This is a special recipe for the holidays, crispy and airy lemon treats. I got it from an unexpected source, but trust me these are delicious.
1. In a small bowl, beat one egg till foamy.
2. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 tsp vanilla.
3. Add 5 teaspoons of baking soda, one at a time.
4. Beat until it is the consistency of light cream.
5. Add 1 cup of lemon juice all at once and stir it gently.
6. Scoop the mixture out of the bowl and spread it on a floured surface.
7. Add 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup sugar in a bowl and whisk.
8. Work this into the lemon mixture.
9. Roll the dough out to 1/32 of an inch.
10. With the tip of a knife, cut into 18 angel shapes. They don't have to be perfect and they don't have to be angels. (Re-roll as necessary.)
11. Sprinkle sugar over all the angels.
12. Brush each angel with melted margarine.
13. Place the angels on an ungreased baking sheet. Don't allow them to touch.
14. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Mai Tai
I don't drink. I haven't had more than a taste of anything since Clinton was president.
But even I know that the poor Mai Tai is abused and confused in this modern world of tacky chain restaurants, trendy kids with ironic clothing, and MFin' Bacardi.
The following is not THE definitive recipe, but is close enough for the common man. If you are offered a Mai Tai with any juice in it other than lime juice, throw it in the bartender's face.
1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. In that cocktail shaker add 2 oz. light rum, 2 oz. dark rum, 1 oz Curacao, the juice of one fresh lime (Don't use Rose's or the little plastic lime), 1 Tbsp simple syrup, 1 Tbsp orgeat syrup (the almond syrup they use at coffee shops).
3. Shake.
4. Strain into a chilled double old-fashioned glass over a little cracked ice.
6. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
But even I know that the poor Mai Tai is abused and confused in this modern world of tacky chain restaurants, trendy kids with ironic clothing, and MFin' Bacardi.
The following is not THE definitive recipe, but is close enough for the common man. If you are offered a Mai Tai with any juice in it other than lime juice, throw it in the bartender's face.
1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. In that cocktail shaker add 2 oz. light rum, 2 oz. dark rum, 1 oz Curacao, the juice of one fresh lime (Don't use Rose's or the little plastic lime), 1 Tbsp simple syrup, 1 Tbsp orgeat syrup (the almond syrup they use at coffee shops).
3. Shake.
4. Strain into a chilled double old-fashioned glass over a little cracked ice.
6. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Green Beans Almondine
So, it dawns on me that I haven't really given any recipes for side dishes or vegetables. We'll fix that thing.
Generally, my wife makes the green beans, but I showed her this recipe long ago. She does it somewhat differently, preferring to use sesame oil in the frying pan.
This is far from a definitive recipe for Green Beans Almondine. Every cook has his or her own twist.
There are no exact quantities here. This is the sort off recipe you play around with.
1. Wash green beans, and cut off the ends.
2. Drop them in some boiling water for about a minute or two. It'll make them nice and green.
3. Now melt a little butter in a pan with some olive oil.
4. Once that is melted, throw in some minced garlic. One to four cloves, depending on how big they are and how many beans you have.
5. Sauté the garlic on medium for about a minute or two.
6. Throw in some sliced or slivered almonds. (Whatever your preference is. They sell them in little bags, pre-cut. One or two of those will generally do.)
7. Sauté the almonds for about a minute or two. Be careful not to burn them.
8. Throw the cut and washed beans in there, and toss them around with the almonds and garlic. Keep them on the heat for another four minutes or so.
Salt and pepper and you are good to go.
Generally, my wife makes the green beans, but I showed her this recipe long ago. She does it somewhat differently, preferring to use sesame oil in the frying pan.
This is far from a definitive recipe for Green Beans Almondine. Every cook has his or her own twist.
There are no exact quantities here. This is the sort off recipe you play around with.
1. Wash green beans, and cut off the ends.
2. Drop them in some boiling water for about a minute or two. It'll make them nice and green.
3. Now melt a little butter in a pan with some olive oil.
4. Once that is melted, throw in some minced garlic. One to four cloves, depending on how big they are and how many beans you have.
5. Sauté the garlic on medium for about a minute or two.
6. Throw in some sliced or slivered almonds. (Whatever your preference is. They sell them in little bags, pre-cut. One or two of those will generally do.)
7. Sauté the almonds for about a minute or two. Be careful not to burn them.
8. Throw the cut and washed beans in there, and toss them around with the almonds and garlic. Keep them on the heat for another four minutes or so.
Salt and pepper and you are good to go.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Snoopy Snacks
This is the simplest, kid-friendliest recipe I know. I learned it in Home Careers class in Junior high. It's three ingredients, can be made without a stove, and you end up with crunchy balls of chocolate and peanut-butter.
