Albano Appliance & Service

Chef's Corner

Spiced Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Nov 16, 2011 — Spiced Pumpkin Pie

 

1 Almond crust

 See crust recipe below

 

Filling:

 1-15 Oz can of solid packed pumpkin

½ cup light brown sugar

      ¼ cup turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

      1 TBSP all purpose flour

      ¼ tsp fennel pollen

      ¼ tsp cinnamon

      ½ tsp salt

      ½ tsp ground mace

      ½ tsp ground ginger

      ¼ tsp ground allspice

      ¼ tsp ground clove

     3 extra large/ jumbo eggs

     3/4 cup heavy cream

     ¼ cup crème fraîche

    ¼ cup whole milk

    ¼ cup dark rum (optional)

   1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

 

Wisk first 10 ingredients in a large bowl until brown sugar lumps are well blended.

Wisk in remaining ingredients and pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake pie at 350˚ (325˚ convection) until center is set, about 45 minutes.

Remove from oven & cool on rack.

 

Almond crust

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground almond flour  
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons  ice water

Preheat oven to 350˚ (325˚ convection)

In a food processor, pulse flour, almond flour, sugar & salt. About 4-5 times.

Add butter and pulse until flour mixture resembles corn meal

Add extract & water and pulse until dough resembles large couscous pearls. Do not process to the stage where dough forms into a ball.

Pour dough unto parchment paper or plastic wrap. Form into a disk, wrap & refrigerate for1 hour (25 minutes in freezer).

Turn your oven on! Preheat is ½ an hour to 350˚ - regardless of thermostat light or manufacturer.

Roll out dough and fit into pie pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (15 minutes freezer).

Prick bottom of pie dough with a fork, weight dough  with baking beans, rice (using wax paper between dough & rice) to prevent dough from puffing up

Place in oven & bake for 20 minutes, remove weights and return to oven for another 10 minutes or until dough is cooked ( it should have a light golden color)

Remove from oven, cool on rack

Add filling & return to oven.

Chipotle & Cherry BBQ Sauce

May 07, 2011 —  

2 large shallots, diced

1 TBSP oil

½ tsp kosher salt

1TBSP smoked paprika

2 cups dried cherries

1 cup red wine (Rhone or syrah type)

1 cup port wine

3TBSP turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

¼ cup cherry vinaigre or fruit based vinaigre

2 TBSP molasses

2  cardamom pods, seeds ground

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced and 1 TBSP adobo sauce from can*

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

2tsp onion powder

3 cups ketchup

Season with salt & pepper to taste.

In a heavy bottomed pan, on medium low heat, sauté shallots with salt & smoked paprika until soft & fragrant.

Add cherries, wine, port, sugar & vinaigre. Bring to a boil & reduce to simmer.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Season with salt & pepper to taste.

* use ½ a chipotle chili for sweeter sauce or 2 chipotle chili for hotter sauce.

Wild Mushroom Strudel

Nov 09, 2010 — This is for mushroom lovers!

easy to make & bake, delicious to eat!

 

WILD MUSHROOM STRUDEL

 

1 15 x 10 puff pastry sheet

 

1 Lbs shiitake mushroom,stem removed and sliced ½ inch thick

1 Lbs chanterelle mushrooms sliced in half, length wise

2 Medium carrots, small dice

1 Small Spanish onion, small dice

1 leek, trimmed. White part only, cut in half, length wise, rinsed & cut into ½” slices

1 Garlic clove, small dice.

3 to 4 oz smoked bacon, cut into ¼” slices

1 cup peas (frozen are best this time of year)

¼ cup sherry

3 oz (6 TBSP) unsalted butter

2 TBSP canola oil

Egg wash

Salt & pepper to taste

 

Divide butter into 3 pieces

Sauté carrots, onions, leeks & bacon with 2 TBSP unsalted butter. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cook, on medium low flame, until onions are fragrant & translucent. Add garlic & remove cooked vegetables from pan and reserve.

Mix 2 TBSP butter & 1 TBSP oil in pan over medium heat add shiitake. Do not toss until they start to brown. Flip once & continue cooking until lightly brown. Add salt & pepper & deglaze with 1/8 cup sherry.

