Sasha's Kitchen: Swiss Chard Ravioli with Mascarpone & Ramps in Rose Sauce

Ah, my latest and greatest ravioli creation!  I just love coming up with new recipes for homemade ravioli that use seasonal ingredients.  This one was also a great success.  I wanted to incorporate swiss chard into the dough of the ravioli, rather than using spinach to make the ravioli green.  For the filling - I went all out into spring using ramps, mascarpone cheese and some lemon zest.  As usual, this made about six dozen ravioli so there were plenty for freezing for upcoming meals.  I served the ravioli with a bit of rose vodka sauce, which was the perfect match.

Sasha's Swiss Chard Ravioli with Mascarpone & Ramps
Ravioli dough
6 oz swiss chard leaves
3 1/2 cups of flour
5 large eggs

Filling
1 bunch of ramps, diced
1 500 gram container of mascarpone cheese
zest of one lemon

Rose Vodka Sauce
3 shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup vodka
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 24 oz can whole tomatoes, pureed
2 tsp thyme leaves

Prepare the ravioli dough in a stand mixer.  First, blanch the swiss chard leaves in boiling water.  Then squeeze every last drop of moisture from the leaves.  Blend the leaves with the eggs in the basin of your mixer.  Add the flour all at once and mix until you can form four balls of dough with your hands.  Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 30-45 minutes before rolling out into sheets to form the ravioli.  Mix the ingredients together for the filling.  Once pressed in a ravioli press, allow the ravioli to dry for an hour before freezing it in bags, or cooking it in boiling water.

To make the sauce, saute the shallots until soft and saute the garlic for an additional two minutes.  Add the vodka and allow the alcohol to burn off, which takes about two minutes on high.  Add the cream and tomatoes, and stir to form a sauce.  Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves and allow the sauce to thicken.

Sasha's Kitchen: Swiss Chard Ravioli with Mascarpone & Ramps in Rose Sauce

Sasha's Kitchen: Corned Beef and Cabbage

I was inspired to make Irish corned beef and cabbage, after our friend Keisha made delicious braised corned beef and cabbage for a St. Patrick's Day gathering.  I bought a corned beef brisket from Fresh Direct, which is pretty much the only place to find such things other than around St. Patrick's day.  The meat was excellent quality, as I have come to expect from just about everything at Fresh Direct.  It even came with a seasoning packet which I added to the brine (looks like it contained peppercorns, bay leaves, mustard seeds and possibly juniper).  The recipe is quite simple and the corned beef brisket has an excellent flavor.  The key to this recipe, other than getting a good cut of meat, is cooking it slowly, so that the meat falls apart. I don't use a show cooker, but I found that simmering for four hours was perfect.  I looked up some recipes online before adapting to come up with this one.

Sasha's Corned Beef & Cabbage
1 corned beef brisket of 3-4 lbs
1 cabbage, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups baby carrots
2 onions, peeled and quartered
3 sprigs of thyme
small bunch of parsley
1 tsp mustard powder
add 15-20 peppercorns and 1 bay leaf if not using the Fresh Direct seasoning packet

Add all of the ingredients above except for the cabbage to a large stockpot or slow cooker.  Cover the brisket and vegetables by an inch or so of water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for two hours.  Add the cabbage and simmer for another two hours, before straining most of the broth.  Remove the onions, thyme and parsley before serving on challah rolls, or if you can find it, irish soda bread.

Sasha's Kitchen: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Sasha's Kitchen: Eclairs

As I have said in some recent posts, I've been trying out a new French recipe each week.  Before moving on to delve deep into the world of macarons, I decided to try making eclairs, once the darling of the French patisserie, before macarons came on the scene. The key to making delicious eclairs in making pate choux, the basis of the French cream puff, piping out the pate choux, and allowing it to puff up into eclairs in the oven.  Then, the pastries are filled with homemade pastry cream and glazed in a chocolate ganache glaze.  These only stay good for about a day, and are really best if you eat them right away, so I suggest making them for a party, perhaps for a French brunch.  I was really happy with how these came out - they were nice and puffy and filled up easily with the pastry cream.

