One of nearly every American child’s favorite camping
memories is roasting marshmallows over the fire, sticking them between two pieces
of graham cracker with some chocolates. Now we have seen some pretty crazy
things done with s’mores including many different candy bars being used to
provide the chocolate, not to mentions last year’s post we did which including strawberry’s http://theforkandeasel.blogspot.com/2014/07/artisan-smores.html) However this year we are exploring a different twist on the s’more,
and it is anything but classic.
"Food that's the simple answer. but not just any food, good food, fun Food, food that requires thought and creativity. Food that is so amazing that when we eat it, we become more then just dinners, more then just chefs, we become artists.
Monday, March 23, 2015
S’more S’mores
Mozzarella
I promised a tutorial on making mozzarella, so here is it, seriously
don’t be daunted by the length of this post, homemade mozzarella is actually pretty
easy and totally worth it.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Stuffed Mushroom Salad
This dish was actually
inspired by the dinner we had the night before, my wife and I had been trying
to figure out what we wanted for lunch, and she said "the only thing I
want is more of that spinach stuff from last night" unfortunately we had
used our entire supply of spinach in that one dish, and no, this was not a
small amount either. We started talking about the different components of
the dish, and she reminded me that we had some fresh lettuce from our garden. And
then this was born.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Quiche
It’s been a long time since I actually posted anything, so I
was looking for something to write about that might really get people excited
to go cook something. Scanning though my images I stumbled across this Quiche,
which I had nearly forgotten about (of course that is a clever way of saying I
had forgotten it, and only remembered about it because of the picture) I was surprised
a little by the fact that it had not already made its way onto this blog, surprised
because when I had first made it, I had been extraordinarily excited about the prospect
of sharing it with all of you. not to mention the picture is nearly perfect.
The inspiration behind this dish is not all that exciting. I
had been wanting to make a Quiche all week, so when I got a morning off, I
turned to my wife and said “how do you feel about quiche for breakfast” naturally
she agreed so off to the kitchen we went.
Now Quiches a pretty simple in concept and construction, and
this one is no different, so I’ll just walk you through the steps. To begin
with a quiche is basically an egg pie. This one is eggs bacon green bell
pepper, onion and cheese, stuffed in a pie shell and baked. The pie shell is very important because without
that it’s a frittata, and there are much more fun things to be done with
frittatas then this. Hopefully we will get into that someday, maybe after I
finish the mozzarella post I promised. Anyways, the best pie shells are home
made of course, what I usually do when I want to make a Quiche is make a pie
for dessert the night before, make a double batch of dough and keep it in the
fridge. You can also freeze pie dough without really hurting it, but you do
have to wait for it to defrost.
Once you have your Pie shell, preferably baked so it doesn’t
get soggy on you, and you don’t have to overcook your eggs (this is a very
important point as there a few crimes as severe as over cooked eggs). Blend you
eggs with some cream (Milk works too) and whatever fillings you like, broccoli
is pretty traditional, and you can never go wrong with bacon! I like my quiche
stuffed pretty full with veggies, but simple and plain always works as well.
Here is the part where I wish I could be more specific, unfortunately
eggs are extremely delicate, and ovens are temperamental, you will have to do
some experimenting with yours to find what works best for you. Generally I set
my oven to 350 and let it preheat, then put my quiche in for 8-10 minutes, at
this point I check it and judge if it needs to cook longer or not. Sometimes
that enough, other days my oven is less cooperative, you will just have to do
some experimenting and see where yours lands. Yes that means you, now! Always
remember to have fun with it, never get so caught up in the direction that it
stops being your own.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Mediterranean Flair
So there really isn’t much of a story behind this dish, but
it was a lot of fun to make, looks good, and tastes even better. The Idea was
sparked from a gallon of feta cheese I have in my fridge, yes I have a gallon of
feta, that’s not the important part here. In addition my wife had just pulled a
zucchini out of the garden and was looking for something to do with it, as
always this got my wheels turning. While my wife sliced and pan-fried the zucchini,
I made a rice pilaf with turmeric and lemon, then cut some thick slices of
tomato and asked my wife to cook them for just a second on the skillet, just to
soften them a little and draw out some sugars.
When it came time to plate I cut the top off of a small
plastic cup, which I used as a ring mold. I filled the cup, 2/3 with the pilaf,
and then topped it off with feta cheese. Carefully removing the ring, I created
three more stacks,( you do have to move quickly or else the dish will be cold before
you can serve it.) I then completed the stacks with the tomato and zucchini. I
finished the dish off by dressing the whole thing in a little bit of lemon
juice.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Deconstructed Banana Split
Deserts have long been the most terrifying realm of cooking
for me. Many of the techniques and flavors I use just don’t seem to translate
well into the realm of meal finishing deliciousness, however I have been
practicing, and I believe I have been making some progress. Exhibit A, Deconstructed,
Bruléed Banana Split
This delicious masterpiece came about because of a brulée torch
I was given for my birthday (yes most of the gifts people give me are toys for
my kitchen, and yes that is one of the coolest things ever) It started off with
just the bananas and a swoosh of Nutella on a plate, but then I decided I could
top that, no pun intended . . . okay maybe it was a little intentional. I pulled
out some fresh mango and made mango syrup on the stove, essentially just mango,
water and sugar. I then put a smooth layer of Nutella in the bottom of one of
my desert dishes, followed by vanilla Ice cream, the mango syrup, and finally
the two banana halves which I coated generously in sugar, then bruléed with the
torch.
The art of bruléeing is still fairly new to me me (meaning I
haven’t used it in many dishes) and I am currently looking for new and
inventive ways to incorporate it into my cooking, so please feel free to share
any tips or suggestions in the comments. Enjoy, and this week, try to take
something familiar and make it new! Brulée
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Pizza
Originating
in Italy, pizza is one of the greatest culinary inventions to come to America.
Of course that is just my opinion. You don’t have to agree of course, though I wouldn’t
tell anyone because you might get stoned. This is just one of the Pizzas I have
come up with lately which is more traditional then the popular American style
pizzas of today, if you haven’t tried one I highly recommend it. For this pizza
I took a homemade Italian bread dough, but you could use any pizza dough you
like, this is just a little more authentic, I cooked the dough in the oven, on
my pizza stone at high heat until it was cooked pretty much all the way
through, I then coated it with olive oil, put on some thick slices of fresh homemade
mozzarella (Don’t worry, I am working on the tutorial now) spread some fresh
tomato around, the sprinkled the top with sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil.
Once everything was put together it went back in the oven just until the cheese
started to caramelize. Remember to keep the oven hot, you will get a better
crust, and more flavorful topping. The point of this method is to try and mimic
a pizza oven in your home kitchen. It doesn’t take very long to cook a pizza
this way so watch it closely. of course
you can put anything you want on top of your pizza, my favorite is a good barbecue
chicken, but there is something uniquely special about the original napoleon
flavor
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