Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

So a couple of weeks ago I got a comment left on my blog about my Snickerdoodle muffins(aka refund muffins). But this was not a comment asking for money back, in fact it was a comment asking if they could send me a gift. See, this reader(Eunice of Lemond Almond) is actually getting people to pay her to make those refund muffins for them. I politely thanked her and said it wasn’t necessary but she said that she wanted to and so I said alright. I’m glad I did. She decided that since she found my site through a Donna Hay event that she would send me a Donna Hay cookbook. Well I own quite a few and so her choices were narrowed…but then she realized that one of the books wasn’t even released yet in the states(she is in Singapore). So in the mail the other day arrived a package with a lovely note and a copy of Donna Hay Simple Essentials Chocolate. YUM. It is a smaller book that the ones I own(which is great because the DH are so tall they barely fit in my bookcase). I immediately wanted to make something from it…only problem was that I had baked all day and had no eggs left(it came later on in the afternoon). So frantically I went searching for a egg less recipe, and I found one. Chocolate Crunch Slice. It basically was the genius idea of crushing up biscuits(cookies) and pouring ganache over them in a loaf pan and refrigerating. Why had I never thought of this? I didn’t have biscuits, but I had Jo-Jo’s(Trader Joe’s version of Oreos). And mine is wedge instead of a slice since my loaf pans were in use for something else. You can imagine by looking at the ingredient list that this was super rich but super good.
So I would like to give a special thanks to my reader Eunice for the very thoughtful and useful gift!!!

Chocolate Crunch Slice

½ cup cream
15 ¾ oz dark chocolate, chopped
4 ½ oz butter, chopped
8 oz store bought shortbread biscuits(but I used Oreos), chopped

Place cream, chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and combined. Place biscuits in a mixing bowl and pour over two thirds of the chocolate mixture, and stir to coat. Spoon into a 12 ½ x 2 ¾ x 3 inch) bar tin lined with non-stick paper. I personally used a 4 ½ inch diameter spring from pan instead. Pour remaining chocolate mixture over and tap tin to remove any bubbles. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set. To serve, remove from tin, dust with cocoa(if desired) and cut into slices(I did wedges). Makes 16.

Source: Adapted from Donna Hay Simple Essentials Chocolate, 2007

“You can order something other than salad….you know that right?” These were the words spoken to me by my now husband after dating for about 3 weeks. Everywhere I went I was ordering salad. I wasn’t trying to be polite or watching my weight, I just happened to really like salad. Problem was as a single girl my ingredients in my fridge would always spoil before I could use them….so I usually only had salad when I went out to eat. He kept taking me out to eat. I kept eating salad. I still to this day don’t make it at home as much as I would eat it because(and this will be shocking) my husband doesn’t like salad. So if I do have salad, it is usually for lunch when Mr. No Palate is not around.
I’ve been very bad lately about participating in blogging events. Seems I always remember to do it the day(or week) after the fact. But the Salad Stravaganza(co-hosted by Lisa and Kelly) was publicized enough to the Daring Bakers that I had enough gently reminders to get mine in. This is a salad I like to make for company. The poached pear for some reason is very exciting to them(it’s not hard people). When I am feeling ambitious(not today) I usually make a blue cheese fritter to go along with it….but it was warm so the idea of standing in front of frying oil was not appealing. This salad has a lot of flavors occurring but they marry nicely together. And as usual, my salad is not low fat.
Have a salad recipe you want to share? You too can be part of the Salad Stravaganza. Just head on over to either La Mia Cucina or Sass and Veracity to get more information.

Poached Pear Salad with Blue Cheese, Spiced Caramel Walnuts and Blackberry Jam Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Salad greens
poached pears(recipe follows)
blackberry jam vinaigrette(recipe follows)
spiced caramel walnuts(recipe follows)
blue cheese( however much you like)

Poached Pears

2 ripe Green Anjou pears, cut in half and cored
1 ½ cups Pinot Gris(I used A to Z from here in the PNW)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup Port wine
2 whole cloves

Bring wines, sugar and cloves to a boil(making sure the sugar dissolves) and then bring to a simmer. Poach pears for 15 minutes. Remove ¾ cup of the liquid and reserve. Leave the pears in the liquid while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Blackberry Jam Vinaigrette

¾ cup poaching liquid from the pears
2 TBSP cider vinegar
¾ cup olive oil
1 tsp garlic
¼ cup blackberry jam

Cook reserved pear liquid(make sure no cloves are in there) until reduced by half. In a blender or Cuisinart mix reduction with blackberry jam, vinegar, garlic and some salt to taste. While blender is running, slowly add the oil.

Spiced Caramel Walnuts

1 cup walnuts
½ cup sugar
½ tsp chile powder
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp sea salt

Combine sugar with the spices. Place into a saucepan and turn on medium heat. Watch carefully to see the sugar start to caramelize around the edges of the pan. When that happens throw in the walnuts and stir. When they are coated in caramel spread onto a pan that has been covered in parchment paper. Once it is completely cooled, break into pieces.

