This is the seventh, and final, post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series, and the second in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers series! The dinner party was part of the Next Food Blog Star competition hosted by Foodbuzz. While I didn't advance in the competition, the party was still fabulous! After dinner, I had a refrigerator full of leftovers and this series covers the creation of new and delicious dishes made with the leftovers.
In addition to the delicious breakfasts we made from the dinner party leftovers, we also had a tasty lunch and dinner. We had enough steak and broccoli romanesco for another meal and some tomatoes and plenty of ricotta.
First on the agenda was a Saturday afternoon lunch. I sliced a few pieces of leftover sesame bread and laid them out on two plates. Instead of using mayo or mustard, I spread the leftover roasted garlic cloves onto the bread before adding the sliced steak and topping with another piece of bread. A quick trip into a 350 degree oven yielded a warm and flavorful sandwich. The romanesco was delicious reheated - because it has more of a cauliflower texture it doesn't get as mushy as reheated broccoli.
After a busy day of errands we were ready for dinner! I surveyed the remaining leftovers and found tomatoes and ricotta. There was also a package of Nella Pasta's whole wheat linguine in the refrigerator. I checked the freezer for vegetables and came up with a frozen homemade pesto cube from my summer herb harvest. I put everything on the counter and starting brainstorming on what to create.
The result? Whole wheat linguine with a creamy pesto heirloom tomato sauce. This was quick, easy and healthy! One dish = plenty of whole grains, calcium, nutrients & flavor! Just look at the whole wheat goodness in the Nella pasta:
I hope you've enjoyed the dinner party & leftovers series. It's been a lot of fun to put together. We had a wonderful party and great leftovers! I challenge you to turn your leftovers into something creative and delicious the next time you're faced with a fridge full of the same. I can't wait to hear about your favorite leftover creations!
Creamy Tomato Herb Sauce
A cup or two of diced heirloom tomatoes
1 frozen pesto cube (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Puree tomatoes in a food processor until almost smooth
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet or sauce pan over medium heat
Add pureed tomatoes and saute until cooked through (about 10 minutes)
Stir in pesto cube and cook until melted, stirring often
Remove from heat and stir in ricotta
Spoon over pasta and serve!
Summary:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: Sauce - 15-20 minutes; Pasta - 3-4 minutes for fresh pasta
Food processor, sauce pan, spoon, serving dishes
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Date Night in the Suburbs
Last Friday night we decided to go out for a date night. But we didn’t have tickets for any events, no movies looked good, and bowling is a little far. The hubby came up with the idea to do a progressive dinner – appetizers at one restaurant and dinner at another. It sounded like a great idea! We live out in the suburbs (Framingham/Natick area), so there are plenty of restaurants from which to choose. After some brainstorming, we headed over to the Natick Collection (i.e. Mall) for what I will dub the inaugural Mall Crawl. As you start the holiday shopping season this would be a fun way to take a break from your shopping lists!
I took all the photos with my iPhone, which is not ideal for dim lighting.
Our first stop was at Sel De La Terre. We snagged the last two seats at the bar and settled in for our appetizer course. We started here because they offer a great $1 bar menu every night. Not only are the bar bites delicious, you can try them all without breaking the bank. The hubby ordered a ginger ale on the rocks and got a glass of Grenache while we decided what to eat. We chose the tuna tiradito, mushroom arancini, soup shooters and a cheese plate (not part of the $1 menu). The tuna slices were perfectly seared with a lime and pineapple vinaigrette. We ordered two orders of arancini and got four perfectly crisped pieces. The inside was filled with the creamy mushroom risotto that I love to order off the main menu. We choose the pumpkin pear bisque for our soup shooters. The creamy, smooth soup was served in perfectly sized espresso mugs. The cheese plate ($9) contained an assortment of goodies. Accompanying the blue cheese, semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese, and soft brie cheese were pear slices, grapes, figs, quince paste, honey and three slices of fresh bread. Each bite was delicious and we wiped the plate clean. After we polished off all of the dishes we paid our tab and headed out for the next stop in our adventure. I didn’t get any pictures of our delicious food – the mood wasn’t right for photos.
We walked over to the Met Bar and Grill, but decided that their dessert menu sounded more appealing than splitting a burger. We continued down the corridor to the next stop. The next restaurant we encountered was PF Chang’s. We spotted two open seats at the bar and sat down next to other suburbanites enjoying a night out. To go along with the restaurant theme I ordered an Asian Pear Mojito (Bacardi Limon and fresh mint with a hint of pear). We did what everyone does when in PF Chang’s; we ordered the obligatory chicken lettuce wraps.
While we waited we debated how many heads of lettuce they go through in a given night and looked around at the crowd. And it was fantastic. We spotted teens dressed up in ridiculous outfits, college kids out for drinks, and families with overtired children just trying to get through their meals. The teenage outfits were the best. At one point, 15 teenage girls paraded out in mini mini-skirts, super high heels and tight tops. As they passed the bar, everyone swiveled in their stools and watched with a look of “how did they get out of the house wearing that?!?” The consensus of the bar was that they must have changed in the car. But really, who are you trying to impress at PF Chang’s? It made for a good laugh. After we finished up our lettuce wraps we headed back out to the Met Bar and Grill for dessert.
