Hi Everyone!
It's me, your friendly neighborhood Silver Spooner, slowly chugging away at some more delicious SS recipies. This week I have been luxuriating in my very own, brand new, big girl Kitchenaid. I've had trysts with other mixers, I even briefly had an antique kitchenaid that gave its life making royal icing. Poor Kitchenaid. All that is behind me now. The world is my oyster; by world I mean difficult recipes involving mixing things, and by oyster I mean I don't have to mix them by hand anymore, or worse, avoid them entirely. So thank you, again to all who gave me a gift certificate to BB and B. You made this part of my life possible. Moving on. . . .
Pizza dough, you tricky temptress. My father is a terrific pizza maker. He would make us pizza pretty frequently, usually with store bought dough, or Naples pizza dough (Guilford People will know to which business I refer) when they were willing to part with it. On a couple of amazing occassions, he made his own pizza dough, confidently, surely as if he had been doing it his whole life. I was petrified to make pizza dough because I am not all that good with baking and I hate being precise. As well, my father set the bar so high with his kitchen successes, and wasn't here to help me.
With a deep breath I piled 1 and 1/4 cup flour, some salt, and 1/2 cup warm water mixed with yeast to my afore mentioned mixer and mixed. A dough was born. At first attempt, this dough was very sticky. I coated my hands with flour and added a tad more flour to the mix before setting it under a bowl and allowing it to rise for three hours.
Well folks, I wasn't sure this whole dough thing was going to work out, and I had 3 hours to agonize over it, so I had my husband pick up some pre-made dough at whole foods. It ended up rising, kinda, so I rolled it out and made Sausage Pizza a la SS. I crumbled a package of hot sausage into a saute pan and cooked it through, then combined it with 1/2 cup of romano cheese. Separately, I cut 5 tomatoes into chunks and sprinkled them onto the dough.
The SS instructs us to bake the crust for 15-20 minutes before adding the meat topping, so I popped my dough into a 425 oven and waited to see the result. In the meantime I used the pre-made dough to whip up a quick Margarita Pizza. The Whole foods dough was harder to roll out and much thicker than the Silver Spoon version.
After 20 minutes I added the sausage topping to the SS crust and put it in the oven for another ten minutes. It was just the way I like pizza, thin crust, ample topping, fresh tomatoes and a spicy zing from the sausage. The Margarita went in the oven completely topped, because SS told me to do it like that. In contrast that pizza was wetter and not my ideal preference of crust thickness.
All in all, dough making was a success and I want to keep making dough until I master it. That is why I will be chipping away at all the pizza recipes this week until they are done. I already made 2 more pizzas, with 2 more SS doughs and they were pretty good. So stay tuned, and hear about more dough making trials and pizza making tribulations!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Dusting off the Old Spoon
Where to begin? First of all, an apology for those left hungry for more Silver Spoon, between the wedding ceremony, thank you notes and wedded bliss I haven't had time for much blogging. The cooking, oh, the cooking has been delicious and I have been desperate to tell you all about it. So here goes nothing:
Tonight I made "Savory Crepes with Smoked Salmon," and "Sweetcorn and Radicchio Salad." It was an easy cooking night (have I ever said that, maybe married life is changing me?!?). It was a great way to ease back into the project.
To start making the crepes I put together a simple batter of flour, eggs, milk and salt. The only ingredient that made my eyes roll slightly was the butter. The Silver Spoon demanded that I melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a double boiler and then cool it "almost completely." Why am I melting it in the first place, shouldn't I just mostly melt it? Anyway, I dirtied three pans instead of one as I could have mostly melted it in the microwave, and moved on. Once the butter was mostly cooled (whatever that is) I combined it with the batter and mixed.
SS then requested I rest the batter for an hour before crepe-ing it up. This worked out perfectly well (who am I?) because I also purchased some delicious and short-seasoned fiddleheads; they required extensive cleaning. Fiddleheads are fern sprouts and are extremely dirty. Once they were triple washed and ready for cooking, I warmed up some olive oil and chopped garlic in a pan, once the garlic was browned I added the fiddleheads and a small amount of water. I let them cook for about a half hour and turned my attention to the Sweetcorn Salad.