Eclairs (recipe from Martha Stewart)
Pate Choux
1 stick of butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
four large eggs

Pastry Cream
six egg yolks
1 large egg
3/4 cup plus 2 T sugar
3 T cornstarch
3 T flour
3 cups milk
3 T unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz semisweet chocolate chips

First, to make the pate choux, bring butter, sugar, salt and one cup of water to boil in a medium saucepan.  Remove from heat and quickly stir in the flour.  Continue stirring constantly over medium high heat until mixture pulls away from the sides and a thin film forms on the bottom, about three minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed for a minute, then turn to high speed and add the whole eggs, one at a time.  Beat on high until soft peaks form when you touch with the tip of your finger

Preheat the oven to 425.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use silpats.  Fill a pastry bag with a 1 inch tip and pipe oblong shapes onto the baking sheets at 2 inch intervals.  Run a wet fork along the top of each to ensure even rising.

Cover one sheet with oiled plastic wrap and put in the fridge, until the first sheet is done.  Bake 10 minutes at 425, then reduce to 350 and bake another 25 minutes.  Turn off oven and prop door with a spoon and allow to cool in the oven for ten minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool and bake the second sheet the same way.

The pastry cream can be made ahead of time.  Prepare an ice bath.  In a medium bowl, combine the yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Whisk in the cornstarch and flour and whisk until smooth.  Set aside.  In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and remaining sugar.  Stir over medium heat until milk begins to steam.  Then. whisk in the egg mixture, stir until smooth and return to the heat.  Bring the mixture to a boil and stir constantly to prevent scorching until it forms a thick custard.  Strain and place over icebath.  Chill.

Fill the eclairs with the pastry cream using a pastry tip.  To make the glaze, heat the cream in a saucepan, and pour the hot cream over the chocolate.  Let stand until melted and whisk until smooth.  Dip each eclair in the chocolate cream.  Allow glaze to set.

Sasha's Kitchen: Eclairs

Sasha's Kitchen: Dan Dan Noodles

These Sichuan style noodles were a pleasant addition to my weekly menu a couple weeks ago.  The recipe made plenty of noodles, and they were quite flavorful.  My husband and I adapted the recipe to use ground beef rather than pork, and added some Sriracha sauce for a bit of heat.  This was quite easy to make using udon noodles.  It's probably not an ethnic Chinese dish the way it was made, but it certainly has the flavors and inspiration of Sichuan cuisine behind it.

Dan Dan Noodles (adapted from Serious Eats)
12 oz Shanghai style noodles or udon
2 T canola oil
1 lb ground beef
2 T chopped fresh ginger
3/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
Sriracha, to taste
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
4 tsp tahini
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, ground
pinch of sugar
4 T chopped peanuts
1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the noodles.  Cook until tender, drain and set aside. In a large 12 inch skillet or wok, heat oil over medium heat until smoking.  Add beef and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until partially cooked but still half pink.  Add ginger and continue cooking until beef is cooked through.  Stir in the chicken stock, siriracha sauce, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, tahini and peppercorns.  Season with a little sugar and boil and simmer about 7-10 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add the noodles to the skillet and toss well in the sauce.  Serve with peanuts and scallions.

Sasha's Kitchen: Dan Dan Noodles

Sasha's Kitchen: Boeuf Bourguignon

I've been on a bit of a French cooking kick lately.  It all started when I took my most recent cooking class, the Essentials of Burgundian Cooking at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in Manhattan.  Since then, I've made several French dishes (some in the class and some not) including my first try at eclairs which I will be posting soon (they were great!).  I've made boeuf bourguignon in the past, but I've never been happy with the results.  I always left out the caramelized pearl onions in the past, which was a big mistake.  This new recipe, from my French cooking class, is a bit more simplified that some that I have tried in the past, but in a classic kind of simplicity that made the perfect French stew.  This was one of the best meat-based dishes I've ever made, and it had a lovely perfect simplicity to it that was just perfect.  As my husband put it, it was like being back in Paris.  This dish is another one that will be on the list for upcoming dinner parties.  I should note, I substituted regular slab bacon with turkey bacon since I don't eat bacon at home, and made some other minor modifications to the recipe in the class, reflected below.  The meat was amazingly tender and the sauce was stunning and delicious.

Boeuf Bourguignon
8 oz turkey bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (original recipe calls for slab bacon)
2 1/2 lbs beef cubes
6 to 8 T butter (approximate)
2 oz tomato paste
1/3 cup flour
2 cloves crushed garlic
2  bottles burgundy red wine
1 cheesecloth sachet with 12 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and 5 stems parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb mushrooms, quartered
1 bag pearl onions
1 T minced parsley
2 T sugar
chicken stock, as needed

Cut the turkey bacon and cook in a dutch oven.  You are supposed to reserve the fat, but turkey bacon really doesn't have any.  After the turkey bacon is cooked, set it aside.  Add 2 T butter and brown the beef until it caramelizes nicely.  Remove the beef from the dutch oven and add the flour to about 4 T of butter.  Make a blond roux by cooking the flour and fat over medium heat.  Then add the tomato p[ate and cook for a few minutes until the paste roux mixture darkens and caramelizes.   Add the crushed garlic and cook a few more minutes, then whisk in the wine.  Add back the beef and the sachet of spices.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the beef until tender, about two and a half hours, covered on the stovetop.

While the meat is cooking, cook the mushrooms in 2 T of butter or canola oil.  I used canola oil, as I felt this dish had already used enough butter.  I normally don't use butter and substitute canola oil when cooking but this dish really requires butter for the roux.  Its ok to cook the mushrooms in canola oil though, and I did.  Saute the mushrooms for about ten minutes until nicely browned, and set aside.

To prepare the glazed onions, fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil.  Add the onions and blanch for one minute.  Then shock the onions in an ice bath.  Peel off the skins.  Place the onions back in  the saucepan with 2 T sugar and 1 T butter and enough chicken stock to cover the onions.  Bring liquid to a boil and let the liquid evaporate.  Set the onions aside for serving.

When the beef is about tender, remove any fat from the surface of the braising liquid  and boil the liquid a bit for a few minutes to thicken to the desired consistency - it didn't take much.  Also discard the sachet.

When the liquid has reached the proper consistency, add the mushrooms and turkey bacon.  Season as needed with salt and pepper, and serve sprinkled with the glazed onions and minced parsley.

Sasha's Kitchen: Boeuf Bourguignon

Sasha's Kitchen: Goat Cheese Pita Pizzas

I made this nice quick meal last week when I didn't have much time to cook.  I made four of them, but my husband and I had leftovers as they were more filling than you might think.  This is an adaptation from the halloumi Greek pizzettes that I had made in the past, which were delicious.  These are a nice treat that is of course much healthier than conventional pizza!  I just love arugula on pizza and this is no exception.

Sasha's Pita Pizzas 
8 oz goat cheese, crumbled
four pocketless pitas
1 pint yellow grape or cherry tomatoes
2 cups baby arugula
1 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil, plus more for tasting pita
1/3 to 1/3 cup apricot jam

Preheat your oven to 350.  Brush the pita with olive oil on both sides using a pastry brush and toast for ten minutes.  Spread on the apricot jam.  Top with crumbled goat cheese and grape tomatoes (after halving the tomatoes) and bake for about five minutes.  In the meantime, mix the arugula with the olive oil and lemon juice.  Take pizzas out of the oven and top with the arugula mixture.  Serve immediately.

Sasha's Kitchen: Goat Cheese Pita Pizzas

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Coulis

Recently, I took a French cooking class, the essentials of burgundian cooking at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in Manhattan.  The class was a fun class where we broke into groups and made an entire French meal.  I perfected my boeuf bourguignon skills, which I will be making at home again this weekend.  The dessert for the class was this delicious French style chocolate cake, Gauteau ay Chocolate avec Framboise Coulis, which I made again at home, and it was even better.  My husband was a huge fan of this classic French dessert which is perfect for any dinner party.

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Coulis
Cake
6 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into 1 T pieces
4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
3 T pureed almonds, or almond flour
4 T flour
pinch of cream of tartar
pinch of salt

Glaze (I made a half recipe of the laze at home because I thought that was enough)
6 oz semisweet chocolate
4 T coffee
6 T butter

Rasberry Coulis
1 pint fresh raspberries
1 T lemon juice
1 T Framboise
powdered sugar to taste (I like the sauce to be tart, so I only used 2 T)

Spray an eight inch cake pan with pam and line with parchment paper, sprayed with pam.  Preheat the oven to 350.

Melt the chocolate and butter for the cake batter in a double boiler.  In an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the yolks with 1/4 cup of the sugar until the mixture forms ribbons that fall from the mixer.  This takes about four minutes at a high speed.  Add the chocolate mixture and blend together.  Add the flour and almond flour and combine.  Remove and clean the mixer and set aside.

In the mixer with a whisk attachment in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until it forms a soft peak, on high speed.  Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Fold the beaten whites into the chocolate batter with a spatula.  Pour into prepared cake pan.  Bake for 30 minutes or ubtil cake pulls away from sides of pan.

Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes.  Invert and remove from pan and take off the parchment paper liner.  Cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze, heat the chocolate and coffee over a double boiler.  Off heat add the butter and stir gently to combine.  Pour on cooled cake.

Blend the ingredients for the coulis in your blender.  Serve with cake.

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Coulis

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Jam & Challah French Toast

I made this delicious jam and preserved six jars using the boiling water method.  This was my first jam of the season and was a huge success for my second time making jam overall.  I just love the combination of strawberry and rhubarb this time of year, so I couldn't resist making some strawberry rhubarb jam.  Yum! My jam cam out perfectly using the Pomona's Universal Pectin recipe on their website and the instructions for preserving in Sherri Brooks Vinton's book Put Em up.  I took her class on preserving last year at the Brooklyn Kitchen. My jam had a little bit of fruit float, which isn't a big deal but a place to improve.  To correct for that, I should crush the fruit a little better next time, which may mean using a potato masher instead of my own hands!  At any rate, I have enjoyed using this delicious jam, both jazzing up some goat cheese on crackers as an appetizer and with challah french toast.  It's the best jam to start the canning season!  Please note, I multiplied the original recipe by 1.5 to make six conventional sized jam jars rather than four. Also, the recipe from Pomona's gives a sugar range, so what I used is below.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
3 cups rhubarb, cooked and crushed
3 cups crushed strawberries
1 1/3 cups of sugar
3 T lemon juice
3 tsp calcium water
3 1/4 tsp pectin

Combine the sugar and the pectin in a small bowl and set aside.  Heat the jars (minus the lids) in a large pot covered with two inches of water.  They just have to be hot, not reaching a boil.  You are not truing to sterilize at this point. Add some rhubarb (cut up) to a little water an cook until soft.  Then (after cooking!) measure three cups of rhubarb.  Mash two pints of strawberries using your hands or a potato masher and then measure three cups of the mashed strawberries.  Transfer the fruit to a large, reactive saucepan and slowly bring to a boil over low heat, stirring frequently.  Stir in the calcium water and lemon juice.  Then slowly add the sugar-pectin mixture.  Slowly return to a boil and heat to ensure the mixture is heated thoroughly.  Then turn off heat and allow to rest for five minutes.  Skim off any foam.

Using the boiling water method of preserving, ladle into half pint jars that have been prepared, leaving a quarter inch of headspace.  Release any trapped air and lightly place caps on jars.  Process for 10 minutes (once the water reaches a hard boil, set timer for 10 minutes).  Allow to stay in water for five minutes before removing.  Then allow to cool at room temperature.  Will stay good for one year!

To make the french toast, follow the recipe below.  This jam is amazing on the french toast.

Sasha's Challah French Toast
1 small-ish Challah
5 eggs
1 1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
butter or canola oil for cooking

Whisk together the eggs, milk cinnamon and vanilla.  Slice the challah into thick slices.  Heat a large pan with either butter or canola oil.  Quickly dip the challah to soak up the batter, and then cook in the pan until nicely browned.  Serve immediately with strawberry rhubarb jam.

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Jam & Challah French Toast

Sasha's Kitchen: Cod with Slaw, Salsa Verde and Plaintains

Palo Santo is one of Park's Slope's delicious restaurants that my husband and I always enjoy going to.  I adapted this delicious and healthy fish restaurant from the New Brooklyn Cookbook, where the recipe hails from Palo Santo.  I wasn't able to get bluefish, so I adapted the recipe for cod.  It was still delicious and I really loved the salsa verde, plantains and slaw with the fish.  This take a bit of time to make, but not as long as you would think.  The end result is a beautiful, colorful and healthy display - a perfect meal for cheering up on a gloomy day!

