A Gathering of Links and recipes #6

Gordon Ramsay recently tweeted out two interesting sounding recipes that I thought I would share.

Lemon Meringue Pie http://twl.sh/12GO1ac

Spring Vegetable Risotto http://twitdoc.com/1VOB

Enjoy and if you make either of these please leave a comment and let us know how it went.

Home Made Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake
Ingredients

· 3/4 cups of shortening

· 1 1/2 cups of sugar

· 2 eggs

· 1/2 cup of milk

· 2 cups of flour

· 1/2 cup (6 tablespoons) of cocoa powder

· 2 teaspoons of baking soda

· 1 teaspoons of salt

· 1 teaspoons of vanilla

· 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

· 1 cup of boiling water
Instructions

Blend above ingredients. Next add 1 cup boiling water and mix well. Pour batter into a greased cake
pan (any size or shape including cup cakes). Bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in center of cake
comes out clean (approximately 30 minutes).

A Gathering of Links and recipes #5

Here are some new recipes that I have tried the last two weeks:

White Chocolate Panna Cottoa with Raspberry coulis. This was a sweet but yummy dessert. I would recommend small servings sizes as it is pretty sweet. This recipe is also very easy to make.

Cream Cheese Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos. These are also very easy to make and super addictive. A tip that my wife learned the hard way is to make sure you use rubber gloves when cleaning and touching the Jalapeños :)

Risotto with Asparagus from the Food Network website

Banana Oat muffins from Gordon Ramsay

Enjoy!

A Gathering of Links and recipes #4

Here is a collections of recipes from Food Network

• Key Lime Pie
• Not a recipe per say but here is the list of the 100 best cooking tips
• Grits and Cheese Soufflé
• Maple French Toast and Bacon Cupckaes
• A list of recipes for making in a slow cooker
• Mini Pork Cheeseburgers
• Apple Crisp
• Chilli Corn Casserole
• Whole Pumpkin Pie Soup that is served in hallowed out pumpkin
• Gumbo
• Pumpkin Bars
• Pork Chops with apples and garlic smashed potatoes
• Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
• Pecan Caramel Spiders
• Pecan Pie

Here is a collection of recipes from Gordon Ramsay

• Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry's
• Speedy Beef Bourguignon
• Sheppard's Pie
• Honey Mustard Pork Chops
• Gazpacho with Parmesan Croutons
• French Toast with Caramelized Peaches
• Bruschetta

Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

·         1/2 cup of cream cheese at room temperature

·         3/4 cups of sugar powder

·         1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

INSTRUCTIONS

With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar powder and lemon zest until smooth and creamy

Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

·         3/4 cups of shortening

·         1 1/2 cups of sugar

·         2 eggs

·         1/2 cup of milk

·         2 cups flour

·         1/2 cup (6 tablespoons) of cocoa poweder 

·         2 teaspoons of baking soda

·         1 teaspoon of salt

·         1 teaspoon of vanilla

·         1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

·         1 cup of boiling water

INSTRUCTIONS

Blend above ingredients. Next add 1 cup boiling water and mix well. Pour batter into a greased cake pan (any size or shape including cup cakes). Bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (approximately 30 minutes).

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

·         1 1/2 cups flour

·         1/2 teaspoon of salt

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 cup pumpkin purée

·         1/2 cup olive oil

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         1/4 cup water

·         1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

·         1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1/2 teaspoon allspice

·         1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack. Can easily double the recipe.

Chris's Chocolate Chip and Walnut Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 stick (½ cup) butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 medium overripe bananas
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup of chocolate chips
• ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350oF. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in the eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Mix well. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture, stir just to moisten. Pour the batter into meatloaf pan. Bake in preheated oven to 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 20 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack

Lemonade with Watermelon Ice Cubes

Ingredients

·         1 cup fresh lemon juice, (4-6 medium lemons juiced)

·         1 cup sugar

·         4½ cups of water

·         3 cups cubed seeded watermelon

Instructions

In a blender, add the watermelon and puree.  Strain to remove any bits of seeds that remain. Pour into an ice cube tray.  Freeze until solid. Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a large pitcher.  Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.  Add the water and mix well.  At this point you can refrigerate the lemonade until ready to serve. When you are ready to serve add 2 ice cubes to each serving of lemonade.

A Gathering of Links and recipes #2

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Brown Butter Bacon Ice Cream Sandwich
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-cookie-and-brown-butter-candied-bacon-ice-cream-sandwiches-recipe/index.html

A potato salad recipe from Gordon Ramsay
http://twitdoc.com/view.asp?id=14543&sid=B7Z&ext=DOC&lcl=POTATO-SALAD.doc&usr=GordonRamsay01&doc=59148150&key=key-juqkhn2gf84o9n0779d

BBQ Chicken Leg Recipe from Gordon Ramsay
http://twitdoc.com/view.asp?id=14342&sid=B2E&ext=DOC&lcl=BARBECUED-CHICKEN-LEGS.doc&usr=GordonRamsay01&doc=59016993&key=key-15a2cohvz999frwh9tnq

