Happy Valentine’s Day

This recipe is for the ladies at the house A Chef of Your Own will be cooking at tonight. I am making Tiramisu for dessert tonight, here is the recipe. You can buy the ladyfingers or I just make them in sheets to make this just a little easier.

Ladyfinger

1/2 up flour

3 large egg yolks

2 Tbls sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 large egg whites

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

3 Tbls sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a shallow pan with parchment and spray with “Pam”

Combine yolks,  2 Tbls sugar and vanilla and whip until pale yellow and thick.

Sift flour into bowl and fold in gently with cutting through the mixture and scraping the bottom.

In a clean bowl, whip whites with cream of tartar to soft peaks. Add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.

Fold the whites into the yolk mixture until just combined.

Pour onto pan and make sure to level the top. Bake 8-10 minutes until just browned and top springs back when touched.

Let cool.

For filling

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz mascarpone

1/2 cup sugar

1 shot espresso

1 oz amaretto

1  1/2  cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar plus 2 Tbls

3/4 cup espresso

1/2 cup amaretto

Whip  1 cup heavy cream. Set aside.

Whip remaining cream with 2 Tbls sugar until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.

Combine cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a bowl and cream until smooth. Add espresso and amaretto. Fold cream into cheese mixture and set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, remaining espresso and amaretto in a shallow dish.

Assembly

Cut sponge into strips to fit in tiramisu pan

Dip sponge into amaretto/espresso mixture and line pan. Top with 1/2 cream mixture. Repeat layers ending with cake. Top with chilled cream and refrigerate.

Before service dust with coco powder.

 

Really Nice sidedish

This is A Chef of Your Own recipe I got while working with Inspired chef and have used with my clients for a number of years.

Thai Red Curry Risotto

4 Tbls oil

1 small onion, chopped,

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 inch piece of ginger, grated

1/2 – 1 tsp Thai red curry paste

2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup sherry

3-4 cups chicken stock

1/2 lb shiitake mush

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups frozen tiny peas

3 Tbls cilantro

Heat oil in pan. Saute onion, garlic and ginger until soft, about 2 minutes.

Add curry paste, paprika and rice, stir well to coat. Add sherry and scrape up any bits that may have stuck to pan.

When sherry is absorbed, add 1 cup chicken stock and stir. When stock is absorbed, add the mushrooms. Add coconut milk and stir gently until liquid is absorbed. Add another cup of chicken stock and repeat as necessary until the rice is cooked and tender. Season to taste with salt.

Just before serving, stir in peas and cilantro.

Wonderful cookbook, wonderful gift

A client gave me a great cookbook for Christmas, The Low Carb Gourmet, by Karen Barnaby. Here is her website, http://www.karenbarnaby.com/biography/bmain.html

I am working my way thru the cookbook and the Egg and Sausage Muffins for breakfast are wonderful. Remember the recipes in this book are low carb, not necessarly low fat, it is a different mindset and works for some people.

My daughter gave me silicone muffin cups for christmas as well, and they made this dish increadably easy to make. I made extras and they heated up fine in the microwave the next day.

Egg and Sausage Muffins

1 lb breakfast sausage

12 large eggs

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook sausage and crumble. Divide evenly into muffin cups.

Whisk together the eggs, cream water and salt. Pour over the sausage and top with cheese.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until eggs are cooked through.

Thai Curry Demo at The Fresh Market

Happy New Year. Wow how December flew by. I hope that whatever holiday you celebrate, you had an awesome time. Today I will be doing a demo at The Fresh Market in Dr Phillips from 1-4. Please stop by if you get the chance.

Thai Curry – Three Ways

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp Republic of Tea Stir Fry Tea Oil

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, cut into half moons

⅓ c Blackstone Chardonnay

1 jar Curry Love organic curry sauce of your choice*

1 c green pepper, sliced

1 can cut baby corn, drained

1 can bamboo shoots, drained

PREPARATION

Heat oil in a skillet over high heat until very hot; add chicken and season

with salt and pepper. Cook chicken, turning until browned on all sides, approximately

2 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer

meat and zucchini to a plate and keep warm. Remove pan from heat and

add wine, scraping up any browned bits from the pan.

