All right, Reader. I think it's high time we added the ramekin to our arsenal of go-to kitchen accessories. You are gonna be delighted with all the dishes you can make with these little gems. Best of all--they are soooo easy to use! Go pick some up at your local Pier 1 Imports for $1 each.
Ramekins are my new favorite way to bake individual portions plus they're dishwasher safe. Use the mini ramekin to bake individual layer cakes, souffles or the fab Eggs Florentine recipe below. The medium size ($2.50 each, as of Nov. 2009) are great for baked french onion soup, chili, mac n' cheese, chicken pot pie and other hearty single-serve dishes. Go crazy and let me know what you come up with!
This super-easy version is my loose interpretation of Penny Farrell's delightful recipe showcased in her 'Brunches' cookbook.
Molded Eggs Florentine
1 bag fresh spinach, washed & stems removed
4 eggs
2 red peppers, roasted & thinly-sliced
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
salt & pepper to taste
In 1-inch of water in a pan, add salt, pepper & coriander and spinach. Steam spinach until just wilted.
Remove from heat and drain thoroughly, pressing out any excess water.
Divide spinach into 4 portions and place in bottom of greased ramekins.
Place large skillet with 1-2 inches of water over medium heat until water begins to boil.
Using tongs, place ramekins in hot water bath.
Add one egg to each ramekin.
Add 4-5 strips of roasted red pepper to each ramekin.
Salt & pepper to taste.
Allow ramekins to cook in water bath until eggs are opaque or reach desired level of doneness (4-10 minutes). Covering the ramekins for a minute or two will help cook any stubborn eggs.
Using tongs, remove ramekins from water bath and cool just until serving can be loosened from ramekin. For pretty presentation, serve on toast.
Or, if you prefer, do what I did and serve the Eggs Florentine directly in the ramekin. Just as delicious and still piping hot when it gets to the table.
This dish makes a fabulous centerpiece at any brunch! Enjoy!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Olive Tapenade Puff Pastry Rolls
Because I "heart" puff pastry & olive tapenade, I thought a cinnamon roll-esque combo of the two might add a little something extra to the Ladies' Brunch I held last weekend.
Looking through my copy of Penny Farrell's 'Brunches' cookbook, I found a recipe for Pesto Palmiers and Olive Tapenade Scones and decided to combine the two. The results were flaky fabulousness!
Olive Tapenade Puff Pastry Rolls
1 sheet puff pastry dough, thawed
1 can medium pitted black olives
2 teaspoons capers
4-5 sun-dried tomato strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, melted
flour for rolling
1 clove fresh garlic, if desired
In food processor, chop olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, oil (& garlic) until tapenade is thoroughly blended & reaches uniform consistency. Cover & refrigerate for 1-2 hours to allow tapenade flavors to combine. Make this the night before, if you have time.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Lightly flour rolling surface & rolling pin, then gently roll out puff pastry into a square.
Spread a thin layer of tapenade over entire pastry.
If you want more tapenade at the center of your rolls, make the filling thicker on one side.
Beginning on the thicker side, roll the pastry up evenly into a log.
Slice the log into 1-inch thick rolls and place on greased cookie sheet.
Brush each roll with melted butter and bake for 10-15 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4. For the amount pictured, double the recipe.
Might be fun to sprinkle these with a little fresh Parmesan cheese when they come out of the oven too.....
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Chevre-stuffed Dates with Basil & Prosciutto
Dates Stuffed with Herbed Goat Cheese & Wrapped in Basil & Prosciutto
Originally uploaded by talekinker
Here it is, Reader. My Big Gun Appetizer Recipe. If you're scheduled to throw down with Bobby Flay, you'll want these little wonders in your culinary arsenal. Serve these at your next important event and prepare for fawning accolades. The culinary bar has been raised.
Chevre-Stuffed Dates with Basil & Prosciutto
Ingredients:
- 1 pkg. Medjool Dates (approximately 24 dates)
- 4 oz. Garlic & Herb Chevre
- 1/2 pound sliced Prosciutto (medium-thickness)
- 1 bunch fresh Basil leaves, washed with stems removed
- toothpicks (soaked in water overnight)
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice each date partially in half lengthwise (so the halves are still attached but the date is easy to stuff). Remove pits and discard.
- Stuff dates with Chevre.
- Cut prosciutto slices in half lengthwise.
- Wrap each date in 1 basil leaf and then in 1 strip of prosciutto & secure with a toothpick.
- Place dates in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until chevre is warm and prosciutto is sizzling. Serve immediately.
Caveats....
- Find Medjool Dates in the grocery produce department with the dried fruits and nuts.
- If you can't find Medjool Dates, I suggest using Sunsweet Pitted Dates.
- Substitute Cranberry Cinnamon Chevre, other flavors or plain goat cheese for the Garlic & Herb, if you like. Aldi often has an inexpensive selection.
- Note: I usually double the batch when I make these--they go fast!
Crazy good!
Got Gratitude?
'Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality.'
--Alfred Painter
While Christmas is my favorite holiday in terms of sheer joy, Thanksgiving is my favorite on principle. An entire, federally-recognized holiday dedicated to saying thank you. What's not to love?
It's when I take the time to say thank you that God works miracles in my heart and in my life. Thanks to Himself for cooking fabulous dinners & tucking me into bed every night. Thanks to Mom for sacrificing so much to make sure Brother & I had amazing opportunities. Thanks to Aunts & Uncle for demonstrating how to live lovingly each day. Thanks to dear friends who enrich my life. And thanks to God for all these things and every other good thing in my life. Isn't it funny how your blessings multiply when you stop to count even a handful of them?
Gratitude may just be the best thing ever invented--a tonic for hurts, a way to diffuse anger, a practical way to live even mediocre days in joy. This November, as with other difficult years, I'm especially grateful. Or at least more mindful of how much worse things could be. I have a job where I get to make other people's homes pretty. My truck starts each morning and gets me home safely at night. We have a lovely, warm & dry place to live. My family is all healthy right now and somehow, even the cat is less crabby than usual (a minor miracle).
Reader, what are you thankful for this year? Sit with this question and really mull it over for a minute. Ask your spouse, kids and friends. Are you surprised by what comes to mind? Or, do you maybe feel a little out-of-shape in the gratitude department? If you don't already, take a few moments each day and think of 3 things you are truly grateful for. Try it first thing in the morning, or right before you fall asleep. On your lunch break works too. Moms & Dads: try it with the family around the dinner table. Do this for a week, or better yet, for a month. You'll be amazed at what starts to happen in your heart. You might also find it changes the people around you. Yep, even through something that small.
If my little musing makes you want to add a little more gratefulness to your own turkey & football holiday, here are a few of my favorite ways to infuse gratitude into your Thanksgiving meal:
- Ask your guests ahead of time to think of something they are grateful for & share those thoughts while gathered around the table.
- Instead of place cards at the table, make each person a fall-themed bookmark with a gratitude quote or pertinent bible verse written on one side and a quality you love about that person or reason you are grateful for them on the back. Have the person seated next to them read it out loud.
- Go around the table and re-cap each person's favorite memory from that year, or favorite childhood memory.
- During dinner, play a game with the kids: encourage them to rat out anybody who doesn't say thank -you while passing food around the table. Make that person name something they're grateful for.
- If you're a digital shutterbug, crop or edit copies of your recent family photos so that you have a 2"-3" black & white head shot of each guest. Or use a goofy photo they will have to explain. Cut them out and put one on each place setting. Or hole punch and tie them to each napkin as a place card.
My rule of thumb is, use whatever you can think of to get a dialog going about experiences people are grateful for or remember fondly. If all else fails, google gratitude quotes or share a grateful bible verse during grace.
Thank you, dear Reader. Hope your Thanksgiving is fabulous.
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