KantGirl

Cherry Pie

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

The filling:
Pit 6 cups of cherries freshly picked from a tree.
Toss in 1 or 1.5 cups of sugar in the raw
sprinkle about 1/4 tsp nutmeg
now give it a bout 1 tsp cinnamon
sprinkle on 1.5 tbsp corn startch
mix.
Place in deep pie dish and cover with beaten egg.
Bake at 425 for 35 to 45 min.

Now let’s talk about crust.
Remember how I was searching for THE recipe. Well I have found it.

2 cups flour
2/3 cups cold butter (get your shorting away from my pie!)
salt about 1/2 tsp
6-7 tbsp ICE cold water

Salt flour and mix
Cut butter into flour (I use my hands)
Toss on the ice water and mix until it is crust.
I just rolled these as soon as they were made. If your butter starts sticking to the counter you should pop it in the fridge for a few min.
You need to make this recipe 2X for top and bottom.

Roll/Bake/Serve to 32 of your closest family members.

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Prime rib sous vide

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

All you need is a cooler, a water kettle and a thermometer.

First you take your cooler and fill it with water that is about 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the final temp for your meat. You will have to use some judgment here. If you are putting a 5 lb roast that just came out of the fridge your temp will lower more than for say a 1 lb steak that was room temp.

For my prime rib, I took it our of the fridge about 10 min before putting in the bath. It was only 1.5 lbs so I knew the water temp wouldn’t be terribly impacted so I heated my water to 135.

The goal with Sous Vide as I understand is to cook the meat in a water bath that is the temperature of the final product. This way you will never overcook your meat. You are allowing your nummie protein to cook without becoming tough. The best part of this method is that you can hold serving and finishing your dish until you are ready for it.

While I was making my prime rib I was teaching my sister how to make french onion soup. It took us much longer with the soup than expected but no worries, my stake was holding at 130 waiting for me to finish my soup lesson. At 130 bacteria shouldn’t be breeding there is no re-heating. Everyone is happy.

After our soup lesson was finished. I took my vacuum sealed prime rib out of the water bath and seared it on the grill.

I then served the best prime rib I have ever made without heating up my kitchen.

Next I am going to try cooking baby back ribs this way…

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Prim rib and lobster mushroom risotto

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

Risotto

1 c lobster mushrooms
1/4 c chantrell mushrooms
1 tbsp dried shallots
1 tbsp butter
4 cups lobster broth — I use better than bouillon lobster to make my broth

Saute the butter - and shallots on low for about 5 min
Add the mushrooms

Now add the broth (heated) 1/2 cup at a time on med heat until all the liquid is absorbed.

Now give it a dose of some good parmesan-reggiano stir and server

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This was my first attempt sous vide and I am in love…….

I will post more on this technique later

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Jack

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

I am recovering from knee surgery which means I have to sit in one place for hours at a time. Luckily I was prepared. I bought some make your own key-chain kits and make your own tattoo kits to keep myself amused. The kits are made by Creativity for Kids. The kit I used to make the keychain in the post is the Clay Key Chain kit.

The kit made five key-chains with clay leftover. Jack is my favorite.

To make him just make a ball of white clay - stick the key-chain holder in the back of the ball- make two eyes (pull the inner and outer corners of a circle) then the mouth (make a small snake and flatten it) use the tool that came with the kit to draw the black clay up into the white to make jagged teeth.

Let the clay dry overnight and you are done!

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Quail eggs with green tea and salt

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

I adore all things miniature. I turns out that this includes eggs. These are perfect for eating standing around the kitchen island while drinking sake.

Place eggs in cold water in a sauce pan
Bring to a boil over med/high heat
Boil quail eggs for 5 minuets
Remove from heat and rinse under cold water.

1 tsp matcha green tea powder
1 tsp salt
mix

dip the egg in the salt/tea mixture

enjoy!

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cheese souffle in the oven.

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
pinch dry mustard powder
pinch of white pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice

Let eggs come to room temp
melt butter in sauce pan over med/low heat
add flour and spice and cook for about 3 min. Do not brown
add milk (all at once) and cook until thick and bubbling
remove from heat
add cheese (shredded) in small batches and stir till smooth
add some (about 1/4 cup) of the cheese sauce to the yolks and mix till blended
add the remainder of the cheese sauce to the egg mixture

heat oven to 350

now for the egg whites. I mix them by hand in a copper bowl. you may use a mixer. that is fine. take the easy way out. no really go a head…
regardless of the method you need to beat the egg whites into stiff peaks

add about 1/4 of the cheese mixture to the egg whites. fold them in. gradually pour the rest of the cheese mixture into the egg whites and fold everything together. the goal is to stir as little as possible and still have everything combined.

fill your souffle dishes to the top and pop em in the oven for about 15 min.

remove and eat.

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My grandmother’s easter potatoes

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

I need to call and thank my grandmother for the hours and hours she spent making this dish when I was a kid. I love it. I never knew how much work I was asking her to do when I would request it. Luckily my grandmother is an amazing woman and she made it for me anyhow. Everyone should be as lucky as I am.

GOURMET POTATOES

6-7 medium potatoes 1/3 c. finely chopped onion

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1 tsp. salt

¼ c. butter ¼ tsp. pepper

1 c. sour cream 1 tablespoon butter

Paprika

Cook potatoes with skins. Cool. (I like to put them in the refrigerator overnight.) Peel and shred coarsely.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine cheese and ¼ c. butter, stirring until

almost melted. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream, onion and seasoning. Fold in potatoes and turn into a creased 2-quart casserole.

Dot with 1 tbs. butter and sprinkle with paprika until it looks quite red.

Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes

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My grandmother’s easter potatoes

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

I need to call and thank my grandmother for the hours and hours she spent making this dish when I was a kid. I love it. I never knew how much work I was asking her to do when I would request it. Luckily my grandmother is an amazing woman and she made it for me anyhow. Everyone should be as lucky as I am.

GOURMET POTATOES

6-7 medium potatoes 1/3 c. finely chopped onion

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1 tsp. salt

¼ c. butter ¼ tsp. pepper

1 c. sour cream 1 tablespoon butter

Paprika

Cook potatoes with skins. Cool. (I like to put them in the refrigerator overnight.) Peel and shred coarsely.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine cheese and ¼ c. butter, stirring until

almost melted. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream, onion and seasoning. Fold in potatoes and turn into a creased 2-quart casserole.

Dot with 1 tbs. butter and sprinkle with paprika until it looks quite red.

Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes

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Ham+Swiss+Puff Pastry=Breakfast

Originally uploaded by kantgirl.org

I have this habit of getting into ruts with cooking. I will spend two months making cookies than move onto jam. This month, I have been on a puff pastry kick. I am ever so tempted to continue this trend and involve more butter somehow….perhaps butter filled puff pastry? If there is one thing I have learned in life it is adding butter fixes just about anything. In fact, I plan to bring a stick of butter to my next meeting just to see if it helps.

This recipe is so simple and takes about 20 min start to sitting on the patio eating my breakfast.

Grill up some spiral cut or ham steak in a cast iron skillet. Make sure it is nice and browned and some of the juice has run off. Snacking while cooking here is a must.

Take a 3 X 3 square of puff pastry
Stretch it to about 4.5 X 4.5

Place a piece of ham in the center of your puff, put a slice of swiss over it, pinch the corners together and fold the sides in to create an edge.

Bake at 400 for about 12 min.

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