Sometimes we like to take a little trip, take a little trip in our kitchen to foreign lands of flavor induced mind altering tastes; these absolute sensations are right there, yes, right over there, on your next grocery list.  Got Green Curry!

Thai is one of those cuisines that will always have a special place in my heart!

The first time my parents exposed me, yes I say exposed, uncovered, open to the elements, out in the open, because we were always trying out different foods in my family. Yes, that’s me, stripped of any and all pedestrian in me, Thai food was sitting in front of me as a young lad of about 12 or so, and I ordered the spicy stuffed squid, no chicken nuggets for me! I have always had a fascination for the exotic and unusual. Can you see your 12 year old ordering stuffed spicy squid today? I thought so!

The creamy coconut milk and spicy green curry paste in this sauce creates an exotic Thai induced culmination that just screams the body electric! Pow! Zing! Tasty! Trembling flavor madness!

With a fresh batch of jasmine rice pilaf and a side of cucumber, pineapple, and mint salad this light dish is sure to please your traveling bon vivant in you!

Happy tasty travels!

Serves four hungry foodie travelers! The salad and rice should be made ahead.

Ingredients
For the chicken curry sauce
		Cooking spray
1	Cup	Onion, julienne
1	Tbsp	Green curry paste
1	Cup	Chicken stock
1	Cup	Light coconut milk
2	Cups	Roasted chicken breast, thinly sliced
¼	Cup	Cilantro, fresh, chopped
4	Slices	Lime or lemon wedges
4	Sprigs	Cilantro
For the salad
2	Cups	Seeded cucumber, chopped
1	Cup	Pineapple, chunks
½	Cup	Green onions, sliced
3	Tbsp	Mint, fresh, chopped
1	Tbsp	Rice vinegar
1	Tbsp	Oyster sauce
For the rice
2	Cups	Water
1	Each	Bay leaf
½	Tsp	Salt
1	Cup	Jasmine rice
¼	Cup	Red peppers, diced

 

Procedure Steps:
For the chicken sauce
1.	Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, then coat with cooking spray. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, then add and stir in the curry paste.
2.	Add the chicken stock and coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
3.	Add in the roasted chicken breast and heat through, or about 3 minutes.
4.	Portion out evenly into four bowls and garnish with the lime or lemon wedges and the chopped cilantro.
For the salad
1.	Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and chill until ready to serve.
For the jasmine rice
1.	Bring water, bay leaf and salt to a boil. Add the rice and reduce heat to a low simmer for 20 minutes. Turn of heat and allow to rest five minutes. Stir in red peppers and serve.

 

Bon appétit!
CCR
=:~)
©2011 CCR

On January 22, 2011 I received a package from Foodbuzz to promote the Alexia products as part of the Tastemaker program. The package included a coupon for one free bag of their frozen vegetable product, along with a nice apron and a well drafted letter.

With my Alexia coupon gently nestled into the “Freezer” section of my coupon binder we made several attempts to find any Alexia products in our local grocer freezer sections, we tried Harris Teeter, Lowe’s, Kroger, and Wal-Mart, to no avail. About a month after getting the coupon, we finally stumbled upon some Alexia frozen products at our local Super Target. I selected the “Spicy Sweet Potato” Julienne Fries with Chipotle Seasoning”.

Several days later we baked them in the oven per the package directions and served them as a side to our hot dogs. These are some really good tasting sweet potato fries; the seasoning is just right, not too spicy, and not bland like you find some sweet potato fries on the market today.  I would recommend these to anyone who likes to buy frozen sweet potato fries.

Thank you Foodbuzz and Alexia for the coupon and the apron!

Bon appétit!
CCR
=:~)
©2011 CCR

Foodbuzz Newman’s Own Video Feature

So, about a month or so ago the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program offered me a chance to propose a menu using Newman’s Own products. And about a week and half ago I recieved a box in the mail with a Flip Video HD camera and three jars of pasta sauce and three bottles of salad dressing. Thank you Newman’s Own and Foodbuzz for the great products.

Here is the recipe proposal, recipe, and video!

Recipe Proposal: Recipe: Newman’s Own Grilled Flank Steak
Using Newman’s Own Family Recipe Italian Salad Dressing as part of the marinade for flank steak, this is allowed to marinate 10 minutes. Then the marinated flank steak is grilled for about 4 minutes per side, or until medium rare. In the meantime, a sauce is made utilizing some of Newman’s Own Cabernet Marinara Pasta Sauce to create a flavorful and tasty dish with a side of angel hair pasta.

Newman’s Own Grilled Flank Steak with Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients
For the flank steak
1	lb	Flank steak
¾	Cup	Newman’s Own Family Recipe Italian Salad Dressing
2	Tbsp	Green onions, chopped
1	Tbsp	Honey
1	Tsp	Ginger, ground
2	Tbsp	Soy sauce
2	Tsp	Orange zest
2	Tsp	Cajun Spice Blend
2	Cloves	Garlic, minced
For the pasta
½	Tbsp	Olive oil
½	Lb.	Angel hair pasta, prepared to package directions
2	Cups	Newman’s Own Cabernet Marinara Pasta Sauce, heated
To taste		Salt and fresh black pepper
2	Tbsp	Fresh rosemary, chopped
½	Cup	Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Procedure Steps:
1.	Trim any fat from the flank steak, and then set aside inside a gallon sized zip-type bag.
2.	In a small bowl combine the remaining flank steak ingredients and stir well until the honey is dissolved. Add the marinade ingredients to the bag with the flank steak. Allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes or overnight if time permits.
3.	Remove flank steak from marinade and allow it to drain. Prepare your grill with hot coals, or use a very hot griddle, or heat the broiler for indoor cooking. Sear the flank steak for about four minutes on each side. Remove from the heat and allow the flank steak to rest for about five minutes, then slice into thin strips across the grain.
4.	While the flank steak is grilling, for the pasta heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the prepared angel hair pasta, and toss to coat well. Then add the heated marinara pasta sauce and stir well to coat the pasta. Season with the salt and fresh black pepper to taste
5.	Transfer the pasta to a serving platter and garnish with the fresh chopped rosemary and the fresh grated Romano cheese.

To Serve: Portion four ounces of the flank steak and one-quarter of the pasta on each serving plate. Garnish with more fresh grated Romano cheese and fresh chopped rosemary

Yield: 4 servings

Here are some great tips for making your own videos while cooking in your kitchens!

Video Tips
Tips on making videos by Lauran Zabaneh: http://www.youtube.com/user/foodbuzz#p/u/2/OhyAaQseYIo

• De-clutter your kitchen
• Pre-heat oven or stove
• Prepare and measure out all ingredients before you begin to film
• Have fun
• Don’t be afraid to be a little silly
• Keep things light hearted
• Focus on the recipe steps, don’t show the full time it takes to cook a dish
• Use transitions to show a change in time
• Getcreative

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Bon appetite!
CCR
=:~)
©2011 CCR

King Cake, Traditional Recipe: v3.02

Over the years I cannot tell you how many King Cakes have passed through the oven doors in the kitchens I’ve manned. But what I can tell you is the recipe has evolved over the decades since the first time I baked one in the 1980’s. I have updated the recipe once again, and this time the base dough has changed, as a result since this is the third major update in my recipe I have documented it as version 3, and the .02 is in reference to the icing recipe has also been updated.

Before I go into the strategy behind the updated King Cake recipe, I want to talk about how recipes change and morph throughout their origin.

Recipes evolve over time, especially those handed down from generation to generation within families. Some recipes change because the original ingredients are no longer available, or other suitable substitutions have been introduced to the marketplace. In some instances the methods may change, or the utensils and equipment are different.

Have you ever taken a look at some very old cookbooks from the turn of the 18th and 19th century? Google books offer digital copies of hundreds of old cookbooks, and they are available for previewing in your Internet browser. Take for example the preview available of The White House Cookbook. Scroll down to page 23 and look at the recipe for Cream of Spinach in the soup section, an excerpt is displayed below:

“Pick, wash, and boil enough spinach to measure a pint, when cooked, chopped, and pounded into a soft paste. Put it into a stewpan with four ounces of fresh butter, a little grated nutmeg, a teaspoon full of salt. Cook and stir it about ten minutes.”

The recipe goes on to incorporate an additional two quarts of “strong stock” then boiled and strained, and then back onto the “fire” again, and when the boiling point is reached again mix in more butter and a little sugar.  While this particular book is copyrighted 2010, some of the original recipes in The White House Cookbook date back to over a hundred years ago.

