Here is a chef's secret for producing perfect poached eggs. If you don't have access to eggs freshly plucked from under a hen in you own back yard, the whites in purchased eggs will already have begun to thin out. This thin part is what produces those wispy bits of white when you poach eggs. No amount of vinegar, no rapidly spinning whirlpool of water will persuade them to coagulate into a neat shape. At best, you will have to trim them once they are cooked. But, if you take a moment to drop the egg into a strainer and allow the watery white to drain away, you will get a perfect egg every time. After poaching for two and a half to three minutes, they are ready to serve or to be placed in a bowl of iced water to be used later. Also see Eggs Benedict recipe and video. WATCH VIDEO DEMONSTRATION:
Hollandaise Sauce is one of the great classic sauces. It has a reputation for being finicky to make but all it really needs is your constant attention. A heavy round-bottomed pan, called a saucier, is a great asset since there are no corners for the sauce to lurk in and overcook. But if you are careful to get your whisk into the corners of your pan, you can make it in any pan.
Whisking the eggs with lemon juice - fresh please! - and water until they are thick enough to coat the back of a spoon is the important first step. Once you have accomplished that, add the clarified butter and drop or two at a time to start with and then a little more quickly, whisking all the time and you have a perfect Hollandaise.
In addition to Eggs Benedict, Hollandaise is great with asparagus and broccoli.
You can vary it by replacing the water with orange juice in the beginning step, and adding an addition tablespoon of orange juice and a teaspoon of finely grated orange zest at the end with the salt and pepper. You now have Sauce Maltaise!
Producing Eggs Benedict for a group for brunch can be a daunting prospect. However, when you break down the steps and do some of them ahead, the dish becomes much more manageable. I like to poach my eggs and clarify the butter the day before. Yes, you can poach eggs ahead - you simply drop them into a bowl of iced water when they are cooked. When you are ready to use them, drain the cold water and replace it with hot - not boiling - water and allow them to sit for a few minutes.
Breaking the raw eggs into a sieve and allowing the watery part of the white to drain away makes for a perfectly shaped poached egg without any of those stray, wispy bits of white that need to be trimmed.
Clarified butter is easily made in the microwave. I like this method because I can see when the milk solids have settled. Apart from use in Hollandaise Sauce, clarified butter is great for frying. It can take a higher heat because it is the milk solids which burn and cause black spots when you use whole butter to fry. It is also promoted as being healthier.
Hollandaise Sauce is one of the great classic sauces. It has a reputation for being finicky to make but all it really needs is your constant attention. A heavy round-bottomed pan, called a saucier, is a great asset since there are no corners for the sauce to lurk in and overcook. But if you are careful to get your whisk into the corners of your pan, you can make it in any pan. Whisking the eggs with lemon juice - fresh please! - and water until they are thick enough to coat the back of a spoon is the important first step. Once you have accomplished that, add the clarified butter and drop or two at a time to start with and then a little more quickly, whisking all the time and you have a perfect Hollandaise.
In addition to Eggs Benedict, Hollandaise is great with asparagus and broccoli.
You can vary it by replacing the water with orange juice in the beginning step, and adding an addition tablespoon of orange juice and a teaspoon of finely grated orange zest at the end with the salt and pepper. You now have Sauce Maltaise!
Warm your poached eggs, toast English Muffins, heat some Canadian Bacon and you are ready to serve Eggs Benedict.
A great dessert for a cold winter's day. Easier to make than pie and just as good. Perfect for a beginning baker.
Apple Crumble
For the Crumble:
2 ¼ cups flour
¾ cup unrefined brown sugar (demerara)
7 ounces butter, cubed, at room temperature
1 cup crushed Amaretti cookies
For the filling:
1½ lbs. apples
¼ cup unrefined brown sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and flour and gradually rub in the butter cubes using your fingers until mixture resembles crumbs. Toss in the crushed cookies.
Peel and dice apples, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon and toss with apples.
Place in a buttered 2 quart baking dish, or individual dishes, top with crumbs and bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to cool slightly and serve with vanilla ice-cream.
