Recipe by Miz Hummus: Grand Marnier candied pecans

Grand Marnier candied pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Grate the rinds of 2 large oranges to create 7 tablespoons zest.

3. Melt together over low heat in a saucepan:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
2 teaspoons salt
Zest

4. Let cool slightly

5. Add mixture to a mixing bowl and cover 5 cups pecans in mixture

6. Butter two cookie sheets

7. Spread pecans evenly on cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes

8. Let cool for 5 min and then sprinkle pecans with 1/8 cup Grand Marnier

9. Let cool completely and serve

Rosemary-lemon gremolata over broiled wild Alaskan salmon

We had a large filet (perhaps 2 lbs?) of wild Alaskan salmon, and marinated it for about 2 hours in a gremolata of extra virgin olive oil, chopped rosemary, crushed red chilli pepper, sliced garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper, then roasted it covered with foil in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes, then removed the foil and let it broil for a few minutes on high.

Pear, Walnut and Raisin Cake

YIELD - One 8 inch cake

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) (200g) butter softened

1 cup (200g) granulated raw cane sugar

1 1/2 (200g) cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup raisins

3 eggs

1 lb pears (450g) – peeled, cored and sliced.

1 Tbsp raw sugar or granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

1/3 cup (50g) walnuts, chopped

Glaze:

2 1/2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp rum



Procedure

* Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease an 8 inch round pan or springform.

* Measure raisins in 1/3 cup and fill raisins to the top. Next, add enough rum to fill the measuring cup. Set aside and allow to soak.

* Sift the flour, baking powder and set aside.

* In mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter together. Add the eggs, one at a time.

* Reduce the mixer speed and add the flour mixture or fold it in by hand.

* Spoon this mixture into a prepared cake pan and place the pear slices on top of the cake.

* Sprinkle with the 1 Tbsp of sugar, dot with the remaining butter and scatter the walnuts and the rum raisins on the pears.

* Melt glaze ingredients and drizzle over pear and walnuts.

* Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Let cool.

Roasted Mushrooms

This was easy. We took about 2 lbs. of mixed mushrooms (shiitakes, creminis, oyster, etc.), tossed them with a handful of chopped rosemary, the zest of a lemon, salt, pepper, and olive oil, then roasted them for 18 minutes in a 500°F oven.

*Delicious.*

Emerald Salad

4 small heads lacinato kale, washed, spun dry, and cut cross-wise into short ribbons

juice of 2 lemons

1/4 lb. aged pecorino romano, grated

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon crushed red chilli pepper (depending on how spicy you like things to be)

Several hours before serving, toss kale ribbons with lemon juice.

Just before serving, toss with grated pecorino romano, olive oil and crushed red pepper.

Ruby Salad

2 small beets

1 medium red onion

radicchio (1 head)

seeds from 1 pomegranate

2 blood oranges or 1 ruby grapefruit, supremed

Pomegranate vinaigrette ingredients:

3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses / reduced pomegranate juice / pomegranate syrup

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

Wash, trim, and place beets onto foil squares, and top each with a teaspoon or so of olive oil, plus some salt and pepper; wrap in the foil and roast at 400°F for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Peel and halve red onion, then slice crosswise. Put about 1/8 of the thin semicircular onion slices into a small bowl of cool salted water.

When beets are cool, peel them, and cut them into bite-size wedges (each wedge about 1/8 of each beet).

Rinse and pat dry radicchio. Quarter, then slice crosswise. Arrange in platter.

Top radicchio with beets. Top radicchio and beets with citrus segments.

Drain onion slices and scatter them over the salad. Scatter pomegranate seeds atop the salad.

Whisk vinaigrette ingredients and add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad.

Brussels Sprouts, by way of Beirut

1.25 lb Brussels Sprouts, rinsed, quartered, and *thoroughly* dried

olive oil

1/2 C yogurt (thick Greek-style or plain, as you prefer)

4 Tbsp pomegranate syrup (pomegranate juice, reduced to a thick syrup)

4 Tbsp crumbled toasted walnuts

8 Tbsp Sliced Seedless Green Grapes

Ground coriander seed, black pepper, salt (about 1/2 tsp) and sherry vinegar, to taste

Handful pomegranate seeds

Mix the yogurt with the ground coriander seed and black pepper.

Deep fry the Brussels sprouts or sear the cut sides in a pan until well browned - almost burnt - or toss with olive oil and roast in the oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit until crispy. The Brussels sprouts should still be green with browned outer leaves when cooked. Toss with salt and sherry vinegar.

Stir together until completely coated the Brussels sprouts, spiced yogurt, walnuts and grapes, then swirl in the pomegranate syrup so it looks kind of like a ribbon winding through the dish, garnish with pomegranate seeds and serve warm.

Superfood Indulgence: Dark Chocolate-Ginger-Walnut-Cherry "Bark"

Dark-Chocolate Bark with Ginger, Walnuts and Dried Cherries (or Cranberries)

This antioxidant rich indulgence packs omega-3s, vitamin C, and fiber derived from whole foods into one small, delicious (vegan!) package.

