Spinach and Swiss Souffles and a Lesson

October 28th, 2012
It is not easy to photograph a souffle.  These babies were over the top of the ramekins when I took them out of the oven.  I clicked and clicked as fast as I could, but the deflation happened just as quickly.  
But there is a story behind these souffles. This is the second time I have made them.  The first time was on the morning of David’s birthday earlier this month.  I wanted to make his birthday special by starting  his day off with a good breakfast. But please don’t say . . . aww, isn’t she special, making her hubby’s day great.  You see, he forgot my birthday 20 days earlier and I think I was reacting by being cloyingly nice.  In other words, “you are a low-down insensitive male who should have remembered and I am a perfect wife who always has your back”.  I hate to admit these feelings but I think  many of you would agree with me.  On top of that, I had an ulterior motive because the pictures would be great to put on my blog.  So my motives were, if not evil, at least questionable. 
Enter Karma, or God, or Gotcha.  When I went to download my pictures, they were not on my memory card.  How could that be?  I am sure I checked while snapping the pictures.  So all I can say is that while you are enjoying taking your pictures of  food or family, design or whatever, keep a good attitude and and a sane head and be committed to what you are doing. Be sure that you are focused on what matters and that you are not distracted by other feelings while you are snapping away. 
For various reasons, I am glad I had the opportunity to make and photograph these souffles again.  The original recipe from Cooking Light called for Parmesan cheese.  Although we liked it, I decided that a more assertive cheese would be better.   The Emmental or Swiss cheese was the answer . The souffles were so good and healthy.  And this time we enjoyed them together on a Sunday morning with a much better attitude.  Guess that’s why the pictures came out as well as they did.    
SPINACH AND SWISS SOUFFLES
Cooking spray
1 1/2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
2/3 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Swiss or Emmental cheese
2 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Place a baking sheet in the oven.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Coat 4 (6-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs, tilting and turning dishes to coat sides completely.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Lightly coat pan with cooking spray.  Add spinach; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, tossing constantly.  Place spinach in a colander; let stand 5 minutes. Squeeze excess liquid from spinach.  Coarsely chop spinach.
Combine 2/3 cup milk and the next 4 ingredients (through black pepper) in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk until smooth.  Cook for 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.  Spoon mixture into a large bowl, and let stand for 10 minutes.  Stir in spinach, cheese, and egg yolks.
Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl, and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Beat with a mixer at high speed until medium peaks form (do not overbeat).  Gently stir one-fourth of egg whites into spinach mixture, and gently fold in the remaining egg whites.  Gently spoon mixture into prepared dishes.  Sharply tap dishes 2 to 3 times on counter to level.  Place dishes on preheated baking sheet; return baking sheet to 425 degree oven.  Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.; bake souffles for 21 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Pumpkin-Parmesan Biscuits

October 19th, 2012

Sometimes, all I want for breakfast is a warm biscuit, scone or corn muffin.  There is something satisfying about a hot cup of coffee and bread that is not too sweet, but just right.  Biscuits have a long history in the South and any Southerners worth their salt can make biscuits in their sleep: dump, mix and kneed.  They have not been easy for me because I grew up in Michigan and biscuits never crossed my Mother’s table.

I have had many disasters with biscuits and was sure that I did not possess the biscuit gene.  But the secret to great fluffy biscuits is not to worry about them.  Don’t handle them too much and cut the butter into them with abandon.  Now I get it.

These pumpkin-Parmesan biscuits were featured in The Food Network Magazine.  They are perfect for this time of year with a hint of pumpkin, nutmeg and Parmesan.  The pumpkin lends them a light orange color and they are delicious hot out of the oven or warmed up the next morning.

The pumpkin-Parmesan biscuits are great with just butter.  But they would be great split and stuffed with sage flavored sausage patties for a brunch or served in a basket for a Thanksgiving dinner.  But I am enjoying them for breakfast for the next few days.  Wish you could join me.

PUMPKIN-PARMESAN BISCUITS

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or 1/8 tsp dry nutmeg)
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced, plus melted butter for brushing
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Whisk in 1 tablespoon Parmesan.  Add the diced butter and work it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.  Mix the pumpkin and cream in a small bowl and pour over the flour mixture.  Mix with your hands or a fork to make soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into 3/4-inch-thick rectangle using a floured rolling pin.  Cut out biscuits using a 2-inch-round cutter and arrange about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.  (You will need to gently re-roll scrapes to get all of your biscuits).  Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan.  Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.  Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the biscuits cool slightly before serving or cool completely and freeze.

Makes 12 to 14 biscuits

Printable recipe

Walnut and Sage Financiers

September 30th, 2012
“A financier is a small French cake, often mistaken for a pastry. The financier is a light and moist, similar to sponge cake, and usually contains almond flour, crushed or ground almonds, or almond flavoring. The distinctive feature of the recipe isbeurre noisette (brown butter).[1] Other ingredients include egg whites, flour, and powdered sugar. Financiers are baked in shaped molds, usually small rectangular loaves similar in size to petits fours.[1]
The name financier is said to derive from the traditional rectangular mold, which resembles a bar of gold. Another theory says that the cake became popular in the financial district of Paris surrounding the Paris stock exchange.

