The Polka Dot Chef

A Polka Dot Stir Fry

2011-09-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Every birthday I was allowed to pick a place to celebrate my birthday for dinner. When I was younger, I always picked Asian restaurants - Chinese, Japanese, Thai. There was a point where I went to the same sushi place four or five years in a row. I wanted that melt in your mouth sushi and noodle dishes. In addition, you got to sit in booths which closed.

A couple of nights ago, I craved a stir-fry. Luckily for me, I live within an area where there are plenty of ethnic supermarkets, especially Asian markets. Any special ingredient I want, I can find for cheap. Best of all, there are a couple within five minutes from where I live. Mr. Polka Dot stated, “The samples are better than Costco,” after we left. They had everything you ever needed for an Asian meal. Want tofu – they had about 20 different varieties. Want seaweed salad, here are 8 servings frozen in a bag. After roaming this market, we picked up enough ingredients for this amazing stir fry and other meals.

As for the meal - Mr. Polka Dot I agreed that this is my best stir fry ever. Onto the recipe,

A Polka Dot Stir Fry

A Polka Dot Original

2 packets of Udon Noodles

1 package of Firm Tofu

¾-1 pound of Shrimp

¾ cup carrots

2 tsp of ginger

5-6 cloves chopped garlic (you can reduce, if you don’t like garlic)

1 small bunch of broccoli

1 small can of water chestnuts

1 large can of baby corn

1 pepper, cut into slices

1 ½ cups of chicken stock

1 cup of your favorite soy sauce and/or teriyaki sauce (I combined a couple of sauces)

2-3 tbsp of cornstarch

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Clean and peel shrimp. Cut up tofu into cubes and pat dry. Cut carrots and broccoli into small pieces. Prepare udon noodles by cooking them like pasta for about 10 minutes or until al dente. Heat 1tbsp of vegetable oil in wok. When oil is hot, place shrimp in wok. Cook shrimp on each side until pink. Be careful, don’t cook too long, otherwise the shrimp will be rubbery. Take out shrimp. Place ginger and garlic into wok along with the vegetables. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that all of the vegetables are being cooked. Add tofu and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Combine chicken stock, soy sauce mixture, and cornstarch together. Pour into wok. When it boils and the sauce thickens, add cooked udon noodles. Let cook for another minute and add shrimp. Let sit for another minute or until shrimp is warm. Serve immediately.

Triple Chocolate Cake

2011-09-06T04:00:00.000-04:00

This was supposed to be for a goodbye party for a friend that I attended. However, I got a phone call from the organizer that the venue was not letting us bring in our own cake. It then became mine to share with family. Three types of chocolate in one cake – just like my wedding cake. However, I didn’t want a heavy cake. I figured using my favorite chocolate cake recipe was a good start. For the filling, I was inspired by my favorite cake from my local bakery, chocolate fudge. Reading online, I found that you can whip chocolate ganache to be fluffier. I was sold. Lastly, I felt that I needed a light chocolate buttercream. Swiss-buttercream is always a crowd pleaser and its light. It was the perfect topping. Apparently, I did not make enough ganache to fill all of the layers of the cake. Instead, I filled the middle layer with some chocolate swiss buttercream. Next time, I would double the recipe or make two types – dark and white. Verdict from the Polka Dot family – YUM!, including from my sister who never eats cake.

I couldn't wait to take a bite!

My favorite Chocolate Cake:

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used dark chocolate chips)

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Stick it in the fridge to cool down. Whip the ganache into a frosting. Be careful when you whip as it if you whip too long, it will curdle and look like the start of butter.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

From Martha Stewart

5 large egg whites

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ½ ounces of semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions

1. Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).

2. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

3. With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, fold in vanilla and semisweet chocolate. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day.

Once each individual component is completed, put the cake together. I made four layers out of the chocolate cake. Be aware, they were thin and could break very easily. Alternate filling the cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream.

A couple of years ago, I found this beautifully decorated cake on Martha Stewart. Ruffles all around the cake. Such a simple decoration for a cake. It was exactly what I was looking for.

I found a video on you tube to help me and tried my best. Not the worst first attempt.

Enjoy!

Back to Blogging: An Update on My Life

2011-09-02T04:00:00.000-04:00

Hello Bloggers… You don’t need to adjust your eyes. Yes, I’m back. It has been almost a year. What a year it has been. The biggest change is that. My favorite sous chef is now Mr. Polka Dot. That’s right – He finally proposed. After a whirlwind engagement period of 6 months and a week, we finally got married on July 2.

