Italian Sausage with Red Grapes

This is the last of the sausage recipes I have to give you. As you know, I truly love good sausage and I find them one of the quickest ways to get a delicious meal on the table. This recipe is no exception. The polenta will take you a bit of time but a nice loaf of bread would work just as well. A salad or the spinach suggested below and you're done.

















1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage (about 4-5 sausages)
Note: I buy Caggiano Sweet Italian in Sonoma; buy fresh good quality Italian sausage, usually with fennel seed, where ever you are.
1 pound seedless red grapes, stemmed
Note: You can also use 1 cup Oven-Roasted Grapes (August 13, 2009 blog).
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary or thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet, add the onions, and cook until they are soft and amber. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in the same skillet over moderate heat until hot. Brown the sausages on all sides, poking them with a fork each time you turn them. This will take about 8 minutes.
3. Add ½ cup water to the pan, cover and turn the heat to low. Simmer the sausages until they are cooked through, about 10 minutes, turning once. Remove all but ¼ cup of the remaining liquid.
4. Add grapes and cook, stirring occasionally, until grapes are softened, 5 minutes or so. If using Oven-Roasted Grapes, you only need to cook them for a few minutes to warm them up.
5. Remove the sausages from the pan. Add the reserved onions, half of the rosemary or thyme, and the vinegar to the grapes and stir to mix everything together. Taste for salt and pepper and add as you see fit.
6. Cut the sausages in half and return to the pan. Heat briefly until everything is nicely hot. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary or thyme.

4 servings
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, October 2005

I often serve this with Creamy Polenta (June 11, 2010 blog) to which you can add the liquid in which the sausages have cooked and Spinach (May 31, 2010 blog).

Salmon with Swiss Chard

This is perhaps my favorite fish dish in the world. It’s taken me a long time to get it on the blog, primarily because I have had a hard time getting a good photo of it. The last time I made it, I was so eager to dig into it that I forgot to take a picture until the dish was in shambles: messy, half-eaten, unappetizing. So at last I have a photo that is good enough. What’s more I’m not waiting any longer to share it with you. You will love this dish—or at least I hope so.

2 pounds Swiss chard, red or green, about 2 bunches
5 ounces pitted Kalamata black olives
1½ pounds salmon fillets, cut into serving size pieces, skin removed if you desire

Marinade (chermüla):
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon paprika or smoky sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground chile molido or any chile powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon salt

1. Remove the stems from the chard; save for another purpose or compost. Wash the leaves very well to remove all the dirt and cut into ½-inch strips.
2. Put it and the olives in the top of a steamer. Cover and steam over high heat for 5-10 minutes or until the chard is al dente. Remove from the heat. Take off the lid, cover with a cloth, and leave the chard to cool.
Note: You can do this step the day before you’re making the dish, preferably before trying to stuff the unwieldy bunches of chard into your fridge.
3. Combine all the ingredients in the marinade. Rub it all over the fish and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours in a cool place. Less time is fine too.
4. When you are ready to roast the fish, spread the chard and olives on the bottom of a baking dish. Place the salmon fillets on top of the chard, skin side down, surrounded by the marinade. Pour the liquid of the marinade over everything.
5. Roast at 425ºF. for about 30 minutes, checking after 25 minutes to see if the fish is done to your liking. The time depends on the thickness of the fish fillets.
6. Serve with bread to mop up the delicious sauce.

4-6 servings

Adapted from Anissa Helou’s Street Café Morocco

Ginger Pots de Crème

I have fussed over this recipe repeatedly because I didn’t seem to be able to get the excellent ginger flavor I wanted. I tried many different solutions and finally found the one that worked: using my trusty micro-plane. I am satisfied that if you make this lovely dessert, you too will be totally pleased with its deliciousness.

















2 cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
5 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and grated with a micro-plane
2 yolks and 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
Diced candied ginger or Raisin Compote, see recipe below

1. Combine the cream and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring it to the point where it is just barely boiling and the sugar has dissolved. Add the ginger. Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let it steep for 1 hour or longer.
2. Strain out the ginger, pressing to release as much liquid as you can.
3. Add the eggs and egg yolks to the cream. Stir gently to mix well. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer.
4. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
5. Pour the mixture into 5 or 6 4-ounce ramekins. Place them in a baking pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the custard is just set 40-50 minutes. The custard should be soft in the center when lightly shaken. They will firm up as they set. Remove from the baking pan and cool. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
6. Before serving, garnish with the candied ginger or Raisin Compote.

5-6 servings
Adapted from Annie Somerville’s Fields of Greens

Raisin Ginger Compote

½ cup golden raisins
¼ cup chopped candied ginger
¼ cup ginger syrup (If you can’t find this, use ½ cup maple syrup)
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup bourbon but you could use Madeira, sherry, or marsala

1. Place the raisins and candied ginger in a bowl. Add the remaining liquids and let the raisins and ginger macerate for an hour or more.
2. Spoon some of the fruits and the liquid over the pots de crème and serve.

Makes about 1½ cups
My own devising

pengumuman pendek

awaknya.

sy maybe offline dlm 3 weeks. both FB & blog.

if sy on9 pun, kejap2 je, seminggu sekali atau bila berkesempatan.

hujung bulan sy muncul balik insya Allah.

oh petang ni sy akan di interview. tentang shawls. hehe.

hope semuanya okay. take care :)

Butternut Squash Ravioli with sage butter

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Toasted Pine Nuts and Sage Butter

Steamed Asparagus in sage butter

For the asparagus, I basically drizzled leftover butter sauce over them.  I would make the sauce just to add to the asparagus it was soooooo good. (brown butter, add toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, and sage. Voila!)

Carmelized Baby Bananas with Almond Brittle and Vanilla Ice Cream

Again a winner for dinner!  

A definite "Do Again" dinner from the cooking critics in my house.

The sounds in my house went like this... 

"Mom! the smells are overpoweringly delicious, WHEN is dinner?"  

and like this... 

"Please, Mom, take the pictures quickly because it smells and looks so good!"

It really is satisfying not only to have fun in the kitchen 

but to be able to please your brood too.

Again, these recipes come from the cooking show

 "Take Home Chef" hosted by Curtis Stone.

It isn't on T.V. anymore but I download episodes instantly on Netflix.

If you would like to try these 2 main courses, here are the recipes:

Ravioli stuffed with Butternut Squash and Roasted Pine Nut, Brown Butter Sauce

(I went to Whole Foods Market and purchased the lasagne noodles and made them into the ravioli)

FOR THE RAVIOLI FILLING:

1 1/4 cups/300 g Pumpkin Puree (I substituted Butternut Squash instead)  I steamed it on the stovetop and mashed it.

2 teaspoons/10 ml olive oil

1 cup/120 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon/less than 2 g finely chopped fresh tarragon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SAUCE:

1 stick (1/2 cup/113 g) salted butter

25 sage leaves

1/4 cup/60 ml fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup/100 g pinenuts, toasted

1 1/2 ounces/45 g shaved Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION:

TO MAKE THE RAVIOLI FILLING:

1. In a heavy-based small saucepan, cook the pumpkin puree over a medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until some of the moisture has evaporated and the mixture thickens slightly, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan. Let cool completely.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium to high heat. Add the diced pumpkin and sauté for about 10 minutes or until it is tender and golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
3. Stir the pumpkin puree, diced pumpkin, grated Parmesan cheese and tarragon in a bowl to combine. Season the pumpkin mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

TO PREPARE THE RAVIOLI:

1. Place 1 pasta square or round on the work surface. Place 1 tablespoon/20 g of the pumpkin mixture in the center of the pasta square or round. Brush water over the pasta dough that surrounds the filling. Top with another pasta square or round.
2. Press the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining pasta squares or rounds and pumpkin filling, forming 20 ravioli total. Trim the ravioli squares, if necessary. Transfer the ravioli to a floured baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
3. Alternatively, purchased fresh pasta sheets can be used in place of the fresh pasta sheets made here. If using purchased pasta sheets, select both the plain pasta sheets and spinach pasta sheets for a pretty presentation.

