The Zesty Plate

Hershey's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2011-05-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

2 cupsall-purpose flour
1 cupsugar
1 teaspoonbaking powder
1 teaspoonsalt
1/2 teaspoonbaking soda
1 cup mashed ripe banana (2 to 3 medium)
1/2 cupshortening
2 eggs
1 cupHERSHEY'S Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Combine all ingredients except small chocolate chips and walnuts in large bowl; blend well on medium speed of mixer. Stir in small chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. 1 loaf (18 servings)

VARIATION: HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Chips. HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips may be substituted for small chocolate chips.

Source: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/4890/Chocolate-Chip-Banana-Bread.aspx

The Secret to Perfect Pasta!

2011-05-27T01:54:00.000-07:00

The BA Pasta Manifesto

1. Forget the pot. Use a pan. Ever notice that the pasta you get at top-flight restaurants is different from what you make at home? It's glossy and luxurious, each strand of pasta coated with sauce. The key to pasta this transcendent is a sauté pan. That's what the pros use to cook almost-done pasta and sauce together—until there's pomodoro clinging to every bite of bucatini, until each raviolo is lacquered with sage-flecked brown butter. It's a unified, flavor-packed dish, not a bowl of noodles with a bunch of sauce dumped on top. To make your own restaurant-worthy pasta, grab a sauté pan (use one that's either 10" or 12" in diameter) and get started.

2. Build the Foundation. At its most basic, a pasta sauce requires just a handful of ingredients and 20 minutes of cooking time. To make a classic pan sauce, heat olive oil, sauté garlic, add a vegetable or two and then—here's the important part—a generous amount of pasta water. The starchy water and oil simmer together, forming the foundation of a sauce. We love a long-simmered ragu, but this is the technique we return to again and again.

3. You're not using nearly enough salt. Add a small handful of kosher salt to a pot of boiling water, then drop in the pasta. The noodles absorb water as they cook, so you're actually seasoning the interior of an otherwise bland starch. Mark Ladner, executive chef at Del Posto in New York City, says the water should taste "almost as salty as seawater." For Ladner, that's about 1 Tbsp. salt for every quart of water, but you don't have to be so particular—just throw it in there.

4. Don't dump the pasta water. Starchy, salty pasta water is the secret ingredient in most sauces. Scoop out some of the cloudy water (it's supposed to look like that) with a coffee mug or measuring cup, and pour a few splashes into the sauce. Save the rest; you might need more than you'd expect. Then simmer until the water and oil emulsify and begin to form a slightly creamy sauce. It's a little like deglazing a pan with stock or wine, a simple step that gives a dish body and flavor.

5. Trust the Tongs. While the pasta is cooking, grab a pair of basic metal tongs (12" ones are best for pasta prep). They are an indispensable tool: Use them to pick up a noodle to test for doneness, to transfer long noodles from pot to pan, to toss noodles in sauce, and, finally, to plate it all beautifully.

6. Now work that pan. It's where the magic happens. Bringing it all together in the pan is as easy as it is important. Undercook the pasta by about two minutes (you should see just a hint of white when you bite into a piece) and finish cooking it in the sauce's flavorful liquid. To coat the pasta with sauce, try some fancy restaurant fry-pan flips. Or, if you don't feel like cleaning the range after dinner, use tongs as if you're tossing a salad until the pasta is completely coated. Keep an eye on the sauce: Is it too tight? Remove it from the heat and add a bit more pasta water. Too brothy? Let it cook 20 seconds longer. Just remember that the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid and the sauce will thicken off the heat: What's loose in the pan will firm up in the bowl.

7. Everything's Better with butter. The other secret to rich, silky sauces is extra fat—and yes, all the restaurants use it. "I finish the pasta with a little bit of olive oil, butter, or both," says Andrew Carmellini of New York City's Locanda Verde. "In Italian it's calledmantecare, which means 'to make creamy.' " He adds cold butter to the pasta and sauce in the pan, off the heat, to give it an unctuous texture.

8. Cheese is not just a garnish. Whether you know it or not, restaurants enrich pasta sauces with cheese even before grating it tableside. When a little bit is added to the sauce, it melts and becomes a binder, a stealth ingredient that lends texture and flavor. Here are three simple steps to getting the most out of it: Skip pre-grated cheese. It's more expensive and it doesn't taste as good. Grate it finely so it'll melt easily into the sauce. You're making pasta, not a quesadilla. Think beyond Parmesan. Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, of New York City's Frankies Spuntino, use Pecorino, a sheep's-milk cheese with a tangy bite. "It has a stronger flavor," Castronovo says, "so we use less of it in the food."

9. It should look as good as it tastes. Like a wineglass, a well-designed pasta bowl not only makes for beautiful presentation but also serves a purpose. A broad bowl with high sides keeps food warm (especially if you heat the bowl in an oven first), and a white one makes the colors in the sauce pop. We like Crate & Barrel's Bistro Large Bowl ($7; crateandbarrel.com). Use your trusty tongs for plating. "It should look like a bird's nest," says Thomas McNaughton, executive chef at San Francisco's Flour + Water. To get the look, twirl the pasta, lift it out of the pan, lower it into the bowl, then re-twirl.

10. Practice Makes Perfect Now that you've learned the principles of great pasta, practice the technique on these four classic recipes.

Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/use-a-pan-instead-of-a-pot-and-9-other-surprising-steps-to-perfect-pasta-2477254

Scallops with Cauliflower Puree & Bacon Crumble (Julie Goodwin)

2011-05-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

½ head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup milk
125g unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes
1 cup finely diced bacon
½ cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs
12 scallops in the half shell, roe removed
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
40g unsalted butter
Micro herbs, to garnish
Lemon wedges, to serve

Method:
Step 1: For the cauliflower puree, place cauliflower in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Place the cauliflower and milk in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 8 minutes until cauliflower is very soft. Remove from the heat, then add 1 teaspoon salt and the butter and stir until well combined. Blend in a small blender or food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing down on the solids with a plastic pastry scraper.

Step 2: For the bacon crumble, heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, add bacon and fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly, until crisp and golden brown. Add breadcrumbs, stir to coat, then cook for 5 minutes until golden.

Step 3: For the scallops, remove the scallops from the shells (you can wash and reserve the shells to serve). Pat the scallops dry. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and half the butter. When butter is foaming, add 6 scallops and cook for about 10-20 seconds each side until golden, then season with sea salt. Remove scallops and set aside. Wipe the pan clean with paper towel, then repeat with remaining olive oil, butter and scallops.

Step 4: To serve, place a dollop of cauliflower puree in the centre of each scallop shell. Place a scallop in the centre of the puree, then sprinkle generously with the bacon crumble. Place scallops on a large serving platter, garnish with micro herbs and serve with lemon wedges.

Classic Baked Cheesecake

2011-05-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

BASE
1/3 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
¾ cup plain flour
¼ cup caster sugar
90g chilled butter, chopped

FILLING
330g cream cheese, softened
500g fresh ricotta
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups caster sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ tablespoons cornflour
1½ tablespoons water

Strawberries and raspberries, to decorate

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C.

2. To make the base, place the ground almonds, flour, sugar and butter into a bowl. Rub mixture with your fingertips until it forms coarse crumbs.

3. Line the base of a 20cm spring form tin with non-stick baking paper. Place the base mixture in the tin and press gently with fingers until even and then smooth out with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden, set aside.

4. To make the filling, place the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, sugar, lemon rind, juice and vanilla in a food processor. Combine the cornflour and water until smooth and add to the cheese mixture. Process the mixture until smooth.

5. Grease the sides of the cake tin with a little butter and then pour the filling over the base. Tap lightly to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and stand the cake in the oven for 1 hour, leaving the door closed. Refrigerate until cold and serve with fresh berries.

Black-eyed Peas

2011-05-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

Black-eyed peas are a variety of the cowpea and are part of the family of beans & peas.

Although called a pea, it is actually a BEAN.

Originally used as food for livestock, they became a staple of the slaves' diet. During the Civil War, black-eyed peas and corn were thus ignored by Sherman's troops.

Left behind in the fields, they became important food for the Confederate South.

In South America, eating black-eyed peas and greens (such as collards) on New Year's Day is considered good luck: the peas symbolize coins and the greens symbolize paper money.

Donna Hay's Pasta Carbonara

2011-05-25T04:21:00.000-07:00

Prosciutto is an Italian word for ham. In English, this term is almost always used for dry cured ham. (Any finely sliced ham or bacon could be great substitutes for prosciutto.)

200g fettuccine or thick pasta
2 egg yolks
1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream
⅓ cup (25g) finely grated parmesan cheese
sea salt and cracked black pepper
4−6 slices prosciutto
extra finely grated parmesan, to serve

Method:

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8−10 minutes or until al dente.
Drain, return to the pan and place over low heat.
Add the egg yolks, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper and stir for 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and coated the pasta.
Place on serving plates and top with torn pieces of prosciutto.
Sprinkle with extra parmesan to serve.

Julie Goodwin's Summer Fruit Terrine

2011-05-25T01:07:00.000-07:00

For this dessert you can use homemade ice cream, but for a truly easy end to the meal, good quality vanilla ice cream can be used. Make it the day before so it sets.

Ingredients:
2 litre container of good quality vanilla ice cream
2 punnets strawberries, sliced
3 tablespoons caster sugar
Pulp of 4 passionfruit
1 punnet raspberries
½ cup flaked coconut, toasted

Method:

1. Lightly spray 2 loaf tins with olive oil and line with two sheets of glad wrap, leaving a big overhang on all 4 sides.
2. Slice 1 ½ punnets of strawberries thinly and place on a plate. Sprinkle with sugar and stand in a warm place for 20 minutes or until the strawberries ooze their juices. Mash with a fork until broken down, but still lumpy.
3. Allow the ice cream to soften and divide into 3 separate bowls, and freeze unused ice cream until required.
4. In the first bowl, fold through the mashed strawberry and spoon into the base of each lined loaf tin. Smooth the surface evenly and return to freezer for 15 minutes or until hardened.
5. Remove loaf tin from freezer and spoon in a layer of plain vanilla ice cream; smooth the surface so that it is even. Slice remaining strawberries and scatter 2-3 strawberries over the top. Cover and return to freezer until hardened.
6. In the remaining bowl of softened ice cream, stir through passionfruit pulp. Spoon this last layer over frozen vanilla layer and bring the glad wrap over the top to cover. Return to the freezer and freeze overnight or until completely frozen.
7. To serve, turn the terrine out of the tins using the Glad wrap as leverage if necessary. A hot dishcloth run around the outside of the tin will help if needs be.
8. Cut any messy edges off and serve immediately topped with raspberries and toasted coconut.

Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk

2011-05-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

A slightly odd, but really fantastic combination that must be tried.

ingredients

• 1 x 1.5k/ 3½lb organic chicken
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 115g/4oz or ½ a pack of butter
• olive oil
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1 good handful of fresh sage, leaves picked
• zest of 2 lemons
• 10 cloves of garlic, skin left on
• 565ml/1 pint milk

method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season it generously all over, and fry it in the butter and a little olive oil, turning the chicken to get an even colour all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the oil and butter left in the pot. This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan which will give you a lovely caramelly flavour later on.Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce which is absolutely fantastic.To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds. Serve with wilted spinach or greens and some mashed potato.• from Happy Days with the Naked Chef A slightly odd, but really fantastic combination that must be tried.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season it generously all over, and fry it in the butter and a little olive oil, turning the chicken to get an even colour all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the oil and butter left in the pot. This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan which will give you a lovely caramelly flavour later on.

Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce which is absolutely fantastic.

To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds. Serve with wilted spinach or greens and some mashed potato.

Chocolate Fondant

2011-05-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Melted butter, for greasing

Cocoa powder, for dusting

200g dark couverture chocolate

200g butter, chopped

4 eggs

4 egg yolks

100g caster sugar

150g plain flour, sifted

100g butter, extra

100g cocoa powder

625ml milk

5 egg yolks

40g caster sugar

1 vanilla bean

2tbsps amaretto

Step 1: For the fondant, preheat oven to 180°C. Place a small square of paper in the bottom of 6 ramekins and grease with melted butter and cocoa powder. Place ramekins on a baking tray.

Step 2: Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a small saucepan of boiling water, turn off heat. In an electric mixer, add the eggs, egg yolks and sugar and mix on high speed until fluffy and white. Tip chocolate mixture into a large bowl, pour egg mixture into chocolate mixture and fold together. Fold in flour and mix until smooth. Spoon or pour mixture into ramekins and place in fridge until ready to serve. When ready to serve, bake in oven for 8-9 minutes.

Step 3: For the milkshake, place 500ml milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, cream egg yolks and sugar together with a whisk. Split vanilla bean in half, scrape seeds out and add the bean along with the seeds to the milk. Once it comes to the boil, pour half onto the yolk mixture, and then pour the mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Place over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, then strain into a bowl and cool over ice. Pour anglaise into a jug and place in the fridge for about an hour.

Step 4: Add 250ml of the anglaise, remaining milk and amaretto to a large jug. Froth with coffee machine steamer or a hand blender until thick and frothy.

Step 5: To serve, gently run knife along outside of each ramekin and turn fondant out into serving bowls. Spoon amaretto milkshake around the fondant and serve.

Serves 6　

Lobster with Russian Salad

2011-05-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1 rock lobster
1 small beetroot, peeled and diced
30ml white wine or chardonnay vinegar
35g caster sugar
1/4 cup watercress sprigs, to serve
2 quail eggs
White vinegar
4 slices bottarga (sun-dried mullet roe)
Olive oil

Russian Salad
2 large spunta potatoes (or other variety)
1/2 small carrot, peeled and diced
1/4 cup peas
40ml good quality mayonnaise (see below)
1/2 teaspoon grated horseradish
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mayonnaise
2 egg yolks
¾ tsp Dijon mustard
25ml white wine vinegar
600ml olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. For the lobster preparation, place live lobster in freezer for 1 hour, where it will ‘go to sleep’ (the cold stuns it).

2. Bring to the boil a pot of water that is large enough to fit 2 lobsters. Cook the lobsters for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, start making the Russian salad by peeling the potatoes and putting them in a pot of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook until the potatoes are soft but not falling apart. Add the carrot and peas about 5 minutes before the potatoes are ready. Drain and allow to cool completely.

4. Drain lobster, place under cold running water until the lobster has cooled completely. Twist the head and tail of the lobster in opposite directions. Remove the tail fins and gently break the shell, trying not to break off or tear any of the flesh.

5. Slice the lobster tail into 5mm medallions. Separate the top from the bottom of the body, remove the legs and break open the joints where the legs meet the body. Pick the meat out of the joints and then break open the legs and extract the meat. Using a mallet, break open the antennae to get the meat from them. Set all the meat aside.

6. Put the beetroot in a small pot with wine vinegar and sugar and cook until tender.

7. To make the mayonnaise, whisk the egg yolks, mustard and vinegar in a large bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the oil, at first drop by drop. The mixture will thicken and have a dull appearance. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You should have a thick mixture in which a spoon will stand upright.

8. Gently crack 1 quail egg into a cup, taking care not to break the yolk. Half fill a small frying pan with water, add a splash of white vinegar and bring to the boil. Reduce heat until barely simmering, using a slotted spoon, swirl the water around to make a whirlpool. Tip in egg and cook for 2 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towel. Keep warm while you repeat with other eggs.

9. To finish making the Russian salad, cut the potatoes into small dice about the same size as the carrot. Mix with carrot, peas, mayonnaise and horseradish, season to taste. You may need to add a little more mayonnaise if the mixture is too dry.

10. To serve, spoon some Russian salad into the centre of each plate. On top of this put some lobster meat from the legs. Arrange a few slices of tail meat on top, a quail egg and 2 slices of bottarga. Drizzle beetroot reduction around plate, scatter over a few watercress sprigs and drizzle with a little oil.