Welsh Rarebit for Summer Days

This weekend brought some hot and steamy weather Michigan.  It was the perfect time to power wash the house (we are down to THREE weeks before the graduation party), make a giant bowl of Gazpacho, start a new novel and attend a Memorial Day parade.

Pierre was the happiest to go to the farm and play with his friends. 

The food highlight of the weekend was the Welsh Rarebit!  Basically an open faced grilled cheese, English style!

WELSH RAREBIT

1 Pound Cheddar Cheese, chopped (I used 1/2 Cantal and 1/2 Mature English Cheddar)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Coleman's Dry Mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Egg Yolks

8 Slices good Artisan Bread (I used a Cibatta)
Worcestershire Sauce

Under the broiler, toast bread until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cheese, sour cream, mustard, salt, pepper and egg yolks.  Mix until combined.

Place an even layer of the cheese mixture over the toasted bread and return to the broiler until melted and a deep golden brown.  Sprinkle with a few drops of Worcestershire Sauce and enjoy!  The drops of sauce really MAKE this combo, please don't omit it!

We really loved this dish and I see it becoming a year-round affair!  

 

Pup Cinnamon Buns

I've been baking for Pierre and all the dogs that visit The Boulevard Market this week, and this recipe is super cute and Pierre loves them!  It's a baked Cinnamon Bun for dogs.

Pierre likes a softer treat, so these were super fun and easy and stayed a little soft after baking.  This yields about 24 small-ish treats.  While the photo shows the entire batch of dough rolled out into one rectangle, half way through, I cut the rectangle in half length-wise or the buns would have been huge.  Great for a big dog, but WAY too much for my terrier!  My rolls ended up measuring abut 2 inches across.  These were super easy and fun to make!  You will want to refrigerate them for up to 3 weeks, or toss them in the freezer for up to 3 months.  

PUP CINNAMON BUNS

1/2 cup cornmeal
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup plain yogurt

FILLING:

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, separated

Stir filling ingredients to combine.  Beat the reserved egg white and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until combined.  Knead until a soft, shiny dough forms,picking up all bits of flour, about 3 minutes.  Divide dough in half.

Roll dough out 1/3 inch thick, on a parchment paper into a square about 6X6.  Spread with filling and roll up into a log.  Cut log into 1/2-3/4 inch thick slices and lay them flat on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Repeat with other half of dough.  Brush rolls with beaten egg white and bake for 30 minutes.

You could add a drizzle of frosting, yogurt or leave shiny and plain!

 

Asparagus & Truffle Oil Spread

Last year, from April through November, I hosted a series of home preserving classes at our shop, The Boulevard Market.  Freezing, canning, drying, pickling, lacto-fermenting and even liqueurs and candied peel!  The classes were based on in season produce.

It's been a great way to share knowledge, experience and recipes for the entire group!!  I thought I'd share the favorite from last year (I shared with this year's group too :)) as we are nearly at the end of asparagus season.

I created the Asparagus Spread to be stored in the freezer and have a versatility to it in everyday cooking.  This recipe makes a great appetizer with slices of baguette, a base for asparagus soup (add 3 cups chicken/vegetable stock) an easy savory tart on it's own, or spread onto a pastry crust and top with eggs for a quick and delicious quiche.  It's also fantastic stirred into freshly prepared linguine pasta!

The ingredients are a tad more expensive, but it's truly worth the effort and expense for such an elegant, easy, tasty variety of dishes.

Asparagus Spread with Truffle Oil

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 stick butter

1 8 ounce carton mascarpone

Salt & pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons Truffle Oil

Saute asparagus in large sauté pan over medium heat about 6 minutes with butter until barely soft, and bright green.

Remove from heat and add mascarpone cheese, salt, pepper and truffle oil.  Stir until combined and place in freezer containers.  Let cool to room temperature then place in freezer up to one year.

The Boulevard Market sells this for $12.98/ bottle.  Not cheap, but worth it!

 

Making a Kir Royale

Kir Royale

• ·       Crème de Cassis

• ·       Champagne or other dry Sparkling Wine

A lovely bottle of Crème de Cassis was the highlight of my week!  Blue skies, summer-like weather, a shorter project list and a recently bathed dog added to my contentment.  

Last evening was the perfect time to indulge in a Kir Royale.  A cocktail originally made with just a dry white wine from Burgundy, like Chablis, I’ve instead added a sparkling Cremant de Limoux!  I think the wine’s bubbles add glamour and elegance as well as a bit more refreshment than still wine.  Crème de Cassis is a liqueur made of black currants.  Its ruby red color and sweet/tart nature make it lovely drizzled over berries, a fresh sponge cake or part of a cocktail.

