One last dessert...

...and then I promise I'll consentrate on less edible endeavours.

Ta-da! Poached Pear and Coconut Milk Rice Pudding

This looks so fancy and it's easy!  But you do need to stay in the kitchen or at least nearby.  

In other words I need to get my buzzer working in my building so I don't have to 

wait for my company down stairs.

Begin with the pears.  

Boil one liter water with 1 cup sugar and a stick of cinnamon. Stir to dissolve sugar. 

Add star anise if you have it.  I wish I did, but couldn't find it anywhere!

Lower heat and cook four peeled brown pears for 15-20 minutes. 

Remove pears and keep the liquid reducing on low for 20-25 minutes.  

It will still be very runny, so that this way you can pour it!

Meanwhile and a can of coconut milk to a liter measure and add water to fill to one liter.

Put in a pot with 1 cup Arborio rice and 1/2 cup sugar.  

Boil and then reduce to simmer allowing to cook for 25-30 minutes. 

Serve warm or room temperature, with a sprinkle of cinnamon if you'd like a Greek touch.  

Four servings of Greek won't hurt anyone, but watch out before the Trojan Horse rides in. 

A little birthday cake...

...Is totally fun and cute and thoughtful.  

If you just turned 30, this little cake may have been for you ;)

Happy Birthday!

I know it looks big but it was about 3 inches by 3 inches and about 4 inches tall.

It was sweet but not too sweet because of the glorious whipped cream between layers.

Mmmm... whipped cream!

 I had wanted to make one of Sweetapolita's cakes for two, particularly the blackberry one 

because I love blackberries, but a funny thing happened to me in the morning.

Normally before bed I take my watch off, but instead of leaving it off, 

I put it back on for some reason.  In the morning I woke up thinking I had really slept in.  

Not remembering I was wearing my watch I headed to the kitchen to check the time.  

There had been a power outage and the stove and microwave were blinking a digital uselessness, 

so that's when I actually looked at my wrist.  

My watch read 3pm, and I pretty much flew into panic mode at the speed of light; 

Company at 5pm and a cake to make before that, 

not to mention I need a shower!!!

About two minutes later I realized that if you put your watch on upside down, 

9:30 looks just like 3 o'clock... haha the joke was on me :)

Somehow I never seemed to get out of rush mode though 

and this little 5 layer treat was the outcome.

Cake: Martha Stewart Living, February 2013, slightly less than half the recipe.

Icing: Cocoa adaptaion to Sweetapolita's Vanilla version.  I made the whole recipe but ended up with twice as much as I required.  Then again it will get used and I never had the feeling I'd run out.

Filling: Whipping cream plus stabilizer for those of us without a charged gas dispenser!

A Nice Dinner

Part 1: To Begin

Fresh Warm Pretzels ...mmmm!

Dough:

2 1/4 tsp Yeast

1 1/4 cup Warm Water

2 1/2 cups Flour

2 tbsp Oil

1/2 tsp Salt

Preparation to Bake:

4 cups Water

2 tbsp Baking Soda

1 Egg

Stir yeast into water.  Let sit until it bubbles.  

Add flour, oil and salt, mixing until it holds together and kneed until elastic.  

Let sit an hour to rise.

Boil water.  Cut dough into 12 pieces, roll and twist into pretzel shape.  

Add baking soda to boiling water.  Boil pretzels in water for one minute, separately or a few at a time.  Grease cookie sheet, place pretzels on and brush with beaten egg.  

Sprinkle coarse salt over and bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.  

Enjoy with butter.

I used half white and half whole wheat flour.

Part 2:  Main Course

Basil-Anchovy Butter Steak and Beet Greens

I was very happy about how this tasted, so happy in fact, I made it again last night!

Butter, 50 grams

Olive Oil, 1 tbsp

Basil, 1 tbsp

Anchovy Paste, 1 tsp

Salt and Pepper

1 Clove Roasted Garlic, mashed

One good sized steak

Bunch beets with nice leaves

Potatos (plus butter, cream & salt for mashed)

Boil potatos.  When done, mash.

Make Butter:  Mix first 6 ingredients together until smooth

Trim, Wash and Dry Beet Leaves

Cut Steak into strips

Heat frying pan to just below maximum, 

then add a generous amount of butter, stirring to cover pan.

Add the leaves, flipping to coat in the butter.  Cook until just soft.

(I use chopsticks to do this as I find them much more dexterious than tongs...)

Place leaves on each plate.

Add more butter to the pan, coating well.  Add the meat and cook to your liking.  

In my opinion, just place all the strips into the pan one by one 

and in the same order turn them over.  Now they're done!

Place potato and meat around the leaves.

