Crunch Time

Posted 23 May 2014

Filed under Flavor of the Week, Throwback Recipes

One of my fondest memories as a kid were frequent outings with my family to get ice cream at Thrifty’s. Those cylinder-shaped blocks of ice cream that were scooped atop another were irresistible. My parents would ask me how many scoops I wanted, and I’d always ask for two. Ice cream was a lot cheaper back then–.59 cents a scoop. My dad remembers them being .10 cents a scoop at Thrifty’s when he was a kid. Now, Thrifty’s sells their ice cream for about $1 a scoop. Oh, how times have changed. But my love for their Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream has not. Those little bits of chocolate chips and mini crunchy malted bits in the creamy malted chocolate ice cream were to-die-for! The weather has been heating up here in the Bay, so my best attempt at recreating this retro favorite was very fun and hugely successful.

Two scoops, please.

And because I love a good ice cream sandwich (who doesn’t?), CLICK HERE for my Whoppers Cookie recipe. These cookies are good on their own, too. Just sayin’. Then follow this LINK for NSFW ice cream sandwich assembly pics.

Chocolate Malted Chip Ice Cream
Recipe slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Yields 1 quart

Ice cream mis en place

INGREDIENTS
2 cups heavy cream, divided
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped and divided (chocolate chips work, too)
1 cup whole milk or heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup brown sugar (I prefer it taste-wise to white sugar)
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups malted milk powder (Please please please use real malted milk powder! Many brands like Ovaltine contain added sugars and don’t produce the same results. The original recipe called for 1 cup of the powder, but I found that adding a 1/2 cup more produced better results.)***

METHOD
Combine 1 cup of the heavy cream with the cocoa powder in a medium-size saucepan and whisk together until there are no lumps.

Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 30 seconds whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and add in half of the chopped chocolate (2 ounces) and whisk till it’s completely melted and smooth. Stir in the other cup of heavy cream and pour into a large bowl, using a rubber spatula to scrape all of the mixture from the saucepan.

Properly tempering the eggs into the milk reduces clumps.

In the same saucepan, warm the milk, brown sugar and salt. In a separate medium-size bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Add a cup of the warmed milk to the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper the yolks. Once the egg yolks have been tempered, add them to the saucepan and whisk on medium heat. Continue to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir until the egg mixture thickens to a custard-like consistency and coats the back of the spatula.

Almost there!

Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve or strainer and str into the chocolate mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract and malted milk powder, whisking until the mixture is completely combined.

Cool the chocolate custard base in the refrigerator till it’s completely chilled. This should take at least 4 hours.

It’s happening!

Pour the chocolate malted custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While churning, add in the remaining 2 ounces of chopped chocolate to the mixture.

Place a sheet of plastic wrap atop the churned ice cream mixture to avoid freezer burn or forming ice crystals while it freezes.

If you ask me, I’m ready

***COOK’S NOTE: So what is malted milk powder? Besides its use as a base for beer and whiskey, malt is used to add a sweet, nutty flavor. It’s a grain (oftentimes barley) that’s sprouted and quickly dried. The grain is finely ground with the addition of wheat flour and powdered milk.

Keep reading HERE

Tastes Like Marmalade

The dessert course was the easiest to tweak. If you don’t have marmalade on-hand, give yourself 1 prep day to make before you start the cakes.

“Tastes Like Marmalade” Pudding Cakes

FOR THE ORANGE MARMALADE
Recipe via Martha Stewart
Yields about 1 pint

INGREDIENTS
2 oranges, (1 1/2 oranges peeled, peels cut into 1/3-inch pieces, flesh seeded and coarsely chopped; 1/2 orange quartered, thinly sliced, and seeded)
1/2 lemon, quartered, thinly sliced, and seeded
1 1/8 cup cold water
Sugar

METHOD
Bring fruit, peels, and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover, and let cool. Refrigerate for 8 hours (or up to 1 day).

Freeze a plate. Uncover citrus mixture, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until thickest peel is tender, about 20 minutes. Measure mixture, and return to pan. For each cup of mixture, add 1/4 cup sugar.

