Fennel and Orange Salad

Fennel and Orange Salad

Anyone who follows me on twitter (follow me here) knows that this is my region of the country's growing season and I am getting a wonderful box of produce from my local farm co-op (CSA Box). My only problem seems to be my plethora of fennel.

I really don't like fennel all that much. I find that the flavor when cooked is a little strong and tends to over power anything it is going with! I decided I had better try it raw and see how that goes. At this point I had 4 large bulbs of the stuff. Thank goodness my sister is here and she was able to help out with eating all of this!

I looked around for a couple of ideas and came up with a Fennel and Orange Salad...Big yummm. I had some arugula going wild in my garden so this went into the salad! This one is really a winner!!!


I am entering this into GYO because I grew the arugula from seeds that we planted in October. Grow Your Own is a twice-a-month blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. This months event is hosted by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes. Go on over and check out the round up tomorrow!

Fennel and Orange Salad

3 or 4 bulbs of fennel , tops removed and bulb thinly sliced
large bunch of arugula, cleaned and torn to bites sized pieces
2 oranges, supremed or thinly sliced
1 Tbs olive oil
juice from the remaining orange scraps
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all salad ingredients. Whisk together the oil, orange juice, salt and pepper. Toss together and serve chilled!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Daring Bakers Challenge...Tuiles!

Once again I am a very, very bad Daring Baker. Why oh why do I leave my challenges all until the very last minute and I mean the very last minute by doing it the night before it is due to be posted...to be honest I am really sucking at this!

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux

Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named. The Dutch angle: traditionally this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the year unfold. On New Years day however, the same batter was used but this day they were presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream, symbolizing the New Year that's about to roll on. And of course the batter is sometimes called tulip-paste....

What we would like you to do is:

- use one of the batters given,
- shape it either prior (using a stencil) or right after baking and
- pair it with something light; fruit, sorbet, a mousse, or maybe even a fruit soup, think glazes or dips…..

Bend it, shape it, anyway you want it!

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

Recipe:
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

I had wanted to shape mine in a muffin tin immediately after baking to make little cups to hold my filling but for some reason I could not get them to do this so I tried rolling the tuiles around a rolling pin as suggested. That didn't work so good for me either and they started to crumble. The second batch I had my sister help me roll and we used a baster to do the deed. This worked great and I ended up with cannoli like tubes. For my filling I made a very simple whipped cream with frozen mixed berries.

I had to make a mild adjustment to mine as I had no vanilla extract!!! I ended up making do with lemon extract...

Would I make these again? They were incredible and I'm not sure if it was from the lemon extract or if they really tasted this good. T. and my sister inhaled the broken and damaged ones and I barely got pictures of the finished and filled ones before they were all over them! My sister described it as being a nice, light dessert! Huge hit and nice and easy to make...yep I would make these again!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Whole Wheat Pancakes made lighter...

Whole Wheat Pancakes made even better!

I am pretty excited today! Not only is one of my most favorite people in the whole world coming to visit me (yep that's you sis!) but I just found a way to make my Whole Wheat Pancakes even better!!!

First off my sister flies in this morning to spend a week just hanging out with T, me and the kids. How lucky am I? This means shopping, lunches, long walks on the beach and just hanging out with the one person in the world that knows me best (and still likes me!).

Now onto the incredible pancakes!



Whole Wheat Pancakes (Weight Watchers point value...2 pancakes=3 points)

Ingredients:

2 cup whole wheat flour
2Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1-3/4 cup milk
4 Tbs unsweetened apple sauce
1 mashed banana

Directions:

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl mix the banana, applesauce, milk and eggs.

Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just moist.

Cook on an electric griddle or fry pan.

This makes about 16 pancakes but the girls like the heated up the next day or even cold from the fridge as a snack! Recipe halves well for less pancakes!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Pasta with Tomato and Basil

Okay, the picture I had on here all day was bugging me. I made this again and with whole wheat pasta...for the picture!
Don't tell me you've never done that!!!

I have had a couple of really hectic days and my poor family is really paying for it this time. Last night for dinner I fed the kids panko breaded tilapia, from the freezer!!! Along side of that I served a frozen dinner roll. Nice dinner huh?

So while I was up in the middle of the night while EVERYONE else slept I was trying to do a bit of meal planning. You see my sister is coming into town for a week starting Monday and I have nothing done. No cleaning, no cooking, and certainly no grocery shopping. Thanks goodness it is only Saturday and have a full 2 days to get this all done!!!

While I was thinking about food I realized that I had not posted one of my all time favorite meals in a long time. Not because we haven't been eating it but because we are so used to eating it that it doesn't seem that special anymore. But, I bet to you guys who are not getting fresh tomatoes right now this will seem mighty special to you and you will want to book mark for use in the summer!

The absolute best thing about this dish is that you make it ahead of time and it is good served either at room temperature, with a slight chill to it or warmed up a bit! I call that pretty versatile don't you?

Pasta With Fresh Tomato and Basil (4 weight watcher points figured at 6 servings)

1 head of garlic and 2 Tbsp olive oil
3 ripe plum tomatoes (I just use whatever is tasting good right them)
1/3 C fresh basil (chopped)
1 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box of long thin pasta (angel hair, linguine, spaghetti)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Peel of most of the paper from around the garlic head. Slice off the pointy top of the garlic. This should expose all of the cloves a bit. Place in an oven proof pan (I use a pie plate). Top with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and coarse salt. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Allow to cool then remove the cloves and mash with a fork.
• Dice the tomatoes (if the have a ton of seeds squeeze them out).
• Add the garlic, basil, capers, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• Let stand for at least 20 minutes.
• Cook pasta.
• Mix sauce with pasta and serve warm or at room temperature. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Give this a try the next time you have some delicious ripe tomatoes. I know you will love it too!!!

As Always...

Judy

www.nofearentertaining.com

Brrrrrrr...and Chocolate Banana Muffins!

It is mighty cold outside right now! 36 degrees is nothing to laugh at when you are pleasantly used to an average temperature of about 80 degrees. It doesn't happen often here but when it does it is BIG news!!! You can bet I will be baking or cooking today to try and get my house warmed up!

For today though I have nothing that will warm you up but it will surely make you happy!

I always use up my old banana's in something. They rarely if ever get thrown away but I was getting tired tired of the same old, same old. Banana bread, smoothies, cookies etc...Then I saw these from Elle at Elle's New England Kitchen and that changed all that and as luck would have it had some old banana's just waiting for this recipe!

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins (from Elle at Elle's New England Kitchen)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, combine bananas, oil and egg.
3. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. The batter is quite thick, but keep folding it gently, making sure to get the batter on the bottom of the bowl, and it'll all come together.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups three fourths full.
6. Bake at 350 deg F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

***Updated - I just made these again using applesauce instead of the oil and 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour to replace 1/2 cup of AP Flour. They turned out perfectly and reduced this recipe by 2 WW Points to a total of 4 Points per muffin!!!

I am going to make these again! Everyone loved them. I will try and sub some applesauce for the oil next time though. Should lighten them up significantly!

Silly picture of my great big huge mutt in his favorite position! Less than a year old and still growing!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls or Golumki's

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Meatballs!

Oh this has been a ling time coming. I have truly wanted to make these things since my friend Jenn The Leftover Queen Posted about them last February. At that time I even bought a cabbage but it went bad and I threw it out :(!!!

This time when my CSA box had cabbage I knew I was gonna do it...but how? Guess what I did? I Twittered it! I love my Twitter friends. They respond to my every food whim in the form of recipes galore!!!

With all of the great recipes I got I was able to pick and choose and I also emailed T's Mom and got the original...

Coconut & Lime
The Leftover Queen
Sunday Nite Dinner
Kalofagas
To Market, To Market with San Diego Foodstuff

They all had great things about them. T. wanted his memories though and that didn't involve dill, Asian or dried fruit (bookmarked and will happen!!!)

One thing I did find out and can't wait to try is that you can eliminate the boiling process by freezing the head of cabbage for 24 hrs or longer. My idea is to buy one and freeze it until you need it. When it thaws the leaves will be limp like that lettuce that gets accidentally frozen! Easy to roll without all the boiling...I am truly all about simplicity!!!

Here is the recipe that I ended up with and it seemed to fulfill T.'s memories of all of the Polish and Italian women's cabbage rolls or golumki's that he grew up with!!!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Golumki's)

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef (90% lean)
1-1/2 cups rice, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
29 oz can of tomato puree
2 Tbsp brown sugar
15 oz can of sauerkraut, drained and rinsed

Directions:

• Boil a pot of water large enough to hold your head of cabbage. Once boiled immerse cabbage in water for about 2 minutes. Remove from water and let drain. When cool enough to handle gently remove leaves. When you reach the point where they aren't soft enough dunk back into your still boiling pot of water. Repeat process until you have all the leaves you need. Alternate method that I want to try is freezing the head of cabbage for about 24 hrs. Allow to thaw. Leaves should be soft like lettuce leaves that you have accidentally frozen. Would save this tedious step.
• Mix the beef, rice, onion, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and 3 Tbsp of the tomato puree.
• In a large roasting pan or casserole dish (I used a 10X15 glass pan) covered with aluminum foil, evenly spread the sauerkraut as the bottom layer.
  
