Smoked Salmon Dip

For a New Year's Eve party tonight I decided to use the surplus smoked salmon we've been eating with cream cheese and DH's hearty homemade rye bread.

I used 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese brought to room temp and mixed in about 1/2 cup sour cream, then added 1.5 tablespoons of dried dill since I had no fresh and squeezed in a 1/4 lemon as well as a heaping teaspoon of prepared horseradish, with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and some ground pepper as well.  Below is the result!

Pine nut almond macaroons

Very sticky when rolling in hand but so yummy!

They started with the egg whites reserved from the custard I made with their associated yolks.  Then I ground some almonds in the food processor and added sugar and almond extract.  I then got to make sticky mud pies :)  and roll them in beaten egg whites then pine nuts.  This is the final result.  DH says the flavour reminds him of marzipan.  I will definitely make these again!

Chocolate Thumbprints, Pecan Almond Crescents, and Almond Sables

Coffee pots de creme

I spent some time this Christmas baking some new cookies and trying out a few new things.  These are what I took pictures of.  They are not perfected yet, but I will endeavour to do so next year because they were good enough to encourage me to continue!

The cookies above were all made from one almond cookie dough, found in Fine Cooking.  I made it from the magazine, but here is a link to the recipe on their site.

Almond Cookie Dough

The Coffee Pots de Creme were found in Wine Spectator magazine (December 15, 2012, p. 88).  They are very rich and use a LOT of coffee beans, so it is not an everyday dessert.  However, I thought spending Christmas settled and quietly deserved a treat!  And I will plan to make it again - the custard is yummy!  Let's see if I can find a link to the recipe...Nope, you must be a subscriber.  There are other online recipes, however, and I'm sure they are yummy, too. 

(Another I really want to try:  Pioneer Woman's Pots de Creme)

I am so glad I have a kitchen scale since it was written all in grams.  In this recipe, one leaves the coffee beans (120 g) to soak in a mixture of whole milk (225 g) and heavy cream (225 g of whipping cream for me) for at least 12 hours (I left it longer).  Then mix in sugar (75 g), salt (0.5 g) and egg yolks (7 - technically 120 grams but I left my scale too long and it turned off, so I guessed, using the recommendation for 7 1/2 yolks) and cook in a water bath, covered by aluminum foil for and hour at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  Chill in fridge until cool.  The pic above is the result - minus 2 ramekins which DH and I quickly consumed.

Merry Christmas!

Torta di Riso e Zucchine

DH brought home a cookbook titled, "Lidia's favourite recipes" by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and I decided to try her Rice & Zucchini Crostata.  Here is the link online:  http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/1024

For the Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup cold water, plus more as needed

For the Filling
1 pound small zucchini
½ cup Italian short-grain rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
2 cups ricotta, preferably fresh, drained overnight
1 cup Grana Padano, or Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
2 bunches scallions, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Butter for the baking pan - See more at: http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/1024#sthash.0WZWR8Wc.dpuf

You will need a baking stone, if you have one; a 12-by- 18- inch rimmed baking sheet (a half-sheet pan).

To make the dough: Put the 2 cups flour and the salt in the food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few seconds to aerate. Mix the oil and water together in a spouted measuring cup. With the processor running, pour the liquid through the feed tube and process about 30 seconds, until a soft dough forms and gathers on the blade. If it doesn't, it is probably too dry. Add more water, in small amounts, until you have a smooth, very soft dough. a Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a minute, until it's smooth and soft. Pat into a rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature for 1/2 hour. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to a day, or frozen for a month or more. Defrost in the refrigerator, and return to room temperature before rolling.) To make the filling: Shred the zucchini on the coarse holes of a box grater into a large bowl. Toss the rice and shredded zucchini together, and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour, so the grains absorb the vegetable liquid. Fold in the ricotta (breaking up any lumps), then the grated cheese, scallions, beaten eggs, milk, and salt, stirring until thoroughly mixed. When you're ready to bake the torta, set a rack in the bottom half of the oven-with a baking stone on it, if you have one-and heat the oven to 375º. Spread the butter on the bottom and sides of the pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a rectangle that's at least 4 inches longer and wider than the baking sheet. Transfer the dough to the pan, either by folding it in quarters and lifting it onto the sheet, or by rolling it up around the floured rolling pin and then unfurling it over the baking sheet. When the dough is centered over the pan, then gently press it flat against the bottom and rim of the pan, leaving even flaps of overhanging dough on all sides. (If the dough tears as you are moving it, patch it with a bit of dough from the edges.) Pour and scrape the rice-zucchini filling into the dough-lined pan, and spread it to fill the crust in an even layer. Fold the dough flaps over the top of the filling, pleating the corners, to form a top crust border that looks like a picture frame, with the filling exposed in the middle. Set the pan in the oven (on the heated stone), and bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is set, 45 minutes to an hour. About halfway through the baking time, turn the pan in the oven, back to front, for even color and cooking. Cool the torta on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes to set the filling before slicing. The torta can be served warm or at room temperature, cut into appetizer or bite-sized pieces in any shape you like- squares, rectangles, triangles, or diamonds.