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often. Cook until mixture registers 220 degrees to 222 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 20 minutes. To test for doneness of marmalade: Drop a spoonful on frozen plate. If marmalade has a slight film when pushed with a finger, it’s done. If it spreads out and thins immediately, continue cooking, and test again after a few minutes. Transfer marmalade to airtight containers, cover, and let cool at room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before serving. (Marmalade will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 month.)

FOR THE PUDDING CAKES
Recipe slightly adapted via Taste of Home
Serves 5

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar, divided
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup pineapple juice
*1/2 cup orange marmalade, warmed (see recipe below)

METHOD
In a small bowl, beat butter and 1/4 cup sugar until crumbly. Beat in flour and egg yolks until smooth. Gradually beat in the milk, pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and orange peel.

In another small bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into orange mixture.

Evenly distribute into 5, 6-oz. custard cups thoroughly coated with cooking spray. Place the cups in 13-in. x 9-in. baking pans; add 1 in. of boiling water to pans.

Bake at 325° for 30-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and tops are golden brown. (Mine took 45 minutes to bake.) Run a knife around the edges; carefully invert cakes onto dessert plates.

Combine marmalade and remaining lemon juice; drizzle over warm cakes.

Return to main story HERE

Omelet It Is!

Bridget’s main course malady started when she tried to serve what Mark described as “congealed green gunge.” Caperberries are a bit difficult to find, although many gourmet grocers sell them. (I saw them once at World Market.) I decided to replace the “Caperberry Gravy” with a Caper Cream Sauce (however, if you can easily find caperberries, do use them in this recipe). Capers are the flower buds from the shrub “Capparis spinosa.” The round, teeny, green flower buds are picked, sun-dried and pickled. Caperberries are capers picked after they’ve matured into flowers–fruit the size of an olive–and then later pickled. Both are extremely flavorful and give a nice salty-sour profile. For purposes of this course, I decided on making an omelet stuffed with smoked salmon (“Where the f*ck is the f*cking tuna?!”) and cream cheese, then topping it with a nice creamy caper sauce. The result is a tasty, slightly more filling, alternative.

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Omelet with Caper Cream Sauce
Serves 5

INGREDIENTS
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 tablespoons per omelet)
10 ea. eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons, 1 teaspoon capers, drained
5 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
4 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon, cut into small cubes (I used Echo Falls Oakwood Smoked Scottish Salmon)
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

METHOD
Gather 5 small bowls and place two eggs in each one. Whisk the eggs in each bowl with a fork, incorporating a lot of air into the eggs till they’re nice and fluffy. Season with black pepper.

In a separate medium bowl, place the softened cream cheese and cubed smoked salmon chunks and mix with a rubber spatula.In a non-stick pan and over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, swirling the butter so that the entire surface of the pan is coated.

Pour the first bowl of eggs into the center of the pan and continue to scramble using a fork till the eggs begin to set, about 5 seconds. Once the egg mass begins to form, lift the pan and swirl it around until the excess liquid pours off into the pan. Using a rubber spatula, move it around the edge of the egg mixture to help shape into a round and loosen the edge. Let the omelet sit in the pan for about 10 more seconds.

Spoon the center of the omelet with the cream cheese-smoked salmon mixture (don’t smear it on there). Using the rubber spatula, loosen the eggs from the pan, tilting the pan up so that the egg “rolls” into a French omelet.

Guide the eggs to roll with your spatula, being careful not to tear the egg surface. Continue to roll the eggs into a plate. Repeat with the rest of the eggs.

Top with Caper Cream Sauce (Recipe below)

Caper Cream Sauce
Recipe slightly adapted from Epicurious
Serves 5

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/3 cup capers, drained
2 ea. garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

METHOD
In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, melt the butter and then add the garlic. Allow it to saute till it turns a light golden brown, then add the capers, stir for 1 minute. Add the white wine and allow the liquid to reduce by about half, then add the whipping cream and bring to a boil, stirring to remove any clumps. Once the liquid has started to boil, reduce to medium-low and allow for the sauce to thicken till it nicely coats the back of a spoon. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit more whipping cream, stirring to incorporate. Season with black pepper.

Spoon a generous dollop atop the omelets. Serve.

Return to main story HERE

Is That Blue Soup?

