Strawberry Shortcakes With Cocoa (from scratch)

Whew--got pretty busy there for a few weeks and wasn't able to post!  I still managed to cook occasionally, so now it's time to start catching up and posting regularly again :D

With spring upon us, it's time for strawberries, of course!  Decided to try a recipe from the "Easy Everyday Cooking" card collection that I've had for...yeah, let's not count how many years lol.  Anyway, it's a pretty easy and tasty; I plan to make it again at least a few times while strawberries are at peak.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 light cream or half-and-half (I used the latter)

Sliced fresh strawberries

Whipped cream/topping

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa, and salt in a bowl:

3. Gradually add cream, mixing with a wooden spoon until mixture clings together:

4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 1 minute.  Pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle:

5. Cut pastry dough into 6 rounds using a 3 inch biscuit cutter.  Arrange dough rounds on a greased baking sheet:

6. Bake for about 15 minutes.  Place on a wire rack to cool:

7. Split the shortcakes in half:

8. Top one half with strawberries (I put sugar on mine first to make them syrupy, but that's just a preference):

9. Top the strawberries with some whipped cream/topping (I used heavy cream to make whipped cream this time):

10. Place other half of shortcake on top of whipped cream:

11.  I decided to top mine with a dusting of powdered sugar as well:

Enjoy!

Bourbon Salmon

I don't eat much fish, but this recipe--I could eat it quite frequently, just so very tasty and easy!  The last time I made this, I had my family help by doing the prep work while I was out working, so there are no pictures for that part currently; I'll add those next time :)

This is the recipe I use, with slight modifications:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bourbon-glazed-salmon-0
Because the sauce is entirely delicious, I typically double it.  The amounts below reflect a doubled version of the original from the linked page:

Ingredients
6 T. brown sugar
6 T. bourbon whiskey
4 T. low-sodium soy sauce
2 T. fresh grated ginger root
2 T. bottled minced garlic
1/2 tsp. coarse ground pepper
4 skinless salmon fillets, approximately 6 oz. each
Cooking spray
toasted sesame seeds

Instructions:
1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag or covered glass dish (I typically use the latter), then add the salmon.
2. Place in refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour, ideally 2 or more, turning occasionally.
3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.
4. Add fish and marinade to pan:

5. Cook fish 4 minutes on each side, until it flakes easily and the marinade is bubbly:

As you can see, mine broke up into pieces because I really don't care about the fillets staying in exact shape.

6. Place one fillet (or equivalent) on a plate and drizzle with some of the pan sauce.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!  I like serving mine with plain basmati rice:

French Silk Pie

Post updated on 15 May 2021 (original date: 17 March 2015)

Disclaimer: This recipe contains RAW EGGS. While this is considered safe for most individuals, please do NOT serve to the elderly, pregnant, infants, or immunocompromised.

Attention all chocolate lovers: this is actually a rather easy recipe to make and very heavenly.  Consider your waistlines warned! 10+/10, I have made this many times, it's awesome!

Link to my YouTube video of making this recipe: https://youtu.be/3pyspU6uSI0

Original recipe can be found here: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/french-silk-pie-chocolate-pie/

Ingredients:

Pie Crust-- note *you can use store-bought if desired; the recipe I am using used to be on Crisco's website, but no longer exists there (they have changed the recipe; this is the original)*

8.5 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. Butter-Flavored Crisco, chilled in freezer for 20-30 min

ice water (amount varies, see video)

additional flour to dust counter for rolling

Filling--

4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli bittersweet 60%)
1 c. (2 sticks) salted butter, softened/room temp (I have used unsalted and added 1/2 tsp. salt, which works fine)
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature

Topping--
8 oz. (1 c.) heavy cream
2 1/2 T. granulated sugar
1/2 T. vanilla bean sugar (or substitute granulated sugar plus vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla bean)
Chocolate bar (for shavings)

Directions:

For pie crust--

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the Butter Flavored Crisco and cut in using a pastry blender (or 2 knives), until texture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. Pour in a small amount of ice water and use a fork to combine. Keep adding and mixing a little at a time until dough begins to form cohesively. You should be able to pat it into a ball without it cracking (cracks mean not enough moisture), but should not be sticky to touch.

3. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes.

4. Spread some flour on countertop. Unwrap dough and flatten gently to a disc shape. Place atop the flour and roll out to around 1/8" thickness.

5. Place pie crust dough in pie plate (I used a glass one, actually 9.5 inches) and prick with fork all over.  Bake in lower third of oven at 425°F for around 10 minutes; remove and let cool.

For the filling--

6. Heat the chocolate in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals, stirring well after each interval.  Set aside and let cool for around 10 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

8. Mix in the vanilla extract. When the chocolate has finished cooling, gradually add with mixer running on low speed, until well combined.

9. Switch to the whisk attachment.  Add one egg and beat for 5 minutes on medium speed.

10. Repeat with each additional egg (5 minutes each).  It should look something like this at the end:

11. Pour mixture into cooled, pre-baked pie crust shell.  Spread out top with spatula.

For the topping--

12.  Pour whipping cream into a medium mixing bowl and add sugars.  Beat with mixer until cream is stiff and fluffy. (I use a whisk attachment on my hand mixer)

13.  Spread the whipped cream over top of chocolate filling.  I use a dessert decorator similar to the one here to create these sort of fluffy cloud looking shapes:

14. Use a vegetable peeler to "shave" desired amount of chocolate curls over top of the whipped cream.

15. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set before serving.

16. Cut a slice and enter chocolate heaven :)

Filet Mignon with Porcini Mushroom Compound Butter

When I get a craving for steak--which, thankfully, isn't terribly frequent--I nearly always pick filet mignon to satisfy me.  Why?  It's a small cut and oh-so-wonderfully tender when cooked properly--just right for my appetite!  I was in the mood to find something different to do instead of my usual go-to, the red wine reduction sauce.  After playing around on Google a bit, I came across this recipe and so very glad I did!

Original recipe is in this blog entry:
http://www.foodiecrush.com/2014/03/filet-mignon-with-porcini-mushroom-compound-butter/
This recipe uses another of my favorite ingredients: porcini mushrooms.  I buy them dried, in bulk because I like them so much and they are a tad costly otherwise.

The original recipe was done for 2 steaks; in my pictures, you will see 4 steaks, which were like 2 larger/thicker ones cut in halves.  Because I was making more portions, I used twice the amounts in the original recipe for the steaks part.

Ingredients
For the porcini butter:
1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, divided
1 c. boiling water
1/2 c. (1 stick) salted butter, softened/room temp
1 tsp. kosher salt

For the steaks:
2 filet mignon steaks
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
12 sprigs fresh thyme
kosher salt and coarse ground pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. butter

Instructions
For the porcini butter:
1.  Measure boiling water in a bowl and add 8 to 10 whole dried mushrooms to the water.  Cover and allow mushrooms to soak for at least 15 minutes.  (I usually just microwave the water in a covered glass dish to boil it and this time, since I only had small pieces of mushrooms, put in my best guess for an amount of mushrooms, and I am also guessing on the water amount):

2. Remove the mushrooms from the soaking water, gently squeezing the water from the mushrooms when doing so.  Reserve the mushroom water if desired for later use in gravies, etc.  The original recipe calls for chopping the mushrooms, but I had no need for that since mine were already in pieces.

3. Place remaining mushrooms in spice/coffee grinder and grind to fine powder.  The original recipe measured this part; I did not.

4. Cut up butter in smaller chunks and place in food processor (use metal blade for processing):

5. Add the ground mushrooms, half of the reconstituted mushrooms, and salt to the food processor.  Process until well mixed and butter is smooth:

6. The original recipe indicates to roll the butter into a log shape.  Mine was too soft for such a proposition, and the only reason that would be necessary is for appearance.  Since I didn't care about that, I just formed mine into a slab shape.  The remaining reconstituted mushrooms go on top, then cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.  My compound butter came out looking like this, which I thought was just fine:

For the steaks:
Preheat oven broiler on HI.
1. Season the steaks with salt and pepper to taste.  Heat a cast iron pan on stovetop over medium high heat.  Add butter and olive oil, melt and stir together to coat pan, then add steaks:

(after this, I did it a bit differently from the original recipe on the preparation)

2. Cook steaks about 2 minutes per side, then add sprigs of thyme and some garlic to go underneath each steak:

3. Cook steaks until just under desired doneness.  Top with generous pats of porcini compound butter and place in oven; broil for a couple of minutes--just until butter has melted over (watch attentively!).  Remove steaks and serve immediately:

In the picture at the beginning of the entry, the steak is served with rosemary potatoes; I shall post the recipe for those soon!  I ended up with plenty of butter leftover, too, which meant I had to make this a second time (oh, darn lol).  Enjoy!

Crème Brûlée

This is one of my favorite French desserts, need I say more?  I've ordered it many times in various restaurants, yet I tend to prefer what I can make at home most times.  I took this recipe from Sur La Table's website years ago and wrote it on a recipe card; when I checked recently, this version of the recipe is no longer there.

Ingredients:
8 egg yolks
1/3 c. sugar, plus more for caramelizing
2 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or seeds scraped from one vanilla bean)

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Instructions:
1. Whisk egg yolks and 1/3 c. sugar together until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick, slightly paler yellow:

2. Add cream and vanilla, continue to whisk until well blended:

3. Skim off the foam/bubbles from the top of this mixture.  You will not be able to get every bit of it; just get the majority :)

4. Place ramekins in baking pans with some space between them--should not be touching.  Pour mixture into the ramekins; you may fill to preferred level--keep in mind that baking time will need to be increased for deeper filled ones.  Mine are filled at a depth of about a half inch:

5. Carefully add water to the pan to create "bain-marie" (water bath) for the ramekins.  The level should be approximately 2/3 the height of the fill level of the ramekins:

6. Gently slide pans into oven and for 1/2 inch depth with metal pans, bake for 40 minutes.  To check if they are "set"/ready, jiggle pan slightly.  There should be movement of the water but not in the baked items.

7. Place pan on a cooling rack and cool them in the "bain-marie" until the water has cooled to room temperature:

8. Remove ramekins from 'bath' and place, uncovered, in fridge for at least 2 hours.
9. Do not do this step until you are ready to serve them shortly after, as the caramelized sugar will not remain hardened for a long amount of time.  Remove the ramekin from the fridge and sprinkle sugar over the top of the baked cream, until the surface is covered completely.  It should be just enough to cover, not too thick of a layer.  Use a small kitchen torch** on medium flame setting, passing over the sugar again and again until it browns and bubbles.  Do not stay in one spot for very long or your sugar may flame up!

10. Continue to caramelize the sugar top until all the sugar crystals have browned:

11. Place ramekin back in fridge for at least 10 minutes, but not longer than an hour.  Remove and enjoy!

**If you are VERY careful and have ramekins rated for it, you can use the broiler setting in a toaster oven for the caramelization, but you have to watch attentively and it may not turn out exactly the same.**

Caramel Brownies

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that I took cooking classes when I was in school.  I took a semester of it 7th-9th grades and another one sometime in high school.  But the ones I took 7th-9th grade were far more memorable due to the wonderful teacher I had for all 3.  She was very kind, easy to learn from, and managed the classes well.  In these courses, we made many things that I really enjoyed, with this being one of my very favorites (from 9th grade "advanced" cooking :))

Warning: to say these are decadent is almost an understatement.  It should also be noted that making these requires a bit of patience; they will not turn out otherwise!

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix (NOTE: do NOT use Devil's Food; I made these with Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix)

1 cup evaporated milk, divided**

1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened/room temp (I used butter)

35 caramels (10 oz)

12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

**As I went to make these this time around, I discovered that I did not have any evaporated milk in the pantry (d'oh!).  A quick search on the Internet yielded that I could substitute powdered milk made at double its concentration, which is what I did and it worked perfectly!**

Instructions:

1. Preheat over to 350°F.

2. Combine cake mix, 2/3 c.of the evaporated milk, and the butter in a bowl until smooth (make sure no streaks of butter remain):

3. Spread 1/2 of batter in UNGREASED 13 x 9 metal baking pan:

4. Bake for 15 min.

5. While this part is baking, heat the caramels and remaining evaporated milk (1/3 c.) in saucepan over low heat.  Stir constantly until a caramel sauce forms and no chunks of caramel remain (this will take at least 10 min., do not attempt to rush it with higher heat).  It will go from looking like this:

to looking like this:

6. After removing the pan from the oven with 1/2 batter baked, sprinkle the chocolate chips over what has baked:

7. Drizzle caramel sauce over the chocolate chips and baked batter:

8. Drop remaining 1/2 of batter in spoonfuls over caramel mixture:

9. Bake for additional 25 to 30 minutes (until center is set).  It will come out looking like this:

8. Cool completely and enjoy when it looks more like this: