March Madness

March is my favorite month, probably because it's my birth month and because my name is Erin, I believe I have some connection to the Emerald Isle (I am not Irish by any means). Sadly, I have not made it there, but I will one day!


March is another important month for those basketball fans...March Madness, in all it's glory is in full swing. The Kentucky Wildcats are now officially in the Final Four and headed for New Orleans...


Friday night was spent with old friends and good food. I was in charge of dessert, and after a recent taste of a Chocolate Cabernet Cupcake at work (Nick Ryan's Saloon), I decided I would give it a try. With the help of Stella Parks, and her Red (Wine) Velvet recipe, I successfully made a delicious dessert.

PromisQuous Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue

Here is the recipe - I'd at least half it or you'll be making cupcakes for days!

12 ounces all purpose flour

2 ounces natural cocoa

16 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature 

2 ounces canola oil

18 ounces dark brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

scrapings of 2 vanilla beans

6 eggs

12 ounces of red wine (I used Promisqous)

1 1/2 ounces vanilla extract

YES, I weighed everything! I got a digital scale for Christmas and LOVE it. 


I used a convection oven set on 325, but a conventional oven at 350 works too. Sift the flour and cocoa together. With a paddle, combine butter, oil, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, and vanilla scrapings. Turn the mixer to medium low and add eggs one at a time, until incorporated. Don't rush it, let the mixture come together. Then turn the mixer on low before adding the flour/cocoa mixture. You will end up with a dusting if you aren't careful! Adding the flour/cocoa mixture along with the red wine in 3 or 4 additions. Lastly add your vanilla extract. 


Stella's recipe is for a 3-layer cake. I decided on cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake 20 minutes. A toothpick will come out clean when done. 


For the icing, I decided to try a Swiss Meringue after I saw a recipe on Stella's website. As I raided the pantry for some kind of flavoring to add to the swiss meringue, I happened across some Strawberry preserves. The meringue recipe is super simple. I would probably quarter the recipe, as the egg whites do increase in volume once the air has been fully incorporated. Again weighing the ingredients is crucial.

2.5 ounces egg whites

2.5 ounces sugar

pinch of salt

scrapings from 1/4 of a vanilla bean

*you can add a flavored extract of any kind if it so turns you on, as well as any fruit or nuts for texture...

In a double boiler, heat the egg whites and sugar until it reaches a temp of 140 degrees whisking occasionally as to not let the egg whites cook. Remove from the heat, and transfer into a mixing bowl. With a whisk, add the salt and whip the egg whites until light and fluffy. This may take some time. Lastly add the vanilla bean scrapings and the strawberry preserves.

Make sure the cupcakes have cooled before icing, and enjoy! A big thanks to Stella Parks for sharing her delicious recipes. AND Good Luck to Kentucky Basketball team...GO CATS!

Dreamy Dessert

It is not uncommon for me to glance over the dessert menu when I'm out before I decide what I will be eating...

So for dessert week we were required to make a custard. I decided on a pot de creme, with Kahlua, vanilla whipped cream, and a homemade milano cookie with a chocolate coffee filling. I found the Milano cookie recipe on Stella Park's BraveTart. If you are not familiar with her fabulous desserts at Lexington's very own Table 310, perhaps you read about her being named one of five Best New Pastry Chefs in Food & Wine Magazine! Do yourself a favor and check her out at Table310, I promise you will not be disapointed!!

Kahlua Pot de Crème

1 ½ cups heavy cream

¼ Kahlua

1 tsp vanilla

6 oz. milk chocolate

6 egg yolks

 1 tbsp sugar

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven 325 degree. Heat cream and salt in saucepan, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate whisking until smooth. Once it cools, add the Kahlua and vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk eggs yolks and sugar until blended. Slowly add the warm chocolate mixture stirring often. Strain through sieve and allow to cool.

Divide into 6 ramekins or coffee cups. Cover each with foil and place in baking pan. Fill pan with how water so the cups are half-immersed in water.

Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until set (but middle moves slightly when jiggled). Allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

You can find the Milano Cookie recipe here at BraveTart. And for the Chocolate Coffee Ganache simply melt 4 oz dark chocolate with 2 oz cream and 2 tbsp of coffee (or more if you want it strong). Pipe the filling onto one side of the cookie, apply the other half and allow to set. 


Enjoy!

Take Me Back to Italy!

One of my favorite dishes while I was in Italy was a chive and ricotta gnocchi with a roasted red pepper coulis. It was simply delicious. The ricotta came from the goats on the "farm" and it was made fresh daily. So I decided to try and recreate my favorite dish for my parents...lucky for them it was just as tasty, minus the beautiful Roman Countryside.

Ricotta Chive Gnocchi (6 servings)

2 large potato
1 tsp salt
1/2 c AP flour
1 1/2 egg yolks
2 tbsp minced chives
1/2 c ricotta
flour for dusting

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rub the potatoes with olive oil and bake for 1 hour, poking with a fork to check their doneness. Allow to cool, peel the potato, and run through a food mill. If you don't have a food mill, no worries, you can mash the hell out of them. Make sure you get them as smooth as possible. Add ricotta, chives, salt and flour, combine until mixed together. Add egg yolks. Working on a floured surface, scoop a tablespoons-worth of the mixture and roll the gnocchi into little football-shaped balls.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, reduce to a simmer. Add the gnocchi a few at a time, cooking until they float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon, and serve with sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

1 large red pepper, roasted, peeled and seeds removed
1 garlic clove
2 tsp sherry vinegar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chives
salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into a food processor, except the olive oil. While turned on, stream the olive oil into the mixture. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Put into a saucepan and reheat on low.

I added some crispy bacon on top to satisfy my father's protein requirement for every meal. And because I was not paying attention, I baked 3 potatoes - so I made some homemade potato skins...

BUON APPETITO!

Endless Bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup

For the past week and a half I have been battling bronchitis, the ever-changing weather (72 degrees and tornados one day, 34 degrees and snowing two days later...), and the end of a quarter at school...

The only thing that sounded good was an endless bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup. I felt too crummy (and not wanting to pass any of my sickness on), I settled for canned soup. NEVER again. No matter how sick I'm feeling, I refuse to eat the flavored water and gummy noodles.

SO my poor mama is not feeling well, she may have the same crud that is going around. I, although still not 100%, think some homemade chicken noodle soup would be a very nice way to spend this snowy, cold Sunday on the couch.

If fate couldn't have been more on my side, my favorite magazine, Food & Wine, had sent me their weekly recipes on Thursday...AND guess what one of the recipes was for...the staff-favorite Classic Chicken Noodle Soup!!

Food & Wine's Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

© Stephanie Foley

What you'll need...

One 3-lb chicken, neck reserved

3 1/2 quarts water

4 carrots - 2 chopped, 2 sliced

4 celery ribs - 2 chopped, 2 sliced

1 onion - chopped

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

1 large bay leaf

6 parsley stems

2 thyme sprigs

kosher salt (I use sea salt)

1/2 lb egg noodles (or whichever turn you on)

1/4 c chopped flat leaf parsley

What you'll do...

In a large stock pot, combine the chicken, neck, water, chopped carrots, celery, and onion, garlic, peppercorns and herbs. Bring to a boil. Cover partially and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, discard the skin and remove the meat from the bones. Refrigerate the meat. Return the bones to the pot and simmer 1 hour. Strain liquid (discarding carrots, celery, onion, herbs, peppercorns, and bones), and return to the pot. Boil until reduced to 8 cups, 30 minutes. Season with salt/pepper. Add sliced carrots and celery (and whatever other vegetables you'd like, just keep in mind some veggies take longer or shorter amounts of time to cook). Simmer until tender. Cook noodles in a seperate pot, cooling with water. Add noodles, chicken, and parsley to pot. Bring to simmer and serve with crusty bread or crackers.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Parmesan Crostini

And while we were waiting for our soup to come together, I whipped up a tasty little sandwich to tide us over: Turkey and Brie with a Cranberry Jalepeno Compote on toasted whole grain sandwich rounds. They were thin and delicious. 

Quick Delicious Lunch

The Forever Herb's Cranberry Jalepeno Compote can be found at L.V. Harkness, located on Short St. It can be used with cream cheese for a quick appetizer, chutney for your choice of meat, or thrown on a sandwich.

Check out L.V. Harkness...

Hope this finds everyone healthy and warm :)

Cooking up a Storm!

As the entire state of Kentucky braced for a F5 tornado, I was thinking (more like stressing) over my final for next week. We are required to put together a 7-course using specific ingredients and methods. I decided I would practice my part on my parents and my foodie friend, Bobbie...

So on the menu this windy evening, panzanella salad over Bibb lettuce, beef tenderloin filets, potatoes au gratin, haricot verts, with fluted mushrooms and a red wine shallot pan sauce accompanied very nicely with two bottles of Educated Guess (Napa Valley 2009, Cabernet Sauvignon). Unfortunately, we don't get wine with the menu at school...

Educated Guess, $16/bottle

I also wanted to test a dessert that was shot down...bleu cheese custard with pan-roasted pears, honey, and candied walnuts.

Panzanella Salad

3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and cut into small dice

1/2 french baguette, cut into small dice and toasted

1 shallot, thinly sliced

basil, chiffonade

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

*you can either make a viniagrette (1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil - add a little dijon and whisk the hell out of it) and toss the salad, or simply add the balsamic and oil. All the bread to absorb the oil/balsamic - it is traditionally moist. Finish on a bed of Bibb lettuce...

Panzanella Salad

The potato au gratin takes some time to cook, so while they are baking, you can get the other components of your meal together...

Potato Au Gratin

1 tbsp butter

2 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

1/2 yellow onion, minced

1 garlic clove

1 1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c whole milk

3 thyme sprigs

salt and pepper

1/2 gruyere cheese, shredded

Heat oven to 350 degrees. You want your potatoes to be uniform and thinly sliced.

Melt butter in sauce pan, saute onion until tender, then add garlic.

Add cream, milk, thyme, salt, pepper, and potatoes to pot and bring to simmer. Cover and allow to cook until tender at a simmer, 15 minutes.

Remove the thyme and transfer to a 1.5 qt gratin dish, putting half in, sprinkle with gruyere, add the rest and top with the remaining cheese. Bake until cream has thickened and bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool some before serving.

I blanched the haricot verts and hit them in the saute pan for a quick saute. Tenderloins were cooked medium rare. Mushrooms were fluted and some were sliced, sauteed over high heat. 

Red Wine Pan-Sauce

Remove the meat from the pan, keeping the heat on, pour 1/2 cup of red wine into the pan. Deglaze, removing all the bits off the bottom. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Allow to reduce. Remove from heat and whisk in 1-2 tbsp of cold butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Dessert - Bleu Cheese Custard with Pan-Roasted Pears

Very tasty! I think next time I will try pan-roasting the pears with balsamic and honey. It could've used a little acid to offset the sweetness of the pears/honey/bleu cheese.

Luckily for Lexington, we live in a protective bubble when it comes to storms. At one point, we were completely surrounded with hail and tornadic activity. Unfortunately, there were many areas of the state that were devastated by this second round of storms. My thoughts go out to the many people that have lost everything.

West Liberty, KY
2 March 2012
www.kentucky.com