Posted 11 May 2014

Filed under Dining In

In the first course, Bridget ties some leeks together with blue string. The string’s dye is steeped into the soup, making her otherwise leek soup a “Blue Leek Soup.” I modified the recipe by adding some celery root, creme fraiche and a few drops of homemade natural blue food coloring.

This is a pureed soup, so make sure that your soup base is slightly cooled before pureeing. You want to avoid the possible classic Bridget moment that I (unintentionally) happened to have. I guess you can say that I really was unconsciously channeling my inner Bridge: Whilst using my Power Blender (emphasis on power here) I had placed a bit too much soup into the machine and much of this very very HOT soup mixture came flying at me and all over my kitchen counter! In pure Bridget fashion, I cursed the blender and went for another glass of wine.

Bridget’s Blue Soup
Recipe slightly adapted from Fine Cooking
Serves 5

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ea. small leeks (use the white and light green parts only) trimmed, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into half-inch half-moon slices, rinsed thoroughly
1 small onion, small dice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, additional to taste
1 pound celery root (about 1 ea. medium)
2 1/4 cup vegetable stock
2 cups water
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup creme fraiche (sour cream will work, too)
1 cup half and half
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Homemade blue food coloring (Recipe also here)

METHOD
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, onion, salt and pepper. Cook while stirring occasionally until softened and a light golden color, about 15 to 20 minutes.

While you’re cooking the leeks and onions, wash and peel the celery root with a peeler or sharp paring knife. Use a sharp chef knife to halve the peeled celery root lengthwise and cut each half into 1-inch-thick wedges and then into medium-size dice.

Once the leeks and onions are softened, add the celery root, 2 cups water and the vegetable stock to the leek onion mixture. Cover and cook until the celery root is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes at a medium-low heat. (Be sure to check the vegetables occasionally; if all the water cooks off and the vegetables start to go brown, add another 1/4 cup of stock). Continue to cook another 20 minutes or until the celery root is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Purée the soup (with a hand blender, food processor or in small batches in a stand blender) to a very smooth, creamy consistency.

Return the pureed soup to the soup pot. Add in the half and half and the crème fraîche (or sour cream) to the soup and mix well over medium-low heat to fully incorporate. Season to taste.

Add in a few tablespoons of your homemade blue food coloring (I used about 6) until it’s a nice blue color.

If you’re not serving the soup immediately, allow to cool completely and then store in the refrigerator at least overnight or for up to two days.

When reheating the soup (always reheat to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit) if it becomes too thick, gradually thin it out with no more than 1 cup water. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Ladle the soup into small bowls.

Return to main story HERE

Silly, Bridget

Bridget and her diary

Me and my diary

One of my favorite films to date is Bridget Jones’s Diary. Renee Zellweger perfected the role of the cheeky, less-than-proper, but undeniably adorable Bridget Jones. With her quirky mannerisms (public unjumbling of granny panties at book launch party); NSFW IMs and see-through blouses to seduce scoundral of a boss, Daniel Cleaver; and vulgar quips (more NSFW phone convos with BFF overheard by said boss: “He’s just a big knobhead with no knob!”) make her so relatable.

Who can forget the infamous dinner party scene with Bridget (turning 33) who throws herself a small dinner party to celebrate her birthday and career win (an exclusive interview with the defendants in a worldly groundbreaking case! Hello!)! Only problem here is that Bridget is a bit challenged in the kitchen, and every course on the dinner menu goes (as Bridge would say) to shit. Enter a surprise visit from the debonaire Mark Darcy who comes and saves the day (well, sorta).

What better way to celebrate this movie than moderately modify the menu? With a few tweaks, you can have your own Bridget Jones’s Diary dinner party. Just like the movie, all recipes are scaled to serve 5 people.

Click on the following links for full recipes

COURSE 1
Bridget’s Blue Soup

COURSE 2
Mark’s Emergency Omelet

COURSE 3
“Tastes Like Marmalade” Pudding Cakes

Blue Gene, Baby

Posted 8 May 2014

Filed under Dining In, How-to

Avoid those harmful chemicals with store-bought food dyes and make your own!