Cod with Slaw, Salsa Verde and Plantains
Slaw
1/2 head small red cabbage, cored and shredded
1 scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T red wine vinegar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Salsa Verde
10 oz green tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/3 cup minced chives
1 cup minced cilantro (original recipe called for two but I used less)
juice of one lime
1 T extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

Plantains
3 very ripe plantains (I used two)
1 T melted butter

Fish
two 8 oz cod fillets (original recipe called for 6 8oz bluefish fillets)
1/4 cup canola oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425.  To make the slaw, combine the cabbage, pepper, garlic and vinegar and olive oil in a large mixing bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside to marinate.

To make the salsa, use a paring knife to make an X on the bottom of each tomatillo.  Blanch in boiling water for a few seconds until the skin starts to split and then plunge into an ice bath.  Peel, discard skins and seeds and chop the tomatillo.  Combine with the other ingredients above for the salsa verde and set aside.

Roast the plantains on a rimmed baking sheet at 425 for about 20 minutes until they begin to puff and burst.  Then cut them and coat with the melted butter.  Bake until golden brown, another 5-10 minutes.

To prepare the fish, season with salt and pepper.  Prepare an ovenproof saute pan and add the canola oil  and heat.  Cook 2-3 minutes, and then place fish in oven to finish cooking about five minutes until it is opaque in the center.

Sasha's Kitchen: Cod with Slaw, Salsa Verde and Plaintains

Sasha's Kitchen: Rhubarb Crumble Pie

I love strawberry rhubarb pie.  Its my favorite.  I just love the tang of the rhubarb combined with the sweet strawberries.  Yum!  But I decided to go a bit tangier this time and try out a Martha Stewart recipe for a rhubarb crumble pie.  And you know what - it was amazing too! A bit tangier than the combined pie but just plain delicious and a perfect wait to start pie season while waiting for fresh farmer's market strawberries.  I'm going to do the strawberry rhubarb version soon, but just rhubarb was just perfect too!  This weekend, I plan on making some strawberry rhubarb jam for my first canning of the season.

Rhubarb Crumble Pie (from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts)
Bottom Crust
1 1/4 cup flour
1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
approximately 1/8 cup ice water

Filling
1 3/4 lbs rhubarb, ends trimmed and cut crosswise (about 6 cups)
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 T cornstarch

Crumble Topping
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 T granulated sugar
pinch salt
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

To make the bottom crust dough, follow the instructions for my apple pie dough.  You can also make it in a stand mixer, but don't overknead.  I made it in my stand mixer this time.  Stop mixing just when the dough comes together.  Chill for about 45 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.  You are making a half recipe of dough because you are not making a top crust.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough and fit into a 9 inch pie plate, leaving a one inch overhang.  Fold overhang and press gently to seal.  Crimp edges as desired and chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 and in a large bowl, toss rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Pour into the pie shell.

Mix the crumble topping with your fingers until combined and large clumps form.  Sprinkle on top of pie and bake the pie until the topping is browned and the crust is lightly browned, about an hour and a half.  You can cover with foil if it browns too fast.  Allow pie to cool before serving.

Sasha's Kitchen: Rhubarb Crumble Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Bucatini with Cauliflower and Ramps

I'm really into making pasta dishes with spring vegetables right now.  I love using everyuthing that's seasonal.  I'm happy to say that I scored the first rhubarb of the season at Union Market in Park Slope and am making a rhubarb crumble pie this weekend (posting it soon!).  In the meantime, I've been enjoying making some vegetable pastas.  Ramps finally arrived at FreshDirect just before Passover so I made this delicious dish just before passover started.  Ramps, if you are not familiar with them, are wild onions, usually gathered by hand.  They are a bit of a cross between leeks and wild garlic.  I like using them in pasta dishes during their short season.  Some people also like to make pickled ramps, but I haven't tried that yet.  Next week, I'll be making swiss chard ravioli dough with ramps/ricotta/marscarpone cheese and a rose vodka sauce.  Here's the first garden fresh pasta of the spring.

Sasha's Bucatini with Cauliflower and Ramps
1 lb bucatini pasta
florets from one cauliflower head, diced into small pieces
1 bunch of ramps, diced
zest of half a lemon
extra virgin olive oil
1 pint halved yellow grape tomatoes
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

To make this dish, first saute the cauliflower in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, for about ten minutes, until soft.  Add the lemon zest and the ramp bulbs (separated from the green part of the ramps) and cook antoher two minutes.  Then add the diced green part of the ramps and the yellow tomatoes and saute another few minutes until the tomatoes are softened and shriveled.  In the meantime, cook the bucatini (hollow tubular pasta) according to the package instructions.  Toss the panko bread crumbs in with the vegables and mix in the pasta.  You can add a bit more olive oil if needed, and be sure to reserve a bit of the pasta water and add that in as well. This was delicious!

