United Irishmen Flag

Well it’s better late than never, I say. Just think of this post as a jump start to next year’s celebration!

These last few months have been very exciting for me. I recently discovered that along with my new found English ancestry (and a few other Northern European ancestries) and in the company of millions of other Americans, I may have some ancestral roots in Ireland. I am still learning about where it comes from, which has been a very fun process for me and has revived in me my love of anthropology and population migrations. I am not sure how much I will ever really know about my heritage, being adopted with no ancestry history, but it looks like there is a strong Northern Irish connection from all my research so far. So this year, I decided that I want to explore these cultures in my ancestral line through the foods of these lands, and St. Patrick’s day seemed like a good place to start, in good company.

I am not Christian, so for me, my St. Patrick’s celebration is not religious or political, but more of a general Celtic heritage and cultural celebration. It should be no surprise that I have Celtic ancestry, as I have always loved Celtic music (even teaching myself to play the fiddle) and culture, and Scottish and Irish desserts have been among my favorites for years. So I felt like even with its religious roots, this would be a good a time as any to celebrate the rich culture and heritage of Ireland with so many others!

Some Irish Feast Ingredients: Fresh Organic Eggs, Organic Cream and Guinness plus Homemade Buttermilk and Whiskey and Aquavit Soaked Raisins

I wanted to celebrate by cooking some semi- “traditional” dishes, and to challenge myself by cooking with Guinness! So the menu is as follows :

*Guinness Stew
*Sautéed Cabbage in a Mustard Glaze
*Brown Soda Bread
*Guinness Ice Cream

Everything is made from scratch, including the buttermilk in the soda bread. The meal turned out great, and I would certainly make any of these dishes again, for St. Pat’s or any other day.

Brown Soda Bread

I was inspired by several different recipes for this meal, and it all started with Jenny’s Brown Soda Bread Recipe .

As many who follow this blog know, I have been tweaking various bread recipes these past many months, so that the flour can be soaked for at least 12 hours before baking ( to find out why click here ). Jenny is a master at this kind of cooking, even recently being featured on CNN for her Real Food Challenge . When I saw her soda bread recipe, I knew I had to make it.

Guinness Stew

From there, the idea for an Irish feast began. I didn’t have a lot of time this year to research “corning” my own beef brisket , so to speak (maybe next year). So I decided to go with something a bit more in my comfort zone – beef stew with a beef and Guinness broth.

I love sautéed cabbage, and since it was on sale at the grocery store, I decided to grab a head and figure out what to do with it later. As I was cooking the stew, an idea for a delicious spicy mustard and honey glaze was concocted in my mind! I will definitely be making cabbage this way again!

Creamy Guinness Ice Cream without white sugar

I had also been wanting to try this recipe for Guinness Ice Cream for about 2 years. However, I did modify it, to make it more healthy by omitting the 2 cups of sugar called for in the original recipe and using date sugar and maple syrup to sweeten it, instead. I also omitted the brown bread, however I may have to add it in the future, because it sounds yummy!

This was a wonderful celebration to begin to connect with some of my ancestral roots and share it with my awesome and supportive family. Thanks Guys! Hope my readers enjoy this menu as much as we did! Recipes under the cut…

Guinness Stew
(inspired by this recipe )

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Stew beef chunks
2 TBS whole wheat flour to dust
oil for cooking
3 russet potatoes, chunks
6 carrots, rustic chunks
1 small onion, chunks
2 cloves garlic, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cups homemade beef stock
1 bottle of Guinness
1 cup caramelized onions
2 tsp arrowroot

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350F. Toss meat in flour (reserve any leftover flour that does not cover the meat). In a large dutch oven, over medium-high heat, heat olive oil on stovetop – and brown meat on all sides. Then add potatoes, carrots, raw onion chunks and garlic and season with salt, pepper and dried thyme. Cook veggies in meat fat and oil until browned – about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups beef stock, one bottle of Guinness and caramelized onions. Then add any extra flour and stir. Bring to a simmer. Then place in the oven, and cook for about 1 hour, stirring every 30 minutes and checking for liquid. If extra liquid is needed at any time, add water, more beef stock, or even more Guinness – the choice is yours! But I doubt that you will need any. Then bring it back to the stovetop and let it simmer, with the lid on for another hour. Right before serving, whisk in 2 tsp of arrowroot to thicken. Serve with Irish Soda bread – and a side of cabbage. Save room for Guinness Ice Cream for dessert!

******************************************************

Sautéed Mustard Glazed Cabbage

INGREDIENTS:

1 head of green cabbage
2 TBS olive oil
salt
pepper
¼ cup good quality spicy mustard
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBS honey

METHOD:

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet until very hot. Add half the cabbage to the pan, with salt and pepper and sautee until soft. Then add the other half. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk mustard, apple cider vinegar, and 2 TBS honey. After all the cabbage is cooked and soft – about 10-15 minutes, pour the glaze over top.

*****************************************

Brown Soda Bread – see Jenny’s recipe . The only modifications I made were that I couldn’t find currants, so I had to use raisins. Also, I soaked the raisins in a mixture of whiskey and Danish Aquavit – to bring out the caraway flavor.

****************************************

Guinness Ice Cream – as inspired by this recipe from Ice Cream Ireland !

INGREDIENTS:
½ c. date sugar
5 organic egg yolks
1 1/8 c. organic heavy cream
1 1/8 c. whole organic milk
1 Can (500 ml) Guinness
½ cup maple syrup
½ tsp ground cinnamon

METHOD:

Measure out 100ml of Guinness and set aside. Boil 400ml Guinness until it reduces to 100ml in volume. Cool. Beat the date sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow. Bring the milk to a simmer. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Stir until the custard thickens slightly (around 70C). Use a thermometer, as at 75C the eggs will scramble! Allow the custard to cool.
Once the custard is cool, stir in both the reduced and non-reduced Guinness. Whip the cream in a separate bowl and gently fold into the custard. Freeze using a domestic ice cream machine, or cover and place in the freezer. Yield: 6 Servings

If you are like me, you know the joys of reading cookbooks cover to cover like a novel. Looking at the photos, skimming the recipes, planning future meals and letting the creativity flow is one of my favorite pastimes. I have an entire bookshelf full of cookbooks in my kitchen. I have made at least one or two recipes out of all of them, but I like to keep things interesting, and generally I use cookbooks as inspiration for my cooking, rather than a step-by-step guide. Now with all the wonderful food blogs I have at my fingertips, I find myself using them as creative fodder more often, so in the spirit of conservation I have really tried to limit my cookbook purchases.

However, sometimes, a cookbook will really speak to me and when I purchase it, it will get a place of honor on my counter-top cookbook stand. Generally that spot is reserved for Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day but now it has a roommate Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Several people over a short time period told me that I should check this book out. I remember several patients we had at the holistic healthcare office I used to work at talking about Weston Price and fermented and cultured foods, but I never really explored it back then. However, based on all these recommendations, I decided to buy the book. I spent several days reading the introduction which discusses at length the similarities of food preparation (not necessarily ingredients) from traditional cultures all over the world. It also discusses at length the major food groups and gives a lot of information to think about. Now I know some people might read this and be converted right away. I am a skeptical animal by nature, and so a firm believer in moderation as opposed to dogma of any kind. But I have found a lot of useful information in this book, as well as confirmation of a lot of clues and messages I have gotten from my own body when I choose various foods to eat. So for me, much of this book rings true. Then there are the recipes – all of which I want to eat! Well maybe not the organ meat section, I have had quite enough of that to last me a lifetime. But the emphasis here is on real, whole, traditional foods – not new fangled, or processed foods -and some of the foods that fall into that category might be surprising to people – yet it does ring true. It really explores some of the information we, as consumers accept as reality, but may not be the truth of the matter.

For the past 2 months I have been exploring a gluten free diet. But I am not convinced yet that gluten is my culprit. I think my culprit is grains in general and Nourishing Traditions gives lots of information for why that theory may be true. It also gives a lot of suggestions for fermenting grains (and legumes) or soaking them in vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt or kefir as our ancestors did. There are examples from all over the world in this book to support this claim. The soaking allows enzymes and other friendly organisms to break down the phytic acid, an organic acid found in all grains (and legumes) that may make the digestion of grains (and legumes) harder for some people. This sounded like an experiment I wanted to try – not only because I wanted to find a way to digest grains better, but because I really like kefir, yogurt, vinegar and buttermilk, and thought the flavor might actually enhance the grain dishes. I have to say I had a lot of success in the past few weeks with bulgur, lentils and even oatmeal – something I have been trying to learn to like for years. After learning to soak lentils in warm water and apple cider vinegar, they have become so much easier to digest and are becoming a mainstay of our diet. This book has given Roberto and I the opportunity to actually enjoy foods that were previously not on the tummy friendly list. So just for that I am loving this book.

My favorite grain on the planet is buckwheat also known as kasha (which is not actually a wheat – but a grass). So I started the soaking experiment with buckwheat and lentils for dinner one night – serving them together as a pilaf. I served it with a modified version of Nourishing Traditions’ Moroccan Style Chicken (see my recipe after the cut) and roasted sweet potatoes. It was such a delicious meal – so filling and satisfying…and well, a breeze in the digestion department! I was feeling so inspired that night I starting soaking some Irish oats for breakfast the next day, and it was my best experience with oatmeal ever. I am not a convert yet, but I can see myself eating it more often. With all these successes, and so many other delicious recipes to try, I will most likely be featuring more and more of the recipes and ideas from this book.

Yesterday I ordered a bunch of cultures and cheese making supplies from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company so that I can begin making my own kefir, yogurt, buttermilk as well as some soft cheeses. Also, for more Nourishing Food ideas, I have found a great blog – The Nourished Kitchen authored by Jenny who is really a wealth of knowledge on this way of eating. I came across her blog a few months ago when she was doing a giveaway for a Kimchi and Sauerkraut (some of my favorite foods) Maker! I never wanted to win something so bad. I didn’t win, but that maker is certainly on my wish list, along with the CIA version of the Vitamix! In fact, I think I may to buy that maker today…it is under $30 and the only pickles I can find at the store now without corn syrup and dyes are $8 a jar – and I eat A LOT of pickles! Anyway, as you can see I am really excited about all these new discoveries. So likely this will be a topic of discussion in the future.

As I told Hank Cardello, author of Stuffed Nation during a very enjoyable phone conversation yesterday, I am still on the road of discovery about what “healthy eating” means to me. I don’t have all the answers yet, but the learning process sure has been fun, tasty and eye opening so far, and I am already about 8 years into the discovery process with so much more to learn. Speaking of Mr. Cardello and Stuffed Nation, keep your eye out for an intriguing giveaway we will be doing together in September to help spread the message about food policy and the fight against obesity in the US.

*Update: I am really happy to see the responses and comments on this article. If definitely answers my question as to whether these kinds of posts are valuable/interesting to my readers! Your comments always help me to decide which kinds of articles to write, and although I get great responses to my recipes, it seems that I always get very thought provoking comments on these posts I do on food quality. So I am moved to do more of these in the future. For more articles on this topic, check out my “Health and Wellness” category (categories can be found on the left hand side bar). Thank you all for comments!

My version of Nourishing Traditions Moroccan Style Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

5 organic chicken drumsticks

½ cup of white wine

2 TBS honey

juice of 2 lemons

grated rind of 2 lemons

2 cloves of roasted garlic, mashed

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp of each: dried oregano, thyme, ans crushed peppercorns

salt to taste

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

8 dried apricot halves, coarsely chopped

METHOD:

Mix all ingredients (besides chicken) thoroughly in a large bowl or ziplock bag. Add the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Preheat a cast iron skillet with 2 TBS olive oil. Remove the pieces, reserving the marinade. Pat the chicken dry and lay the legs skin side down on the skillet. Brown the chicken over medium – high heat on all sides and then add the marinade. Bring liquid to a boil and then reduce temperature to low. Cover the pan and let cook for about 20-25 minutes. Remove lid and reduce sauce by half – about another 5 minutes. Then serve the chicken with the sauce.

Buckwheat (Kasha)-Lentil Pilaf

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup pure roasted buckwheat (I couldn’t find un-roasted…)

1 ½ cups water

2 TBS whey or kefir

½ cup dry lentils

warm water

2 TBS apple cider vinegar

3 cups veggie broth

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

plain yogurt for garnish

METHOD:

The night before or the morning of you will need to soak your buckwheat and lentils. In a large bowl, place your toasted buckwheat with water and whey or kefir and let soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours. In another large bowl place lentils, warm water (to cover) and apple cider vinegar together, and let this soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours.

When it is time to cook the pilaf, heat up a large cast iron pot. Drain lentils and rinse. Add to the pot lentils, veggie broth, and all the spices. Bring to a light boil for 10 minutes. Then add buckwheat (kasha) , cover pot and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until lentils and kasha are tender. Serve with a nice dollop of plain yogurt.

