Friday, December 30, 2016
Ginger Cookies
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream in a big bowl:
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar
Add in:
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 teaspoons of finely minced peeled fresh ginger
Whisk in another bowl:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 t teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup minced crystalized ginger
Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix with a fork till it is smooth and blended.
Make round balls, about 1 Tablespoon each, and gently roll them in a custard bowl of white sugar.
Arrange on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly.
Bake for about 12-13 minutes till cracks appear in the top. Recipe makes about 2 and a half trays of cookies (40 cookies).
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Farm Stand Salad
Whisk in the salad bowl: 3 T good olive oil, 1 T vinegar, Trader Joe's lemon pepper (or pink sea salt and fresh pepper), a little honey and a little dijon mustard.
Brown some slivered almonds in butter.
Make croutons by toasting small cubes of a good white bread in olive oil and adding some garlic at the end and adding lemon pepper or salt and pepper.
Add into the salad bowl halved small tomatoes or cut up bigger tomatoes. Only use a flavourful tomato such as dry farmed Early Girls or tasty small ones. Add grated carrots and sliced pitted kalamata olives. Coat all these with the dressing and let them absorb flavor while you cut a Pink Lady apple into quarters, remove core, and then thinly slice the quarters and add in.
Wash and spin dry a good amount of very fresh arugula or other salad greens and fold in just before serving.
Shave some good cheese such as Uncommon Cheddar or Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Serve on individual plates with a topping of the toasted almonds, croutons, and shaved cheese and a further grating of fresh pepper.
Brown some slivered almonds in butter.
Make croutons by toasting small cubes of a good white bread in olive oil and adding some garlic at the end and adding lemon pepper or salt and pepper.
Add into the salad bowl halved small tomatoes or cut up bigger tomatoes. Only use a flavourful tomato such as dry farmed Early Girls or tasty small ones. Add grated carrots and sliced pitted kalamata olives. Coat all these with the dressing and let them absorb flavor while you cut a Pink Lady apple into quarters, remove core, and then thinly slice the quarters and add in.
Wash and spin dry a good amount of very fresh arugula or other salad greens and fold in just before serving.
Shave some good cheese such as Uncommon Cheddar or Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Serve on individual plates with a topping of the toasted almonds, croutons, and shaved cheese and a further grating of fresh pepper.
Exceptionally Good Macaroni and Cheese
Boil a large pot of salted water and cook a pound of cellentani or other pasta of your choice till it is nicely al dente. (Do not overcook!) Drain and add a little olive oil so it does not clump as you work on other steps.
While that is cooking, make the breadcrumbs for the topping:
Slice and then cube some good white bread such as a rustic country bread. Put cubes in blender in batches to make about 4 cups of finer crumbs of your preferred size.
In a very large frying pan (I use a stick proof one), heat 2 T of butter and 2 T of olive oil.
Add crumbs and stir regularly over a lowish heat until they are golden.
Clear a space in the crumbs and melt some butter and add 2 cubes of Trader Joe's frozen garlic or 2 or 3 minced fresh cloves. Cook briefly in the hot butter and then mix through the crumbs. Be careful not to overbrown the garlic. Then add lemon pepper (which contains salt) or freshly grated sea salt and black pepper to the crumbs. Turn off and set crumbs to the back of the stove.
For the sauce:
In a heavy medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter.
Add 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and cook and whisk for a minute or two being careful not to overbrown it.
Very slowly, especially at first, add in 5 cups of milk. Add small amounts in the beginning, pausing the adding of milk to whisk the mixture very briskly so there are no lumps of flour. Use a spoon to make sure no flour remains unwhisked at the very edges of the bottom of the pot.
Add 1 T of dry mustard, rubbing the mustard between your thumb and forefinger as you sprinkle in it so it does not form into dozens of tiny mustard lumps which will be impossible to blend in. Whisk the mixture.
When the mixture starts to thicken, gradually whisk and melt in 5 cups of grated sharp cheddar.
Preheat oven to 350 toward the end of your preparations.
Take a large glass or other kind of oven dish (at least 9 by 13.5 but preferably bigger if you have one). Pour the nicely hot cheese sauce into the pan and then carefully fold in the cooked pasta so the two are evenly mixed.
Sprinkle on the toasted crumbs, right to the edges of the oven dish.
Pop into the hot oven on a middle rack for a few minutes to further brown the topping, being very careful not to burn the crumbs (about ten mins).
Let it sit briefly on the stove top so it is a little easier to serve large portions with a big spatula, but serve it while it is still piping hot.
Offer guests sea salt and black pepper grinders to add to their taste.
Serve with a good salad such as Farm Stand Salad.
While that is cooking, make the breadcrumbs for the topping:
Slice and then cube some good white bread such as a rustic country bread. Put cubes in blender in batches to make about 4 cups of finer crumbs of your preferred size.
