A la cuisine!

Turn the lights off when you leave...

2007-07-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

It's done. Twenty-four hours. Sixteen dishes based on four theme ingredients. A tidy little pile of money raised for a very worthy cause.

I'm tired, y'all. So. Very. Tired. It's worth it, every minute of it.

Readers, sponsors, commenters - all of you - to you I offer my humble thanks. I wouldn't have made it without you.

Good morning and good night. Iron Chef Moo has left the building.

For David

2007-07-29T08:29:00.000-04:00

So here we are at the end of another Blogathon. It was different this time.

The anxiety from previous years was not present this time. It was replaced with something far, far better. Relief. Happiness. I don't have to worry quite so much about you now, what with you being all super-duper technologically enhanced and all that, now. Isn't modern medicine grand?

We've been friends for nearly ten years now. And thanks to modern medicine, you'll be around for me to pester for many, many more. That makes me feel a whole lot better about being in this world - it's always better when you've got your dearest friend to ward off the Bad Guys.

Happy Brand New Life, David. You take care of that new-fangled kidney thing, OK?

I did this...why, again?

2007-07-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Three years running now, I've stayed up all night like a hyperactive little kid to rustle up some funds for the National Kidney Foundation. Why?

Because they do important work.

The National Kidney Foundation works to provide eduction not just to kidney transplants and their families, but to the general public as well. They help fund research that may find a CURE for chronic kidney disorders like Alport Syndrome, offer free screenings for patients to determine if they have a chronic kidney disorder and provide emergency funding for pre- and post-transplant patients to provide for their basic needs as well as transportation to and from their treatments.

Chronic kidney disorders are dreadfully common in the US - 1 in 9 Americans suffers from a CKD. Eleven patients die every dy while waiting for a kidney - there just aren't enough donors to go around.

If you haven't sponsored yet, please consider it. Sponsorships don't close until Tuesday night. The NKF needs your help if CKDs are to be stomped out and invasive transplants are to be made obsolete. Give 'em a hand.

Nearly there

2007-07-29T07:29:00.000-04:00

We're done with the cooking, the eating, the nibbling here and there. Neither Alex nor I can even consider the idea of food right now - we've both hit that icky part of the morning where your tummy is just off and cranky and in the mood to tell you where to go. We're both going to sleep like babies, without a doubt.

Alex is talking to friends on the other side of the world, pointing them to his favorite parts of the Blogathon day. He's happy, excited, exuberant.

I'm listening to bellydance music, stretching, sliding, circling. I keep getting out of my chair to do the "three minute shimmy". Of course, people are sleeping, so I have to do it without benefit of a hip scarf. That's just not as satisfying as busting out of the char and laying down some mad hip work. *sigh* I shall, of course, cope.

And I will amuse you by giving you silly music.

Morning has broken

2007-07-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

My carriage light, with the morning glories creeping up. There's enough light to see by, but not enough to convince my carriage light to turn off.

I've already been up for more than 24 hours, having not slept well Friday night and getting up early on Saturday morning. The sun is laughing at me, asking me what I'm still doing up at such an hour on the weekend.

If he only knew...

Pork with Gorgonzola Sauce

2007-07-29T06:28:00.000-04:00

Toodling around the Intertron, I find an intriguing dish from Epicurious:

ingredients
Pork
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 3/4-pound pork tenderloins

Gorgonzola sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 4 ounces)

preparation
For pork: Oil large rimmed baking sheet. Whisk Dijon mustard, olive oil and thyme in small bowl to blend. Sprinkle pork tenderloins with salt and pepper. Heat heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pork and sear until brown all over, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer seared pork to prepared baking sheet. Spread Dijon mustard mixture over all sides of pork. (Can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. Refrigerate pork uncovered.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 150°F, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon flour and whisk 1 minute. Gradually whisk in whipping cream, white wine and chicken broth. Boil until mixture is thick enough to coat spoon, whisking frequently, about 1 minute. Add crumbled Gorgonzola and whisk until cheese is melted and smooth and sauce is reduced to desired consistency, about 5 minutes.

Slice pork and transfer to plates. Ladle some sauce over pork. Serve, passing additional sauce separately.

Trivialities

2007-07-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

General Mills developed Bisquick in 1931

In 1941 M&M's Plain Chocolate Candies debuted in six colors; red, green, yellow, orange, brown and violet. Tan replaces the violet eight years later.

Scott Lee founded his new baking company in Chicago during 1949, naming it after his 9 year-old daughter, Sara.

Bon Appétit begins as a free promotional booklet distributed through liquor stores in 1955.

You just can't get good help these days...

2007-07-29T05:26:00.000-04:00

We lost Ernie...

...but Beelzebubba is still going strong...

Cooking with Vincent Price

2007-07-29T04:58:00.000-04:00

I'll bet you didn't know Vincent Price was a gourmand. Listen to him talk about his recipes for mushrooms and stuffed eggs and roast pork sirloin with prunes, onions & red wine.

Why don't I have any of his four cookbooks on my shelf? Oh, that's right...if it's Vincent Price, I want it in AUDIOBOOK!

Mah entertainment. Let me show you them.

2007-07-29T04:31:00.000-04:00

What's keeping me amused at 4:30AM? My critters.

Yes, Bailey has a bald belly. It's because he's so fat, it sometimes drags.

Miss Lulu is not inclined to hold us high in her esteem.

Jack is very tired. So am I. It's hard to create interesting content when you're completely wiped out

A brief tutorial

2007-07-29T03:59:00.000-04:00

Mdevnich says, about the Truffles:

If you haven't got every single post planned, do a post on the rolling technique for these-- my mental image for me doing them is that the result is blobby and fingerprinty.

Yup, that's about it. There's really no getting around the fingerprinty, blobby part. That's why we have coverture! But to get as close to gorgeous as dammit...

-- Be certain the ganache is well chilled. If you're making a lot of truffles, work in small batches.
-- Use a small melonballer to get the shape started, then roll the ball quickly between your palms. You will get meltage. It's OK, just don't over-handle them.
-- Fix divots by smoothing the ganache with the back of a spoon. Small ridges will be hidden by the coverture.

Truffles are DONE!

2007-07-29T03:30:00.000-04:00

Place cocoa in small bowl. Remove the balls from the refrigerator. Using one hand, dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Roll it around in your hand, allow the excess to drip back into the bowl. Place the truffle in the cocoa. With your clean hand, cover the truffle with cocoa.

Lift it out and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining truffles. Place back in the refrigerator for 5-8 minutes to set.

Try not to scarf 'em down all at once. All that butter and cream and chocolates is supposed to be bad for you!

This concludes the Live Cooking portion of Iron Chef Moo. Sit back now, relax, and enjoy the recipes and trivia, rollin' on til 9AM.

STOP! Truffle Time!

2007-07-29T02:57:00.000-04:00

Remember that ganache we made a couple posts ago?

Using a mini ice cream scoop or two spoons, form the mixture into 1-inch balls and and place on the prepared sheets.

Chill until firm, about 10-15 minutes. While the balls are chilling, melt the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate. After it is completely melted, allow to cool slightly before continuing.

Still not Truffle time!

2007-07-29T02:28:00.000-04:00

So, a holler out to Laci, my tireless Monitor, who has been cheerfully poking me all day long to make sure I'm awake and alive.

Thanks, Laci, for taking on a tough job while running your own blog!

It's still not Truffle time yet!

2007-07-29T02:00:00.000-04:00

But we have trivia to keep us busy!

Did you know...

Ho Chi Minh once worked as a pastry chef under the legendary French master Auguste Escoffier.

Let me sum up

2007-07-29T01:31:00.000-04:00

While we're waiting to get to the next step for the Truffles, let's have a look back at what we've made today. Recall that early sponsors voted to choose four theme ingredients. We also chose to include two bonus dishes, because there were ingredients we favored that did not make the cut .

The dishes are:

Cheese

Wasabi Tiramisu
Zucchini Blossoms stuffed with fresh Feta
Fondue Moutardiere
Cahill Porter Soup

Chocolate

Chocolate Crepes with Chocolate Cream filling
Chocolate Chai Cheesecake
Chocolate Chestnut Ravioli
Classic Chocolate Truffles

Wine

Wine Sorbet
Shrimp and Scallion Linguine with White Wine Sauce
Cold Wine Fondue

Garlic

Smoked Garlic Chicken
Garlic Studded Bread
Garlic Confit

Bonus

Bleu Cheese and Leek Quiche
Pumpkin Chocolate Souffles

Sixteen dishes. Not a bad day, if I do say so myself. I can gurantee that I won't be cooking for a couple days, though!

Chocolate Truffles

2007-07-29T01:03:00.000-04:00

Last dish!!

