Posts filed under 'Websites/Blogosphere'
Keeping a blog does require a fair amount of keeping up to date with other blogs on the web. For the most part this is a pleasure but at times it can be a chore as there are literally millions of food blogs out there. Two of my personal favorites are food52 and The Kitchn.
While not all the recipes have been perfect, I have been inspired by both of these sites. food52 is a crowd source recipe site. They have contests every week and the co-founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubs test the recipes- with some volunteers/cooking enthusiasts. What I love about this site is you can create a profile and store the recipes that you want to try. I have about 36 saved there for inspiration. A few of them have been indoctrinated into my ever expanding repetoire. Two faves are is the shaved brussel sprout salad with lemon and precorino cheese, and absurdley addictive asparagus.
Over the winter two of my favorite one pot dinners came from Apartment Therapy's the Kitchn. This chicken and tomato no boil pasta bake was a winner. Luckily I read through all the comments before I made it. I used fresh chicken thighs and thought it was perfect. If you like canned chicken (I've never tried it) by all means use it. I think the idea of using a store-bought rotisserie chicken is ok – if not a bit more expensive – but I am here to say that using quickly seared and chopped chicken thighs is delicious. I would think breast meat would dry out too much since this recipe bakes for 50 minutes at 400 degrees.
Another Kitchn recipe success was braised French Onion Chicken with Broiled Guyere Cheese. This recipe is an absolute winner and I encourage anyone who is infatuated with a good French onion soup, to try this twist for a hearty meal. The addition of balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard make this dish. I omitted the rosemary as it's not an herb my kids like. For the recipe click here.
Whichever site you end up using, make aure to read thru all the comments on the recipes. They offer valuable hints and information. Many people suggest great substitutions and speak frankly about their failures with the recipe. Sometimes you can even get some drama.
My current version of the Chicken and Tomatoe No Boil Pasta Bake uses the following ingredient substitutions:
Muir Glenn Diced Tomaotes with Basil and Garlic 
Ian's Panko Italian Style Bread Crumbs 
BioNautre Egg Papparadelle 
I also used 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock. It is really important to use foil between the lid and the pot as you don't want this dish to dry out.
More on one pot dinners coming soon…
April 23rd, 2012
A few weeks back I was lucky enough to enjoy 3 hours of food and beverage happy time in southern Maine with my dear friend and fellow flavorista, Kathy. We met up at Stonewall Kitchen's Flagship store in York, Maine. FYI – January and February are a great months to stop at Stonewall Kitchen and take advantage of the post-holiday sale items.
Of course one of the best things about shopping at a Stonewall Kitchen location is getting to sample all of the deliciousness before you buy. I adore so many of the products.
Kathy picked up Pulled Pork Simmering Sauce and I decided on Seedless Red Raspberry Jam. This jam tastes and smells just like fresh picked summer raspberries, minus the thorn bush scrapes. It has the texture and uncooked flavor of a freezer jam and is superb on toast or stirred into plain yogurt. I am almost ashamed to say that my jar is two-thirds gone and I haven't shared any of it. Honestly, I hid it behind all of the other jams.
If you ever had the opportunity to try Fresh Samantha's Raspberry Dream (it only lives on in cyberspace), this product is its long lost jam cousin. Interestingly enough, this jam uses seedless raspberry puree as one of its base ingredients. I wonder if it is the same raspberry puree we used at Fresh Samantha to make Raspberry Dream?
February 2nd, 2012
Whether you call them jimmies, shots or sprinkles, I have got the thing for you! Sprinkles that are made from actual chocolate. Oh my! It is an instant upgrade to any dish of ice cream.
Guittard Chocolate Sprinkles from King Arthur'sOnline Store
This small obsession I have with real chocolate sprinkles began when I had heard about homemade chocolate sprinkles at Len Libby's, a great candy/chocolate store in Scarborough, ME.
I love the homeade ice cream sold at Len Libby Candy Store in summer months; it is one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures. The ice cream is rich and flavorful and certainly some of the best around. Len Libby's is also the home of Lenny, the world's only life size chocolate moose. So if you happen to be traveling on RT. 1 in Scarborough, ME., be sure to stop by Len Libby's, you will be glad that you did.