By the time we got back to Met Bar the place had almost entirely cleared out (it was about 9:45). We had our choice of spots at the bar and plopped ourselves down into two very well padded leather bar chairs (most comfortable of the night!). After reviewing the menu the hubby decided on pumpkin cheesecake with candied cranberries, spiced pecans, and maple cookies. I ordered up a Met Mocha shake, liquored up. The bartender blended up chocolate ice cream, caramel sauce, espresso, and espresso vodka and dusted the rim in espresso grinds before serving. It was more liquid than the milkshake texture I was expecting but it was still delicious. I wish I had ordered a side of salty fries to go with it (I always loved ordering fries with Frosty’s at Wendy’s).
As we finished up our dessert we discussed the sit-down restaurants that didn’t make the cut for our first mall crawl. Next time we’ll think about how to incorporate these places into the mix – Cheesecake Factory, Nordstrom Bistro, California Pizza Kitchen, and Friendly’s. Well, maybe not Friendly’s….
We had a great time, spent about the same as if we’d done dinner in one place. We parked in the garage and didn’t have to worry about driving from place to place. And we got to do some fabulous people watching. Another bonus was that the Celtics game was on at every bar. So next time you are stuck with no ideas about what to do and where to eat, don’t forget about the mall! It’s more than just Auntie Anne’s, Panda Express, and Sbarro!
I took all the photos with my iPhone, which is not ideal for dim lighting.
Our first stop was at Sel De La Terre. We snagged the last two seats at the bar and settled in for our appetizer course. We started here because they offer a great $1 bar menu every night. Not only are the bar bites delicious, you can try them all without breaking the bank. The hubby ordered a ginger ale on the rocks and got a glass of Grenache while we decided what to eat. We chose the tuna tiradito, mushroom arancini, soup shooters and a cheese plate (not part of the $1 menu). The tuna slices were perfectly seared with a lime and pineapple vinaigrette. We ordered two orders of arancini and got four perfectly crisped pieces. The inside was filled with the creamy mushroom risotto that I love to order off the main menu. We choose the pumpkin pear bisque for our soup shooters. The creamy, smooth soup was served in perfectly sized espresso mugs. The cheese plate ($9) contained an assortment of goodies. Accompanying the blue cheese, semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese, and soft brie cheese were pear slices, grapes, figs, quince paste, honey and three slices of fresh bread. Each bite was delicious and we wiped the plate clean. After we polished off all of the dishes we paid our tab and headed out for the next stop in our adventure. I didn’t get any pictures of our delicious food – the mood wasn’t right for photos.
We walked over to the Met Bar and Grill, but decided that their dessert menu sounded more appealing than splitting a burger. We continued down the corridor to the next stop. The next restaurant we encountered was PF Chang’s. We spotted two open seats at the bar and sat down next to other suburbanites enjoying a night out. To go along with the restaurant theme I ordered an Asian Pear Mojito (Bacardi Limon and fresh mint with a hint of pear). We did what everyone does when in PF Chang’s; we ordered the obligatory chicken lettuce wraps.
While we waited we debated how many heads of lettuce they go through in a given night and looked around at the crowd. And it was fantastic. We spotted teens dressed up in ridiculous outfits, college kids out for drinks, and families with overtired children just trying to get through their meals. The teenage outfits were the best. At one point, 15 teenage girls paraded out in mini mini-skirts, super high heels and tight tops. As they passed the bar, everyone swiveled in their stools and watched with a look of “how did they get out of the house wearing that?!?” The consensus of the bar was that they must have changed in the car. But really, who are you trying to impress at PF Chang’s? It made for a good laugh. After we finished up our lettuce wraps we headed back out to the Met Bar and Grill for dessert.
By the time we got back to Met Bar the place had almost entirely cleared out (it was about 9:45). We had our choice of spots at the bar and plopped ourselves down into two very well padded leather bar chairs (most comfortable of the night!). After reviewing the menu the hubby decided on pumpkin cheesecake with candied cranberries, spiced pecans, and maple cookies. I ordered up a Met Mocha shake, liquored up. The bartender blended up chocolate ice cream, caramel sauce, espresso, and espresso vodka and dusted the rim in espresso grinds before serving. It was more liquid than the milkshake texture I was expecting but it was still delicious. I wish I had ordered a side of salty fries to go with it (I always loved ordering fries with Frosty’s at Wendy’s).
As we finished up our dessert we discussed the sit-down restaurants that didn’t make the cut for our first mall crawl. Next time we’ll think about how to incorporate these places into the mix – Cheesecake Factory, Nordstrom Bistro, California Pizza Kitchen, and Friendly’s. Well, maybe not Friendly’s….
We had a great time, spent about the same as if we’d done dinner in one place. We parked in the garage and didn’t have to worry about driving from place to place. And we got to do some fabulous people watching. Another bonus was that the Celtics game was on at every bar. So next time you are stuck with no ideas about what to do and where to eat, don’t forget about the mall! It’s more than just Auntie Anne’s, Panda Express, and Sbarro!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers: Breakfast Ideas
This is the sixth post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series, and the first in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers series! The dinner party was part of the Next Food Blog Star competition hosted by Foodbuzz. While I didn't advance in the competition, the party was still fabulous! After dinner, I had a refrigerator full of leftovers and this series covers the creation of new and delicious dishes made with the leftovers.
Hosting a delicious dinner party means a refrigerator of tasty leftovers! It would be easy to recreate the same meal a few more times, but it’s more fun to transform the leftovers into creative new dishes. First up in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers series is breakfast. Here are three different ways that I repurposed my dinner party leftovers into delightful morning meals.
