Face Off: Vegetable Tea Sandwich

Time for the Face Off entry again, seeing as the oven is dead I thought it would be a good idea to go with something that didn't involve any sort of cooking (because with my luck, I'd break the stovetop and microwave as well). I planned on having one vegetable tea sandwich served at my friend's bridal shower, for all those vegetarians out there, so it seemed just the thing to try this week.

Cucumber Tea Sandwich

This is your classic, cucumber-and-spread, open-faced tea sandwich. It was also the recipe I liked the least, which was a huge surprise (I love cucumbers and this person's recipes are usually spot-on). The spread is made of a mixture of goat cheese, cream cheese, mayo, and some spices. And unfortunately, the goat cheese completely overpowered every other flavor in this sandwich. Oh no, it wasn't the creamy/tangy flavor that overpowered everything, it was that musty, earthly, faintly-mildewy flavor that really came out. While you can usually mask that particular quality with ingredients, this combination only seemed to enhance it. Not a lot of people like goat cheese specifically because of that musty taste, so I thought this was not quite the best way to go.

Sweet Onion Tea Sandwich

Now, I hear this is quite the classic tea sandwich, although I must admit by name alone I was not excited about it. This one surprised me the most, however: it has a creamy mayo spread with fresh tarragon and basil, and very thinly sliced Vidalia onion. The tangy herbed mayonnaise makes the onion even sweeter, so much that you would never guess it was actually raw onion if you didn't see it with your own eyes. However, the mayo-thing is not going to work for our poor Bride-to-be, and also: most people will see the onion and never touch these sandwiches. So, as impressed as I was with this tea sandwich, this recipe wasn't going to do, either.

Tomato Tea Sandwich

I tried this one first, and really thought it wouldn't work. I kinda made this one up on my own, using about 5 different pesto/tomato/goat cheese recipes. I thought all three were good flavors but couldn't find any recipes with all three together, so I improvised a bit. And surprise, it was actually very good! It is a simple tea sandwich, two thin slices of bread with basil pesto spread on one side, and plain goat cheese on the other. A nice juicy tomato slice is the only sandwich filler.

The pesto is bright and the goat cheese tastes very mild and creamy (no musty/earthy taste, yay!). The tomatoes, which I let drain on paper towels beforehand, were just right to balance the two spreads. I think this one is a winner.

Tomato tea sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 c. basil leaves

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/4 c. pine nuts

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1 (5-oz.) log of plain goat cheese, softened to room temperature

6-8 tomatoes, sliced and drained on paper towels

40-ish thin slices of white bread

To make the pesto: Toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan, then cool. In a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, pine nuts. Pulse until finely chopped. Slowly add olive oil to mixture while in food processor, pulsing to emulsify the mixture (you want it thick yet smooth; add more oil if necessary). Place basil mixture into a bowl, and stir in Parmesan cheese.

To assemble sandwiches: Cut bread slices with a biscuit cutter, to make bread circles. Spread one side of 20 circles of bread with the pesto. Spread the goat cheese evenly over remaining 20 slices of bread. Place one tomato slice on goat cheese circle, and top with pesto-spread circle. Can be made up to 8 hours ahead of time, keep wrapped well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

So, I had another drama in the kitchen this week. Only this one's a bit harder to fix.

Friday night. I am continuing my Cupcake Baking Extravaganza. I have 3 more recipes I wanted to try out this weekend, making small batches and taking all finished products to work. My coworkers are eagerly awaiting Monday.

I pull out this recipe first, it's from How To Eat A Cupcake. Chocolate and mint, can't go wrong with that! And I have some Godiva chocolate-covered mint candies I was dying to use for decoration. Perfect. So I preheat the oven, and whip together the batter. I fill my muffin pan with liners and plop in the batter (the batter was surprisingly thick, hence plopping rather than pouring/ladeling). I put the pan in the oven and set my timer.

After about ten minutes, I hear this strange fizzling noise. It's coming from the oven. Did my super-thick batter explode all over, and is now baking to the walls of my oven? I'm a little confused, so I open the door and peek inside.

And there are flames emitting from the oven's heating coil.

Aaah! I snatched out the muffin pan (must save the cupcakes!) and turned the oven off. The flames went out as the oven started to cool. And my oven is officially dead. On my weekend of Cupcake Baking Extravaganza. No. This can't be happening.

So, I put in a call to the landlord, and hopefully it's as easy as replacing the heating coil. Cross your fingers, anyway. In an attempt to salvage my half-baked cupcakes, I smooshed the batter-filled paper liners onto a plate and nuked the suckers in the microwave. They are a bit mis-shapen and blobby and a wee bit dry, but they still taste really good.

These cupcakes taste just like Andes mints. The cake is dense and rich and chcolatey, with a hint of the mint flavoring. The light buttercream on top has a deeper mint flavor, and balances the heavy cake really well.

Enjoy these! It's probably the last goodie from my oven for a bit, until the darn thing is fixed. Once that's done though, I've got a few interesting recipes up my sleeve...

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. (2 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped, melted

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1/2 c. chocolate milk

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. (6 oz.) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat the melted chocolate into the butter mixture. Add the eggs, peppermint extract, and chocolate milk. Beat until creamy.

In a separate medium-sized bowl combine the flour and baking soda.

Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and beat until well blended (careful not to over-beat the batter). With a spatula, stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3-3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan.

Mint Buttercream:

3 c. confectioner's sugar + 3 Tbsp.

1 c. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. milk

Pinch salt

1 tsp. mint extract

Green food coloring

In a small bowl using an electric mixer on low, beat together sugar, butter, milk, and salt until creamy. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Add mint extract and a few drops of green food coloring, beating until frosting is smooth.

Spread icing on cooled cupcakes with a knife or transfer to a pastry bag and pipe over cupcakes.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

I found this recipe at Daisycake's blog, and just had to try them. I baked up the cupcakes Thursday night, which I am very glad I did (more on that in another post).

Such a pretty pale pink cake, only a pretty-princess-pink lemonade buttercream would do for frosting them. They taste wonderful too: the cake is moist, with a lovely bright lemonade flavor. The buttercream has only a hint of the flavoring, so it doesn't overpower. Although the buttercream is SWEET, so try not to over-do it, like I did.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Pinch salt

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 egg whites

1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate

1/4 c. buttermilk

2 or more drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:

3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate

Red food coloring

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Yep, another comfort food . Still hoping for cool weather. This time, chowder. Maybe that will help to entice the cool weather to come our way.

This is so warm and thick and yummy, a new recipe I got from some free Kraft pamphlet or other such thing. And considering I'm a picky purist cook who doesn't like to make meals with pre-made ingredients, that's a big compliment. This is also very easy to make – brown your bacon and veggies, dump the rest of the ingredients in the pot, and let it go.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
6 slices bacon

1 Tbsp. oil

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped red bell pepper

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded

1 c. chicken broth

1 c. milk

1 (16-oz.) can creamed corn

1 (4-oz.) can diced green chiles

1 pkg. taco seasoning (about 4 Tbsp.)

Heat soup pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove from pot and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon.

Raise heat to medium-high. Add oil to bacon grease. Add onion and bell pepper, and cook until browned. Add chicken to warm.

Add remaining ingredients (including bacon) and mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite regular soup recipes, and the nice one about this recipe? It's brothy and "fresh-tasting" enough to sneak in when it's still warm out. I came up with this after trying out a few different recipes; I took the best bits of each and tweaked them a bit to our tastes, to come up with what you see below. I love this soup with extra cilantro (me love cilantro) and a good handful of tortilla chips.

Oh and as a really weird aside? I don't make this frequently, but I've definitely made it often enough that the Hubs should remember it. Which he never does; every time I make it I get the "ooh this is really good make sure you keep the recipe!". Thanks, darling.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded

2 (14.5-oz.) cans chicken broth

1 (4-oz) can diced green chiles

1 (10-oz) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 "generous" Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Combine the chicken broth, green chilies, tomatoes with green chilies, onion, and garlic in a soup pot. Add the shredded chicken. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes.

