Archive for the 'sweet stuff' Category
Documenting tonight’s dinner is going to take until tomorrow night’s dinner.
This afternoon was M & A’s awesome second annual Canada Day party, a potluck, which I think needs to come back into vogue.
On the menu: pork kebabs with onions and mushrooms, beef kebabs, D’s Mom’s famous curried chicken, potatoes and chick peas, grilled veg, tomato and pancetta panzanella salad, slivered snow peas with wasabi cream cheese and smoked salmon, noodle salad, and an array of dips, snacks and cupcakes arranged like a giant flag with a beaver in the middle (if you looked at it long enough, you could see it).
My contribution was Maple Butter Tarts (because butter tarts are the most fantastic Canadian food creation ever) and Nanaimo Bars (second most fantastic). OK, the Nanaimo bars got half eaten and then put in the freezer for our drive to Tofino before we left for the party. I have an unnatural infatuation with Nanaimo bars. I go to events in the hopes that they will show up on platters of dainties. Unfortunately, they aren’t any less delicious frozen, and in fact I’ve developed a particular taste for them that way. When I was a kid I ate a whole panful of Nanaimo bars, chunk by chunk, from the freezer, and when I was found out I had to clean my sisters’ rooms for two weeks. It was totally worth it.
This was probably the most difficult recipe I’ve ever had to lighten. These Nanaimo bars have less than half the fat of a traditional one; if you want to go whole hog, here’s a recipe.
Nanaimo Bars
For the record, these originated in Nanaimo, BC, although you’ll see versions in US cookbooks labeled “New York Slice”. Custard powder can be found in tins alongside the pudding at the grocery store.
Base:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3-4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. corn syrup
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/3 cup shredded coconut
pinch salt
Filling:
3-4 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 Tbsp. custard powder
2 cups icing sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Topping:
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
In the bowl of a double boiler or a medium stainless steel bowl, combine the brown sugar, cocoa, butter and corn syrup. Stir in the egg and set over a pot of simmering water; whisk until the mixture melts and thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, graham crumbs, coconut and salt.
Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of an ungreased 8” x 8” pan and pop it in the freezer while making the filling.
In a medium bowl, beat butter, custard powder, icing sugar, milk and vanilla until creamy and smooth, adding a few extra drops of milk if necessary until you have a spreadable frosting. Spread over the base. Return to the freezer or fridge to chill until firm before covering with chocolate.
Melt chocolate in a medium bowl set over hot water, or on medium power in the microwave. Stir until smooth and spread over the filling. Refrigerate until well chilled and firm. These are easiest to cut at room temperature, using a small, sharp, serrated knife, so pull them out of the fridge and set them on the countertop for about ½ hour before you plan to eat them.
Makes 20 bars.
Per Bar: 213 calories, 8.3 g fat (4.8 g saturated fat, 2.3 g monounsaturated fat, 0.9 g polyunsaturated fat), 33.8 g carbohydrates, 21 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 1.6 g fiber. 34% calories from fat
I’ve made butter tart squares many a time before (far easier than fussing with pastry dough to make tarts) but this is the first time I added maple. The girl who ate the last square at the party this afternoon (not knowing I was right behind her and had made them) said: “OMG! O. M. G. OMG!!” Just like that. I didn’t realize you could actually speak in text message abbreviation.
(Low-fat) Butter Tart Squares
Base:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch salt
Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup raisins or currants (if you want to be really authentic)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add flour and salt and stir until well combined and crumbly.
Press into the bottom of an 8” x 8” pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just barely golden around the edges.
Using the same bowl (no need to wash it), combine the brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and stir until well blended and smooth. Stir in the raisins and pecans.
Pour over the base and return to the oven for 25–30 minutes, until golden and bubbly around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the middle. The topping will puff up a bit as it bakes and then settle again when you remove it from the oven. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Makes 16 squares.
Per Square: 194 calories, 5.1 g fat (2.1 g saturated fat, 2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.6 g polyunsaturated fat), 36.2 g carbohydrates, 34.7 mg cholesterol, 2.2 g protein, 1 g fiber. 23% calories from fat
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July 01 2008 | appetizers and cookies & squares and sweet stuff | 1 Comment »
Whomever first applied the term “rustic” to food, and meant it as a good thing, is my hero. He or she has opened up the door for those of us who do not achieve picture-perfection to still present a handmade Danish braid without shame.
I myself feel a little superheroic for having made Danish pastry from scratch, on a weekend when the temperature went over 30 degrees (and stayed close to 30 up until midnight). Why on earth would I attempt buttery, flaky Danish pastry from scratch on the last weekend of June?
Because I went ahead and joined a group called The Daring Bakers, the activities of whom I have caught glimpses of here and there as I trip through food blogs. The group has a collective challenge every month - something baked that everyone must do on the same day and post on their blog. It looked like fun. I thought; I have to cook every day anyway, why not have someone choose something for me once a month? How hard could it be?
