Saffron Poached Pears

I was patiently waiting for some pears to come to the perfect point for poaching. You want them to be just shy of the point at which you would eat them. At this point, the absorption of the poaching liquid is perfect. They will also not fall apart.
You can poach them whole, but it is easier to half them. I use a measuring teaspoon to scoop out the seeds.

 The liquid is eight cups of water and three and one third cups of sugar. For the spices you will need one split vanilla bean, two thin slices of fresh ginger, three star anise, several alspice berries, several cloves, one cinnamon stick, one lemon sliced in half, a few black peppercorns and a good pinch of saffron.

 Bring the syrup to a low simmer and add your peeled and seed pears. Put a plate on top of the pears to keep them submerged. Poach for fifteen minutes and then turn off the heat. Let the pears cool in the syrup. If not eating right away, store them in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Din Tai Fung

It is a cold and rainy day and I am not in the mood to cook. So my thoughts went to family and dim sum in the international district. The Jade Garden has really great dim sum. But my daughter said that Din Tai Fung has opened a new restaurant near her home. So we took little buster and headed off for steaming dumplings.

Dim Sum is so fun for kids. It is noisy and busy with steaming trays everywhere. They have a window where you can watch many chef's making dumplings.  The service is excellent and the quality of ingredients superb. Little buster was throwing chop sticks around like there was no tomorrow. The wait staff would bring him a new clean set every time they hit the floor.

The only draw back is that it is not cheap. Jade Garden charges three dollars a plate and Din Tai Fung charges ten dollars a plate. However, the quality of ingredients and service is worth the wonderful occasion. 

Tangerine Curd Cake

Curds can be used for so many things cakes, tarts, pies, steamed puddings, muffins, pancake topping, or on hot toast.

You can make curd from any fruit that the juice can be squeezed from orange, grapefruit, passion fruit and pineapple are just some of the variations. I happened to have some tangerines and thought they would be great in a cake. 

Here is the recipe for the cake.

For the filling:

2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs. flour
1 cup fresh tangerine juice
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbs. butter

For the cake:
2-1/4 cups cake flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 tsp. grated tangerine zest
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup fresh tangerine juice
For the frosting:
12 Tbs. salted butter, at room temperature
4-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
Dash salt
1 tsp. grated tangerine zest
5 Tbs. fresh tangerine juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of orange brandy




Make the filling: Combine the sugar and the flour in a heavy-based saucepan. Whisk just to mix. Add the juice and egg yolks and whisk vigorously again to combine. Put the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils (3 to 4 min.). Cook another 1 min., stirring constantly (the mixture will thicken noticeably and become less cloudy). Be sure it boils for 1 min. so that the filling will thicken enough to support the cake. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (lay the wrap directly on the filling’s surface), and refrigerate. Chill thoroughly before using.

Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Grease two 9x1-1/2-inch cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of kitchen parchment. Lightly flour the sides and bottom of each pan.

In a mixer, cream together the butter, shortening, and zest. Gradually add the sugar, creaming until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between additions and scraping down the sides.

Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the juice to the creamed mixture, beating well on low speed after each addition. Pour equal amounts of the batter into the two prepared cake pans. Tap the pans on the counter before putting them in the oven to remove any air bubbles and to even the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 28 min. Cool the cake layers in the pans for 10 min. and then loosen the layers by running a knife between the cake and the edge of the pan. Remove the layers from the pans and put them on a rack to continue cooling.



Make the frosting: Cream the butter in the mixer. Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt and combine thoroughly. Add the zest, brandy, lemon juice and mix to combine. Add the tangerine juice and mix on high speed until well blended, scraping down the sides. It will be light and creamy. Refrigerate if not using right away.

Cranberry & Chambord Tartlets

Chambord is produced in a Loire Valley chateau. You should goggle the chateau, as it is a story in itself. The spirit is made from red and black raspberries, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey  and cognac. Whole raspberries and blackberries are steeped in the spirits for a period of several weeks to produce a fruit infusion. This infusion produces a distinct raspberry flavor and aroma.

After the infusion is extracted, a second set of spirits is added to the fruit and allowed to rest for a few weeks. After this second infusion is drawn off, the remaining fruit is pressed to obtain the natural sugars and juice. The spirits and juices from the final pressing are then combined, and finally, the berry infusion is married with a blend of cognac, natural vanilla extract, black raspberries, citrus peel, honey, and herbs and spices.

If you have not tried Chambord, I highly recommend it. Add it to all kinds of fruit preparations.

I decided to make a fresh cranberry tart and add chambord to the mix. I topped the little tartlets with a meringue. They are really incredible.

Ingredients:

1 recipe of my never fail pie crust

1 bag of fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of cloves
3 tablespoons of cornstarch
several tangerines (1 teaspoon of zest and 1/4 cup of juice)
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tarter
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
3 tablespoons of Chambord



You will need to start out making the pie crust. Roll out the dough to one quarter inch thick. Cut rounds to the size of your tart pan. I used a muffin tin. But you could use any size you would like. Chill the dough well and then cut out parchment to line the crust.  Fill the lined crust with beans and bake in a 375 degree oven for fifteen minutes. Remove them from the tins and bake further until a golden brown, You want them to be quite golden. The reason is that the filling does not quite set.


Now to make the filling, add the bag of cranberries to a sauce pan. Add one cup of sugar and one and one quarter cups of water. Simmer until the berries become a mush. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and toss the solids. But the juice back into the sauce pan and add one quarter cup of sugar, one quarter cup of water, the spices, juice and zest. Combine the water and cornstarch and add to the sauce pan. Simmer the mixture until it becomes a thick jam. Now add the Chambord. Refrigerate until cool.



Now top the tart shells with the cooled fruit mixture and preheat your broiler. To make the meringue it could not be easier. Place the three egg whites into a heat proof bowl. Add 1/4 cups of sugar and the cream of tarter. Place over a simmering bowl of water. You just want the sugar to dissolve. Now take a hand mixer and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Place the meringue over the tarts. I used a pastry bag to do this. Now place the tartlets into the broiler and toast the meringue. Watch out, as this can go quite fast.

Enjoy the tartlet !

Escarole and White Bean Soup

When I find fresh escarole at my local market I  break out in a dance. You just don't see it very often. I have been waiting to try this Italian classic soup. I like cooking my own beans. You can impart all kinds of lovely flavors into them. So, first take one cup of dried white beans and place them into a sauce pan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. You will then shut off the heat and cover. Let it stand for one hour. Now drain the beans and place them back into the sauce pan. Now add water to cover. Place into the pot a fresh bay leaf, two cloves of garlic, half an onion, one stock of celery and one carrot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Cook for about one hour. Now shut off the heat and add two teaspoons of kosher salt. Let stand while you make the soup.


For the soup you will need one onion diced, one leek diced, one celery stock diced, and two small carrots diced. You will also dice three slices of smokey bacon. Add all the ingredients into a cast iron pot with some olive oil and brown. Now add two minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Sauté for a few minutes and then add seven cups of good quality chicken stock to the pot. Drain and rinse the beans removing and discarding the vegetables. Add the beans to the pot. Add one large bunch of fresh chopped escarole to the soup pot. Bring to a boil and taste for seasoning. Serve the soup topped with Parmesan cheese.

Campanelle and Butternut Squash

I came upon an interesting recipe that used grated butternut squash. This is my spin on the recipe. It is really quite delicious. I think kids would like it too, as it melds well with the pasta and cheese.

For the parents, I would suggest a lovely wine from Vaucluse in France. The vintage is a 2012 from Domaine De La Becassonne. Located near Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône, where 90 perent of the region's wine is red, Domaine de la Becassonne has an unusual distinction, it is devoted entirely to the production of white wines. Its Côtes du Rhône Blanc is considered one of the best whites of the southern Rhône. The owner Andre Brunel, who produces great reds at his other estates, feels that the cool microclimate and sandy limestone soils delivers bold, plump notes of yellow apple and fresh cut pear. It is very reasonably price at around thirteen dollars.

Start out by grating two and on half cups of butternut squash. A food processor makes quick work of this. Now put a large pot of salted boiling water to the boil for the pasta. You will then dice a small onion and mince a clove of garlic. In a frying pan, place two tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Saute the onion until it is soft and light golden brown. Now add the garlic and butternut squash and saute. Add 1/4 up of the Cotes Du Rhone to further cook the squash.

To the mix add one eighth a teaspoon of star anise, 1/4 teaspoon of Herbes De Provence, one eighth teaspoon of chipotle chile pepper, grated fresh nutmeg, freshly cracked black pepper and salt. Add one half a pound of the Campanelle to the boiling water and cook until done. I just keep on checking to see. Add the drained pasta to the sauce pan. Add some reserved pasta water and butter to finish the dish. Top with shaved Parmesan.

Baby Bok Choy with Ginger & Garlic

When one has a lot of activities, we tend to not eat right. This is my go to quick and health recipe for when I am in  hurry. The vegetable will give you one hundred percent of your daily requirement for vitamin A. It also takes five minutes to make. Put some rice in a rice cooker and you have a meal ! Bok choy is really an under use vegetable in the west. The Chinese have been eating the white cabbage for five thousand years. Like all cabbage it needs a bit of sweetness. My trick is to add two teaspoons of dark brown sugar to the stir fry.

Begin by chopping up your baby bok choy. Separate the leaf greens from the root in two. Mince one shallot, one garlic clove and about two teaspoons of freshly minced ginger. In a saute pan heat up about a tablespoon of peanut oil to smoking point. Add the shallot and saute until lightly brown on the edges. At this point you will add your garlic and ginger. Saute a few minutes and now add the root ends of the bok choy. Then add two teaspoons of dark soy sauce,  one teaspoon of sambal oelek, two teaspoons of dark brown sugar. Now add the green leaves an saute a minute. Serve over steamed basmati rice with a little butter.