Wednesday, January 30, 2013

It was a dark and stormy night.....oops, wrong genre!

Well, it has been cloudy and rainy the last two days. I feel sympathy for the people who come here for only a week and part of that week it is raining. Kind of puts a crimp in your style. It rains so little in Nevada that I never mind when it rains. And of course, this is a working vacation for me.

Since it was raining, I did some baking. Chocolate chip cookies and Olive Oil Coffeecake. It is always a challenge baking when going between high altitude and sea level, but I think I am getting the hang of it. More leavening is needed at sea level than at a high altitude. Most recipes seem to be written for sea level or close to it. Just use less yeast, baking soda or baking powder when baking at high altitudes and things turn out well.

Lunch on Monday was Broccoli-Cheese Pie. Since this is a rental unit, you kind of use what's available. I found a 6 inch by 6 inch square glass pan, and that became my "pie plate". It worked out just fine.

As it was raining, we stayed indoors with occasional outings to the lanai (patio) outside the condo. There is such a beautiful view here! I am always amazed by it.

Monday dinner was Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous. An easy dish from Ellie Krieger (Food Network) that appeals to everyone.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
8 ounces baby spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup low-sodium canned chopped tomatoes with juice
2 cups whole wheat couscous, cooked




Directions

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove the chicken and set aside. To the same pan, add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the balsamic vinegar and chicken broth to the pan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the couscous in a serving bowl. Top with the spinach, chicken and balsamic-tomato sauce.

Dessert on Monday was Coconut Rice Pudding made with coconut milk (you'd think it was made with actual shredded coconut, but that is optional in this recipe). I had bought coconut milk for a dish on Tuesday evening, but knew I would have a lot left over, so decided to utilize it for another purpose. Since I am only here two weeks, I am trying to build meals around similar supplies so I am not wasting much, if anything. Serve it in a special bowl (in my case a martini glass). I try to pay attention to plating of food because we eat with our eyes first, then our mouth.

Using every bit of food we bought is important to me not just because groceries are expensive enough in Hawaii. There was also a story on evening TV news that covered the amount of food Americans throw away. It is astounding the amount of food we carelessly throw away!

The weather was suppose to clear on Tuesday. Although it appeared at first the clouds were dissapating, it gradually became cloudy again and rained most of Tuesday afternoon. We took a walk during what we thought was a break in the clouds, but ended up soaked by the time we got back to the condo. Oh, well! It's only water.

Tuesday lunch was a Pan Bagnat (recipe courtesy of Laura Caulder from the Cooking Channel). It is a sandwich which starts with a French baguette filled with marinated sliced tomatoes, red onion and fresh basil leaves, sliced hard boiled egg and sliced black olives. The baguette was hollowed out then rubed with half a clove of garlic, then sprinkled with olive oil. The longer you let it sit, the better it gets as the olive oil and vinegar seep into bread. Yum!

Dinner was Papaya Rice Salad with Grilled Shrimp. The recipe (from Cooking Light magazine June 2005) calls for mango not papaya but we couldn't find any mangos! So, you improvise with something similar but more readily available. I guess one thing I learned in cooking school, was if you don't have exactly what is needed, use what is available. Although that takes some thought because you need to realize what foods will work together and taste just as good and what won't work together. We repeated the Raspberry-Chocolate Truffle tarts for dessert last night. It is nice to know that the tarts will hold up for a good number of days without losing their good flavor!

I am taking an online nutrition class through Coursera. The class started Monday, the 28th, and lasts for six weeks. And the best part? It's free!! More and more classes are being offered online for no charge and being taught by some of the best professors in any given field. You cannot get a college credit for them, but you can learn more about topics of interest to you. Their website is www.coursera.org if you'd like to check it out.

And here it is Wednesday. The clouds have almost disappeared and the sun is out. I can see why Hawaii is called "paradise". I made some French toast for breakfast this morning. There was some sliced sourdough bread that was bought before I arrived and it seemed a good thing to take advantage of (little or no waste, remember?). I mixed up a custard (1 cup of half & half, two eggs, 1/4 cup of sugar, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt), dunked the bread slices (I have to admit, I like thick sliced French or Italian bread for French toast but I used what I had) and cooked them on the stovetop until browned on both sides. It certainly cooks more quickly when you work with thin-sliced bread! A few raspberries for garnish, pass the maple syrup and voila! Breakfast in less than 15 minutes.

