Today we wanted something a little different for breakfast but that was both sweet and sort of healthy. Mom also had apples that she said we needed to eat or use up so we decided to make a Dutch Apple Pancake. This is a really easy, fun thing to make and it looks super cool when you take it out of the oven (it’s really puffy). It settles down after about a minute but its still delicious. We first made this when Max was in kindergarten doing an apple study in Eve’s class and it has been one of our favorite morning (or anytime) dishes since then.
The first thing to do is preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Then assemble the ingredients: apples, butter, cinnamon, eggs, milk, flour and salt. First you peel and slice 3 large or 4 medium apples. Then you toss with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. (If your apples are really tart, you may want to add some sugar. We used Gala apples and they didn’t need any sugar). Meanwhile melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a pan. After its melted, remove 2 tablespoons and set aside and then add the apple-cinnamon mix to the saute pan. Sautee till softening but not floppy.
Now its time to make the pancake mix: combine 3 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup flour, the melted butter you set aside and 1/4 teaspoon salt and whisk well. Helpful hint: try to have the eggs at room temperature. Then pour the batter over the apple mix and pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Cook until golden brown and puffed up! And if you want sprinkle a little powdered sugar over it before serving, even better.
Today we decided to do a taste test between a regular Navel Orange and a Sumo Orange.
Sumo Oranges are oranges that are a little bigger than regular oranges, have a rougher skin and have a “top-not” (sort of like a Sumo wrestler’s top not). It’s a pretty new citrus varietal that was developed in Japan but is now grown in California. It is a hybrid of both the mandarin and orange families. We evaluated the two oranges on 1. appearance; 2. ease of peeling; 3.stickiness of hands after eating; and 4. taste.
Tonight we wanted to make Indian food for our dad, because it’s one of his favorites and we don’t eat it very often. We decided to make Tandoori-style chicken served with rice, raita, spicy kale and chickpeas and naan. We actually started the chicken the day before because it’s best if it marinates overnight. We based our recipe on one we found in Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook called Indian Cooking. (See below for our fancy plating…especially the heart shaped rice, with chick pea )
Tandoori Chicken
The first thing we needed to do was prep the ingredients for the marinade: We peeled and chopped 1/2 onion into quarters, peeled about an inch of ginger, sliced a clove of garlic and chopped 1/2 a jalapeno pepper. Then we put all those ingredients in a blender with plain yogurt and a spice called Garam Masala which consits of cardomom seeds, cinnomon, cumin cloves, and nutmeg. This is a very traditional spice that is commonly used in north Indian and Pakistani homes, there are many variations, each tasting wonderful. Anyway, after adding all of the ingredients, we blended them until combined… using the food proseser!
Meanwhile we put the chicken thighs in a pan and cut 2 slits in each piece (so the marinade could seep in). Then we salted and peppered them, squeezed a lemon on top and spread the marinade over them. We added a little tumeric to make the marinade more colorful (because Tandoori Chicken is usually very orange) but then read in Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook that the deep orange color of Tandoori Chicken comes from food coloring so we added food coloring to the marinade).
After it marinated overnight, we shook off as much marinade as we could and baked the chicken in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes. Note that if you leave a lot of marinade on the chicken, it bakes onto the pan and is hard to clean. We saved the extra marinade and boiled it (to kill any germs) and added a little chicken broth to make a sauce.
Raita
Raita is a yogurt based dip that we like because it cools down any spicy food. Traditionally its just cucumber, cumin, plain yogurt (and salt and pepper), but we like to add chopped tomatoes as well. It’s best if you make it a couple hours ahead of time so the flavors “blend together.”
Kale and Chickpeas
Mom really likes an Indian dish that combines spinach and chickpeas, but since we didn’t have spinach (and we had kale), we decided to use kale instead. First we de-stalked the kale and rough chopped it. Then we sauteed drained chickpeas in olive oil with a little cumin, garlic powder and curry powder. Then we removed the chickpeas and sauteed the kale in the same pan. We combined the kale and the chickpeas right before serving.
Finally we plated the chicken with rice and sauce, along side the kale chickpea combo. Naan and raita were on the side.
