A home cooking Blog's: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Chicken liver mousse

Chicken livers are one of those foods that people either love or hate. Some people have never tasted them and are not willing to try. They either incite "Ew, gross!" or "Mmm, yes." 4 years ago, I was in the "Ew, gross camp, I could not even taste a bit. Thanks to my husband, things started to look up for liver and me. The first time he begged me to taste it, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but one bite and I was completely taken.

This silky-smooth pâté is really simple to make. The chicken livers are briefly simmered in white wine before they're blended with butter in a food processor.

I found the recipe for this easy and delicious pâté at Cristina, frombatoparis, a wonderful blog that I've been following since I started blogging. Cristina lives in Paris too and I can always find fantastic recipes that I can't wait to try on her website. If you haven't already met her I encourage you to stop by for a visit.

I loved this mousse. Thanks, Cristina!

Ingredients:
500 g (1 lb) chicken livers, trimmed
250 g (1 cup) salty butter, at room temperature,
150 ml (5 fl oz) dry white wine
3 tablespoons port wine
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch pink peppercorn
salt & pepper (freshly ground)

Cut the livers in halves. Put them in a saucepan with the white wine over medium heat. Let it simmer for 7/8'. Place the livers in a strainer. Let cool.

Then, put the livers in a food-processor, together with the butter, previously cut in pieces, the port wine, nutmeg and a bit of salt, and pepper. Process by giving short pulses (we don't want the mixture to heat here!) until you get a silky, smooth cream.

Rectify seasoning if necessary. Put the mousse in ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for, at least, 10 hours.

Sprinkle with freshly crushed pink peppercorns, and serve with toasted bread.

Mousse de foies de volaille

Ingrédients:
500 g de foies de volaille

250 g beurre demi-sel, mou
150 ml de vin blanc sec

3 càs de porto

1 pincée de noix de muscade

1 pincée de baies de roses
sel et poivre

Coupez les foies de volaille en deux. Placez-les dans une casserole avec le vin blanc et laissez-les cuire à feu moyen environ 7 à 8 mn. Égouttez-les et laissez-les refroidir.

Passez-les foies au robot avec le beurre coupé en morceaux, le porto, la noix de muscade, le sel et le poivre. Mixez le tout, sans chauffer jusqu'à obtenir une crème homogène.

Réctifiez l'assaisonnement si nécessaire. Placez la mousse de foie dans des ramequins, couvrez de film alimentaire et placez au frigo 10 heures minimum.

Parsemez de baies de roses et servez avec du pain grillé.

Mussels with Roquefort sauce

Many people are afraid to attempt to cook mussels, they think it's difficult to cook, but it's not the case. In fact, the hardest part is the washing. Place them in cold water (they should close, if they don't you should throw them away). Scrub any dirt off the surface of the mussels and remove the beard. Then it will take minutes to cook!

There are various ways to cook mussels to please the different palates. You can stew them, fry them, roast them, broil them, steam them and even pickle them. And some people eat them raw.

My husband loves them with a Roquefort sauce. The blue cheese melts and enriches the broth with a mild blue cheese flavor. Bon appétit!

Ingredients (serves 4)
1.5 kilos mussels
2 onions, finely sliced
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups crème fraîche
4 ½ oz (125 g) Roquefort, chunked
2 tbsp salted butter
2 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Wash mussels in cold water, pulling away beards and scraping off barnacles if there are any. Rinse again and swish around in lots of cold water. Discard any mussels that remain open.

Sauté the onion in 1 tbsp of melted butter in a large pot. Add the cream and the Roquefort, then mix. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Leave it simmering on medium heat.

Meanwhile, bring the white wine to a boil in a large pot add the mussels and cover. Wait until all mussels are open, around 5 mn.

Here you have 2 choices, either you scoop the mussels with a slotted spoon and pour over the cream sauce; or you filter the cooking liquid and add it to the cream sauce.

Stir over medium heat around 5 mn.

Moules au Roquefort

Ingrédients (4 personnes):

1.5 kg de moules

2 oignons, émincées

25 cl de vin blanc sec

50 cl de crème fraîche épaisse

125 g de roquefort

1 càs de beurre demi-sel

2 càs de persil haché

sel et poivre

Nettoyer les moules.