After breakfast I cooked some white beans which will be used for a lunch salad today as well as two other recipes over the course of the next week. Would you believe there were no canned cannelini beans at the market? My solution? Start from scratch with dried white beans and cook them myself (I haven't done that in a while, lol, as well-rinsed canned white beans-or garbonzo beans for that matter--work just as well). Lunch today is a Five Minute Salad (again courtesy of Ellie Krieger) with lettuce, white beans, tomatoes, and goat cheese served with a balsamic vinaigrette. Nice and light, as we are going out to dinner tonight at the Banyon Tree restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton tonight (a girl has to have at least one night off a week!). I am looking forward to that! The food is superb there!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

The weeks have flown by and here we are at the end of January, already! Saturday, the 26th, I flew to Maui from Reno to start a private chef job for two weeks. I know, tough isn't it?

My plane arrived at 2pm Saturday. My employer picked me up and off we went to Ka'anapali to stay at Ka'anapoli Shores. The condo is a corner unit and is about 20 feet from the beach. Talk about a great work place! We took a walk up the beach for exercise and to look at the different properties along the ocean front.

Saturday evening I was taken out to dinner (resting up the day of my arrival) at Merriman's Restaurant in Kapalua, right up the road from Ka'anapoli. The restaurant is right at the edge of the beach with a fabulous view of the sunset. I had Scallops with Bacon and a corn salsa and a half lobster tail. Yum! For dessert, I had masalades filled with white chocolate. These are little beignets, really, tossed with powdered sugar and delivered to your table in a little paperbag. It came with a caramel dipping sauce.

Sunday morning, the 27th, we went off to the grocery store (Foodland Farms) to shop for supplies for the rest of the week. The only problem with cooking in an unknown environment is that you never know what pots and pans there are, whether the knives are sharp or dull (dull), etc. And of course, there are the usual staples if you want to bake anything or use any spices. So a trip to the store was almost $400.00! And don't forget that often food is twice the price in Hawaii as it is on the mainland. Sticker shock at it's finest.

Lunch yesterday was Ratatouille. Nothing like a big plate of seasoned vegetables as a delicious meal.

In the afternoon I went to the beach to lay out a bit to get some color (or new wrinkles as a friend of mine told me, lol). While laying there, several of the tourists along the walk starting talking about seeing something, so I got up off the lounge chair to see what they were so excited about. About six feet off shore was a sea turtle! He was about three feet long, with fins. He looked like he was surfing the waves (which reminded me of the sea turtles in Finding Nemo). Sea turtles are a protected species, so any contact with them is forbidden. Every once in a while, he would stick his head out of the water. Amazing!

After the beach, I started in on the Sunday night dessert: Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Tart. It contains a chocolate cookie crust, chocolate ganache with one raspberry in the center. A lovely recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence.



Truffle Tarts with Raspberries

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fine chocolate wafer crumbs (from Oreo cookies or chocolate wafers)
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 recipe Dark Chocolate Truffles, recipe follows, whipped but not shaped into balls
6 fresh raspberries, plus extra for serving

Directions
Use a fork to mix together the chocolate wafer crumbs and butter. Spray the cups of a 6-muffin tin with a vegetable spray. Line the cups with strips of parchment or waxed paper, cut so that they are as wide as the diameter of each cup and long enough to overhang the sides (you'll need this overhang to remove the tarts). Use the bottom of a small glass to press the crumbs over the bottom and sides of the muffin cups, building the sides up to only about 1 1/2 inches. Place a raspberry in the center of each crust and with a pastry bag or small plastic bag with the corner snipped off, fill the tarts with the truffle mixture. Smooth the tops and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Dark Chocolate Truffles:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces good-quality (70 percent) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder, for dusting

In a saucepan, bring the cream just to a simmer over low heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a bowl and let stand about 10 minutes to melt the chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Then beat the chocolate at medium speed until it gets thick and light colored. Spread over the bottom of a baking dish and smooth the top. Refrigerate about 2 hours, until firm.

Pour the cocoa powder onto a deep plate or shallow bowl. Use a melon baller or small ice cream scoop to scoop out balls of chocolate; place them on the plate with the cocoa powder and roll between 2 forks to completely coat with the cocoa powder. Then use the forks to carefully transfer them to a parchment or waxed lined baking sheet.

Yield: 15 to 20 candies, depending on size

Dinner was Cumin-Crusted Grilled Tuna with Avocado Relish served with white rice. Also an easy but tasty dish from from McCormick (the spice people). After dinner we watched Downton Abbey-a PBS series. I've seen it before but have not followed up, so some things needed to be explained to me, lol. Ah, well.... After the show finished, it was dessert time. A round of approval was given the the Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Tart!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Happy New Year! (Just a little late, lol)

I never cease to be amazed at how quickly time flies. Life often seems to just happen, which means you have to work to remember what is important in life.