To put the salad together:
 Place a little bit of vinaigrette onto the bottom of the plate(this insures that the bottom greens get some of the good stuff too). Slice poached pear half in half. The slice each quarter and fan out placing it in the middle of the greens. Garnish with walnuts and blue cheese crumbles. Drizzle desired amount of vinaigrette.

I decided that I had better make something with sugar before I started to make poor Jeff over at C is for Cooking worry about me. It’s not that I haven’t been making things with sugar, I have just been making things that have already been on my blog…so I can’t put them up again. In case you were wondering what those were: blackberry cobbler, peanut butter chocolate chip cake and my mom’s banana bread. So not to worry, sugar has been in my system
I had tagged this cake awhile back when a friend had given me some homemade blackberry jam. As with most recipes I mark them and then they go and get lost into the dark corners of my mind. But as I was searching for something else in my pantry I ran across the jam and immediately remember the blackberry jam cake. It is a Bundt cake and therefore by definition is easy to make. The only thing I would change the next time I make it would be to run the jam through a sieve. The seeds in this batch were quite big and noticeable when you are eating the cake. I think this cake would go well with pretty much any jam you threw it’s way.

Blackberry Jam Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups cake flour
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
½ tsp fresh nutmeg
¾ cup sour cream
1 cup blackberry preserves

Preheat oven to 300F.
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and scrape down the bowl after each egg. Add the vanilla a beat for another 30 seconds.
Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda.
Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beating after each addition. Fold in the blackberry preserves.
Pour into a buttered and floured 10-inch bundt or tube pan(I used mini). Bake at 300F for 15 minutes. Increase heat to 350F and bake until done(40-50) minutes. If making the mini bake about 10 minutes less. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

If you want to make the glaze(no real recipe) simply heat up some jam. Remove the jam from the heat when it has melted and sprinkle in some powdered sugar until you reach a consistancy you are happy with.

Adapted from Cakes and Pastries at the Academy by California Culinary Academy

There has been a lot of talk lately in the culinary world about the 100 mile diet. For those who don’t know what it is, it is basically only eating food that has been grown or made within 100 miles of where you live. It all started from a book, Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith and J.B Mackinnon. Now if someone had asked me a few years ago if I could do this I would have laughed in their face. Arizona is not known for it’s bounty of food. I could never have seafood again and I would be living on citrus. Moving to the Pacific Northwest is a whole other story. My first spring here was overwhelming to me, all this beautiful produce grown right here in my state, nothing I had seen in Arizona. Up until we moved here I had thought little of Pacific Northwest cuisine. I took a one night class on it and that was about it. We made salmon, pasta with Tillamook cheese and hazelnuts and something with Dungeness crab.
The local chef up here are very good about using what is around them and it shows in the freshness of their cuisine. One of my favorite chefs, Kathy Casey, wrote a wonderful cookbook about the flavors of the Northwest. It not only has fantastic recipes but it also has a wealth of information about food in the Pacific Northwest. I chose to make the Cheddar Ale Spread with Overnight Rosemary Flatbread because I was in search of a new party appetizer…I found one. Trying to stay true to the 100 mile rule I used Tillamook cheese, Redhook Ale, hazelnuts my friend gave me from her dad’s tree, and parsley and rosemary from a friends garden.
So could you do it? Could you do the 100 mile diet from where you live?

Cheddar Ale Spread

8 oz cream cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 ½ cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
2 TBSP heavy cream
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup flavorful Northwest beer( I used Redhook)
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
½ cup hazelnuts, lightly toasted, skinned and coarsely chopped

Combine the cream cheese, mustard, Cheddar, cream, Tabasco, and salt in a food processor. Process for about 30 seconds, add the beer, and continue processing until very smooth. Pulse in the parsley and hazelnuts until just dispersed.

Can be stored in fridge for up to 4 days. You will want to take it out an hour before serving if you do refridgerate.

Overnight Rosemary Semolina Flat Bread

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water(110F), plus more if needed
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 ½ cups flour, plus more for dusting
2 TBSP finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup semolina
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for topping

In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and the 1 cup of water. Add the oil and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, rosemary, semolina and  a tsp of salt.
Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture, stirring with a large spoon to combine. Then, using clean hands and working in the bowl, mix until the dough comes together. If needed, add another 2 TBSP warm water and continue mixing dough into a a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Drizzle the bowl with ½ tsp oil and return the dough ball to the bowl, turning the dough to coat well with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night or for up to 24 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat an oven to 425F. Meanwhile, cut the dough into 8 wedges, then over with a damp towel and let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before rolling.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out each wedge into a 5 by 10 inch rectangle. Brush or drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt to taste. Arrange on ungreased baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden and crispy but not over browned.

Source: Adapted from Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table by Kathy Casey, 2006