How to Make Hollandaise

Since our move we haven't found a really great breakfast place - all the really good ones in town have line-ups and I can't bring myself to go to De Dutch or Denny's for eggs benny. Lucky for me I got a lesson in how to make Hollandaise in my cooking class which I was able to successfully replicate at home this morning. My favorite Benny's are with bacon rather then back bacon and with a large fried tomato as well.

The important things to remember is to not let the bowl you are making it in get too hot as that will scrabble the eggs.

Hollandaise:
-2/3C butter
-2T water
-3 egg yolks
- 1/4t cayenne
-1t fresh lemon juice
-salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan ad transfer to a glass container. You want clarified butter for this so skim the white protein of the top of the butter. If you can get to it also remove the buttermilk from the bottom (if not just be careful when you pour it). Set this aside to cool slightly.
2. Prepare a double boiler with the water just simmering, then turn it down, if you don't have a double boiler use a sauce pan and a metal bowl. The bowl should not get so hot that you can't touch the bottom of it, but rather be warm. Throughout the process continuously check the bottom of the bowl and remove it from the heat for short periods of time to make sure the temperature is correct.
3. In the double boiler of bowl whisk together the water and yolks and cayenne, until pale yellow and frothy. Continue whisking over double boiler until it coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the warm butter. This should emulsify, make sure you pour the butter slow enough for it to be absorbed by the eggs. Taste for seasoning. Slowly whisk in lemon juice.
5. Taste to season and serve immediately.

Provencal Vegetable Soup with Pistou

Apparently pistou is the french version of pesto, well I guess I learned something today. This was something we made in my cooking class, and it is lovely and spring and refreshing. We had two days of beautiful sunshine this week which inspired me to paint my toes and cook summery. Hence our provencal soup.

All the vegetables should be chopped quite small so that several different things can fit into one spoonful. The way this is served is to put a dollop of the pesto/pistou into the bottom of the bowl and serve the soup on top. The pesto will spread to the edges and mix in quite lovely. I personally think that pesto is somewhat personal and you just make it by eyeing how much oil you need to the basil and parmesan ratio so my measurements may be a bit off. Please adjust as you make it. Enjoy and happy spring!

Soup:
-1 leek, white and green part chopped fine
-1 onion, chopped fine
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 zucchini, chopped
-a large handful of green beans, chopped
-1 small can of navy beans
-3 carrots, grated and chopped
-2 russet potatoes peeled and chopped
-2T tomato paste
-4 large tomatoes, chopped
-2 bay leafs
- small bunch of parsley
-oil
-water

Oil the pan then sweat onions with garlic for 2 minutes. Add leek and 1t salt and sweat for another 5 minutes. Add potatoes, canned beans and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally for another 10. Add tomatoes, zuke, green beans, bay leaf, parsley and tomato paste. Add appx equal parts cold water to vegetables and simmer for 30 minutes. About 10 minutes into this, salt and pepper it to taste. Serve over a tablespoon of pesto.


Pesto:
-1 bunch of basil (at least 10-12 leaves)
-3 cloves garlic
-1/2C parmesan grated
-oil
-salt
-pepper

Put basil, garlic and parmesan into food processor and pulse until combined. Turn on processor and steadily stream oil until it is a thick consistency. Taste and correct for salt and pepper.

Butter Chicken and Naan Bread

If you aren't familiar with Indian food or have never had Butter Chicken before this is a must try. I lived in Seattle for a few months a few years ago and they had amazing Indian restaurants which is where the addiction began. Unfortunately trying to recreate this at home turned out to be a real challenge. I have tried 4 different butter chicken recipes I got off the web and none of them were anything like the butter chicken I had had before.

This all changed after trying the recipe from a small Indian Cooking cookbook put out by Australians Women's weekly.(unfortunately I could not find the exact copy anywhere but they are great little cookbooks in general and I will put some links to other's they do at the bottom).

