get a fucking tastebud

Strawberry Rhubarb Ginger Crumble Pie

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:17:12 -0400

This is proof that if I promise you pie for your birthday, you’ll get it eventually. Craig’s birthday fell during Sled Island so he had to wait a couple weeks but better late than never, right? (There was a meat pie, too. He’s really demanding.) And I’d say it was worth the wait. Recipe from Martha.

Crust!

1 c flour
7 tbsp (just shy of a 1/2c) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold water
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

• Put the flour, butter, sugar and salt into the bowl of your mixer. Then throw this in the freezer for 20 minutes.
• Measure your water and vinegar into a glass and throw that in the freezer, too.
• When nice and chilled, mix the flour and butter with a paddle attachment until it forms a coarse meal.
• Slowly pour in the water-vinegar. Mix until it just comes together. Martha describes the desired texture as “shaggy clumps” but I don’t even know what that is super to mean, and does not sound appealing.
• Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, shape into a 5” disk, wrap and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.

• Once chilled, roll out dough about 1/8” thick. Fit into a 9” pie plate. Feel free to get fancy with the edges. Cover, and chill again.

Filling!

2 1/2 c rhubarb, chopped 1/4”
2 1/2 c strawberries, quartered
2/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
squeeze of fresh lemon juice

• Toss everything together. Tough stuff.

Crumble Topping!

2/3 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp salt
5 tbsp (about 1/4 c) cold unslated butter, chopped

• Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. I hope this isn’t getting too strenuous for you.

• Preheat your oven to 350º. Pile all the fruity goodness into your chilled pie shell. Then sprinkle the crumble topping on top of that. Toss in the oven for about 75 minutes. Check it halfway and rotate the pan. The filling should be bubbling and the crust golden brown. Let cool! It’ll take a while. We had a firework deadline so cut in a little early. It gets messy.

I was kind of skeptical about making the pastry in the mixer, but it turned out pretty great. Nice and flaky. The ginger was a nice touch, so I would probably add more next time. Overall: really good pie. Especially compared to the really shitty strawberry rhubarb pie I made last year for Pie-reworks. A million times better. Hurrah for improvement!

Made on Saturday, July 7, 2012.
Enjoyed by superpals at 2nd Annual Stampede Pie-reworks party.

Chicken Tinga

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:23:47 -0400

I don’t make Mexican food often enough. Maybe because it is food best for sharing, and I don’t want to put all the prep in just for myself. Whatever the reason, not smart because anytime I do I am reminded of how fucking good it is. Since I don’t know much about Mexican food, I clearly stole this recipe.

3 chicken breasts

olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
7 mid-sized tomatoes, diced
1 (5 1/2 oz) can tomato paste
1 tsp concentrated chicken stock
3/4 c reserved cooking water
coarse salt & pepper

• Get some water boiling in a mid-sized pot. Plain, no salt. Put the chicken breasts in and cook for about 10 minutes. You don’t want to overdo them, but no one wants salmonella either.

• Remove the chicken from the water and set aside to cool slightly. Don’t dump the water, you’ll need it later.
• Once the chicken is cool enough to not hurt you, shred it with your fingers / a fork if you’re fancy.

• In a big pan / braiser / wok / whatever works best for you, sweat your onions in a bit of olive oil.
• Add in everything else, including the shredded chicken. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes; the sauce will thicken up a bit and that’s a good thing.

olive oil
2 tbsp minced red onion
1 (14 1/2oz) can refried beans with chipotle

• Cook your onions in the oil for a couple minutes. Add the bean and cook until warm.

tomatillo salsa
avocada
tostada shells

• Now you get to put it all together: lay down one tostada shell and smear with refried beans. Lay another shell on top and cover with tomatoey chicken goodness. Then throw a couple slices of avocado on top and pour on some salsa. Eat! Toast your culinary efforts with tequila!

The salsa was made from scratch, too, but I’ll post that later because this seems long enough already.

Made on Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
Enjoyed by Dave, because it’s his cousin’s recipe, and I’m not that big of an asshole.

Carrot Chiffon Cake

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:05:00 -0400

I know it’s my family saying this, so they are legally required to fawn over anything I make, but this really is one of the best carrot cakes any of us ever tasted. Since it’s a chiffon cake, all the heavy density of regular cake is gone. Which is good, since after a monster meal, you don’t want a really heavy dessert. Especially when there are two on the table (lemon meringue ice cream pie). The recipe comes from Rebekah Pearse’s Sweet Seasonal Desserts.

