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by The Tasty Gardener, on November 30th, 2009
Today is National Mousse Day.
White Chocolate Mousse Recipe
Quick Raspberry Mousse recipe
1 cup of evaporated skim milk, well chilled
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon gelatin
¼ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon of apple juice concentrate
1. Beat the milk, vanilla and cinnamon until thick, creamy and doubled in size.
2. Dissolve the gelatin in boiling water, add the orange juice and fold in the milk mixture.
3. Add the raspberries and apple juice concentrate.
4. Refrigerate until firm.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 29th, 2009
Today is National Chocolates Day and National Lemon Cream Pie Day.
Lemon Meringue Pie
1 9-inch pie shell
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups cold water
6 eggs, yolks and whites separated, yolks beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1. In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar with cornstarch. Gradually stir in the cold water until smooth. Stir in the beaten egg yolks.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and continue to boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the lemon peel, lemon juice, and butter. Let cool. Turn into the prepared pie shell. Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form.
4. Spread meringue over the filling. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 28th, 2009
Today is National French Toast Day.
Here’s a perfect Sunday morning breakfast treat.
Cinnamon French Toast
1 egg
2 egg whites
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
8 slices bread, cut in half
1. In a wide bowl, whisk egg and egg white until foamy. Whisk in milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
2. Heat butter in heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Dip 4 slices of bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat thoroughly. Let excess drip back into bowl.
3. Place coated bread slices in hot skillet. Cook, turning, until both sides are nicely browned, about 2 minutes each side.
4. Transfer to a plate and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining bread and egg mixture. Serve with maple syrup.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 27th, 2009
Today is National Bavarian Cream Pie Day.
Vanilla Bavarian Cream Pie
1 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
8 tablespoons cold water
9 tablespoons white sugar
2 1/4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup vanilla ice cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1. Soften gelatin in cold water. Scald the milk.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add eggs and mix thoroughly. Add milk and softened gelatin, stirring constantly.
3. Cook custard in double boiler over hot water until it thickens and coats spoon. Remove from heat. Add ice cream while custard is hot. Cool thoroughly.
4. Add vanilla. Whip the cream, and fold 1 1/2 cups into cooled custard. Pour filling into pie shell, and refrigerate until set. Garnish with remaining whipped cream
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 26th, 2009
Today is National Cake Day.
Wow! The possibilities here are endless.
If you feel adventurous and want to try something a bit more complicated than your average sheet cake try this.
Black Forest Cake
Cake
1 ¾ cup flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cups cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. First prepare two 8 or 9 in. (20 or 22 cm) round cake pans by greasing them, lining them with rounds of waxed paper and then greasing the paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well.
4. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat this batter for about 2 minutes. Carefully pour in the boiling water and mix the batter until just until combined. It will be fairly thin.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in middle of the cake.
6. Run a knife around the edge of each cake to loosen it from the pan, turn the cake out onto a metal rack. Remove the waxed paper and let the cake cool completely before proceeding.
Cherry Filling
1 28 oz jar pitted sour cherries in syrup
2 tbsp cornstarch
½ cup sugar
1. Drain the jar of cherries, reserving 1 cup of the juice. You should have about 2 cups of actual cherries.
2. Add the juice, cornstarch and sugar to saucepan. Stirring constantly cook over medium heat until the juice comes to a boil and gets all bubbly and thick.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the cherries. Let cool completely
Whipped Cream
1 ½ cups whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
1. In a medium bowl, combine the whipping cream with the sugar. Beat, with an electric mixer on high speed until it forms stiff peaks.
Assembly
1. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Fill a pastry decorating bag with whipped cream and pipe whipped cream all around the edge of the cake. This will act as an enclosure to contain the cherry filling.
2. Spoon about half of the cherry filling onto the cake, spreading it all the way to the whipped cream wall.
3. Carefully place the second cake layer onto the whipped cream/cherry filling, squishing it down gently. Spread the top of the cake evenly with whipped cream then create another wall around the edge to keep in the filling. At various points of the wall make larger peaks.
4. Spoon as much of the cherry filling onto the top of the cake as your whipped-cream wall will hold. There may be some cherry filling left over.
