Brunch, Part II

Quiche is my favorite brunch food. I love vegetables and cheese, and it's the best way to enjoy them at breakfast. A Quiche is so easy to make (Liv....), anyone can whip one up flawlessly. It's another 'method' not recipe, you can add any veggie and cheese combo, or meat/veggie/cheese combo. I asked JJ what vegetables his parents liked, and he said spinach. When choosing a cheese to pair with the spinach, I landed on the wedge of gouda I got at Trader Joe's last weekend.
I made my pie crust in the food processor, and rolled it into the pan on Friday night, so on Saturday I just poured in the quiche mixture and baked it off. You can use a premade pie crust, though.

Spinach and Gouda Quiche

1 pie crust (recipe follows)

6 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup skim milk

2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup gouda, shredded

1 tsp. hot sauce

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay pie crust in pie plate. Crumble spinach into the pie crust, sprinkle half the cheese on top. In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk, hot sauce, and spices. Pour evenly over the spinach and cheese. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and puffy. Serve right away, or at room temperature (the puff will deflate as it sits, but it's ok!)

Pie Crust - makes 2 - 10" rounds

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks frozen butter, very cold, diced

1/2 cup shortening, in 1/2 cup ice water

Add flour, salt and sugar to food processor. Pulse in diced butter until it's in pea size crumbles. pinch in shortening and pulse until fat is in tiny pieces, pulse in water a few tbsp. at a time, until dough comes together. Shape into a ball, and put in the fridge for at least an hour, or freeze. Divide in half and roll on a silicone mat dusted in flour.

Brunch, Part I

I wanted to make a nice breakfast for Saturday morning with the in-laws visiting. I had the other half of the brioche I made for this TWD recipe in the freezer, so I decided to use it. I found a recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours that called for half a recipe of brioche, Pecan Honey Sticky Buns, that sounded wonderful. My husband and I love honey, so this was it. When I made my glaze, I over-cooked it a bit, so it became more of a pecan-honey crunch, with a littly syrup. I actually really liked the crunch more than a sticky syrup, so I was happy with my mistake. It reminded me of the cinnamon-crunch bagels at Panera.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

For the Glaze: (I halved this)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 stick butter

1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 cups pecans

For the Fillings:

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. butter at room temp.

For the buns:

1/2 recipe for Golden Brioche Loaves

Putter a 9x13 pan (I used an 8" round).

Make the glaze: In a saucepan, bring brown sugar, honey, and butter to a boil over medium-low heat. Pour into the pan, sprinkle the pecans over the glaze.

Make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon in a bowl.

Shape the buns: Roll the dough into a 16" square. Spread the butter over the dough, sprinkle the cinnamon-sugars over top. Roll into a cylinder, keeping tight. Cut into 1 inch rolls. Fit in the pan. Let the rolls sit for 1 hour and 45 minutes, until puffy, soft, and doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Bake for 30 minutes. The glaze will be bubbling up into the buns. Invert the pan over a plate and remove the sticky buns right away or they won't come out.

(I made the buns the night before and put in the fridge, made the glaze in the morning and baked off right away)

Southern Style Dessert!

Every time I go to JJ's house, there's banana pudding in the fridge. I've never made it before, but thought it sounded good for dessert when his parents came. I searched on food network for recipes, and found Paula Deen's. It sounded good, but very high in sugar/calories. I did like how she used chessman cookies though, they made it a bit more elegant looking. I decided to just go with it and make mine up. Here's what I came up with, like a lasagna, not necessarily traditional.

Banana Pudding

1 box sugar free vanilla pudding

3 cups skim milk

4 bananas, sliced

1 box chessman cookies

1 cup fat free cool whip

Prepare the pudding, fold in the whipped cream.

Lay 6 cookies in the bottom of a baking dish. Add 1/2 the pudding mixture, then half the bananas.

Lay another 6 cookies on, then top with the bananas and the remaining pudding.

Top with 6 more cookies.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Tuesdays With Dorie #9

This week, carrot cake was chosen for Tuesdays with Dorie. I am happy, but my husband is thrilled! Carrot cake is his absolute favorite. I made cupcakes because they're much easier to transport and eat. I got 22 cupcakes out of this batter. I piped carrots on these because I alwas pipe carrots on a carrot cake. It was super hot in my kitchen, so I added another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to my icing, but it was still a bit wet. The craisins and coconut were truly delicious in this cake, and I might agree with Dorie, this is the best carrot cake ever!