We were still stuffed the morning after the party and decided to have light breakfast. We topped toasted slices of the Italian sesame bread with leftover ricotta and a generous drizzle of the Herb Lyceum’s lavender honey. The cheese and honey melted into the warm toasty bread. With a freshly brewed cup of coffee this was a creamy and satisfying breakfast treat.
For the second breakfast we were craving something heartier. We settled on a homemade version of the two-egg breakfast plate. I heated up oil in a non-stick skillet while I diced up some of the leftover roasted potatoes. I let them crisp in the pan for 10-15 minutes while prepared the eggs. In a second skillet I warmed up diced leftover heirloom tomatoes before pouring in a few lightly beaten eggs. Just before the eggs were cooked through I stirred in a heaping spoonful of ricotta. We enjoyed our crispy potatoes and creamy eggs with some more toasted Italian sesame bread. As you can tell from most of my posts - it’s not a meal without bread! We washed this all down with coffee and a glass of grapefruit juice.
For our third leftover breakfast we went gourmet! The remaining ingredient in the fridge was the ravioli filling – pureed red kuri squash mixed with a little fresh ricotta. When we had leftover mashed potatoes after making pierogies, I turned them into mashed potato cakes that we topped with poached eggs. If it worked with mashed potatoes, I figured that it would be equally delicious with pureed squash! I formed the squash into patties and then coated them with panko bread crumbs. I fried them in olive oil in a small skillet until they were golden brown on both sides and warmed through. To top the patties I added over easy eggs and a sprinkling of scallions to contrast the sweet squash flavor. The runny yolk contrasted with the crisp exterior of the squash patty for a luxurious breakfast!
The next time you are staring down a fridge full of leftovers, challenge yourself to create something new! Next up in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers Series: Lunch two ways!
Leftover Potato Hash browns
2 servings of cooked leftover garlic roasted potatoes, diced into half inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat
Add potatoes and cook approximately 5-7 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 5-7 minutes until crispy and golden brown on both sides
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot
Red Kuri Squash Patties
Use ½ cup pureed squash for each patty
Coat each patty with panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat
Cook squash patties 3-5 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through
They may not stay together perfectly, but they will still taste delicious
Top with over easy or poached eggs
Garnish with scallions, or parsley (or any leftover herb in the fridge)
Hosting a delicious dinner party means a refrigerator of tasty leftovers! It would be easy to recreate the same meal a few more times, but it’s more fun to transform the leftovers into creative new dishes. First up in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers series is breakfast. Here are three different ways that I repurposed my dinner party leftovers into delightful morning meals.
We were still stuffed the morning after the party and decided to have light breakfast. We topped toasted slices of the Italian sesame bread with leftover ricotta and a generous drizzle of the Herb Lyceum’s lavender honey. The cheese and honey melted into the warm toasty bread. With a freshly brewed cup of coffee this was a creamy and satisfying breakfast treat.
For the second breakfast we were craving something heartier. We settled on a homemade version of the two-egg breakfast plate. I heated up oil in a non-stick skillet while I diced up some of the leftover roasted potatoes. I let them crisp in the pan for 10-15 minutes while prepared the eggs. In a second skillet I warmed up diced leftover heirloom tomatoes before pouring in a few lightly beaten eggs. Just before the eggs were cooked through I stirred in a heaping spoonful of ricotta. We enjoyed our crispy potatoes and creamy eggs with some more toasted Italian sesame bread. As you can tell from most of my posts - it’s not a meal without bread! We washed this all down with coffee and a glass of grapefruit juice.
For our third leftover breakfast we went gourmet! The remaining ingredient in the fridge was the ravioli filling – pureed red kuri squash mixed with a little fresh ricotta. When we had leftover mashed potatoes after making pierogies, I turned them into mashed potato cakes that we topped with poached eggs. If it worked with mashed potatoes, I figured that it would be equally delicious with pureed squash! I formed the squash into patties and then coated them with panko bread crumbs. I fried them in olive oil in a small skillet until they were golden brown on both sides and warmed through. To top the patties I added over easy eggs and a sprinkling of scallions to contrast the sweet squash flavor. The runny yolk contrasted with the crisp exterior of the squash patty for a luxurious breakfast!
The next time you are staring down a fridge full of leftovers, challenge yourself to create something new! Next up in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers Series: Lunch two ways!
Leftover Potato Hash browns
2 servings of cooked leftover garlic roasted potatoes, diced into half inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat
Add potatoes and cook approximately 5-7 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 5-7 minutes until crispy and golden brown on both sides
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot
Red Kuri Squash Patties
Use ½ cup pureed squash for each patty
Coat each patty with panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat
Cook squash patties 3-5 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through
They may not stay together perfectly, but they will still taste delicious
Top with over easy or poached eggs
Garnish with scallions, or parsley (or any leftover herb in the fridge)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Local Luxury Dinner Party: Dessert
This is the fifth post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series. The party was part of the Next Food Blog Star competition hosted by Foodbuzz. While I didn't advance in the competition, the party was still fabulous!
We’ve made it through the prep and three courses! The last course of the luxury evening is dessert. Coming up with a dessert dish was a challenge. I put out a call on Twitter for luxury dessert ideas and the first wave of responses were for chocolate desserts. The hubby isn’t a chocolate eater, so I asked for non-chocolate suggestions. The next set of ideas was cream based desserts. One of the restrictions for the party was nothing heavy on the cream. Back to the drawing board! I started thinking about ingredients that would fit the Italian theme and figs came to mind.
But what to make with figs? I had just made a fig and cinnamon jam, so I needed something new and different. I went to my cookbook shelf and pulled out a few favorites to look for inspiration. The first one I looked at was Kosher by Design, picture perfect food for the holidays and every day. On the cover is a beautiful pear torte. After scanning the book for fig recipes without any luck, I decided that I could swap figs for the pears and would have a perfect dessert!
To make dessert even more luxurious, I decided to make each guest an individual torte. When we registered for wedding gifts about 6.5 years ago (wow…time flies!) I excitedly added four mini-springform pans to the list. The hubby couldn’t understand why I needed the minis and the big ones. I tried to explain that mini-desserts are more fun, but he just shook his head and told me that they would probably end up in the basement with the salad spinner. He was right about the salad spinner…But the mini-springform pans are great!
I pulled out the four pans the night before the party and prepared the recipe. I love this cookbook because the recipes are easy to follow and always produce delicious results. I would highly recommend adding this book to your cookbook library. I used this recipe as printed and substituted fresh sliced figs for the pears. The four pans are equal to one large pan, so I divided the dough into four equal amounts and pressed it into the individual pans. For the topping I thinly sliced the figs and pressed them into the dough.
The tortes baked while I prepared the other make-ahead dishes. I wrapped them tightly and set them aside until it was time for dessert the next day. In order to make a little room in our stomachs for dessert we took a board game break. After a strategy-filled game of San Juan I popped the tortes into the oven to warm for 10 minutes. While the tortes warmed I fired up the Nespresso machine and made everyone a fresh brewed espresso.
When I first started tweeting and blogging I entered a contest at The Hungry Mouse and was lucky enough to win the Nespresso. It was my first prize – and it comes in really handy for parties! Look how happy it makes the hubby!
After polishing off our dessert and espresso it was time to send our guests home, it was a school night after all. Since everyone said it wasn’t a luxury party without chocolate I sent Eric and Jen home with a chocolate truffle of their choice. I had a blast planning and cooking the party and it was great to see satisfied guests at the end of the night.
An important part of a successful party is having a hubby who is nice enough to do the dishes! We all cleaned our plates so he didn’t have too much scrubbing to do. Because most of the heavy duty cooking had been done the night before there were only dinner dishes and serving pieces. Thanks hubby!
The dinner might be over, but the series isn’t over yet! We put the leftovers to use for breakfasts, lunches, and more.
Fresh Fig Torte
Adapted from Kosher by Design by Susie Fishbein
Makes 4 individual tortes
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4-6 fresh figs, stemmed removed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
Ground Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray non-stick cooking spray in four mini-springform pans (or a 9- or 10-inch springform pan)
In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar
Add vanilla, eggs, flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until combined
Divide the dough into four even portions
Press the dough evenly into the prepared pans
Arrange the fig slices on top of the dough and press gently into the dough
Sprinkle each torte with sugar and cinnamon
Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 45 minutes (up to 1 hour for a large pan)
We’ve made it through the prep and three courses! The last course of the luxury evening is dessert. Coming up with a dessert dish was a challenge. I put out a call on Twitter for luxury dessert ideas and the first wave of responses were for chocolate desserts. The hubby isn’t a chocolate eater, so I asked for non-chocolate suggestions. The next set of ideas was cream based desserts. One of the restrictions for the party was nothing heavy on the cream. Back to the drawing board! I started thinking about ingredients that would fit the Italian theme and figs came to mind.
But what to make with figs? I had just made a fig and cinnamon jam, so I needed something new and different. I went to my cookbook shelf and pulled out a few favorites to look for inspiration. The first one I looked at was Kosher by Design, picture perfect food for the holidays and every day. On the cover is a beautiful pear torte. After scanning the book for fig recipes without any luck, I decided that I could swap figs for the pears and would have a perfect dessert!
To make dessert even more luxurious, I decided to make each guest an individual torte. When we registered for wedding gifts about 6.5 years ago (wow…time flies!) I excitedly added four mini-springform pans to the list. The hubby couldn’t understand why I needed the minis and the big ones. I tried to explain that mini-desserts are more fun, but he just shook his head and told me that they would probably end up in the basement with the salad spinner. He was right about the salad spinner…But the mini-springform pans are great!
I pulled out the four pans the night before the party and prepared the recipe. I love this cookbook because the recipes are easy to follow and always produce delicious results. I would highly recommend adding this book to your cookbook library. I used this recipe as printed and substituted fresh sliced figs for the pears. The four pans are equal to one large pan, so I divided the dough into four equal amounts and pressed it into the individual pans. For the topping I thinly sliced the figs and pressed them into the dough.
The tortes baked while I prepared the other make-ahead dishes. I wrapped them tightly and set them aside until it was time for dessert the next day. In order to make a little room in our stomachs for dessert we took a board game break. After a strategy-filled game of San Juan I popped the tortes into the oven to warm for 10 minutes. While the tortes warmed I fired up the Nespresso machine and made everyone a fresh brewed espresso.
When I first started tweeting and blogging I entered a contest at The Hungry Mouse and was lucky enough to win the Nespresso. It was my first prize – and it comes in really handy for parties! Look how happy it makes the hubby!
