Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th
#11
  Re: (...)
And here's Old Bay's choices for his menu -

Baltimore Crab Fluffs – Issue #74, Apr. 09
Makes16-18 fluffs

For the crab mixture –
2 cans pasteurized lump crab meat (6 oz. each), drained (about ½ lbs. meat)
1/2 cup panko
2 T. minced scallions
1 T. grated lemon zest
3 T. mayonnaise
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

For the batter –
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chilled beer or club soda
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Vegetable oil

Combine crab meat, panko, scallions, and zest in a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together mayo, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and cayenne. Gently fold mayonnaise mixture into crab mixture until the two are thoroughly combined. Try to avoid breaking up crab meat.

Stir together egg yolks, milk, beer, and 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning for the batter in a large bowl. Sift in flour and baking powder. Stir mixture with a fork until batter is just combined. (some lumps are o.k.) Heat 2 inches of vege oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat to 360°.

Form crab mixture into balls the size of large gum balls (about one rounded Tbsp. each). Working in batches, coat crab balls with batter, then use a slotted spoon to carefully lay them into hot oil. Turn fluffs frequently until they’re evenly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove fluffs to a paper towel-lined tray.

Serve fluffs immediately, or keep them warm in a 200° oven for up to 30 minutes.

- - - - - -
Greek Salsa Chicken
(Cuisine at home, December 2003, Issue 42, p. 14)
Makes: 6 Servings Total Time: 1 1/2 Hours

For the Salsa— Combine:
3 pkgs. (4oz. each) crumbled feta cheese
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 jar (4.75 oz.) pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. chopped fresh oregano

For the Chicken— Saute in 1/4 Cup Olive Oil:
6 skinless, bone-in chicken breast halves (8 oz. each), seasoned

Squeeze over Chicken:
2 lemons, cut into wedges
Related Recipes: Roasted Potatoes

Preheat oven to 450°.
Combine all salsa ingredients in large bowl; cover and chill.

Saute chicken in oil, breast side down, in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat until browned. Turn chicken over.

Squeeze chicken with lemon juice, then nestle the squeezed lemon wedges around the breasts. Roast chicken about 50 minutes, or until it reaches 165° on an instant read thermometer.Transfer chicken and lemons to a large platter and top with salsa.

Notes: Fresh oregano and parsley embellish the bold flavors of the salsa.

If you don’t have a roasting pan, browning the chicken in a large ovenproof skillet will work.

Nutrition Information (Per 8 oz. chicken with 3/4 cup salsa):
670 calories 66% calories from fat 49g total fat 10g carb. 1094mg sodium 1g fiber

- - - - - -
Buttery Dinner Rolls – Issue #74, Apr. ‘09

Makes 12 rolls; Total time: about 4 hours
2/3 Cup whole milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast (21/4 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter,
softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
1 egg, beaten
1 egg yolk, beaten

Heat milk in a small saucepan to 180° over medium heat. Add
1/2 stick butter and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let mixture cool to 105°-110°. Stir in yeast. Allow mixture to rest in a warm place until it swells and becomes bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Grease inside of a bowl and a muffin tin with 2 Tbsp. softened butter. ~ Whisk together flour and salt in the ., bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast mixture, egg, and egg yolk.

Knead mixture with a dough hook, on medium speed, until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the bowl, 6-8 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp. extra flour at a time, if necessary. Place dough in prepared bowl, cover, and let it rise until it's doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Divide dough into 36 equal portions. Shape portions into balls; place three balls in each well of the prepared muffin tin. Cover dough with plastic wrap. (At this point, shaped dough may be refrigerated overnight.) Let rise until doubled in size, about 11/2 hours (21/2 hours if dough was chilled). While dough is rising, preheat oven to 375° with rack in the lower third.

Bake rolls until light brown, about 10 minutes. Cool rolls slightly in pan before serving.

Note: C@H prefers unsalted butter.

Per roll: 181 cal; 7g total fat (4g sat); 48mg chol; 269 carb; 173mg sodium; 1 9 fiber; 4g protein

- - - - - -

Classic Carrot Cake with Pineapple-Cream Cheese Frosting
Issue #74, Apr. '09
makes about 12 servings.
Note: We used three 8" layers for our cake, but one 9X13" or three 9" pans work, too. Just note that you'll need less frosting for a 9X13" cake.

FOR THE CAKE-
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each baking soda
and baking powder
1 tsp. chai spice blend*
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. table salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
1/2 cup buttermilk
FOR THE FROSTING-
1 1/2 pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature (12 oz. total)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter,
room temperature
3 Tbsp. pineapple juice
6 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup ground pistachios

Preheat oven to 350°. Line three 8-inch cake pans (or 9-inch) with parchment circles; coat with nonstick spray. For the 9x13 pan eliminate parchment but coat the pan with nonstick spray.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, chai spice blend, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. Cream together eggs, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until mixture forms ribbons, 5-7 minutes. Slowly drizzle in oil while continuing to mix until oil is incorporated. Stir in carrots and 1/4 cup chopped pistachios. Fold half of flour mixture into creamed mixture. Once flour mixture is nearly incorporated, stir in buttermilk. Fold in remaining flour mixture until batter is blended.

Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 35-40 minutes (45 minutes if using a 9x13 pan). Transfer cakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely.

Beat together cream cheese, butter, and pineapple juice for frosting in a large bowl with a mixer until ingredients are combined.
Mix in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, scraping sides of bowl after each addition, until sugar is fully incorporated. Beat frosting until light and fluffy.

To frost cake, place one cake layer topside down; spread frosting to edges. Top with a cake layer and more frosting; stack final cake layer on top. Spread frosting onto sides of stacked layers until covered. Then spread frosting on top layer of cake, smooth with the sides, and garnish with ground pistachios .

• You can substitute 1/4 tsp. each ground cardamom. cloves, ginger, and nutmeg for chai spice blend.

C@H's other notes:
- keep cake texture light and prevent a soggy bottom by adding oil in a thin stream to emulsify with sugar and eggs.

- Fold the dry ingred. into the batter just til blended. Over-mixing results in a cake with tunneling and a tough crumb.

- press pistachios onto the cake with your palm. To catch any stray nuts, place the cake stand on a baking sheet.

- shave a few minutes off prep time by using preshredded carrots - but not the 'julienned' or matchstick carrots, which are too thick.

- To evenly fill cake layers with frosting, use a piping bag fitted with a large straight tip. Starting at the outside edge of bottom cake layer, pipe frosting in circles to the center. Place the next layer on top, and repeat piping. The weight from the cake evenly distributes the frosting.

- if you prefer a 'cleanly' frosted cake, use an offset spatula (or knife) dipped into hot water and wiped clean to smooth out any wrinkles.

- - - - -

WHEW!!!! Thank God for scanners - no way would I have typed all that cake in!
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#12
  Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by cjs (And here's Old Bay's...)
Sorry. Sitting out for this one. Would love to try it, but can't even begin to afford getting all the ingredients that make it distinctive and, but the time I would get done with poor-man's substitutions, the originally intended flavour would no longer exist. Unless something drastic happens, it looks as though the situation may stay this way for at least the next four years, probably getting even worse before then.
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
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#13
  Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by cjs (And here's Old Bay's...)
Jean, you are too much!!! You make this forum special. Thanks!!
"He who sups with the devil should have a. long spoon".
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#14
  Re: Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by Old Bay (Jean, you are too mu...)
Looks like a great menu Bill.

You know what? I have always meant to buy Old Bay, but never got around to it. Now there are 3 recipes I want to try with Old Bay, so I better get myself to the store!

Looking forward to the meal.
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
Laura
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#15
  Re: Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by Old Bay (Jean, you are too mu...)
Isn't she though? Even though I insult her on occasion, bless her heart, she has a special place in mine.

Laura, be careful buying the Old Bay seasoning. I thought I was buying the powdered variety and instead got the one with whole spices in it. When I get ready to use it, I will run it though the spice blender.
Don't wait too long to tell someone you love them.

Billy
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#16
  Re: Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by bjcotton (Isn't she though? E...)
Thank you for the tip Billy. I didn't know it was sold like that. Now I don't know which one to buy. Whole and grind it as I go - which would probably give it a more potent flavor; or already ground.

My gut actually tells me to buy the whole stuff. Anyone have any thoughts or experience?
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
Laura
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#17
  Re: Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by luvnit (Thank you for the ti...)
"bless her heart" - back at 'cha!
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#18
  Re: Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by labradors (Sorry. Sitting out ...)
Quote:

Sorry. Sitting out for this one. Would love to try it, but can't even begin to afford getting all the ingredients that make it distinctive and, but the time I would get done with poor-man's substitutions, the originally intended flavour would no longer exist. Unless something drastic happens, it looks as though the situation may stay this way for at least the next four years, probably getting even worse before then.




Sorry you can't join us, labs. Any chance you might be able to make just one of the dishes so that you can still participate? That's what I've decided to do, so that I don't miss out completely.

The reason I ask is because I probably won't be making the whole menu myself just because I'm trying not to eat so much and that is a pretty high calorie menu. Since the chicken sounds tasty, I may just make that. The carrot cake and the rolls are calling me, but since I don't want to be wearing them around my waist at vacation time, will probably pass.

Maryann
Maryann

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently..."
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#19
  Re: Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by Mare749 ([blockquote]Quote:[h...)
I'm thinking I'll break the menu up over the two weeks - and probably won't make the carrot cake unless I can give a lot away to someone.....but I do want to try the other 3 dishes.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#20
  Re: Re: Bill's Dinner Review for March 30th by cjs (I'm thinking I'll br...)
Nice menu, Bill (and Jean!!!)

I will try to join in and will do as Jean is---break it up over the next week or so......Peter is off to a national shooting match in the near future and then off to the States to visit his ailing 93 year old Mom.

I am really looking forward to SALADS and detoxing----gotta lose some pounds that just don't seem to want to go away---no matta what I do>>>> GEESH!
"Never eat more than you can lift" Miss Piggy
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