Homemade vegetable stock from Alex Guarnaschelli
http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2011/06/28/vegetable-stock-recipe/

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken from Guy Fieri
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/chipotle-mango-bbq-chicken-recipe/index.html

Pulled Pork sandwiches from the Nelly's
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/pulled-pork-sandwiches-recipe/index.html

Classic Fried Chicken from food network magazine
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/classic-fried-chicken-recipe/index.html?soc=tw

Spicy Teriyaki Beef Jerky

Ingredients

·         1 kg of top sirloin beef sliced 1/16 of an inch thick

·         2 cans of teriyaki sauce

·         1 tablespoon of garlic salt

·         1 tablespoon of onion salt

·         1 tablespoon of seasoning salt

·         1 teaspoon of chili flakes

Instructions

Put all the ingredients except the beef together in a large bowl. Mix for 3 minutes and then add the sliced beef. Let marinate for 24 hours. Soak approximately 10 shish kabob sticks in water for 10 minutes. Dry the sticks with paper towel. Hold the stick horizontal and then pierce and slide 6 pieces of beef per stick. Place the stick on the top rack of the oven and let the beef hang down between the wires. Do this until there is not more beef. Heat the oven to 180 F. Stick a wooden spoon in the door of the oven so it does not shut all the way. Let the beef cook for 6 hours. If you like your jerky a bit tougher leave it in to your preference.

Coconut Rice

Ingredients

·         2 cups jasmine rice

·         1 1/2 cups water

·         1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

·         1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Rinse and drain rice in cold water. Place in a saucepan with water, coconut milk, and salt. Place the pot over high heat and, bring the liquid to a boil. Stir and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes.Remove the pot from the heat and let stand 10 minutes, covered. Fluff with fork and serve.

Vanilla Panna Cotta

This is a delicious recipe and it is very easy to make. Splurge and get real vanilla beans instead of using vanilla extract. Enjoy!

Ingredients

·         2 cups of heavy cream (Or for a lighter version use 10% cream)

·         1 vanilla bean

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (about 1/2 packet)

·         1/2 cup whole milk (Or for a lighter version use skim milk)

·         1/2 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt (Or for a lighter version use non fat)

·         Sliced berries, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Place the cream in a saucepan. Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise; scrape out the seeds with a knife, then add the seeds and pod to the saucepan. Add the sugar and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Discard the vanilla pod. Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk in a bowl and let stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Stir the gelatin mixture into the hot cream mixture until dissolved, then stir in the yogurt. Divide among six to eight 4-ounce ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours or overnight. Garnish each panna cotta with berries, if desired

A Gathering of Links and recipes

Barbecued rib-eye steaks and summer vegetable skewers with a tangy

lemon dipping sauce from Gordon Ramsay

http://twitdoc.com/view.asp?id=11322&sid=8QI&ext=DOC&lcl=Barbecued-beef-.doc&usr=GordonRamsay01&doc=56493156&key=key-2mbg2ttdx3n3yd6hsfkw

Grilled Pizza with Hot Sausage, Grilled Peppers and Onions and Oregano Ricotta from Bobby Flay

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/grilled-pizza-with-hot-sausage-grilled-peppers-and-onions-and-oregano-ricotta-recipe/index.html

Seared Sherry Chicken Breasts with Romesco sauce from Gordon Ramsay

http://twitdoc.com/view.asp?id=12544&sid=9OG&ext=DOC&lcl=Chicken-Romesco.doc&usr=GordonRamsay01&doc=57550834&key=key-3rlxg4h506zwo7e0sxu

BBQ Chicken burgers with slaw from Rachael Ray

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/bbq-chicken-burgers-with-slaw-recipe/index.html

Gazpacho from Alton Brown

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/gazpacho-recipe/index.html

A really cool idea

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/salad-dressing-bottle-recipe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+seriouseatsfeaturesvideos+%28Serious+Eats%29&utm_content=Twitter

Homemade smoky cola beef jerky

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/smoky-cola-jerky-recipe/index.html?soc=tw

BBQ Chicken from the Neely’s

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/barbecue-chicken-recipe/index.html

Chocolate Fondant

http://twitdoc.com/view.asp?id=13054&sid=A2M&ext=DOC&lcl=CHOCOLATE-FONDANT.doc&usr=GordonRamsay01&doc=57958435&key=key-vevj14wndautccercli

Herbed pork meatballs with apple compote and parmesan mash from Gordon Ramsay

http://twitdoc.com/view.asp?id=13148&sid=A58&ext=DOC&lcl=Meatballs-apple-compote.doc&usr=GordonRamsay01&doc=58055018&key=key-29y1heqfzpo89mevbh8s

I have not made any of these recipes so if you do try them let me know how they turn out J

Pineapple Mango Salad

Below is my recipe for a lovely summer salad. This would go great with grilled chicken breast and a cold beer and good friends.

Ingredients

·         2 cups of chopped fresh pineapple, (about half pineapple)

·         1 mango, peeled and chopped

·         1/4 finely chopped red onion

·         The juice from one squeezed orange

·         1 small minced jalapeño pepper

·         1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh mint

·         1 tablespoon of liquid honey

Instructions

In bowl, combine pineapple, mango, onion, orange juice, jalapeño pepper, mint and honey. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.) 

Cinnamon Buns and Caramel Sauce

Well I did not get a chance to make the corn fritters; I will try and get to those this weekend. I did however bake some cinnamon buns and make a caramel sauce, both recipes are below. I did not use as much sugar in the cinnamon buns as I knew I was going to make the caramel sauce. So if you are making both just beware that the caramel sauce is sweet!

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

·          1/2 cup water

·          1 cup sugar

·          1 cup 35% whipping cream (or substitute with 10% Cream)

·          1 tablespoon vanilla

Instructions

Pour the water into a saucepan then pour the sugar in a pile in the middle of the water. Turn the heat to medium-high heat and begin cooking without stirring. The sugar will dissolve in the water and begin to boil. The water will evaporate, leaving behind a pure sugar syrup that will then begin to rise in temperature, past the boiling point of water, and into the flavour zone. When the sugar begins to lightly brown here and there, gently swirl the pan until all of the sugar is a deep golden brown. Carefully pour in the cream and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Cool until thickened or serve hot!

Cinnamon Buns

Dough Ingredients

·         ¼ ounce package yeast

·         1/2 cup warm water

·         1/2 cup boiling milk

·         1/4 cup sugar

·         1/3 cup butter or shortening

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 egg

·         3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling Ingredients

·         1/2 cup melted butter

·         3/4 cup sugar

·         2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

·         3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional

Pastry Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Filling Instructions

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned

E&O Trading Company Corn Fritters

Here is a recipe that I got from the E&O Trading Company restaurant while I was in San Francisco in March. Jenn and I went to the restaurant to try a specific appetizer, the corn fritters. We first saw the corn fritters on an episode of the best thing that I ever ate crunchy edition. We ordered this from the bar and we were chatting with the bartender and he offered to give us the recipe, I was quite surprised. That was the first time that I have ever been given a recipe from a restaurant. It is very good and was not greasy at all. I have yet to make this recipe, but I am planning to give it a go on Sunday June 5^th.

Ingredients

·         4 cups fresh cut corn kernels

·         1/2 cup celery, small diced 1/4"

·         1/2 cup Green Onions, sliced 1/8" thick (including white part)

·         1 teaspoon of minced fresh garlic

·         1/2 cup all purpose flour

·         1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

·         2 eggs

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the corn, celery, green onion, flour and black pepper and mix well. Lightly beat the eggs. Combine with the vegetable mixture. Heat 2"-3" of oil in a wide deep pot to 350 degrees. Spoon the corn fritter mix into the hot oil. Using the back of the spoon coated with oil, press down onto the fritter to flatten. Cook until golden brown on one side and carefully flip over to cook the other side. Remove to drain excess oil onto paper napkins. Season with sea salt.

UPDATE: JUNE 12

I finally had time to try this recipe. The hardest part was trying to control the temperature of the oil. Another key part of this recipe is dont forget to salt the fritters when they are hot. That little bit of salt went a long way in the flavour of the fritters. I also decided to make a homemade spicy BBQ sauce. Below is the recipe.

Spicy BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

·         2 teaspoons dry mustard

·         2/3 cups apple cider vinegar

·         2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

·         1/2 cup chili powder

·         2/3 cup brown sugar

·         2 teaspoons salt

·         1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

·         2 medium onions diced

Instructions

In a saucepan combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Then add all the ingredients into a blender and blend for 5 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Chris's Apple Pie

I thought I would share a recipe for this rainy weekend. This or my banana bread is probably my go to dessert recipe.

Apple Pie

Pie Pastry Ingredients

·         2 cups of all purpose flour

·         1 tsp. Salt

·         2/3 cups of shortening

·         5 to 7 tbsp. cold water

Apple Filling Ingredients

·         6 Cups of peeled apples, thinly sliced

·         1 cup of sugar

·         1 tsp. cinnamon

·         1/4 tsp. nutmeg

·         1 cup of dark rum

Pastry Instructions

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup (don't pack it in) level off. In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender (or a fork), cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle flour mixture with water, 1 tablespoon at a time while mixing lightly with a fork. Keep adding water until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Shape dough into 2 balls for the two-crust pie. Flatten the ball and roll it on a lightly floured surface. Roll from the center to the edge into a circle that is at least two inches larger than the 9 inch pan. Place dough in pan, trim bottom and fill with filling and cover top and poke holes in the top to vent.

Filling Instructions

Add the apples to a large hot skillet and  add the rum. Light the alcohol on fire with a match, let all the alcohol burn off, it will take approximately 5 minutes. Let the apples sauté for another 5-7 minutes. In large bowl, combine all filling ingredients; toss lightly. Spoon apple mixture into a pie-crust lined pan. Top with the second crust and poke holes in several places. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender. (Place foil under the pan to guard against over spill)