Food Mamma

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dessert

banana nutella spring rolls

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While we were in Houston in December, we stopped to have dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, P. F. Changs. We may have gone there a couple times, but more on that later.

We had ordered the banana spring rolls for the three of us to share.  Hubby and I were lucky to get a bite before Q inhaled the dessert. He loved it! How could you not? Bananas enveloped in the crisp spring roll wrapper and topped with ice cream and caramel. Yum!

This was a super easy dessert to make at home. In fact, it was made even better with Nutella!  A spread of chocolate down the middle of a spring roll wrapper, a spear of banana, rolled and fried to perfection. It’s fruit so it’s not bad for you, right?

superbowl eats

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Looking for some ideas for your Superbowl party this weekend? Here’s a round up of some perfect food to munch on while watching the big game.

Beef Bacon-Wrapped Boursin-Filled Prawns 
Key Lime Pie 
BBQ Beef Ribs 
Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip 
Garlicky Tomato & Avocado Bruschetta 
Cheesy Ranch Fried Pickles 
Jalapeno Hummus 
Salsa 
Spicy Ranch Roasted Red Pepper Dip

smoked salmon crepes

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I love a good crepe. Whether it be savoury for lunch or dinner or sweet for a perfect dessert, they are so versatile. 

When deciding what to have for dinner the other night, I noticed some smoked salmon in the freezer. With spinach and cheese in the fridge, crepes just seemed like the way to go.

I decided to go with a recipe from Alton Brown. As intimidating as he seems, he really knows his stuff!  This recipe comes together really quickly in a blender.  Brown suggests placing the batter in the fridge for an hour, allowing the bubbles to subside thereby making it less likely for the crepes to tear.

Usually with crepes, they say one for the pan. That was true in this case, but the following crepes turned out great! They cooked quite quickly and dinner was on the table in less than half an hour. Smeared with Boursin and topped with the salmon, spinach and green onions, these were delish!

This recipe made quite a few crepes, meaning we had some for dessert as well! Dulce de leche was poured down the middle, and rolled into the perfect sweet ending.

Crepes
From Alton Brown, Good Eats

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons melted butter

Butter, for coating the pan
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10
seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour, allowing the bubbles to subside.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of
batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for
30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the
cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all
batter is gone.

key lime pie

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With all the snow that came down last night, and the nasty roads I kept hearing about, today seemed like a great day to stay in.  We were reminiscing about the cruise we took last month (more to come on that), and recalled the fabulous weather at all the ports. Q wished that he could live in the Bahamas, and on days like today, I wish we did!

Our first port was Key West, Florida, and all the reviews about the quaint little town said that we needed to try the Key Lime Pie. We happily obliged. We had lunch at a restaurant near the water and ended our meal with the much talked about pie. It was delicious, and even hubby, who normally does not have a sweet tooth, enjoyed it.

It was a great after lunch project, the smell of the citrus reminding us of summer and hot places. Q did most of the work since it’s super simple to make.  The crust is sweet, the luscious filling is tart and the dollop of whipping cream rounds it all out.

Key Lime Pie
Adapted from Christine Cushing

Crust:
1 cup graham crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
2 TB sugar

Filling:
1 can condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup key lime juice

Topping:
1 cup whipping cream
2 TB icing sugar

Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and sugar. Press into a pie dish and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Combine the condensed milk, egg yolks and key lime juice and mix until well combined. Pour into the prepared crust and bake at 300 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Once cool, refrigerate.

Combine the whipping cream and icing sugar and beat in a mixer until you get peaks. Dollop onto each slice of key lime pie and garnish with a slice of key lime.

thanksgiving and apple pie

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It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada. Happy Turkey Weekend! Hope you all got stuffed with turkey and were able to spend some time with your favourite people.

 

This year, we had Thanksgiving dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. She did a fabulous job filling our bellies with juicy turkey and delicious sides like cheesy mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.

My job was the apple pie. I have to admit, that when it comes to pie, I usually cheat with the crust and use puff pastry.  I searched for a recipe that was easy and came up with one from Martha Stewart.

Q had fun pulsing the flour and butter together in the food processor (and sneaking some bites of butter when he thought I wasn’t looking). After the dough rested in the fridge for a couple of hours, it was really easy to roll out. I will definitely be using this recipe again.

Served with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream, it was the perfect end to a delicious and filling meal.

 

Apple Pie

Crust:
Martha Stewart’s Perfect Pie Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Combine the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until well combined and the mixture looks crumbly. Slow add water while pulsing until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 days.

Filling:

5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Finish:

1 egg
2 TB water

Combine the apples with the lemon juice, sugar, flour and spices.

On a floured board, roll out pastry, using your pie plate as a guide. Place the first circle in the pie plate and fill with filling. Top with the second crust. Fold bottom pastry over the top and crimp the edges. Using a pastry brush, brush the crust with the egg and water mixture and add some vents.

Bake at 375 F for about an hour, until the crust is nice and golden.

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meyer lemon curd

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Every time I bring home some meyer lemons, I always think I’m going to make some curd and then never get around to it. This time, I was determined to make it happen and I’m so glad I did!

Lemon curd is made by combining lemon juice with butter, eggs and sugar and cooking it into a custard. This tangy and sweet curd is bright, both in taste and colour, I used a recipe by Ina Garten and it was super easy to make. The result was a curd that was luscious and creamy.


Light and refreshing, the curd is perfect with fruit, spread on toast or even served with a slice of some peppercorn shortbread.

Meyer Lemon Curd
From Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.

Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

the great cream challenge and caramel creme brulee

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I was happy to have participated last year in the Anyday Magic’s Recipe Makeover with my Indian Rice Pudding. So, when I was approached again to participate in The Great Cream Challenge, I was happy to do so.  I was chosen to participate in The Caramel Challenge – what a delicious task!

Cream and caramel go so well together, it was so hard to just pick one
recipe! I finally settled on crème brulée which is almost everyone’s
favourite!  Head on over to their site for the recipe and while you’re there, feel free to vote for my recipe. You could win yourself a blender!  Thanks for your support!

indian rice pudding…and a giveaway!

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Earlier this year, I participated in Anyday Magic’s Recipe Makeover. For the makeover, three food bloggers were asked to add a twist to a recipe. I participated in the dessert challenge and was given the task of transforming rice pudding.

Every time I think of rice pudding, I think about Kheer. It’s an Indian rice pudding with much more depth than just regular rice pudding. The cardamom powder provides a nice warmth to the dish and the saffron adds an exotic touch. I added another twist by adding berries, which provided a freshness to the rich comforting dessert.

Since my recipe won the dessert round (yay!), I get to reward my readers with a prize pack from the Dairy Farmers of Canada. Each pack contains a spatula and a whisk and there are a few to be given away.  Entering is easy! Just comment here, facebook me or send me a tweet and let me know how you would makeover rice pudding.  Be sure to leave contact info so that I can get a hold of the winners.  Contest closes on Sunday, December 2nd, 2012 at 11:59pm MST.

Indian Rice Pudding (Kheer)
Makes 4 servings

½ cup rice
1 cup water
2 cups milk
½ cup whipping cream
¾ cup sugar
½ can evaporated milk
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
pinch saffron
½ cup almonds
½ cup pistachios

1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup whipping cream, whipped, not sweetened

Combine the rice and water and cook over medium high heat. When water is absorbed, add the milk and cream and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

Mash the rice with a masher and then add sugar, evaporated milk, cardamom, saffron and half the nuts and simmer for a few minutes.

At this point, you can garnish with the remaining nuts and saffron or top it with sliced strawberries and the whipping cream with the nuts and saffron on top. Delicious both ways! 

chocolate cheesecake

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We had a small family get together at my sister-in-law’s new place last weekend.  When we got the invite from her and her hubby, I offered to make dessert, and cheesecake automatically popped into my mind.  It had been a long time since I had eaten cheesecake, let alone made it.  Q decided we should make chocolate and I willingly obliged.

It was a great afternoon with spending time with family and eating good food. Both the kids and the adults kept themselves busy carving pumpkins. The seeds were scooped and roasted making them a perfect snack to go along with all the carving.

I found this recipe on the Hershey’s website.  I didn’t have enough chocolate cookie crumbs so mixed them with graham crumbs and it worked out just fine. The cheesecake was a hit.  This can be made into one big cheesecake or mini ones made in cupcake tins.

Chocolate Cheesecake
Adapted from Hershey’s

1.5 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
6 TB melted butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 packages softened cream cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
1 can condensed milk
1 TB vanilla

Add the melted butter into the crumbs and blend well.  Press mixture into bottom of 9″ springform pan.

Melt the butter and mix with cocoa until smooth. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese.  Add cocoa mixture and mix well.  Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Pour batter into pan prepared with the crumb crust.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until set.  Let cool and garnish with whipped cream and chocolate.

baked yogurt

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It’s hard having my sister so far away with her husband in Afghanistan.  It is reassuring though that she is a short plane ride away from Dubai where my cousin lives and it’s nice for her to have family close by.  A few weeks ago, my sister visited my cousin for a getaway and a little piece of home.  It was there that she tried baked yogurt at a brunch buffet in Dubai.

My sister found a recipe by The Purple Foodie and sent it along and I just had to try it.  It was on the sweet side, so a small serving will go a long way.  The yogurt was creamy and had the texture of panna cotta.  It paired really well with the berries and was a delicious easy dessert.

Baked Yogurt
Adapted from The Purple Foodie 

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup condensed milk
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp vanilla

Stir everything together and pour into ramekins.  Bake at 250 degrees until set, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve chilled.  Top with berries and serve.