We had fresh local scallops and lobster (the lobster was not local, but was on sale for Father’s Day) kabobs with pineapple. The seafood and pineapple were marinated in a mixture of lime juice and zest, cilantro, jalapeño, sugar, salt, oil and pepper. Separately the same marinade was mixed with a whole sliced avocado. This was then used as a topping on a green salad with corn. On the side I made a red quinoa pilaf. To drink – “Teatini” a sun tea cocktail. Then of course dessert was the cake with preserves and whipped cream!

For Kabobs –

INGREDIENTS:

2 tsp finely shredded lime peel
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup fresh cilantro, snipped
1 small green or red jalapeño, finely chopped
2 tsp raw cane sugar
pinch of ground coriander
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
¼ cup grape seed or olive oil
1 lb sea scallops
2 lobster tails, cut into chunks
about 2 cups of pineapple chunks
1 avocado sliced into chunks or wedges

METHOD:

In a small bowl combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk together. Set aside. If using bamboo skewers, begin soaking them.
In a large bowl combine scallops, lobster and pineapple chunks. Toss with 2 TBS of the marinade. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Alternately thread the scallops, pineapple chunks and lobster onto 4 skewers. Grill uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until scallops are opaque – turn them after about 4 minutes. Serve with avocado chunks.

For “Teatini”

I used peach ginger tea and made a batch of iced sun tea (you could also make iced tea by boiling tea bags). I sweetened it with stevia. The day before I also took a large peach and cut it into chunks and soaked the chunks in some vanilla vodka.

For each drink, I swirled the inside of the glass with honey, then added some of the vodka soaked peaches, a small jigger of vanilla vodka and filled the rest of the glass with the sweetened tea and ice.

As many readers of my blog know, I lived in Norway for a time. I don’t read many blogs where Norwegian culinary achievements are discussed, but I think that is kind of sad, because Norwegian food is very good, and quite varied. There is of course a lot of seafood and a meal wouldn’t be a meal without potatoes. But there are also a lot of lovely fresh tasting meals, and I usually cook up something with Scandinavian flair for Midsummer.

Of course, one of the shining glories of Norwegian fare are the baked goods.

Skoleboller is one of those pastries that you can get at any bakery in Norway – even the grocery store, convenience stores, train and ferry kiosks and of course coffee shops. The name literally means “School Buns” and are a very popular snack for school children, but because of its portability you often take them cross country skiing or on hikes. Sometimes you will just enjoy them with coffee. I ate them a lot when I lived in Norway because I am a huge sucker for custard and coconut, which are the flavors that go into these buns. Oh yeah, and cardamom, which is one of my all time favorite spices – and cardamom is a favorite spice among Norwegian baked goods. Basically Skoleboller are cardamom infused sweet buns (sort of like a Danish, but not exactly) and filled with vanilla custard, topped with coconut and a confectioner’s sugar glaze.

Despite the fact that I enjoyed Skoleboller very often when I lived in Norway, 15 years later, I had almost forgotten about them, that is until I came across the blog Transplanted Baker. *note* Unfortunately, since I wrote this post, Siri’s blog was mistakenly removed from the net She is currently working on a new site that will be up soon!

Now Transplanted Baker is written by Siri who is a native of Minnesota, but lives in Norway with her Norwegian husband and children who cooks up Norwegian favorites as well as developing some of her own original baked goods. This is an awesome blog and I love reading it because it makes me very nostalgic, even though she lives in a different part of Norway than I did, and here are two official forms of written Norwegian…and writes in Nynorsk on her blog, a different official written language than the one I learned when I lived there.

So onto the Skoleboller. I decided to take a Saturday and make these buns. There are several steps, but please do not let that discourage you – they are all fairly easy to accomplish and believe me, these buns are well worth it. I made the dough for the buns first and while it was rising I made the custard.

Here is a note on the custard. I am kind of an egg freak – I eat a lot of eggs, and because of this it is important to me that they are of good quality. This means that the hens live a life a hen should live. I am not going to get into it more than that, but the quality of these eggs are clear. I mean look at the color of the yolks here, beautiful, sunny, deep yellow – and the taste is far superior to your run of the mill (quite literally) eggs. So if you are going to make a dish where the cornerstone is eggs, you might as well use the best available to make your dish all the better tasting.

Anyway, back to Skoleboller. Siri had good advice, she said you can make 12 regular sized Skoleboller or 24 smaller, weight watchers sized buns. So I decided to make the latter. I followed her recipe exactly, except that I embellished a little.

Instead of using a confectioner’s sugar glaze, I decided to use some of the creamed honeys that I had from Honey Ridge Farms.