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp light corn syrup
8 oz. chopped, semi-sweet chocolate + 6 oz. for dipping
about 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted

Mix the cream, butter and corn syrup together in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a full boil. Turn off heat. Add 8 ounces of the chopped chocolate, and gently swirl the pan. Do not stir. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, whisk slowly to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

In the meantime, line baking sheets with parchment paper.

After 45 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken quickly, keep refrigerated another 11 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

We'll come back to these in about an hour!

Some Thanks are in order

2007-07-29T00:21:00.001-04:00

Dear Sponsors, how awesome are you?? $1,409.90 for the NKF so far! Thank you for supporting this great organization!

More thanks to:

Cat, for dreaming up Blogathon lo, these many years ago. Good job, lady!

John and Erika Aylward, of The Boulevard Market and Four Corners Creamery. I can always count on you to have exactly what I need, and as fresh as can be.

Ed and Annie Gerten and the rest of the gang at Pentamere Winery. When imagination fails me, I can always count on you for ideas. And BOOZE!

Rebecca and Heidi at TGI. *heart* I'm so glad you came by to say Hi! It really means a lot. So much, in fact, that there WILL be Garlic Studded Bread at work.

Tuna McDermott, because he's my big brother and I loves him.

Maus, for running out for stuff and pimping the blog at the Vitamin Shoppe.

And...the Monsters, for being great sous chefs in spite of being really tired and cranky.

While the house cools...

2007-07-28T23:59:00.000-04:00

I took a minute to sit down with a souffle, and wow, did it hit the spot! I've only had time to nibble today, I'm really looking forward to having more than a few bites between running to and from the kitchen!

There has been so much going on besides just cooking!

Elizabeth at Another Random Memory informs me that I won a sponsor prize - she entered everyone who sponsored her into a drawing for some small thing or other, and I won the choice between a keychain or $7.95 for the NKF. Naturally, I chose the $$ for the NKF!

Elizabeth is blogging for Any Soldier. It's a terrific organization, so head on over to Elizabeth's and toss a couple bucks her way!

Earlier this afternoon, I was interviewed by Lewis and Melissa at BlogExplosion Radio! I had a terrific time and was happy to see that some fellow 'thonners heard me on the radio! Thanks for giving us a push, Lewis!

VOILA!

2007-07-28T23:27:00.000-04:00

We're going to get the house cooled off some before we reveal the final dish. Baby, it's HOT in here!

Thanks for following along today. It's great to have your company! Stick around - we've got one more dish, recipes, trivia and more!

Let's finish off those Souffles!!

2007-07-28T22:58:00.000-04:00

Souffle:
-preheat oven to 425 degrees F
- coat inside of ramekins with melted butter, then sugar
- in a large bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks, adding 1 oz sugar and cream of tartar partway through
- gently fold whites into base

- spoon mixture into ramekins
- place on baking sheet in oven
- bake ~13 minutes, until edges appear dry; do not touch
- sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately

QUICK, INTO THE OVEN!!

Everyone is banned from the kitchen for the next 15 minutes. Including the dog. ESPECIALLY the dog!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Souffles

2007-07-28T22:32:00.000-04:00

Adapted from Ben Bakes A Cake!

6 eggs, separated
2 oz plus 1 oz sugar
2 oz all-purpose flour
1 oz dark cocoa
3/4 cup cream
3/4 cup pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch of cream of tartar
melted butter and sugar to line ramekins
powdered sugar for decoration
6 or 7 ramekins

Pumpkin Base:
- warm cream and pumpkin in a saucepan
- in a medium bowl, whisk 2oz sugar into yolks. Whisk in flour and cocoa, then warmed liquid mixture
- return to saucepan. cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. do not boil
- remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
- cover with plastic wrap
- let cool to room temp or refrigerate for later and bring to room temp before using

The base looks kind of gross...but it tastes FANTASTIC! We're going to give it a quick chill in the freezer to bring it to room temp fast, and we'll get these lovelies to the oven in the next post!

Wreckage

2007-07-28T21:59:00.000-04:00

Readers from last year will remember that I had no counter space for Blogathon - we made do with a 6 foot plastic table and a wooden kitchen cart.

This year we have space, but the joint is no less trashed. This is what we're catching up on before we do the last two dishes:

I need a butler!!

Next post: a dish!

To give my boss The Happy...

2007-07-28T21:29:00.000-04:00

Hey Rebecca? Looky here!

