Walnut Cheddar Loaf くるみとチェダーチーズのローフ

This is another one of my wife’s baking projects. She saw this recipe on the Washington Post web site. She was intrigued by the use of pulverized walnuts in the dough like a type of nut flour combined with the grated cheese. She wanted to see how that would taste. This is definitely a unique bread (in a good way) (#1). It is fairly dense in texture but has a nice rich nutty flavor for the pulverized walnuts with a hint of the cheese flavor. We had this as a part of the breakfast lightly toasted.

Ingredients: (makes one 8-inch loaf)
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (63 grams) whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
4 ounces (113 grams) grated sharp cheddar cheese 
1/2 cup (60 grams) chopped walnuts 
2 large eggs
1 cup (240 milliliters) well-shaken whole or low-fat buttermilk

Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. In a food processor, combine the flours, sugar, mustard, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and pulse 4 to 5 times to blend. Add the butter and process for 15 seconds to form a crumbly mixture.
Add the cheese and nuts to the food processor. Pulse until incorporated.

In a liquid measuring cup lightly beat together the eggs and buttermilk until combined, then pour into the food processor. Process until a thick batter comes together.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and use an offset spatula or a moistened flexible spatula to smooth out the top. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let rest for 15 minutes.

This is a very satisfying and filling bread. One piece goes a long way. (You are eating a lot of nuts although you might not notice it because they form part of the flour.) It toasts up nicely and makes a very nice bread for breakfast.

Rice Krispies Pancake ライスクリスピーパンケーキ

This is the continuation of the rice Krispies saga; my wife’s effort to put a dent in the huge box of Krispies we bought to make rice Krispies treats. (Which, by-the-way are still not forthcoming).  She found this recipe on the  Canadian rice Krispies web site. Initially we thought it was a-sort-of “Dutch Baby Pancake” variation but the edge did not rise and it had a texture more like a dense regular pancake. She served it topped with fresh strawberry sauce which worked well (#1). Nonetheless we do not see the point of using rice Krispies like this except to empty the gigantic box of Krispies recently bought. We prefer the Dutch baby we usually make.

Ingredients: (#2)
375 mL (1 1/2 cups) Rice Krispies Cereal
15 mL (1 tbsp) butter
3 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) milk
125 ml (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
5 ml (1 tsp) sugar

Sauce:
Fresh strawberries hulled and sliced then whirred into puree using an immersion blender. (No sugar added) 

Directions:
Heat oven to 425°F. In a blender, combine cereal, eggs, milk, flour and salt. Blend until smooth. Melt the butter in the iron skillet. Pour the cereal mixture into the skillet. Put the skillet in the oven and bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

This was not a bad pancake. There was a residual sweetness and taste of the Krispies which was pleasant. The fresh strawberry sauce really brought the pancake to life. By-the-way no rice Krispies treats have materialized. Still waiting…patiently.

Shrimp and Scallop Rice Krispies Bites エビとホタテのライスクリスピーボール

Some time ago, my wife got a great big box of rice Krispies cereal (and mini marshmallows). Her reason was that, as a kid, she used to like “rice Krispies treats”. Recently, she purchased some from the grocery store but thought they were not as good as she remembered. So, she wanted to make some herself from scratch thinking they should be better than the ones she just bought. (I could enjoy some homemade rice Krispie treats too, since I was “deprived” of the experience as a kid; they were not part of my Japanese childhood).

We were not sure how much rice Krispies would be needed to make the treats so we got the “big” box…it was gigantic. Over some time, no Krispie treats were forthcoming.  I started teasing her about the huge box of Krispies in the pantry and would she need all of that for the treats? In response she went to the rice Krispies website  and found a few recipes she wanted to try and thought would reduce the volume of Krispies we had. This is one of those recipes. Of course there were a few modifications. The original recipe called for shrimp and crabmeat but we did not have crabmeat. We did, however, have frozen bay scallops which we had used to make salmon pate. So we substituted the scallops for the crab.  I made a sauce with Greek yogurt, mayonnaise yuzu juice (from the bottle) and Japanese not-so spicy spicy chili oil with garlic bits. The final dish is shown in (#1). It was quite a nice savory bite with a little crunch on the crust courtesy of the rice Krispies.

On the cut surface, you can see some scallop but the shrimp became a binder and disappeared (#2).

Ingredients:
For the fish bite:
30 mL (2 tbsp) grated Parmesan cheese
175 g (6 oz) bay scallops, thawed, finely chopped
125 g (4 oz) cleaned raw shrimp, finely chopped
 500 ML (2 cups) rice Krispies cereal crushed
2 egg whites, or 1 egg
50 ml (1/4 cup) finely chopped celery
30 ml (2 tbsp) low-fat mayonnaise
2 ml (1/2 tsp) dijon mustard
1 ml (1/4 tsp) cayenne

For the sauce
3 tbsp greek yogurt 
3 tbsp mayonnaise
30 ml (2 tbsp) Dijon mustard
yuzu juice to taste
Japanese  chili crunch oil (“taberu-ra-yu” 食べるラー油”)

Directions
In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of the crushed cereal and Parmesan cheese and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the scallops, shrimp, remaining cereal, eggs, celery, mayonnaise, mustard and cayenne until thoroughly mixed. Scoop out part of the mixture using the second to smallest ice cream scoop and form into balls. Roll balls in the crushed cereal mixture. Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with sauce. 

Sauce: In small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, greek yogurt, mustard, yuzu juice and Japanese chili crunch oil.

The sauce really sets this fish bite apart from ordinary. The Krispies bite itself was really good. But my comment was “why do you need to use rice Krispies?” We could have made this using panko bread crumbs. Nonetheless this is certainly a nice appetizer. Also, after all this, the rice Krispies treats are still not forthcoming. Still waiting…patiently.

Roasted Carrot Soup にんじんスープ

We found a bag of carrots in the fridge which needed to be used soon. My wife came up with the idea of making a carrot soup.  My usual method of  making “vegetable potage/soup” is to sauté some onions with other aromatics. Then adding whatever vegetable I am using as the basis for the soup to the pan for a quick sauté. (I may also add potato if I think the soup will need to be thickened which is what I do for asparagus soup, for example.) I add chicken broth and some herbs and simmer until the vegetables become soft. I blend the cooked vegetables into soup using an immersion blender. I add cream before serving. My wife looked up recipes for carrot soup and came up with the idea of roasting the carrots in the toaster oven. In addition she suggested sautéing the onion in brown butter. The roasting enhanced the flavor of the carrots by intensifying their sweetness and the brown butter added some nuttiness.  We had the soup cold for lunch topped with a dollop of sour cream (#1).

This was a part of our lunch with beef tongue sandwich and potato salad (I added thinly slices mini-cucumber dressed in sushi vinegar to the potato salad just before serving.)

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh carrots peeled and cut as seen in #3, coated with olive oil and seasoned with salt
One large onion, diced finely
2 tbs butter
2 cups or more chicken broth (this time we used the simmering liquid from when we cooked the beef tongue)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Bake the carrots at 350F for 30 minutes until soft and surface starts caramelizing.
Melt the butter in a pan and let it brown for several minutes.
Sauté the onion for a few minutes. Add the roasted carrots and the broth.
Add the bay leaf and the ginger and simmer for 30 minutes.
remove the bay leaf and blend until smooth using an immersion blender.
Season to taste.

Before serving add milk or cream to the thickness you prefer 
Add a dollop of sour cream (optional)

This was a good way to use up our gett’en-old carrots.

Lemon Ricotta Cake レモン、リッコタチーズケーキ

This is another one of my wife’s baking projects. She saw this recipe on the King Arthur web site. She thought the use of “00” flour, (which I use to make pizza dough), was intriguing. Being the generous man I am, I gave her access my stash of  “00” flour. This was a good investiment on my part, the cake was very light and fluffy and the “Fiori di Sicillia” flavoring gave a nice lemony flavor. The cake was not too sweet and perfect for our dessert.

Ingredients:
Cake
1 1/2 cups (174g) “00” flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3 large eggs, separated
1 cup (227g) ricotta cheese, whole preferred
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon “Fiori di Sicilia”, optional

Glaze (We did not use)
2 tablespoons (28g) lemon juice
3 tablespoons (43g) coarse sparkling sugar or 3 tablespoons (34g) turbinado sugar
1/2 cup (57g) confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center. Line the bottom of an 8" cake pan with parchment and grease the bottom and sides.

To make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg yolks, and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Add the ricotta, extracts, and dry ingredients and beat on low until no dry streaks remain.

In a medium bowl, whisk the whites until very frothy, 1 to 2 minutes (no need to reach soft peaks).

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with the batter and pour in the egg whites. Mix on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until the batter becomes smooth (it will be quite gloppy at first). Finish mixing by hand if necessary to make sure everything is incorporated.

Transfer the thick batter to the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. (A small offset spatula is a helpful tool here.)

Bake the lemon ricotta cake for 20 to 25 minutes, until deeply golden, then tent with foil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cake is done when it’s set, has pulled away from the sides of the pan slightly, and springs back when lightly pressed. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. (#2)

If using the glaze: In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice and sugars until no dry confectioners’ sugar remains.

Turn out the lemon ricotta cake onto a wire rack and set the rack atop a plate or parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake, encouraging it to reach all the way to the edges.

Let the lemon ricotta cake cool until the glaze is set, about 30 minutes. Serve it slightly warm or at room temperature, with macerated fruit if desired.

This is one of the most elegant cakes we’ve made. It is extremely light, slightly sweet with a rich lemon flavor. The method of using the mixer to stir the egg whites into the batter was a first. My wife was surprised at how well it worked and that the egg whites did not deflate. She said she will keep this method in mind for other recipes using whipped egg whites.