5th Annual Food & Wine Chickie LobsterFest

July 8, 2014 By

LobsterThis past weekend, I hosted my annual Lobsterfest on one of the nicest evenings of the season. I must be living well as I got cloudless skies and 75 degree weather.

This year, I started our meal with one of my favorite summer shareable dishes, simply-grilled bread with a spread of sheep’s milk ricotta drizzled with good Greek olive oil, red pepper flakes, lemon zest and salt and pepper. It could also be made with farm-fresh cow’s milk ricotta. It’s light and flavorful – a winning combination.

Ricotta Spread

Ricotta Spread

My starter was a crisp, ice-cold wedge with blue cheese dressing then topped with yellow chopped tomatoes and crispy bacon. While not very original, my guests commented on how great the super cold salad was on a warm evening.

The main course, of course, was Maine lobsters. My guy sets up a giant pot over a propane-fueled burner and we cook the crustaceans outdoor preventing my home from smelling like a seafood market for days – I highly recommend this technique if you can swing it.

Wedge

Wedge

I’ve shared the perfect way to boil lobsters in the past (Lobster Boiling 101), it’s an oldie but a goodie. I served my 2 1/2 pound lobsters simply with Basmati rice right out of the steamer and my family’s prized Lemon Butter Sauce.

For dessert, and to continue with the Maine theme, I made a Crumb Top Blueberry Pie – what a gorgeous and delicious pie!!! I’ll be fixing this again over the summer as it was simply outstanding.

Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie

All in all, it was a great summer night spent with dear friends that reminded me a bit of summers spent in Maine during my youth. It’s making me look forward to going to the Maine shore in a couple weeks even more.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Cheese, Desserts, Entrees, Fruits, Seafood, Sides, Starters Tagged With: , , , ,
7 July 2014 Crumb Top Blueberry Pie

Crumb Top Blueberry Pie

July 7, 2014 By
Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie

Every July I host a lobster party and since the crustaceans I serve are from Maine, I always find a way to make a dessert with blueberries as those just scream “MAINE” to me. Since I live in New Jersey, I have some of the best blueberries I could hope for (get it, garden state?).

This year, I knew I wanted to serve a blueberry pie but I also was drawn to a cobbler so I combined both and made a crumb top blueberry pie.

This is the very best blueberry pie I’ve had or made and I’d love to hear your feedback if you make it.

Crump Topping Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup light-brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 ½ sticks chilled butter, cut into pieces

Pie Ingredients

  • 3 pints (6 cups) cups blueberries
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • Fail-Proof Pie Crust
  • ½ recipe of crumb topping

Crumb Topping Directions

  1. In a bowl, mix, flour, light-brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon.
  2. With your hands, work butter pieces in the flour mixture until large clumps form. Divide mixture in half and freeze half the mixture in a plastic storage bag.

Pie Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Combine the blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. Pour the blueberry mixture into the pie crust and sprinkle with half a recipe Crumb Topping.
  3. Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet and place in the lower third of the oven. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake until crust browns and blueberries are bubbling, 90 minutes. If the crumb topping or crust is browning too quickly, tent with foil.
  4. Let cool 6 hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Inspired by this recipe.

Filed Under: American, Desserts, Fruits Tagged With: , ,
22 April 2014 Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Top Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Top Pie

April 22, 2014 By

Rhubarb PieEver since my grandma cut stalks of rhubarb from her garden, peeled them, sprinkled some sugar on them and fed them to my sister and me as kids, I’ve had this love for the spring vegetable.

FruitsThis pie truly covers all bases, slight tartness from the rhubarb, sweetness from the strawberries, flaky crust and great texture from the crumb top. Don’t be intimidated to try this pie because of the pie crust, the following recipe calls for a crust made in the food processor that’s a breeze to make….or, just get a store-bought crust!

Sugared Fruit

Sugared Fruit

Crumb Top Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Pie Ingredients:

  • 9” Pie crust, unbaked
  • 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups rhubarb, cut into ¾” pieces
  • 2 cups strawberries, halved (or quartered if large)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • ¼ tsp. salt

Crumb Top Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, light brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt.
  2. Using your fingertips, incorporate the butter with the flour until large clumps form. Chill, covered, until ready to use.
Crumb Top

Crumb Top

Pie Directions:

  1. Place pie crust in a 9” pie plate and refrigerate for one hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  3. In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb and strawberries with the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Let sit for 15 minutes then pour into pie crust. Sprinkle crumb top mixture over the berries/rhubarb.
  4. Place pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until topping is browned and crust is lightly browned, about 1 1/2 hours. (If topping or crust begins to brown too quickly, tent with foil.) Cool before serving.

8 servings.

Adapted from this recipe.

Filed Under: American, Desserts, Fruits, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , ,
24 March 2014 Maple Fondue

Maple Fondue

March 24, 2014 By

Maple FondueAnother simple yet tasty maple recipe to help celebrate sugaring season. This fondue is great with fruit and other products typically served with chocolate fondue.