The very first month of my membership the challenge is making and working with yeasted laminated dough. (Danish dough is in the butter-laminated or layered dough family with puff pastry being the ultimate; Danish dough is sweet and is yeast-leavened, whereas puff pastry is not.) I fancy myself a relatively good baker; I couldn’t really imagine any challenge being too far out of my league. But puff pastry is something I’ve never made from scratch before. Why would I when you can buy a frozen block of it for $3?
Now, with the pressure on and an audience of hundreds of bakers watching, I didn’t want to mess up on my first go. We cannot stray from the recipe save for lemon zest instead of orange, and there is the option to make our own filling (which I took - an apple filling would be delicious but seemed blasphemous at almost the height of summer). As you know I am notorious for taking off in another direction while following a recipe, so a couple things tripped me up:
- it says the dough makes two Danish, but it doesn’t specify anywhere to divide the dough into two pieces; I did anyway
- when instructing the baker to cut 5″ slits an inch apart down the sides of the dough it doesn’t mention doing so on an angle; I thought I should, but didn’t want to blow it. Turns out I should have - the first braid didn’t have “flaps” of dough on the ends to fold up and down and trap the filling, but I cut them on an angle the second time and it turned out much neater
- the egg wash calls for an egg and an egg yolk; just the beaten egg was far more than enough to brush over two Danish, so I didn’t bother adding a yolk too
My berry filling was simple - about 2 cups of fresh or frozen berries and 3/4 cup sugar, and a squeeze (about a tablespoon) of lemon juice - simmer on the stove, mashing with a spoon, until it simmers and thickens a bit, and the mixture is jamlike. Cool completely. Mine was a bit juicy. I knew this, but pushing better judgement aside, I attempted to spoon out the solids and lay them along the middle of my quickly melting pastry. The pool of crimson juice didn’t waste any time spreading as I attempted to eloquently alternate the flaps, and it sat there and bled out for 2 hours as it proofed. Despite this, it turned out wonderfully, and the burnt juice just wiped right off the Silpat mat.
For the other, I thought I’d make use of a small jar of spiced fig caramel I bought awhile ago from The Girl and the Fig, but obviously didn’t want to stuff a cup of caramel into the braid for moral reasons. So I figured goat cheese crumbled in might make a good experiment. After all, so many Danish are stuffed with sweetened cream cheese, and figs go brilliantly with goat cheese, and there’s no need to sweeten the goat cheese in the company of all that caramel. (I do have a recipe for fig caramel, so if you love the idea of it, like I did, here you go. Don’t make it now though; save it for the fall, or to make a stash of when you need all those little holiday gifts for so many people.)
Spiced Fig and Orange Caramel
4-5 dried figs, stems removed and finely chopped
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
zest and juice of an orange
1/2 c. whipping cream
pinch cinnamon (optional)
pinch allspice (optional)
In a small saucepan, cover the figs with water or orange juice and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the figs are very soft and mushy. Drain off any excess liquid and set aside while you make the caramel.
In a heavy medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and water and set over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, without stirring, for about 8 minutes or until the mixture is a deep amber colour. Occasionally swirl the pan and brush the sides down with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.
Carefully add the orange zest, juice, whipping cream and spices; step back, as the mixture will bubble and spit. Turn down the heat to low and whisk until smooth. Stir in the figs and cool completely.
Makes about 1 ½ cups. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; rewarm on the stove or in the microwave.
Fortunately we were going to watch the European soccer final today, then to a friend’s house for dinner tonight (steak, orzo salad, caramelized onion focaccia, cookies and a giant bowl of cherries for dessert) so I had the opportunity to pawn them both off. Unfortunately, I started to shape my braids at 9 and was not finished until 10 - the rectangles of dough just didn’t want to be any bigger than a piece of 8 1/2″ x 11″ looseleaf. Every time I rolled over the dough it would shyly pull back. If it does this, just let the dough relax for awhile, and try again in about 10 minutes. Eventually you’ll be able to coax it out to a large enough rectangle.
So by noon, the braids were just finishing up their 2 hour proofing and didn’t have time to bake before going to watch the game, so they had to go with us and bake there. Not a big deal, except that delicate, buttery puff pastry does not like to travel in a hot car at 30 degrees, and it particularly does not like it when I make Mike pull over and hold the tray while I go buy vintage polka-dot glasses and an old sunburst juice pitcher at a garage sale.
But, the braid. Check out this recipe - when I printed it out to take down to the kitchen with me, it took three full pages. But it was worth the effort, and I will likely make it again. Maybe when the temperature drops below 20.
I mean, how cool is this - I made Danish pastry from scratch! I’m so glad they made me.
Danish Braid from Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking
Danish Dough
Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated - I used a lemon, but will likely omit both next time
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Combine the yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.
Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Apple Filling
Makes enough for two braids
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.
Danish Braid
Makes 2 large braids
1 recipe Danish Dough
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves
For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends. Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.
Proofing and Baking
1. Spray nonstick spray onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.
Yes, it tastes exactly like it looks.
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June 29 2008 | breakfast and sweet stuff | 11 Comments »
As you may have guessed, dinner wasn’t at home tonight.
