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Feb 11

12 Comments

Lemon Saffron Cheese Cake with Whole Meal,Pistachio,Cardamom Crust

This is my submission for the fabulous Abby Dodge’s “Bake Together” cheesecake challenge. I recently worked with Amanda from the blog “Dabblings and Whimsey” on some Persian food and that inspired this cheesecake. You find saffron in almost every Persian dish as well as a citrus element. The crust is made from ground roasted pistahio’s, whole meal cookies and cardamom. I used Abby’s cheesecake recipe and tweaked it a bit.To intensify the lemon flavor I candied lemon slices and arranged them on top of the cake. Here is the link to Abby’s blog, this was so much fun, join in and make a cheesecake!

http://www.abbydodge.com/2012/02/baketogether-cheesecake/

 Crust:
1 1/2 cup whole meal cookies (12-14 cookies) I used Carr’s, ground in the food processor
1/2 cup roasted pistachio’s ground
3 1/2 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom
6 tbs butter melted.
Roast the pistachio’s on sheet pan in 350 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes. you will smell the nuts. Take them out and let them cool.
When pistachio’s are cool place in food processor and process until nuts are ground into a fine meal. Add the whole meal cookies that have been broken into pieces and process until they are ground into a fine meal. Change oven temp to 375 degrees.
Add pistachio/whole meal crumbs to a mixing bowl. Add the sugar,cardamom and melted butter. Mix thoroughly. Press into the bottom of the prepared 9″ springform pan that has been lined with foil (tear off a large piece of foil there should be a significant overhang) Bake for 12 minutes remove from oven and let cool. Decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Pressed in crust

 Lemons:
1 lemon sliced in thin slices
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Place water and sugar in small saucepan and bring to a boil, add the lemon slices and boil until the slices are almost translucent and cooked through. Remove from heat let cool and place in covered container.
Filling:
3 8 oz packages of cream cheese softened to room temp
2 tbs flour
good pinch of salt
1 1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs saffron
zest of one lemon
4 large eggs at room temp
Fresh raspberries to garnish
Put the lemon juice in a ramekin and add the saffron, stir and let sit while you are preparing the other ingredients.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, flour and salt until very smooth and no lumps remain. It’s very important for the cream cheese to be lump free at this point so stop and scrape the beater and sides of the bowl frequently. Add the sugar, sour cream and lemon juice infused with the saffron and beat until well blended and smooth, stopping to scrape beater and bowl several times. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just blended, stopping to scrape beater and bowl before each addition. (Don’t over beat the filling once the eggs have been added or the cheesecake will puff too much.) Tap the bowl several times on the counter to release some of the air bubbles. Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Using the tip of a small knife or a toothpick, pop any air bubbles on the surface.

 Bake at 300°F until the center jiggles like jello when nudged, 63 to 68 minutes. The cake will be slightly puffed around the edges and the center will still look moist. Set on a rack and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight or up to 3 days. The cake can also be frozen up to 1 month.
When you are ready to serve, arrange the lemon slices on the cake brush top of cake with some of the syrup, dip each raspberry in the lemon simple syrup and arrange on cake.
 

Feb 10

7 Comments

Featured Recipe-A Sage and Honey Walnut Milkshake (With a Vegan Option)

Almost every day I have a shake or smoothie for breakfast. It usually has the standard list of ingredients, fruit, soy milk, yogurt, and a whole grain whizzed in the blender. It’s good but get’s boring after a while and I want something different. I volunteered to test this recipe for a Community Pick on food52, it was submitted by Annalyse, her cooks name on food52 is Sagegreen. I was intrigued by the use of avocado, walnuts and sage, I had it for breakfast and am hooked. I enjoy this shake at least once or twice a week now. It’s packed full of healthful oils from the avocado and walnuts, its only slightly sweet and I get my daily dose of fiber also from the walnuts. This shake is thick and creamy and so delicious, believe me it’s addictive. Annalyse is an accomplished cook and a University Professor and you can view her more than 300 recipes, (yes 0ver 300!!) on food52, and I have to mention that she is one talented mixologist, her drinks are creative, beautiful and so delicious. Please check them out: http://www.food52.com/cooks/12307_sagegreen