I heartily recommend it!  The dough felt wonderful to knead and was easy to work, especially for a novice like myself.  I forgot to drain the ricotta overnight and just did it while I made the dough and it turned out just fine.  The cookbook shows her using an eggwash after the dough is folded over the filling, but the recipe does not list that.  I may try that along with other variations in the future, since I fully intend to make it again.

Well, I just tried a new way of cooking broccoli - roasting it.  I coated it with EVOO first, as well as salt, pepper, onion powder and some cayenne pepper, then roasted at 450 F until cooked.  That was delish! 

I also made some biscuits from my Master Mix, found in the Mennonite cookbook, "More with Less" using butter instead of shortening, and some sour milk.  They turned out so light and yummy.  Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures.  I have to remember to do so! 

I also tried a rub for the pork chops which I need to tweak for satisfaction.  The link to the recipe is Cocoa rubbed pork chops.  I think it needs some more savoury but our cumin may be stale, too.  We'll have to see...

Using sour milk

DH and I hate to waste anything; we think many of us have too much in "western" society and, consequently, throw much away that could still be of use.  Therefore, I've been trolling the internet in search of info on using sour milk.  One blog I found quoted an old cookbook and I'm going to post that page here, so anyone else can look for themselves:
http://trialanderrorhomeec.blogspot.com/2011/12/ktt-using-sour-milk.html
The relevant portion I want to remember I'm posting myself, just to make sure it doesn't get lost if the link does.

From "The Royal Guide to Meal Planning:"

Thick sour milk, sour cream and buttermilk...can each be used in place of sweet milk if these instructions are carefully followed. Use one-third teaspoon soda to each cup of thick sour milk and add [baking powder] as directed in the recipe for sweet milk.

Because sour cream contains so much fat, the butter or other shortening in the recipe will have to be reduced when sour cream is used.

Soda can be sifted with the dry ingredients or added to the sour milk. Either method is satisfactory with perhaps a little advantage in the former.

Where other acid-reacting materials such as molasses, raisins, bran and brown sugar are also included in a sour milk recipe, the amount of soda will, of course, have to be increased slightly.

And another link with recipes that I've noticed has been quoted extensively on the net is http://www.cooks.com/rec/story/121/

And having joined a Mennonite congregation this year, I was fascinated to come across this blog, for which I'm linking to one of the buttermilk recipes I wish to try.  Hopefully, I can find my Roger's Golden syrup!

Syrup Platz recipe 

Clean out the fridge day

I had some whitefish that needed using today, so I tried a recipe out of my "Chef at Home" cookbook by Michael Smith.  Here is a link to the recipe on his website:  http://chefmichaelsmith.com/Recipe/whitefish-provencale/

The flavours were outstanding but I think I'll reduce the liquid by draining the canned tomatoes next time - the sauce was a little thin.

Hubby is also making rye bread from a recipe from an old family friend.  He got quite the workout from kneading this morning!

I made a soup from scratch (except for the chicken broth from a tetrapak), using potatoes and spinach.  I sweated onions and celery first then added a whole farmer's sausage, diced, and then put them all in a big pot with the taters and simmered with 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper, white wine and liquid smoke.  I also added 2 packages of frozen spinach.  I think next time I'll just use one.  It had a nice flavour but a little much green stuff.