Sasha's Kitchen: Grilled London Broil Steak Sandwich

It is officially the start of summer, as yesterday was the summer solstice. That means that grilling season is here. Although my husband and I have outdoor space here in Brooklyn, we do not yet have a grill - something that we plan to rectify soon.  However, when I received some free samples of Nature's Pride hamburger buns and hot dog rolls from the Foodbuzz  Tasemaster's Choice program, I couldn't resist the chance to do some indoor grilling to use some of the free samples. Seriously, what's better than coming home from work to discover a large box with free samples?  I had a nice cut of London Broil from Fresh Direct so I decided it was time to make some steak sandwiches.

Sasha's London Broil Grilled Steak Sandwich (serves 4-5)
Nature's Pride Country White Rolls
2 lb cut of London Broil
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup soy sauce
grated parmesan cheese
pomegranate seeds
arugula

Marinade the london broil steaks (which can be divided into four steaks or into strips) in the marinade of the pineapple juice and soy sauce for about an hour. Then, grill the steaks on a grill pan (or an outdoor grill) on each side to your liking.  We then cut the steaks into strips and further grilled them to medium well, which is how my husband and I like our meat prepared.  I served in a fairly non-traditional way with pomegranate seeds, fresh grated parmesan and arugula on a Nature's Pride Country White Roll.  It was delightful!

Sasha's Kitchen: Grilled London Broil Steak Sandwich

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Chip Brioche

Prior to last weekend, I had only made brioche once.  I had made a loaf of a nice, light brioche bread though.  I wanted this time to make individualized brioche as a dessert. I looked long and hard for chocolate and/or chocolate chip brioche recipes.  I reviewed many, many brioche recipes before coming up with my own that suited my desires of what I hoped to get out of this recipe - muffin tin dessert brioche for brunch.  The end result was delicious and pleasurable - definatly  a dessert but not overwhelmingly sweet.  But don't be fooled, these brioche, like any other contain quite a bit of butter, so they are a special treat and to share with friends - not something I suggest eating three of in one sitting (which I could have done if I let myself).

Sasha's Chocolate Chip Mini Brioche (makes 1 dozen)
1/4 cup plus 2 T milk ( I used Stonyfield Farms Fat Free Milk, my favorite organic milk)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp (two packages) active dry yeast
1 1.4 cup plus 2 T unbleached bread flour (I used King Arthur Flour)
1 1/2 cup plus 2 T all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
5 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk for egg wash
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine the milk, sugar and yeast.  Warm the milk for about 15 seconds in the microwave first.  Allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes until the yeast is activated (it will become frothy and bubbly and will double in size).

Using a stand mixer, with the dough hook attachment, combine the yeast milk mixture with the flour, eggs, chocolate chips mix well.  Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time and continue mixing until the dough is smooth and the butter is incorporated for about five minutes.  If you need to you can add some extra flour (I added a tablespoon or two extra at this point).

Coat a large bowl with PAM and transfer the dough to the bowl.  Allow to stand in a warm place for about an hour and a half until the dough doubles in size.  This is just the same as if you were making my recipe for Challah bread.

Punch down the dough and recover.  Refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours and punch down the dough again. The preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a silicon muffin tin with PAM.  Evenly divide the dough into 36 small balls, like 36 little ping ping balls. Then, place three of the balls inside each of the muffin tin molds, to make a total of 12 brioches.

Loosely cover the mold with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a warm place for about 30 minutes.  Then brush the tops with the egg yolk wash.  Bake for 10 minutes at 425 and then reduce the heat to 350 and bake until golden brown - the time will vary depending on your oven but it took me another 15 minutes or so.  Allow to cool and enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Chip Brioche

Sasha's Kitchen: Homemade Falafel and Israeli Salad With Tahini Yogurt Sauce

When I was in Israel for 8 weeks one summer during my high school years, I tasted some of the best falafel that I ever had.  One of the other things that I liked best about the cuisine in Israel (aside from the amazing giant Apricot fruit rolls that I discovered on Ben Yehuda Street that I have since been unable to find anywhere else in the world) was the basic Israeli Salad which was served with just about everything in Israel from falafel to schwarma.  I decided to create an Israeli meal with my own falafel, a tahini yogurt sauce and an Israeli salad to bring be back to those great memories of my summer in Israel.  The recipe is adapted from Tyler Florence's Recipe on the Food Network, while I added a traditional Israeli salad. I was concerned that the falafel balls would fall apart when they were fried so I added a bit water to the recipe below before forming the falafel balls (just about a tablespoon or two).  In addition, I used canola oil to fry them rather than vegetable oil, so they are actually a reasonably healthy treat.  These were served for brunch with our friends Alica and Alex, and were thoroughly enjoyed with a dessert of chocolate chip brioche (my recipe coming soon!)

Falafel
2 cups dried chickepeas  (soak for 18 to 24 hours in cold water before using)
1 tsp baking powder
1 small onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, diced
1 T cumin
1 T coriander
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 handfulls fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 handfull fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
canola oil for frying
warm pita bread

Israeli Salad
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
2 heirloom tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 T lemon juice

Tahini Yogurt Sauce
1/2 cup tahini (tahini is a type of sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup FAGE greek yogurt
1 T lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of paprika


Put the chickpeas in a bowl and add water to cover by two inches.  Soak in cold water in the refrigerator for 17-24 hours.  The chickpeas will triple in size from their dried form.  Do not use canned garbanzo beans - I am told that your falafel will be soggy if you do.

Put the soaked chickepeas in a food processor and pulse to grind coarsely.  Add the other ingredients and mix well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Pur three inches of canola oil in a deep fryer or a large pot.  Roll the falafel into balls about the size of ping pong balls (this recipe should make about 24 falafel). If you have trouble forming balls that are cohesive, add a tablespoon of water to the mix. Fry until the chickpea balls are crusty brown on all sides and voila - its falafel.  Serve with the pita bread, tahini sauce and Israeli salad.

Falafel

Sasha's Kitchen: Homemade Falafel and Israeli Salad With Tahini Yogurt Sauce

MollyD's Kitchen in Seattle: Pickled Beets

I'm not cooking much beyond throwing things together, and thus I haven't posted in a while. Then, the other day, I spied some winter beets in the back of our crisper drawer and decided it was time to bite the bullet and do something with them. I considered roasting them as usual, but I usually tire of roasted beets' flavor before they go bad, which seems like a greater waste than leaving them alone in their uncooked potential. Instead I took a cue from a jar of Ikea herring and decided to pickle them, a great way to use a big ol' beet and have it last.

I googled pickled beet recipes and saw several suggestions of cloves, which complement beets' earthy sweetness. Since I recently picked up a small bottle of clove extract (in alcohol, not oil, which would just float on top of the pickling liquid) I ran with the idea, and with the “earthy sweetness” theme in mind I also added some balsamic vinegar.

Initially I wasn't preparing a blog post on this, so I eyeballed and tasted, and the following measurements are entirely guesstimated. You could halve or double it without problem, or use different ratios of balsamic vinegar to mild vinegar to water; it's a pretty mild pickle, so if you want something stronger you can fill the jar to the top with vinegar. Finally, I'm sure whole cloves would work in place of the extract, though I'd use a fair amount to ensure enough flavor extraction that they wouldn't be overwhelmed by the balsamic. Regardless, all of this recipe is flexible and to taste.

Pickled Beets

2 large beets or equivalent in small beets, with any long greens or tail removed

2 T balsamic vinegar

¼ c rice vinegar or white vinegar

½ tsp salt

few drops clove extract

water

1. Place beets in pot and cover with water. Bring to boil, then lower to simmer. Go do something else.
2. Remove beets from pot when knife can be inserted into center without resistance. Let cool, then peel off skin with fingers and, if necessary, a paring knife.
3. Quarter, then slice into ¼-inch pieces. Place into quart jars.
4. Add all other ingredients, then water to cover.
5. Refrigerate and eat over the next few weeks.

So what do you do with pickled beets? Obviously there's salad, but despite the lettuce in our fridge I haven't felt like it. Instead I chopped a few slices along with some of the pickled herring, mixed in mayonnaise (sour cream would be good too), and spread the Swedish-inspired mixture on toast. Today I made a closed tuna melt in the toaster oven (slice of bread + tuna salad + sliced cheese, plus a separate slice of bread), then laid some beets on top of the cheese before closing the sandwich; the mild, soft beets didn't ruin the texture or dominate the flavor, and it was a surprisingly nice combination. Pickled beets are more adaptable than you might think!

MollyD's Kitchen in Seattle: Pickled Beets

Sasha's Kitchen: Peach, Mozzarella & Bresaola Salad

As i discussed in my recipe for Peach Cobbler, peaches are my favorite summer fruit.  The peach is very versatile, and of course, my favorite summer salad recipe includes peaches.  This salad is a dinner salad - it includes my favorite cured meat, bresaola, which is a type of cured beef.  I think that the taste of the bresaola is lovely with fresh peaches and baby bocconcini, a type of mozzarella cheese.  The salad is very refreshing and perfect for summer.  You can make it without the meat as an appetizer if you prefer. I love the farmer's market peaches - this is the perfect dish for summer and I've been waiting for months to get nice fresh peaches to make this dish, which is one of my favorites!  This recipe is totally mine, but it feels very Jamie Oliver, doesn't it?

Sasha's Summer Peach Salad (makes two salads)

2 farmers' market peaches, sliced 

8-10 pieces of bresaola

fresh organic salad greens

1/3 cup canola oil (for dressing)

3 tablespoons lemon juice (for dressing)

1 T red wine vinegar (for dressing)

bocconcini mozzarella

Assemble the salad ingredients above and top with the lemon vinaigrette (which is just canola oil, lemon juice and red wine vinegar).  This is a very special way to showcase those fantastic June peaches!

Sasha's Kitchen: Peach, Mozzarella & Bresaola Salad

Sasha's Kitchen: Pasta with Lemon, Arugula and Golden Beets

Recently I was at the organic market and saw that they had fresh, seasonal golden beets.  Until recently, I had only had golden beets in restaurants and had only cooked with regular beets which turn everything they touch bright pink.  I love golden beets - they are easier to work with in the kitchen and have a pleasant sweet taste.  I can't really describe the difference but as a beet fan, I like them better than the typical magenta variety.

I decided to create a pasta dish that was light and refreshing and that would showcase the fresh summer beets.  This pasta dish is basically a salad, but for the pasta.  It can be served cold or warm and showcases the bitterness of the arugula with the sweetness of the beets.  I added goat cheese, but you could certainly use parmesan or pecorino. The lemon is the perfect accompaniment for this dish - it adds a pleasant refreshing quality to the light olive oil based sauce. This is the perfect healthy summer meal.

Sasha's Summer Pasta with Lemon, Arugula & Golden Beets
1 box of spiral pasta (fuselli)
2 golden beets, cooked and peeled
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz baby arugula
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (a lemon flavored olive oil would be a delightful substitute)
6 oz goat cheese crumble

To prepare this dish, make the pasta al dente. Prepare the beets by boiling them for about a half an hour.  Rinse them in cold water so they are cooler to the touch and peel off the skin with your hands.  Slice the beets and mix them in the pasta dish with the lemon juice, lemon zest and olive oil.  When the pasta has cooled slightly, mix in the goat cheese crumble and the arugula.  This was delicious!

Pasta

Sasha's Kitchen: Pasta with Lemon, Arugula and Golden Beets

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto - Low Fat Summer Berry Shortcake

In my continuing quest to live a healthy lifestyle and maintain my 60 pound weight loss, I am contantly trying to find new low fat recipes for sweets; my downfall and - I'm sure - the downfall of many of us. One of my go-to substitutions is angel food cake. Spongy, sticky and delicious it has way fewer calories of other cakes; two points per serving on my program. Angel food cake pairs beautifully with fruit and makes a great treat.

When I used to work in a professional kitchen as a gardemanger we used to make the most amazing strawberry shortcake. When I was in the grocery store the other day I found the sweetest individual angel food cakes and decided I needed a shortcake! I started playing in my kitchen, and this is the delicious result!

Low Fat Summer Berry Shortcake

1 kg (2.2 lb) mixed berries (you could use frozen if you like for the sauce, but get some fresh for garnish)
1/2 c white wine
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 mini packaged angel food cakes
2 individual vanilla pudding packs (4 oz each)

Put the fruit, wine and salt in a medium pot to cook over moderate to high heat until the alcohol burns off. Add the cinnamon, lemon and honey. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the sauce has reduced to be a bit syrupy.

In your dish layer a little of the fruit mix, torn up pieces of cake, then a layer of pudding (one pudding cup per layer in the dish I used). Repeat the layers until your dish is full (I got in two layers). Let the shortcake set up - covered - in the fridge for about four hours (or overnight); this gets better the more you let everything sink in together. Garnish with fresh fruit. Mine made 3-4 servings.
In lieu of the honey, you could use sugar, but I didn't have any at the time so I substituted with the honey. Also, I used a mini cassarole ramekin as I don't like having lots of sweets in my house, but the sauce makes enough that you could either have leftovers for topping yogurt, ice cream etc. or you could make one big dessert by just increasing the cake and pudding portions.

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto - Low Fat Summer Berry Shortcake

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Peach Cobbler

Peaches are my absolute favorite summer fruit.  In fact, a fresh, sweet, succulent peach is just about one of the best part of summer.  As the peach comes into season in June, I thought it would be time to start cooking with some fresh peaches from the local farmer's market here in Brooklyn.

There's quite a few summer recipes that incorporate peaches, and I plan on sharing my quintessential summer peach salad soon. But there's nothing that says classic summer peach better than a peach cobbler or a peach crisp.  For this recipe, I started with Martha Stewart, but adapted and adjusted to get thing exactly to my liking.  This is the second peach cobbler I've made (the first was last summer) and this one was perfect. Then I baked it in my lovely Mackenzie Childs pie dish (one of my favorite items from our wedding registry).

Peach Cobbler (adapted from this recipe)
8 large ripe peaches, pitted and sliced (Martha calls for 10, but I used pretty large peaches)
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 T dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
2/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Slice the peaches and combine with the cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Pour mixture into an 8 inch circular pie dish that has been sprayed with Pam.

In the basin of your mixer (or a large bowl, using a fork if you do not have a stand mixer) combine the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar with the flour, salt and butter.  Beat for several minutes to cut in the butter, until the mixture looks like a coarse meal.

Whisk together the heavy cream and egg and combine in the mixer until it comes together into a dough with the dry ingredients.  Cut dough into circular shaped portions (about 12 or so) and use to cover the top of the peach mixture.  Top with the remaining two tablespoons of granulated sugar. Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown and until the inside bubbles.  Allow to cool a bit before serving warm.

Sasha's Kitchen: Summer Peach Cobbler

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto - Farmer's Market Salad

It's almost summer and so brings one of my favorite times of the year culinarily; outdoor farmer's market time! I was off a bit early one Thursday and remembered that there is a farmer's market just near my apartment on Thursday evenings behind the North Toronto Community Centre. I grabbed my cloth bag and off I went. I ended up buying farm fresh spinach, assorted bell peppers, halloumi cheese (a feta-like cheese that crumbles) and some amazing olive-cilantro bread from the St. John bakery who had a stall there. When I got home, I knew just what to do with this bounty; it was salad time!

Michelle's Farmer's Market Salad

1 1/2 cup mixed greens (I used my fresh spinach and romaine)
1/2 bell pepper, in strips (I used yellow)
5 walnut halves, in pieces (1 tbsp of pieces)
1 tbsp crumbled halloumi cheese (you could use feta)
1 tbsp cranberries
1 tbsp Renee's Sundried Tomato and Black Olive dressing

Mix everything together and chow down! If you want to make this into a full meal, add some cut up chicken, sauteed tofu or tempeh.

Serves 1

Please excuse my picture, I only remembered to take the picture halfway through eating the salad! I've been eating this salad every few days for the last week and it's divine!

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto - Farmer's Market Salad

Sasha's Kitchen: Wild Salmon with Organic Baby Carrot-Ginger Puree

My original plans for this dish involved making a celery root puree, which is something I have often enjoyed at restaurants (recently inspired by a great dinner at Mas Farmhouse in Manhattan for my husband's birthday).  I had ordered a large celery root from Fresh Direct recently and what arrived was a large root vegetable that looked like a brain.  I didn't have time to figure out how to turn it into a puree during the week so I went for a simpler organic baby carrot puree this time with the salmon.  I'll do the celery root tomorrow night with scallops.

My plans for this dish were to showcase wild organic salmon with some fresh seasonal vegetables.  I decided to use organic baby carrot for the puree, which I prepared with ginger and a bit of cinnamon.  Then, I added local fresh golden beets from the organic market.  I am a huge beet fan, but I truly love golden beets because they're just as delicious and sweet but they don't turn everything in creation magenta so they are much easier to work with.  They are also perfectly in season this time of year.  If you prefer, I think this dish would also taste great with steamed asparagus.

Sasha's Salmon with Organic Baby Carrot - Ginger Puree
2 filets (7 oz each) or organic fresh salmon
16 oz (one bag) of organic baby carrots
3 tsp of minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 lemon
white wine to taste
2 golden beets
small amount of arugula

To prepare the puree, cook the carrots in your steamer until soft. Puree in a blender or food processor with the cream, chicken broth and ginger.  Stir in the cinnamon to taste and set aside.

To prepare the salmon, I simply cut up a lemon and baked the fish (at about 350F) with sliced lemon on top, and poured some white wine over the top of the fish.

To prepare the beets, I boiled them for about half an hour.  Then, I cooled them in some cold water and rubbed the skin off and sliced the golden beets.  If you are using asparagus instead, you can simply steam the asparagus and add a bit of lemon juice.  I plated the fish in the puree with the beets, and garnished with a bit of fresh arugula.

Salmon

Sasha's Kitchen: Wild Salmon with Organic Baby Carrot-Ginger Puree

Charlene's Kitchen in Philadelphia: Asparagus, Ham, and Parsley Quiche

I picked up my first CSA share of the season this past Saturday at Greensgrow Farms! Included in my share (which I pick up every other week) were a huge tub of ripe strawberries, dark green kale, a bunch of scallions, a sizable head of Boston lettuce, radishes, two small containers of the most delicious yogurt I've ever eaten (thank you, Pequea Valley Farm), 4 oz. of a sharp chive chèvre spread made by Shellbark Hollow Farm, four lovely green zucchinis, and, the topic of this post, asparagus! This is my third summer participating in the Greensgrow CSA and I love it. The produce and dairy products come from small, often family-run farms in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, as well as Greensgrow's own urban farm that happens to be in my neighborhood. I feel good supporting local farmers and eating according to the seasons. The food is fresher and honestly tastes better than supermarket offerings. And coming home with a tote bag containing produce that I may not have chosen on my own (radishes? leave your preparation ideas in the comments, please...) presents a good menu-planning challenge.

To eat up my bountiful share this week I've already made zucchini fritters, kale with bacon and garlic, and a summer salad with Boston lettuce, strawberries, goat cheese, and mint from my back yard. Next I tried an asparagus, ham, and parsley quiche. My default method of preparing asparagus is to coat it in olive oil, salt, and pepper and throw it on the grill. I wanted to try something different this time, so I found a tasty-sounding recipe from Metropolitan Bakery, yet another amazing Philadelphia establishment that I love supporting.

The recipe was easy to put together, although, as usual, I had trouble with my pie crust. The flavors go very nicely together. I was worried that the ham and Gruyère cheese would be too salty, but the quiche actually had a bit of sweetness, probably from the heavy cream. The result was quite rich and buttery, so next time I might try a lower-fat crust, such as the one Eric posted in his quiche recipe.

Next time you come home with a bag of CSA produce you need to eat relatively quickly, try making a quiche!



Recipe, from The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook by James Barrett and Wendy Smith Born (Rodale, 2003, p. 130):

pie pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 1 Tb. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/8 cup plus 1/4 Tb. vegetable shortening, frozen
5 Tbs. ice water

custard
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

filling
12 asparagus spears, ends trimmed
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup diced smoked ham
1/2 cup coarsley chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese

1) Prepare pie pastry by combining flour, sugar, and salt in a mixer bowl. Using mixer, add butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Cut frozen shortening into small cubes and add until evenly distributed. Gradually add ice water, 1 Tb. at a time, just until pastry begins to come together, looks crumbly but feels moist.

2) Gather pastry gently into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and flatten into a thick disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

3) Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line 8 1/2 x 2 inch tart pan or pie plate with pastry. Cover with parchment paper and pie weights. Bake on center rack for 15-20 minutes or until the sides of the pastry are set.

4) Remove pie weights and parchment paper and return to oven for another 8-10 minutes or until bottom of the pastry is set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

5) Prepare custard by whisking together the cream, milk, egg yolks, eggs, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

6) Prepare filling by tossing the asparagus, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together on a baking pan. Roast for 8 minutes at 375ºF or until tender. Cool, then slice asparagus into half-inch pieces and combine with the ham in a bowl.

7) Spread the asparagus and ham mixture in the crust and sprinkle with the parsley and Gruyère.

8) Reduce oven temperature to 325ºF and line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Place the tart pan or pie plate on the tray and gently pour the custard mixture over the filling.

9) Bake on center rack for about 45 minutes, until custard is set and the top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Charlene's Kitchen in Philadelphia: Asparagus, Ham, and Parsley Quiche

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Chocolate is one of my favorite things in the world, whether it is pure dark chocolate (dark chocolate is my favorite), chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate cake or chocolate fudge.  Most of the time, I simply can't resist a bit of chocolate and any dessert that is chocolate based is usually pretty enticing. I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, which I have incorporated in other desserts in the past.

Last night, I tried out a new recipe for chocolate peanut butter brownies.  The recipe was based on a recipe from the Everything Chocolate Cookbook, a gift from my wonderful cousin Alicia. I revamped the recipe a bit to get the brownies the way I want them, and really used the recipe as an inspiration.  I might do a few things differently next time - these were excellent cake like brownies, but next time perhaps I will adjust the eggs to make them chewier. They were a hit with my husband, too and satisfied that chocolate craving.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Chocolate Portion
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup flour1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Peanut Butter Portion
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Brad's Organic Peanut Butter), which I am sure is named after my husband Brad :)
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
2 T flour
3 T brown sugar
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 325. Grease a 8 inch brownie pan with PAM. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.

Blend the sugar into the chocolate mixture.  Combine the vanilla and eggs. Sir in the dry ingredients until just lightly blended.

In a separate bowl, cream together the ingredients for the peanut butter portion.

Spread the chocolate batter in the pan and top with the peanut butter mixture.  Really, I should have not added all the chocolate at once (only about 3/4) and swirled the peanut butter portion and then added the remaining chocolate.  But I got a little over excited and added the chocolate all at once and then the peanut butter portion on top.  It still tasted pretty good, though.  Bake the brownies for 45 minutes  and allow to cool before cutting for about 30 minutes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Sasha's Kitchen: Veal Piccata

I've been traveling for the holiday weekend, hence the lack of cooking and new blog posts on my part.  I didn't make anything new this weekend either because Brad and I were on the road. But I do have plans to make some chocolate peanut butter mascarpone brownies tonight or tomorrow now that we are back.  In the meantime, here's a great Italian recipe that I made last week which was a big hit with my husband, veal piccata.  This dish can, like most Italian classics, also be made with chicken, but I like it better with veal. Essentially it is a very lightly breaded lemon chicken in a white wine chicken stock broth.  It is good with a variety of side dishes, from pasta to sugar snap peas to potatoes to even diced tomatoes.

Veal Piccata
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 veal scallops (about 1 lb)
1 1/2 T canola oil
5 T butter (you can substitute canola oil for a healthier dish, but the butter adds flavor)
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cloves garlic (diced)
3 T of lemon juice
2 T chopped parsley

Combine the flour, 1 1/2 tsp of salt and the pepper in a bowl.  Quickly dredge the veal scallops in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the pan and add 1 1/2 T of the butter to the skillet.  Sear the veal until golden brown on all sides, about 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side. Set aside.

Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil.  When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock, diced garlic and lemon juice.  Cook for 3-5 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the remaining salt, butter and parsley and return the scallops of veal to the pan. Cook as desired for another minute or two.  Serve with fresh parsley and the side dish of your choice.

Sasha's Kitchen: Veal Piccata

Eric's Kitchen in NJ: Pan-seared Salmon Salad

The first time I had a dish similar to this was at one of my favorite bars in Jersey City, Iron Monkey. I think it was a special on their menu a few months ago, when I still lived there. It paired capers and green olives (which I normally don't like), with mandarin oranges and pan seared salmon and the contrast of flavors was fantastic. This was my first attempt to recreate the dish and I think it came out very nicely.

Ingredients (served 4):
3 salmon fillets
4 bowls worth of spring greens (half a gigantic package)
1 small bottle of capers
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
most of a jar of whole food's garlic stuffed green olives
about 6 peeled mandarin oranges split into sections
Chef Prudhomme's seafood magic
Some cracked black pepper

Dressing (all measurements are approximations I just add things until it tastes good!):
1 Lemon's worth of juice
1/4 cp. Olive Oil
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Pure maple Syrup (you can use sugar or honey as well)

Basically I mixed the dressing ingredients in a container until they tasted good with a slice of cucumber and then pan-seared the salmon in a little butter and olive oil, flipping it once and taking out of the pan when firm, making sure not to overcook it. I dislike dry or overcooked salmon quite a bit. In the end the sweet citrus flavors contrasted very nicely with the more bitter flavors of the capers an olives and it was a great summer dish. I also highly recommend some fresh mandarin or clementine oranges instead of canned ones.

Eric's Kitchen in NJ: Pan-seared Salmon Salad

Sasha's Kitchen: Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee

Dark chocolate is my favorite kind of chocolate. I like milk chocolate alright, I suppose, but when I get a chocolate craving, it is almost always for dark chocolate.  I often use dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate in baking and in fondues, so I decided that it was time to experiment with a dark chocolate creme brluee, since I have tried just about every other kind of creme brulee since investing in my mini kitchen torch.  Creme brulee is quite easy to make and if you are craving chocolate and brulee, this actually isn't as hard to make as it might sound. I'm planning on working on a new chocolate recipe tomorrow, before venturing to New Hampshire for the long weekend - chocolate peanut butter mascarpone brownies, so stay tuned for that recipe, sometime next week.

Sasha's Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz dark chocolate (start with small pellets)
4 egg yolks
1 T sugar

To prepare this recipe, heat the cream over medium heat and dissolve the chocolate.  It should not boil, but should simmer until the chocolate is dissolved, as you stir constantly.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and vanilla and add to the cream mixture.

In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil.  Place four creme brulee dishes in a roasting pan and add the brulee mixture to each dish, filling to the top.  Then, very carefully, add the hot water to the pan filling it to the middle of the outside of each brulee dish.  This is easier than it sounds - be careful not to get any water in the brulees themselves, or they will be ruined.  Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes until firm.  Then chill for two hours.  Sprinkle the top of each brluee with an even coat of sugar and use your creme brluee torch to caramelize the sugar.  This was decadent and delicious!

Sasha's Kitchen: Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee

Emily's Kitchen in Seattle: A New Twist on Coconut Cream Pie

I feel bad having not contributed a blog entry in about a month. I started a "cleanse" that allowed me some fun foods, but nothing worth writing about. Then I sort of fell of the recipe wagon and made all sorts of things without recorded measurements, which I also didn't feel comfortable sharing with those less adventurous cooks, lest one of my beloved meals turn into someone else's disaster.

I think I can share this creation in good faith. It's a "creamy coconut pie" recipe from a vegan cookbook that I adapted. I was struggling between wanting to make a cheesecake for a lunch gathering and my values, which are intuitively opposed to the entire idea of cheesecake. But would a vegan tofu pie really impress the people I was invited to eat with? These are really good cooks. How could I risk possibly showing up with a bland, watery pie?

The solution: Replace one cup of tofu with one cup of cream cheese. Bonus: replace the graham cracker crust with a nut crust for the gluten-free people popping up all over the place. I have to say, the result is pretty darn divine.

No-heart-failure-and-even-less-guilt Coconut Cream Pie

1 cup soft tofu (I believe soft or firm tofu is best - silken can be too squishy)
1 cup cream cheese - or tofutti to keep it dairy free
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 c. plus 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut

Pie crust:
Use a graham cracker crust
Or:
1 c. pecans or walnuts
1 c. pitted dates
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
a smattering of sugar for that graham cracker touch, optional

Preheat oven to 350

For the nut crust:
Combine all ingredients in the food processor and process until blended.
Press contents evenly into a spring form pan (or a pie pan).

For the pie:
Combine all ingredients, except for the 1/4 c. coconut, in the food processor. Mix until smooth.
Pour into the crust and bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, sprinkle remaining 1/4 c. coconut on top of the pie.
Bake for 10 more minutes.
Refrigerate until it's time to serve.

If you have leftover filling, you can use it like cream cheese frosting or just eat it with a spoon!

Emily's Kitchen in Seattle: A New Twist on Coconut Cream Pie

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto - Issy and Michelle's Roasted Corned Beef and Cabbage

Many Americans do not realize with all the Memorial Day hustle and bustle, but the third Monday in May is a major Canadian holiday; Victoria Day. No matter the date it falls on, Canadians everywhere call it "May 2-4" which I suspect is due to our love of beer (You can buy a 24 pack of beer cans in the Liquor Store, or a 2-4) and finding any excuse to drink and have fun. For many Canadians, Victoria Day is synonymous with going to the cottage to barbeque, set off fireworks, take out the boat and drink with friends (hopefully not all at the same time!)

This year, I decided that some time away from the city was in order and headed out to my parents' in Guelph; just under an hour south west of Toronto. In my family, the cooking roles are not the traditional ones; my father has been the main cook in their home for the last fifteen years. This weekend he told me that he has decided to start his own cooking blog "Cook-Issy" and try to cook something he had never tried before; corned beef. The beautiful thing about my father's cooking style is that he's never been formally trained as a chef like me and as such he has no limits in the kitchen. He freely combines cooking techniques and ingredients coming up with many winning combinations and this time decided to roast the corned beef. My mother happened on a fluke to have some cabbage in the house so I decided to do my part to come up with a classic combination for the corned beef. Please see my Dad's blog for his lovely Roasted Corned Beef.

1/2 shredded cabbage (I shredded it with a chefs knife, but feel free to use a food processor)
3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar but please feel free to use more if you feel it needs it
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp all spice
1/2 cup of the corned beef run-off

Mix everything together in a large bowl and taste for seasoning. Be careful about adding any salt given the saltiness of the beef. Add to the corned beef about 3 1/2 hours through the cooking at 200 F; cook for an additional 2 1/2 hours.

Though this cooks for a long time, this is a great recipe that requires little monitoring throughout the day. Once the beef was out, we carved it like a roast and ate it with the cabbage on the side but it would be amazing on a sandwich with the cabbage as a form of sauerkraut.

Serves 6-8 people

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto - Issy and Michelle's Roasted Corned Beef and Cabbage

Sasha's Kitchen: Prettiest Coconut Cupcakes

I made some coconut cupcakes a few weeks ago, and this recipe (a Barefoot Contessa recipe) was just perfect.  I've made coconut cupcakes in the past, but they usually had coconut on top and were flavored with coconut extract.  These were so much better in that they contained actual shredded coconut in the cupcake.  I was very happy with this recipe - these were among the best tasting cupcakes I've ever made and were a treat for my husband's birthday.  I cut the recipe in half, which made 15 cupcakes, so I suggest that you do the same.

These cupcakes are so pretty and really it's all about the frosting and the food coloring.  I used gel food coloring to get the lovely shade of blue, but really they could be any color.  I used a frosting bag to pipe the cupcake frosting and topped it off with a little bit of shredded coconut.

Prettiest Coconut Cupcakes (adapted from Barefoot Contessa)
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
7 oz shredded coconut (sweetened)

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 stick of butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
4 cups confectioner's sugar
extra shredded coconut (sweetened for topping the cupcakes)
drop of gel food coloring (I used blue)

Preheat the oven to 325.  First, mix the dry ingredients for the cupcakes in a bowl.  Add the shredded coconut, and set aside.  Beat the butter and sugar in the basin of your mixer on high speed for several minutes (about 5) until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time.  Mix in the extracts.

Next, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, mixing on medium speed for a few minutes until well combined, and there are no lumps.  Fill silicon cupcake molds that are lined with paper or foil liners to the top.  Bake the cupcakes for about 20 to 25 minutes at 325 until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool.  Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and butter at high speed.  Beat in the food coloring.  Pipe the frosting using a frosting bag, and top with some of the shredded coconut.

Sasha's Kitchen: Prettiest Coconut Cupcakes