domingo, 30 de enero de 2011

Sausages with White Beans & Kronenbourg

Sausages with White Beans




Ingredients:
8 small or 4 large hot or sweet Italian sausages,
about 1 1/2 lb. total weight
1 cup dry white wine
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (each 14 oz.) white beans, such as
cannellini or Great Northern, drained and rinsed
2 Tbs. minced fresh oregano
3/4 cup chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 to 3 cups arugula
Directions:
Cook the sausages
Prick the sausages in a few places with a fork and place them in a large fry pan. Add 1/2 cup of the wine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and cook the sausages, turning occasionally, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Cook the vegetables
Meanwhile, in a separate large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the white beans, oregano, the remaining 1/2 cup wine and the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until half of the liquid is evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes.






La bière Kronenbourg est la marque phare des Brasseries Kronenbourg basée à Strasbourg en Alsace et filiale du groupe danois Carlsberg. Elle est la bière la plus consommée en France, une bière sur cinq vendue en France est une Kronenbourg. Elle est produite à Obernai en Alsace.

sábado, 8 de enero de 2011

Cookies , Cannelés & Brownies

Cookies Ross

Harina 250 grs
Azúcar 125 grs
Mantequilla 125 grs
4 llemas
vainilla





Chocolate liquor Brownies


Chocolate is categorized by how much chocolate liquor it contains. Unsweetened, or bitter, chocolate is 100% chocolate liquor with no sugar added. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates have cocoa butter and sugar added to the liquor but still contain at least 35% and 15% liquor, respectively. In most cases, these 2 chocolates are interchangeable in recipes. Milk chocolate, which contains at least 10% chocolate liquor and 12% milk solids, behaves differently in recipes and should not be used in place of other types of chocolate unless specified.
Ingredients:
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup cake flour, sifted
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, semisweet
chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or
white chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish, preferably glass.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Heat, stirring often, until melted, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir until just blended. Stir in the chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out almost completely clean, about 30 minutes (longer if using a metal pan). Do not overbake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares.
Makes 9 large brownies.




Cannelés




First made by French nuns in the early 14th century, these small, sweet cakes take their name from the baking mold that is used (cannelé means "fluted").
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 Tbs. dark rum
4 Tbs. (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, melted,
plus more for brushing
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk. Using the back of a knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans and add the seeds and beans to the milk. Bring just to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Cover and let cool for 20 minutes. Strain the milk into a small bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar. Add the rum, the 4 Tbs. melted butter, the flour and the cooled milk and whisk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 4 days.

Preheat an oven to 400ºF. Generously butter an 18-well silicone cannelé mold and place on a baking sheet.

Whisk the batter until it is completely smooth. Fill each prepared well three-fourths full of batter. Bake until the cannelés are dark brown and puffed, 40 to 45 minutes.

Immediately invert the mold onto a wire rack and remove the cannelés, using a toothpick to gently loosen them, if needed. Let the mold and the baking sheet cool completely, then repeat with more melted butter and the remaining batter. Makes about 54 cannelés.











Brown Sugar Cookies





Make a quick citrus glaze for these cookies using 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 to 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice. Whisk together until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, whisk in additional lemon juice or water. Place the cookies on a wire rack and use a fork to drizzle the glaze over them.

Ingredients:
12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup coarse sugar, such as turbinado
Directions:
Mix the dough
Position 1 rack in the upper third and 1 rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, salt, brown sugar and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour and beat just until evenly blended.

Shape the cookies
With lightly floured hands, roll the dough into 1-inch balls and then flatten each ball into a circle. Place the circles about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle the top of each circle with the coarse sugar.

Bake the cookies
Bake until the edges of the cookies darken slightly, about 12 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks and let cool completely. Makes about 24 cookies.







ookies, plus 2 crusts for other desserts (see related recipes at left).

Storage tip: Store the dough disks, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and soften at room temperature. You may also roll out a disk, line a tart or pie pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight or freeze for up to 1 month. It can go directly from the freezer to an oven.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Make the dough
Sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla on low speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat just until a moist dough forms. Form the dough into 3 equal disks and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 disk until firm, about 45 minutes, and store the remaining 2 disks for future use (see note above).

Cut out the cookies
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 dough disk 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

Bake the cookies
Bake until the cookies are golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Meanwhile, put the chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl. Melt at 10-second intervals in a microwave until smooth and melted, stirring often.

Dip one half of each cookie into the chocolate and return to the rack, allowing the chocolate to set. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Makes about 30 cookies; makes 3 cookie dough disks total.

Animal Cutout Sugar Cookies




These classic cookies can be decorated in a variety of ways. They can be sprinkled with colored sugar crystals before baking or decorated with royal icing (click on the link at left) using a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a small plastic bag with a corner snipped off.

Ingredients:

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 piece vanilla bean, about 2 inches long
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Colored sugars and decorating pens
Directions:
In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and, using a small, sharp knife, scrape the seeds into the butter mixture. Mix well.

In a sifter, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the flour mixture directly onto the butter mixture. Reduce the speed to low and beat until well mixed.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball, then flatten the balls into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (The dough can be prepared up to 3 days ahead.) Let it soften slightly at room temperature before continuing.

Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets.

Bake until the cookies are golden on the edges, about 8 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely. Decorate the cookies as desired with colored sugars and decorating pens. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Makes 24 to 30 cookies, depending on cutter size.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out a dough disk 1/4 inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes. Transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheets. Gather up and reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Repeat with the remaining dough disks.

lunes, 3 de enero de 2011

Tricolore Salad



Tricolore Salad


So-named because its colors reflect those of the Italian flag, this red, white and green salad is delicious paired with our Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches (see related recipe at left).
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 head Treviso radicchio, sliced crosswise 1/2
inch thick
1 head Belgian endive, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch
thick
1 cup arugula
1 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved into
thin strips with a vegetable peeler
Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until blended.





In a large bowl, toss together the radicchio, endive and arugula. Add the vinaigrette and toss again. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Gently toss in the cheese. Serves 6.