Faire fondre le beurre dans une casserole et y faire suer les échalotes. Ajouter la crème et le roquefort bien écrasé. Remuer jusqu'à obtenir une pâte bien lisse. Ajouter du persil et assaisonner, maintenir à feu moyen.

Pendant ce temps, faire chauffer le vin blanc dans une cocotte et incorporer les moules. Laisser les moules s'ouvrir à couvert pendant environ 5 minutes.

Quand elles sont ouvertes, 2 possibilités: soit vous égouttez les moules et vous les arrosez avec la sauce, ce qui est plus onctueux, soit vous conservez le jus de cuisson et vous ajouter la sauce, c'est également très bon mais la sauce est plus liquide.

Laisser mijoter 5 minutes. Déguster.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach, check! Artichoke, check! Cream cheese, check check!!

Well, I'm a sucker for hot spinach and artichoke dip! A warm, creamy dip, loaded with spinach, artichoke and cream cheese. And now I can say, it's one of my all-time favorite appetizers. Served with slices of bread, chips, crackers or even veggies, baby carrots and cucumber slices. Versatile, simple and delicious.

This weekend, we had our friends over. I wanted to serve different appetizers so we can eat them with wine and enjoy the evening. Sometimes you don't want to be fussing in the kitchen missing out the juicy gossips!

Let me tell you something, this dip was a hit! It bakes briefly while you're enjoying the company of your guests and it’s the type of dish you throw out on a table, and it’s gobbled up in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients:
8 oz. (225 g) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
7 oz. (150 g) baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped canned artichoke hearts
1 garlic clove, smashed
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. roasted red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, Parmesan, sour cream, mayonnaise, spinach, artichokes, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Mix well with a rubber spatula until all ingredients are evenly blended. Spread into a small baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is slightly browned. Serve warm with baguette slices, crackers or chips.

Dip artichauts et épinards

Ingrédients:
225 g de St. Moret
1/3 tasse de Parmesan

1/3 tasse de crème fraîche épaisse
1/4 tasse de mayonnaise
150 g de pousses d'épinards, hachées
1 boîte de cœurs d'artichauts, coupés
1 gousse d'ail, écrasée
¼ càc de sel
½ càc de paprika

Préchauffez le four à 200ºC. Dans un saladier, mélangez le saint moret, le parmesan, la crème épaisse, la mayonnaise, les épinards, l'ail, le sel et le paprila. Mélangez avec une spatule.

Déposez la préparation dans un petit plat à gratin. Enfournez 35 à 40 mn jusqu'à ce que la surface soit légèrement dorée. Servez avec des tranches de pain, des crackers ou des chips.

Galette des rois

In France, on the Eve of Epiphany, which falls on the 6th of January, twelve days after Christmas, people eat the galette des Rois “the king’s cake”, a puff pastry with almond cream, but with a trinket (usually a porcelain figurine of a king) or a bean (la fève) hidden inside. The person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket or the bean becomes "king" for a day. Other popular traditions, include having the youngest member of the gathering sit under the table and designate to whom each piece of cake should be served.

The cake is eaten in celebration of the arrival of the three kings who have traveled from afar with gifts for the newborn baby.

If you look around the patisseries and supermarkets in France at the beginning of January, you simply can’t miss out "la galette des rois". They're everywhere, and they're not only filled with the traditional frangipane, but with chocolate or fruit as well.

Last year, I bought one but this year, I decided to make my own. Of course I bought the puff pastry but you can make your own if you like.

Ingredients:
500 g puff pastry
1 egg
1 tbsp water
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar

Almond cream:
150 g almond flour
150 g sugar
150 g butter
3 eggs
30 g corn flour
4 tbsp rhum (I used 1 tbsp)
30 g pistachio paste
350 g crème pâtissière

Crème pâtissière:
1 ½ cup whole milk
70 g sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
4 egg yolks
40 g corn flour

Prepare the pasty cream (crème pâtissière):
Bring the milk to a boil, add the vanilla bean and its seeds, add half the sugar. Remove from heat and let it infuse 15 mn.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until light. Add in the corn flour. Mix to combine. Remove the vanilla bean (sifting) and slowly pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring all the time. When about half of the milk has been added, place all the yolk mixture into the saucepan over medium heat. Using a whisk, mix the pastry cream as it heats, making sure to reach all of the corners of the pan when you stir. Bring the mixture to a boil. Let boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture will be thick. Cover the cream with a plastic wrap (in direct contact) to stop a skin from forming. Once cool, refrigerate. Use only 150 gr of this cream; save the rest for some other dessert.

Prepare the almond cream:
Whisk the butter with the sugar, then add the almond flour, the pistachio paste and the eggs one by one whisking after each addition. Add the rhum, the pastry cream and the corn flour and mix.

On a slightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry with a rolling pin, cut 2 circles (app. 28 cm diameter) out of the puff pastry. Put one of them on a baking sheet covered with a parchment paper.

Prepare the egg wash, but beating an egg with 1 tbsp of water, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar.

Brush one inch around the edge of the circle with the egg wash. Spread the frangipane cream on the center, put the "feve" (bean or figurine), and place the second circle on top matching the edges of the circles. Press all around the edges to stick them together. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Lightly brush the top of the gallette with the egg wash. Use the back of a knife to make a criss cross pattern in the egg wash. Finally, prick several small slits in the top to vent steam while baking.

Bake 20 mn at 200°C, then lower to 180°C, for another 25 mn.

Ingrédients:

500 g de pâte feuilletée

1 œuf

1 càs d’eau

une pincée de sel

une pincée de sucre

Crème d’amande:

150 g d’amandes en poudre

150 g de sucre en poudre

150 g de beurre mou

3 œufs entiers

30 g de maïzena

4 càs de rhum (j’ai utilisé 1 càs)

30 g de pâte de pistache

350 g de crème pâtissière

Crème pâtissière:

37 cl de lait entier

70 g de sucre

1 demi gousse de vanille grattée

4 jaunes d’œufs

40 g maïzema

Préparer la crème pâtissière:

Portez le lait à ébullition, avec la demi gousse de vanille et ses petits grains, et la moitié du sucre, puis laissez infuser hors feu.

Pendant ce temps, dans un bol, battez les jaunes d'oeufs avec le sucre jusqu’à ce que le mélange blanchisse, ajoutez la maïzena, puis versez petit à petit le lait chaud et enfin remettez le tout dans la casserole à feu doux, et portez à ébullition sans cesser de fouetter, et voili-voilà, une magnifique crème pâtissière...que vous laissez refroidir dans un bol avec un film alimentaire collé à la surface pour éviter que cela ne fasse une croûte.

Préparer la crème d'amandes :

Faites blanchir le beurre mou avec le sucre puis ajoutez les amandes en poudre et la pâte de pistaches et enfin les oeufs un par un, le rhum la crème pâtissière et la maïzena.

Etalez la pâte feuilletée à l’aide de votre rouleau, de façon à obtenir 2 cercles de 28 cm (à peu près), mettez un sur une plaque recouverte d'un papier sulfurisé, et vous déposé la préparation à 4 cm des bords (pour que ça ne déborde pas à la cuisson).

Préparez la dorure, battez un oeuf avec une cuill à soupe d'eau une pincée de sucre et une pincée de sel, et passez un coup de cette dorure sur le bord.

Mettez votre galette au frigidaire pour une heure avant de la faire cuire.

Sortez la du frigo, badigeonnez-la du mélange œuf-eau et décorez-la avec la lame d’un couteau ou une fourchette. Piquez-la

Enfournez la galette 45 mn mais il vous faudra baisser le four à 180ºC au bout de 20 mn.

Top Recipes of 2010!!!

Here is a top list of the favorite recipes from 2010, a list of the most viewed recipes on Chicho's Kitchen this year. It was great sharing with you those recipes and I'm looking forward to 2011 and with another long list of tasty recipes to share!

Wishing you ALL a Happy New Year!!!

Number 1: Squash & Sweet potato gratin