April 2009—Amber & Elizabeth

April 2009—Amber & Elizabeth

Appetizers:
Terrine with Water Crackers
Cranberry Walnut Puff Pastry

Trio of Main Dish Salads:
Lemon Pepper Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken
Tri Tip Salad
Anthem Salad

Desserts:Flourless Chocolate Torte
Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Pizza

Terrine (appetizer to serve with crackers)
Nicole Hunt
With a hand mixer, cream until smooth:

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
4 oz crumbled feta cheese (blue cheese may be substituted)
Stop processor. Stir in:
1/4 cup chopped pine nuts
1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (can use up to 1 cup)
Set aside in a small bowl.

Process together:

1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves
3/4 cup loosely packed Italian parsley
1/4 cup loosely packed basil
2 toes garlic
1/4 tsp salt

Pour in a slow, steady stream: 1/4 cup good olive oil. Set aside.

Chop 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing wrap to extend over sides of pan. Layer in pan: pesto, tomatoes, cream cheese mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, chill 24 hours.

To serve: let sit at room temp about 30 minutes. Invert on plate. Serve with assorted crackers and bread sticks. Water crackers are good to include because of their mild taste and the strong flavor of the terrine. YUM!


Cranberry Walnut Appetizer on Puff Pastry
This is a yummy unique appetizer, even children like.

1/2 can whole cranberry sauce, or your own homemade cranberry sauce
5 oz sliced brie cheese in small chunks
1/2 cup whole walnuts
Puff Pastry from Trader Joe’s etc.

Using Puff Pastry Purchased at store thaw and place on cutting board. Use pizza cutter to cut into 3 inch squares. Place small amount of cranberry into each square. Place slice of brie on top and sprinkle with walnuts. Bake at 400° until edges are browning and puffing up.

Serve warm or at room temp.

This can be made on pizza dough, or phyllo.


Lemon-Pepper Angel Hair Pasta
Nicole Hunt

Can be made with Asparagus and Chicken (or Shrimp)

1 lb asparagus, cut into 2 inch lengths
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
24 oz chicken breast tenders, or 30 large shrimp
2 cloves garlic minced
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb whole grain angel hair (I use Barilla plus)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
1-2 tsp lemon pepper (to taste)

1. Bring pot of water to boil, drop in asparagus and cook until al dente - a couple of minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and plunge it into a bowl of ice water.

2. Bring the water back to a boil, add a handful of salt, then drop in angel hair and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook for until chicken is almost done.

4. Add asparagus and cook until chicken is cooked through and asparagus is warm, about 2 more minutes.

5. Return the pasta to the pot and toss it with 1/2 freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 Italian parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, remaining olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Season with salt and pepper, and lemon pepper. Adjust seasonings to your liking.

6. Divide the pasta into 6 servings. Arrange chicken and asparagus on top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and parsley.

***Sometimes I also use baby spinach instead of the asparagus. Follow the instructions, omitting cooking the asparagus. When ready to serve, place 1/2 cup baby spinach on each plate and top with the pasta and chicken. The heat from the pasta wilts the spinach and you eat it all together. I sometimes add 1 cup of halved grape tomatoes too that gives the dish great color and a little bit of sweetness from the tomatoes.


Steak Salad

1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1/2 package of arugula
3 ears of corn on cob, corn removed
1/3 red onion, sliced very thinly
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
4 vine ripened tomatoes, quartered
3 oz Goat cheese, sliced OR blue cheese, crumbled, OR buffalo mozzarella—whichever you prefer
Balsamic vinaigrette—recipe below
2 filet mignons of beef, seasoned heavily and grilled to taste—see recipe below

Gently toss first 7 ingredients, being careful to not hurt the tomatoes, cheese and corn chunks. After letting the beef rest 5 minutes, slice into strips over top of salad. Dress with Balsamic dressing and enjoy!


Anthem Salad
This is a salad I copied years ago from the Mixed Grille at Anthem Country Club and I still love it today!

