Wordless Wednesday

Daring Cooks' Challenge September 2010: Food Preservation

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

This challenge seemed really interesting to me right off the bat; I've never actually preserved food at home, unless you consider freezing meats and left over canned sauces by using my handy dandy FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer, as food preservation! I became even more interested when I read that one of the recipes was Bruschetta in a Jar, I personally love bruschetta and was lucky enough to marry a man who's mother makes the best bruschetta I've ever had! I have to admit I was a little disappointed that I couldn't actually use olive oil in the recipe (for food safety reasons) but figured we could just drizzle some on later. I haven't had a chance to actually taste my challenge because I wanted to wait a few days to let it marinate, but it smelled really delicious while canning it.

Bruschetta in a Jar

• 9 cups chopped plum tomatoes, about 3 1/2 lb, 20 medium 
• 5 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 cup dry white wine 
• 1 cup white wine vinegar 
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar 
• 2 tbsp dried basil 
• 2 tbsp dried oregano

Makes about 7 x 250 ml jars.

 

Place 7 clean 250 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat SNAP LID® sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.

Wash, seed and chop tomatoes into 1/2 inch (1cm) pieces; measure 9 cups (2250 ml), set aside.

Combine garlic, white wine, wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, water, sugar, basil and oregano in a deep stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a full boil; reduce heat. Stirring occasionally, boil gently, covered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Pack tomatoes into a hot jar to within 3/4 inch (2 cm) of top rim. Add hot liquid to cover tomatoes to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top rim (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more tomatoes and hot liquid. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Center hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining tomatoes and hot liquid.

When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 20 minutes.

When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.

After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

Note: Although other tomato varieties may be used, firm plum tomatoes yield the best results. If using round garden-variety tomatoes, seed tomatoes and drain in colander for 30 minutes then chop.

Daring Cooks' Challenge August 2010: The World of Pierogi

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula's Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale. 

When I first read this challenge I was a bit nervous, I had never actually had the pleasure of eating a pierogi. As I began to read more I realized a pierogi was basically a dumpling, or something very similar to what we Argentinians call, empanadas (only a pierogi is boiled, not baked). Well I know how to make empanadas, I've been making them for over 20 years now, so I thought this challenge would be a breeze. I was wrong, the filling I created turned out delicious and was easy to make, but my pierogi dough was a little thick and didn't seem like a dumpling dough at all. This challenge was a bit challenging for me, but I had fun and my pierogi eventually turned out great (well my second batch did), but I will definitely keep practicing my pierogi making skills!

Sausage & Walnut Sage Pesto Pierogi

Dough:

(by Anula's Kitchen)

• 2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour 
• 1 large egg 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• About 1 cup lukewarm water

Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You’re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass (personally I used 4-inch/10 cm cutter as it makes nice size pierogi - this way I got around 30 of them and 1 full, heaped teaspoon of filling is perfect for that size). Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.

Serve immediately preferably with creme fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.

Filling: 

• 1 cup packed fresh sage leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 package (1lb) pork Bratwurst, casings removed

Combine sage leaves, garlic, walnuts, salt and pepper in a food processor, pulse until finely chopped. Add olive oil and combine until mixture is smooth, then add Parmesan cheese and pulse to combine, place in a bowl and set aside. Brown sausage and allow to cool, once the sausage has cooled you can use the food processor to pulse it into smaller pieces (much easier when using it as a filling).  Then follow the directions above to fill pierogi.

Daring Cooks' Challenge July 2010: Nut Butters

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

When I read this months challenge I was really excited because the first recipe that came to my mind was a Kung Pao Sauce. I love anything Kung Pao, but my favorite has to be the Kung Pao Spaghetti from California Pizza Kitchen; I looked up the recipe, made a few changes and of course added my homemade nut butter! The hubby and my sister-in-law loved the Kung Pao Spaghetti, I thought it was pretty good too and the homemade nut butter really added a wonderful taste to the sauce.

  The process for making various types of nut butters is essentially the same. Pour nuts into bowl of food processor. Grind the nuts in the processor until they form a paste or butter. The nuts first turn into powdery or grainy bits, then start to clump and pull away from the side of the bowl, and finally form a paste or butter. The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes (assuming a starting volume of 1 to 2 cups nuts). Processing times for a variety of nuts are described below. You may add oil as desired during grinding to make the nut butter smoother and creamier or to facilitate grinding. Add oil in small increments, by the teaspoon for oily nuts like cashews or by the tablespoon for dryer/harder nuts like almonds. You may use the corresponding nut oil or a neutral vegetable oil like canola.

Kung Pao Spaghetti

Ingredients  

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup chicken stock 
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 3/4 cup soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup dry sherry 
• 3 tablespoons pea-nut butter
• 1 tablespoons minced garlic 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 
• 1 tablespoon chili oil

Egg Coating:

• 2 egg whites 
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pasta:

• 1 lb spaghetti 
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts 
• 10-15 whole Chinese dried red chili peppers 
• 1/2 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts 
• 1/4 cup minced garlic 
• 3 cups coarsely-chopped scallions

Directions  

Kung Pao Sauce:
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the chicken stock and cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Stir in all the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.
 

