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Archive for March, 2011

Italian Wedding Soup

Posted in Soup, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2011| 19 Comments »

Judging by my previous posts here (as well several others on Bliss), you probably think its all sweets at our house. Obviously I love to bake, and I generally agree that we shouldn’t deprive ourselves or our kids of these treats. Truthfully though, we eat healthy meals.  I  usually prepare something with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and/or legumes.  My husband can confirm that I probably make quinoa with chickpeas more often than I should.  Which brings me to today’s dish.  This soup is incredibly flavorful and healthy.

Meatballs?!  Yup.  Healthy soup with meatballs?  That’s right.  A little background:  I come from a German/Hungarian/Bohemian background.  From my childhood through today, whenever my extended family gets together for a holiday, we have four different types of meatballs.  Four!  I’m a connoisseur.  When I saw this soup– with it’s chicken meatballs (rather than the beef versions of our holiday meals)– I had to give it a try.

I’ve made a few variations on the meatballs in this soup.  They’re all fantastic.  Ground turkey (rather than ground chicken, as in the recipe) works just fine.  Also, if you can’t find chicken sausage, substitute an equal amount of ground chicken and add extra black pepper and one teaspoon each of sweet and sharp paprika to the mixture.  While each is slightly different, no one version is better than the others.

What about the flavor?  It’s amazing.  The meatballs, with their combined garlic, parsley, parmesan, and romano cheese are both savory and fresh.  Fresh may sound weird, but there’s really no other way to describe how the parsley affects these little meatballs.  The broth is incredible as well.  The dill stands out, but it doesn’t overpower the soup. The spinach really adds to the fresh-feel of this Spring dish.  Make it– you’ll be happy you did so.

The Recipe: Italian Wedding Soup

(Serves 6-8)

For the meatballs:

3/4 pound ground chicken

1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed

2/3 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs (Ina uses white)

2-3 teaspoons minced garlic (3 cloves)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

3 tablespoons milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Soup:

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 cup minced white onion

1 cup diced carrots ( 3 carrots)

3/4 cup diced celery ( 2 stalks)

10 cups good quality chicken stock

1/2 dry white wine  (Note: If you don’t have any wine, the soup will still be delicious without it)

1 cup any small pasta, such as tubetini or stars

1/4 cup minced fresh dill

12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed   (Use a little less if you feel this is too much for you)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, garlic, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork.  You should get 40 meatballs from this mixture.  Make a round ball and score the meat into 4 equal parts.  You will get 10 meatballs from each of them.  Drop meatballs onto the pan with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly browned.  Set aside.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large dutch oven or soup pot.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6-8 minutes, until the pasta is tender.  Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute.  Taste for salt and pepper.  Stir in the fresh spinach and cook  for another minute, until it is just wilted.  Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese.

Source:  Adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics Cookbook

Thanks again for stopping by!

Laurie

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Killer Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted in Dessert, tagged , , , on March 22, 2011| 20 Comments »

Happy Spring to all!  It was such a lovely Monday in St. Paul.  The snow is melting and I can actually smell the “earthiness” as everything thaws.  Hopefully we’ve seen the last of the weekly snowfall that has blanketed the Upper Midwest for months.  (Ha!  After I posted this it started snowing and continued through the night.  Did I just curse us with another foot of snow?– Ed.)

I’ve had an amazing week– not earth-shattering, but exciting in my little world.  I finally committed to a MN Food Bloggers event.  It took place at Corner Table in Minneapolis.  Forty food bloggers were guests to Chef Scott Pampuch in his beautiful “farm to table” restaurant.  Scott is a chef with big ideas.  He’s taking things beyond supporting local, sustainable food in the running of his business.  Along with offering cooking and teaching classes, he’s also the founder of “tour de farm“.  This concept has people travel to local farms to get involved in and enjoy farm-to-table food production and preparation.  He recently launched a new “Farm and Table CSK (community-supported kitchen) Box”, as well.  It’s similar to a CSA (community-supported agriculture), but contains various meats, sides, mirepoix, and stocks.  The idea is basically to help you get local farm raised meat to your table.  It’s a nice addition to your CSA box or farmers’ market produce.

