German Leek Soup

After making a leek dip with the green portion of my leek, I still had the white more intense portion of my leek sitting in my refrigerator begging to be used. I was at a loss on how to use my leek. I decided to turn to the trusty Google search engine for some much needed inspiration. Luckily, I found just what I was looking for on the web-site basic-recipes.com. I was able to find a recipe for a German Leek Soup that used just the white portion of the leek.

I love German food, so this recipe was a natural fit for me. I adjusted the recipe to serve just two since it would be just me and Little BBQ eating the soup. Dr. Lazy Palate was not a fan of the leek soup. He liked the leek dip, but I knew that his senses could not take another leek recipe. He found this soup to be too oniony in flavor; however, he said he could "tolerate" the soup at a dinner party if it was served to hi. I love sautéed onions, so this soup tasted wonderful to me. Little BBQ also liked the soup. It was a great fast lunch. The milk added a hint of creaminess while the chicken broth added depth to the soup while the leek and onion were the stars of the show.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 leek, white part only finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 1/3 cups of chicken broth
1/3 cup of milk
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

In heavy pan, melt butter and sauté leeks and onion until soft (10-15 minutes). Add stock, salt, and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Add the milk and bring to a boil. Serve warm.

Farmers Market finds July 24, 2010

Wonderful week at the farmers market.  We have family visiting from out of town, so our food bill was sky high this week.  We bought a bison roast to put in the crockpot. The roast should last two meals.  Also on the meal plan is a ratatouille, so lots of vegetables were needed.  I decided to buy a CSA basket this week since we have so many more mouths to feed this week.  The peaches looked great again this week, so I picked up more peaches for lunches and snacks.  The blackberries looked and tasted great this week as well.  Listed below is everything we bought.

Daring Bakers: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

This month Sunita from Sunita’s world-life and food blog hosted this month’s daring bakers challenge. She challenged us to make a swiss swirl ice cream cake. Basically, we had to make a swiss roll and line a bowl with our swiss rolls. Then we had to put make two different ice cream flavors and a fudge layer inside the cake. The challenge sounds straight forward, but I ran into many obstacles while completing the challenge.


First, I cooled my swiss roll in a towel rolled up over night. In theory this sounded like a good idea since the directions said to let the swiss roll cool completely in the towel. Well, if you leave the swiss roll in the towel too long, then it becomes very hard to take out. I had to very gently peel the swiss roll off of the towel. After I successfully completed this hurdle, I received “help” from my three year old. He opened up one of the swiss rolls and ate all the whip cream out of it and he also “cut” the swiss roll like mommy. Needless to say it was a mess, but at least Little BBQ had fun and enjoyed the swiss roll. I compensated for this problem by putting the swiss roll on the top of the cake instead all around the cake. I was hoping I could create a cool layered look with my cake. My vision was swiss rolls on top, then blueberry ice cream, then white chocolate fudge, then strawberry mascarpone ice cream on bottom. I was able to complete my idea, but it did not look as cool as I had hoped. The blueberry ice cream was too sweet. I made the recipe less sweet in my directions below to prevent the head rush that I got. Lastly, I completed the challenge without an ice cream maker. The ice cream was very creamy, but it was also not very hard, so it melted super quickly. I would recommend an ice cream maker so you can make harder ice cream. A summary of my lessons learned is below:

1. Use a tapered bowl if you want a pretty domed effect.

2. Do not leave your swiss roll in a towel overnight.

3. Make hard ice cream.

In the end, I might have been hard on myself because everyone loved the ice cream cake. I think my family might have been being nice about the appearance or just judging by taste. I guess I have a great family.

Ingredients for swiss roll

6 medium sized eggs
1 C granulated sugar + extra for rolling
6 tblsp of all purpose (plain) flour, sifted
5 tblsp of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 tblsp of boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans

For the filling-
2 cups of whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tblsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. Pre heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans ( 11 inches by 9 inches ) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

3. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

4. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

5. Place a pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch.

6. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.

7. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

8. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

9. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.

10. Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.

11. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.

12. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.

13. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

14. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.


Blueberry Ice Cream Ingredients
2 and ½ C of whipping cream
1/3 C of granulated sugar
1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Microwave 5 blueberries for 30 seconds on high or until soft. Smash the blueberries and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, add the cream and sugar and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. Then add the smashed blueberries and frozen blueberries to the cream mixture and mix well.

2. Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.


Ingredients for white chocolate fudge
1 cup sugar
1 cup white chocolate chip morsels
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 ½ cup water
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, white chocolate, cornstarch and water.

2. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and mix in the butter. Keep aside to cool .


Ingredients for Strawberry Mascarpone Ice Cream
2 and ½ C of whipping cream
1/2 C of granulated sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 cup frozen strawberries, chopped

Directions

1. Microwave 5 blueberries for 30 seconds on high or until soft. Smash the blueberries and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, add the cream and sugar and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. Then add the mascarpone cheese, smashed strawberries, and frozen strawberries to the cream mixture and mix well.

2. Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.


Directions for assembling Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices (approximately 2 cms each).

2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

4. Soften the blueberry ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour)

5. Add the fudge sauce over the blueberry ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour)

6. Soften the strawberry mascarpone ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .

7. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

8. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Easy Leek Dip

A few weeks ago, I bought a leek at the farmers market. Like many vegetables at the farmers market, I have never had a leek. I asked my local farmer how to eat a leek, and he told me, “It is too strong to eat raw!” Now if my local farmer can not a leek, then I certainly can not eat a leek raw. I found the kohlrabi I bought earlier in the season to be too much for me, so I know a leek will be too intense for me.


When I bought the leek, I had no idea what I was going to do with the leek. When we got a last minute dinner invitation, I decided to make an appetizer out of my leek. My farmer told me that the green part of the leek is less intense, so I decided to use the green part of the leek for the appetizer and save the white part for just me and my family since I didn’t want to expose my unsuspecting friends to an overly intense appetizer.

I figured that cooking the leek would help break down some of the intensity of the vegetable, so I started out by sautéing my leek in a little bit of olive oil. As it was cooking, the leek reminded me of its cousin, the onion. After tasting the cooked leek, I decided that it would pair well with cream cheese. As it turns out, the leek and the cream cheese worked well together and a simple dip recipe was created. My friends loved the dip. No one realized that there was a leek in the dip. When I told people that it was a leek that they were eating, many of them told me they were surprised because they *thought* they didn’t like leeks. Sometimes good preparation can make an unappetizing vegetable more appealing. Bon appétit, my friends!

Ingredients

1 leek, green part only chopped finely
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces cream cheese

Directions

1. Sauté the leek in the olive oil over medium high heat until the leek begins to turn darker green in color and caramelizes a bit. This should take about 3-5 minutes.

2. Add the leek to the cream cheese and mix the two together.

3. Serve chilled with cucumbers and pita chips.

Posted on Gooseberry Patch

Berry Jam

We are very fortunate to have a mulberry tree in our front yard. I have never had mulberries until this year, but I am surprised at how good they taste in jam form. It is like a cross between a blackberry and a grape with a hint of apple. I know that sounds complicated for a berry, but really you should mulberries a try if you have them at your farmers market or if you are fortunate enough to have a mulberry tree.


Little BBQ loved peanut butter and jelly, so I decided to make him some mulberry jam for one his favorite lunches. The recipe comes from the book, Blue Book Guide to Preserving page32. It is a basic berry jam recipe where any berry can be substituted. I chose not to remove the seeds from the jam because seeds do not seem to bother Little BBQ, but you can remove the seeds if you prefer a smoother jam.

Everyone in the family liked the mulberry jam. It had a wonderful flavor and tasted much better than any store bought jam that I had ever had. I think homemade jam is worth the time and effort. My family really appreciates all the fun things we make each year with the produce that we pick. Perhaps you have a fun family tradition of canning something. Leave me a comment and tell me what you enjoy canning!

