Sasha's Kitchen: Ad Hoc's Cream of Cauliflower Soup With Red Beet Chips

I recently realized that not a single Thomas Keller recipe has been featured on this blog yet.  It's certianly time to change that!  Keller, the renowned celebrity chef and owner of a number of world famous restaurants, including The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon and his newest restaurant, Ad Hoc, which opened in 2006.   I have been to Bouchon and hope to make it to Ad Hoc on my next trip to Napa Valley.  I have not been to Per se or the French Laundry, as reservations there will set you back quite a few pretty pennies, but they have earned their reputations as some of the best restaurants in the world according to my friends who have dined there.  I am very excited about Thomas Keller's new cookbook, Ad Hoc At Home which brings Thomas Keller's celebrity kitchen to the everyday chef in a more accessible manner.  Sure, the French Laundry cookbook looks absolutely amazing, but even I was too intimidated to make the $70 investment in the book and the time investment required to make any of the recipes inside.  Never mind - Ad Hoc At Home  makes Thomas Keller accessible to the proletariat.  My first recipe from the cookbook, the Cream of Califlower Soup With Red Beet Chips was a huge success.  I plan to make his caramelized scallops next.  Please note that I am posting the full soup recipe, but I halved the recipe to serve two, which was perfect for our dinner!

Ad Hoc At Home's Cream of Cauliflower Soup With Red Beet Chips
2 heads of Cauliflower
4 T butter
3/4 cup chopped leeks
3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 tsp curry powder (Keller only uses 1/4, but I like a bit more curry)
kosher salt
2 cups milk (I used skim milk)
2 cups water
2 cups heavy cream
canola oil for deep frying the beets
1 tsp white vinegar
croutons (I didn't make my own like Keller suggests, I just used Mrs. Cubbison's store bought croutons)
1 medium red beet
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

First, remove the leaves from the cauliflower and cut out the core.  Coarsely chop the cauliflower.  Reserve about two cups of the florets for the garnish and place aside.  Coarsely chop the leek and onion.

Melt three tablespoons of butter in a large pot or Dutch Oven.    Add the onion, leek, curry and cauliflower to the pot and season with 2 tsp of salt.  Cover the pot with a lid and cook on medium heat for twenty minutes until the vegetables are almost tender.

Add the milk, cream and water and increase heat to medium high.  Then reduce to a simmer, and simmer the contents for thirty minutes, skimming off the foam occasionally.    Then allow the soup to cool for about five or ten minutes, and puree in the blender.

To prepare the beet chips for the garnish, fill a pot with an inch of canola oil.  Slice the beet super thing with a mandolin and fry for a couple minutes in the oil.  The place the fried beets on a paper towel to allow the oil to run off.  The beets are absolutely necessary to make the soup work, so don't skip this part, even if you are wary of beets (like my husband was).  The purpose of the beets is threefold - they add texture, color and a bit of sweetness.  Yum!

To prepare the reserved cauliflower garnish, take the cauliflower you set aside and boil in some water with salt for five minutes until the florets are tender, along with a teaspoon of vinegar.  The vinegar will allow the florets to retain their white color.  Then, drain the florets and saute in a tablespoon of butter.

Serve the soup with the florets, croutons and beet chips, and season with pepper.  This recipe was fabulous!

Sasha's Kitchen: Ad Hoc's Cream of Cauliflower Soup With Red Beet Chips

Sasha's Kitchen: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Dessert Challah

I love baking Challah; certainly it is my favorite Jewish recipe to prepare.  There's something both relaxing and spiritual about making Challah that always leave me in a good mood.  This recipe, like any Challah recipe, does not require a breadmaker - I always use my KitchenAid Artisan mixer to prepare fresh, light homebaked Challah, and it works like a charm.  Challah is one of my signature recipes - one of the feats in the kitchen that I am the most proud of.  My favorite part of Challah making is checking the Challah after the dough rises.  I love waiting for the dough to rise and braiding the bread.  I love the polished, professional and glossy look it has when it comes out the the oven.  And finally, I love the warm, fresh taste of a beautiful soft Challah straight out of the oven.  Few things are more gratifying! My all-time favorite meal consists of Challah, homemade caesar salad, Asian Sake marinated chilean sea bass with papaya salsa and my husband's green apple risotto.

I have already made regular plain Challah and cinnamon raisin Challah for this blog.  So I decided that the next direction to go with this egg-based bread would be to prepare a dessert Challah.  I decided that chocolate and cinnamon would be a natural combination for the perfect dessert bread.  There's certainly other possibilities - I have a pumpkin variation up my sleeve for a rainy day.


Sasha's Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Challah (makes one medium sized Challah)
2 1/4 cup King Arthur Bread Flour
2 small packets dry active yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
4 egg yolks plus 1 egg yolk for the glaze
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

This dessert recipe is very loosely adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe for plain Challah from her Baking Handbook.  Basically, I looked at that recipe, not for direction, but to make sure I got some of the basic proportions right.

  

To prepare this recipe, first activate the yeast by placing the dry active yeast in warm water and waiting about 10 minutes for the yeast to activate into a frothy, bubbly form.  Then, combine the water, flour, salt, sugar, canola oil, four egg yolks, cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips in your breadmaker or artisan mixer and combine into a dough.  You can add an additional couple of tablespoons of water if you need to (I did this time, no big deal).

Place the challah in a well oiled bowl covered with a damp cloth and allow it to rise in a warm place for an hour.  My trick is allowing the oven to heat to about 150 degrees and then turn it off before placing the bowl inside the slightly warm oven.  I found that this allows the dough to rise faster and more completely.  Braid the Challah and put on a baking sheet sprayed with PAM.  Cover with an oiled piece of plastic wrap and allow to rise for another hour.  At this point, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Before you bake the Challah, glaze with an egg yolk using a pastry brush.  This will give the Challah a nice, shiny egg washed color when baked.  Bake the bread for about 20-30 minutes and enjoy!  Mine was sweet, soft and delicious.

Sasha's Kitchen: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Dessert Challah

Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Orzo with Turkey Sausage & Broccoli Rabe

I was inspired by Sasha's Angel Hair Pasta with Grape Tomatoes, Garlic and Pine Nuts so I decided to also add a light, spring meal with pasta, tomatoes, pine nuts and a few other relatively healthy ingredients, feta cheese, mushrooms, broccoli rabe & turkey sausage. I'd say this would probably serve 4 or so and pretty much covers all your food groups.

1 package Shady Brook Farms Hot Italian Turkey Sausage
1 box of cherry tomatoes
1 bunch of broccoli rabe
1/2 package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 small package of pine nuts
6 oz. of feta cheese crumbles
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
white balsamic vinegar
black pepper to taste
olive oil

I had never cooked broccoli rabe before but usually like it quite a bit. I looked up a few recipes online and they all suggested boiling it first and then sauteing it. I boiled it for a couple of minutes and then most of the recipes said to place them in ice water to freeze the cooking time. I just ran cold water over them and then cooked them in the pan and mine were a little overcooked so maybe the ice bath would have been worth it. When I cooked them in the pan I have the garlic, mushrooms and olive oil in there to cook those as well.

I cooked the turkey sausage on my grill pan and then sliced them into thin discs, maybe an 1/8 of an inch each. After the sausage and broccoli rabe were cooked I just mixed everything together in the pot I boiled the broccoli rabe. I added the pine nuts, feta, tomatoes and a little more olive oil and the balsamic vinegar to taste. Everything worked very nicely together but I just wish I hadn't overdone the broccoli rabe. I will have to try and cook it again sometime.

Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Orzo with Turkey Sausage & Broccoli Rabe

Sasha's Kitchen: Philly Cheesesteak (North of Philly Version)

I spent four years living outside of Philadelphia during college, when I was an undergrad at Haverford College.  Most of my memories of food during college involve the mediocre typical college dining hall meals.  I certainly wasn't doing much cooking in those days because I loved in the dorms rather than the apartments that were a trek from the center of campus.  However, whenever I did take the less-than-reliable SEPTA commuter rail into Philly, I couldn't resist a cheesesteak from Pat's or Geno's.  Eric, my fellow guest blogger, and I both went to Philly-area schools and have a similar fondness for the cheesesteak as one of our favorite Philly cuisines.  Thus, we decided to have a friendly challenge where we would each make a cheesesteak that reminds us of our Philly college days and cheesesteak nostalgia, and write about it here on A Kitchen In Brooklyn.