Turn heat down to medium low and add sauce to the pan. Add bell pepper

and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add

corn and bamboo shoots and cook for another 2 minutes. Add chicken

and zucchini and bring to a short boil (no more than 2 minutes). Delicious

served over jasmine rice.

* Curry Love organic curry sauces come in Passion Red Thai Curry,

Luscious Yellow Thai Curry and Blissful Banana Ginger Curry.

For a vegetarian option, use the Blissful Banana Ginger Curry, and replace

the chicken with 8 ounces of fresh Extra Firm Tofu, cubed

 

Bacon makes everything better

Here is another recipe from the Fresh Market demo from this past weekend. Enjoy!

Deviled Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip

Ingredients

1 8-oz tub TFM Whipped Cream Cheese

¾ c blue cheese, such as Maytag or Danish

¾ c Robert Rothschild Farm Horseradish Sauce

1 shallot, finely minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

6 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled

Quely Whole Wheat Crackers

Preparation

Add all ingredients except bacon and crackers to food processor

and pulse until very smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and fold in

bacon until combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.

Holiday Demo at The Fresh Market

It’s that time of year again when A Chef of Your Own will be doing the Holiday entertaining demo at The Fresh Market. I was at the Dr Phillips store yesterday and I will be at the store in Altamont today. By far the hit of the demo yesterday was the Fig and Olive Tapanade with goat cheese. I will add the other recipes throughout the holiday so be sure to check back. I wish you all the best this holiday season, and a very happy and prosperous New Year. For ease of this recipe for the demo, I poured the tapenade over the log of goat cheese.

Fig & Olive Tapenade with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

1 c Dalmatia Fig Spread

½ c pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

2 tbsp O Roasted Garlic and Mission Olive Oil

1 tbsp TFM balsamic vinegar

1 10-oz log soft fresh goat cheese, such as chevre

TFM French Rounds

Preparation

In a bowl, combine fig spread, olives, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar,

stirring to mix well. Season tapenade to taste with salt and pepper.

Cover and refrigerate; tapenade can be made up to three days

ahead. Before serving, bring tapenade to room temperature. Spread

goat cheese on French Rounds and top with tapenade.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

At least around here.

Rum Cake

Cookies and fudge!

I’ve never tried these with bourbon, but I bet they would be fantastic!

Rum Balls

1 cup butter

4 Tbls powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup finely chopped pecans

2-3 Tbls rum or bourbon

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and flour and mix well. Fold in chopped nuts and add liquor.

Shape into small balls. Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 miutes. Roll in powdered sugar while still hot. When cool, roll in powdered sugar again. Makes about 3 dozen.

 

S’more please

This is a pie A Chef of Your Own made for my own Thanksgiving. As a long time girl scout, s’moors are a big part of camping and always seem to be included whenever we do anything. The chocolate filling seemed a little sweet, so I may work on something new, but for now here is the recipe. If you have a favorite chocolate pie you can use that for the base. I adapted this recipe from the November issue of food network magazine.

S’mores Pie

Crumb Crust

14 graham cracker sheets

3 Tbls sugar

6 Tbls melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grind the cookies and sugar in a food processor. Add the melted butter and pulse until moist. Press into a 9-inch pie plate and bake until firm, 18-22 minutes. Let cool before filling.

French Silk Pie

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, (since this recipe will not be cooked, I use pasteurized eggs. allrecipe.com suggests that high risk individuals not consume this pie, I would rather not take a chance)

Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar with a mixer until light and well blended. Stir in the thoroughly cooled chocolate, add the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating 5 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Pour into pie shell. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

For Marshmallow topping

Beat 3 egg whites, 1 tsp cream of tartar and 1 1/4 cup sugar in a  bowl over simmering water with a mixer until the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and beat stiff. Spread on the pie and broil or torch until golden.

What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for my family and the success of my chef service, A Chef of Your Own. I am thankful for my health and that my family has been healthy enough to have flex dollars left in the account. I am thankful for my mother’s health and that she is able to enjoy another holiday season with all of us.

I am also thankful for an excuse to overindulge for the day.

Pecan Pie

Apple Crumb

S’moores

To go with the turkey…

Here is an easy cranberry sauce recipe. Most A Chef of Your Own clients ask for extra.

Cranberry Sauce

1 pound fresh cranberries

1 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 7-10 minutes until the cranberries pop. Cool and enjoy.