I also added some nutella (as well as the custard) to a few, and on some I placed a fresh blackberry in the center before popping them in the oven to bake. All varieties turned out really good and by making 24, I had enough to eat, freeze and give out. So I would suggest making them that way – plus less guilt!

Skoleboller
by Transplanted Baker

Recipe makes about 14- 6” buns or 24- 4” buns
(recipe can easily be halved)

For the buns:

2 cups (5 dl) milk (preferably full-fat, but 1% or 2% will work too), luke warm
2 oz. (50 grams) Fresh yeast, or 2 T. active dry yeast
1/2 cup (100 grams) butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (1 dl) sugar
1 1/2 t. cardamom
6 – 7 cups (650- 750 grams) All-Purpose flour

For the vanilla custard:

4 egg yolks
1/4 cup (1/ dl) sugar
1 3/4 cups (4 dl) full-fat milk
1 t. vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
1 T. cornstarch

For the sugar glaze and topping:
1 cup (100 grams) powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1 t. water
+ desiccated coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) for topping

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the luke warm milk. Add the melted (and cooled) butter, the sugar, cardamom, and 5 cups (550 grams) of the flour. Blend well.
2. Slowly add more flour until a smooth, slightly sticky dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead for a minute or two until a soft dough is formed. Add another tablespoon or two of flour, if needed to prevent sticking.
3. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic, and allow to rise to double its’ size, about 1 hour.

This would be a good time to make your vanilla custard (ingredients above and instructions below):

4. Punch the dough down, divide into small balls (12-14 will make the traditional, large skoleboller, while 22-24 will make nice, Weight Watchers portions).
5. Form each ball into an evenly round, flat bun. Place on a parchment-lined baking tray with at least an inch between each one. Cover with a clean dishcloth and allow to make a second rise for about 20 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 400F (200C).
6. After the 20 minute rising period is up, use the back of a spoon to create a good-sized indentation in the center of each bun (about the size of a soup spoon).
7. Place a generous spoonful of the egg custard in the center of each indentation. Bake on the bottom rack for 10-12 minutes. Take your skoleboller out when they begin to slightly brown on the tops and the egg custard is just starting to set.
8. Allow to cool on a wire rack. The vanilla custard will set a bit once cooled down. Once cooled, you can drizzle your confectioner’s sugar glaze – simply whisk the powdered sugar and water together. The glaze should be white, not translucent, and should be able to drizzle but not run, add more sugar or water, accordingly).
9. Once glazed, dip your buns into a bowl or plate full of the desiccated coconut and swirl around a bit until all of the glaze is sufficiently covered with the coconut- careful not to destroy your custard centers.
10. Serve with coffee and milk at home, at school, at the office, at social hour, at a birthday party, on a picnic, on a hike, or anywhere else that seems fit.

To make the vanilla custard:
1. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together very well.
2. Bring the whole milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the milk, whisking briskly. Add the vanilla.
3. While your egg and milk mixture is still simmering, add the cornstarch, little-by-little, whisking briskly. Allow the cornstarch to fully dissolve and the custard to thicken while stirring the entire time. It will take about 3- 5 minutes for the custard to thicken enough.
4. Allow to cool on a ice water bath.

I received some lovely pears from EW Brandt & Sons. The Brandt family has been a part of Washington state agriculture since 1907. Located just south of Yakima, WA they grow, pack and ship premium pears, apples and stone fruit. This farming family strives to deliver the most flavorful and unique products that can be grown in their region. Through the years, they’ve added acreage, new packing facilities, and a nursery program that allows them to better coordinate their own tree development to diversify into various tree fruit varieties. And these are some beautiful and tasty pears. I really have never seen such lovely ones before – not a blemish on them, super smooth outer skin. Just gorgeous- and the taste? Like a pear should be – crisp and delicious!

The first thing I did when I got a case of pears from EW Brandt & Sons was start asking around for wine poached pear recipes – something I had always wanted to make. So I went on Twitter and asked around. My good friend Peter, from Kalofagas had two recipes to share with me, (hereand here) and so I kind of took the method of how he did his and added my own twist to it.

I had leftover mulling spices from the Gløgg I made for our Winter Solstice Cocktail Party and so I decided to use that in lieu of cloves, cinnamon sticks and star anise. I used Pumpkin Blossom Honey and Blackberry Honey Creme from Honey Ridge Farms to make the wine syrup.

Honey Ridge Farms is a really fantastic company. When I read the materials they sent me with the package I was really happy to read this statement: “We are a long time bee keeping family (5 generations) who believe that honey is nature’s best sweetener”. I would have to agree. I am a huge fan of honey, and maple syrup – if I could figure out how to bake with them, that is all I would ever use…sounds like another good project for me…Anyway their artisan honey is minimally processed, gently warmed and strained, but not filtered. This retains all the complex flavors this honey has to offer. The Pumpkin Blossom honey we got has a sweet and spicy robust flavor – and the color is beautiful.

I also received 3 Honey Cremes, and decided to use the Blackberry Creme in this recipe as it would compliment the berry notes in the Shiraz-Grenache wine I was using. Their honey cremes are blended with the finest fruits and spices and are never cooked – again retaining the natural goodness of the honey. It is delicious stuff and there is so much you could do with them – topping for ice cream, yogurt, on hot cereal, even spread on toast.

Anyway, I also decided to make a vanilla – maple cream to go with the pears – you can see the recipe after the cut.

We got another interesting product from Honey Ridge Farms – Balsamic Honey Vinegar. I know, I wondered what it was too when I saw the bottle. So I got to reading labels and literature to figure out what it was. It is a balsamic type vinegar made entirely from 100% honey! This makes it sulfite free and really does have the flavor of balsamic vinegar. You can use it in place of grape balsamic in salads, marinades and sauces. Plus, Honey Ridge Farms donates a percentage of their profits on this product to fund research for maintaining bee colony health – which is very important.

Strawberries are in season here in Florida right now. I am not a huge fan of them, but I do enjoy them when they are soaked in balsamic vinegar. If you have never tried this, it may sound weird, but I promise you that the flavors work together like magic! The vinegar brings out the sweetness of the berries. So I chopped up some strawberries and added 1/3 cup of Honey Balsamic over the top. I also mixed in about a TBS of the Clover Honey Creme (also from Honey Ridge). I let that all sit in the fridge for about an hour or two – you could do it over night, if you can wait that long! It was really delicious over vanilla ice cream! I am also looking forward to having some over yogurt.

Please check out this post and The Foodie Blogroll’s Contests and Giveaways Page to see how you can be eligible to win one of our awesome giveaways we have going on.

Wine Poached Pears with Vanilla Maple Cream

INGREDIENTS:

4 pears
1 bottle of red wine – shiraz or grenache works great
2 TBS of mulling spices
1 TBS Pumpkin Blossom Honey
2 TBS Blackberry Creme

2 c. whole milk
4 TBS pure maple syrup
3 TBS non-GMO cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

METHOD:

Peel the skins from and core the pears (from the bottom). In a large pot add bottle of wine and mulling spices. I would suggest using a cheesecloth. I didn’t and it was a mistake. Also add the honey and honey creme. Bring mixture to a slow boil. Add the pears upright, and bring liquid to a boil. Lower heat to lowest setting, place lid on pot and simmer for about 45 minutes or until pears are tender.

In the meanwhile, make the vanilla maple cream. Place milk in a medium saucepan and scald over medium high heat. In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and salt. When milk is scalded add the dry ingredients to the milk and whisk for about 5-10 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken. Once mixture coats the back of a spoon, add the maple, vanilla and cinnamon, stir in and remove pot from the heat. Reserve.

Remove pears from the spiced wine and set aside. Turn heat up on wine and let boil. Reduce down until it has become a syrup.

To plate, place a pool of maple vanilla cream, place pear on top and drizzle it with wine syrup and more maple vanilla cream.

This is another recipe inspired by my new favorite cookbook,
Dishing Up Vermont.

This particular tagine recipe is perfect for the winter bounty of vegetables that we are experiencing right now. I would not call this a “tagine”, technically, but more of a stew, as that is the way it is prepared, as opposed to the traditional slow roasting method in clay that tagine in known for. However, the flavors are very much reflective of this well known Moroccan dish.

I did not have all of the ingredients in the original recipe, so I filled in the gaps with things that I had on hand, and I must say it was delicious and certainly very easy to make. I would encourage anyone to try this dish with whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand, while keeping the spices the same, and you are in for a real hearty treat. Topped with a nice dollop of strained Greek yogurt and you have a wonderful healthy meal, perfect for staving off the colder weather. It is definitely a dish that I will be making again.

INGREDIENTS:

(see my substitutions and additions in parenthesis)

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 yellow onions, sliced
(1 clove garlic, minced)
1 1/2 TBS ground cumin
3 cinnamon sticks
(1 TBS ground coriander and 1 tsp smoked paprika)
4 cups peeled and diced organic butternut squash, preferably locally grown (I used i small acorn squash, 1 gigantic carrot and 1 sweet potato)
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed (I used dried chickpeas that I had cooked ahead)
2 (14 1/2 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup orange or grapefruit juice (I omitted)
2 TBS honey
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives (I used green Sicilian)
1/2 cup pitted prunes (I used raisins)
4 cups kale (I used kale and turnip greens)
kosher salt and fresh black pepper
1 cup almonds, toasted and crushed (I forgot about them, but I bet it would be great)

METHOD:

Although this is not in the recipe, I started by roasting the squash, carrots and sweet potato in a 400 F oven for about 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions (and garlic) and cook, until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon sticks (coriander and paprika) and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash (carrots and sweet potato) chickpeas, tomatoes, juice and honey and bring to a boil. I also added the raisins at this point so they would plump up! Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook covered for about 20 minutes. Add olives and kale and stir to combine.
Cover and continue cooking until the kale is wilted and the olives and prunes soft, about 10 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with almonds.

This month’s Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Kelly of Sass and Veracity and Ben from What’s Cooking. This is one of the first challenges where I really know each of these bloggers and so I couldn’t wait to see what they would come up with to challenge us this time. I should have guessed from this pairing that we would end of with a pastry! Ben is a master at making Puff Pastry and Kelly is always coming up with great ideas of how to make the DB challenges reflect her culinary style. Therefore, it just made sense when I saw the challenge would be a Danish. On the outset, I must admit that I wasn’t too excited about the challenge, as I generally don’t like Danish. It is always so sweet and the dough is generally plasticy, wet and gummy from the filling sinking into it. But as I have come to learn with these challenges, the things we sometimes buy, often do not reflect what the original homemade variety would taste like.

Once I saw that cardamom was involved in the dough recipe they had picked out for us, I began to feel slightly more relieved, as I have a huge love for this spice. Then when I read further that we could experiment with the filling I felt even better! I do not like pie filling-like danish or pastries and when I skimmed the recipe and saw apple filling, my heart sank. I really dislike apples, especially apples in baked goods. But as I read more thoroughly, I was thrilled to see I didn’t have to go that route. So I thought about what flavors of Danish I do like, and I came to a conclusion, it had to involve cheese. In the Italian kitchen, ricotta cheese is often used as a filling for sweet confections and is often seen in baking, especially the more South you go. So I decided to go with the ricotta, but I needed some way to sweeten it. I didn’t want to use sugar, I wanted to make this pastry kind of classy and fit in with summer. As I mentioned in the last FFF post, I have always been intrigued with cooking with lavender, and I really wanted to try that out in this pastry. So I settled on honey. Honey is so luxurious and really has a warmth to it. Plus honey and lavender sounded like a match made in heaven. So I placed about 3 TBS of local honey in a bowl and mixed a heaping teaspoon of lavender in with it. The lavender hat we consume is the flower, and I know, from working with saffron (the stamen) that a little goes a long way because it is so perfumy. I then mixed this in with about 5 oz. of ricotta cheese and used this simple filling for this beautiful and delicate danish.

Then at the end, I drizzled leftover buttercream icing from the Opera Cakes we did last month! It was heaven!

I am a danish convert now. The dough was so beautiful and I loved all the layers we made within it. It created such a light but crunchy texture after it was baked. Oh and the baking was such a joy, as the smell was absolutely intoxicating! The cardamom in the dough was perfect. In my opinion it really made the whole thing. I didn’t have any oranges, so I left the zest out. But I don’t think it mattered much.

If you love a good Danish, you must try this recipe. Even if you don’t love it, I suggest trying it out. I made one gigantic braid (didn’t read the directions thoroughly enough to realize the recipe makes TWO braids…, even though it is mentioned several times…), and I put about 2/3 of it in the fridge. We are having guests next weekend to celebrate Independence Day, and I think it will make a wonderful breakfast! Not just that, but we will get to enjoy it again.

Recipe to follow:

Guidelines for this Challenge:
•    Use the recipe as written to make Danish dough and create at least one Danish Braid.  The recipe will allow you to make two full braids unless you choose to make only half the dough.
•    Fill the Danish Braid with the apple filling provided and/or any other filling as long as it is something you make yourself from scratch. 

Choices
•    Dough ingredients include ground cardamom and orange zest.  Cardamom is traditional in Scandinavian breads, but if it is cost prohibitive, or if you have dietary restrictions, by all means, leave it out or replace it with something else.  You are welcome to omit the orange zest or choose another type of citrus to flavor your dough.
•    The method or style of your braid is your choice.  You may vary the width of the dough strips, type of edging, or angle of cuts.
•    Often, a glaze, nuts, or sugar are used as toppings.  You may choose to use any or all of these, or others you may find interesting.
•    Use one or more fillings such as fresh berries, pastry cream, preserves or jams, curds – there are lots of possibilities.
•    Once you’ve made a Danish Braid, experiment with Danish pastries with the extra dough.
•    If there’s a way to try something savory with the extra dough, then why not?

Terminology:
•    Laminated dough – is layered dough created by sandwiching butter between layers of dough
•    Detrempe – ball of dough
•    Beurrage – butter block
•    Turn – each “fold & roll” of the dough produces a single turn in a 3-step process where the dough is folded exactly like a business letter in 3 columns.  Each single turn creates 3 layers with this method.

For Your Consideration:
•    This recipe calls for a standing mixer with fitted attachments, but it can easily be made without one.  Ben says, “Do not fear if you don’t own a standing mixer.  I have been making puff pastry by hand for many years and the technique for Danish pastry is very similar and not too difficult.”  Look for the alternate directions in the recipe as appropriate.
Yard recommends the following:
•    Use well-chilled ingredients.  This includes flour if your kitchen temperature is above 70 degrees F (~ 21 degrees C).
•    It is recommended that long, continuous strokes be used to roll the dough rather than short, jerky strokes to make sure the butter block is evenly distributed.
•    The 30-minute rest/cooling period for the dough between turns is crucial to re-chill the butter and allow the gluten in the dough to relax.
•    Excess flour accumulated on the surface of the dough after turns should be brushed off as pockets of flour can interfere with the rise.
•    Yard calls for a “controlled 90 degree F environment” for proofing the constructed braid.  Please refer to this chart to assist you in this stage of the challenge:

Proofing Temperature        For Fresh Dough
                                         (room temp)        For Refrigerated Dough
Degrees F    Degrees C       
70                ~ 21        1-1/2 to 2 hrs.        2-1/2 to 3 hrs.
75                ~ 24        1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hrs.      2 to 2-1/2 hrs.
80                ~ 27        1 to 1-1/4 hrs.        1-1/2 to 2 hrs.
85                ~ 29        45 min. to 1 hr.        1 to 1-1/2 hrs.
90                ~ 32        45 min.                   1 hr.

•    When making cuts in the dough for the braid, make sure they are not too long and provide a solid base for the filling.
•    Ben on Cardamom:  It can be very expensive as some stores, but if you have an Indian store nearby, it can be considerably less expensive than at your local grocery store.  If you can’t find it or it is still cost prohibitive, then you can use a substitute.  Many people would say that there is no substitute for the unique flavor of cardamom and it is better to leave it out.  But I’ve found out that combining cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in equal portions words pretty well.  Of course, it doesn’t come close to the cardamom taste, but it worked just fine for one of my test batches.
•    Kelly’s Two Cents:  I had some green cardamom pods on hand and used 16, cracking and emptying the contents into a grinder to get the quantity called for in the recipe for the dough.  The quantity barely put a dent in my 1 oz. bottle.  If you don’t have an Indian store near by, you may consider on-line spice retailers like http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/car … -and-black or http://spicebarn.com/cardamom_seed.
Yes, there’s postage involved, but you’ll have cardamom for many other
recipes for a fraction of the cost, even with postage.
———————————————————————–
DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe) 
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed.  Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice.  Mix well.  Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth.  You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky.  Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer:  Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk.  Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well.  Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain.  Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even.  Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain.  With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges.  When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes.  You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK

1.    Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free.  Set aside at room temperature.

2.    After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick.  The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour.  Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough.  Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter.  Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third.  The first turn has now been completed.  Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally.  Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3.    Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface.  The open ends should be to your right and left.  Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle.  Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third.  No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed.  Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4.    Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns.  Make sure you are keeping track of your turns.  Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight.  The Danish dough is now ready to be used.  If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it.  To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze.  Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling.  Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING (optional)
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl.  Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 – 8 minutes.  Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes.  If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid.  (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet.  After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients