Sisters Baking Day, Part Two

I told you we weren't done yet!!! The second part of our baking day we totally threw ourselves into some wild ideas, took some risks, and had some pretty good successes and a slight not-so-success. That's ok though! Not every recipe turns out perfect the first time around but this one was good enough to be shared anyway- flavors were great, just not the perfect bar. You should still try it.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Ok so, besides the day-long baking marathon we had some great conversation about the long discussed bakery that Jessica and I have dreamed about for an eternity. Over cups of coffee, and later an icy cold soda, since we picked one of the hottest days of the season for baking, we broke down exactly what we wanted our business to look like. Everything from what we plan to prepare to how it will be served, local sources and seasonal ideas and recipes and a very unique twist that might even bring The Chef into our plans, we hammered it out. Our passion and fierce determination to make this happen has only grown stronger over the last ten years or so and we both realize the time to do it is NOW.

Raspberry Peach Crumble Bars

We found a lot of inspiration in a cookbook Jessica picked up thrift shopping. Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of the Rose Bakery, by Rose Carrarini, laid out in perfect detail almost exactly the same shop we had always envisioned- beautiful baked goods, breads, cookies, pastries, and an ever changing lunch menu of salads and entrees made by hand, every day, in manageable batches, and when it's gone, it's gone. Tea served in the afternoon, real English style high tea with all the accompaniments, then closed in time for an evening spent with family.  Just like Rose's delightful bakery in Paris. Could it be any more perfect than that? Up early every day with the sunshine and the birds singing, up to our elbows in flour and yeast. The smell of fresh bread permeating the air. Chopping, dicing and slicing, great old 70s music in the background. Baking bread while listening to Bread? Yes! Whipping up vinaigrettes and dressings and making salads for the lunch crowd and absolutely loving the life we have chosen to live.

Some people think it's too late for us to have these dreams. We are too old. The market isn't good. You'd never be able to compete with the big stores. We don't want to be rich, or famous, or become a national chain. We just want a simple living, something that is rewarding and fulfilling and every day I can crawl in bed beat because I worked for ME, for myself, and I loved every minute of it. That's what she and I want. Simple. Fulfilling. And you better believe, we are going to make it happen. In the coming weeks we will be doing a lot of research on everything from purchasing equipment to small business loans to finding the perfect location. We both have a dream of the perfect building for our bakery cafe, we just need to find it.

In the meantime though, you lovely people get to help us work out recipes and treats that we might or might not decide to include in our menu rotation, or a future cookbook, or just live on in our dreams. Take these two recipes, for example. I know by heart how to make a cheesecake, and everything that goes in it. What I wanted to do was turn that rich dessert into a much more diet friendly and small bite sized bar. Just enough to be satisfying without being a one thousand calorie bomb. If you want to lighten this up, switch the sugar for another sweetener but don't skimp on low fat or non fat cream cheese. It's not the same, it creates a weepy soggy mess. Besides, humans do need some fat in their diets, just choose your foods carefully and you're ok. Our raspberry bars were a take on a similar bar we have purchased at Whole Foods. Theirs was a tighter berry filling, surely a jam, where we used pie filling, so our bars were a little too soft to be bars really but still made a tasty dessert. Just use a fork and plate and you'll love them.

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oil

1 tablespoon milk

2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 lemons, zested

1 cup blueberries*

* We used a can of berries, rinsed and drained well. You can use fresh or frozen if you have them.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 pan with cooking spray and line with parchment. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, oil and milk. Mix well. Press evenly onto bottom and a little up the sides of the pan. Bake for ten minutes, then set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs, flour, sugar and zest. Mix well. Carefully fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed. Pour over the crust and smooth the top. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until almost set. Bars will firm up as they cool.

Make sure to keep these guys in the fridge and it's best to chill before cutting. They are rich and cheesecakey and oh so delicious. 

