Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Meringue with Strawberries

It's summer and I'm in a desert kind of mood!

Meringue is so simple to make at home; with an electric whisk the mixture takes just minutes to prepare.

The addition of a little lemon juice helps to keep the meringue shiny.

You then pop it in the oven on a low temperature for several hours and go and do something else while the meringue slowly cooks. ( Look at your phone or tablet...Read an excerpt of a book... Read my other two blogs.)

This is a large meringue nest; if you prefer to make smaller nests, cooking time would be reduced by about half. It makes a delicious dessert topped with Italian zabaglione and some fresh strawberries.


INGREDIENTS:


For the meringue
•3 egg whites

•1 pinch salt

•250 g caster (superfine) sugar

•0.5 tsp lemon juice

•10 g icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted

•200 g strawberries, hulled and quartered


For the zabaglione

•4 egg yolks

•100 g caster (superfine) sugar

•3 tbsp Marsala wine

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat the oven to 75°C/165°F/gas mark ¼ or as low as it will go. Line a 24cm/9½-inch diameter round baking sheet with baking parchment.

2 Put the egg whites and salt in a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar, whisking all the time. Add the lemon juice and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.

3 Put the mixture into a piping bag (pastry bag) and pipe a large nest onto the baking parchment. Alternatively, if you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a large spoon. Sprinkle with icing sugar and immediately place in the oven for 4 hours.

4 Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before carefully removing from the baking sheet, and then leave the meringue to cool fully.

5 Meanwhile, make the zabaglione. In a small heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and vin santo. Place over a saucepan of gently simmering water, whisking all the time until the mixture begins to boil and thicken. 6 Remove from the heat, whisk well to get rid of any lumps, and leave to cool. 7 Put the meringue on a serving plate, fill the middle with the zabaglione and decorate with strawberries.

Another nice cool treat for a summer day...Enjoy! Eat Well My Friends!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Honey Dew ,Jicama and Mango Salad

Heyyyy, Don’t worry about removing all of the melon seeds in this take on the popular Mexican street snack—they’re edible and add a little crunch to your munch!

INGREDIENTS:
½ small honeydew or Snow Kiss melon (about 1½ lb.)

 1 small or ½ large jicama (about 14 oz.), peeled, thinly sliced into rounds

1 ripe but firm mango, peeled, thinly sliced

¼ cup fresh lime juice

Kosher salt

Tajín Clásico seasoning and lime wedges (for serving)

DIRECTIONS:
Using your hands, pull out some seeds from melon half (you don’t want to ruin the round shape of the inside by scooping with a spoon).

 Place a cut side down and remove rind by slicing down along the curve of the melon with a sharp knife, rotating as you go.

Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, thinly slice melon into rings.

Toss melon, jicama, and mango on a platter with lime juice; season generously with salt.

Sprinkle with Tajín, and serve with lime wedges and more Tajín.

Enjoy!  Eat Well my friends
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Monday, July 1, 2019

Key Lime Pound Cake


This looks so good and unfortunately I can't find a bakery open that has this...but what I can do is lay a recipe on you for making this.

INGREDIENTS:


4 sticks butter, that’s 1 pound, room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fresh key lime juice

1/4 cup evaporated milk, (I always keep a good number of those small, 5 ounce cans in my pantry.)

4 teaspoons key lime zest, minced

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

DIRECTIONS:


Preheat oven to 300°. Cover inside of 10 inch tube pan with non-stick spray. (My pan is 10 1/2″ and it’s just fine.)

Set aside. Using a stand-up mixer or electric hand-held, beat the butter well until light in color and fluffy.

Add the sugar and again beat well for at least 5 minutes. (I use a stand up mixer and beat the mixture 10-15 minutes. I don’t like a “grainy” cake.)

One at a time add the eggs and beat only until the yellow disappears.

Stir juice, milk, zest and vanilla together.

Now mixing by hand, gradually flour to the butter-egg mixture alternating with the key lime juice and milk mixture.

Begin and end with flour. Mix well but just enough to incorporate all ingredients. (You don’t want a tough pound cake!)

Pour evenly into the tube pan and tap pan on the counter to loosen any air bubbles.

Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

 Cool on a cooling rack for 20-25 minutes in the pan then transfer from pan to cooling rack and allow to cool another hour or until completely cool.

The cake is far better the following day or 2 days later.

 KEY LIME CREAM CHEESE ICING:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3-4 tablespoons butter, room temperature 4 cups confectioner’s sugar 1/4 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice

2-3 teaspoons key lime zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract Using a hand mixer beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until well mixed.

Add confectioner’s sugar and beat well until completely smooth and fluffy.

Add key lime juice, zest and vanilla and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Ice cake. This makes quite a bit of icing.

After icing the entire pound cake I fill the middle hole with the excess icing. When the cake is served icing can be taken from the middle and dolloped along the side the slice of cake.

Enjoy!  Eat Well My Friends:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






Cavier & Vodka
Courtesy of The Lady (Bug) of the Household