My Culinary Blog

If you like little chewy bits of dark chocolate in your ice cream then this chocolate chip is just the thing for you.

This is prepared just like the Double Chocolate (see recipe), except when the chocolate is dissolved in the double boiler, pour the thick chocolate sauce directly into the prepared ice cream mix. The chocolate will “shatter” into thousands of chocolate bits and a few large clumps. Immediately beat on low speed mixer until all the large clumps are broken up into tiny chocolate flakes. Allow to cool completely, chilling in the refrigerator for about four hours (this “ages” the mix), and freeze in your ice cream freezer.

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup sweet butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup finely ground almonds
1 tbsp. Kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
1−1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Grated rind of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
1 cup good quality raspberry preserves
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1/2 tsp. water
1 tsp. finely ground cloves

Butter one 9 inch springform pan. Cream butter and sugar and beat until fluffy and creamy in color; gradually add almonds and Kirschwasser. Sift flour with cinnamon and cloves; add grated rinds and stir into butter mixture. Spread about 2/3 of dough on bottom and about 2/3 up sides of pan; spread raspberry preserves over dough. Roll remaining dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper; cut into 1/2 inch wide strips. Put in refrigerator to chill. Form strips into a latticework pattern on top of preserves, laying a strip around circumference. Push dough on sides down over strip around circumference and flute; brush top with egg mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, until top is golden brown. Allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing sides of springform.

Ingredients: 

2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup powdered sugar
2 packs dry yeast
Water
2 teas. salt
1 teas. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
7 cups flour

Heat milk and butter until very warm (120−130 degrees F.). Mix yeast, salt, sugar, and 1 cup flour. Slowly beat into warm milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add eggs and 1 cup of flour. Beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and let rise again until doubled (1 hour more). Divide dough in half. Shape pretzel as follows: Roll dough into a rope about 30 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cross the ends leaving a large loop in the center. Flip loop back onto crossed ends to form a pretzel. Repeat with remaining dough. Place pretzels on greased baking sheets. Let rise 15 minutes more. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Mix powdered sugar, water and vanilla to form a thin icing. Spread icing on pretzels and sprinkle with
chopped almonds. Makes 2 large pretzels.

Ingredients: 

1/4 lb. salt pork
1 1/2 lb. beef boneless chuck, tip or round
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
6 medium carrots, cut into 1−inch pieces
2 medium onions, cut into fourths
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
Minced parsley
French bread

Remove rind from salt pork; cut pork into 1/4−inch slices. Cut beef into 1−inch cubes. Fry salt pork in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; remove with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. cook and stir beef in hot fat until brown, about 15 minutes. Drain fat. Add wine, water, garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, pepper and bay leaf. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Stir in salt pork, carrots, onions and olives. Cover and simmer until beef and vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve in bowls with French bread for dipping.

Ingredients: 

2 medium onions [about 8 ounces total], ends cut flat, peeled, cut
in half lengthwise
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter [7 ounces], cut into 14 pieces
2 small carrots [about 4 ounces total], peeled, cut to fit the feed
tube vertically
3 plum tomatoes [about 9 ounces total], quartered and seeded
3 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, washed, stems removed
1 cup veal stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup Sauternes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices calf’s liver [about 5 ounces each], trimmed

Slice the onions thin, and saute in 2 tablespoons butter over low heat until the onions begin to exude their liquid, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and very soft, about 25 minutes more. For flower−like carrot slices, make 5 evenly−spaced lengthwise cuts on each carrot piece with a fruit and vegetable stripper; slice them into very thin rounds. Reserve. Coursely chop the tomatoes. Reserve. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water until cool enough to handle. Squeeze the spinach to remove all the liquid. Pulse the spinach, in a food processor until finely chopped, about 6 times.

Add the onions and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Reserve. To make the sauce, bring the stock, Sauternes and chopped tomatoes to the boil in a medium skillet. Cook until reduced by one−third, about 9 minutes. Strain into a small saucepan, pressing on the tomatoes to exude all their liquid: there should be about l/2 cup. Set the skillet aside. Whisk 8 tablespoons of the butter, one piece at a time, into the reduced liquid, over low heat. Season to taste and keep warm.

