The giant souffle pancakes that you can find in Japan… they look so good don’t they? These are a version of that. I love fluffy food, and these are the definition of fluffy.
The pancakes themselves, are not dense, but rather very light as they are mostly meringue. While my pomegranate chocolate chip pancakes are very heavy, these ones you can keep eating forever.
Now, mine look small because I only filled my molds 1/4 of the way. But if you fill them 1/2-3/4 of the way, they will be much bigger because they will rise in the mold ( i was being a little lazy).
While I am not providing your a recipe for these spring rolls this time around, rest assured they are fairly easy to make. They require rice wrappers that you must soften yourself in a bowl of water prior to using.
The reason that I am not giving you a recipe for these is because I plan on making more (lots more) with less traditional filling. I’ve never been one for doing something the classic way, so, if I’m going to give you a recipe, it’s going to be my take on it.
Classically, these spring rolls have prawns (or shrimp), vegetables, pork and rice vermicelli in them. These are served fresh and cold.
The ones I made here are entirely vegetarian (no pork or shrimp). Consisting of mango, avocado, vermicelli, red onion, carrots, green onions and cucumbers, these spring rolls are perfect to eat on a warm day, or when you just need something light.
My biggest problem with shepard’s pie actually has nothing to do with the food itself. My problem is that many people refer to the same dish made with beef as shepard’s pie. That is incorrect, the food of this type made with beef is called cottage pie. All I ask is that you get it right.
Lamb is a much appreciated dish in my house. We don’t eat it a lot, but when I make it, it’s always something different and special. I enjoy the gaminess, I think it adds another layer to this dish without having to add anything. If you don’t enjoy that kind of gaminess, use beef instead. But remember, don’t call it shepard’s pie, call it cottage pie.
I also want to make a quick clarification for those that keep kosher. If you’d like to make this, don’t add butter and milk to your mashed potatoes, you can use oil and non-dairy milk, or just skip the milk altogether (oh, and skip the cheese).
Want to know a secret? I’ve never really enjoyed caramel corn. My grandmother used to buy those massive tubs that were divided into three sections, one with regular popcorn, one with caramel corn, and I don’t remember the last one. I was never interested in the sweet popcorn, only the salty stuff.
But that has never meant that I don’t enjoy actually making caramel corn. This one is particularly good because it combines the sweetness of caramel with the saltiness of peanuts and pistachios and the mild sweetness of coconut. Basically, it’s the perfect sweet and salty snack.
Growing up, whenever there was a caprese salad at a party, or served at dinner, I would steal the mozzarella slices, and eat nothing else. Of course, as I got older, I began to love tomatoes, and appreciate how the flavors all melded together. Still, whenever there was a caprese salad, I would still just eat the cheese.
A terrine is a mixture that has been prepared in advance and left to set in its container. It is then generally served in slices. As caprese is a personal favorite of mine, I decided to make it into a terrine.
Let me tell you, it worked so much better then eating the slices separately. Suddenly, it was easy to see how a caprese could be more than just a salad or a side dish, but rather as a course in itself.
Here’s the recipe if you’re craving some caprese salad.
*Feel free to omit the red peppers, they just add more substance to the dish.
The Hot Nantucket Night is generally made with Don Julio Blanco Tequila, agave nectar and lime juice.
However, I’ve never really been a fan of using agave nectar for anything that I could be using honey for. It has the same amount of calories as honey and the neutral flavor doesn’t really appeal to me.
If you’re a vegan, just know that if we don’t take the honey from bees, they end up in trouble because the hive becomes honey bound and the bees swarm and the hive ends up getting split because there aren’t enough empty combs to lay eggs for the new queen…
To make a much better drink, I created a cranberry simple syrup. As an addition to the tequila, the simple syrup gives the drink a smooth and more refined taste.
Cacio e Pepe is a deliciously creamy and cheesy pasta dish from Roman cuisine that despite it’s rich creamy texture, involves no cream at all. The name literally means cheese and pepper, and the only ingredients are black pepper, pecorino romano cheese and pasta.
For my cacio e pepe, I toasted my black pepper in butter first to give the pepper a more extenuated flavor. Toasting spices is a well known method for bringing out even more flavor, and my cacio e pepe is very peppery.
And although it is never mentioned, you should ALWAYS salt your pasta water. Not just a little bit, at least several TBSP. This adds flavor and will definitely elevate the pasta dish you’re making.
This was not an easy project to start, but it was so sweet when it was finally done (intentional pun). A crouqembouche is a tower of cream puffs, decorated with a caramel-like spun sugar.
Now, cream puffs themselves are not so hard to make, it’s just the time and effort that gets rough. The first step is to make the pate a choux pastry. This is the most versatile pastry, i think. You can use it for crouquembouche (obviously), profiteroles, eclairs, beignets, dumplings, gougeres, craquelins and churros. There are more wonderful things you can make, but you don’t need to know all of them right now. To get our delicious pate a choux recipe, subscribe to our mailing list for the exclusive recipe!
Each puff is then formed and baked until dry on the inside and then filled with a light and luscious pastry cream. Finally, you make your spun sugar (which I cooked a little bit too long), and stick them either to a mold or free build your own out of puffs by sticking them together with the sugar. A word of warning: The sugar is HOT and will definitely burn you if you get it on your fingers.
Your last, and unnecessary step, unless you’re going for that real fancy look, is to wait until the sugar reaches a honey-esque texture. Using a silpat and a spoon (or fork), drizzle the cooled sugar into cool shapes and lines. If you’re using a silpat, the sugar will come right off and you can drape it around your croquembouche. The sugar will harden, and stay put, but will be brittle.
Unless you are well schooled in croquembouche and pastry, this will be an all day project for you. It’s daunting, but entirely possible.
That’s slightly a lie, I sometimes drink. Mostly I drink when I make these drinks for all of you out there, because I have to know what I’m making. Since we’re past Christmas now, but New Year’s is only a few days away, we’ve brought you a drink you can serve at your New Year’s Party… if you’re having one.
It’s kind of a thrill to infuse your own vodka. Actually, infusing anything is a pretty good time. (I do it a lot and not just with alcohol). But don’t take my word for it, make it yourself here.
Ginger in any form is a huge player in my house. At any given time, I have more than 3 different forms of ginger root in my house. Today I have candied ginger, pickled ginger, powdered ginger and ginger syrup. All will be used and eaten and will be replaced by…. EVEN MORE GINGER.
In case you weren’t already aware, ginger is a celebrated ingredient the world over, with its roots (haha, pun intended) being in Asia, specifically China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. It’s used in India extensively, Burma, the Caribbean and even Western cuisine. Depending on where you are, the use of ginger varies.
I use ginger in the traditional Asian way, flavoring seafood, vegetarian and meat dishes. I also make my own pickled ginger, like what is served with sushi. I use it in the Western way in ginger drinks, gingerbread and candied ginger. I use it in Indian pulse curries and spiced masala chai on occasion. Basically, I find it to be one of the most versatile ingredients out there.
