Friday, July 15, 2011

Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

Earlier in the week, DD#1 and I had a friendly challenge: to beat one another's scores on a practice test of the verbal section of the GRE. As it happens, I lost the challenge. My score was respectable enough, but she squeaked past me, and so I was tasked with the penalty, and a sore one it was, to make this cheesecake from the NY Times. I even had to eat a piece of it!

First, because the recipe is crust-less, I made a graham cracker/walnut crust, which was improvised from another internet recipe, but which is essentially 1 pkg. of graham crackers (one sealed plastic pkg, not the entire box), crushed; 1/4 c. walnuts, finely chopped; 1 T. sugar; and 1/3 c. melted butter. Mix all together and press into bottom of springform pan. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely before putting batter in to bake per the rest of the recipe.

The NYT recipe calls for sour cherries, pitted and cooked, but my friendly Trader Joe's carries jarred Morello cherries, so I used a jar of these, and the cooked down syrup sufficed for the sauce in the recipe.

The batter requires one quite surprising ingredient, aside from the novelty of making a cheesecake with goat cheese:






The strange thing is that, at 1/4 t., we really didn't notice any peppery flavor. If this grabs you, consider upping the amount to 1/2 t.

Also found at TJs was the creme fraiche, and my, was it rich. Added to the goat cheese and a block of cream cheese, it was divine, and I believe, contributed to the great texture of this cake.

The recipe is a cake walk (yuk yuk), and later, with cherries spooned on top, a slice of this was an outstanding consolation prize.



DD#1 took the real deal today (did great!)

Friday, February 11, 2011

Slow-Baked Beans and Kale

Now, at first glance, that title might not entice. However, when I was first directed to the NY Times recipe by DD#1, I thought, hmmm, that DOES sound tasty. Comfort food with extra healthy ingredients. So I picked up some Great Northern beans and dinosaur kale, and over two days, I created this:


Granted, as usual, I didn't play it exactly as the NYT recipe indicated, but the result is quite satisfying. My thoughts on mods for this recipe are:
1. Soak beans overnight (rather than four hours). Rinse well and then continue with recipe, over a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
2. OK, so I don't own Herbes de Provence. Nor could I whip together a Bouquet Garni. But some dried thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf worked nicely. What I am missing with the HdP I don't know, and it seemed irrelevant when we took our first bites of the dish at dinner last night.
3. When I put the casserole in the oven the first time (I cooked it over two sessions), I started with everything BUT the extra water. I added that a bit later. Mainly the reason for this can be seen here:

My casserole was JUST a little too small to do the job, and there was overage onto a cookie sheet I'd placed below. Until much of the first liquid had cooked into the beans (or over the sides of the dish), there was no room for the water.
4. The bread crumb mixture is a great touch, one that somehow satisfies separately from the creamy beans and kale. Next time, though, I'd add some grated Parmesan.

All that said, though, I am making this puppy again, soon! Y-U-M!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Really Drunken Pork

 

Here's yesterday's culinary masterpiece: Really Drunken Pork. I used both tequila (to deglaze the pan when I seared the pork before cooking) and beer (during the oven time), and the resulting pork stew tastes divine.






Really Drunken Pork
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and set aside.

1 pork tenderloin
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. canola oil
juice of two limes
1/4 c. tequila (hell, put in 1/2 cup!)
3 garlic cloves (not peeled)
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
1 bottle beer (I used Corona)
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. cooked brown rice
salt to taste

Roll tenderloin in flour until well coated and sear in the oil, heated in a frying pan. Turn frequently to get all sides browned. With tequila, deglaze pan and add lime juice. Cook briefly, until liquid is reduced by half. Put pork and pan scrapings into Dutch oven, add garlic cloves, chopped onion, and beer. Cover and cook 1 hour, and remove lid and cook another 15 minutes or so.

While pork is cooking, prepare the following salsa:
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 onion, finely choppped
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
salt to taste

When pork is done, remove pan from oven. Remove garlic cloves, squeeze out garlic, and the cooked garlic back to pan. Remove pork to a plate to cool, and use a stick blender to puree the remaining juices, vegetables, and beer broth. Chop pork and return to pan. Add one can of cooked pinto beans, and cooked brown rice. Add salt if needed. Reheat gently.

Put pork stew on plates, and add a generous helping of salsa and a dollop of sour cream. I know the picture shows a glass of red wine, but it's best eaten with a cold beer. ;^)
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