After polishing off our dessert and espresso it was time to send our guests home, it was a school night after all. Since everyone said it wasn’t a luxury party without chocolate I sent Eric and Jen home with a chocolate truffle of their choice. I had a blast planning and cooking the party and it was great to see satisfied guests at the end of the night.
An important part of a successful party is having a hubby who is nice enough to do the dishes! We all cleaned our plates so he didn’t have too much scrubbing to do. Because most of the heavy duty cooking had been done the night before there were only dinner dishes and serving pieces. Thanks hubby!
The dinner might be over, but the series isn’t over yet! We put the leftovers to use for breakfasts, lunches, and more.
Fresh Fig Torte
Adapted from Kosher by Design by Susie Fishbein
Makes 4 individual tortes
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4-6 fresh figs, stemmed removed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
Ground Cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray non-stick cooking spray in four mini-springform pans (or a 9- or 10-inch springform pan)
In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar
Add vanilla, eggs, flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until combined
Divide the dough into four even portions
Press the dough evenly into the prepared pans
Arrange the fig slices on top of the dough and press gently into the dough
Sprinkle each torte with sugar and cinnamon
Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 45 minutes (up to 1 hour for a large pan)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Daring Cooks Challenge: The Magical Soufflé
Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose SoufflĂ©s as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflĂ© recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.
The soufflĂ© is an item that is found in the ovens of experienced pastry chefs. It inspires awe from diners and fear from the novice home baker. This was my first attempt at a soufflĂ©. Baking in the Good Cook Doris kitchen is usually biscuits, breads, and the occasional batch of cookies. I was excited to try something new and searched for a recipe that caught my fancy. I settled on a coffee soufflĂ©, mainly because I wanted to make individual servings in my coffee mugs. Now doesn’t that sound fancy?
Using a recipe I found at Cook Almost Anything I set out to create a beautiful, flavorful soufflé. I read through the Daring Cooks challenge tips, and made sure to prepare all my ingredients carefully. I should point out that the recipe is in grams. Without a high tech scale, that meant some mathematics conversions and a few best guess estimates on amounts.
With everything out and ready, I got to work. First up was making the custard. I had set aside some coffee from my morning pot and added that to the milk and sugar to create the liquid. After melting the butter and whisking in cornstarch to thicken, I added in the coffee flavored milk and set it aside to cook and thicken. I successfully added in the egg yolks without scrambling them. Success #1!
The last time I tried to whip egg whites I ended up with bowl of bubbly liquid egg whites. I made sure to follow all the tips this time – clean bowl, room temperature egg whites, and high speed mixing. After just a few minutes I had soft peaks! Success #2!
At this point, the recipe called for mixing in ¼ of the egg whites to ‘slacken’ the custard mixture. I probably could have looked that up, but figured I would gently mix them in and it would be okay.
The next step was to gently fold in the remaining egg whites into the slackened custard. I folded as best as I could and until I was satisfied with my effort. Because my coffee cups were differently shaped than those in the recipe I used, I estimated the amount of soufflĂ© batter to pour in. The recipe said ¾ full and that’s what I did. I filled 2 prepared mugs ¾ full and then spooned the remaining batter into the third mug. I figured it would still rise, it just wouldn’t rise above the rim.
I carefully and delicately placed my soufflé mugs onto the heated baking sheet in the oven. I pulled a stepstool up to the oven and plopped myself down with my phone and camera to watch the soufflé magic happen.
After 10 minutes there was no action. I reset the timer and pressed my face back against the oven door window. 10 more minutes pass…I think I see something starting to happen. The soufflĂ©s are rising. And rising. I start to feel great about my first soufflĂ© attempt. I try to take a few pictures, but they don’t come out through the door. So I continue to watch and wait. I see bubbles…and steam…and then it happens. The soufflĂ©s really come to life and instead of rising into the sky, they start pouring down the sides. I don’t think this was part of the recipe?
As I sat watching my soufflĂ©s bubble over, I just started laughing. Over the last year I’ve developed a new attitude in the kitchen. I find myself taking on more challenging projects inspired by Daring Cooks, personal interest, and inspiration from fellow bloggers. This soufflĂ© challenge illustrated my new philosophy perfectly. I could get really upset and beat myself up for screwing up or I could laugh and appreciate the hilarity and enjoyment in failing at trying something new. I chose #2. Instead of crying over exploded soufflĂ©s, I let them continue cooking until the drips down the sides of the mugs looked golden brown and set. I removed my creative interpretation of the soufflĂ© from the oven and proceeded with my photo shoot.
They may not have set and they may not have tasted exactly right, but I successfully whipped egg whites! And I didn’t scramble my yolks! And I had a blast trying something new. And that’s what it’s really about - being confident in your abilities and not being afraid to let your soufflĂ©s flop every once in a while.
The soufflĂ© is an item that is found in the ovens of experienced pastry chefs. It inspires awe from diners and fear from the novice home baker. This was my first attempt at a soufflĂ©. Baking in the Good Cook Doris kitchen is usually biscuits, breads, and the occasional batch of cookies. I was excited to try something new and searched for a recipe that caught my fancy. I settled on a coffee soufflĂ©, mainly because I wanted to make individual servings in my coffee mugs. Now doesn’t that sound fancy?
Using a recipe I found at Cook Almost Anything I set out to create a beautiful, flavorful soufflé. I read through the Daring Cooks challenge tips, and made sure to prepare all my ingredients carefully. I should point out that the recipe is in grams. Without a high tech scale, that meant some mathematics conversions and a few best guess estimates on amounts.
With everything out and ready, I got to work. First up was making the custard. I had set aside some coffee from my morning pot and added that to the milk and sugar to create the liquid. After melting the butter and whisking in cornstarch to thicken, I added in the coffee flavored milk and set it aside to cook and thicken. I successfully added in the egg yolks without scrambling them. Success #1!
The last time I tried to whip egg whites I ended up with bowl of bubbly liquid egg whites. I made sure to follow all the tips this time – clean bowl, room temperature egg whites, and high speed mixing. After just a few minutes I had soft peaks! Success #2!
At this point, the recipe called for mixing in ¼ of the egg whites to ‘slacken’ the custard mixture. I probably could have looked that up, but figured I would gently mix them in and it would be okay.
The next step was to gently fold in the remaining egg whites into the slackened custard. I folded as best as I could and until I was satisfied with my effort. Because my coffee cups were differently shaped than those in the recipe I used, I estimated the amount of soufflĂ© batter to pour in. The recipe said ¾ full and that’s what I did. I filled 2 prepared mugs ¾ full and then spooned the remaining batter into the third mug. I figured it would still rise, it just wouldn’t rise above the rim.
I carefully and delicately placed my soufflé mugs onto the heated baking sheet in the oven. I pulled a stepstool up to the oven and plopped myself down with my phone and camera to watch the soufflé magic happen.
After 10 minutes there was no action. I reset the timer and pressed my face back against the oven door window. 10 more minutes pass…I think I see something starting to happen. The soufflĂ©s are rising. And rising. I start to feel great about my first soufflĂ© attempt. I try to take a few pictures, but they don’t come out through the door. So I continue to watch and wait. I see bubbles…and steam…and then it happens. The soufflĂ©s really come to life and instead of rising into the sky, they start pouring down the sides. I don’t think this was part of the recipe?
As I sat watching my soufflĂ©s bubble over, I just started laughing. Over the last year I’ve developed a new attitude in the kitchen. I find myself taking on more challenging projects inspired by Daring Cooks, personal interest, and inspiration from fellow bloggers. This soufflĂ© challenge illustrated my new philosophy perfectly. I could get really upset and beat myself up for screwing up or I could laugh and appreciate the hilarity and enjoyment in failing at trying something new. I chose #2. Instead of crying over exploded soufflĂ©s, I let them continue cooking until the drips down the sides of the mugs looked golden brown and set. I removed my creative interpretation of the soufflĂ© from the oven and proceeded with my photo shoot.
They may not have set and they may not have tasted exactly right, but I successfully whipped egg whites! And I didn’t scramble my yolks! And I had a blast trying something new. And that’s what it’s really about - being confident in your abilities and not being afraid to let your soufflĂ©s flop every once in a while.
I dumped them in a baking dish and tried to salvage them. |
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Local Luxury Dinner Party: Secondo e Contorno
This is the fourth post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series. The party was part of the Next Food Blog Star competition hosted by Foodbuzz. While I didn't advance in the competition, the party was still fabulous!
The main course for our Local Luxury Dinner Party was inspired by the deliciously simple meal I enjoyed during restaurant week at Sportello. Barbara Lynch’s casual spot served up sirloin with local potatoes and salsa verde.
I was in luck; during my shopping trip to the farmers market Stillman’s at the Turkey Farm had NY strip steak. I picked up three steaks – enough for reasonably sized portions for four diners. Atlas Farm had some freshly dug early season potatoes and hard neck garlic. The challenge prompt for the dinner party was “new and exotic tastes” which meant thinking of a unique vegetable for the side. Something green caught my eye at Atlas and I knew it fit the bill! I picked up two heads of Broccoli Romanesco and headed home with my purchases.
Because this was the third course in the meal, I either needed to cook it all ahead of time or have it all ready to cook while we ate the first two courses. To make things easy I left the potatoes unpeeled and the garlic cloves whole. Because the romanesco looks so stunning whole, that saved some prep time too. As you could see in a photo in the previous antipasti course post, I cooked the steak on the stovetop while the first course was being enjoyed. That gave me time to let the steak rest before slicing. The romanesco steamed while we ate the ravioli. Roasting the potatoes was the easiest part of the meal! I threw the washed and halved potatoes into a baking dish along with the garlic cloves. All they needed was quick toss with olive oil and a little salt. The potatoes went into the oven when the guests arrived and were perfectly roasted when it was time to serve the main course.
To top the steak, I made lime basil butter the night before the party. I harvested the last of my lime basil, finely chopped it and mixed it with unsalted butter. This gave the steak a nice bright flavor component.
With all this photography, the camera battery died right when started this course! We plugged in the battery and switched over to the phone camera for a picture of the completed plate.
The wine paired deliciously with this course (really, the whole meal).
The course was simple, light (for steak & potatoes), and didn’t fill us up completely. Close, but we still had a little room for dessert. Stay tuned for the next post: dessert!
Lime Basil Butter
Makes enough for the meal plus plenty of extra
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped lime basil
Mix basil and softened butter together
Roll into a log shape
Wrap tightly in wax paper and freeze until ready to serve
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Garlic
2-3 pounds fingerling potatoes, washed and cut in half
2 heads of garlic, cloves removed and peeled
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place potatoes and garlic in a baking dish
Sprinkle with a generous amount of kosher salt
Pour in enough olive oil to coat potatoes and garlic and toss well
Cover and bake for 30-45 minutes
NY Strip Steak
I can’t remember exactly how I made this! Here’s a general overview.
Sprinkle the steak with kosher salt and let sit for about 15 minutes
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat
Sear steak on both sides and then reduce heat, letting steak cook to desired doneness
Remove from heat and top with slices of herb butter
Tent with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing
Broccoli Romanesco
I steamed this in my vegetable steaming pot until just softened. I topped it with a sprinkle of kosher salt and a swirl of extra virgin olive oil.
Cheers!
The main course for our Local Luxury Dinner Party was inspired by the deliciously simple meal I enjoyed during restaurant week at Sportello. Barbara Lynch’s casual spot served up sirloin with local potatoes and salsa verde.
Sportello Sirloin, August 2010 Restaurant Week |
Fresh Romanesco at the market |
Because this was the third course in the meal, I either needed to cook it all ahead of time or have it all ready to cook while we ate the first two courses. To make things easy I left the potatoes unpeeled and the garlic cloves whole. Because the romanesco looks so stunning whole, that saved some prep time too. As you could see in a photo in the previous antipasti course post, I cooked the steak on the stovetop while the first course was being enjoyed. That gave me time to let the steak rest before slicing. The romanesco steamed while we ate the ravioli. Roasting the potatoes was the easiest part of the meal! I threw the washed and halved potatoes into a baking dish along with the garlic cloves. All they needed was quick toss with olive oil and a little salt. The potatoes went into the oven when the guests arrived and were perfectly roasted when it was time to serve the main course.
To top the steak, I made lime basil butter the night before the party. I harvested the last of my lime basil, finely chopped it and mixed it with unsalted butter. This gave the steak a nice bright flavor component.
The wine paired deliciously with this course (really, the whole meal).
The course was simple, light (for steak & potatoes), and didn’t fill us up completely. Close, but we still had a little room for dessert. Stay tuned for the next post: dessert!
Lime Basil Butter
Makes enough for the meal plus plenty of extra
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped lime basil
Mix basil and softened butter together
Roll into a log shape
Wrap tightly in wax paper and freeze until ready to serve
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Garlic
2 heads of garlic, cloves removed and peeled
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place potatoes and garlic in a baking dish
Sprinkle with a generous amount of kosher salt
Pour in enough olive oil to coat potatoes and garlic and toss well
Cover and bake for 30-45 minutes
NY Strip Steak
I can’t remember exactly how I made this! Here’s a general overview.
Sprinkle the steak with kosher salt and let sit for about 15 minutes
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat
Sear steak on both sides and then reduce heat, letting steak cook to desired doneness
Remove from heat and top with slices of herb butter
Tent with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing
Broccoli Romanesco
I steamed this in my vegetable steaming pot until just softened. I topped it with a sprinkle of kosher salt and a swirl of extra virgin olive oil.
Cheers!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
All the Flavor of Thanksgiving…Not the Way You’d Expect
Before I write my next post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series, I wanted to share my fun dinner!
I have been working hard to plan meals for the week and get a lot of cooking done on Sundays. This takes away the stress of thinking of something to make every night and frees up more time for homework (well, maybe twitter and some TV watching too). Today when I pulled out my notebook to plan, I decided that I wouldn’t consult any cookbooks. I wanted to be creative and come up with my own ideas for the week.
When we get lazy about planning around here, we end up eating a lot of red meat. I love to cook brisket, burgers, you name it. But for the sake of the hubby’s cholesterol, we’ve decided to have a non-red meat at home month. So that leaves us to decide on some alternative proteins. Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I’ve been craving roasted turkey. When I checked out turkey breasts at Whole Foods last week I almost passed out from sticker shock. $55 for a turkey breast?!? That’s nuts! So we opted for chicken and tofu for our proteins last week.
I still had a hankering for turkey when I started planning today. I went through the ingredients in the fridge first for inspiration and remembered that I had a container of cranberries ready to be turned into sauce. With cranberry sauce in mind, I started daydreaming about Thanksgiving dinner. To me that means lots of my grandmother’s dressing (aka stuffing) with a little turkey and fixings. I figured that turkey breast would still be pricey, so I arrived on the idea of turkey + stuffing meatballs served with cranberry sauce. I picked up some pre-made stuffing mix (sacrilegious in my family), a pound of ground white meat turkey, and fresh celery. Those three ingredients set me back about $12. Added in with the ingredients I had at home, this meal didn’t break the bank. For the two of us, this will be two meals.
I used a cranberry sauce recipe from the last issue of Gourmet Magazine. The sauce, a mix of cranberries and apples, was a hit at our holiday celebration last year. I have to confess, I made mashed potatoes from a box to serve on the side. I had the box leftover from when I made a King Arthur recipe calling for instant mashed potatoes. I shouldn’t feel bad about boxed potatoes, but I usually write about local, fresh, and homemade!
The verdict on the meal? Delicious! I will definitely be making this again. Next time I’ll use a little more stuffing and add in extra poultry seasoning for a little more flavor. I think it would be fun to make the meat mixture into patty shapes and serve them on fresh kaiser rolls with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Or maybe potato rolls…. So many possibilities!