Our next bars recipe was a total experiment in using up what we had while trying to incorporate ideas we knew worked in other bar cookies. I'd have to say while delicious as all get-out, this was semi successful, but we now know how to improve this recipe the next time out. I'm going to share what we did today, and like I said earlier,  I recommend that you serve this with a fork- it's a little messy for eating out of hand. 

Raspberry Peach Granola Crumble (Bars)

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granola, large pieces crushed

2 sticks melted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 can raspberry pie filling

1 cup chopped peaches (fresh or well drained canned)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl toss together the oats, flour, brown sugar, granola and salt. Pour the melted butter over. Press a little more than half onto the bottom of a 10x14 baking dish. Set aside. Reserve the rest for later.

Combine the raspberry filling, peaches and extract, spread over the crust in the pan.

Add the almonds to the remaining crumble mixture and sprinkle over the top of the fruit, covering evenly. Press the crumb mixture into the fruit slightly.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until browned and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool, then chill in the fridge before cutting.

With the pie filling, this is really closer to a crumble or cobbler than a bar, but it's still insanely delicious and would be perfect topped with a scoop of ice cream, maybe slightly warmed up first. We are going to give this one another shot, using the jam instead of pie filling so we will get a gooier and more bar-like texture. But hey, sometimes those semi-fails end up delicious anyway!!

The Chef's cooking duck breast!!

It's not very often The Chef and I get duck breasts to play with so you can imagine how excited I was when he decided he would be preparing duck breast for his Friday special. As you know, The Chef cooks at The Wine Experience, a locally owned restaurant and wine bar that is a small bistro-style restaurant tucked into a high end shopping mecca. Each Friday he prepares an off-menu special with seasonal, locally produced (when possible) ingredients that usually are purchased that same day. It's been a lot of fun for to watch him work on his meal plans, grocery lists and prep sheets. Sometimes we collaborate on an idea and bounce things around until he has exactly what he is looking for but he is the creative mind behind the weekly Friday special. Over the months he has worked there he has created some amazing and delicious dishes, every week it's a sell out. His past specials have included cioppino, Italian pasta dishes, and shrimp picatta. It's not uncommon for him to receive requests for his recipes, and he is usually happy to oblige.

Duck breast is something he is not normally excited to work with. Let's face it, there are a lot of steps involved when making duck breast. Scoring the skin is critical to rendering out all that crazy delicious duck fat. Salting the breasts and storing uncovered for 24 hours seasons the meat. Rendering the fat is a bit time consuming but it's absolutely essential. Not only does it make the duck breast completely delicious without being overly fatty, you get all that rendered golden goodness to save and use for cooking other dishes. You haven't lived until you have experienced duck frites! So, with that in mind, what's on the menu for Friday?

Pan Seared Duck Breast with Blueberry Champagne Sauce

Trio of Roasted Baby Potatoes

Green Beans Amandine

So to get everything ready for service, The Chef has to arrive at the restaurant several hours before service begins to start working on the duck. Like I said, he scored and seasoned the duck the night before and has had this in the cooler overnight. 

Scoring the skin is crucial. The melting fat escapes and
the skin doesn't curl up.

To properly render out the fat, place the duck breasts skin side down in a COLD skillet. Place the pan over medium heat and slowly allow the fat to melt and render out. Keep a bowl or jar handy to scoop that delicious fat into. You definitely want to save the fat. 

You can see the pattern of the scoring as the skin crisps
and just look at all that amazing and delicious duck fat!

When the skin is crispy and the fat is rendered out, remove the breasts from the pan and place on a sheet pan to cool.

Never crowd the breasts in the skillet or they will steam and never brown. You're looking for a light golden brown at this stage. Remember- this is restaurant cooking, not how you would prepare them at home. Once you've rendered the fat successfully, remove the breasts to a clean baking sheet. skin side down, and store in the cooler until time for service.