In fairness, most of my cheesesteaks were inhaled in minutes, usually after drinking, so I wasn't paying much attention to the finer culinary points of the cheesesteaks during my college visits to Pats and Genos.   What I remember, is the melted cheese and the thin, delicious steak, and also that I loved cheesesteaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions.  When attempting to create this recipe, some years removed from college, I had the urge to caramelize the onions before adding them to the steak.

I purchased some quality Italian rolls from my local Italian market and butcher, M&S Prime Meats.  In addition, I decided that a thinly sliced rib eye was the way to go with the steak, since it isn't quite as lean as a cut of filet or sirloin would be.   The rib eye wasn't as thinly sliced as a Pat's cheesesteak, but it was cut into nice thing slices that my grill pan could easily handle.

To prepare the cheesesteaks, I seared the meat and cooked it through with a bit of canola oil in my grill pan.  I caramelized the onions with a bit of sugar (sliced one onion and added two tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of canola oil to the pan).  I sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil.  I used sliced baby bella mushrooms.  In addition, I bought a large roasted red pepper at the Italian market that I felt would be a perfect fit with this cheesesteak, so on it went.

Finally, it wouldn't be a cheesesteak without the cheese.  Some of the recipes from Philly that I looked at actually use cheeze wiz, but I certainly wasn't about to do that!  I decided that a sliced deli cheese was best and went with provolone.  The proper way to make a cheesesteak likely involves drizzling melted cheese, but I toasted the buns, assembled the sandwich and put it in the oven with the cheese at 350 for about five minutes until the cheese was melted.

In summary, here are the ingredients you will need to prepare my version of the cheesesteak.

Sasha's North-of-Philly (Brooklyn) Cheesesteak (makes two large sandwiches)

3/4 lb rib eye, thinly sliced

one onion, sliced

2 T of sugar

sliced baby bella mushrooms

canola oil  or olive oil

2 long Italian rolls

1 roasted red pepper

The end result was delicious.  Those Pat's and Geno's cheesesteaks had a special place in my heart from my college years, but my new cheesesteak is great for a new decade, although it was so big that I only ate half during dinner.  The flavors of the caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, sauteed mushrooms and provolone all combined nicely with the succulent, juicy rib eye.  The quality of the meat that I used is surely much better than a standard Philly cheesesteak, but keep in mind that this sandwich's main competition is my memories of Philly as a 19 year old college student.  Regardless, I was happy and nostalgic about this rendition.  This might just be the best Brooklyn cheesesteak out there!

Sasha's Kitchen: Philly Cheesesteak (North of Philly Version)

Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Asian Style Chilean Sea Bass

This is one of my favorite dishes to make and Jenn says that if I were ever on a cooking show and they asked what my 'signature dish' was, this would be it. I tend to agree with her and this was probably the best it's ever come out. I usually use some kind of Sea Bass or Red Snapper and this time around the only Bass they had at our local A&P happened to be Chilean Sea Bass. It's definitely not cheap but if you're willing to spend the money I'd say it's the way to go! This dish is based off of a family recipe from my Chinese side with a few minor tweaks. Mainly the spiciness and the lime juice.

Ingredients:
(for 2, all my amounts are very much approximated)
1 lb. Chilean Sea Bass
1-2 tbsp, freshly minced ginger
1 tbsp, minced garlic or 1-2 cloves
1/4 cup white wine (I used St. Urbans Hof Riesling)
1/4 soy sauce
1/8th of a large sweet onion, finely minced
1 lime's worth of juice
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 a small hot pepper, minced
A couple cranks on the pepper mill

I start by chopping up all my ingredients for the sauce. I don't have a food processor and chop things pretty quickly but a food processor might not be a bad way to go about this if you have one. Basically you need enough sauce to go with your fish when you serve it and it should taste and smell pretty good by itself so I go by taste when making it. We used a pretty sweet Riesling and I added a little more sugar than usual and both seemed to work out very well. I also usually put in some hot red pepper flakes and decided to buy some actual hot peppers instead. They weren't labeled at the store and I bought three, thinking, how hot could they be? I started mincing the first one and ate a small slice and was dumbfounded by how hot it was so I scraped out the seeds (which tend to add a lot of heat) and only used half of it and in the end it really wasn't too hot.

You want to bake this in the oven for roughly 20-25 minutes at about 425 degrees. You also want to make sure it's tightly covered. You can create a foil pouch or just cover a baking pan with foil. Mine was the same size I would make brownies in (I don't bake much). I tend to be able to tell when it's done by the smell when I open the oven door but you may have to check on it. You can tell I took a nibble to check it in my photo... It was good.

In the end I served it over some Jasmine rice (1/2 cup uncooked) with some snap peas that I just sauteed in some olive oil, garlic and cracked black pepper. I cooked them covered for probably 5 minutes on medium heat until they were just soft enough to eat without being mushy. The fish ended up being very good and kind of buttery which I found funny since there was no actual butter in the recipe. Also check out Sasha's Asian-infused sea bass with a papaya marinade!

Eric's Kitchen in Jersey City: Asian Style Chilean Sea Bass

Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Cafe Langley's Russian Cream

This recipe comes from the Cafe Langley, a great Mediterranean restaurant in the little town of Langley, WA, where I grew up -- it's one of the best restaurants in town, so if you find yourself in "Langley by the Sea," as the marketers are wont to call it, stop by.

My mom has been making this for years, and it's one of my favorite all-season desserts. It's light enough for spring and summer, but rich enough for fall and winter, and you can change up the fruit topping to match whatever's in season or whatever you have on hand. I'm printing here the original raspberry topping, although I made it last night with strawberries because they looked so good in the store, as one of the first fresh fruits of spring.

Last night, I paired this with a garlic-and-lemon marinated rack of lamb, Israeli couscous, lightly sauteed peas with lemon zest and pine nuts, and a butter lettuce salad with locally grown fresh tomatoes, homemade croutons and a lime-rosemary vinaigrette. So all in all, a fairly Mediterranean meal, one that went over well with our dinner guests. One tip on that front: If you're going to crust your lamb, don't broil it. The crust will burn. Though the lamb was fine after we scraped off the carcinogens, I missed the panko/almond flour/spice flavor I was going for there.

Russian Cream
makes six 1/2-cup servings

1 envelope (.25 oz) gelatin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries, pureed, without seeds (though I left the seeds in the strawberry puree, and it worked out fine)

In a small saucepan, blend the sugar and gelatin. Add the water and mix well. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream.
In a bowl, combine the sour cream and vanilla. Gradually beat in the hot sugar/cream mixture, and beat until smooth.
Pour into individual serving dishes (I used wine glasses). Chill at least four hours, then spoon the berry puree on top of the cream just before serving.

I had intended to finish this dish off with a Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Crisp in each cup, but I forgot. D'oh!

Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Cafe Langley's Russian Cream

Sasha's Kitchen: Maple Walnut Muffins for the Perfect Brunch

Muffins make for the perfect weekend breakfast.  If you make a good muffin recipe, it should be relatively quick and easy to make, and the muffins should disappear quickly.  For this recipe, I adapted the original recipe from my new Vermont cookbook to make it a bit healthier, using Canola Oil, rather than butter.  I also adapted the recipe to incorporate skim milk, rather than whole milk.  The end result was a delicious maple walnut muffin that was a scrumptious breakfast treat, and a healthy muffin that you can enjoy eating several of without too much guilt (not that there's any guilt here).

I recommend serving the muffins with a little bit of softened butter, or perhaps even a bit of whipped cream.  The maple adds a lovely (but not overpowering) sweetness to the muffins, while the walnuts are the perfect complement and add a nice element of texture.  This probably goes without saying, but the recipe is dependent on the quality of the maple syrup that you use for the flavor, so I recommend using the best local Vermont or Quebec maple syrup that you can get your hands on.

Maple Walnut Muffins (Loosely adapted from the cookbook, Dishing Up Vermont)
2 cups flour
2/3 cup high-quality Maple Syrup (I used Brad's Organic Maple Syrup, named after my husband!)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup skim milk
 7 T canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar (the original recipe called for maple sugar, which I didn't have access to)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a silicon muffin tin.  I made a total of 13 muffins.  Mix the dry ingredients (including the sugar) in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, canola oil and maple syrup.  Combine the two mixtures, alternatively also adding the milk, until all of the ingredients are fully combined.  Chop the walnuts and fold in gently with a spatula.  Fill the muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes.  Allow to cool before removing from the muffin molds.

These really are perfect for brunch - despite the maple syrup, they are not overly sweet and have the perfect organic fresh New England flavor.  And, they are healthy too!

Sasha's Kitchen: Maple Walnut Muffins for the Perfect Brunch

Sasha's Kitchen: The Best Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been craving chewy peanut butter cookies for the last couple of weeks.  I was looking for something flowerless for my peanut butter cookies, with plenty of chewiness.  I don't care for hard and crunchy cookies, as I prefer them to be chewy and tender.  I think the absence of the flour and the gluten free approach to these cookies makes them chewier and less dry than regular peanut bitter cookies.  The eggs also help increase that chewiness factor.  These are some great cookies to sink your teeth into, and in my opinion they are the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I have ever had.  The recipe below should make 20 to 24 cookies, depending on the size.  Mine are a bit on the large side, so try to make your cookies a bit smaller, and remind yourself that they do expand when you bake them.  I am very happy with the results of the experimentation to get this recipe perfect, and am so happy to share the final batch here.

It took me a couple of batches to get the cookies the way that I wanted them. I discovered the importance of using a combination of brown sugar and regular sugar to get the right chewy consistency.  The cookies don't caramelize properly if you only use granulated sugar, as I learned from one of my less desirable batches.   Practice made perfect with these cookies - I was very satisfied with the final batch, using the combination of sugar and the extra egg.  They were chewy and delicious!

Sasha's Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/2 cups of peanut butter

3 large sized eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  To prepare the cookies, combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl, except for the chocolate chips.  Once the dough is fully combined, mix in the chocolate chips.  Use a tablespoon to make cookie dough balls about an inch apart on your baking sheets.  Remember to spray the baking sheets with PAM before dropping down the batter.  The cookies don't bake for too long - only about 12 minutes, until puffy and very lightly golden.  If you bake the cookies too long, they will burn on the bottom and become crispy.  They are still soft when you take them out of the oven, but harden as they cool to a chewy, flexible consistency.  Enjoy the peanut buttery goodness!  The recipe is very simple, and does not require a stand mixer.  Even better - these cookies are gluten free!

Sasha's Kitchen: The Best Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Emily's Kitchen in Seattle: Simply Amazing (Raw Vegan) Coconut Macaroons

Before you skip this post because it has "raw vegan" in the title, hear me out. Raw and vegan they are, yes, but only second to Simply Amazing. I generated this recipe over Passover, when Jews are not permitted to consume leavened products (thus two of my favorite food groups, homemade pizza and vegan baked goods, are taboo). I was also feeling a little bloated on bread and sugar in the days leading up to the holiday (I wonder why), and so I began searching for alternatives to the nutrient-free Passover cake meal and recipes that call for, like, 12 eggs. Passover tends to raise Jewish cholesterol levels with its own newfangled Angel of Death. Plus, being the gastronomic anarchist that I am, I try to avoid brands and products that we all think we need, especially the kosher-for-Passover products that are usually unhealthy, if not strange. See my gefilte fish post for more on this. With all the fruits and nuts available to Passover-observers, it's a wonder how underrepresented they are in Passover cooking.

And we can make most of these products ourselves, which is how I passed Passover without eating one macaroon out of a jar (incredible! I know!). The recipe is based on a macaroon tartlet crust in Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Desserts. I highly recommend this book - the recipes are easy and it's not one of those "out there" raw food cookbooks. I did make the crust and fill it with homemade mixed berry vegan "ice cream" and on another occasion mango "ice cream." But just mushed into little balls, the crust recipe makes killer cookies, rich and buttery with the healthy fats and goodness of coconut and nuts. They don't leave you with that "I shouldn't have eaten that" feeling and they are satisfying. In case you're still worried about the raw vegan thing, know that I could hardly churn them out fast enough for the carnivore enthusiasts in my life. And another perk: you can eat them for breakfast without feeling guilty. At least I do.

Simply Amazing (Raw Vegan) Coconut Macaroons
Prep time: 10 minutes
Can make about a dozen macaroons

2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cashews or almonds
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup agave nectar or raw honey

Process the nuts in a food processor until powdery. Add the other ingredients and process for about 30 seconds, or until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Make balls by scooping out a tablespoon of the mixture and rolling it between your palms. If desired, roll them in a little dried coconut to garnish. They are best served room temperature but can be stored in the refrigerator - if you happen to have any leftover!

Emily's Kitchen in Seattle: Simply Amazing (Raw Vegan) Coconut Macaroons

Sasha's Kitchen: Belgian Waffles With Strawberries

Belgian waffles are one of my all-time favorite decadent brunch entrees, and with either powdered sugar or chocolate, can also be a perfect dessert.  I love using my waffle maker to make fresh waffles and I have tried a number of varieties over the last few years, some with greater success than others (not such a fan of buckwheat waffles, I must admit).  A few weeks ago, I decided to make Belgian waffles as the main course for our weekend brunch guests.  These waffles were a huge hit - our guests absolutely loved them and everyone finished the entire large waffle (in addition to a salad and cupcakes).   The leftover waffles tasted just perfect later that evening for dinner as well!  Thus, unlike politicians, this type of waffle is consistently a great brunch entree, but also a terrific dessert.

I love the way the waffle iron gives the waffles their distinctive pattern and shape.  Belgian Waffles are generally prepared with yeast leavened butter.  They are usually lighter, thicker and crispier than other waffle varieties.  My Belgian waffles were made with fluffy egg whites, using the same technique used to prepare a souffle.  Thus, they are especially light and fluffy.  Most traditional Belgian waffles have rectangular sides. (Mine don't since I just used my conventional waffle maker for the recipe).  Belgian waffles can be topped with confectioner's sugar (the traditional Belgian way), or with whipped cream, fruit and maple syrup.

Making these waffles made me crave Belgian food in a big way - everything from steak frites to Belgian fries to Belgian mussels is making my mouth water at the moment.  I definitely need a foodie trip to Europe this summer - that's a hint to my husband that we have a lot of work to do on our trip planning for that summer vacation I've been waiting patiently for!

Belgian Waffles With Strawberries (recipe adapted from this recipe from the Food Network)
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 egg whites
4 egg yolks (you will need to separate the eggs)
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 T unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk (I used lowfat organic milk from Stonyfield Farms)
1/4 tsp cream or tartar
PAM
pint of fresh strawberries
whipped cream
fresh Vermont or Quebec maple syrup

Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.  This recipe makes 8 large waffles in a conventionally sized waffle iron, but the leftovers actually hold up decently for a day or two.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a second bowl, beat together the egg yolks and the sugar until the mixture is pale yellow in color.  Don't forget to save the egg whites in a bowl for later in the recipe.  Add the vanilla, melted butter and milk, and whisk to combine.

Add the flour and mix until just combined - don't overbeat!  Next, use your KitchenAid Stand Mixer (or a handheld mixer, if you do not have a stand mixer) to beat the egg whites until fluffy and they form stiff peaks.  You should add about 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar to beat the egg whites and beat for at least 3 minutes on the highest speed.  They egg whites are done when they are fluffy and foamy, just like as if you were making a souffle.

Using a spatula, gently fold in the egg whites into the batter, again, just like with a souffle.  Be gentle and just fold in the whites, rather than stirring.  Prepare the waffles in your iron following the manufacturer's instructions.  I served them with fresh strawberries and a bit of whipped cream.  They also taste great with high quality maple syrup, but this is less traditional.

To make Eric's Belgian-inspired Mussels Risotto, click here.

Sasha's Kitchen: Belgian Waffles With Strawberries

Sasha's Kitchen: Angel Hair Pasta With Grape Tomatoes, Garlic & Pine Nuts

Last night's dinner was a simple recipe adapted from one of my mother's classic fresh pasta dishes.  This dish is fresh and delicious, and is quite simply all about the quality of the tomatoes used in the recipe.  I used fresh organic grape tomatoes that would have been delicious on their own, but were heavenly with a mix of diced garlic, olive oil and pine nuts.  In addition, I flavored the dish with a couple of tablespoons of Round Pond Estate's Blood Orange Olive Oil, a favorite from our last trip to Napa Valley.  The blood orange flavor was a lovely complement to the other flavors.  It makes the dish feel very light and enjoyable.  My husband likes to add a bit of parmesan cheese, as well.