TO MAKE THE SAUCE AND SERVE THE RAVIOLI:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the filling is heated through.
2. Meanwhile, place a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the butter and cook for about 4 minutes or until the butter melts and becomes a light brown color.
3. Once this begins to happen, add the sage leaves and lemon juice and simmer for 2 minutes or until the sage is crisp. Remove from the heat. Stir in the nuts. Drain the raviolis from the water and place five ravioli on each plate.
4. Spoon the brown butter mixture over and around the raviolis. Garnish with the shaved Parmesan cheese and serve.

Carmelized Baby Bananas with Almond Brittle (and vanilla ice cream added)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups/400 g granulated sugar

2 cups/225g whole almonds (roasted)

6 baby bananas, cut in half lengthwise

1/2 cup/50 g golden brown sugar

PREPARATION:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the granulated sugar in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook until the sugar dissolves and turns light golden brown.  Add the almonds and stir to coat in the melted sugar.
2. Pour the almond mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it in an even layer.  Allow the brittle to cool, then break it up into pieces.  Place the brown sugar on a plate.  
3. Using a small sharp knife, score the flesh side of the bananas.  Press the bananas flesh side down in the brown sugar to coat thickly.  Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat.  Place the bananas, sugared side down, in the pan and cook for 2 minutes, or until the sugar has caramelized.  Transfer the caramelized bananas to plates and serve with the almond brittle.

Alfajores

I’m just going to dispense with the niceties and cut to the chase. What do you read when you retreat to the china closet? Maybe you take the newspaper (get over that; newspapers sadly may not be around much longer, I fear) or maybe you take that novel you’ve been trying to finish, bit by bit, when you either sit on the throne or tumble yourself into bed at night. For me, it’s usually a cookbook. I will stand in front of my ridiculous collection, pick one out and head to you-know-where. I’ve re-discovered some of my best cookbooks that way.

The most recent in that category is “Second Helpings” by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano, featuring recipes from Union Square Square Café in NYC. I’ve had the good fortune to dine there several times and as I read through the book again, I was inspired by some of their recipes, most notably Pan Dowdy, Blueberry – Lemon Meringue Pie, Chocolate Pudding Flan, Butterscotch Pudding with Brown Sugar Sauce and Rosemary Cake with Honeyed Goat Cheese.

I also came across their recipe for Alfajores. What’s that, you might ask? Let me just describe it as a refined whoopie pie. It consists of lovely, tender lemon-scented cookies, layered with dulce de leche and finished with a bit of toasted coconut. I heartily recommend that you make them for your next dinner party. Or to heck with that, make them for your own consumption. They are lovely, lovely, lovely. Make them soon!

ALFAJORES (from Union Square Cafe)

For the cookies:
½ cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 ¼ cups cornstarch
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 egg (I used extra-large)
1 egg yolk (I used extra-large)

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, about 3 minutes. Scrape down bowl several times. Beat in the egg, then the egg yolk, scraping down bowl several times again. The mixture will look somewhat curdled; don’t worry about it.

Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until dough just comes together. Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form into an oval and refrigerate for at least two hours or preferably overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325-degrees. Roll dough out to ¼-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch rounds. Place rounds on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Place chilled rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 8 minutes. Rotate pan and bake for 2 minutes more until cookies have just set and are slightly puffed, but not at all colored. Cool 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. You will probably need to do this in 2 batches.

For the filling:
1 cup dulce de leche (see link below)
1 cup shredded, toasted coconut
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the dulce de leche onto the bottom (flat side) of a cookie. Make a sandwich by placing another cookie on top, flat sides together. Press gently together to spread filling to the edges. Roll the sticky rim in the coconut. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Yield: 16 sandwich cookies

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=965642241286780957&postID=2940803905136359241

*  I wasn't sure what to expect when I made this recipe.  I thought the dulce de leche might be too runny to make it work.  What I found was that yes, it was runny when I sandwiched it between the cookies but once I rolled the sides it the coconut, it set up pretty well.

*  Don't refrigerate these.  They are best left at room temperature.

*  The interesting thing about this is how the flavors meld together.  You get a little hint of citrus, but unless you know, you can't identify the dulce de leche.  I actually let Henry eat one (where were the Food Police?) and he didn't have a clue.  Well, duh - why would that be a surprise???  Mikey liked it, though!

A Contrast

Barf.

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Baseball player Barry Bonds lost a bid to show jurors nude photos of his former mistress in Playboy at his March 21 perjury trial, while a judge said she will let allow testimony from Bonds’s private doctor and other players who took steroids.

Sigh.


Can we go back to a time of elegance and grace, please?

Weekly Chore List...

Photo Credit: Microsoft Word

I have been trying to keep up with house work ever since I married my wonderful hubby, almost 5 years ago. Working full time has made it hard, since I come home and all I want to do is get on the computer and rest on the couch! So, being the organized person that I am, I decided to make a weekly chore list for myself. This way I am dividing the needed chores throughout the week, instead of trying to play catch up on Thursday or Friday night for Sabbath. Below is what I came up with for myself. I made this in Word and then printed out a copy to hang on my fridge. Hopefully I can stick with it and it will make keeping up with the house easier. You will notice that sweeping the floor is on here every day (3 dogs tend to make that a necessity!) This is a work in progress too. I'm sure other things will come up that need to be split up throughout the week. 

Sunday

• Thoroughly clean kitchen (sanitize, mop if needed from the weekend)
• Laundry!

Monday

• Sweep Floors (downstairs carpet and tile only)
• Laundry, finish folding and putting away

Tuesday

• Sweep Floors (downstairs tile and carpet only)
• Clean bathroom upstairs

Wednesday

• Sweep Floors (upstairs, downstairs if needed)
• Dust (upstairs and downstairs)

Thursday

• Sweep Floors (downstairs carpet and tile)
• Clean downstairs bathroom
• Mop tile floors

Friday

• Quick clean up of all downstairs
• Sweep floors (carpet, swiffer tile if needed)

Saturday (Sabbath) = REST! ** So glad for this day!! ** 

Now it's time to get off the computer and put this list to use!! 

Enjoy what you read here on Golden Reflections? Please vote once daily at Picket Fence Blogs, just click on the button below! 

Chilli Belachan Crispy Pork Belly

What to do with leftover roast pork belly? Honestly, it's not much of a problem, who am I kidding, I'll be more than happy eating it as it is. But just to spice things up a little, I stir-fried the leftover pork belly in true Singaporean style, with some chilli and belachan (fermented shrimp paste).

Chilli Belachan Crispy Pork Belly

Ingredients

~100g of leftover roasted pork belly, sliced into small chunks

1 small onion, sliced thinly (or a couple of shallots would be fantastic)

1-2 dried red chillies, deseeded

1 tsp fermented shrimp paste

1 tsp unrefined cane sugar

1 tsp soy sauce (traditionally brewed)

1 tsp Chinese black vinegar

1 tsp evoo (or unrefined coconut oil or palm oil)

Method

1. Over medium-high heat, fry the sliced onions in the oil, till they turn golden brown.

2. Add the dried chillies and fermented shrimp paste and toast till fragrant.

3. Add the pork belly, along with the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar, and stirfry for about 10 min more.

4. Serve over rice with some fresh coriander leaves (which I didn't have).

This dish really hit home with the mix of salty, sweet, sour, savoury and of course, spicy flavours, and the depth from the fermented shrimp paste. Really, you can't go wrong with crispy pork belly, but you can be more than just "right"!

This is part of Full Plate Thursday.

Hook and Line

Last weekend it was the Japan Weekend here, and on sunday, I went there to see the girls and take a look around!

(Loli-pictures here)

With Carol

Jolie was some kind of Steam-Star Wars loli, hahaha!

Narcissisque, so so cute!

With Anshin!

Some cute things!

 

And me! I was wearing: 

Shirt - Blanco

Skirt - Bodyline

Socks - Secret Shop

Boots - Cache Cache

Necklace - handmade

When You've Lost Ruth Marcus ...

Ruth is a lefty pundit with whom, I must confess, I am not familiar. I came across this excellent column of hers in a link on RCP this morning where she calls this administration the "Where's Waldo?" presidency. Here's a nice snippet.

Obama performs best on a stage that permits the grandest sweep. He rises to the big occasion, from his inspiring introduction to the public in his 2004 Democratic convention speech to his healing words in the aftermath of the Tucson shootings.

