Tag: milk
Irish Soda Bread
3 cups all purpose
¼ cup evaporated cane juice (sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mixture of raisins, cranberries and currants, chopped
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed or powdered
4 tablespoons super cold butter, cut into little pieces
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 400.
Grease a large cast iron skillet or a 10 inch cake pan.
Transfer the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl, whisk together. Add the butter and mix briefly with fingers, incorporating the butter. Add the raisins mixture, zest and fennel seeds and mix well. Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a small bowl and whisk well and refrigerate until needed (the key is to have this liquid as cold as possible) Add the liquid slowly to the dry mixture while mixing it with a fork. Once all the liquid is incorporated, gently mix everything with your fingers and form an 8 inch round loaf and transfer to the cast iron skillet or cake pan. Mark the top with an ‘X’ with a knife about ½ inch deep.
Bake for 20 minutes in the oven and check if the top is getting too brown. If it is, then top with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. Take out of oven and keep the foil on till it cools off.
Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup with a Smoked Paprika Cranberry Compote
This soup has yummy Latin flavors and it can be a great addition to a fabulous holiday menu…
- 4 to 5 medium sweet potatoes, skin pierce with a fork
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet and roast till cooked, about half an hour to forty minutes. Take out and let cool. Take the skin off and roughly chopped.
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 chipotle pepper, chopped
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Salt
- ¼ cup half and half
- ¼ cup milk
- Zest of a lime
- Juice of half a lime
Heat a heavy saucepan and add the olive oil. Add the roasted cumin seeds and sauté for 20 seconds on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, chipotle pepper, brown sugar and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Blend the mixture in a blender until smooth. Transfer back to the saucepan and add the half and half and milk. Mix well and add salt. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and turn the heat off. Add the lime zest and juice. Mix well and check for seasonings.
Serve the soup with a dollop of compote.
Smoked Paprika and Cranberry Compote
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Bring the cranberries, orange juice, zest, smoked paprika, salt and brown sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Simmer, covered for about ten minutes or till the cranberries burst open. Check for seasonings and cook uncovered for another two to three minutes. Turn heat off and add the cilantro.
Pork Ragu Lasagna with Pesto Bechamel
Pork Ragu
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups fresh tomato sauce
- Salt
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the pork and cook on high heat and separate the meat with a wooden spoon. Saute for a 3 to 4 minutes on medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic, thyme and rosemary. Saute for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and sauté for a minute. Add the tomato sauce and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add salt if necessary and turn heat off and keep aside.
Bechamel Sauce
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups milk
- ¼ teaspoon powdered nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup fresh or store bought pesto
Heat a medium saucepan and add the flour and butter. Melt the butter on medium high heat. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Slowly add the milk and whisk to make sure all the lumps are taken out. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the nutmeg and salt. Turn the heat off and keep aside. Add the pesto and mix well.
Lasagna
- 1 cup shredded Pecorino Romano
- 12 lasagna sheets (I used no boil pasta)
Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
Line a 9 X 11 glass pan with a quarter cup of béchamel sauce. Cover the bottom and add four pasta sheets. Spread one cup of meat sauce on top. Sprinkle ¼ cup shredded Pecorino. Place another 4 sheets on top. Pour about ¾ cup of béchamel sauce- spreading it all over the pasta. Add another cup of meat sauce. Add ¼ cup of shredded Pecorino. Place another 4 sheets on top and cover with the remaining béchamel sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take the cover off, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for another 15. Serve hot with salad and garlic bread.
Spinach Polenta
2 tablespoons olive oil- ½ cup pine nuts
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 1 cup chopped and thawed (frozen) spinach, excess water squeezed
- 1 cup fine polenta
- 1½ cups milk
- 2 cups broth
- ½ cup Monterey jack cheese, grated
- Salt
Heat a medium saucepan with olive oil. Add the pine nuts and raisins and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the milk and the broth and bring to a boil. Slowly add the polenta while stirring constantly. Cook according to box instructions. Add the cheese and check for seasonings. Serve with shrimp.
Bolognese Garlic Bread Sandwiches
I watched Rachel Ray make these on her show and loved the idea. I changed up the recipe a bit and added mushrooms to make the dish healthier. I also jazzed up the ricotta cheese. These sandwiches were absolutely delicious. My daughter gave them two thumbs up!
