Posts filed under 'Food Press'
I whipped up this pie for a pot luck party and I did not bring home any leftovers. Creamy, sweet with white chocolate and kissed with vanilla, this pie is a winner. Dorie Greenspan featured this recipe on her blog back in November and I filed it away to try. Canned sour cherries took the place of the bananas with much success, their tart bite offset by the dreamy filling.
No-Bake White Chocolate Pie from Parade Magazine, 1-2-3 Bake
4 oz. white chocolate (preferably imported), finely chopped
1/2 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled
1 banana, thinly sliced (or 1 cup of drained canned cheeries)
1 (9-inch) ready-made chocolate cookie crust (or homemade)
1. Warm the chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of lightly simmering water. Remove from heat when only partially melted; stir to melt completely.
2. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the chocolate, then the sour cream. Whip the heavy cream until firm; gently fold into chocolate filling.
3. Put the banana slices on the crust, top with the filling, and chill at least 2 hours. If you’d like, sprinkle with grated dark chocolate before serving.
February 8th, 2010
This set of recipes is in the January/February issue of Hannaford fresh. I am especially excited because the Spicy Scallop and Snow Pea Stir Fry made the cover! January is sometimes a challenging month for cooking and eating - resolutions abound and budgets can be tight after the holidays.
Cashew Chicken with Red Bell Peppers and Broccoli
Moo Shu Tofu
All of the recipes featured in the article can be made in under 30 minutes, are full of healthy veggies and will keep some dollars in your wallet. Maverick and I LOVE the Moo Shu Tofu while Marco is partial to the Sesame Beef.
Sesame Beef with Green Beans
If you are really pressed for time, give precooked rice a try along with your stir fry. Chopsticks are optional.
Hannaford offers a really cool, interactive feature with its magazine, click here to thumb through the current issue with the click of a mouse. There are lots of fantastic recipes in this month’s issue, check out flavorista Julie’s Fast & Healthy Broccoli Soup on page 12.
January 18th, 2010
I am in denial. Conde Nast has broken up with me and I am sick about it. I know Gourmet is just a magazine, but I feel kicked in the gut.
Each month, Gourmet arrives in my mailbox and within 24 hours, I have thumbed through the entire issue. The photography teasing my taste buds and encouraging my tendency towards wanderlust. Gourmet is my monthy escape into luxury, indulgence and deliciousness. Ruth Reichl’s letter from the editor primes me for the pages to come.
Red Wine Caramel Apples from this month’s cover.
The cocktail section brings drinks, new and old, to my table; Anyone care for a well-shaken Brandy Alexander? All of the history (last year’s Christmas cookie issue was unreal) and an amazing website (where you can find the recipes they can’t fit onto the printed page dating back to 1941) will be gone.
Hold on, I am running for tissues.
The following recipe appeared in last year’s Thanksgiving issue. I was able to make it twice before sugar pumpkins became unavailable. At least ten people have asked me for the recipe and at least that many people have asked me if I will be making "that stuffed pumpkin thing" again? My answer: "Yes. Yes. Oh my God. Yes!"
Yup, this unassuming pumpkin stuffed with bread, cheese and cream is that good.
Roast Pumpkin with Cheese “Fondue” from Gourmet Magazine, November 2008
Serves 6 (main course) or 10 (side dish)
As the pumpkin roasts, its skin becomes gorgeously burnished, while inside, slices of baguette, Gruyère, and Emmental coalesce into a rich, velvety concoction that is utterly fabulous served with a scoop of tender pumpkin flesh.
1 (15-inch) piece of baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices (7 oz total)
1 (7-lb) orange pumpkin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère (6 oz)
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Emmental (6 oz)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third. Toast baguette slices in 1 layer on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale), about 7 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
2. Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle (3 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; reserve seeds for another use if desired). Season inside of pumpkin with 1/2 tsp salt.
3. Whisk together cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl. Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1 cup cheese and about 1/2 cup cream mixture. Continue layering bread, cheese, and cream mixture until pumpkin is filled to about 1/2 inch from top, using all of cream mixture. (You may have some bread and cheese left over.)
4. Cover pumpkin with top and put in an oiled small roasting pan. Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil. Bake until pumpkin is tender and filling is puffed, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
Cooks’ note: Pumpkin can be filled 2 hours before baking and chilled.
For the original recipe, click here.
To you Gourmet, I raise my glass "cin cin." Your writing, recipes, insights and photgraphy will be sorely missed in my home.
Check out A Mingling of Tastes for more tributes to Gourmet.
October 15th, 2009
Just in case you missed us yesterday, Chicago food blogger, Julie Ohara, from A Mingling of Tastes came up with a great idea to honor Gourmet magazine (oh and if you hadn’t heard by now, Conde Nast has shut Gourmet down). The last printed magazine is the Thanksgiving issue.
