Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes

Happy New Years Eve!

For dessert tonight we're making strawberry shortcake, with a chocolate twist. I don't think I'll ever make shortcake biscuits again without cocoa powder.....

Chocolate Biscuits

adapted from Gourmet, 1991

serves 4

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a bowl sift together the cocoa powder, the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the cream and stir the mixture with a fork (or the paddle of a stand mixer) until it forms a dough. You may need to knead the dough with your hands to get it to stick together, especially if you use a stand mixer. Divide the dough in quarters, arrange each quarter in a mound on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake the shortcakes in the middle of the oven for 12 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centers comes out with crumbs clinging to it. Transfer the shortcakes to a rack and let them cool.

Our strawberries were frozen from summer and were defrosting a bit slowly, so I put them on the stove on low while we were making dinner and the smell filled our Michigan winter home with the most wonderful smells!

Jordan's Hot and Sour Soup

Serves 4-6. (Can easily be doubled)

½ c. pork (cut into small pieces)

4 c. chicken broth

½ c. mushroom pieces

1/3 c. bamboo shoots

1/3 c. carrots shreds

1 tsp black pepper

1 green onion – minced

½ c. green peas

3TBL white vinegar

2 TBL soy sauce

½ tsp sesame oil

2 TBL cornstarch

½# tofu- cubed

1 egg whipped

1. Brown the pork and heat veggies in a skillet.
2. Bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add mushrooms, pork, bamboo shoots, carrots, pepper, onion, & peas to the broth.
3. Bring back to a boil. Add vinegar, soy sauce, & sesame oil.
4. Thicken with cornstarch in 1/3 c. water. Gently add tofu.
5. Slowly pour whipped egg into the boiling liquid while stirring.

Creamy Polenta

2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)

Bring first 3 ingredients to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to low; simmer until smooth and thick, stirring almost constantly, about 18 minutes.

Spiced Lentil Dip

I've made this a couple of times for parties in the last couple of months. The best part of this recipe is that you can make it from left over lentils.

Lentils:

2 cups lentils (any color)

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

3-6 cups chicken stock (any flavor stock will work)

I usually cook my lentils in a pressure cooker with about 6 cups of liquid, for approximately 30 minutes. If you want to use a regular pot you will need less liquid (maybe only three cups, but enough to cover the lentils and vegetables) and your cook time will probably increase to an hour. Simmer lentils until they are soft and starting to fall apart.

I serve these lentils the first time around with sausages for dinner. With the left overs I make the following dip. You can serve it with either tortilla chips or toasted pita squares.

Dip:

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

about 1 inch fresh ginger, grated

(I store my ginger in the freezer. It keeps much longer and is much easier to grate)

1/4 of a whole nutmeg, grated

(You could use 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, but I really like grating it myself. The flavors are much stronger and the whole nutmegs keep longer)

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add cumin, coriander, ginger, and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. And lentils and cayenne pepper (to taste) and cook until warmed through, at least 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and serve with tortilla chips or toasted pita squares.

This recipe is modified from http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/african-spiced-lentil-dip.

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette on Deviled Egg Layers

To fend off scurvy last night we made a grilled chicken salad that was out of this world. He took a whole chicken, cut it up into quarters, seasoned it with the rub listed below, and grilled it.

Chicken Rub:

1/4 cup paprika

1/8 cup salt

15 peppercorns

1 clove of garlic

olive oil

Grind the paprika, salt, peppercorns, and garlic together in a food processor. Slowly add olive oil until the mixture just holds together.

I made a creamy balsamic vinaigrette. The recipe was modified from a wonderful cookbook called, "from the cooks garden" by Ellen Ecker Ogden.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon spicy mustard

1 tablespoon honey

1 large garlic clove

1/2 cup olive oil

Blend all together in the food processor. You really need to use the food processor; I tried to whisk it together by hand and I couldn't get the olive oil to blend it. Plus if you use the food processor, you don't need to chop the garlic up.

Smoked Poblano and Butternut Squash Soup

I had the smoker fired up last weekend to smoke a bunch of pork and decided to roast as many peppers as I could find too. This soup came from the really yummy smoked poblanos......

Important notes:

1. This soup was too spicy for me to eat. I can only handle medium spice levels. I did add a bunch more squash and cream the next day to reduce the heat and the taste was not as fabulous.

2. You are going to blend everything together in the end, so don't worry to much about chopping everything to the exact size listed.