In a very large frying pan (I use a stick proof one), heat 2 T of butter and 2 T of olive oil.
Add crumbs and stir regularly over a lowish heat until they are golden.
Clear a space in the crumbs and melt some butter and add 2 cubes of Trader Joe's frozen garlic or 2 or 3 minced fresh cloves. Cook briefly in the hot butter and then mix through the crumbs. Be careful not to overbrown the garlic. Then add lemon pepper (which contains salt) or freshly grated sea salt and black pepper to the crumbs. Turn off and set crumbs to the back of the stove.
For the sauce:
In a heavy medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter.
Add 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and cook and whisk for a minute or two being careful not to overbrown it.
Very slowly, especially at first, add in 5 cups of milk. Add small amounts in the beginning, pausing the adding of milk to whisk the mixture very briskly so there are no lumps of flour. Use a spoon to make sure no flour remains unwhisked at the very edges of the bottom of the pot.
Add 1 T of dry mustard, rubbing the mustard between your thumb and forefinger as you sprinkle in it so it does not form into dozens of tiny mustard lumps which will be impossible to blend in. Whisk the mixture.
When the mixture starts to thicken, gradually whisk and melt in 5 cups of grated sharp cheddar.
Preheat oven to 350 toward the end of your preparations.
Take a large glass or other kind of oven dish (at least 9 by 13.5 but preferably bigger if you have one). Pour the nicely hot cheese sauce into the pan and then carefully fold in the cooked pasta so the two are evenly mixed.
Sprinkle on the toasted crumbs, right to the edges of the oven dish.
Pop into the hot oven on a middle rack for a few minutes to further brown the topping, being very careful not to burn the crumbs (about ten mins).
Let it sit briefly on the stove top so it is a little easier to serve large portions with a big spatula, but serve it while it is still piping hot.
Offer guests sea salt and black pepper grinders to add to their taste.
Serve with a good salad such as Farm Stand Salad.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
William's Favourite Pasta -- Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Penne
Boil large pot of salted water.
Add a pound of penne and cook till al dente.
While pasta is cooking, rinse and batch of very fresh basil and remove stems.
Add a little olive oil after draining.
In a large wok, quickly sauté 2 - 3 cubes of garlic. Do not let it turn brown.
Add in hot pasta and coat with the garlicky oil.
Add a generous amount of sliced sun dried tomatoes (preferably the kind that are in a bag, not in a jar in oil).
Add heavy cream.
Add freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and let it melt into the cream. Add more cream if needed for a good texture.
Add freshly grated pink sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.
Thinly slice the fresh basil in strips and fold into the pasta just before serving, reserving a little for garnishing each serving.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Minestrone Soup
In a big soup pot, sauté half a chopped red onion in olive oil.
Add 2 -3 cloves of minced garlic or 2 -3 cubes of Trader Joe's frozen garlic and a bit more olive oil.
Add generous amount of fresh minced ginger.
Add sliced cremini mushrooms.
Add carrots cut into small pieces.
Grate in some black pepper and a little sea salt.
Add 1 jar (24 oz) of a good marinara sauce such as Bertolli Marinara with Burgundy Wine.
Fill the pasta jar twice with vegetable broth and add. (I dissolved about 5 teaspoons of Veggie Better Than Boullion into boiling water.)
Add a generous 1/4 cup of tiny pasta such as tiny stars.
Simmer for a few minutes to soften carrots and pasta. Stir often so pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Add about 1 and 1/4 cups of frozen baby peas and simmer till peas are hot.
Stir in about half a bunch of very fresh basil leaves, rinsed and cut in strips before serving.
Serve piping hot with shaved Uncommon Cheddar or fresh Parmesano-Reggiano on top and good bread such as sourdough Pugliese.
Add 2 -3 cloves of minced garlic or 2 -3 cubes of Trader Joe's frozen garlic and a bit more olive oil.
Add generous amount of fresh minced ginger.
Add sliced cremini mushrooms.
Add carrots cut into small pieces.
Grate in some black pepper and a little sea salt.
Add 1 jar (24 oz) of a good marinara sauce such as Bertolli Marinara with Burgundy Wine.
Fill the pasta jar twice with vegetable broth and add. (I dissolved about 5 teaspoons of Veggie Better Than Boullion into boiling water.)
Add a generous 1/4 cup of tiny pasta such as tiny stars.
Simmer for a few minutes to soften carrots and pasta. Stir often so pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Add about 1 and 1/4 cups of frozen baby peas and simmer till peas are hot.
Stir in about half a bunch of very fresh basil leaves, rinsed and cut in strips before serving.
Serve piping hot with shaved Uncommon Cheddar or fresh Parmesano-Reggiano on top and good bread such as sourdough Pugliese.
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