I loved being surrounded by so many amazing people who are not only involved in food blogging, but who also share my philosophy on food production and preparation.  It really helped validate what I’m trying to do through this site.  I’m looking forward to many more get-togethers with these kind, supportive foodies.  (I’m also looking forward to more flutes of Brut Cava).  A special thanks goes out to Stephanie Meyer for organizing the event.

Now to the topic at hand.  Killer Chocolate Cupcakes.  Why Killer?  Because it sounds better than the ol’  “Devil’s Food”, which is what they originally started as.  Then I tweaked them a little a lot.  The result is honestly “killer”.  They’re that good.  My husband says they might be the best cupcakes he’s ever eaten, and we did a cupcake tour of nearly every bakery in the Twin Cities this past summer.  How about that!  They combine the ideal amount of chocolate with a rich cream-cheese frosting.  They are made with cake flour– rather than all-purpose flour– which gives them a soft, tender texture.  That’s not to say that they’re not good, solid cupcakes.  These little numbers are still dense enough to compliment the thick, heavenly frosting.  Hope you enjoy them!

The Recipe: Killer Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes:

1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ounces high-quality semi-sweet chocolate (60% cacao works great), chopped

1/2 cup strong, very hot coffee

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable or corn oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

1  –  8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°.  Line 16-18 standard (1/3 cup) muffin cups with paper liners.  Spray with non-stick spray. Combine cocoa powder and chocolate in medium bowl.  Pour 1/2 cup hot coffee over; whisk until smooth.  Whisk in sour cream.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in another medium bowl to blend.  Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar, oil, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in flour mixture, alternating with chocolate mixture in 2 additions. Careful not to over-mix.  Divide batter among paper liners.

Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 16-18 minutes.  Cool in pans for about 10 minutes.  Transfer cupcakes to cooling racks and cool completely.

For the frosting:  Combine cream cheese and butter in a bowl for an electric mixer.  Beat on high until light and fluffy, a couple of minutes.  Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat on low at first, then increase to high.  When frosting is light and airy — it is ready to put on top of the cupcakes.  Of course, sprinkles add a lovely touch!

Source for cupcakes:  Adapted from Bon Appetit Desserts Cookbook

One more thought– thank you all for the wonderful and supportive comments last week.  I appreciated each and every one of them, and would love to hear if any of you made the tart.  Have a fantastic week!

Laurie

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Classic Lemon Tart

Posted in Dessert, tagged , , , on March 15, 2011| 45 Comments »

Welcome to Relishing It!  I’ve finally taken the leap and committed to writing a weekly blog.  Obviously I love to cook and bake, but more recently I’ve come to appreciate the photography aspect of food blogs as well.  Food has always been a significant part of my life– a passion, I guess.  It’s a creative and social outlet for me and my family.

So what about me?  Well, for more detail you can check here.  In brief, I’m originally a small-town North Dakota girl, now a thirty-something mother of two who lives in St. Paul, MN.  My children keep me busy, as they’re only four and two years old.  This makes the baking/cooking/photography “interesting” during the day.  I was lucky enough to marry my high-school sweetheart (who may make a guest appearance here every once in a while).

I have fairly strong views on food, from how it’s marketed, to nutrition, to its effect on the environment.  I generally subscribe to the Bittman/Pollan food models.  I use organic, locally-sourced ingredients when possible, and usually shy away from anything overly processed.  While I’ll do my best not to preach, you’ll likely get a sense of my convictions through individual recipes and asides on these topics.

One of my closest friends was kind enough to ask me to guest blog about my culinary experiences in a Blissful Eats section every Thursday on her beautiful “Bliss“.  This has not only given me a chance to get my feet wet, but it has also given me time to think about where to begin with my own blog.  To be honest, I’ve spent a fair amount of time pondering my first recipe.  Too long.  I finally decided to go with what I was really wanting to eat today– this Classic Lemon Tart.  I have so many organic lemons right now– I’ve taken to stockpiling these babies.

