5.14.2005

Cornbread

My friend Kim doesn't hang out in the kitchen much because she's convinced that she has no skills when it comes to cookery, but the truth is...she makes the meanest cornbread in the State of Michigan. She's in Spain right now living an adventure, so I can't offer you her recipe. However, I will give you the Joy of Cooking's rendition because everyone needs to have atleast one cornbread recipe in their life.

3/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. corn meal
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder ( I only use 2 tsp.)
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
2-3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 c. milk

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
In one bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, beat the egg and combine it with the melted butter and milk.
Combine all of the ingredients together.
Pour the batter in to a greased pan or muffin tray.
If you use a pan the cornbread should take about 20-25 minutes to bake.
If you use a muffin tray they should take a little less time to cook (10 minutes), so keep an eye on them.

5.04.2005

Remedy Numero Uno

I have a friend named Liz. She's the queen of the home remedy. Two years ago she started making this potion. Ever since many of us have been overcoming the occasional cold and flu by using it. If you drink it before bedtime, after soaking in a very hot bath, you should feel better come morning. I haven't taken an aspirin/tylenol/sudafed tablet in two years. This is really an all-purpose concotion to be enjoyed during the colder months of the year and/or whenever your system is down.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 ginger root
1 lemon or lime
Some honey (optional)

HOW TO MAKE THE POTION:

Slice up atleast two-inches of a ginger root. "More is better" in this case, so chop, chop.
Fill a saucepan with water.
Your stove set to high, bring the water to a complete boil.
Then, reduce the heat of your stove's element to medium temperature.
Throw in your pieces of ginger. Allow them to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Squeeze the juice of one lemon or lime into a mug. Add a spoonful of honey to the mug, if you like. (Brandy if you're restless).
Pour some of the simmered ginger juicein to your cup and enjoy.

*The left over simmered ginger juice may be refrigerated and reheated for another time.

5.03.2005

Macaroooooooooons!

Following this recipe, in about thirty minutes, tops, you should have a lovely bunch of macaroons. This recipe makes about 30 quarter sized treats.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of shredded coconut (unsweetened coconut is best, but if the grocery store only has sweetened coconut, no worries)
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or if you have a vanilla bean handy, cut it in half and use its seeds). Or you might try adding a crushed cardamom pod.)
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 cups condensed milk
2 egg whites (beaten until you have a stiff foam)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

In one bowl, combine the coconut, salt, condensed milk and vanilla extract together.

In a separate bowl, fluff up your egg whites until you have a stiff foam.

Then, fold the egg whites in to the coconut mixture. By folding, I mean, mix in a chunk of the fluffed egg whites into the coconut mixture, gradually and gently. The egg whites are what help maintain the macaroons' pillowyness. If you beat the egg whites into the coconut mixture you will end up with flat macaroons.

Then, grease a non-stick cookie sheet with butter.

With your hands, make little balls from the batter and place them 2-inches apart from one another on the cookie sheet.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Leave the oven light on and check intermittently. Take them out when golden brown.

Take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Remove the macaroons from the pan. They will be sticky and lose their shape when you try to remove them from the sheet, but fret not, you can reshape them with your hands. Allow them a few minutes to cool down.

** If you have time you could try dipping the bottoms of them in melted chocolate (once they have finished cooling) to achieve a more show stopping result.

5.02.2005

Ginger Is Good For Your Stomach

I used to work in a deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan called Zingerman's. During my lunch break I would often eat one of their Ginger Jump-Up cookies for dessert. Tasty. Long story short, late one night, when I should have been studying I did a bit of tinkering around in the kitchen to create a cookie that is almost as tasty as the real thing.

Bowl One, Combine:

2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. ginger (powder form)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. clove
1/2 tsp. baking powder
For those that LOVE ginger, chop up some crystalized ginger and incorporate the bits into the flour/leavening/spice mixture.

Bowl Two, Combine:

3/4 cup butter, SOFTENED (I usually leave the butter out to soften a few hours before making the cookies)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg (beat it before you add it to the butter and sugar mixture)
1/3 cup molasses

Combine the ingredients of bowl one with those of bowl two.
Roll dough in to a kind of log and put it in a plastic bag.
Chill the dough for atleast one hour.
Then, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out. You can use a floured wine bottle or something of the sort – instead of a standard rolling pin. I myself have been using a Perrier bottle.
You can use the rim of a glass as a cookie cutter if you don't have conventional ones.
Roll the cookies in sugar and bake them for 10-12 minutes, in an oven of 350º F.

Interesting...

Poires Belle Hélène

You should consider playing a little Offenbach on your stereo if ever you decide to make this recipe as it owes its name to Helen of Sparta - the protagonist of his operetta "La Belle Hélène". Offenbach, a virtuoso of the cello and composer lived in Paris during the latter half of the 19th century. Sources say that this dessert was very popular around 1865. It's quite likely then that he would have indulged in the dessert, himself. Very interesting...

The pears:

• 6 firm pears
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 lemons

The chocolate sauce:

• 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tablespoon brandy

Serve with vanilla ice cream


Preparation:

1. Cut one of the lemons in half. Peel a pear, leaving stem intact and rub immediately with the cut lemon.
2. Working from the bottom, scoop out the seeds and membrane using a vegetable peeler. Repeat with
remaining pears.
3. Pare the zest from the other lemon and then squeeze out the juice.
4. Cut the vanilla bean in half. Combine the water, vanilla bean, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan.
5. Heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, then bring it to a boil.
6. Remove the pan from the heat; add the whole pears. Cut a piece of parchment paper the same diameter of the saucepan.
Dampen it and place it on top of the pears to keep them submerged while poaching.
7. Simmer the pears over low heat until tender. About 25-35 minutes, depending on ripeness. Let the pears cool in the
poaching liquid.
8. Melt chocolate in bowl. Place this bowl over a saucepan of boiling water (this creates a double boiler).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the brandy.

Drain the pears well and place one in the center of each of 6 chilled serving plates (put them in the freezer for 15 minutes or
so. Arrange 3 or 5 small scoops of ice cream around the pears or place the pears on top of the ice cream. Gently spoon the
chocolate sauce over the pears.