Once upon a time, I used to buy store-bought food coloring. SMH. Not the proudest moment in my life. But I really had no idea what harmful chemicals were used in these dyes. After educating myself, I did a little research and found that you could make your own food dye. At home. And it’s super simple. Here’s how:

Homemade (and all-natural!) Blue Food Coloring
Recipe adapted from Whole New Mom
Yields about 1 cup

INGREDIENTS
Half head of red cabbage
Water to cover
1 tablespoon baking soda

METHOD
Rinse the cabbage and cut out the core.

Chop into large dice. (Chopping them into relatively the same sizes will cook them evenly.)

Place the chopped cabbage into a small- to medium-sized pot and add water just to cover the cabbage.

Turn heat to medium-high and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat after fully cooked down and then let sit for another 5 minutes.

Once slightly cooled, drain cabbage “juice” into a bowl. The resulting juice will be deep purple in color–that’s what you want!

Once drained, your drained red cabbage juice will look like this.

Once drained, your red cabbage juice will look like this.

In the bowl, add the baking soda and stir. Your purple “juice” is now blue!

After adding the baking soda, it’ll now look like this!

(Cook’s note: If you’re using this food coloring into something that you’ll be eating, be cautious of how much baking soda you’re adding, as it is the alkaline agent that actually changes the color of the liquid to blue.)

Return to main store HERE

Hope in a Jar

This is the tastiest and easiest smoothie to make at home. Seriously. Bonus points for it being sorta healthy, too.

Banana-Almond Butter Smoothie
Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS
2 bananas, peeled
4 cups milk (any type will do!)
3 tablespoons almond butter
1 tablespoon agave
2 cups ice

METHOD
Place all ingredients into a Vita-mixer or blender and pulse till fully incorporated.

Place 2 ripe bananas into the blender

Then add 2 heaping scoops of almond butter

Add your agave and about a cup or small tray of ice cubes.

Any type of milk will work for this recipe, but I prefer almond milk.

Seriously? Just 5 ingredients? Seriously.

Flavor of the Week

Posted 13 April 2014

Filed under Flavor of the Week

Now in season: strawberries!

When I worked as a Pastry Chef Assistant, I had the pleasure of making ice cream and sorbet bases daily. And when I say pleasure, I mean it. Ice cream and sorbets are a fairly easy sweet treat to make at home. And quite honestly, with all the ingredients listed on many store-bought ice creams–preservatives, additives, and chemicals one can’t even pronounce–it’s actually healthier (and perhaps safer) to consume those of the homemade variety. Wouldn’t you agree?

Now in season, strawberries are ideal for this warm weather, so sorbet is in order!

Ooh, and for a cool (alcoholic) refresher, you can add a scoop of the sorbet to a flute of sparkling wine (Prosecco works well) for a Bellini-style cocktail.

Warning: Consumption of strawberries before making sorbet is often unavoidable!

Strawberry Sorbet
Yields about 1 quart

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
3 1/2 cups (16 ounces or 1 pound) strawberries, stems removed and quartered
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice (I used grapefruit juice and it tasted great!)

METHOD
Place the water and sugar into a small saucepan stirring to just combine. Heat over medium-high and boil until the sugar is completely dissolved. You’re basically making a simple syrup, so heat the sugar water till it’s a slightly syrupy consistency. Turn off the heat and transfer the simple syrup into a small bowl and into the refrigerator to cool.

While the simple syrup cools down, wash the strawberries and cut off the stems. Cut the strawberries into quarters. Place strawberries into a food processor or blender and blend till the fruit is completely broken down, adding a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.

Seriously so good

Transfer the strawberry gazpacho to your ice cream maker, adding in the simple syrup. Churn the strawberry soup according to your ice cream maker’s manufacturer’s instructions. (My Hello Kitty Ice Cream Maker processes the mixture for 40 minutes.)

Sorbet before

Sorbet after

Once the mixture has been churned completely, place a sheet of plastic wrap just pressing the top of the sorbet to avoid getting ice crystals while freezing. Place into your freezer for at least 4 hours or until firm.

If I could escape…

13 Going on 30

Posted 10 April 2014

Filed under Throwback Recipes

Birthday “Ding Dongs” with Salted Caramel Ganache

Hostess Ding Dongs were a common mainstay in my She-Ra lunchbox during grade school. I remember the excitement from opening up my lunch to find that little foil-wrapped cake waiting just for me. Some of my classmates would attempt to “trade” a Ding Dong for something like a baggie of chocolate Teddy Grahams or a bottle of Squeeze-It Juice. As tempting as it was, I never succumbed.

