Zabaglione ice-cream

Marsala, a Sicilian fortified wine, is traditionally used to flavor zabaglione, a light dessert custard. In this recipe, rum is added for a more intense flavor.

Yield: Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons imported dry Marsala
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Whisk yolks and sugar in medium bowl until thick, about 2 minutes. 

Heat milk and cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until mixture bubbles at edges. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture; return to saucepan. 

Stir over medium heat until custard leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across and temperature registers 180°F, do not overcook.

Immediately pour custard through sieve set over another medium bowl. Stir Marsala, rum, and vanilla into custard. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Process custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream into container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Keep frozen.

Pot Cheese Tartlets (Vatrushli)

This is a recipe I found in the Internet slightly modified. I was allowed to cook this recipe instead of the one we had in the course guide for the cuisines of Europe. Dough was overworked a bit and tartlets were a little dense. So please be careful and do not kneed dough to much.

POT CHEESE TARTLETS

VATRUSHKI

Yield: 12 portions

Ingredients                                            Amounts

Dough

                        AP Flour                                                         18 oz

                        Milk                                                                 1 cup

                        Yeast dry                                                         1 ½ tsp

                        Sugar white                                                     6 tbsp

                        Salt                                                                  1 tsp

                        Butter melted                                                  1 oz

                        Pot cheese (tvorog)                                         10 oz

                        Egg separated                                                 1 ea

                        Raisin (optional)                                             2 oz or to taste

                        Corn starch                                                     1 tsp

Method

1. Dough. Combine together yeast, AP flour, milk, butter, 2 Tbsp sugar, salt. Mix well (but do not overwork dough!), cover and leave in a warm place to proof until double in volume.
2. Punch the dough and leave covered to raise again to double in volume.
3. Preheat oven to 375 F.
4. Filling. Combine pot cheese, egg white lightly beaten, corn starch, 4 Tbsp sugar and raisin (if using).
5. Divide the dough in 12 equal parts and make them a ball shape. Place on a baking sheet leaving space between balls of dough. Flatten  slightly each piece of dough with your hand. Then sprinkle a little bit flour on top of dough and make indentation using round object (like glass or cap).
6. Fill the dough with pot cheese filling. Sprinkle a little bit sugar on top
7. Mix egg yolk with 2 tsp milk and brush the edges of tartlets.
8. Bake until golden brown, approximately for 20-25 minutes.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pork in a Pasilla Chile and Pumpkin Seed Sauce

Pipian De Chile Pasilla Con Carne De Puerco

This dish I prepared in Mexican cuisine class. The recipe could seem complicated, but it is not.

Ingredients

Stewing pork with fat, cut into 1 1⁄2” cubes                 3 1/2 lb
Garlic cloves, peeled, crushed                                              9  ea
Salt                                                                                   1 1/2 Tbsp
Chile pasilla negra, about 8, wiped   
clean, vein, seeds removed and reserved                              6 oz
Lard (see index), or vegetable oil                                           2 Tbsp
Pumpkin seeds, raw, hulled                                            1 1/2 cups
Garlic cloves, small                                                                 3 ea
Peppercorns                                                                            5 ea
Cloves                                                                                      4 ea
Garnish  
Cilantro leaves                                                                        1 bunch
Lime wedges                                                                       as needed
White rice                                                                            as needed

Method

1. Put the pork into a wide casserole, cover with 4 quarts water, add the smashed garlic and salt, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until the pork is just half cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove 2 quart of the water and reserve.
   
2. Continue cooking the pork until it is tender; by this time the cooking water should have evaporated. If not, remove the broth and continue cooking the pork over medium heat until the fat renders out and lightly browns the meat. Leave 1⁄4 cup of fat in the pot.
   
3. Meanwhile, toast the chiles lightly on both sides in a dry skillet over medium-high heat; don’t burn the chiles or the sauce will be bitter. Rinse and soak in 3 cups of the reserved broth for about 15 minutes.
   
4. Toast the chile seeds until they change to a pale brown colour. Grind them in a spice grinder.
   
5. Heat the lard in a skillet and gently fry the pumpkin seeds until they begin to swell up and pop around. Add them along with the whole spices and the peeled garlic to the blender jar with the ground seeds. Add 2 1⁄2 cups of the reserved broth and blend together to a slightly textured purée. Add this to the meat that is frying in the casserole.
   
6. Blend the soaked chiles with the broth in which they were soaked and add to the pan.
   
7. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Add any remaining broth and salt to taste and
   continue cooking over low heat for 5 minutes. The sauce should be fairly thick, coating the back of a wooden spoon.

8. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
   
9. Garnish with cilantro and serve with white rice and corn tortillas. 
   

Tortilla Soup

Right bottom corner
of the plate

This is my first time I ate this soup and the first time I made it. It was alway a strange idea for me to put some bread (tortilla) in the liquid.

Chicken, fowl, quartered                     1 ea. 
Chicken stock                                        1 gal
Water                                                     1 gal
Vegetable oil or lard                              2 oz
Spanish onions, minced                        1 lb
Garlic cloves, rough cut                        4 ea
Corn tortillas, rough cut                       5 ea
Plum tomatoes, charred,
left whole                                               1 lb
Salt and ground black pepper              to taste
Fresh epazote                                         1 Tbsp

Garnish
Chicken meat, from above         
pasilla, chilies, toasted
Fried corn tortilla, julienne strips         from 12 tortillas
Monterey Jack cheese, grated               1 lb
Avocados, medium dice                        2 ea
Limes, juice of                                        2 ea

Method

1. For the soup: Combine the chicken stock, water, and chicken and simmer 1 to 11⁄2 hours— until the chicken is tender and completely cooked. Remove the chicken to cool and strain the resulting broth. At this point you should have 11⁄2 gallons of broth. If you do not, add chicken stock to have 11⁄2 gallons total. 
   
2. Heat the oil and add the onions, garlic, and tortilla pieces. Cook them until they start to turn golden. Place the cooked onion and tortilla mixture in a blender along with the charred and peeled tomatoes. Purée all very fine. Add to a stockpot and simmer 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and epazote and simmer for 30 minutes. Season as necessary with salt and pepper. Adjust with lime just prior to serving.
   
3. For the garnish: Remove the meat and skin from the chicken and cut into a small dice. Lightly toast the whole pasillas in a cast-iron skillet over a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes; they cannot get dark. Remove the stems and seeds and grind roughly in a spice grinder and reserve.
   
4. Cut the tortillas into short julienne and deep-fry at 350°F, drain on paper towels, and reserve. Grate the cheese and reserve. Dice the avocado and reserve. Place the cooked chicken meat, lime juice, and pasillas in the broth just before service. Bring to a simmer and place in the soup warmer.
   
5. Serve with garnish of diced avocado, cheese, and tortilla strips. 
   

Dirty rice

Great taste, I like it very much. Excellent dish (if you like liver).

DIRTY RICE 

Canola oil                                    2 Tbsp
Chicken giblets                           12 oz
Chicken livers                             4 oz
Onion, chopped fine                   8 oz
Celery, chopped fine                  1 rib    
Green pepper, chopped fine      1 ea 
Garlic cloves, minced                 2 ea
Salt                                              1 tsp
Ground black pepper                 1/2 tsp
Cayenne pepper                         1/16 tsp or to taste
Chicken stock                             1/4 cup
Butter                                          4 oz
Tabasco sauce                            to taste
Worcestershire sauce                 to taste 
Parsley, minced                          2 Tbsp
Green onions, chopped              1/4 cup
Boiled rice, cooked                      12 oz

1. Cut the chicken liver and giblets into small pieces and pass through a coarse grinder or pulse in a food processor. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet and cook the livers and giblets until they begin to turn brown. Let this get very crispy (BUT DO NOT LET IT GET BLACK).
   
2. Add the trinity (onions, green pepper, celery) and garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne, and scrape the livers and giblets from the pan bottom. This step is known as a “scrape.” Add the stock, cover tightly, and sweat (étouffée) for 20 minutes.
   
3. Remove the lid, add the butter, Tabasco, Worcestershire, parsley, and green onion.
   
4. Fold in the boiled rice and adjust the salt and pepper. 
   

Salt cod cakes

Salt cod cakes before
going to the oven

An interesting old fashion way of making salt cod cakes. They are tasty and could be served as an appetizer.

