brunosdream

I love the combination of curry and coconut milk. I also love this time of year because outdoor grilling is back in season and grilling imparts such a great flavor to whatever is cooking! A friend recently had a late afternoon pot luck party. I wanted to make something simple, unusual, flavorful, could be served hot or at room temperature, and was grilled. Satay popped into my mind. They cover all  of the above criteria, plus they’re fun to eat!! Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon lemon grass (minced)

1 can coconut milk (14 ounces)

1 tablespoon garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger (minced)

1 teaspoon lime zest   (grated w/ microplane)

juice from 1 lime

1 teaspoon green curry paste

salt and pepper to taste

2  1/2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breasts

24 bamboo skewers (10 inch size)

charcoal for grill

Procedure:

1) Soak skewers for 1 hour

2) For marinade, place first 8 ingredients in a 13″ x 8″ pyrex dish, heat on stove briefly to meld flavors and dissolve curry paste, then let cool

3) Slice chicken lengthwise into 1/4 inch wide pieces

4) Thread chicken onto skewers and place in marinade, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours

6) Remove chicken skewers from marinade and reserve marinade for sauce

7) Prepare grill

8) On stove, heat marinade  over medium heat for 5 minutes

9) Grill chicken skewers for approx. 2 minutes on each side

10) EAT (my favorite part)

** yields 24 skewers and approx. 1 cup of sauce

This dish is quick and easy to prepare once all the prep work is done. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

A votre sante’….

Bruno

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog! It’s good to be back after being in blogging exile for way too long!!

My new kitchen is now finished (I just need to do some touch-up painting) and I love it!! What an improvement over the old one! Here are a few photos…

To celebrate, I had a few friends over for one of my favorite dinners… PIZZA!! For dessert we had sweet potato gelato w/ candied pecans. After sampling some of the gelato I decided this is one of the best flavors I’ve created. I will definitely make it again!! With the gelato I served some El Dorado 15 Year Special Reserve Rum from Guyana. Awesome stuff… if you like cognac, you will love this rum! It has a beautiful nose of caramel and a long, smooth finish.

Pizza

Ingredients for dough:

4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup olive oil

1 rounded tablespoon yeast

1/4 cup plus 1 1/4 cups warm water

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon honey

Procedure for dough:

1) Mix yeast, 1/4 cup warm water and honey in a large mixing bowl, let stand for 2 minutes or until foamy

2) Then add to bowl: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 1/4 cups warm water, 2 teaspoons salt

3) Then mix in 3 1/2 cups flour (mix in up to 1/2 cup more flour if dough is too moist)

4) Kneed dough, form it into a ball and return it to the bowl, dust w/ flour, cover and let rise for 1 hour (in a warm spot in your kitchen)

** recipe yields three 14 inch pizza crusts if rolled out thin

Ingredients for pizza:

Crimini mushrooms (sauteed w/ garlic, red pepper flakes,, oregano and salt)

Tomatoes – thinly sliced

Mozzarella cheese – thinly sliced

Oregano

Minced garlic

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese – grated

Salt + pepper

Corn meal for dusting pizza peel

Procedure for pizza:

1) Place pizza stone on middle rack of oven, then preheat to 500 degrees

2) Cut dough into 3 equal pieces

3) Roll out dough to desired thickness

4) Transfer dough to pizza peel (the wooden thing I call a palette) that has been generously dusted w/ corn meal so pizza slides into oven easily

5) Top w/ mozzarella, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper, minced garlic, mushrooms, grated parmesan, and drizzle w/ olive oil

6) Bake at 500 degrees on a pizza stone for 8 minutes; check if bottom of crust is nicely browned… it may need to be rotated {back to front} using a metal spatula and baked for another minute or 2 for a perfect pizza

Sweet Potato Gelato w/ Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups sweet potato puree (I roasted the potatoes in the oven at 425 degrees for 50 minutes until soft, then let cool before scooping out and pureeing in food processor)

6  large egg yolks

1 quart half and half

1 cup candied pecans – roughly chopped (**see previous pumpkin gelato post for pecan procedure)

Procedure:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

2) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

3) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

4) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)

5) Cool in an ice bath

6) Blend in 1 1/2 cups gelato mixture to sweet potato to thin puree, then stir puree into the remaining gelato mixture, blending well, and chill for at least 4 hours in fridge

7) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chopped pecans halfway through the churning process

8) Transfer gelato to a 2 quart plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

It’s my birthday today so I’m treating myself to a long weekend in San Francisco! I leave tomorrow and still have a ton of things to do today. I need to end this post and continue my chores.