Recipe is courtesy of my aunt, Francoise.

Ingredients :

  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  • 2 cups light cream
  • Fruits for dipping

Directions :

  1. In a heavy, medium pot over medium heat, simmer the maple syrup for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Set aside for later use.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the corn starch with 3 tablespoons of cold light cream.
  3. In another medium pot, bring the rest of the light cream to a simmer over medium-high heat.
  4. Add the hot cream to the maple syrup and whisk over medium heat until fully combined. Raise the heat to medium-high and once the maple/cream mixture comes to a simmer, add the corn starch mixture. Whisk until thickened, about 3 minutes.
  5. Place the maple mixture in a fondue pot over a heat source and serve with various fruits.

Serves 6 people.

Filed Under: Canadian, Desserts, Fruits, Maple Syrup Tagged With: , ,
16 March 2014 Individual Chocolate Challah Bread Pudding

Individual Chocolate Challah Bread Pudding

March 16, 2014 By
Bread Soaking

Bread Soaking

Challah Bread

Challah Bread

Rich buttery Challah bread, egg custard and chocolate – what could be better? To make this delicious bread pudding a bit more elegant for a recent dinner party, I baked it in individual ramekins.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbsp. butter, softened
  • 1 pint half-and-half
  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 loaf unseeded, day old Challah bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • ½ cup dulce de leche
Unbaked Bread Pudding

Unbaked Bread Pudding

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Butter eight 4.5-ounce ramekins.
  3. In a medium saucepan, bring the half-and-half, cream and sugar to a slow boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate has melted.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually add the warm cream mixture to the eggs and whisk until completely combined. Add the bread cubes to the custard and push them down to ensure they’re covered. Allow the bread to soak up the custard for 30-45 minutes.
  5. Ladle the custard and bread into the ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
  6. To serve, drizzle dulce de leche onto the bread puddings and top with a scoop of ice cream.

Serves 8.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts, Eggs, French Tagged With: , , ,

Easy Mardi Gras Beignets

March 4, 2014 By
Photo by Eat with Dan

Photo by Eat with Dan

Mardi Gras is the perfect excuse to make a batch of soft, pillowy beignets. My issue with ‘standard’ beignets recipes is that they involve yeast and getting just the right warm water temperature. Who really wants to go through that on a week day?

This recipe is one that everyone can be successful with as all the ingredients get combined then fried. I know oil and frying can be intimidating, but with a heavy, deep pot, it’s a breeze.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 pinch Kosher salt
  • 1 ½ tsp. granulated sugar
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • ¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 2 quarts vegetable or canola oil for frying
  • ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the baking powder, flour, salt and granulated sugar. Add the ricotta cheese, beaten eggs and vanilla and whish until combined. Stir over medium-low heat for 2 minutes – batter will be sticky. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat the oil in a heavy, deep Dutch oven or pot until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 375 degrees. Oil should come no higher than a third of the depth of the pot. Taking this precaution will alleviate the risk of overflowing.
  3. Add the confectioners’ sugar to a medium paper bag.
  4. Drop tablespoonful of batter into the hot oil, 4 or 5 at a time, ensuring oil remains at 375 degrees. Fry the beignets until golden brown, about 3 or 4 minutes.
  5. Add hot beignets to the paper bag and shake to cover in confectioners’ sugar – the more sugar on the beignets, the better.

Makes 3 dozen beignets.

Filed Under: American, Desserts Tagged With: , ,
11 December 2013 Chocolate Rolo Cookies

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

December 11, 2013 By
Cookie Prep Station

Cookie Prep Station

When I was growing up in Quebec, Caramilk chocolate bars were some of my favorite. Basically Cadbury chocolate with gooey caramel inside – yum! When we moved to the US in 1985, Rolos were as close as it got and I began enjoying them almost as much as my beloved Caramilks.

Rolo In Cookie Dough

Rolo In Cookie Dough

When this year’s The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap came along, I knew I wanted to stuff a Rolo inside a chocolate cookie as my entry. Chocolate, caramel…need I say more?

This recipe yields 4 dozen cookies, perfect for the three dozen I needed to ship to my matches and a dozen for moi!

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 48 Rolos, unwrapped
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
Cookie Dough Balls

Cookie Dough Balls

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the brown sugar and the cup of granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Beat until just combined.
  4. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture, ¼ cup at a time, to the butter/sugar mixture until fully incorporated – don’t overmix.
  5. Baked Cookies

    Baked Cookies

    Take a teaspoon of cookie dough and flatten it in your hand or on the counter. Wrap the flatten cookie dough around a Rolo. Once you’ve ensured the Rolo is covered completely with the cookie dough, roll the dough ball in the remaining sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets – 12 cookies per sheet. Roll the remaining 2 dozen cookies and set aside.

  6. Bake the first 24 cookies for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the sheets then move to a cookie rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining 2 dozen cookies.

