Lapsang Souchong Tea Glaze

My favorite tea of all times on a cold morning is Lapsang Souchong Tea. It comes from China’s Fujian Province. The flavor is produced by laying premium black tea leaves out on bamboo trays and allowing smoke from pinewood to permeate through the tea. If you have not tried this tea you are really missing something. It is so beloved that it is blended to make perfume.

While I was drinking my morning cup this morning; my thoughts went to how wonderful this tea would be as an infusion in food. In researching I came upon a wonderful recipe that I would like to share with you. It comes from Ward Bradshaw a wonderful chef.

He glazes salmon, chicken and pork with this recipe.

1 quart Lapsang Souchong, strongly brewed

2 tablespoons of honey

1 sprig of thyme

Chili oil

1 cup of olive oil

½ cup chopped garlic

1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

¼ cup samba



Twinings Lapsang Souchong Tea, Tea Bags, 20-Count Boxes (Pack of 6)

Reduce the tincture of tea to 1 cup and add the honey.  You will then prepare the chili oil.

Heat the oil in a small sauce pan to about 325 degrees and add the garlic. Fry the garlic until a light golden brown. Remove the oil from the heat and add the sesame oil, soy sauce, sambal and tea tincture. Let cool until room temperature.

Marinate salmon in the lapsang chili mixture for 1 hour. The salmon can then be grilled.

You will need to marinate chicken or pork loin over night. Mashed potatoes and sesame green beans is a really nice a compliment.

Spinach Cobb Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing

Dressing

5 cloves of garlic roasted in skin until golden
1 tablespoon of finely minced shallot
2 tablespoons of honey
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup of lime juice
zest of one lime and orange
juice of one orange
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of cilantro leaves
1 pinch of red pepper flakes

Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until mixed. Do not over blend.

Salad

1 package of prewashed spinach
8 ounces of mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup of roasted and chopped pecans
1 avocado sliced
2 hard boiled eggs sliced
1 tomato sliced
3 slices of oven roasted bacon crumbled *

                                             * Note: You can replace the bacon with sliced smoke turkey

Toss the salad or place the ingredients on a platter in groups. Serve the dressing on the side.

Lipper International Large Cherry Wavy Rim Bowl with Salad Hands is really nice. Take a look.

But better yet is this Ebony Wood Salad Serving Set

Enjoy !

Cashew Nut Chicken with Hoisin

1 pound chicken breast

1 red pepper

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger

1 green chile

1 red chile

1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 egg white

2 tablespoons of roasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons of peanut oil

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 bunch of spring onions

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

1 1/4 cups of roasted whole cashews

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
1 lime
1 bunch of fresh coriander leaves
3 tablespoons of chicken stock

Toss the chicken breast cubes with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Let stand for thirty minutes.

Now begin your prep work by dicing the garlic, peppers and green onions. It looks wonderful when the green onions and red peppers are diced on the bias. Zest the lime with a microplane and then juice the lime and set aside.  Mince the ginger very fine or you could microplane.

Now heat a wok with some of the peanut oil until the wok is almost smoking. Add just the chicken and brown.

Do not over cook the chicken.

It should still be a little pink inside.

Remove chicken to a bowl and set aside.

Add the last of the peanut oil to the wok.

Then add the diced peppers, green onions, garlic, ginger and half of the spring onions. Saute a few minutes and then add the sauces. The hoisin, oyster, sugar and soy sauce. Then add the chicken, cashews and lime zest. Add a little chicken stock if the sauce is to thick. Finish chicken with the rest of the toasted sesame oil, coriander leaves and reserved green onions and lime juice. Serve with steamed rice.

T fal Specialty 14-Inch Nonstick Jumbo Wok, Black is a great tool !

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups of cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
1/2 cup buttermilk (not low fat)
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until well mixed. Then add the egg and mix until well incorporated. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, Grand Mariner and vinegar mix just until combined. Then add the dry ingredients. Add the vinegar in at the last and then scrap the bowl making sure to get all the ingredients. Pour batter into a paper lined muffin tin. Bake in the middle level of your oven for 17 minutes. Cool on a baking rack.

Frosting

4 ounces of cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon juice

pinch of salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup of lightly toasted coconut

Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla, salt and lemon juice. Mix again until just incorporated. Then add confectioner's sugar. Mix until well incorporated. Add the coconut and then prepare a piping bag with a star tip.

