Best.Dessert.Ever

Our last dinner club featured a beer theme and I did the dessert.  It was absolutely fabulous & I will definitely make it again!  I used my new ice cream maker for it & that worked wonderfully.  The kids & I are looking forward to making our next batch of ice cream in a few days.  Even they loved the mascarpone ice cream, once they got over the fact that it was made out of cheese...

Framboise Lambic & Mascarpone Ice Cream Float

This recipe is by Will Fausser, Pastry Chef at the Fuego restaurant at La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, A RockResort. He uses the homemade Mascarpone ice cream in a float made with Cantillon Framboise Lambic beer. [We used a peach lambic from East Wake Wines.]   Serve it in a burgundy glass for a truly delightful dessert.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Mascarpone Cheese
• 1 cup Milk
• 1½ cups Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• Framboise Lambic Beer

Preparation:

Combine the first four ingredients and blend them in a food processor. Proceed as usual following the instructions for your ice cream maker.

Fill burgundy glass around half-way with Lambic. Add a scoop of the ice cream. Serve with a small spoon and straw.

Sweet Potato Latkes

Sweet-Potato Latkes  

Gourmet | December 2001

Yield: Makes about 26 pancakes Active Time: 30 min Total Time: 30 min 1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated 2 scallions, finely chopped 1/3 cup all-purpose flour [I used more like 2/3 cup of flour] 2 large eggs, lightly beaten [I used 3 eggs] 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3/4 cup vegetable oil Stir together potatoes, scallions, flour, eggs, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a deep 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 4, spoon 1/8 cup potato mixture per latke into oil and flatten to 3-inch diameter with a slotted spatula. Reduce heat to moderate and cook until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer latkes with spatula to paper towels to drain.

* I found this recipe to be too wet so added the additional egg & flour to it to make it stick together better.  I served with sour cream as well.

Read More here at Epicurious

Apple Latkes!

Joan Nathan's recipe from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen

Makes approximately 36 latkes

• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice, yogurt or milk [I used milk]
• 1 tsp baking powder
• dash of kosher salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup sugar, depending on taste [I used 1/2 cup]
• 3 medium apples, peeled & coarsely grated [I used my food processor, which works wonderfully]
• Vegetable oil for frying
• confectioners' sugar

Mix eggs with the orange juice, yogurt or milk in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar.  Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, along with the grated apples.  Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet.  Allowing 1 large tablespoon of batter per latke or pancake, drop into the hot oil. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve.

*If you have leftovers, let cool completely and then freeze in a single layer in a ziploc bag.  Do not put in the refrigerator as they will become soggy.  To reheat, you can put in the toaster or on a cookie sheet in the oven.*

My New Knife

My husband got me a Henckels 7" Santoku knife for Hanukkah.  Yay me!  Here it is w/my other two Henckels knives.  One of the great things about working in a professional kitchen is that you get to use professional knives.  One of the bad things is that my Harris Teeter knives had to go. ;)

Japanese Night

The last dinner party at our house had a Japanese theme.  I used The Quick and Easy Japanese Cookbook by Katsuyo Kobayashi and made the following two recipes.  They were awesome and a huge hit.

Stir-Fried Beef and Lettuce with Kimchi

7 oz beef loin, thinly sliced
1/2 cup kimchi spicy Korean pickled cabbage
1/2 head lettuce
1tbsp sesame oil
2 pinches of salt [I used Kosher salt]

• Cut beef into strips about 1 1/2 inces long.  Cut kimchi into bite-sized pieces.  Mix beef and kimchi, let marinade.
• Tear lettuce leaves roughly into bite-sized pieces.
• Heat the sesame oil in a wok until quite hot. Add beef and kimchi, and saute over high heat until the meat turns color.
• Add the lettuce, season with salt, and stir-fry briefly, until lettuce leaves just begin to wilt.
• Remove from wok and serve immediately.

I served over a bed of udon noodles.

Tofu With Sweet Miso Sauce

1 cake firm tofu
3 tbsp miso paste [red, if possible]
3 tbsp sake
1 tbsp mirin [or honey]
1 tbsp sugar
a small piece of Japanese yuzu citron peel [or lemon peel washed]
1 block konnyaku
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
4 to 5 shiso perilla leaves, or lettuce or other greens [optional]

• Place the tofu in a pan with just enough water to cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Simmer 5 minutes, until the tofu is firm.  Use a spatula to carefully remove it, and place it on a cutting board.  Pat dry with paper towels.
• Moisten a small pan with water [to prevent sticking], add miso paste, sake, mirin, and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat.  When the mixture begins to bubble, turn heat to low and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick and glazed.  Turn off heat and add a few gratings of citron peel.
• Cut tofu and konnyaku into slices 3/4 inch thick [working from one end, as if you were cutting off pats of butter].  Make a series of crosshatches on one side of each konnyaku slice, to allow flavor to penetrate.  If you have wooden skewers, insert a skewer through the center of each slice of tofu and konnyaku to make it easy to pick up and eat.
• Heat the oil in a fry pan and saute tofu and konnyaku over medium-high heat until golden-brown on the outside and warm on the inside.
• spread a little of the miso mixture over each slice, and serve on a bed of perilla leaves.

If you don't have skewers, eat with chopsticks or a knife and fork.  Much to my surprise, even my kids liked these.  The miso paste was very sweet and gave the tofu and konnyaku a nice flavor.  No one had ever had konnyaku before so it was fun to introduce it. I was able to easily find all the ingredients at an Asian Market that my friend Shannon recommended.

I found the cook book itself to be easy to follow, with some helpful pictures and illustrations throughout.  If you're looking for a good Asian cookbook to experiment with, I'd say this is a good one.