Beautiful and Delicious Shake, photo by Sagegreen

Serves 1-2

1 oz. shelled organic walnuts

3-4 one inch long fresh organic sage leaves

1/2 ripe organic avocado

1 cup lowfat, but real cultured buttermilk (or almond milk with a splash of cider vinegar for vegan option)

1 1/2 tablespoons chestnut honey (or grade B maple syrup), to taste

optionally, a few crushed ice cubes

  1. In a heavy heated pan like a cast iron skillet, toast the walnut pieces for about 2 minutes, just short of smoking. Pan fry the sage leaves for about 1 minute. With the bottom of a smaller pan, or other heavy instrument, crush the walnuts. Shred the sage leaves. Add these to a blender.
  2. Add the avocado, buttermilk, and chestnut honey. If you like a chilled drink include a few crushed ice cubes. Process until smooth. Pour into one or two glasses. This could be part of a New Year’s resolution you could keep.

Feb 9

8 Comments

Gheymeh

Gheymeh is a Persian stew, wildly popular for large gatherings and some consider it almost mandatory to bring to “potluck” functions. I used to make this stew at least once a week, it’s made with ground meat (beef, lamb or veal) in a tomato based sauce with yellow split peas and roasted potatoes. You can sub other vegetables for potatoes, like eggplant or zucchini but I like to use potatoes for this stew. The Persian cook that taught me this dish used french fries, I prefer roasting pieces of potato. You spice with turmeric, saffron and cinnamon and eat it with rice. It’s sort of  like a Persian version of a Bolognese sauce. This is great comfort food that is easy to prepare. I think it tastes even better the next day if you have any leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (beef,lamb or veal)

1 onion chopped

1 (4.5 oz) tube of tomato paste or 3/4 of a 6 oz can

1/2 tsp turmeric

Pinch of cinnamon (approximately 1/8 tsp or less)

3 1/2-4 cups water (start with 3 1/2 add more if needed)

1/3 cup dried yellow split peas

2 medium size potatoes cut into bite size pieces

pinch of saffron

2 tbs lemon juice

2 dried limes or 1/4 cup  lemon or lime juice

pinch of sumac (for potatoes)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425, spread potatoes on parchment lined sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and sprinkle with some sumac. Roast in the oven for approximately 45 minutes stirring frequently so that potatoes are browned on all sides. Remove from oven and set aside.

Roasted Potatoes

In small saucepan bring some water to a boil, add the split peas and boil for 15 minutes, you are par cooking them so they will soften a little..Rinse, drain and set aside.

In large deep skillet saute the onion in some olive oil until its translucent and soft, add the ground meat and turmeric and cook just until the meat is cooked and not red. Add the tomato paste, stir until its mixed with the meat and cook for a few minutes, add the water, split peas, cinnamon, salt and pepper and the dried limes or citrus juice. NOTE: If you are using dried limes poke a few holes or slits in the limes with the edge of a sharp knife before adding to the stew. Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer for about 1 1/2  hours the sauce will be thick and most of the liquid will have evaporated. Stir frequently and add more water if you see that too much of the liquid has evaporated. When the stew is done mix saffron with the lemon juice and add along with the roasted potatoes, stir to combine and simmer for 5 minutes just to heat the potato through. Serve immediately with rice.