Those nutty brown spots?

That would be the garlic, happily roasted as the bread baked. We JUST sliced this, and it's divine.

OK, dear readers, the cooking portion is nearly concluded. Two more dishes, both delectable desserts! Watch this space!

We're halfway there

2007-07-28T21:00:00.000-04:00

We've been cooking FOOLS here at Iron Chef Moo for twelve hours now, and are we ever looking forward to hanging up the aprons for the night. We're covered in flour, powdered sugar, oil spatters, chocolate smudges, rum spatters, wine spatters...and we positively REEK of garlic.

We're not quite finished cooking yet - we still have two spectacular surprises in store! We're going to take it easy for the next few posts, though, while we catch up the kitchen and get the last two dishes prepped and ready to go.

Stick around. We've still got plenty of food love comin' atcha! If you haven't sponsored yet, what are you waiting for??

Pentamere's Cold Wine Fondue

2007-07-28T20:32:00.000-04:00

2 cups full bodied red wine - Pentamere's Chambourcin is on deck tonight!
1 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons dry fruit pectin

Combine wine and sugar in a 10 inch skillet. Cook over medium high heat until the mixture boils, boil for three minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mixture is reduced to about a cup - 25 minutes or so.

Stir in pectin, cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, cool completely.

Ed recommends serving this with sharp cheddar, angel food cake or gingerbread. We're going with pound cake!

Can't wait for that fondue to cool!

Chocolate Chestnut Ravioli, continued

2007-07-28T20:02:00.000-04:00

Roll the pastry into a thin sheet, about 1/8-inch thick.

Cut out circles about 3 inches in diameter. Put about 1 tablespoon of the filling onto each circle, then fold it over and press the edges to seal them.

Deep fry the ravioli until they turn a deep, golden color. Drain on absorbent paper. Dust with powered sugar.

These are shockingly tasty, but don't get too impatient! Let them cool a little first!!

Chocolate Chestnut Ravioli

2007-07-28T19:29:00.000-04:00

For the pastry:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon water
1-1/2 tablespoons white wine
4 teaspoons olive oil

For the filling:
1/2 pound cooked chestnuts or canned chestnut puree
4 teaspoons honey
6 tbs grated bitter chocolate
3 tablespoons toasted almonds, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Oil for deep frying
Powdered sugar for garnish

Make the pastry:
Sift flour onto a pastry board, make a well in the center, and add the egg yolks, water, wine and olive oil. Work the flour from the sides into the center, mixing well to a firm dough. Knead vigorously until smooth. Cover and set aside while preparing the filling.

Prepare the filling:
Force the chestnuts or the puree through a sieve. Add the honey, chocolate, rum, almonds, cinnamon and vanilla. Blend thoroughly.

Got all that? Go have a drink, we'll be back in 30 with prep and photos!

Cahill Porter Soup

2007-07-28T19:03:00.000-04:00

This is fabulous with pumpernickel bread and a Guinness!

1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
4 1/2 cups chicken stock (I used homemade, but canned will do!)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound sharp Irish Cheddar
1/2 pound Cahill Porter Cheddar

Isn't the Cahill Porter pretty?

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Whisk in the flour, cook till thickened, then whisk in 2 cups of the stock. Heat through.

Add the shredded cheeses, whisking constantly, followed by the remaining stock. When the cheese is completely melted, whisk in the cream and heat through.

Garlic Confit

2007-07-28T18:32:00.000-04:00

What do you do with Garlic Confit?

Here Chez Moo, you eat it happily with a spoon!

3 heads garlic, cloved and peeled
olive oil
sherry
salt

Drop the peeled garlic cloves into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add olive oil til barely covered, then add sherry and salt to taste.

Cook gently over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until garlic is soft. Strain, reserving the oil and sherry mixture. Puree the garlic, adding some of the oil as necessary to make it smooth.

Mmm...when this is done, I'm putting on...

...the Smoked Garlic Chicken.

Fondue Moutardiere

2007-07-28T18:03:00.000-04:00

1/4 lb Moutardiere Swiss (acquired from the Boulevard Market!)
1/2 lb Gruyere (ditto)

1 clove Garlic
1 3/4 cups white wine (Pentamere's Chardonnay!)
1 tbs Lemon Juice
2 tbs Flour
3 tbs brandy or rum
1/4 tsp White Pepper
Nutmeg and/or Paprika to taste

Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove - add clove to pot or disgard
Heat up the White Wine & Lemon Juice - should be hot but do not boil
Reduce heat to low and slowly add cheese while stirring
Slowly add remainder of ingredients while stirring
If fondue is too loose add more cheese
If fondue is too stiff add more wine

My back hurts, I'd like to add some wine to the Chef!