Sasha's Simple Angel Hair Pasta With Grape Tomatoes, Garlic & Pine Nuts
2/3 box of angel hair pasta
2 pints of organic grape tomatoes
1/3 cup of pine nuts
4-5 tsp of diced garlic

To prepare this dish, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut each of the grape tomatoes in half and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about twenty to thirty minutes.  In the meantime, toast the pine nuts until lightly browned.  Cook the pasta and mix with the other ingredients.  Before serving, mix in two tablespoons of the Blood Orange Olive Oil.  This is  short post and an easy recipe to make during the week after work, but makes for a fresh, satisfying meal.

Sasha's Kitchen: Angel Hair Pasta With Grape Tomatoes, Garlic & Pine Nuts

Sasha's Kitchen: Indian Spiced Mini Lamb Burgers

The grilling season really doesn't start until Memorial Day.  And even then, we don't have an outdoor grill at the moment anyhow.  But this weekend was such a beautiful, sunny weekend that one can't help but get in the spirit a little bit early.  This recipe would be great on an outdoor grill, but also just perfect to prepare indoors on a good grill pan.

I decided that miniature food for this recipe would be much cuter than full sized portions, although the reality is that the taste would be the same.  I have made miniature frittatas and miniature key lime cheesecakes for brunch in the past, and these mini lamb burgers would work just as well for brunch as for dinner.  I decided to use my favorite mix of Indian spices for the lamb, as that is my favorite way to flavor ground lamb these days - with a mixture of curry, cumin, coriander and sumac - a new favorite spice of mine.  I've been inspired to use a lot of Indian spices in my cooking, by the chef of Tabla, Floyd Cardoz, who does so frequently in his cooking.   This recipe also incorporates Greek or Mediterranean flavors, in a yogurt based sauce, as well as the use of feta cheese.  All of these cultural influences worked out quite nicely together.

Sasha's Mini Lamb Burgers With Yogurt Sauce, Tomato and Feta (makes 10-12 small burgers)
1 lb ground lamb
1 1/2 tsp ground sumac
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp curry
1/2 tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1 small container of lowfat Fage Greek Yogurt
1 tomato, cored and diced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp white wine vinegar

To prepare the burgers, mix the cumin, coriander, curry, sumac, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix into the ground lamb, using your hands.  Form into small burgers, about the size of flattened golf balls.  A pound of ground lamb should make 10-12 mini burgers.  Grill the burgers on your grill pan as desired (we like ours medium-well).  Top with feta cheese.  Prepare the sauce by whisking the greek yogurt, lemon juice and vinegar with the tomatoes.  Top with the sauce.  For the buns, I cut hot dog rolls in half and toasted them in the oven.

Sasha's Kitchen: Indian Spiced Mini Lamb Burgers

Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Family tradition Easter Bread

Unlike some of the recipes that have been in my family for generations (or centuries, in the case of one that will remain a family secret), this recipe for Swiss Easter Bread is fairly new. From a magazine, says my mom, who introduced it to our family, and was absolutely thrilled that I decided to carry it on myself this year.
I suspect that, since I'm getting married in June, I'm probably evincing some "nesting" instinct to recreate the food of my childhood for my new family. Whatever -- Easter Bread is delicious.

So here's the recipe, as my mom passed it down to me. I've added in a few bits of information (in italics) that I learned the hard way so you don't have to:

Swiss Easter Bread
3-3 1/2 cups unsifted flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope fast-rising yeast
a small amount of salt (this was missing from the recipe; I used about a teaspoon)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup mixed dried fruit (I used cherries, cranberries, and dates)
1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds (I used some that were sliced, but I should have chopped them further)
5 uncooked small eggs, OR 5 large eggs boiled for 10 minutes, dyed pretty Easter colors
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Combine 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, yeast and salt, and stir. Combine 1/3 cup milk, water and butter, and heat to 130 degrees (this is harder to do than I thought; I ended up overheating it, but I just let it cool on the counter until it reached the right temp). Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, and add the room temperature eggs. Mix for three minutes, and gradually add 1 cup flour.

Turn the dough out on a floured board, and knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. The dough will absorb about half a cup of flour from the board. Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, and turn it so the oiled side is up. Cover, and place in a warm spot (this was missing from the recipe, and not being very experienced at baking, it didn't occur to me until later; I ended up setting the bowl atop an oven set at 200 degrees for an additional hour to help the yeast rise, but if you put it in a warm place from the get-go, the timing is probably close to right). Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 30-35 minutes.

Divide the dough into thirds, and roll each into a 20-inch long rope (this is also harder than it sounds -- you really have to pull carefully as you roll, or you'll break it or it won't stretch). Loosely braid the ropes, and shape them into a circle. Use some milk on your fingertips if you can't get the ends to stick together (I didn't do this, and my braid fell apart a bit, so the finished picture isn't as pretty as I would have hoped). Place on a greased cookie sheet. Carefully tuck the colored eggs deeply into the folds of the braid. Cover with waxed paper and a towel, and let it rise again until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, until the bread is browned and sounds hollow when tapped with the back of a spoon. Mix the remaining milk, vanilla extract and powdered sugar until smooth, and drizzle over the top of the bread.



This recipe took quite a bit longer than I'd expected it would, in part because of the first attempt at rising the dough being unsuccessful due to my failure to put it in a warm spot. I started a bit before 10 a.m., and the bread wasn't out of the oven until after 2 p.m., but I think now that I have the idea down, it'll go faster next time. And be prettier. But as the fiance said, it sure is delicious. This would make a great brunch dish, or a spring potluck showstopper.

Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Family tradition Easter Bread

Sasha's Kitchen: Raspberry-Limoncello Baked Alaska

Baked Alaska is one of the few dessert recipes that has intimidated me for years.  It's really not that hard, the problem was that I tried to make a Baked Alaska before I knew how to make meringue.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you have never made meringue, don't start with this dessert, because failure with a Baked Alaska involves melted ice cream in the oven.  However, now that I am an experienced meringue maker in my KitchenAid Artisan Mixer  (necessary equipment for meringue making), I decided to give Baked Alaska another shot.  And while I wasn't able to see Russia from my house, the dessert was a huge success, and really quite simple to make, as long as the meringue is done correctly.

According to Wikipedia, the dessert, Baked Alaska was originally cooked at Delmonico's Restaurant (in New York, not Alaska) in 1876 to honor the recently acquired American territory.  There is another variation of the dessert that originated in Nome, Alaska which involves adding rum to the dessert, turning down the lights, and lighting the entire dessert on fire using the flambé technique.

I made traditional baked Alaskas in individual sized portions, using a raspberry-flavored pink meringue.  This dessert simply involves a piece of pound cake, a layer of ice cream and a layer of meringue on top.  As I learned the hard way in the past, it is extremely important to prepare the meringue correctly or the entire dessert will melt when you put it in the oven.  However, if the meringue is done correctly, it will create a seal on top of the dessert that will keep the ice cream cold during the four minutes in the oven while the meringue gets toasted, or baked.

Sasha's Raspberry Limoncello Baked Alaska (makes 4)
4 small pieces of homemade or store bought pound cake, sliced one inch thick
Limoncello-Coffee Gelato (click here for my recipe)
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 dram of Lorann's Raspberry Flavoring
1 drop of Ateco gel-based pink food coloring  (the best food colorings out there, and the ones I use in all of my cupcake recipes)

First, wedge each slice of pound cake in a ramekin.  Then add a scoop of the limoncello-coffee ice cream and place the ramekins in the freezer while you make the meringue.  To make the meringue, separate three egg whites from the yolks.  Place the egg whites and the cream of tartar in the basin of your stand mixer and beat, using the whisk attachment until peaks begin to form.  Then add a drop of the food coloring and the vial of raspberry extract.  Continue to beat on high while slowly adding half a cup of sugar.  In the end, you will have to beat on high for about five minutes until you have a fluffy meringue.

A sample meringue

Add the meringue to a conventional pastry bag fitted with a tip.  It should be pink in color and smell like raspberry by this point, of course.  Pipe on top of the ice cream of each dessert using the pasty bag, the same way you would frost a cupcake.  Make sure to create a seal around the edges with the meringue and not to leave any of the ice cream exposed.  Then, place each of the four ramekins in the freezer for two hours (or up to a day).  When you are ready to eat, place in an oven preheated to 450 degrees.  Bake for three to four minutes only, until the meringue is nicely (but lightly) browned.  The combination of flavors here was perfect - the limoncello and coffee went so nicely with the raspberry flavored meringue, and I was so happy that the dessert didn't melt!  I'm including a photo of the inside of the dessert to show that the ice cream is still frozen inside.

Baked Alaska

Sasha's Kitchen: Raspberry-Limoncello Baked Alaska