A Naked Banana Lacks Appeal
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. ~Groucho Marx I don’t mind eating healthy. I enjoy fruits and veggies prepared in numerous ways. But I must say …Read More….
Tag: recipes
Police? I’d Like to Report a Stroberry..
Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward. ~Terri Guillemets Guess what? Summer is creeping up quick! …Read More….
C.R.E.A.M. Cheese
The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath.
If you’re wondering why the title is phrased like that, then you need more Wu-Tang in your life.
Cream Cheese is one of those ingredients that can do many things. Add some sugar and you have great fillings for puff pastry, keep on going with eggs, milk and flour, and you can make one of God’s true blessings on this earth – Cheesecake. Or you can add some salt, herbs and garlic and make a spread for wraps and bagels, which coincidentally, is what I did.
This is another one of those recipes that I picked up when I first started cooking. Simple, quick, and tasty, what more could you ask for? If you enjoy a good wrap or a savory bagel in the morning, this is going to be your new best friend:
Cilantro Cream Cheese:8 oz ~ Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons ~ Heavy Cream or Milk
1 tablespoon ~ Cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon (roughly 2 cloves) ~ Garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons ~ Lime Juice
To Taste ~ Salt and Pepper
I love the taste of Cilantro, but I know not everybody does. It’s one of those “love it or hate it” flavors, so it’s understandable if you don’t want to use it. This is a pretty flexible recipe so if you have a fresh herb you would rather use in place of Cilantro, give it a shot. Just keep in mind the strength of the herb and how much you put in.
- First off, make sure you leave the Cream Cheese out for a bit so it can soften. This will make working with it a lot easier. If you’re like me and lack the patience or memory to leave it out, just pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it becomes easy to work with.
- While it’s softening, chop the Cilantro and Garlic and set aside. Once the Cream Cheese is ready, add the Heavy Cream or Milk (whichever you have on hand, but Heavy Cream is preferred), and slowly whisk it until it is incorporated nicely.
In case you’re wondering, the cream is added to keep the product spreadable straight out of the fridge, which is a big deal since it’s a spread and all.
- When the Cream/Milk is mixed in, add the chopped Cilantro, Garlic and Lime Juice and stir it all together. Add salt and pepper to your liking.
And that is that. Keep it refrigerated and it should last a few weeks. This is good enough to sandwich in a tortilla wrap and eat it just like that. I should know, I buy tortilla wraps for actual wraps and instead I wind up eating them with just the spread. And you know what, I don’t feel any guilt whatsoever.
Orange You Excited About This Cake?
California is a fine place to live – if you happen to be an Orange. ~ Fred Allen I don’t know what it is, but ever since we moved to North Carolina, I’ve had a much deeper …Read More….
The Sauce
I don’t think America will have really made it until we have our own salad dressing. Until then we’re stuck behind the French, Italians, Russians and Caesarians. …Read More….
Buckle Up.. It’s the Slaw
Welcome to the Church of the Holy Cabbage. Lettuce pray..
~Unknown
Hello to the first day of Spring!!
Aside from a few of those in the North, it’s been a rather mild Winter for most of us. But as of today it is officially behind us and a season full of new beginnings is set and ready to bloom. So what better way to ring in Spring than with an easy recipe for a tangy, refreshing side that is full of fresh flavors? Alright, there may be a few better ways, but not many!
In the middle of Orlando, located on Universal Studios property, I used to work at a huge Hawaiian themed hotel, which, out of respect, shall remain nameless. This post isn’t about the nightmare of working there, so don’t grab your popcorn just yet. No, this is about one of the few recipes that stuck with me since abruptly leaving in a fit of rage with my middle finger raised high quitting there many years ago. Just thinking back to those times makes me want to shut off the lights and rock back and forth in a corner, so excuse me if I don’t dwell and share an extensive back story about this one.
I’m not sure of the origins of this recipe. I don’t know who first created it, or if it’s even something that is traditionally made in the region it claims to be from. I do know that it is rather tasty, borderline healthy, and goes great in wraps:
Asian Slaw:1 head ~ Nappa Cabbage, shredded
1 ea ~ Red Bell Pepper, julienned
1 cup ~ Carrots, shredded
¼ cup ~ Cilantro and/or Mint, chopped
2 cups ~ Apple Cider Vinegar
½ cup ~ Sugar
To Taste ~ Salt & Pepper
See? Easy peasy Japanesey! If you do a search for Asian Slaw you will find a bunch of recipes with ingredient lists longer than your arm, consisting of just about every Asian-esque ingredient known to man: Soy sauce, sesame oil, bok choy, bean sprouts, ginger… I’m sure it all tastes great and contribute nicely to the slaw, but it’s a side dish. And I’m not going to be buying all these things I don’t normally have on hand for just a side dish. Out of your freaking mind…
No, this is totally easy and consists of things you could use for everyday cooking, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you have most of it on hand already. It may not be an “official” Asian Slaw, but who the hell cares? Well, besides The Food Police, but nobody really likes them anyway. The original recipe called for mint, which is one of those herbs I love but won’t get much use out of it if I buy a bunch. So if you want to spring for it or have it already, use it, it adds a whole other level of freshness to the slaw. I replaced it with cilantro because it’s easier and way cheaper to buy. If you want both, do both! Also on the original recipe was fish sauce, but even when I was making this at the hotel I skipped the fish sauce. Some things just should have never been invented.
If you’ve never heard of or seen Nappa Cabbage, you can find it in most produce departments, and it looks like this:
It’s crisp and great for making slaw. You’ll also get a lot of product out of one head.
- First you’ll want to find a container big enough that you will be able to comfortably toss the slaw. Now get a mixing bowl and pour in the Apple Cider Vinegar and the Sugar. If you’ve never worked with Apple Cider Vinegar before, I would not encourage your curiosity to take a sip. It’s a little strong for my taste, although, if you do, let me know how it turns out. Whisk the Vinegar and Sugar together and set the bowl aside. Then slice your Nappa Cabbage in half length wise (like pictured above), and clean it! Run cold water over it and make sure you get it in there, you don’t want any legged or winged surprises.
- Once it’s clean set it flat on your board and cut it in half length wise again, then start chopping it from the top. You’re looking for a nice small thickness to the shreds, not something super thin. Think coleslaw. Once the entire cabbage is shredded, cut the Red Pepper julienne (thin strips) to match the cabbage. Once the pepper is sliced, you can open up your bag of shredded carrots and throw a cup (or same amount as the pepper) into the bowl. …What? You think I’m going to waste time shredding a carrot? Do you know me?? Next, chop up your Cilantro and/or Mint and throw it in with everything else.
- Now wash your hands because you’re about to get dirty. Get the dressing, and whisk it once more to make sure all the sugar is incorporated, and just pour it into the slaw. Roll up your sleeves and start mixing, toss the slaw well and make sure everything is properly distributed and is evenly dressed. Once it’s all mixed, give it a taste.
If you feel it is way too tangy you can add more sugar, as well as salt and pepper to taste, but you have to make sure you toss it really well again so what you just added can get into the dressing. Once you’re comfortable and happy with it, wrap it up and put it in the fridge. It’s nice and fresh now and totally fine to enjoy, but it’s going to be able to blend and get a lot more happier overnight. It’s also going to shrink down once it starts soaking up the liquid. So the next morning you can probably transfer it into something smaller.
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| Notice how much it shrunk down in just a few hours. |
I absolutely love this in a grilled chicken wrap, or even fish or shrimp. You can also go nuts and throw it on a sandwich. What you do with it is your business.
And that’s it! As I said, I’m not totally sure if this Asian Slaw is even Asian, but it is yum and not to mention a perfect way to welcome Spring in to your kitchen!
Pie Hard: With a Vengeance
Mmmm… Pie Pants… ~Homer J . Simpson Nothing is homier than a freshly baked pie. Many believe that …Read More….
Pi r square… No, Pie r round!
When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it’s not, mmmmmmmm, boy. …Read More….
So Easy to Whip Up, You Can’t Beat It
Whipped cream isn’t whipped cream at all unless it’s been whipped with whips. Everybody knows that.
Let me guess…
You buy whipped cream in an aerosol can. No? Ok, then you buy it in a tub in the freezer section. Yeah, I knew it; I could smell your kind from across the internet. I mean I don’t blame you; it’s easy, just defrost and enjoy. Dip some strawberries, frost a cake, sandwich two chocolate chip cookies together, it’s convenient, I get it.
Well, like 95% of everything else we buy that is convenient for us, have you ever stopped to look at the ingredients of what you’re consuming? Ok, fair argument; if you’re sandwiching two chocolate chip cookies together with some “whipped topping”, I doubt you care about what is in it. Touché, sir. Well to quote a Wired Magazine article:
“A delicious blend of sugar, wax, and condom lube… At 41 cents per ounce, you’re buying mostly water and air for just over twice what it would cost to whip real cream yourself.”
Sugar, wax, and condom lube. Mmmm, how do those strawberries taste now? Want the full ingredient list? Be my guest, although I should warn you, if you’re a fan of this stuff, ignorance is bliss.
Don’t feel bad, I used to eat this stuff all the time. Like we agreed, it’s convenient. Although, considering what I just read, I don’t know about you, but this stuff isn’t going into my body anymore. Nope, if I’m getting fat, it’s going to be from something a lot more natural and better tasting. A man’s gotta have standards.
I hope I got the attention of whipped cream, or “whipped topping” lovers, out there. Because here’s a little secret: Whipped cream… it’s not complicated to make. It’s not rocket science, and it certainly doesn’t require 20 or more ingredients. If you make whipped cream at home, I promise you, it’ll be 100 times better than anything you buy in the store. Not only that, you’ll feel so much better about eating that chocolate chip sandwich:
Whipped Cream:1 pint ~ Heavy Whipping Cream
3 generous tablespoons ~ Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons ~ Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon ~ Cocoa Powder, sifted (optional)
Yeah, it’s seriously that easy. This recipe is going to give you about 4 good servings of whipped cream, about enough to cover a decent sized pie. Also something of note: Another name Whipped Cream can go by is Chantilly Cream or Crème Chantilly. There are a few out there who consider them totally different, with the distinction being that Chantilly Cream is sweetened with sugar and vanilla, when Whipped Cream is not. But those are probably the same people who call a tomato a to-ma-to. So don’t listen to them.
- Ok, first and foremost, whether you’re doing it in a stand mixer, using a hand mixer, or straight up whisking it by hand (old school, son), take the bowl you’re using and the attachment/whisk, and put it in the freezer for like 15 minutes.
There are a few benefits to this: First, the colder the cream, the easier it whips up. If the cream is not cold it’s going to be almost impossible to incorporate the air needed. And second, since it’s colder, you’re incorporating more air, and more air means you’ll create a higher volume of fluffiness. So cold, cold, cold! If you had a walk-in freezer, I’d tell you to whip the cream in there. That’s how serious this is.
- While your equipment is cooling, you can make sure your powdered sugar is free of any lumps and clumps (this especially goes for cocoa too if you’re using any). Some would say it’s necessary to sift, but I get away with never doing it. If you don’t knock out those clumps though, there’s a chance you’ll have little pockets of powdered sugar in your whipped cream. Not cool, man.
- Once everything is chill, pour the Heavy Cream into the bowl and start beating/whisking. Don’t go away and do something because you’ll come back to a bowl full of butter if you don’t watch it. Keep an eye on it and watch for the different stages it goes through, not only to know when to continue with the recipe, but because it is cool to watch a liquid turn into a semi-solid before your eyes. You’ll notice the cream changing, becoming thicker and thicker, and once it reaches soft peaks, stop whisking.
Soft Peaks is an official term when speaking of whipped cream or egg whites. It’s when you can notice the cream taking shape, but not completely holding it yet. And Stiff Peaks is when the cream is sturdy enough to keep a shape. The way to tell the difference is by dipping the whisk into the cream, and pulling it straight up. You’ll see a little mountain (get it? Mountain… Peaks? I can’t make this stuff up) of fluffy goodness with the tip either flopped over and looking lazy (Soft Peaks), or pointing straight up and holding it’s shape (Stiff Peaks).
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| Soft Peaks |
- At this point, you’ll want to add the Powdered Sugar and Vanilla Extract, also the Cocoa Powder if you’re using it.
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| Stiff Peaks |
You’re adding the sugar, vanilla and possibly cocoa at this point and not in the beginning because just like the cold bowl, you’re letting the cream get to the highest volume it can reach. If you add stuff to the cream before you start whisking, it’s going to be harder to incorporate more air into it. So at this stage, depending on the quality and temperature, the cream should have near doubled in size, which is ideal, so it’s the perfect time to add the flavor with no fear of holding back the fluff.
- Continue whisking and be vigilant because once you reach soft peaks, it doesn’t take much to attain stiff peaks. If you’ve been watching, you will definitely notice the difference. Once you hit stiff peaks you’re done. Confirm it by lifting the whisk up to see your pointy, thick and fluffy awesomeness. You don’t want to go any further because you can easily over beat the cream and break it down until you make butter. So unless you’re running low and love buttered toast in the morning, you’re done.
It can keep in your fridge for a day, maybe even good the next day depending on the conditions. If you see it getting runny or losing its hold, just whisk it again and it should perk right up like new.
There you go, Whipped Cream! Taste it, love it, rub it on your body, I don’t care. Just do us both a favor and don’t buy that ready made stuff anymore. I’m sure you agree how insanely simple this is, not to mention better for you.
Kind of.