Garlic Studded Bread

2007-07-28T17:35:00.000-04:00

We've been hard at work on this one...

1 pkg active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110F)
2 cups milk
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs shortening
2 tsp salt
6 cups flour

2 heads garlic, cloved and peeled.

Soften yeast in warm water.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, shortening and salt til the shortening is almost melted and the milk is at about 115F. Stir constantly. Pour into large mixing bowl, then stir in 2 cups of the flour. Add the yeast and water mxture, then stir in as much flour as you can with a spoon.

Turn onto a lightly floured board, and knead in just enough flour for a smooth, elastic dough. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half.

Punch down, turn out onto a lightly floured board. Carefully poke individual cloves of peeled garlic into the dough, then form it into a boule (round loaf) and place it on a baking sheet.

Rub with olive oil, allow to rise til nearly double.

Bake at 375F for about 50 minutes, or until tapping on the top of the loaf produces a hollow sound. Serve warm with butter and shrimp linguine!

We'll check back with the bread later!

Shrimp and Scallion Linguine in White Wine Sauce

2007-07-28T17:02:00.000-04:00

Adapted from Epicurious...

1 pound small uncooked shrimp
1 3/4 cups water
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions (Fresh from the garden!)
1/4 cup thinly sliced banana peppers (Also from the garden!)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups white wine (I'm using Celebration White from Pentamere)

1 pound linguine

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté until opaque, about 2 minutes.

Using slotted spoon, transfer to medium bowl. Reduce heat to low. Add remaining 3 tablespoons oil to same skillet. Add garlic and sauté until soft, about 1 minute. Stir in scallions, peppers, oregano. Cover and cook until scallions are soft. Uncover; add wine, lemon juice. Increase heat to high and boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Add pasta and shrimp to skillet with sauce and toss to coat. Add enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl.

Another PSA!

2007-07-28T16:33:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all, let me introduce you to my new pal, Vint DeGraw.

Vint gave me a bit of a surprise the other day, contacting me out of the blue to tell me that he had found one of my blogs - turns out, he found a post from Google Blogoscoped, run by my friend and former Google Answers colleague, Philip Lenssen. Philip had kindly posted some information about Blogathon for me...and that led Vint to me.

Vint is the Vice President of the Alport Syndrome Foundation. He's got a vested interest in finding a cure for Alport Syndrome - he's got it himself!

Vint has over 10 years experience as a volunteer leader, and is known for his dedication and organizational skills. He holds a B.S. degree in Social Science from Southern Utah University and currently manages the Tooele Employment Center for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Vint has Alport Syndrome and has had two kidney transplants, separated by 20 months of dialysis. He is married and lives in Tooele, Utah with his four children. His daughter has Alport Syndrome as well.

Vint, it turns out, has a connection to David. He asked me:

Is there any chance that his mother's name is Nancy?

I've been communicating with Nancy about Alport Syndrome for the past 2 years. If this is the same David, what a coincidence!

Yep. He knows David's Mom! How teeny the Internet has made our world!

Please do take a moment to visit the Alport Syndrome Foundation website - it's stuffed full of information, as well as support resources for Alport patients.

Don't forget to throw some support to the National Kidney Foundation! Every little bit helps!

Chocolate Chai Cheesecake - the finish!

2007-07-28T16:00:00.000-04:00

The cheesecake is out of the oven! We grated some dark chocolate over the top as soon as it came out of the oven, and it's now in the fridge for 5 hours until it is set!

Zucchini flowers, the finish!

2007-07-28T15:31:00.000-04:00

Wash the flowers and remove the stamens. Be gentle!

In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, egg, scallions salt, pepper and nutmeg. If you like, add a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Stuff each flower gently with this mixture and set aside.

Combine the tomatoes, half cup of olive oil, basil and vinegar in a blender or food processor. Puree til smooth, then pour the mixture through a wire strainer (or colander lined with cheesecloth) and set aside.

Pour the remaining olive oil into a skillet, heat til smoking, then gently fry the stuffed flowers, about 4 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.

Arrange a few on a plate, drizzle with the tomato and oil mixture.

Fried Zucchini flowers with Fresh Goat Cheese

2007-07-28T14:56:00.000-04:00

Adapted from Mario Batali's recipe!

12 zucchini flowers
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 pound tomatoes, coarsely chopped
8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

I just pulled all of these ingredients fresh from my garden!

1 cup fresh goat cheese. I have fresh soft Feta, made by John Aylward just 2 days ago!

salt and pepper (I'm using freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground telicherry pepper)
1/2 cup, + 2 tbs Olive Oil (I like Zoe)
3 tbs red wine vinegar

Got all that? Stay tuned!

Chocolate Chai Cheesecake

2007-07-28T14:31:00.000-04:00

A great twist on an old favorite...

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate chip cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine and press hard into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan

For the Filling:

1 pound softened cream cheese - mine is freshly made by John Aylward!
2 cups heavy sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ounce grated dark chocolate
1 bar Dagoba Chai chocolate, grated

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate until just smooth. Add eggs, beating at low speed til just combined, then stir in sour cream. Turn into the crust and bake at 375F for 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remember our Pentamere Cherry Wine Sorbet from earlier? It's done! And off to the freezer with it!

We'll check back on that cheesecake in an hour!

Remember that quiche?

2007-07-28T14:02:00.000-04:00

It's done...

...and we're busily preparing our next dish!

Thanks for reading along! Stay tuned for more cooking!

While the quiche is cooking, a Public Service Announcement!

2007-07-28T13:31:00.000-04:00

There's this guy...

We've been friends for nearly ten years now, and I just don't know what I'd do without him. For a little while, after he was diagnosed with Alport Syndrome, I was really worried that I might have to figure that out.

It sucked, worrying like that. The nightmares and lack of sleep really took their toll..

I don't have that worry anymore, though. Look up in the upper right of the blog. See that ticker? Three days since David's kidney transplant! He got a new start, another chance. He's going to be around for me to annoy for a good long time now, and that's possible in part thanks to the efforts of the National Kidney Foundation. (His Dad making the awesome gesture of giving him a kidney certainly didn't hurt, either!)

The National Kidney Foundation provides education and outreach services for kidney patients, transplant recipients, living donors and their families, as well as funding for important research to help treat chronic kidney diseases and make transplant procedures better.

One in nine Americans suffers from a chronic kidney disorder. That's a lot, guys. Half of those people don't even know they're sick, and half of those will find out that they are completely by accident.

That's...unacceptable. Dangerous.

It can be fixed, though. Help support the NKF's education and support services. Pledge a few dollars through the link at the top of this blog, and help save a life.

Bleu Cheese and Leek Quiche

2007-07-28T12:45:00.000-04:00

My friends, they are foodies. John and Erika Aylward, proprietors of The Boulevard Market and Four Corners Creamery in Tecumseh are no exceptions!

Erika passed along a fabulous recipe for a tasty bleu cheese and leek quiche featuring three kinds of cheese.

The fresh goat cheese in this? Made by John!

Annie, this recipe is for you. If you hurry, you can probably get down here to sample this before the Monsters eat it all!

For the crust:

1/3 cup + 1 tbs. shortening
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tbs cold water

Combine, roll out, place in 9 inch pie plate, bake at 375F for 10 - 12 minutes, until golden

For the filling:

4 leeks (cleaned and sliced ¼ “ thick, pat dry)
4 Tbs. Butter
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs
8 oz. fresh herbed goat cheese
1/4 cup Bleu d’Auvergne cheese
1/2 cup Scottish Cheddar
salt & pepper to taste

Sautee leeks in butter until tender, pour into bottom of browned pie crust. Beat eggs, milk and cheese with whisk or mixer and add salt and pepper. Pour over leeks and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes until eggs are firm and golden brown.

There will be another photo when it's done!!

Cherry Wine Sorbet

2007-07-28T12:07:00.000-04:00

My friends at Pentamere Winery in Tecumseh, Michigan, make a fabulous cherry wine. I love it so much, I like to make things out of it.

Today, we're making sorbet:

12 ounces water
24 ounces wine (or 1 bottle)
8 ounces sugar

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. When the sugar is dissolve, remove from heat. Add wine, stir thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

This is going to be a great follow up to that Smoked Garlic Chicken!

Smoked Garlic Chicken

2007-07-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

This is going to require you to get...ah...familiar with a chicken.

