February 22, 2012

Heaven is a Truffle

So as I’m gearing up to move and not supposed to be spending money in an effort to save more for my big adventure ahead. I was dammed when I got an email from Gilt telling my that Fresh Black Truffles are in stock and at a crazy low price. Usually I delete all things tempting in an effort to keep it out of sight and out of mind while my credit card is on hiatus. But this one I could not pass up! So here it is…

This Black Beauty is now long gone and I’m left with the most beautiful memories of fresh shaved truffle and risotto topped with truffle! I have a serious love affair with truffles (and I’m not excluding the chocolate kind either)! I love truffles so much that one day I will own a miniature pop belly pig and call him Truffle. I love them so much I even burped up a “Truffle Explosion” (an amuse bouche served to us at the Farallon in San Francisco) and my first words were, “I just burped up truffle and I liked it” to my husband. So my attempt to stay away from all things tempting has failed me, but I don’t really mind if I’m eating rice for the next couple of weeks!

Along with a recipe I made for Sous Vide Supreme I made a simple and classic risotto topped with fresh shaved truffles that I had left over from my first recipe. If you ever have the chance to pick up a fresh truffle, DO IT! Nothing compares its pure Heaven!

Simply Classic Truffle Risotto

  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons truffle oil
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus shavings to garnish
  • Truffle, fresh shaved slices to garnish
  1. In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.
  2. Warm 2 tablespoons truffle oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, then add the butter, dill, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with shaved parmesan and freshly shaved truffle.

 

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February 21, 2012

40 Second Red Velvet Cake

Have you ever had a craving for cake but, of course, you don’t have any cake in your house? And the hour that it would take to bake one is just too long to wait and your already in your P.J’s and don’t want to leave the house! Well, this post is perfect for you then! This lil recipe will satisfy your sweet tooth and your craving for molecular gastronomy too. Thanks to a Nitrous charged Siphon you can have cake in a matter of  40 seconds! My husband thought I was nutty when he saw me poking holes in the bottoms of paper cups but he was quick to gobble up the end result.

40 Second Red Velvet Cake:

100g egg whites

70g egg yolk

80g sugar

20g all-purpose flour

5g cocoa powder

60g butter, melted and cooled

60g Heavy Cream

1-Tbs. Lemon Juice

Pinch salt

1-tsp. Red Food Coloring, or as desired

In a bowl mix together the egg whites, yolks and sugar till nice and pale yellow in color. Then add the flour, cocoa powder, butter, cream, lemon juice, salt and red food coloring. Using a hand mixer blend everything together till nice and smooth. Strain the mixture if you see cocoa powered clumps.

Then pour the batter into a whipping Siphon and charge it with 2 Nitrous cartridges. Shake the canister well after each cartridge. Then using a paper cup poke 4 small holes in the bottom of it. Then fill the cup half way up and place in the microwave for 40 seconds. Once done take it out and spoon the cake out and enjoy!

If your like me and Love frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting is super easy to make

1-Cup Powdered Sugar

1/2- Cup Cream Cheese Frosting

2-Tbs. Heavy Cream

Mix all the ingredients together till smooth and creamy!

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February 13, 2012

The Scoop… 479° Popcorn

In September my Hubby and I were up in Napa and the food developer in me had to visit the local Whole Foods to see what they had that we don’t in So. Cal.. I did my normal scouting grabbed an Honest Tea then headed to the check stand. Then right next to it was a beautiful bag of Truffle White Cheddar 479° Popcorn. I think Whole Foods may have been prying on my weakness for anything truffle! So I grabbed two bags. Later they were devoured and I was left with a sad face because the delicious popcorn was gone. I went to my local Whole Foods and walked out without the loved popcorn, its only sold in Northern Cal.. But on a recent trip back to Napa, Whole Foods was my first stop so I could again enjoy their fabulous popcorn. To my amazement there were more flavors this time so I snatched up so Fleur de Sel Caramel. Holy Cow this popcorn is so good it will make you want to slap your mama! LOL! Im back in So. Cal. now, but I’m moving to Napa in a month and I’m super excited that these delicious treats will be a staple in my pantry! But if you can’t get up North they have a web-site www.479popcorn.com try it out your taste buds will thank you!

 

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February 7, 2012

This one’s for the Dogs!

Have you ever looked at the back of your pets treats and seen how many chemicals and artificial things are in them? Well I have and the other day I decided that my precious lil Layla Bean’s treats weren’t doing her any favors. So I made her homemade dog biscuits with ingredients that I could pronounce, spell and  had an ingredient statement of 4 items. Now if you are like me my animals are my kids, I love them with all my heart and  I want them to have the best diet they possibly can have! So I now make Layla’s treats and food! Remember when there was a huge dog food recall? Well pretty much since then I started making Layla her food. I have  incorporated some store bought dry food, but she really does love her chicken, brown rice and veggie meals! And now she Loves her homemade biscuits too! These were so simple to make, I can’t believe I haven’t been making them before! And to see how excited she gets when she gets a treat is so cute and heart warming. So lets all try to give our fur babies a treat that is good for them, they deserve good food too!

Layla Beans Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

-2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

-1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

-1 Cup Water

-3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the coconut oil, peanut butter and water in a bowl of a stand mixer. Then on slow speed add the flour one cup at a time. Then knead the dough into a firm ball. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick and using a small dog bone cookie cutter cut out the the dog bone shape biscuits. Place on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat. Then bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen plus, small dog biscuits.

 

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February 3, 2012

Carne Asada Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is one of many videos that I do for work and I just had to share this one. This may be the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich! I haven’t met a person who does not like it!

 

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