Author: bhills61

Good dinner the other night…

SHARE THIS MEAL!

Lest you think that every night is a gourmet celebration, please know that on occasion Taco Cabana has come to the rescue. However, last week I prepared a tasty plate that I want to share with you. Ahi Tuna cooked medium rare with lots of cracked pepper, Basmati rice flavored with fresh dill and orange zest, roasted broccoli and red peppers topped with panko. The panko was flavored with parsley, lemon zest, grated parmesan and olive oil. I spooned a tomato/basil vinaigrette over the tuna. Summer plate, sunny flavors and perfect with a fruity white.

Cous Cous

3 ½ C filtered water

1 t chili powder

1 t cumin

1 t salt

1 T olive oil

3 C cous cous

In a sauté pan, add water, chili powder, cumin and olive oil. Bring to a boil. Add cous cous and remove from heat. Cover for about 3-4 minutes. Fluff with a fork and remove to a cookie sheet for even cooling. This makes a large amount of cous cous. This holds well in the refrigerator and is good for many uses. Add grilled vegetables and you have an excellent side or salad. The recipe can be cut in half.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 medium-sized muffins and 3 mini-loaves

2/3 C cocoa powder

1 ¾ C flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

¾ t salt

2 t instant espresso powder

1 C chocolate chips

1 stick butter, soft

Zest from half an orange

1 ¼ C brown sugar

2 eggs

2 t vanilla

2 t white wine vinegar

1 C whole milk

In a mixing bowl, combine cocoa, flour, soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder. Mix well with a whisk. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and zest. Mix well using paddle attachment. Add brown sugar and mix well. In a pourable container, add eggs, vanilla and vinegar. With mixer running, add eggs , one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat on high-speed until well combined and fluffy.

With mixer on slowest speed, add flour mix and milk alternately beginning and ending with the flour. Do not over beat. Finish incorporating with your spatula or spoonula. (Have you bought one yet?) At this point, you can cover the batter with plastic wrap and portion later for baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an ice cream scoop, portion batter into a muffin tin that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray. The chocolate chips do have a tendency to stick. Muffin liners are a fix for that. Bake for 12 minutes, rotate pan, and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until just set. These are best eaten the same day.

Serve with fresh raspberries, crème fraiche, zest and a drizzle of orange blossom honey. Great dessert.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Recipe makes one 9” X 13” Pyrex pan

3 C flour

1 C yellow cornmeal

¼ C sugar

2 T baking powder

2 t salt

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 C whole milk

2 sticks butter, melted

1 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

4 green onions, chopped

3-4 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, powder and salt. Mix well with a whisk. In a separate small bowl, add eggs and whisk lightly, just breaking the eggs up. Add milk to egg mix and stir lightly. Add egg mix to flour mix and fold in. Add butter and fold in until well mixed. Use a light touch. No vigorous stirring here. Chill baby. Add cheese, onions and jalapeno and fold in until evenly distributed in the batter. Pour batter into a 9” X 13” Pyrex baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick baking spray. Place into a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Rotate pan and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Allow 30 minutes cooling before cutting into squares.

Thanks to Ina Garten for the recipe. Love this recipe as it is more “cakey”. Muffins can be made too.

Tomato Basil Soup

USE ME!

(serves 8-10)

¼ C olive oil

8 cloves garlic, halved

2 small yellow onions, chopped

2 T tomato paste

1 C red wine

½ C sun-dried tomatoes

2 – 28 ounce cans of diced San Marzano tomatoes

4 C cherub tomatoes

4 C boxed vegetable stock (unsalted)

1 C fresh basil leaves, packed

1 t salt

1 t red pepper flakes

1 T sugar

Preheat a soup pot over medium high heat. (Make sure that you use a non-reactive pot. Stainless is perfect.) Add oil, onions and garlic. Reduce heat to a nice simmer and continue to cook until garlic and onions develop some golden coloring. (pic) Add a pinch of salt. Add tomato paste into pot and mix in well and continue to simmer until tomato bits form on the bottom of the pan. Pour in red wine and scrape up any bits as the liquid begins to thicken to a syrupy consistency. (pic) Add canned tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, cherubs, vegetable stock, basil, salt, red pepper and sugar. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until cherubs wilt – 30-45 minutes. Remove soup from heat and allow cooling. Refrigerate uncovered until the soup is cool enough to puree in a blender. My suggestion is to make the soup a day ahead. Puree the next day and reheat for service. Again, soup almost always benefits from an overnighter in the fridge. Puree the chilled soup in a blender until smooth. If you object to seeds, you can puree the soup through a food mill. Reheat and serve with Texas-sized croutons and additional fresh basil leaves. If you prefer a thinner consistency to the soup, add additional vegetable stock or water.

