Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Black Bean Brownies

Recipe:

Flourless Brownies






Makes 16

No one will ever guess that black beans are the secret ingredient in this recipe!

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar
1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and carefully stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Cool before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 brownie/about 2oz/60g-wt.): 160 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 50mg cholesterol, 35mg sodium, 17g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 12g sugar), 4g protein

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Rolled Blue Cheese Bread

Makes 1 loaf

1 ½ cups warm water
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
About 3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
4 ounces good quality blue cheese
Sea salt

Place the water, yeast and olive oil in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix and allow to stand until the mixture starts to foam about 5 minutes. Add about 2 cups of flour and mix well. Add the remaining flour a bit at a time until the dough starts to clean the side of the bowl. Add the salt and mix about 5 minutes. Remove from the bowl and form into a ball. Lightly oil a large zip lock bag with olive oil and add the dough. Let rise about 1 hour until doubled in volume. Remove from the bag and gently form into a 6 x 12-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese. Roll like a jellyroll and pinch to seal the ends. Let rise about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425 degrees while the bread is rising. Place the bread on a stone and slash the top and top with a bit of sea salt. Cook until golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Parmesan Breadsticks

Parmesan Puff Pastry

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

  • Cook Time

    12 min

  • Level

    Easy

  • Yield

    about 26 breadsticks

Close

Times:

Prep
10 min
Inactive Prep
--
Cook
12 min
Total:
22 min

Ingredients

  • 1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 13 strips, about 3/4 by 10-inches apiece.

In a shallow dish, combine cheese, basil, and garlic. Brush pastry sticks with melted butter. Roll pastry in cheese mixture, lightly coating each side. Gently twist pastry sticks, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove to wire racks

Lobster Corn Dog

We had these at a Wine Tasting at Caviar and Bananas.Delicious and quite easy to make.


Lobster Corn Dog

Chef Stephen Hopcraft This is a signature Michael Mina recipe, appearing as an amuse bouche at his signature San Francisco restaurant and as an appetizer at Seablue. A playful dish, this is a sophisticated take on a State Fair classic, with a crisp outer crust and a central sausage of sweet lobster meat. Considering the quality of the ingredients, the preparation is surprisingly simple.

Serves: 18 Vegetarian: No
Preparation Time: 00:40
Cuisine: Seafood
Difficulty: Moderate Meal Type: Dinner
Main Ingredient: lobster Dish Type: Appetizer
Main Cooking Method: Deep Fry Season/Occasion: Any Occasion

Lobster Corn Dogs

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Lobster Sausage (recipe below)
  • 1 recipe corn dog batter (recipe below)
  • 1 recipe whole grain mustard sauce (recipe below)
  • (as needed) peanut oil for deep frying

Directions

Cut the lobster sausage (see recipe) into 1-inch lengths. Remove plastic and insert a shortened popsicle stick into each piece. Holding onto the stick, dip each dog into batter (see recipe) and with a twist, evenly coat the sausage. Quickly submerge the dogs in a 350-degree vegetable oil fryer. With a slotted spoon, keep the dogs gently moving in the oil to obtain an even golden brown color. Remove when golden and serve with mustard sauce (see recipe).

Note

If you do not have a home fryer, a make-shift one can be made rather simply by using a pot of peanut oil, a burner, and a candy thermometer. Make sure to have enough oil in the pot to completely submerge the corndogs.

Lobster Sausage

Ingredients

  • 2/3 lb. lobster meat, cooked
  • 1/3 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  • 1/2 C. heavy cream
  • (to taste) salt and pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. fennel, lightly sautéed (no color during cooking)
  • 2 tsp. fresh tarragon, picked and chopped

Directions

In a food processor, puree the cooked lobster until smooth. Remove from processor into a mixing bowl. In the food processor, add the raw shrimp and puree, adding the cream slowly until the mixture is smooth. Scrape mixture from processor into the mixing bowl containing the lobster puree. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Add sautéed fennel and tarragon. Using a rubber spatula, fold ingredients together to make a homogenous mix.

To shape the sausage:

Transfer the sausage mixture from the mixing bowl to a piping bag. The piping bag does not need a tip. If you have a disposable bag, the tip will need to be cut. Cut the tip off so that you are left with a whole the diameter of a nickel.

On a clean work surface, lay out flat a piece of plastic wrap approximately 18 inches long (running away from you on the table). Working at the end closest to you, squeeze a long, sausage-like portion of mixture from the piping bag onto the plastic wrap from right to left. Begin one inch from the left side and end an inch before you reach the right side of the plastic in order to tie it off later.

Tightly roll up the sausage in the plastic, twisting the ends to make it tight. Tie off the ends to secure the wrap.

To cook the sausage:

In a large pot of boiling water, simmer the sausage (in the plastic) for 7 minutes. Remove from the water and plunge into iced water. Remove after 5 minutes.


Corn Dog Batter

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 C. yellow corn meal
  • 3 C. all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 C. sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 4 C. milk
  • 4 eggs

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients together. In a separate mixing bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until smooth.


Whole Grain Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

  • 7 oz. Crème fraiche
  • 10 1/4 oz. whole grain mustard
  • 3.5 oz. dijon mustard

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Mushroom Veggie Burger

Mushroom Veggie Burger Recipe





Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 3 green onions, diced
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 3/4 cup diced fresh mushrooms
  • 1 15 ounce can pinto beans
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • oil for frying

Preparation:

Sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes, until onions are soft. Add the green onions, cumin and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked. Set aside.

Mash the beans with a fork or a potato masher, or process in a food processor until well mashed.

Add the mushrooms to the beans and add parsley, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.

Shape the mixture into patties. Heat about two tablespoons of olive oil and cook each patty until the veggie burgers are done, about 3 minutes on each side.


RECIPE PROVIDED BY JUDITH

Five Minute Cocktails

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Chocolate Mousse

Tofu Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Raspberries




2 packages silken tofu (medium firm will work too)
3 8 ounce squares of bakers chocolate or equivalent
4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
4 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoon of maple syrup or agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup fresh raspberries

Servings: 6

Place chocolate in a medium saucepan and heat up on very low heat just until melted.
Place packages of tofu in a blender.
Add melted chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, syrup, vanilla, pinch of salt and puree, until smooth.
Place into your favorite bowl or 6 separate parfait cups. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. Top with fresh raspberries. Serve.