Mini Carrot Souffles

I have never made any kind of souffle before. In fact, the mere idea of saying "Oh yeah, I'm making a souffle tonight" seems absolutely ridiculous. Who does that?

I guess I'm that person now. And you can be too! It was surprisingly fast and easy. I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that I made mini souffles instead of a normal sized one. But I'm still giving myself a gold star for this one.

Mini Carrot Souffle

1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1" sections
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp bourbon
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsps flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
3 tbsps granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil carrots in salted water until soft (about 10 minutes). Drain and let cool slightly.

In medium sized bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.

Put carrots, butter and bourbon in food processor and blend until smooth. Mix in egg until well combined. Stir in dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour mixture into 6 four ounce ramekins. Place on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Don't peek or they could fall!

Let cool slightly and enjoy! It's time to eat!



A Chinatown Adventure

We recently decided to increase our cookbook library and the addition of Bee Linn Low's Easy Chinese Recipes required us to stock our kitchen with items like black vinegar, chili oil, and sesame oil. Most of these things can be found in a large enough supermarket with a whole 'ethnic foods' aisle. But where is the fun in that? So this weekend Richard and I set out on a grand adventure to Chinatown. If you are lucky enough to have a Chinatown or Asian market in your city, it is certainly worth the trip.

Chinatown is a festival for the senses. Tourists waddle slowly through the streets while locals gracefully weave through the throng. Street vendors clang spatulas and shout their wares in a sing-songy tune. Bins and baskets outside small markets overflow with colorful mushrooms, chilis, dried fruits, and dried fish.

If you could stand in the middle of a Chinatown market blindfolded (You couldn't. You'd be run over by the masses.) the smells alone would be enough to send you digging into your imagination for something familiar.

As a lover of new adventures, I browsed the aisles all wide-eyed and curious. I must have looked like a small child as I bombarded Richard with "What's this?" and "What's that for?" every three seconds. I don't know why, but I believe he knows everything - even when he doesn't. ;)

After a long day of shopping, we came home and got right to work on our first recipe out of the book - Sichuan Chicken! We instantly changed some of the ingredients to suit our palates. First, we switched out Sichuan peppercorn oil for sesame oil since the recipe already calls for chilies and chili oil and we wanted to control the heat. We also added green bell pepper for some crunch. You could just serve it with steamed veggies, but I really liked the textural addition of a crunchy veggie. Be warned, if you do not like spicy food, this is not the recipe for you.

Sichuan Chicken

4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or sherry
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
oil, for frying
1 tbsp chili oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
20 dried red finger-length chilies, deseeded and cut in half
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1/4 tsp sugar
3 green onions (scallions), chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, diced

In medium bowl, combine cornstarch, rice wine and salt. Mix with a fork until fine and crumbly. Toss chicken in mixture and coat well. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or pot to 350 degrees. Gently drop the chicken into the oil and loosen them up with a spatula. Fry until golden brown. Remove from the oil and allow to drain on a dish lined with paper towels.

In a wok or skillet, heat chili oil and sesame oil over high heat. Add garlic, green pepper and chilies. Stir-fry until you can smell the aroma of the chilies.

Add the chicken, bouillon powder, sugar and green onion. Stir quickly with a spatula to combine all ingredients. Allow to cook for another 2 minutes. Serve with rice.

Ringing in the New Year with a fluffy favorite.

Stollen is a traditional German bread and the grandfather of fruitcake. Now, this isn't some dried out, booze-flavored, candied fruit monstrosity. No, no. This, my friends, is a coveted delicacy. A lightly sweet, fluffy yet dense, glistening jewel of a treat.

The recipe below makes 2 loaves...I dare you not to eat them both. I made this yesterday and I will be giving one away tomorrow. I don't want to. I want to hoard this magical delight and eat it all in one sitting. You will get it once you try it.

A few helpful tips:
Don't use skim milk. Your bread needs the protein in fatty milk to make itself grow.
Don't use margarine. In fact, that rule goes for everything - always.
Let your eggs, butter and milk come to room temperature before you use them. Don't skip this step.

Best Stollen Ever. Ever.



Ingredients
4 to 4 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 cups milk (1% or higher)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar plus one tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup purple raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsps hot water
1 teaspoon butter

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, yeast and nutmeg.

In a saucepan, heat milk, 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and salt until warm and butter melts. Add to flour mixture along with egg.

Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Scrape sides and beat on high for 3 minutes.

Mix in as much remaining flour as you can. Be careful not to over work the dough here.

In a separate bowl, combine raisins, apricots and 1 tablespoon sugar. Toss to coat. Stir fruit into dough.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and cut dough in half. Reshape loaves and place on separate greased cookie sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise again for about an hour.

Bake, one at a time, at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Place the second in the fridge while the first is baking to stop the dough from rising too much.

Allow baked bread to cool on a wire rack.

In a saucepan, heat powdered sugar, butter and water until well combined. Allow to cool slightly and them brush mixture over cooled loaves. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Potato Leek Soup FOR THE WIN!

Richard and I had Christmas early. It was one of those "When I grow up I'm going to have ice cream for dinner" moments. One of my stocking stuffers was knitting needles.

Those of you that know me are starting to understand why this week's post is late. I have been knitting away the hours all weekend. But I did stop long enough to make some potato leek soup. Friends....this is where you have to really pay attention....leeks are divine. Not "Oh, how yummy" divine. Like, fall to your knees and pray divine.

They look beautiful in the pan, they are naturally extremely flavorful and they are so easy to prepare. SO EASY!

If you don't know, leeks are related to onions and garlic. I love both of those things! I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the terrible photos. It was dark. I was hungry. And maybe a little tipsy. Definitely tipsy. But this recipe was easy enough to navigate after a few drinks. And it is relatively light. No heavy cream! Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup

 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
4 cups chopped leeks
3 large scallions, chopped
3 yukon gold potatoes, diced
3 cups chicken broth
greek yogurt and scallions for garnish

In a large saute pan, melt butter and saute leeks and scallions until leeks are wilted. Do not brown them.

Add potatoes and stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a boil. Don't use crappy broth here, kids. Go for the good stuff. It makes all the difference.

Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Transfer 1/3 of soup to blender and blend for 3-5 seconds. Pour into a pot and repeat with another 1/3 of the soup. Pour the remaining 1/3 of soup into the blended soup and mix well. Gently reheat and serve with a garnish of greek yogurt or sour cream and scallions.

That's it! Easy, fast and SO good. Enjoy!

 

 



Goat cheese goes with everything!



This week I had a serious craving for goat cheese. I think I tried putting it in everything. And everything was delicious! Goat cheese and honey on toast? Yes please! Goat cheese omelet? Oooooh yeah! It is one of the world's most perfect foods.

 

On a side note, I very gently forced Richard to try beets this week. It didn't go well for the beets. More beets for me!

 

In an ode to this creamy, smooth creation, today's recipe is asparagus and goat cheese stuffed chicken.

 

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

 

Ingredients

 

2 chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded thin

2 tbsps goat cheese

10 asparagus spears

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

 

1. Spread goat cheese across inside of chicken.

2. Lay 5 asparagus spears across the spreaded goat cheese.

3. Roll breast so both ends overlap.

4. Stick wooden toothpicks along the seam of the chicken.

5. Using a pair of sharp scissors, cut the toothpicks to fit. (Don't forget to remove these before serving!)

6. Combine all spices and sprinkle over all sides of rolled up chicken.

7. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a very hot skillet.

8. Sear chicken, seam down, for 3-5 minutes.

9. Turn chicken and cook another 3-5 minutes. Sear on all 4 sides.

10. Let chicken rest for 3-5 minutes.

11. Cut in half and serve.