The crumble freezes well.
Notes: If you can't find Demerara sugar, substitute brown sugar. If you can't find Amaretti, ginger snaps would work well or you can simply eliminate the cookies altogether.
You can also make the crumble in a food processor but you would want the butter to be very cold.
No, they are not potatoes that have been out on a bender! They are a takeoff on loaded potato skins but without having to bake all those big potatoes and then either find a use for the insides or just wasting them.
They make a great appetizer, snack or side dish and you can vary the toppings any way you like. I'm using cheddar, scallions, bacon and sour cream but you could use cooked, crumbled Italian sausage, mozzarella and a little tomato sauce; cooked chopped beef with taco seasoning, Jack cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream, etc., etc.
The potatoes can be cooked ahead of time and just baked and topped at the last minute. Watch the video:
Can you believe a one-ingredient hors d'oeuvre? If you have some cheese in your refrigerator, you have everything you need to produce an elegant, tasty, light bite. The perfect thing to serve before a big meal.
Simply grate about 2 ounces of cheese - parmigiana is my favorite but you can also use cheddar, Swiss or Gruyere. Sprinkle generous tablespoonfuls on a parchment-lined baking sheet to make 8 circles leaving some space in between as they spread, bake at 375 degrees for 5 or 6 minutes until very lightly browned.
Hint: I use a 2" ring or cookie cutter to keep the rounds neat. Here is the video demonstration:
Looking for a last minute Christmas gift - Williams-Sonoma has a great price on the Breville Crispy Pizza oven. It's my favorite new toy. Watch for a video soon.
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp. 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1 cup Nutella 1/2 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 2 1/4 cups flour 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/2 tap. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
Sift together flour cocoa, salt and baking soda, stir to combine and set aside. Cream butter until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add sugar and Nutella and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to blend well. Add vanilla and mix in. Add flour mixture and blend well on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice. Fold in chocolate chips and hazelnuts and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool for a minute or two before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Note: cookies will be soft when baked but will crisp up as they cool. Makes a LOT of cookies!
This is a recipe I have been making for years. I have seen it referred to as Warm Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Lava Cake, Chocolate Fondant and even Italian Souffle!
It's a great dinner party dessert since you can make it the day before and hold it in the refrigerator or even freeze it. Just be sure to allow it to return to room temperature before baking!
Warm Chocolate Cakes
6 oz. butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons flour
Additional butter for greasing molds
Additional flour and cocoa for molds
Butter 6 6oz. molds and coat with flour mixed with cocoa powder.*
In a heavy pan, heat butter and chocolate together over very low heat until the chocolate is almost completely melted. While that’s heating beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar with a whisk or electric beater until light and thick.
Beat together the melted chocolate and butter; it should be quite warm. Pour in the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour, just until combined.
Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point you can refrigerate the desserts until you are ready to eat, for up to several hours; bring them back to room temperature before baking.)
Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the molds on a tray for about 10 minutes; the center will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set.
Invert each mold onto a plate and let sit for about 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately with a little whipped cream and a few raspberries, if desired.
*Be sure to butter the molds well. I always use flour mixed with cocoa, in about equal parts for anything chocolate. It prevents the finished product having a white coating!
Even the most avid cook likes a day off now and then and so it was with great
interest that I watched a new "eatery" being created in The Streets of Chester
shopping mall which is part of my morning walk route.
Chef Tommy Mongiello noticed my friend, Barbara, and me peeking in the door
one morning and invited us in to show us what was going on. We were so
impressed by the concept that I asked Tommy If we could do a video - and here is
the result!
Chef Tommy Mongiello and Betty Bannerman Busciglio
tour THE TRUCK STOP
Fantastic video Betty, thanks for showing us around the truck stop. Hope you can do more of these videos, they really are superb. My only question is, how do you Americans live over 30 without heart surgery? Lots of love to you dearest Betty, greetings from Germany.
Great video! I always enjoy going out with a tour of such places with recipe demos! Great idea for a food court. Better than actually visiting trucks like in Portland, Oregon.