Add the lime juice, cilantro, cayenne, and cumin. Simmer for 10-15 minutes longer. Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with shredded cheese, avocados, sour cream, more cilantro, limes, tortilla strips…

Cheddar Dill Scones

This quickbread-scone recipe is so easy; I am not a bread-maker, but I was able to pull this one together easily late one evening after dinner (and 2 glasses of wine). Sweet.

The resulting scones were more bread-like than crumbly (probably due to the cream), but still dense and moist. I love the cheddar/dill combo, as I'm not a huge fan of sweet scones. And while they taste best straight from the oven, I found these re-heat well in the microwave, so they're great to make ahead and heat up for breakfast during the week.

Cheddar Dill Scones

Ingredients:

4 c. (plus 1 Tbsp.) all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

3/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, diced

4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

1 c. cold heavy cream

1/2 lb. extra sharp cheddar, small-diced (I just used the pre-shredded stuff)

1 c. minced fresh dill

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water or milk (for egg wash)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine 4 c. of flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter and mix on low, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Mix the eggs and heavy cream together, and quickly add them to the flour and butter mixture.

Combine until just blended. Toss together the cheese, dill and 1 Tbsp. of flour - then add to the dough and mix until they are almost incorporated.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead for 1 minute, until the cheddar and dill are well distributed. Roll the dough 3/4 inch thick, cut into 4 inch squares, and then in half diagonally to make triangles. Brush the tops with the egg wash. Bake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes, until the outside is crusty and the inside is fully baked.

Face Off: Chicken Salad

Ah, the time-honored Face Off. This will probably be at least a once-weekly thing for the next month or so. I am hosting my very dear friend's bridal shower, and I'm trying out different recipes to use. The first one into the ring: Chicken Salad. And now, the results.

Chicken with Nectarines and Pecans

First up was a sweet chicken salad. Once, when I was in Atlanta, I ate at Dailey's and that place has the most amazing chicken salad I've ever tasted. It was served with fruit, and then drizzled in a sweet (brown sugar?) glaze and sprinkled with pecans. Sooooo good. I set out to find a recipe that might be similar, and found one at epicurious.com to be the closest to what I wanted to accomplish.

I switched out the peaches in the recipe for nectarines, and used pecans instead of walnuts. The resulting chicken salad was a disappointment, however. The nectarine and pecans were completely overpowered by the poppy seed dressing (that you use instead of mayo). And even with no mayo, the chicken salad tasted STRONGLY of mayonnaise. And the bride-to-be hates mayonnaise, so yeah. That recipe's a bust.

Traditional Chicken Salad

On to the classic, traditional chicken salad/tea sandwich recipe. Also from epicurious.com, it featured fresh tarragon and smoked almonds, plus some nice lettuce on top for crunch. And while it wasn't bad in any way, it also wasn't great. Nothing to brag about, just kinda blah. Will do in a pinch. So, on we move to the final contender...

Curried Chicken Salad

This was by far the best chicken salad sampled, which was kinda depressing. Not because I don't love it (I do, in fact, love this recipe very much). It's that I've made this several times, for home and office and potluck. Heck, I even requested it at my own bridal shower. It's an easy recipe to make in large quantities, can be made well ahead of time, and tastes amazing. It's just that, you know, I wanted to try something new and different and exciting. Sigh.

Recipe is below, we'll only give the winning one for this post. I found the recipe off of foodtv.com, and I recommend giving it a try. Even if you aren't too fond of curry. The curry seems really light in this recipe, and totally masks any of that "mayo" taste (hear that, Nik?). The crunchy almonds and grapes and celery give it a wonderful crunch. The chutney is the real star of this recipe, though. It gives this lovely sweet/spicy kick to the whole thing.

Curried Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. commercial chutney
3 Tbsp. mild curry powder
6 bone-in chicken breasts
Salt and black pepper
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1/2 c. grapes, sliced in half or quartered
3/4 c. finely chopped celery
4 croissants

To make the dressing: Combine the mayonnaise with the chutney and the curry powder in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.

