Sponge Cake

Dec 18 2010

Sponge Cake

Preheat oven to 350F
Prepare 1 – 10″ cake pan (see slideshow)

6 eggs
6 oz. sugar
6 oz. cake flour, sifted twice (and will sift a third time, into the bowl)
1 T. vanilla extract

To make chocolate sponge cake, replace 1/2 ounce of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder, and sift together with the flour.
Cake flour is the only flour to use here, and you can find it in most grocery stores.
Cake flour tends to be VERY clumpy, so it is important to sift it several times to remove the clumps.
Most recipes call for the flour to be “folded” into the foam with a rubber spatula. I show you a different technique in this slideshow, but whichever method you are comfortable with, the key point here is to combine the foam and the flour gently and quickly. You do NOT want to deflate the foam.

By admin • Main Courses • 0

Dec 17 2010

Carrot Cake

Preheat oven to 385F
Prepare a cake pan (see slideshow)
Use the lemon and orange you are using for the zest, for the juice.

8 oz. unsalted butter
8 oz. sugar
8 oz. light brown sugar
7 oz. eggs (3-4 each)
1 # carrots, grated
4 oz. crushed pineapple
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. orange juice
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
15 oz. all purpose flour
1/3 oz. baking powder
1/4 oz. baking soda
1/4 oz. salt
1/4 oz. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. ground cloves
5 oz. walnuts, toasted and chopped
5 oz. raisins

Bake approximately 1 hour, every oven is different. Check after 45 minutes, by tapping gently in the middle, if it feels spongy, then you can do the toothpick test. Do NOT test the cake too early, or you can deflate it. To ensure the cake is cooked through you can also do the toothpick test : stick a toothpick in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean it is done. Another sign of a cake being done, is when it shrinks away from the side of the pan.

For cream cheese frosting:
8 oz. unsalted butter
1 1/2# cream cheese
1# powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1 1/2 T. vanilla extract

The KEY here is ALL the ingredients need to be room temperature. If you try to combine cold butter with cold cream cheese, it will be lumpy.

If the butter is cold and harder than the cream cheese, cream the butter with the paddle attachment, scraping the bowl often, until completely softened. Add the cream cheese and vanilla and blend thoroughly, again scraping the bowl as you go. Add the sifted sugar and combine. Blend on second speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, until fluffy 3-4 minutes.

Use as needed.

By admin • Desserts • 0

Bread Pudding

Dec 15 2010

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding can be sweet or savory. This is a recipe for a sweet bread pudding, but for savory just omit the sugar and spices.
For savory you can add such items as sundried tomatoes, fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, tarragon, etc. Sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, truffles or truffle oil, etc.. Use your imagination, just think about moisture content of the items you are adding. (see note below under fresh fruit)
The most important thing to keep in mind is that this is simply bread soaked in a custard mix and then baked.
You can make any flavor of custard: RULE OF THUMB: per quart of dairy (cream, milk, etc) you will need 8 eggs to bake and set properly…from there you can flavor and add any ingredients you like.

6 cups day old bread, cut in 1 1/2″ cubes
1 quart milk, cream, or half and half
8 eggs, beaten
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
2T. vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1-2 oz. liquor of choice – here I used Jack Daniels, but you can use brandy, rum, amaretto, Grand Marnier, etc (for savory you could use marsala, madeira, etc)

garnish ingredients:
chocolate chips
toasted nut of choice – walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, etc.
dried fruit – cherries, raisins, apricots, cranberries, etc
fresh fruit – I do not advise a lot of “fresh” fruit as they will leach out liquid which can prevent the custard from setting. Use dried fruits. I DO add fresh bananas, however.

In this recipe I used raisins, dried cherries, dark chocolate chips, toasted walnuts, and fresh sliced bananas.

Prep a 10″ cake pan (see slideshow)
Preheat oven to 325F
For service warm bread pudding, and serve with Bourbon sauce.

Serve with Bourbon Sauce:
4 oz. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
2t. vanilla extract
1-2 oz. liquor (bourbon, brandy, etc.)
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in sugar, egg, and vanilla, and heat slowly over low heat, stirring constantly,until sugar is completely dissolved. Add liquor. Can be served hot or room temperature.