When I inquired about the sprinkles, the Len Libby staff assured me that the sprinkles were indeed real chocolate but not made on premise. Of course, I went right home and did an online search. King Arthur's online store sells Guittard Chololate sprinkles and Amazon sells Deruyer Chocolate Sprinkles.
Cupcakes, ice cream have never had it so good.
July 18th, 2011
In a quandry of what to make for dessert one night I was inspired by a recipe on food52 by Merrill Stubbs. While recipes for this homey cake abound, many are filled with nuts, dried fruit and a myriad of different spices, I think this recipe takes the proverbial cake.
Just to be clear, it is nothing like my other two favorites Aspen Apple Cake or Upside Down Apple Cake. This cake is quite fast and easy to make.
If you are cleaning out your pantry this spring and come accross some homemade apple sauce or if you happen to have a jar of a really good quality, unsweetened apple sauce, this cake is simply delicious. Moist from all the apple sauce it doesn't need that much added fat.
You can play around with the spices; I've used freshly grated ginger; Merrill had 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper in hers (which frankly I didn't taste so omitted it the second time round). Smoked cinnamon would be interesting to try too.
Please sift your flour. If you don't you will simply be using too much. I made a few changes to her recipe, including adding 3/4 less powdered sugar in the caramel-like glaze. The glaze is optional but dresses up the cake nicely if you are having company.
Kimberly's dulce de leche would also be fabulous as a drizzle when serving. One little anecdote, I love the sound this cake makes when you take it out of the oven. If you make it, take a listen.
Apple Sauce Cake with Caramel Glaze
2 cups of sifted flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups apple sauce
2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the dry ingredients (after you have sifted the flour). Place all wet ingredients (applesauce, vanillas, oil and eggs) into a large bowl and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet 1/2 a cup at a time and stir well to incorporate before adding more flour. Continue until all the flour is gone. Pour into a prepared (greased and floured) bundt pan.
The cake Merrill features on food52 is far prettier than mine. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.
Caramel-like Glaze
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp. salt (or sprinkle some Maldon's salt flakes or fleur du sel on top of the glaze for a nice crunch)
Once your cake has cooked and cooled, you can make the glaze. Heat the butter until it is melted in a small sauce pan. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar melts. Cook for about 3 minutes while stirring occasionally.
Turn off the heat and whisk in the heavy cream and salt. Allow to cool for a few minutes then whisk in the confectioners sugar. Pour on to your bundt cake after you've turned it out on to a platter and it has cooled slightly.
Serve alone or with caramel ice cream -YUM!
April 6th, 2011
First let me just say that I absolutely love Molly O’Neill’s new book One Big Table. In her words, "I was on a mission to dispel the rumor that Americans don’t cook." After 10 years of zipping around the country, she compiled all these incredible recipes and anecdotes from and from die-hard cooking Americans.
If you need to purchase a cookbook this year, let this be the one as you will given a host of incredibly unique and interesting recipes from people who love to cook and love their heritage.
"A portrait of American Cooking" says it all but what you won’t find in here are recipes from celebrity chefs. There are a few but mostly there are ingenious recipes from people all over the country. Some recipes and techniques are handed down from years ago and others a wonderful marriage of two cultures coming together to create their own heritage.
How Molly achieved this is a wonder. Here are some of the recipes I will serving at our big table here in Boulder:
John Newman’s Abelskivers (Tooele, Utah)
Bill McIntyre’s Marinated Feta (Corydon, Indiana)
Roopa Unnikrishnan’s Cucumerb Pudina Sandwiches (New York, New York)
Grandmother Ojeda’s Toasted Pasilla Chile & Sunflower Seed Salsa (San Diego, CA)
Veronique Nguyen’s Cold & Frothy Fresh Pea Soup (Vail, Colorado)
Gina Caldrone Tsonga’s Fennel Slaw with Orange, Cumin and Chilies (Scottsdale, AZ)
Paulo’s Monkfish Moqueca (Martha’s Vineyard, MA)
Tia Rosa and Ruth Eichneer’s Sweet-n-Sour Carrots (Middlebury, VT)
Big Mama’s Whipping Cream Pound Cake (Clarke County, Alabama)
Gaynelle Tillet’s Fig Cake (Ocracoke, North Carolina)
That’s just to name a few. I’ll be sure to post the results -but it might take some time. Did I mention it’s a BIG book? Her blog is fabulously written so I advise you to check it out.
March 10th, 2011
A local non-profit, The Organic Food Fight started by the very enterprising Alexandra Hanifin and Sarah Orens hosted a local baking contest to benefit their favorite non-profits, The School Food Project and Allergy Kids.
My dense chocolate sweet bread (made gluten-free) took third place. While I prefer the version with flour and no nuts, this one came out pretty well. To read more about the event click here. The recipe for the winning vegan carrot cake is there. It was exceptionally good!
My secret ingredient was duck eggs from Grant Family Farms. They really help make this wet batter rise beautifully. My favorite way to enjoy this cake is with a fresh fruit sauce. Although a bit of freshly whipped cream would be divine too and is how most folks in my house devour it.
With Valentine’s Day on a Monday, make this cake today, it’s even better the next day.
Be sure to follow the directions exactly. I also include 2 fruit sauces for you to try, either with this cake or with vanilla ice cream. I poured a very smooth and thin layer of chocolate ganache over the top of my cake and dipped several whole hazelnuts in the ganache for garnish.
Rich Ebony Cake -Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess.
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/3 cups flour (or gluten free baking mix. See note below)
1 tsp. baking soda (If you are using a gluten free baking mix, omit this ingredient as GF baking mixes already have baking soda added to it)
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups dark brown sugar
2 duck eggs ( or 2 extra large chicken eggs, 3 if at high altitude)
1 tsp. vanilla extract plus 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. freshly boiled water
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups, chopped hazelnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degree. Butter a 9 x5-inch loaf pan – glass works best. Line it with parchment paper – you can just place the parchment in on the longest side with some of the ends hanging out. This is just to help lift the the loaf cake out once it has cooled. Place on a baking sheet as this batter is very wet and can spill over during the baking process.
Mix your dry ingredients together. Cream together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs -1 at a time- and then the vanilla.
Next on low, mix in the cooled chocolate. Do not over beat. Make sure to have your flour mix and boiled water ready. Now gently add some of the flour and combine. Now some of the boiled water. Once all the wet and dry ingredients are combined you will have a fairly liquid batter. Now add your chips and nuts.
Pour it into the loaf pan and bake in a preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 then reduce temperature to 325 and bake for another 15 minutes. The toothpick tester method will not work as the cake is very moist. The cake should be firm and not totally gooey in the center.
If you can let it cool for a solid day then that is what I recommend. It doesn’t happen in this house as this is my kid’s favorite dessert. But you should really let it cool for a few hours before removing it from the pan.
Two Fruit Sauces
Cranberry Garnet Sauce
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (tangerine works well too)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier (optional)
Combine all the ingredients, except for the Grand Marnier in a heavy sauce pan. Simmer over meduim to low heat for 12 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor or use an immersion blender and mix until smooth. Add the Grand Marnier. This sauce gets very thick as it cools. You can thin it with water if you like it less so.
Strawberry Balsamic Sauce
3 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 pints strawberries, sliced
2 tsp. good quality balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs fresh mint
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and cook until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the strawberries and cook, stirring occasionally until the berries begin to release their juices.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the berries to a bowl and continue to reduce the sauce for another 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and mint. Remove from heat and stir into the strawberries. Let stand for 2 minutes then remove the mint. Stir and serve slightly warm.
February 13th, 2011
This year, I participated in a fledgling soup swap here in Boulder, CO. Our host, Julie, has a friend in New York who has been participating in National Soup Swap for a while and had 197 quarts of soup at her house during this year’s swap. That’s a lot of soup!
While we didn’t have quite that much our choices were wonderful and they were all unique. There was Harira (a personal favorite, recipe forthcoming), Greek Chicken Soup with Orzo and Lemon, Spanish Bean, Carrot Ginger (made creamy with tofu), Boulder’s famous Kitchen Cafe’s Tomato Soup, Adirondack Smoked Bacon, Potato and Cheddar, Dahl, Flanken, White Bean Turkey Chili (which was featured on Epicurious) - just to mention a few…
The best thing is you make 6 quarts of one soup, which quite frankly you never want to see again, and come home with a quart of 6 different soups! Brillant! Much to my surprise there were many soups that featured meat (this is Boulder after all).