Egg Coating:
In a mixing bowl, use a whisk to stir together the egg whites, cornstarch, and salt until thoroughly blended; be careful not to beat them into a froth. Set aside.
 

Preparing Pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick frying pan over high heat, heat the olive oil for about 1 minute. Add the chicken pieces to the Egg Mixture and toss to coat them. Taking care to avoid splattering, add the coated chicken to the pan and cook like a solid pancake until the egg mixture sets; then, using a large spatula, carefully flip the chicken pieces over together and, with a wooden spoon, gently separate the pieces.
 

Gently stir the Chinese peppers and roasted peanuts into the pan. As soon as they darken in color, after no more than 1 minute, stir in the garlic and scallions. Once the garlic begins to brown, after no more than 30 seconds, add the Kung Pao Sauce and toss and stir to coat the ingredients. When the pasta is ready, drain it well and, in a large mixing or serving bowl, toss it thoroughly with the sauce.

Daring Cooks' Challenge June 2010: Pâté & Homemade Bread

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pâté with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pâté recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

When I read that our challenge this month was pâté and homemade bread I have to admit I was a little scared; I'm not fond of liver (which pate is usually made of) or strangely textured foods and other than brownies and cookies I'm a terrible baker! But I promised myself that I would try new things in the kitchen and that is the reason I joined The Daring Kitchen. So, I went ahead and took the challenge with a few additions and modification of my own (which I'm hoping is okay) and was actually impressed at how much I enjoyed the pâté and bread and even more impressed that my guest enjoyed it too!

I made a spicy shrimp pâté, which I refrigerated instead of baking and severed on Belgian endive and homemade No Knead Artisan Bread.

Spicy Shrimp Pâté

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound cooked peeled shrimp 
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 2 teaspoons dry vermouth or chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red  pepper flakes
• 2 large heads Belgian endive
• 1 small can of tiny shrimp (optional topping)
• 1 sprig of thyme for garnish

Preparation:

Combine cooked shrimp, butter, vermouth, lemon juice, mustard, salt, mace, red pepper, black pepper, chili oil and red pepper flakes in blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Gently form mixture into a plastic wrap coated mold of your choice. (If mixture is too soft to handle refrigerate 1 hour.) Cover and refrigerate 3 to 5 hours. Separate endive into individual leaves. Place pâté on serving plate; serve with endive leaves or bread.

Yield: Makes 12 (2-tablespoon) servings

Daring Cooks' Challenge May 2010: Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

I was really debating on whether or not to do the May challenge because our little family has a lot going on this month (all good things), but I was really interested in making my very own enchilada sauce. I’ve made enchiladas before, but I’ve always purchased canned sauce or asked my mother-in-law to make me her delicious enchilada sauce (she’s a remarkable cook), so at the very last moment I decided that I would cut the recipe in half and take the challenge. We live in Southern California and tomatillos and Anaheim chilies are never hard to find, but I did realize that I have rarely actually used either one of those ingredients in my cooking, so I was really excited to try this recipe. The enchiladas turned out really good, the sauce was delicious and a lot easier to make then I expected and mild enough for JD to sample. I really enjoyed this challenge and plan to make my enchilada sauce from scratch from now on!

Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used baked chicken breast, shredded)
• 3 Tbs. olive oil; more as needed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 small (5-1/2- to 6-inch) corn tortillas
• Green Chile Sauce, heated
• 6 oz. grated Monterey Jack cheese (I used Mexican blend shredded cheese)
• Chopped fresh cilantro and sour cream for garnish (optional)

Heat a gas grill to medium high or build a medium-hot charcoal fire. Coat the chicken with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken breasts until just cooked through, 4 to 5 min. per side. When cool enough to handle, slice into thin strips. Heat the oven to 450°F.

In a small skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot (dip the edge of a tortilla in to check; it should sizzle straight away). Using tongs, set a tortilla in the hot oil and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, 15 to 20 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels to cool and drain. If the pan gets dry, add another tablespoon of oil.

In a baking dish large enough to accommodate four separate stacks of tortillas (a 10x15-inch Pyrex dish is good), ladle a thin layer of sauce. Lay four tortillas in the dish and ladle about 1/2 cup of sauce over them. Divide half the chicken among the first layer of tortillas and top with another 1/2 cup of sauce and a third of the cheese. Stack on another four tortillas, and top with the rest of the chicken, then more sauce and another third of the cheese. Finish with a third tortilla layer, and top with the remaining sauce and cheese. Bake until the sauce has thickened somewhat, about 20 min. The edges of the top tortilla in each stack will turn golden, but if they look like they’re drying out too much or burning, occasionally spoon some sauce over them. Let rest for 5 to 10 min. before serving. To serve, transfer each stack with a spatula to a dinner plate. Spoon any sauce left in the baking dish over the stacks and sprinkle with chopped cilantro if you like.

