5 Recipes to Treat Your Valentine To

February 14, 2011 By

Gnocchi with Butternut Squash

Need some inspiration for a romantic meal this Valentine’s Day (or any old day)?  Thought I’d share some of the recipes I’ve made recently that have earned me rave reviews.

5 recipes to treat your Valentine to:

  1. Gnocchi with Butternut Squash and Bacon in Sage and Danish Blue Cheese Sauce
  2. Porcini Mushroom and Lobster Macaroni and Cheese
  3. Ragu alla Bolognese (Bolognese Sauce)
  4. Grilled Salmon in Grape Leaves
  5. Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Whichever dish you decide to prepare for your loved one(s) this Valentine’s Day, I hope your meal is paired with love.

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Desserts, Entrees, Fish, Greek, Italian, Mushrooms, Other Neat Things, Pasta, Starters, Vegetables Tagged With: ,
14 February 2011 Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

February 14, 2011 By

Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

There are many theories as to the true origin of the Red Velvet Cake.  Whether you believe it to be a southern traditional devil’s food cake tinted red with beet juice, a northern one dating back to the 1950s when Pillsbury Bake-Off contests were held at the Waldorf-Astoria and where the cake was possibly introduced or one first served at Eaton’s department store, and named Lady Eaton, in Canada, one thing is certain, this cake is loved by all.

My first try at this cake dates back to the early 1990s when I realized someone had switched the tiny bottle of red food coloring with a green one in a kit of four mini bottles.  This left me with only one small red bottle that resulted in my cake being Pepto-Bismol pink.  These days, one can find red food coloring in 1-ounce bottles that simplify the process.

Red Velvet Cake Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 ounces red food coloring
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using cooking spray or a bit of softened butter, coat two 9-inch round cake pans.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.
  3. In a small bowl, blend the food coloring and cocoa powder with a teaspoon to create a smooth mixture.
  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy, about three minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula every minute.
  5. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
  6. Add the food coloring mixture and mix well, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
  7. Add half of the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture, then add half of the buttermilk. Add the rest of flour mixture, then the rest of the buttermilk.  Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure the batter in completely blended without white streaks of batter.
  8. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and the baking soda with a teaspoon to form a bubbly mixture.   Add the mixture to the cake batter and stir gently until just combined.
  9. Pour half of the batter evenly in each cake pans and place them in the preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
  10. Cool the cakes in their pans for 10 minutes then remove the cakes from the pans and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
  11. Using a serrated knife, slice each cake in half horizontally.  Place one of the 4 cake slices on a large platter or cake stand, and cover with a thin layer (about 1/2 cup) of Cream Cheese Frosting using an offset spatula or butter knife.  Repeat process with the remaining 3 slices, ensuring that the top layer is the flattest slice – this will ensure a smooth surface for the finished cake.
  12. Crumb coat the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting (about a cup) then refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.  Finish frosting the cake with the rest of the frosting then refrigerate.  Serve within a day at room temperature.

Notes: To be extra festive, I dipped large strawberries into 3 ounces of dark chocolate that I microwaved in a small bowl for 90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds.

Filed Under: American, Canadian, Desserts Tagged With: ,
14 February 2011 Super Simple Cream Cheese Frosting

Super Simple Cream Cheese Frosting

February 14, 2011 By

Red Velvet Cake Inside

This cream cheese frosting is simple to make and is perfect on a carrot cake or a red velvet cake.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
  • 16 ounces (2 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula every minute.  Incorporate the vanilla.
  2. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar.  Turn mixer on low and blend until the powdered sugar has been incorporated, about 2 minutes, again scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
  3. Use the frosting right away or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.  To use refrigerated frosting, bring to room temperature then stir thoroughly using a wooden spoon.

Yield: This frosting can cover a 2-tier, 9-inch cake or 24 cupcakes.

Filed Under: American, Cheese, Desserts Tagged With: , , ,
9 February 2011 Best Meatloaf Recipe – Ever

Best Meatloaf Recipe – Ever

February 9, 2011 By

Martha's Meatloaf

If you’ve seen me cook, you know that I mostly use the “throw a little of this and a little of that” in the pan mentality.  Even when I use a family recipe as a guideline, I modify the ingredients, measurements and techniques to make the final dish my own (okay, I follow my grandma’s meat sauce recipe to the letter).

With this in mind, I tested Martha Stewart’s Meatloaf 101 recipe years ago and have never veered off from the original – it’s simply the best meatloaf I’ve ever eaten.  It’s all that a meatloaf should be: comforting, moist with a caramelized, crusty topping.  I’m willing to be proven wrong if you feel your favorite meatloaf recipe is better than this one.

Martha Stewart Meatloaf 101 (first published January 2006)

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices white bread, torn into pieces
  • 1 3/4 pounds ground beef
  • 3/4 pound ground pork
  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into eighths
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 4 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse bread until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a medium bowl; add ground beef and ground pork.
  2. Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and parsley in food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add to beef mixture; combine using your hands. Add egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, salt, and pepper; combine thoroughly, using your hands. Place in an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup ketchup and 2 teaspoons dry mustard, and the brown sugar; stir until smooth.
  4. Brush mixture over top of the meatloaf. Place the pan on a baking sheet to catch drippings, and transfer to oven. Bake until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reaches 160 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours. (If the top of the meatloaf gets too dark, cover with foil and continue baking.) Let meatloaf stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Yields 8-0 servings.

Filed Under: American, Beef, Entrees Tagged With: , ,
3 February 2011 Ragu alla Bolognese (Bolognese Sauce)

Ragu alla Bolognese (Bolognese Sauce)

February 3, 2011 By

Ragu alla Bolognese

This comforting sauce is best served with rigatoni or gnocchi and would be delicious in a lasagna.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 medium carrots, finely diced
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 3/4 pound ground pork
  • 3/4 pound ground veal
  • 3/4 pound ground beef (20% fat)
  • 2-28 ounce can Italian-style tomatoes, chopped
  • 1-6 ounce can of tomato paste
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 cup chicken or veal broth
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp each, dry oregano and basil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add carrots, onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium, and cook until vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
  2. Increase medium-heat to high, add meats and sauté until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, broth and the spices and stir well.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.

6 Servings.

Notes:  It’s fine to replace veal with beef if you prefer.  You could use white wine instead of red wine.  This sauce freezes very well, so feel free to double up the recipe!

Filed Under: Beef, Entrees, Italian, Pasta, Pork, Veal, Vegetables Tagged With: , , ,
11 January 2011 Chicken Thighs with Bacon in Riesling

Chicken Thighs with Bacon in Riesling

January 11, 2011 By

Chicken Thighs with Bacon in Riesling

While I hate using a Riesling I enjoy drinking in this recipe, the flavor of the sauce when I’ve used Finger Lakes Riesling’s been outstanding.  Don’t have Riesling on hand, don’t fret!  Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or another dry wine would work great also.

Ingredients:

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  • 3 slices of thick-cut bacon, diced
  • 2 medium leeks, chopped, washed and patted dry
  • 3 medium carrots, diced
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, diced
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • ½ tsp. each salt and pepper
  • 3 ½ cups ( 1-750 ml bottle) white wine, preferably Riesling
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • ½  cup crème fraiche or sour cream

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place chicken on a plate, sprinkle with flour then shake off excess.
  3. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan or Dutch oven on medium-high heat.  Add bacon and cook until browned and crispy, about 4-5 minutes.  Add chicken and brown on all sides, then remove the bacon and chicken from the pan to a plate.
  4. Add the leeks, carrots and onion to the saucepan, turn heat to medium and cook vegetables, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes.
  5. Return the chicken pieces and the bacon to the pan with the vegetables.  Add the thyme, salt, pepper, wine and broth.  Stir gently to combine, cover and transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  6. Remove pan from the oven and stir in the crème fraiche to the chicken mixture to combine and create a thick sauce.  Serve over white rice.

6 Servings.

Filed Under: American, Chicken, Entrees, Vegetables Tagged With: , , ,
8 January 2011 12 Cookies of Christmas Contest – And the Winner is…

12 Cookies of Christmas Contest – And the Winner is…

January 8, 2011 By

Spiced Espresso Meltaways

It’s official, the winner of the Food & Wine Chickie 12 Cookies of Christmas Contest has been selected!  All the cookie recipes looked amazing and it was hard for the voting committee to select just one on 12/31/10, but here it is!

The winner of a $50 Sur la Table Gift Card is: Spiced Espresso Meltaways by Daydreamer Desserts

Following is the complete list for you to feast your eyes and hopefully your stomachs on:

Please let me know if you try any of these and what you thought of them.

Happy baking,

Veronique

Filed Under: Desserts, Other Neat Things Tagged With:
6 January 2011 Boiled Cookies by Chris

Boiled Cookies by Chris

January 6, 2011 By

Photo By Chris Absheer

This simple yet delicious cookie recipe is the brainchild of St Louis Food & Wine Chickie friend Chris Absheer (here with adorable grandson Mikey).  What could be better than cookies you can enjoy WITHOUT baking!?

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Put sugar, milk, butter and cocoa powder in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil for one minute.
  2. Remove from heat and quickly add peanut butter, oats and vanilla.  Stir well to combine the ingredients.
  3. Drop the cookie batter by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper.  Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

Yields 3 dozen cookies.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , ,
5 January 2011 Chocolate and Raspberry Cake with Dark Chocolate Shell

Chocolate and Raspberry Cake with Dark Chocolate Shell

January 5, 2011 By

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

For New Year’s Eve, I was looking for a special chocolate dessert  to serve to my guests and found two recipes on the Bon Appétit website that I combined to give me the results I was looking for.

For the cake, I used this recipe as a base and for the shell I used the “bands” from this recipe.  I paced myself and made the cake over a 3-day period and it was both beautiful and tasty (see “notes” below for additional information on preparing the cake in advance).

Cake Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients

  • 18 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
  • 2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 6 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam, stirred to loosen, divided

Chocolate Shell Ingredients

  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
  • 2 16×5-inch strips waxed paper

Chocolate Cake

  1. Position racks in top and bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2-inch high sides with cooking spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds then spray rounds with cooking spray.
  2. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl.  Whisk to blend and form well in center.
  3. Whisk the water, buttermilk, oil, and eggs in medium bowl to blend.
  4. Pour wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and whisk just to blend.
  5. Divide cake batter between prepared pans (about 3 cups each).
  6. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (If cakes form domes, place kitchen towel atop hot cakes, then press gently with palm of hand to level.) Cool completely in pans on cooling racks.

Chocolate Ganache Directions

  1. Place chopped chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream just to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Pour over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until ganache is melted and smooth.
  2. Transfer 1 1/4 cups ganache to small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ganache is thick enough to spread, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Let remaining ganache stand at room temperature to cool until barely lukewarm.
  3. To assemble the cake:  a) Place rack inside rimmed baking sheet. b) Carefully run knife around pan edges to release cakes. c) Invert 1 cake layer onto cardboard round or bottom of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Peel off parchment paper. Place cake layer on round on prepared rack. Spread 3 tablespoons jam over top. Spoon dollops of chilled ganache over, then spread evenly. d) Invert second cake layer onto another cardboard round or tart pan bottom. Peel off parchment paper. Carefully slide cake off round and onto frosted cake layer on rack. Spread remaining 3 tablespoons raspberry jam over top of second cake layer. e) Frost the entire cake with the remaining chilled ganache. f) Pour half of barely lukewarm ganache over cake, spreading over sides to cover (microwave for 15-20 seconds if mixture has completely cooled off).  g) Freeze until ganache sets, about 30 minutes. h) Pour remaining ganache over cake, allowing to drip down sides and spreading over sides if needed for even coverage and to smooth edges. i) Freeze to set ganache, about 30 minutes.
  4. Arrange raspberries in concentric circles atop cake.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake Slice

Chocolate Shell Directions (watch video directions)

  1. Line large baking sheet with foil; set aside.
  2. Place another large sheet of foil on work surface; place waxed paper strips atop foil, spacing apart.
  3. Stir chocolate in medium bowl set over pan of simmering water until melted and smooth.
  4. Pour half of melted chocolate down center of each waxed paper strip. Using small offset spatula, spread chocolate to cover strips evenly, allowing some of chocolate to extend beyond edges of paper strips, making sure strips are completely covered. Using fingertips, lift strips and place on foil-lined sheet. Chill until chocolate just begins to set but is still completely flexible, about 2 minutes.
  5. Using fingertips, lift 1 chocolate sheet from foil. Wrap sheet around cake, waxed-paper side out, lining up 1 long edge with bottom of cake (sheet will be higher than cake).
  6. Repeat with second sheet, arranging so ends just meet, pressing sheet onto uncovered side of cake. If sheets overlap, trim any excess paper and chocolate.
  7. Using fingertips, press top edge of sheet in toward cake, forming slight ruffle.
  8. Chill until chocolate sets, 5 minutes. Gently peel off waxed paper. Chill cake.

Notes: The cakes can be baked 2 days before assembling and I recommend making them at least 1 day ahead.  Simply wrap the cakes in the pans with foil at room temperature.  The assembled cake can be made 1 day before serving if stored in the refrigerator.  Be sure to let the cake stand at room temperature for 2 hours before serving.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , ,
2 January 2011 5 Simple Soups to Try this Winter

5 Simple Soups to Try this Winter

January 2, 2011 By

Thai Soup

Soup is a favorite at my house and I try to make it most weekends.  Thought I’d share some of the soups I’ve made recently that have earned me some rave reviews.

5 Simple Soups to Try this Winter:

  1. Butternut Squash & White Asparagus Bisque
  2. Cremini Mushroom Velouté Soup
  3. Chunky Tomato-Basil Bisque
  4. Tom Ka Gai (Thai lemongrass and coconut soup)
  5. Cream of Leek and Celery Soup

Let me know which soup you end up trying!  Stay warm,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Canadian, Chicken, French, Mushrooms, Other Neat Things, Soups, Thai, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , ,
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