by Andrea Albin

Picture of a delicious, well made "Dutch Baby"

yield: Makes 4 to 6 (breakfast or dessert) servings

active time: 10 min

total time: 30 min

A Dutch Baby—basically a cross between a pancake and a popover—is tremendously popular in Seattle; according to local lore, it originated at a restaurant there called Manca’s. Serve it with fresh berries or nothing more than jam or a lavish sprinkling of lemon sugar.

Ingrediants:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes
• 2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• Equipment: a 10-inch cast-iron skillet

• Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Preparation:

Put skillet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Stir together sugar and zest in a small bowl.

Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and frothy, then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more (batter will be thin).

Add butter to hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat. Add batter and immediately return skillet to oven. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately, topped with lemon sugar.

Ingrediants:

4 chicken breasts

~Marinade~

pinch salt

pinch pepper

1Tbs sugar

1/4c lime juice

2 shots of Bacardi light rum

1c mince mint

half cup 7up soda

Recipe:

Let sit in refrigerator for about an hour.

Add olive oil to a saute pan

Add chicken breasts to heat and cook until lightly brown turning once

Add pan with the chicken and remaining marinade in the oven at about 450 degrees until chicken reaches an interior temperature of about 160 degrees (or until fully cooked)

In another saute pan add olive oil and saute shrimp with 2Tbs of lime juice and minced mint

Add a shot of Rum to pan and add flame for a flambe

Cool down the flame with about 1/4c of cream

Remove shrimp

Allow pan sauce to thicken

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I hope you like it, we did. It was fun to cook.

The wine choice for the evening was a Kim Crawford 2006 Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  A slightly sweet and herbacous wine with peach and grapefruit aroma and taste. The wine went well with the lime and citrus flavors of the meal. Their weren’t any flavors in the meal that were overwhelming. I love this wine and I enjoyed it very much with the meal.

-Bibble

by Bob Sassone from SlashFood

Filed under: Dessert, Food Porn, Recipes, Spirit of Summer, On the Blogs

Are you a boring ice cream person or an adventurous ice cream person? You know, are you the type that strictly sticks with chocolate or vanilla or are you the type that likes their ice cream a little bit more complex and exotic? This recipe is for the people in the latter group.

It’s for Roast Plums with Honey and Yogurt Ice Cream, from the book Formulas For Flavor by John Campbell. Keiko at this blog found the recipe, tried it, and says it’s quite good. You roast the plums in bay leaves, pink peppercorns, star anise, and vanilla beans. It’s served with honey and yogurt ice cream.

Speaking of bay leaves, the cook seems to be very into them, even making Bay Leaf Creme Caramel.

It’s all about having fun with your food. You don’t have to cook fancy, to make your food exciting. Some of the simplest flavors can come straight out of a jar, found in your fridge or cabinet. Tonight’s menu is just that. Playing with what you have.

Tonight’s menu is:

Pork tenderloin w/honey-dijon mustard-peach butter glaze
Steamed broccoli-cauliflower-carrots w/orange marmalade glaze
Roasted Potatoes (done with the tenderloin)
Garden salad w/catalina dressing
Home-made sourdough rolls
Raspberry tea
Fruit salad (pineapple, papaya, tangerines) on angel-food cake w/whipped cream

I’ll admit, my peach butter is home-made. If you don’t have any of your own, this recipe works well also using apple-butter or peach preserves instead.

Recipes Follow:

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It’s hot here in Philadelphia and I could really go for some ice cream… if only there was a way I could make some in 5 minutes using 2 ziplock baggies and this carton of half and half… oh wait. I can!

From BoingBoing:

Here’s a pretty damned simple ice-cream recipe: combine ingredients in a baggie. Fill a bigger baggie with ice, salt and the baggie of ingredients. Shake for five minutes. Ice cream. Who knew? 1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
2. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
3. Place the small bag inside the large one and seal again carefully.
4. Shake until mixture is ice cream, about 5 minutes.
5. Wipe off top of small bag, then open carefully and enjoy!

You can also put the ingredient bag in a coffee can full of ice and salt and tell children to kick it. Children love to kick things.

Birthdays around our home are always a special occasion. Lots of family and friends torture the birthday person endlessly about how old they are getting. Tomorrow, it will be my husband’s turn to enjoy the day and be spoiled a bit with one of his mainstays.

So for hubby’s special birthday meal and our 10 guests, the menu is:

Beef tenderloin steaks w/balsamic sauce
Steamed blue crabs
Roasted asparagus w/red pepper sauce
Green salad w/cranberry vinaigrette
Stuffed mushrooms
Shrimp pate
Dinner rolls w/honey butter
Gingerbread waffles w/apples and caramel
Citrus wine punch
Fruited ice-cube punch

Recipes follow:

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As is obvious from many of the menues posted here, our family is very diverse in what we like to eat. We also have alot of ‘favorites’ where taste is concerned. One of those favorites is lamb. It’s a great alternative to eating beef, but unfortunately not very popular here in the States.  

So, tonight we’re enjoying the ‘other’ red meat. Nothing fancy, just a simple meal perfect for a quiet summer evening meal.

The menue is:

Grilled lamb leg steaks w/mint glaze
Creamed peas
Roasted new potatoes w/butter and mint
Garden salad w/peppercorn dressing
Dinner rolls
Chilled sliced peaches
Apple-Cinnamon iced tea

Recipes as follows:

Grilled Lamb Steaks

2 leg shank lamb steaks
Salt and pepper to taste
Mint Jelly

Season lamb steaks with salt and pepper on both sides. You can grill, pan fry, or broil your steaks till desired doneness. Steaks should still have a bit of pink in them, or it’s overdone. About 4-6 minutes per side does well for a 1 inch thick shank steak.

When 1st side is done and steak is flipped, coat done side with mint jelly that’s been melted in a microwave. Coat second side as well, when that side is done cooking. Do a final glazing of both sides of meat, turning quickly on sides then removing from pan.

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Creamed Peas

1 package of frozen sweet peas
1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup of evaporated milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine salt, pepper, butter, and evaporated milk in small pot. Bring to a simmer, add frozen peas, and cook till peas are heated completely.

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Roasted New Potatoes w/Butter and Mint

1 pound of red or yukon gold new potatoes, halved and washed
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 teaspoon mint leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and pour into an aluminum pan in a single layer. Cover with foil and cook on grill till potatoes are tender. If you wish, you can mix a bit of mint jelly to finished potatoes.

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Peppercorn Dressing

3/4 cup sourcream
1/4 cup mayonaise
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
3 1/2 teaspoons corsely cracked pepper
1 teaspoon worchestershire 
1 beef bullion cube
4 teaspoons warm water
pinch of salt

Dissolve bouillon cube in warm water. Combine all ingredients in medium bowl and whisk to blend. Put in tightly lidded bowl and refrigerate till chilled.

If too thick, add drops of milk till desired consistancy.

Our family LOVES turkey. Unfortunately the turkey has become associated with Christmas & Thanksgiving, so many don’t think of serving it any other time of year. Not so in our family. Turkeys and bbq are a dream match made in heaven. Here, we’re taking the heat out of the kitchen so to speak since our perferred way to cook a turkey is on the grill. It saves you about an hour of cooking time (cooking time is determined by the weight) as well as the house doesn’t get heated up during that process.

We did a 14 pounder this go around and it only took 3 1/2 hours start to finish. And talk about juicy… If you’ve never had turkey this way, you don’t know what you’re missing.

The menu for this day is:

BBQ Turkey
Steamed Carrots
Sour cream mashed potatoes
Toasted French bread
Chocolate-peanut butter mousse cake
Citrus Blush

Recipes follow:

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My husband actually did the menu planning, prepping, and making of the meal for the both of us this evening. He’s really a good cook, but he leaves the kitchen looking as if a tornado went through it. The critters love when I allow him in the kitchen, as that’s the one time they get the chance to eat what we eat. They do a fine job of licking up the spills and drips hubby is a master of creating.

All joking aside though, he does turn out a great meal when he’s in the kitchen. His special tonight is:

Grilled Shark w/creamy Dijon sauce
Wild Rice
Garden salad w/vinegar and oil dressing
Roasted Pears w/raspberry syrup

Recipes follow…

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