The president has faltered, though, when called on to translate that rhetoric to more granular levels of specificity: What change, exactly, does he want people to believe in? How, even more exactly, does he propose to get there? "Winning the future" doesn't quite do it.

Ruth has got the guy dialed in pretty well. She lists many of his equivocations and failures to lead and is seeing a very disturbing pattern. Unfortunately for all of us, she's not likely to see a change over the next two years. The dude is a progressive academic, not a leader. He'll be big on stroking his chin and lecturing to us in a superior, patronizing tone, but leading, not so much.

Buckle up, Ruth. It's going to be quite a ride for you. Mostly downhill.

Blogspot Banned in Turkey!!

Dear faithful friends of my blog,

First of all, apologies for the lack of post yesterday, Tuesday, my usual day for posting.  Here in Turkey we are experiencing some unprecedented problems with Blogger : my blog and indeed all blogs which use this programme cannot be accessed within the country right now and nobody can post anything directly on their blog.

So we will try another way and hope that all will be well! Check my blog on Saturday as usual and inşallah you will see my next recipe! Those of you outside the country will have no difficulty in accessing it and for those here in Turkey, my daughter or sister will post it on Facebook as per usual. It should be possible.

Many many thanks for all your hundreds and hundreds of pageviews: it all means a lot to me and I certainly plan to continue despite the odds : )).

Nobody knows how long this ban will last.

So in the meantime, warmest wishes to you all,

Claudia

  

Nasi Uduk by me :)

When im quit from work, i spend much time at home. And since early February i started learning to wake up in the morning. After that i follow my mom to market, buys vegetables and fruit, then cooking! Yes, i am cooking! and this is one of food that i cooked. Named Nasi Uduk, or in Malaysia called Nasi Lemak. Its from rice and coconut oil. it is really delicious. LEKKER! Because of this, im forgot that i was in diet. hahaha. One thing i found is I LOVE COOKING. Following, i often cooking many kind of food,but unfortunately i cant upload the picture. I cooked green pasta, baked potato, soup, egg rice, etc. hahaha. And i dont know why, everytime i cook it is always taste good. later i will upload more. Do u love cooking too? Have some recipes that worth to try?


Groetjes,
Ketty Tressianah

How The Democrats Could Have Avoided Caving In To The Republicans And Their Wild Attacks On The Poor

They could have passed a budget on time (or at all) last year.

There is no FY2011 budget for the United States, thanks to a deliberate dereliction of duty by the Pelosi / Reid legislature. All of the talk of a government shutdown that is going on now would have been avoided, had they executed their primary job - passing an annual budget. Now they're "caving in" to Republicans.

Senate Democrats conceded Tuesday that House Republicans won round one of the budget fight, but they are vowing a bigger battle later this month ...

(L)iberals worry that Democratic leaders will roll over and accept another deal on Republican terms in an attempt to bolster the reelection chances of vulnerable incumbents in red states.

They fear a reprise of last December when Obama and Republican leaders agreed to a tax-cut deal that was widely panned by the left.

By and large, GOP leaders want to keep negotiating short-term deals as part of a strategy to put pressure on Democrats and win concessions such as they did this week.

If they'd just passed a budget, they wouldn't be fighting to protect their favorite programs' funding in continuing resolutions now. Pathetic.

Too-too healthy Spinach Salad

Trying to become healthier is 

HARD

Sometimes I just wonder why life can't be "just a box of chocolates".

My problem is I truly love healthy food.

I also whole-heartedly love unhealthy food.

Fried chicken, chocolate, 

those cheap frosted cookies that seem to station themselves in every grocery store in America.  

You know the ones?  

Little sprinkles on top?  

They change color and sprinkles depending on the season of the year.

Delicious, I say.

But I DO like healthy food.  I munched happily on this salad.

It's just that I could've  eaten it with one  of those frosted cookies from the grocery store.  

Or two.

Or...even three!

My Too-Too Healthy Spinach Salad:

Spinach!

Cherry Tomatoes

Chunks of Tofu
Spanish green olives with herbs (Whole Foods)

Thin Slice of Black Forest Ham

Slivers of yellow Bell Pepper

Chipolte Soy Nuts (sprinkle)

Sunflower Seeds (sprinkle)

Newman's Own: Sesame/Ginger dressing (drizzle)