Healthy Delicious

Daring Bakers: Kahlua Tiramisu

Feb 27th, 2010

by LK.

When it’s done right, I love tiramisu. But when it’s not done right, it can be pretty disappointing – too sweet and too sloppy. So it goes without saying that I had mixed feeling when I saw that the February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month.

Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession. As part of the challenge, Aparna and Deeba also required that we make our own mascarpone and lady fingers. It seemed like a lot of work for such an iffy outcome, and since I’ve been so exhausted lately I seriously considered not participating in the challenge. But some of my friends on twitter were encouraging, promising that despite the length of the recipe and the time involved, the dish wasn’t complicated to make and that it was some of the best tiramisu they’ve ever had.

I’m glad I took their advice – this was hands down one of my favorite daring bakers challenges to date. The tiramisu was surprisingly easy to make and it tasted fabulous! Not too sweet (though I did cut down on the sugar slightly) with the perfect balance of cream to cake. It also freezes really well, which is great because keeping it readily accessible in the fridge would be way too dangerous! Keeping it in the freezer allows me to thaw just the amount that I want – and makes it difficult to go back for a second slice! I would definitely make this recipe again – it would be the perfect ending to a dinner party.

The one downside of this recipe is that is does take some advance planning if you’re making it completely from scratch. The cheese itself takes a day to make. Then you’ll want to make sure that the creams have time to chill before you assemble the cake (a half hour in the freezer was enough for mine). Once assembled, you’ll want to let the tiramisu rest for at lest a day to allow the flavors to meld together. I promise you though – it’s worth the wait!

This recipe is different from a lot of other tiramisu recipes in that it uses a zabaglione (an egg custard) and pastry cream in the filling. He flavors his with marsala wine, but I didn’t have any of that, so I used kahlua. I really liked the extra coffee flavor that this gave the final dish. You can use whatever you want though – and it doesn’t need to be alcohol. Extra coffee would be great, as would a fruit puree if you want something less traditional.

This is a long one, so the recipes are after the jump.

Continue reading →

Posted in: Italian, chocolate, daring kitchen, dessert, freezes, unhealthy, vegetarian, weekend meal.

Meat-Free Friday: Apple and Blue Cheese Galette

Feb 26th, 2010

by LK.

8 comments

You read it right, meat-free Friday is back!! And this time around I’m going to do my best to really keep it meat-free – including no seafood. Vegetarian recipes will, as always, continue to be tagged as both vegetarian and as lent.

Have you ever wished that you could eat apple pie for dinner? This galette stuffed with sauteed apples and fennel, caramelized onions, and blue cheese is pretty close! Just like apple pie, this dish is great either warm or at room temperature; just be sure to store any leftovers in the fridge.

I don’t know where the idea came from, but while I was doing my weekly menu-planning, I decided that I wanted to make an apple and blue cheese galette. Thinking about it more I decided that, while it sounded great, it needed more – both to add bulk and make it filling as well as to add some sharpness to the flavor. I decided that caramelized onions would be perfect. Then I saw fennel while I was shopping and decided to grab that too. Apples and fennel pair perfectly, and together, the onions and fennel moved this dish squarely from the dessert column to the dinner column.

In order to prevent the bottom of the crust from getting too soggy, I sauteed the apples and fennel to remove some of the liquid. I also waited until the end before adding the cheese. Blue cheese tends to give off a lot of water when it melts, so you don’t want to leave it in the oven too long or let it come into direct contact with the unbaked crust.

Despite leaving it in the oven a little too long (note the dark pictures), the resulting dish was fabulous. It was hearty and rustic and perfect for the cool weather. I could have easily eaten the whole galette (which would have been far from healthy!) but paired with a salad it made a filling dinner that I’m looking forward to having again.

Apple and Fennel Galette with Blue Cheese

1 pie crust

2 baking apples (such as northern spies), peeled, cored, and cut into wedges

1/2 fennel bulb, chopped

1 onion, sliced

1 Tbs butter

4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350.

Set a medium sautee pan over medium heat. Add the apples and fennel and cook until just softened. Remove from heat.

Roll out your dough into a 9-inch circle and transfer to a baking sheet. Arrange the apples and fennel on the center of the dough, leaving a border of at least 1 inch all the way around. Fold this border up and over, covering some of the filling. (See top photo for example). Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add the onion and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become soft and golden – about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the onions and cheese over the center of the galette and return to the oven. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust if fully cooked.

Cut into 8 wedges and serve.