1 1/4 c flour
2/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cloves
pinch of allspice

3 egg yolks
1/2 c carrot juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/2 c shredded carrots

5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbsp sugar

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line two 8” cake pans with parchment.

• Whisk together your first batch of dry ingredients; set aside.

• Whisk together the yolks, carrot juice and vanilla. (As an aside, don’t think it is a good idea to pour yourself a glass of carrot juice as you do this. Straight carrot juice is fucking gross.)
• Slowly whisk in the oil. Then mix in the shredded carrots.

• Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy, then slowly pour in the sugar. Keep mixing full speed ahead until soft peaks form.

• Add the carrot mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until blended.
• Carefully fold in half of the egg whites. Then repeat with the second half. (As a second random aside, folding was my least favourite food process when I took junior high home ec. Proving that I am actually becoming more patient as I get older. (This probably isn’t true.))

• Divide the batter into the two pans. Now that you did that gentle, tender folding, don’t do anything stupid like bang the pan so the batter smooths out. It will be fine.
• Put them in the oven for 20 minutes. Then turn them for about another 15, or until a tester comes out clean.

• Let the cakes cool about 10 minutes before removing from the pans. Then let them cool completely before icing them.

I used a pretty ghetto cream cheese icing (two blocks cream cheese, maybe 3/4 c icing sugar, about 1/2 c heavy cream and some lemon zest), that wasn’t very sweet, but ice how you see fit. One word of warning with this, since it is a chiffon cake, the heavy cream cheese icing kind of sunk it. Dropped at least 1/2” with the weight of the icing. So you may be better off with a meringue type icing. But cream cheese is delicious so whatever.

Final aside: how funny would it be to make a cake with the little carrots on top but inside it’s actually a chocolate cake? I am going to start playing cake tricks on everyone. No one will laugh but me and I’m okay with that.

Made on Saturday, April 7, 2012.
Enjoyed by everyone at Woodward Easter Dinner.

Ginger Loaf

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:05:19 -0500

Starting the day with baked goods straight out of the oven (I really wish this shot better captured the steam that is coming off this bad boy), is the fucking best. I know that sometimes every single extra minute in bed counts, but hit the snooze button two less times, drag yourself up, and have a perfect, still-warm-from-the-oven breakfast.

3/4 c flour
2/3 c graham flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tbsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne

1/3 c unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 c hot water
1/4 tsp baking soda

2 eggs, beaten

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a loaf pan with parchment.

• Sift together your dry ingredients; set aside.

• Mix together your butter, sugar, honey and ginger. In a separate bowl, whisk together the molasses and soda. In yet another bowl, the water and soda.
• Now mix all three of them together.

• Add the dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Finally, add the beaten eggs and stir. Pour into your loaf pan and throw in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes, perfect amount of time to clean yourself up for the day.

I didn’t really pay any mind to letting this cool, I just sliced in and ate it straight. Not too sweet, super gingery and with a nice honey aftertaste. And, yeah, I get that it didn’t rise properly, but I am really not that fussy at nine in the morning.

Made on Tuesday, February 7, 2012.
Enjoyed by me. And then by Anna.

This Year They Liked It

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:35:54 -0500

Last Friday marked my ninth annual Christmas party, which is kind of crazy when I think about it. But it was awesome and I love it and I love everyone who came and am happy that I didn’t get evicted or anything terrible like that.

I was smart (read: lazy) this year and basically just did the same menu as last year. Tried and true, can’t go wrong. I guess a couple new things in the mix. Here’s what we ate:

Peppermint Fudge

Rumballs

Bourbon Pecan Truffles

Peppermint Chocolate Macarons

Gingerbread Macarons

Salted Chocolate Caramel Tarts

Lemon Almond Tarts

Banoffee Tarts

Pine Nut Dolmades

Bruschetta Cups

Proscuitto Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Pesto Mushroom Caps

Spinach-Bacon-Feta Mushroom Caps

Cheeseballs

Chocolate Eggnog

Winter Spice Punch

As always, none of this could have happened without the help of my loyal kitchen elves, Lisa and Amelia. And oh! This wasn’t at the party, but I made mini fruitcakes to go with the invites. Hopefully I converted at least one person.

Vegetarian Chili

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:18:00 -0500

Strictly making veg chili goes back to those post college years when I thought the smell of ground beef was repulsive. But now I just like it more. A bit of vegetable crunch is way more delicious than sick kidney beans.

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
coarse salt & pepper
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
2 handfuls mushrooms, quartered
2 tsp chipotle chili powder
28oz can diced tomatoes
19 oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
19 oz can mixed beans, drained & rinsed
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp cayenne
dollop of honey

cilantro & cheddar cheese, to serve

• Heat the oil in a big pot. Toss in the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Cook a minute or two.
• Add the carrots, celery and peppers. Give it another couple minutes, then the zucchini and mushrooms. Mix in the chili powder, cook a couple minutes more.
• Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, beans and the rest of the spices and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about twenty minutes.
• Done. Top with a bit of fresh cilantro and grated cheese and dig in.

Made on Tuesday, December 6, 2011.
Enjoyed by me. And then Lisa had some, too.

Spice Brined Turkey

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:48:20 -0500

This was the fifth turkey I’ve ever done and I think it may have been the best. All that hoopla about brining your turkey to keep it nice and moist and flavourful? All true. This is based on what I think was a 15lb turkey.

Brine

8 c water
4 c coarse salt
5 c sugar
1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp whole peppercorns
1 tbsp allspice berries
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cloves

• Get a big ol’ pot and through everything in. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve all the sugar and salt. Let simmer about 20 minutes. Let cool completely. This means that if you are like me and don’t plan ahead and boil this at midnight the night before your dinner, you’ll need to cool it in an ice bath. Be smart and make it earlier and let it cool in the fridge or whatever.

• Rinse and pat dry the turkey. If you don’t have a huge enough stock pot / any kind of container large enough to submerge the bird, put it breast down in a roasting pan and pour the brine over. Cover completely and chill in the fridge overnight.
• The next morning, give it a flip for a couple hours to make sure the back gets some love. But really, you want those breasts to get all the attention so maybe sure to flip it back.
• When it’s getting close to oven time, bring the bird out of the fridge and bring to room temp, while still letting him swim in the spices.

Spice Butter

1 c butter, softened
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

• Mix everything together. That was hard.

• Drain the brine from the roaster and pat the turkey dry. Set him up in the roaster you just rinsed out, breast up.
• Spread the butter all over him. Loosen the skin and slide some butter under there, too. Slathered would be the word you are looking for.
• Throw him in a 425° oven for thirty minutes. At this point, turn it down to 350°, give him a baste and keep on cooking. You’ll be looking at about 2 1/2–3 1/2hours. Baste every thirty minutes, and turn the pan around to ensure even cooking. If he is browning to fast, cover the breast with foil. The goal temperature you are looking for is 160°.
• Take him out of the oven and let rest for thirty minutes, covered with foil.
• Now you should make gravy but we aren’t going to talk about that. So just pretend you kind of know how to carve a bird and cut him up to serve to your friends.

Made on Thursday, November 24, 2011.
Enjoyed by the best fucking pals ever at Yanksgiving.

Yanksgiving!

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:38:00 -0500

Big holiday meals really are the fucking best. This year’s Yanksgiving saw fifteen people crowded (literally) around my table. It was a really great group of old friends and new friends and some new traditions (oh hiiiii, pass the whiskey at the table) were born.

The menu:

Spice Brined Turkey
Cognac Cranberries
Mashed Potatoes
Magical Buttery Oma Stuffing
Apple Cranberry Walnut Stuffing
Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Apples
Best Ever Brussels Sprouts (Maple Bacon)
Lemon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower Gratin
Cornbread with Goat Cheese & Pepper Jelly
Chocolate Spice Cake
Apple Cranberry Crisp
Pumpkin Mousse Tart

Thanks friends. Fucking love you guys.

Chocolate Caramel Cake

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:28:45 -0500

Sometimes Martha makes me doubt her. Her proportions of water to sugar when making caramel seemed off, but I trusted her, and she was right. The cake isn’t really the best in the world, but oh … the caramel buttercream. Magic.

Cake!

2 c + 2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
1 1/4 c boiling water

1 1/4 sticks butter, room temp
2 1/2 c brown sugar
2/3 c sour cream
2 eggs

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 12 x 17” jelly roll pan and line with parchment.

• Sift together the dry ingredients.

• Mix the chopped chocolate, espresso powder and boiling water and whisk until smooth.

• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and mix. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix.
• Add the chocolate and beat until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth until even.
• Bake 20–25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before inverting out of the pan.

Caramel!

1/2 c + 2 tbsp sugar
1/4 c water
1/3 c cream

• Heat the sugar and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl to combine and make sure sugar is completely melted. Let cook WITHOUT stirring until amber in colour. Remove from heat. (If you want to do it right, use a pastry brush with water to dissolve and sugar residue on the side of the pot.)
• Carefully pour in the cream (it’ll spatter), and whisk until smooth. Make SURE you aren’t using plain plastic here … it will likely melt and wreck your precious caramel.
• Set aside to cool a bit.

Buttercream!

3 large egg whites
1/4 + 1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 c butter, room temp, cut into pieces
splash of vanilla
half of the caramel you just made

• Whisk your egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of your mixer. Set over top a bowl of simmering water. Whisk regularly until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.
• Take off the heat and whisk (using the mixer now) until soft peaks form. Switch to the paddle attachment and start adding butter a piece or two at a time, being sure to beat thoroughly after each addition.
• Add the vanilla and caramel. Beat until smooth.

Put it together!

• Cut the cake in half. Spread the bottom layer with half of the buttercream.
• Top with the second half of the cake. Spread the rest of the buttercream on top.
• Warm up the remaining caramel so it is perfect drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the top of the cake. Done!

True story: I wish I had made more buttercream. I am not a crazy icing person, so I tend to no pile it on, but this shit was good and I wanted more. Doubling the batch would also mean you could ice the sides as well. It’s the caramel that really kills it though. As mentioned before, I wasn’t crazy about the cake, but that was largely because it was slightly overdone (I’m not used to my mom’s oven, if I am allowed to make excuses).

Made on Saturday, November 12, 2011.
Enjoyed by most of the Wylie side of the family to celebrate Grandma being in town.

Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:18:40 -0500

Triple threat, double trouble … that was what I was thinking when I started making these. Since chocolate and ginger are such best friend flavours, I figured the more they got to hang out the better, right? Hence three different types of ginger and a double hit of chocolate.

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temp
1 very generous tsp grated ginger
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1/4 c molasses
1 egg

1 1/2 c flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 3/4 tsp baking soda
1 very generous tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp candied ginger, chopped
1 c chocolate chips

extra sugar

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Line your baking sheets with parchment.

• Cream the butter, grated ginger and sugars until pale and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg and beat to combine.

• In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients. Add to the sugary butter and mix.

• Add the candied ginger and chocolate chips. Mix just to combine. Throw in the fridge for a couple minutes (this makes it way easier to work with).

• Roll the dough into 1” balls, and roll to coat in the extra sugar. Place a few inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10–12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let cookies cool a couple minutes on the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Pro tip! Keep the dough refrigerated during batches so you aren’t a total sticky, chocolatey, doughy mess by the end of it.

This was my second attempt at trying to get these down, and I think there is still a bit of room for improvement. I recommend adding a bit more grated ginger (I like it sharp). A touch more flour may make things easier to roll out as well.

Made on Saturday, November 5, 2011
Enjoyed by pals at Jnet and Craig’s pizza party pre-super awesome Tricky Twoo rock show times.

Pimento Dram, Day One

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:55:00 -0400

So allspice is pretty much the best spice ever, so imagine how excited I was when I found out an allspice liqueur existed. One catch: Pimento Dram (as it is known) is near impossible to find in Alberta (apparently it’s in a couple shops in Edmonton, a fact I will take advantage of when I head up next week). So I checked around and found a couple recipes to make it yourself. Here goes a boozy experiment.

Note, this isn’t the full recipe, I’ll post updates as I do shit, and a final rundown once it’s complete.

1/2 c allspice berries
2 1/4 c high proof rum

• Lightly crush the allspice berries with a mortar and pestle. I don’t use my mortar and pestle nearly enough, so I think it’s really fun.
• Throw in a sealable jar. Pour the rum overtop. Stir. Seal.
• Let rest (in a cool, dark place) for at least ten days, giving a good shake every day or two.

Oh so complicated, hey? Couple notes on ingredients: (1) you can find allspice berries at Silk Road; (2) most recipes I found recommended using 151 proof Demerara rum (it’s from Guyana), but on my first trial I didn’t feel like risking a $70 bottle of rum. So I used the Flor de Cana 5 year, which is an 80 proof from Nicaragua. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll update next week when I filter this shit.

Roasted Tomato & Goat Cheese Risotto

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:46:04 -0400

Last night I told Mason I wanted to make out with this risotto. So good! My cousin posted a recipe recently for a dish of the same name, but since I am too stubborn to have the internet at home, I just jumped off the name and made it my way. A few minor differences, but for the most part the same.

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
sprig of rosemary
drizzle of balsamic
drizzle of olive oil

3 c chicken broth
1 c water
2 tbsp butter
handful of pearl onions, quartered
coarse salt & pepper
1 c arborio rice
1/2 c white wine
2 (more) tbsp butter
1/2 c grated parmesan
1 1/2 tbsp goat cheese

• Heat the oven to 375°. Throw the tomatoes and rosemary on a small pan and drizlle with oil and vinegar. Toss in the oven while you do everything else.

• In a small saucepan, mix the broth and water. Set to low heat and let simmer.

• In a wok / dutch oven / big ol pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Cook the onion with some s&p for a few minutes. Stir in the rice. Make sure it is thoroughly buttered and let cook for a minute or so.
• Add the wine. Cook until absorbed.
• Add two ladles of stock and stir. Cook until absorbed, stirring occasionally. Once it has been absorbed, add another ladle and repeat. Do this until the rice is cooked through. You’re looking at about 20 minutes.

• The 20 minutes this takes, means your tomatoes should be nice and roasted. Remove from the oven and pull out the rosemary.
• Stir the tomatoes, second batch of butter, parm and goat cheese into the risotto. Done. You killed it.

I’ll make risotto pretty much anytime I have leftover white wine at my house (which, uh, isn’t all too often). I was happy this time because I finally nailed the perfect texture, I typically have it a little too think. Anyway. Very good.

Made on Monday, October 24, 2011.
Enjoyed by me.

Chicken Pot Pies with Herb Crust

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:48:08 -0400

Pot pies are perfect for laid back dinner parties. Which is good because I only gave myself two hours to make the dinner and dessert and clean my whole apartment. So no one cared that my table was still piled with cookbooks when they got there. This is essentially a Martha Stewart recipe.

1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, cold and chopped into pieces
1/8 c cold water
small handful fresh thyme leaves & chopped sage

1/2 small bag new red potatoes, quartered
good handful small pearl onions
couple tbsps of olive oil
1 carrot, chopped
10 mid sized mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp flour

2 c chicken stock
1 c milk
1 roasted chicken, skin removed and meat shredded
handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
couple dashes of Worcestershire
coarse salt and pepper

• Start by making your pie dough. Pulse the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and mix until a coarse meal forms. Pour in the water and mix until it just comes together. If it is too dry, add more a tbsp at a time.
• Turn out dough, wrap and plastic and throw in the fridge.

• Preheat the oven to 375°.
• In a big ol’ pot, cook the potatoes and onions in the olive oil for a couple minutes. Throw in the other vegetables and cook for a few more.
• Season with some salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Stir throughly and let it cook a couple minutes.
• Pour in the stock & milk, shredded chicken, parsley, thyme, Worcestershire and zest. Reduce heat and let simmer and thicken up, maybe 10 minutes.
• Spoon into individual ramekins, just under the lip. This makes enough for 8.

• Back to the crust: Remove from the fridge and roll out to 1/4” thick on a lightly floured surface.
• Sprinkle the fresh herbs on top and roll out to 1/8”. Cut into squares just big enough to cover the tops of the ramekins.
• Top the ramekins with a square and seal around the edges. Cut a couple steam vents in top. Give a quick chill in the fridge, about 10 minutes.
• Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and toss in the oven for 40 minutes.
• Remove from the oven when golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

If you give yourself a bit more time, you can do a prettier job of the crust (make it round; ruffled edges; cut out leaves; etc.), but seeing as they got there while I was rolling it out, this is much more Just Get ‘Er Done. I also made a lemon tart for dessert, but pretty much every imaginable thing went wrong so it is probably better that I stop talking about it now.

Made on Saturday, October 22, 2011.
Enjoyed by Katie, Lisa and Jordan. Jess was there, too (welcome home!), but she didn’t indulge.

Pumpkin Mousse Tart

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:24:45 -0400

Thanksgiving is the best. What can be better than too much food and too much wine with family and friends? Oh yeah, the turkey sandwich you get to have the next day which is very likely the best food ever made.

Anyway. Here’s a pie recipe. The filling is from Martha.

Chocolate Pecan Crust

3/4 c flour
1/4 c cocoa
1/3 c pecans
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c cold unsalted butter, chopped

• Throw all your dry ingredients and give a good buzz. Add the butter and pulse until it just comes together.
• Press into a 9” fluted tart pan (with removable bottom), being sure to press up the sides. Throw in the freezer for half an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325°.
• Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and throw in the oven for 30 minutes. Let cool completely.
* Note! The dough was a bit too buttery, and started sliding down the edge of the pan. Halfway through baking, I pulled it out and pressed the dough back up the edges with the back of a spoon. Not the ideal process, but whatever. It worked.

Pumpkin Mousse

1/4 c brandy
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp powdered gelatin

3 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c water

12 oz can unsweetened pumpkin purée
1/4 c sour cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

• Mix the brandy and 2 tbsp water in a heatproof bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let set for about 10 minutes.

• Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a slow boil until it reaches 245°.
• Start whisking your eggs in an electric mixer. When they are pale, and your sugar is ready, pour the syrup down the side of bowl with the beaters going. Crank up to med-high and beat until they get fluffy and pale yellow.

• Place the bowl of gelatin over simmering water and mix until dissolved.
• Add the gelatin and everything else to the egg mixture and mix to combine.
• Pour into your chilled crust and let chill in the fridge overnight (or for a few hours if you are smarter than me and don’t bake at midnight).

Topping

1 1/2 c heavy cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

• Whisk everything together until stiff peaks form.
• Spoon into a star-tipped pastry bag and pipe on top of your tart. Unmold from your tart pan and chill until ready to serve.

Even with the crust issues, this turned out really well. It isn’t very sweet which is way more to my (and my family’s) taste. I had more than enough mousse and whipped cream so made a couple little cream topped jars of pumpkin mousse in the event of a nut allergy / so I could pig out on them at home after. I made some port chocolate caramel tartlets for dessert as well, and they were crazy sweet so I guess the two desserts balanced each other out. In my opinion, those ones aren’t good enough to share so you only get this one.

Made on October 8, 2011.
Enjoyed by the Woodward side of the family + Andrew at Mountain Thanksgiving.

Red Jalepeño Jelly

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:15:00 -0400

Let’s be clear up front: this recipe uses your standard green jalepeños, but by adding cranberries and red pepper it gets a whole lot prettier. This was my first time making jelly, so I stayed pretty true to this recipe. I don’t really get the whole pectin debate, but I’m always a fan of keeping things as basic as possible, so if I can find it naturally all the better.

9 good-sized gala apples, chopped whole, including skin and core
1 c cranberries
8 jalepeños, seeds intact, split (mine were little guys, hence using so many)
1 red pepper, seeded, chopped
3 c water
1 c apple cider vinegar
2 c white vinegar

scant 4 c sugar

• Throw the first seven ingredients in a big pot. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium and simmer about 20 minutes, or so. Mash the shit out of it. If you need a bit more cooking time to soften up all the bigger lumpy bits, do it.
• Pour into a cheesecloth (double layer) lined colander suspended over a big bowl. Let it take it’s time and drip. Give it the whole night. Don’t be impatient and try to force it through. You’ll get ghetto chunks.

• After letting it sit overnight, you’ll find yourself with with 4–5 cups of liquid (I had a full 5). Put this in a heavy bottomed wide pot.
• Add 7/8c of sugar for each cup of liquid. Stir well and and heat slowly until it comes to a boil.
• You’re going to want to keep cooking it, stirring often, until the mixture hits 220°F. This took just over an hour for me. Skim the jelly scum off every so often.
• Once it hits, pour into sterilized jars and seal. I used little 1/2c ones because I don’t use a ton of jelly and wanted to have to give as gifts. The heat should be enough to seal it, but if you are paranoid, you can process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. Let cool. (I am about 50% paranoid since I did it for half the jars. All of them sealed completely so it doesn’t seem necessary.)
• Share and eat!

I’ve had a cold for the better part of the week so can’t honestly tell you how spicy this is. When I first tasted it, I could get some heat, so if that was with numb tastebuds it could be super spicy? I’ll have to get back to you on that. So far I’ve successfully used it in pork tenderloin and cream cheese sandwiches and not so successfully in cornmeal-cream cheese-jalepeño jelly sandwich cookies (unsuccessful in that I wanted to do a thumbprint cookie and just fucked up baking proportions and ended up with a sugar cookie).