Financier pans are traditionally rectangular, but other shapes are not uncommon.”  (Wikipedia)

While I was in Paris this June, one of the excursions that was high on my list was a visit to E. Dehillerin, the cooking equipment store that has been supplying restaurants, chefs, and home cooks with the tools of their trade for years.  I was specifically looking for financier pans.  I was hoping to find small individual tin molds that were used in years past to shape these cakes.  E. Dehillerin is a treasure trove of esoteric cooking equipment.

Although I did find the individual tin molds, I opted for a small silicone pan with the traditional rectangular shapes.  It was easy to pack for the trip home.  As it turns out, they are readily available on Amazon.  Oh well, I should have chosen the tin molds.  I put the financier mold in the back of my baking drawer because we have had a busy summer. This was the first chance I have had to pull it out and experiment with financiers.

As stated above, financiers are usually made with almond flour or ground almonds with flour.  They are usually studded with fruit like blackberries, raspberries or blueberries.  But I had seen a recipe on the Food 52 website that intrigued me.  It used ground walnuts instead of almonds and sage leaves were frizzled in the browning butter.  Along with the powdered sugar for sweetness, maple syrup was added to the flavor profile.  It sounded like a lovely Fall interpretation to me.

I think you will agree that these airy cakes are both earthy and sweet.  They would be good with tea or even as a slightly sweet accompaniment to soup.  I am looking forward to making some with a fruit filling.  There are so many possibilities.  If you don’t have a financier pan, they can be baked in muffin tins.  You don’t have to fill the muffin cups.  They are supposed to be thin.

WALNUT AND SAGE FINANCIERS ( recipe courtesy of Sugar Mountain Treats)

This recipe makes 12
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
    12 small sage leaves
  • 3/4 cups finely ground walnuts
    2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
    1/3 cup grade B maple syrup
  • 5 egg whites
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Generously butter 12 financier tins or a 12-cup muffin pan.
  2. In a dry frying pan, toast the ground walnuts until fragrant and lightly colored (you can also toast the walnuts before grinding, if you prefer). Do not allow to burn. Set aside in a small bowl and wipe out the frying pan.
  3. Cut the butter into five large pieces and add to the frying pan. Melt over medium heat. When the butter starts to boil, add the sage leaves. Keep a close watch on the pan and remove from the heat when the butter is fragrant and nutty-smelling, with small brown flecks, and the sage leaves are crisp. Pour into a medium bowl. For a perfectly smooth texture, strain the butter; otherwise, just fish out the sage leaves to use later as a garnish.
  4. Add the walnuts, flour, maple syrup, and powdered sugar to the butter and whisk thoroughly. Add the egg whites and whisk some more, until the mixture is completely smooth. It should be pourable. Pour the batter into the prepared tins and press a sage leaf onto the top of each.
  5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are bouncy (if you’re using a muffin tin, it might take a few minutes longer). Turn off the oven and leave the financiers in to dry for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for five minutes, then unmold and serve.
  6. Financiers will keep, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to three days. I think they’re even better the next day, when the texture is a bit denser

Easter Happenings

April 9th, 2012

Spring is in full bloom and the Easter weekend was full of fun times.  Granddaughter Rachel and the neighbor kids enjoyed an early morning Easter egg hunt.

There were so many eggs that her basket was full.

Cameron will have to wait until next year to participate because he is still a little unsteady walking on his own.

But the older kids shared with him.

DIL Kristen made the most delicious Easter brunch for us.  The menu included Crispy Smoked Mozzarella with Honey and Figs, Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Bangers and Pierogies, Leek and Herb Frittata and Mixed Fruit Salad.  She got the bangers from the local meat market where they are made in house.  They were recommended to her by British friends who claimed them to be very authentic.

The Smoked Mozzerella with Honey and Figs was a fantastic recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis.  You can find the recipe here.

After all of that wonderful food, some of us worked it off jumping rope.  I wasn’t one of them.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  We certainly did.

Apricot Scones

March 30th, 2012

It has been a week of hard work.  Returning to the lake after a 5 month absence requires lots of physical labor.  The winter winds howling through the Gorge tossed leaves, branches and twigs everywhere on the grounds.  The furniture on the porch was pushed eastward halfway across the room.  Broken hurricane globes littered the floor.  The lower porch door was not latched and piles of leaves had to be raked out.  Pollen covered everything.   Both porches are now back to normal.

David is still working on bleaching and cleaning the decks.

We require hearty sustenance in the morning to get us going on all of the chores.  Scones make a “not too sweet” accompaniment to a hearty breakfast.  They come together quickly and bake in just 15 minutes.  I don’t know why I never thought to rely on them more often.

I love dried apricots.  They are perfect for these flaky scones.

The recipe comes from Cooking Light.  So why not have a slice with afternoon tea as well.

APRICOT SCONES

2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup apricot nectar (I used pear nectar because it was what I had)
Cooking spray
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon sugar (I used Turbinado sugar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  

Add apricots; toss well.  Combine egg, buttermilk, and nectar; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 4 to 5 times with floured hands.  Pat dough into a 9-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

Cut dough into 12 wedges, cutting into but not through bottom of dough.  Brush egg white over surface of dough, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.  Serve warm.  Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 scone).  Calories 148.

Printable recipe 

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