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Tag: recipe

Personal Shepard’s Pie

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).

You can find my recipe here.

January 23, 2019
Cheese Borek: Cookbook Review

Zoe’s Take:
7.5/10

I like borek. I know them more commonly as borekas, and I ate many of them when I was in Israel last summer. They come in all different flavors, but any with cheese is the best. I liked these borek. I made the yufka myself, mostly because I don’t have a store that sells the pre-made anywhere near me. (I definitely could have rolled them a little thinner) While this borek was definitely good food, it wasn’t the super flaky and super crispy pastry that I know and love. My expectations are the reason this is a 7.5 and not higher rated.

Eric’s Take:
8/10

I’d never had borek before this. I’ve had many different types of pastry using yufka (or similar dough like phyllo). Because this recipe calls for pouring a liquid milk mixture over the layers, the final dish came out denser than I thought. It also wasn’t as flaky as I thought it would be. Overall It was really good and I enjoyed it fresh and reheated the next day. This recipe lost points on two points. I felt there was something missing to counter the saltiness of the cheese. The other problem was that the instructions weren’t as easy as the other recipes to follow. There was some interpretation that ultimately didn’t matter, but did effect the final outcome slightly.

January 22, 2019
Caramel Corn with Pistachios, Peanuts and Coconut

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.

Get the recipe here!

January 19, 2019
Caprese Terrine

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.

January 14, 2019
National Cream Puff Day: Croquembouche

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.

January 2, 2019
Tomato and Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

I think that many of us have childhood (or adulthood) memories of eating a melty grilled cheese with a bowl of tomato soup. I actually don’t have the tomato soup part, but grilled cheese, definitely.

But since I was making my own soup… I just had to try it. And guess what, I liked it a lot, so this will definitely be something I eat more of.

I originally created this recipe as a soup shot that could be served as an hors d’oeurves at a party or an event. Think double shot glasses with a tiny grilled cheese hanging off the rim. Cute, stylish and people ooh and ahh over something so adorable and yet so delicious. You can still use this recipe for that purpose, or make full bowls and tons of grilled cheese! I don’t know your life.

Oh, and if you’re really not into making your own soup, just get it in a can. I won’t know.

Get the recipe here!

December 18, 2018
Zoe’s 24 Hour French Onion Soup

To tell you the whole truth, I don’t normally choose to eat soup. I like to chew my calories thank you very much. This soup however, is a very big exception to this rule.

First off, I only make it in the winter. Warm and comforting, it’s something to look forward to on these cold winter nights. Second, making it is a HUGE tease. Since the onions are caramelizing over low heat overnight, the whole house smells amazing. I can smell it while I sleep and I just dream of French Onion Soup.

My version of this soup is not classic, but I think that’s what makes it so good. The balsamic vinegar adds a lovely tanginess that contrasts the richness of the beef stock and the sweetness of the caramelized onions.

If you’re really into cheese, like I am, I add the pieces I can’t shred on my grater right into the soup while it’s cooking. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing it is to come across of piece of mostly melted cheese swimming in onion while eating this soup.

A final tip for you is that if you have the optionto, use a ciabatta bread with roasted garlic in it for your toasts, it willbring the soup to a whole other level.

Find the recipe here,and rejoice because this soup is so amazing!

December 17, 2018
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Tequila Buttercream

I have been asked for this recipe multiple times since I created it. Earlier this year, I competed in an online recipe competition in which I had to use the chocolate brand Callebaut to make a recipe for a specific category. I competed in 4 different categories in the competition and in two of those categories I made it to the final round. These cupcakes were one of the two that made it.

I enjoyed making these cupcakes immensely, and even more so, enjoyed eating them. These cupcakes are not very sweet, and have a little kick of spicy in the cake itself. The buttercream on the other hand, is sweet and very alcoholic. The tequila is not cooked out, so all of the taste and all of the alcohol is still present.

I love love love these cupcakes, and I definitely want to see them if you make them! Please tag @withzoeanderic and @chefzoe on Instagram, post the picture on our Facebook page, or post in the comments on this post!

Find the recipe here!

December 15, 2018
Red Velvet Brownies with Chevre Thyme Mousse

Red Velvet cake is known for its deep red color… and also for the fact that you either like it or you don’t. I sometimes like it, and sometimes it’s really just not good at all.

These brownies though, I have it on good authority that they are good. I had so many that I had to just give them away. Ryan took them to work with him and gave them to his employees. He received several texts the next day saying how much they loved the brownies and that they were looking forward to more.

If that’s not enough hype for you, then you’ll just have to try them for yourself!

Recipe

December 8, 2018
Butternut Squash “Confit” with Wild Mushrooms and Winter Greens

In case you didn’t already know, the term confit is usually applied to meat, especially to duck. It means that the item being cooked is being cooked in its own fat. The meat is cooked very slowly, and is seasoned while it cooks. The meat is then preserved by letting it cool down and stored in its own fat.

You may be thinking, “How can I make a confit from butternut squash? It doesn’t have its own fat!” Well, if you’re a really traditional chef, you can’t. But if you know me, you already know that I am not in any way a traditional chef. In recent years, the term “confit” has been used as both descriptive of the food and an action.

To be frank, to confit is to Cook a food in fat until it is incredibly tender and delicious.

So that’s what we did here. But combining a long used technique with a new definition, we’ve created a crazy tender, highly flavored butternut squash topping that you can use for whatever suits your needs. Just make it. It’s worth it. Trust me.

Find the recipe here!

November 13, 2018