This recipe utilizes assumption and old equipment; first, you have to know how much fresh spinach when cooked down and mashed into a soft paste will yield a pint, which is two cups. Then you have the technique of pounding the cooked spinach in a mortar and pestle, this is a lot of work. Thank goodness for food processors we have today! Then you add some butter and spices, cook some more in the “stewpan” and then strain all this too! Imagine how straining back in the late 1800’s must have been, because I can tell you, straining chopped spinach today is no easy feat! And then you have to know what kind of “fire” they are using! Was it coal, wood, oil, or gas that fueled the White House kitchens stovetops when this recipe was developed?

When you boil it down, the foundation of cooking is the simple act of applying heat to any edible foodstuff. How the heat is applied, what was used to apply the heat, and how the ingredients are prepped gets into the way recipes evolve over time.

Now, onto the King Cake recipe and the next version, as you well know I have already published my King Cake ~ The Recipe, which is actually my second version. It gets a lot of hits and continues to build in popularity for about the six weeks leading up to Mardi Gras each year. By the way, Mardi Gras is next week, Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

In the ongoing and continuing task of improving my recipes, I have changed the dough preparation in the king cake somewhat from the previous version, utilizing a cinnamon bread dough type recipe that has a moister consistency and does not dry out as quickly is the motivation behind the base dough change. The lemon juice in the original recipe has been replaced with orange juice in the new recipe, and a thicker icing / frosting has replaced the thinner version. Thus the 3.02 designations, meaning the third version of king cake dough, and the .02 reference for the new icing / frosting. I have also added images for each step of the process in this version.

 

Ingredients
For the dough
1	Packet	Dry yeast
¼	Cup	Warm water (110° F)
1	Cup	Milk, scalded
½	Cup	Sugar, granulated
¼	Cup	Butter, room temperature
1 ½	Tsp	Salt
1	Tbsp	Orange zest
¾	Cup	Orange juice
5 ½	Cups	Unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted, divided
2	Large	Eggs, room temperature, beaten
For inside the dough coating
½	Cup	Sugar, granulated
1	Tbsp	Cinnamon, ground
2	Tbsp	Water
For the egg wash
1	Large	Egg, beaten, room temperature
1	Tbsp	Water, room temperature
For the tinted sugar topping
1 ½	Cups	Sugar, granulated, divided
¼	Tsp	Purple food color
¼	Tsp	Green food color
¼	Tsp	Yellow (gold) food color
For the icing / frosting
1	Cup	Confectioners’ sugar (powdered)
4	Tsp	Lemon juice

Step-By Step Procedures:
1.	For the dough: In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water, stir well to allow the yeast to start working, and then set it aside. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water
2.	In the bowl of an upright mixer combine the scalded milk, sugar, butter, salt, orange zest and orange juice, mix with the wire whip attachment on slow speed until the butter is melted, and then allow this to cool until lukewarm, or around 110° F. Mix with the wire whip attachment on slow speed
3.	Change out the wire whip attachment on the mixer and replace it with the dough hook, then stir in 2 cups of the flour and beat on medium speed until smooth. Turn off the mixer and add the yeast mixture and the beaten eggs. Turn on the dough hook and allow this to mix again until well incorporated. Add 3 more cups of flour a cup at a time until the dough is not sticky and has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Continue on slow speed with the dough hook for about 5 minutes to knead the dough. And add a little more flour if it looks like the dough surface is sticking to the bowl again or if it looks too moist. Add 2 cups, mix with dough hook Add the yeast mixture, mix with dough hook Add the beaten eggs, mix with dough hook Add 3 cups flour 1 cup at a time, mix with dough hook Mix 5 minutes until smooth
4.	Turn the dough into a well greased large bowl and be sure all sides of the dough are coated with a think film of oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp but well rung kitchen towel. Place in a warm spot between 90° – 110° F. Allow the dough to rise and double in size. About 90 minutes. Dough in large greased bowl for first rising, 90 minutes Dough doubled in size
5.	Punch down the dough then transfer it to a floured work surface, then roll it out into a rectangle that measures about 14”x 28” inches, it should be about a ½ inch thick. For inside the dough coating: combine the sugar and cinnamon then gently sprinkle that over the entire surface of the dough. Then using a sprayer or spoon, sprinkle the water and then smooth it over the dough surface with the back of a spoon. Dough on floured surface Shape into rectangle
6.	If you have a filling (see below) this is the time to add the filling just inside one long edge of the dough. Then in jelly roll fashion, roll up the dough until you have about four inches of dough left. For the egg wash: Then using a pastry brush, coat the final area of exposed dough with the egg wash. Then finish with the rolling. Shape the dough into a complete ring or circle, and use more egg wash to attach the two ends together. Transfer the rolled dough ring to a greased sheet pan. Then brush more egg wash on all the exposed surfaces of the dough. Cinnamon sugar sprinkled on dough Chocolate filling added Roll the dough Shaping the dough and egg wash before second rising
7.	Place the sheet pan in a warm spot between 90° – 110° F. Allow the dough to rise and double in size again. About 60 – 90 minutes. Dough after second rising, ready to bake
8.	Preheat oven to 375° and bake for 10 minutes, then turn heat down to 350° and bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when poked through the largest section of the cake.
9.	Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack. Baked King Cake cooling on wire rack
10.	For the tinted sugar topping: While the cake is cooling prepare the tinted sugars by taking three separate bowls with ½ cup of sugar in each. Then take the purple food color and slowly drop a dot or two at a time into the sugar. Using a spoon stir to mix and spread the color around until all sugar is tinted. Add more food color as needed. Repeat the process for the green and then the yellow as well. Set the tinted sugars aside. Note: To make purple food color combine equal parts blue and red food color, or about 1/8 teaspoon each to make the ¼ teaspoon needed.
11.	For the icing / frosting: Combine the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice in a deep bowl whisking until smooth. If icing is too stiff whisk in ½ tablespoon water at a time until spreadable.
12.	Place cooled cake onto a serving platter or heavy cake cardboard and coat the top and sides of the cake with the icing. I like to dip my fingers into the icing and then drizzle it over the top of the cake. While the icing is still fresh immediately sprinkle the tinted sugars in individual rows about 2 to 3 inches wide of the purple, green and gold (yellow). Icing the King Cake

If preparing in advance allow the icing and tinted sugars to set up a bit then cover with a plastic bag or plastic wrap. Typically a King Cake can last 2-3 days un-refrigerated.

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Note on Fillings: If filling the cake you will want to have your filling prepared prior to step 6 where you are rolling the dough. In fact, for filled King Cake dough’s I will roll the dough out similar to cinnamon roll or Danish dough style then the dough will get rolled up around the filling jelly roll style. Then the filled dough is added to the baking sheet pan and looped into the circle and pinched before the second rising and baking stages. Typical fillings include sweetened and softened cream cheese, cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, lemon filling, custard filling, and my favorite is a double chocolate cake filling. Typically any pie or doughnut filling will work; you are only limited by your imagination.

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Double Chocolate Filling
I have not found anyone else who makes a chocolate filled King Cake. So I am sharing my version of double chocolate filling here.

Ingredients
4	Oz	Sugar
16	Oz	Chocolate cake crumbled
8	Oz	Chocolate chips, mini
1	Oz	Eggs, beaten (1 medium)
1 ½	Oz	Butter, melted
1	Tsp	Vanilla extract
3	Oz	Milk, as needed

 

Procedure Steps
1.	Combine the sugar, chocolate cake crumbs, and chocolate chips in a large bowl
2.	Combine the eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract in another bowl, and then add this to the crumbs and sugar mixture. Blend in enough milk to make it a smooth and pudding like consistency.

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Cream Cheese and Fruit Filling
1	Can	Cherry, apple or apricot pie filling (16-ounces)
8	Ounces	Cream cheese, softened
¼	Cup	Sugar
2	Tsp	Flour
2	Each	Egg yolks
1	Tsp	Vanilla extract

Procedure Steps

1.	If necessary, drain extra juice from pie filling. Mix the softened cream cheese with the sugar, flour, egg yolks and vanilla. Spoon an inch-wide strip of fruit filling the length of the dough, about 3 inches from the edge. Spoon the cream cheese mixture alongside the fruit, about 3 inches from the edge. Brush the exposed dough with egg wash.
2.	Fold or roll one edge of dough over the cream cheese and fruit in jelly roll fashion, and continue to roll the dough to the end, and then brush with a little egg wash. Gently place one end of the filled rolled dough onto the buttered baking sheet pan, and then ease the rest of the roll onto the pan, joining the ends to form the loop or circle. Add more egg wash to “glue” the ends together. And then pick up from step 6 in the dough procedures above.

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Bon appetite!
CCR
=:~)
©2011 CCR