Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Kale Chips

Have I mentioned how much I love kale chips? They manage to make a seemingly “boring” food (sorry, kale-loving friends) into something you can’t stop inhaling. If you can manage to keep yourself from eating the entire batch in one sititng, you’re a stronger person than I am!
Kale Chips
Ingredients:
1 bunch kale, cut into strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300F. Toss the cut greens in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Spread in a single layer on a baking pan (or two, if your pans are small), and put in the oven for 20 minutes. Chips are done when they are crispy to the touch. Enjoy!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Ruffled Lemon Cake

I think I need a partner. A kitchen partner. You know, one of those creative types. Because, man oh man, I am not skilled in the “make it look pretty” department.

Let me introduce you to my newest victim: the ruffled lemon cake.

I have been itching to make this cake for weeks, wanting to save it for a special occasion. Mainly because I hear eating a whole cake by yourself makes people look at you funny. Anywho. If dear Angela’s baby shower wasn’t the perfect occasion to make a frilly, pastel-colored treat, I don’t know what would be.

Each individual component (cake, filling, icing) came out great, and they tasted oh-so yummy in my tummy. To the point where, after a day of biking many miles to and from the wineries in Woodinville, I opted to eat frosting for dinner instead of a real meal. It’s calcium, right?

At this point, I was feeling good. Like this cake might actually be impressive. And then, I started to decorate.
The ruffle tip was not working well for me, the frosting was too warm and didn’t hold shape, and the filling kept oozing out the sides. I finally gave up on ruffling the sides, learned to cool the frosting, and tried to salvage our little friend.

The result was a lopsided, heap of a dessert that surprised you with a delicious tang and its smart little wit. Recipe is a keeper, but I’ll be accepting applications for a decorator! 

Just for laughs, here is what the cake was supposed to look like verses what it actually looked like. Can you tell which is which?


Ruffled Lemon Cake
Recipe from Kitchen Magpie

Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup of milk
4 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup of lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. 
  3. Beat together your butter and sugar…then add in your eggs and vanilla. 
  4. Whisk together your dry ingredients… 
  5. Grate your lemon zest. 
  6. Then beat the lemon zest into the butter/sugar mixture. 
  7. Squeeze the lemon out until you get 1/4 of a cup. 
  8. Fill the remainder of the measuring cup to an entire cup. 
  9. Combine the butter/sugar mix with the milk/lemon thoroughly, mixing it on medium speed to get it as airy as possible. 
  10. Slowly mix in your flour, by hand, very gently. You don’t want to over-mix the batter. Lift it and fold it over gently, trying not to lose the air you whipped into it the last step. 
  11. When it’s just combined, pour into the two prepared cake pans, evenly dividing the batter. 
  12. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until the middle springs back when touched or a knife inserted comes out clean. 
  13. While the cakes are cooling ,whip up some Lemon Cake Filling
  14. When the filling and cakes are cooled, layer together. 
  15. Whip up some Lemon Buttercream Icing. Grab a Wilton icing tip #103 and fill an icing bag full of the icing. Now, you want to start icing the cake holding the small part of the tip towards the top angled up. Keep on creating ruffles around the cake, throwing the buttercream into the freezer for quick cooling bursts if you sense it’s not holding it’s shape due to the warmth of your hands.
Lemon Cake Filling
Ingredients:

2 tbsp grated lemon zest
2/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup of butter
3/4 cup of white sugar
5 egg yolks

Directions:

  1. Whisk the cornstarch into the lemon juice completely while it’s cold (thus no lumps) and add in the grated lemon zest as well. 
  2. Put the butter and sugar in now as well and heat on a medium burner.Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and let boil for a minute. Remove from the heat. 
  3. Take the egg yolks and whisk them until they are light yellow. 
  4. You now need to temper the eggs, which means you take some of the hot liquid from the pot and whisk it into the egg yolks completely. 
  5. Then you can whisk the yolks into the pot of hot liquid safely, without lumps forming. 
  6. Cool for an hour or so until it’s set and thick, ready to be used between cake layers.
Lemon Buttercream Icing
Ingredients

1 cup of salted butter
4 cups of icing sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons milk

Directions:
  1. Whip your butter with the paddle attachment if you have one, or just a general beater with your mixer. 
  2. Add in your icing sugar, one cup at a time, beating continously. Now 2 tablespoons lemon zest worked wonderfully for me. Zested peel should not be done on a regular grater, by the way, you need a smaller size, a zester grater, in fact. The size is perfect without being overwhelming chunks in your cooking. 
  3. The 3 tablespoons of lemon juice was just perfect for my tastes, zingy and zippy with a sweet background of pure sugar and butter. I then added the 2 teaspoons of cream to thin it out.

    Wednesday, June 22, 2011

    Summer Vegetable Stew with Cilantro-Spinach Pistou

    June has been the month of visitors and bucketlist-checking! My mom and cousin each spent a week in Seattle, allowing me to focus on the most wonderful aspects of our fair city and to indulge in a little bit of (classy) tourism along the way.

    Climbing Mount St. Helen’s was incredible - it was tough climbing thanks to many feet of snow, but you can climb right up to the crater’s edge. We lucked into a crisp, clear day that gave magnificent views from Mount Rainier all the way down to the Sisters! As the climb became more and more steep, I became more and more terrified to glissade down. Little did I know that it would be the highlight of the trip! Want to know what it was like? Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFviGEQfCV4
    Some other smart climber made the sign, but I begged for a photo-op!
    Solstice Parade with naked bike riders, a brewers’ festival, and our own (clothed) bike tour of Seattle rounded out Anna’s visit. However, once she left, I found myself loaded up with some neglected veggies that were kindly waiting for a loving home.

    Solution: stew. I had to make several changes to the original recipe based on what I had lying around. Turned out delicious, but I think it could benefit from a few more herbs somewhere in the mix.




    Summer Vegetable Stew with Cilantro-Spinach Pistou
    Adapted from MyRecipes

    Ingredients
    Pistou
    • ½ cup cilantro leaves
    • ½ cup spinach leaves
    • 1 garlic clove
    • 3 tablespoons water
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1/8 teaspoon salt
    Vegetables:
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 3 bay leaves
    • 1 onion, diced
    • 6 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
    • 3 (2-inch-thick) sliced carrots
    • 1 pound small potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 cubed yellow squash
    • 2 broccoli crowns, cut into florets
    • 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
    • 3 roma tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
    Directions
    To prepare pistou, combine cilantro, spinach and 1 garlic clove in a blender; process until smooth. Add water, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; process until blended. Set aside.

    To prepare vegetables, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven over low heat. Add bay leaves; cook 1 minute. Add onion, 6 garlic cloves, and thyme; cover and cook 10 minutes. Add carrot, potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper; cover and cook 20 minutes. Add squash, broccoli, and beans; cover and cook 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes; cover and cook 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Spoon stew into individual bowls; drizzle with the pistou, and sprinkle with Parmesan.

    Wednesday, June 15, 2011

    Browning Tofu

    If you’re anything like me, you love the crispy tofu that you’re served in restaurants, but wind up with a torn mess when you attempt to do it at home. In a search for a simple sauce to throw over my broccoli and tofu stir fry yesterday, I found this magical gem in a recipe from Eating Well:

    Lightly toss the pressed tofu cubes in a tablespoon or two of cornstarch before adding it to the wok (prior to adding the veggies), and voila!

    This might be an old trick, but it’s new to this girl, and I am just pleased as punch!



    Sunday, June 12, 2011

    Roast leg of lamb and a graduation

    There has been a lot of excitement around here these past few days. For one thing, the mother hen came to town. Our ventures on the road to Portland and through the Olympic Peninsula were filled with relaxation, sun, and many random stops. This might be the only road trip I have experienced where we saw oysters, peacocks, cows, and a bald eagle in the same day!

    Mom was in town for my graduation - yes, that’s right. You are officially reading the work of a master (of public health, that is). While the ceremonies themselves were a little bit anti-climactic, it was wonderful to see all of my SPH friends together, many of whom have been working or have left town in the past few months. (Special shout out to Amy, who we got to see for the first time since she moved back to San Francisco!)

    Mom’s departure was bittersweet, as it was hard to say goodbye now, but it’s also comforting to know that soon I will be living much closer to her and her infinite wisdom. More on that later.

    The rest of the weekend was filled with an urban scavenger hunt (our team name was “The Never Nudes” and we wore cutoff jean shorts. If you get the reference, I love you) and a potluck with friends.

    The potluck was not just any potluck - it was motivated by my “26 things to do while you’re 26” list, which included the item “Cook red meat”.  For our self-determined night of “firsts”, Sharonne decided to make pies for the first time, and Angela and I partnered up on the lamb (Darrin, also, with his intense Costco representation). I had no idea what I was in for with lamb, but it was an adventure to attempt cooking for the first time! While it was quite yummy and I would absolutely make it again, I can see a few areas for improvement on the next go round.

    Thoughts for next time:
    1. Trim the fat more lovingly. I am not a butcher, but man did I kill that leg of lamb in this process.
    2. Be more vigilant about baking time and internal temperature. The meat wasn’t too dry, but it could have been more rare and more tender if I had been on top of my game.
    3. Decrease salt. None of us need that much iodine
    Love the mother!

    Graduation ceremony numero uno

    Mr. Lamb Leg, mid-roast

    Cut of lamb leg. Still need to work on this photography thing!
    Rosemary and Garlic Roast Leg of Lamb
    Recipe from Food Network
    Ingredients
    1 leg of lamb, bone in (about 6 to 7 1/2 pounds)
    1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
    8 cloves garlic, minced
    3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
    1 tablespoon salt
    2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
    Sauce:
    1 cup chopped fresh herbs (combination of rosemary, chives, and parsley)
    2 cups diced onions
    2 cups chicken stock
    1 cup red wine
    Directions
    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
    Using your hands, rub the lamb all over with the lemon juice. Pat the garlic and rosemary evenly all over the surface of the meat. Season the meat with the salt and pepper and place the lamb in a roasting pan. Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to cook for about 1 hour longer for medium-rare, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers about 145 degrees F to 150 degrees F (be careful that the thermometer does not touch the bone.) Remove lamb from pan and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

    Position the roasting pan over your stove burners. Add mixed herbs and onions to pan, and stir to combine with pan drippings. Add chicken stock and wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to release any fond. Reduce over high heat until sauce consistency. Strain before serving, if desired. Slice lamb and serve with sauce drizzled over the top.