About this Blog Portland, Oregon food blog with over seven years worth of recipes, restaurant features and food photos. Dig in!
|
By mlb, on September 13th, 2006%
A Salute to Honey, Part II
My first attempt at creme brulee came from a trip to Bath and Body Works in Pioneer Place. Right. See, they carry products from the Savannah Bee Company and I found some orange foot scrub that I liked. I went to their Web site to learn more about the company and found a recipe section.
From there, I discovered a lavender and honey creme brulee recipe that I changed to Rosemary and Honey. This was mainly due to having a HUGE rosemary plant in the front yard that I like to find uses for and because, well, I like rosemary. Especially sneaky uses for it like drinks and desserts.
The flavor was mild and a little sweet. You could taste the rosemary just a little and it blended very well with the honey. I used vanilla sugar in my creme brulee (for the top too) but plain sugar will work fine.
Honey and Rosemary Creme Brulee
(This will make 4 creme brulees. For 2, just halve the ingredients — that’s what I did).
7 egg yolks
2 oz. sugar
2 oz. honey
2 cups half and half (or, for a richer, devil may care version, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream . . . → Read More: Honey & Rosemary Creme Brulee
By mlb, on September 11th, 2006%
We had this recently as a side with some grilled lamb tenderloin and roasted rosemary potatoes. Planning for an already honey-laden meal, I was also inspired to make a honey and rosemary creme brulee (recipe coming this week) for dessert. It was a complete honey-based evening as I used my new favorite lamb marinade that has red wine, garlic, oregano and….yep, honey. The lamb was deliciously divine but then I kind of figured it would be…
The vegetables, however, held their own on the plate. The lemon lightens everything up and contrasts with the honey’s sweetness. We both ate all of the carrot/parsnip combo and jwa even wanted more. In addition to regular meal tastiness, this would also make a great Thanksgiving side, as you can boil the carrots and parsnips in the morning and then reheat them with the glaze before eating — at least that is my theory.
There is a similar recipe to this one at Epicurious, that uses rutabagas instead of parsnips and uses about one tablespoon more butter than I do. Also, I made a half recipe using one large parsnip and about three medium carrots and half the rest of the ingredients listed . . . → Read More: Mmmmmm…Side Dish: Carrots & Parsnips with a Honey & Lemon Glaze
By mlb, on September 10th, 2006%
This recipe is from the cookbook, Polenta by Brigit Legere Binns. I’ve had it for about five years and just happened to pick it up the other morning (thinking, “Oh, wow — I forgot I had this!”) and saw this recipe. It was one of those things where, as I read the ingredients, I mentally checked off if we had each one, because I knew I wanted to make it right then and there. Luckily, we had everything on hand.
It seems that other times that I tried to grill or pan fry polenta I’ve had problems. I tried it a number of years ago with some of that polenta-in-a-tube and just wound up with oil soaked circles of corn meal. This experience was much different. Making your own polenta is the key. I’ve been making polenta lately as a side dish, but more as the creamy, soft variety. This was the first time I’d tried chilling it, cutting it and frying it. It worked beautifully. Think crunchy, sweet porridge squares with maple syrup.
Cinnamon & Raisin Polenta with Maple Syrup
2 cups milk (fat-free works fine)
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 cup polenta or coarsely ground corn . . . → Read More: Polenta in the Morning: Cinnamon & Raisin Polenta with Maple Syrup
By mlb, on September 6th, 2006%
Yeah, I know, I typically have a title picture of the finished meal but I couldn’t resist this one — my little lamb meatballs. They were so photogenic and pretty. The recipe is from Mediterranean The Beautiful Cookbook. You know, one of those huge, over-sized books with all the pictures that make you want to take a vacation to all the locales photographed within the pages. I came across it at the Borders in Beaverton on clearance for…I think it was under $10. I couldn’t pass that up.
While paging through the book, this recipe was one of the first that really caught my eye. This soup combines the meatballs, yogurt, egg yolk, mint, onion, garlic and noodles — some of my favorite things. In addition, I added some spinach to the meatballs and some bell pepper and tomato to the soup. I also used more noodle-product than the original recipe called for because, well, I like the noodle-product (gemelli, to be exact).
The soup goes great with some grilled flat bread or toasted baguette slices and a nice side of mixed olives.
Tutmac Corbasi: Yogurt Soup with Lamb Meatballs & Noodles
Meatballs:
1/2 lb ground lamb
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup defrosted . . . → Read More: Tutmac Corbasi: Yogurt Soup with Lamb Meatballs & Noodles
By mlb, on September 5th, 2006%
The Traveler’s Lunchbox recently started a listing of Five Things to Eat Before You Die that has been working its way around the food blogs. Christine over at the aptly named, Christine Cooks, tagged me over the weekend. I took a few days to think it over and here’s what I managed to come up with (in no particular order).
1. Something That You’ve Grown Yourself
You don’t need a yard to grow tomatoes — a big pot on a sunny balcony will work. Or try a window sill herb garden. Or maybe a bell pepper plant or sweet corn out in your backyard. The point is to grow something (from seed or small plant), nourish it, take care of it and then eat it all up. We have a whole bunch of Roma tomatoes that we are harvesting right now that are great on sandwiches, excellent in salsa and will probably make it into a batch of tomato sauce to be frozen and thawed out on an upcoming Fall night.
2. A Meal at Pacific Way Cafe, Gearhart, OR
Oh, we love the Pacific Way Cafe. The bread. The creamy Gorgonzola dressing. . . . → Read More: Five Things to Eat …
|
|