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped pancetta
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 5 ounces Cremini mushrooms, grated
- 2 medium shallots, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 small bunch, thyme
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup tomato sauce, preferably home made
- 2 cups milk
- Salt
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the pancetta and sauté for a minute or two. Add the ground turkey and separate the meat with the back of a wooden spoon. Saute on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, shallots, garlic and thyme. Saute on high heat for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and sauté for a minute. Add the tomato sauce, milk and salt. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer with the lid on. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or till the meat is cooked through. Take the lid off and check for seasonings. Keep aside.
Ricotta Topping
- 1 cup full fat ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
Place the olive oil, garlic and parsley in a small frying pan. Heat over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes- just enough time to cook the garlic without browning. Add salt and let cool. Add to the ricotta, mix well and keep aside.
- 4 ciabatta rolls
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Add the garlic, oil and salt to a small frying pan. Cook on a very low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t get brown. Take off the heat and drizzle the garlic mixture all over the four rolls. Toast in the oven until fragrant and golden brown. Take out and assemble the sandwiches. Place about half a cup of the ground meat. Top with ricotta mixture and serve.
Phirni- Indian Rice Pudding
Phirni is a rice pudding like dessert common in the Middle East. It is also popular in Kashmir and other parts of North India. I have known about it since I was tiny. My Mom would make it for us in individual bowls, especially when we had people over for dinner. It is a creamy concoction of milk and sugar. The milk is thickened with rice and flavored with crushed cardamom seeds. It can be topped with chopped almonds and pistachios.
- ½ cup rice
- ½ cup water
Soak rice in water for 2-3 hours. Blend the mixture in a blender by first adding the wet rice and ¼ cup water. Gradually add the rest of the water and blend till smooth. Keep aside.
- 4 cups milk (whole milk or low fat)
- ¾ cup sugar (adjust according to taste)
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 4-5 cardamom pods, ground
Garnish
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 3 cardamom pods, ground
- ¼ cup pistachios, ground
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer the milk. Add the sugar, almonds and cardamom. Gradually add the rice mixture while stirring constantly. Keep stirring till the mixture thickens up like a custard. Cook for another 3-4 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with almonds, ground cardamom and pistachios.
The Best Roast Chicken with Milk and Sage Gravy!
So, I love, love Jamie Oliver and everything he does. I make a lot of his recipes. I was looking for a roast chicken recipe as I was getting tired of making it the same way… and I came across this recipe. The chicken is browned in fat and cooked in milk- what, I thought??? After reading the reviews, I was convinced- everyone said, it was the best chicken ever… but the it didn’t look so pretty- well, the gravy didn’t. Since the the chicken is roasted in milk and lemon zest- the separates in the cooking process- so the sauce is broken….so, I came up with a way to fix it. After the chicken was done cooking, I blended the broken sauce to emulsify it and voila.. I had an amazingly yummy, creamy gravy!! Definitely try this recipe- so, so good!!! Oh, and save the fat after browning the chicken and cook your potatoes in it- so yummy!
- One 3 lb whole roasting chicken, cleaned and dry
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Zest of one large lemon, cut the remaining lemon in quarters and set aside
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 to 6 garlic cloves, skin on
- Fresh sage leaves, 6 to 7
- 2 cups whole milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper, including the cavity.
Melt the oil and butter in a medium Dutch oven pan (big enough for the chicken to fit snug) over medium high heat. Brown the chicken well on all sides, for about 10 minutes. Take the chicken out, drain the fat to a small bowl. In the meantime, add the milk, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, garlic and sage leaves to the same pan. Add the lemon quarters to the chicken cavity and transfer the chicken back into the pan with breast side down. Roast with lid in the oven for 1 hour. Take the lid off after an hour and baste the chicken with the milk gravy. Roast for another 15 minutes and take out. Take the chicken out and cover with aluminum foil. Take the sage leaves and cinnamon stick out of the gravy and transfer to a blender. Blend well and return to the pan, bring to a boil, taste for seasonings. In the meantime, pull the meat from the bones of the chicken and serve warm with the milk gravy.
Roast some potatoes using the spare fat from the chicken.
Serve green beans and roast potatoes with the delicious chicken.