To make the "Sweetcorn and Radicchio Salad," I combined radicchio, spinach and romaine in a salad bowl, adding a cup of canned corn, and a half cup of chopped ham. The directions called for a simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil and salt. I added the dressing just in time to "crepe it up."
To be the most successful I could be without a crepe pan, I chose a small saute pan and added a touch of vegetable oil. SS instructed that I add 2 tablespoons of batter to a hot pan and tilt it so that the batter was evenly distributed. My small saute pan was too large and all the crepes therefore were rectangular instead of circle but it worked really well. I have to say, crepe flipping is much easier than pancake flipping. I poured and flipped while my husband flaked the smoked salmon into the crepes and rolled them up. The whole process took about 10 minutes. Everything was done at once, and my husband and I sat down at a mostly clean dining room table and enjoyed a bistro style dinner.
So, I leave you for now, an unusually cheerful, married domestic goddess who can crepe it with the best of them. I can't wait to tell you how it went with the meatballs with lemon!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Frankfurters with Cabbage
The best laid plans of Meatballs with Lemon sometimes go awry folks, especially if a good friend offers to treat you to Chinese. Clearly, I chose the Chinese last night and cooked nothing (wince). Tonight, I felt as though I had to produce something from the Spoon, but my schedule didn't allow for much preparation. I foolishly chose Frankfurters with Cabbage, thinking how hard can it be? As I was getting ready to go out the door for my exercise class, I reread the recipe and realized the cabbage had to cook for an hour.
That was when your champion of the kitchen (still me, barely) delegated chopping and simmering cabbage in oil to the boys. Thanks P. and N.! When I came back from said exercise there was 18 minutes to go on the cabbage. I referred back to the SS and noted that it wanted me to boil the hotdogs for 10 minutes. I promptly ignored that direction and fired up my panini press. I butterflied the hotdogs and set them to fry in said panini press while whisking up some low-carb mac and cheese. We eat that too often, I think, but it is so good and a really simple recipe. All it takes is boiling some low carb elbow macaroni, start the sauce with 1/4 cup scoop of sour cream and slowly melt 12 ounces of sharp shredded cheese, then combine the sauce with the drained macaroni. Warning, the previous recipe is not SS related, though is a frequent side dish to many Silver Spoon entrees.
By the time the Mac and Cheese was made, the cabbage was ready. I spooned it out onto a platter, drizzled it with white wine vinegar, then topped it with the panini'ed hot dogs. We were all skeptical about the cabbage, how good could cabbage be simmered in olive oil? Turns out, it's pretty terrific. As the cabbage cooks it gets very sweet and tender. The addition of the vinegar offers a nice sour contrast. Yes, yes Silver Spoon, food should not be instant gratification, slow simmered is worth it, good food takes time. . . .Why is it, I always forget that between recipes, oh well. Coming up tomorrow, Lemony Meatballs or bust!
That was when your champion of the kitchen (still me, barely) delegated chopping and simmering cabbage in oil to the boys. Thanks P. and N.! When I came back from said exercise there was 18 minutes to go on the cabbage. I referred back to the SS and noted that it wanted me to boil the hotdogs for 10 minutes. I promptly ignored that direction and fired up my panini press. I butterflied the hotdogs and set them to fry in said panini press while whisking up some low-carb mac and cheese. We eat that too often, I think, but it is so good and a really simple recipe. All it takes is boiling some low carb elbow macaroni, start the sauce with 1/4 cup scoop of sour cream and slowly melt 12 ounces of sharp shredded cheese, then combine the sauce with the drained macaroni. Warning, the previous recipe is not SS related, though is a frequent side dish to many Silver Spoon entrees.
By the time the Mac and Cheese was made, the cabbage was ready. I spooned it out onto a platter, drizzled it with white wine vinegar, then topped it with the panini'ed hot dogs. We were all skeptical about the cabbage, how good could cabbage be simmered in olive oil? Turns out, it's pretty terrific. As the cabbage cooks it gets very sweet and tender. The addition of the vinegar offers a nice sour contrast. Yes, yes Silver Spoon, food should not be instant gratification, slow simmered is worth it, good food takes time. . . .Why is it, I always forget that between recipes, oh well. Coming up tomorrow, Lemony Meatballs or bust!
Monday, March 15, 2010
A Brief Departure from the 'Spoon: Bonus Entry #1
I know this is totally against my self imposed blog rules, but I have to tell you about a non-SS recipe I tried last night from Darina Allen's Traditional Irish Cooking. You may skip the rest of this entry if you want to remain purely Spoonish.
This is the simplest recipe I've ever done for Corned Beef and truly the most successful. All I did was cover a 4 pound cut of corned beef with cold water,added a tablespoon of dried mustard and six small onions in a sauce pan. I brought the liquid to a boil and then covered it and simmered for two more hours. I then added a cut-up cabbage and simmered for about one hour more. Around the 30 minute mark I threw in some potatoes in a separate pan to boil. When everything was done, I had mouthwateringly tender corned beef in a tasty broth with perfectly cooked cabbage. The onions became a part of the broth more or less. I added kosher salt to the potatoes and plated the whole thing with a pot of whole grain mustard. It was delicious!
I didn't stop there, however, and I probably should have with my impending nuptials pretty much one month away. I tried a recipe for Belgian Waffles that came with our brand new Waffle Maker. This was one of the many generous gifts I got from family friends in CT. (Gifts I shouldn't be using yet, according to ettiquette, please don't tell the wedding police!)
N., my Fiance is a big fan of waffles, I usually hate them. That being said, I wanted to try them the non- bisquik way and see if it made any difference. I started out activating some yeast in 105 degree water. Obtaining water at that particular temperature is a pain in the neck. I finally did so and left it to foam for a few minutes while I aerated the flour.
I mixed the flour and salt together trying to fluff it up as much as possible without a sifter. After doing so I set it aside and separated 3 eggs, I added the yolks to the yeast and then added 1/3 cup sugar and combined. I then added the flour and combined that with the sugar mixture, then beat the egg whites until they were stiff and then folded that in with some oil, vanilla and additional water. Then I let it sit while we had dinner (for about an hour) then I made my fiance make the actual waffles. He was thrilled. The machine was incredible! The waffles were really tasty.
I made a salty carmel sauce to go on top. Very simply, I boiled 1/2 cup of sugar in 1/4 cup of water until it was carmel (about 7 or so minutes). Then I added heavy cream, butter and a healthy teaspoon of kosher salt. P. our new houseguest loved it! He said the salt made all the difference. I thought so too.
To summarize, it turns out I like waffles if made from a fussy recipe that is somewhat challenging. Oh boy, less and less foods I don't like. This cannot be good for my waistline or any part of me for that matter. More positvely, I have found my recipe for corned beef for life. This is it, I will never make it another way again. I have tried corned beef in the slow cooker, and pressure cookers and this preparation was far less salty and more tender. I think maybe, when this whole Spoon thing is over, I might look up Darina Allen's book. I can only imagine what other delicious offerings Traditional Irish Cooking might have.
For now back to the Spoon, tonights plan is Meatballs with Lemon and some Quick Tomato Sauce. I'll probably make some spagetti too, the low carb kind, I swear!
This is the simplest recipe I've ever done for Corned Beef and truly the most successful. All I did was cover a 4 pound cut of corned beef with cold water,added a tablespoon of dried mustard and six small onions in a sauce pan. I brought the liquid to a boil and then covered it and simmered for two more hours. I then added a cut-up cabbage and simmered for about one hour more. Around the 30 minute mark I threw in some potatoes in a separate pan to boil. When everything was done, I had mouthwateringly tender corned beef in a tasty broth with perfectly cooked cabbage. The onions became a part of the broth more or less. I added kosher salt to the potatoes and plated the whole thing with a pot of whole grain mustard. It was delicious!
I didn't stop there, however, and I probably should have with my impending nuptials pretty much one month away. I tried a recipe for Belgian Waffles that came with our brand new Waffle Maker. This was one of the many generous gifts I got from family friends in CT. (Gifts I shouldn't be using yet, according to ettiquette, please don't tell the wedding police!)
N., my Fiance is a big fan of waffles, I usually hate them. That being said, I wanted to try them the non- bisquik way and see if it made any difference. I started out activating some yeast in 105 degree water. Obtaining water at that particular temperature is a pain in the neck. I finally did so and left it to foam for a few minutes while I aerated the flour.
I mixed the flour and salt together trying to fluff it up as much as possible without a sifter. After doing so I set it aside and separated 3 eggs, I added the yolks to the yeast and then added 1/3 cup sugar and combined. I then added the flour and combined that with the sugar mixture, then beat the egg whites until they were stiff and then folded that in with some oil, vanilla and additional water. Then I let it sit while we had dinner (for about an hour) then I made my fiance make the actual waffles. He was thrilled. The machine was incredible! The waffles were really tasty.
I made a salty carmel sauce to go on top. Very simply, I boiled 1/2 cup of sugar in 1/4 cup of water until it was carmel (about 7 or so minutes). Then I added heavy cream, butter and a healthy teaspoon of kosher salt. P. our new houseguest loved it! He said the salt made all the difference. I thought so too.
To summarize, it turns out I like waffles if made from a fussy recipe that is somewhat challenging. Oh boy, less and less foods I don't like. This cannot be good for my waistline or any part of me for that matter. More positvely, I have found my recipe for corned beef for life. This is it, I will never make it another way again. I have tried corned beef in the slow cooker, and pressure cookers and this preparation was far less salty and more tender. I think maybe, when this whole Spoon thing is over, I might look up Darina Allen's book. I can only imagine what other delicious offerings Traditional Irish Cooking might have.
For now back to the Spoon, tonights plan is Meatballs with Lemon and some Quick Tomato Sauce. I'll probably make some spagetti too, the low carb kind, I swear!
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Dirty 30! Hamburgers, Steak, and Roasted Peppers a La Silver Spoon
Hi all! I am very excited to write to you after a week or two break in which I wrote thank you notes to many generous friends instead of writing blogs to twelve 13 (Thanks J!) generous followers. My apologies!
Over the past weeks I haven't been cooking too much either. Too busy with the showering of gifts for my impending nuptials to slave away at the stove, I mostly ate things that my fiance cooked or demanded to go to Bollywood Grille. I did manage to cook a few recipes to share with you for this, my 30th blog entry, and although it might be formulaic, they were pretty, pretty, pretty good!
One of the recipes that made me giggle when first exploring the SS was the recipe for "American Hamburgers." I don't know about you but I didn't really think american style hamburgers required much instruction. All I've ever done to cook burgers in the past is make patties and throw them on the grille. Of course, The Silver Spoon expects a little more effort.
I got started by chopping a small onion as fine as I could. I recently had to say goodbye to my beloved pampered chef version of the "slap chop" contraption. It finally cracked after ten years of abuse. In order to chop the onions up as small as possible I was forced to use a knife. My knife skills just aren't up to snuff but to get the desired reults, I used the ridges of the onion as my guide to slice then chop across in the other direction. It is not as fast as the "slap chop" but not as embarrasing either. I mixed 3.5 cups of ground beef with the onions and added a healthy amount of nana salt and pepper. Then the recipe takes a weird turn by instructing us to add a beaten egg to the meat mixture. I did, and then formed the patties. I grilled them in my new panini press Le Creuset pan for about 5 minutes, removing the press pan and adding pepper jack cheese for the last minute. The burgers were juicy and tender, and had satisfying char lines on them. (Thanks again for the great pan R.!)