We have had so many winter storms here that we spent Christmas at home rather than trying to drive to LA to spend it with my sisters and my mom. The snow is beautiful but SO cold! (I know, duh, that's obvious, but winters in Reno have been very mild.)

New Years Eve Jordan and I had dinner at Gas Lamp, one of our favorite restaurants, then headed over to the Grand Sierra to ring in the new year. Jordan is not so enthralled with Christmas, but he loves New Years. It is exciting to be with a large group of people when midnight strikes but then I'm ready to go home!

I have been cooking the last few weeks for my personal chef client who is back from Maui, which is always a pleasure. Dishes like Bruchetta with Peppers and Gorgonzola, Lamp Chops withPomegrate and Dried Fig Relish, Roasted Squash, Stuffed Chicken Divan with Sherry Dijon Sauce, Aubergine Caviar (Eggplant), Pecan Rice Pilaf, Savory Chicken Pot Pies, Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Aged Cheddar, Pancetta and Sauteed Leeks, Cavatelli Pasta with Sweet Sausage, Roasted Peppers and Raisins, Balsamic Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Grapes (truly a treat if you have never tried roasting grapes),

Filet Mignon Drizzled with a Maple Balsamic Reduction, Sweet Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan Potato Crochettes, Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables,

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Chard and White Beans, Leek and Goat Cheese tart, Panko Shrimp with Strawberry Aioli, Minestrone soup, and Cochon Butcher's Muffaletta. Desserts were Walnut Pear Sour Cream Cake and

Chocolate Cream Cake (no flour, can you believe it?!). All yummy dishes!

I have also been trying some new recipes. Last week I made a Spiced Cranberry Cake. I had wanted to make it for Christmas but made so many Christmas cookies, it didn't seem like a good idea to add to all those cookies I had made (even though most of them went to friends for Christmas gifts). I had read about this type of cake (ok, I admit I have a weakness for cozy mysteries with recipes) a few months ago so searched for a recipe for it. Dorie Greenspan had just the recipe I was looking for. And the secret of this wonderful cake? Chinese five-spice! It truly was a great cake. I will add it to my list of recipes if anyone else would like to try it.

I made a carrot cake tonight (the recipe is from Rachel Allen. She has a cooking show on the BBC and the Cooking Channel. She makes it as a loaf cake but I made a six inch double layer cake. Her cream cheese frosting is to die for, I much admit. 9 ounces of cream cheese, 1/4 cup of softened butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 10 ounces of confectioners sugar and the zest of one orange. YUM! It was also the first time (since culinary school) that I have baked using weight alone for all my ingredients (except liquids). It was easier than I remember and they (the pastry chef they) say it is the most accurate way to bake to get the best results.


Once I finished the cake, I started in making Key Lime Coolers (ccokies). I was shopping last week and saw Key limes for sale in a one pound bag. You don't often see Key limes in Reno, so I grabbed them while I could. I found a recipe for Key Lime Coolers while reading the coffeehouse mysteries by Cleo Coyle (Alice Alfonso who writes under that name with her husband, Mark). I have gotten a few really good recipes from her website (more cozy mysteries, lol). These cookies use the zest and the juice of Key limes, although you can substitute regular limes if you cannot find Key limes.

Key Lime Coolers

Ingredients:
Cookies:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp Key lime zest*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp Key lime juice

For Sugar-dusting:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tsp Key lime zest

*Note: If you can’t find Key limes, simply substitute the more common (Persian) limes for this recipe. The tart flavor will be less intense, but the cookies will still taste delicious.

Warning: Lime juice may curdle your butter so follow this recipe's directions. Do not add the lime juice to the dough until the end of the mixing process.

Directions: First preheat your oven to 325° F. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Blend in the vanilla extract, salt, and lime zest.
Add the flour and baking powder, and mix very briefly until a shaggy dough forms.
Now add your lime juice and mix until a smooth dough comes together, but do not over-mix or your cookies will be tough instead of tender.

Roll the dough into balls about one inch in diameter.

Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. cookies are done when bottoms are slightly browned. Note that cookies are fragile while warm, so handle with care.

To finish, mix 1⁄2 cup confectioners’ sugar with 2 teaspoons lime zest in a shallow bowl. While cookies are still warm, gently roll them, one at a time, in the bowl of sugar and lime zest.

After all the cookies are coated, finish by sprinkling any remaining sugar-lime mixture over the cookie tops.

Store cooled cookies in an airtight plastic container. They also freeze extremely well.

Thanks for the recipe, Cleo!