Berry Caprese Salad

I love the traditional Caprese Salad and it's so easy and simple.  I made a summer version of it using berries the other day for a gathering and a friend wanted the recipe so here it is!

Ingredients
1 cup of organic cherries, pitted and sliced in half (red or white)

1/4 cup of good aged balsamic vinegar, I used aged modena version 

1/8 cup plus generous drizzle of really good olive oil that has a grassy taste finish

4-5 medium size organic tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1 pint of organic strawberries, stems removed and quartered
Handful of Italian parsley, teared or chiffonade
8oz package of burrata, quartered
Pepper to taste

-Combine cherries, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and put in a container with lid and set aside. Let it marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Assemble the rest of ingredients when ready to serve.
-Layer the tomato slices in a large platter, sprinkle 1/4 tsp of the salt
-Next layer the strawberries evenly on top of tomatoes
-Sprinkle the Italian parsley evenly
-Then layer the burrata, (if you are taking this dish to a party, omit this step and the cherry mixture until you arrive at the party)
-Give the cherry mixture a good toss then drizzle over the salad platter
-Sprinkle rest of salt and pepper to taste
-Drizzle additional olive oil and then serve

I wanted to keep the traditional colors of a caprese salad but change up the flavors.  However, you really can mix this up with different berries and herbs.  I used Italian parsley because I wanted a grassier taste to counter a bit more sweetness that comes with berries but it can easily be made with the traditional basil, as well as regular mozzarella.

Peach Pecan Butterhorns

It's been almost six months since I've baked anything.  Work has been the reason. I've started a new job, well same job but changed groups and all new customers so it's like starting a new job and have taken some time to ramp up.  It was great to bake something again, and it brings me to a great place to share and feed my friends.  

I've had a love affair with Butterhorns since I used to get them at the Nordstrom's coffee bar.  What are Butterhorns you ask?  Before having baking knowledge, I would have said, it's a long stick cinnamon cookie.  Now days, I can tell you that it's a rolled up pie crust, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, baked, then covered with a simple sugar glaze.  

I've tasted apple filled version from Diva Espresso but they don't carry them anymore. I loved the idea of filling them since the base is a typical pie crust.

For a Fourth of July gathering, I was going to bake a Berry Crisp but had some fresh organic peaches but not enough to put into a pie so decided to try making the Butterhorns instead. 

This is another super easy, I have no time recipe.  I'm going to try other fillings like apple, blueberries, and even a just pecan version. Yum!

2 Rolls of store bought pie shells. I used the Trader Joe version since it's very buttery and more like homemade.  
4 Peaches
3 Tbl of granulated sugar
1 Tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 Cup of chopped, toasted, salted pecans
1 Cup of powder sugar


-Unroll pie shell and cut diagonal into 8 slices (like pizza slices) then place them on a sheet pan and put in refrigerator until ready to use
-Cut peaches into 1/2 inch slices
-Place peaches, cinnamon, and sugar into a medium size bowl and toss, then let it sit for at least 30 minutes
-Once peaches mixture has developed a watery base and sugar has dissolved into the mixture, drain.  Leave the juice base in the bowl
-To assemble the butterhorn, take one slice of pie shell, and line 2-3 slices of peaches at the tip of the longer edge of the pie shell and then roll once, sprinkle some pecans on top of the rolled dough side. This way it stays crunchy and not soggy by the peaches. Roll rest until tip is fully rolled.(Use about 1/4 cup of it and save rest to top after baking.) Place on baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat until all 16 are complete. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until ready to bake
-Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown
-Transfer to a rack and cool completely

-For the glaze, add the powder sugar to the peach juice mixture. Using a back of spoon, blend like a paste to ensure smooth glaze and let it sit until fully dissolved and put aside. If your peaches are not very ripe then there will not be as much juice, in that case, add some milk to the glaze and ensure the consistency is like honey to have a perfect glaze
-Once the butterhorns are cooled, spoon the glaze over each butterhorn until it drizzles and covers most the pastry.  Sprinkle remainder of the pecans and allow the glaze to dry, then serve or store in air tight container

Cheese Crackers

Another yummy and easy appetizer for drinks are these savory crackers.  They are easily storable and you can make them ahead of time and freeze them, then bake them when you need to take something to a party or host a little wine hour for your friends.

I've made several combos with different cheeses, nuts, herbs.  Depending on your mood and what you got in the fridge, the options are endless.  I made these Jalapeno and Cheddar Crackers for a friend's party I went to earlier this year.

The recipe is from Ina Garten's cookbook.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¹⁄8 teaspoon baking powder
14 tablespoons (13/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/2-inch-diced
5 ounces extra-sharp white cheddar, grated
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
3 tablespoons ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
Fleur de sel or sea salt

Place the flour, kosher salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cheddar, jalapeño, and chipotle chili powder and pulse again. With the food processor running, add the ice water all at once. Continue pulsing until the mixture begins to form a ball. Dump the dough onto a floured board and roll it into a 14-inch log. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Cut the dough in 3/8-inch-thick slices. Place the crackers on the prepared sheet pan, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature

 

Savory Pie Bites

Boy it's been a long time!  Well, I've been making good food to eat and to share, but life has been a bit busy to post.  I'm also working on a new site soon with a new camera, with the hope to change the feel and focus of this blog journey I've been on. More to come at some point later this year.

Life has really come to a great place, I'm able to focus and take a deep breath and hopefully do more baking and sharing of food!

Last holiday season, I made these little Pie Bites that are super easy to make when you are on the go.

Pie Bites
1 package of store bought pie shell (I know but it saves time!)
Handful of Dates, Pitted and Chopped
Parmesan Cheese, Chopped in little chunks
Handful of Pecans, Broken
Black Pepper, A Dash
Egg Wash
Salt Flakes

-Preheat oven to 350 degree
-Cut the pie shell into 2x2 inch squares
-Lay out the squares on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
-Put even amounts of dates, cheese, and pecans
-Sprinkle some black pepper
-Cover each one with another square of pie dough
-Using a fork, crimp all four sides of each square
-Brush each with egg wash
-Sprinkle a pinch of salt flakes
-Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown
-Cool 15 minutes 

That's it!  People will ooohhh and ahhhh but it's a simple appetizer for any party.  You can change up the filling in any combo you like!

Little bites of moments...

What defines ones life?  It seems to be moments and experiences that one must seize and of the roads taken.  It's those small bites and decisions that brings upon a world of paths and experiences that I might not have crossed.  

This is how my best moments seemed to have been defined.  It hasn't been planned, these moments of deliciousness and decisions come my way and sometimes with fear...I take them.  It's led me right so far.

Sometimes, many times, I do get so caught up in my comforts.  I try to remind myself that the best experiences are ones where I went with my gut.  I believe in this thing called "energy", there have been too many moments and surprises that have come my way after certain thoughts.  

So as scary some doors seem, or the fear and hardship one expect, I have to remind myself of the uncharted experiences to come to this life.  It's so much easier to wallo in past pain or be safe to the road not taken, but I hope to not limit myself to the past and the future to come.  I can't wait.

Peach Frangipane Tart

It was my friend Carolyn's birthday celebration this weekend!  I asked her if I could bake her a cake and she said she would prefer a peach pie because it was her favorite.  She was also adamant on no gifts so I stole one of her ideas of what she did for me on a past birthday...

First, let's talk about the tart.  So...I wanted to make it a bit more special then just the pie and I've tasted a really great frangipane tart with apricot so thought peaches would work well. Well, I didn't love this tart and the reason is that the peach flavor can't stand up to the creaminess of the almond frangipane.  


What is frangipane you ask?  It's an almond based filling usually made with eggs, sugar, butter, and ground almonds.  You usually see it in tarts, croissant, and other desserts.


Carolyn and party attendees said the tart was good but I am my worst critic and I didn't love this tart.  Again, the peaches kinda blended with the filling and the flavor was one note, where as with apricot, the flavors compliment since the frangipane balances the tartness of the apricots.  So I will have to remake it for Carolyn.

Now for the birthday gift story...one of the best birthday gifts that I received was from Carolyn a couple of year ago.  It was a vegetarian pot pie in a sweet white pie pan.  Carolyn makes one of the best veggie pot pies I've tasted and she gave me this pie along with the pie pan.  I thought what a great idea! The gift of food but also paired with the kitchen dish.  I loved it!  So this was perfect for her birthday since she said no gifts but yes to the peach tart.  


I also made a glaze for this by mixing the peach juices, cinnamon, and powder sugar.  

I'll need to give it a go again and treat her to a new version of this tart.  It's coming Carolyn!

Chicken & Biscuits

It's always time for biscuits!  My new friend Jason from Australia was raving about the American biscuits the last time we  met with Chris, so I had to share my versions.  I mean, this is the product of love that I discovered after I left my day job after 8 years in IT, and then spent a year learning and honing my skills from the local best.

I actually bought a few biscuit cookbooks and have been learning a lot of different versions, especially ones from the south.  I always knew the importance of the light hand but something new I've learn is that the southern light version uses a lighter flour, cake flour.  

On this day, I made a southern lighter version for the ones I served with chicken and gravy.  I also made my usual savory Tomato & Onion ones. 

This is the real chicken version with crispy bacon. I wanted to add a sunny side up egg on it but my guests were trying to eat healthy and I think the egg would have been over the top.

This version is vegetarian. I used veggie faux chicken but same gravy and biscuit.  I should note that I made the gravy "Asian", this is an continued testing from my Asian poutine.  Still working on that... My friend Chris has started focusing more on veggies.  She used to only eat "fish and fowl" but now is full veggie.  She has had four dogs at one point, and is an avid animal lover, so this didn't surprise me that she has reach this point.  It was nice to create comfort food for fellow vegetarians.  :)

Here are the tomato and onion ones. I've made and posted the recipe in the post here.

Here are the southern lighter biscuits...these were hand form and no biscuit cutter so you can see they are not quite perfect.

You can also eat it with just honey, butter, and salt.

I just love making biscuits for people and can't wait to make this again for friends!  

Raspberry Ganache Brownie

In my continued obsession with brownies, I tried to lighten the heavy chocolate with a layer of fresh raspberries, as well as adding a new texture of the glossy ganache.  It tasted great.  The fresh raspberries are a nice touch but this version was too thick for cutting and the base I used was too cakey.  Back to the drawing board but I'm sure I'll try this version again...

Fudgy Brownies

I'm a bit obsessed with brownies right now.  I'm trying a lot of different recipes.  I recently made some fudgy ones for my friend Joan's Fourth of July party.  I also made some cakey ones but was not too happy with it. The fudgy ones turned out great and the recipe came from this super chocolate book by Scharffen Berger. 

6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
8 oz Dark 70% Chocolate Chopped
3/4 C + 2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 Tsp of Salt
2 Eggs
1/3 C All Purpose Flour
1/2 C Walnut Toasted with Salt


-Preheat oven to 325
-Butter and line a 9x9 square pan with parchment paper.
-Melt butter and chocolates in a bowl simmering over water.  Remove from heat once melted. Watch carefully not to scorch the mixture, remove from heat if too hot and just stir and then return to simmering water as needed.
-Using a wooden spoon, beat in sugar and salt.
-Add eggs one at a time.
-Stir in flour until mixed.
-Stir in the walnuts.
-Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan.
-Bake for 30-35 min. Check with a toothpick in center. If it comes out clean, it's ready.
-Cool for 10 min in pan, then remove and cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy with a glass of milk or cup of coffee!  These are to die for!

Olive Oil Zucchini Bread

My mom loves Zucchini Bread.  I would bake her banana bread and she would say, but I want Zucchini bread.  Even my friend's little boy Bennie was like my favorite is Zucchini bread.  Whaaat?  A 4 year old prefers zucchini rather than banana? Yup!

So, I've been testing a few recipes and I think I've come up with one I like.  I realize with zucchini bread, the simpler the better for my taste.  The cake has to be very moist and soft, not too sweet, but with good spice flavors.  I've tried various versions, ones made with marmalade, pineapple, raisins, but I like to keep it simple.  The oil base makes really nice and moist and using olive oil vs. just vegetable oil also adds a nice fruity, nutty, and grassy flavor.
Here is this simple version.

3 Eggs
1 3/4 C Sugar
1 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
3 C Grated Zucchini
3 Cups Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
3 Tsp Cinnamon
1 C Chopped Walnut
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Spray 2 9x5 loaf pan with baking spray oil
-Whip eggs and sugar until light and frothy, about 4 min in a stand mixer
-Add olive oil and vanilla and mix well
-Add grated zucchini until combined
-In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon
-Add all of the dry mixture to the egg mixture and mix until the dry is just combined with the wet.  Make sure to not over mix.
-Stir in the chopped walnuts.
-Transfer the batter evenly into the 2 pans
-Bake for 1 hour, test to make sure a tooth pick comes out clean
-Cool for 30 min to 1 hour

Slice them up and eat with salty butter while its warm or wrapped in plastic and give away to friends. Mom got some this weekend and Bennie/Carolyn will get theirs later this week.