So, I would highly recommended both the naan and the butter chicken, perfect if you don't have a good local Indian delivery nearby. The ghee and cardamom pods may be hard to find, but I was able to find both at my local gourmet grocery store. Also you can make ghee from butter in a pinch. The garam masala is something which varies dramatically from family to family in India. Lucky for me I have a family friend who bring us to it in very large portions and it is killer spicy to. If your curry mix isn't as spicy as mine you will probably want to add a small Thai chili or two to the butter chicken marinade.

Naan Bread:
-2/3C warm water
-1t dry yeast
-1t sugar
-2C flour
-1t salt
-80g ghee
-2t yogourt

1. Whisk together the yeast, water and sugar and set aside for 10 minutes in a warm place.
2. Place flour and salt in a large bowl and add half the ghee, the yeast mixture and yogourt. Mix until it forms a soft dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface to knead. Knead for about 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Place dough in a large greased bowl; cover and let sit in a warm place for about 1.5 hours until doubled in bulk.
4. Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes.. Divide into 6 pieces. Roll into 30 cm rounds.
5. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and grease thoroughly with ghee. Cook naan under the broiler one or two at a time as close as possible to element for about 2 minutes each side or until puffed and brown. Wrap in a tea towel to keep warm.

Butter Chicken:
-1C raw cashews
-2t garam masala
-2t ground coriander
-3/4t chili powder
-3 cloves garlic chopped coarsely
-2t fresh ginger, grated
-2T white vinegar
-1/3C tomato paste
-1/2C yogourt
-1kg chicken thighs or breast cut into 1" chunks
-2T butter
-1 onion, finely chopped
-1 cinnamon stick
-4 cardamom pods, bruised
-1t paprika
-1 small can crushed tomatoes (400g)
-3/4C chicken stock
-1C whipping cream

1. Stir nuts, garam masala, coriander, and chili in a small lightly heated frying pan. Toss until nuts are lightly browned.
2. Put nut mixture in food processor, add garlic, ginger, vinegar, paste and yogourt. Process until smooth.
3. Put chicken into mixture and mix thoroughly. Allow chicken to marinate for at least a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
4. Melt butter in a large saucepan, cook onion with cinnamon and cardamom until browned. Add chicken mix and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Add paprika, crushed tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.
5. Remove cinnamon and cardamom (if you can find it). Stir in cream and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve over basmati rice with naan.

How to Clean a Leek

Maybe it's just me, but I have been wondering how to do this for a really long time... Ever since starting to make potato and leek soup - which was my first experience with a leek. Of course, now I know that had I just googled I could have figured it out. However I am going to describe it anyways.

I have just enrolled in my first cooking class - not counting high school of course - and this was one of the things we learned.

To clean a leek trim the green end of the leek down about an inch from the ends. Then holding the root with your left hand make a lengthwise cut about an inch from the root all the way up the leek. Rotate the leek in your left hand 180 degrees and make another lengthwise incision. You should now have a leek that is in quarters but held together at the end. You can go now rinse it thoroughly under water and get to those problematic muddy bits.

Another thing I learned is that you really can use the whole leek and not just the white part. Apparently if a recipe only requires the white part it will specify that - so otherwise go ahead and use the whole thing. There is a leek risotto in one of Marcella's books I keep meaning to try out...

Banana Pecan Muffins

I like to try and make something on Sundays for easy weekday breakfasts. It varies weekly but is usually some form of muffin or granola. This week I took advantage of some banana's in the freezer to make these muffins from a Mark Bittman cookbook.

Also, I should rave about my fantastic new purchases. Firstly, a silicone muffin tin - easily the best cooking tool I have bought in awhile. No need to use muffins tins, grease the pans, and the muffins never stick. (If you don't have one grease the tins before you use this recipe.) Secondly, a muffin-sized ice cream scoop. Spray it with a little oil and it expedites the process as well as keeping the mess to a minimum. If I have all the ingredients out I can make a batch of muffins in less time then the oven takes to preheat :)

Dry ingredients:
-1C all purpose flour
-1C whole wheat flour
-1/2t salt
-3t baking powder
-1/2 cup chopped pecans, plus whole to garnish if you so desire

Wet ingredients:
-1/4C honey
-2 eggs
-1/4C milk
-3 banannas mashed


1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
3. Beat together all the honey eggs and milk. Mix in the banana.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients. Combine gently with a wooden spoon. Do not overmix, it should be lumpy.
5. Spoon into muffin tins, filling them about 2/3 full or almost to the top if you like really big muffins.
6. Bake 25-30 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Whole Wheat Country Loaf

This is one of those accidents-turned-pleasant surprises. I started a loaf from my new fab cookbook (which yes, I am talking about far too much) and didn't realize until it was too late that all I had was whole wheat bread flour. But it turned out really well and was easy in my fabulous mixer. I was super impressed with the crust - great for sandwiches or a healthy garlic bread. I can't wait to try it with white flour.

This recipe requires a sponge, which apparently really helps the flavour develop. Because of this you need to prepare the sponge about 4 hours before you are ready to start. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for 1 week if desired. Not including the sponge this recipes takes anywhere from 4hours to 5 1/2 hours.

Sponge:
- 1 1/2t active dry yeast
- 1C tepid water
- 1C tepid milk
- 2C whole wheat bread flour

1. Put water and milk in mixer bowl and sprinkle yeast over top. Stir. Attach the whisk, add the flour and beat on low for 1 minute.
2. Cover with plastic wrap or the plastic bowl cover and let sit for 4 hours at coolish room temp.

Dough:
- 1t active dry yeast
- 1C water, room temp
- 1T fine sea salt
- 4 1/2 - 5 1/2C whole wheat bread flour
- Cornmeal for sprinkling on pan.


1. Fit paddle attachment on beater and put bowl with sponge back in place. Sprinkle yeast over sponge, then add water, salt and 1C of the flour.
2. Beat hard on medium speed for 1 minute.
3. Switch to low speed and add flour 1/2C at a time. When dough starts to thicken (about 2/3 way through flour) switch to the bread hook. Knead for 3 minutes on medium speed. A warning - watch your mixer carefully during this, this is dense flour and could potentially be hard on the motor. If you hear funny noises from the motor, stop kneading immediately and continue by hand. Also the dough should still be sticky at this point, don't be tempted to add too much flour.
4. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead for 2-3 minutes. Put some muscle into it, you can slam the dough into the counter, it will help develop the gluten. If you need to add flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands or the surface do it 1T at a time.
5. Let sit on counter for 5-10 minutes to relax. Meanwhile prepare a container for rising by greasing it, I used the mixer bowl.
6. Give it another minute of kneading then place in greased bowl, turning to grease. Cover with plastic wrap or the cover and let rise until tripled in size about 1.5- 2 hours.
7. Punch the dough with a floured fist and knead in the bowl. Turn dough over. Cover again and let rise 45-60 minutes.
8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll dough out onto surface and divide in half. Knead each portion into a 7" round, stretching the dough from underneath to make the surface really tight. Pinch the seam to close, it should be well centered on the bottom. Dust with floured and place on baking sheet.
9. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
10. 20 minutes before being ready to bake preheat oven to 425 putting pizza stone on the bottom rack and leaving room to put the sheet on top.
11. With a very sharp knife cut three parallel slashes 1/4" deep in the surface of each loaf.
12. Put sheet on pizza stone and bake for 15 minutes, turn down oven and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.
13. Cool on a rack.

Potato and Leek Soup

Not exactly original, but classics are classics for a reason. This is great with fresh bread and a rainy day. Also, fry up a few pieces of bacon diced with onion if you have it. Totally unnecessary though.

-3 leeks, white parts chopped
-1 onion, chopped
-2 large potatoes, peeled & chopped into 1/2" chunks.
-6C water, substitute part water if you have it.
-a few knobs of butter
-small glug of olive oil
-salt and pepper

1. Saute the onions in the olive oil and a knob of butter until translucent. About 5 minutes.
2. Add the leeks and saute for a few minutes. Do not let brown.
3. Add the potatoes and water or chicken stock. Add 1t salt and several good grinds of pepper.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Decide what kind of consistency you are looking for. If you want it chunky do nothing. If you prefer some smooth then either use a hand mixer or using a slotted spoon transfer some to the food processor.
6. Once you have the soup the consistency you want it stir in the 2 knobs of butter. If you want to be really gluttonous then stir in some cream as well.

Enjoy!

Focaccia Bread

After the cinnamon buns I was craving something savory. I have never made focaccia and thought I would take advantage of some of the fresh herbs in my Mums garden and try that.


This recipe for dough could be used to make multiple types of focaccia. I chose three different toppings for mine using the herbs and salt mixture for the basis. Then to one third I added parmesan and to the last third tomatoes.

The dough recipe itself comes from my new bread book however I have modified it some and added significant amounts of olive oil. That seems to be the trick to getting a really nice chewy but crunchy crusted focaccia. In fact I was so impressed with this recipe I was thinking of using it to make a nice thin crust pizza. I have been meaning to have another good pizza night to go along with my wednesday tv addiction. Also, I used the by-hand instructions so those are what I have laid out here since I haven't tried the stand mixer versio
BTW, this was a huge hit at home. Even my dad who thought I was crazy to want to bake again had several pieces, and my Mum wanted the recipe.

Dough:
-2t active dry yeast
-pinch sugar
-3 1/2C unbleached all purpose flour
-1 1/3C warm skim milk
-1 1/2t salt
-1/3C olive oil

Topping:
-1/2C olive oil
-2 cloves garlic
-a handful fresh rosemary
-1/2t dried basil
-rock salt for sprinkling
-plus tomatoes or cheese or roasted veggies as desired

1. In a large liquid measure warm the milk, then sprinkle the yeast, sugar and 1t of the flour. Stir and let sit until foamy, about 15 minutes.
2. Combine salt and 1C flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the yeast mixture and oil and stir to combine. Beat the mixture using a dough whisk adding the flour 1/2C at a time until a sticky dough pulls away from the bowl. You really want it very sticky try not to add too much flour.
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 2 minutes. It really should be sticky. If you need to add flour to keep it from sticking to your hands and work surface. Do try and not add to much flour. You will end up with a better crust if it is a sticky dough.
4. Form into a flattened ball and put in a deep greased container. Turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise somewhere draft free until tripled in bulk. About 1 1/2 hours.
5. While waiting for the dough start the topping. Peel and smash the garlic and add it to a warm pan along with the olive oil. Allow the garlic to get lightly brown. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Roughly chop the rosemary and add along with the basil. Allow to come to room temperature.
6. Grease a cookie sheet with an ample amount of oil. Very ample. Roll out the dough into 1/4"-3/8" thin. It will likely be very delicate.
7. Transfer to the cookie sheet and spread to fit. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.
8. Once the foccacia has finished its last rise it is almost ready for dressing, but first we must indent it. Gently poke the dough with a floured finger making 1/4" deep holes about 2" apart. This will stop the dough from bubbling up and away from the pan. Remove the garlic pieces from the oil and drizzle on top, evenly spreading it out but letting the oil pool in the dots. If you have a brush that may help to spread out the oil but be gentle! If you don't have at least a light coating of oil at this point don't feel shy about adding more.
9. Sprinkle rock salt all over the top. The amount you use is really a personal taste thing. I would use about a tablespoon or so, but you should adjust.
10. Bake in a 400F for about 25-35 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack for a few minutes before slicing.

Exploring Yeasts

I am enjoying a quiet rainy Easter weekend at my parents cabin (complete with dial-in, ouch) and I have bought myself a fabulous new bread cookbook by Beth Hensperger - Bread Made Easy. It is written as an instruction manual with recipes to follow. It looks extremley promising and I am heavily inspired by some of the artisan breads and foccacia recipes contained within. Also worth mentioning is that each of the recipes provide seperate steps for hand kneading, kitchen aid, food processor and Magic Mill mixing. Very exciting.

One of the things she goes into in great detail is the different kinds of yeast. Inspired by this I have written up my own crib sheet about the different kinda of yeast and included conversions. Gotta go - I have cinammon buns in the oven.

Conversions:
-1 1/4oz pkg active dry yeast = 1t active dry yeast = 1 6oz cube fresh cake yeast = 2t fast acting yeast


Active Dry Yeast
-Dormant until proofed
-Keep refrigerated. Best if used after 3 months but will last up to a year.

Fast-Acting Yeast
-Also called instant yeast
-Coated with ascorbic acid and sugar this yeast is activated when added to warm water and requires no sugar.
-Can be added directly to dry ingredients - no proofing needed.
-Store in the freezer for up to one year.

Cake Yeast
-Fresh yeast - only lasts for 2 weeks.

Quick-Rise Yeast
-The dough will rise 50% faster if this type of yeast is used.
-Works best when added directly to dry ingredients
-Follow manufacturers instructions carefully as rising times are quite different.
-You can use a bit less then is called for to slow down the rising process.

Mashed Cauliflower

Rather then mashed potatoes, try this mashed or whipped cauliflower. It makes a great side dish and is even low carb if that is what you are looking for. This also works really well if you roast the cauliflower first. You can also play with the texture by chopping up some and whipping the rest so that there is more texture variety. This version however is dead easy and super hard to screw up!

Mashed Cauliflower
-1 head of cauliflower
-2T butter
-1/3C milk

1. Steam the cauliflower until very tender. About 10 minutes.
2. Put cauliflower into a food processor (or blender) add butter and milk.
3. Pulse trying to leave some chunks for texture.
4. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Inspired Chickpea and Broccoli Salad

This is something I whipped up today, inspired by the tightness of my pants. However, though it is new it is already a favorite, and though it is healthy I did eat a good half of that massive bowl pictured :) Luckily it is a whole dinner meal so it is done in under 15 minutes. Hmm.. maybe I should rename this easy weeknight dinner #2!



Do peel the skins off the chickpeas it really will only take a few minutes and it will look and taste better. This would also be really good with spinach or maybe some zucchini. Feel free to only use a 1/2t of mustard - I really like mustard.

Chickpea and Broccoli Salad

Dressing:
-1/4C white wine vinegar
-1t Dijon mustard
-2/3C olive oil
-salt and pepper

1. Whisk together the mustard with the vinegar.
2. Slowly add the oil while whisking to for an emulsion. Set aside.

Salad:
-2 small florets of broccoli
-1/2 red pepper
-2 scallions(green onions)
-2 tomatoes
-handful freshly chopped cilantro
-1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
-juice of 1 lemon

1. Clean and roughly chop broccoli enough to fit in the steamer. Place over boiling water and steam for about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Chop into bite sized pieces.
2. Chop scallions, cilantro, tomatoes and red peppers into bite size pieces and add to broccoli.
3. Pick the skins off the chickpeas (they should just pop off when handled). Add them to the veggies.
4. Pour over the veggies. Squeeze the lemon over the salad.
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

MSG free stocks and bouillon cubes?

If anyone knows of any msg free soup mix - as in bouillon cubes - I would REALLY appreciate it. I have recently starting reacting to msg, in an unpleasant way, and would love an alternative. Not that I necessarily advocate the use of bouillon cubes, but they make a weeknight risotto a viable option. :)

A small rant on the side, what is with MSG being in everything? Like doritos? Come on! I even made a special trip out to our gourmet food store. 5 different kinds of prepared stocks - dried concentrated and refrigerated. All of which had msg. Gourmet stocks with msg? Apparently