You need:

A smoker!

1 whole chicken, washed, patted dry and rubbed inside with salt (I use sea salt)
4 heads of garlic, peeled. Mince half, the the rest of the cloves whole.
2 whole heads of garlic, intact

Grab your chicken. (I said GRAB, you pervert. Sheesh.)

Slide your fingers underneath the skin to separate it from the meat. Stuff the minced garlic all over under the skin.

Mmmmm...garlic...

Prepare your smoker, and add two whole heads of garlic to the chips.

Set your rack to the middle, put the chicken in, rub the skin with garlic, put the lid on, and smoke until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees F. This is usually three hours, but will vary by smoker and method.

Let's finish that Tiramisu

2007-07-28T11:30:00.000-04:00

Got the cheese and cream and egg whites folded? OK!

Dip ladyfingers into rum, cover the bottom of a small dish with them. Lightly dust with wasabi powder (use a sifter). Spread one third of the cheese mixture, then dust lightly with wasabi powder.

See the pale green?

Repeat lady fingers and cheese layers twice, then cover the top with grated chocolate (we're using ScharffenBerger 99%).

Refrigerate 3 or 4 hours, until set.

Wasabi Tiramisu

2007-07-28T10:44:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, we visited Philadelphia, and went to Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant for some the best sushi and desserts ever! Wasabi Tiramisu is Morimoto-san's signature dessert. Let's see if I can do it justice.

4 eggs, separated
1/6 cup sugar
1/2 pound mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup rum
wasabi powder
grated chocolate

Blend sugar and egg yolks until the yolks are pale yellow, then slowly add mascarpone a bit at a time, blending til smooth. Continue blending and add about 1/8 tsp. wasabi powder.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites til stiff peaks form, set aside.

In another bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form.

Fold cream into egg and cheese mixture, then fold in egg whites. Be careful, so the whites don't collapse!

More to come...

:Ladyfingers

2007-07-28T10:26:00.000-04:00

Some dishes require a little advance preparation. For the next dish, a cheese dish, we'll need ladyfingers. Let's use the Cordon Bleu's recipe:

Eggs, 3 separated
6 tbs Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Cake Flour, sifted.
6 tbs Confectioner's Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then brush 2 baking sheets with softened butter and line with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites with a whisk or electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
Gradually beat in the granulated sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form again; the meringue will be glossy and smooth..

Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork, and fold into the meringue with a wooden spoon.
Sift the flour over the mixture and fold in gently.

Pipe the ladyfingers: Fit the pastry bag with the large plain tip and fill with the ladyfinger batter.
Pipe strips of batter 5 in. long and 3/4 in. wide diagonally onto the baking sheets, leaving 1 to 2 in. between each strip.
Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers; wait 5 minutes and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
Holding the parchment paper in place with your thumb, lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess confectioner's sugar.Bake without opening the oven door for 10 min.
Then, rotate the baking sheet so the ladyfingers color evenly.
Cook until lightly golden, about 5 more minutes.
Remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and let cool on a rack.

More to come....

Crepes, continued!

2007-07-28T10:01:00.000-04:00

Got crepes? Fill them with:

Filling

1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs dark cocoa
1 shot of chocolate liquer

Beat cream, cocoa and liquer on high with a hand mixer til frothy, then slowly add powdered sugar until cream is thick and begins to stiffen. (Adjust the powdered sugar to suit your own tastes, of course. You may want more for a stiffer filling.)

Garnish with:

Grated chocolate. We're using ScharffenBerger 99%!

Chocolate crepes with chocolate cream

2007-07-28T09:31:00.000-04:00

Let's have breakfast! Chocolate crepes with chocolate cream filling are a great way to start a Saturday!

To begin, we'll make the Crepes:

3/4 cup + 3 tbs flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 tbs oil
1/4 tsp salt

Blend all ingredients thoroughly with a whisk or mixer.

Heat a 6 inch skillet over medium heat, oil lightly. Spoon in about 2 tbs batter, tilting skillet to cover the bottom.

Brown on one side only, flip out onto waxed paper or paper towel. Repeat!

Meet the Chefs!

2007-07-28T09:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Iron Chef Moo! A la Cuisine! (Wait, what? You thought it was "Allez Cuisine?" Actually, it isn't. It was a typo in the book, and it has rather persisted. Listen carefully next time you watch the show!)

Iron Chef Moo is actually three people - myself (Missy)

...and my two Monsters, Alex and Ernie....