I was cooking for a private event at Willow Park, a wine tasting with food paired at each station. The satay, meatballs and salmon were nothing new, but I hadn’t made gougères before. Gougères are choux pastry - cream puffs - with cheese stirred into the batter and baked into these unbelievable little cheesy puffs. That was paired with the bubbly to begin, and they were fantastic warm from the oven.
Choux pastry is actually incredibly easy to make, and there’s no need to pipe it out onto your baking sheet. Dropped from a spoon, they turn out beautifully rustic.
Mike shopped, and picked up some Swiss gruyère, which I requested and is traditional for gougères, but the theme last night was Canadian food. Oops. So I made a trial batch in the morning at home using the gruyère, and as they baked and filled the house with that cheesy gruyere smell, my 5 year old nephew, Ben, ran upstairs saying “Julie! Something doesn’t smell very good!” and then proceeded to gag and dry heave - seriously, and not even for dramatic effect - until the gougères came out of the oven and cooled down and the smell dissipated. When W tried one it quickly came back up and he tried desperately to wipe the taste off his tongue. So my point is, choose your cheese carefully. At the event, I made a couple batches using grated old Sylvan Star gouda (made in Alberta!) and they were wonderful.
Gouda or Gruyère Gougères
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère or old Gouda cheese
For pâte à choux:
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp. salt (if using unsalted)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups grated Gouda or gruyère
In a saucepan bring water and butter to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to low and add flour all at once, then stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from side of pan.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time with an electric mixer on high speed, beating well after each addition. The batter should have the consistency and colour of thick pudding; thicker than cake batter but thinner than cookie dough.
Preheat oven to 375°F and spray two baking sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper. Stir the cheese into the pâte à choux and spoon about a tablespoon at a time an inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until puffed, golden and crisp. Gougères keep, chilled in sealable plastic bags, 2 days or frozen 1 week. Reheat gougères uncovered in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes if chilled or 15 minutes if unthawed frozen. You must serve gougères warm.
Makes about 2 dozen.
Chicken Satay
1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken or turkey breast
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 small onion, grated (optional)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar or honey
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
bamboo skewers
Cut chicken lengthwise into strips and place in a bowl or zip lock bag. Combine all the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken; toss well to coat and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
Thread the chicken onto bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for at least 10 minutes. Grill or broil for a few minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold with peanut sauce for dipping.
Makes about 20 satay.
Per satay: 46 calories, 0.7 g total fat (0.2 g saturated fat, 0.2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.1 g polyunsaturated fat), 8 g protein, 1.5 g carbohydrate, 20 mg cholesterol, 0.1 g fiber. 14% calories from fat.
The panna cotta spoons are one of my favourite things to make at functions like these; Willow Park has a drawerful of Chinese soup spoons, and so I stir up a batch of panna cotta (the easiest dessert on the planet - honestly, it’s just cream Jell-O) and pour it into the soup spoons - 1L of cream turns out about 60 of the things - and chill. When they are about halfway set, I sit a fresh raspberry in the middle of each one - just so that they don’t roll around on the surface. I learned this from experience. You end up with one perfect, slurpy bite of panna cotta.
Classic Vanilla Panna Cotta
Do these in individual martini glasses, ramekins or Chinese soup spoons. A good variation is maple-blueberry panna cotta: replace the honey with pure maple syrup and put blueberries on top.
1 package plain gelatin (or 1 Tbsp. if you buy it in bulk)
1 L half & half or 18% coffee cream
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract or a vanilla bean
Fresh raspberries or blueberries, for on top
Pour about a cup of the cream into a medium pot and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the gelatin soften.
Set the pot over medium heat and stir, without letting the cream boil, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. This should take 2-3 minutes. (If you are using a whole vanilla bean, cut it in half lengthwise using the tip of a sharp knife and scrape the seeds out and add it to the cream, along with the scraped pod.)
Add the rest of the cream, the honey and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
If you used a vanilla bean, remove the pod. Pour the mixture into individual wine glasses, small dishes, ramekins or soup spoons. Put them in the fridge for at least 2 hours, until set. Top with berries.
Serves about 8, or makes about 60 soup spoons.
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June 25 2008 | appetizers and dessert and sweet stuff | 2 Comments »
No wonder I don’t feel well.
I was emceeing the Gallery Calorie event for the Artemis Charitable Foundation this afternoon/evening - a fantastic and fun event that included restaurant and gallery hopping followed by live music, mini pies from Simple Simon, bacon wrapped scallops from Ceili’s, mini cupcakes from Buttercream Bakeshoppe, martinis and a silent auction (a bad combination for me - although I’m sure that’s the idea).
Mike picked me up from the fundraiser and we headed straight over to C & J’s to celebrate C’s 40th birthday. Since we weren’t supposed to bring gifts, I made a batch of butter tarts - one of his favorites - which Mike forgot to bring when he came to pick me up. Or rather, I forgot to tell him to grab off the countertop. So when we got home at the end of the night they were still there. Perhaps I’ll drop off the slightly smaller batch tomorrow.
I offer below two recipes - one for classic butter tarts made with my Grandma’s “Quick-mix, Never-Fail” pastry, and another lightened version made using phyllo pastry. There is a misconception that phyllo pastry is high in fat, when it’s the melted butter people slather on so liberally that makes it so. It’s easy to get away with using far less than you may be used to, and you don’t notice the difference, I promise. The lower fat phyllo version is my Mom’s favorite, and essential at our Christmas parties, with their crispy bottoms and pointy tops. I always add raisins or currants and chopped pecans, but C & J like them naked - just the goo, if you please. This is the only reason they have any hope of getting the remainder of the batch tomorrow. (To explain the photo - I made some regular-sized and some in mini muffin tins.)
Butter Tarts
Pastry for a single crust pie
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
a handful of raisins, currants, and/or chopped pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out 1/4″ thick. Cut out circles using a 4″ cookie cutter or empty can, and press into ungreased muffin cups.
In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the raisins and pecans, if you’re using them. Fill the tart shells about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes, until bubbly and golden. Take them out of the pan using a thin knife to coax them out while they are still warm, otherwise any goo that has bubbled over will stick to the pan as it cools. If it does, pop them back in the oven for a minute to soften it again. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes about 18 butter tarts.
Grandma Woodall’s “Never-fail” Pastry
This will give you enough pastry to line a 9” pie plate; double it to make enough for two pies or a double crust. Some pie bakers swear by a teaspoon of vinegar added to their water to discourage the formation of gluten and make a tender crust, but it’s not necessary. Using all shortening instead of a combination of shortening and butter is OK too.
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/4 cup shortening, chilled and cut into pieces
2-4 Tbsp. ice-cold water
1 tsp. vinegar (optional, stir it into the water)
In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and shortening and use a fork, pastry blender, wire whisk or the “pulse” motion of the food processor to blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal, with lumps of fat no bigger than a pea.
Drizzle the minimum amount of water over the mixture and stir until the dough comes together, adding a little more a bit at a time if you need it. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic and chill it for at least half an hour. If you are making a double crust pie, divide the dough in half, making one half slightly larger than the other. (Your pastry can be prepared up to this point and frozen for up to 4 months; let it thaw on the countertop when you need it.
Better Butter Tarts
Butter tarts made with phyllo pastry are undeniably festive, without the low-fat stigma. By brushing sparingly with butter, these contain only 4 grams of fat each, and rival my Grandma’s.
Filling:
3 large egg whites or 2 large eggs
1/3 cup corn syrup, honey or maple syrup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
3/4 cup raisins or currants
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Pastry:
8 sheets frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
2-4 Tbsp. melted butter, or half butter and half canola oil
Preheat oven to 450°F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the egg whites, corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, raisins and pecans.
On a clean, dry work surface, place two sheets of phyllo pastry, keeping the rest covered with a tea towel. Brush the pastry sparingly with melted butter and top with two more sheets. If you like, brush the top sheet again very lightly with butter.
Cut the stack of phyllo into quarters, lengthwise, and then across into 5 squares, making 20 total. Press one stacked square of phyllo into each of 10 muffin tins, pressing the pastry to the sides of the tins wherever they naturally fold. Press the remaining squares on top, putting them at a 45 degree angle so that each cup has 8 points of phyllo. Don’t worry about making them perfectly neat.
Fill the shells about half full (using about a tablespoon of filling for each) and bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and bake for another 15 minutes, until pastry is golden and filling is just barely set. If the tips of phyllo are browning too quickly, cover the pan loosely with a sheet of foil.
Remove from the pan while still warm and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining phyllo and filling.
Makes about 20 butter tarts.
Per tart: 125 calories, 3.1 g fat (1.2 g saturated fat, 1.2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.6 g polyunsaturated fat), 24 g carbohydrates, 4.7 mg cholesterol, 0.5 g fiber. 21% calories from fat.
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June 15 2008 | dessert and sweet stuff | No Comments »
I did have a salad in between, honest.
I had a lunch meeting today at Paul’s Pizza & Steak House, one of the last true old-school restaurants with VLTs in the corner and a plastic-covered menu featuring Beef Dip, a Western (sandwich), Hamburger Deluxe, and the like. The pizza was quite fantastic, actually, one of the best I’ve had, and I was impressed to see that they have a Valta bison burger on the menu for $8.95.
I still wasn’t feeling great though. I won the leftovers and brought them home for M and W, who were at the zoo. They got home at 4, scarfed down their cold pizza, and fell asleep.
So we kind of slid past dinnertime. But with the sun out I wanted to go sit outside before the rain started up again, and was craving some ice cream. I don’t buy ice cream, because I eat ice cream. It speaks to me wherever I am in the house until I have to finish it off just to shut it up. But I did discover this almost fat-free chocolate sorbet a few years ago, and it’s just the thing for my chocolate and ice cream cravings. I’m not a kitchen gadget kind of person, but I highly recommend an ice cream machine. If you think $40-$90 is too much to pay for one, take a look at ice cream prices these days: $7 for a pint of Häagen-Dazs? Don’t get me wrong, I adore the stuff, and I suppose it’s worth it. (If you want to save some money, ice cream machines are usually on sale during the off season - last year at Williams-Sonoma the Krups ice cream machine was only $42. As if people don’t eat ice cream in the winter?)
Making your own is fun and saves not only money, but fat and calories: all you need for this sorbet is some sugar, cocoa and a small handful of chocolate, which will give it a creamier mouthfeel; more than a pint will probably run you about 50 cents. You could make it with milk, which would make it creamier, but then technically not a sorbet. Soon I’ll let you know how to make fro-yo that might change your mind about ever eating ice cream again.
(Low fat, but you’ll never know it) Chocolate Sorbet
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2-4 oz. chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
Combine the sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan. (I always mix cocoa with the sugar in a recipe to get rid of all the lumps.) Put it over med-high heat and stir in 2 cups water. (Make some of that water coffee if you want, or stir in a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso – it will intensify the chocolate flavor without adding fat.) Bring to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until it melts, or better yet, until it kinda melts but leaves some chunks.
Let the mixture cool, then refrigerate until it’s cold. Pour into the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. If you want to firm it up, put it in the freezer for a few hours.
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June 12 2008 | dessert and eating out and sweet stuff | 5 Comments »
Tonight we ate dinner standing up around the stove, picking at the leftover roast chicken, some sliced apples, and some fish sticks K & N brought over for the kids. We weren’t all that hungry; late in the afternoon we had tea and I baked a bread pudding to send home with K, who came over to help me navigate the control panels of my websites. Why bread pudding? Awhile ago, N picked up one of those giant Italian loaves, the kind that come in a fabric bag tied with Christmassy looking fake twigs, and since then had the best intentions to do something with it. (Last time it was a panettone, which they sliced and turned into Italian toast for brunch. French toast, really, but you can’t call egg-dipped Italian bread French.) It sat in her living room for weeks, and finally over the weekend I came home to discover it hanging from our doorknob.
This one was coffee-scented with chocolate chips and this oddly sweet coffee goo in the middle. I cringed at the thought that it had a) come all the way from Italy, and b) sat in her living room for an extended period of time, and yet c) was still soft as a baby’s bum. Regardless, it needed to be used up, lest it turn into a doorstop or sit on the counter to be picked at for days on end. The obvious solution, since Sunday brunch is too far away, was bread pudding. When it came out of the oven it was too warm and heavenly smelling to resist dipping a spoon into.
I cringe again at the thought of posting a recipe that is essentially bread, sugar and cream, but if you’re a fan of bread pudding (I don’t understand how it’s possible to not be? Everyone loves French toast, and bread pudding is one better) this is a great basic recipe that you can do plenty of things with. I made giant pansful for an event with 200+ people in attendance and cut it cold into squares that everyone ate with their fingers, and it was a huge hit. Since it was a Spanish wine festival, I added raisins that had been soaked in Spanish brandy.
I’m sure not many of you will encounter the problem of having to dispose of a giant Italian bread, so I’ll offer up a good basic bread pudding recipe that is fantastic as is or can take on any number of aliases.
The Best Bread Pudding
1 – 1 ½ large loaves good-quality bread, or an assortment of bread ends
7 large eggs
3/4 cup honey or maple syrup
2 cups 1% milk
2 cups half & half
1 tsp. vanilla
Cut or tear the bread into 1” chunks in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, milk, cream and vanilla. Pour over the bread and let sit for a couple hours, stirring gently once in awhile.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Pour the bread mixture into a 9”x13” pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, or any baking dish that will accommodate the quantity you made.
Bake for an hour or so, until puffed, golden and set. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Other things you can do to it:
Apple Raisin Bread Pudding: Use raisin bread, and add a grated apple and shake of cinnamon to the egg-milk mixture.
Coffee-Chocolate Bread Pudding: If you don’t have a giant coffee-chocolate loaf, try spiking the milk with a tablespoon of instant coffee, and scatter some chocolate chips into the bread mixture (spread half into the pan, sprinkle with chips and top with the rest of the bread mixture, so that they don’t sink to the bottom),
Chocolate-Orange Bread Pudding: Same as above, but add the grated zest of an orange instead of the coffee.
Caramel Bread Pudding (with or without bourbon): Add a cup of caramel sauce to the egg-milk mixture instead of the sugar. If you like, add a couple tablespoons of bourbon or rum, too.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding: Add a 14 oz. can of pumpkin to the egg-milk mixture, along with a good shake of cinnamon. Use brown sugar or maple syrup.
Banana Bread Pudding: Use leftover banana bread - you’ll probably need 2 loaves. Add a handful of raisins and/or chopped walnuts or pecans and/or chocolate chips.
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May 26 2008 | breakfast and dessert and sweet stuff | 2 Comments »
I worked today, cooking for Customer Appreciation Day at Willow Park. (On these days I get to rifle through their massive kitchens and challenge myself to creatively use up whatever has piled up in their fridges and freezers. They have an entire fridge devoted to cheese. Today they had more Spolumbos sausages than I ever care to see in one place again.)
I got home around 5, and we decided to have an impromptu barbecue on the back porch to celebrate the fact that a) the trees are finally starting to grow leaves, and b) it’s actually warm enough (33 this afternoon!) to have an impromptu barbecue on the back porch. So a bunch of assorted friends congregated in our back yard; K & N brought cross sections of corn on the cob, wrapped in bacon (inspired by the menu at Palomino). J & P brought teeny sweet peppers, tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and chunks of pineapple threaded onto skewers to grill for dessert. Everything got thrown on the grill, but unfortunately I got distracted taking photos of all the boys hanging out the kitchen window and our bacon-wrapped corn caught fire. After extracting the cobs, we actually had to douse the lingering flames with baking soda.
To make bacon-wrapped corn, all you need to do is cut the corn into chunks about the same width as your strips of bacon, then wrap a strip of bacon around each piece, securing it with a toothpick. (Soak them in water first if you don’t want them to burn.) Grill, turning as you need to, until the corn is sort of shrink-wrapped by the cooked bacon.
The peppers, similarly, were slicked with oil (and a bit of balsamic) and tossed whole onto the grill until they were slightly charred and soft, then returned into their bowl with its oily, vinegary residue.
I didn’t have much time to think about what to make (Spolumbos sausage would have been easy), nor did I feel much like cooking anymore, so called my trusty pork satay into service - besides being quick, they are easy for larger numbers of people to eat while sitting on folding chairs on the deck. Plus, I haven’t met a little boy yet who didn’t love meat on a stick.
I told you - when I stumble upon something that works, I make it over and over again. I did switch back to the maple-rosemary version though.
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Maple-Rosemary Pork Satay
2 pork tenderloins
Marinade:
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard (or any mustard you like)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Cut the pork tenderloin in half widthwise, then into even strips lengthwise. Put them into a ziplock bag along with the marinade ingredients; knead the bag a bit to blend everything, then stash in the fridge for up to 24 hours or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
When ready to grill, soak bamboo skewers for at least 10 minutes, then thread the pork onto the skewers and grill for a couple minutes per side (depending on the thickness of the pork), just until done. Serve hot, warm or cold, preferably with peanut sauce.
Makes lots. (We fed 8 adults and 5 kids.)
For dessert, the pineapple was simply grilled until it was soft and grill-marked, then drizzled with honey.
And finally, a raspberry crumble cake, made with a handful of the frozen raspberries I keep in the freezer for smoothies. This eat-straight-from-the-pan cake is one of my favorite go–to recipes, and perfect for summer because you get the benefit of cake and fruit crumble all in one. It’s not too sweet, easy to eat with your fingers, and can be made with any kind of fruit you have around, even if it’s getting wrinkly. In the summer, use berries, peaches or plums, and add some grated lemon zest to the batter. At Christmas, try it with pears and cranberries with grated orange zest in the batter.
Apple, Plum or Berry Crumble Cake
Sometimes I throw a handful of sliced almonds into the crumble mixture, or sprinkle them overtop before the cake goes into the oven. For a raspberry-almond cake, you could also use almond extract in place of the vanilla in the cake batter; this would go well with raspberries.
Crumble:
1/2 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
a shake of cinnamon (optional)
2-3 Tbsp. butter
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup low fat sour cream or plain yogurt
Fruit:
a large apple (peeled and sliced), or 3 plums, pitted and thickly sliced, or a large peach or nectarine, pitted and sliced, or a cup or so of fresh or frozen (unthawed) berries
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8″ square or round pan with nonstick spray.
To make the crumble, stir together the flour, brown sugar, flax seed, cinnamon and butter and blend it with a fork or your fingers until the mixture is well-combined and crumbly. Set aside.
To make the cake, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add half the flour mixture and stir by hand just until it’s combined. Stir in the sour cream, then the remaining flour mixture, stirring until it’s just blended.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the apples, plums, peaches or berries on top and sprinkle with the crumble mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is golden and springy to the touch. (Springiness may be difficult to test with the fruit in the way – you could also test it by sticking a toothpick or bamboo skewer into the cake. If it comes out with moist, not gooey, crumbs sticking to it, it’s done.)
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May 17 2008 | appetizers and cake and pork and snacks and sweet stuff and veg | 5 Comments »
Let me clarify: chocolate-dipped cheesecake pops are not something I would typically make for dessert on a plain old Monday night. I made them for the Eyeopener because tomorrow I’m going to chat about food blogs. Thinking I’d choose a recipe from one of my favorite sites, I hopped around a few and found that Cream Puffs in Venice, Tartelette, and another blog I stumbled through were all posting cheesecake pops. As I was perusing them my friend S emailed from Whistler, where she is apparently hooked on something from the local chocolate shop called cheesecake bombs. I took this as an unmistakable sign that I should make some. What a hero I’m going to be in the studio tomorrow morning!
The pie was to make use of leftover spaghetti; I did a few segments debunking common cooking myths on BT this morning, and as a result had plenty of leftover cooked pasta that was used to demonstrate the myth that adding oil to the cooking water prevents it from sticking together. (It’s a large volume of water, kept at a rolling boil with space for the spaghetti to move around, that keeps it from sticking. In fact, adding oil to your water will result in an oil slick on your pasta once you drain it, and your sauce won’t stick very well.)
Spaghetti Pie.
I’ve seen many versions of spaghetti pie, some in which the pasta is tossed with the sauce and cheese, then baked, others that have the crust par-baked first to crisp it up, and others with layers of cottage cheese between the noodles and sauce.
So I improvised: tossed the leftover spaghetti with some egg white (I had some whose yolks had been used to make lemon curd), a bit of grated Parmesan, a grinding of pepper and a big spoonful of pesto, just because there was some open in the fridge and W is such a fan, then spread the spaghetti into an oiled pie plate, pushing it up the sides a bit.
I had requests for spinach sauce, but had hastily crumbled and cooked a couple lean Italian sausages, a red pepper, a few fresh tomatoes that had gone too wrinkly for anything but cooking with and a can of tomatoes before remembering this, and pureed sausage, I imagine, is not a Good Thing. So I decided to proceed as if it were a lasagna - I crumbled some ricotta and thawed, squeezed-out spinach over the crust,
topped it with the sauce…
and some grated part-skim mozzarella, and baked it at 350F for about half an hour, until all was golden, crsipy-edged and bubbly. Yum.
The cheesecake pops were simple, really, mostly because I didn’t make the cheesecake from scratch like the others did. Some advised making a cheesecake and then scooping up balls of it with your hands, freezing them and then dipping the frozen wads in chocolate. Because I couldn’t envision blaspheming a cheesecake that way, nor attempting to cut one into teeny fancy shapes using a cookie cutter (too thick for any in my collection) I decided to buy one of those small plain frozen Safeway cheeesecakes and cut it into wedges. It worked perfectly.
After inserting the sticks (bamboo skewers, although popsicle sticks or the 4″ lollipop sticks you can buy at Michael’s would work brilliantly), I put them back in the freezer to solidify while I melted some chocolate chips in the microwave, then half dipped, half spread the melted chocolate onto the frozen wedges. Some sprinkles or other decoration would have worked out well, but I didn’t really have anything. That’s the beauty of radio; you don’t really need to accessorize.
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April 28 2008 | cake and dessert and freezable and one dish and pasta and sweet stuff | 6 Comments »
Tnik and I are in Red Deer teaching a series of three tea party classes at The Cooking Room and the Women’s Conference at Red Deer College tonight and tomorrow (after which we head to Banff to the Girlfriend’s Getaway at the Banff Park Lodge. We’ve just arrived in our hotel room and are watching Cyndi Lauper on TV and munching from a ziplock baggie of the crusts we trimmed off of all those cucumber sandwiches (we are extremely high class).
Our first tea party ran from 4:30-7pm, so technically I suppose dinner was tea - bites here and there of currant scones with strawberry preserves and real clotted cream, balsamic mushroom crostini, curried coconut mango chicken in wonton cups, lemon curd tartlets and Earl Grey shortbread. Oh, and some of the chocolate that exploded all over me as I tried to dip a too-taught balloon in too-hot melted chocolate to make fancy chocolate tulip bowls. (Nicole neglected to let me know it was still all over my forehead and neck when we stopped at the wine store - where I asked the clerk where I could find the Moscato - and when I checked into the hotel.)
The shortbread was a successful experiment - I whizzed a spoonful of Nicole’s cream Earl Grey loose tea in the food processor with the flour, sugar and butter, dumped it out and gathered it into a ball, pressed it into the bottom of a 9″ round pan, pressed around the edges and poked the surface with the tines of a fork the way you do with shortbread, and baked it until it was pale golden around the egdes, then cut it into wedges. You could do this with any sort of tea in any shortbread recipe, really. Grinding it a bit first releases more flavour and makes it look peppery.
Currant Scones
3 cups all-purpose flour, or 1 ½ cups all-purpose and 1 ½ cups whole wheat
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda (if using buttermilk)
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup currants
1 cup buttermilk, milk or half & half
extra buttermilk or milk for brushing on top (optional)
coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and pulse to combine or blend with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly, with bits of butter no bigger than a pea. Stir in the currants.
Stir in the buttermilk and mix just until combined. Gather dough into a ball, then pat it into a circle that is about 1” thick. Brush with a little milk or buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 8 wedges and pull them apart so that they will bake on the sides as well.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Makes 8 (or more if you cut them into rounds or smaller triangles.)
Curried Coconut Mango Chicken in Wonton Cups
24 wonton wrappers
a drizzle of canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I like using leftover roast chicken - a great way to use roasted deli chickens)
1 tsp. - 1 Tbsp. curry paste
1/2 cup light or regular coconut milk
1/3 cup mango or peach chutney
Juice of 1/2 a lime (about a tablespoon)
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
To make the wonton cups, press fresh wonton wrappers into mini muffin tins, pressing any folds firmly to the sides, and bake at 350 F for 5-10 minutes, until pale golden. Set aside to cool.
To make the filling, heat oil in a medium nonstick saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, curry paste, coconut milk, chutney, lime juice and salt. Cook, stirring often, until bubbly and thickened. Cool slightly or chill before spooning into wonton cups. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Makes 2 dozen cups.
Per cup: 69 calories, 1 g total fat (0.3 g saturated fat, 0.3 g monounsaturated fat, 0.3 g polyunsaturated fat), 7.1 g protein, 7.3 g carbohydrate, 16.8 mg cholesterol, 0.1 g fiber. 13% calories from fat.
Earl Grey Shortbread
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. - 1 Tbsp. loose Earl Grey tea
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, stir together butter, sugar, tea and vanilla until creamy. Add the flour and salt and stir until you have a soft dough.
Press the dough into an ungreased 9” round pan or place it on an ungreased cookie sheet and pat it into a rectangle. If you like, press down around the edges with the tines of a fork, and poke all over the top.
Bake about 15 minutes, until golden. Cool for 10 minutes, then slice while still warm.
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April 25 2008 | appetizers and bread and breakfast and cookies & squares and sweet stuff | 3 Comments »
I know, I’m not setting a stellar nutritional example here, but it was an emergency. It was Emily’s 10th birthday party today, a party she planned around a soccer theme, complete with outdoor game. Anyone in Calgary knows full well why we had to come up with a plan B. For anyone not in Calgary - the snow is ankle to knee deep (depending how old/big you are) and hasn’t stopped since Friday morning.
Of course by Friday morning any venue they could think of was booked up for Saturday, so Emily chose a cooking theme for her party. What food is more fun for 10 year olds than corn dogs and mini donuts? (We did provide the biggest bowl of fruit salad ever to try and balance things out a little.)
I figured out how to make these last year during Stampede, and quickly discovered you can be the hero of any party if you crank out homemade corn dogs for everyone. Seriously, they won’t stop talking about it for an entire year, at which point you’ll be expected to make them again. I suppose the only downfall is once you set yourself up for that sort of thing, you’re obliged to carry on with it for life.
Mini Donuts
1 package active dry yeast; instant if you’re in a rush (2 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. warm water
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for sprinkling and rolling out dough (use half whole-wheat if you like)
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2-4 Tbsp. butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
canola oil, for frying
cinnamon-sugar, for dipping (spike sugar with as much cinnamon as you like)
In a large bowl, stir together the yeast and water; set it aside for 5 minutes, until it’s foamy. (If it doesn’t foam, throw it out and buy fresh yeast. It won’t foam much, but if it just sits there and does nothing, it’s inactive.) Add the flour, milk, butter, egg, sugar and salt, and stir until you have a soft, sticky dough. Stir for a minute or two, then cover and set aside for an hour, if you have time and aren’t at a 10th birthday party.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat with floured hands until it’s about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out as many rounds as possible with the rim of a shot glass, and poke a hole in each with your finger, stretching it out a bit as it will puff up as it cooks, closing the hole somewhat. If you like, cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise for another 20-30 minutes (this isn’t necessary, but will produce lighter doughnuts).
Heat about 2” of oil in a deep, heavy saucepan until it’s hot but not smoking. You’ll know when it’s hot enough by dipping in a piece of bread or a bit of dough – it should start sizzling right away. If the oil is too cool, they will take too long to cook and will absorb too much oil, making them heavy.
Cook doughnuts 2 at a time, turning occasionally with tongs or a slotted spoon, until puffed and golden brown, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then toss in cinnamon-sugar while still warm.
(Tip: to make maple dipped donuts instead, add enough maple syrup to icing sugar to make a dipable consistency, and dip away.)
Corn Dogs
1 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 - 1 lb. pkg. hot dogs
canola oil, for frying
wooden sticks – bamboo skewers, popsicle sticks or chopsticks work well
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the middle, and add the buttermilk, egg and baking soda; whisk until well blended.
In a deep, heavy pot, heat enough oil to accommodate the corn dogs (depending on if you want to make big long ones, or cut them in half to make shorter ones, which are more manageable) until it’s hot, but not smoking. You’ll know when it’s hot enough by dipping in a piece of bread or a bit of cornmeal batter – it should start sizzling right away. If the oil is too cool, they will take too long to cook and will absorb too much oil, making them heavy.
Stick a wooden stick into the end of each hot dog (cut them in half first if you like), and dip them in the cornmeal batter to coat. Place them no more than two at a time (you don’t want to crowd the pot, or it will cool down your oil) into the hot oil, and turn them as they need it until they are golden. (When they are nice and golden they are done – the hot dogs should be well heated, but since they are already cooked you don’t have to worry about properly cooking them all the way through.) Remove with tongs and set aside on paper towels.
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April 19 2008 | snacks and sweet stuff | 4 Comments »
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