Lamb Biryani

 

It was in the Victorian era, during the British Raj, that Britain first started borrowing Indian dishes, creating Anglo-Indian cuisine. Queen Victoria made it fashionable by having her Indian cook make this food everyday. To this day it is still one of England’s most popular ethnic cuisines.

The word curry is not used in India. It is a general word for the sauces from the subcontinent and refers to light, coloured, spiced sauces on food.

According to the Times of India, biryani is made with the heart and not the mind. The ratio of meat to rice should be half and half. One essential component is that the person who cooks eats last after serving everybody else and that best biryani is at least 5 kg (11 lb.) of ingredients. That is a lot of biryani and the idea is that whatever is left goes to charity. 

The manager of our real estate office where I worked for many years was ethnic Indian. It was always a treat when he made a special biryani for our office potlucks. I am so delighted to have discovered a recipe that I enjoy.

This is also the challenge with The Daring Cooks this month. Grace, one of our talented non-blogging Daring Kitchen members, was our Daring Cooks’ August hostess who shared with us some of her family’s tried and true Bengali Biryani recipes – all of them delicious and all of them prepared fresh from our own kitchens!

Lamb Biryani           

pinch of saffron threads

1/4 c. boiling water 60 mL

2 c. basmati or long grain rice 500 mL           

1 c. ghee or unsalted butter, approximately 250 mL

2 medium sized onions, peeled, cut lengthwise and then sliced paper thin

1/4 c. each unsalted cashews, slivered almonds, pistachios and raisins 60 mL

2 tsp. salt 10 mL

1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger root 15 mL

1 tsp. finely chopped garlic 5 mL

1 tsp. cumin seeds 5 mL

1/4 tsp. ground red pepper, as cayenne 1 mL

2 lb. lean boneless lamb, beef or chicken cut into 1 inch cubes 1 kg/5 cm

4 inch piece of cinnamon stick 20 cm

8 whole cloves

6 whole black peppercorns

1/4 tsp. cardamom seeds 1 mL

1/4 tsp. ground mace 1 mL

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 mL

1 c. chicken stock 250 mL

1/2 c. plain yogurt combined with 1/2 c. light cream 125 mL/125 mL

Place saffron threads in small bowl with 1/4 c. (60 mL) boiling water and soak until needed.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil and slowly add rice. After 10 minutes test rice as you would pasta. When rice is al dente, strain and let rest. When well drained it will be light and fluffy.

Heat 1/4 c. (60 mL) butter or ghee in heavy bottomed large pot, saute onions until soft golden brown. Set aside. In same pan, sauté nuts and raisins until lightly browned. Add more butter if necessary. Set aside.

Add ginger, garlic, cumin and cayenne stirring constantly for a minute. Add meat and brown on all sides.  Then add cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, mace, nutmeg. stock and yogurt cream mixture. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until meat is tender.

In oven proof serving dish, layer half the rice. Spoon over 2 tbsp. (30 mL) of the saffron water with some of the threads. Then add meat and another layer of rice. Add remainder of saffron and water over the rice. Add layer of sautéed onions. Spoon some of the liquid from meat, pouring slowly down inside of dish. Cover securely, with aluminum foil if necessary.

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until fully heated.

To serve, remove from oven and top with toasted nuts and raisins. In India this dish would be further garnished with small sheets of edible silver leaf. Serves 12-14.

The Daring Cooks - No Bones About It

I have always wanted to know how to bone out a chicken and voila! That is our Daring Cook's Challenge this month. I chose a duck rather than a chicken. I can see so many applications for this new skill.

Since I had no one else to feed I stuffed the legs only with a wild rice, shallot and dried apricot mixture. I saved the breasts for another recipe.

For the April Daring Cooks Challenge, Lisa from Parsley, Sage and Sweet has challenged us to debone a whole chicken, using this video by Jacques Pepin as our guide; then stuff it, tie it and roast it, to create a Chicken Ballotine.

Jacques Pepin's video is so helpful. You can learn the entire process by watching him a few times.

The Daring Cooks - Making Cheese

I have been making ricotta, mascarpone and yogurt cheese. With this challenge I tried something new - feta.  I found some raw cow's milk at a nearby farm and was all set until, I went looking for rennet. I had no idea it would be so difficult to find it but I went to a local independent nuitrition store and they had just received it in their shipment. The rennet worked well and I did not need to use CaCl.

The bonus in this challenge was the opportunity to meet another local woman who is making cheese. I can hardly wait to try some of hers and I will share mine. Together perhaps we will further explore the world of cheese.