Texas-Sized Croutons

USE TEXAS TOAST. When’s the last time you bought that? Texas toast makes a light crispy texture that works really well as a crouton. Slice crust off. Into a sauce pan, add 1 C of olive oil. Add 6-8 garlic cloves, halved. Place onto stove and simmer until garlic is golden in color and softened. (This keeps well in the refrigerator and is delicious drizzled on roasted vegetables or to brush on fish or meats when grilling.) For croutons, brush a cookie sheet with garlic oil. Brush one side of the crustless bread with the oil. Cut the bread into four squares and place, dry side down, onto the oiled cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt and place into a preheated 350 degree oven and cook for 12 minutes. Rotate and cook for an additional 10-12 minutes until golden.

Add these to tomato basil soup. The combination reminds me of a wonderful tomato bread soup shared with friends at a restaurant in Chianti…a lunch I will always remember.

Mixed Greens Salad

Thin slices of radicchio, baby kale, baby spinach, arugula, dill, parsley, blanched French beans, toasted pine nuts, crispy prosciutto, crimini mushrooms and grated parmesan. Dress this mixed greens salad with fresh lemon juice, EVOO, salt, cracked black pepper and a spritz of sugar. This hits all the buttons.

FLAVOR + TEXTURE + COLOR

Grilled Cheese Panini

What else would you serve with tomato basil soup? I used the recipe for highmade pesto, bought jarred roasted peppers (diced and drained), slices of sourdough, smoked provolone (grated) and slices of fresh mozzarella. Assemble and brush bread with garlic oil and grill on the Panini press until toasty and oozing. This is grilled cheese for the adults.

Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Icing

2 C flour

2 t cinnamon

2 t baking soda

1 ½ t salt

2 C sugar

1 1/3 C vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 t vanilla

1 pound carrots, peeled and grated

1 C golden raisins

1 c walnuts, toasted and broken into pieces

1/3 C candied ginger, diced small

1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, soda and salt. Whisk to combine.

Add carrots, raisins, walnuts, ginger and pineapple to the dry mix. Mix well. Use your hands to break apart any clumps.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar and vegetable oil. Using a paddle attachment, beat until smooth.

In a pourable container, combine eggs and vanilla.

Drop eggs into oil/sugar mix one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour egg mix on top of flour mix. Using a spoonula, mix ingredients completely.

For a double layer cake: Use two 9” X 1.5” cake pans. Spray each pan with non-stick baking spray. Fold over a piece of parchment paper and trace the bottom of the pan onto the paper. Cut to the inside of your tracing mark and place a parchment circle into each cake pan. Pour batter evenly into each pan and place into a 325 degree preheated oven. Bake for 25 minutes, rotate pans and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan and it feels firm to the touch. It will be sticky. No worries. Remove pan and allow cooling for about 30 minutes or more. I baked the cake one day and iced it the next.

For icing: I like to use the bottom of a tart pan as the “bottom of the cake.” Place the tart bottom on top of the cake and invert the cake out of the baking pan on to a “pedestal” that has a folded piece of parchment on top (see photos). Place a layer of orange cream cheese icing. Invert the second layer on top of the first layer. Spread an even coating of icing on the sides of the cake. For the top, feel free to decorate with swirls and swishes…or a piping bag. Press toasted coconut onto the sides of the cake. This will make a bit of a mess. Be patient and use a gentle touch. Coconut will fall off, reuse it patching where necessary. Scrape away loose coconut. Lift the cake off the pedestal using the parchment and place it into a Tupperware container for refrigeration. The cake will slice better once it has chilled. The cake holds beautifully for several days in the refrigerator.

Vanilla Cake with Fresh Peaches and Blackberries

3 C flour

½ t baking powder

½ t baking soda

1 t salt

2 sticks soft butter

2 c sugar

4 eggs

1 t vanilla extract

An ice cream scoop works well for even portioning.

Choose your mold. Two large, mini loaves, individually sized cakes. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

¾ C sour cream

Freestone peaches from Fredericksburg. Toss slices of peaches with blackberries and a sprinkle of sugar. Allow fruit to release juices.

For the finished presentation, I used a Pyrex soufflé dish for the baking mold. I inverted the cake and sliced it into three layers. Layer your fruit and soft whipped cream. Garnish with mint and you have a magazine cover!

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and beat with paddle attachment until smooth.

Add sugar to butter and continue to beat until well combined.

In a pourable container, combine eggs and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, to butter/sugar mix and combine well.

Add flour mix and sour cream to the butter/egg mix alternately beginning and ending with flour mix. Mix on lowest speed. Finish incorporating by hand.

Portion batter into prepared molds that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Place in a preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes, rotate and cook for another 15 minutes or until they are just set. Cooking time depends on size of baking molds. Remove and allow cooling for about 15 minutes before removing from cooking molds.