Later that week I tried the recipe for Delicate Peppers. This recipe is fussier than the aforementioned burgers and instructs us to first roast several whole peppers in the oven for an hour. I started the roasting process and cleaned some part of my house until the timer went off. Next the peppers had to cool for a few minutes. As soon as they were workable I peeled off the skin, stem, membranes and seeds. I chopped the pepper meat and added it to a pan with onions. The SS then instructs that the peppers and onions should simmer for ten minutes. I complied. Then I added four chopped up, seeded tomatoes and cooked the mixture for twenty additional minutes. Oh Silver Spoon, how you love to cook your vegetables!
About 5 minutes into the process that was Delicate Peppers I readied a pan for, "Steaks with Sage." This was a definite error in timing. The steak recipe takes almost no time to prepare and I would have been better to start it in the last five minutes of the pepper recipe. Oh well, our steaks served as appetizers to the pepper dish. I dredged the steaks in flour, fried them in butter topped with a few whole leaves of sage. It was simple, aromatic and a flavorful treat. When it was all put together the peppers turned out to be more of a sauce than a side vegetable. The two dishes complemented each other very well. I would definitely do the two together again. And there you have it, I am caught up and back on the path to cooking enlightenment. This weekend, chicken with some form of peppers and dinner at J and C's house. I can't wait!
Over the past weeks I haven't been cooking too much either. Too busy with the showering of gifts for my impending nuptials to slave away at the stove, I mostly ate things that my fiance cooked or demanded to go to Bollywood Grille. I did manage to cook a few recipes to share with you for this, my 30th blog entry, and although it might be formulaic, they were pretty, pretty, pretty good!
One of the recipes that made me giggle when first exploring the SS was the recipe for "American Hamburgers." I don't know about you but I didn't really think american style hamburgers required much instruction. All I've ever done to cook burgers in the past is make patties and throw them on the grille. Of course, The Silver Spoon expects a little more effort.
I got started by chopping a small onion as fine as I could. I recently had to say goodbye to my beloved pampered chef version of the "slap chop" contraption. It finally cracked after ten years of abuse. In order to chop the onions up as small as possible I was forced to use a knife. My knife skills just aren't up to snuff but to get the desired reults, I used the ridges of the onion as my guide to slice then chop across in the other direction. It is not as fast as the "slap chop" but not as embarrasing either. I mixed 3.5 cups of ground beef with the onions and added a healthy amount of nana salt and pepper. Then the recipe takes a weird turn by instructing us to add a beaten egg to the meat mixture. I did, and then formed the patties. I grilled them in my new panini press Le Creuset pan for about 5 minutes, removing the press pan and adding pepper jack cheese for the last minute. The burgers were juicy and tender, and had satisfying char lines on them. (Thanks again for the great pan R.!)
Later that week I tried the recipe for Delicate Peppers. This recipe is fussier than the aforementioned burgers and instructs us to first roast several whole peppers in the oven for an hour. I started the roasting process and cleaned some part of my house until the timer went off. Next the peppers had to cool for a few minutes. As soon as they were workable I peeled off the skin, stem, membranes and seeds. I chopped the pepper meat and added it to a pan with onions. The SS then instructs that the peppers and onions should simmer for ten minutes. I complied. Then I added four chopped up, seeded tomatoes and cooked the mixture for twenty additional minutes. Oh Silver Spoon, how you love to cook your vegetables!
About 5 minutes into the process that was Delicate Peppers I readied a pan for, "Steaks with Sage." This was a definite error in timing. The steak recipe takes almost no time to prepare and I would have been better to start it in the last five minutes of the pepper recipe. Oh well, our steaks served as appetizers to the pepper dish. I dredged the steaks in flour, fried them in butter topped with a few whole leaves of sage. It was simple, aromatic and a flavorful treat. When it was all put together the peppers turned out to be more of a sauce than a side vegetable. The two dishes complemented each other very well. I would definitely do the two together again. And there you have it, I am caught up and back on the path to cooking enlightenment. This weekend, chicken with some form of peppers and dinner at J and C's house. I can't wait!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Pork Loin with Apples
After celebrating the new jobs of two of our friends at Jumbo Seafood in Newton MA (I am already thinking of excuses to eat there again in the near future), I had to turn my attention back to the Spoon. I had been meaning to cook this recipe during the week, but it never seemed to happen. As with most slow cooked meats within this recipe collection SS tells us to brown the meat in oil on all sides. After doing so, I added a healthy portion of red wine, some vegetable stock, mustard powder, cloves, pepper, and sugar to a sauce pan and waited for it to boil.
While waiting for the sauce to boil in an extremely tippy copper bottomed pan, I chopped up two green apples and added them to the pork pan. Once the sauce was boiling I combined it with the pork and apples and put the whole thing in the oven. I baked it at 400 degrees for twenty minutes, and then lowered it to 350 degrees for 45 more minutes. It smelled great but I just wasn't hungry. My fiance and I let it sit longer than we should have because of our lack of hunger and it was a little dry. I served it with a green salad and home made dressing.
Unbelievably, there was no butter used in the making of this recipe. Go figure.
While waiting for the sauce to boil in an extremely tippy copper bottomed pan, I chopped up two green apples and added them to the pork pan. Once the sauce was boiling I combined it with the pork and apples and put the whole thing in the oven. I baked it at 400 degrees for twenty minutes, and then lowered it to 350 degrees for 45 more minutes. It smelled great but I just wasn't hungry. My fiance and I let it sit longer than we should have because of our lack of hunger and it was a little dry. I served it with a green salad and home made dressing.
Unbelievably, there was no butter used in the making of this recipe. Go figure.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Beef Stew One
It has been a rainy and bleak week over in my little corner of New England. Every morning before committing to getting out of bed I would open only one eye and check my phone to see if it had miraculously snowed instead and I could continue sleeping. Alas, no. Over at The Fresh Dish they were cooking lamb stew, I thought stew was just what the doctor ordered to combat the ick factor of the weather.
My first Silver Spoon stew recipe (of many to come!) was very basic. It consisted of sirloin chunks, pureed tomatoes and the basic onion, celery, carrot combo. I started with butter and olive oil (it is pretty much a mandatory cooking action) and added the carrots, celery and onions. While that was sauteing I pureed a can of San Marzano tomatoes and two very pink rocks that they called tomatoes at the store in the food processor, and added 2/3rds cup of water. Do you use San Marzano Tomatoes? They are so much more delicious than other canned tomatoes. I love them! My fiance's family taught me all about them, and it has spoiled me. I now shy away from any other variety.
I squeezed the beef chunks dry a la Julie and Julia in paper towel and then added to the beef to the pan to brown. Beef browns so much better when it is dry! After browning it on all sides, I seasoned and added the tomato puree mixture. Then I let it cook for an hour. The results, delicious but more like a tomato sauce than what I think a stew should be. I served it with a green salad and garlic bread. If you leave out the garlic bread, it is a fairly low carb stew, as stews go. What have you all been cooking this week? Leave a comment and let me know!
My first Silver Spoon stew recipe (of many to come!) was very basic. It consisted of sirloin chunks, pureed tomatoes and the basic onion, celery, carrot combo. I started with butter and olive oil (it is pretty much a mandatory cooking action) and added the carrots, celery and onions. While that was sauteing I pureed a can of San Marzano tomatoes and two very pink rocks that they called tomatoes at the store in the food processor, and added 2/3rds cup of water. Do you use San Marzano Tomatoes? They are so much more delicious than other canned tomatoes. I love them! My fiance's family taught me all about them, and it has spoiled me. I now shy away from any other variety.
I squeezed the beef chunks dry a la Julie and Julia in paper towel and then added to the beef to the pan to brown. Beef browns so much better when it is dry! After browning it on all sides, I seasoned and added the tomato puree mixture. Then I let it cook for an hour. The results, delicious but more like a tomato sauce than what I think a stew should be. I served it with a green salad and garlic bread. If you leave out the garlic bread, it is a fairly low carb stew, as stews go. What have you all been cooking this week? Leave a comment and let me know!
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