I first sampled this lemon tart three years ago.  We had a dinner party and one of our friends– a fellow ‘foodie’– brought this incredible dessert.  I was stunned, and had to have the recipe immediately. I realize that writing about one’s experience of food– trying to convey it to others– is usually imperfect.  The words just can’t capture the “punch” of a really powerful flavor, or the “silkiness” of creamy filling.  So how to describe this tart?  It’s intense.  Seriously intense.  The “jolt” of lemon in every bite is incredible.  You almost question whether or not its made from some super-distilled extract, though the natural flavor of the juice and zest of the lemons reassures you that you’re eating the real thing.  And then there’s the color.  If you use farm-fresh free-range egg yolks, the natural deep yellow color will be stunning.

In the past, I’ve tended to reserve this stellar dessert for special occasions– not because it’s difficult, but because it’s a real show-stopper. It’s beautiful and light with a flaky crust, making it perfect for Spring.  On the other hand, while we still have several feet of snow on the ground, it sure made my family happy this afternoon, too.  Come to think of it, I may not wait for a holiday or dinner party to make this one any more.  Why not brighten even an ordinary, everyday?

The Recipe:  Classic Lemon Tart

Sweet Tart Pastry:

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter ( 1 stick, very cold), cut into twenty-four 3/4-inch cubes

1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour for dusting

Instructions:

Whisk together the yolk, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside.  Pulse to combine 1 1/4 cups flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of food processor  fitted with steel blade.  Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; pulse to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles course meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses.  With the machine running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together, about 25 seconds.  Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

If the dough feels too firm when you’re ready to roll it out, let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes.  If, on the other hand, the dough becomes soft and sticky while rolling, don’t hesitate to re-chill it until it becomes easier to work with.  Better to re-chill than add too much flour, which will damage the delicate, crisp texture of the dough.  Bake the tart in a 9 – 9 1/2 -inch tart pan with a removable bottom and fluted sides about 1 to 1 1/8 inches high.

Unwrap dough; lightly flour large sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap and place dough in center.  Roll out dough and line tart pan.  Freeze dough 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust one oven rack to upper-middle position and other to lower-middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees.  Place chilled tart shell on a cookie sheet; press 12-inch square of foil inside tart shell and fill with metal or ceramic pie weights ( I skipped the pie weights and just placed the foil down on the tart, which worked fine, because it was chilled).  Bake on lower rack for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time.  Carefully remove foil and weights by gathering edges of foil and pulling up and out.  Transfer cookie sheet with tart shell to upper rack and continue to bake until shell is golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.

The Lemon Tart:

1 fully baked warm tart shell (9 to 9 1/2 inch)

7 large egg yolks, preferably organic

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2/3 cup freshly -squeezed lemon juice, preferably organic, from 4 – 5 medium lemons

1/4 cup grated lemon zest

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions:

Once the lemon curd ingredients have been combined, cook the curd immediately; otherwise it will have a grainy finished texture.  To prevent the curd from acquiring a metallic taste, make absolutely sure that all utensils coming into contact with it — bowls, whisk, saucepan, and strainer — are made of non-reactive stainless steel or glass.  Since the tart has a removable bottom, it is more easily maneuvered when set on a cookie sheet.  If your pre-baked tart has already cooled, place it in the oven just before you start the curd and heat until warm, about 5 minutes.

Adjust the oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.  Place the tart pan with shell on cookie sheet.

In medium non-reactive bowl, whisk together yolks and whole eggs until combined, about 5 seconds.  Add sugar and whisk until just combined, about 5 seconds.  Add lemon juice, zest, and salt; whisk until combined, about 5 seconds.  Transfer mixture to medium non-reactive saucepan, add butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until curd thickens to thin sauce-like consistency and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.  Immediately pour curd through single-mesh steel strainer set over clean non-reactive bowl.  Stir in heavy cream; pour curd into warm tart shell immediately.

Bake until filling is shiny and opaque and until center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes.  Serve with freshly whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Source:  Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Thanks for stopping by Relishing It today– I always appreciate feedback, so please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.  See you soon!

Laurie

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