Category: recipes

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Valentine’s Day 2021

Appetizer (while we fixed the rest of the meal):

the cream cheese dip from the Big Carrot book. We make it often.

Thai Carrot Salad

1 lb carrots julienned
1/3 c. rice vinegar
zest and juice from one lime
2 T. maple syrup
1/2 t. Thai pepper flakes
1 3/4 c. chopped roasted peanuts

Blend together vinegar, lime, maple syrup, and pepper flakes.
Toss with carrots. Let stand for an hour or two.
Before serving add peanuts.

Original recipe: 1/4 cup crystalized ginger, julienned / 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.

Carrot “Soup”

Well, it was supposed to be a soup, but I forgot to add the cream, so it was a very thick soup (almost a stew). Serve in a bowl.

1 stick butter
4 c. carrots, sliced
1 c. potato, chopped
1/4 cup star anise in a cheesecloth bag
1/2 lb. bacon
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 qt. chicken broth

In a heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots and potato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in garlic. Add bacon and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

Carrot Macaroni and Cheese with Sausage

1 lb carrots, peeled and grated in food processor
zest and juice of one orange / zest removed with a veggie peeler in strips
3 cups ziti pasta
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
1 lb. sausage

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan, combine the carrots with the zest and juice and 1/4 cup of water. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderate heat until the carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes. Discard the zest. Transfer the carrots and any liquid to a blender / food processor and puree until very smooth.
  2. In a saucepan, brown the sausage.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
  4. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the reserved water, the carrot puree, and sausage and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is coated with a thickened sauce, about 5 minutes. Stir in three-fourths of the cheese and cook, stirring, until very creamy, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
  5. Transfer the pasta to a 9X13 glass dish (coat with vegetable oil) and top with the remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Adopted from Food & Wine. We didn’t do: End the end of step 4, stir in the tarragon and season with salt and white pepper.

Carrot-Cake Thumbprint Cookies

Active Time: 35 min.; Total Time: 1 hr. 45 min.; Makes: 1 dozen

1 stick unsalted butter, melted;
plus 1/2 stick, room temperature, for frosting
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup packed finely grated carrots (about 3)
3/4 cup pecans. finely chopped
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons apricot jam

  1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. In a large bowl. whisk together melted butter, brown and granulated sugars, and yolk. In another bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture to combine. Mix in oats, carrots. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
  2. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls; roll balls in pecans to coat. Space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven; press an indentation into center of each cookie with the end of a wooden spoon. Bake until golden brown on bottoms, 10 to 12 minutes more. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.
  3. In a bowl, beat remaining 1/2 stick butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium until smooth. Beat in cream cheese until just combined. Swirl in jam. Fill center of each cookie with cream-cheese mixture; serve.

 

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Butterscotch Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Adapted from Mable & Gar Hoffman / Ice Cream page 122

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup butterscotch pieces
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (the original used chunky)
1 tsp vanilla extra
2 tsp tapioca powder dissolved in 2 TBS of milk

Bring the milks and brown sugar to a bowl. Stir in peanut butter and chips to melt.
Cool slightly, then put in a cold water bath before ripening in fridge overnight.
Beat / blend well before putting in 2-quart ice cream maker.
20 minutes in machine. about 1.5 quarts at end.
You could see little specs of butterscotch.

Add salt?

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Ice cream mixture quantities

Amount of mixture (sometimes called slurry):

MachineOutputstart with:
(assuming
30% overrun)		start with:
(assuming
70% overrun)
Cuisinart2 quarts1.5 quarts
(almost 6 cups)		1.2 quarts
(4 ¾ cups)
White Mountain4 quarts3 quarts
(12 cups)		2 1/3 quarts
(9 ¼ cups)
KitchenAid1.5 quartsa little over 1 qt
(4 ½ cups)		3/4 quart
(3 ½ cups)

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Butter Pecan Ice Cream 3

One difference from version #2 – just the egg yolks, no egg whites. Taste / texture was not as icy.

Cuisinart 2 quart maker – 7/20/2020
Adapted from a Recipe By : Mable & Gar Hoffman

Slurry mixture:
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cups glucose (5 oz this time)*
4 cups half-and-half
4 egg yolks
* Use 1 cup sugar, but the texture will be different.
You can use corn syrup in place of the glucose

After heating:
1 heaping TB of molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla

Optional for texture: 2 tsp tapioca powder dissolved in 2 TBS milk

Pecan mix:
3 TBS butter
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1.5 teaspoons salt

Combine sugar and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolved and comes to a boil, stirring occasionally.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs for about 5 minutes, until they are lightish yellow and thick. Add the hot milk a cup at a time until tempered.
Return the mixture to the pan, and on medium low bring to 180 degrees. Off the heat, add the molasses.
Cool in a sinkful of water to 50 degrees. Add the vanilla and optional tapioca powder.