Ingredients (makes about 3 pints)

9 cups crushed berries
6 cups sugar

Directions

Combine berries and sugar in a large saucepot. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly to gelling point. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling -water canner.

Note: If seedless jam is preferred, crush berries may be heated until soft and pressed through a sieve or food mill; measure pulp and proceed as above.

Farmers Market Finds July 17, 2010

Tomato season is finally in full swing here! I can’t wait to make some chili and lasagna with our fresh tomatoes. I also got some tricolor heirloom tomatoes to eat with my pesto. I got some more basil this week so I can make some more pesto for the freezer. I adore pesto and tomato sandwiches. Dr. Lazy Palate was excited about the free blueberries we got this week as a bonus for our meat CSA this week. The local peaches were amazing this week, sweet and juicy. They make a perfect afternoon snack. The apples looked better this week so I bought a three pound bag of apples to enjoy as snacks. The corn looked a lot bigger this week, so we bought another dozen for sides for dinner. I love summer. Posted below is a price list for this week.

Blueberry Syrup

I used to hate the taste of blueberries until I went picked fresh blueberries for the first time in South Carolina. Finally blueberries that did not taste like cardboard! It is amazing how great fresh fruit tastes. To make it even better, the blueberries were only $1 a pound. That is an amazing deal considering how much the cardboard tasting blueberries cost in the store. This year we picked blueberries again. We picked about 20 pounds of blueberries this year. Last year I froze most of the blueberries, but this year I wanted to be more creative than just blueberry muffins, so I decided to make blueberry syrup. I love blueberry syrup on my pancakes.


I got the recipe from Ball’s Blue Book Guide to Preserving page 83. It was incredibly simple to make and tasted amazing. They would make wonderful gifts as well. The purple color of the syrup is beautiful. The syrup is a little thin coming out of the jar, but Ball also gave some hints on how to thicken it up for pancakes and other uses that I will also share below.

This recipe was a big hit for the whole family! Everyone loved the syrup. The blueberry syrup adds some variety to our normal maple syrup on pancakes. Plus it will allow us to have a wonderful blueberry flavor in the middle of winter.

Ingredients (makes about 3 pints)

2 quarts blueberries
6 cups water divided
1 tbsp grated lemon peel
3 cups sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Wash blueberries; drain. Crush blueberries. Combine blueberries, 2 cups water and lemon peel in a medium saucepot. Simmer 5 minutes. Strain through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. Combine sugar and 4 cups water in a medium saucepot; boil to 230 degrees F (adjust for altitude). Add blueberry juice to sugar syrup. Boil 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Ladle hot syrup into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Note: Fruit syrup is typically thin. If thicker syrup is desired for serving, combine 1 cup syrup and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cooking until syrup thickens. Do not add cornstarch before canning.

Walnut Butter and Walnut, White Bean, & Blueberry Dip

This month the Daring Cooks made nut butters. There is one simple problem. The only blending device that I own is a hand blender that I bought a few years ago to make baby food with for Little BBQ. It is not a high tech gadget with lots of power. It is just a simple and cheap blender that fit into my budget at the time. I was not confident that my little blender would be able to crush nuts and turn them into butter. However, I am proud to say that I was able to complete this month’s Daring Cooks challenge this month using just a simple hand blender. I thought I was going to have to bow out of making my own nut butter after I tried unsuccessfully to make peanut butter (I blended for 30 minutes and the best I got was some finely ground nuts but no butter even after adding a little oil.) Nevertheless, the walnuts made a simple and wonderful butter (it took about 30 seconds of blending time to produce butter.)

The second part of the challenge was to make a savory dish from our nut butter. I decided to make a walnut and white bean dip that turned into a fabulous walnut, white bean, and blueberry dip. The original dip called for garlic and sage in addition to rosemary, but Dr. Lazy Palate thinks that sage tastes like grass, and he does not like garlic, so I made the dip using just rosemary for seasoning. The dip was super boring. I love rosemary, but the dip needed some pizzazz. I decided to do a little experiment and put blueberries and the dip in my mouth at the same time. Jackpot! The blueberries complemented the dip wonderfully. I took the dip to a dinner party and everyone agreed that the blueberries, beans, and nuts worked wonderfully together. Even the skeptics thought that the blueberries made the dip fabulous.

Walnut, White Bean Dip, and Blueberry Dip (inspired by Cooking Light, August 2007 and Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies)

Ingredients:

½ cup walnuts
1 (15 oz) can Great Northern beans
1 cup blueberries
½ tsp fresh lemon juice
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped or 1 tsp dried rosemary

Directions:

1. Make walnut butter by grinding ½ cup (120 ml) walnuts in food processor for about a minute until it forms a nut butter or paste. Add beans, blueberries, and rosemary to the walnut butter in the food processor. Process the mixture to a smooth consistency. Garnish dip with chopped walnuts and/or chopped fresh rosemary or sage, if desired. Serve dip with pita wedges, crostini, or assorted vegetables.

Healthy Protein Cookies

Sometimes you want a cookie, but you want to eat something healthy as well. This is where a protein cookie comes in. You get the benefit of muscle building protein with that elated feeling you get from eating a cookie. It is the perfect combination of naughty and nice.


I don’t care for the texture of oats in cookies, so I use my hand blender to grind up the chunky oats into a coarse powder. I think it gives the cookies a much more pleasant texture. I used some champagne currants that I got at the farmers market a few weeks back along with some honey bee pollen. Honey bee pollen contains complete proteins meaning that they provide all the essential amino acids in substantial amounts. Honey bee pollen can come in a variety of colors and tastes depending upon the bee and the type of flowers that the bee visits. I recommend going to your farmers market to get a local variety to try for yourself. When you first try honey bee pollen, try just a few granules just in case you might be allergic. Additionally, if you are allergic to honey, then I would skip honey bee pollen all together since you’re more likely to be allergic to the pollen as well. My honey bee pollen is a combination of yellow and orange and tastes slightly sweet and has a bit of chalky texture that I am not a fan of so I do not see myself eating it on top of salad because I am not sure if I can get past the chalky texture. I do, however, want to try it in a smoothie. The honey bee pollen worked well in the cookies. Some would argue that by baking the cookies I denatured the proteins in the honey bee pollen, but I just wanted to acquaint myself and others with the flavor since it is distinct. Later I will move to using it raw.

The cookies were a big hit in the house despite the fact that they did not spread in the oven. They are more like cookie balls. Dr. Lazy Palate did not realize that there was oats in them until I told him. Usually he hates oats in cookies, but he did not mind the ground oats of these cookies. Little BBQ could not get enough of these cookies. He ate 5 in one sitting. Dr. Lazy Palate justified it by saying, “they are healthy so Little BBQ can eat as many as he wants!” I enjoyed them as well. They were sweet without being overly sweet. The currants added a nice tartness, but you could easily substitute blueberries or raisins instead and the cookies would still taste good.

Ingredients (makes 5 dozen cookies)

½ cup bulgur wheat
½ cup water
3 cups oats
3 tbsp wheat bran
1 tsp baking soda
15 oz package of ricotta cheese
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup textured vegetable protein
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup honey bee pollen
1 cup champagne currants

Directions

1. Soak bulgur wheat in water for 30 minutes. The wheat should soak up all the water.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Meanwhile, put the oats in a blend and blitz until a coarse powder is formed.

4. Mix oats, bulgur wheat, wheat bran, baking soda, ricotta cheese, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, eggs, textured vegetable protein, maple syrup, honey bee pollen in bowl and mix well with a spatula for about 5 minutes or until well mixed. The cookies should be slightly sticky.

5. Add the currants and mix for about 2 minutes or until well distributed.

6. Roll the dough into quarter sized balls and place on a well greased cookie sheet.

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Farmers Market Finds July 10, 2010

The farmers market yesterday was brimming with wonderful summer fruits and vegetables like raspberries, corn, tomatoes, basil, and watermelon. I decided not to buy too much this week since I have tons of blueberries that need to be preserved from a U-pick site. Dr. Lazy Palate is a corn fanatic so I bought more corn this week. The raspberries looked amazing and tasted even better. I love fresh raspberries. Little BBQ has already dove into the blackberries. They are not as big as last week because they are from a different farm, but they still taste great.


Our wonderful meat CSA gave us lots of basil. I am so excited to finally be able to make some pesto! I am going to make a blueberry and basil vinegar as well. Also, we will be special ordering some steaks from our CSA since Dr. Lazy Palate wants thick cut steaks for the grill. Personally, I am looking forward to roasts. They make wonderful winter time meals. Posted below is what I bought including a price list.

Spanish Tostadas with Chorizo

I adore Spanish food. The thought of smoked paprika, saffron, and sea food make me elated. My love of Spanish food frequently causes me to browse recipes from A Cook’s Tour of Spain broadcasted on England’s Channel 4. I don’t get that station here in the US, but I still love to browse the recipes from the show and try them out in my kitchen. One day I saw a recipe for Spanish Tostadas with Chorizo and Watermelon and I fell in love. I loved the odd combination of watermelon, tomatoes, and chorizo. I knew this recipe would be a winner. Unfortunately, I found the recipe long before watermelon season started, so I had to be patient to try this recipe out. Finally, watermelon season rolled around and I searched all over town for Spanish chorizo (not Mexican chorizo because I wanted the wonderful smoked paprika flavor). As it turns out no one in this town sells Spanish chorizo, so I had to buy it in a larger city a few hours away. I must say that it was worth the hassle of finding the Spanish chorizo.


The meal was spicy yet sweet; the sherry vinegar brought all the flavors together in a wonderful celebration of flavors. This is one of my new favorite meals. I made it a bit healthier by using a piece of whole grain bread instead of a piece of white country bread. The whole grain bread really added another layer of wonderful flavoring to this already amazing meal. I can’t wait to make it again.

Dr. Lazy Palate was not as big of a fan of this dish. He did not care for the vinegar and he found the sausage to be too spicy. I am really disappointed that he did not like this meal; however, I am not surprised by his reaction. I knew this dish would be well outside of Dr. Lazy Palate’s culinary comfort zone. Little BBQ did not care for the dish either. I don’t think he can appreciate vinegar yet. This means that I will be enjoying this wonderful dish by myself.

Ingredients (serves 8) modified from Thomasina Miers

9 ounces chorizo, picante
¼ fresh watermelon, peeled
1 cup ripe cherry tomatoes
Whole grain bread – one large slice per person
1 - 2 plump garlic cloves
2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup mixed rocket and watercress, washed
2 tbsp good quality sherry vinegar

Directions

1. Diagonally slice the chorizo and fry in a hot pan for a couple of minutes without adding any extra fat.

2. Halve the cherry tomatoes and fry briefly with the chorizo. Cube and deseed the watermelon and place in a large bowl. Add the chorizo and tomatoes and toss well together.

3. Toast the slices of bread - ideally on a preheated griddle. While still warm, rub each slice with a peeled clove of garlic, then drizzle with olive oil. Place on a large platter or board.

4. Arrange the chorizo, watermelon and tomatoes on the toast with the rocket and watercress. Pour the sherry vinegar into the pan the chorizo was fried in to deglaze the spicy juices. Pour over the tostadas to serve.


Posted on This Week's Cravings

Farmers Market finds July 3, 2010

The holiday weekend brought out lots of people to the farmers market this weekend. More summer fruits are making their appearance for the first time this weekend. New fruits this week include cantaloupe, blackberries, and black raspberries. The blackberries were the largest and best tasting blackberries that I have ever tasted. They didn’t even make it one day in our house. The corn was larger this weekend, so that makes Dr. Lazy Palate really excited. More tomatoes are beginning to show up the different stands. I love grape tomatoes, so I bought a small basket full. Lots of flowers were available this weekend. I was able to pick up a beautiful bouquet for $3.00. The farmer at the stand said they should last two weeks if I place them in the refrigerator at night, so this will be a wonderful addition to our house. Below is a price list of our finds this weekend.

Pork Tenderloin with Cumberland Sauce

I am officially in love with currants. Those juicy red berries make me wild inside. They are visually stunning, and they make a delightful Cumberland sauce. I put my sauce on bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, and it was a magnificent dinner. I could not get enough of the Cumberland sauce. The wine worked well with the bur-le-duc and the orange juice adds more depth to the fruit. I honestly can’t wait to try the sauce on turkey. I am so happy that I decided to try currants this year from the farmers market.


Pork tenderloin is one of our favorite cuts of meat because it is so lean and can be spiced in many different ways. We get wonderful organic pork tenderloin from our meat CSA. Sometimes we choose to add potatoes and carrots to the roasting pan because they absorb the wonderful flavor of the meat. In the recipe below I added the optional potatoes and carrots to make a wonderful one pot meal.

Surprisingly, Dr. Lazy Palate liked the Cumberland sauce with the pork tenderloin and he doesn’t even like fruit with his meals! This dinner was a fabulous win for our mixed palate household. Even Little BBQ liked the Cumberland sauce with the pork. This meal has been added to our frequent list.

Ingredients for Pork Tenderloin (from my own kitchen) (serves 4)

1 -1 ½ pound pork tenderloin
1 tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 strips thick cut bacon
3 carrots, chopped (optional)
3 medium potatoes, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the tenderloin in a glass pan and rub the mustard on the tenderloin. Next, sprinkle some thyme on top and wrap the tenderloin with the bacon. Place the optional chopped carrots and potatoes around the tenderloin.

3. Cover and bake the tenderloin for 25-35 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 160 degrees F.


Ingredients for Cumberland Sauce (yields 4 cups) modified from Cheri Reid in Southern Living, November 2000

2 1/2 cups port wine, divided
1 (10 1/2-ounce) jar of bar-le-duc or red currant jelly
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

1. Bring 2 cups wine and next 8 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring constantly; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 20 minutes.

2. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup wine and cornstarch until smooth. Stir into hot mixture; bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat, and cool. Pour into hot sterilized jars, and seal. Store in refrigerator up to 1 month.

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

I love chocolate, so I was super excited to see that Daring Bakers was taking on a chocolate project. Dawn Nyman from Doable and Delicious chose to make chocolate pavlovas with chocolate mascarpone mousse from Francois Payard’s Chocolate Epiphany this month. At first I was a little intimidated by this challenge because I could not find mascarpone cheese in the store. I considered using cream cheese, but it didn’t sound like cream cheese would do this wonderful recipe justice so I scoured the internet for a substitute recipe. I finally found one at keyingredient.com that borrowed the recipe from the blog A Feast for the Eyes Food Blog. Below I included the substitute recipe in case you can’t find mascarpone cheese either.


This dessert was rich and decadent. I made them for a party and everyone kept commenting on they tasted like they belonged in an expensive bakery. I am super happy that I made them small because a little goes a long way with this dessert. If you want a desert that people feel satisfied after only a few bites, then this is it. I was really disappointed when Dr. Lazy Palate thought they were all right. He did not like the mascarpone cheese. He thought it was too tangy. The good news is that Little BBQ loved them. I think my son is going to grow up to be a little foodie, and I love it.

Ingredients for mascarpone cheese substitute (makes about 2 2/3 cups)

2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 tbsp sour cream

Directions

1. Combine well and use in recipes calling for mascarpone cheese.

Note: Do not use low fat cream cheese or sour cream

Ingredients for Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavloca)

3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
¼ cup confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder

Directions

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.

2. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)

3. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)

4. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire.

5. Bake for 2-3 hours with the oven door ajar until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base)

1 ½ cups heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (or orange juice)

Directions

1. Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.

2. Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)

3. Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Ingredients for Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling)

1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Directions

1. Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Ingredients for Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above)

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp sugar

Directions

1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.

2. Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat. .

3. Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

4. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

Assembly of the Pavlovas

Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.