Kabocha Flan

For those who have not had Kabocha before, it has the flavor of acorns. It takes quite well to honey. I think this recipe is a nice change from a regular flan. You will enjoy the nice hints of acorn and Frangelico.






To prepare this recipe you will need to bake the squash cut up into slices in a 350 degree oven for an hour. Do not peel the squash until it has been baked. As it will be easy to peel when done.Then place the peeled cooked Kabocha into a food processor and blend until smooth. Next you will need to make the caramel. Place two cups of sugar into a sauce pan with one cup of water. Add half of a split vanilla bean to the pan.Turn the heat up and cook until deep amber. Then place the caramel into ramekins or a flan pan. Remove the vanilla bean. Set aside to cool.    

2 1/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of honey
1/2 of a vanilla bean

3/4 teaspoon of salt

5 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon of grated fresh nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon of cinnamom
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of Frangelico

Preheat  your oven to 325 degrees and place a kettle on for the boil.Then place the milk into a sauce pan and bring just to a boil. Set the pan aside. In a mixer place the eggs and all the other ingredients into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on and add the milk in a stream. You will then pour the mixer through a fine sieve. This will remove any cooked egg or spices that did not get mixed well. Once the mixture has been forced through the sieve, pour the flan into your ramekins or flan pan. Place the flans into a roasting pan and pour the boiling hot water around the ramekins. Cover the flan loosely with foil. Bake for one hour or so. Remove the plan from the water bath and cool for a bit. Then you will refrigerate overnight. To unmold the flan dip bottom of pan into hot water for a minute, then run your knife around the edge of the pan. Invert pan onto serving plate.

White Balsamic Dressing Potato Salad

3 pounds of yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup of white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of  kosher salt

Pour 1/4 cup of the Napoleon White Balsamic Vinegar and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt into a mixing bowl. Set this aside. Then place a large stock pot full of cold water on the range. Add two tablespoons of kosher salt and the 3 pounds of whole unpeeled yukon gold potatoes. Bring the contents to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes. Now drain the potatoes and peel. Dice the potatoes and add them to the vinegar mixture.

You will now prepare the added ingredients to the salad.

2 diced stocks of celery
1 small garlic clove mashed into a paste
3 hard boiled eggs diced
1/4 teaspoon of fennel seeds crushed
zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons of lemon thyme
1/4 of a red onion diced
12 small cornichon diced
1 tablespoon of pepperoncini diced

Add the above ingredients to the bowl of diced potatoes.

For the dressing add the following to the bowl.
1/3 cup of best foods mayonnaise
1/3 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
crushed black pepper
juice of half a lemon

Refrigerate overnight and enjoy over these hot next couple of days.

Black & White Cookies

Having a hankering to make cookies,  
this recipe is very simple.

3 cups of AP flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/3 cups of sugar
2/3 of a cup of butter
1/2 cup of Crisco
2 eggs
2 vanilla bean seeds
2 teaspoons of corn syrup
1 teaspoon of lemon zests
1/3 cup of sour cream

Set your oven temperature to 350 degrees and then you will line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl stir together the flour, salt and baking soda. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Then add the Crisco, vanilla seeds, lemon zests, corn syrup and the eggs one at a time. Once or twice stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Now add the flour and sour cream. Roll a little less then 1/4 cup of dough into a balls.


Then you will place them very wide apart on the baking sheet. Press the balls down with a three inch round base until they are the same size. You will bake the cookies for 14 minutes and will need to rotate the trays half way into the baking time. Let the cookies cool completely before icing.

For the Fondant icing you will need the following ingredients.


1/4 cup of corn syrup                                     
5 cups of powder sugar
2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon of vanilla

In a sauce pan place one quarter of a cup of corn syrup and one half of a cup of water into the pan. Bring to a boil and then remove the pan from the stove. Place the powder sugar and vanilla into the sauce pan and whisk until you have all the sugar incorporated. Next place the two ounces of unsweetened chocolate into a microwave bowl. Add half of the vanilla fondant to the chocolate and mix well. You are now ready to frost your cookies. I add a line of chocolate to mark the half way mark on the cookie. It makes it easier to frost. They will need to set for sometime. It will take a least a couple of hours.

Limoncello Coconut Cake

This is an idea I came upon from a Bon Appetit cake recipe. You will need to reduce two cans of unsweetened coconut milk to 1 and 1/2 cups and then chill before making this recipe. It makes a really delicate cake.




2 cups of cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups of sugar
3 large eggs
1 vanilla bean seeds
1 lemon zest
2 tablespoons of Limoncello
1 cup reduced coconut milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then sift your dry ingredients in bowl and set aside. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light. Then add your eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between adding the eggs. Then add the lemon peel, vanilla seeds, limoncelleo, and reduced coconut milk. Now add the flour mixture and mix very shortly, until light. Pour mixture into cupcake tins or a pan of your choice. For cup cakes it will only take 18 minutes. Set cake aside and let cool. Makes twenty little cakes.


1 cup of unsalted butter
3 cups of powder sugar
1/3 cup of reduced coconut milk
seeds from another vanilla bean
zest of one lemon
1 cup of toasted coconut
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of Limoncello
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

To make the frosting you will cream the butter until light and smooth. Then add the vanilla seeds, reduced coconut milk, salt, limoncello, lemon zest, lemon juice. Then add the powder sugar and mix until light. I use a piping bag to ice my cakes. It makes for a quick and professional job.








I have had great luck with plant starts sold from Seattle Tilth.  


 They will be having their Harvest Festival on September 10th. It is a little late for planting, but come see their harvest!

Chicken with Applewood Smoked Olives and Lemons

1 chicken with skin, pieced as you like
2 lemons, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of grape seed oil
1 1/2 large onions, sliced
1 jar of applewood smoked olives, halved
sprigs of lemon thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon of Herbes de Provence
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
3 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
salt and fresh black pepper
three tomatoes, quartered

Heat your oven to 475 degrees. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Then you will heat a non stick large skillet with oil until smoking. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Remove from pan. Add the onions to the pan and saute for a few minutes. Then add all the ingredients to the pan.

 Bring to a heavy simmer. Then place in the oven until the chicken is done or 160 to 165 degrees. This is a rustic dish from Provence. Enjoy the dish with crusty french bread.

Blueberry Pie with Creme De Cassis

Never fail pie crust recipe from my grandmother.

In a food processor blend 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder with 11 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Pulse until the butter mixture is the size of little peas. Then add 6 tablespoons of cold water mixed with one egg yolk. Blend just until it comes together. Divided the dough into two rounds and refrigerate until well chilled. The filling for the pie is easy. Mix six cups of blue berries with 1/2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of corn starch, zest of one lime and one lemon, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 tablespoons Creme de Cassis. Then place into the bottom of a pie plate lined with one of the Pate Brisee. Top with a lattice of the dough too. I do a egg yolk wash with a dusting of sugar on top. Bake in the lower level of your oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes then turn down your oven to 350 degrees and bake for an hour.

 My next interesting recipe is for Caprinettes. They are crepes made with goat's cheese. They are excellent filled with sauted summer vegetables or eat them with a little honey. You will need eight ounces of goat cheese, two eggs, 1 1/2 cups of semolina flour and white wine or chicken stock to make the batter. Salt to taste and butter for frying. You will cook them the same as you would any crepe.
 I have also canned some pickles. There is an interesting magazine that adds saffron to traditional dilled pickles. I have canned them up and can't wait until they have cured. Made some raspberry jam too. Added a twist to the normal jam recipe. I added lime zest and lime juice to the recipe. Really turned out lovely.

Truffles

Truffles and Fine Cooking !