Tonight we decided to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by making Shepherd’s Pie (which seems Irish) and spinach salad (which is green).
The first step in making shepherd’s pie is to start the mashed potatoes for the topping. So that means peeling 6 potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds), cutting them into hunks and putting them in water to cook. Once that’s done, it’s time to chop 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 gloves of garlic and 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme. Once everything is chopped, sautee the onions and carrots for 5 minutes (or until soft), and then add the garlic.
Then it’s time to add 2 pounds of ground lamb and cook until no pink shows. At this point, I recommend spooning out some of the extra fat (see photo of how much there is); otherwise your lamb filling may taste sort of greasy. We scooped out almost 1/2 cup of extra oil/fat. Then you can add tomato paste, red wine (or chicken broth) and the thyme. Let the lamb mix simmer on low while you drain and mash the potatoes (mash them with butter, salt and pepper just like you would if you were going to eat them right then
Now it’s time to put it all together. First you put the lamb mix into a baking pan, then its time to put the mashed potatos on top. You can just scoop them on and spread them but we decided to be “fancy”. We decided to put them in a pastry bag and pipe them on top of the lamb mix. Then into the oven to brown.
While the potatoes were browning, we made a spinach salad (with tomatoes, avocado and bacon). All delicious.
To celebrate Pi Day we made apple pies for Alex’s math class, decorated with the Pi symbol. Because it was a school night we used store bought pie crust (it was a lot of work just cutting up the apples and making the decorations so we didn’t think we had time to make the pie dough from scratch). And while homemade pie dough is definitely better, the Pillsbury pie dough we used was pretty good. Here are the two finished pi pies.
To make the pie filling, we peeled and sliced 10 gala apples. We squeezed a lemon over the slices so they wouldn’t turn brown and we used gala apples because they are pretty sweet so we didn’t have to add sugar (we wanted them to be tasty but healthy). Then we tossed the apple slices with 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
For the pie crust, we rolled out 4 rounds of dough. We pressed two of the rounds into pie pans and let them chill in the fridge. Then we trimmed the edges of the dough around the edge of the pan and filled with apples.
Meanwhile we started working on the top of the pies. Before we put the top on we cut out one bit pi symbol from each topping. Then for Pie #1, we cut out little pi symbols out of extra dough to decorate the pie. For Pie #2, we used the big pi pastry cut-outs to decorate. (We used egg wash to make sure the decortions stuck and then egg washed the whole pie top.) Hope Alex’s math class likes them!
Pie #1
Pie #2
Tonight I (Max) was in charge of dinner and I wanted to make Asian-inspired ribs. These ribs marinade in a hoisin-ginger marinade for several hours, then roast in the oven and finally get brushed with honey at the very end. We added more honey than suggested because who doesn’t love honey. On the side I made stir fry broccoli and jasmine rice. And Alex made delicious and decadent nutella-banana crepes for dessert.
The hardest part of this recipe was cutting the ribs up (we bought a big slab of them); we had to use a Chef’s knife and meat scissors to cut them into ribs.
Then we let them sit in a marinade made of chopped ginger, chopped garlic, hoisin sauce and soy sauce. They need a minimum of two hours in the marinade. Mom wanted salmon tonight so I experimented by using some of the marinade for a piece of salmon and roasting it too.
For the ribs, I roasted them in a pan on a rack over a cup of water for about an hour, turning once mid way through. I also roasted the salmon but only for about 15 minutes. The final touch was brushing them with honey and letting them cook for 10 more minutes. Meanwhile I chopped broccoli, blanched it (cooked in boiling hot water briefly) and stir fried it. We served everything with rice. Mom liked the ribs but she loved the salmon. Next time she told me to make more salmon.
Hi, this is Alex! For the crepes, I made a simple crepe mixture of eggs, milk, flour and salt. The key is to gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry and then strain the whole mix to get out lumps. It’s also easier to make if you have an electric crepe maker…we got one after we spent a week in Paris and fell in love with the crepe stands on the sidewalks (that had these cool crepe makers: sort of like a smooth grill pan). If you don’t have an electric crepe maker, use a crepe pan or shallow nonstick pan.