Remove from pan & reserve.

Repeat process with chanterelles.

Mix sautéed vegetables, bacon & mushrooms together & add peas. Mix well and let cool.

Lay puff pastry, dry side down & width wise, on sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Place mushroom mixture, forming a cylindrical mass on lower third of puff pastry, 3” from edge, and leave 2” on each end.

Egg wash right & left end of puff pastry. Fold lower end of puff pastry over mushroom mixture. Brush with egg wash.

Fold upper end of puff pastry over mushroom mixture & lower puff pastry, pressing lightly to make sure egg wash bonds both surfaces together.

Press on each end & fold under strudel.

Eggs wash the whole strudel, sprinkle with salt & pepper.

& bake in 350 oven until golden brown, about half an hour.

Slice & serve.

Autumnal Soup

Oct 25, 2010 — Fall is the spring of trees with the bloom of bold and vibrant  foliage. 

All the beautiful colors & smells of Autumn beckon for hearty meals. We will start this season off with a Fall harvest soup.

This soup has evolved, in my répertoire, from the soupe de Crécy recipe of 1346, named after the famous, or, infamous battle ,depending on your loyalties.

FALL HARVEST SOUP

yields about 6 quarts of soup

ingredients:

6 medium carrots, peeled & cut into 2” pieces

1 medium Spanish onion, diced

4 oz. unsalted butter

½ cup sugar or 1/3 cup plus 1TBSP maple syrup (you can sweeten to particular taste)

1 ½ TBSP sea or kosher salt

½ tsp pepper

2 medium to large butternut squash

4qut vegetable stock

Fresh grated ginger to taste.

 Preparation:

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and pour

1TBSP of molasses & maple syrup in each cavity.

Cover & bake for 1 hour in 400ºF oven or until soft.

 Sweat onions & carrots with butter, salt & pepper,

 over low heat, in a covered pot for 20 minutes,

stirring frequently.

Add vegetable stock.

Add liquids remaining in squash to soup

Peel & cut squash into cubes & add to soup.

Add sugar or maple syrup.

Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Cook 20 more minutes.

 Option: add fresh ginger.

Purée with wand, or in food processor.

Notes:

If using food processor take care not to put too much liquid in the processor while puréeing. 

Add the fresh ginger at the end of the cooking process to extract the most flavor from the ginger.

From the Kitchen of Jehan S de Noue

Aug 13, 2010 —

Back to school!

The annual ritualistic madness is about to start!  So how do we make sure that the school supplies we are buying for our children are safe?

The same way you read the labels on food packages, do your homework before purchasing anything for your children that they will come in contact with on a daily basis.

Since we are all about food, here is some food for thought:

Lunch Boxes.

Because they hold food it is important that lunch pails be made from non-toxic materials. NO lead paint, antimicrobial chemicals, PVC and PBA. Buy all cotton/natural fiber lunch bags, paint free stainless steel or PBA-free plastic lunch boxes. Avoid disposable plastic utensils and pack foods in reusable containers such as light weight stainless steel or # 1,2,4 or 5 plastics.

Water Bottles.

Forget  commecialy  bottled water! it's expensive, wasteful, not carbon footprint friendly by any stretch of the imagination and it isn't any better, in most cases, than filtered water from your tap.

Send your child to school with beverages or filtered water stored  in reusable bottles made of PBA free plastics, PBA free aluminum or stainless steel.

Hand washing.

frequent use of good old fashion plain soap and hot water will usually do the trick and the washing motion needs to be performed for at least 20 seconds, making sure to get in between the fingers and around the wrists.

Make a game out of it with young children to teach them good hygiene!

If you want to use a hand sanitizer, choose one with ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and no fragrance or liquid hand soap without triclosan, triclocarban, and also no fragrance; and be sure to follow the directions regarding contact time.

Remember! be informed! An "all natural" label on any product doesn't mean it's good or safe for you. As I like to remind our guests during our cooking classes & product knowledge seminars: "hemlock is an all natural product.. but it sure is not good for you!"