Nearly 25 years later, I still have that taste memory of those cakes fresh in my mind. For my former roommate Gina’s 30th birthday I decided to make her a batch of homemade “Ding Dongs.” Seeing as how Gina favors a salty-sweet taste aesthetic, the cakes are dipped in a salted caramel ganache, inspired by this recipe. And to make her “30, Flirty and Thriving”-themed surprise birthday extravaganza even more special, I cut the cakes into heart shapes.

Cook’s Note: These cakes are super-moist and airy, and the marshmallow filling isn’t as sweet as most recipes I’ve come across. The recipe yields about 12 “Ding Dongs” with plenty of cake scraps to snack on for later, as well as extra caramel ganache that can later used to top ice cream sundaes.

Surprise!

Allow the cakes to cool before cutting them into shapes (if you decide to do so)

Birthday “Ding Dongs” with Salted Caramel Ganache

FOR THE CAKE
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Beantown Baker

INGREDIENTS
2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup hot brewed coffee
2 cups sugar
1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 ea. eggs
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

METHOD
Preheat oven to 300°F and grease 2 10-inch round cake pans.

Finely chop chocolate and add into a bowl of hot coffee. Stir until chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another large mixing bowl beat the eggs until thickened slightly and lemon-yellow in color. Slowly stream in the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.

Divide the cake batter between pans and bake in the middle rack until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, roughly one hour.

Cool cakes completely in pans on racks. Run a small knife or palette knife around the edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. You can make the cakes one day ahead and wrap them with plastic wrap and left out in room temperature.

*Cook’s Note: If you’re prepping the cakes for the following day, do not place them in the refrigerator, this causes the cake to dry out, no bueno! If you’re prepping a few days in advance, thoroughly wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and into the freezer. Defrost accordingly.

Save your leftover marshmallow filling to top hot chocolate.

FOR THE MARSHMALLOW FILLING
Recipe adapted from Epicurious

INGREDIENTS
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 each large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

METHOD
In large mixing bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup water, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Set bowl over a double boiler of simmering water and mix with a whisk or handheld electric mixer at low speed. Gradually increase speed to high, beating until mixture holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.

Remove bowl from double boiler to a rolled up kitchen towel (this helps to keep the bowl in place) onto your counter and continue beating until mixture is cool and billowy, about 2 minutes more. Beat in the vanilla. This filling can be made ahead 4 hours before assembly, just cover with plastic wrap and chill.

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL GANACHE
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

INGREDIENTS
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sea salt for garnish

METHOD
Place chopped chocolate and salt into a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Stir the sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a deep medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and cook, swirling the pan occasionally (don’t stir! It will cause the sugar to crystallize!) and brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush if you have one. You want to cook the sugar till it is a deep amber color, this takes about 10 minutes. Once you achieve the amber color, remove the pan from the heat and stream in the heavy whipping cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously. Return the pan to cook over medium heat and stir until the caramel bits dissolve. Then pour over this mixture into the bowl of chopped chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir until the chocolate has melted and is smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

Assembly gets messy, but it’s so worth it

Salted caramel ganache! What?!

ASSEMBLY
Once the cake layers have cooled completely, use a small round cookie cutter (in my case I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter) to cut small circles of cake out of the layers. Reserve the cake scraps for future sweet treats!

Using the cone method, scoop out a small portion of cake from each circle. Fill with the marshmallow filling and replace top of cake.

With a pastry brush or spoon, cover individual cakes with salted caramel ganache. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt flakes over cakes for garnish. Allow ganache to completely set up before serving.

A Streetcar Named DEVOUR

Ramblings of a Professional Cook/writer with an Insatiable Appetite for Food + Flicks

Author Archives: astreetcarnameddevour

Crunch Time

Tastes Like Marmalade

Omelet It Is!

Is That Blue Soup?

Silly, Bridget

Blue Gene, Baby

Hope in a Jar

Flavor of the Week

13 Going on 30