The sauce is also made ahead, using the skillets used to render the fat. Spoon out as much of the fat as you can, and deglaze the pan with an entire bottle of champagne. Bring to boil, scraping up the delicious fond from the bottom of the skillet. Reduce the champagne to about half. Add a little chicken broth, some chopped fresh thyme and fresh blueberries. Cook until the berries have burst and cooked through and the sauce is further reduced. Add a little orange zest if you like and thicken with a cornstarch slurry. Add more fresh blueberries at this stage so you will have plump whole berries in the sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Keep the sauce warm.

When it's time for service you will want to start with a cold pan again. Place the duck breasts skin side down and cook until deep golden brown. Flip over and sear the underside for a couple minutes, then place on a sheet pan and pop in 375-400 degree oven until the internal temperature is 135 degrees for medium rare. Remove and let rest while you plate up the vegetables. Slice the breast diagonally into thick slices, arrange on the plate and spoon sauce over.

Beautiful! Beautiful and delicious. Duck breasts are a wonderful choice for entertaining. Now you might scoff at the idea of a medium rare to rare piece of "bird" meat, since we would never eat chicken or turkey this way. Duck is a whole different kind of meat. It more closely resembles beef that any poultry and has the best flavor and texture when treated like beef. Roast duck, however, is still roasted like chicken or turkey except you MUST prick the skin all over to release the fat as it roasts. It's all about the preparation. If you are not comfortable eating medium rare duck, stick with roasting. Duck is a rich meat with a lot of flavor, and makes all kinds of dishes interesting and delicious- duck tacos is a favorite of mine. Ducks harvested from the wild do have a slightly different taste and texture than commercially farmed ducks but both are very delicious and highly recommended.

Pavlova- Heaven on a plate

Hasn't been a whole lot of baking going on around here. Not lately. Not many desserts have been coming out of the kitchen at The Little Lake House and I need to change that. Last night I was watching my way through my stockpile of DVRd cooking shows- things I save and watch when The Chef isn't watching tv, like Nigella Lawson and Laura Calder. He just doesn't "get" foreign women. 

Anyway, Nigella was cooking with things she had in the pantry and freezer- using up things basically. She is quite a thrifty gal actually, I was surprised at some of the things she had tucked in the freezer. Chicken bones, because she obviously makes her own stocks, odds and ends of vegetables for casseroles and egg whites- frozen in zip top bags in twos. She had thawed egg whites to make a pavlova and I just HAD TO make one.

If you have never heard of it, a pavlova is a classic dessert created in the early 1900s in honor of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. It's quite simply, meringue baked until crisp and dry on the outside and tender and marshmallow-like on the inside, topped with whipped cream and passion fruit or berries. I am going to make mine just slightly different, using what I have on hand, so it will be a pastry cream instead of whipped cream, topped with mango chunks and blueberries, with a teeny hint of booziness for fun.

There are just two of us here, so I usually make miniature versions of things, when I can, and that's also the case this time. I just need 2 egg whites for a smaller meringue, so if you make this for guests or your family, be sure and double the ingredients. Of course, you can use the traditional whipped cream instead of pastry cream also. Plan on one cup icy cold heavy whipping cream to make enough fluffy cream to cover the top.

Making meringue is not difficult. Most importantly, you have to be sure the bowl you are using is absolutely grease-free, so use glass or metal rather than plastic. Adding a touch of cornstarch adds some stability to the structure of the meringue and so does the teensiest bit of vinegar I add. Another important step is adding the sugar. You don't want to add it too soon or the egg whites may not reach their fullest volume, but you also want to be sure you have plenty of time for the sugar to dissolve as you finish beating, so you don't have crunchy bits in the meringue. Rubbing a dab between your finger and thumb to check for smoothness is a great way to tell if the sugar is dissolved. You will feel it if it isn't. 

Make sure to spread the meringue mixture out onto parchment or waxed paper. If you spread it onto a sheet pan you may not be able to get it off after it's baked, and if you grease the pan, the meringue will shrink up and not be attractive at all. Spread it out as evenly as possible and use the back of the spoon to create a swirly "rim" so the filling will not run all over. 

Classic Pavlova

2 egg whites, room temperature (reserve the yolks)
tiny pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Prepare the pan by lining with a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper. Using a plate or small pan as a guide, draw a circle on the paper, about 5-6 inches in diameter for a two egg meringue, or about 9-10 inches for  full size 4 egg meringue. Turn the paper upside down so you can still see the circle but won't be spreading the meringue on the pencil marking.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and continue beating until sugar is dissolved and meringue forms stiff, shiny peaks. This takes about 2 minutes.

Sift the cornstarch over the egg whites and add the vinegar and vanilla; fold in lightly. Pile the meringue onto the paper and using a spoon, spread and shape the meringue into a circular shell. Remember to build up a slight rim.

Bake for about 90 minutes. Turn off the oven and DO NOT REMOVE meringue! Let it cool completely in the oven, at least an hour. Peel off the paper and place on serving plate. Top with cream and fruit.

Pastry Cream

1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon butter

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. 

Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter, stirring to milk in completely. Pour into bowl, cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface. Chill completely before using.

Now, I'll let you in on a little secret. Pastry chefs the world over will cringe at this idea but hey, it works perfectly so here goes- use a whisk to combine all the ingredients in a large microwave safe container. Cook on high one minute, whisk; and repeat until mixture is thick and smooth, checking every 30 seconds after 2 minutes. It took 2 1/2 minutes and came out perfect- no lumps!

Boozy Fruit

1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 cup mango or peach chunks
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon Chambord liqueur
lemon zest
sugar, if needed

Combine the fruits, liqueur, zest. Add a touch of sugar if needed. I used frozen fruits and let them thaw so they would be a bit softer and juicer than fresh. Pile the fruit on top of the pavlova and cream. Serve immediately.

Oh my goodness..... this dessert..... is heavenly. The meringue is so delicate and ethereal. As you break that crisp crust the interior is tender like a marshmallow. The cream and fruit kind of become part of the meringue after a short while, and it's just sooooo delicious. You can use almost any fruit you like. I had these in the freezer and they were a great combination.

A few final notes:  I had a little trouble with the waxed paper this time. Might have been crummy quality paper, but it stuck to the baking pan and the meringue more than I expected. A silicone liner might be a better option if you have one. I need to get one!

Another MacGuyver Meal gone gourmet

Don't laugh! I am the MacGuyver of the kitchen!! My best friend always says I can take black pepper and an ice cube and come up with a gourmet meal- so that's what I'm going to do tonight. Totally going to experiment with an idea I have been working on for a long time in my head and use my Chef as the guinea pig. Fun, huh?

I've been playing around with the idea of stuffed chicken rolls for some time. I've seen similar things in cookbooks and online, but I just wasn't sure what flavor profile I wanted to go with. Sun dried tomato and ?? Italian seasoned ?? I just wasn't sure. But then I got the idea of glazing......and bacon.....and sweet/hot and crunchy/smoky won out.

As you know, we LOVE hot and spicy here, so I'm going in a spicy direction- jalapeno spicy. Not quite ready to get all crazy with ghost chilies just yet this year. That comes later. I also have to consider my somewhat limited options at the grocery store in town if I'm looking for a special ingredient. In this case, I really wanted goat cheese, but try to get that in a town of 1600 and........cream cheese it is. I will be adjusting that flavor to a little more tangy with a little tiny bit of lemon juice. 

I am also going to make good use of items I already have in my pantry and fridge. Things I have canned myself (don't worry, the recipe will be available as well as substitutions if you don't want to go that route), pantry staples, herbs from the garden......

So are you ready for this "take 3 toothpicks, nail polish, hair ties and build a bomb" dinner?

Blueberry Jalapeno Basted Bacon Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

sliced bacon (regular, not thick sliced)

8 ounce package cream cheese, softened (I wanted goat cheese but it was unavailable)

1/4 cup chopped candied jalapeno slices  (click for recipe) **

1/2 cup blueberry jam

1/4 cup syrup from jalapeno slices, approximately **

big pinch chopped chives

4 cloves garlic, finely minced 

1/4 cup finely minced onion

Salt, pepper, cooking oil

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Between sheets of plastic, lightly pound out the breasts to about half an inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Another option, if you don't want to pound out the chicken, you can butterfly the breasts and fill the pocket with the stuffing mixture.

In small skillet add just a touch of oil and briefly saute the garlic and onion- no need to cook it long, just enough to get the "raw" out. I tossed the chopped jalapeno in there when the onions and garlic were sweated down nicely.

In small bowl combine cheese, chopped jalapeno, garlic, onion and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste test it- if it's too "sweet" hit it with a little lemon juice to mimic the tartness of goat cheese.

Divide mixture between the four chicken breasts and spread out but NOT to the edges. Roll up the chicken. Using one or two strips of bacon per breast, roll around the chicken to seal the edges tightly. Secure with kitchen twine or toothpicks.

Transfer to rimmed baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees. A rimmed sheet is important to circulate the heat around the bacon and crisp it evenly.

Meanwhile, combine jam with liquid from jalapenos. Start with half the amount of liquid and check consistency. When you have a nice syrupy consistency, brush or spoon some of the glaze over the chicken and continue baking, glazing occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, bacon is crisp and glaze is sticky and golden, about 45 minutes to an hour or until chicken is 180 degrees.

** The jalapenos I used for this recipe are called Cowboy Candy and you can find my recipe by clicking here. HOWEVER, if you don't have this, or don't want to make it, you MIGHT be able to find sweet pickled/candied jalapenos in the grocery store. There are a few brands that make it. If you cannot, it's ok to use regular jalapenos from the jar but you will want to use LESS for the glaze or it might be too vinegary. Taste as you add it and use caution. You can also skip the glaze altogether if you are unable to find a suitable substitute. I don't recommend fresh jalapenos for this recipe.

I served my Blueberry Basted Bacon Chicken with roasted baby purple potatoes and fresh asparagus. I am a sucker for those cute little baby vegetables when I see them in the store. I sneak them in the cart when I can. Asparagus is one of my very favorite vegetables and even though it's February and they definitely are not in season, I still pick some up occasionally. I love their fresh flavor and crunch when just lightly roasted with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.

And what did The Chef have to say about dinner? He said it "was the best meal he's ever eaten" so I'll take that as a win!

Chicken wings and football- what could be better ?

Opening Night of the NFL is always a big occasion for me, no matter what team is playing !! Tonight I'm cheering on the Saints (can't root for the Packers !! Noooooooo) and they're letting me down !! Anyway, since moving out to the lake football nights at the bar with a bunch of people and bar snacks is a thing of the past and we have to recreate that atmosphere for ourselves. How ?? Ice cold Bud and wings of course !!

Ok, clockwise from the top, The Chef's Buffalo Wings with ghost chile sauce, my blueberry jalapeno wings and pineapple garlic teriyaki wings.

Let's start with the buffalo style sauce- The Chef went traditional with his wing sauce- the traditional mix of real butter and Frank's Red Hot but he kicked it waaaaay up with about half a teaspoon of crushed ghost chile and some crushed dried habanero and served alongside bleu cheese dressing (no ranch in this wing-eating house !!)

My blueberry jalapeno wing sauce consisted of blueberry jam, minced/crushed jalapeno and a half teaspoon or so of crushed cayenne pepper and just a hit of lime juice to thin it out a little.

The pineapple garlic teriyaki wings started with a Pampered Chef Pineapple Rum sauce. I used about 1/4 cup of the bottled sauce, added 2 cloves of garlic super finely minced, a big dash of soy sauce and about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed Jamaican Yellow Mushroom pepper to add some fire.

We didn't fry the wings- instead baked them for about 3 hours at 215 degrees (loooow and slow) after rubbing them with our homemade meat rub mixture. Then each sauce was tossed with a pile of wings and back in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes til the sauce glazed and got all sticky and yummy.

The result........was absolutely delicious. Sweet heat in one bite and searing hot the next. Perfect football snack and I can't wait to make them again !!