Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

There are now two things I love from Ireland - Boyzone (yes, the boyband...stop shaking your head!) and this super-awesome rum raisin rice pudding I discovered on the St. Patrick's Day menu suggested by Food Network. What's even better about this rice pudding? It's by Ina Garten. That means automatic inclusion in my book of favorites.

Since we just passed St. Paddy's Day, I decided to partake in some Irish edible goodies with a side of Boyzone for a mini Irish weekend. You're not allowed to judge. Or else, I'll throw a Ronan Keating doll at you. Not that I own one. But, I will carve one out of a potato for said task. That'll make it an authentic Irish doll. Ha! *cough* Really bad joke.

I must tell you about my history with Boyzone though, since they were one of my first few celebrity crushes (not counting this Indian actor who I told my mom I wanted to hug when I was 8 or 9 years old). I don't like any of their recent songs but, I still love the albums they released in the late 90s and early 2000s because I spent days and nights obsessing over them. Listening to them now brings back memories from my teen years and I can't help but laugh. My brother would go round the bend when I used to listen to them since he hated boybands and Pop in general. He'd make fun of them all the time and say mean things. You know how I've got my revenge? A lot of people say HIS 3-month old son looks like ME when I was a baby. Mwahahaha But, obviously this is good news for my nephew since he's inherited my good looks. ;)

Fried Apples with Pecans

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

Out of the 50 Women Game Changers in Food that we're learning more about, I'm thrilled to see someone as young as Severene von Tscharner Fleming make it to the list. At age 30, she's an accomplished young farmer, film-maker and activist with an impressive list of achievements - she's helmed a documentary on agricultural farmers, founded an organization - The Greenhorns, co-founded the National Young Farmers' Coalition and kick-started a whole movement for young farmers across North America. Phew, I feel like I've done a lot just by reading her story and the passion with which she continues to do wonders to help the nation's farming infrastructure.

Severine hails from a family where her maternal side inherited a farm for six generations. She grew up on the farm and that foundation eventually had an impact on the path she chose to persevere in life. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Severine played an active role in college activities as well, and that's where the idea for her documentary was born. While organizing a film festival at college, she noticed that all films that looked into the prospects of farming and agriculture portrayed very grim scenarios. But, as part of a young farming community, she knew very well that was not the whole truth and there needed to be awareness of the great possibilities and opportunities for young farmers. She decided to document her journey in building a network of young farmers who shared the same vision and to use the documentary to reach out to others across the nation, to inspire, help, support and offer guidance. Greenhorns, the organization, is a non-profit that promotes, supports and recruits young farmers in the US. They produce content and communications for young farmers — including film, radio, a blog, wiki, a guidebook, press, workshops, conferences, a coalition, mixers, GIS mapping and more.

Since Severine is more of an activist and farmer, there aren't any recipes of hers online that we could use to highlight her work this week. But, their website has a link to blogs of others in their farming community. So, I picked one of them and found this extremely simple recipe for fried apples and pecans.

Don't be fooled by how simple the dish looks and how easy it is to make. The aroma that fills your house when your sauteing the apples in butter and cinnamon is like heaven in a pan. It is even more yummy than the smell of baking cakes. Oh. Nothing compares to it. This doesn't even need any sugar or accompaniments. The girl who'd made it recommended serving it with fresh whipped cream. But, I preferred it without anything because the apples had such a delightful flavor on their own. Just make sure you use juicy apples. 

Fried Apples with Pecans (adapted from the blog, Make Wine & Cheese With Me)

Ingredients and instructions

• 2 crisp, tart and sweet apples, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/4 teaspoon or less of cinnamon powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter (I love salted butter)
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2 teaspoons pecans, quartered or halved

In a saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Once it is melted, add the apple slices and stir till all the slices are coated with butter. Add the cinnamon powder and the lemons and mix well. Saute on medium low till the apples get tender and soft. 

Remove the lemons and serve.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Chocolate Mousse with Brandied Cherries

It's Fat Tuesday! Now, I LOVE southern food but, all I'd had running through my mind the last week or so was - Chocolate. I've never really craved chocolate before but, I get these sudden pangs of desire so strong that I have to do something to satiate them.