Feta marinated in herbs and olive oil

Sawsan from chef in disguise was our March 2013 Daring Cooks hostess! Sawsan challenges us to make our own homemade cheeses! She gave us a variety of choices to make, all of them easily accomplished and delicious!

Homemade Feta Cheese

Sawsan presented the following information for us

Recipe Source: From the Bartolini kitchens
Ingredients
yield: approx ½ pound (1/4 kg)
Ingredients
8 cups (2 litres) goat’s milk (cow or sheep’s milk may be used) – ultra-pasteurized goat’s milk cannot be used.
1 tablespoon (15 ml) live culture, plain yogurt mixed in 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk from above
¼ rennet (“junket”) tablet dissolved in 6 tablespoons (90 ml) distilled water at room temp
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (3 gm) salt
To make the brining solution
5½ tablespoons (82.5 ml) (95 gm) (3-1/3 oz) of salt for every 20 fl oz (590 ml) fluid whey
Directions
1.Place the milk in a pot with a lid, warm it up to 30°C or 86°F . Remember to stir the milk occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning
2.Take the milk off the heat, add yogurt-milk mixture, stir well, cover with the lid.
3.Allow it to sit for 1 hour at room temperature.
4.Move your pot to an area where it will remain undisturbed.
5.Add dissolved rennet, stir quickly to ensure even distribution of the rennet then cover the pot, and leave overnight.
6.The next morning, check the cheese. It should be set into one large block of curd with a little whey separated on the side

7.Now you have to check for a clean break.

8.To check for a clean break Stick your finger, on an angle, into the curd and slowly bring the finger to the surface to test for a “clean break,” meaning the curd is firmly set from top to bottom. Your finger should come up relatively clean which means that the cheese has set into one block of curd.
A bad break is when your finger comes out covered in a thickened dairy product(kind of like when you stick your finger
into yogurt), that means that your cheese has not set completely, if that happens you need to leave it for 2 hours and check again. If you still get a bad break give it 2 more hours and check again. If you still get a bad break you have to throw it out and start over
9.Now that you have achieved a clean break you have to cut the cheese and this step is done to allow as much whey to separate from the cheese as possible
Using a long knife cut parallel lines through the entire thickness of the curd dividing it into vertical slices

10.Then turn the pot and cut horizontal parallel lines through the entire thickness of the curd

11. Now you need to take your knife at an angle and repeat cutting horizontal and vertical lines to cut the curds that are beneath the surface, stir the curds gently and cut any cubes that are too big

12.Allow the curd cubes to set for 15 minutes stirring it occasionally to allow more whey to come out. You will notice that the curds will shrink slightly in size.
13. Next you need to strain the cheese, to do that line a colander with a cheesecloth or a clean fabric with fine weave.
Gently pour the curds and whey in and allow it to strain. Do not discard the whey.
14. Once most of the whey has been strained collect the 4 corners of your cheesecloth and tie them to form a knot that allows you to suspend the cheesecloth then allow it to strain for 2-4 hours.
If you live in a very warm place you may want to allow it to strain in the fridge.
15.The next day remove the cheese from the cloth, break up the curds add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
16.Line a mould with holes in the bottom with cheese cloth, place the cheese in, fold over the cheesecloth place a heavy weight on top of the mold and leave overnight, again if you live in a really warm place do this in the fridge
17.Make the brine solution by adding 5½ tablespoons (82.5 ml) (95 gm) (3-1/3 oz.) of salt for every 20 fl oz. (590 ml) fluid whey and mix it, dissolving as much of the salt as you can.

As you can see my cheese was still pretty soft after moulding but it firmed up nicely in the brine
18.The next day take the cheese out of the mould and cut into cubes, place in the brine solution and allow to brine in the fridge for 5 days
Store in the refrigerator. Rinse before use to remove excess salt.

Notes about feta cheese

The milk:

you can not use ultra-pasteurized milk, alone, to make feta. Your best choice is raw, unpasteurized milk, sheep would be the tastiest. The second best choice is regular pasteurized cow or goat milk. If the only choice you have is ultra-pasteurized cow’s milk, you must add CaCl2 to mask the effects of the ultra-pasteurization process (¼ tsp of calcium chloride (CaCl2) added to 64 fl oz (8 cups) (2 litres) of milk. Dilute it in 1/4 cup of cool, non-chlorinated water). CaCl2, however will not work with ultra-pasteurized goat’s milk.
To sum it up the milk you can use to make feta cheese is:
Pasteurized goat milk with or without CaCl
Pasteurized cow's milk
Ultra pasteurized cow's milk with CaCl

Storage Instructions and Tips:

Soft labneh will keep for a week in the fridge. Labneh balls can stay up to 6 months if submerged in oil and stored in the fridge.
Ricotta will last up to two weeks in the fridge.
Soft cheese will last 4-6 days in the fridge
Brined feta cheese will last up to 3 months if kept in the fridge submerged in the brine solution

The Daring Cooks - Salumi

I have had a pork belly sitting in my freezer for a few months waiting for the right opportunity. This challenge was enough for me to bring it out and work on something new to me. This challenge has been so exciting to try.

The added buzz on this challenge is that we have a chance to win a wonderful cookbook. Check out this
Contest!!!
The wonderful people at WW Norton publishing company are sponsoring a contest for this challenge! The top 3 most delicious sausages and/or salumi will win a copy of Michael Ruhlman’s and Brian Polcyn’s book, Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing!


Pancetta was a natural for this cut. A pork belly is essentially a slab bacon that has not been cured or smoked. I am curing it to make the pancetta and then drying it. I just hope the drying time will be adequate before the reveal date. My cold room will be the perfect temperature and humidity. I can hardly wait.

Pancetta is mostly used in recipes as compared to prosciutto that I love to eat out of hand or on a crusty piece of good bread or with a perfectly poached egg in an Eggs Benedict.

For the January-February 2013 Daring Cooks’ Challenge, Carol, one of our talented non-blogging members and Jenni, one of our talented bloggers who writes The Gingered Whisk, have challenged us to make homemade sausage and/or cured, dried meats in celebration of the release of the book Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn! We were given two months for this challenge and the opportunity to make delicious Salumi in our own kitchens!

Pancetta

5 lb pork belly
1/4 c kosher salt
1 tsp pink salt (curing salt)
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1/4 c juniper berries
1 tbsp dried rosemary
3 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
1/2 c brown sugar
2 cloves garlic

Grind the salt and aromatic in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Add to the brown sugar. Place pork belly in a baking dish and cover with the curing mixture evenly. Cover with saran and refrigerate. Refrigerate for about 7 days and each day rotate the slab and cover with the curing mixture. The slab should lose about 30% of its original weight.

Rinse the pork belly and pat dry. Cover with cracked black peppercorns. Roll tightly and tie with string. Wrap with cheesecloth and hang for up to a month. It should be hung at 65F and 60% humidity.

Slice and use.

The Best Recipe....Is No Recipe at All!

This is chef Michael Smith's byline but it is so true in this challenge.  We were given a mystery box of ingredients to come up with some wonderful food.

Our April 2012 Daring Cooks hosts were David & Karen from Twenty-Fingered Cooking. They presented us with a very daring and unique challenge of forming our own recipes by using a set list of ingredients!


The challenge, should you choose to take it, is to take one ingredient from each of these lists, and make a new recipe.

List 1: Parsnips, Eggplant, Cauliflower
List 2: Balsamic Vinegar, Goat Cheese, Chipotle Peppers
List 3: Maple syrup, Instant coffee, Bananas


I chose to use cauliflower, instant coffee and chipotle peppers in this dinner.  May I present Black Welsh lamb dredged in a coffee, chocolate and chipotle spice mixture.  Sear this in a cast iron pan and finish in a 350F oven until it reaches your desired doneness.

To accompany this, I have a cauliflower and potato mash and a celeriac salad.

The Black Welsh lamb has a distinctly different flavour that is stronger but not more lamb-y.  I don't know quite how to describe it.  But I do like it.  The rub was amazing.  It did not taste of either coffee or chocolate nor strongly chipotle.  The sum is greater than the parts in this recipe.  There was a nice amount of heat and earthiness.  I would definitely use this rub again.  Perhaps with beef.

Spice Rub

3 Tb. finely ground coffee or espresso
1 Tb. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tb. sugar
2 Tb. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. kosher salt

Swirl this together in a coffee grinder or similar appliance.  Dry the lamb chops and dredge in this mixture.  Heat a pan to medium high with 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Sear the lamb chops on both sides and place in a 350F oven until they are cooked to your liking.

Serve with cauliflower potato mash and celeriac salad.

Celeriac Salad

Peel the celery root and then shave the fleshy part.  Discard the woody interior.  Make a dressing of 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon capers, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar and 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley.  Toss with the shaved celeriac.

Cauliflower Potato Mash

Saute cauliflower florets in ample butter until tender.  Boil an equal amount of potatoes in water until tender.  Mash the cauliflower and add potatoes.  Mash until evenly mixed.  Serve hot.

Maritime Fish Cakes

The Daring Cooks have done it again!  Another interesting challenge.  This time it is 'patties' or 'croquettes'.  I have been experimenting with a number of recipes for fish cakes.  I really like this one.  I had salt cod on hand.

The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties!

Fish Cakes

2 lb salt cod
1 lb potatoes
1 stalk celery, finey diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Soak salt cod in cold water for 48 hours and change the water a couple of times.  Boil the peeled potatoes in water until tender.  Gently mash potatoes.  Cool.

Drain salt cod and rip into pieces.  Boil in water for 5 minutes.  Drain.  Shred and chop the cod into small pieces.

Saute celery and onion in olive oil until tender.

Mash the potatoes, add celery and onion and shredded cod.  Do not overwork.  Form into cakes.  Fry in hot oil.  Serve with chow chow.  The cakes can be frozen after forming into patties and cooked later.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo from the Daring Cooks

When I was in Tennessee last year, I bought a whole pantry full of southern ingredients.  I have hardly used them!  This is a great challenge.  I can finally use my gumbo filé.  I also used Tony Cacheres Creole seasoning mix rather than make my own.  I also cut the entire recipe in half!  It is a huge recipe and could easily feed a crowd for a party.

This is so delicious.  I know you will take one look at this recipe and say, "Nope. Too much work."

It is worth every hour.  If you keep homemade chicken stock and rendered duck fat in your freezer, there, it is half done!  I used what I had at hand.  There is no andouille sausage in my town so I used chorizo.  Smoked spicy sausage was substituted with double smoked pepperoni.  For the rice, I used basmati.  But you must remember that basmati is so delicate and cooks quickly.  Take the lid off after 12 minutes and let the moisture escape.

I used a large cast iron pan but you could easily use a cast iron casserole. 

The most fun was to make the roux.  I remember when I was a child that my mother would make gravy and start with a roux of fat and flour that she would cook until it was a nice colour.  This just takes that browning a little farther.

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Minimally adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Serves 6

Ingredients
1/2 cup rendered duck fat
1/2 cup flour
1/2 large onions, diced
1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
1 tablespoon Basic Creole Spices (recipe follows), or store-bought Creole spice blend

1/2 pound spicy smoked sausage, sliced ½ inch thick
2 stalks celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons of homemade tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 quart homemade duck stock
1 bay leaf
6 ounces andouille sausage, chopped
1 cup sliced okra, ½ -inch thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Filé powder, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
4-6 cups  cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice (recipe follows)

Season the chicken pieces with about 2 tablespoons of the Creole Spices while you prepare the vegetables.

Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.

In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the duck fat over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.

Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir for about a minute.

Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.

Add the chopped andouille, okra, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper, several dashes of filé powder, and Tabasco, all to taste.

Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice. Pass more filé powder at the table if desired.

Basic Louisiana White Rice

Adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Servings: About 4 cups


1 tablespoon chicken fat, extra-virgin olive oil, or butter
1 small onion, minced
1½ cups  Louisiana (or another long-grain white rice)
3 cups  Basic Chicken Stock
1 bay leaf
1-2 pinches salt


1. Put the fat, oil, or butter and the onions into a medium saucepan and sweat the onions over moderate heat until they are translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Pour the rice into the pan and stir for 2 minutes.
3. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
4. Add the bay leaf and salt.
5. Cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 18 minutes.
6. Remove the pan from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.

Basic Creole Spices

From My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Makes ½ cup


2 tablespoons celery salt
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground allspice


Mix together all spices in a bowl. Transfer the spices to a clean container with a tight-fitting lid. Store up to six months.

Edible Containers

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com! 

This challenge was wide open for us to use any and all ideas we could come up with.  Sometimes that makes it more difficult!  Please log in and vote for me!

Bean Sprout and Papaya Salad

I used rice paper to make my edible bowl.  It is a fiddly thing to do but after awhile I felt like a kid playing with my food.  The spring roll paper needs to be rehydrated.  Dip it in warm water for a few seconds and then lay it on a cutting board to rehydrate.  I used smallish pieces because it was easier to control.  The rice paper once rehydrated is very elastic and sticky.  I broke the large round circles into quarters before dipping in water.  It works much easier than trying to tear them into pieces while they are wet.

Mold the pieces of rice paper around the bottom of a ladle.  This also works best if the ladle has been preheated in the oil.  Otherwise the rice paper is more difficult to remove after deep frying.  Dip the spoon in the oil to deep fry the rice paper.  350F for a minute or two and it is done.  Gently pry it off the spoon with tongs, not your fingers.  It is extremely hot and will burn.  Drain on paper towels.

For the salad....

Wash and dry bean sprouts.  Julienne papaya.  Toss together and arrange in rice paper bowl.

Decorate plate with lime zest.  Place salad bowl.  Top with chopped green onions.  Spoon over nuoc mam.  Serve.

Nuoc Mam

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup fish sauce

2 T sugar

2 T lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup grated carrots

red chili sauce, to taste

Mix all ingredients except red chili sauce in a jar.  Shake to mix.  Add red chili sauce, to taste.

Goat Cheese Soufflé in Phyllo Cup

Another month and another challenge!  Soufflés are one of my favourite fancy dishes.  My all time favourite is Grand Marnier soufflé but I must try something new for this challenge.  I like the idea of edible serving dishes and found this intriguing salad recipe with a goat cheese soufflé in a phyllo cup.

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

Goat Cheese Soufflé in Phyllo Cup                   serves 8

For phyllo cups

• 6 (17- by 12-inch) phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

For soufflé filling

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 large eggs, separated
• finely grated Parmagiano Reggiano cheese (1/2 cup)
• 5 oz soft mild goat cheese, crumbled (2/3 cup)

For salad

• 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 oz frisée, torn into bite-size pieces (8 cups)
• 6 radishes, cut into very thin wedges
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Make cups:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cover stack of phyllo with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and a dampened kitchen towel. Put 1 phyllo sheet on a work surface and brush with some butter, then top with 2 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter.

Cut buttered stack into 6 (4 1/2-inch) squares with a sharp knife, trimming sides as needed. Line each of 6 muffin cups with a square. Make 6 more phyllo cups (4 are extra, in case of breakage) in same manner with remaining pastry sheets and butter.

Bake cups in middle of oven until golden, about 8 minutes, then cool completely in pan on a rack. 

Make filling:
Increase oven temperature to 400°F.

While cups are cooling, melt butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, yolks, and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano until combined, then fold in goat cheese. (Cover surface of mixture with wax paper if not using immediately.)

Beat egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer until they just hold stiff peaks. Fold one third of whites into sauce to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

Spoon batter into 8 phyllo cups and sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake in middle of oven until soufflés are puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. 

Make salad while soufflés bake:
Whisk together vinegar, mustard, and salt in a bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

Just before soufflés are ready, toss frisée and radishes in a large bowl with just enough dressing to coat. Mound salad onto 8 plates and sprinkle with chives, then make a small nest in center of each.

Place a soufflé cup in each salad and serve immediately. 

Cooks' notes: • Phyllo cups can be made 1 day ahead and kept in pan, carefully wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature. (Extra phyllo cups can be filled with ice cream or fruit for dessert the next day.) • Soufflé filling (without egg whites) can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature and stir (to loosen) before proceeding.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.



Stuffed grape leaves are a part of many cultures including the Syrians, the Turks, the Greeks, the Lebanese, the Albanians, the Israeli's, the Iranians, the Iraqis and the Armenians (just to name a few). Generally speaking the stuffed part could be in zucchinis/courgette, eggplant, tomato or peppers. Really it also extends to stuffing certain types of fish as well. It is suggested that the origin of stuffed grape leaves goes back to the time when Alexander the Great besieged Thebes. It has also been suggested the Byzantines refined and spiced up the recipe and used the leaves of other vines such as hazelnuts and figs.



I decided to use my old favourite recipe.  I love the sweetness from currants and flavour of pinenuts.

Yolantzi Dolmathes (Greece)                             from Time Life Books

Steamed Grape Leaves with Rice, Pine Nut and Currant Stuffing

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup uncooked long or medium grain white rice
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground blakc pepper
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons dried currants
40 preserved grape leaves
2 tablespoons cold water
lemon wedges

In a heavy large skillet, heat  3 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it.  Add the onions and, stirring frequently, cook for 5 minutes, or until they are soft and transparent but not brown.  Add the rice and stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the grains are coated with oil.  Do not let them brown.  Pour in the water, add the salt and a few grindings of pepper and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid.  In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil and in it cook the pine nuts until they are a delicate brown.  Add them to the rice, then sir in the currants.

In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat.  Drop in the grape leaves and immediately turn off the heat.  Let the leaves soak for 1 minute, then drain them in a sieve and plunge them into a bowl or pan of cold water to cool them quickly.  Gently separate the leaves and spread them, dull sides up, on paper towels to drain.

