Cherry Blossoms

Stale, Bitter Walnuts

Nothing that a little chocolate can't fix.  And sugar.  And butter.  

Kentucky Derby Chocolate Walnut Pie Recipe 

This pie recipe is similar to the Melrose Inn's famous version which has been served at the race for over 50 years. 

Adapted from about.com

1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons vanilla extract  (my substitution for 2 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 ready-made pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and butter; mix to combine. Stir in the walnuts, chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt. Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie crust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool before slicing. 

One tablespoon of almond extract can be used for one of the tablespoon of vanilla extract when substituting for bourbon. 

 

It's just getting good.

Peach orange marmalade, 2003 that is.  That and moldy homemade ketchup which I used to make the dressing.  Even the brown sugar I used to make the dressing was moldy.  How is that possible? Only me.  On the fresher side I found some chicken in the basement fridge drawer that had been there since March.  It was still good!  Even I was amazed.

Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken Recipe: 

From crockpot.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
1 cup Russian dressing (I used Wishbone brand)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
6 chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix together the preserves, dressing and soup mix.  Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker; pour mixture over chicken.  Cover and cook on High for 1 hour.  Reduce heat to Low and continue cooking for 3-4 hours.

Here's another version:  http://itsstillgood.blogspot.com/2012/09/peach-peel-chicken.html

Easy Fruit Tart

Easy Fruit Tart
From Joy of Baking
Serves 6-8   


Shortbread Crust:

1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour  (for light French flour use 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 cake flour)
1/3 cup (35 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

 

Cream Filling:

1/2 cup (120 ml) mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)

1/2 cup (120 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (35-40% butterfat content)

2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

Topping:

3 cups (720 ml) fruit (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, kiwifruit, bananas, plums, pineapple, melon, etc.)  I used blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries only

Shortbread Crust: Butter or lightly spray with a nonstick vegetable cooking spray, an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. 

In your food processor, place the flour, sugar, and salt and process to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the pastry starts to come together and form clumps. Place the pastry in the prepared tart pan and, using your fingertips, evenly press the pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (Can use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface of the pastry.) Pierce the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. (This will prevent the pastry crust from puffing up while it bakes.) Cover and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill. (This will help prevent the crust from shrinking while it bakes.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. 

Place the tart pan on a larger baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Can be covered and stored for a few days.

Cream Filling: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer or wire whisk) beat the mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract just until soft peaks form. If too thick to spread, beat in a little more heavy cream.

To Assemble Tart: Evenly spread the cream onto the baked and cooled tart shell. Scatter the berries on top of the cream. If not serving immediately, refrigerate. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before serving to give the fruit and cream a chance to warm to room temperature.

Old Pic, New Recipes

Ok and old squash.  My squash from last year winter well in my root cellar but is now starting to mold.  I figure its only a few more months until more squash so we better eat it.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE
From AB and SS

2 white onions                        
Minced garlic
3 butternut squash, peeled then cubed        
Butte
Vegetable stock                    
Nutmeg
Cinnamon                        
Allspice
salt & pepper to taste                   
¼ - ½ C maple syrup

Sauté onion and garlic in butter in a soup pot.  Add cubed squash and cook briefly.  Add vegetable stock to cover.  Add pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper.  Add maple syrup. 

Simmer until squash is soft.  May need to add more vegetable stock at this point.  Puree until blended and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Finish with half and half or cream if desired.

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple and Hazelnut Baked in Phyllo

Adapted From Thierry Rautureau, Author of Rover's: Recipes from Seattle's Chef in the Hat
(Makes 4 servings)

1 butternut squash (about 1-1/2 pounds)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons hazelnut oil or olive oil
1 Granny Smith apple
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon minced shallot
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 pinches minced thyme
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup apple juice or small amount of brandy extract with water (my substitution for Calvados)
2 teaspoons minced chives
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
3 sheets phyllo dough
3 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream
2 tablespoons hazelnut flavoring (my substitution for Frangelico)

Garnish
Beet coulis
Pumpkin seed oil or hazelnut oil
Trim the ends from the butternut squash and halve it lengthwise. Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and fibrous flesh from the center. (The seeds can be cleaned and tossed with olive oil and salt to roast for a tasty snack.) Cut the squash into large pieces for easier handling. Use a small knife to carefully peel away the skin from the squash and coarsely chop the meat.