After I made the batter, I heated the crepe maker, got all the ingredients ready, and poured a 1/2 cup of batter onto the heated, buttered crepe maker. When the first side was done, I flipped it over.
Then came the fun part: spreading the nutella and bananas, folding and serving. I like it with whipped cream and strawberries!
Tonight we combined forces to each make one of our favorite dishes: Alex made chicken with pearl couscous (which is a lot like paella) and Max made goat cheese/walnut/cranberry salad.
Saffron Chicken with Pearl Couscous (Alex)
Ingredients are chicken, pearl couscous, tomatoes, onions, garlic, saffron, lemon peel, plum tomatoes, white wine and chicken broth:
The first step is to brown the couscous in olive oil. Then you remove the couscous and brown the chicken (we use chicken thighs because we like the taste). Then you remove the chicken and sautee onions, plum tomatoes, garlic, 4 long strips of lemon peel and a pinch of saffron. Once the tomatoes start to burst you add back the chicken and 1/2 cup of wine and once that has cooked down, you add chicken broth and the couscous. It simmers for 12-15 minutes…sometimes we add more chicken broth if the couscous is a little crunchy. Finally you add frozen peas.
Butter Lettuce Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts & Cranberries
The first step is to tear the butter lettuce into bite size pieces. Then you toast the walnuts (but keep an eye on them so they don’t burn). Then, while the walnuts cool, add goat cheese and cranberries to the lettuce and make the salad dressing (3 parts oil/1 part sherry vinegar). Finally add the walnuts and, just before serving, add the dressing and toss…yum!
On Saturday, February 10, my mom and I took a cake decorating class at the Institute of Culinary Education. It was really fun and we learned how to make modeling chocolate, swiss meringue buttercream, and chocolate covered strawberries. We also learned how to pipe different shapes and how to work with fondant. The most fun part was decorating cupcakes using all those different techiques.
Modeling Chocolate
To make modeling chocolate, you melt the chocolate (we used white) over water and add corn syrup. Then you mix and spread out thin to harden. After about 2 hours you can color it and shape it into different things. Ours wasn’t set enough to use in class but we saved it to use later. We wrapped in in saran wrap and put in the fridge. Then on Sunday, we softened it up a bit, rolled it out and cut out fun shapes to put on top of our fudge brownies…we didn’t think the fudge brownies could get any better but they did!!
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Swiss meringue buttercream is like regular buttercream but much lighter because it has egg whites. To make it you mix eggwhites and sugar and then heat over water till the mix becomes very liquid. Then you put in the electric mixer and beat until very stiff and cool. Then you switch the mixer’s attachment to a paddle and add in butter that has been cut into small pieces. You mix that on low until the butter is all incorporated, then you add vanilla. You can also add color if you want. We split our frosting into two batches and colored one blue and then one green. Then we practiced different ways to pipe the frosting. We made stars and flowers, rosettes and shells and different types of borders. Lots of fun and, just being honest here, I am a lot better than my mom.
Chocolate – covered Strawberries
To make chocolate for dipping strawberries or other fruit, you melt 8 oz of your chocolate of choice over water, and when it is melted, stir in 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. The oil helps the chocolate counteract the moisture in the fruit. Then you just dip away. The instructor also showed us how to use cocoa transfer sheets. They are sheets of plastic that have cocoa patterns on them. You put them on the chocolate-covered strawberry while the chocolate is still melted and then, once the chocolate has hardened, you peel of the plastic and the pattern stays. (In the picture below, the white dots are a result of a transfer sheet).
The Cupcakes
Not much to say here except that we decorated cupcakes, using all our new techniques, including fondant. Fondant is sort of rolled sugar: it looks really cool (you can wrap cakes in it our cut shapes out, but I didn’t love the taste. ) Anyway, here are some more of our “masterpieces.”
