Month: May 2014

Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette

(makes 2 ¼ cups)

½ C red wine vinegar

1 t lemon zest

2 t fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 ½ t salt

1 ½ t black pepper

1 T Dijon

1 T dried oregano

2 T sugar

1 ½ C olive oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a tall plastic pitcher. Using a stick blender, blend ingredients until well incorporated. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream while running the stick blender. Blend until a smooth emulsification is achieved. Store in the refrigerator. Perfect for our version of a Greek salad.

Chocolate Ganache

1 C heavy cream

¼ C corn syrup

Pinch of salt

1 C bittersweet chocolate chips

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 T instant espresso powder

In a microwavable bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir to mix and microwave for 4 minutes on medium power. Some pieces of chocolate may not be completely melted. Residual heat will continue to melt the chocolate as you slowly stir the mix. Continue to stir until a smooth pourable consistency is achieved. Pour over buttermilk chocolate cake. Leftover ganache can be stored in the refrigerator. Reheat slowly over simmering water or on low power for short intervals in the microwave. Also great on ice cream, chocolate dipped shortbread, strawberries and drizzled over orange chocolate chip scones.

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

2 C flour

2 C sugar

1 t baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter

¼ C cocoa powder

1 t instant espresso powder

1 C filtered water

2 eggs

½ C buttermilk

1 t vanilla

I call this 2 bowl baking. Super simple. Always moist and delicious. Combine flour, sugar and soda in a bowl and whisk ingredients together. In a microwavable bowl, add butter, cocoa, espresso powder and water. Microwave for 5 minutes on 50% power. Stir mix until butter is completely melted and the mix is well integrated. Add the dry mix to the butter bowl and slowly whisk to incorporate. NO over-mixing. Add the remaining ingredients, one at a time, incorporating after each addition. The batter is pretty loose. Pour mix into a prepared 10 inch by 2 inch cake pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Rotate pan and cook for another 20 minutes or until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan and the top is just set to the touch. Allow the cake to cool about 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Once completely cooled, drizzle chocolate ganache over the cake.

For pan preparation: Trace the bottom of the pan onto a piece of parchment paper. Cut your circle to the inside of your tracing line. Spray the inside of the cake pan with non-stick spray. Insert the parchment circle and press down completely. Flour the sides lightly shaking off any excess flour.

Highmade Crab Cakes

(makes 12 medium-sized cakes)

1 pound super lump crab meat, drained

1 egg

3 T mayo

1 T whole grain mustard

1 T Old Bay seasoning

1 slice of toasted white bread, crust removed and finely diced

½ red bell pepper, finely diced

2 stalks celery, finely diced

Zest of ½ a lemon

Pinch of salt and black pepper

Combine all ingredients, except the crab, in a bowl and mix well. Add the crab and gently break it up. Leave big pieces intact, if possible. Very gently fold ingredients together. Using an ice cream scoop, place 12 portions into a prepared muffin tin. Spray the tops of the crab with canola spray. Place in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes, rotate and cook an additional 10 minutes. The cakes will be slightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Place muffin pan into the refrigerator and allow the cakes to cool completely before handling. The day before is great. Once cooled, the cakes will hold their shape much better. This recipe is so good because the binder material is minimal. The crab is the star. Cakes can be reheated in the oven or sautéed in a small amount of olive oil on the stove top. Once warmed through, serve immediately with remoulade, capers, and sliced lemon.

Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray. Smaller muffin tins are good for cocktail sized portions. At High’s, we use a pasteurized crab meat that we purchase at Costco. It is sweet, wild caught, always dependable and it is shell free. Nothing more tedious than picking through crab meat. Since the crab meat has been cooked, the cooking time in the recipe is simply used to pull the ingredients together and form the cake.

This cake is ready for a close up. Note the chunks of crab!

For the open-faced sandwich: split open an English muffin and toast, layer on red leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, red onion, crab cake, remoulade, capers, chopped parsley. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Streusel Topping

2 sticks butter, melted

½ C toasted sliced almonds

½ C toasted walnuts

½ C toasted pecans

¾ C old fashioned oats

¾ t salt

¾ t nutmeg

¾ t cinnamon

¾ C sugar

¾ C light brown sugar

1 ¼ C flour

In a mixing bowl, combine salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, both sugars and flour. Mix well. Add nuts and oats and mix again. Add melted butter to the flour nut mix and stir. Spread mix onto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator. Once the mix has hardened, break up the mix into pieces and place into a food processor. Pulse until a nice crumbly texture is achieved. The mix can store in the refrigerator for several days or you can freeze the streusel for several weeks. Pull it out and top a muffin, coffee cake, or pie. Delicious and worth the effort.

Crispy Pita Chips

1 package white pita pockets

Olive oil for brushing

Garlic powder

Kosher salt

Finely chopped parsley

The pita pockets are scored down the middle. Cut along the score and then cut each half in half again. Carefully split the quarters open and separate. Place pita triangles on a baking sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic powder, kosher salt, and chopped parsley over the pitas. Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes, rotate pan and cook for additional 10 minutes or until crisp. These store well in an airtight container.

Chunky Apple Raisin Muffins with Streusel Topping

(Recipe makes 24 small muffins)

3 C flour

1 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

2 t baking soda

1 C golden raisins

1 C vegetable oil

2 C sugar

2 extra-large eggs

1 t vanilla

Zest of 1 orange

2 C applesauce

1 large apple, chunky dice

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and soda in a bowl and whisk well to evenly incorporate. Add raisins to flour mix. Using your fingers, separate the raisins and evenly coat them with the flour mix.

Place eggs, vanilla, and zest into a pourable container.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar and oil. Beat on medium high speed with the paddle attachment. Slowly drizzle in the egg mix. Continue to beat until airy and well combined.

With mixer on the slowest speed, alternately add flour mix and applesauce. Do not over mix. Finish incorporating by hand.

Using an ice cream scoop, portion out batter into a muffin tin coated with non-stick baking spray. Fill them 2/3 full. Push 3 or 4 cut pieces of apple into the batter. Sprinkle streusel topping on each and place in a 400 degree oven for 13 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so until tops are just set to the touch. Allow to cool before removing from the tin.