Tag Archives: recipes

Homemade Tomato Sauce and Baked Tilapia in Wine and Shallots

7 Jan

I am inspired, quite often, by cooking shows. Especially the ones where they break down things and give you tips on how to make it scrumptious.  While I now absolutely hate Chef Academy for steering me wrong on making bread (more on that in a few days), at this point I did not hold such contention and decided to make a homemade tomato sauce.  I basically had almost none of the ingredients and only had grape tomatoes, but I figured it would still be good. I also added leftover mushrooms to the mix and it was delish!

I bought some packages pappardelle (my fave) and put the sauce over it. Scrumptious.


We needed some protein, so I went to the local fish market/store and bought Tilapia.  The fish guy said he prefers it backed with shallots and butter, so that’s just what I did (though I think I added some white wine as well).

This was just ehh.  The first was a little bland and the sauce just didn’t have caliber next to that tomato sauce.

The recipe from the show can be found here. I went without the star anise (this seems to be everywhere lately! wtf?) and vanilla pod and only had dried thyme and basil.   I also added it all the beginning (with WAY more garlic and a bit of tomato paste) and then let it cook down for about two hours.

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Cranberry Apple Pie/Cranberry Nut Cake

5 Jan

I love dessert.  Really… really love dessert.  I was given a recipe from my lovely cousin, Adena, when I sent out a Facebook request for how to use up leftover fresh cranberries in my fridge.  She sent a very easy recipe that I proceeded to modify for the sole reason that I do not love cranberries.  They are just too tart for me.  My solution? Add apples and more sugar!  It was a success.  The recipe also called to just put the berries into the pie plate and then top them, but I had a frozen pie crust in the freezer so I decided “why not?”

The fruit concoction was then topped with eggs, sugar, flour, butter, and oil.

We sprinkled the top with cinnamon and it browned up purrrrrfectly.

It was a perfect center too.

I’m pretty sure this was polished off in just a few days.  WHOOPS!

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RECIPE
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Cranberry Nut Cake/(My comments in parenthesis for how to change it to a Cranberry Apple Pie)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cranberries- 1 bag (or lessen this to add slices of 1-2 apples)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 cup sugar (or a bit more if you don’t love cranberries)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 5 Tbsp Oil
  • (Pie crust)

Directions:

  1. Wash berries (and peel, core, and slice apples) and put in bottom of 8” or 9” pie plate (or pie crust if you’d rather)
  2. Sprinkle with brown sugar and nuts (or mix it all together in a separate bowl and then pour in. Add extra sugar directly to fruit if you want it sweeter)
  3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and then slowly add sugar
  4. Stir in flour, butter, and oil
  5. Pour over cranberries (and apples)
  6. (Sprinkle top with cinnamon)
  7. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes

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I loves me some toffee

16 Dec

I am a HUGE fan of English toffee.  Heath/Score bars are some of my favorite candy, however, nothing beats a fresh batch from a candy store.  When I saw a recipe online for Gramercy Tavern’s homemade toffee that seamed very easy and included sea salt, I was in.  I first made this one random night at home and I just could not stop eating it.  I proceeded to make it again one night when my sister was visiting, then again for my housewarming party, and then yet again for Thanksgiving.  It was a hit every time and I honestly have to stop myself from making it out of fear of impending weight gain in massive quantities.  I have no self control for homemade toffee!

The key to good candy making is a good thermometer.  Mine was just okay.  This toffee has the love/hate quality of getting totally stuck in your teeth as you eat it (great for sucking, terrible for fillings).  I am going to try to make it with a wee bit less water next time to see if that helps with the tacky factor.

The sea salt really takes this toffee to a whole nother level.  My dad was NOT a fan but I think he’s out of his mind.  The salt is what most people loved most about the toffee. 

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RECIPE
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Chocolate-Covered Toffee With Pumpkin Seeds and Sea Salt

Ingredients

  • 6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp. water
  • 1/2 tsp. table salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • about 6 oz. semisweet or milk chocolate (works best if tempered)
  • 1 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted  (I had none so I went without)
  • sea salt to taste

Instructions

Stir butter, sugar, and water over low heat to dissolve sugar. Raise heat to medium and stir constantly. Cook until a beautiful toffee color (candy thermometer should read about 295 degrees F).

Add salt and vanilla extract, carefully; the toffee sputters. Pour onto one lightly buttered sheet of parchment paper. Allow to cool.

Wipe off excess oil from the surface of the toffee with a paper towel (the excess butter fat may keep the chocolate from adhering properly).

Spread tempered chocolate over completely cooled toffee.

Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds and sea salt while chocolate is still tacky (so that the seeds and salt can adhere).

Break toffee into desired-size pieces.

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