1. Melt 1 cup of chocolate with 1/2 cup of peanut butter. You can use chocolate chips or melting wafers, it doesn't change things very much. You can use a double boiler, an improvised double boiler (i.e. a pot of boiling water with a bowl over it), or the microwave. (If using the microwave, lower the power a little bit, and go 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each go. Melted things in the microwave sometimes hold their shape. If you cook the chocolate in the microwave it gets crumbly and gross; just melt it.)
2. Gently mix 2 cups of Rice Krispies into the melted chocolate and peanut butter. (You don't want to smash the cereal.)
3. Put a piece of wax paper over a cookie sheet.
4. Drop the mixture onto the cookie sheet by the tablespoon.
5. Put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to set.
Done.
1. Melt 1 cup of chocolate with 1/2 cup of peanut butter. You can use chocolate chips or melting wafers, it doesn't change things very much. You can use a double boiler, an improvised double boiler (i.e. a pot of boiling water with a bowl over it), or the microwave. (If using the microwave, lower the power a little bit, and go 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each go. Melted things in the microwave sometimes hold their shape. If you cook the chocolate in the microwave it gets crumbly and gross; just melt it.)
2. Gently mix 2 cups of Rice Krispies into the melted chocolate and peanut butter. (You don't want to smash the cereal.)
3. Put a piece of wax paper over a cookie sheet.
4. Drop the mixture onto the cookie sheet by the tablespoon.
5. Put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to set.
Done.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Pastel de Tres Leches
Pouring tasty liquids over baked goods is a fine dessert strategy. Tiramisu might be fancier, but it is hard to beat a good tres leches. Basically, we have an angel food cake soaked in three different types of milk and frosted. It's like somebody put the vanilla ice cream on top of your cake and let it sit a bit, in the good way.
First off, a warning: this recipe takes about 10 hours. You cannot start making this the night you want it.
1. Combine slightly more than 1 1/2 cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. (If you don't have cake flour, use 1.5 cups exactly of all purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of corn starch. You'll end up with a stiffer cake, most likely. )
2. Set the flour mixture aside.
3. Beat a stick of unsalted butter until it is fluffy.
4. Beat into the 1 1/8 cups sugar into the butter.
5. Beat 5 eggs into the butter/sugar. Nice and slow, one at a time.
6. Mix in 1/2 TBSP of vanilla.
7. Combine the flour mixture into the butter mixture about 1/3 at a time. Don't over-beat. Seriously.
8. Put this into a greased and floured 13x9 pan, and stick this into a 350 degree oven. It's not a lot of batter, don't worry about that.
9. Bake this until it's golden, about 25 minutes.
10. Pull the cake out and let it cool.
11. Poke the cake with a fork so that there are a bunch of holes for the milk to go.
12. Whisk together a can of evaporated milk (12 oz size), a can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz size), and 1 cup of half and half. (Or 1/2 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup cream.)
13. Pour that all over the cake, and toss it in the fridge. The cake will soak up all that liquid if you give it about 8 hours.
14. Now, we are going to make some frosting! Combine 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. Whip that on low till you see stiff peaks.
15. Whip that on medium until it is nice and thick, then spread it on the cake.
16. Throw the cake back into the fridge, until you are ready to serve it.
First off, a warning: this recipe takes about 10 hours. You cannot start making this the night you want it.
1. Combine slightly more than 1 1/2 cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. (If you don't have cake flour, use 1.5 cups exactly of all purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of corn starch. You'll end up with a stiffer cake, most likely. )
2. Set the flour mixture aside.
3. Beat a stick of unsalted butter until it is fluffy.
4. Beat into the 1 1/8 cups sugar into the butter.
5. Beat 5 eggs into the butter/sugar. Nice and slow, one at a time.
6. Mix in 1/2 TBSP of vanilla.
7. Combine the flour mixture into the butter mixture about 1/3 at a time. Don't over-beat. Seriously.
8. Put this into a greased and floured 13x9 pan, and stick this into a 350 degree oven. It's not a lot of batter, don't worry about that.
9. Bake this until it's golden, about 25 minutes.
10. Pull the cake out and let it cool.
11. Poke the cake with a fork so that there are a bunch of holes for the milk to go.
12. Whisk together a can of evaporated milk (12 oz size), a can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz size), and 1 cup of half and half. (Or 1/2 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup cream.)
13. Pour that all over the cake, and toss it in the fridge. The cake will soak up all that liquid if you give it about 8 hours.
14. Now, we are going to make some frosting! Combine 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. Whip that on low till you see stiff peaks.