Yields 4 dozen cookies.

 

Inspired by Two Peas & Their Pod

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , ,
6 December 2013 Pepernoten – Bite-Size Dutch Spiced Cookies

Pepernoten – Bite-Size Dutch Spiced Cookies

December 6, 2013 By
Pepernoten Cookies

Pepernoten Cookies

Every Sunday night, I take part in a food Twitter chat (are we connected on Twitter?) that last about an hour. During last week’s session, I met a food blogger from Holland, Ellen from In My Red Kitchen, now living in Los Angeles. We exchanged a few tweets and I told her my guy is Dutch and I’d be checking out her website for recipes. She sent me back a link to her Pepernoten recipe and told me to make that for SinterKlaas.

Today is December 6, Sinterklaas, and last night, at my guy’s delight, I made Ellen’s Pepernoten recipe. Pepernoten are tiny little cookies deeply-infused with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and clove. They are crunchy and are eaten sort of like popcorn – by the handful.

FlourHere’s a slightly-modified version of Ellen’s recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. ground cloves
  • ½ tsp. cardamom
  • ¼ tsp. ground ginger
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 6 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 6 Tbsp. milk
Unbaked Pepernoten

Unbaked Pepernoten

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 340 F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the flour, the baking powder, the spices, the salt and the sugar in a medium bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter with the milk. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until fully combined – don’t overmix.
  4. Use about a half teaspoon of cookie dough to form tiny little balls.
  5. Place the balls on the cookie sheets and flatten them slightly with your thumb. Bake the Pepernoten for 15 – 18 minutes.
  6. Cool completely on a cookie rack then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 75 cookies.

Filed Under: Desserts, Dutch Tagged With: , , , , ,
17 November 2013 Black Out Chocolate Pound Cake

Black Out Chocolate Pound Cake

November 17, 2013 By

IngredientsI’ve had these Ghirardelli dark chocolate bars in my pantry for two weeks and they’ve been calling my name to use them in something dark and decadent. While perusing Pinterest (one of my guilty pleasures), I saw a beautiful pound cake by OMGChocolateDesserts.com that I knew would be wonderful.

Chocolate Mixture

Chocolate Mixture

I wanted that deep, dark and rich chocolate flavor so I used the dark Ghirardelli chocolate I had on hand along with the cocoa powder by the same maker. The results are sooooo delish.

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 ounces Ghirardelli dark chocolate (60% cocoa), chopped
  • 1/3 cup boiling water
  • ¾ cup Ghirardelli cocoa powder
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs
Cake Batter

Cake Batter

Ganache Ingredients

  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 4 ounces Ghirardelli dark chocolate (60% cocoa), chopped
Baked Cake

Baked Cake

Cake Instructions

  1. Coat a 9” x 5” loaf pan with cooking spray or butter. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Mix the flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over it and stir with a spoon until fully melted. Add the cocoa powder and stir until well incorporated. Set aside.
  4. Cream the butter for 2 minutes using an electric mixer. Add the granulated sugar and mix for 1 minute. Add the reserved chocolate mixture and mix for another minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour mixture, a quarter cup at a time, until just blended – don’t overmix.
  5. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 6o-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  6. Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes in the pan then unmold and cool completely.

Ganache Instructions

  1. Heat the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
  2. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in a small bowl and whisk until the mixture is uniform in color and has thickened. Allow the ganache to cool for 3 minutes then spread it over the cake

Serves 8.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , ,
9 November 2013 Cookie Dough Brownie Balls

Cookie Dough Brownie Balls

November 9, 2013 By

Brownie Cookie BallsI’m a big fan of Pinterest for all sorts of projects – baking, cooking, crafts, remodeling…A few weeks back, I saw a recipe by The Domestic Rebel for Chocolate Chips Cookie Dough Brownie Bombs that I found interesting. What could be wrong with cookie dough, brownies and a chocolate coating!?

Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers

Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers

Here’s my interpretation using one of my favorite cookie dough, fudgy brownies and the newly-launched Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers.

Ingredients

Chocolate Dipping

Chocolate Dipping

Instructions

  1. Form cookie dough into 24 balls. Refrigerate the cookie dough balls for an hour.
  2. Cut the brownies into 24 squares. Flatten a brownie square in the palm of your hand until it’s as thin as you can get it without it falling apart.
  3. Wrap the flattened brownie around a cookie dough ball. If the brownie cracks a bit, simply patch it up with thicker pieces or leftovers. Refrigerate the brownie balls for 30 minutes to firm up.
  4. In a microwavable bowl, heat the chocolate wafers until fully melted, stirring every 30 seconds – about 90 seconds (could be less depending on your microwave).
  5. Brownie Cookie Balls InsideUsing a fork, dunk each brownie ball into the melted chocolate, coating completely, and place carefully on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of mini chocolate chips on each brownie ball then place in the refrigerator for an hour to set. Place the set brownie balls in an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 2 dozen brownie balls.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , ,
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