anj68 – Page 2 – Alice the Cook

October 2, 2013October 3, 2013

Love and Romance – Tarts

September 14 and 15, 2013 was love and romance weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We played things up a wee bit and make two types of tarts and made a few other dishes too! Keep in mind that these are for two separate tarts (not combined) and you will want to divide up the crust in half to make two separate items. *Dairy free and Vegan substitutions are offered below

Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces (for a dairy free option, I use clarified bacon fat and for a vegan option I use coco butter)
1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water

Pear Filling:
3 medium pears
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp raw sugar

Raspberry Filling:
2 cups fresh raspberries
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp of fresh orange zest

Pear Tart Directions

Directions for the Pears: Core the pears and cut into 1/4 to 1/8-inch slices. In a large bowl toss the pear slices with the lemon juice.

Arrange the pears in a in a sunburst on the crust dough, leaving a 2-inch boarder. Fold the border over the filling. It will only cover the pears partially and does not need to be even. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and raw sugar.

Bake the tart for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, keeping the tart in the oven all the while, and bake for another 40 minutes, until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.

Raspberry Tart Directions:
Place raspberries stem side down until filled in and sprinkle liberally with the raw sugar and orange zest. Bake at 450 until the raspberries crust is done. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

September 19, 2013

Hummus & Pita

This is one of my favorite recipes. If you do not have a wood-fired oven, you can make this on a cast iron fry pan that is well heated. Our hummus was chunkier than the store bought versions as we mashed them by hand.

Pitas:
2 cups warm water (115°F)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast
5 and 1/2 cups to 6 and ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Add ¼ cup of the all-purpose
flour. Stir. With a whisk and let sit for 10 minutes to give the yeast a chance to react. Add the sale and enough flour to the dough so it can be hand kneaded. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface until smooth and bouncy. Let it rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each one out so that it is 6” in diameter and 1/8” thick. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle some cornmeal on it and place it in a very hot oven it should sear on one side and turn it over. Pull out when done.

Hummus:
1 cup dried chickpeas
5 cups of water
6 bay leaves
3/4 cup chopped onion (shallots make a great substitute)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsps lemon juice
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp sea salt

Sort and rinse the chickpeas and soak overnight. Drain them; add 5 cups of water, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for approx. 1 and half hours, or until the peas are soft. When cooked, drain the beans and blend the chickpeas with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve.

September 16, 2013

Duck L’Orange with Potato Dauphenois

duck2 — Close up look of the duck breast

During Love and Romance weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, we decided to make the most decadent (calorie laden) and romantic meal we could come up with. Duck L’Orange and Potato Dauphenois. The potato dish has been a long-standing favorite of Alice the Cook’s and it was nice to show it off again. Ideally, the potatoes and the duck should be nicely caramelized on the top for appearance and taste sake.

There were no leftovers with this dish.

Duck
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons Sherry
1 ½ cups orange juice
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
4 oranges, sections cut from membranes
2 duck breast halves, seasoned with salt and pepper
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons orange zest

Preparation:

Boil the sugar and water for several minutes, until the syrup caramelizes and turns a golden brown color. Add the vinegar, juice, shallots, and chicken stock and simmer until the sauce is reduced to a little less than a cup. Add butter and 1 tablespoon of orange zest. Stir in orange sections.

Before cooking, score the duck fat with a knife so that the duck fat made render properly. In a hot skillet, sear the duck breasts, fat side down, over very high heat until caramelized (not burnt) for about 3-5 minutes. Turn the duck breasts over and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes. Pour the prepared sauce over the duck breasts and continue cooking with the duck fat and sauce together for 4 more minutes. Take the duck and let it set for 2 minutes outside of the pan and cut on a bias, garnish with the sauce and remaining orange zest.

Potato Dauphinoise
Preheat over to 350 degrees F
3 lbs of red potatoes, thinly sliced
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large garlic clove, halved
4 table spoons of butter
2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the potato slices into a bowl of cold water to remove the excess starch. Drain and pat dry with paper or cloth towels. Take the halved garlic clove and rub the cut side around a wide, shallow, ovenproof dish or cast iron pot. Butter or spray oil the dish/pot generously and blend the cream and milk together.

Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of the potatoes. Dot a bit of the butter and minced garlic over the potatoes and season with the salt and pepper. Pour a bit of the cream and milk mixture over the layer. Continue making layers until all of the ingredients have been used, ending with just a layer of cream.

Bake for about 1 1/4 hours. If the potatoes are browning too quickly, cover with a lid or a piece of aluminum foil. The dish is done when the potatoes are soft and tender and the top is golden brown.
Serves 8

September 13, 2013

Tabouli & Coucous

Although Tabouli and Couscous are delicious, the couscous is very tricky to make because if it is too humid, you end up with large clumbs than desired.

Tabouli:
1 cup water
1 cup fine cracked wheat
1 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup minced fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 tomatoes, diced
2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
3 tbsps olive oil
3 tbsps lemon juice, or to taste
1 tsps sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, pour the water over the cracked wheat and cover,
let stand about 20 minutes until wheat is tender and water is absorbed. Add the chopped herbs and vegetables and toss with the mix. Combine the oil, lemon juice, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to wheat mixture and mix well. Chill. Serve and enjoy.

Coucous:
1 quart semolina (chickpea flour may be used instead)
1 pint water
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
Salt to season
Olive Oil

In a large bowl, add a cup of semolina, a pinch of salt and a few drops of water. Mix with fingertips in circular motion until small balls form. Drizzle more water as necessary.

Move the mixture to tamis (or drum sifter or similar fine mesh sifting device) to remove the fine semolina.

Reserve the larger couscous to another bowl.

Add the fine semolina dust back to the mixing bowl and repeat step 1 until there’s no semolina left.

Pick out the large pieces. In a couscousier (or steamer basket) fitted with cheesecloth, add 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves and 2 tbsp salt to the water. Bring to boil.

Steam couscous for 5 to 10 mins.

Season with olive oil and steam for 5 to 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

September 11, 2013

English Fish and Chips

English Fish and Chips
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into strips
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup of milk
1 egg
1 quart vegetable oil
1 ½ lbs cod

Place potatoes in a medium-size bowl of cold water. In a separate medium-size mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in the milk and egg; stir until the mixture is smooth. Let mixture stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oil in a large pot or electric skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Fry the potatoes in the hot oil until they are tender. Drain them on paper towels.

Dredge the fish in the batter, one piece at a time, and place them in the hot oil. Fry until the fish is golden brown. If necessary, increase the heat to maintain the 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) temperature. Drain well on paper towels.

Fry the potatoes again for 1 to 2 minutes for added crispness.

In the photo, I dusted the fish and chips with homemade curry powder and lemon zest. The photograph does not do it justice, it was very delicious.

**A gluten-free option uses potato flour instead of all-purpose flour.