5. Decorate the top with grated chocolate and maraschino cherries for the peaks.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 25th, 2009
Today is National Parfait Day.
You need:
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
9 ounces white chocolate
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
In a saucepan over medium-high heat add the blackberries.
Add the sugar.
Add the water and bring the berries to a boil, stirring constantly.
Boil until reduced by half, about 8 minutes, then let the mixture cool.
Chop the white chocolate into smaller chunks.
Place it and the water in a bowl set over boiling water and melt the chocolate. Stir it well to incorporate the water.
Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream.
In another bowl beat the whipping cream until it is stiff. This is not stiff enough.
This is!!!
Gently fold the whipping cream into the melted chocolate mixture.
Once it’s fully mixed, cover the mousse and let set in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
Place a layer of mousse in a wine glass, top with blackberries, then more mousse. Garnish with whipping cream and a blackberry if you want.
White Chocolate Blackberry Parfait Full Recipe
4 servings
Blackberry Sauce:
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1. Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan.
2. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil until mixture is reduced by half, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool.
Mousse:
9 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1. Combine white chocolate and 1/4 cup water in top of double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until white chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove top of double boiler from over water; cool 10 minutes.
2. Stir the sour cream into the melted chocolate mixture.Beat the whipping cream in another large bowl until stiff peaks form.
3. Gently fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Cover and chill until mousse is set, about 2 hours.
4. Layer mousse in 4 wine glasses with sauce in between layers. Garnish with more berries.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 24th, 2009
Today is National Sardines Day.
I personally am not a fan of this tinned fish, though it does contain Omega-3 fatty acids, is great for cardiovascular health, blood sugar control and reducing the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Sardines are also a good source of Calcium, B12, Vitamin D and protein and hardly contain any contaminants like mercury that other fish can harbor.
Despite all the positives surrounding these little fishies I still don’t think I’ll ever be swayed to eat them.
But I’d love to hear from you guys and how you enjoy them. Do you eat them as a snack or add them to main dishes? Do you have a recipe that might change my mind? Let me know.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 23rd, 2009
Today is National Expresso Day and National Cranberry Day.
Just in time for American Thanksgiving.
Apple-Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce
Makes 2 cups
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 medium apple, diced
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1. In medium pot heat water, apple juice and sugar until sugar dissolves completely.
2. Add in cranberries, apples, cider vinegar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer until cranberries begin to burst, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and serve hot, or let cool before covering and placing in refrigerator to chill. Cranberries will get bitter if left on the heat so make sure you remove them after the 15 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it cools.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 22nd, 2009
Today is National Cashew Day.
There are lots of baking recipes I could put up here that include cashews but I thought I’d give desserts a break and give you a nice chicken recipe instead.
Cashew Chicken
1 boneless & skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1 small green bell pepper, cut in chunks
5 slices ginger
1/4 onion, cut in chunks
Marinate:
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon rice wine
Sauce:
1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
3/4 teaspoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
3 dashes pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt to taste
1. Coat chicken in baking soda and leave to marinate for 25 minutes. Rinse off all the baking soda. Pat dry with paper towels and then place in bowl with cornstarch and rice vinegar for 15 minutes.
2. Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
3. In pan heat up 1 tbsp cooking oil and stir-fry the chicken meat until the color turns white. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add another 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to and add in the ginger slices, bell peppers and onions. Stir-fry 5 minutes then add the chicken meat back in.
5. Add in the cashew nuts and do a few quick stirs.
6. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is cooked and well coated with the sauce.
7. Add salt to taste. Serve over rice or noodles.
by The Tasty Gardener, on November 21st, 2009
Today is National Gingerbread Day.
Somehow I feel this day should really fall in December but I guess now we have a reason to practice making these christmas favorites. The best part is decorating them.
Gingerbread Cookies
16 cookies
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses.
3. Gradually add the flour mixture.
4. Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. Let dough sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Heat oven to 350°.
6. Place dough on lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies.
7. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes.
8. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
Here is a set of cookie cutters that I just had to buy. It might help discourage people from eating your finished product and leaving all the cookies for you.
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