Put in the fridge overnight.

In the meantime: Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over a low heat. Add the pecans and salt. Saute, stirring constantly, until the pecans start to brown. Transfer the pecans to a large, flat pan to cool. Try to keep crisp.

Add the cold mixture to the ice cream machine. Process until the right texture, about 25 minutes in the Cuisinart. Add the pecans at the end.

*You can also use brown sugar but the milk will curdle. Bon Appetit says it will look curdled, but it doesn’t matter. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/brown-sugar-bourbon-ice-cream

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Valentine’s Day 2020

Dinner

Quick-Pickled Carrots with Coriander and Chiles

Pickled Carrots

8 ounces carrots, peeled and cut into 4-inch sticks
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons white vinegar
l 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 clove garlic, halved
1/2 green jalapeno pepper, sliced

  1. Arrange carrot sticks upright like soldiers
    in a wide-mouth pint canning jar.
  2. In a small saucepan, combine the water,
    vinegar, salt, sugar, coriander seeds and
    peppercorns; bring to a boil. Pour over
    carrots. When close to cool, tuck in garlic
    and jalapeno. Let cool completely, screw on
    lid and store in the refrigerator overnight or
    up to 1 month. MAKES 1 PINT (1S SERVINGS).

PER SERVING 6 cal, 0 g fat, 0 mg chol, 25 mg sodium,
1 g carbo, 0 9 fiber, 1 g sugars, 0 g pro.

SPICED CARROT DIP

spicy dip

Prep time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 16

1 1/2 lb carrots. cut into 1″ pieces
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
3/4 tsp cumin
1 c 2% Greek-style yogurt
1/2 c reduced-fat sour cream
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

  1. STEAM carrots until tender. about 20 minutes. Put in food processor.
  2. HEAT oil in small non­stick skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, curry powder. and cumin. Toast. stirring. until fragrant. about 2 minutes.
  3. ADD to food processor with remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth.
    Season. (Makes 4 cups.)

NUTRITION (per 1/4 cup serving)
44 cal. 2 g pro. 5 g carb
1 g fiber. 2 g fat. 1 g sat fat.
34 mg sodium

Pear Salad

pear salad

The same pear & cottage cheese salad as before, but I forgot to add the nutmeg.

Indian Carrot Salad

Indian carrot salad

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds good-quality coarsely ground lamb
2 teaspoons garam masala
Sea salt
1 pound carrots (mixed colors if possible), peeled
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
A small bunch fresh cilantro, leaves picked
A small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 shallot peeled
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 heaped teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Extra-virgin olive oil

For serving:
Naan bread
Yogurt
Lemon halves

(c) Jamie Oliver

Carrot Cheesecake Pie

My version of a Kraft recipe for bars.

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup Sour Cream
3 eggs
3/4 cup finely shredded carrots (about 2)
COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

HEAT oven to 325°F.

MIX graham crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, butter and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon; press onto bottom of 13×9-inch pan. Bake 10 min. (OR buy a pie shell)

BEAT cream cheese, vanilla, remaining sugar and cinnamon in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each just until blended. Stir in carrots; spread over crust.

BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Serve topped with COOL WHIP.

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Peanut butter pie

This is a very good easy pie.  I’ve made it several times and everyone likes it.

  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • 2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts

Beat together cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into two 9 inch graham cracker pie shells; cover, and freeze until firm.

© 2019 Allrecipes.com

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Valentine’s Day dinner 2019

 

 

 

 

All of the recipes were new this year:

Jicama, Carrot, and Green Apple Slaw

2 cups shredded napa cabbage
1/2 of one jicama, peeled and shaved (I used a carrot peeler to shave it, just so the jicama would look different from the daikon)
1 cup shredded daikon radish (more or less, daikon is pretty wet by itself)
1 Granny Smith apple – peeled, cored and chopped
2 (or more) large carrots, shredded
1 firm pear, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
sea salt and pepper to taste

Place the cabbage, jicama, radish, apple, carrot, pear, and cilantro into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Toss until evenly blended and serve.