As per my modus operendi, I couldn’t make a choice, made 3 soups but had to settle on one and decided to go with a vegan mushroom barley which was actually teeming with barley and mushroom flavor. It came out more as a stoup (soup/stew) which would make it suitable for Meatless Monday. Can’t wait for next year!
Teeming Vegan Mushroom Barley
Makes 6 Quarts
1 1/2 cups pearl barley, soaked overnight in 4 cups of water
For caramelized onions – You can try Kimberly’s method for the onions, but dice the onions. Otherwise, dice 6 medium to large onions. Heat a large enamled coated cast iron pot (like Le Creuset) and pour in enough oil to coat the bottom well. Once the oil is warm, add the onions, give a good stir then cover and cook for 40 minutes. Check on them periodically and stir them around. Now’s a good time to start the vegetable stock. Both of these can be done a day ahead.
Vegetable Stock – this recipe is based on Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (one of the best vegetarian cookbooks out there). One surprise ingredient is nutritional yeast which adds a wonderful element of umami. I also added a large piece of Kombu seaweed, but this is optional. One quick note: while I am sure the desire to use stock in a box is strong, I really encourage you all to make fresh vegetable stock. It just tastes better.
olive oil
4 carrots, roughly chopped
4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 onions, with skin chopped in quarters
8 cloves of garlic
4 thyme sprigs or 1 tsp. dried leaf
1 bay leaf, Turkish preferred
1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
4 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 large piece of kombu
4 qts. water
Heat some oil in a large pot. Add the carrots, onion and celery to get them brown. You can also do this step in the oven on a cookie sheet at about 425 degrees until they just turn brown.
Add the aromatics, yeast, kombu and then the water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain and continue.
Teeming Mushroom Barley Soup -continued
caramelized onions (instructions above)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, re-hydrated and chopped, reserve the water
1 Tbsp. freshly chopped marjoram (or rosemary, your choice)
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced celery root
4 large carrots, diced
1/2 cup olive oil (for the mushrooms)
2 pints cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup dry or sweet vermouth, again your choice
5 cloves garlic, chopped very fine
Freshly grated Pecorino cheese for garmish
Once the onions are all soft, add the tomato paste and really work it into the onions. Add the marjoram and stir again. Now add the celery, celery root and carrots. Stir well. Add the re-hydrated porcini and the water.
In another pan, heat the olive oil and cook the mushrooms, in batches if necessary. Add the vermouth and allow it to cook off. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add them to the pot. Now add the drained barley and strained stock. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook for 25 minutes. Add the garlic and adjust the seasonings. If the barley absorbs too much liquid, add a bit more to your liking. My soup was fairly thick.
For serving, place into large bowls and be generous with the grated pecorino. Freeze the rest and give it away!
January 31st, 2011
Food52 is a wonderful blog, it’s the brain child of Amanda Hesser and Merrill Staub. They hold a weekly contest for recipes in unusual categories. I have yet to "win" but I keep trying in vain. I did get an official review on one recipe (finally) for my favorite curried apples (so perhaps I’ll get a winning nod soon).
The "Your Best Non-Pie Thanksgiving Dessert" contest held real appeal for me because I am not crazy for pie; I like tarts.
As you may well know, we here at flavorista like our sweets. There are a few upside down cakes and clafoutis already posted. This recipe is not quite as down homey as the others but VERY appropriate for any holiday or just some weekend baking.
The difference between this recipe and others that we have posted is that it has a basic genoise cake on top. I highly recommend that you use a spring form pan and line the bottom with parchment before adding the fruit.
If you happen to be attending a potluck and feel the need to "do something different" this cake will be welcomed by all. I used fresh cranberries but dried would also go well.
Pear-Cranberry Upside-Down Cake
For the Fruit:
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 to 4 medium, ripe pears, peeled, quartered, cored and either diced or sliced into long slivers
2 Tbsp. juice from an orange, or any variety tangerine
1/3 cup fresh or dried cranberries
Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan then add the brown sugar. Pour into a 9 inch spring form pan lined with parchment paper on the bottom.
Toss the pear with the orange juice. Scatter the cranberries on top of the butter-sugar syrup and then layer the pears on top. Now make the cake batter.
Genoise Cake Batter
2 Tbsp. butter
4 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. Massey’s Vanilla Bean paste (a Flavorista fave!)
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup sifted cake flour
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt until they triple in volume – this takes about 4 minutes.
Fold theflour into the mixture 1/3 at a time. Pour about 1 cup of this batter into the butter and fold. Return this butter portion into the main batter and fold until just combined. Try and do this as quickly and delicately as possible. You don’t want to loose any volume.
Pour the batter over the fruit and spread evenly. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing the springform and inverting onto a cake plate. Remove the parchment carefully.
January 23rd, 2011
If you are looking for a last minute gift for that flavorista on your list, here are a few suggestions that keep on giving and might even score you some deliciousness.
Harold McGee’s newest book which is endlessly helpful in answering cooking questions:
This beautiful, pumpkin-hued, oven-proof terrine from Terrain.
For the foodie who has everything, a tube of Umami.
Or a jar of homemade dry cherry compote a la Chef John Platt (for recipe click here).
And Santa, if you happen to be reading this, there is a certain flavorista in Portland, Maine who is really hoping to find this Fagor 3-in-1 Cooker under her tree. A rice cooker, pressure cooker and slow cooker, all in one appliance. Brilliant, if you ask us!
December 20th, 2010
My most finicky eater has discovered "the only way to eat spinach." Luckily I love it too. Apparently there is a very good one at Costco in the freezer section. It could use a little more feta for me so I will not abandon making it from scratch.
One my favorite Greek cookbooks, Periyali has one of the best recipes I have ever tried. My other "go to" for Greek is How to Cook a Lamb has one too but I decided not to make it from this book though as it calls for bechemel sauce, which I like but somehow doesn’t appeal to me in this particular dish.
It takes time to make spinach pie as you are working with phyllo sheets. The good news is that spanikopita freezes well. We are having a cocktail party in a few weeks so I made a few mini spanikopitas for that and froze them.While not traditional, I added some of my slow roasted Early Girl tomatoes the mini spinach pies for the cocktail party.
Spanikopita adapted from The Periyali Cookbook.
The secret ingredient in the Periyali recipe is large curd cottage cheese, drained. I have also added a little lemon zest and sometimes I add plumped currents. Even though spanikopita is time consuming, if you make over a weekend you can freeze several and always have a Meatless Monday meal waiting in your freezer. The key is that you do not want your mixture to be too wet. If it is it will make the phyllo soggy.
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium sized onion, diced
1 medium sized leek, sliced thinly and cleaned
1 large container of baby spinach (I use my oven roasting method) You can use frozen but it’s not as green and the spinach is so much wetter which means it takes longer to dry it out as you have to squeeze it with your hands.
2 Tbsp. freshly chopped dill (optional) Sometimes I use the Capital Hill Seasonings blend from Savory Spice instead.
1 tsp. salt
2 Eggs
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 pint large curd cottage cheese, drained
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. dry bread crumbs, Panko works great
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and leeks and cook over medium heat until lightly browned. Stir in the spinach. Add the remaining olive oil, dill, salt and pepper. Place mixture on to a cookie sheet and spread out and allow to cool. Once cool to the touch place in a bowl and add the mixed eggs, cheeses and bread crumbs.
Now you can make the spanikopita as a lasgane style dish which is much faster and easier if you are feeding a crowd. However it’s harder to freeze. The other option is to make smaller pies which are much easier to store in the freezer and nice to have on hand.
The key to working with phyllo is to move quickly.I like to use a mixture of olive oil and butter for brushing on the sheets.
My kids like to brush the sheets. Once there are 4 layers of phyllo that are not saturated, but nicely brushed with the butter and oil, cut 4 rectangles with a sharp knife. Place a nice large spoon full of the filling the center and the lower end nearest you and make sure to have a nice 1/2 inch boarder on the left and right sides. Now all you have to do is roll the dough up like you would a burrito. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and continue with the rest of the phyllo sheets. Plae them in the refrigerator for a half hour before baking or freezing.
To Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the spanikopitas for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. I like to cut mine on the diagonal to serve them. These would go beautifully with Kimberly’s chickpea soup.
December 20th, 2010
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