Daring Cooks' Challenge April 2010: Brunswick Stew

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

For this Daring Cooks' challenge we were given a long recipe and a short recipe to follow, I chose the short recipe, with a few ingredients from the long recipe. I wanted a chunky stew; so I browned my meats prior to making the stew and I also changed a few ingredients to create a much spicier stew! I really enjoyed this challenge and it was simple but very interesting to make (once all the prep work was done). The stew was delicious and very spicy and my dinner guests were pretty pleased, especially since I happened to make it on Sunday afternoon, which was a blustery day here in Southern California.

 Adding my carrots and potatoes to the stew.

Almost done!

 Brunswick Stew

 Brunswick Stew Pot Pie

Chunky Brunswick Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ lb (total) chicken and pork, diced and cooked (browned)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 medium diced potatoes
• 1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely minced
• 2 diced carrots
• 2 large chile gueros (sliced and roasted)
• 1 cup canned red kidney beans
• 1 cup canned white kidney beans
• 1 small can chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
• 4-5 strips crumbled cooked bacon
• ½ stick butter
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning
• Dash of red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

In large stock pot or Dutch oven, mix all ingredients, except for the white and red kidney beans, heat until bubbly and hot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until all vegetables are tender, then add white and red kidney beans. Serve hot.

Makes 10 servings.

Daring Cooks' Challenge March 2010: Risotto

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf. 

This was my first Daring Cooks' Challenge and first time making risotto. I was pretty nervous about this recipe, but also very excited. The challenge also required the Daring Cooks to make homemade chicken stock which I've never had the pleasure of making until now (I may never buy canned stock again). I decided to make a butternut squash and pancetta risotto and found the delicious recipe below at www.foodandwine.com. The chicken stock was very easy to make, but a little time consuming and the risotto was absolutely wonderful, I cant wait to make it again. I want to thank Gabi for helping me in the kitchen and Mari for watching JD while we cooked. This was a great challenge and I'm looking forward to the next one, I hope you are too!

Butternut Squash Risotto with Crispy Pancetta
Recipe by Mary Ellen Carroll and Donna Wingate 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound thinly sliced pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch strips 
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• One 1 1/2-pound butternut squash—peeled, halved, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-by-1/4-inch sticks
• 8 sage leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 5 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth (homemade recipe below)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 1/2 cups arborio rice (19 ounces)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: 
In a large skillet, cook the pancetta over moderate heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the fat in the skillet. Add the squash and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the sage, season with salt and pepper and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute longer. Transfer the squash to the bowl with the pancetta.

In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.

In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of the hot stock and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Continue adding the stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, and stirring constantly until it is nearly absorbed before adding more. The risotto is done when the rice is just tender and the liquid is creamy, about 20 minutes.

Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the 1/2 cup of Parmesan into the risotto. Gently fold in the squash and pancetta. Spoon the risotto into warmed bowls and serve.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken 2-3 pounds 
• 2 onions, roughly diced
• 1 medium leek - white part only, roughly diced
• 2 sticks celery, roughly diced
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp. white peppercorns ( Any type of whole peppercorn will do)
• 2 bay leaves (fresh or dried, it doesn't matter.)
• peel of 1/2 lemon 
• 1/4 tsp. allspice

Directions:

Wash the chicken and bones and places in a 5 Litre pot, cover completely with water and bring to a boil. Skim away any scum as it comes to the surface.

Add the vegetables and bring back to a boil. Add the rest remaining ingredients and simmer very gently, uncovered for 1.5 hours.

Carefully lift out the chicken, set aside. The chicken meat can be removed from the chicken, shredded off and used for other things like soup.

Simmer the stock gently for another hour. At the end you should have around 2 Liters. Carefully ladle the liquid into a fine sieve, the less the bones and vegetables are disturbed in this process the clearer the stock will be. 
The stock is now ready for use. Freeze what you don't need for later use.

The Daring Kitchen

One of the items on my 2010 to-do list is to learn new cooking techniques and try to create recipes that I would never have the courage to create on my own. So, this brings me to my latest culinary adventure, I have joined The Daring Kitchen and I’m officially a Daring Cook (after more than a month of waiting to be approved). For those of you who may not have heard of The Daring Kitchen please click here for more information. But, in a nut shell The Daring Kitchen is the online home of The Daring Bakers and The Daring Cooks, both groups create one recipe each month that is given by a monthly host. We all create the same exact recipe and then post about it on our personal blog on the designated date. I just received my first Daring Cook challenge, which I will reveal in mid March and I’m really excited. I will be adding The Daring Cook Challenge as an official monthly post on my blog, so please stay tuned and wish me luck!