Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries

The tang of buttermilk goes well with fresh seasonal berries. Buttermilk is low in fat and offsets the additional cream added.

Well, that is what any good chef will tell you. This recipe takes minutes to make and uses up any buttermilk you may have on hand.

Ingredients:

2 cups of cream
1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup of sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 cup of buttermilk
Fresh berries

Take 2 extra tablespoons of buttermilk and place in a very small bowl. Now add your gelatin and let stand. In the mean time combine the cream, split vanilla bean and sugar in a sauce pan. Heat up the mixture just until the sugar is dissolved. Now let the mixture cool. Remove the vanilla bean taking care that all the seeds are left in the cream. Add the gelatin and buttermilk with a whisk. Pour into small serving dishes.

Refrigerate. When cold and set run a sharp knife around the edge of the dish. Flip over and top with berries.  

Massaman Curry Paste for Curried Peanut Satay Sauce

As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I really love to go to all the ethnic grocery stores we have in my neighborhood.

Fresh lemon grass, coconut milk and shrimp paste will be need for this curry paste. I like the Pantai Norasingh brand made in Thailand. After you open the jar and use just a little bit. Close it up and stick it in your freezer.









This curry paste recipe is from the southern part of Thailand. The paste is used in Curried Peanut Satay Sauce and stew dishes.

To start making the paste you will need 1 ounce of dried red chilies seed and soaked in boiling water for thirty minutes. Then place the drained chilies in a blender. You will need to save the soaking water.

Now measure out 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons of coriander, and three seeded green cardamom pods. You will keep the seeds and toss out the shell. Dry roast the spices until a light golden brown.

 Now place the seeds in a spice grinder and pulse. Add this to the blender. Now add 2 small shallots, 3 large garlic cloves and 1 stalk of lemon grass. The lemon grass should have the outer leaves removed and the lower tender portion placed in the blender. The new issue of Fine Cooking AUG/SEPT 2014 has a wonderful article on lemon grass. In fact the whole issue is wonderful ! Now add to the blender 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves and a rounded 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Now make a foil packet of 1 1/2 teaspoons of shrimp paste. Dry roast the shrimp paste until your home smells like the best Thai restaurant. Add to the blender the cooled shrimp paste and drained chilies. Save the soaking water from the chilies to use as needed for the paste to do its magic in the blender. Store in refrigerator.

If making the peanut sauce do not wash out your blender. Place a 14 ounce can of coconut milk into the blender along with 3/4 of a cup of chunky peanut butter, 7 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce and blend. Now add 1 tablespoon of Massaman Curry paste to the blender. Take a taste. Add more curry paste as you like.

Moist and Rich Banana Bread

I don't know about the rest of the country, but this is hot for Washington State. As soon as you bring
fruit home it gets over ripe. So... Banana Bread!
I like this recipe, as it is really moist. Lovely for breakfast when you want something with your mocha.

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup of neutral oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 3/4 cups of flour
1/2 a cup of lightly roasted walnuts
1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 large ripe bananas

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. In a mixer beat the butter, bananas and oil together. Add in the eggs and mix again. Now add in your dry ingredients. Place the batter into a large loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 70 minutes. Check the last 20 minutes and cover with foil as it will get rather dark otherwise. Enjoy this as it is one of the best classic banana bread recipes.

Below are some lovely pictures from the garden and glass exhibit showing the works of Chihuly. The exhibit is in downtown Seattle.

Fresh Spinach Fettuccine With Roasted Cream Corn

I love fresh spinach pasta.
It can seem like  a lot of work.

The trick is to make the dough the night before and do the rolling the next day.

I have the recipe for my spinach pasta in an earlier posts. Next make a lot and freeze. The best way is to make little portion size nests and dust with rice flour. Rice flour is not heavy and will absorb extra moisture. Fresh corn needs to be cleaned with a stiff brush and then cut the kernels from the cobs. Now bring a large pot of salted boiling water to the boil for the pasta.

Ingredients:
4 or 5 ears of fresh corn
8 ounces of fresh spinach fettuccini
1/4 cup lightly roasted pine nuts
1 small shallot minced
3 tablespoons of fresh basil pesto
1 1/2 cups of half and half or light cream
1/2 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
3 ounces of half Pecorino Romano and Parmesan
Pinch of Aleppo Peppers
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Roast the pine nuts for a few minutes in a 325 degree oven. Set aside. For the sauce you will heat the olive oil and add the shallot and corn. Diced red pepper is nice too. Cook until the kernels are just a little brown. Stir in half and half and spices. Add a little pesto to taste. Now add your pasta and cheese !

Berry Cream Tart

This is the time of year that going to your local produce stand, is only a dream in the winter. Fresh herbs, ripe tomatoes and every kind of berry. Because of the heat this is a lovely tart served cold. It is a snap to make. First you start out with my never fail pie dough and blind bake it. You want to completely cooked the dough through. You will see golden light brown spots all over. Now set the crust aside and allow it to cool.

You will now make the pastry cream. Measure out 4 1/4 cups of whole milk and place this into a very heavy base sauce pan. Now scrape and place a whole split vanilla bean into the milk. Measure out 1/4 teaspoons of salt, 1 ounce of cornstarch and 4 ounces of sugar. Stir to combine. Now beat two eggs and set aside. Bring the milk to a boil and then add the sugar mixture. Slowly add in the two beaten eggs and whisking all the time.

To finish the cream your will add 2 ounces of unsalted butter. Remove the vanilla bean and chill the cream, To assemble you will spread the chilled pastry cream over the shell and top with fresh berries. Dust with powder sugar.