We were hosting a small Superbowl party and decided to make Enchiladas Suiza and kale salad. We wanted to have Mexican food (since we won the right to host the party when we celebrated Three Kings Day with a Rosca) but also wanted to celebrate our Swiss heritage. Enchiladas Suiza are chicken enchiladas topped with Swiss cheese…and they are delicious. Our guests, the Coronas brought tamales, chips and guacamole,and Russ & Erica brought avocado-deviled eggs. Oh and we also made fudge brownies (of course)
Enchiladas Suiza
The ingredients for Enchiladas Suiza are pretty straight forward: chicken breasts, green chili sauce, onions, jalapenos, and grated gruyere cheese. And they are pretty simple to make. It just takes a lot of steps.
First we prepared the chicken. We poached the chicken breasts in water (with salt and pepper) until they were cooked through. We let them cool a little bit and then we shredded them. At first we used forks but then we just used our (clean) hands. (We actually prepared the chicken on Saturday so we covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge over night)
The next step was to chop the onions and jalapenos. For the jalapenos we took out most of the seeds (because we don’t like the texture and they add heat). When we were done chopping, we washed our hands really really well.
Then we chopped the onions, sauteed them, added some chili powder and cumin and finally then added the green chile sauce. Note we decided not to make it from scratch because we needed so much of it. At this point we split the sauce in half and added the jalapenos to one half. (We wanted to make two versions: one spicy and one normal). We also added a mix of chili powder and cumin to the spicy version.
Finally it was time to assemble the enchiladas. We poured a little sauce in our pan and als0 added some of the sauce to the chicken to keep it moist. Then we set up an assembly line: chicken, tortiallas, pan and cheese. We warmed the tortillas, put a little chicken in the center, sprinkled a little cheese inside and then rolled up. Then we put them seam side down in the pan, covered with more sauce and then lots of grated cheese.
The final step was putting dollops of sour cream on top and baking at a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
Kale Salad:
We have made this many times so I won’t go through all the steps. But basically you have to chop kale, brussel sprouts and almonds, then grate and add pecorino cheese and finally dress with a mustard vinagrette. It’s a good idea to “massage” the kale too (otherwise it’s a little tough).
And here are the brownies.
It was a fun game to watch, but the food and the company were better!
Today I (Max) decided to make dinner for Alex because she had to go to school and I had the day off (since I had finals last week). I also did it because she made dinner for me last week when I was studying. Anyway, I made one of her favorite meals: skirt steak with a Texas spice rub and mashed potatoes. I also made one of my favorite salads: butter lettuce, goat cheese, cranberries and walnuts. For dessert we had homemade snickerdoodles (that I made over the weekend)
Skirt Steak
The key to this recipe is letting the steak marinate in the spice rub for a couple hours before you cook it. For the spice rub I used onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt and pepper. I noticed that the steaks were a little thick so I pounded them thinner (which also tenderizes them) before I rubbed in the spice rub.
Sides
About 30 minutes before I was ready to cook the steaks, I peeled the potatoes for the mashed potatoes, put them in cold water and heat until the water was boiling. Then I let them cook until soft. I also prepped the salad ingredients and make the salad (except for the dressing):
Then I cooked the steaks on high heat, let rest for about 5 minutes and cut against the grain. Delicious!
Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles are perfect when you want to make cookies but you don’t have chocolate chips (so you can’t make chocolate chip cookies) or you don’t have raisins (so you can’t make oatmeal raisin cookies). They just require stuff you almost always have in your kitchen: butter, sugar, flour, eggs, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and cinnamon. You let the butter soften and then cream in sugar. Then you add the rest of the ingredients (except the cinnamon) and let chill for 30 minutes. Next step: mix more sugar with cinnamon and roll the dough into 1 inch balls and then roll the dough in the cinnamon-sugar mix. Finally you flatten the dough balls on a cooking sheet and cook for about 10 minutes. PS: I am sure you are wondering what cream of tartar is and why you add it (most cookies just have baking powder or baking soda but this has cream of tartar and baking soda…why? Well cream of tartar is actually a powdered acid used as a leavener so when it is added to baking soda it creates carbon dioxide gas … which makes the cookies rise. Also because it’s an acid, it makes the snickerdoodles taste a little tangy. Without cream of tartar in there, you would just have a regular sugar cookie with cinnamon on top. And that’s my science lesson for the day.
After yo
