Toffee

In preparation for this season's Christmas parties, I've taken to making toffee.  The first time it didn't turn out well (I had the heat too high, and the butter separated), but the next two times have gone great.  Here's how it works:

Ingredients:
4 sticks (2 cups) butter
2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 oz quality chocolate (we used Ghiradelli semi-sweet)
1 cup chopped nuts (almonds, pecans or walnuts - they all taste pretty similar)

How to put it together:
Put the butter into a large saucepan on medium (NOT medium-high) heat.
After it starts to melt a bit, add the sugar and salt, stirring until the butter is melted.
Once the butter melts, you'll want to almost leave it alone.  The butter will start to foam. Only stir if you see clumps of sugar, or dark spots.  It will look like this at first:

While this is cooking, run the nuts through a food processor, then run the chocolate through a food processor.
Keep cooking the butter/sugar until it looks about like this:

Pull it off the heat, and pour this toffee part onto a jelly roll pan lined with aluminum foil, parchment paper or a silpat.
Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and after it melts for a minute, smooth it out with a spatula.
Sprinkle the nuts over the top, and use a spatula to press them down into the chocolate.
Let this harden, crack it up and you're good to go.  The final result will look something like this:

Homemade Marshmallows

Hey Team-

This is a recipe that I've been wanting to try for a long while, and finally decided to do it.  The recipe that I used was attributed to Thomas Keller, but I cannot confirm this.  Here's how it works:

Ingredients:
3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar

Instructions:
Pour the 1/2 cup cold water into your stand mixer, add the gelatin.  Let this sit for 20 minutes.  It will turn to ugly jello.
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water.  Bring to a full boil and boil for 60 seconds.
Transfer the mixture to your mixer, add the salt, and beat on high (I actually started out on medium for the first 3-4 minutes until the mixture firmed up, to prevent splattering).  In the last minute, add the vanilla.
While that is in the mixer, lightly but thoroughly oil the inside of a 9x9 pan (I actually used a pie pan), and a plastic spatula
Scoop, prod, or otherwise cajole the now very sticky mixture into the pan, and do your best to spread it out evenly (though the peaks and valleys do provide some character)
Let the marshmallow block rest for 12 hours.
Remove the marshmallow block and cover it in confectioner's sugar.  Use scissors or a pizza cutter to cut them into whatever shapes you desire, and cover any newly exposed edges in sugar.

Sloppy Joe's with White Bread

Hey Readers (which mostly likely means just my mom)!

Last night we made sloppy joe's.  We didn't have any bread around to serve them on.  I made the trip to the store and came home with 20 pieces of store brand white bread for only $1!  This is 4x less than we normally spend on a loaf of Health Nut bread.  Around our house growing up we always ate white bread.  Stephanie didn't.  Needless to say, she was shocked.  At any rate, I need to enjoy this loaf of white bread while it lasts, because it may be our last for a while.

Sloppy Joe's (adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sloppy-Joes-II/Detail.aspx)
1 - 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
.25-.75 cups chopped onion (we used yellow)
.25-.75 cups chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp brown sugar
.75 cups ketchup

Brown the meat, onion, pepper and garlic.  Pour off the liquid.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for fifteen minutes.  Serve on WHITE BREAD!

*One modification to the recipe I saw suggested that once you drain the liquid, you can add everything to a crock pot for 3-4 hours.  That would probably be really good.

Banana Nut Bread

This is a banana nut bread recipe from our friend Danielle.  It's really good. 

.75 c   butter
1.5 c  sugar
2-3ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp salt
1/2 c buttermilk
3/4 c walnuts

Cream butter and sugar together.
Then mix the rest of the ingredients.
Divide into 2 9x5x5 pan or muffins (just adjust the time).
Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees.

No-Knead Quick Bread

 I like this bread and am making it for dinner.

3 cups bread flour
3/4 teaspoon regular yeast (not instant)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
Mix all the ingredients.
Cover with a towel or some plastic wrap and leave it in the warmest spot in your kitchen. It should get a 6 to 8-hour rise.
Lightly mist a counter or baking sheet with spray oil and turn dough out on it. Shape it roughly into a ball, mist with oil again, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap.
Let proof for about an hour.
Heat the oven to 450°F. Put a Dutch oven in the oven to heat. When the dough has doubled in size, put it in the pan.
Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to let it brown.


http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/baked-good/noknead-bread-in-a-hurry-035556

Chicken Tikka Masala, Sticky Rice with Mango

Chicken Tikka Masala

Classic indian dish that Stephanie and I had at curry boyz in SF and had to figure out how to make.  We buy some pizza dough and bake it on our pizza stone at 550F and it tastes just like naan.  You could also make rice to go with it.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-tikka-masala/Detail.aspx

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 long skewers (soak them in water so they don't burn)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, and ginger. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat a grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.
4. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, and paprika. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro. 

Sticky Rice with Mango

This recipe is from our friend Danielle.  It's really good.
1      Mango
4       tablespoons     sugar (add more to taste)
2       cups    sticky rice
2       pinches salt
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
Cook jasmine rice in a rice cooker.
Heat the coconut milk in a pot over medium heat. Stir constantly and
let the coconut milk simmer. Hard boiled coconut milk will curdle. Add
sugar and salt. Remove from heat. Pour 3/4 of the hot coconut milk
over the hot sticky rice. Let it sit for 5 minutes. The sticky rice
will absorb all the coconut milk. The rice should be a little mushy.
Spoon the rest of the coconut milk on top of the rice at serving time. 

Enjoy!

Breakfast Potatoes, Eggplant Parmesan

Awesome breakfast potatoes
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/side-dish/side-dish-recipe-extracrispy-tossed-potatoes-121218
2 pounds waxy or all-purpose potatoes, like red skinned or Yukon Golds
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 450°.
Scrub your potatoes clean (or peel them) and cut them into your desired shape. Place them in a sauce pan with a tablespoon of kosher salt and cover them with about an inch of cold water. Bring this to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook 4-5 minutes, just until the edges are softened but the centers are still hard.
Drain the potatoes and put them in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle them with one teaspoon of kosher salt. Place a dinner plate over the bowl, and holding it tight like a lid, give the potatoes a few good shakes to roughen up the sides and edges.
Spread the potatoes in a single layer over a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, flipping the potatoes every 15 minutes until they’re evenly browned and crispy. Allow to cool slightly and serve immediately.

Pizza Dough, except thinner

So we make pizza quite a bit.  Just discovered a new recipe.  The key is after you make the dough, roll it super super thin (with a rolling pin).  Then transfer the crust to a pizza crisper (no cornmeal needed), add toppings.  Preheat the oven to 550F with the pizza stone, then when you put the pizza in, turn the oven to broil low (then after a minute, switch it to high).  Pizza should be done in 3-4 minutes

Thin crust pizza dough recipe

3/4 cups (6 ounces) of warm water
1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast (if using instant yeast, you don't need to dissolve it during the first step)
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast in water.  Combine ingredients, knead until it's smooth.

Meatloaf

Hey-

So I know I haven't used this blog too much lately (the wedding was a bit all-consuming for 2010 so far).  Today I'm going to try to get some good recent recipes in, just so they're saved.  Get ready.

Meatloaf

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, divided
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 3 slices bread, broken up into small pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and mustard powder.
3. In a separate large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread, onion, egg, bouillon, remaining lemon juice and 1/3 of the ketchup mixture from the small bowl. Mix this well and place in a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, drain any excess fat, coat with remaining ketchup mixture and bake for 10 more minutes.

Caramel Sauce

Hi Ya'll-

Sorry I've been a bit lax recently.  We're deep in the throws of wedding planning.  Our recipe of the day is caramel sauce.  It's great on ice cream, cheesecake, or just on a spoon.  Here's how you make it:

1. Warm 2 cups of heavy cream in a pot
2. In a separate pan (a heavy pan, preferably) boil 1.5 cups of sugar with .25 cups water.  You'll want to stir this until the sugar dissolves, then don't touch it as it caramelizes (turns medium brown).  Don't let it burn
3. Take the caramelized sugar off the burner, and slowly add in the cream while stirring vigorously
4. Add a bit of salt, and .25 cups of butter.  Let this whole mixture simmer down until it's the right thickness
5. That's it!

Eggs Part II - Eggs En Cocette

Hi!

Here's the second thought about eggs.  They can be baked!  So I discovered this very simple, apparently french recipe for eggs.  The eggs come out tasting very good, and they don't require the pandering of scrambled eggs.  Here's how it works:

1.  Get a ramekin out, butter it, sprinkle some cheese (any kind will do) on the bottom of the dish.  Turn on your oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Drop in a couple eggs - don't break them.
3.  Add some cream or half and half to the top, along with more cheese.
4.  Put them in a hot water bath (basically a baking dish with a couple inches of hot water in the bottom).
5.  Cook for 15 - 19 minutes, depending on how runny you like your egg yolks.

Enjoy, they're awesome!

Updates - Turkey Chili and Better Pork!

Hey All!

We made the chili this weekend with ground turkey.  The flavor was almost as good, and it's a lot healthier.

Also made the pulled pork.  Didn't shred the pork quite as much (left more large chunks), and I think it really allowed the flavor of the meat (instead of just the bbq sauce) to come through.

That's all I've got - thanks!