Take 2 champagne flutes or wine glasses, add about a tablespoon of Crème de Cassis and fill the flute full of sparkling wine, or the wine glass half full of sparkling wine.  Enjoy!

Warning...post contains a bug photo!

My little dog, Pierre, usually likes little things.  He rolls in dead worms, lifts his little leg on small branches that have fallen and even has normal size dog treats cut in half.  He stands about 1 foot 3 inches and weighs just under 12 pounds.

Pierre adores big bugs.

In Michigan we have "June Bugs" this time of year.  It's a fat beetle about an inch long, shiny light brown with hooked legs that stick to things.  They dive bomb lights at night and then later in the summer, you'll find their papery shells attached to tree bark. 

Feel free to check out this link if you're feeling really scientific or into entomology; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllophaga_%28genus%29

Pierre is just fascinated with these June bugs.  He finds them and drags them into the house to play with.  So nice.  They hook on his lips as he dances around.  When nearly dead from being "dog handled", he rolls on them repeatedly until they are completely incapacitated.  Then he runs out to find another.

I'm never sure if I should reprimand him or just enjoy the show as the bugs are only here for a short time. 

I always thought I'd have a little dog that loved plaid sweaters and fluffy doggie beds, instead my dog likes black bandanas, bbq chips, my daughter Julia's dirty socks and sleeping in anyone's bed! He's probably been watching LA Ink and Jersey Shore while I'm at work....

It could be worse however, at least he hates spiders as much as I do!

Gelato...it's really this easy!

"WHY???" was the word roaring through my head!  Why have I never made gelato?  Because I thought it would be a total pain in the a**.  Cooking, freezing, sticky, icy texture at home.....the list was long!

I took the plunge this week as I had an abundance of eggs and during one of the cleaning sprees, found the kids old-ish ice cream maker.

It's not a fancy ice cream maker, in fact I think I bought it on clearance more than a few years ago.  Hamilton Beach brand with a bowl that you freeze for 24 hours before churning.  Compact, easy to assemble and clean, a big enough hole in the top for additions and it churned out my gelato in less than 35 minutes.  I could see how timing might be an issue, yet most gelato base recipes suggest you make the base 24 hours in advance too.  I looked into other fancy ice cream makers and they were a larger capacity and had all sorts of features, but I really wasn't up for spending $100+, dealing with any type of ice/salt, or having another large appliance to store in my crowded kitchen and many still had a bowl to freeze.  Once you got into quasi commercial, watch out...pricing was in the thousands!

I started with the chocolate base recipe first (of course!) and also made a plain base which taste similar to a custard.  I found the whole process to be simple and about 15 minutes of hands-on time.  I'm really surprised that I enjoyed making this so much!  I am really excited to try my hand at sorbetto next and maybe add some extra goodies to the gelatos!

CHOCOLATE GELATO

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

4 eggs

1/4 pound chocolate- 60%-finely chopped ( I used Callebaut 67%)

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Valrhona natural cocoa powder)

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cups sugar

A note on chocolate/cocoa powder; 

I used different cocoa powder and a darker chocolate than the recipe called for however, with amazing results!  You can easily change to regular dutch cocoa powder and a lower percentage chocolate if you want a more mellow chocolate flavor/sweeter finished gelato.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine sugar and egg yolks and whip with a wire whisk until mixture turns a pale yellow.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add milk and cream.  Attach a candy thermometer (or any heat safe thermometer you use) and bring to 170 degrees, then remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder and chopped chocolate until completely melted.

Add about 1/2 cup of  hot milk to egg/sugar mixture and stir until combined.  Repeat this step, then pour egg mixture into remaining milk in saucepan and stir until combined.

Return pan to medium heat, attach thermometer and bring to 185 degrees, stirring frequently until thick but not boiling, then remove from heat.

Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean storage bowl.  Allow to cool slightly and then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Place base mixture into ice cream machine and churn until desired consistency.  Machine times will vary.  Mine took about 35 minutes at most.

Eat it straight out of the machine like we did, or put into a freezer container and freeze until almost solid.  Gelato will have a softer texture than traditional ice cream (and less fat!).

Refinished table & chairs are nearly complete!

I posted last week about refinishing my antique table and chairs.  The table is almost completed, but I still have to work on the leaves.  It's been surprisingly sunny here in Michigan and the glare is been a stinker for my camera!!  I probably need to put a nice runner or some sort of "decor" on it as well, but for this week, I'm enjoying the beauty of the new finish!!  Hope this inspires you to tackle a refinishing project!!  Th results are fantastic!