Category: recipe

Fall Food

On By ajmalventanoIn Cooking, recipeLeave a comment

Apples, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, sweet potatoes, cranberries, squashes, soups, roast… just a few of favorite fall kitchen smells and fall foods.   There is no time of the year that I enjoy cooking during than I do in the fall.

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The cooler weather, crisp breezes, leaves / trees changing colors, store actually carrying pumpkins, local apples and a large variety of squashes, all of these things get me in the mood to cook.

One of the first fall meals I cooked this year was roast with roasted carrots and onions and then mashed potatoes and green beans.   This was actually one of the first times I have fixed a roast, all on my own, usually that was something my grandmother would fix or it was something friends would fix.

When we had our first cooler weekend, I decided that it was time for roast.

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Classic Roast

2 ½ to 5 pound roast (not frozen)

kosher salt

black pepper

olive oil

1 to 2 onions peeled and quarter

carrots about 6 to 8, 2-inch pieces

2 to 4 cups of beef broth (stock)

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Season roast generously with salt and pepper on all sides, then set aside.

In a Dutch oven heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil (over medium high heat).   When the oil is hot, add the onions. Brown the onions on all sides and then remove.   Add the carrots and toss around until they are brown on all sides, then remove.   Add the roast to the pot and sear it on all sides.   After the roast has been seared on all sides remove the roast to a plate.   Add 1 cup of beef broth to deglaze the pot; use a whisk to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the dish.   Add the browned meat to the pot and add enough beef broth to cover the meat halfway, about 4 cups. Add the onions and carrots back to the pot.

Put the lid on the pot and place in the oven. Roast for about 3 hours for 2 ½ to 3 pound roast or 4 hours for a 3 to 6 pound roast.

I made steamed green beans and mashed potatoes to accompany the roast.   All in all it was a yummy meal…

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Easy Crepes

On By ajmalventanoIn recipeLeave a comment

Sometimes I have no idea what to fix for dinner, so I end up fixing breakfast-for-dinner. One of our favorite breakfast-for-dinner meals has become crepes.   Crepes are light yet filling plus you can put just about anything on/in them.

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Crepes

2 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

1 cup flour

1 (heaping) tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups milk

Directions:

  1. Soften the butter. I put mine in a microwave safe mixing bowel and microwave it for 20 to 30 seconds. The butter is not fully melted but softened, I use a whisk or folk to break it up. This gives to batter get light buttery taste and helps prevent it from sticking, while it is cooking.
  2. Add the milk and eggs, whisk together and then whisk in the sugar and the salt.
  3. Slowly add in the flour, using a whisk or a spoon. Don’t use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. The batter will be slightly lumpy.
  4. Heat up a non-stick pan to medium heat. Spray the pan lightly with cooking spray.
  5. Pour or use a ladle to add batter to the pan.   Rotate the pan around until the batter evenly coats the bottom.
  6. When the batter starts to turn brown around the edges and appears settled in the middle, the crepes are ready to be flipped. You can either flip the crepes using a long soft thin spatula or you flip it using the pan, if you brave!  If you flip the crepe using the pan, make sure to loosen the bottom of the crepe first.
  7. Let the other side cook for about 30 seconds to a minute.   When you see it is starting to brown, it’s done and can be transferred to a plate.

Toppings and Fillings:

I typically top my crepes with fresh fruit – strawberries, bananas, cherries, blueberries or raspberries.You can also add, nuts and whipped cream.

I have experiment with two different types of of fillings: cream cheese and a Nutella filling.

Cream Cheese:  To make, use an electric mixer to beat together a soften block of cream cheese, 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, a splash of lemon juice and a dash of salt.

Nutella: Spoon about 1/4 of the cup of Nutella into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until soft.  Optional: mix in a tablespoon of whipped cream or cool whip, to make the Nutella filling fluffy.

There are many ways to assemble the crepes.  The crepes can be left flat and layered with fruit and filling.  Filling can be placed on half and folded in half or quarters and topped with various fruits. Finally, a flattened crepe can be covered with filling, roll and top with your favorite fruits.

Fudge Cake

On By ajmalventanoIn baking, recipeLeave a comment

Around Mother’s Day our office had a pot luck luncheon.  My company provided pizza and pasta and we were asked to salads or dessert.  People in my office know that I am baker, so I had no choice but to bring some sort of baked good.  I had recently come across the recipe for a tunnel of fudge cake, so thought I would try it … it was big hit with my office crowd.  However, as with most things I bake, I was not a big fan of the cake, I thought it was dry, but I have to admit the chocolate fudge glaze was heavenly.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

Pan Prep:

1 tablespoon Dutch processed cocoa powder**

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Cake:

½ cup boil water

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 cups (10 ounces) all –purpose flour

¾ cup (2 ¼ ounces) Dutch processed cocoa powder**

2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

¾ cup pace (5 ¼ ounce) light brown sugar

20 tablespoons (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Glaze:

¾ cup heavy cream

¼ cup light corn syrup

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and melted butter.  Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the inside of a 12 cup bundt pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the chopped chocolate.  Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar and salt.  Combine the eggs and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup and beat lightly.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the graduated sugar, brown sugar and butter.  Beat on medium – high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the egg mixture until combined.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.
  4. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 1 ½ hours before inverting onto a platter.  Allow to cool completely, about 2 more hours.
  5. To make the glaze, combine the cream, corn syrup and chocolate in small saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, stirring frequent, until smooth.  Blend in the vanilla.  Set aside for about 30 minutes, until slightly thickened.  Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let set for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Source:  Annie’s Eats

** I had trouble finding Dutch processed cocoa powder  but after doing some research I learned that Dutch processed  is basically alkalized unsweetened cocoa powder and if you cannot that either the substitution is for 3 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa = 3 tablespoons natural cocoa powder plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda