November Daring Cooks - Soufflé

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

When I saw November’s Daring Cooks challenge was to make a soufflé I admit, I was super confident intimidated! I never had the opportunity to try a soufflé, let alone make one. I only knew what I saw in movies, sit-coms and cartoons – any form of disruption, from a sneeze to the slamming of a door would cause the soufflé to collapse. Oh the horror!

Dave and Linda, our hosts, provided three recipes for us to try (two of which were their own design!). I chose to use their crab and artichoke soufflé recipe, which included crab, artichoke, Gruyère and chives. This sounded delectable, but I decided to throw in my own twist: wild-caught Alaskan salmon, dill-havarti cheese, sautéed leeks and dill. Yum!

Making a soufflé (at least for me) was an udder whirlwind of activity. Start to finish it can easily take over an hour to complete (absolutely worth it!). Being prepared and well organized will greatly increase the odds of success because the process can be jam-packed with things to do! Unfortunately, my soufflé didn’t end up rising as much as I would have liked. Next time I will make sure to fill my ramekins completely and possibly use a collar, I think that will solve my problems. Making a soufflé may be technically challenging, but I found they are not as delicate as I was lead to believe and far more forgiving! 

Rise or fall, they taste delicious! 

Salmon, Dill and Leek Soufflé

Adapted from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen's Crab and Artichoke Soufflé

Ingredients

1 cup cooked salmon meat, flaked and lightly-packed

½ cup finely chopped, lightly sautéed leeks

2 large egg yolks

3 large egg whites

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cream of tartar*

1 cup dill-havarti cheese, shredded

½ tsp white pepper

1 Tbsp non-salted butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 tsp dried dill

1 cup  milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional butter and bread crumbs or garlic powder for preparing the dishes

* If you can’t find cream of tartar, a dash (~ ½ tsp) of lemon juice can be substituted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 ˚F

2. Prepare dishes – you can use one 2-quart (US)/1.9 litre or six 1-cup/240 ml soufflé dishes – by buttering the dish, then coating with bread crumbs. (You may have some left over soufflé mixture if you go with the smaller soufflé dishes.)

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the flour to make a roux. – you just want to get the flour evenly blended to a paste, not cook the roux for any length of time. Gradually stir in the milk, mixing all the time. Add herbs, then the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and you have a thick sauce. Remove from heat.

5. Beat the egg yolks well and gently warm them by adding some of the cheese sauce, very slowly and whisking constantly. Gradually stir the egg yolks into the cheese sauce until well blended.

6. Add the leeks and flaked salmon to the cheese sauce.

7. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until at the stiff peak stage.

8. Fold the whites in thirds into the sauce.

9. Spoon the mixture into your baking dish and level the tops using a spatula. Be sure to wipe up any spills and make sure the edge is clean.

10. Bake for 40 min if you’re using a large soufflé dish or 25 min if using smaller dishes – the soufflé should be richly browned.

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For Dave and Linda's original recipe, the two additional recipes for this month's challenge and to see pictures of soufflés made by other daring cooks go here. 

September Daring Cooks - The Art of Food Preservation!

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

 

"...steam was generated beyond the power of the canister to endure. As a natural consequence, the canister burst, the dead turkey sprang from his coffin of tinplate and killed the cook forthwith."

News report of an early canning industry accident (1852)

Whenever I fully immerse myself in the kitchen during a project I get a sense of power. I get the opportunity to create. To experiment. To provide. During WWI home cooks found the power to prolong the surplus from their victory gardens through canning, allowing commercial goods to be distributed to the army. Likewise, the depression of the 1930s and WWII also gave home cooks a reason to preserve their homegrown food. We've come a long way from from WWI, but that's no reason to loose sight of the power of home food preservation.

This month's Daring Cooks challenge gave me the chance to experience the power to preserve. This month's host, John from Eat4Fun, challenged us to test the waters of food preservation. He provided recipes for canned apple butter and a bruschetta topping as well as oven roasted tomatoes using the freezing method for preservation. 

I chose to make apple butter and the bruschetta topping. This was not my first experience in home canning, but the challenge did give me the opportunity to try new recipes and continue practicing the canning method. I've also tried my hand at pickling and making strawberry-lavender jam. 

Additional Resources: Miss Vickie

Want to learn more about the Daring Cooks? Check this out! 

Let's get canning! 

Canned Bruschetta Topping

Recipe Source: Bernardin Canning Website

Ingredients
3.5 lbs. Roma Tomatoes
5 cloves Fresh Galic
1 cup Dry White Wine
1 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 T. Balsamic Vinegar
2 T. Granulated Sugar
2 T. Dried Basil
2 T. Dried Oregano

Headspace: 1/2"

Processing Time:

20 minutes for altitude of 0 ft (0 m) to 1,000 ft (305 m)
25 minutes for altitude of 1,001 ft (305.1 m) to 3,000 ft (915 m)
30 minutes for altitude of 3,001 ft (916 m) to 6,000 ft (1,830 m)
35 minutes altitudes above 6,000 ft (1,831 m) to 8,000 ft (2,440 m

1. Place 7 clean half-pint mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat lids in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.

2. Wash, seed and chop tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces (about 9 cups), set aside. 

3. Combine garlic, white vinegar, white wine, balsamic vinegar, water, sugar, basil and oregano in a deep stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a full boil; reduce heat. Stirring occasionally, boil gently, covered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 

4. Pack tomatoes into a hot jar to within 3/4 inch (2 cm) of top rim. Add hot liquid to cover tomatoes to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top rim (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more tomatoes and hot liquid. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining tomatoes and hot liquid.

5. When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 20 minutes.

6. When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.

7. After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

 

Reduced Sugar Apple Butter

Recipe Source: National Center for Home Food Preservation

Ingredients
4 lbs. Apples
1 cup Apple Cider
1/2 cup Sugar (or Sucralose, Honey, Agave)
1 T. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Allspice
1/4 t. Cloves

1. Wash apples well and remove stems. Peel and cut apples into quarters or eighths and remove cores.

2. Combine unpeeled apples and cider in an 8-quart saucepan. Cook slowly and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook until apples are very soft (falling apart).

3. If your apples have been peeled, using a potato masher, mash them in the pot. If your apples have not been peeled then position a food mill or strainer securely over a large bowl. Press cooked apples with cider through the food mill or strainer to make a pulp. Be sure to collect all the pulp that comes through the food mill or strainer; for example, scrape any pulp clinging under the food mill into the bowl.

4. Combine pulp with sugar and spices in an 8-quart (about 7 ½ litre) saucepan. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently. [Tip: Use an immersion blender to mix in the spices and to create a smoother apple butter]

5. When cooking down the apples, you want to leave the lid ajar or use a splatter screen. This will allow for evaporation. Another trick is to support the lid by laying two wooden spoons across the top of the pot.

6. To test for doneness, spoon a small quantity onto a clean plate; when the butter mounds on the plate without liquid separating around the edge of the butter, it is ready for processing. Another way to test for doneness is to remove a spoonful of the cooked butter on a spoon and hold it away from steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon.

August Daring Cooks Challenge - The Pierogi!

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale. 


Remember those really fun school projects when you had to research your family history - you know, your family's lineage - and you ended up going to your mom at the very  last possible moment for the info?

"Hey Mom...where does our family come from?" 

"Well, on dad's side our family comes mostly from England...and on my side we come from Germany and Ireland."

And ever since middle school, as far as any of us knew, our family originated from those three countries...until just a few years ago. One of my aunts was searching for the same answers I was when she found a surprise none of use were expecting - a large portion of my dad's family hails from Poland. Now this information meant a few things to me, but above all it meant I could embrace one of Poland's traditional foods, the pierogi! 

But of course life is busy and unpredictable and I was never able to try those lovely little dumplings filled with meat and other goodies, until I joined the Daring Cooks! I'm so excited to say this was my first ever Daring Cooks challenge, and how fun it was! I not only got to try a new recipe and technique, but a traditional food of Poland! 

I've made samoas and potstickers, but never a pierogi. I wasn't quite sure how it was all going to turn out, after all you have to boil meat filled dough balls. All I could picture was slipping them into the boiling water and slowly watching the turn into a big, squishy dough ball. My vision was very messy. There were a lot of dishes.


I'm so happy to say my experience was nothing but absolutely thrilling! I made two different fillings for my pierogi: a traditional potato, cheese and bacon filling and another with a very non traditional filling - ground pork, locally made teriyaki sauce, onion, cheese and pineapple. Boy were they tasty! 

I can't wait to try more fillings, especially one with potato, salmon, dill, capers and cheese.