We're here today for Blogathon, a 24 hour blogging marathon to raise money for charity. Our charity of choice is the National Kidney Foundation, which we'll talk about a little later.

Blogathon is a really big deal for us this year. Three days ago, on July 25th, my best friend received a kidney transplant at Stanford. He and his Dad - his awesome living donor - are doing well. David is expected to be released from the hospital today, to convalesce at his mother's house for a few weeks before returning to his own home in Mountain View.

So what's in store today? You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so you're just going to have to watch things as they unfold. We'll be preparing 3 or 4 dishes featuring each of 4 theme ingredients chosen by some of our early sponsors - cheese, chocolate, wine and garlic! We'll also be including a couple bonus dishes featuring ingredients we had hoped would make the cut, but didn't.

Stick around. There will be live cooking with pictures, recipes and everything. We had hoped to post a few videos, but that might not happen. Ah, well.

While I'm up here rambling, let me give a HUGE shout out to my fabulous monitor, Laci! Laci is wandering around with a big poky stick to keep us all awake, as well as blogging herself for WHAS Crusade for Children. Hi Laci!!

Y'all ready for this? Yeah? Let's do it.

A LA CUISINE!!

The Auction has begun!

2007-07-28T07:58:00.001-04:00

Love Iron Chef? Wish you could BE an Iron Chef? Just want to get your mitts on some of the recipes?

Now is your chance! For the next 24 hours, you have a chance to bid on Iron Chef - The Official Book! Of course, all proceeds go to the National Kidney Foundation!

Bid here!

One hour til Blogathon begins!

The Ingredient Poll is now closed

2007-07-27T06:30:00.000-04:00

...and the theme ingredients are:

-- Cheese
-- Chocolate
-- Wine
-- Garlic

So how does this work? It does NOT work by me combining all of these ingredients in one dish. Come on, people. You've seen Iron Chef, you know how it works! Each one of these ingredients will be featured in three or four dishes designed to showcase their flavors. Some of the "also rans" will also make appearances - but I'm not going to tell you how yet!

Tune in on Saturday!

Sign-ups are OPEN!

2007-07-05T20:53:00.000-04:00

Blogathon sponsor sign ups are now OPEN! HOORAY!

Hey, brother (sister!), can you spare a dollar? Twenty-four hours of posting, forty-nine posts. A whole bunch of recipes and a good time will be had by all!

Sponsors who pledge $5 or more will receive a link in the sidebar to their blog, website or forum. Sponsors who pledge $10 or more will get to vote in the sponsors only poll to choose 4 theme ingredients from a list for Blogathon Day - Alex, Ernie and I will be playing Iron Chef, and cooking dishes throughout the day a la Iron Chef, documenting as we go with posts and photos. Want to have a say in what we cook with? Pledge $10 and I'll send you the poll link!

We'll also be auctioning off a copy of Iron Chef: The Official Book, with the proceeds of the auction going to the National Kidney Foundation.

Blogathon 2007 is a GO!

2007-06-23T07:54:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, July 28th, 2007, I will be participating in Blogathon to raise funds for the National Kidney Foundation for the third year in a row.

If you're not familiar with the NKF, they provide education and counseling for sufferers of chronic kidney disease, transplant recipients, living donors, and their families, as well as funding for research to find a cure for kidney disease.

Long time friends know that I blog in honor of my best friend, David, who was diagnosed with Alport Syndrome in November, 2003. David's transplant is imminent - he was just greenlighted for surgery, as his bloodwork indicates that the numbers are "right" (in other words, David is very sick), and is scheduled for transplant on July 25th. He's luckier than most - he has a related, living donor and will be getting his transplant at Stanford, the center with the highest one year survival rates in the nation. He's in good hands...but it doesn't make the need for research to stomp out Alport Syndrome any less important.

Sponsorships will be open soon.

Sponsors who pledge $5 or more will receive a link in the sidebar to their blog, website or forum. Sponsors who pledge $10 or more will get to vote in the soon to be published poll to choose 4 theme ingredients from a list for Blogathon Day - Alex, Ernie and I will be playing Iron Chef, and cooking dishes throughout the day a la Iron Chef, documenting as we go with posts and photos.

AND - to add to the fun, we'll be auctioning off a copy of Iron Chef: The Official Book, with the proceeds of the auction going to the National Kidney Foundation.

Watch this space! It's going to be a terrific time!