URGENT - PLEASE SHARE!!!

Some friends of our family recently went missing on their way down to Las Vegas - they haven't been heard from since March 19th and their family is getting really worried about them. Please share this missing persons poster with anyone you know who lives in the area, or anywhere online that might help raise awareness. And if you don't live in the area, please just keep them and their family in your thoughts and prayers. You can find the poster and information here. You can also check out the facebook page that has been setup and join it for any updates that are available. Thank you for your help and support. Erin.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Alright, let me just start this post off with a little disclaimer: This is another Bobby Flay Throwdown recipe, so that means it requires a lot of ingredients, lots of time, and a whole lot of effort. This is another all-out recipe... but the time it takes to make all the components from scratch is well worth it! This cheesecake is so light and fluffy and decadently rich. A little bit goes a long way and this cheesecake will feed a lot of people. So if you're up for a culinary challenge, get on board with this recipe and make a plan to make it for your next dinner party. I made it for our Superbowl party in February and it was well received by all our guests. :)

Be sure to read the entire recipe before starting out and plan out your timeline accordingly. I say this because I didn't do that and it ended up with me almost pulling an all-nighter to finish this cheesecake before our Superbowl party the next day!!!

This recipe is from one of my most recent cookbook additions - Bobby Flay's Throwdown. There are three components to this recipe including the cheesecake, the apples and the apple-caramel sauce. Make them in the order specified below for best results.

Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• cooking spray


• 8 whole graham crackers


• 1 cup lightly toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped


• 2 tbsp light brown sugar


• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted


• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar


• 1 tbsp grated orange zest


• 3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, at room temperature


• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbp finely packed light muscovado sugar (brown sugar works too)


• 4 large eggs, at room temperature


• 1 large vanilla bean, seeds scraped out, seeds and pods reserved


• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract


• 1/2 tsp fine salt


• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

1. To make the cheesecake, preheat the oven to 350F. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.


2. Combine the graham crackers, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, and the brown sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. With the motor running, add the butter through the feed tube and process until themixture just comes together. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan, place it on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven until light golden brown and just set, about 8 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.


3. Combine 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the orange zest in a food processor and process until combined.


4. Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the orange sugar, remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of granualted sugar, and the muscovado sugar, and beat until sugar is incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix until just incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla seeds (save the pod for the apples), vanilla extract and salt and beat until combined. Add the heavy cream and mix until just combined.


5. Scrape the mixture into the cooled crust. Set the springform pan on a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, and fold the foil up the sides to surround it. Set the pan in a large roasting pan. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the edges of the cake are slightly puffed and set and the center still jiggles, about 55 minutes.


6. Turn off the heat, prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon, and leave the cheesecake in the water bath in the oven for 1 hour.


7. Remove the springform pan from the water bath, place it on a wire rack, and cool to room temperature, 2 hours. Then cover the pan and refrigerate until the cheesecake is chilled through, at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Apples

Ingredients:

• 2 cups apple juice


• 1/4 cup granulated sugar


• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, cold


• 3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced


• 3 fuji apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced


• 1/4 cup calvados or other apple brandy


• 1/2 cup creme fraiche

Method:

1. Bring the apple juice, sugar and the reserved vanilla bean pod to a boil in a large saute pan over high heat. Cook until slightly thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup, 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard.


2. Stir in the butter until melted. Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly carmelized and soft, 8-10 minutes. Add the calvados and simmer until reduced by half. Transfer the apples to a plate and let cool slightly.


3. To serve, remove the foil and sides from the springform pan. Spread the creme fraiche over the cheesecake. Top with the warm apple topping, drizzle liberally with the caramel sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Serve additional caramel sauce on the side.

Apple-Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar


• 3/4 cup heavy cream, hot


• pinch of fine salt


• 3 tbsp calvados or other apple brandy


• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:

1. Combine the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, swirling the pot occasionally to even out the colour, until amber, 10-12 minutes.


2. Slowly add the heavy cream and salt to the caramel. Whisk until smooth. Remove from teh heat, and stir in te calvados and vanilla extract. Serve warm.

If you decide to try out this recipe, I would recommend halfing the recipe for the apples and the apple-caramel sauce. Otherwise you'll be stuck with lots of leftover apples and caramel sauce and no more cheesecake to eat them with!! I loved this recipe, the quality of the cheesecake was absolutely spectacular and the addition of the creme fraiche on top of the cheesecake really helped to counter the sweetness of the cheesecake and the caramel sauce. I hope you get a chance to try out this recipe and that you enjoy it as much as we did. Happy Baking my Friends!

Chicken & Puppies!

Okay, bet that title got your attention!! No eating puppies on this blog, but there are some cute pictures of puppies! You may have noticed that I have been a bit delinquent about blogging during the last week and a half... I have been busy dog-sitting & house-sitting for our friends who own our dog's sister. So we had two giant golden retrievers for 10 days while they went away on their spring break vacation. The puppies were great & my hubby was fooling around with the camera one day and got some great shots that I thought I would share with you. :) I also thought these photos would make up for the lack of photos I have of the chicken I'm going to tell you about! ;)

This chicken is some of the most flavourful, moist and delicious chicken I've ever had. Annnddd its super duper easy to make! Honestly, any one can make it.

Take about 3/4 cup of chicken broth and heat it in a medium size skillet until it boils. Turn down to simmer and add two chicken breasts. Simmer the chicken breasts for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from heat, slice and sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Now you have some amazing chicken to do whatever you want with, we put it on top of salad, but you could have it in some pasta, or make sandwiches with it, or you could just eat it with some rice or potatoes and some roasted veggies. Either way, its a delicious alternative to baking chicken and is just as healthy for you. :)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Happy Cooking my Friends!

The Daring Bakers Challenge - March 2011 - Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake!

I am most definitely posting late for this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge. It has been an insane month and it seems that just yesterday I was posting about our Panna Cotta challenge. Well, surprise, an entire month has flown by and I feel like I have nothing to show for it. But at least I managed to complete the challenge! And had a good time doing it! The March 2011 Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria's Collection & Jamie of Life's a Feast. Ria & Jamie challenged the Daring Bakers to make a yeasted meringue coffee cake. I made two of the coffee cakes - the first one I stuck to the recipe and used cinnamon sugar, chocolate chips, and toasted pecans. I shaped this bread differently - more of an "S" shape then cut down the middle to show off the meringue. The second coffee cake I sprinkled on a tiny bit of the cinnamon sugar, fresh cranberries, toasted pistachios, almonds, and the zest of one lemon. I shaped this one like the wreath we were challenged to make. I found this to be a very similar technique to that of the Stollen Wreath we made at Christmastime, the only additional challenge was rolling it up without the meringue squishing out the sides! I will definitely be making this recipe over and over again with different fillings! The possibilities are endless and it really does look nice when it is baked. Not to mention the fact that the house smelled absolutely heavenly while it was baking away in the oven. It was pretty tough to wait for the loaf to cool before hacking into it!

There are a couple of parts to this recipe, the first being the sweet dough.

Yeasted Coffee Cake Dough

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 3/4 tsp salt


• 1 pkg active dry yeast


• 3/4 cup whole milk


• 1/4 cup water


• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, the yeast, and the salt. Set aside.


2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter. Heat over medium heat until the mixture is warm and the butter is melted.


3. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/ yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and one more cup of the flour and mix for 2 more minutes.


4. Switch to your dough hook and stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Knead with the dough hook for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft, sexy and elastic, adding extra flour as needed.


5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and then a tea towel. Place in a warm, draft free place until risen and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.


6. Prepare your fillings.

The next component of this coffee cake is the meringue filling. The meringue is super easy to whip up as long as you have a stand mixer that you can just turn on high and walk away!! Which I do, so of course I LOVE making meringue because it turns out perfect every time. :) Ingredients:

• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp vanilla


• 1/2 cup sugar

Method:

1. Once the dough has doubled in bulk, make the meringue. Using a very clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and the salt on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase speed to high until the egg whites and foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla and then start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Mix up 2 tbsp of sugar with 1/4 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Also prepare one cup toasted pecans and 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or as I did for my other bread - sprinkle with cranberries, pistachios, almonds and zest of 1 lemon).

The last step is to assemble the bread!

Method:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.


2. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 20x10 inches. Spread half the meringue over the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch of room on each side. Then sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar mixture, 1/2 of the nuts and 1/2 of the chocolate.


3. Roll the dough up jelly-roll style, starting on the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Bring the ends of the log around and seal together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.


4. Using a sharp knife, slash the dough evenly about 1 inch apart.


5. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for about 1 hour.


6. Preheat the oven to 350F. Take 1 egg and beat well. Brush the loaves with the egg wash just prior to placing in the oven.


7. Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.


8. Remove from oven to cooling racks until well cooled. Just before serving dust the tops lightly with cocoa powder or icing sugar (or both) to give them a pretty look. These are best if eaten fresh, the first day or two is ideal.

Yummers! They were great! The meringue sort of absorbs into the bread to make it so moist and delicious tasting. You'll have to restrain yourself from eating the whole loaf!

Thanks Ria and Jamie for such a lovely challenge! My favorite part about this challenge was the fact that it took elements that most of us Daring Bakers were familiar with and did something totally unexpected with them. I mean who would have thought of putting meringue into a sweet bread?! I know I never would have. I can't wait to have a look around at what all of the other fabulous Daring Bakers did with their challenges. Check it out if you have a second at the Daring Kitchen website. You won't be disappointed. :)

Hope everyone had a great Monday! Only 4 days left til the weekend. :) The count down is on!!!!!

Happy Baking my Friends!

Ginger Flank Steak with Wasabi Smashed Potatoes & Sesame-Soy Green Beans and Peppers

Sick of your same-old same-old week night dinner routine? Think you can't whip up a great, new recipe on a weeknight when you're tired after work? Think again!!! Rachael Ray is here to save the day with some more of her "30 Minute Meals". You will be in and out of the kitchen in 30 minutes flat and dining on a great meal that will get you out of your week night dinner rut. I guarantee it!