Serves 8.
Approx. 170 calories, 11 grams fat, 1.7 grams fiber, 4 grams protein

Posted in: bakes, fall, farmers market, fruit, lent, recipe, vegetarian, winter.
Tagged: fall

Southwestern Short Ribs

Feb 24th, 2010

by LK.

12 comments

One day last weekend, I was looking for an excuse to not leave the house so I decided to braise something. I feel like although I’ve been doing a lot of braising this winter (thanks to Julie and Julia, which has us all craving Boeuf Bourgignon in August!!), I hardly ever use my oven. I obviously use it when I bake, but it’s so rare that I do something like roast a chicken and the oven just never gets used for cooking. I takes so long! You have to wait for it to preheat, then it takes forever to actually cook your food…. so it’s the stovetop for me the majority of the time. Every once in a while if I’m snowed in (or want to pretend I’m snowed in!) I take advantage of the time at home to make a delicious braised dish. Like these short ribs, which simmer away all afternoon until the meat falls right off the bone and is tender as can be.

Instead of doing a traditional Italian braise, I decided to put a southwestern twist on my ribs, using beer and tequila as my liquids and adding a jalapeno and some chili powder to the pot. The flavor turned out great – it wasn’t spicy or beer-y at all, but it had a nice little southwestern kick. In order to develop the recipe I used the “Create your own” feature on the Fine Cooking web site. The feature walks you through the recipe and lets you drag different combinations of ingredients into the “pot” – then at the end it gives you a recipe that you can follow to recreate the dish n a real kitchen. I always play around with the feature, but I had never actually cooked one of the recipes before. I was impressed! Although you ned to pay attention to what flavors will go well together and make sure you have a good balance of richness and acidity, it’s a great way to put a fun, personal twist on a recipe that you aren’t that familiar with.

For any of you that have never had short ribs before, it’s similar to pot roast with a slightly firmer texture – fork-tender and succulent meat, with vegetables that cook down into a nice sauce. I served these with mashed potatoes (with sour cream instead of milk) to serve with my ribs. They were a great way to soak up the extra sauce!

(Note that this dish isn’t exactly healthy – short ribs are very fatty. If you really want to lower the fat and calories, you could use a leaner cut of beef. But for a special treat, the short ribs are worth it!)

Southwest Short Ribs
4 8-ounce beef short ribs, trimmed
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 bay leave
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 tsp. ancho chile powder
1/4 cup tequila
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup light beer
Juice from 1/2 a lime
Chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 325.

Heat the oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven. Season the ribs with salt and 1 tsp. pepper, then cook in batches – being careful not to crowd the pan – until browned on all sides (3 to 4 minutes per side). Transfer the ribs to a platter and repeat with the remaining ribs. Pour off all but a thin layer of fat from the pan.

Add the onions and celery to the pan. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until the vegetable are soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add bay leaf, garlic, jalapeno, and chile powder. Cook for 1 minute.

Deglaze the pot with tequila, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook for 1 minute, or until reduced to about 2 Tbs.

Add all the ribs back into the pot. Pour the tomatoes and beer and 1 cup water over the ribs. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover, and put the pot in the oven. Cook, turning the ribs occasionally, until they are fork tender, about 3 hours.

Transfer the ribs to a serving platter or dish. Let the sauce and solids sit in the pot for a few minutes to cool and with a shallow spoon, skim off as much of the fat as possible from the surface. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in the lime juice. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.<

Serves 4.
Approx. 614 calories, 40 grams fat, 2 grams fiber, 41 grams protein

Posted in: beef, one pan, recipe, reheats, special occasions, weekend meal.

Risotto with Scallops and Grapefruit

Feb 21st, 2010

by LK.

7 comments

The other day I didn’t have anything planned to make for dinner, so I asked Shawn to pick something up for me to cook. came home to find some beautiful scallops (look at the size of those babies!), arborio rice, pecorino romano, thyme, and peas. It really shouldn’t have surprised me that he bought ingredients for risotto – I’m pretty sure he would be blissfully happy if I made it every day! Plain risotto with scallops seemed kind of boring to me though, so I looked around the kitchen for something else to add. I came across a grapefruit and figured “why not?” I knew that scallops and grapefruit went great together, and even though I was a little nervous about how the flavor would play out in a risotto I figured it was worth a shot.

I shouldn’t have doubted myself. I had forgotten how great lemon zest is in risotto, and the grapefruit acted in the same way. The sharp citrus cuts through the creamy rice and lifts the flavor of the whole dish. I was also nervous about the fruit being to bitter, but the natural sweetness of the scallops – and the little bit of brown butter that I decided to use – provided just the right amount of balance.