Heat 6 tablespoons of the butter with the hazelnut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted and foamy white. Add the squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften (but not brown), 5 to 7 minutes. Peel the skin from the apple, using a paring knife so that some of the flesh still clings to the apple skin. Add the apple skin to the squash with 3 tablespoons of the shallot, the garlic, and a pinch of the thyme. Cook, stirring, until the shallot and garlic are tender and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock and simmer until the squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the hazelnuts, then work in batches to purée the ingredients in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Strain the soup through a fine sieve back into the pan and set aside.

Core the apple and cut it into 1/4-inch dice. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small skillet over medium heat until melted and foamy white. Add the diced apple with the remaining teaspoon of shallot and remaining pinch of thyme. Sauté the apple, tossing gently a few times, until it just begins to soften but still holds its shape, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the apple juice. (If using Calvados, carefully light the liquid with a long match, and flambé until the flames subside.)  Take the pan from the heat and stir in the chives with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 450-degrees-F.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan, then take the pan from the heat. Lay 1 of the phyllo sheets horizontally on the work surface and lightly butter the surface with some of the melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and brush it with butter as well. Repeat with a third sheet of phyllo dough. Cut the phyllo sheets in quarters vertically. Spoon 1/4 of the apple filling onto the bottom center of 1 phyllo portion, about 2 inches up from the bottom. Fold the bottom edge of dough up over the filling, then fold in both long edges to make an even vertical strip. Fold the filled portion of dough upward as for a flag, forming a phyllo packet in a triangular shape (or simply fold upward to make a square packet). Brush the top of the packet with more melted butter and set it on a heavy baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining phyllo strips and apple filling. Bake the apple-hazelnut phyllo packets until crisp and well browned, 10 to 12 minutes.

While the phyllo packets are baking, finish the soup. Stir in the crème fraîche and hazelnut flavoring (or Frangelico), then use an immersion blender to fully incorporate. Taste the soup for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper to taste, and gently reheat over medium heat.

To serve, ladle the hot soup into warmed shallow soup bowls. Garnish with dots of beet coulis around the outer edge of the soup and drizzle pumpkin seed oil lightly over the surface of the soup. Set a phyllo packet in the center of each soup and serve right away.

Fresh goat cheese is an optional addition to the apple-hazelnut filling for the phyllo packets, offering a touch of tangy complement to the rich soup. Note that some phyllo producers now sell half-sized sheets of phyllo rather than the more common full-sized 14 by 18-inch sheets. If you purchase the smaller sheets, form 2 triple-layer sheets and halve each lengthwise. --Thierry Rautureau

---

French-born Thierry Rautureau moved to Seattle and opened Rover's in 1987. Since then, both chef Rautureau and Rover's have received endless national and local recognition and accolades, including four James Beard Foundation nominations for Best Chef in the Northwest, winning the honor in 1998. Chef Rautureau resides in Seattle, Washington with his family.

It's Alive

Another recipe using my living cottage cheese.  This one even required it to be processed which I prepared weeks ago.  

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine 
 Serves 8
Adapted from Cooking Light

• Cooking spray
• 2 cans mushrooms, drained
• 2 T. dried onion
• 1 can spinach, well drained
  
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (16-ounce) carton 2% low-fat cottage cheese 
• 8 cups hot cooked penne (about 16 ounces uncooked tube-shaped pasta)
• 2 cans chicken breast (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided $
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Place cottage cheese in a food processor; process until very smooth. Combine mushrooms, onion, spinach, cottage cheese, pasta, chicken, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, milk, and soup in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Note: You can cook the pasta mixture in individual eight-ounce ramekins; bake for 15 minutes.

Frothy Cottage Cheese

In December, I processed cottage cheese in the food processor for potato pie and did about 3 pounds too much.  It took on a life in itself morphed into this frothy light stuff that grew when you stirred it.  It was just too creepy to eat.  I looked for a lasagna recipe that used cottage cheese instead of ricotta and luckily found one. 

Pioneer Woman Lasagna 
Serves 12
From pioneerwoman.com

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pound Ground Beef
• 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1/2 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
• (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.
In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).
To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.
Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.
Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.