Layer the bottom of a heavy 2 to 3 quart casserole with about 10 of the leaves.  Stuff each of the remaining leaves with about 1 tablespoon of the rice mixture.  Stack the stuffed leaves, side by side and seam sides down, in layers in the casserole and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and the cold water.  Place the casserole over high heat for 3 minutes, reduce the heat to low and simmer, tightly covered, for 50 minutes.  Then uncover and cool to room termperature.

 To serve, arrange the stuffed grape leaves attractively on a platter or individual plates and garnish with lemon wedges.

September Daring Cooks Challenge

I have been canning food for a number of years.  Actually, I have been canning and freezing food since I was a teenager or younger.  You see, I grew up on a farm.  That is what we did.

We had a garden and froze all the vegetables.  And we would always buy B.C. fruit by the case and would can peaches, pears, apricots and cherries every year.  Then we would go out and pick saskatoon berries and chokecherries to make more preserves.  If we could get our hands on any, we would also try to make crabapple jelly.  Actually in the really old days, before I got involved, my mother would can vegetables and chicken.  And that was before the days of pressure canners!  Scary, eh?

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

I want to show you what I have done this season - Spiced Pear Butter and Blackberry Jam.

I posted my recipe for Strawberry Balsamic Black  Pepper Strawberry Preserves awhile back.

And my Concord Grape Jam. 

With my pressure canner, I have put away duck and chicken stock.

Tomato Salsa!

If you go back a couple of days, I have posted my Mustard Beans.








This is the recipe I am sharing today ... Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce.

Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

25 lbs of roma tomatoes
3 large or 5 medium onions
1 head of garlic
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried, crushed hot chilis

Build a hot fire on your charcoal grill or use your gas barbecue.  Grill all of the tomatoes until blackened on all sides.  Drop into cold water to chill.  Slip the blackened skins off the tomatoes.  Chop coarsely.

Roast the whole onions on the grill.  When blackened on all sides, remove to cool.  Remove the blackened layers and coarsely chop the onion.  Pulse in a food processor to finely chop the onion.

Grill the head of garlic over the hot coals.  Let cool and squeeze out the roasted garlic.

Add tomatoes, onions, garlic and other seasonings to a large stock pot.  Simmer for 1 - 2 hours or until rich.

Process in a water bath.  Bernardin has great instructions for processing with the water bath method.

Cottage Cheese Perogies

My batch of perogy dough makes millions of the tasty little dumplings.  I have made potato with asiago cheese, potato with sauteed onions, potato with morel mushrooms, potato with truffle sauce, saskatoon berry, and carrot puree with Egyptian spices.

And I still have dough!  I have never had cottage cheese perogies and I hear people rave about them.  I have egg yolks in the fridge so this is perfect.

Serve, as usual, boiled and with onions sauteed in butter and with sour cream.  You could also fry them after boiling.

Cottage Cheese Perogies

2 cups dry curd cottage cheese
3 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste

Mix in a food processor and fill perogy skins as prepared in my previous post.

Pureed Carrot Perogies with Egyptian Spices

 I had a lot of perogy dough from participating in the Daring Cooks Challenge so made a few more varieties.  This one is very interesting and unusual.  Loved it.

Pureed Carrot Perogies with Egyptian Spices

2 T toasted ground almonds
1 T ground coriander seeds
1 T ground cumin
2 T finely cut unsweetened coconut, toasted
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 c pureed carrots
2 T tahini
1/4 t ground ginger
1 t harissa


Boil carrots to make 2 cups of carrot puree.  Use just enough of the cooking liquid to puree the carrots in a food processor or blender.  If the mixture is runny, then cook over medium heat to make it thicker.

Toast almonds in a hot pan.  When lightly toasted, move them to a small bowl.  Toast the coriander and cumin in the same pan.  Just heat lightly and when lightly heated, add to the almonds.  Toast the coconut lightly and add to same bowl.  Add salt, pepper and ground ginger.

Mix the spices with the carrot puree.  Add the tahini and harissa and mix until well blended.

Use about a teaspoon in a perogy skin.  See my previous post on making the perogy dough.

Boil in salted water and serve with butter, sauted onions and sour cream.  Can be frozen before boiling.  Cook the frozen perogies by dropping into salted, boiling water while they are still frozen.

Perogies Daring Cooks Challenge

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

My friend, Luscious Linda, taught me  how to make perogies a couple of years ago.  We used her Baba's recipe which went something like this...take one large bowl and fill it half full of all purpose flour.  Add two coffee cups of unbleached flour....etc.  We followed the directions and Linda tried to remember how big a large bowl was or what size a water glass would be.

As we went along, we also measured and wrote down the recipe.  This is it!  And, hey, it works beautifully.  Don't go out and buy those hokey perogy makers.  There is absolutely no need.  Just use a 'juice glass' to cut circles.  Then roll them again to make ovals and fill and fold.

This recipe makes a very large batch and they can successfully be frozen.  Lay the perogies out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze.  Then put them in a freezer bag.  To use, boil the frozen perogy in plenty of salted water.  Then they can be sauted in butter and served with sauteed onions and sour cream.

Perogy Dough

9 c all purpose flour

3 c bread flour

5 T canola oil

4 ¼ c warm water

1.     Mix and knead into a ball and let rest for 5 minutes.

2.     Dust rolling pin and counter top with flour and roll dough out to 1/8 – ¼ inch thick.  Cut into circles about 3 inch diameter.  Roll again a little bit more to make an oval.

3.     Continue until all dough is made into perogies.

4.     Boil perogies in a large pot of water that has had a little oil added, until they float, about 8 minutes.

5.     Serve with sautéed diced onions, butter and sour cream.

Saskatoon Berry Perogies

Mix 1 cup of sugar with 3 T flour.  Put 10 saskatoons and 1 T sugar mixture in each.  Close and pinch the seam together. 

These are little more challenging, believe it or not.  The sugar seems to get into the way when you are pinching the perogy shut and makes it difficult to get a bond.

I like these as a brunch item.  I tried them sauteed in butter and with brown sugar sweetened sour cream and liked it.  My Ukranian friend has them with melted butter and regular sour cream. 

Potato and Asiago Cheese Filling for Perogies

4 – 6 medium potatoes

1 c. grated asiago cheese

1 small chopped onion finely

Salt to taste

Milk to thin, if necessary

Pinch of pepper

Boil potatoes and drain.  Mash with the rest of the ingredients until it reaches a pureed texture.  Put one tablespoonful in each perogie.

Grilled Sirloin Steaks with Blue Cheese Walnut Butter

This is another recipe using a home made nut butter.  I loved the last Daring Cooks challenge and made several different recipes.   I am combining walnut butter with blue cheese to make a luscious topping for a grilled steak.  Such an easy way to ramp up your next barbecue.

For a more polished presentation, this butter can be formed into a log by wrapping it in plastic wrap.  Chill until firm and slice thickly.  Put a pat on each steak.

Grilled Sirloin Steaks with Blue Cheese Walnut Butter           

• 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled  
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, finely crumbled 
• 1/4 cup walnut butter 
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 - 1 1/2-to 1 3/4-pound sirloin steaks (1 inch thick) 

• Combine cheese, butter, parsley, garlic and rosemary in medium bowl. Stir to blend well. Mix in walnut butter.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer blue cheese butter to small bowl. (NOTE: Blue cheese butter can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring butter to room temperature before using.)
• Season steaks as you like.  I like Montreal steak spice but you can simply use salt and pepper.   Cover and let stand 1/2 hour at room temperature.
• Prepare grill (medium-high heat). Grill steaks to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to platter and let stand 5 minutes.
• Cut each steak into 3 equal portions. Top each portion with a spoonful of blue cheese butter and serve.
• Serves 6.

Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

I didn't begin the challenge until well into the month.  I had a limited selection of nuts locally so I went online and found a wonderful place in the U.S. that will ship to Canada - Nuts Online.  I got so excited and ordered more than I needed for this challenge alone.

I bought some marcona almonds, because I love them!  Roast or fry them with a little olive oil and  a sprinkle of sea salt and they are a wonderful with a cocktail or a cheese tray.  I also wanted to try the almond flour and had to purchase a whopping 5 pound bag!  I guess I will be making a few macarons and I would like to try some other cookies or cakes with it.

I bought raw nuts because I can fresh roast them as I need them.  I think the flavour is better.  I made the cashew nut butter for the recipe below.  I cannot post everything today because you would just keep reading and reading or...not!  Over the next few days I will share other recipes with other nut butters.  Today it is cashew butter.  Please read on! 

• The process for making various types of nut butters is essentially the same. Pour nuts into bowl of food processor. Grind the nuts in the processor until they form a paste or butter. The nuts first turn into powdery or grainy bits, then start to clump and pull away from the side of the bowl, and finally form a paste or butter. The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes (assuming a starting volume of 1 to 2 cups [240 to 480 ml] nuts). Processing times for a variety of nuts are described below.
• You may add oil as desired during grinding to make the nut butter smoother and creamier or to facilitate grinding. Add oil in small increments, by the teaspoon for oily nuts like cashews or by the tablespoon for dryer/harder nuts like almonds. You may use the corresponding nut oil or a neutral vegetable oil like canola.
• The inclusion of salt in the nut butters is optional and to taste. If you make nut butters from salted nuts, peanuts or cashews for example, you will not need additional salt. We recommend making unsalted nut butters for use in the challenge recipes (and other savory recipes) since the recipes call for salt or salty ingredients. You can then adjust the salt to taste. If you are making nut butter for use as a spread, you should add salt according to your preference.
• Roasting the nuts before making nut butters is optional according to your preference. To roast nuts in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/Gas Mark 4). Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until nuts are fragrant and a shade darker in color. Allow nuts to cool before grinding. Roasted nuts will make butter with darker color than raw nuts.
• It’s helpful to keep in mind that the yield of nut butter is about half the original volume of nuts. If you start with 1 cup nuts, you’ll get about ½ cup nut butter.
• The consistency of nut butters varies from thin & soft (almost pourable) to very thick and hard depending on the fat content of the nut. (See links below for nutrition info on variety of nuts.) Homemade nut butters will probably not be as smooth as commercial products.
• Homemade nut butters are more perishable than commercial products and should be stored in the refrigerator. The nut butters harden & thicken somewhat upon chilling. 

• Almonds: form a thick butter in about 2 to 3 minutes for slivered almonds, or 3 to 4 minutes for whole almonds; the skin of whole almonds will leave dark flecks in the butter
• Cashews: form a smooth, spreadable butter after about 2 minutes of processing
• Hazelnuts: form a firm, thick, and grainy butter in about 2 to 3 minutes; to remove the skin from whole hazelnuts, roast in a 400 degree F oven (200 degrees C/Gas Mark 6) for about 5 minutes or till skins loosen, then rub hazelnuts in a clean dishtowel to remove some of the skin; the remaining skin will leave dark flecks in the butter
• Macadamias: form a soft and smooth butter in about 2 minutes
• Peanuts: form a thick, grainy butter in about 2 or 3 minutes
• Pecans: form a very soft, oily, pourable butter in 1 or 2 minutes; the skins give pecan butter a slightly tannic and bitter flavor
• Walnuts: form a very soft, oily, pourable butter in 1 or 2 minutes; the skins give walnut butter a slightly tannic and bitter flavor
• Pistachios: According to the Nut Butter Primer from Cooking Light, pistachio butter is dry and crumbly with a tendency to clump during processing; they recommend combining it with softened cream cheese for easy spreading and report a processing time of 3.5 to 4 minutes. Please note, we did not test pistachio butter.

Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew (or Peanut) Dressing
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe notes: Customize the salad by adding or substituting your favorite vegetables. Shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and slivered carrots would make nice additions. Obviously, you can omit the shrimp, or substitute chicken or tofu or the protein of your choice. The dressing is equally as good with peanut butter rather than cashew butter. We tested the dressing with nut butters made from salted cashews & peanuts with good results.


Cashew Butter:
1 cup (240 ml) cashews*
Cashew Dressing:
½ inch (1 cm) slice of fresh ginger, chopped
8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
½ cup (120 ml) cashew butter
¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) sugar
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) vinegar
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) toasted sesame oil
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (75 ml) water
Hot sauce to taste (optional)
Noodle Salad:
1/2 pound (225 g) linguine or thin rice noodles
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
1/2 pound (225 g) small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) sliced green onions
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped cashews (optional garnish)
Lime wedges (optional)
Directions:

1. Make cashew butter: Grind cashews in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth. (*Or start with ½ cup (120 ml) prepared cashew butter.)
2. Prepare cashew dressing: Combine ginger, garlic, cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor or blender. Process/blend until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker -- to your liking by adding more water or cashew butter. Taste and add your favorite hot sauce if desired. (If the cashew butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 1 ½ cups (360 ml) dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.
3. Prepare noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Rinse and drain noodles. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add shrimp to the pan and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes or until opaque throughout. Alternately, cook shrimp in boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes or until done.
5. Slice basil into thin ribbons. Combine noodles, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, and basil in a large bowl. Add about ½ cup (120 ml) cashew dressing; toss gently to coat. Add more cashew dressing as desired, using as much or as little as you like. Scatter shrimp on top. Squeeze fresh lime juice over salad or serve with lime wedges. Sprinkle with chopped cashews if desired.