mocha Buttercream Icing:

For the Mocha Buttercream

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant coffee, dissolved in a splash of hot water

Directions:

In your mixer, beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar until it is creamy.
Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract & coffee.

Beat with the mixer until it’s nice and fluffy (about a minute or 2)
This makes a perfectly spreadable frosting. The nice thing about it is that you can put it in the fridge to make it a little more firm if you would like.

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Sometimes there is nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie.  I used to make them all the time when I was little- starting from scratch with the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House yellow bag.  So great.  Of course, eating the dough was my favorite part, but warm chocolate chip cookies are so delicious- there is not much better.  They stand alone well, they go well with a glass of milk, some vanilla ice cream, whip cream- it’s all good.  Some people add walnuts to theirs, and while that is still a great cookie, I prefer no nuts.  Here is a fantastic recipe for truly the perfect chocolate chip cookie!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour and chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

The Manor Born Banana Cake with Coffee Buttercream

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I love bananas in dessert.  They add such a wonderful flavor and creamy texture, and somehow any dessert with bananas evokes some great far-off memory I can never quite put my finger on.  Banana splits, banana pudding, banana bread- they are all delicious.  I came across this recipe in Saveur Magazine, and wow- it is something else.  The coffee flavor in the frosting is so amazing with the banana flavor in the cake.   This one is definitely a crowd pleaser and one to keep on hand!  And it works perfectly as a cake or as mini cupcakes.  The recipe is originally from Serendipity 3 in Manhattan- and according to Saveur, while it has not been on the menu since the 1960’s, it is still one of the owner’s favorite desserts.  Who can argue with that!

The Manor Born Banana Cake with Coffee Buttercream

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4  cups cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups sugarhttps://thesouthwillrise.com/wp-admin/post-new.php
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (from about 2 medium bananas)
2 eggs
Scant 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup coarsely chopped shelled unsalted pecans

For the Frosting:

1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. instant espresso powder
6 egg yolks
1 lb. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened

Directions:

For the cake: Preheat oven to 375°. Use 1 tbsp. of the butter to grease three 8″ round cake pans, line each pan with parchment paper, and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside. Beat remaining 7 tbsp. butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Add bananas and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until just incorporated, then fold in pecans. Divide batter equally between prepared pans, smoothing tops with the spatula. Bake until cakes are golden brown and spring back when touched, 10–15 minutes. Cool cakes in their pans for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then remove them from pans, peel off parchment, and allow cakes to cool completely on the rack.

For the frosting: Combine sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and boil over medium heat until sugar dissolves and syrup reaches 238° on a candy thermometer, 15–20 minutes. Meanwhile, dissolve espresso powder with 1 tsp. boiling water in a small bowl and set aside. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until pale yellow, 4–5 minutes. Gradually add hot sugar syrup to yolks in a slow steady steam down the side of the bowl, beating constantly on medium speed, and continue beating until mixture cools to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, beating thoroughly on medium speed after each addition, and continue beating frosting until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in espresso and set aside.

To assemble the cake, stack cake layers on top of each other on a cake plate, spreading about 1 cup of the frosting between each layer, then ice side and top of assembled cake with remaining frosting. Decorate cake by piping some of the frosting on top and garnishing with coffee beans, if you like. Refrigerate cake until frosting is set. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.