By admin • Desserts • 0

Dec 15 2010

How to prep a cake pan

By admin • Desserts, Techniques • 0

Dec 14 2010

Chicken Cordon Bleu

The ingredients:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
3-4 oz. swiss cheese, I prefer gruyere
3-4 slices ham, sliced thinly (I prefer prosciutto)
1/2 shallot, finely minced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1-2 oz. white wine
1 T. dijon mustard
1/2 c. chicken broth
1-2 oz. cold, unsalted butter
salt and pepper
chopped parsley for garnish

special equipment:
meat tenderizer
butchers twine

By admin • Chicken, Main Courses • 0

Pie Dough

Nov 24 2010

Pie Dough

3# pastry flour (or 2# all purpose flour, sifted with 1# cake flour)
2# fat ( 1# butter, 1# shortening, cut into 1″ pieces, and WELL CHILLED)
1# ICE COLD water
1 oz. salt

So….Pie dough is EASY, once you understand some basic information….
First and foremost the most important thing is all ingredients need to be COLD. This keeps the crust tender, not tough.
The flour MUST be weighed, one cup of flour is NOT 8 ounces.
Do NOT work the fat too far into the flour, you want some large flakes…if you do, you will in essence “waterproof” the flour and it will be unable to accept the water you still have to add. If, when you add the water and you have a soupy mess, your going to have to start over. SORRY.
You MUST use pastry flour, for a tender crust…..to MAKE pastry flour combine 2/3 of the amount of flour required, with all purpose flour, and 1/3 with cake flour…you MUST sift these together, cake flour can be very clumpy.
Be sure to make the dough at least 6 hours ahead of time. It is a good idea to let the dough rest under refrigeration and “cure”.
Rule of thumb, is the amount of pie dough needed for any pie, is 1 ounce per inch of pie pan. If you are doing deep dish, of course plan for the length of the sides.
You can use any of the following fats: butter, shortening, lard. I do NOT recommend margarine. Lard is not my fat of choice due to health and flavor issues. Butter has the best flavor, but the worst melting properties. Shortening is flavorless, but has good melting properties, so I use 50% shortening, and 50% butter.

By admin • Desserts, Main Courses, Misc. Ingreditents • 0

Hummus

Nov 9 2010

Hummus

The ingredients:
1 – 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
3T. lemon juice
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic
1/2 c. sesame tahini
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 c. thinly sliced scallions ( approximately 3)
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

By admin • Appetizers, Side Dishes • 0

Oct 18 2010

Mushroom Saffron Sauce

1 shallot, finely diced
8 mushrooms, crimini, baby bella, button, whatever you prefer
2 oz. white wine
8 oz. heavy cream
large pinch saffron threads
chicken broth, as needed
salt and pepper to taste
2 oz. whole butter, optional

By admin • Sauces • 0

Oct 18 2010

Chicken Croquettes

Croquettes are a great way to use up any extra COOKED meat you may have. If you look at this recipe the ingredients can be altered according to your taste. Here I am using chicken, but you can use ANY meat and flavorings that you like. For vegetable croquettes you should saute or roast the vegetables first to soften, as the final frying cooking time here is quick.
A few keys to this recipe is the meat/vegetables should be finely minced, and COMPLETELY drained of any juice/moisture, and the oil temperature is KEY. The oil should stay between 350 and 375.

2 cups of meat/ vegetable mixture (can be anything)

for this recipe I used: (but keep in mind you can add ANYTHING here more or less, depending on what you want. Just again keep in mind moisture content…mushrooms (VERY high in moisture and I would suggest browning the mushrooms first to get rid of all that moisture),cheese, herbs, spices, etc)
1 1/2 cups finely minced cooked chicken
1/4 c. thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup very finely diced celery

Prepare roux: (see roux slideshow)
To prepare the veloute sauce-
For 1 cup of milk you will need:
1 1/2 oz. butter
1 1/2 oz. flour
2 egg yolks
Depending on your ingredients you may want to add a bit more roux, especially if it is a high moisture content item. This mixture needs to be THICK! I would also recommend for moister items, to lay them out on paper towels to drain and absorb any extra moisture, before adding to the sauce.

Make sure you have flour, eggs and bread crumbs for breading as well as LOTS of oil for frying. It takes more than you may think and the croquettes need to be completely submerged when frying.

I served this particular recipe with a Mushroom Saffron Sauce (see slideshow)

I you have any extra sauce that was not needed for this recipe, it would make some GREAT croques-monsieur…

By admin • Appetizers, Chicken, Main Courses • 0

Oct 15 2010

Fish Stock

1 oz. whole butter
4 oz. onion, small dice
2 oz. celery, small dice
2 oz. carrots, small dice (optional)
2 oz. mushroom trimmings (optional)
6 # fish bones
8 oz. white wine
1 gallon water
1 sachet consisting of:
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns
8 parsley stems
1 whole clove

Prepare stock according to slideshow.
Tip: when stock is finished and cool, pour into ice cube trays and freeze, and then you are able to take out and use just as much as you need.

By admin • Food, Sauces, Soups, Stocks and Mother Sauces • 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8