Part 3:  Dessert

Chocolate Mousse from Scratch

Next time, when my pockets are feeling more flush, I will be making this with grand marnier... 

It is a perfect dessert for my mother, who doesn't eat gluten, 

and who loves chocolate and orange together... 

Or just for anyone who likes really delicious desserts, chiefly made of chocolate.  

Or if necessary a substitute for a Valentine on Valentine's day...

(Thank you Donna Hay, June/July 2011, for rescuing me!)

I used unsweetened pure chocolate which is not terribly sweet, but tasted glorious used here.

Ingredients: 

200 grams dark chocolate, chopped or broken up

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 whipping cream

Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or gently in microwave.  Let cool somewhat.

Beat the egg whites with whisk attachment until soft peaks form.  Add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form and the mixture is soft and glossy.

Whisk 1/4 cup of the cream, the yolks and chocolate until well combined.  

Gently, fold egg white mixture through the chocolate half at a time.  

Be rather gentle and use the folding motion (no stiring!) in order to achieve a very airy texture.

Whip remaining 1 cup cream until soft peaks form.  

Again gently, fold this through the egg-chocolate mixture.  

Spoon into cups... four is fine but five or six might gaurentee you can finish it in one sitting.  

Quite rich, just the way I like men... ahem... chocolate mousse.

Just for fun!

Recent and Notable Entertainment:

If you haven't seen a sweet, honest, romantic journey with a twist recently, I suggest you watch Moonrise Kingdom.  

You'll end up loving it, I'm sure, and want to have a dress just like Suzy's... 

I think I might have to invest in saddle shoes, too... 

"No, I said what kind of bird are you?",  will make sense to you, 

and really, who shouldn't have the following essentials: binoculars, woven bag, tam, lantern

Plus Love.  Love is necessary.

Lionel Richie is currently filling my home with a sultry, motown mood.

 "Love is just a word, until someone gives it meaning"

Valentine's Day Cards

Mmmmm...Love...Muuuuha

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Since when do large movie theaters play foreign films?  I thought in general they didn't.  But I'm always open to good surprises.  I think I'll be checking out Singh vs Kaur tonight!

Meat Pies

Perhaps I had London and England on my mind because I am reading "At Home", by Bill Bryson, which is about how many of the things that either make up our home or are in our homes today came by way of rather obscure and interesting histories... An compelling read for certain.

In any case, I chose to make some mini meat pies.  

The recipe is from Donna Hay June/July 2011, and somewhat tailored to what I felt like.  

She included ham and cooked her leek in butter, where as I did not and cooked 

with olive oil because I used only one quantity of hot water pastry for my pies 

and made the rest of the meat filling into gluten and dairy free 'sausages' in a mini muffin tin.

Mine aren't as perfectly rolled out and lovely as the picture in the magazine, 

which has something to do with skill of course, but I would, should I try these pies again, 

use the pastry immediately rather than storing in the fridge before using and 

I'd make sure my edges were sealed to keep the juices from escaping!

This made 8 muffin sized pies, plus 6 'sausages'.

 

Hot Water Pastry:

150 grams Butter

2/3 cup Water

2 1/2 cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

*Plus one Egg for the Egg wash

Meat Filling:

1 Leek, chopped

3 cloves minced Garlic

2 tbsp Tarragon

500 grams minced Chicken

500 grams minced Pork

Salt and Pepper

How I Did It:

Make the hot water pastry first as it needs some time to cool:  

Melt butter in water in a pot over the stove.  

When melted stir in flour and salt.  

Stir with wooden spoon until you can pick it up and transfer to counter. 

Kneed until smooth.  Set aside.  

Cook one chopped leek in a pan of oil or butter along with garlic and tarragon, until soft.  

Grind the meat and mix with leek mixture; season with salt and pepper.  

Roll and cut pastry to your liking and stuff pies with meat mixture.  

Give an egg wash to the tops.  

Bake about an hour at 350 degrees F.

I've heard stories about bakers of meat pies visiting mortuaries for ingredients... 

Rough times... perhaps? Or just moments of devious ingenuity!? 

“Why, there they are both, baked in that pie;
 Whereof their mother daintily hath fed,
Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred.”

(Titus Andronicus) 

Thanks for that Shakespeare!!! 

And while we're on the trivia topic, the book mentioned above, 

gives the history of recipes written in the format we know and love, 

which was created by one Eliza Acton in her book, 

"Modern Cookery for Private Families".  

Perhaps because she was originally a poet we have these verse like lists and instructions.  

Well I like to think so!  

Her originality was though, was exact measurements of ingredients

 and lengths of time for cooking or baking.  

We have been carefully measuring since 1845, thanks to Miss Eliza.