You need to toast the coconut to match the cocoa flavor in the cake. You can top the cake with the toasted coconut or add it to the frosting. I like sprinkles, so I added the coconut into the frosting. You can choice not to add coconut all together.

                                                                                         

             

I recommend the Ateco Extra Wide Pastry Decorating Tip, Set of 3 and Wilton 2104-7778 Master Tip Set

Five Spice Pumpkin Hazelnut Loaf

1 ¾ cups of all purpose flour                                              

1 heaping teaspoon

Frontier Five Spice Powder, 1.92-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 3)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly grated

Nutmeg - Whole - 1.1 OZ

¼ teaspoon allspice

3 tablespoons

Frontier Ginger, Crystallized Slices, 16 Ounce Bag

diced small

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup of dark brown sugar

1/3 of a cup sugar

2 teaspoons of grated orange

½ teaspoon lemon extract

½ cup oil

1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin

1 cup toasted Raw Oregon Hazelnuts / Filberts (1 Pound Bag) chopped roughly

You will need to rub most of the skins off with a kitchen towel

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and set the rack to the lower third of the oven. Butter and dust with flour a Farberware Bakeware 9-by-5-Inch Loaf Pan. Then put a sling of buttered Kaiser Bakeware Patisserie Reusable Parchment Paper in the loaf pan as show in the photo. Mix together the flour, five spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, allspice, orange zest, ginger and hazel nuts into a bowl.

Place two eggs into an electric mixer and beat them until they are pale in color. This will take about two minutes. Add the sugars in stages. Then add the oil, pumpkin, vanilla and lemon extract.

Then by spoon full add the flour mixture until just well combined.

Do not over mix. Place in loaf pan and bake for fifty five minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool before slicing.



Cornish Pasties

Pastry Recipe

16 ounces white flour
16 ounces white whole wheat  flour
1 teaspoon of
CORNISH SEA SALT - A new, gourmet seasoning from England! Hand-harvested, pure, light & crunchy.
8 ounces unsalted butter
8 ounces of
Armour Star Lard, 1-Pound (Pack of 8)
note you can use all butter (not traditional)
1 1/2 cups of water

Mix butter and lard into the flour until it reaches a meal like consistency. I used a Oxo Good Grips Dough Blender. Pour the water in, reserving a little depending on the flour. It should have the consistency of pie dough. Work the dough as little as
possible. Cover with plastic wrap and then refrigerate
for at least one hour.

 

Filing Recipe

1 1/2 pounds of New York Steak sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

1 rutabaga diced into 1/4 inch pieces

2 potatoes diced into 1/4 inch pieces

1 small onion sliced extremely finely with a Progressive International HGT-11 Folding Mandoline Slicer

1 bunch of watercress
* Filling is traditionally rather bland. You can add
non traditional ingredients such as diced roasted canned chiles, roasted red peppers, garlic, roasted cumin seeds, smoked paprika.

black pepper and salt to taste
egg wash (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk)
Note you can serve with spicy ketsup too!

Cut the chilled pastry in half. Roll out half of the pastry on a Regency Pastry Cloth & Rolling Pin Cover Set until it is the thickness of pie dough. Take an 8 inch round plate as a tool to cut out 4 circles with a Wilton Pastry Wheel.Repeat the process until you have 8 pasties.

Assemble

Place the swede and onion slices around the center of the pastry. Very lightly salt and pepper. Then layer the meat all over the pastry in a single layer. Very lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then add another layer of potatoes with the watercress leaves left whole and stems removed. Dot with a little butter. Brush one side of the pastry lightly with water. Seal as shown in the photo. Brush pasties with egg wash mixture. Make sure to slit the pastry to let the steam out. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. If they are browning to fast, then turn the heat down to 325 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes more and then turn off the heat. Leave the pasties in the oven for another 15 minutes with the oven door shut.

Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk

4 egg yolks

1 cup cream

1/8 cup pink peppercorns

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cointreau

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 drop red food coloring

Heat milk, cream, peppercorns, sugar & honey to just before a boil. Let ingredients steep; until flavor intensity is to your liking. About thirty minutes to one hour. Then strain liquid through a fine sieve. Heat liquid again until temperature is at 180 degrees. Then temper egg yolks with the liquid. Cook the liquid again until it reaches 190 degrees. Strain the liquid and add remaining ingredients. Chill in refrigerator overnight. Then process in a Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker.