FUDGE TODAY!

Fudge today!

A Preview of What's to Come:

Aliza's up in Mama's blog, postin her pics

Salmon Wrapped in Bacon, Oven Poached in White Wine

Photo 2013©Katherine Brownell

  This is the salmon before poaching in the oven.

Now, see below to see what it looks like after cooking and plating.

 

 Recipe coming soon!  Please check back!

Gratin D' Aubergines, Provencal or Sliced Eggplant Baked with Cheese and Tomatoes

Photo 2013©Katherine Brownell

Recipe Coming Soon!!

Breakfast in Japan - Tamagoyaki - Rolled Omelet

Tamagoyaki is a type of omelet that Japanese children are used to but in the United States, it is not often seen.  Part of the difficulty is that it is easier to cook in a rectangular frying pan and I used a round one.  That made it a bit more difficult but not impossible.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

 

- 5 eggs

- 1 Tbsp Japanese Sake or rice wine ( I used a bit of the kind with the gold flakes to celebrate that a new grandson will be coming this fall.)

- 1/3 Tbsp salt

- 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

-  4 Tbsp olive oil

- 2 Tbsp - Sugar
- A bit of foie gras oil
- a handful of spinach leaves chopped finely
- fresh or dried thyme and parsley
- lemon and orange pepper or lemon pepper
- 1/2- 1 cup of assorted shredded cheeses ( I used an Italian blend and Swiss.)

Directions:

I combined the five eggs, sake, soy sauce, salt,and sugar and then mixed with an electric hand blender until foamy. I heated the pan to medium low (4) and added the foie gras oil and a tablespoon of the olive oil.  Then, I poured in about 1/2 cup of the egg mixture and swirled the pan too get a thin covering layer of egg.  I increased the heat to 5 and covered the pan to get the egg cooking.  When the egg layer was 1/2 way cooked, I used a spatula to start at one end and roll up the cooking egg. Leaving to one side of the pan, I poured another 1/2 cup of the egg mixture, making sure I lifted the rolled egg and going underneath so it would all cook together. Then, as it started to cook, I added some off the cheese and spinach. I repeated the rolling procedure adding different spices and cheeses to each layer until I was out of the egg mixture and had one complete roll sitting in the pan (nicely browned on the edges).

Finally, I slid the roll out onto the cutting board and put two slices of foie gras in the pan and slightly browned both sides to bring out the flavor.  I cut the roll sushi style and divided it evenly on the plates around the foie gras slice.  I don't have a picture of it but I served it with a wasabi paste for my husband.  He said it tasted fabulous with the cold leftover cumin, lemon, and cream cheese sauce from last night, too!

Reflections:  I need a rectangular frying pan to make this a lot easier. Apparently, kids in Japan take this for lunch too, and I can see myself making this the night before to take for lunch.  It could have a lot of variety depending on the cheese and toppings used in each layer.  I also used eggs fresh from a friend's farm and I think that makes it taste even better! The temp needs to be watched carefully because the sugar can burn.

Best Tip Ever For Opening Jars and Cloudberry Jam

SBBrownell 2013

 Keep reading to find out why this jar has duct tape all around!

Several years ago thanks to Gordon Prestoungrange, Scottish Baron of Prestoungrange, I had the opportunity to visit Helsinki.  On that working trip, I attended banquets/local restaurants and sampled the local foods. Among the local delicacies, I tasted was something called a cloudberry.

Cloudberries are not native to Florida and in fact, you must be high up in the mountains especially, the arctic in order to find or pick cloudberries.  They are usually hand picked and when you do find them, you will also find mosquitoes in packs.  According to http://mylittlenorway.com/2011/07/guide-to-cloudberries/," it takes about 7 years for a seed to grow to blossom and they will only do that in the perfect situation. Mostly cloudberries are also highly prized as part of the Norwegian culture. Cloudberries are also part of Norwegian traditional cooking.  Cloudberry bløtkaker, cloudberry cream/yoghurt and cloudberry sauce wouldn’t be the same without cloudberries. Traditionally they would keep their berries in reindeer milk as it is so full of fat that it can preserve the berries."

For those of us that have had no previous exposure to cloudberries, I can tell you that they have seeds like raspberries and the texture is a bit similar as you can feel their juice explode (like blackberries) in your mouth when you eat them.  The taste is a bit like a Chinese sweet and sour although some say it is more like a Riesling wine taste.

This week my husband and daughter had reason to drive several hours to go shopping at IKEA.  They brought back much loved favorites for me: Swedish pancakes and a jar of cloudberry jam!


Here is the traditional way to serve:

SBBrownell 2013

• Open the pancake 
• Add the fruit (cloudberry jam here)
• Roll and top with whipped cream

So what's with the duct tape??

Yesterday, I had my pancakes without the cloudberries because I could not get the jar open by myself.  I mentioned it to my daughter and she had an absolutely brilliant solution:

**Simply wrap a strip of duct tape around the lid. I could have even torn the strip lengthwise so it was a narrow strip around the lid, grip as usual and it opens easily.

In Norway, where cloudberries grow they would say, "God jobb Katherine!"

Please try this at home!

 Recipe for Swedish Pancakes:

2 cups instant flour (Wondra Flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (Room temperature)
1 1/2 cups seltzer                                                                                                                                      9 tablespoons sweet butter, melted and cooled                                                                                     1 teaspoon salt                                                                                                                                           2 large eggs plus 2 yolks, lightly beaten (Room Temperature)                                                          1 can of whipped cream or powdered sugar

 1. To make the batter first

•  Combine flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl.
• Now, carefully and slowly, I add half-and-half, seltzer, 4 tablespoons butter, eggs, and yolks into flour mixture until I have whisked so that the batter is smooth with no lumps.

2. I melt a teaspoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Tilt pan to coat sides also.

• When butter stops hissing, pour a ladle of batter into the pan and again tilt pan so that the batter is evenly distributed. 
• Cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. 
• Transfer to plate and put parchment paper between pancakes if you aren't going to serve immediately. 

3. Place a pancake on the plate.  Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of preferred filling ( cloudberry jam, lingonberry jam, any canned pie filling) onto top quarter of pancake--spread evenly and roll pancake over until in a loosely wrapped tube.  Fill 2-3 pancakes and place on plate alongside each other.  Add whipped cream or powdered sugar (or both) and enjoy!

Summer Thanksgiving Leftovers and a Cranberry Twist

Photo by Katherine Brownell

This was the original dinner where I substituted a tomato for the cranberry and the sweet potato fries for the traditional sweet potato casserole.






 Now follow me to the leftovers meal,

 where I have updated the heavy winter cranberry jelly with  a cranberry Merlot reduction using Merlot wine, orange zest, and an orange-pineapple concentrate to balance the tartness of the dried cranberries.  I also added a sweet potato puree with a bit of added brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange - pineapple concentrate, and a bit of creme freche to add smoothness.

 Recipe

Ingredients:
To be added 6/26 - Please come check it out.