15. Whip that on medium until it is nice and thick, then spread it on the cake.
16. Throw the cake back into the fridge, until you are ready to serve it.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Mad Men Party!
Well, maybe not a full party. . .
So we watched Mad Men last night, and invited over our sad, cable-less parents. Well, my wife's parents, but that's neither here nor there.
Anywho, for our somewhat-impromptu viewing party, the wife and I supplied the following:
Pigs in Blankets
1. Since this is an impromptu party, there is no time to make sausages or croissant dough. So we had to buy a package of "Little Smokies" sausages (Cocktail wieners will do, but these are better.), and one of those tubes of 35% flakier croissant dough.
2. We assembled them ahead of time. To do this: unroll the croissant dough and cut smaller to fit the tiny sausages. Depending on which size you bought, you should be able to get 3-5 portions from each croissant. Wrap the dough around the middle, leaving a little overhang on each side. Place on a seasoned cookie sheet.
3. You can throw them in the fridge like this until guests arrive. When ready, throw them into a 350 degree oven until the croissant dough is golden brown. (About 10 minutes.)
4. Serve with a whole grain mustard.
Martini
1. Pour into a mixing glass over ice 3oz of a good gin and 1/4teaspoon of dry vermouth.
2. Stir.
3. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
4. Throw a cocktail olive in there.
Vodka and shaking are for brutes. (I'm looking at you Mr. Bond.)
Then again, I'm a teetotaler, so this is all theoretical.
Coconut Macaroons
You shouldn't be friends with people who don't like coconut. They are not to be trusted.
1. In a large bowl combine 5 cups Angel Flake sweetened coconut, 2/3 cups sugar, 6 tablespoons flour and a pinch of salt. (If you don't have sweetened coconut, you can use moist shredded coconut with sweetened condensed milk. A little more than a cup or so should work.) Mix this until uniform.
2. Mix in 4 egg whites and a teaspoon of almond extract. (If you don't have almond, you can use vanilla, but you might want to use up to 2 teaspoons.
3. Mix until uniform.
4. With a melon baller (or a tablespoon if you don't have such fancy things) drop balls of dough onto a greased and floured cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 325 for up to 20 minutes. The edges will become golden when they are perfect.
6. Take them off the sheets right away and cool them on a wire rack.
That's it. It's easy and requires few ingredients. After they are cooled you can roll them in sifted confectioner's sugar or dip them halfway into some melted chocolate. (If you do the chocolate, you have to chill them in order for the chocolate to set.
If you want chocolate throughout, that's a different recipe. You should buy unsweetened coconut, heat the sweetened condensed milk, throw a couple of tablespoons of cocoa in there, and let that cool before mixing it into the coconut.
So we watched Mad Men last night, and invited over our sad, cable-less parents. Well, my wife's parents, but that's neither here nor there.
Anywho, for our somewhat-impromptu viewing party, the wife and I supplied the following:
Pigs in Blankets
1. Since this is an impromptu party, there is no time to make sausages or croissant dough. So we had to buy a package of "Little Smokies" sausages (Cocktail wieners will do, but these are better.), and one of those tubes of 35% flakier croissant dough.
2. We assembled them ahead of time. To do this: unroll the croissant dough and cut smaller to fit the tiny sausages. Depending on which size you bought, you should be able to get 3-5 portions from each croissant. Wrap the dough around the middle, leaving a little overhang on each side. Place on a seasoned cookie sheet.
3. You can throw them in the fridge like this until guests arrive. When ready, throw them into a 350 degree oven until the croissant dough is golden brown. (About 10 minutes.)
4. Serve with a whole grain mustard.
Martini
1. Pour into a mixing glass over ice 3oz of a good gin and 1/4teaspoon of dry vermouth.
2. Stir.
3. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
4. Throw a cocktail olive in there.
Vodka and shaking are for brutes. (I'm looking at you Mr. Bond.)
Then again, I'm a teetotaler, so this is all theoretical.
Coconut Macaroons
You shouldn't be friends with people who don't like coconut. They are not to be trusted.
1. In a large bowl combine 5 cups Angel Flake sweetened coconut, 2/3 cups sugar, 6 tablespoons flour and a pinch of salt. (If you don't have sweetened coconut, you can use moist shredded coconut with sweetened condensed milk. A little more than a cup or so should work.) Mix this until uniform.
2. Mix in 4 egg whites and a teaspoon of almond extract. (If you don't have almond, you can use vanilla, but you might want to use up to 2 teaspoons.
3. Mix until uniform.
4. With a melon baller (or a tablespoon if you don't have such fancy things) drop balls of dough onto a greased and floured cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 325 for up to 20 minutes. The edges will become golden when they are perfect.