Feb 8

15 Comments

Triple Chocolate Cake

When I think about dessert on Valentines Day chocolate immediately comes to mind. For this cake I used my simple chocolate cupcake/ cake recipe filled it with white chocolate mousse and topped it with milk chocolate ganache. Moist chocolate cake with a creamy light mousse filling and heavenly ganache, it doesn’t get much better than that, especially if you are a chocolate lover. We don’t need a holiday to enjoy cake but if you are looking for a great chocolate cake to enjoy on V-Day I recommend you give this a try. You can use your favorite chocolate cake recipe. No need to garnish with whipped cream or ice cream its great just like it is.
White Chocolate Mousse
2 tsp powdered gelatin
6 ounces white chocolate chopped
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
Dissolve gelatin in 2 tbs of cold water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Place chocolate in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Prepare an ice bath. Place 1/2 cup heavy cream in small saucepan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the gelatin and stir to dissolve. Pour into food processor with chocolate while the motor is running, process until smooth.
Place in ice bath until mixture is thick and falls from a spoon in ribbons.
Whip remaining heavy cream and gently fold into cooled chocolate mixture. Place in airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Milk Chocolate Ganache
8 oz good quality milk chocolate (I used Valhrona)
1 cup heavy cream
Chop chocolate into very small pieces and place in medium size mixing bowl, bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes, stir until smooth and shiny. Cover and refrigerate until it’s spreadable (approximately 1 1/2-2 hours)
The cake:
Place one cake layer on serving plate, spoon the mousse on and spread, you may not need to use all of the mousse it will be very thick I used about half, place other layer on top, pour and  spread the ganache on the cake. Refrigerate if not serving immediately. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving if it was refrigerated.

Feb 7

5 Comments

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes/Cake

This is the easiest, totally fool proof recipe for chocolate cake or cupcakes. I have been using it for years, it never fails me. I tried literally hundreds of different recipes for chocolate cake and one day I noticed this on the Hershey’s cocoa can and decided to give it a try, well the rest is history it’s now the only recipe I will use when I make chocolate cake.  The cake is moist and delicious, you use vegetable oil instead of butter and I suggest you use Hershey’s cocoa it always turns out perfectly.  I will be posting a Valentines Cake recipe using this chocolate cake so consider this a preview of things to come.

Chocolate Cupcake

Makes: 2 9 inch round cakes or 24 regular size cupcakes

  • 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups cocoa (I use hershey’s) the recipe doesn’t specify whether or not to use dutch or natural cocoa since its a hersheys recipe I use what they say to use.
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil (If you want to substitute melted butter for the oil its fine)
  • 1 cup whole milk at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature and lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee (Optional but recommended)
  • soft butter and flour to prep baking pans or you can use cooking spray
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9″ round baking pans, butter the bottom add a parchment round then butter bottom and sides and flour the pan or you can use cocoa powder instead of flour. If you are making cupcakes place liners in two 12 cup muffin tins. In large mixing bowl add your dry ingredients, flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder and whisk to combine. Now add the wet ingredients milk, oil,eggs and vanilla do not add the boiling water yet. With hand held mixer beat for 2 minutes. Now add the boiling water with optional espresso powder, beat just until combined. Pour into your prepared pans (the batter is quite thin) and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cakes sit in pans for 10 minutes then invert onto cake rack to cool. Use your favorite frosting or ganache. This recipe will make 2 9 inch cakes or 24 cupcakes. If making cupcakes pour batter into lined cup 3/4 full, leave room for them to rise. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven, cake should spring back when lightly touched, Be careful not to over bake.

Feb 7

6 Comments

The Liebster Award

I am so honored and touched to have been awarded a Liebster Award. Suzanne from the wonderful blog “The Wimpy Vegetarian” is spreading the love and I will do the same. We bloggers are passionate about our chosen subjects in my case food and pugs.  I want to thank Suzanne  for noticing my blog and I want to pay it forward by awarding the Liebster to some blogs that I visit and I feel deserve to be noticed. Visit The Wimpy Vegetarian for some fantastic, mostly vegetarian recipes and really interesting articles.

Here are the blogs that I picked for Liebster Award, please visit them, you will love them as I do I am sure, and each one is most deserving of this award. Support our bloggers and spread the love! I chose 6 blogs I couldn’t pick just 5, I think each one is amazing and deserves recognition.

