Usually, I would wait to post this recipe because I adapted it significantly from the original based on what I had on hand and I'm confidant that the original (or at least a closer variant on the original is better). But instead of waiting to make it again as it's already quite out of season and I have a feeling I'll forget this recipe if I don't post by the time spring/summer rolls around, I'm posting. I'm also including below some variation suggestions that I think would work well.
To make this a full meal, you might try adding shrimp or chickpeas. The recipe also suggests serving cold, but I'm more of a fan of hot dishes, so if you can't bear to wait for it to cool, go ahead and eat right away, although some commenters did note that the flavours meld better made the day before.
One year ago: Some Carrot Soup I never really appreciated because I came down with the flu the next day or so
Orzo with Everything (from epicurious.com)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta; about 10 ounces)
1/3 cup (packed) chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (consider doubling)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (consider cutting back to 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (use white balsamic if concerned about the orzo being brown)
1/4 cup (packed) chopped Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives (consider doubling)
1 cup finely chopped radicchio (consider substituting arugula or red cabbage)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (consider substituting feta)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1. Cook orzo in pot of boiling salted water (some people cook in chicken broth for more flavour) until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl.
2. Add sun-dried tomatoes, oil, vinegar and olives and toss to blend. Let stand until cool. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)
3. Mix chopped radicchio, pine nuts, chopped basil, Parmesan and garlic into orzo mixture. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
Every once in a while leftover ingredients and pantry staples come together to create delicious surprises. I ended up modifying this recipe so much (both intentionally and accidentally) that I'm not sure it can even be said to be adapted at this point. This recipe was built around the leftover pumpkin puree from the weekend's cheesecake. It also ended up using leftover onions, shallots, black beans, and red wine. With red wine, red wine vinegar became a necessary (and amazing) substitute. There was no beef broth to be found, so chicken was substituted instead. I may have been a little short on cumin and I couldn't pass up the prosciutto at the Val-Mont in place of ham. The cooking method also changed slightly for a smoother final texture and more convenience. Finally, I only realized while pondering why my soup looked so different from Smitten Kitchen that I'd forgotten to include the tomatoes (I may have also accidentally used more beans because I used dried beans instead of canned). Even with all of these changes (or maybe in part because?), the end result was better than I could've imagined it would be.
One year ago: Another soup ... also amazing!
Black Bean Pumpkin Soup (inspired by Smitten Kitchen, from Gourmet)
Ingredients
2 cups dried black beans (soaked, cooked, and drained ... or you could use 3 cans)
1 1/4 cups chopped onion (more or less)
1/2 cup minced shallot (more or less)
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tsp epazote (optional, but recommended with dried beans)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup red wine
125g prosciutto, chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1. In a 6-quart heavy kettle cook onion, shallot, garlic, cumin, epazote, salt, and pepper in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened and beginning to brown.
2. Stir in beans.
3. Stir in broth, pumpkin, and red wine until combined and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender.
5. Just before serving, add prosciutto and vinegar and simmer soup, stirring, until heated through. Season soup with salt and pepper.
One year ago: Another soup ... also amazing!
Black Bean Pumpkin Soup (inspired by Smitten Kitchen, from Gourmet)
Ingredients
2 cups dried black beans (soaked, cooked, and drained ... or you could use 3 cans)
1 1/4 cups chopped onion (more or less)
1/2 cup minced shallot (more or less)
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tsp epazote (optional, but recommended with dried beans)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup red wine
125g prosciutto, chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1. In a 6-quart heavy kettle cook onion, shallot, garlic, cumin, epazote, salt, and pepper in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened and beginning to brown.
2. Stir in beans.
3. Stir in broth, pumpkin, and red wine until combined and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender.
5. Just before serving, add prosciutto and vinegar and simmer soup, stirring, until heated through. Season soup with salt and pepper.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Spiced Pearsauce Cake
This is another recipe from the "I need something to take to a work breakfast collection." It's probably my favourite breakfast cake that I've made in a while (although with cream cheese frosting perhaps it's not breakfast appropriate). As soon as I saw it on Smitten Kitchen, I knew I had to make it. Of course, a reasonable person would not be baking another cake after making two cheesecakes (and brisket) the day before. But then again, most reasonable people probably don't purchase nearly 2kg of cream cheese within the span of a week. This recipe was definitely worth baking again ... it's moist, flavourful, and delicious.