Give this recipe a try this week and let me know what you think! If you like it and find these kind of recipes helpful in getting you through the week, let me know and I will definitely post more. :)

Ginger Flank Steak with Wasabi Smashed Potatoes & Sesame Soy Green Beans & Peppers

Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book

Ingredients:

• 3 inches of fresh gingerroot, peeled and grated
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp tamari (aged soy sauce)
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• 5 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp grill seasoning (i.e. montreal steak spice)
• 2 lbs flank steak
• 2 1/2- 3 lbs idaho potatoes (4 large potatoes), peeled and cut into chunks
• salt
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 to 2 tbsp wasabi paste (how hot do ya like it?!)
• 3/4 lb green beans, ends trimmed
• salt
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 4 scallions, trimmed of root ends
• a handful of fresh cilantro leaves

Method:

1. Preheat a grill pan or indoor/ outdoor grill to high.
2. Combine the ginger, 1/4 cup of the tamari, lime juice, 3 tbsp of the oil, and grill seasoning in a shallow dish. Add the meat to the marinate, turn to coat evenly, and let stand for 10 minutes.
3. While the flank steak marinates, place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a oil, salt the potatoes, and cook until tender, 10-12 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot. Use a potatoe masher to mash the potatoes with the cream and wasabi to your preferred consistency and heat level. Adust the salt to taste.
4. Remove the steak from the marinade and pat dry. Grill meat for 6-7 minutes on each side, for medium-rare to medium. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice on an angle against the grain.
5. While potatoes and meat cook, cut the green beans into 2-inch pieces on an angle, and place in a skillet. Add an inch or two of water, salt it, and bring to a boil. Cook the beans for 5 minutes, then drain. Return the skillet to the burner and ad the remaining vegetable oil. Heat the pan over high heat until the oil smokes. Add the beans and bell peppers and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the remaining tamari and sesame oil, toss, and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Finely chop the scallions together with cilantro and lime zest.
6. Serve the meat over a mound of smashed potatoes and garnish with a generous sprinkling of chopped scallion-cilantro-lime zest. Serve the sesame-soy green beans and peppers alongside.

Hope you have all had a great weekend and managed to find some time to relax! I ran an 8km race this morning with some of my co-workers. It was a beautiful day and I had a great time running with some awesome people. What did you do this weekend? Whatever you did, hope it was great. :)

Happy Cooking my Friends!

Roger on 10th - Restaurant Review

While I was out of town for work, my co-workers and I tried out a great new restaurant in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. Roger on 10th was delicious - great west coast style food with wonderful service. Check out the review I wrote on TripAdvisor if you're interested. Otherwise, just check out the pictures of a couple of the dishes we ordered. Above is the herb crusted chicken with pureed potatoes and below is a lamb curry served with rice and raita. Both dishes were great! I can't wait to go back there and try out some more of their exquiite menu.

Happy Friday to all of you! Hope you enjoy your weekend and have lots of fun (or relaxation) planned. Happy Cooking my Friends!

Italian Stuffed Mushrooms with Pancetta

Well, we're over half way through the week now! Woohoo! And tomorrow is St. Patty's day - so be sure to wear something green. :) If you're entertaining this weekend or even if you just want to try out a new recipe, try out these amazing stuffed mushrooms. You will be blown away by how perfect they are. They're so flavourful with a hint of spice from a pinch of red chilli flakes. You and your guests will love them, if you even want to share.


These mushrooms are great because you can make them ahead and then just pop them into the oven right before you need to serve them. They're surprisingly easy and quick to prepare!

Italian Stuffed Mushrooms with Pancetta
Recipe from the Best of Fine Cooking Magazine, Party Food and Cocktails 2010

Ingredients

• 35-40 cremini mushrooms (about 1 1/2 lb), about 1 1/2-2 inches wide
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, more for the baking dish
• 1 1/2 oz pancetta, finely diced (about 1/4 cup)\5 medium shallots, finely diced
• 2 tsp chopped fresh sage
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs (preferably from a day-old rustic french or italian loaf)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-regiano
• 2 to 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Method:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425F. Trim and discard the very bottom of the mushroom stems. Remove the mushroom stems and finely chop them, along with 5 of the largest mushroom caps.
2. Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat for 1 minute and add 2 tbsp of the butter. When it has melted, add the pancetta and cook until it starts to render some of its fat, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the shallots, sage and red pepper flakes, cook gently until the shallots are tender, about 4 minutes (reduce the heat if shallots begin to brown). Stir in the chopped mushroom stems and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tbsp butter. When it has melted, transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs and parmigiano. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let cool slightly.
3. Butter a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the mushrooms in one layer. Arrange the mushrooms in the dish and season the cavities with salt. Stuff each cavity with a rounded 1 tsp of the filling, or more as needed. The filling should form a tall mound. You may have leftover filling; if you have extra mushrooms, keep stuffing until you run out of filling.
4. Drizzle the mushrooms with the olive oil. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve warm.

Thats that! Since its a week night and you're sure to be busy, I'll keep this post short. Hope you enjoy this fantastic recipe and take the time to give it a try this weekend. Happy Cooking my Friends! Be sure to stay tuned for some more great recipes this weekend. :)