Risotto with Scallops and Grapefruit

1Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, mined
1.5 cups arborio rice
4 oz white wine
5 cups chicken stock, warmed
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano
2 Tbs grapefruit zest
1/2 pound scallops
Juice from 1/2 grapefruit
1 Tbs butter
1/2 grapefruit, supremed (cut into wedges, white parts removed)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add rice and cook 2 minutes or until heated trhough and nearly translucent. Add the wine and cook until fully absorbed by the rice. Add the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing nearly all of the broth to absord before adding more. Continue this process until rice is soft and creamy – it should take about 20 minutes, but you may not need all of the broth. Stir in the romano and the peas. Allow the cheese to melt and the peas to warm. Stir in the grapefruit zest. Cover and keep warm.

Dry the scallops as much as you can with a paper towel. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Add half the scallops and cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Remove from the pan and repeat with remaining scallops. Add butter to the pan – allow it to melt, then continue cooking until it is a golden brown color. Whisk in the grapefruit juice. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half. Add the scallops back into the pan, and toss with the grapefruit glaze. Add the grapefruit wedges and cook until just warmed through.

Spoon the risotto into 4 bowls. Top with the scallops and grapefruit.

Serves 4.
Approx. 560 calories, 14 grams fat, 1.5 grams fiber, 23 grams protein

Posted in: Italian, fast, fruit, lent, recipe, risotto, shellfish, special occasions, stovetop, wine.

Spinach, Poblano and Cheese Enchiladas

Feb 16th, 2010

by LK.

14 comments

For almost the entire time that I was away, I had a horrible craving for Mexican food. So I wasted no time when I got home and made these enchiladas right away! I was kind of tired of beef and pork, and I don’t care for chicken enchiladas, so I decided to go with a vegetarian option. Shawn recently ordered spinach and cheese enchiladas at a restaurant, so I used those as my inspiration. They don’t taste overly spinach-y, but the vegetables add bulk to the filling so that you can use less cheese and keep the calorie and fat count down (don’t worry, there’s still plenty of ooey, gooey cheese!).

I attempted to find a recipe for spinach and cheese enchiladas online, but none of them looked very good – they all had weird ingredients like ricotta cheese! Nothing that I found was even close to what i was looking for, so I made my recipe up as I went along. I shredded the cheese for my filling and mixed it with the spinach so that you wouldn’t end up with big clumps of either. I also added a poblano pepper and a chili pepper to add a little bit of heat. The poblano gave the whole dish a nice, authentic Mexican flavor and I’ll definitely use them again the next time I make these.

I used Good Food Mexican red sauce, which I liked a lot, on these enchiladas. It caught my eye at the store because it had fewer ingredients than the enchilada sauces an the ingredients were recognizable. It also had significantly less calories and sodium than the other sauce options. The fact the the sauce was made by Good Housekeeping had me a little worried, but I shouldn’t have been. It was great! I liked that it had a little bit of a kick to it, and the smell was incredible. I can’t wait to try the other flavors.

Spinach, Poblano and Cheese Enchiladas

1 poblano pepper, diced
1 chili pepper, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
10 ounces frozen spinach
12 ounces queso quesadilla, or other mild melting cheese, shredded
12 6-inch corn tortillas
1 jar Good Food Mexican red sauce or enchilada sauce

Add the peppers and garlic to a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the peppers begin to slightly soften. Remove from heat. Combine peppers, spinach, and cheese in a large bowl and toss to combine.

Spoon a little bit of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking dish – just enough sauce to create a very thin coating.

To form the enchiladas: Place a small hand full of the spinach and cheese mixture onto each tortilla. Fold up the ends, then fold over one of the sides. Use your fingers to press any filling that needs it back into place, then roll the whole thing over itself so that you have a neat little package. Place in the baking pan and repeat with other tortillas. Cover with the rest of the sauce, and top with a light sprinkle of cheese if you didn’t need it all for the filling.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serves 6. Approx. 325 calories, 14.5 grams fat, 6.5 gras fiber, 16 grams protein

*****

Can you believe that it’s Ash Wednesday already? I can’t! If you’re looking for dinner ideas for Friday, this recipe would be perfect. You can also find tons of other Lent-friendly recipes HERE.

Posted in: convenience foods, freezes, lent, light, mexican, product review, recipe, special occasions, vegetarian.

Daring Bakers: Kahlua Tiramisu

Meat-Free Friday: Apple and Blue Cheese Galette

Southwestern Short Ribs

Risotto with Scallops and Grapefruit

Spinach, Poblano and Cheese Enchiladas

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