As I partake in this online ode to Gourmet, I paused to reflect as to what really made me love the magazine and I think it was the photography. Saveur and Gourmet are/were the best in this area - the first publications to really make food pornographic.
Under Ruth Reichl the covers got even better and well I will say that in the past year or so, some of the parties featured were more sexy than the recipes. That said, I still really enjoyed the magazine and will miss it.
Here is one cover photo I loved for its creativity and the holiday mood. I wanted these for my tree!
This is one recipe I like from that issue. These little chocolate balls are very cake like. They don’t store well so try to enjoy them the same day. Perfect for a cookie swap!
Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies (you can use almonds too)
2/3 cup hazelnut meal (I buy Bob’s Red Mill.)
You can make your own meal from fresh hazelnuts, but you need to peel. Here’s the drill.
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 stick of butter, at room temp
1 1/2 brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
Whisk together the dry ingredients. Beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the cooled chocolate and vanilla. With the mixer on low add the flour mixture. Once it’s all incorporated, refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Pinch off some dough and roll into 1 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar and place on sheet. Don’t worry too much about placement as these cookies do not spread much. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating them once during the baking.
These are especially good warm from the oven with ice cream or chocolate pudding. They would also be good with ganache dipped on the bottom, or slice the cookies in half and fill with a little ganache -even better!
October 13th, 2009
Here’s the long and short. I am up to my eyeballs in a recipe development project - which is fantastic but a bit crazy at the same time. It involves hiring extra babysitters and sacrificing some sleep. In the end, it will have been worth all of the effort. In the meantime, here’s some quotes from my kitchen this past weekend:
About the mini kalamata olive focaccia: "WOW, mom you made giant chocolate chip cookies!" Sorry to disappoint (tee hee hee).
About the coffee cake muffins: "WHY did you HAVE to put pecans on these? I don’t pecans."
About the arugula salad with Parmesan shavings: "That salad looks great, except for the cheese. YUCK!"
Note to self: Only work on recipes when husband is sleeping and children are at school.
What do we eat when I am on a deadline? A lot of scrambled eggs and easy favorites that I know everyone will eat; stand bys like Thai lettuce rolls. This happens to be one of Marco’s most requested meals.
Lettuce Rolls with Pork and Pineapple from Hannaford fresh
Taking its cue from the classic Thai combination of savory minced pork served with fresh pineapple slices, this dish is lovely on a warm summer night. All the finished ingredients are set out family style and diners assemble their own rolls. Hydroponic Boston lettuce has particularly nice leaves for rolling.
1 cup dry Jasmine rice
1 2/3 cups water
2 head Boston lettuce
2 cups finely chopped fresh pineapple (buy prepped, refrigerated pineapple)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
2 lbs. lean round pork
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp ground fresh chili paste
1/3 cup Thai fish sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1. Add rice to a medium saucepan, rinse, and drain, keeping rice in pan. Add water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Stir well. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for exactly 10 minutes, then remove from heat, but do not remove lid. Set aside.
2. While rice is cooking, rinse and core lettuce, separating leaves and placing them on a serving platter. Prep the pineapple, red peppers and scallions and place them into individual bowls.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add ginger and garlic. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add pork, black pepper, and chili paste. Cook, stirring frequently to break up pork, until pork is cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes; there should be no pink meat.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar.
5. Add sauce to pork and mix well. Simmer for 1 minute. Turn off heat. Stir in cilantro. Transfer pork to a serving bowl.
6. To serve, remove lid from rice, fluff it, and transfer to a serving bowl. Set lettuce platter and bowls on center of table and let everyone assemble their own lettuce rolls. Each lettuce leaf should contain a small amount of pork, pineapple, red pepper, and scallion, with rice served on the side. You’ll be able to make about 24 rolls.
Suggestions: Use fresh chili paste (sambal oelek) or use 3/4 tsp. Tobasco sauce.
Source: Hannaford Fresh Magazine, May/June 2008
October 5th, 2009
I wrote this recipe last year for Hannaford’s fresh. I like the normal, not mammoth, size of these muffins. Between the oats and the blueberries, you are looking at a health boosting treat. Buttermilk is the secret ingredients in these muffins reducing the fat content while keeping the texture satisfying.
These are a lunch box favorite in our family. I usually freeze 6 muffins for lunches, leaving the remaining muffins for breakfast or snacks.
Crumb Topping
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp. warm water
Muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. Prepare crumb topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, flour, and brown sugar. Drizzle melted butter and water over mixture and stir until moistened. Set aside.
3. Prepare muffins. Set aside 1 Tbsp. of the all-purpose flour. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together remaining flour, whole wheat flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, vanilla, buttermilk, oil, and applesauce.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined (lumps are OK; don’t overmix). Toss blueberries with reserved flour and gently stir them into muffin batter (too much stirring will result in purple muffins).
6. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with 1 Tbsp. of the crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22 to 26 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Source: Hannaford Fresh Magazine, July/Aug 2008
August 29th, 2009
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