In Pats Kitchen

Lapadia’s Kitchen

DabblingsandWhimsey

The Roaming Kitchen

The Solitary Cook

Eatpretty

Copy and paste the award on your blog. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award in a post where you award the leibster to your favorites.There are a few rules around this award:

  • Pick your five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers who deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.
  • Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

Feb 5

6 Comments

The Pugs – Izzy and Nando

I think its about time that I introduce my two pugs, Izzy and Nando. They are the pugs in the kitchen. Izzy will be 11 years old in April and Nando turned 11, November 2011. My daughter brought Izzy to me when she was only 9 weeks old a few months after my other dog died. I was very upset and said I would never get another dog, my daughter knowing me and my love of animals decided I needed another dog so she came home with Izzy one day. I always had big dogs and was a little scared of such a tiny one, she seemed so fragile, long story short it didn’t take long for me to totally fall in love with her. I wanted Izzy  to have a doggie friend, I feel its important they there is canine companionship. So I proceeded to start looking for a friend for Izzy, looking online on Pet Finders and rescue groups. I came across a Pug rescue group in Long Island and registered with them, my preference was a young adult dog since Izzy was just a puppy. They told me it would probably be a year or so since I was so specific about what I wanted. I had no preference regarding gender or color, I didn’t care, but age was a factor. Four days later I got a call, they said that they had just gotten a young pug who was left tied to a pole on a street in Long Island and they said he would be a good match as he was only about 10 months old. I immediately said yes, never saw a picture, it didn’t matter to me. They told  me they would bring him to me as they needed to inspect my home. The next day he arrived, sweet Nando. Izzy instantly loved him as did I. They are best friends and do everything together.

Fast forward to December 2008, Nando was not doing well, he had always been so healthy and I was so worried, he exhibited all the classic symptoms of diabetes so I took him to the doctor who confirmed my fears. My local vet had me change his diet, I always cooked for my dogs, neither had ever had dog food but following the advice of the Vet I put Nando on dog food, a special formula. He became worse, even with the insulin I had to give him every day his blood sugar levels were very high. Only 2 months after he was diagnosed with diabetes he became blind. I felt that something had to change, he was going down hill fast so I did some extensive research and found an integrative Veterinarian about 60 miles from my home. This Veterinarian practice is quite well known and the founder has been on TV and has a weekly radio show. The first thing they did was take Nando off of the dog food, the first ingredient was corn, not good for a diabetic. I began making Nando’s food which consists of steamed skinless chicken breast and raw vegetables ground in the food processor, some plain non fat yogurt and a half tsp of cinnamon. He immediately started improving, its now been over 3 years. Nando amazes everyone, when we go for his check ups his blood work up is better than Izzy’s. He is still blind but gets around the house and goes for walks outside, he is slow, but manages to walk around the block and sometimes further. He is a fighter and never ceases to amaze me.

Nando waiting for food

Izzy is not without health problems but does well, she is a real diva and fancies herself the Queen of the house.

The Queen on her pillows

Feb 5

4 Comments

The Solitary Cooks- Lets Bake, Bagels!

I want to preface this by saying, I have never made a bagel in my life. I knew they would probably be challenging but I have complete trust and faith in Chef Cynthia’s recipes. I was a bit scared going into it, fear of the unknown I guess. I have become comfortable with baking simple bread but a bagel, not so much. I was immediately confounded by the addition of VWF (vital wheat gluten), I had never heard of it before and wasn’t sure about its role in the bagel. I live in NYC and we know a good bagel when we bite into it. I usually run to the local bagel store when I need a bagel fix. This challenge intrigued me and making bagels is on my bucket list, so I dove in head first. I decided to cut the recipe in half and got all my ingredients together, I felt very organized. Thank goodness for the Chef’s detailed instructions with pictures even, but despite that I still ran into a snafu and it effected the outcome of my bagels. Don’t get me wrong, they are amazingly delicious they just aren’t very pretty. As I was mixing the dough I noticed it seemed dry, the instructions detail what the dough should be doing every step of the way and mine wasn’t doing it. I tried my own quick fix which really didn’t help, I added a little water and a pinch of flour to help the dough absorb the liquid but it was too much, too little, too late. I ended up with a dough that was too dry, over kneaded (I think) but the good news is I learned from my mistake. I still trudged forward, determined to make bagels. Because the dough was too dry it would not hold a shape very well. In the end, I made bagels, like I said before they are not pretty but they taste great and I feel as though I have accomplished something I have never done before. I plan on making them again using my new found knowledge. Thanks to “The Solitary Cook” for the hand holding and words of encouragement. I am determined to make a bagel as beautiful as hers.

The only one that looked like a bagel out of the bunch!

Feb 5

5 Comments

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

I was on the phone with my daughter last night and we were discussing food, what else, right?? She made Shrimp Scampi and it sounded so delicious that I had to have some too! I had 18 colossal shrimp just waiting to be eaten. These shrimp are the size of small lobsters, you don’t have to use shrimp that big but I do recommend a larger size shrimp. This took me about 25 minutes to put together and I plan on enjoying it with some bread and a glass of Rose’. You can of course eat this with Pasta which is fairly traditional, I would do a simple garlic and olive oil sauce for the pasta.

Makes: Two large or 4 smaller servings

12-18 fresh large shrimp peeled and deveined

1 large garlic clove peeled

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp lemon zest

pinch of sea salt

Clean and devein your shrimp. Lay them on paper towels to dry (Its important that they be as dry as possible) I pat them dry then lay them on fresh dry paper towels for 15-30 minutes.

Peel your garlic clove and slice, place in mortar with a pinch of sea salt and smash it, add some of the olive oil and mix it up. Place shrimp either in bowl or ziplock bag, pour the garlic and oil from the mortar onto the shrimp, add the rest of the oil and the lemon zest. Refrigerate for 30 minutes Smoosh the bag around to make sure the shrimp are coated with the marinade.

Preparing the dish:

4 tbs butter

juice of 1 lemon

handful of parsley chopped

splash of olive oil

Turn broiler on and position rack in second rung closest to the flame. Heat skillet so that its very hot. Place some shrimp (I do 6 at a time) in the very hot pan and sear them just about a minute or less on each side (this will depend on the size of the shrimp). Immediately remove to a plate and add more shrimp. Continue until all the shrimp are seared. They will not be cooked through. You may have a little olive oil and garlic left from the marinade. I just dumped it in the skillet after the shrimp were cooked and quickly browned the garlic and poured it over the shrimp.

You will either need an oval gratin pan or a baking dish. Add the butter, splash of olive oil and lemon juice and place in the oven for a few minutes so that the butter melts. Remove from the oven place the shrimp in the baking pan or pans, spoon some of the butter/olive oil/lemon juice on top of shrimp and place them in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove, check for doneness. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley, a pinch of sea salt and some pepper.

Feb 4

Turkey Burger Parmigiano Slider

Turkey Parmigiano Sliders

This is my daughters recipe, and it’s so tasty and easy to make  I asked her if I could post on my blog. She juggles a full time job, 2 young children and is renovating a new house. Honestly, I don’t know how she does it and still manages to cook a delicious home cooked meal almost every day. Wonder Woman, I think. These little burgers take only minutes to prepare and I think just about everything you need is already either in your freezer, refrigerator or pantry. These are a big hit with kids, and perfect for game day or any day for that matter.

Makes: 8-10 depending on size

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 2 eggs (one to mix into turkey the other to dip the burgers in)
  • small handful parsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup parmigiano + more to sprinkle on burgers before broiling
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • splash of milk to mix with egg for dipping burgers
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella thinly sliced

Mix ground turkey, egg, and parsley, refrigerate while you prepare the bread crumbs. Whisk the egg and milk, mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese season with salt and pepper.

Form turkey into small patties,beat the egg and milk and dip each burger in egg first then bread crumbs.Fry in olive oil until golden brown and cooked through.
Turn oven on broil
Slice your rolls, spoon a little tomato sauce on each side of roll, put a patty on, top with fresh mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmigiano on each side and place in broiler until cheese melts.
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