Made on Sunday, September 25, 2011.
Enjoyed by the people I made taste my weird cookies. No one has tried it in pure form yet.

Golden Beet Borscht

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:46:45 -0400

3 large golden beets, peeled and diced
4–6 cloves garlic, whole
1/2 red onion, chopped
good handful new potatoes, diced
1 apple, cored and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
healthy drizzle of olive oil
Coarse salt and pepper

• Preheat the oven to 375°.
• Throw all the veggies on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper and toss.
• Throw in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until cooked through.
• Once cooked, throw in a food processor with about 2 tbsp vegetable broth and puree.

6 small golden beets, peeled and grated
2 handfuls new potatoes, bite-sized pieces
1/2 small red cabbage, chopped
3–4 c vegetable stock
dash of sriracha
dash of worcestershire
coarse salt & pepper
1 tsp allspice

• Throw all your ingredients, including roasted veggie puree, into a big soup pot. Add enough vegetable stock to just cover everything.
• Cook over medium heat about 30–40 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

sour cream
fresh dill, chopped

• Serve topped with sour cream and dill. Done!

So this really isn’t much different from this recipe, just different beets and a few veggie swaps. The golden beets and the added apple made it a much sweeter soup. I had all these dreams of a beautiful golden orange soup, but the red cabbage turned the colour … maybe try savoy if you want to keep the colour a little more pure.

And just to moan and cry at my own failures, I made the world’s shittiest (read: inedible) biscuits to accompany the soup. Note to self: measure your baking soda and cream of tartar. Don’t just eyeball it because you are too bloody lazy to wash your measuring spoons. So gross.

Made on Monday, September 20, 2011.
Enjoyed by Katie & Kallen at half-assed games night.

Brandy Apple Pie with Cheddar Leaf Crust

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:53:07 -0400

I like it when Club Club has photo shoots because it gives me a chance to put a little more effort into baking that otherwise rarely sees light outside of my apartment. AND I got to break out my rarely-used pastry cutters.

Crust!

2 1/2 c flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c cold unsalted butter, chopped
1 1/2 c grated cheddar
1/4 c + 1 tbsp cold water

• Put everything except the water in a food processor. Give a couple buzzes until the butter is cut in.
• Add a 1/4 c water and give a quick mix. You want it to just come together. Add more until it just comes together. Don’t overmix!
• Split into 2 balls, about 2:1. Wrap in plastic wrap and throw in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

• Roll out the big portion first on a lightly floured surface. I used a long tart pan, so (obviously) rolled out a big rectangle. If you are making a regular pie, roll out a circle … it’s pretty basic geometry. You want it about 1/8” thick, and a bit larger than your pan.
• Carefully fit into the pan, making sure the edges are even. Trim excess dough and chill the crust.
• Roll out the smaller portion to the same thickness. Cut out leaf shapes. Reroll scraps to make sure you have enough to cover this bad boy. Return to the fridge until ready to use.

Filling!

5 apples (I used granny smith & gala), peeled, cored and sliced 1/4” thick
2 tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt

• Toss the sliced apples with everything else. Make sure you don’t have any sugar clumps hiding.

• Pour the apples into your crust. Pile them up high in the middle.
• Wet the lip of the crust with a bit of water.
• Start layering your leaves on top. Use a bit of water on the back of a leaf, and attach it to the outer crust. Keep doing this to cover the whole thing. Leave a few gaps to let tastiness ooze out. Throw in the fridge for about twenty minutes.

Finish it!

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cream (or water)

• Pre-heat the oven to 400°.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet (to catch spills).
• Whisk together the yolk and cream. Brush on top of the pie crust.
• Toss in the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking about 75 minutes, or until crust is golden and juices are bubbling hot.
• Let cool slightly before serving.

I really really wish I could have eaten this straight from the oven, but showing up to have photos taken with a half eaten pie seems a little gluttonous. But it smelled awesome. And if you see any photos of us with food in our mouths, this is why. And as a final note, it was just really nice to take some time in the kitchen again. Funny how working on a cookbook the last few months translates to never actually cooking.

Made on Sunday, September 18, 2011
Enjoyed by Club Club

Photo

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:31:02 -0400

Bourbon Thyme Lemonade

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:10:00 -0400

Are you having a party? You should make this.

1 1/4 c sugar
1 c water
handful of thyme sprigs

2 c fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 10–12 lemons)

6 c cold water

26oz bourbon

1 lemon, thinly sliced

• Start by making some thyme simple syrup. Heat the sugar, water and thyme on medium heat until sugar fully dissolves, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

• Get a big pitcher / jug (at least 12c capacity). Pour everything in. Don’t skimp on the bourbon, either, you need the whole bottle. Give it a stir and throw the lemon wheels on top. Add a bunch of ice, then go sit outside in the sun with your pals until it’s all gone.

If you want to be fancy and have the foresight, use lemonade to make the ice cubes so it doesn’t dilute everything as it melts. And no need for fancy bourbon here, I just used Beam and it was delicious.

Made on Sunday, July 31, 2011.
Enjoyed by everyone at POOL*B*Q.

Rainbow Chiffon Layer Cake

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:28:32 -0400

I don’t even know what to say about this cake without out coming off as a self-congratulatory nutcase, but c’mon, look at it … and this isn’t even iced. When you cut into it after it’s wrapped up in thick white meringue icing, it’s like “BET YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING THIS SUMMER COLOUR EXPLOSION OF AWESOME WERE YOU?” And then you need to shove it in your mouth or else it will melt.

1 1/2 c blackberries
1 1/4 c blueberries
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 egg whites, room temp
pinch of salt
1/2 c + 1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water

1 monster huge ripe papaya, peeled and seeded (or two normal size)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 egg whites, room temp
1/2 c + 1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water

4 kiwis, peeled
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 egg whites, room temp
pinch of salt
1/2 c + 1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water

1 c strawberries, hulled
1 c raspberries
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 egg whites, room temp
pinch of salt
1/2 c + 1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water

1 14oz can apricots, drained
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 egg whites, room temp
pinch of salt
1/2 c + 1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water

3 egg whites, room temp
1/2 c sugar + 2 tbsp
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp agave syrup (I didn’t have corn syrup, which the recipe called for)

• Prep two 9” spring form pans, lightly oiling and lining sides with parchment, with about a 2” collar above the pan.

• Puree blackberries, blueberries and lemon juice. If you are a fussy perfectionist, strain through a fine sieve to get rid of lumps and seeds. I didn’t bother.

• Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan, stirring often. Bring it up to about 250°, about five minutes.
• Meanwhile whisk your egg whites and pinch of salt until foamy. With the mixer on low, slowly pour sugar syrup down the side of the bowl. You want to do it down the side so the syrup doesn’t hit the beater, sending burning hot syrup flying everywhere.
• Turn up to high, and beat until thick, shiny, stiff peaks form, maybe 5 minutes.
• Pour in fruit puree and whisk on low to combine. Give a quick mix by hand to make sure it is well blended.
• Pour into one of your springform pans. Give a little shake so everything settles evenly. Throw in the freezer for at least two hours.

• Now repeat this with other fruits. You’ll want to do your layers as such:
PAN ONE! 1. blackberry/blueberry 2. kiwi 3. apricot
PAN TWO! 1. papaya 2. strawberry / raspberry

• Once you have let your layers set, you get the first big reveal: Remove your springform ring and peel away the parchment to reveal perfect rainbow layers. Very carefully slide the papaya / straw&raspberry layers on top of the other layers. Marvel at what you have done and return to the freezer. It’s time to ice this bitch.

• Heat sugar, water and syrup, stirring often, until it reaches about 230°.
• Whisk egg whites until foamy. Slowly pour in the syrup (same rules as before) and crank up to high. Beat until thick and shiny, about 7 minutes.

• Take out your cake and slather with icing. You’ll want to work pretty fast so the cake doesn’t start melting. (Yesterday being such a hot, perfect day meant my kitchen was a fucking sauna. A little messy.)
• Return to the freezer until serving. Feed to favourites.

So yeah, it’s a labour of love to do this, but TOTALLY WORTH IT. The active time is pretty easy, but give yourself like 8 hours to make it to accommodate all the freezing time. And this is not a travelling cake. It will melt all over your ass (or lap) if you try to bring it somewhere. And oh yeah: this is from Martha.

Made on Sunday, July 31, 2011.
Enjoyed by everyone at POOL*B*Q.