Showing posts with label Silver Spoon Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Silver Spoon Challenge. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Challenge #2: February-month of the Antipasti and Appetizers
For this challenge there were a lot more recipes to choose from. So, believe me when I say, it was really difficult to decide. I have to post this challenge a few days early, because I am leaving for the Olympics in a day. I am so excited!!! And a great way to keep the excitement going...food inspiration. The best. I decided to try something for the first time that I have always wanted make. I hope you join me in this first attempt for me, maybe a refining attempt for you. That's the fun in this, to try new things, or make them better.
drum roll please.......
Crepes
(Technically this is a total of three recipes. If you want to try another filling, feel free. The first recipe is the only required part of the challenge)
(not technically a great picture, but it tasted delicious. I will definitely make this again!)
Crepe Batter (basic recipe)
servings: about 12
scant 1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
vegetable oil
salt
Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and sift into a large bowl. Add the eggs and approximately 3-4 tablespoons of the milk to the flour. Whisk well. Continue to whisk, adding a little milk at a time until you have a fairly runny batter. (It will thicken somewhat upon standing.) Melt the butter in a double boiler, or in the microwave. Once the butter is melted, take the bowl off the heat and let cool almost completely. Whisk the butter into the batter and add salt to taste. Continue to whisk for a few minutes. Let the batter sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. If you have a crepe pan, use it, otherwise use a 7-inch non-stick skillet. Brush the pan with oil (or use a paper towel and wipe oil onto pan) and heat medium to medium-high heat. Pour in approximately 1 ounce/2 tablespoons batter into the pan. Turn and tilt the pan to cover the base evenly with crepe batter. (Work quickly) Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the bottom of the crepe is set and golden brown. Flip it over with a spatula and cook that side for about 2 minutes until golden brown and set. Carefully slide the crepe out onto a plate. Continue to do this until all the batter is used, re-oiling the pan after each crepe. If you want a sweet crepe, use sugar instead of salt.
Ham And Fontina Crepes
servings: about 12
2 tablespoons butter, plus extra
12 crepes (prior recipe)
generous 1 cup cooked cured ham, chopped
3 1/2 ounces fontina cheese, diced (7 tablespoons)
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (to follow)
3 tablespoons Parmesan, freshly grated
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay out the crepes and sprinkle with the ham and fontina cheese. Roll up the crepes and place in the casserole dish in a single layer. Pour the Bechamel Sauce over the crepes, then sprinkle with Parmesan and nutmeg. Dot the crepes with the butter. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. You can eat a whole crepe, or cut them in half.
Bechamel Sauce
servings: about 4
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick of butter)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups milk (may need to use less)
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Briskly whisk in the flour. Pour in the milk, whisking constantly until it starts to boil. Season the sauce with salt and lower the heat. Cover the pan and simmer gently, stirring only occasionally. Do this for 20 minutes or more. The sauce should not taste floury. Take the pan off the heat. Taste your sauce, if bland, add more salt. The more the better, to me any way. If you find that your sauce is too thick, add more milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. If the sauce is too runny, return it too the heat, and add in a pat of butter mixed with an equal amount of flour. If you would like a richer sauce, albeit a more fattening sauce, replace half of the milk with cream. Yum :) If you want to go the other way for a lighter sauce, replace half of the milk with water.
drum roll please.......
Crepes
(Technically this is a total of three recipes. If you want to try another filling, feel free. The first recipe is the only required part of the challenge)
Crepe Batter (basic recipe)
servings: about 12
scant 1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
vegetable oil
salt
Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and sift into a large bowl. Add the eggs and approximately 3-4 tablespoons of the milk to the flour. Whisk well. Continue to whisk, adding a little milk at a time until you have a fairly runny batter. (It will thicken somewhat upon standing.) Melt the butter in a double boiler, or in the microwave. Once the butter is melted, take the bowl off the heat and let cool almost completely. Whisk the butter into the batter and add salt to taste. Continue to whisk for a few minutes. Let the batter sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. If you have a crepe pan, use it, otherwise use a 7-inch non-stick skillet. Brush the pan with oil (or use a paper towel and wipe oil onto pan) and heat medium to medium-high heat. Pour in approximately 1 ounce/2 tablespoons batter into the pan. Turn and tilt the pan to cover the base evenly with crepe batter. (Work quickly) Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the bottom of the crepe is set and golden brown. Flip it over with a spatula and cook that side for about 2 minutes until golden brown and set. Carefully slide the crepe out onto a plate. Continue to do this until all the batter is used, re-oiling the pan after each crepe. If you want a sweet crepe, use sugar instead of salt.
Ham And Fontina Crepes
servings: about 12
2 tablespoons butter, plus extra
12 crepes (prior recipe)
generous 1 cup cooked cured ham, chopped
3 1/2 ounces fontina cheese, diced (7 tablespoons)
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (to follow)
3 tablespoons Parmesan, freshly grated
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay out the crepes and sprinkle with the ham and fontina cheese. Roll up the crepes and place in the casserole dish in a single layer. Pour the Bechamel Sauce over the crepes, then sprinkle with Parmesan and nutmeg. Dot the crepes with the butter. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. You can eat a whole crepe, or cut them in half.
Bechamel Sauce
servings: about 4
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick of butter)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups milk (may need to use less)
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Briskly whisk in the flour. Pour in the milk, whisking constantly until it starts to boil. Season the sauce with salt and lower the heat. Cover the pan and simmer gently, stirring only occasionally. Do this for 20 minutes or more. The sauce should not taste floury. Take the pan off the heat. Taste your sauce, if bland, add more salt. The more the better, to me any way. If you find that your sauce is too thick, add more milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. If the sauce is too runny, return it too the heat, and add in a pat of butter mixed with an equal amount of flour. If you would like a richer sauce, albeit a more fattening sauce, replace half of the milk with cream. Yum :) If you want to go the other way for a lighter sauce, replace half of the milk with water.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Challenge #1 - January: month of the Sauces
This should be a fairly easy challenge to start things off. Please post your comments and/or link to your finished challenge post.
9 ounces canned tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes that have been peeled
pinch of sugar
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. olive oil
10 fresh basil leaves, torn
salt to taste
Use a small sauce pan. Add the tomatoes along with the can liquid to the pan. Add the sugar, garlic and salt. Cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes if using fresh tomatoes (45 minutes if using the canned tomatoes). Do not be tempted to stir during this time. Use a wooden spoon, and mash the tomatoes. Remove the pan from the stove and let cool, Stir in the olive oil and then add the basil leaves. This is best served with spaghetti.
Tomato Sauce
4 servings9 ounces canned tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes that have been peeled
pinch of sugar
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. olive oil
10 fresh basil leaves, torn
salt to taste
Use a small sauce pan. Add the tomatoes along with the can liquid to the pan. Add the sugar, garlic and salt. Cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes if using fresh tomatoes (45 minutes if using the canned tomatoes). Do not be tempted to stir during this time. Use a wooden spoon, and mash the tomatoes. Remove the pan from the stove and let cool, Stir in the olive oil and then add the basil leaves. This is best served with spaghetti.
I used 4 tomatoes. Take a large saucepan and fill it about 3/4 full of water. Bring the water to a boil. Put the tomatoes in the water and keep them in there just until the skins start to split apart. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and put them into a large bowl of cold water. This makes it really easy to remove the skin. Remove the center part of the tomatoes and any bad spots and proceed with the recipe as directed above.
The result was pretty tasty. I had to let the sauce cook for a while longer to get it down to a thicker consistency.
The Year of 'The Silver Spoon' Challenge (Italian Cooking At Its Best)
I have finally decided to create a monthly cooking challenge to last approximately one year. The goal: to make one recipe per month from "The Silver Spoon" cookbook, Phaidon Press. The one thing about this book, being a translated version of the original, the actual instructions on how to make the food leaves something to be desired. So, that leads me to the next point. I will only be including the actual recipe amounts and ingredients, the rest will be my interpretation of the actual instruction part of the recipe. I hope that this is something that not only I will for sure be participating in, but also anyone who wants to join in. It will be a lot of fun to share my story on how I handle each challenge and to compare to any other brave souls who try to do so as well. So please, I encourage you all, to join in and try something new!
There will be a link to this challenge in my labels section, titled "Silver Spoon".
The Rules:
There will be approximately 12 challenges for the year 2010.
One and only one recipe will be completed each month.
Every month, starting this January, the new challenge recipe will be posted on the 15 of each month, unless otherwise noted in a post.
Posting is to be completed by the 14th of the following month. I am hoping one month is long enough to complete each challenge.
Please feel free to post your completed challenge on your own blog, or other venue, and place a link in a reply to the Challenge post on my blog. You can just copy and paste the URL where you have posted. That way everyone who reads here can join in the fun. If you would rather just post a comment upon completing the challenge, that's great too. I would love to hear how it went, and to compare notes with everyone. And pictures of the challenge are more than welcome.
You can try 1 challenge, or try all 12, as I hope you do!
Coming up...Challenge #1
There will be a link to this challenge in my labels section, titled "Silver Spoon".
The Rules:
There will be approximately 12 challenges for the year 2010.
One and only one recipe will be completed each month.
Every month, starting this January, the new challenge recipe will be posted on the 15 of each month, unless otherwise noted in a post.
Posting is to be completed by the 14th of the following month. I am hoping one month is long enough to complete each challenge.
Please feel free to post your completed challenge on your own blog, or other venue, and place a link in a reply to the Challenge post on my blog. You can just copy and paste the URL where you have posted. That way everyone who reads here can join in the fun. If you would rather just post a comment upon completing the challenge, that's great too. I would love to hear how it went, and to compare notes with everyone. And pictures of the challenge are more than welcome.
You can try 1 challenge, or try all 12, as I hope you do!
Coming up...Challenge #1
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