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Friends Food Fun

FFF EP-51 A BIRTHDAY FIT FOR A QUEEN!

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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwzp5PnsFtE

Too tired to read then click play on the box below to hear the blog read to you by Brian (and occasional comment by Helenka when I screw it up).

Hello, Culinary Playmates:

It is I, Helenka, your fearless advocate of gustatory creativity (aka I eat weird but really tasty food and think you should, too). Apparently, I am also Queen of Birthdays. And … um … Queen of fabulous things to eat … and drink … and drink some more! ::giggles:: Don’t worry, it’s only a temporary delusion. But the reason this episode is special is because Brian and I celebrated my June 1st birthday (in 2011) in grand style. Well, why not make it a birthday fit for a Queen? After all, it was my 5 million and first. Actually, that’s a wee bit of a fib. I’m well into the 5 millions but I’ve dropped a few hundred years on account of good…. ::reacts to Brian’s stern glare:: Okay, okay, I meant bad behaviour. Besides, I felt it was entirely appropriate to call it 5 million and one as this is our 51st regular episode (not counting specials, desserts, outdoor fun, road trips, yadda with a side order of yadda). I just love synchronicity, even if I have to bang a round peg into a square hole to achieve it. Yes, quite often I’m just five … instead of 5 million.

What I also love is surprises. Well … only good surprises. And Brian delivered oodles of those, right to the dining table. How did he do that? Well, magic, of course. And lots and lots of preparation which was accomplished behind the scenes. All I had to do was show up and be all … surprised! And more surprised!! And I-can’t-believe-what-he-just-made SUPER surprised!!! That was the exquisite birthday cake, if you hadn’t guessed. There was an additional element to the surprise, though. Brian had asked me prior to the celebration to choose either pink or blue. I didn’t know WHY, even though my natural inclination would be to choose pink (not for any stereotypical reasons, but because precious piggies are pink and I certainly do love all of my piggies). So I decided to choose blue instead. That’s also why I wore a blue flower in my hair.

Well, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to unveil (uh … de-napkinate?) that vision of baking wizardry, complete with flowers and butterflies and … and … stuff. Even though it tasted luscious, I’m still wincing that I had to cut into such a work of art. ::ponders:: Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of making something, when it looks too good to eat? Well, somehow I managed to do it and…. Mmmmmmmmm…. Uh-oh. I just got carried away. Time to get back on track and finish the blog.

I’m really thrilled that you got to share in my joy and see exactly how much care and attention Brian paid to making my celebration so special. Hmmm. Since he’s reciting this, I wonder if he’s blushing yet. ::ponders and waits, dragging things out:: Okay, okay, I’ll change the subject. I know Brian tried to get me to use his fancy foreign implement to get at all of the good hidden bits of lobster, but I think I’ll stick to my tried-and-true method of sucking out the meat and juices from the lobster tail fins and shell crevices. Hey, it works for me … and that’s a lesson I took to heart way before I reached 5 million! Hmmm, I wonder what I’ll learn in the next 5 million years. I guess we’ll all simply have to wait and see. But one thing I can tell you with the utmost certainty is that I will never forget how amazingly special this birthday celebration was. Though, somehow, I’m pretty sure that Brian won’t let me!

Normally (or as normal as it gets around here), I’d start reminiscing about previous birthdays in my nostalgic meanderings. But, you know, sometimes there are simply too many memories jammed in my head, so I’m giving myself permission to not go there. In celebration … as it were. Besides, instead of looking backwards, I should be looking forward in anticipation. I believe that’s good advice for everybody, too.

Well, that’s a wrap for another episode. It’s early March, 2012 and I’m keeping my fingers extra crossed (oh, please, can it really be almost spring?) for more warm temperatures. However, the weather’s been unpredictable, to say the least (it rained earlier today which is a lot nicer than snow or hail; and the birds – such optimistic cheerful creatures – have been singing all day through my wide-open windows), so I’m hoping for more meteorological stability. Until next time, have yourselves a great week and don’t forget to have fun with your food, too!

Enjoy!
B&H =;)

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Brian’s Notes and Teaser Recipes:
I wanted to make a special cake for Helenka but, in order to do that, I needed some extra skills. I took a special class on working with fondant at Michael’s, the arts and craft store. Once that was done, the plotting … I mean the planning began.

So … special. Hmmm. As I had been given a Hershey Chocolate recipe book for my own birthday the year prior, I thought I would dig in there and, lo and behold, on page 66 – also available on the Hershey website – was the one I wanted to try.

Of course, knowing me, I wanted something extra special for the icing as well, so I used Nigela Lawson’s version of “Fudge Icing”, though you can use the original version that is provided below.

FIESTA FANTASY CAKE

Ingredients

* 2 cups sifted cake flour or 1-3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup HERSHEY’S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa or HERSHEY’S Cocoa
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups packed light brown sugar
* 2/3 cup butter, softened
* 3 eggs
* 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur or strong coffee
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 container (8 oz.) dairy sour cream
* 3/4 cup boiling water
* CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (recipe follows)
* CHOCOLATE FROSTING (recipe follows)
Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl on low to medium speed of mixer until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in coffee liqueur or coffee and vanilla. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to sugar mixture, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in boiling water until blended. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Prepare CHOCOLATE MOUSSE. Split each cake layer horizontally to make four layers total. Place one layer on serving plate; spread with one-third of the mousse (about 1 cup). Repeat layering with two of the remaining layers and remaining mousse. Place remaining cake layer on top. Prepare CHOCOLATE FROSTING; frost cake top and sides. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. 16 to 20 servings.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Place 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips in a food processor bowl; cover and process until finely ground. Mix 1/3 cup whipping cream and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar in 1-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is just boiling. With food processor running, pour hot cream through feed tube, processing 10 to 20 seconds or until chocolate is completely melted. Scrape side of food processor bowl. Add 1/4 cup coffee liqueur or strong coffee and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract through feed tube; process 10 to 20 seconds or until smooth. Pour into large bowl; cool about 10 minutes or until mixture is room temperature. Beat 1 cup whipping cream in chilled medium bowl on high speed of mixer just until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Cover; refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Stir together 1-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 2/3 cup sifted HERSHEY’S Special Dark Cocoa in medium bowl. Add 1-1/2 cups whipping cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat on low speed of mixer until stiff peaks form, scraping side of bowl constantly. [Mixture will be very stiff.] By hand, stir in milk, one tablespoon at a time, to make desired spreading consistency. Makes about 3 cups.

FUDGE ICING by Nigela Lawson

Ingredients

* 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, minimum 70 percent cocoa solids
* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* 1-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

Melt the chocolate in the microwave – 2 to 3 minutes on medium – or in a bowl sitting over a pan of simmering water, and let cool slightly.

In another bowl beat the butter until it’s soft and creamy and then add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until everything’s light and fluffy. Then gently add the vanilla and chocolate and mix together until everything is glossy and smooth.

Then ice the top and sides, spreading and smoothing with a rubber spatula.

SEAFOOD PASTA SALAD

(original recipe idea link)
Ingredients

* 1-1/2 (8 ounce) packages tri-color pasta
* 3 stalks celery
* 1 pound imitation crabmeat
* 1 cup frozen green peas
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1-1/2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 tablespoons white vinegar
* 3 tablespoons milk
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; rinse under cold water until cool and drain.

While pasta is cooking, chop celery and crabmeat. Run hot water over peas to defrost.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, milk, salt and pepper. Add the pasta, celery and crabmeat and stir until evenly coated. Adjust the salt, sugar or mayonnaise to suit your taste. Chill several hours before serving.

Special Videos

SP Artichoke Dip

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httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYAzrcUMLpA

Hey Foodies!

It is I, your food editor (secretly, it is moi – Brian posing as the evil food editor of this blog). This week I found a video in which I made an artichoke dip for a competition at work. Although I did not win this one, it is still a very good dip for crackers.

Seeing as Summer is also just around the corner, both Helenka and I found it was just TOOOOO hot to blog so we leave you with this special.

See you soon!