Bill's Big Carrot CakeBaking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

For the frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract. If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving: This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd. Storing:The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Tuesday's with Dorie - #8

This week's Tuedays With Dorie recipe is Marshmallows!!! My husand always looks forward to hearing the recipes, but he felt cheated with Marshmallows. I'm not a huge marshmallow fan, but at Christmastime, I saw many food network chefs make them and say there's no comparison between fresh, homemade marshmallows, and store bought, dried out marshmallows.
These did not disappoint AT ALL!!! They were also very easy to make! One thing that I love about this cookbook is Dorie gives you a few other options with each recipe in her "playing around" section. There was a chocolate option, which I jumped at! The marshmallows were puffing up and growing nicely in the final whipping stage, but as soon as I added a bit of cocoa powder, it reduced in size by half! I was worried I had ruined them, but I carried on and poured them into the pan. They ended up setting nicely. I knew I was going to make s'mores, double chocolate, but now, I'm thinking, "why didn't I buy chocolate grahams and make triple chocolate s'mores?!?!"
I hope you try making these, they're delicious!

Marshmallows

Makes about 1 pound marshmallows:
About 1 cup potato starch (found in the kosher foods section of supermarkets) or cornstarch
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar


GETTING READY: Line a rimmed baking sheet -- choose one with a rim that is 1 inch high -- with parchment paper and dust the paper generously with potato starch or cornstarch. Have a candy thermometer at hand.
Put 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup -- without stirring -- until it reaches 265 degrees F on the candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.
While the syrup is cooking, work on the gelatin and egg whites. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining cold water (a scant 7 tablespoons) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it is spongy, then heat the gelatin in a microwave oven for 20 to 30 seconds to liquefy it. (Alternatively, you can dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan over low heat.)
Working in the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until firm but still glossy -- don't overbeat them and have them go dull.
As soon as the syrup reaches 265 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and, with the mixer on medium speed, add the syrup, pouring it between the spinning beater(s) and the sides of the bowl. Add the gelatin and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, so that the syrup and the gelatin are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.
Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, laying it down close to a short end of the sheet. Then spread it into the corners and continue to spread it out, taking care to keep the height of the batter at 1 inch; you won't fill the pan. Lift the excess parchment paper up to meet the edge of the batter, then rest something against the paper so that it stays in place (I use custard cups).
Dust the top of the marshmallows with potato starch or cornstarch and let the marshmallows set in a cool, dry place. They'll need about 3 hours, but they can rest for 12 hours or more.
Once they are cool and set, cut the marshmallows with a pair of scissors or a long thin knife. Whatever you use, you'll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining potato starch or cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you'd like -- into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they're cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you've got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.


SERVING: Put the marshmallows out and let everyone nibble as they wish. Sometimes I fill a tall glass vase with the marshmallows and put it in the center of the table -- it never fails to make friends smile. You can also top hot chocolate or cold sundaes with the marshmallows.


STORING: Keep the marshmallows in a cool, dry place; don't cover them closely. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 week -- they might develop a little crust on the outside or they might get a little firmer on the inside, but they'll still be very good.


Playing Around
RASPBERRY MARSHMALLOWS: Fruit purees are excellent for flavoring these candies.
For raspberry marshmallows, you'll need a generous 1/3 cup of puree; reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon. After the batter is mixed, gently fold in the puree with a rubber spatula. You can use the same measurements and technique for other purees, such as strawberry, mango and passion fruit.
CAPPUCCINO MARSHMALLOWS: Sift 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon together into a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water and mix until smooth. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon, and add it to the espresso mix. After you add the sugar syrup and gelatin to the meringue, beat in the espresso mixture and continue.
LIGHT CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS: Melt 3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon, and after the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the chocolate mixture with a large rubber spatula.
PUMPKIN SPICE MARSHMALLOWS: Whisk together 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground allspice. After the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the spiced pumpkin with a large rubber spatula.

It's Tax Day!!!

I could not be happier that tomorrow is the tax deadline. I am an accountant, and it has been crazy at work! For the first time in my life, I worked a 65 hour week... so I'm ready to celebrate! Our office has a wine and cheese party every year at lunchtime on April 15, so I thought I'd make a fun cake. There was nothing I could think to make because really, accountants are boring! This was the only thing I could come up with - an adding machine.

I had planned to work on this over the weekend, but I had to work, so it was a last minute thing. I didn't have the ingredients I needed to make fondant, so I covered the cake in just buttercream, and made the keys out of fondant. The tape is made out of gumpaste, and the screen is a chocolate bar. I filled it with chocolate mousse, and iced it in almond buttercream. The cake is a chocolate cake, the recipe is found here. I made a 1/4 sheet cake, cut it in half, and stacked it. I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the inside if I remember to bring my camera to work! I used this recipe for Kristine's wedding cake, it's a delicious recipe!