Thanks for visiting the new site.

Bon Appetit!!

Bruno

My apologies for the scarcity of posts lately. I have been a bit preoccupied since January w/ a major and very important project… remodeling my kitchen!! I didn’t realize how involved this process can be. Meeting w/ the contractor, lining up the financing, picking out fixtures, emptying the cabinets, and dealing w/ the little surprises that inevitably pop up! Getting all these things accomplished during my time off left very little time for blogging.

To say goodbye to my old kitchen I decided to have some friends over for “the last supper”. Lamb stew served over spinach noodles sounded like a good choice for a cold winter evening, so that’s what I prepared.

Lamb Stew w/ Spinach Noodles

Ingredients:

10 cloves garlic  – peeled and crushed (for marinade)

1 ounce dried morel mushrooms

4 tomatoes – 1 inch dice

1 bunch Swiss chard (1/2 pound) – chopped crosswise into 1 inch pieces

10 crimini mushrooms – sliced

3 pounds lamb stew meat (1 inch cubes)

2 mulato chiles – crumbled (for marinade)

1 butternut squash (1 1/2 pounds) – 1/2 inch dice

4 celery stalks (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

5 carrots (peeled, halved and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

1 leek (white part only) – 1/2 inch slices

1 bag red pearl onions – peeled (10 ounces)

1 tablespoon cumin (for marinade)

1 bouquet garni (2 sprigs of thyme, 10 black peppercorns, 2 cloves, 2 bay leaves all wrapped in a leek leaf tied w/ twine)

1 cup red wine (I used a nice red from Portugal)

1 tablespoon flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 pounds spinach noodles

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1) Place lamb into 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish w/ garlic, chiles and 2 tablespoons olive oil; sprinkle w/ cumin, mix well then cover w/ plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1 to 2 hours

2) For veggie stock: In an 10 quart pot, pour in 1 tablespoon olive oil then over low heat sweat the carrots, celery, butternut squash, pearl onions, leek and crimini mushrooms for 5 to 7 minutes; add 6 quarts water and bouquet garni then simmer for 45 minutes; skim off foam periodically

3) Rehydrate morels in 1 1/2 cups warm water for half an hour

4) When veggie stock is ready, add tomatoes and morels w/ liquid; continue simmering

5) Remove lamb from fridge, heat a large pan, add the marinated lamb; when lamb is browned use a slotted spoon to place the lamb (w/ the garlic and chiles) into simmering stock

6) Deglaze the lamb pan w/ the red wine and cook until reduced to 1/3 cup; make “red roux” by adding flour to the pan, stirring frequently while roux is cooking (be careful not to burn the roux)

7) Add the roux to the stew pot and continue simmering the stew for 1 hour; add the chard during last 1/2 hour of cooking; salt and pepper to taste

8) Let stew cool, cover and place in fridge

9) The next day, remove stew from fridge 1 hour prior to service and reheat over gentle heat

10) For noodles: Fill a very large pot w/ enough water to cook pasta; bring water to a boil; salt the water well then add the noodles and cook until “al dente”

11) Strain noodles in colander, place in a large serving bowl and melt butter into noodles

12) Place a nice portion of noodles in each plate and ladle stew over the noodles

13) Savor your “last supper” w/ a delicious full bodied red wine (we popped open a bottle of 2003 K Vineyards Cabernet/Syrah blend, The Creator, Walla Walla Valley, Washington, as well as several other bottles of nice wines!!)

Farewell old kitchen….

 

To the future… and my new kitchen!!!

Until then,

Bruno

** dinner photos courtesy of Michelle

This is a hectic time of year and the last thing someone needs is to be stressing over cooking, which I typically find therapeutic rather than stressful. Here’s a quick and easy appetizer recipe so you don’t have to go somewhere empty-handed if you promised to make something but ran out of time to do a more complex recipe (as I did). I got this idea from Barbara at Winos and Foodies. I just added some green (i.e., chives) to make the peppadews more Christmasy. Despite their simplicity, these little guys make a good impression and nice presentation!