Enjoy
B&H =:)

Brian's Road Trip

BRT – Dinner at Adrian’s

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EPISODE 1: DINNER AT ADRIAN’S

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwVRs7bhyks

Hey, foodies:

I’m guest editing this week (though I am sure Helenka will be keeping a watchful eye on what I do). ::looks around for the evil editor:: [Evil editor does not disappoint as she puts her sticky virtual fingerprints all over this blog entry! I call it my revenge, after my operation and two-night stay in a hospital one week ago where the first 24 hours featured guzzling cold water. As a variation, I got to crunch on ice cubes. The editor was SO not amused. But … back to Brian’s adventures….]

In this episode, I took my camera on a road trip to visit my friend Adrian who is from Singapore (but luckily I didn’t have to go ALL the way there to eat terrific food). He thought it would be a good idea to have a dinner party: he was right. I got to film it and it was fun! We spared the guests from being on camera though one kept trying to sneak on. 😉

I had a great time making dishes from other countries (and eating them was even better). In fact, Adrian went back to Singapore and brought back a cookbook which was the source of a subsequent road trip.

We made several dishes for this party and I have two of the recipes (the mains) represented here.

More adventures to come!

Until next time, have yourselves a great week and don’t forget to have fun with your food, too!

Enjoy!
B&H =;)

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Hainanese Chicken Rice (a variation of what we had) from FoodNetwork
You can read more about this dish here
Chile Sauce:

* 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh red chilies
* 5 cloves garlic, chopped
* Salt

Chicken and Rice:

* 1 (2-pound) chicken
* 1 scallion, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 4 slices fresh, peeled ginger
* 6 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
* 6 to 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 4 cups long-grain uncooked rice
* 1 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

Make the Chile Sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well, and season with salt, to taste. Set aside

Make the Chicken and Rice: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (enough water to immerse the chicken). Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the scallion and ginger. Add the chicken to the boiling water, breast side-down. Lower the heat to a simmer just under boiling point and cook, covered, until just cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to an ice water bath for about 5 to 6 minutes. (This is to arrest the cooking and will make the chicken skin crisp.) Drain. De-bone the chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. Reserve the chicken stock, and keep hot.

Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan over high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the rice and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add enough of the hot reserved chicken soup to reach 1/2- inch above the top of the rice. Bring to the boil, add the salt, and lower the heat to low. When steam holes form in the rice, cover the wok, and steam until cooked, about 30 minutes.

Whisk 1/4 cup of the hot chicken stock into the chile sauce.

Arrange the rice and poached chicken on a platter and drizzle with the chile sauce.

Curried Coconut Chicken recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

* 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
* 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
* 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons curry powder
* 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in centre and juices run clear.
Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Friends Food Fun, Recipes

FFF – EP 34 WALDORF SALAD

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httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs2wDEntEbc
There won’t be a Desserts are Fun episode this month as I am working on something exciting (at least it is in my mind). Stay tuned for more details. Desserts are Fun will be back soon.

I love Waldorf salad. My first time eating it was at Helenka’s when she gave a dinner party for four at her place (I think it was a birthday party several years ago). I was so taken aback by this salad that I just had to recreate it (it just took me a few years). The freshness of the fruit and nuts along with the mayonnaise dressing made it such a joy to eat.

The version I’m using was modified (of course) from a recipe I found.

Stay Warm!

Enjoy B&H =:)

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Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 Fuji apples — peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, lemon juice and salt.
2. Stir in the apples, celery, walnuts, grapes and raisins. Chill until ready to serve.

Helenka’s Notes:
I believe I may have already mentioned that one of the spectacular parties I’ve hosted (and the one to which Brian alluded above where he had his Waldorf christening) was this one, held in March of 2007. I called it “Honouring Titans” (as I’d cast the four of us as real life heroes from the Titanic). And, yes, I definitely was Margaret (not Molly) Brown. For my source cookbooks, I used Last Dinner on the Titanic, Dinner at Buckingham Palace as well as Paul Burrell’s book, In the Royal Manner, on Royal entertaining. [Right … as if I were ever going to be preparing a casual luncheon for 300!]

