White Turkey Chili

Okay, okay, so this one is a stretch...but one of the ingredients is beans - and since I have no desire to try out beans on toast, this is my substitute.

The recipe comes to me by way of Betty Suzanne and is my favorite way to use up left-over turkey.

White Turkey Chili

1 1/2 cups onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 jalapeno pepper, minced (I don't bother with this)

1 can chopped mild green chilies

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chicken broth

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked turkey, cubed

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup Jack cheese (I use pepper jack)

In a 3 quart saucepan, over medium-high heat, saute onions and garlic in oil until onions are tender (about 5 minutes). Add jalapeno, chilies, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth, beans and turkey. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve hot with cheese on top and tortilla chips on the side.

Verdict: I've already said that I like it. Part of what's great about this recipe is that it is more like a guideline...I've made it without cilantro and it's fine. I don't add jalapenos and it's fine. I stir in extra cheese and it's fine. Cook it in the crockpot? Fine. You get my drift.

A Little Cheesecake

Betty Neels heroines gobble down rich desserts by the cartload. Given. In spite of that, I have yet to come across one that eats cheesecake. Why do you think? Is it because cheesecake is more 'American'? Because The Great Betty didn't care for it? Is it less common in Europe? I don't know the answer to that. Maybe it's just an oversight.

The folks here at the van der Stevejinck household do love their cheesecake - in fact, cheesecake is often chosen over more traditional cakes for birthday celebrations. Just last week I made one for Dr. van der Stevejinck's 52nd birthday (and just like a proper Neels hero, he is aging quite well).

I've been making this particular recipe for several years now. It results in a smooth, creamy cheesecake - not hard or dry. I topped Dr. van der Stevejinck's birthday cheesecake with cherries (from our trees) that I thawed, added about 1/2 cup water, a little lemon juice and a little sugar, then thickened with a cornstarch slurry.

Alton Brown's Sour Cream Cheesecake

Crust:
33 graham cracker squares, crumbled
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus additional, for brushing the pan
1 tablespoon sugar

Filling:
20 ounces cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 yolks
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush some of the melted butter around a 9 by 3-inch cake pan. Adhere parchment to the bottom and the sides.
In a small bowl, combine crumbled graham crackers, the remaining melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the parchment-lined pan. Place remaining crumbs on a sheet pan and bake both the crust and the remaining mixture for 10 minutes. Cool. Reserve additional crumb mixture for sides.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat sour cream for 10 seconds. Add the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds and then turn up to medium. Scrape the bowl.
In a separate container, combine vanilla, eggs, yolks, and heavy cream. With the mixer on medium, slowly pour the liquid mixture in. When half of it is incorporated, stop and scrape. Continue adding the mixture until the rest of the ingredients are incorporated. Once completely combined, pour into the cooled crust.
Lower oven temperature to 250 degrees F. Place cheesecake into a preheated water bath, in the oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and open the door for one minute. Close the door for one more hour. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place in the refrigerator for 6 hours to completely cool before serving.
When ready to serve, place the entire cake pan into a hot water bath for about 15 seconds. Unmold onto a cake round or serving dish. Take the remaining graham cracker mixture and press into the sides of the cake.
To slice, place your knife into a hot water bath and wipe dry each time you make a pass through the cake.

Verdict: Don't turn your back on it...it's liable to disappear when you're not looking.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Betty Tia called me up last week to rave about a dish she had at a friend's house. She went back for seconds - which was very brave of her (when you see the ingredients for the topping, you'll understand). Her friend forwarded the recipe and didn't mind sharing.

This recipe should be accompanied by a warning from the Surgeon General - as it is disgustingly (and deliciously) bad for you. Consider yourself warned.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Cake batter
1 cube butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 pkg. dates (about 8 oz) (I prefer to buy whole and chop myself)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup boiling water

Caramel Sauce
2 cubes butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream

Cream butter and sugar until white. Beat in eggs gradually. Fold in flour. In a pan- bring the water to a roaring boil and then add the chopped up dates and baking soda. Stir the dates continuously until the kind of dissolve. You know the dates are done when it turns a dark color and looks awful. Add the dates to the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour cake batter into an 8 X 8 pan or double the recipe for a 9 X 13 pan. Bake 40 minutes at 350 or until a knife comes out clean. You may have to increase the baking time if you do a 9 X 13 pan. For the sauce. Just before the cake is ready mix all of the ingredients for the sauce together in a pan. Boil all the ingredients together. The sauce will not be thick. Poke small holes all over the cake and pour as much of the caramel sauce as you can over the top of the cake. Put the cake pan on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven under the broiler. Watch it carefully because it can burn really easily. When the sauce starts to bubble on top of the cake it is ready. Serve the cake in bowls with vanilla ice cream and the rest of the caramel sauce on top. Enjoy!

Verdict: Rich, rich, rich. I made a single batch and it lasted nearly three days...in spite of us liking it and Dr. van der Stevejinck having an incredibly strong sweet tooth. A small helping goes a loooong way. If you love caramel and the resulting sugar shock, this is a winner. If I am ever brave enough to make it again, I think I'd like to try making it in individual ramekins - I think that would help the curb appeal.

Nineteen year old son Alex: So gooey and delicious I could feel my arteries hardening as I ate it.

Custard

Our heatwave is over. Yay! That means I don't have a problem turning on the oven. I was too busy to go to the store, so I wanted to to make something with ingredients from my kitchen. Here's what I came up with: Custard.

Baked Custard

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

dash salt

3 cups hot milk

ground nutmeg or ground cinnamon for garnish

Preheat oven to 350'. Spray Pam on six 6-ounce custard cups and place in a large baking dish.

In large bowl, whisk eggs together eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat until sugar is dissolved. Slowly pour in hot milk, while whisking. Pour into custard cups and sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon (or in my case, since I was out of nutmeg...I used pumpkin pie spice). Put the baking dish in the oven then carefully pour in hot (boiling hot) water up to the level of custard in the cups.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until set around the edges and still loose in the center. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack until room temperature, then refrigerate.

Verdict: I love custard. No apologies. My fifteen year old didn't like the slippery texture and he found it bland.

McGriddles II

I'm incredibly busy this week - and I have a house full of people...so I'm not doing a regular food post.

Last week I posted my first effort at making homemade McGriddles. They were good - but not quite right - they definitely needed more of a maple syrup kick. Rebekah and I gave them another chance on Saturday, and knocked it out of the park.

The fillings weren't any different - except that I happened to have regular bacon instead of turkey bacon, the difference was in the pancakes. This time I made them a little runnier, then I added a capful of Mapleine (artificial maple flavor)to the batter...that helped, but it still wasn't enough...so I added a spoonful of sugar. Bam. Rebekah made up the little maple drops, which we put on the batter after it was on the grill, then I drizzled just a little bit of syrup on them. Sticky? Check. Delicious? Check.