I had to laugh, as I sat down to eat I pulled out the latest Saveur to peruse. In reference to my dinner, I had to make an edit to the cover:
Thanksgiving Meatballs served with fresh cranberry sauce with apple (and instant mashed potatoes)
Makes 12 2” meatballs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup stuffing mix + a little extra (I used Whole Foods chicken flavor)
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1 lb. ground white meat turkey breast
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil (I used cooking spray on the foil to prevent sticking)
Mix egg and milk together in a large bowl
Add in celery and 1 cup stuffing and mix, making sure to moisten the stuffing
Add in turkey and mix using your hands, be careful not to over mix (you’ll end up with dense meatballs)
If the mixture is too wet, add in a little more stuffing
Form into 2 inch balls and place on the greased baking sheet
Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time
Cranberry Sauce with Apple
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 2009
16 oz. fresh cranberries, washed
1-2 apples (I used Fortune apples), peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2 in cubes
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Combine water, sugar, cranberries, and diced apples in a medium saucepan
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
Cook over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly
The cranberries will burst and the mixture will begin to thicken (like cranberry sauce!)
You can serve immediately with the meatballs, or to make a nice presentation, line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and spray the plastic wrap with cooking spray
Spoon the sauce into the loaf pan, cover with the plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours
Invert the loaf pan onto the plate and slice for serving
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Follow the directions, and if you really want to be gourmet, follow the microwave directions. I did use delicious Kerry Gold butter from Ireland to add flavor.
Serve and enjoy! I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.
Summary:
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes total (20 minutes meatballs, 15 minutes cranberry sauce, 2 minutes mashed potatoes)
Mixing bowls, spatulas, baking sheet, measuring cups, medium saucepan, microwave safe bowl, serving utensils and plates
I have been working hard to plan meals for the week and get a lot of cooking done on Sundays. This takes away the stress of thinking of something to make every night and frees up more time for homework (well, maybe twitter and some TV watching too). Today when I pulled out my notebook to plan, I decided that I wouldn’t consult any cookbooks. I wanted to be creative and come up with my own ideas for the week.
When we get lazy about planning around here, we end up eating a lot of red meat. I love to cook brisket, burgers, you name it. But for the sake of the hubby’s cholesterol, we’ve decided to have a non-red meat at home month. So that leaves us to decide on some alternative proteins. Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I’ve been craving roasted turkey. When I checked out turkey breasts at Whole Foods last week I almost passed out from sticker shock. $55 for a turkey breast?!? That’s nuts! So we opted for chicken and tofu for our proteins last week.
I still had a hankering for turkey when I started planning today. I went through the ingredients in the fridge first for inspiration and remembered that I had a container of cranberries ready to be turned into sauce. With cranberry sauce in mind, I started daydreaming about Thanksgiving dinner. To me that means lots of my grandmother’s dressing (aka stuffing) with a little turkey and fixings. I figured that turkey breast would still be pricey, so I arrived on the idea of turkey + stuffing meatballs served with cranberry sauce. I picked up some pre-made stuffing mix (sacrilegious in my family), a pound of ground white meat turkey, and fresh celery. Those three ingredients set me back about $12. Added in with the ingredients I had at home, this meal didn’t break the bank. For the two of us, this will be two meals.
I used a cranberry sauce recipe from the last issue of Gourmet Magazine. The sauce, a mix of cranberries and apples, was a hit at our holiday celebration last year. I have to confess, I made mashed potatoes from a box to serve on the side. I had the box leftover from when I made a King Arthur recipe calling for instant mashed potatoes. I shouldn’t feel bad about boxed potatoes, but I usually write about local, fresh, and homemade!
The verdict on the meal? Delicious! I will definitely be making this again. Next time I’ll use a little more stuffing and add in extra poultry seasoning for a little more flavor. I think it would be fun to make the meat mixture into patty shapes and serve them on fresh kaiser rolls with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Or maybe potato rolls…. So many possibilities!
I had to laugh, as I sat down to eat I pulled out the latest Saveur to peruse. In reference to my dinner, I had to make an edit to the cover:
Thanksgiving Meatballs served with fresh cranberry sauce with apple (and instant mashed potatoes)
Makes 12 2” meatballs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup stuffing mix + a little extra (I used Whole Foods chicken flavor)
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1 lb. ground white meat turkey breast
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil (I used cooking spray on the foil to prevent sticking)
Mix egg and milk together in a large bowl
Add in celery and 1 cup stuffing and mix, making sure to moisten the stuffing
Add in turkey and mix using your hands, be careful not to over mix (you’ll end up with dense meatballs)
If the mixture is too wet, add in a little more stuffing
Form into 2 inch balls and place on the greased baking sheet
Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time
Cranberry Sauce with Apple
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 2009
16 oz. fresh cranberries, washed
1-2 apples (I used Fortune apples), peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2 in cubes
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Combine water, sugar, cranberries, and diced apples in a medium saucepan
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
Cook over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly
The cranberries will burst and the mixture will begin to thicken (like cranberry sauce!)
You can serve immediately with the meatballs, or to make a nice presentation, line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and spray the plastic wrap with cooking spray
Spoon the sauce into the loaf pan, cover with the plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours
Invert the loaf pan onto the plate and slice for serving
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Follow the directions, and if you really want to be gourmet, follow the microwave directions. I did use delicious Kerry Gold butter from Ireland to add flavor.
Serve and enjoy! I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.
Summary:
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes total (20 minutes meatballs, 15 minutes cranberry sauce, 2 minutes mashed potatoes)
Mixing bowls, spatulas, baking sheet, measuring cups, medium saucepan, microwave safe bowl, serving utensils and plates
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