• Lay your cabbage leaf on a clean work surface and fill with an amount that will be easily rolled. Not too full or it may split during cooking. Roll for the stem side in folding in edges as you go.
• Lay seam side down on the sauerkraut. Continue with this until you are out of leaves.
  
• I had some extra filling left over so I made little meatballs and stuffed them in spaces in the pan. Doesn't have to be perfect!
• Mix 2 Tbsp of brown sugar into the tomato puree and pour over rolls and meatballs. Add about 1/2 can of water to the edges.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 2 hrs or until everything looks nice and tender and the meat is cooked through!

I made these in the afternoon and refrigerated them. When T. got home he popped them into the oven and reheated them.

He said they were perfect. My girl's loved them. Even my tomato hater. She just ate the inside but that's good enough for me!

These worked out to be 6 weight watchers points per serving calculated at 8 servings. Not a bad meal!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Short Ribs Cooked Low and Slow...

I have found out that I LOVE braised meat. Big confession here (I may have confessed previously), but I have never (until now) been able to cook a roast or any type of meat that was suppose to be cooked and served like a pot roast. We have had it so bad that even after hours of cooking the meat was soooo tough that we had to order pizza!

To say the least I was very hesitant to braise or slow roast anything. Especially something that we would have to smell cooking for about 3 hrs before we could find out if it was edible or not. I managed to succeed with the Braised Chuck with Vegetables in Red Wine but this was different. I had never even had short ribs before I tried this recipe!!! Thank goodness I have Kelly of Sass & Veracity to talk me through this!!! I tried this over Christmas when my Mom was here and T. wanted it again. It was a definite hit.

When he brought home short ribs on Friday I knew I had to do something. His craving was serious.

Now, I have a bit of a problem though. I liked it but there are so many more recipes out there that I want to try. Once you get over a fear of something you want to try it again and again right??? That's what this was like. I hunted and searched for some new recipes. The only one that really caught my eye was one I found on Epicurious. It was an interesting recipe and I thought about it all day but after I read the comments on the recipe (love Epicurious because there are comments from people who have tried the recipe and are willing to give feedback on it) I had to say no to it. I just had such a hard time wrapping my head around chocolate being in it. Really funny thing is though that while I was watching TV on Saturday night Megan from Megan's Cookin posted the very same recipe and said it turned out great!!! It is definitely saved and waiting for the next time.

Now that I am more comfortable with this method I am able to change the recipes around a bit and be a little more flexible than I was before. This was probably the very best that these turned out! My youngest one loved them and ended up eating 4 large ribs!

Play around with this recipe it is very flexible...I used parsnip and no shallots. Cooked more ribs in the same liquid and reduced the amount of wine and it turned out incredible!!!

Beef Short Ribs in Wine (I got from Sass & Veracity who adapted it from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook...)

Ingredients:

3 T extra virgin olive oil
8 good-sized short ribs (3" square)
salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
1 T fresh rosemary
1 tsp. fresh thyme
2 sprigs parsley
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 shallots, diced
1 T flour
1 T tomato paste
1/2 c. ruby port
2 c. red wine
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled
3-1/2 c. veal or beef stock
3 c. mushrooms
flat egg noodles (we served it with potatoes this time and the sauce was great on them!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Sprinkle all surfaces of the beef with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven or large lidded, oven proof pot, heat 2 T of the olive oil and brown the short ribs, turning each to make sure a nice, rich color is achieved on each side. Remove the ribs to a bowl as they finish browning before adding the remainder.

After all the ribs have been browned, add the remaining 1 T of olive oil with the carrots, celery, onions, and shallots to the pot. Over medium heat, cook, stirring frequently until veggies have begun to soften, about 8-10 minutes.

Stir in the flour and tomato paste, mixing well for about 1 minute. Add the port and stir, scraping the brown coating from the bottom of the pan. Add the red wine and allow to simmer until the liquid is reduced, 10-15 minutes.

Add the garlic cloves, veal stock, herbs, and short ribs with juices to the pot and return to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, stirring into the mixture, place a lid on the pot and put into the oven for approximately 3 hours until meat is extremely tender.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com