Sasha's Kitchen: Bucatini with Cauliflower and Ramps

Sasha's Kitchen: Passover Carrot Tzimmes Souffle

I made a delicious carrot tzimmes souffle tonight for Passover, after spending two great seders to start the holiday with my family in Philadelphia this weekend.  Passover, of course, is the holiday where you can't eat any bread or yeast for eight days.  I found this recipe in a Kosher cookbook at my parents' house the other day and decided to make it for Brad and I tonight for dinner upon our return to Brooklyn.  The mix of carrot and pineapple is just perfect.  You make the souffle with egg whites as usual, and matzo meal instead of flour, but the consistency is actually pretty similar to a typical savory souffle with the flavor of carrot tzimmes.  A real Passover treat!  This recipe is one I adapted from the cookbook Kosher By Design for the Holidays

Carrot Tzimmes Souffle
2 cups grated carrots (about five large carrots)
3/4 cup matzo meal
2 T orange juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon (added by me to the recipe in the cookbook)
2/3 cup of granulated sugar (original recipe called for a cup, but I prefer to use a bit less)
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup canola oil
1 20 oz can pineapple, pureed in a food processor

To make the souffle, preheat the oven to 350.  Separate the eggs.  Combine the yolks with the matzo meal, carrots, oil, lemon juice, orange juice, cinnamon and pineapple.  Set aside.  Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment until they are fluffy and have stiff beaks, beating on the highest speed for about three minutes.  Then fold the mixture of carrots and everything else into the egg whites with a spatula, and fold until fully combined.  Pour into a large souffle dish and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Enjoy immediately!

Sasha's Kitchen: Passover Carrot Tzimmes Souffle

Sasha's Kitchen: Asparagus Goat Cheese Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Passover started last week, which means no bread, grains, flour, corn etc. for me for eight days.  However, I made this recipe last week and haven't gotten around to posting it just yet (I scheduled posts in advance).  So, it was pre-Passover when I made this and when I posted it :)  At any rate, if you have been reading this blog for awhile, I love making my own ravioli and came up with this recipe for asparagus goat cheese ravioli, served in a sage brown butter sauce.  This was one of my husband's favorites, and mine too.  I made a second great pasta dish using ramps this past week, which I will be posting soon.  I love ramps in the springtime.  Once Passover ends, I plan to  make my famous ricotta-ramp ravioli. Another nice thing about spring is the emergence of fruit pies and canning.  I'll be starting my jamming in the next couple of weeks with a cantaloupe jam and a strawberry-rhubarb jam.  I'm counting the days until I can get strawberries and rhubarb at the farmer's market.  I can't wait to make a strawberry rhubarb pie as well!


Sasha's Asparagus Goat Cheese Ravioli
Pasta Dough (recipe from Mario Batali)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
five eggs
2 T tomato paste

Sasha's Ravioli Filling
bunch of asparagus, cooked lightly and pureed in a food processor
1 egg
10 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Sage Brown Butter Sauce
15-20 sage leaves
6 T butter

To make the pasta dough, place the eggs and a mixer with the tomato paste and blend for a minute or two.  Then add the flour all at once and beat until a dough just forms.  If you need to you can add a tablespoon of water.  A dough won't fully come together in the mixer, as you will need to pull it together into four balls with your hands.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 45 minutes.

Roll the dough with your pasta maker to about a 6 or a 7 depending on your machine.  Press in ravioli press using your filling.  To make the filling, cook the asparagus in boiling water until it is just tender, and still a vibrant green in color.  Puree in a food processor and mix with an egg and 10 oz of goat cheese using a fork.  Season with salt and pepper, and add a little but of red pepper flakes if you prefer a little heat.  I left those out for this time.

Once you make the ravioli, allow to dry on a rack for about an hour.  Cook the ravioli in boiling water for about five minutes and remove using a strainer.  Place in the sauce directly.  I made a sage brown butter sauce.  Melt the butter over medium heat until it just browns, with the sage leaves.  The lovely crisp sage leaves lend delicious flavor to this simple sauce.

Sasha's Kitchen: Asparagus Goat Cheese Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Sasha's Kitchen: Banana Cream Pie

I've been itching to make a strawberry rhubarb pie, just as soon as they both come into season at the local farmer's market, or at least a rhubarb tart and some strawberry-rhubarb jam too, using my canning supplies.  But neither is ready just yet (rhubarb will precede strawberries) so in the meantime, I made a non-seaosnal pie that works just as well any time of year, a banana cream pie.  This was really delicious, and light and fluffy.  I followed Martha Stewart's recipe from her pie book, and the result was quite enjoyable.


Crust (from Pies and Tarts by Martha Stewart)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 stick of butter, cold cut into pieces
1/8 plus 1 T ice cold water

Banana Cream Pie (from Pies and Tarts by Martha Stewart)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
2 T cold, unsalted butter
3 large bananas, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly crosswise
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
shaved chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder for topping

To make the crust, follow Martha's half recipe for pate brisee.  Pulse the flour, salt and sugar in a stand mixer.  Add the chunks of butter and pulse until mixture resembles a course meal.  Drizzle 1/8 cup of water over the mixture and pulse until it just holds together.  If needed you can add another T or two of water - I added one more tablespoon myself.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for about 45 minutes.

Roll out the dough and line a circular 8 inch pie plate.  Trim the edges and crimp to form a nice pie shell.  Use pie weights on top of the crust to bake, since you are doing a "blind bake" without any fruit and don't want the shell to puff up.  Chill the pie for twenty minutes though before baking.  Preheat the oven to 425 and bake until the pie begins to turn gold, 15-18 minutes.  Then, reduce the heat to 350  and bake another twenty minutes.  Allow to cool completely, and remove the pie weights.

Make the filling.  Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan and whisk in the milk over medium high heat, stirring constantly until bubbling and thick, about seven minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, and add the milk mixture.  Whisk until combined.  return to saucepan and cook over medium heat for another two minutes until it returns to a boil, stirring constantly.  Pour through a sieve to strain.  Add butter and stir until melted.  Fold in bananas and pour into crust.  Then allow to chill for four hours.  In a chilled bowl, beat together the cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form, using the whisk attachment of your mixer.  Shape topping on top of pie using a spatula.  Top with chocolate shavings of powdered cocoa.

Sasha's Kitchen: Banana Cream Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Chicken Parmesan

I made this classic Italian dish with my husband a couple weeks ago.  It's surprisingly the first time I made chicken parmesan, and it came out really well.  They key, I think, was breading it with a mixture of parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs.  The exterior was nice and crispy and cheesy too.  I used fresh mozzarella and put it under the broiler to finish off the chicken.  This was a pretty east dish to make, the most involved part being making your own pasta sauce.  It requires a little coordination, but the great result is totally worth it.

Sasha's Chicken Parmesan
Package of skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans organic whole tomatoes
1 T fresh oregano
1/2 T fresh thyme
1 onion, diced
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
four cloves of garlic, diced
pasta
sliced mozzarella cheese

Mix the panko and parmesan cheese.  Season the eggs with salt and pepper, and beat.  Coat the chicken in the egg and cover with the bread crumb mixture.  Pan fry on all sides until browned in about three tablespoons of canola oil.  Then bake in the oven to ensure that the chicken is cooked through.  Top with sliced mozzarella and place under the broiler for about two minutes.  Serve by placing the chicken on top of the pasta and sauce.

To make the sauce, saute the chopped onion for a few minutes until soft, then add the garlic and saute another two minutes.  Blend the tomatoes until smooth in a blender and add the tomatoes.  Add the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil, then simmer about twenty minutes until the sauce reaches the right consistency - smooth and flavorful, but not too runny.  Add the balsamic vinegar after cooking is complete.

Sasha's Kitchen: Chicken Parmesan

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Devil's Food Caramel Cupcakes

I made these delicious cupcakes straight out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook and they were delicious.  The frosting is a light caramel frosting that gets its flavor from brown sugar, rather than from a complex caramelization process.  The Devil's Food chocolate batter results in a light and delicious cupcake.  The recipe in the cookbook makes two dozen, but I cut it in half and made just one which was plenty for our purposes.  I haven't been baking much the past couple weeks but these were a hit.  Tomorrow, I'll turn my focus back to pies, and I'll be making a banana cream pie.  I recently stocked up on my canning supplies and purchased a new Martha Stewart pie book at The Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg, as spring nears - time for fun fruit canning and pies on the horizon.  I can't wait for the first rhubarb jam and strawberry rhubarb pie of the season.  I'm also itching for ramps to be in season already too!

Magnolia Bakery's Devil's Food Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting (from this cookbook)
recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes (I recommend halving)
2 cups cake flour
1 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs (I used two when I halved the other ingredients)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting (here's the half recipe, sufficient for 1 dozen)
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 T dark corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Now to make the cupcakes, combine the dry ingredients for the cupcakes in a bowl.  Cream the butter with the two sugars in the mixer and add the eggs one at a time and beat to combine.  Slowly alternate adding the buttermilk and dry ingredients and then add in the vanilla.  Beat until smooth and combined.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full and bake for 25 minutes or so at 325 until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Beat together the butter and sugars for the frosting and slowly beat in the milk, corn syrup and vanilla.  It should take a good 3 or 4 minutes to get a creamy, smooth frosting when beating in your stand mixer at high speed. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Devil's Food Caramel Cupcakes

Sasha's Kitchen: Rigatoni with Broccoli and Turkey Sausage

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of weeks.  Life has been getting in the way of both cooking and writing, but I do have a backlog of some delicious meals and desserts to share.  I hope to be getting back into the swing of things a bit more.  I've made some good pasta dishes recently.  I'm looking forward to ramps coming back into season so I can make my ramp ricotta ravioli, but this Martha Stewart/Emeril dish I tried out with broccoli came out so good I made it twice.  I was tempted to leave out the anchovies/anchovy paste, but the recipe warned against doing that so I left it in, and it was the secret ingredient that made the dish delicious.

Rigatoni with Broccoli and Sausage (from Everyday Food)
coarse Kosher salt and ground pepper
1 lb rigatoni
2 head broccoli cut into florets (about four cups)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T grated lemon zest
2 T lemon juice
4 anchovy filets, minced into a paste (I used 1 tsp anchovy paste)
1 lb sweet italian turkey sausage, casings removed
parmesan, grated for serving

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta according to package instructions (about ten minutes, total).  In the last 2-3 minutes of cooking add the broccoli and cook until bright green and crisp-tender.  Reserve one cup of the pasta water and grain pasta and broccoli.

In a small bowl, whisk together the zest, lemon juice, oil, garlic, anchovy paste, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Add the sausage to pot and cook over medium high, breaking up meat, until browned and cooked though - about eight to ten minutes.  Return pasta and broccoli to the pot and add the oil mixture and toss to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats the pasta (I used about half a cup of the pasta water).  Serve with parmesan cheese.

Sasha's Kitchen: Rigatoni with Broccoli and Turkey Sausage

Sasha's Kitchen: Beef Tacos with Charred Tomatillo Pepper Relish

I made this delicious recipe for tacos from star chef Sam Talbot's cookbook, The Sweet Life.  The flavoring for these beef tacos is excellent, and pairs well with the roasted tomatillo pepper relish, as I just love tomatillos.  I substituted pimentos for jalapenos so there would be just a slight bit of heat, rather than a fiery taco.  The end result was delicious.  Also, I doubled the recipe for the relish and recommend doing the same, so I wrote it up as I actually made it.

Tomatillo-Pepper Relish (adapted from Sam Talbot)
1 cup diced tomatillos
8 jarred pepperoncini peppers, drained and seeded, thinly sliced
4 pimentos, sliced
juice of two limes
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Beef (adapted from Sam Talbot)
2 T canola oil
1 small vidalia onion, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
6 garlic cloves, diced
1 T cumin
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
1 1/2 tsp chile powder
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1 lb lean ground beef
2 T crushed canned tomatoes
salt and pepper

Tacos
corn tortillas (6 inch)
shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 lime wedges
sour cream
jack or cheddar cheese, shredded

To make the salsa, roast the peppers for 30 minutes at 450 and combine with the other ingredients.  Prepare the meat by sautéing the onion and celery for about five minutes until soft in canola oil.  Add the spices, garlic and canned tomato and saute another minute.  Then add the ground beef and cook through. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Beef Tacos with Charred Tomatillo Pepper Relish