I also pored through my all-time favourite and eminently reliable source of recipes, namely The Joy of Cooking which is where my recipe originated. The guest of honour had always wanted to eat certain dishes and I did my best to fulfill that request, even though I’d never made any of them before in my life (okay, with the exception of asparagus)! You know how traditional advice says to never present dishes at a party that you’ve never made before? Ha! That’s never deterred me from venturing forth full of confidence. Though, now that I think of it, I believe I reduced the cubed bacon for the roast sirlion sauce down to nothing (hey, I didn’t know I could do that) and even burned my wooden fork; so it’s a good thing I had extra bacon and could start all over. Whee! Isn’t live cooking exhillirating?

This is the final menu I served:
Mushroom and Cheese Puffs,
accompanied by a sparkling rosé wine;
Mary Tudor Aspic (tomato aspic, flavoured as a Bloody Mary);
Waldorf Salad;
Vichyssoise;
Roast Sirloin with Sauce Forestière (lots of wild mushrooms),
Fresh Asparagus with a Lemon and Herb Sauce,
accompanied by a Merlot Cabernet;
A pink frosted chocolate cake decorated with maraschino cherries and pink pig sprinkles; the cake was doctored up with rum, walnuts, chocolate chips and the maraschino cherry liqueur, accompanied by a titch of Grand Marnier.

One of our guests made the soup, Brian made the cake and I made everything else (!!!) with the exception of the appetizer which was courtesy of President’s Choice. I was very proud of pulling off such a grand party. The only regret was that I decided at the last moment to drop Yorkshire Pudding off the menu. Just too few arms, too many ouchies and not enough time. Isn’t that usually a fact of life?

Anyway, I’m sure you can guess what my first comment will be about this dish. Yep, what did I know from Waldorf Salad (despite my frequent visits to NYC in the past), considering my Polish background. So I was really surprised to see how quick and easy it was to make (taking into account how long some of the other dishes needed). Combine celery, apples, walnuts and grapes, glomp together with mayonnaise … and I’m done? Really? So I was both impressed and happy to know that I could include a dish that was prepared in advance. And tasted yummy. And is so refreshing to anticipate eating on a sweltering day. So I’m thrilled that Brian remembered it over three and a half years later and wanted to make his own!

Variations:
The recipe on which Brian based his salad contained raisins, while mine had grapes; so we had both. And my taste-buds danced from the inclusion of lemon juice, salt and sugar (or, in this case, Splenda). Brian’s recipe already gave suggestions for other substitutions (cranberries or craisins in place of grapes) and the addition of rotisserie chicken to make the dish more substantial (as an entrée rather than side dish). I piped in with my usual cold roast beef option. And, just now, I thought of using cold shrimp (perhaps broiled first with lime juice and black pepper). I always like the idea of serving a non-leafy salad on a large leaf of contrasting colour (such as boston or radicchio) and think it would be unique presented as an appetizer stuffed into endive leaves.

Even though this dish has a revered origin, there is no disrespect in making changes and trying out new combinations (as long as the core ingredients remain as the foundation). So I hope you will use our recipe as the template for your own unique creations. It’s so much fun!

Friends Food Fun, Recipes

FFF – EP 33 ‘ONOLICIOUS BANANA PANCAKES (WITH A BANANA LIQUEUR SAUCE)

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httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYjlXKt9uoA

Helenka got a request for a recipe for pancakes. Not just any pancakes, of course, but special ones from Hawaii. I, being curious and all that, had to do some research first on what was a Hawaiian pancake? I found the main difference was the sauce poured over the pancakes (a Macadamia nut one). Well, in our typical fashion and not to be outdone by the absence of Macadamia nuts (cause they are expensive), we tried to find a recipe that met most of the requirements. I got the bright idea of “How about we combine two recipes into one!” We had French Toast on the show before and the sauce was just incredible; plus it had bananas in it. Coincidence? I think not. The original used a vanilla bourbon and caramelized banana sauce (but we did the old switcheroo for this recipe by replacing the bourbon with a banana liqueur). I’m posting the macadamia nut sauce recipe, too. Who knows: if we find a good source for this wonderful nut, I may just make it the original way.