Growing up, all I'd ever want were strawberries or something pink. Be it an ice cream sundae, cake, jam, just about anything that could have strawberries in it. And as I got into my 20s, that slowly changed and I found love for anything sweet! I'm still not a very big fan of chocolate ice cream and will most probably pick that last if I had a choice of ice creams. Actually, that holds true for just about any dessert, I'd probably pick the chocolate dessert last, unless I was in one of my current chocolate-lovin' moods. 

I know I probably have made a million people go, 'what is wrong with this person?' but, hey, someone's gotta give a lot of love to the other desserts out there, too, right? Well, I think so :)

Last week, though, I had to hunt my chocolate desserts down since nothing else would satisfy. So, I made chocolate mousse. And I wanted something more with that, so I threw in some brandied cherries and nearly died with how rich and decadent that whole thing was. I couldn't get enough! The mousse tastes terrific with fresh strawberries too, because that's how I ate them after the brandied cherries were happily in my tummy. It tasted just like chocolate-covered strawberries. Oh. so. divine!

Chocolate Mousse with Brandied Cherries (adapted from Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network)
Ingredients and instructions:

For the mousse:

• 1 3/4 cups whipping cream
• 6 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks cut up
• 3 ounces espresso or strong coffee
• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon flavorless, granulated gelatin

For the cherries:

• 1 tin of dark cherries
• 6 tablespoons of brandy or cognac

Prepare the cherries first. Empty out the cherries alone in a bowl with a couple of teaspoons of the juice as well (you can save the remaining juice for another dish or drink it all up, like I did). 

Add the brandy or cognac and mix well. Make sure all the cherries are immersed in the brandy. Cover and put it away in the fridge to soak while you prepare the mousse.

For the mousse: Chill 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in refrigerator. Chill metal mixing bowl and mixer beaters in freezer.

In top of a double boiler, combine chocolate chips, coffee, rum and butter. Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while a couple of chunks are still visible. Cool, stirring occasionally to just above body temperature.

Pour remaining 1/4 cup whipping cream into a metal measuring cup and sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow gelatin to "bloom" for 10 minutes. Then carefully heat by swirling the measuring cup over a low gas flame or candle. Do not boil or gelatin will be damaged. Stir mixture into the cooled chocolate and set aside.

In the chilled mixing bowl, beat cream to medium peaks. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whipped cream in two doses. There may be streaks of whipped cream in the chocolate and that is fine. Do not over work the mousse.

When you're ready to serve, spoon a few of the brandied cherries and a little liquid in a bowl or martini glass. Spoon some of the luscious mousse on top and chill for at least 1 hour. 

(If mousses are to be refrigerated overnight, chill for one hour and then cover each with plastic wrap)

Bananas Foster by Ella Brennan

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

At #34, this week we have Ella Brennan, the queen of New Orleans cuisine. It is so strange that I was in New Orleans last year and never heard of Ella Brennan! Commander's Palace and Brennan's? Yes. Hurricanes from Pat O'Brien's? Oh yes. While reading about Ella, I wish there was more I'd learnt about her while I was in New Orleans because she is quite the restaurateur who's made an impact internationally. Unlike Paula Deen in Savannah, I heard absolutely nothing of Ella in New Orleans. Sad. Or maybe I just wasn't looking in the right direction.

Ella's story begins in High School when her brother, Owen Brennan, acquired a restaurant in New Orleans' French Quarter, which over the years gained its popular name, Brennan's. She criticized everything in the restaurant and didn't fail to tell her brother how she felt about the food either. So, Owen asked her to step in and prove her worth. And prove she did. By 18, she was practically running the restaurant, including operations. She had a voracious appetite for knowledge of the restaurant business and picked up as much as she could from tons of books she read and anyone from the restaurant arena she met. From there, she slowly worked her way up as a restaurant scion. She's had her share of ups and downs in life, battling through family feuds (she gave up working with Brennan's during the rift with Owen's family), growing her restaurant empire through acquisitions, including Commander's Palace, and also braving the shutting down of restaurants that didn't quite make the mark. But, in her entire career that spans over the last 65 years or so, she's forged on in taking Louisiana cooking worldwide and pioneering the notion of nouvelle Creole cuisine. In 1996, Commander's Palace was honored with the Lifetime Outstanding Restaurant Award by the James Beard Foundation and later, also with a Lifetime Service Award.

Now, Ella's not been known to cook though she has inspired and created some of the signature dishes you eat and hear of in New Orleans. One of those being Bananas Foster that she invented with the then chef of Brennan's (it is extremely strange that Martha Stewart features the exact same recipe as hers on her site). And that is what I chose for my weekly series feature. What's even better? I got to eat ALL of this deliciousness because the husband is allergic to bananas! Haha!

This dish absolutely strengthened my thoughts on butter and brown sugar being caramelized BFFs. I had to restrain myself from swiping at the mixture melting together because it is awesome! With the rum kicking in, the bananas that cook in this mixture take on a divine taste that you won't want to see the end of. I hope you enjoy! Bon Appetit!

Bananas Foster by Ella Brennan

Ingredients and instructions:

• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup banana liqueur (if you can't find any, you could use 1/2 teaspoon of banana extract mixed with water and a little rum to make 1/4 cup - I did this and it turned out really well)
• 4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved
• ¼ cup dark rum
• 4 scoops vanilla ice cream

On low heat in a skillet or heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Once the sugar has melted, gently add the banana liqueur or the banana extract with water mixture. Put the bananas in, cut side down. Let it cook till it gets soft and the underneath starts browning.

This is where it gets interesting. Once the bananas are ready, slowly add the rum. Let the rum get hot and start smoking. Stand as far as you can and gently tip the pan on its side to ignite the rum. Once the flames subside, turn the heat off. 

Serve your bananas with ice cream or Cool Whip, like I did, and drizzle with the warm sauce.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades 

Blueberry Bread Pudding with Baileys Cream Sauce

I'm sure all of us have been to restaurants/cafes or any other eating joint where you've ordered something so heavenly that you want to come home and figure out how to make that dish. It happens to me quite often, though by the time I'm stuffed like a python and get into the car, all thoughts of recreating that meal have been replaced by "I'm going to pass out with the amount of food I've eaten". 

But, a couple of months back, the husband and I ate at this little bar/restaurant that served a dessert that I'd give my heart and soul for. On the menu, it was a simple bread pudding with blueberries and Baileys cream sauce. On the plate, it was one spoon after the other of pure bliss. If I could, I would've literally licked the plate clean (guilty confession: I do this at home with desserts but, I don't care!). I didn't want to ruin my chances of going back there for more bites of this bliss, though, so I ate as ladylike as I could. 

That dessert has not left my mind till this day! I knew I'd never get to make a dish as delicious as that unless I wrestled the secrets out of the chef but, I sure as hell was going to try! So, this is my attempt at recreating the dessert that stole my heart and maybe, just MAYBE, found a bigger place in my heart than my husband. Bon Appetit!

Blueberry Bread Pudding with Baileys Cream Sauce

Ingredients and instructions:

For the bread pudding (adapted from Giada Di Laurentiis' recipe on Food Network)

• Butter, for greasing
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup maple syrup, plus extra for serving
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 (1-inch thick) slices (8 ounces) day-old challah or sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cups (12 ounces) fresh or frozen, thawed, and drained blueberries
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Handful of chopped pecans

For the sauce (adapted from Betty Crocker)

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream

Make the bread pudding: Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest. Add the bread cubes and mix until coated. Stir in the blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining cinnamon, sugar and pecans. Sprinkle over the egg mixture in an even layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is golden and the filling is set.

Make the sauce: In 1-quart saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over low heat; do not allow to simmer. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Mix water and 1 egg in small bowl; stir into butter until blended. Stir in 1 cup sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and stir in Baileys. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Slice your bread pudding onto a plate and top with Baileys cream sauce.

Spiced Apricot Gateau

Baking cakes always brings back fond memories of my childhood. My mom would carefully line the kitchen counter with old newspapers, set up an assembly line of baking bowls and tools, precisely measure her ingredients and start whipping her magic. I'd eagerly prowl around waiting to take a quick swipe of the creamed butter and sugar and then patiently wait till the final cake batter was ready. As soon as she'd poured out the batter into the cake pans, I'd beg for the baking bowl and wooden spoon. That, to me, was the best part of the baking process when I was a kid. I'd happily lick the bowl and spoon clean till my mom didn't know whether they were used or washed. And as the house filled with the heavenly smell of baking, my brother and I would hang around like hyenas waiting to get our paws on the very first piece of warm cake. Bliss! My mom would literally have to chase us away till she could take the cake out of the pan and let it cool.

As I grew older, mom would ask me to help her beat the batter and I would do so ever so meticulously, just as I'd observed her do and learning from her instructions. For me, she is the best baker ever. And it's not just me, even family friends who ate her cakes fawned over them. I always thank my stars that I was born into a family with such baking prowess because I'm sure some of it rubbed off on me. I have a whole bunch of aunts and a grandmom who are such amazing bakers. Each of them has their own individual style and little baking secrets, which they reveal to no one. I had to pinky-promise my mom that I wouldn't share her secrets. Hehehe

Being thousands of miles away from her, I tend to rely more on the internet for recipes of cakes I want to try because sometimes it's just faster than waiting to talk to my mom who's in the opposite side of the world. 

So, when I had a bowl of apricots staring at me angrily for not giving them any love, I knew I wanted to bake a cake with them and chanced upon a recipe by Christy Rost. I made a few changes, dug out my bundt cake pan and got down to business. When the cake was ready to dig into, I squealed with delight when it tasted so much like one of my mom's cakes! Soft, fruity goodness and what about the buttery brown sugar topping, you ask? Pure caramelized heaven! I licked the pan clean of the remnants of the baked brown sugar topping. 

Spiced Apricot Gateau (adapted from Christy Rost)

Ingredients and instructions:
For the cake -

• 1/3 cup soft unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 spiced apricot halves, chopped into pieces*

For the brown sugar topping (you could double these ingredients if you're baking with a regular cake pan) -

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4-5 spiced apricot halves, thinly sliced*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your cake pan with non-stick baking spray or you could butter and flour it the traditional way. 

In large bowl of an electric mixer (or you could use a large bowl and a electric hand beater), cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract; beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl, stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Slowly fold in the spiced apricot pieces. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring often. Spoon mixture into bottom of cake pans just to cover. Brown sugar mixture may harden, but will melt during baking.

Arrange sliced apricots over sugar mixture. Spoon cake batter evenly over apricots.

Bake in preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and cake has pulled away from sides of pan. Remove from oven, set aside 2 minutes to cool, and loosen cake from sides of pans with a knife. Invert gateaux on a wire rack to cool. (Gateaux may be may one day ahead, covered with plastic wrap, and chilled in refrigerator.)

Serve with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream topped with nuts.

*Spiced Apricots (adapted from Food & Wine)

Note: For the gateau, you could completely skip this but, I thought it'd lend a nice kick, so I added this one extra step)

• 6 fresh Apricots, halved and pitted
• 3 teaspoons honey
• Cayenne pepper

Preheat the broiler. Arrange apricot halves on a baking sheet. Spinkle the insides of each half with a pinch of Cayenne pepper. Spoon half a teaspoon of honey into each apricot half. 

Broil the apricots 4 inches from the heat for 3-4 minutes, rotating once, until it's bubbling and caramelized. Cool completely.

These actually taste amazing with ice cream! If you're eating it with ice cream, serve them warm with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

Rocky Mountain Brownie Cups with a hint of Kahlua

Oh yes! This is not just a rocky road, but a rocky mountain filled with bounteous chocolatey madness. You'll get a hint of Kahlua but, you won't be thinking of that when you dive into a triple chocolate wave.

I was on a chocolate high after eating one but, I couldn't get enough of it. I gobbled one as soon as it was out of the oven and inhaled another after taking photos. Hey, I can't let the poor brownie I cut into for pictures just rot away, can I?

