Saturday, May 28, 2011

Darlin...I love you Breakfast !

Convection Oven  Baking time 25 minutes
Preparation time 10 minutes
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Serves 2-4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
·                  Parchment paper lined Baking dish, I use the one that came with the Convection Oven
·                  One mixing bowl, medium
·                  One small bowl
·                  Measuring spoons
·                  Small sauce pan, fill with water to 2 inches from the top
·                  Wooden or bamboo mixing spoon
·                  Wire Whisk
·                  Metal spatula for serving

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.               ½ Sweet Onion, diced into 1 to ½ inch pieces
2.               6 small red potatoes, diced into ½ inch pieces
3.               1 each small orange and yellow Sweet Bell Pepper, diced into 1 to ½ inch pieces
4.               1 Package Applegate Turkey Bacon, slice into 2 inch pieces
5.               2 Tablespoons per portion of Pecorino cheese, grated for garnish
6.               1 Tablespoon, Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar
7.               4 Large Eggs, carefully cracked into a small bowl
8.               1 teaspoon each of thyme, dill, paprika, white pepper
9.               1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Begin by starting your oven to preheat at 425 degrees.

Place into your medium bowl the sweet onion, red potatoes and orange and yellow sweet bell peppers together and mix well with mixing spoon. Add herbs and extra virgin olive oil and mix very well coating all together. Tip onto parchment lined baking dish, spreading evenly from edge to edge. Place the turkey bacon pieces covering it all, it should make a nice single layer over the entire pan.

Place in preheated 425 degree oven and set timer for 25 minutes.

Take your Pecorino cheese and using the small size on your grater so you have enough for each person and set aside.



Crack the eggs carefully into the small bowl.



Now take the small pan with water and add the vinegar and turn on to high heat. When it comes to a rolling boil use your whisk to stir the hot water into a whirlpool. Remove your whisk and as the bubbles and hot water continue to swirl pour in the eggs from the bowl and set your timer to 4 minutes and turn the heat immediately lower to medium heat.






Check your oven, the turkey bacon should be crispy on one side and if you take a fork and pierce a piece of red potato, it should be tender yet firm.



I use a wide metal spatula to lift from the just ready piping hot oven veggies and turkey bacon into bowls. Sprinkle generously with the cheese.

When the eggs are done, lift one egg out at a time with the wire whisk, holding it over the pan to drain all the remaining cooking water from the egg. Place so it is on top of the veggies. Do this with each egg.


Pinch of thyme, dill, white pepper and paprika.

~ ~ ~ ~ Good start to a beautiful day....Darlin! ~ ~ ~ ~


Saturday, May 21, 2011

End of the world crumble ( or Apple Cinnamon Pecan Crumble)

Convection Oven  Baking time 30 minutes

Preparation time 20 minutes
Serves 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
·                  Parchment paper lined glass baking dish, 2 quart size
·                  Two mixing bowls, large and medium
·                  Measuring cup, measuring spoons
·                  Wooden or bamboo mixing spoon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.               3 large Gala Organic apples, peeled, cored, roughly medium sliced
2.               3 Tablespoons lemon juice
3.               1 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
4.               1 Tablespoon corn starch
5.               1 Tablespoon vanilla (vanilla brings out the flavor)
6.               ¾ - 1 Cup coarse chopped pecans
7.               ¼ Cup dark molasses
8.               ¼ Cup all purpose flour
9.               ¼ Cup unsalted butter
10.            ½ Cup oats, uncooked rolled or quick

Prepare the ingredients all on the counter. Line the glass pan with the parchment paper



Begin by starting your oven to preheat at 400 degrees.



Peel apples…


Quarter them and remove the core…

Cut roughly into medium slices…


Add sugar, corn starch, vanilla and half of the measurement of spices…


Stir with spoon and coat well, mixing till everything is mixed well…set aside.


Taking the pecan halves onto a cutting board, chop with large knife. Keeping the tip of the blade on cutting surface and lifting and placing down the handle edge walking the blade while keeping the tip of the knife down onto the cutting board as you walk the blade over all the pecans to get a even coarse size. Takes but 4 minutes, place into medium bowl.


Add molasses, remaining half of the spices, butter, flour, oats to the pecans. Mix very well by hand.



Place the apple mixture into the parchment lined glass dish. Press down with back of wooden spoon. Evenly place the pecan topping on top, press lightly with the back of the wooden spoon.