6. Take them off the sheets right away and cool them on a wire rack.
That's it. It's easy and requires few ingredients. After they are cooled you can roll them in sifted confectioner's sugar or dip them halfway into some melted chocolate. (If you do the chocolate, you have to chill them in order for the chocolate to set.
If you want chocolate throughout, that's a different recipe. You should buy unsweetened coconut, heat the sweetened condensed milk, throw a couple of tablespoons of cocoa in there, and let that cool before mixing it into the coconut.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Microwave Popcorn
So, I learned from Alton Brown's book, I'm Just Here for the Food, that you can make microwave popcorn from scratch. (Buy the book; it's got magnets!)
It's quick, cheap, and good if you are worried about weird chemicals, salt, fat, or yellow coloring in those microwavable bags.
All you need is popcorn kernels, a brown paper lunch bag, and a stapler.
1. Put 1/2 cup of the kernels in the lunch bag.
2. Fold the end and staple it shut. Use only 2 staples and make sure they are far apart. It the staples are close you might cause a spark and start a fire. Not only is that dangerous, burnt popcorn smells awful.
3. Microwave the bag like you would any other bag of microwave popcorn. Put it in for about 3 minutes, and stop the microwave when there are a few seconds between pops. (The popcorn button on my microwave works fine for even the homemade stuff, so I don't need to listen to it. Just pay attention the first time, at least.)
Now you've got some nice, low calorie popcorn. Feel free to melt some butter to fix that.
Restaurants and movie theaters use something called "popcorn salt". You can pick this up at any number of grocery stores. What it is is a finer grain of salt that better pairs well with delicious greasy things like french fries and buttery popcorn . Kosher and sea salts are bigger, regular old Morton's is normal, and popcorn salt is teeny tiny.
You can get bigger salt and take it to the mortar and pestle to get a substitute for popcorn salt, but popcorn salt isn't particularly expensive.
It's quick, cheap, and good if you are worried about weird chemicals, salt, fat, or yellow coloring in those microwavable bags.
All you need is popcorn kernels, a brown paper lunch bag, and a stapler.
1. Put 1/2 cup of the kernels in the lunch bag.
2. Fold the end and staple it shut. Use only 2 staples and make sure they are far apart. It the staples are close you might cause a spark and start a fire. Not only is that dangerous, burnt popcorn smells awful.
3. Microwave the bag like you would any other bag of microwave popcorn. Put it in for about 3 minutes, and stop the microwave when there are a few seconds between pops. (The popcorn button on my microwave works fine for even the homemade stuff, so I don't need to listen to it. Just pay attention the first time, at least.)
Now you've got some nice, low calorie popcorn. Feel free to melt some butter to fix that.
Restaurants and movie theaters use something called "popcorn salt". You can pick this up at any number of grocery stores. What it is is a finer grain of salt that better pairs well with delicious greasy things like french fries and buttery popcorn . Kosher and sea salts are bigger, regular old Morton's is normal, and popcorn salt is teeny tiny.
You can get bigger salt and take it to the mortar and pestle to get a substitute for popcorn salt, but popcorn salt isn't particularly expensive.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Simple Tzatziki
Here's a nice little sauce to go with your skewered foodstuffs. I personally don't like cucumbers, but I feel like I'm in the minority here.
1. Start with 2 cucumbers. Peel them.
2. Now, grate them.
3. Salt them and leave them in a colander to dry for about half an hour.
4. Do something fun for a half hour. Like putting meat on a stick and squeezing lemons over them. Watch DS9 on Netflix while you do it. It holds up pretty well
5. When the cukes are dry-ish combine them with two minced cloves of garlic, 2 cups of plain yogurt (or Greek, if you are fancy), and just under a tablespoon of dried mint. (If you have some fresh mint, throw in a tablespoon.)
6. Chill for a half hour before serving.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Plain Pancakes
Most pancakes require something special, like buttermilk or corn meal or a crêpe pan. If it is Sunday morning, and you have none of these things, you can probably still make pancakes. Here is a recipe where baking powder is the most exotic ingredient.
1. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour.
2. Sift it again with 1 TSP salt, 3 TBSP sugar and a heaping 1/2 TBSP of baking powder.
3. In a separate bowl melt 3 TBSPs butter in the microwave.
4. Pour 1 1/4 cups milk into the butter.
5. Looks weird doesn't it?
6. Slightly beat 2 eggs and mix them into the milk.
7. Quickly mix the wet ingredients into the dry quickly. Don't overmix it; it should be slightly lumpy.
8. Cook the pancakes in a frying pan. The pan should be hot first, and greased.
EXTRAS!
-Finding the perfect temperature usually takes a pancake or two.
-Pancakes are ready to flip when the bubbles start to stiffen.
-If you want uniform pancakes, use a small, dry measuring cup. 1/4 cup size usually works for me.
-You can use as little as 1 cup milk or only 1 egg and they still come out as pancakes. Shocking, no! See what works for you!
1. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour.
2. Sift it again with 1 TSP salt, 3 TBSP sugar and a heaping 1/2 TBSP of baking powder.
3. In a separate bowl melt 3 TBSPs butter in the microwave.
4. Pour 1 1/4 cups milk into the butter.
5. Looks weird doesn't it?
6. Slightly beat 2 eggs and mix them into the milk.
7. Quickly mix the wet ingredients into the dry quickly. Don't overmix it; it should be slightly lumpy.
8. Cook the pancakes in a frying pan. The pan should be hot first, and greased.
EXTRAS!
-Finding the perfect temperature usually takes a pancake or two.
-Pancakes are ready to flip when the bubbles start to stiffen.
-If you want uniform pancakes, use a small, dry measuring cup. 1/4 cup size usually works for me.
-You can use as little as 1 cup milk or only 1 egg and they still come out as pancakes. Shocking, no! See what works for you!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Chicken Marengo (Sort Of)
The old apocryphal story of Chicken Marengo is one of Napoleon's chefs finding only hens and mushrooms while invading Italy and coming up with a dish, with Napoleon liking it so much that it was made before every battle.
Whatever.
Every recipe I've ever seen for it is wildly different. Some contain dried apricots, while others have a bunch of olives. Generally speaking cooking chicken in a Dutch oven will yield something yummy, so play around with it.
1. Cut a chicken into its eight useful parts. Salt and pepper all sides.
2. Put 1 TBSP olive oil and 3 TBSPs butter in a frying pan and melt the butter.
3. Brown the chicken pieces, skin side down first, for about 10 minutes each side. (We're just browning for flavor. We aren't cooking the chicken, nor are we "locking in any juices".)
4. Dump the pan's contents into a dutch oven, butter and oils included. (Carefully.)
5. Add to the dutch oven: 3 large tomatoes, skinned and diced; 3/4 lb of fresh mushrooms (I use tiny snow caps, uncut); 3 cloves of garlic, SMASHED; 1 cube of chicken bouillon, chopped up; some parsley, thyme and a bay leaf.
6. Pour 1 1/3 cups of white wine over the whole thing. (I used cooking sherry last time. Worked fine.)
7. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and cook at 325 for about an hour.
8. After an hour or so, remove a TBSP of the liquid and mix it with 1 TBSP flour.
9. Stir that into the dutch oven, and cook for another 15 minutes or so.
10. Enjoy. (Don't eat the Bay leaf. )
Whatever.
Every recipe I've ever seen for it is wildly different. Some contain dried apricots, while others have a bunch of olives. Generally speaking cooking chicken in a Dutch oven will yield something yummy, so play around with it.
1. Cut a chicken into its eight useful parts. Salt and pepper all sides.
2. Put 1 TBSP olive oil and 3 TBSPs butter in a frying pan and melt the butter.
3. Brown the chicken pieces, skin side down first, for about 10 minutes each side. (We're just browning for flavor. We aren't cooking the chicken, nor are we "locking in any juices".)
4. Dump the pan's contents into a dutch oven, butter and oils included. (Carefully.)
5. Add to the dutch oven: 3 large tomatoes, skinned and diced; 3/4 lb of fresh mushrooms (I use tiny snow caps, uncut); 3 cloves of garlic, SMASHED; 1 cube of chicken bouillon, chopped up; some parsley, thyme and a bay leaf.
6. Pour 1 1/3 cups of white wine over the whole thing. (I used cooking sherry last time. Worked fine.)
7. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and cook at 325 for about an hour.
8. After an hour or so, remove a TBSP of the liquid and mix it with 1 TBSP flour.
9. Stir that into the dutch oven, and cook for another 15 minutes or so.
10. Enjoy. (Don't eat the Bay leaf. )
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Getting Rid of Tomato Skins
Let's start with something simple: peeling tomatoes.
It is a 4 step process.
1. Boil some water.
2. Drop some tomatoes in said water. (About 2 minutes)
3. Take the tomatoes out.
4. Pull the skin off. (It should just slide right off.)
It is a 4 step process.
1. Boil some water.
2. Drop some tomatoes in said water. (About 2 minutes)
3. Take the tomatoes out.
4. Pull the skin off. (It should just slide right off.)
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