To prepare the sandwiches: Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper then put them in a large skillet. Add water to cover. Put a lid on the skillet and simmer the chicken until it is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When the chicken is chilled remove the skin and cut the meat from the bones. Dice the meat and place it in a large bowl. Add the almonds, grapes, and celery and mix well. Moisten the salad with the curry dressing. Cut the croissants in half. Fill each with chicken salad and serve.

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle with Earl Grey Custard Sauce

This recipe was a labor of love. Seriously. I made the lovely sauce ahead of time, as recommended, and put it in the refrigerator to cool. Then Hubs and I decided to go to Old Chicago to watch the Chiefs game, so I pulled the bowl of sauce out of the fridge to cover with wrap (before it got tons of other fridge flavors).

Anyhoo, I start to wrap it in saran wrap, and the bowl tips. And out floods all the thick, sweet, sticky sauce. All over my shirt, my new jeans, my yellow retro (SUEDE) Reeboks. Not only that, but it also covered this self-proclaimed-Neat-Freak's counter, cabinet fronts, floor, splattered against the remaining cabinets and oven, seeped into the cabinets and pooled... Yeah. Yuck. And right before we stepped out the door, too. I wanted to cry, but instead: I stripped off my sticky-soaked clothes, made a bucket of soapy water, and started scrubbing like mad. Yes, I was Lady MacBeth in my kitchen in my panties. It was a sight to behold, let me tell you. But, eventually I got it all cleaned up, pulled myself together, had a few beers while watching the game, and then came home to start all over again.

Now that my drama has been played out on the Blog, I should probably tell you about the actual dessert itself. First I'd like to just get this out: souffle has gotten a bad rap, as a very difficult dessert. But (custard-sauce-tsumani withstanding) it is actually an easy dessert to pull off. It's probably hard to make a grand presentation with, since it falls fairly quickly, but in taste it's hot and puffy and delicious.

This recipe was a good one: The chocolate is intense and rich but the "fluff" of the souffle evens that out. Two kinds of chocolate help to balance it so that it's not overly sweet. The sauce, however, is the real star of this recipe. The tea gives it a distinct flavor (Earl Grey = citrusy), the overall "steeped tea" taste is great in the sauce. I suggest serving this to friends and not telling them about the tea, as they'll never guess that flavor.

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle with Earl Grey Custard Sauce

Ingredients:

Sauce:

6 large egg yolks

2 Tbsp. plus 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. whole milk

1/2 c. whipping cream

1 Tbsp. Earl Grey tea leaves (about 3 tea bags)

Soufflé:

1/3 c. whole milk

8 Tbsp. sugar

2 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 1/2 oz. bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 large egg yolks

5 large egg whites

For sauce: Whisk egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl to blend well. Combine milk, cream, tea leaves, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into egg yolk mixture; return to same saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens enough to leave path on spoon when finger is drawn across, about 8 minutes (do not boil).

Immediately strain sauce into small bowl. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

For soufflé: Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 1 c. soufflé dishes; coat dishes with sugar. Combine milk and 5 tablespoons sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves and milk comes to simmer. Remove from heat; add both chocolates and stir until melted and smooth. Whisk in egg yolks.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 3 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into warm chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Transfer mixture to prepared dishes.

Bake soufflés until just set in center and tops are puffed and cracked all over, 28-30 minutes. Serve soufflés immediately with custard sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

Fish Hash

Now, before you start feeling ill: despite the name, this recipe is really really really good. It's from my trusty copy of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and I make it fairly regularly. It doesn't taste fishy at all, and you can use any type of leftover fish (although I think canned tuna works perfectly, and that's what I put in the recipe instructions below).

Hubs and I have a Sunday morning tradition where we make a nice, filling, tasty breakfast to dawdle over while we plan the rest of our day. And this recipe fits the bill perfectly. It's crispy and bacon-y and... probably terribly fattening, but I don't care. Give it a try! Comes together quick and it's a nice filling start to the day.

Fish Hash

Ingredients:

6 bacon slices, diced

1 chopped onion

1 1/2 c. diced boiled potatoes (leftover baked potatoes would be perfect for this)

2 cans tuna, flaked

salt and pepper

In a hot skillet, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bits of bacon are brown and crisp. Remove, drain on paper towels, and set aside.

Toss together the onions, potatoes, tuna, and salt and pepper to taste (don't oversalt! Lots of saltiness in that bacon grease). Stir into the bacon grease in the skillet and cook over medium heat. Press down with a spatula and cook about 5 minutes, until the bottom is browned.

Turn the hash over and cook until the underside is nicely browned. Tip out onto a warm platter, and sprinkle with bacon.

Sorry for no updates!

Been going a million miles a minute for the past few days, only enough time to get online for a few secs. Definitely no time to post! But: will get a post out soon, promise. Tomorrow. No later.

For the time being, please enjoy this lovely image of my niece Mahni (my sous chef extraordinaire), gettin' her green tea frapp fix the last time we went to Target. She takes after her Aunt Nemmie, obviously.



Toodles.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

My first attempt at homemade "pot pie", and it's a winner. These came together easily, baked well, and were really tasty. The recipe calls for crème fraiche but I used sour cream instead - melted right into the mixture and still gave it that tangy taste like crème fraiche. Not to mention, it was tons cheaper. Super awesome.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Ingredients:

5 bacon slices

1 ½ c. chopped onion

12-oz. peeled whole baby carrots (about 2 ½ c.)

1 8-oz. package trimmed haricots verts (I used 8oz. of frozen French-cut green beans, thawed)

4 tsp. chopped fresh marjoram

1 ¾ c. low-salt chicken broth

2/3 c. crème fraiche (or sour cream)

1 Tbsp. cream or milk

3 c. cooked chicken meat, diced or coarsely shredded

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed

Preheat oven to 450 F. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Chop bacon. Add onion to drippings in skillet; sauté until tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Add next 3 ingredients; stir 1 minute. Add broth; bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and boil until vegetables are almost tender and some liquid is reduced, about 8 minutes.

Add Chicken and bacon to the pan, and bring to a simmer. Season with pepper. Remove pan from heat, and stir in 2/3 cup crème fraiche (or sour cream). Divide among four 2-cup soufflé dishes.

Unfold puff pastry onto work surface; roll out to 12-inch square. Cut into 4 equal squares. Top filling in soufflé dishes with pastry; fold edges down onto rims of dish. Brush top of crusts (not edges) with tablespoon of milk/cream. Cut small "X" in center of crusts; pierce all over with fork. Bake until crusts are golden brown and filling is heated through, about 22 minutes.

**You can also make one large pot pie. Place the filling in a 9-inch-diameter deep-dish pie dish. Set the 12-inch pastry square over the filling, then fold down the edges onto the rim. Baking time will still be about 22 minutes.

Catfish with Cilantro Chutney

We had TONS of the pear salsa left over from Chicken and Pear Salsa (see 9/23/07 post), and I wanted to find a way to use it up. I also had lots of cilantro in the fridge, and catfish I needed to use soon. And voila – found this recipe online, only with different ingredients. Some tweaking, and you get this lovely dish. Works in a pinch and comes together quickly. Good use of leftover pear salsa!

Catfish with Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients:

1 c. (packed) chopped fresh cilantro

½ c. leftover Pear Salsa (see Chicken with Pear Salsa recipe, 9/23/2007)

¼ c. canned unsweetened coconut milk

1 large garlic clove, peeled

2 6-8-oz.catfish fillets

Ground cumin

Salt and pepper

4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Coarsely puree first 4 ingredients in food processor. Season chutney with salt and pepper.

Place flour in a shallow bowl; mix cumin, and some salt and pepper (to taste) into flour. Dredge fish pieces in flour. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fish. Fry until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes per side.

Transfer to plates; top with chutney. Good with rice as well – I made basmati rice, using the leftover canned coconut milk instead of water, and topped it with chutney as well.