SALT COD CAKES

Salt cod filet                               1 lb
Water                                          as needed
Milk                                             1 qt
Russet potatoes, peeled              1 lb 10 oz
Butter, whole                              1 oz
Onions, minced                          1/2 lb
Garlic cloves, minced                 2 ea
Eggs, whole                                1 ea
Prepared mustard                      1 Tbsp
Worcestershire sauce                 2 tsp
Tabasco sauce                            1/3 tsp
Fresh parsley, chopped              3 Tbsp
Salt and ground black pepper   to taste
Sliced bacon                                12 pieces
Dried bread crumbs                    6 oz
Vegetable oil to pan-fry              1 qt
Old Bay Seasoning                      1 tsp
Toothpicks  

Method

1. Rinse the salt cod in several changes of water. Soak the salt cod overnight in a large amount of water.
   
2. The next day, remove the salt cod from the water. Cut the cod into large chunks and simmer in the milk for 20 minutes.
   
3. Discard the milk and rinse off the salt cod under cold water. Dry the salt cod on paper towels for 10 minutes to remove any excess moisture. Break the salt cod into large chunks. Chill.
   
4. In a pot, put bacon and cover with water. Bring to boil and boil for 2 minutes. Drain. Do not rinse with cold water, let it air chill.
5. Sweat the onions and garlic in the whole butter until translucent. Chill.
   
6. Cut the russet potatoes into sixths and simmer in water until they are tender. Drain them
   and allow to air dry for 3 minutes.
   
7. Rice the potatoes. Combine the potatoes with the salt cod. There should still be small flakes
   of the cod visible with the potatoes.
   
8. Add the eggs, mustard, Worcestershire, Tabasco, Old Bay, parsley, sweated onions and
   garlic, salt, and black pepper. Check seasonings and chill before using.
   
9. Portion the cod cakes into 21⁄2-ounce-portions each. 
   
10. Bread lightly in the dried bread crumbs and then wrap a piece of bacon around the outside
    of the cod cake. Secure the bacon with a toothpick. Hold for service.
    
11. Pan-fry the salt cod cakes in the vegetable oil—start 30 minutes before service time. Drain
    on paper towels. Remove the toothpicks from the cod cakes. Finish the salt cod cakes in a 350°F oven to fully cook the eggs to145°F internal.
12. Sprinkle the minced chives over the plate. 

Jonnycakes with mushroom sauce

Jonnycakes are an old fashioned pancakes made with corn meal and flour. Mushroom sauce is a great addition, without it Jonnycakes would be dry. This mushroom sauce is very tasty and can be used for other dishes.

Batter for Jonnycakes

Corn meal                    1 1/2 cups
All-purpose flour         1/2 cups
Baking powder            1 tsp
Baking soda                 1/4 tsp
Salt                               1 1/2 tsp or to taste
Ground black pepper  1/8 tsp
Eggs                              2 ea
Milk                              10 fl. oz.
Oil, vegetable               1/4 cup

1. Combine the johnnycake meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, black pepper, eggs and milk and whisk until smooth. Add the oil and whisk until completely smooth.
   
2. Let rest 30 minutes before using.
   
3. To cook the johnnycakes use cast nonstick skillets and a little vegetable oil.  They should be golden brown on both sides and very thin. Cover the johnnycakes with wet paper towels to prevent drying out. Hold in a warm area. 
   

Mushroom sauce

Butter, whole                                      1 oz
Shallots, minced                                 1 oz
Shiitake mushrooms, 
stems removed                                    12 oz
Button mushrooms                             8 oz
Salt                                                      to taste
Ground black pepper                        to taste
Madeira wine                                    1/4 cup
Brandy                                               1 Tbsp
White wine                                        2 Tbsp
Heavy cream                                     1 cup
Grafton white cheddar, grated        2 oz

1. Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and cut them in half. Leave the stems on
   the button mushrooms and quarter them. In the whole butter, sweat the shallots and mushrooms with the salt and pepper.
   
2. Deglaze with the brandy, Madeira, and white wine and reduce dry (sec). Add the cream and reduce the cream until it is nape in consistency.
   
3. Lastly stir in the grated cheddar and allow to melt. Keep warm in a double-boiler.