From Jovan Photography

See that cake, that would be our cake.

From Jovan Photography

The cake was full of chocolate. The top layer in which we will eat next year was chocolate cake with chocolate fudge. The layer that we cut into was checkerboard. The bottom tiers were chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream.

Now for our honeymoon, we did every foodie’s dream – ITALY. We went to Venice, Florence, Tuscany, with our home base in Sinalunga, and Rome. We had some amazing meals there with our favorite in Florence and the countryside. Have you ever had drunken spaghetti before? What about stuffed zucchini flowers? I also had one of my lifetime dreams completed - Mr. and Mrs. Polka Dot had a private cooking lesson in Tuscany.

Funny story – we never had the lesson scheduled before we left. We couldn’t find one that we liked. Our travel agent recommended this restaurant in Tuscany called La Chiusa. Not only are the views of Montepulicano and Pienza, but the food is amazing. We had amazing homemade pasta, stuffed zucchini flowers. Let’s not forget the best black truffle pasta I have ever had in my life. Totally worth the 18 euros. Long story short, we met the chef, Dania, and asked her to give us a private lesson. The cooking lesson was amazing. We learned to make vegetable risotto, three different types of handmade pasta (pici, tagliatelle, ravioli), her special tomato sauce, chicken with herbs, and caramel ice cream along with her helpful tips for entertaining. Also, Massimo, the best waiter, helped us pair wine to the courses.

Other places we enjoyed: The food was also really good at our hotel Amorosa. Mr. Polka Dot’s favorite meal was in Florence at Il Latini. The whole meal was all meat that I do not typically eat such as steak. Mr Polka Dot was shocked I tried it. I preferred the melon and potatoes though. My favorite meal in Florence was the drunken spaghetti at Osteria Dei Benci.

Here are some pictures from our honeymoon, obviously, in food.

Steak at Il Latini

Bread salad at Il Latini

Caramel Ice Cream from La Chiusa cooking class

Keep checking Polka Dot Chef for more updates. I’ve been working hard on recreating and creating various recipes that I cannot wait to share. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Grilled Seared Tuna Steak

2010-09-16T07:00:00.001-04:00

My favorite dish to get at a restaurant is seared tuna, especially served with a ponzu sauce or some sort of Asian inspired sauce. In college, I loved this one seared tuna dish at the Lost Dog Café. It was a sandwich called the Voodoo Ahi Tuna. Instead of a ponzu sauce, it was seared tuna with garlic mayo. Add some sweet potato fries and you got an amazing dish. Looking for something a tad healthier, I decided to make a grilled seared tuna steak for dinner for myself and my favorite sous chef. The verdict – We will definitely keep this dish in our dinner rotation. Also, it is a fast meal to make for a weeknight meal. This comes in especially handy as work has started up again.

Grilled Seared Tuna Steak
A Polka Dot Chef Original

2 Tuna Steaks
1 cup Marinade – I used Teriyaki with Garlic Sauce
3 cloves of garlic sliced
2 cups Sesame Seeds

Place marinade in gallon sized freezer bag along with the 3 cloves of garlic. Put tuna steaks in bag and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Place sesame seeds on a plate. Coat tuna steaks in sesame seeds. Heat grill pan. When hot, place tuna on grill pan, cooking about 4-5 minutes per side to be seared rare. Sidebar – I like my tuna rare. Cook your tuna steak longer if you would like it more done. Served in this picture with sautéed spinach and zucchini.

Flowers and Cake Design Wilton Method Course Review

2010-09-13T07:00:00.008-04:00

After taking the first course in July, I couldn’t wait to sign up for the next course. This course focused on royal icing and how to make various flowers such as the Wilton Rose, Apple Blossom, Primrose, Rosebud, Daffodil, and Violet. In addition, we learned various borders such as the reverse shell. I looked most forward to learning the Basketweave in the last class. As each week passed, we learned more and more. Preparation for this class was a tad easier, as we did not have to make a cake each week, only the last week. Here is my final cake.

While it may seem plain, look inside for the surprise.

Wait for it…

….

SURPRISE! It’s a Tye Dye Cake!! For those of you that know me in real life, I love polka dots and tye dye. So without further ado, here is the recipe.

Tye Dye Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
Cake adapted from Omnomicion

Makes two 9 inch cakes.

White cake mix or your favorite white cake recipe
Food Gels

Butter and flour the cake pans. Using a white box mix, prepare the batter. Before you fill the cake, divide the cake into five equal portions. Color each portion a different color using color gels. I used the following colors: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

Obviously, I used a carvel container. For those you, who don’t know what carvel is. It is an ice cream place within the New York area. A couple months ago they were in the news as Dina Lohan, Lindsay Lohan’s mother tried to use her unlimited card. Instead it got taken away. But I digress …back to the cake.

When you pour a color into the pan, drop the batter into the middle of the pan. Do this to each color until you used all the colors. This process will be done twice, one for each pan. The final result will look like this.

Bake as per the directions on the box. After it has cooled, level the cakes to make layers. Fill and frost with vanilla buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream
Slightly adapted from Megan’s Perfect Buttercream

2 sticks butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1.5 tablespoons vanilla extract

Dump everything into a large bowl. Beat slowly at first until everything starts to come together. If you go too fast you will get powdered sugar all over your counter. After all of the loose powder is mixed, place the mixer up to 10. Let whip for approximately 5 minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy.

This cake tasted yummy. Just as a precaution, the buttercream may be too sweet for some. Add sugar by the cup starting with 2-3 cups. Taste in-between until you have found the proper consistency.

YUM!

As far the cake decorating classes, there is one more class, Fondant and Gum Paste, however, I have to wait until next summer as the school year started up again.

Decorating Basics Wilton Method Course Review

2010-09-09T12:59:00.004-04:00

This summer I decided that it was time to learn how to decorate a cake, especially if I keep on making them. I figured that it would give me a new ways to make a cake interesting. This four week course taught me how to make zig zags, write, and the ribbon rose in buttercream. The first week we decorated sugar cookies with the star tip.

The next week we had to bring in our first layer cake. We learned how to transfer designs and decorate it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that much time to make a cake from scratch, so I made a two layer chocolate cake from mix, with cookies and cream pudding in the middle. My frosting was the Wilton Buttercream. Personally, I’m not a fan of it. To me, it just leaves a coating in your mouth as most Crisco-based frostings do. As you can see, I chose to put a cupcake on my cake. Here’s a picture – be nice, it was my first cake.

The next week was cupcakes. I made vanilla cupcakes from the book Hello Cupcake! As Zach Morris says, “Time Out,” this book gives you amazing ideas on how to decorate cupcakes. “Time In” - This vanilla cupcake recipe, however, I felt was too dense to eat. My favorite sous chef decided that it was much better when cold. In the class, we learned how to make various flowers to decorate our cupcakes. My favorite flower was the yellow shaggy mums.

The last week we made the final cake. We learned how to make the ribbon rose. This was my favorite flower for the week. This cake was my favorite cake to make (and all from scratch). It was chocolate cake with a vanilla filling along with a chocolate frosting.

This cake went by the pool in my backyard very quick. My sister’s friends came over for sun and sangria. Let’s just say this cake was devoured by the end of the day. Now onto this amazing recipe.

This recipe for chocolate cake is definitely my go-to chocolate cake. Believe it or not, it is actually from the back of the Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa powder box.

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

After the cake cools, cut off tops to form layers. Insert the Vanilla filling.

Vanilla Cream Filling
From Group Recipies

3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Sir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature. When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until light. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy

Lastly, frost the cake with the Chocolate Buttercream. This recipe is also from Group Recipes.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat, with an electric mixer, until frosting is creamy, 3-5 minutes. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to achieve a thick, but not stiff, frosting that is easy to spread. Add additional milk, if necessary, to thin the frosting if it gets too thick.

Overall, I think this class is a great class to learn how to decorate cakes. I learned a lot of skills, even if they still need work. Personally, I loved this class so much in July that I signed up for the Flowers and Cake Design Wilton Method Course for August. Review coming soon.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats

2010-08-30T11:18:00.002-04:00

Every now and then, my group of friends like to have a break from a bar night. This month, we decided to have a girls night in, just like a traditional lock-in from our college years. Instead of drinking games, we barbequed and watched movies. This time we rented Pirate Radio, which was a funny movie to watch while we ate our desserts. One of my friends brought brownies, while I made Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats. This is a recipe that I played around with from the side of the Rice Krispie box. The verdict: Everyone enjoyed these treats.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats
Adapted from the original rice krispie recipe on the side of the box

4 tablespoons of butter
1 package (10oz) of miniature marshmallows
4 ½ cups of Rice Krispies
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
25 Oreo cookies divided into cookie and cookie with cream
¼ cup of white chocolate chips

Before you start, divide the Oreo cookies into two piles, Cookie and Cookie with Cream. Place the Cookies into a quart freezer plastic bag. Use a rolling pin or another heavy object to make into crumbs. Make it as coarse or as fine as you like. I prefer mostly fine with a few coarse crumbs. With the other part of the cookie, cut into small pieces. I cut about 6 pieces from each part.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Add the vanilla and remove from heat. Add the Rice Krispies and stir until all is incorporated with the marshmallows. Add the cookies with cream into the mixture.

Using a buttered spatula or spatula sprayed with cooking spray, place the mixture into a 13”X9” pan that is lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Use another sheet to evenly smooth out the mixture. Place the cookie crumbs on top of the mixture while it is still sticky. Take a spoon and press the crumbs onto the top of the mixture.

When the treats are cooled, cut the treats into the size of your choice. Place the white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and melt at 30 second intervals, stirring in-between until the chips are all melted. Put the melted chips into a freezer quart plastic bag. Snip off about 1/8 of an inch off the corner of the bag. Put a design of your choice onto each piece. I placed lines in each direction to see that pattern that you see here. Let the white chocolate harden before you eat. These treats will stay about 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Zucchini and Eggplant Pasta

2010-08-25T13:48:00.008-04:00

I’m always looking for new and creative recipes for dinner, especially ones that are relatively healthy. In addition, I love the flavors of zucchini and eggplant together in a tomato sauce. It reminds me of ratatouille. The original recipe had goat cheese sprinkled on top of this wonderful creation, however, my favorite sous chef and I both agree that the flavors were perfect just the way they were. This dish will definitely be a household favorite.

Zucchini and Eggplant Noodles with Shrimp

Inspired by Cara's Cravings

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a small onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb raw shrimp, thawed, peeled, deveined
Freshly ground salt & pepper
28 oz diced tomatoes
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
About 2-3 zucchini (make into noodles with a vegetable peeler, will look like pappadelle )
½ of an eggplant (make into noodles using a vegetable peeler, will look like pappadelle)

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the shrimp and garlic. Cook the shrimp for about 1 minute on each side, until just opaque. Remove the shrimp from the pan. Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and basil. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and eggplant and saute over medium heat until slightly softened, about 3 minutes, then add the shrimp and heat through, about 1-2 minutes more.

***If you want to use a prepared sauce, remove the crushed tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and basil from the recipe. ***

Can you make hamburgers out of cupcakes?

2010-08-23T12:54:00.001-04:00

I was always told, never go to a party empty-handed. My friend had a barbeque earlier in the summer. I wanted to bring something that was different; something that could be a conversation starter. After searching my document of recipes I wanted to try, I found these amazing hamburger cupcakes from Bakerella. The attendees at the party described these as Café World Cheeseburgers. With little left to summer, feel free to make these hamburgers for your next barbeque. While I used mixes to save time, feel free to use a homemade recipe for the brownies, cupcakes, and vanilla/white frosting.

Hamburger Cupcakes

Your favorite yellow cake mix
Two of your favorite brownie mixes
Can of Vanilla Frosting
Food Coloring Gels

Prepare the cake and the brownie mixes as directed by the boxes. Bake the cake mix into cupcakes with liners. I yielded 22 cupcakes from the box. Prepare the brownie mixes into a 9” X 13” pans.

Let the baked goods cool.

Take a circle cookie cutter (approximately 2” the size of a cupcake) to cut out circles. I couldn’t find a cookie cutter this size, so I used the top of a double jigger. This worked out perfectly. These will be your hamburger patties.

Divide the frosting into three parts. Tint each third with food coloring gels into the following colors: green, yellow, and red. ***Note that the red takes a significant amount of gel to make the color. *** Place each of the colors into a large freezer bag. Set aside to allow the colors to darken.

Undo the wrappers of each of the cupcakes and cut into half. These are your buns. Place a hamburger patty (brownie) onto the bottom half of the bun.

Start to decorate the brownies by snipping off the bottom corner of each bag. Make circles or zig zags around the patties make lettuce, mustard (or cheese), and ketchup.

Finally, place the top part of the cupcake onto the rest of the hamburger. Enjoy!