For the pancakes, I found a recipe that fit the bill quite nicely. (link) They were so fluffy and delightful; plus, with the sweet banana sauce, we knew that once we finished we would be in a state of sugary bliss (I think we both slept really well that night [Helenka concurs, wazzz verrry sleeepy]).

This was a fun exercise and we’d like to do it again. So, if you have a request, give us some details and we’ll see if we can whip up something special … just for you.

Till next time,
Enjoy!
B&H =:)

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Helenka’s Notes:

Yes, we love requests, but this one threw us for a loop because what do we know about Hawaii (except for those amazing Macadamia nuts)? But, hey, I think we ended up with a fabulous result. And … and … we got to have ::adopts that happy, little-girl voice:: “breakfast for dinner again”.

In all honesty, I can’t contribute too much to this blog post because, as I mentioned during filming, pancakes weren’t a part of my upbringing. But I’m willing to learn. So, I asked myself, “Self, what other fruits and goodies would make yummy pancakes? The bananas were perfect for incorporating into the batter, as the fruit is fibrous and doesn’t release excessive moisture. But that shouldn’t mean that you can’t use other fruits. You’ll just have to exercise a little care.

Variations:
If you follow the original directions and mix the ingredients without any fruit, then I could see the following being folded in gently:

  • blueberries (I know, so traditional), with slivered almonds and a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream instead of a cooked sauce
  • chopped apricots (because they’re dense-fleshed, too), with pecans and rum
  • chopped fresh peeled figs (either green or black), with hazelnuts and hazelnut liqueur
  • chopped not-quite-ripe nectarines (lightly dusted with flour first to prevent sticking), with cashews and orange liqueur
  • plumped raisins and cranberries with nutmeg, cinnamon and brandy

and, to end on a silly note, chocolate chips, with a mint and chocolate liqueur sauce and garnished with sprigs of fresh mint

 

I just realized that I’ve gone the “Let’s have breakfast for dinner FOR DESSERT route!” Do I feel guilty about that? ::shakes head:: I thought you all knew me better than that by now.

Anyway, this recipe is for Mary. I hope you enjoy making it (uh … them … considering the substitutions and variations). I’m just sorry we couldn’t provide you with matching Hawaiian weather!

Our source for the banana pancakes (with a slight modification of using buttermilk) came from polynesiankitchen.blogspot.com

Banana Pancakes

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup milk (we substituted buttermilk)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed (place bananas in Ziploc bag, zip and squish!)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • dash of cinnamon, if you like

1. Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.
2. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy. [Evil editor missed the “in a separate bowl” part and Brian mixed everything in one bowl. It turned out just fine!]
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.

The original recipe for the sauce we used came from the “Cook This Not That” book with a modification from us (using banana liqueur).

Vanilla Banana Liqueur and Caramelized Banana Sauce
(We dare you to say that 3 times fast!)

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons banana liqueur
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup crushed walnuts
  • 2 ripe but firm bananas sliced into ¼ inch rounds
  • ¼ cup 2% milk

1. Heat the butter in a medium pan (nonstick if you have it) over medium heat. Add the banana liqueur, then stir in the brown sugar till dissolved. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes until you see bubbles.
2. Add in the walnuts and cook for another 2 minutes; gently add in the banana slices and heat through.
3. Stir in milk, then turn heat down to low and keep warm.

Macadamia Nut Sauce (optional to the sauce above and original to the banana pancake recipe)

  • 1 cup macadamia nuts
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup cream
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¾ teaspoon lemon juice

Grind macadamia nuts in a food processor until fine. Place nuts into a medium saucepan and fry over medium high heat for 5 min or until fragrant. Remove from pan, and set aside. Lower heat to medium and add the butter, stirring until melted. Stir in flour and cook 1 min. Slowly pour in milk and cream, constantly whisking the whole time. Add sugar, salt, vanilla to the pan. Cook 5 min or until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon juice. Pour sauce into a serving dish. Serve warm and sprinkle the Macadamia nuts on top of each serving.