Mushroom Ravioli Take 2

Finished and all plated up for dinner....this was mushroom ravioli attempt number two. The first pass didn't go off so well as you can see here. This time I hedged my bets and bought pre made wonton wrappers and filled them with a ricotta/mushroom mixture. Then they were dropped into hot boiling water until they came up to the surface....then topped with tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was much too heavy for the light flavor of the ravioli. Next time a simple browned butter with some basil or sage will suffice.

All filled, lined up and waiting to be dropped into the boiling hot water :) I have extras so I am freezing them for another night.

Pear Crumble

Chester came over on Tuesday night to help be with some computer issues I was having...more on that on MalibuBetty later. So tech support from Chester = payment in the form of food and beverage. So for dinner I made chicken wings, sweet potato fries and a pear crumble. The topping was a bit too flour-y but otherwise crunchy and sweet over the light flavor of the pears.

Pear Crumble
4-5 Bosc or Bartlett Pears
1 teaspoon each cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar

For the topping
1/2 stick butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats

Core and slice pears, toss with spices and sugar. Arrange in a pie pan or baking dish. For the topping; add butter, flour and sugar and mix with your hands until you receive a crumbly texture. Add oats and combine without breaking the oats. Top the pear filling with the crumble mixture and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Pork Loin with Figs and Balsamic Glaze

Finished product above for Monday night dinner. I had some leftover figs from Molly's shower and had recently purchased some nice looking pork loin chops at Whole Foods....and we begin.
Creamy polenta to serve as the starch accompaniment. I used 2 cups water to 2/3 cup polenta. Dump int polenta when water is boiling then add salt and pepper....stir constantly to make sure polenta does not clump, add about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter at this time. Once mixture thickens add about 1 cup of milk and stir until incorporated. This makes a rich and creamy polenta.

As an additional side, I prepared some roasted cauliflower with olive oil and curry powder. In hindsight I would have made an alternative side dish as the entire plate was a little too yellow....I like having a colorful plate of food. A simple salad or brocolini would have made a nice vegetable side dish.


Season pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides, cook in a lightly oiled pan with lid on for about 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the meat. When you press meat with your finger it should feel taut and only lightly give. It is important to cook pork thoroughly.

Remove cooked pork from pan and deglaze pan with 1-2 cups of dry white wine (I used Hall Sauvignon Blanc) and scrape off all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan. Add sliced onions and 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and cook down for a few minutes. Add 1-2 tablespoons of butter, the quartered figs, salt and pepper to taste. Sautee until figs soften and sauce in pan thickens.

Assemble plate and enjoy!

Pear Butter

Holly's house in Alamo is like an orchard to me. Compared to our tiny 700 square foot condo with no outdoor space and a window that opens only 6 inches, Holly's half acre ranch style home in the suburbs are like an oasis of greenery and pasture. They have LOADS of fruit trees...lemons, figs, oranges, apples and pears. I had already pillaged their lemon tree so this time, I hit up their pear tree as it is pear season.

And what else is better for a big bag of pears than to make pear butter! This was quite timely as we went to Townsend for brunch on Sunday morning and they had pear butter on the tables and I was marveling at how delicious it was....

Easy peasy - thank my lucky stars for the crock pot! This was SOOO easy to make. All I had to do was core and chop the pears, add 1 cup each of water and brown sugar, then teaspoons of cinnamon, clove, allspice and nutmeg. Turn the crock pot on to high for most of the day and viola!!! I will recommend that you cook it with the lid off for a few hours towards the second half of the day to allow for the mixture to concentrate. Also you can use an immersion blender to pureee the ingredients about two hours into the process.

Pour into prepared canning jars and then process in a water bath for about 10 minutes.

Sitting proudly on a dish towel waiting for their labels.

Molly's Bridal Shower

Goat cheese and roasted bell pepper toasts. For the toasts, I used a plain bagel chip...although I think next time an herbed scone or flatbread would give it a little more punch. I used jar roasted peppers and they had a bit of a briny flavor to them...I think next time I may either roast them myself or use a tapenade....I need to preserve the sweetness of the peppers to contrast the tang of the goat cheese.

Bacon wrapped figs. You can't go wrong when it's wrapped in bacon. Cut bacon strips in half and wrap around halved black mission figs, secure with toothpicks and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until bacon is crispy. Total cooking time will depend on the thickness of the bacon used.

Salad, crustless quiche and pastries for the main course.

Salad was super easy... lately I have been enjoying putting fruit in the salads with a contrasting cheese. There is the traditional pear with blue cheese, but I have also discovered the lighter feta to pair with any number of fruits like nectarines and watermelon.

The crustless quiche was straight out of Gourmet Magazine. They had the idea for crustless....so instead of using pie crust you just butter and breadcrumb the baking dish, thus creating a layer for the egg misture to stick to and allow for easy removal from the pan when serving.

Nectarine & Feta Salad
3 regular nectarines
1 packaged crumbled feta cheese
1 pound arugula
1 head butter lettuce
1 bunch radishes

Dressing:
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Dijon Mustard
Salt, Pepper

Wash and dry the greens in a salad spinner, for the butter lettuce make sure to hand tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. Wash radishes and then using a mandoline, make thin slices widthwise to showcase the round shape with red/white color. Wash and slice nectarines into thin wedges, the mandoline can be used here as well if desired...but cut in thicker slices than the radishes. Put all produce into a large serving bowl. Make dressing by wisking the juice of one lemon with about 1/2 cup of olive oil and a Tablespoon of dijon mustard to help bind the ingredients, salt and pepper to taste. Lightly dress the produce then sprinkle feta cheese on top.

Crustless Quiche
Butter
Breadcrumbs
Eggs
Milk
Assorted Fillings (I used bacon, onions, spinach, mushrooms, cheese and tomatoes)

Butter then breadcrumb your baking dish, set aside. For fillings, sautee the ingredients of your choice until cooked, set aside to cool. Whisk together eggs and milk - I use a 2/1 ratio...2 eggs for every cup of milk. Add salt and pepper to egg mixture. To assemble quiche, layer the cooled filling into the baking dish, sprinkle with grated cheese, then pour egg mixture until cheese is just covered. If desired, you can decorate you quiche by gently laying sliced tomatoes or other vegetables on top of the mixture. Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown...takes between 25-45 minutes depending on the size of your baking dish. The center should be springy and firm to the touch but not liquidy.

Tropical Citrus Layer Cake

This weekend was Molly's bridal shower...and as the host, I had loads of fun planning the festivities. The food is always a central part of the itinerary as I believe that a meal with friends can be such an enjoyable experience and the food should be reflective of the event at hand. First thing first was the cake.....with all of the decorating classes I have been taking recently, the hardest decision was what the cake should be.

I decided on a "flower basket" themed cake featuring chrysanthemums. This was my first attempt at the basket weave pattern with frosting so I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out. Overall it was pretty good...but a bit lopsided in some parts.

Here is a closeup of the frosted sides so you can see the basket weave detail. It's not easy to frost something vertical and I had a difficult time keeping the lines straight, I'll just have to keep practicing.

Close up of the top of the cake and of all the sugar paste flowers that were used.

Light Lemon Cake Recipe

1 1/2 stick butter
3 cups sifted cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup lemon juice and zest
1 cup milk
4 eggs

Mix all dry ingredients together, add softened butter and mix until combined.In separate bowl, mix eggs and cream together...slowly add to the dry mixture in batches. Mix on low speed just until incorporated. Add passionfruit and key lime juice and zest. Beat at medium high speed for one minute. Pour into greased cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Frosting came from a previous recipe here...

Flowers Flowers Everywhere

All lined up in an egg carton to help retain their shape as they dry. Those are chrysanthemums pictured above and below. On Saturday, I headed over to Berkeley again to Spun Sugar to attend yet another cake decorating class focusing on sugar paste flowers. We learned how to make mums, autum leaves, calla lilies and gardenias. Once I returned home...I vegged out and made a few more with the leftover gum paste that I had from class. I was so tired this weekend from the monster week of work that this was the only time I left the house all weekend...for that class and then all I did was sit around at home making these flowers.

Assorted Cupcakes

I have loads of frosting in my freezer. I am never quite sure how much frosting I am going to use so I just make the recommended full batch and then just freeze what is leftover. Given all the frosting balls in the freezer were starting to get lonely, I decided to make a batch of plain cupcakes and then frost them with the different frosting options we had available.

These were frosted with Vanilla Chai Frosting and Plum Frosting. The sugar paste flower decorations were also made this weekend as I was inspired by the class I took on Saturday.

"ACR" stands for Amelia Claire Riley...that six pack of treats is headed to work with Forrest tomorrow so he can deliver them to Sean to welcome their new baby.

Vanilla Almond Cupcake Recipe

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 /2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix all dry ingredients together, add softened butter and mix until combined.In separate bowl, mix eggs and cream together...slowly add to the dry mixture in batches. Mix on low speed just until incorporated. Add passionfruit and key lime juice and zest. Beat at medium high speed for one minute. Pour into a lined cupcake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until cake tester comes out clean.

Ragu

The last good bits in the crock pot....that's what we're having for dinner tonight over spaghetti...a nice meaty ragu. The rest I have put into ziploc freezer bags and put into the freezer for later. I am going to try using the bags instead of tupperware as you can freeze these flat and then stack them like books in the freezer, thus being able to store more goodness.

How did this magic happen? Well, I needed something to do with all that guanciale I just bought from Boccalone. Eddie just told me that I shouldn't use it in a heavy sauce like ragu as it will get lost in all the other stuff...he has a point and I will use the rest of the guanciale for a little carbonara later...mmmm

Ragu
2 Carrots
2-3 Celery Sticks
1 onion
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound diced guanciale (or bacon)
2 garlic cloves smashed
1 large can tomato puree and 1 can diced tomatoes

Put carrots, celery and onion in a food processor and pulse until tiny (almost a mush). Render fat from guanciale or bacon, then remove the cooked pieces from the pan. Add pureed vegetable mixture to the pan with some olive oil and garlic and sautee for about 20-30 minutes until browned. Dump into a crock pot with the canned tomatoes. Brown ground beef and pork, add the guanciale and sautee to infuse flavor. Dump into crock pot...then set it and forget it! LOL

Cured Meats, Ahoy!

Chris Cosentino recently opened up a salumeria in the Ferry Plaza called Boccalone and I've been meaning to try it out. Having LOVED my meal at Incanto and watched Chef on the TV Show "The Next Iron Chef" I was curious to see what kind of cured meat goodness he had to offer. I picked up Soppressata (my favorite kind of salami-ish meat) and Italian Sausage and Guanciale. I am very excited about the guanciale which is a smoked pig cheek (sounds funky I know) but Orson served me a pizza with this on it and it was freaking FABULOUS!!!! I am thinking of making a ragu with it and some ground pork and beef.

Eddie is going to kill me for not trying the Fatted Calf's guanciale first, but you have to special order it...and I just didn't plan far enough ahead this time. I do however feel that there is enough room in my tummy for guanciale from both purveyors :)

Passionfruit Key Lime Cupcakes

Pretty pretty!!!
This batch broke on top. I'm not sure what caused that. The cake wasn't over cooked but the rise was different on this batch for some reason. I am wondering if the fruit juice had something to do with that.
Key Lime curd that I made for the filling but didn't really use. It will make an appearance in the future as a cake filling. Or maybe even served as a cream with berries?

I am usually not a big cupcake eater. I usually make them, test different flavors and then am on my way. This one though...I couldn't resist...it was so fricking delicious.

Passionfruit Key Lime Cake Recipe
1 1/2 stick butter
3 cups sifted cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup juice (passionfruit and key lime)
1/4 cup cream
2 Tablespoons lemon or lime zest
4 eggs

Mix all dry ingredients together, add softened butter and mix until combined.In separate bowl, mix eggs and cream together...slowly add to the dry mixture in batches. Mix on low speed just until incorporated. Add passionfruit and key lime juice and zest. Beat at medium high speed for one minute. Pour into a lined cupcake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until cake tester comes out clean.