Carrot Soup with Lime and Chiles

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound peeled baby carrots
1/2 cup instant brown rice
28 oz. reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small can chopped green chile peppers
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic, and saute for 1 more minutes. Add the carrots, rice, chicken broth, water and salt to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, loosely covered for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the green chilies and lime juice. Set aside to cool slightly.

Puree the soup using a hand immersion blender. Serve warm.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and Herbs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 pound chicken breast tenders
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 or 8 new white and purple potatoes, cut into quarters
8 ounces fresh baby carrots, green tops trimmed to 1-inch long
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Stir the flour, black pepper and paprika on a plate. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Pour off any fat.

Add the onions and potatoes to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots, stock, lemon juice and oregano and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover the skillet.

Roast for 25 minutes. Uncover the skillet.

Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with the thyme, if desired.

Carrot Pecan Crunch Pie

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
4 cups carrots, cut into pieces
2 eggs
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

To Make Topping: In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, melted butter or margarine, and chopped pecans. Mix well and set aside.

To Make Carrot Custard: Steam carrots until tender. Drain and cool. Puree cooled carrots with hand immersion blender, and add eggs, condensed milk, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Blend until smooth. Pour carrot mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle with pecan topping.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

And we also had purple carrots, which made one carrot girl very happy:

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Peanut Butter Ice Cream

15.5 oz / jar simply Jif peanut butter
2.5 cups glucose
7 cups half and half

Burner on 6. Cooked milk and sugar till boiling. About 12 minutes.
Be careful or will boil over.

Off heat: 4tsp tapioca powder in milk
Stirred in PB.
Cured mixture in fridge overnight.

Peanut butter rose to top of slurry mixture. Mixed in batches in the blender.
When filling canister, mixture went to top of 3rd ring from the top of dasher.
One large bag (16 lbs) of ice.
25 min in White Mountain maker. Outside temperature 85 degrees.
Very soft when came out of machine.
It didn’t go all the way to the top of the container, so maybe we could have churned more?
Will the PB keep it soft? We’ll see after 24 hours.

Adapted from David Lebovitz The Perfect Scoop.

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Peach Supreme Ice Cream

Heat milk and sugars in pot into boiling. Simmer 2 minutes.
1 cup 2% milk
4 cups 1/2 & 1/2  (not quite a quart; it was open)
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup glucose
Cool.
Mix in
3 cups pureed peaches (leave some pieces next time)
1 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp tapioca mixed in with the pureed peaches
Almost 10 cups of slurry, so Wendell thought it was a bit too much. Aim for 8-9 cups.
Cooled overnght in the fridge.
76 degrees and rainy.
2.5 bags of 7 lb ice from 7/11 Kensington
rock salt / water

Very good

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Cherry Sherbet

Ingredients:
6 cups whole cherries
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup glucose
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup half and half
4 tsp tapioca starch mixed with a little of the milk
2 tsp lemon juice

Sources:
Cherries from Safeway, $1.99/lb., probably could have obtained better cherries elsewhere, such as a farmers market

Buttermilk, heavy cream, half & half, and rock salt from Snider’s (as it is difficult to find rock salt this time of year, we got 20 lbs, which may last us through the summer(!).)
Glucose from The Little Bits cake supply store in Wheaton

Recipe:

Pit cherries, cook, and put in blender when cool to get about 2.5 cups of cherry mixture.

We put the milk, cream, sugar and glucose in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cooked, whisking occasionally to discourage the milk from scorching. When the it came to a full rolling boil, reduced the heat to a low simmer for 2 minutes. Removed from heat and allowed to cool slightly, but it was getting late, and there was a Myrna Loy movie on TCM, so we proceeded to the next step.

Put large saucepan in sink with water and ice packs.  Add the cherry mixture and mix gently.   (Other recipes strain this mixture, but we don’t).  When it is cool, put in refrigerator overnight.

When ready to churn, add the tapioca mixture and little lemon juice.  We used 2 tsp, but will probably use less next time.

Churning:
16 lb bag of ice
rock salt as needed

Next time, soak the wooden White Mountain bucket as was the procedure for the old one.  (I thought the new wood finish precluded that, but hey, it is a year old now, so I guess it finally dried a little.)

Results;

Very good.  Could initially taste the lemon juice, but not in later servings.

Also, it seems that we need to find a balance between lots of berries (there were more berries in the strawberry batch, which had more flavor, but the texture of that one turned out to be much harder than this batch of cherry.

Adapted from: Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream: The Art and Science of the Scoop. Dana Cree.