German Soft Pretzels with Beer Cheese

My sister, Becky, isn't a big fan of German food, except for the Pretzels and Beer Cheese. The pretzels are a Nanny Munchinger recipe, and the beer cheese is a recipe I worked out. We used to make these pretzels with my mom when we were younger, it was so fun shaping them how ever we wanted.
Enjoy these with a nice, cold German beer!

German Soft Prezels with Beer Cheese

Pretzels:

1 cup warm water

1 packet yeast

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. salt

3 cups flour

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 egg, beaten

Kosher salt for topping

Add yeast, water, and sugar to a bowl, let the yeast bloom for 10 minutes.

Add the salt, four, oil, and water/yeast/sugar mix to a mixer with a dough hook, turn on medium and run for 3 minutes, until dough is elastic and smooth. If it's too sticky, add a bit more flour.

Cover with a damp towel and let it rise for an hour.

Punch down, and divide into 10 balls on a silicone mat, cover them with the towel, and let them rise for another hour.

Turn oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the prezels and shape them, lay on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the egg mixture on the pretzels and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 12 minutes until brown.

Beer Cheese:

1 cup beer

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Toss cheese, cornstarch, and mustard in a bowl.

Heat a saucepan with the beer over medium-high. Bring it to a boil, turn heat off.

Add in the cheese mixture, and stir until combined.

(To all who speak German, I hope this isn't too bad! Please email me corrections!)
Meine Schwester liebt Brezeln und Bierkäse. Das Brezeln Rezept ist meiner Großmutter, und der Bierkäse ist mein. Ich liebe Bier mit mein Brezeln und Bierkase.

TWD #7

This week's TWD recipe was a choice between an Orange Tart, and a Lemon Tart. Since I knew I'd be bringing it to work, I took a vote, and Orange was chosen (though I was really hoping for lemon!) This recipe was good, but it tasted a bit buttery to me (which isn't shocking because it contained 2 3/4 sticks of butter!) The process seems to be long, but it only took me maybe 30 minutes, not so bad.

I did things a little different from Dorie, I made my tart shell, then my filling, and instead of putting the filling in the fridge and then the next day filling the crust, I just poured it right in to set. I took the leftover filling and put it in the fridge, then I put it in a piping bag the next day, and piped little borders. I also used orange segments to garnish. The crust was delicious!

Overall, I enjoyed this, but I did think it was a bit buttery in texture.

Usually, I get TWD recipes typed up and mailed to me, haven't gotten one yet, so if I don't I'll type it up tonight!

Fiji - #5

These scones were so delicious! From working at Starbucks for so long, I know how heavy and dense scones can be, but these were very light and they had just the right amout of sweetness. Since I worked there, I only ever knew triangle scones. A year ago when I saw a round scone, I had no idea what it was!
I had a pretty tough time finding currants. I looked for fresh, but dried was the best I could do. They pretty much tasted just like raisins to me, and look like rodent poop. Yeah, very appetizing!

Fiji Rum Currant Scones

1/2 cup currants

3 tbsp. Fijian dark rum

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs beaten separately (I used 1 in the dough, and milk to wash the scones)

1/2 cup buttermilk

Cinnamon and Sugar for dusting

Soak the currants in the rum.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, cut in the butter. When it's combined, add in the egg, buttermilk, and currants in rum. Mix until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out to 3/4" thickness and cut into triangles. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, brush with milk, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen, Sam Choy.

Portugal #1

Portuguese cornbread is a staple at the dinner table. It is unlike many cornbreads because it contains yeast. It is slightly more grainy, but very delicious.

Portuguese Corn Bread – Broa

1 package active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 ¼ cups warm water

¾ cup warm milk

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 cups cornmeal

3 cups flour

In a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar, and ¼ cup of the water.
While that sits, mix the remaining water, milk, salt, oil and cornmeal in a large bowl. Add the yeast mix, stir and slowly add flour to make a soft dough that is not too sticky. Add a bit more or less flour as needed
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place for one hour.
Punch down, knead again for 5 minutes, then form into a round loaf. Place in a greased 9" pie pan, allow to rise again until doubled in bulk, about one hour.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Recipe from:

Portuguese Cooking - The Authentic and Robust Cuisine of Portugal, Robertson, Carol. North Atlantic Books: Berkley, CA, 1993.