Passionfruit Key Lime Frosting
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup passionfruit and key lime juices
4-6 cups powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients on low speed until incorporated, then increase to medium high speed and beat until light and fluffy.

Mango Peach Chutney

With all that stone fruit to go around, I needed to find more outlets to keep the flavorful goodness - and with that I ventured into the land of chutneys. This is the first time I'm trying a different preserving technique than jams or jellies so I was very excited at the experiment. The flavor of the chutney was nice...almost a little sweet pickley as there is sugar and vinegar in the mix but I think this would go well on white meats like chicken or pork although it may be a bit too heavy for fish. I am gonna send some of this up to the farmer as a "thank you" for letting me take home produce.



Mango Peach Chutney
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and white vinegar
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and diced (I used 2 jalepenos)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lime thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup raisins (I forgot to buy raisins)
3 large ripe mangoes
2 pounds peaches

Combine sugar, vinegar, onion, green pepper, garlic, lime, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt, cayenne and raisins in a big pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about 1 hour or until thickened, stirring frequently to prevent sticking

Peel and dice the mangoes and peaches. You should have about 4 cups of fruit in total. Add the fruit to the thickened syrup and simmer uncovered until the fruit is tender, about 30 minutes. Stir the mixture occasionally.

Pour into prepared pint size canning jars and process in a water bath for 5 minutes.

ENJOY!

Lemons - Thanks!

Many many thanks to the Chinns for letting me pillage their lemon bush in the front of their house. I had just realized the other day that my frozen cubes of lemon juice were actually starting to run low a bit and had to quickly replenish the supplies.
Hey Crystal, I'm coming over to your house next :)

Preserving the Madness

I've been on a binge these days...making loads and loads of preserves...both jams and jellies. Today I am going to venture into the land of chutneys.

The small jars you see on the left are for Molly & Mike's wedding. I'm making preserves that are dark reds and golden yellows for their wedding favors. So far we have the following flavors: pomegranate, blackberry and currant with passionfruit and lemon to follow. The currant one was particularly fun as I made one as currant/orange and the other as currant/lemon - I think I prefer the orange one more as it is more subtle and mellow...but the lemon was is good too.

The stuff on the right is Fig jam...courtesy of the farm bounty. I have a few jars of this stuff and I think I'm going to send some to Tucker (the farmer) as a thank you for letting me participate in the process and also get to take some produce home. The fig jam was interesting as it didn't need to have any pectin added, I just chopped up the figs, added some orange zest and lemon juice, then boiled it on medium heat for about 30 minutes before jarring them up. The quickly set up so I'm thinking figs come with enough natural pectin to firm up on their own.

Fig Jam Recipe
4-5 cups of chopped Black Mission Figs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Zest of one orange

Dump chopped figs and sugar into a pot, stir and let sit for 1 hour. Afterwards cook over medium heat, stirring often until thickened (about 20 minutes). Add the lemon juice and orange zest and bring to boiling for about 3 minutes. Quickly pour into prepared half pint canning jars and let cool until you hear the tops "pop" when seal is completed.

Peaches & Cream Cupcakes

So cute! With all the stone fruit bounty, I had to think of things to do with all the peaches and nectartines. So first off I decided to chop up the fruit and mix it into a batch of cupcakes. And for the "& Cream" effect, I made the frosting with heavy cream instead of water for the liquid. The resulting effect was a extra creamy, sweet and rich frosting that was whipped until very light and fluffy. Topped with some of my pink sugar paste daisies, they looked so delicate and feminine.
To make the cupcakes, just add about 1/2 cup of pureed or chopped fruit to the batter (for dozen ) cupcakes just before spooning into cupcake cups. If you are making a full batch of cupcakes, up the fruit to 1 cup. In this instance I used a plain yellow cake batter, but I think an almond cake batter would be better to pair with the peach/nectarine mash.