2 medium butternut squash

2 T butter

3 onions, roughly chopped

2 T cumin seeds

6 or 7 smoked poblano peppers

6 cups broth (vegetable, chicken or pork would work)

Smoke peppers for approximately 4 hours or until they start to wilt and brown a little. Remove stems and seeds and cut into roughly 1-inch strips.

Roast whole squash in the oven at 350 for about an hour, or until they are soft and the outside is starting to brown. Let it cool slightly and remove seeds, skin, etc. Cut squash into roughly 2-inch cubes.

Carmelize the onions in butter over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes or until they are just starting to brown, stirring occasionally. Add cumin and cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add poblanos and cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add squash and broth and increase heat to high until soup comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to blend flavors. Puree soup (I use a food processor) and serve.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta

This is similar to Andrea's, but I had a request for it, so I thought I'd post it for others.

3/4 t salt

1/2 t dried rosemary

1/4 t black pepper

3 cups butternut squash, cubed

6 slices bacon, cooked

1 cup thinly sliced onions

8 oz penne pasta, cooked

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

3/4 cups shredded provolone cheese

1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine 1/4 t salt, rosemary and pepper. Place squash on a foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle with spices. Bake for 45 minutes.

Increase oven temp to 450.

Saute shallots in bacon grease; then combine with bacon and cooked squash.

Combine flour and remaining salt in a dutch over (or other heavy bottomed pot) over medium heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Cook one minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone to the milk, and stir until the cheese melts. Add the cooked pasta.

Spoon pasta and sauce mixture into a buttered 9x13 baking pan. Top with squash mixture, then parmesan cheese. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until the parmesan begins to brown.

Squash Hazelnut Lasagna

'Tis the season for butternut squash! I made this lasagna for the pre-marathon dinner party last weekend and my friend Zach claims it is a big part of the reason he qualified for Boston. Congrats to Zach and everyone else who completed a marathon this fall!

This recipe was modified from one I found on epicurious. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Butternut-Squash-and-Hazelnut-Lasagne-105911

Filling:
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, chopped small
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 cup hazelnuts

Sauce:
3 cloves garlic, chopped small
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Assembly:
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 package lasagna sheets, cooked as instructed

Make filling:

1. Saute onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes.
2. Add squash, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes.
3. While the squash is cooking, toast the hazelnuts. After they have cooled slightly, wrap the nuts in a kitchen towel and rub the skins off. Coarsely chop the nuts.
4. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling.

Make sauce:

1. Saute garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute.
2. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes.
3. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes.
4. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat.

Assemble lasagna:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets.
3. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese.
4. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese.
5. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.
6. Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagna in middle of oven 30 minutes.
7. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagna stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

To travel with the lasagna I baked it for 30 minutes (covered) and then let it cool and stored it in the fridge. I used the remaining 10-15 minutes baking time to reheat the lasagna before serving. Since it was cold to start it probably took more like 30-45 minutes for the lasagna to get golden and bubbly.

Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe

Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe (makes an enormous, Sunday dinner sized portion)

1 lb bacon

1 butternut squash

2 boxes whole wheat pasta (13.25 oz size)

2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/3 cup finely chopped white onion

6 tbsp fresh sage

3 cups white wine

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook bacon and chop coarsely. Using some of the bacon grease, coat and lightly salt and pepper the butternut squash. Place in a shallow baking pan, and roast in oven at 400 degrees until softened, but not mushy, approximately 20 minutes. Cook the whole wheat pasta al dente. Mix together the bacon, squash, pasta, and spinach in a large lasagna pan.

Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and add the sage and the onion, sauteeing lightly for about a minute. Add the wine, whipping cream, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, until the sauce begins to thicken (the recipe said 5 minutes, and this didn't happen for me... I ended up adding a little cornstarch to thicken it). Pour the sauce over the pasta and squash mixture, and stir to combine.

Mix together the mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top. Put the pan in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, or until it is warmed through the cheese forms a crust on top.

Back track: the first family smackdown

It's Friday night, I'm drinking a wonderful sparkling wine from northern Michigan (thanks mom and dad!) and I think it is high time we learn to upload pictures AND start to build the memory of the first smackdown. So here are my photos and the "Award Winning Wild Mushroom Tart."







At the top are our guests of honor and judges. Happy 50th wedding anniversary to Larry and Lois Hart (on the right).....this was the intimate party the night before the big party.


As everyone sends me their recipe, we'll get their recipe next to their pictures, but for now.....


Karen and Michael Hart - Appetizers


Dave and Rob eating the appetizers

Shane and Renee Hart - Soup and Salad
Renee do you have any pictures of those amazing croutons you made??


Tomato Soup
I could only make a wild guess at what went in the soup.
10 yellow tomatoes
1 large onion, diced and stewed at low heat until super soft.

Add the tomatoes, quartered to the onion and cook until they soften up.

Shove that junk through a chinois with one bulb of roasted garlic and one hand of finely grated ginger. Shove it through the chinois a second time.

Slowly cook in a pound of butter.

Cool. Serve room temperature and garnish with diced, pickled beets, a chiffonade of basil and an herbed, cracker with sundried tomato. Sprinkle with dots of mint infused almond oil. (OK--that wasn't there)



Salad
As for the salad, 5 lbs Zebra offal, seared with garlic and a port wine demi glaze.Served over a baby green salad with port wine dressing. garnished with fried mussel beard and blanched crickets.


Erin and Rob Augustine - Award Winning Wild Mushroom Tart


Crust:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 Tablespoons ice water


Blend flour and salt in food processor.
Cit in butter using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add enough water to blend dough.
Gather dough into a ball; flatten into a disk.
Wrap in plastic and chill 45 minutes. I actually froze the dough for a few days and it turned out just fine.
Roll out dough to 12-inch round and transfer to a 9-inch-diameter tart pan.
Trim edges and fold overhang to to form double-thick sides.
Chill 30 minutes.



Find wild chicken of the woods and pose for pictures in your pajamas :)




Filling:
2/3 quart bag frozen chicken of the woods
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 onion
2 Tablespoons brandy
3 Tablespoons chopped sage
3 Tablespoons chopped thyme


2/3 cup grated fontinella cheese
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg


Melt butter in a large saucepan and saute mushrooms until deep golden, about 10 minutes.
Add onion; saute until translucent.
Add brandy and cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes.
Cool.


Line crust with foil.
Fill with dried beans.
Bake crust at 375 degrees until golden, about 15 minutes.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese in crust while it is still hot.
Add mushroom mixture to crust.
Wisk milk, yolks, egg, and half of the sage and thyme in a bowl.
Pour into crust.
Top with remaining cheese, sage and thyme.
Bake until filling is set and golden, about 30 minutes.
Cool 15 minute
s before serving.


We also made a pear sorbet, but I don't have the recipe and it wasn't that good anyways.

Dave Rathbun and Andrea Augustine (Team Rathastine) -
Main Course

Karen and Mike Hart -
Cheese Plate and Dessert

















And then the voting! Which was hard because we only gave them thumbs up, neutral and thumbs down. Thankfully, all votes were thumbs up! Some got creative and drew extra thumbs. But in the end it was a dead tie between Andrea & Dave and Erin & Rob. So we sequestered ourselves and made the judges debate to choose a winner.









In the end Rob and Erin won a really cool ceramic knife...look how thin it can cut!











I think the wine must have been flowing too! What a wonderful meal, a great night, and a happy celebration of 50 years of marriage. Here's hoping we all make it that far!

Chili Sauce

Grandma's chili sauce

(below are Grandma Evans original quantities for her chili sauce, below that are Lois' revisions)

30 large tomatoes

6 green peppers

6 red peppers

8 onions

6 cups of vinegar

2 1/2 cups of sugar

1 tablespoon of cloves

1 tablespoon of cinammon

1 tablespoon of allspice

4 tbsp of salt

Lois' Chili Sauce

1 gallon of tomatoes

2 cups of chopped onion

4 green peppers

2 red peppers

1 hot pepper

2 1/2 cups of vinegar

1 1/2 tsp cloves

1 1/2 tsp allspice

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cups of sugar

3 tbsp of salt

Chop tomatoes and grind peppers and onions. Boil for 45 minutes. Adds spices. Boil till thick. Add vinegar and boil till thick. Process in water bath for 10 minutes. Yields 9 pints.

Neapolitan Pizza Dough

Neapolitan Pizza Dough (from Josh Krone to Karen to me)

Makes enough for two 9-inch crusts

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm (105F deg.) water

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup cold water

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for kneading

3/4 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast into the lukewarm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the olive oil and the cold water and whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough comes together in a rough mass.

On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough until smooth and velvety (8-10 minutes). Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

Divide into 2 equal portions, knead briefly, then roll reach portion into a smooth, tight round ball. To use dough immediately, cover with a towel and let rise an additional hour. To store for later use, refrigerate up to 48 hours or dust each ball with flour and store in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Let frozen dough thaw in an oiled bowl in refrigerator overnight or 2 hours at room temperature.

This is straight from the book. I typically use about 2 cups of flour plus more for kneading. And I don't bake all that much so I just use a packet of yeast instead of measuring. I can easily get four crusts 9" out of this batch.

Best of luck.

Another good recipe is on the smitten kitchen which is a variation of a Mario Batali recipe.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/pizza-even-sweeter/

Pulled Pork Cider Sauce

Cider Sauce

from Cuisine at home - Cuisine Tonight Grilling

4 cups of apple cider

1 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 cup of ketchup

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

Boil and reduce cider to 1/2 cup, stir in remaining ingredients, bring to boil then remove from heat.

Sweet Corn Soup

Sweet Corn Soup

adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

6 ears of corn

1 tablespoon of butter

1 small onion

1/2 cup grated waxy potato

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

7 cups of water

Remove kernels (should total about 4 cups)

In stock pot, melt butter, then add onion, corn and 1 cup of water. Stew for 10 minutes. Add remaining corn, water and pepper flakes; bring to boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Puree and pass through a fine strainer. Reserve strained corn mash for pizza. To serve soup put half a dozen small cubes of mozzarella in bottom of bowl or cup, pour in soup and dress top with a couple of tablespoons of basil (cut into thin strips).

The corn mash makes an excellent base for pizza; mix corn mash with roasted, diced pepper assortment. Sprinkle fresh corn kernels, a little diced red onion and sharp cheddar to complete pizza. Yummy.

Holiday French Toast

Holiday French Toast

1 loaf egg bread 8 eggs
1 brick of cream cheese (8 oz)
1/2 cup of half and half (or milk)
1 cup of maple syrup
1 stick of butter (8 Tbs)
1 Tbs vanilla (optional)

Cube bread and layer half in 9x12 pan
Cut cream cheese into 16 squares (min) and scatter over bread
Cover with remaining bread
Mix remaining ingredients and pour over bread
Press to soak
Sprinkle with cinammon (optional)
Refrigerate overnight
Bake at 350 40-50 min, till brown and crusty
Open presents
Eat breakfast

Honey-Espresso Glazed Scallops

While I hope to eventually post the complete menus to both the family smack down events, I need to gather everyone's recipes. We'll have to start instead with a recipe I found while sitting on the can at work. My office, like many I'm sure, has a "long call" bathroom. My co-workers bring wonderful magazines and leave them here for others to enjoy. The other day, a magazine called Imbibe was in the bathroom and it contained this amazing recipe.

I made it for a small Sunday Dinner gathering last weekend and was so happy with the results! Credit needs to be given to Peter and Christey Krause, husband and wife food bloggers that I now desperately wish to begin following.

Here is Peter's recipe:

http://fotocuisine.com/2008/11/17/honey-espresso-glazed-diver-scallops/

My notes:

• I actually used a dark roast coffee instead of espresso.
• Since I live in Michigan, I had frozen scallops and used a cast iron skillet to sear them, but couldn't get them to sear because there was so much liquid in the pan. I even poured some of the liquid off!
• Then since it took me so long to figure out the liquid, I was afraid the scallops would overcook if I put them in the broiler, so I poured all of the glaze (which I think was still too liquid-y) into my cast iron skillet and carried it out to the table.

Even with all of these "mistakes" this was delicious!!! I can't wait for scallops to go on sale again!

grand opening

Michael and I were drinking wine, cooking, and talking recipes a few months ago and decided we needed a place to store recipes. Not epicurious, or recipe czar (both of which we adore!), or any other established website, but a place of our own to store recipes we love and want to share with friends and family. A place to easily store recipes that we want to make again and again. A place to store recipes that our friends and family have asked for. A place so we only have to re-write the recipe once and all can have access. A place that we can access from others' houses when we want to cook for them. And so I promised to create a blog for this purpose.

Here is the virtual smack down. So named for the hope that we can continue the good natured cooking competition that started on August 29th, 2008 for Larry and Lois' 50th Wedding Anniversary and continued on November 1st, 2008 for Andrea, Dean, and Rob's birthdays.