Peppadew Peppers Stuffed w/ Feta, Cream Cheese and Chives

Ingredients:

6 ounces feta cheese (crumbled)

8 ounces whipped cream cheese

1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

42 peppadew peppers (I found mine at the grocery store’s olive bar)

Procedure:

Combine first 3 ingredients then stuff peppers

** I used the tip of a butter knife to stuff the peppers, however a friend who liked this recipe said they are going to use a pastry bag to insert the filling. A great idea which I will use next time because filling the peppers was the most time consuming part of this recipe.

***You will have some leftover filling which you can use as a spread on crostini or crackers, a dip for veggies, a sandwich spread, or you can buy more peppadews to fill.

Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night!!

Bruno

Hi everyone… I’m finally getting around to doing my Thanksgiving post! It’s been a very hectic couple of weeks w/ all the additional holiday activities (parties, shopping, etc…) so I’m taking advantage of this window of opportunity to get this posted before I get swamped.

My friends, Michelle and Byron, graciously invited me to their home for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Michelle did a beautiful job w/ all the food as well as taking the photos of this sumptuous feast. My only contribution to the bounty was the pumpkin gelato w/ candied pecans. Hats off to Byron and Michelle for being such wonderful hosts for my Thanksgiving 2006!! (Thanks to Kristin and Bob too for inviting me over for Thanksgiving lunch – no photos of this delicious spread because I was too busy feeding my face!)

The Feast

                Crumb Patrol

The Veggies

               Dessert Action

Immediate Gratification

                         Dessert

Recipes:

Michelle’s Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry dough (use your favorite recipe)

2 cups fresh pumpkin meat (see gelato recipe for procedure)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: pie weights or raw rice

Procedure:

1) Make pastry dough as directed.

2) Roll out dough into a 14-inch round on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch glass pie plate (4-cup capacity). Crimp edge decoratively and prick bottom all over. Chill 30 minutes.

3) Preheat oven to 375°°F.

4) Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake in middle of oven 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil and bake shell until pale golden, 6 to 10 minutes more. Cool in pan on a rack.

5) Whisk together pumpkin, cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and salt, then pour into shell.

6) Bake pie in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set but center still trembles slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer to rack and cool completely.

Pumpkin Gelato w/ Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup candied pecan halves

2 cups pumpkin meat (from 1 small pie pumpkin  – 8 to 10 inches in diameter)

1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 quart half + half

1 teaspoon Penzys cake spice

Procedure:

For  pumpkin:

1) Wash pumpkin, remove stems, cut in half and scrape out seeds

2) Place pumpkin halves on baking sheet, cut side down, add 1/4 cup water to the pan and bake in 350 degree F oven for 1 hour (the pumpkin should be very soft and slightly browned when done)

3) Remove from oven, turn halves over and set aside to cool

4) When cool enough to handle, scrape out meat and puree in a food processor (leave in processor in order to complete gelato mixture – see gelato procedure)

For candied pecans:

1) Roast pecans in 300 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, then let cool

2) Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/8 cup water in saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar is dissolved

3) Boil to 333-335 degrees F, occasionally brushing sides of pan w/ water to prevent crystals from forming, remove from heat immediately then add pecans and stir until they are well coated

4) Pour onto baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper and quickly separate pecan halves w/ 2 forks (I began using my fingers because using the forks was too slow to separate the pecans before the sugar hardened)

For gelato:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half and cake spice gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

 2) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

3) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

4) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)  

5) Cool in an ice bath

6) Add grated orange peel to pureed pumpkin, blend in 1 1/2 cups gelato mixture to pumpkin to thin puree, then stir puree into the remaining gelato mixture, blending well, and chill for at least 4 hours in fridge

7) Roughly chop the candied pecans (set aside a few whole pieces for garnishing and munching on while your plating dessert because they’re addictive and damn good!)

8) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chopped pecans halfway through the churning process

9) Transfer gelato to a 2 quart plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Bonus recipe…

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh cranberries

2 mangoes – peeled and cubed

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Procedure:

Simmer in a pot to a sauce consistency

That’s all folks! Until next time…

Bruno

Here’s an idea for something non-traditional to bring to your friends’ house or to serve to friends if they’re coming to your house on Thanksgiving Day. I brought these to a friend’s house last week and they disappeared pretty quick! The coolness of the daikon tames the heat of the spicy shrimp. You can prepare this recipe several hours ahead, wrap and place in the fridge until time to serve. Garnish w/ cilantro leaf just before serving.

Spicy Shrimp on Daikon Chips w/ Roasted Garlic and Chile Aioli (makes 24 pieces)

Ingredients:

24 medium shrimp

1 daikon

1 bunch cilantro

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sriracha hot chili sauce

Salt to taste

** Ingredients for mayonnaise (from your favorite recipe)

for aioli:

3 large cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon finely ground mulato chile

Procedure:

1) Peel and devein shrimp

2) In a medium bowl, mix sriracha sauce and olive oil, then add shrimp, stir to coat, cover and let marinate in fridge for 1 hour

3) While shrimp are marinating, peel daikon, then using a mandoline, slice daikon into 1/8 inch thick strips

4) Using a cookie cutter, cut daikon into 1 3/4 inch rounds

5) Place daikon “chips” into a bowl of cold water to maintain crispness

6) Remove shrimp from fridge

7) Saute’ shrimp over medium heat for approximately 4 minutes or until shrimp becomes pink and opaque, salt to taste

8) Set shrimp aside to cool

9) While shrimp are cooling, make mayonnaise using your favorite recipe

10) Peel and mince garlic, then saute’ in olive oil until light brown and let cool

11) Using a whip, blend garlic and chile powder into mayonnaise

12) Remove daikon from water and pat dry w/ a kitchen towel

13) Top each daikon chip w/ 1/2 teaspoon of aioli, then top w/ shrimp

14) Garnish w/ a cilantro leaf

15) Place on serving tray

16) MUNCH!

Cheers and have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Bruno

I was tagged by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen to participate in a meme called “Foodbloggers Welcome Dinner” started by Angelika at The Flying Apple.

I’ve prepared some new creations to serve at this cyber dinner. Hope you like them!

Stuffed Flank Steak w/ Herbed Polenta and Broccolini (serves 8)

Ingredients:

3 pounds flank steak (2 pieces)

1 box polenta

2 bunches of broccolini

10 oz. crimini mushrooms – sliced

4 large cloves of garlic – minced

7 oz. log of goat cheese (chevre)

2 quarts veggie stock

8 sundried tomatoes – rehydrated and chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Twine for trussing steaks

Procedure:

1) Pound out steaks to tenderize (or have your butcher put the steaks through their tenderizing machine like I did to save time)

2) Cook polenta using veggie stock, mix in herbs while cooking, season w/ salt and pepper, set aside enough polenta to stuff steaks then keep remainder on a warmer

3) Saute’ mushrooms in olive oil w/ garlic and pepper flakes, season w/ salt and pepper

4) Lay out steaks, then on each steak spread polenta on end that is closest to you, sprinkle w/ 1/3 of mushrooms, 2 ounces of crumbled goat cheese and half of the tomatoes

5) Roll and truss steaks, then season exterior w/ salt and pepper

6) Brown the steak rolls on all sides

7) Finish cooking steaks on a barbeque grill until 130 degrees F internal temperature for medium rare

8) Remove steaks from grill, cover w/ foil and let rest for 8 minutes

9) While steaks are resting, steam the broccolini until tender then sprinkle w/ lemon juice

10) Melt the butter in a pot and gently toss the broccolini in it

11) Remove twine and cut steaks into 1 3/4 inch slices, then place on serving tray

12) Gently fold remaining mushrooms and crumbled goat cheese into polenta and place in serving bowl

13) Place broccolini in serving dish

14) Pour some wine and dig in!!

Milk Chocolate and Tarragon Gelato w/ Dark Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients:

1 oz. fresh tarragon – stemmed and chopped

1 quart half +half

1 cup sugar

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate – coarsely chopped

5 oz. milk chocolate – finely chopped

8 egg yolks

Procedure:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half and tarragon gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

2) Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the tarragon

3) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

4) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

5) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)

6) Remove from heat, stir milk chocolate into the mixture and while continuing to stir place back on heat to completely melt chocolate (again, making sure mixture temperature doesn’t exceed 170 degrees F)

7) Cool in an ice bath

8) Chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours

9) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the bittersweet chocolate halfway through the churning process

10) Transfer gelato to a 2 qt plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Now its my turn to tag a few people to keep this meme flowing…

I tag my co-blogger Duane at Zinfully Delicious

Sam at Becks & Posh

Barbara at winosandfoodies

Bron at Bron Marshall

and Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas

OK, it’s past midnight and I’m going to get some sleep before I turn into a smashed pumpkin or something like that!

Bruno

After originally doing this post, Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice suggested I submit this recipe for World Bread Day. World Bread Day is on October 16th and is being hosted by Zorra of Kochtopf.

In order to meet the requirements for Bread Day I had to bake some bread (done!) and share some of my personal preferences for bread. So here goes… My favorite bread is typically one w/ a substantially crispy crust and made w/ whole grains. I consume bread on a daily basis. Variety is the spice of life, so some days I’ll eat homemade bread if I have it on hand, other days I’ll eat store bought pita or some other type of bread such as pugliese. I try to bake my own bread every week if I have time, and bake enough to share a loaf w/ friends. One of my favorite ways to eat bread is toasted then topped w/ creamy peanut butter and preserves loaded w/ berries! I’ll usually have this for breakfast 3 or 4 times a week. So there you have it and here’s my bread…

I was messing around w/ my usual bread recipe and came up w/ this variation.

Here’s the recipe…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oven toasted oats (I use the kind from Trader Joe’s) 

1/4 cup raisins   

2 cups whole wheat flour 

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup  plus 1  1/4 cups warm water

1 rounded tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoons salt

Cornmeal for dusting work surface

Procedure:

1) Mix 1 rounded tablespoon of yeast and ¼ cup warm water

in a large mixing bowl, add 1 teaspoon honey then let stand

for 3 to 4 minutes.

2) Then add to bowl: ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ stick melted butter, 1 ¼ cups warm water, 2 teaspoons salt (make sure salt is dissolved before adding flour).

3) In a separate bowl mix 3 ½ cups flour (2 cups whole wheat, 1 ½ all purpose) and 1/2 cup oats and 1/4 cup raisins, then add to yeast mixture – mix in up to ½ cup more all purpose flour if dough is too moist.

4) Knead dough thoroughly, form it into a ball

and return it to the bowl (dust bottom of bowl w/ flour first),

dust top w/ flour, cover bowl w/ plastic and moist towel

and let dough rise for 1 hour (in a warm spot in your kitchen).

5) Split dough ball in half, split each ball into thirds and roll out into strands long enough to braid, then braid.

6) Place on corn meal dusted surface, dust tops w/ flour, cover w/ plastic bag and let rise for ½ hour.

7) Meanwhile, preheat oven and pizza stone to 425 degrees.

8) Place loaves on stone and pour 2 ounces of water onto bottom of oven to delay crust formation so the bread can expand rapidly and evenly.

9) Turn bread after 20 minutes for even baking, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 13 to 15 minutes.

10) Remove from oven and let cool on pie rack.

Share a loaf w/ your friends, or if you really like it, hoard it all for yourself!!

Enjoy your weekend…

Bruno

Hello to my fellow food bloggers and thanks to Alanna at A Veggie Venture for hosting this edition of Sugar High Friday.
In keeping w/ the theme, my entry has a surprise inside… it may be hard to see in the picture, but the surprise’s flavor definitely comes through when you bite into this dessert! La Galette des Rois (also known as King’s Cake)Traditionally, this cake is served on January 6th to celebrate the Epiphany. It is baked w/ a bean or some other favor inside and whoever finds this surprise is crowned king or queen for the day! My galette was baked without a bean inside for no reason other than I just didn’t feel like it… no queens or kings will be running around here today, just people on a sugar high!!