1 1/2 cups walnut halves (6 ounces)
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup dried sour cherries or cranberries (4 ounces), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast walnuts on a baking sheet for 8 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Line a baking sheet with parchment / wax paper. In a glass bowl, heat two-thirds of the chocolate in a microwave oven at high power in 30-second bursts until just melted. Stir until smooth. Add remaining chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the walnuts, cherries and crystallized ginger until evenly coated.

Scrape the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it into a 12-by-8-" rectangle. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, or until firm enough to cut. Cut into 48 pieces (6 x 8) and transfer to a plate. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Thanksgiving 2010

Blue cheese - Brie - Chevre plate

Gold almond raisin crispbread, apple and pear slices and fig jam

~

Ruby salad (pomegranate, radicchio, ruby grapefruit, and beets with pomegranate vinaigrette)

Emerald salad (kale)

~

Flash-fried Brussels sprouts with pomegranate syrup, Greek yogurt, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and green and gold grapes

Gingered yams with mustard greens

Roasted wild mushrooms

Rosemary-lemon gremolata over broiled wild Alaskan salmon

Vegetarian stuffing

Cranberry chutney

Hermann Wiemer 2008 Dry Riesling

~

Gold pumpkin pie with ginger whipped cream

Pear, walnut and raisin cake with salted caramel sauce and whipped cream

Mulled wine

Astonishingly simple chocolate mousse recipe

Courtesy of unwilling guest blogger Mr Bee:

Purchase ~200g of bittersweet chocolate (Callebaut ~70% cacao works for me — the better the chocolate, the better the mousse) and six eggs. Mr Bee is Aussie and so talks in metric equivalents; I think I used 0.48 lb chocolate or something like that.

- Beat egg whites in a bowl until firm
- Melt chocolate on low heat and mix into bowl with egg yolks (use bowl that you want to serve mousse in as this will be final bowl)
- Then fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate/yolk mixture using a wooden spoon (make sure it is wood)
- Put in fridge for 4-5 hours
- Optional: add a little fruit or sea salt, or even sesame seeds to give it a “sexy edge” (Mr Bee’s words)

Food Poem Fridays: Dan Masterson's SUNDAY DINNER

Sunday Dinner

by Dan Masterson

Linen napkins, spotless from the wash starched
And ironed, smelling like altar cloths. Olives
And radishes wet in cut glass, a steaming gravy bowl
Attached to its platter, an iridescent pitcher cold
With milk, the cream stirred in moments before.

The serving fork, black bones at the handle, capped
In steel, tines sharp as hatpins. Stuffed celery,
Cut in bite-sized bits, tomato juice flecked
With pepper, the vinegar cruet full to the stopper
Catching light from the chandelier.

Once-a-week corduroyed plates with yellow trim,
A huge mound of potatoes mashed and swirled.
Buttered corn, side salads topped with sliced tomatoes,
A tall stack of bread, a quarter-pound of butter
Warmed by its side. And chicken, falling off the bone:
Crisp skin baked sweet with ten-minute bastings.

Homemade pies, chocolate mints and puddings,
Coffee and graceful glasses of water, chipped ice
Clinking the rims.

Cashews in a silver scoop, the centerpiece a milkglass
Compote with caved-in sides, laced and hung
With grapes, apples, and oranges for the taking.

Tree Trimming Sipper: Rosemary Martinis

Last night, we Hindus, Jews, Zoroastrians, Muslims and Christians trimmed my favorite Persian and Jewish couple's Christmas tree while becoming steadily more inebriated on a very alcoholic infusion of rosemary lightened with lemon. Spirits were high in more than one sense of the word, and the sweet scent of pine wafted not just from the Douglas fir but also from our martini glasses.

I made a simple syrup infused with rosemary by slowly over low heat stirring 1 cup sugar into 1 cup water along with all the needles from five or six rosemary stalks. When the sugar completely dissolved, I let the rosemary sit to infuse the simple syrup, probably for at least half an hour until the others arrived.

I took wide strips of zest off several lemons and juiced them, and set myself up with ice, vodka, and a cocktail shaker to make individual martinis.

For each, I placed a few strips of zest, a shot of vodka, and half a shot of rosemary infused simple syrup into the cocktail shaker with two ice cubes and the juice of about half a lemon. I vigorously shook each cocktail for at least 30 seconds, strained, and served.

Happy syncretic Obama nation holidays to all : )

A Gold and Green Thanksgiving

As soon as I upload the pictures, I promise to blog this year's Thanksgiving meal. It was distinctive in two ways.

1. We used the Deli Garage's available-in-Europe-only edible gold spray paint to dramatic effect.

2. Twenty three fruits and vegetables made appearances - some in multiple dishes - in this order:
figs
cranberries
apples
pears
lacinato kale
radicchio
pomegranate
red onion
ruby grapefruit
beets
Brussels sprouts
green grapes
yams
mustard greens
shallots
celery
carrots
leeks
onions
fennel
oranges
mushrooms (shiitake, cremini, and oyster)
pumpkin