Desserts, Recipe

Strawberry Mousse Chocolat

Leave a comment

Strawberry Mousse Chocolat

Chocolate Base:
1/2 cup Regular Shortening
3 squares Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2/3 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Topping:
1 pkg (425 g) frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed
1 pouch Knox Gelatine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups whipping cream
Fresh strawberries

Chocolate Base: Melt shortening and chocolate in saucepan on low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Add sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture, stirring until well blended. Spread in greased 9″ springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan.

Filling: Drain strawberries. Add water to liquid to make 1 ¼ cups. Combine gelatine and sugar in saucepan. Stir in strawberry liquid and lemon juice. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar and gelatine. Remove from heat. Chill until starting to set. Beat 1 1/4 cups whipping cream to stiff peaks. Beat gelatine mixture in small bowl on high speed of electric mixer until light in colour. Fold in whipped cream. Fold in drained strawberries. Spread evenly over base in pan. Chill until set, 1 1/2 hours or overnight.

To serve, beat remaining whipped cream to stiff peaks. To unpan, run a blunt knife all the way around the outside of the dessert prior to releasing the springform pan. Decorate attractively with cream and berries.

Loading

Breads, Recipe

Rustic Herb Bread

3 Comments

Rustic Herb Bread

2 1/2 cups Warm water
1 pkg Dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Salt
2 tbsp Herbes De Provence (or Italian Seasoning)
7 cups Flour
1 Egg white, lightly beaten

Stir the first five ingredients together to dissolve the yeast, sugar and salt. Stir in the flour. Knead 10 minutes. let rise, covered, until doubled in bulk. Punch down, knead three or four times to remove air, then divide in four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a long loaf and place in a well greased bread pan; slash the top. Brush the loaves with the egg white and let rise until doubled.

Bake 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 400, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake 20 minutes longer, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on racks. Wrap in aluminum foil and freeze if desired.

Loading

Main Course, Recipe

Ginger Pork Won ton

1 Comment

Ginger Pork Won ton

1 lb ground pork
1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger (or 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 small onion, minced
1 package won ton wrappers
1 egg, beaten in a small bowl with 2 tbsp water

In a large skillet or wok, add the pork and brown over medium heat, drain, and add ginger, garlic, onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil, cooking until onion is soft, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Take a won ton wrapper and place it on your work surface so that it forms a diamond. Take your egg wash and with a small pastry brush, lightly brush the two lower edges that form a “V”. Place 1 tsp of the filling in the middle of the wrapper and fold the wrapper over, pressing the edges to seal. Dab the left corner of the filled wrapper with egg wash and fold the right corner over the left, pressing together to seal. It will take on the appearance of an ornate “hat”, the classic won ton look:

Repeat until all won ton wrappers have been filled. Note: you will have far more filling than you do wrappers, but the filling freezes well.

Once all won tons have been made, either transfer to a freezer and allow to solidly freeze and then store for up to 3 months, or…

Bring a quart of your favourite stock to a boil and toss in 12-16 won ton and allow to heat through. (4-6 won ton make a serving). Or…

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and sauté until brown on a couple sides. Serve with soy/ginger/scallion dipping sauce. Or…

Bring 1/4 – 1/2 c vegetable oil to 350F in a skillet. Carefully drop 5-8 won ton at a time into oil (being careful, as it will spatter!), and cooking for 2 minutes before turning over and allowing to brown on the other side. Serve with duck sauce.

You can make sweet won ton by using jam as a filling, you can make them vegetarian by using soy crumbles, or rice and ginger, or you could even use a cream cheese, garlic, ginger, and scallion mixture to make a cheesy won ton. Let your imagination run wild!

Loading

Main Course, Recipe

Burbon London Broil & Oven Roasted Frites

Leave a comment

Bourbon London Broil

2 lb London Broil
1/4 cup good Kentucky Bourbon
Cracked Black Pepper
Kosher Salt

In a zip-top bag, combine London Broil and Bourbon. Turn to completely coat and let set aside for 15 minutes to allow to marinate, turning every 5 minutes. Heat grill (or grill pan) until slightly smoking. Remove London Broil and discard marinade. Grill for 7 minutes each side for medium rare (or longer to your taste). Once grilled, remove to a plate, season with black pepper and Kosher salt. Tent with aluminum foil and let sit for 10 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.

Oven Roasted Frites
2 lb Russet Potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
Kosher Salt (to taste)

Heat oven to 550F (or as hot as your oven will go)
Wash potatoes, julienne. Toss in a bowl with olive oil. Place on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops of potatoes are slightly browned. Remove from oven and lightly flavour with Kosher Salt.

Slice London Broil into strips. Take Whole Wheat Pita loaves and slice in half. Shred lettuce (I use Romaine), half grape tomatoes, and top with London Broil. Enjoy!

Serves 8.

Loading

Breads, Recipe

Cinnamon Rolls Extraordinaire

Leave a comment

Cinnamon Rolls Extraordinaire

2 pkg. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water, 105 degrees F to 115 degrees F
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 cup soft butter or margarine
2 ½ tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds or pecans

Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tsp. milk, cream or water
1 tsp. butter
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes until yeast foams. Stir in the butter, sugar, eggs, salt and half the flour. Beat until smooth.

Stir in all but 1/4 cup of the remaining flour until dough is stiff. Cover. Refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.

Dust remaining flour over the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Roll out to make a 12-by-24-inch square. Spread with 1/2 cup soften butter. Sprinkle with the sugar, cinnamon and nut filling mixture.

Roll up as for jelly roll. Cut into 12 slices. Grease a 13-by-9-inch pan. Place the rolls, cut side down into the pan. (At this point the rolls may be refrigerated again as long as overnight, if needed.)

Let rise in a warm place until nice and puffy (if refrigerated, place over a pan of hot tap water. Cover with a towel.)

Bake at 375 F for 20-30 minutes or until golden.

For the glaze, mix powdered sugar with milk, butter and vanilla extract. Frost rolls with the mixture. Serve warm.

Yields 12 giant rolls

Loading

Desserts, Recipe

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Leave a comment

Chocolate Pudding

5 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch salt
2 cups skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined, put in a saucepan and add 1/2 cup milk, stirring to create a smooth mixture. Slowly stir in the remaining milk and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened.

Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla, and pour into 4 dessert dishes and chill until set, about 4 hours. Add a swirl of fresh whipped topping.

Loading