These tasted even more delicious after a baking disaster. I was down in the dumps after a failed experiment with cupcakes. Cupcakes! I know. Who can go wrong with cupcakes? I was heartbroken that the very love of my life had let me down. Truth is, I was the one that screwed up. I tried playing around with flavors and it bit me in the rear end.

Lessons learned: 1) never EVER make frosting with ricotta cheese (I don't know what possessed me) 2) never try to right the mistake of using ricotta, with your aspirations of mixing unique flavors a la Cupcake Wars and 3) when all else fails, MAKE BROWNIES! What's even better? Make them like cupcakes if you're in love with cupcakes.

Bon Appetit!

Rocky Mountain Brownie Cups (adapted from Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies)
(Note: I made only a quarter of the original quantity in Ina's recipe and got 12 brownie cupcakes - regular sized not the mini ones)

Ingredients and instructions:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 ounces plus 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• A handful of pecans (I went easy on the quantity since I don't like a lot of nuts in my cakes/brownies)

For the topping:

• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup broken pretzel pieces
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cupcake liners in your cupcake pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat - mine got a bit fluffy because I mixed mine with an excited hand) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Add the Kahlua and mix gently. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into your cupcake moulds.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (bake for 20 minutes if you're using a sheet pan like regular brownies), then rap the cupcake tray against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. You know it's done if a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! 

Once your brownie cupcakes are out of the oven, change the setting to broil, preferably at low. 

Mix together your topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over all the cupcakes. Put it back in the oven for a minute or two till the marshmallows turn light brown. Watch it carefully because the marshmallows burn in a second. Mine nearly did in less than a minute when I set the broiler at high.

Tiramisu Italiano

I remember falling in love with this heavenly dessert called Tiramisu somewhere in my early 20s. That first bite I took of this soft, creamy goodness sealed the deal in bumping this dessert up to my top favorites. Ever since, I've ordered Tiramisu's at as many restaurants as I possibly could and to be honest, not many impressed. This one place in Singapore, The Coffee Connoisseur, stood out to me as the restaurant with the best Tiramisu. It had the perfect light, fluffy and creamy mascarpone texture with the best blend of rum/coffee liquor. I have tried Tiramisu's after that but loved none as much.

Now, I'm not a Tiramisu expert so I wouldn't know if that was the authentic flavor but imagine my delight when the recipe I picked from Food Network's Tyler Florence gave me the same heavenly taste as the one from The Coffee Connoisseur. My eyes literally had hearts dancing in them, much like the cartoons we see.

I loved the recipe even more because it didn't have any raw egg whites to make it fluffy. It may have been lighter with the egg whites, but I don't care. I have a pet peeve in the kitchen - I don't like working with raw eggs. I like my eggs processed in some way or the other. Yes, I know the Tiramisu's I've eaten at restaurants most likely contained raw egg whites but, as long as I'm oblivious, I'm fine.

One thing I would change about this recipe next time is making my own ladyfingers. The ones I got from the store were not really good but, I didn't have the patience to go hunting for good, authentic ladyfingers. In the end, it was scrumptious nevertheless, after sitting in the refrigerator for more than a day and soaking up moisture from the mascarpone cream. The fact that the hubby and I finished a big bowl in two days is testament to that.

Bon Appetit!

Tiramisu Italiano (adapted from Tyler Florence/Food Network)

Ingredients and instructions

• 7 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Kahlua, plus 2 tablespoons
• 8 ounces mascarpone, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup brewed espresso coffee
• 1 ounce dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup rum (you can reduce this amount if you like it milder)
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
• 48 ladyfingers
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Cream together egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Add 1/3 cup of the Kahlua and continue to whisk until mixture is thick and doubled in volume. This is basically a zabaglione. Remove from heat. Stir in the mascarpone until completely blended.

In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture, to lighten.

In a small saucepan, combine espresso, chocolate, rum, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons Kahlua. Heat gently, and stir to dissolve the chocolate. Then, chill the mixture to cool it down, about 15 minutes. Dip each ladyfinger in the chilled coffee mixture for about 5 seconds and arrange in a single layer on a 9 by 13-inch glass baking pan. If you have really good ladyfingers, a quick dunk will do. Do not oversoak the cookies or they will become too moist. Spread 1/2 the mascarpone cream evenly with a spatula on top of the dipped ladyfingers. Repeat with a second layer of dipped ladyfingers and remaining mascarpone cream. Sprinkle top with cocoa powder. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. You can add shaved dark chocolate on top right before serving, as an option.

Almond Cherry Souffle with Warm Chocolate Sauce

The past couple of weeks have been extremely quiet in Beetle's Kitchen. I've been down with different kinds of the flu, plaguing me one after the other. So, for a little over two weeks, my taste buds abandoned me and even the sight of the kitchen made me want to throw up. It of course goes without saying that I haven't been inspired to try anything new and hence, there hasn't been anything worthy of sharing here. 


But, a couple of days back I was watching an episode of The Next Ironchef - Superchefs and a couple of the chefs made souffles with the ingredients given to them. The guru himself, and my favorite, Jeffrey Zacharian Geoffrey Zakarian (I'm ashamed to have gotten his name wrong earlier :S), blew the judges off their seats with his finesse and perfect technique in the kitchen generally and also his perfect souffle. He'd made a blueberry souffle with a sauce whose name I've forgotten. As with any Food Network cooking show, I thought I'd check the website to see if any of the chefs recipes were online. Believe it or not, every chef, cook, ironchef has recipes on the site except, you guessed it, Jeffrey. His dishes really are his best kept secrets.


I decided to hunt for souffle recipes on other sites and wanted something that would use cherries. I had a bag of them and thought I'd try them in a recipe instead of wolfing them down fresh. That's when I came across this german site with a recipe for Almond Cherry Souffle. Bingo! That was it. I made a couple of changes to the original recipe and the result was delightful! I'd forgotten what a lovely combination cherries and almond essence made. The warm chocolate sauce is absolutely to die for. I licked the leftover chocolate sauce clean.


The only regret I have is not taking any pictures of the souffle fresh from the oven. They had risen like beauties and had fallen by the time I finally got some pictures of them. So please excuse the fallen souffle pictures. They still tasted heavenly! Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

• Butter for preparing ramekins
• 1 1/2 cups pitted fresh cherries
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 recipe warm chocolate sauce (recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 6 8-ounce ramekins, place on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Combine cherries, lemon juice and almond extract in a blender and puree until very smooth and almost fluffy. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large, clean, metal bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until very soft peaks form. Continue to beat while slowly adding sugar in a steady stream. Beat until peaks are stiff but not dry. Use a rubber spatula to beat one-third of egg whites into cherry puree. Gently fold puree into remaining egg whites. Divide this mixture among ramekins and smooth the tops. Bake just until well-risen and beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

Serve the souffles immediately. Top with chocolate sauce, if desired.

Warm Chocolate Sauce:

Heat 2 or 3 inches of water in a small saucepan to a low simmer. Combine 5 ounces coarsely chopped German milk chocolate with 3 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream in a heatproof bowl that fits over saucepan — bowl should not touch water. Stir until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and stir well until smooth; serve immediately. (Sauce may be reheated by setting it over simmering water as in preparation.)

Please excuse the dents on the souffle, made by a clumsy baker :)

Cinnamon Apple Buns

Lately, I've noticed that I buy fruits, vegetables or meat that I have no idea what to do with but, get them anyway to try something different. Case in point, 3 granny smith apples that were sitting in my fruit basket wondering when I'm going to use them. The first thing I thought of was Apple Pie. But, I wanted to do something different since I've already made apple pie/crumble before. And that's where inspiration struck - how about I just re-purpose the basic elements of apple pie (crust and filling) in a different manner, at least to me. I thought of rolling the crust with stewed apples, just like you would with cinnamon buns. I know this is not a novel idea, but this is how I went about it. I got the bun dough recipe from Food Network and made the filling on my own. Bon Appétit!

Cinnamon Apple Buns
Ingredients:
For the dough - 
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup plus 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the bowl
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

For the apple filling -

- 3 granny smith or cooking apples

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

For the glaze -

- 1 cup powdered/confectioners' sugar

- 1 tablespoon milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Directions:

Make the dough (adapted from Food Network's almost famous cinnamon buns): Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until it reaches about 100 (since I don't have a food thermometer, I just heated it up till it was medium warm though I could've made it a little more hot). Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon sugar (don't stir). Set aside until foamy, 5 minutes. Whisk in the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla.

Whisk the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the salt and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until thick and slightly sticky. Knead on medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, 6 minutes. (Add up to 2 more tablespoons flour if necessary.)

Remove the dough and shape into a ball. Butter the mixer bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 hour 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough in a rectangle (horizontal) which is about a 1/4-inch thick. Spread your filling, leaving an inch on the long side away from you. Brush that one inch strip with water. Start rolling from the long side close to you, outwards, till you get to the end brushed with water. Seal the water-brushed end to the roll. Cut in 1-inch slices. 

Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; place the buns cut-side down in the pan, leaving space between each. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 40 minutes (Yes, it rises again! and also during baking). Preheat the oven to 325degF.

Bake the buns until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan 15 minutes or longer so the filling stays intact. 

Make the filling (best time is when the dough is rising): Peel apples, core and chop into 1/2-inch thin pieces. Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Add the apples and brown sugar. Let it cook till apples start getting tender, about 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg powder. Let it cool.

Make the glaze: Mix all the ingredients together till you get a consistency that allows you to drizzle. You can add more sugar to thicken or milk to loosen depending on the consistency you like. Drizzle or spread on the buns and enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Hola! I have finally finished designing my new blog. Going by how many design changes my other blog, Nuts & Sprinkles, went through in the course of a few months, I'm sure I'll be tweaking and changing things around here as we go.

So, welcome to anyone who's reading this. If you're coming from my other blog, I'm glad that you're here and I hope you'll continue following me here too. If this is the first time you've visited any of my blogs, here's a hearty welcome and I hope you'll stay beyond the first visit so we can swap stories/ideas.

This blog will chronicle my food adventures - the good, the bad and the ugly. Since I had already put up some recipes on my other blog, I moved most of them here so I have a record of all my recipes in one place. Feel free to run through any one of them.

For my first recipe on this blog, I decided to try my hand at molten chocolate cakes from my Betty Crocker book of cupcakes. They turned out quite yummmm! I may have over-baked them a tad because the walls of the cake were a bit thick. I have a feeling the baking tray I placed my cups on may have been the reason. The recipe calls for a cookie sheet with sides but, mine were just the normal cookie sheets. I'll try taking them out a bit early next time. Hope that works. Anyway, for now, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened baking cocoa
• 6 oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 deg F. Grease bottoms and sides of 6 custard cups with shortening; dust with cocoa. In a saucepan, melt chocolate nad butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool slightly.

In large bowl, beat whole eggs and egg yolks with whisk or egg beater until well blended. Beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in melted chocolate mixture and flour. Divide batter evenly among custard cups. Place cups on cookie sheets with sides.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until sides are set and centers are still soft (tops will be puffed and cracked).

Let cakes stand in cups 3 minutes. Run small knife or metal spatula along sides of cakes to loosen. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over each cup; turn plate and cup over. Remove cup.

You can decorate whichever way chocolate cake speaks to you and add your own garnish. I topped my lava cakes with Cool Whip and sliced almonds. Yum!

Pumpkin souffle bake

(Archived from Nuts & Sprinkles)

The season of fall is beautiful here. The pretty image of different shades of red, orange and brown leaves on trees and roads makes you ALMOST forget the chill in the air. Yes, winter is almost here and my bones are already creaking!

The time is perfect to try some pumpkin recipes. Great timing also with Halloween that just went by. This is a recipe I saw on a Paula Deen show on Food Network. I read a comment about her somewhere - it said that Paula can never cook a dish without a couple of sticks of butter. It is so true! Every dish of hers has to have either mounds or smaller dollops of butter. That's why I try to minimize the number of dishes I try from her collection. But, when I saw this dish on her show, I had to try it, come what may! So, enjoy and forget counting your calorie intake for just a day...or two *wink*. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

For the pie -

• ¾ cup flour 
• 3/4 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I made my own spice mix with ground cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice) 
• 1/3 cup sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• 3 tablespoon Butter 
• 4 eggs, separate the yolks from the whites (add only the yolks first and beat the egg whites separately and fold in gently at the end) 
• ¾ cup buttermilk 
• 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 cup pumpkin puree 

For the garnish -

• 1/2 cup pecan halves 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter 
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Start with preparing the garnish. Melt the butter on a medium flame. Add the brown sugar. When the brown sugar starts to melt, add the pecan halves and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off flame and set aside.

Mix the flour, pumpkin pie spice, sugar and salt in a bowl and keep aside.



In another bowl, melt the butter. Add the egg yolks, buttermilk, vanilla extract and whisk till combined well. Slowly add the flour mixture. Mix in the pumpkin puree.

Beat the egg whites separately until it becomes fluffy with soft peaks and gently fold into the pumpkin batter.

Grease and flour your baking dish. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and top with the pecan garnish. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes. Let it cool for a couple of minutes before digging in.

Dust powdered sugar on top and you can also serve it with maple syrup.

Butter tarts with pecans

(Archived from Nuts & Sprinkles)


Easy-peasy recipe for yummy butter tarts I got from Joyofbaking.com. Though the pecans in the recipe are optional, I feel the real yumminess comes out because I added the pecans. It seems like they'd have been a little too plain without them.

This is another one of the desserts I made for Easter. It's the perfect tea time snack you can munch on in the evenings (or throughout the day if you're like me!).

Ingredients:(Makes 12 four-inch tarts)

Pate Brisee (Short Crust Pastry):

• 1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated white sugar 
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces 
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup (30 - 60 ml) ice water 

Butter Tart Filling:

• 1/3 cup (70 grams) unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 cup (215 grams) light brown sugar 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) light cream (half-and-half) (10% butterfat) 
• 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (toasted and chopped) (optional) 

Pate Brisee: In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/8 cup (30 ml) water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, place on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and cut into 12 - 4 inch (10 cm) rounds. (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards).) Gently place the rounds into a 12-cup muffin tin. Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up the dough. Next, make the filling.

Butter Tart Filling: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla extract. Stir in the cream. If using nuts and/or raisins, place a spoonful in the bottom of each tart shell and then fill the unbaked tart shells with the filling. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the pastry has nicely browned and the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Peach & Blueberry Crumble

(Archived from Nuts & Sprinkles)

I've been collecting and trying out recipes to add to my blog for a while now but just haven't gotten around to posting them. I know, my bad! This one is a dessert I'd tried sometime back and was very happy with the way it turned out. It's a recipe I saw on the Food Network by Ina Garten. Ina is one of my favourites to watch since she makes everything look so simple yet delicious. She's the kind of homely cook that exudes something very warm about her.

Ok, moving on with the dish. The recipe calls for blanching peaches so you can get the skin off easily. Did not work for me. At all. I felt like a kitchen dummy when the skin stayed put to the peach whereas Ina's slid off effortlessly. That didn't stop me though. I was hell-bent on showing the peach that it takes more than that to make me crumble (yes, I'll accept that was a lame pun :P). And don't worry, I didn't have a secret conversation with the peach. Seriously.

Once I got past the blanching hiccup, the rest was easy-peasy. So, here's the recipe and a few pictures for all of you. Bon Appétit!



Ingredients & directions:

• ¼ pound of unsweetened butter, chilled and diced 
• 1 cup flour 
• 1/3 cup sugar 
• ¼ cup brown sugar 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• ¼ tsp cinnamon 

Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the butter and set aside. 

• 2 pounds peaches 
• 2 tsp lemon zest 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice 
• ½ cup granulated sugar 
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup blueberries 

Preheat the oven to 350 Deg F.

Poach the peaches in boiling water for 1 minute, take them out and put them in cold water immediately to blanch them. Gently peel off the skin. Core and cut peaches into 1/2 inch-wide wedges.

Sprinkle the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and flour. Add the blueberries, mix all together and put in baking bowl or ramekins.

Top with the crumble mixture set aside earlier. Bake in oven for 40-45 mins.