Add 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet used to reduce the sauce. Add the spinach mixture and season to taste. Keep warm, stirring occasionally. Season the liver with salt and pepper. Cook 3 slices in 2 tablespoons butter over medium high heat until golden brown on the outside but still pink on the inside, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Cook the remaining liver, adding more butter as necessary. Meanwhile, blanch the carrot slices in boiling water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a l/2−inch star tip with the spinach mixture. Pipe some spinach around the inner rim of 6 individual serving plates. Cut each piece of liver diagonally into 3/4 inch wide slices and arrange spoke−fashion on each plate. Spoon an equal amount of the sauce on each serving and garnish with the carrot slices.

Ingredients: 

l ounce dried morel mushrooms
l cup hot milk
l frying chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all−purpose flour
l/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2 tablespoons Cognac
l cup Creme Fraiche
Beurre manie (1 tablespoon all−purpose flour mixed with
1 tablespoon unsalted butter)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 cups hot cooked rice
Creme Fraiche
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream

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Ingredients: 

1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. super lean ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 stick of butter
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 package frozen Fillo dough sheets (thawed overnight)

Saute the onion in the oil until it changes color to dark yellow. Add the meat and brown it then add the water, salt and pepper and let it cook until all the water has evaporated. If you decide to use nuts add them at this time. Open the Fillo dough package and divide the sheets in half (they are usually sheets of 10X20″ rectangles, you want to end up with 2 stacks of 10X10 sheets. In a greased 9×12x3″ baking dish layer 2 to 3 sheets at a time and sprinkle them with a few drops of the melted butter, and so on until you finish the first half of the sheets. Spread the meat and nut mixture on it and start doing the same thing with the other half of the sheets. Don’t worry about spreading the butter on the sheets. When you finish with all the dough, cut the feteer in 2X1″ squares with a sharp knife. Mix together the left−over melted butter, the egg and the milk and a pinch of salt (not much) beat it with fork. Pour the egg mixture gently over the feteer and bake, uncovered, in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes or until the milk is absorbed and the feteer turns gold yellow.

Ingredients: 

9 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup blanched almonds −− ground
3/4 cup hazelnuts −− ground
9 egg whites
1/4 cup cherry brandy
1/4 cup raspberry jam
1 pint whipping cream
24 whole hazelnuts
Powdered sugar

Beat the egg yolks until thick. Add the sugar and beat. Add the ground nuts and mix well. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the yolk mixture. Bake in 2 well−buttered layer−cake tins in a preheated moderate oven 350F until the top of the cake springs back quickly when you touch it. Remove from oven and let cool. Cover the top of each layer with half of the liqueur, then with a thin layer of the raspberry jam. Place one cake on top of the other. Whip the cream and spread over top. Place whole hazelnuts here and there on the torte. Dust the top with powdered sugar.

Ingredients: 

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teas. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 eggs, beaten
4 cup flour (maybe more)

Filling

Streusel Topping
1/3 Additional butter or margarine, melted

Heat sour cream until warm. Stir in sugar, salt and softened butter. Set aside to cool. Sprinkle yeast over warm water; let stand until yeast dissolves. Add to sour cream mixture. add eggs and flour and mix well (dough does not need kneading). If necessary, work in enough flour to make dough spongy but not sticky. Put dough in a large, greased bowl; cover, and refrigerate overnight. Remove dough from refrigerator. Shape into balls about 1 1/2 inch in diameter, and place on lightly greased baking sheets about an inch apart. Flatten balls to 1/2 inch and let rise for about 10 minutes. Make indentions in the middle of each kolache by pressing down firmly with the first two fingers of both hands. Spoon about 1 T filling into each indention. Sprinkle about 1/2 t streusel topping over filling. Cover kolaches with a sheet of wax paper, and let rise until double in bulk. Remove wax paper and bake in 350 degree oven for 15−20 min. or until light tan. Remove from oven and brush top edges and sides with melted butter.
Makes about 2 dozen.

Ingredients: 

4 chicken breast halves, skinned, boned and sliced
salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
5 tablespoons corn oil
8 oounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 pounds bok choy or Chinese white cabbage, chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
6 scallions, chopped

1. In a bowl, toss chicken with the salt and pepper, garlic and cornstarch mixture. Set aside.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of corn oil in a wok and stir in mushrooms, bok choy/cabbage and sugar for 2 minutes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove from wok.
3. Heat remaining corn oil in wok. Stir−fry chicken for 2 minutes over high heat. Add soy sauce and mix well. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
4. Mix in the cooked vegetables and scallions. Stir fry together for about 1 minute. Serve hot with rice.