1 head green leaf lettuce
1 head romaine lettuce
1 yellow or red pepper, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled OR sliced goat cheese
1 cup chopped glazed walnuts
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Freshly ground pepper and salt
*May be topped with a filet of beef or a chicken breast—see recipe below

Balsamic Vinaigrette (we love this with both salads)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp honey
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 small shallots, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup good extra virgin olive oil

Barbecued Tri Tip
(Can be used on filet mignon or other cuts as well)

Rub tri tip with a small amount of olive oil, then generously cover the meat with dry rub (recipe below). Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat grill to 500°. Turn off middle burner to create indirect heat. Cook tri tip, turning once, until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 150° (145° if you prefer medium rare). Remove tri tip from grill, place on cutting board and cover with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly, against the grain of the meat.

Tri Tip Rub
The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen

4 Tbsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp paprika
3 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp chili powder


Flourless Chocolate Cake
Gourmet November 1997

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients:

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
Dust cake with additional cocoa powder. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)


Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Adapted liberally from Staff Meals from Chanterelle

The cream cheese doesn’t so much change the flavor profile but adds a bit more depth of flavor and an amazing crackly edge.

If you’re baking this pound cake in advance, as opposed to the day you are serving it, a little basting will go a long way towards keep it (or any other pound cake) moist. You can use a simple syrup (one part sugar dissolved in an equal amount of water), up the water in it if you’re concerned it will be too sweet and/or add a teaspoon of your flavoring of choice to it.

Serves (at least) 10

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia brand cream cheese*, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract plus 1/2 tsp almond extract (original recipe calls for 2 tsp vanilla but I liked this mix better)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch tube pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup Bundt pan, and simply butter and flour it.

2. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla, almond, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 hours.

4. Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

* Philadelphia cream cheese is often recommended for baking for consistency purposes, as in, bakers know this brand works, and because it contains less water than other brands.

Variations: I think this cake would be fantastic with a cup of chopped white chocolate stirred into the batter (an idea I got from this lovely lady) and/or some orange zest. Or grapefruit zest. Or whole raspberries, if you can find good ones in season. Or have fun with it. A good pound cake is infinitely adaptable, and I would like to try them all.

Smaller cakes: A bundt-volume cake often can be used to make two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf cakes, however (caveat!) I have not tested this recipe in loaf pans. I just wanted to throw that out there for those of you feeling adventurous, or interested in a reduced volume of cake.

Strawberry Coulis

2 cups quartered hulled strawberries (about 12 ounces)
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine strawberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in blender. Purée until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Coulis can be prepared one day ahead.


Chocolate Hazelnut Pizza
Adapted from a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis

1 lb homemade pizza dough, or purchased pizza dough—recipe below
2 tsp butter, melted
1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp milk chocolate chips
2 Tbsp white chocolate chips
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, sliced and drained well.

Position the oven rack on the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450°F.

Roll out the dough to a 9-inch-diameter round. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Using your fingers, make indentations all over the dough. Brush the dough with butter, then bake until the crust is crisp and pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Immediately spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread over the pizza then sprinkle all the chocolate chips over. Bake just until the chocolate begins to melt, about 1 minute. Garnish with fresh strawberries. Cut into wedges and serve.

Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water (105 to 110°F)
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for bowl

Mix the warm water and yeast in a small bowl to blend. Let stand until the yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Mix the flour and salt in a food processor to blend. Blend in the oil. With the machine running, add the yeast mixture and blend just until the dough forms. Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm draft-free area until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Punch the down dough and form into ball. The dough can be used immediately or stored airtight in the refrigerator for 1 day.

Or buy it from Trader Joes @ 99 cents a pound! Or frozen Bridgeford

For all pizzas, preheat oven to 500° and place pizza stone on bottom rack of oven. Use a pizza peel to place on and off of stone. The pizza is done when the cheese is bubbly and the crust is lightly browned, usually around 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the pizza. As for quantities of ingredients, be flexible according to the size of the pizza.

Tips for better pizzas

1. Let dough sit at room temperature for a few hours before you begin.

2. Use your hands to work with the dough ~ they are your best tool.

3. Don’t worry if the dough rips, just fix it and let the dough rest for 10 minutes and try again.

4. Make sure your oven is nice and hot. Bake pizzas on lowest rack and on a pizza stone if possible, using a pizza peel dusted with flour.

5. Have fun and be creative, but classic combos are classic for a reason.

6. Make a few different types of pizzas and let everyone taste them all!