Place into convection oven for 20-30 minutes. Sometimes I have found I need to adjust the time with converting the normal times for cooking as the convection oven cooks faster.

Well….we shall see what happens at the normal setting for now and will post the results from this setting. ……crossing fingers!
~~~ ....after 30 minutes...~~~


The crumble is soft from the oven and while cooling becomes firm and crunchy bits of goodness.

So....get your plates ready.....

~~~~ Good eating! ~~~
Try your own versions.....Raisins in with the apples
Generously piled with whipped cream
Scoop of Natural Vanilla Ice Cream
or even a slice of cheddar cheese
what ever your pleasure!
~~~~








Saturday, May 14, 2011

...excite your taste buds...

So many excellent cooks have contributed to this tasty dish. Thank you Kate and Mac!! The size of asparagus varies by season and location. This works well with green and white ones and you cannot miss the flavor this brings out from these delicate spears.


1 Hand full bunch of asparagus, thin or thick, your preference


This part can be any combination of your choice and degree of flavor as it is very flexible.


Extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan Pink Salt
White pepper, course ground
juice of one Lemon
Garlic powder, course chop fresh or pressed
Mix and brush on asparagus. Set aside for 10 min or longer is fine.




These look very large, but I am using my counter top convection oven for just the two of us. I always parchment line the pan my oven came with as it easily can be tossed when done and reduces cleanup. Some BBQ at this point, but with all the fire restrictions with this drought in Texas I am using this method. If you are lucky, BBQ them by all means!!


Set in a preheated broil setting for about 5 minutes, rolling them after 2. If thick ones are used you may have to add up to 2 minutes. I noticed in my oven and these thick ones I added the 2 minutes and still had a nice crisp outside and delicious inside.


We served this with basmati rice and small chicken in garlic pan fried.


Cut up three pieces of thigh boneless, skinless chicken. Drench with remaining asparagus marinade. Heat skillet set on medium high with a little olive oil. When hot, toss in chicken, allow to brown a bit before turning. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes depending upon your heat and allow for browning.
Serve hot, to do this start with the rice and when that is done then do the chicken and lastly the asparagus. Spring treat for the hungry two of you.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

...now for something Apples, Cinnamon and Texas Pecans

Last night...we were BAD! I knew we were designating ourselves into an evening of ...I want something but I don't know what!
Surely you have had those evenings when you've had a light supper or no supper at all and weakening to your evil side...something sweet. Well, in a mild effort to stay away from dairy this late into the evening I found apples. You know the ones you had all the intention of eating one a day...but they never find themselves in your bag to take to work...I forgot them.

8 very small apples, peeled and cored, sliced
3 pats, unsalted sweet butter

So, with a bag of the forgotten apples I started peeling them...eight very small ones, smaller than my fist. Cut in half and cored. Sliced roughly, imperfectly old apples.
Melt three pats of butter in a cast iron skillet on medium heat and toss the apple slices in. Stir till all coated with the melted butter. You should smell warm butter and apples. Let them cook, allow the butter to brown them a little is fine.

Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves
1/3 cup packed dark brown Cane Sugar.
Stir in well to blend.


Take a hand full of  Texas pecan halves and roughly chop them, uneven is fine. They give nice texture and flavor, you don't want pecan meal.


Add the pecans to the apples and stir coating the pecans and mixing very well. Do not worry if the apples become dark brown, if you use a cast iron skillet this is normal for fruit and certain vegetables to react with the pan. During cooking the apples will sweat the moisture out and mingle with everything in the pan and release as steam, evaporate, so you can turn the heat off once the apples are softened or firm to your liking and should be a syrupy pecan and apple mixture. About 20 minutes medium heat cooking time total.


Now that we satisfied part of our thoughts...grab a fork!? No, not yet. I didn't mention something, something most people find difficult and avoid....crepes. I have heard many people say they love pancakes and make them all the time...so crepes are the SAME! The more times you make them the better you will become as it will be as easy a boiling an egg. I had to learn myself, and sometimes I have been rusty, but it comes back after I pour a few, it always does.

Crepes:
2 eggs, wisked in a bowl
1/2 milk, evaporated or 2%
1/2 cup flour, all purpose, no need to get fancy or crazy
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure cane sugar (omit if making savory crepes)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all in order given. Set aside.

Pan:
This is the part that takes practice. If you use different pans, you won't maintain the memory of the experience and the relationship of the heat and all that cooking joy of making crepes. So, you need to choose a pan you will dedicate in using for crepes. It should be a smooth surface pan, it is sometimes called a omelet pan. You need it to be a thin skillet style with a long handle. Comfortable to hold with one hand, I use my left, not a heavy pan or a hateful pan. Happy pans only and a good wide spatula that you love. Use loving tools transfers the cooks joy and love to the method of crepes. Stop eating pancakes and crepes in restaurants because you can do better! Trust me. 


Use a front large burner, electric or gas, just use the front one. Place the pan handle to your left. I am a weakest with my left arm and this works. What ever you have been taught, disregard and use these steps:
  1. Place cold pan on burner. Brush or spray a extra virgin olive oil bottom and sides of pan. Set heat to medium high to start. Place your hand above the pan center about two inches. Feel the heat of the pan. If you can count to five, and notice the heat to hot for your hand to remain, it's ready.
  2. Add a thin pat of unsalted sweet butter. It should move and melt quickly. Your pan is too hot if it spatters or smokes and you must remove it from the heat to cool for a moment before continuing.
  3. Give your batter a whisk and with a ladle full pour quickly in the center of the hot pan and free your hand of the ladle.
  4. Left hand grab the pan handle, lift from burner and tilt the pan. Lowering, nearest to your left side of your body, and lifting the pan edge furthest away from your body. Then watch the batter in the pan. The batters action will be starting in the center like a pancake round, fluid batter will move with your actions of the pan. It will flow to 9:00 o'clock, travel to 6:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock flowing in the pan with your tilting till it returns to a round puddle back at 9:00 o'clock, counter-clock-wise.
  5. Set the pan back on the burner so it can cook. It will remain thin and pale.
  6. As soon as the edges become a brown and the center of the batter has a skin or firms, about 2 minutes. It will be ready to flip, don't use the bubble method, that will over cook crepes.
  7. First shake the pan to make sure it is loose to flip. If it isn't loose, pry with spatula around the edges first before trying to flip over. Flip and return to heat for another 2 minutes.


The appearance is secondary, lacy patterns of golden or dark brown. After the 2 minutes tip onto awaiting plate lined with wax paper.

Before second one, test again and repeat with a little less butter only if necessary. No more oil and very little butter if any for the second one. Over use of butter will not allow the batter to roll and move in the counter-clock pattern and causes spidery legs to form as you tilt. Batter should be allowed to heat stick as it is tilted.


Large and small ones may happen to form as you use up the batter and your heat varies. More patterns will happen depending on the timing of the flips and sometimes things happen like thicker ones and thinner ones. I get 7-8 crepes per batch. Plenty for a midnight snack or quick crepe for holding left overs. Leftover crepes never happen, we eat them all up every time.


My, my, MY!! 


~ ~ ~ The smile that crepes brings! ~ ~ ~
Jam smeared and then rolled the easiest
Chicken salad or tuna smeared and rolled with a drizzle of dressing, exciting
Sliced fresh bananas, sprinkled with brown sugar and rolled for an adventure
Blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream and rolled for a crowd
Peaches and granola and cream and rolled for breakfast coziness
Chinese leftovers and rolled for something different
Apples, cinnamon placed inside and rolled, sprinkled with a teaspoon of powdered sugar!
Your imagination is endless as your fun in making crepes expands in each time you make some.
~ ~ ~ Now make some your self! ~ ~ ~


Finger potatoes, veggies, bison



Place only as much finger potatoes that fill the bottom of a small pan. Fill with water till just covered and cook on medium high heat. 


For as much as two people would eat clean and snap asparagus into pan with 1 inch of water. Include some branches of broccoli and set on medium high heat. When boiling set lid on pan and allow to steam for about 10 minutes or until spears pierced with fork tines are still crisp. Turn heat off, drain saving liquid and add a small pat of butter, return lid to pan and set aside.



Mix 1 pound of ground bison with fresh mushrooms, an egg and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Form into four patties. Place in cast iron skillet on medium heat till brown about 4 minutes per side just to brown well. Remove from heat. Add a handful of mushrooms and a pat of butter and cook on medium heat. Return meat to pan and add the drained veggy liquid and add enough stock to equal about 1 cup liquid total. Let simmer and reduce to very low.


Meat and mushrooms should look like this now.


Done! Using the assorted finger potatoes makes for a colorful dinner. Enough for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day.