"Gastronomy, has been the joy of all peoples through the ages. It produces beauty and wit and goes hand in hand with goodness of heart and a consideration of others."
~Charles Pierre Monselet (1825-88) French author
....more share-worthy holiday recipes....
Christmas Salad
6 Servings
Salad:
8 cups spinach leaves
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup dried cranberries
or
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 cup toasted walnuts
Dressing:
1/4 cup cranberry juice concentrate
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper l
1/2 cup Canola or vegetable oil
Stem spinach, tear into bite-sized pieces and place in a large salad bowl. Place avocado and onion over spinach.
To make dressing:
Combine cranberry juice concentrate, vinegar, mustard, pepper and oil in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until well blended. Drizzle over salad. Sprinkle dried cranberries or pomegranate seeds and walnuts over salad, toss gently and serve
Seafood Lasagne
8 servings
2/3 cup Shrimp cut into bite size
2/3 cup Scallops cut into bite size
2/3 cup King Crab meat cut into bite size
15 Lasagne Noodles uncooked
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 cloves Garlic crushed
2 cup Milk
2 cup Chicken Broth
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Basil
2 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
1/2 cup Green Onions chopped
1 cup Cottage Cheese small curd
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Heat butter in a large saucepan over low heat until melted. Add garlic. Stir in flour and salt. Cook, stirring constantly until bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk, broth and white wine. Return to stove and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Add mozzarella cheese, onions, basil and pepper. Cook over low heat until cheese is melted, stirring constantly.
Spread about 1 1/2 cups of the sauce in an ungreased 9? x 13? pan. Top with uncooked lasagna noodles, overlapping as needed. Spread the cottage cheese over the noodles. Spread with another 1 1/2 cups of sauce and then top with another 5 lasagna noodles. Spread seafood over this layer and top with another 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Cover with the last 5 noodles and top with all of the remaining sauce. If desired, top with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake, uncovered at 350F for 35 to 45 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Note: I sometimes at well drained steamed spinach to the layers
Prosecco, Lemon, &Ginger Granita
This makes a pleasant palate cleanser between courses
10 Servings
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons grated ginger with its juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 cups prosecco
Zest of one lemon
5 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or to taste
In a small saucepan, heat water, sugar, ginger, and salt on low heat for five minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and pour into a wide, flat container like a take-out container or a baking dish. Stir in prosecco, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Transfer container to a flat surface in the freezer. After 45 minutes, run a fork along sides of container to break up any large chunks of ice. Check on granita several times, every half-hour to an hour, gently breaking up chunks of ice with fork. Granita is ready when ice is full of large, irregular flakes with little to no liquid remaining. For best flavor and texture, serve within two days of making.
If you can't stir the granita every half hour, let it freeze into a block of ice overnight. The next day, scrape it into flakes with a large fork. The texture won't be quite as light, but it'll come close.
Sweet & Salty Chocolate Cake
For the Classic Chocolate Layers
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups hot water
2/3 cup sour cream
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the Salted Caramel
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup sour cream
For the Whipped Caramel Ganache Frosting
1 lb. dark chocolate (60 to 70% cacao), chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1/2-inch pie
Instructions
To Assemble the Cake
2 teaspoons fleur de sel, plus more for garnish
Make the Classic Chocolate Cake Layers
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.
In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water, and sour cream and set aside to cool.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.
In the bowl in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until ribbonlike, about 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.
Add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes on the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely.
Make the Salted Caramel
In a small saucepan, combine the cream and fleur de sel. Bring to a simmer over very low heat until the salt is dissolved.
Meanwhile, keeping a close on the cream mixture so it doesn’t burn, in a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup, stirring them together carefully so you don’t splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until and instant-read thermometer read 350°F, 6 to 8 minutes.(I took my from the heat at 300 F) Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 minute.
Add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake.
Make the Whipped Caramel Ganache Frosting
Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over very low heat.
Meanwhile, keeping a close on the cream mixture so it doesn’t burn, in a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup, stirring them together carefully so you don’t splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until and instant-read thermometer read 350°F, 6 to 8 minutes(I took my from the heat at 300 F) . Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 minute.
Add the cream to the caramel and stir to combine. Stir slowly for 2 minutes, then pour the caramel over the chocolate. Let the caramel and chocolate sit for 1 minutes, then, starting in the center of the bowl, and working your way out to the edges, slowly stir the chocolate and caramel mixture in a circle until the chocolate is completely melted. Let the mixture cool, then transfer it to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Mix on low speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the butter, beating until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat on high speed until the mixture is fluffy.
Assemble the Cake
Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread 1/4 cup of the caramel over the top. Let the caramel soak into the cake, then spread 3/4 cup of the ganache frosting over the caramel. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the fleur de sel over the frosting, then top with the second cake layer.
Spread with caramel, then the caramel frosting and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the fleur de sel. Then top with the third layer. Spread with caramel. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Garnish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.
The cake will keep in a cake saver at room temperature (cool and humidity free) for up to 3 days. If your room is not cool, place the cake in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature
Notes: The cakes themselves can be made up to a week in advance, wrapped well in plastic and then foil, and frozen. Let them thaw overnight at room temperature. The caramel sauce can be made a few days in advance, bring it to room temperature before using, otherwise it will be too hard to spread. When making the caramel, be sure to use a medium size saucepan for the water and sugar mixture. You may be tempted to use something small because the volume isn’t that large initially. Once you add the cream, it will bubble vigorously and you need the extra space. On that same note, be very careful when you add the cream – the steam is a big burn hazard. Lastly, the caramel goes from just perfect to burned in about one second, so take it off the heat just before you think it is ready. The residual heat will continue to cook it.
Poached Pears with Ginger and Port
2 Servings
1 1/2 -inch piece fresh ginger root
2 firm-ripe Bartlett Anjou, or Comice pears with stems intact
3 to 4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Tawny Port
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Peel ginger root and slice thin. Cut slices into thin strips and in a saucepan simmer in 1 quart water 10 minutes. Drain ginger root and discard water.
In a saucepan just large enough to hold pears lying on their sides bring 3 cups water to boil with ginger root, sugar, Port, and lemon juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Peel pears, leaving stems intact, and cut a thin slice from bottom of each if necessary to enable pears to stand upright when served. Arrange pears on their sides in poaching liquid, adding enough of remaining water as necessary to just cover. Simmer pears, turning them occasionally, until tender, 20 to 40 minutes depending on ripeness. Carefully transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a bowl and boil poaching liquid until reduced to about 3/4 cup and slightly syrupy. Pour sauce over pears. Pears may be made 1 day ahead and cooled in sauce before being chilled, covered. Serve pears warm or chilled.
