FARE

A Tour Down the Eaten Path

Goldilocks and the Three Christmas Caramels 

The past few days I’ve been standing over my stove, whisking, whisking and whisking. It was all in an effort to make eggnog caramels for a Christmas treat.

The first time my caramels were toooo soft. I didn’t trust my candy thermometer and pulled the gooey stuff off the heat much to early, resulting in delicious but viscous caramel. 

The second time my caramels were toooo firm, I was gun shy and left it on the heat too long. So now it’s interesting eggnog brittle.

The third time I threw in the towel opting to make salted pistachio brittle instead and it was juuust right!

Happy Holidays and Merry Eating!

Salted Pistachio Brittle

2 cups granulated sugar 
1/2 cup water 
125 grams unsalted butter 
1/3 cup light corn syrup 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1 1/2 cups shelled pistachios 
Fleur de sel or Rock salt

In a large, heavy pot heat the sugar, water, butter and corn syrup over a medium-high heat. Stir the mixture consistently until it turns a dark shade of amber and gets a hint of a burnt aroma (12-15 minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in baking soda. Mix in pistachios right away, mix well and pour out onto a non-stick baking sheet. Use the back of a spoon to spread the brittle thinly. You’ll have to work fast as it begins to harden quickly. Sprinkle with salt right away and let cool for about 30 minutes. Break into pieces and chow down.

Makes enough to fill 3/4 of a baking sheet

Recipe from The Kitchn

Photos by Maggie Murphy

 

One Year 

When I was 12 years old, my Dad gave me a pair of sunglasses as a gift. The lenses were a soft shade of pink and they looked like aviators, but not quite as cool. They were much too big for my face at the time, as was the message he was trying to convey to his oldest daughter. I looked up at him perplexed, having just unwrapped this gift, expecting some blinged out, girly thing instead and he said to me, ‘These are for you, so that you might see the world through rose coloured glasses’. 

It took me at least 16 years to grow into those frames and they have never fit better than in these last 12 months. 

Happy One Year Anniversary Fare followers!

Pistachio, Lemon & White Chocolate Mousse Torte

For the pistachio sponge cake:

6 large eggs, separated at room temperature

1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar (icing) sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup pistachios, finely ground

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons sifted cake flour

pinch of salt

green and yellow food colouring

Position your racks in the top and centre of your oven, then heat to 400°. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. You may wish to spray with cooking spray but I didn’t and it wasn’t a problem.

In a medium bowl or stand mixer, beat the egg yolks with 2/3 cup of icing sugar and the vanilla on high speed until it becomes thick, pale yellow and forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted from the batter (about 3-4 minutes). In a separate bowl (I like to use the hand mixer for this) beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually, add the remaining  2/3 cup of icing sugar until you have shiny, stiff peaks. With a large spatula, stir 1/4 of the whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the rest leaving some threads of white visible.  Add one drop of green food colouring and one drop of yellow. Combine flour, ground pistachios and salt, then sift half over the egg mixture and fold in. Repeat this with the remaining flour/pistachio mixture. Turn out the batter onto your half sheet and bake for 8-1o minutes or until the top is slightly light brown. Set aside to cool. 

For the lemon white chocolate mousse:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3 Tbls unsalted butter

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

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1/4 cup heavy cream

3 ounces white chocolate

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1 1/2 cups whipping cream

In a heavy saucepan, heat lemon juice and butter over medium-high heat. Bring it to barely a boil. In a separate heat proof bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk and sugar together until smooth. Slowly pour the hot lemon mixture into the sugar and eggs while whisking rapidly. Return the lemon/egg mixture to the saucepan over a medium heat and stir constantly for the next 2-4 minutes. The curd will begin to thicken after about 2 minutes. To test whether the curd is ready, dip a spoon into the pot and draw your finger along the underside. When curd holds the trail pull it off the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the vanilla and salt and whisk until combined. Set aside.

In a second heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup heavy cream bringing it just to a boil. Pour over white chocolate and stir until fully melted. Set aside.

Pour the 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment whip cream until you get firm peaks.

When both the lemon curd and white chocolate ganache are cooled to room temperature, pour them into the whipped cream. Fold the mixture gently without deflating the cream too much but combine well. Set aside.

For the vanilla buttercream:

1 cup sugar

5 large egg whites

3 sticks (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk egg whites and sugar constantly. Keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. You want the sugar to be dissolved and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream (temperature should be about 235-238F). Transfer the mixture to your mixing bowl and with the whisk attachment beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a shiny thick meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. When all the butter has been added and is fully incorporated add the vanilla extract. Beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, about 7 minutes. Cover and set aside.

Assemble the cakes:
Using a large round cookie cutter (4”), cut out cake rounds from the cooled pistachio sponge cake. One tray should get you at least 9 pieces. Place one cake round on a flat surface, spread a thick layer of the lemon, white chocolate mouse, repeat once more and finish with a third cake round on top. Using the vanilla buttercream, crumb coat the cake then put it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
When the crumb coat is set, pull cake from the freezer and cover with buttercream. Return to the refrigerator until 1 hour before serving.

Serves 4

Sponge Cake and Buttercream Recipe altered from Tartlette

Lemon Curd Recipe from Fine Cooking

Photos and inspiration for recipe by Maggie Murphy

Baby Food and Winter Moods

I recently read a statistic that said a record 18 000 babies will be born in Calgary by the end of this year. My first thought was ‘whoa’, the second was, I bet their parents are terribly hungry.

Many of my pals have become parents over the last decade, and a few are such good buddies that Murph and I have been able to drop in on them less than 24 hours after their new addition has arrived. It’s an unusual experience. It often feels like you’re stepping into an altered universe where a mystical hush has enveloped the house; the air feels thick and people move slowly as though floating through a sea of syrup. It’s almost as if parents instinctively create a transition room womb to ease their little one into existence. The only thing I can compare it to is the palpable silence and insulation felt on a midnight walk, through falling snowflakes and a foot of snow. 

This atmosphere may simply be a bi-product of their intense physical exhaustion. The last thing they want to think about is making a meal but they’d sure like to eat something other than crackers and water. Which is exactly why my Meatball Stroganoff is chilling out in a few freezers right now. 

It’s the kind of meal any new parent will be grateful to heat up in the oven while they catch some zzz’s and if you’re kid free, it’s the perfect dinner to precede a late night walk through the womb of winter.

Meatball Stroganoff

2 lbs lean ground beef (.900kg)

2 eggs

1 Tbls dry mustard powder

1 Tbls Worchestichire sauce

3/4 cup oat flakes

2-3 Tbls milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper, fresh ground

3 Tbls butter

10-12 large white cap mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbls all-purpose flour

1 can condensed beef broth

1 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard

4-5 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup white wine

1 1/2 Tbls thyme, freshly minced

salt & pepper to taste

340g package large broad egg noodles

In a large bowl combine ground beef, eggs, dry mustard powder, Worchestichire sauce, oat flakes, milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. With clean hand, knead the ingredients together and then form small meatballs, about 1 tsp worth of meat.

In a hot skillet with vegetable oil, brown the meatballs until cooked through. Set aside.

Set a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Cook a package of broad egg noodles according to the directions. When noodles are al dante, drain and set aside.

Heat a large sauce pan to medium-high and toss in butter. When the butter has melted add the mushrooms. Let them reduce and brown, 8-10 mins. Once most of the liquid has cooked out, push the mushrooms to the side of the pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes until translucent, then stir into the mushrooms and push to the side of the pan. Sift flour into the juices on the empty side of the pan. Add beef broth, mustard and green onions. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Toss in the meatballs and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Five minutes before serving, stir in the sour cream, white wine and fresh thyme. Salt and pepper it according to taste and serve over a bed of egg noodles.

Serves 4-6 people

Recipe and photos by Maggie Murphy

When Life Hands You Pomegranates…

As we Calgarians’ brush the billowy snow from our cars and trudge through below freezing temperatures, it may be difficult to believe that the pomegranate is in season. In fact, pomegranates are ripe for the picking from September to February in the Northern Hemisphere. When I say Northern Hemisphere I mean a hop and a skip north of the equator as opposed to my current location, a hop and a skip north of the 49th parallel.

As much as I would like to successfully cultivate a pomegranate crop on my front lawn in the middle of December…I mean it’s not as if there isn’t enough fertilizer out there with all the neighbourhood dogs forgetting to pick up their…and we do get Chinooks…hmm…maybe this is a worthwhile experiment. 

Sparkling Pomegranate Lemonade

1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup pomegranate juice (1 pomegranate)

1 1/2 Tbls pomegranate concentrate (at any market selling Lebanese goods)

750ml -1 litre carbonated spring water

1 handful mint, fresh

In a small pot, heat the equal parts water and sugar until sugar is dissolved, making a simple syrup. Pull off heat and set aside.

Fill a large jug half full of ice and pour in the lemon juice. Add pomegranate juice, pomegranate concentrate, 3/4 of the simple syrup mixture and 3/4 carbonated water. Taste and add more simple syrup or carbonated water to your liking. 

Give the mint a quick wash and a rough chop before tossing it into the lemonade.

Garnish each glass with a lemon wedge and a few pomegranates.

You could easily turn this into a great holiday party drink with a shot of booze such as vodka or gin.

Photos and recipe by Maggie Murphy