   

** recipe courtesy of my French friend, Herve’

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sliced raw almonds
1/4 cup almond paste
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons flour
1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
glaze (1 part water, 2 parts sugar)

Procedure: 

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2) Butter a large baking sheet (not dark metal).
3) In a food processor, puree’ the almond paste, almonds, sugar, butter, and pinch of salt until smooth.
4) Add 1 egg, vanilla and almond extract and puree’ until incorporated.
5) Add flour and pulse to mix in.
6) On a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet of the puff pastry into an 11 1/2 inch square.
7) Invert an 11 inch pie plate onto the square and cut out a round shape by tracing the outline of the plate w/ the tip of a paring knife.
8) Brush the flour from both sides of the round and place it on the buttered baking sheet, then put in refrigerator to chill.
9) Repeat the process w/ the second square of puff pastry, but leave it on the floured work surface.
10) Beat the remaining egg and brush some of it on top of the second round. Score decoratively all over the top using the tip of a paring knife and make several small slits all the way through the pastry to create steam vents.
11) Remove the first round from the refrigerator and brush some of the egg in a 1 inch border around the edge. Mound the almond cream in the center, spreading slightly.
12) Place the scored round on top and press edges together.
13) Bake the galette in the lower third of the oven for 13 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and brush w/ egg a second time.
14) Return galette to rack in the upper third of oven and bake for an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until the edge is a deep golden brown.
15) While galette is still on the oven rack, brush it w/ the glaze mixture, then transfer to a cooling rack.
16) GET HIGH ON SUGAR!

Enjoy your weekend….

Bruno

I was graciously invited by Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice to attend La Festa al Fresco. I wanted to bring something impressive, so while on the road for work last week I mulled over some ideas. After thinking up a couple of different menus I settled on some Asian inspired dishes. Ivonne said the food didn’t have to be Italian, it just had to include one fresh ingredient to celebrate the bounty of summer. My contibutions to the feast have more than one fresh ingredient (at least the main dish does… the sorbet only has one fresh ingredient, the lime, so it counts too!). Here’s what I’m bringing:

Wasabi Dusted Prawns w/ Asian Slaw

Ingredients: (for prawns)

8 large prawns (6 for the dish, 2 for you and a friend to munch on while assembling the final product)

dusting powder (1/2 wasabi powder/ 1/2 flour)

Procedure:  (**start cooking prawns when rice is ready)

1) Skewer prawns then coat w/ dusting powder; shake off excess

2) Saute’ in olive oil for 3 minutes on each side or until opaque throughout

Ingredients: (for slaw)

1 medium head of purple cabbage – shredded

1 cup edamame (soy beans) -  blanched and cooled under cold water

3 medium size carrots – julienned and pickled in 1/3 cup distilled vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt for one hour

Ingredients: (for dressing)

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons low salt soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 large cloves garlic – minced

1 tablespoon minced jalepeno (ribs and seeds removed)

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

Procedure:

1) Mixed together all dressing ingredients

2) In a large bowl, toss slaw w/ dressing

Assemblage:

1) Rub a small amount of olive oil in 8 oz. ramekins

2) Fill ramekins w/ rice and pack slightly

3) Place ramekin upside down in center of plate and tap to loosen “rice cake”

4) Unskewer prawns

5) Place a small amount of slaw on rice cake then top w/ 3 prawns

6) EAT!

Lychee Sorbet w/ Crystallized Ginger

Ingredients:

1 can lychee in light syrup (20 oz.)  – drained and pureed

8 cups water

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon lime juice

1 oz. crystallized ginger  – minced

Procedure:

1) Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves

2) Boil without stirring until reduced by 1/3 volume

3) Chill syrup until very cold (about 4 hours)

4) Transfer to ice cream maker, add lime juice and process according to manufacturer’s instructions

5) Add ginger halfway into the churning process

6) Transfer to covered container and freeze until firm

**Makes approx. 2 quarts

I had a friend over to sample the food w/ me and provide me w/ feedback. Two suggestions were made:

1) Add more wasabi in the dusting powder so the flavor is more “visible”

2) Put less crystallized ginger in the sorbet so it doesn’t overpower the lychee flavor

Both were good suggestions. Next time I make this menu I will use 2 parts wasabi/ 1 part flour, and I will half the amount of crystallized ginger.

***Wines served: 2006 Bodega Lurton Pinot Gris,  Mendoza, Argentina; Krimskoye Crimean Semi-Sweet White Champagne, Ukraine

I’ve never been to a cyberfeast before…. I guess we just sit in front of the computer w/ our bibs on and drool or lick the screen. Hell, I’m going to the fridge so I don’t starve to death!!

That’s all folks…

Bruno