In terms of adaptation, I went with a pearsauce version or this cake. Originally, I had planned on buying unsweetened applesauce, but then one of my dinner party guests had to go and make homemade applesauce ... with citrus, spices, and rum! My experience with applesauce is mostly limited to childhood memories of being sick and eating a tiny bit out of a small plastic cup, but this applesauce was different ... and amazing! I couldn't very well go and buy applesauce with such delicious applesauce leftovers sitting in the fridge, but I also didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to adjust the batter to sweetened, spiced applesauce. As option C, I decided to make my own pearsauce. I followed the recipe offered on SK, but simmered it a bit longer uncovered because it seemed a little watery. The directions for making pearsauce are included with the recipe below, but feel free to substitute applesauce. Also, please note that this makes more pearsauce than you need for the cake ... I'm too lazy to try to estimate how to scale down to the right amount!
Spiced Pearsauce Cake (adapted from Smitten Kitchen, from Gourmet)
Ingredients
For pearsauce
1 3/4 pounds pears
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups water
For cake
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (218 grams) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (365 grams) unsweetened pearsauce (recipe included)
1/2 cup (50 grams) walnuts, toasted, cooled, and chopped
For frosting
5 ounces (142 grams) cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces or 42 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces or 120 grams) confectioners sugar
1/2 (1 teaspoon) teaspoon cinnamon
1. Peel, halve, core and de-stem pears. Chop them in half again if they are particularly large.
2. Place pears in a medium saucepan with balsamic and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer; cook with the lid on for 30 minutes, or until the pears are very tender.
3. Puree with immersion blender. Simmer for another 10 or 15 minutes uncovered if the sauce seems watery.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan. (Now's a good time to toast those walnuts for 10 minutes in the oven.)
5. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
6. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in pearsauce.
8. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in walnuts.
9. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.
10. Make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy.
11. Sift confectioners sugar and cinnamon over cream cheese mixture, then beat at medium speed until incorporated.
12. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake.
In terms of adaptation, I went with a pearsauce version or this cake. Originally, I had planned on buying unsweetened applesauce, but then one of my dinner party guests had to go and make homemade applesauce ... with citrus, spices, and rum! My experience with applesauce is mostly limited to childhood memories of being sick and eating a tiny bit out of a small plastic cup, but this applesauce was different ... and amazing! I couldn't very well go and buy applesauce with such delicious applesauce leftovers sitting in the fridge, but I also didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to adjust the batter to sweetened, spiced applesauce. As option C, I decided to make my own pearsauce. I followed the recipe offered on SK, but simmered it a bit longer uncovered because it seemed a little watery. The directions for making pearsauce are included with the recipe below, but feel free to substitute applesauce. Also, please note that this makes more pearsauce than you need for the cake ... I'm too lazy to try to estimate how to scale down to the right amount!
Spiced Pearsauce Cake (adapted from Smitten Kitchen, from Gourmet)
Ingredients
For pearsauce
1 3/4 pounds pears
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups water
For cake
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (218 grams) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (365 grams) unsweetened pearsauce (recipe included)
1/2 cup (50 grams) walnuts, toasted, cooled, and chopped
For frosting
5 ounces (142 grams) cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces or 42 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces or 120 grams) confectioners sugar
1/2 (1 teaspoon) teaspoon cinnamon
1. Peel, halve, core and de-stem pears. Chop them in half again if they are particularly large.
2. Place pears in a medium saucepan with balsamic and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer; cook with the lid on for 30 minutes, or until the pears are very tender.
3. Puree with immersion blender. Simmer for another 10 or 15 minutes uncovered if the sauce seems watery.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan. (Now's a good time to toast those walnuts for 10 minutes in the oven.)
5. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
6. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in pearsauce.
8. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in walnuts.
9. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.
10. Make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy.
11. Sift confectioners sugar and cinnamon over cream cheese mixture, then beat at medium speed until incorporated.
12. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Brisket (sort-of)
There are three things I miss about Texas: Tex-Mex, steak, and barbecue. Barbecue in ZTexas is serious business and there are few things better than driving out to Salt Lick on a weekend afternoon, waiting an hour to be seated at community picnic tables, and ordering from a seemingly horribly limited menu with a choice of sausage, pork ribs, or brisket served with potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, and white bread that normally you couldn't get me to touch, but is perfect for soaking up barbecue sauce. Having spent entirely too long on the phone with my dad before being reminded that grilling is not the same thing as barbecuing, I should point out now that this isn't true brisket. There's no pit, there's no smoke, it's a sad imitation, but it's as close as I'm going to get right now. The dry rub and mop were roughly inspired by a cookbook I picked up last time I was in Houston called Texas Home Cooking. I say roughly, because I ended up going out on Friday night instead of going home at a reasonable hour and buying black pepper (it figures the moment I decide to make the switch over to fresh ground peppercorns and get rid of the bulk black pepper that was old and not so great is the moment I run out of pepper). I also managed to forget while cutting and rubbing the meat at 11:30pm that I had planned ahead and bought extra paprika just for this recipe, so my rub ended up being pepper-free and paprika-light! The method I followed was one described on Smitten Kitchen. I also took the suggestion of adding liquid smoke to my mop. It's not the same, but there is something wonderful about that smell. I cheated and used bottled barbecue sauce because for some reason, you can buy Stubb's sauce up here. I couldn't pass up a little taste of Austin in favour of an untested sauce recipe. I think I'll be trying a recipe from Texas Home Cooking soon though on some ribs. If there's success, I'll report back!
Plan on starting this recipe the night before you're serving it as the meat did seem to taste better after resting for the day. This can be made in the oven (see the SK link) if you don't have a huge slow-cooker. I couldn't fit all of the meat in mine, so I ended up with a tiny hunk being stored in my fridge for a rainy day (I also ended up having to cut the meat smaller than I wanted to in some cases to make as much as possible fit which did seem to make it tougher).
If you're in Montreal, good luck finding raw brisket. Le Biftheque in Ville St-Laurent does carry it!
Brisket (sort-of ... see above for the source mashup)
Ingredients
4 - 5 kg of brisket
barbecue sauce for serving
Dry Rub
3/4 cup paprika (I had to use less)
1/4 cup ground black pepper (I had to omit)
1/4 cup chili powder, preferably homemade (I did a quick and dirty rough approximation and used 2 tbsp ancho chili powder, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp Mexican oregano)
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp ground cayenne
Mop (you may end up roughly doubling this so keep extra on hand!)
1 bottle of beer
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp dry rub (I used the leftover from rubbing the meat)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp liquid smoke
1. In a medium bowl, mix together dry rub ingredients.
2. Rub meat with the dry rub. Ideally, you would do this the morning before you're serving and let it set for the day in the fridge, but if not, no worries!
3. Place meat in a slow cooker.
4. In a medium bowl, combine all of the mop ingredients except the beer (I used the bowl with the leftover dry rub so I have no idea how much dry rub I used).
5. Pour mop and beer over meat. Don't worry that it doesn't cover the meat. As the fat melts, you will have plenty of liquid.
6. Cook in the slow cooker on low heat for 10 hours (ideal for overnight!).
7. Cool the meat slightly. With a spoon, scrape off the large knobs of fat from the brisket. Transfer to an oven-safe dish (or keep it in the slow cooker if you're lucky like me and it has a removable oven-safe dish). Allow the meat to rest for at least an hour, ideally most of the day.
8. One hour before you're ready to serve, preheat the oven to 300F. Skim the fat off the top. Remove the meat, thinly slice it and return it to the fat-skimmed liquid.
9. At this point, I became concerned that there wasn't enough liquid left to keep the meat from drying out when I reheated, so I poured in another beer, some vinegar, worcestershire, liquid smoke, a little ancho chile powder, mexican oregano, and black pepper (I bought pepper the day it was cooking!). Heat in oven, covered, for at least 30 minutes or until bubbling and warmed through.
10. Remove the meat from the mop and serve with barbecue sauce.
Plan on starting this recipe the night before you're serving it as the meat did seem to taste better after resting for the day. This can be made in the oven (see the SK link) if you don't have a huge slow-cooker. I couldn't fit all of the meat in mine, so I ended up with a tiny hunk being stored in my fridge for a rainy day (I also ended up having to cut the meat smaller than I wanted to in some cases to make as much as possible fit which did seem to make it tougher).
If you're in Montreal, good luck finding raw brisket. Le Biftheque in Ville St-Laurent does carry it!
Brisket (sort-of ... see above for the source mashup)
Ingredients
4 - 5 kg of brisket
barbecue sauce for serving
Dry Rub
3/4 cup paprika (I had to use less)
1/4 cup ground black pepper (I had to omit)
1/4 cup chili powder, preferably homemade (I did a quick and dirty rough approximation and used 2 tbsp ancho chili powder, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp Mexican oregano)
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp ground cayenne
Mop (you may end up roughly doubling this so keep extra on hand!)
1 bottle of beer
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp dry rub (I used the leftover from rubbing the meat)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp liquid smoke
1. In a medium bowl, mix together dry rub ingredients.
2. Rub meat with the dry rub. Ideally, you would do this the morning before you're serving and let it set for the day in the fridge, but if not, no worries!
3. Place meat in a slow cooker.
4. In a medium bowl, combine all of the mop ingredients except the beer (I used the bowl with the leftover dry rub so I have no idea how much dry rub I used).
5. Pour mop and beer over meat. Don't worry that it doesn't cover the meat. As the fat melts, you will have plenty of liquid.
6. Cook in the slow cooker on low heat for 10 hours (ideal for overnight!).
7. Cool the meat slightly. With a spoon, scrape off the large knobs of fat from the brisket. Transfer to an oven-safe dish (or keep it in the slow cooker if you're lucky like me and it has a removable oven-safe dish). Allow the meat to rest for at least an hour, ideally most of the day.
8. One hour before you're ready to serve, preheat the oven to 300F. Skim the fat off the top. Remove the meat, thinly slice it and return it to the fat-skimmed liquid.
9. At this point, I became concerned that there wasn't enough liquid left to keep the meat from drying out when I reheated, so I poured in another beer, some vinegar, worcestershire, liquid smoke, a little ancho chile powder, mexican oregano, and black pepper (I bought pepper the day it was cooking!). Heat in oven, covered, for at least 30 minutes or until bubbling and warmed through.
10. Remove the meat from the mop and serve with barbecue sauce.
Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake
After I got back from San Francisco, I asked the friend who watch my cat what she'd like me to bake for her. I expected a request for brownies or grapefruit yogurt cake, but instead, she wanted pumpkin pie. I was stumped, having never made pumpkin pie and not even remembering if I liked pumpkin pie. I checked Smitten Kitchen and sure enough found pumpkin brownies and ... bourbon pumpkin cheesecake. Of course, these ideas distracted me. I pushed aside the idea of bourbon pumpkin cheesecake, not wanting to buy a bottle of bourbon just to make a dessert (there were also the naysayers who didn't seem to sure it would even taste okay). Then I was offered the remnants of a bottle of Jack Daniels ... that works and there go my excuses. The end result was delicious ... lighter than your typical cheesecake.
The original recipe includes a graham cracker and pecan crust that looks amazing. I skipped on it because it seemed like just a little too much for everything I was cooking that day and I only have one springform pan and it was spoken for. With the pre-made crust, this came together remarkably easily. Because I was using a pre-made crust though, the filling didn't all fit, so I put the excess in two smaller ramekins ... one for me the next day and one for the cat-care giver who prompted this recipe! I'm glad I did because only a small sliver of pie was left over!
Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet)
Ingredients
1 9" graham cracker pie crust (or make your own using the link above)
For filling (see notes above about filling amount)
1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
3 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons bourbon liqueur or bourbon (doubled from the original, the flavour was still subtle)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature (roughly 3 250g packages less 1/4 cup)
For topping
2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon
Garnish: pecan halves
1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cream, vanilla, and liqueur in a bowl until combined.
3. Stir together granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl.
4. Add cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes.
5. Reduce speed to medium, then add pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth.
6. Pour filling into crust, smoothing top. Bake until center is just set, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 5 minutes (leave oven on).
7. Whisk together sour cream, sugar, and liqueur in a bowl, then spread on top of cheesecake and bake 5 additional minutes.
8. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 3 hours.
9. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours.
The original recipe includes a graham cracker and pecan crust that looks amazing. I skipped on it because it seemed like just a little too much for everything I was cooking that day and I only have one springform pan and it was spoken for. With the pre-made crust, this came together remarkably easily. Because I was using a pre-made crust though, the filling didn't all fit, so I put the excess in two smaller ramekins ... one for me the next day and one for the cat-care giver who prompted this recipe! I'm glad I did because only a small sliver of pie was left over!
Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet)
Ingredients
1 9" graham cracker pie crust (or make your own using the link above)
For filling (see notes above about filling amount)
1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
3 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons bourbon liqueur or bourbon (doubled from the original, the flavour was still subtle)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature (roughly 3 250g packages less 1/4 cup)
For topping
2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon liqueur or bourbon
Garnish: pecan halves
1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cream, vanilla, and liqueur in a bowl until combined.
3. Stir together granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl.
4. Add cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes.
5. Reduce speed to medium, then add pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth.
6. Pour filling into crust, smoothing top. Bake until center is just set, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 5 minutes (leave oven on).
7. Whisk together sour cream, sugar, and liqueur in a bowl, then spread on top of cheesecake and bake 5 additional minutes.
8. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 3 hours.
9. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours.
Cappucinno Fudge Cheesecake
This recipe has been on my mind for nearly a year. The problem was, it's a ridiculously complex dessert ... and quite the investment in cream cheese, chocolate, and other ingredients. I also wanted to save it for an occasion when I would have plenty of as Smitten Kitchen warns that it's decadent and serves more like 30. Apparently she's never met my friend's because my group of 22 only left one small piece after finishing off a bourbon pumpkin cheesecake, some mint brownies, making a dent in homemade applesauce, and eating a fair amount of other food. All of this food was for a 3-part celebration (or excuse to eat): my belated two year anniversary of being in Canada, the belated one year anniversary of this little food blog, and an early American Thanksgiving as I'll be with family for Thanksgiving this year. A good food blogger would've gotten pictures of the food and on that point, I failed miserably ... except for a before and after of this cheesecake. Here you see my less than stellar icing skills:
And in this after shot, you can see the layers of the cake. The bottom is a cookie crust, followed by a kahlua-spiked chocolate ganache, then espresso flavoured cheesecake, then a vanilla flavoured sweetened sour cream layer, and finally the beautiful icing!
Be warned, this recipe is a lot of work and time intensive (a lot of cooling, although I think I should've served it slightly cooler as the ganache layer was slightly hard). To prevent being pressed for time, I did the cookie and ganache layers the night before (hooray for cooking at midnight!). My only complaint with this recipe is that the crust came out a little hard. I have three theories for what went wrong. (1) I think I may have slightly burnt the cookies before turning them into crumbs. I pulled the chocolate crumb dough out of the freezer as leftovers from a previous recipe and overcompensated for the frozen dough by upping the cooking time too much. (2) The cheesecake portion of the dish did not want to set, so I kept cooking it (slightly burning the top, which I cut off after it puffed too much and served as a lovely breakfast on the day of cooking) and likely burned the cookie crust more. (3) My springform pan let the kahlua and possibly butter leak out, removing much needed moisture. I need to work on forming a better seal with it. Luckily, the crust certainly did not sink the dish!
Two other comments: SK says for a 9" inch pan instead of 10" to use 3/4 of the cheesecake layer. I put the full amount in and it fit, so go ahead and make the full amount. Leftovers can always be placed in other dishes or trimmed! I weighted the cream cheese using my scale. Eyeballing it though, 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese appeared to work out to roughly 3 250g packages minus about 1/4 cup or so of the last package.
One year ago: Tomato Sausage Risotto (If you haven't tried this recipe yet, make it this week!)
Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appetit)
Ingredients
Crust
1 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies or 9 ounces of homemade chocolate wafers
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
7 tablespoons hot melted unsalted butter
Ganache
1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur
Filling
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese (for metric, see note above), room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or coffee crystals
1 1/2 tablespoons ground whole espresso coffee beans (medium-coarse grind ... I used the ground espresso I have on hand for my morning drink which is a finer grind)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons mild-flavored (light) molasses (I think I used dark)
3 large eggs
Topping
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Make crust:
1. Finely grind cookies, chopped chocolate, brown sugar, and nutmeg in processor. 2. Add butter and process until crumbs begin to stick together, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 1 minute (my processor wasn't big enough, so I stirred together by hand).
3. Transfer crumbs to 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides.
4. Wrap plastic wrap around fingers and press crumb mixture firmly up sides to within 1/2 inch of top edge, then over bottom of pan.
Make ganache:
5. Bring cream to simmer in large saucepan (I heated in the microwave with the chocolate to save time).
6. Remove from heat; add chocolate and Kahlúa.
7. Whisk until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth.
8. Pour 2 cups ganache over bottom of crust.
9. Freeze until ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes.
10. Reserve remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature to use later for decorating.
Make filling:
11. Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F.
12. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until blended.
13. Beat in flour. Stir rum, espresso powder, ground coffee, vanilla, and molasses in small bowl until instant coffee dissolves; beat into cream cheese mixture.
14. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.
15. Pour filling over cold ganache in crust — it will go nearly all of the way to the top, don’t panic.
16. Place cheesecake on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until top is brown, puffed and cracked at edges, and the center two inches moves only slightly when pan is gently shaken, about one hour.
17. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Cool 15 minutes while preparing topping (top of cheesecake will fall slightly, making room for topping). Maintain oven temperature.
Make topping:
18. Whisk sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend.
19. Pour topping over hot cheesecake, spreading to cover filling completely.
20. Bake until topping is set, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack.
21. Refrigerate hot cheesecake on rack until cool, about three hours.
22. Run small sharp knife between crust and pan sides to loosen cake; release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter.
23. Spoon reserved ganache into pastry bag fitted with small star tip and decorate as desired.
24. Chill until lattice is firm, at least 6 hours.
Be warned, this recipe is a lot of work and time intensive (a lot of cooling, although I think I should've served it slightly cooler as the ganache layer was slightly hard). To prevent being pressed for time, I did the cookie and ganache layers the night before (hooray for cooking at midnight!). My only complaint with this recipe is that the crust came out a little hard. I have three theories for what went wrong. (1) I think I may have slightly burnt the cookies before turning them into crumbs. I pulled the chocolate crumb dough out of the freezer as leftovers from a previous recipe and overcompensated for the frozen dough by upping the cooking time too much. (2) The cheesecake portion of the dish did not want to set, so I kept cooking it (slightly burning the top, which I cut off after it puffed too much and served as a lovely breakfast on the day of cooking) and likely burned the cookie crust more. (3) My springform pan let the kahlua and possibly butter leak out, removing much needed moisture. I need to work on forming a better seal with it. Luckily, the crust certainly did not sink the dish!
Two other comments: SK says for a 9" inch pan instead of 10" to use 3/4 of the cheesecake layer. I put the full amount in and it fit, so go ahead and make the full amount. Leftovers can always be placed in other dishes or trimmed! I weighted the cream cheese using my scale. Eyeballing it though, 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese appeared to work out to roughly 3 250g packages minus about 1/4 cup or so of the last package.
One year ago: Tomato Sausage Risotto (If you haven't tried this recipe yet, make it this week!)
Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appetit)
Ingredients
Crust
1 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies or 9 ounces of homemade chocolate wafers
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
7 tablespoons hot melted unsalted butter
Ganache
1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur
Filling
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese (for metric, see note above), room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or coffee crystals
1 1/2 tablespoons ground whole espresso coffee beans (medium-coarse grind ... I used the ground espresso I have on hand for my morning drink which is a finer grind)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons mild-flavored (light) molasses (I think I used dark)
3 large eggs
Topping
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Make crust:
1. Finely grind cookies, chopped chocolate, brown sugar, and nutmeg in processor. 2. Add butter and process until crumbs begin to stick together, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 1 minute (my processor wasn't big enough, so I stirred together by hand).
3. Transfer crumbs to 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides.
4. Wrap plastic wrap around fingers and press crumb mixture firmly up sides to within 1/2 inch of top edge, then over bottom of pan.
Make ganache:
5. Bring cream to simmer in large saucepan (I heated in the microwave with the chocolate to save time).
6. Remove from heat; add chocolate and Kahlúa.
7. Whisk until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth.
8. Pour 2 cups ganache over bottom of crust.
9. Freeze until ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes.
10. Reserve remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature to use later for decorating.
Make filling:
11. Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F.
12. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until blended.
13. Beat in flour. Stir rum, espresso powder, ground coffee, vanilla, and molasses in small bowl until instant coffee dissolves; beat into cream cheese mixture.
14. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.
15. Pour filling over cold ganache in crust — it will go nearly all of the way to the top, don’t panic.
16. Place cheesecake on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until top is brown, puffed and cracked at edges, and the center two inches moves only slightly when pan is gently shaken, about one hour.
17. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Cool 15 minutes while preparing topping (top of cheesecake will fall slightly, making room for topping). Maintain oven temperature.
Make topping:
18. Whisk sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend.
19. Pour topping over hot cheesecake, spreading to cover filling completely.
20. Bake until topping is set, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack.
21. Refrigerate hot cheesecake on rack until cool, about three hours.
22. Run small sharp knife between crust and pan sides to loosen cake; release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter.
23. Spoon reserved ganache into pastry bag fitted with small star tip and decorate as desired.
24. Chill until lattice is firm, at least 6 hours.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart
I woke up entirely too early this morning to the smell of brisket cooking away in the slow cooker. I gave up on sleep when my stomach wouldn't stop rumbling and I decided I should at least try the meat. Brisket in the morning? Yum! Being the responsible person that I am, I decided (perhaps against my lazier instincts) that I should go ahead and make the cheesecake layer of a cappuccino fudge cheesecake so that it has plenty of time to cool. Now that the cheesecake is safely in the oven, I believe it's time to finally update this blog. I've been somewhat behind this week thanks to a migraine wiping out two of my evenings (and sadly for both of us, I think one of the meals I made this week isn't good enough to post even if it was better reheated than the day of!).
When this recipe was first posted in June, I fell in love with the idea of it, but it was June which posed two large problems. 1. I was trying to savour all of the fresh summer fruits and vegetables, so cooking with ingredients that are easily found in winter just seemed like a waste. 2. There was no way I was turning on the oven for an hour. Luckily, the recipe kept and was worth the wait. I cheated and bought a pre-made tart shell, but the original has a recipe that you're welcome to try. For the rest, I followed the recipe faithfully, using a mandoline so that the potatoes were nicely sliced in 1/4" thick slices, a nice bleu chevre cheese, and fresh thyme that was sitting in the fridge.
Be warned, the smell from this lovely tart is almost better than the taste and the aroma has been known to carry up stairs, so be prepared to share or eat quickly.
One year ago: Chocolate Layer Cake (in preparation for a friend's baby shower!)
Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet)
Ingredients
1 Savory Tart Shell in a 9-inch tart pan and ready to fill
450g small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
115g blue cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoons finely chopped thyme
Fine sea salt for sprinkling
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium saucepan, cover potato slices with water by two inches. Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. If the potatoes don’t seem very dry, pat them dry with towels.
3. Arrange potato slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles around the tart pan.
4. Sprinkle blue cheese over potatoes.
5. Whisk cream and egg yolk together and pour into tart shell, then sprinkle tart with herbs of your choice and salt (I may have added some cracked black pepper here as well).
6. Bake tart on a baking sheet until bubbling and golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.
7. Cool in pan on rack and serve warm or cold.
When this recipe was first posted in June, I fell in love with the idea of it, but it was June which posed two large problems. 1. I was trying to savour all of the fresh summer fruits and vegetables, so cooking with ingredients that are easily found in winter just seemed like a waste. 2. There was no way I was turning on the oven for an hour. Luckily, the recipe kept and was worth the wait. I cheated and bought a pre-made tart shell, but the original has a recipe that you're welcome to try. For the rest, I followed the recipe faithfully, using a mandoline so that the potatoes were nicely sliced in 1/4" thick slices, a nice bleu chevre cheese, and fresh thyme that was sitting in the fridge.
Be warned, the smell from this lovely tart is almost better than the taste and the aroma has been known to carry up stairs, so be prepared to share or eat quickly.
One year ago: Chocolate Layer Cake (in preparation for a friend's baby shower!)
Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet)
Ingredients
1 Savory Tart Shell in a 9-inch tart pan and ready to fill
450g small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
115g blue cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoons finely chopped thyme
Fine sea salt for sprinkling
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium saucepan, cover potato slices with water by two inches. Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. If the potatoes don’t seem very dry, pat them dry with towels.
3. Arrange potato slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles around the tart pan.
4. Sprinkle blue cheese over potatoes.
5. Whisk cream and egg yolk together and pour into tart shell, then sprinkle tart with herbs of your choice and salt (I may have added some cracked black pepper here as well).
6. Bake tart on a baking sheet until bubbling and golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.
7. Cool in pan on rack and serve warm or cold.
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