Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Apple and Carrot Shortbread Recipe
1/4 cup / 2 ounces / 50g semolina flour
1 1/2 cups / 6 ounces whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
5 ounces (150g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup / 3 1/2 ounces (100g) light Muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)
2 ounces (50g) carrot, grated
1 ounce (25g) apple, grated
zest of one lemon
milk
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, or 180C. Sift the semolina, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir the carrot, apple, and lemon zest into the flour mixture, and mix until well coated and evenly dispersed. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough forms, then knead a couple times to bring everything together. Split the dough in two, flatten each piece into an inch-thick patty, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.
When you're ready to bake the shortbread, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface 1/2-inch thick/1cm. Use a metal cutters to stamp out cookies, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with a bit of milk and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown just a bit.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Cream of Pumpkin Soup
Cream of Pumpkin Soup
a wonderfully rich starter
Pumpkin soup not only makes for beautiful presentation, but it also tends to put a smile on people’s faces. This is the kind of soup that brings back memories and one of my favorite soup dishes.
When entertaining, I like to set a pot of soup out on the stove, along with some of my favorite soup bowls (I actually have special pumpkin soup bowls once given as a gift) and a ladle, and let people help themselves. The smells coming from the soup can make the whole house smell terrific.
cooking information
■Yield: 6 Servings
■Prep Time: 30 minutes
■Cooking Time: 120 minutes
all ingredients
■1 Whole Pumpkin, medium-sized (or 1 can of un-sweetened pureed pumpkin found in the baking aisle)
■1 Medium Yellow Onion
■2 Carrots
■2 Ribs of Celery
■1 Clove Garlic
■1.5 Boxes of Chicken Stock
■2 Dried Bay Leaves
■1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
■3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
■1 Tablespoon Dried, Rubbed Sage
■Salt and Pepper
■3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
recipe instruction
1. Clean, cut and hollow your pumpkin. Cut pumpkins into quarters, drizzle with olive oil, and roast in 400 degree oven for approximately 1 hour or until the pumpkin is tender.
2. Roughly chop your onion, carrots, celery, and onion. Drizzle the bottom of a large sauce pot with Olive oil and on medium high heat saute all of your veggies, until they are tender and you can smell them.
3. Once the veggies are cooked, remove the “meat” of the pumpkin from the skin and throw into the pot. Add your bay leaves and fresh thyme and add enough stock until it covers all of the contents.
4. Let simmer together on low heat for 1 hour. Add all of the contents to the blender. Blend until smooth. Add back to your pot. Add the cream, cinnamon, and sage. Add the second half of the chicken stock broth if it a little thick. Also add about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
5. Simmer, stir, serve. For fun presentation sprinkle with roasted pumpkin seeds.
cooking tips
■Do not throw away your pumpkin seeds and sprinkle roasted seeds on top of the soup.
■You can also use pumpkin puree to make this even easier.
a wonderfully rich starter
Pumpkin soup not only makes for beautiful presentation, but it also tends to put a smile on people’s faces. This is the kind of soup that brings back memories and one of my favorite soup dishes.
When entertaining, I like to set a pot of soup out on the stove, along with some of my favorite soup bowls (I actually have special pumpkin soup bowls once given as a gift) and a ladle, and let people help themselves. The smells coming from the soup can make the whole house smell terrific.
cooking information
■Yield: 6 Servings
■Prep Time: 30 minutes
■Cooking Time: 120 minutes
all ingredients
■1 Whole Pumpkin, medium-sized (or 1 can of un-sweetened pureed pumpkin found in the baking aisle)
■1 Medium Yellow Onion
■2 Carrots
■2 Ribs of Celery
■1 Clove Garlic
■1.5 Boxes of Chicken Stock
■2 Dried Bay Leaves
■1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
■3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
■1 Tablespoon Dried, Rubbed Sage
■Salt and Pepper
■3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
recipe instruction
1. Clean, cut and hollow your pumpkin. Cut pumpkins into quarters, drizzle with olive oil, and roast in 400 degree oven for approximately 1 hour or until the pumpkin is tender.
2. Roughly chop your onion, carrots, celery, and onion. Drizzle the bottom of a large sauce pot with Olive oil and on medium high heat saute all of your veggies, until they are tender and you can smell them.
3. Once the veggies are cooked, remove the “meat” of the pumpkin from the skin and throw into the pot. Add your bay leaves and fresh thyme and add enough stock until it covers all of the contents.
4. Let simmer together on low heat for 1 hour. Add all of the contents to the blender. Blend until smooth. Add back to your pot. Add the cream, cinnamon, and sage. Add the second half of the chicken stock broth if it a little thick. Also add about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
5. Simmer, stir, serve. For fun presentation sprinkle with roasted pumpkin seeds.
cooking tips
■Do not throw away your pumpkin seeds and sprinkle roasted seeds on top of the soup.
■You can also use pumpkin puree to make this even easier.
Stuffed Artichokes
Stuffed Artichokes
2 large artichokes
1 cup carrot chunks
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons capers
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes
Parsley or fresh herbs, lightly chopped for garnish
Trim the tops and stems off the artichokes, remove tough outer leaves and cook with the carrots until the artichokes are soft and the leaves are easily removed. This will take 30 to 45 minutes in a steamer or 12 to 15 minutes in a pressure cooker. Remove the artichokes and carrots from the pot. Using a tablespoon and pot holder, scoop out the meatless inner leaves and the fuzzy choke, leaving the outer leaves of the artichoke in place.
Chop the carrots. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add the garlic, stirring to brown lightly. Add the carrots and continue cooking for a minute or two until well mixed. Add the lemon juice and capers and season to taste with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Spoon the filling into the center of the artichokes. Sprinkle liberally with fresh herbs or chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
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